Training 02-13 - 02-19

Weekly Wrap Up: 70.1 miles with one decent workout (to test the situation) and one awesome long run.  I did get to do some exploring too on Monday just up the road in Maine on some sweet snowmobile trails.  The snow took a hit this week but the trails are still good (for running). Nice and packed.  The trails that don't cross lakes are still good for the machines.  70 miles is the highest since last summer and my calf is still a huge problem. It just hurts all the time.  But I'm still able to do some running and didn't miss a day this week.  Glad I got a chance to get up in the Whites for the run Saturday.  Good week all in all as I kind of went on-off-on-off.  My racing is a huge question mark but the miles are coming regardless of the calf situation.


02-19 - Sunday: 2.5 miles (ice road and paved road).  Quick lake bang instead of taking a zero.  This got me up to 70 for the week.  Added on a bit near the beginning and just scuffed along over the ice packed road out to the paved road and then back in on the other side.  Stopped to take in the absolutely amazing skies tonight.  Over in front of the campground the skies were absolutely insane.  It's so dark in these skies compared to back down south.  It was a complete horizon to horizon view of stars.  Deeper than I've seen in a long time.  Due to the distance away from any decent size city and the lack of lights in the area from houses (there is NO ONE living here right now) it was just amazing.  There is 2 street lights in the entire 2 + miles around the lake and maybe a half dozen houses that have lights on.  It was crystal clear and dead quiet...all except for the cracks and bubbling of the water beneath the ice (which is quite loud every once in a while). [18:28]

02-18 - Saturday: 25 miles (snowmobile trails).  Bartlett, Albany, Livermore, Hart's Location NH.  With Kevin Tilton.  From north gate on Bear Notch Rd. --> Rob Brook Rd. --> Birch Hill Trail --> Sawyer River Trail --> Sawyer River Rd. --> Conway Scenic RR Tracks. Only about 1/4 mile on pavement and ALL nicely packed to slightly loose/wet snow.  Ran with the trailrocs on and only almost broke my back once at the very beginning on an icy downhill.  Legs held up (barely).  I was very stiff and hurting in the hamstrings and calf(s) by the tracks (about 4 miles from the end).  Beautiful day to be outdoors.  Tons of snowmobilers out there but it was still great to get out on the nicely packed trails and run for over 3 hours.   [3:37:05].  Kevin's Garmin data here.  We ran for 3:37:05 (actually running time).  His Garmin was ticking through pee/water/GU stops.  2034 ft. of elevation gain on snowmobile trails.  Not a bad day.

02-17 - Friday: 12.1 miles (roads).  Dover, NH.  1.7 or so w/up wth Nathaniel Huppe over to start of Red's course.  Then starting at the starting line, we did the first 4 miles of the Red's course with the intention of running 5:45s (Nate's coach had given him this workout).  Nate jumped out to a strong start and I struggled to catch on for a bit.  I was trailing behind a couple steps and it took me a bit to get going at that pace, as it was quicker than I've run since probably November.  The Red's course is not fast (especially the first 4 miles). The last mile is 99% downhill but we were obviously not doing that mile in the tempo.  I managed to move up next to Nate and we passed through the first mile together in 5:22, which was good for that mile (especially because it's got a couple hills).  It was much faster than he wanted, but he's fit and we worked together to cruise through in 5:22.  At that point, I felt better and moved up ahead and came through the 2nd mile in a 5:18 split.  This has some rolling hills but some decent downs.  The third and fourth miles are tough.  Some climbing at the beginning of the 3rd and end of the 4th make them the slowest 2 miles.  There was no visible mile marker on the road for the 3rd mile (unlike all the others).  So I only got my 2nd - 2 mile spllit (3rd and 4th together) which was 11:15.  So that meant I was about 5:37 or so average for the third and fourth miles.  I came through the 4 mile mark in 21:55 which was a shock to me because my calf held up 'ok' (it got very tight late).  I also am not particularly 'fit', as the 3rd and 4th miles KILLED me physically.  I was in the hurt box trying to run that pace and my lower back got very tight.  Overall I think it was a good test, but it was too short to really dictate whether or not I can 'race' 10 miles next week.  I know I can't do 5:30s or maybe 5:45s...I am thinking sub 60 is going to be a good goal for me IF I don't run into a calf issue again.  After the 4 mile tempo, we ran the rest of the course, back to the car, did a quick shoe change, and then headed out for a nice long cooldown around Dover.  [1:24:12 total].  Stomach was a disaster during the cooldown.  Barely made it home in one piece.  Was in the bathroom for a LONG time tonight.  Another fun fact.  This was the furthest south I've been since Jan 6th (when we closed on our place).  Since then I haven't been south of the Wakefield Town Dump and have only been north when I actually leave the house.  Still haven't been back to Assachusetts.

