what is bad weather?

The countdown to the 7 Sisters has begun. T-minus 4 days.
Final packing for the race is tonight.
The butterflies are starting too.
weather.com is regularly checked and is looking good and bad. Forecasts call for everything from sunny and 70 (really bad) to wet and high 40's (too cold) - all within the same 5 minute period of checking.
There is a Nordic saying: "There is no such thing as bad weather. Only bad clothing."
As a corollary: there is no good weather for this event except sunny and beautiful about 20 minutes after everyone gets done with the course.
Too cold or windy or dry on the exposed ridges is not good. Too hot or humid can cause some serious problems too. Just no place for aid stations except the water-drop half way over and the aid station at the midway.
I am personally hoping for light rain (no lighting) and 50ºF. That will make the rocks nightmarishly slick, but with rain forecast for all day Friday, it won't really matter.

* * *
Since the rains the last two days, *everything* has turned green ~ including the stuff being expelled from my nose. That won't make a tough course any easier.
I feel bad for the people around me as this stuff comes flying out heading up Bare Mountain. *Hopefully* it will all be expelled by the time I hit the Low Places.

race update 28 April 08

As you can see form the right column, on a beautiful day for something resembling a 7 mile trail run (felt like shorter) I pulled a 54:50 ~ good for 11th place...I think.
At least that was the placement I received at the finish line.
That whole first paragraph apparently is up for debate depending upon your point of view - except the beautiful day part.
The Grand Tree people I recognized there all seemed to be having a grand time.
Someone was taking photos at the finish - so I'm sure they'll be posted somewhen.
A good first year trail event. Some glitches, but nothing major. Would consider it for next year even if the course was a bit too road-like ~ including a 1/4 mile steep paved downhill. Should have had an out-and-back on the loop. That would have made it much better.
Advertised as prep for the 7 Sisters. Not sure how that conclusion was the end result, but a fun day none-the-less.
Next up - the dreaded 7 Sisters Trail Race.

photos from last week

A great photo of the Merrimack River start.
The runners all get down into that little itty-bitty trail in the next 20 feet.
Somehow...

Photos by Dave Dunham via photobucket
Link to race photos at bottom.













Joe's finish is certainly one of the strongest-looking poses I've ever seen.

















Neil's isn't far behind.

















I look like I need the blue cart (but finished ahead of the two gentlemen above...)


















Gotta work on that finishline grimmace. I make Emil Zatopek look like Heidi Klum!

The link to all race photos:
://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s209/davedunham/2008%20XTERRA%20river/

inspire someone this week

We should try to be the parents of our future rather than the offspring of our past. -Miguel de Unamuno, writer and philosopher (1864-1936)

The Merrimack RivAH 10miler

Guest Blogger: Joe Carpenter

Being my second race that Paul has motivated me into doing I already had a good feel of the "trail racer mentality" and was by no means let down this weekend. No doubt I still felt a little out of place; especially, watching Paul's pre-race routine which entailed a most detailed verbal walkthrough of split times, goo consumption, and utilizing items from two different tool kits and one large back pack. My thought process entailed one more of comfort. Do I wear long sleeve with underarmour and keep warm in the cold windy weather and just run slowly so I don't sweat too much or ditch the underarmour and force myself to run fast. So underarmour it was, which by the end I was regretting due to about a 15-20 degree temperature change throughout the race and the fact that the goo I ate at the half way point spawned a pace that I never thought I could or ever would want to do. Once the race was complete I was fortunate to eat some great chili and hershey kisses that Paul won in the raffle. After training for this on a treadmill I told myself I would not run more than 5 miles the rest of the summer, but have since changed my mind. I still am feeling the rush from the race and am more than motivated for the next. I guess I am falling in love with jumping over and sometimes running through water and various foliage. The topper was three adults on the ride back quoting lines from the disney movie Madagascar. "Don't give me excuses...give me results!

the Riv-AH runs fast

Paul, Joe and Neil made the trip to Andover for the Merrimack River Trail Race.
The Riv-AH started out cold (in the 40's) and wet.
2 miles in was warm (in the 60's) and wet. One good 20 foot wide and knee deep water crossing (twice). Plus, plenty of slippery wood bridges being crossed with muddy shoes.
Paul finished 47th (just like last week) at 1:19:52 for 10 miles and 72.33 points.
Joe finished in 1:42:57 and Neil at 1:58:37.
Joe is doing the blog this week and is posted above.
No official race photos etc yet.
Heard about a possible cancellation of the Muddy Moose next weekend due to conditions (?!?!?) ~ more this week.
Video of the start:
http://www.active.com/video/play.htm?id=2bea4a4d-e3aa-4adf-ac14-5b206f56a831