02-16 - Thursday: 5 miles (ice road).  The weather was near 50 degrees today but the ice road was still completely impassible without the Orocs.  I got out the door as the sun was just about to set (because work has been killing me) and did a couple of lake bangs + an out and back for 5 miles (so another easy day).  Back and forth this week with light days and decent days.  Starting to have some bare spots in the yard (on the grass that is in the sun all day) believe it or not.  Makes me think that the Spring is coming soon.  Took out an axe to the ice today to see how thick it was.  I was able to walk out on the lake and cut a hole down until I broke through.  Even after all the 40 degree days we've had recently, the lake was still 9 inches thick in the front of the house.  Got some new Inov-8s in the mail today which also makes me want to get out there and get running for real.  This in-between stuff is good but I'd rather the trails be clear at this point, than all icy snow.  If I can't use my Dions, I'd rather just be able to run in my trail shoes.  The Orocs have been a saving grace though.  I picked up some new Inov-8 footbed inserts as well.  They may make them a bit more comfortable on the longer runs. [33:18].

02-15 - Wednesday: 10.5 miles (ice packed dirt road for first and last 5 minutes,  nice clean paved roads the rest of the way).  E.Wakefield.  House out and up Perkins Hill, and down to Canal Rd. but then down further to the next turnaround and back the way I came.  Good solid run.  Not talking about aches and pains...just focusing on the positive, which was that I got out the door and was able to run.  [1:09:09].

02-14 - Tuesday: 5 miles (ice packed dirt road and snowmobile trail).  House out to the 7 lakes trail that cuts over to Balch Pond.  Short section but I had limited time tonight after a brutal day in front of email.  Decided to take a rest day but still got 38:00 in just before it got too dark to see.  Nice temps out.  Orocs again, as it is way too icy for anything else unless I drive out to a main road, leave my car, and run on the roads.  Got back to the house and got the news that my Aunt had passed after a long battle w/ cancer.  She's in a better place now and can once again be with my Uncle who passed away when I was in college.

02-13 - Monday: 10 miles (snowmobile trails). Newfield, ME, Acton, ME and Shapleigh ME.  Drove about 4 miles up Acton Ridge from my house and parked at one of two trailheads for the Mousam Valley Snowmobile Club trails that cut over to Square Pond in Shapleigh, where my brother and sister-in-law own a house.  Ran on awesome hard packed and fast trails with hardly any climbing (only a few rollers and one big climb on the way back).  Wore the Orocs again because they are the ONLY shoe you ever need in the winter on ice and packed snow.  Ran 36 min out and then 41 on the way back (even though I was coming back faster) because I took a wrong trail off of the last junction (they were all marked fine, I just forgot what trailhead I parked at off of Acton Ridge).  Filmed the entire run w/ my GoPro but probably won't use anything...just archiving for my own personal reference.  There were only very few bare spots and way more snow on the trails over there than I ran on yesterday out in Brookfield. I may drive over to Boonies Country Store in Shapleigh this week and pick up a trail map.  [1:13:51].  Could have been a bit longer than 10 because I didn't dally around, but calling it an honest 10.  Calf sucked on the way back but at this point, I am going to stop talking about it and will ONLY mention it if it tears and I have to be picked up or carried back on a run. My plan now is to get fit, around this injury, and see what happens.

Tumble Down Dick Mtn. Video

Just posted some video of yesterday's run in Brookfield, NH on the Seven Lakes Snowmobile Club trails from Moose Mountain.  I love snowmobile trails up here.  It's like having your own private network of rail trails back home except way better ....they are everywhere... they go up mountains... they weave up and down and left and right.... they dart across lakes (which sometimes can be bad)... and they dip out into some deep woods... something I just didn't get back down in the MV.

I was pretty miffed to see however that Youtube decided to hit me with a Third Party Content ID Match with this video simply because their ID system sucks-arse.  They misidentified my video music loops, which I got straight out of iMovie '09 that I PURCHASED 2 years ago, as being copyrighted (which they are NOT...they are royalty free music that is included with the suite and is meant for incorporation in videos just like this!).  Boy did that fry my rice. I submitted a dispute and we'll see how long it takes them to right this wrong.  If they tell me to go back to Apple to dispute, rather than FIX their Content ID system, I will be p*ssed. You can't really contact Youtube directly about anything as far as I can tell.  They just have these dispute forms which are buried, and lame forums which don't offer too much help. I've been trying to figure out Adsense for years.  Somehow they have matched my account up with a 'disapproved' application and there is virtually NO WAY to fix it.  Unless I happen to know someone who works at Youtube (if it's even a real compay), I can't get it addressed.  I may just have to look into some other host for these super informative and incredibly viral videos I am posting!

I am also sitting on hours of footage from a few other runs, but just don't have the motivation to edit them into watchable videos...maybe one of these days when I get snowed in...oh wait, I just may have to wait until next November/December for that.

Training 02-06 - 02-12

Weekly Wrap Up: 66.7 miles on all singles. If I wasn't lazy I could snowball the mileage into the 80s or higher w/ short shakeouts in the morning but I'm not quite there yet.  This is my highest week since September of last year and things are progressing I think. The calf was ok this week for a change... It feels great when I'm not running (like completely normal)...but on the uneven stuff or on pounding downhills it starts to suck.  I had a great solo road run on Saturday and an awesome run out of nowhere on Sunday, as I just wanted to wander and ended up stumbling upon a great vista of southern Carroll County. All the usual snowshoe races I've wanted to do have been cancelled or made into trail races, which has been perfect for me because it has meant I really haven't missed anything yet.  The one snowshoe race on the GSSS schedule so far has been a success for me and I hadn't planned on any WMAC races this year, but they've hardly had any anyways, so it's all good.  Didn't miss any days this week, which is also good.  Trying to find the positives...


02-12 - Sunday: 10 miles (snowmobile trails).  Brookfield, NH. Snowmobile trails from Moose Mountain Rec. Area north on Corridor 22 and then northwest on Corridor 26 up Tumble Down Dick Rd. and then up Tumble Down Dick Mountain.  It was cold as hell but the trails were awesome. Super packed snow meant essentially road-fast conditions (with the Orocs on of course).  I was just going to do a 30 min out and 30 min back but decided to just keep wandering.  I strayed a bit down Corridor 22 until it hit near 109 first, but then turned and headed up Corridor 26 towards the Wolfboro trails and eventually up to the 1150 or so feet to the top, where the views of Kingswood lake to the east and Rust Pond/Winnipesaukee to the west.  I spent some time at the top wandering around and then headed back down the icey/snowy trails.  Right before getting back to the parking lot of Moose Mountain, my phone died (I was taking some video along the way). Then, as I pulled up to the car just a few ticks shy of 80 minutes on the watch, I noticed that my shirt pocket was wide open.  That meant that somewhere out on the trails was my g*ddamn car key.  No key, no phone, and single digit windy temps meant I needed to head inside to ask to use the phone. It's a good thing I have become friendly w/ the owner (she is great) and have shown my face around.  It was also a good thing I timed it when I did, as they were about to close!  She let me use the phone and stay inside while I waited for Kristin to drive over my spare key.  While inside, I bumped into Max Thomas who is working there for the winter. I haven't seen Max since the good ole' days a couple yrs ago when he was a regular on the mountain circuit and in the local area road races.  Kristin finally showed up w/ the key and I made it out of there relatively unscathed.  A great, quiet, solitary run in some great trails was the perfect ending to an otherwise boring weekend.  I only saw two snowmobiles the entire time (a mother and young son about 8-10 years old, on the smallest snowmobile I've ever seen). [1:19:49]