The very formal ceremony:























How about this:
Steve announcing a raffle prize:


Both Neil and I won something this year -
I won a pink water bottle holder and a big bag of Hershey's Kisses. Forget what Neil won. My bad.

round numbers

Don Kardong is a storied (Olympic) runner and story writer with a sense of humor runners can appreciate.
When discussing weekly mileage a few decades back, he mentioned that many elite distance runners aim for 100 miles each week ‘because 100 is a nice round number’.
Don suggested 88 miles as an alternative – because 88 is a ‘rounder number’.
The NN16 for me was a story of rounder numbers.
Should have been a clue at check-in with bib number 8. The Don Kardong joke immediately came to mind.
Was considering trading it in for bib #7.
Someone at the start noticed 150-something runners for this event.
What a nice, round number.
On the first level stretch where you can talk, one of the old timers said he remembers when getting 20 people for a Grand Tree event would have been considered a huge success. I see only 114 finished.
Good ~ because 113 is a prime number and that just wouldn't do.
When chatting in various packs what was a target finishing time, more than a few good runners told me “I’m just using this as a training run for (fill in the blank)”.
My first thought was: were they kidding me or themselves?
As I found out, many of them were downright serious – while laughing the whole race. Some were running 50-milers in June, The Nipmuck Marathon for a qualification for Escarpment. One friend was even using it for a light run for the Great Bay Half-Marathon that Kristy is running the following day.
Yes, that friend finished ahead of me by seven minutes.
Back in January, I had penned that a 2008 goal was a sub-3:00 finish for the NN16.
Finished in 3:03.
Pretty round numbers.
Was 98.2% accurate. Close, but no cigar.
Heck, even missed my PR on this course…by 3 seconds.
Another round number.
Two weeks ago, I was concerned for even finishing this as I had trouble completing a 10 mile run on the road. This continued at the NN16 until I hit the turn around. Either I got a blast of confidence, or I realized that the only way home was to finish the darn thing.
I had hoped for a 40 minute first segment to the big lake – got that at 39.
Hoped for a turn around time (after the second segment) at 83 minutes – not quite as I left the station at 1:30.
Hoped to hit the big lake again at 2:20 – made up some time here and actually left at 2:16.
Then, the cramps.
Even though it was not warm, everyone seemed to report how surprisingly humid it felt out there. I went through TWO 70ml hydration sacks. Sucked the second one dry at around 13 miles.
Plugged through running the down hills, jogging when I could on the levels and hiking the ups. Both calves, some hammie on both sides and even twice both VMOs. Thankfully, all released after less than 20 seconds or so of stretching.
Then there was the surface wounds due to the low lying, thorn and branch-based foliage (see photo).
I do have to wonder if the cramping is solely from fluid balance (electrolyte and fluid) or if muscle glycogen plays a part here now too. There were several relief stops, so the fluid was getting in. Was it staying in? Were the muscles just so untrained for more than 2 hours of continuous activity?
We'll find out at the Merrimack River Trail 10miler (aka: The Riv-AH) next Saturday with Carpie.
I did wonder throughout the race about the water out on the race. All of the water bodies were really low. The log bridge about 1.5 miles in was actually over a moist area and not a lake. There was still plenty of standing water around, but the leaf cover hadn’t broken down over the winter either. All of this suggests really dry conditions out there. Not good for the health of the forest.
Finally, Got to chat with Richard Busa pre-race which always makes me laugh. He has a great soul and is one of the reasons why I get to races a bit earlier. I saw him at his mile 6 (my 10). Glad to read that he made it in under 5 hours at 78 years of age.
Next up ~ Merrimack Riv-AH.
Pray for rain?

post race update

Northern Nimuck 16, 04-05-08
final time 3:03:20
3 seconds off of PR
3:21 slower than goal

Course Descrption:
The course starts at the Nipmuck Trail & Rt. 171 junction just opposite the Bigelow Hollow State Park entrance. The course runs 8 miles south on the Nipmuck Trail to Boston Hollow Road in Ashford (the northernmost point of Nipmuck Marathon) and returns on the same trail. The terrain is constantly rolling, and although there are no monster hills, there are enough steep sections to test your anaerobic capacity. The total gain over the 16 miles is approximately 3,200 feet. The footing is usually decent, but there are some steep, rocky sections that demand caution. If it has rained recently, expect to get your feet wet in several of the low-lying areas. Snow and ice may be present on the course at this time of year. Water and electrolyte replacement will be provided at three aid stations over the entire course. You’ll never be more than 4 miles from an aid station, but a single water bottle carrier is recommended.