02-11 - Saturday: 13.1 miles (icy roads/paved roads). E. Wakefield, NH, Newfield, ME, Acton ME.  Beautiful HILLY road loop through the back roads of western Maine and East Wakefield.  I have run most of this loop across various runs over the last couple years but never pieced it together.  Awesome rolling back country roads through farms and thick woods and along Balch Lake on both sides. Calf got a little quirky at 46 minutes exactly.  Stopped and stretched near some sweet looking snowmobile trails w/ perfectly groomed trails.  Would have loved to explore but the loop was already pushing too long considering my calf.  Stopped at near 1:11:00 to stretch again, as my calf started to go again w/ tightness and dull pain.  Was good the rest of the way.  Slowly but surely.  Baby steps. If I can keep squeezing in runs like this and my calf doesn't get any worse, I think I can slowly get back to being somewhat fit.  [1:29:54]. Maybe 3 cars passed me over the last 7+ miles and 1 of them was the same old timer (with Maine plates). He beeped and smiled and waved both times he drove past me. No clue who he was. I LOVE running up here.

02-10 - Friday: 10.6 miles (icy roads/paved roads). E. Wakefield, NH to Newfield, ME.  house out to Perkins Hill and then down into Woodman and up to Stevens Corner and into Newfield Maine.  Up the road a bit and turned around once I realized it was getting dark.  I totally spaced on the time of day but I did get a late start.  Turned and headed back up the way I came.  Most of the way back is uphill.  Calf felt good on the first half. Kept looking at my watch and the magical 50 minute mark...it came and went as I climbed on the way back and no issues.  I had the normal slight tightness but no tweaks or pain at all.  60 minutes came and went.  Then 70 minutes and I felt GREAT.  It was like a dream.  I finished up just as it was getting dark at 5:30! (which is awesome in itself).  Calf felt (and currently feels) fantastic.  The best it's felt on a run since I've been here.  [1:10:42]

02-09 - Thursday: 11 miles (icy roads/paved roads). E. Wakefield, NH. - house out to Acton Ridge then up Perkins Hill and around down to Canal Rd. then back up and back via the longer Dearborn Rd. /N.Shore Rd. loop.  First .6 and last 1.6 were with Yaktraks as the ice road I live on is treacherous without the Orocs or some sort of cleat on your shoes.  The rest was clean road.  Felt great for first 50 minutes.  Then around 51 min or so I had to make a pitstop with massive stomach problems, right at the top of Perkins Hill. Dipped into the woods there and took care of business.  Then back out onto the road I immediately started to get dull pain in the calf.  It was on and off the rest of the way back.  I call this a step in the right direction though, as it took 50 whole minutes of decent paced running before it started to hurt.  I pretty much tried to ignore it over the last  few miles. [1:14:20].

02-08 - Wednesday: 6 miles (snowy/icy roads/paved roads). E. Wakefield, NH. - house out to Wansor, down to N.Shore Dr. then back out and up Perkins Hill and the full loop down 153 and back on Acton Ridge Rd. and back.  Just wandering around.  Mostly on ice and snowy shoulder of the main road.  Coyotes howling on the way back.  Could hear them all the way across the lake when I got back. [45:00].  Calf 'OK'..a little sore and tight on the way back and that 'sensation' is just always there.  Feels like I have zero chance of getting up on my toes and running fast, which sucks.  But I can run 6 miles a day slow. Not sure when that will get old, but I'm sure it will.

02-07 - Tuesday: 10 miles (snowy/icy roads/paved roads). E. Wakefield, NH. - house out to Dearborn and up to Perkins Hill and out to Canal Rd. and then back. Calf started getting tight/sore 55 or so minutes in. [1:09:32]

02-06 - Monday: 6 miles (snowy roads/snowmobile trails).  E. Wakefield, NH. - house out to Acton Ridge and across the snowmobile trails up to Balch Lake and back.  Calf was brutal.  Had to stop and stretch in the middle.  Not a good run at all. Cut it short. [41:40].  Stretched and massaged the hell out of my calf all night.

Training 01-30 - 02-05

Weekly Wrap Up: 61.4 miles running.  30 minutes of biking during the 1 'day off'.  This is sadly my highest week of mileage since the week of September 12th of last year!!!  That is incredible.  It's easy to see that Pisgah was the end of it... or the 'beginning of the end'.  Felt good to get yet another long run in on Sunday though. That's 3 long runs in 4 weeks w/ Kevin Tilton (with one race mixed in there as well).  Mileage-wise, I'm moving in the right direction.  Calf-wise, it's not really moving at all, but I guess there was slight improvement at the end of this week.  Going to see someone tomorrow about some more work on my lower back and hips to see if that will affect my situation in a positive way. I hope so.  Even though my training has taken a major hit, running up here has just made me enjoy getting out the door and being outside. I never took my camera (phone) with me on runs back in Salem or the surrounding area.  Now I take it with me on multiple runs per week.  Don't get me wrong, I like cranking miles on the roads and being healthy, but  even my icy, snowy, lonely dark runs up here have been just as enjoyable.  I hope to move into more miles this coming week and creep back up to at least building a base.  I won't be cranking 53-55 minutes at DH Jones....but I'd like to try to beat the top woman (although looking at what Erica Jesseman did today in Maine with her CR 58:01, I'm not sure that will be possible).  Let me rephrase that...I'd like to FINISH DH Jones without having to DNF because of my calf. If I can run a hard 10 miles in sub 60 (anywhere under 60) 'I'll take it' (to quote DD).

02-05 - Sunday: 20.4 miles (snowmobile trails). Tamworth, NH w/ Kevin Tilton.  Started from Great Hill Rd. in Tamworth and ran up to the Fire Tower and then back down and out for a big loop that went up into the WMNF for a bit and came back down on all very nice packed snowmobile trail.  [2:52:55]. 2400 or so (maybe more) feet of elevation gain.  Pretty hilly run, but I expect that out of a run that KT sets up.  Ran in the new test pair of Trailrocs and they were great.  No crunching through at all on the trails.  Probably the best it can ever get to be honest.  It was COLD out there AGAIN.  Seems all of the runs I get together with Kevin for are cold as hell.  It's beautiful the rest of the week.  Today was amazing out though.  Crystal clear skies meant beautiful views of Mt. Washington from Route 16 in North Wakefield on the way up, and Mt. Chocorua as I moved into Ossipee.  Took a quick video from the top of the fire tower at the beginning of the run (below).  Was completely wiped at the end of the run. Everything was seizing up, I bonked with a half mile to go (good timing), and my 'winter' hydration pack frickin' froze up on me like 45 minutes in when I went to take water.  It was all frozen inside.  That is NOT supposed to happen.  I won this back at a snowshoe race last year or the year before. I never used it.  Today I take it out for the first time with room temperature water in it and by the first time I went to take water it was frozen solid.  I have since tried to find a review or even a place that sells this exact model online and can't find any in stock anywhere, which leads me to believe they've been discontinued.  Probably because people don't enjoy carrying solid blocks of ice on their backs.



02-04 - Saturday: 10 miles (roads).  E.Wakefield, NH. House, out to Acton Ridge (the long way) and then up Perkins Hill, down and out to Canal Rd. and then back the same way.  [1:08:10].  Calf felt better than it has in probably weeks (I am thinking the massage had something to do w/ it).  Had a calf sleeve on with 2 pairs of tights to keep the calf nice and warm and compressed.  Worked the hills (hilly out and back) and stayed on the pavement for the most part (some shoulder running in spots).  The roads are in OK shape right now.  Beautiful sunny day, with great views of the Ossipee mountains and Moose mountains at the crests of some of the higher points.  It's days like this that I love running here.  It is so much easier to get out the door up here than it was down in the shopping mall parking lot they call the Merrimack Valley (at least for me).  I can't wait to get up to Madison, where it will be even easier to get out the door, as my options will be vast.

02-03 - Friday: 5 miles (snowy/icey roads and snowmobile trails).  Same as yesterday sans the last snowmobile trail out to the brook.  [37:35].  It was 4:45 when I was going out the door.  Amazingly I got the entire run in, including a stretch stop, just before it got too dark to see.  That's a good feeling.  Got work done on the calf today.  The therapist thinks there might be something off w/ my pelvis and recommended a chiro consultation...will go back on Monday to chat w/ the chiropractor and see what they suggest.  Calf super sore on the run but that was mostly do to the massage for sure.  The stretching, icing, and massaging routine continues.  At least I can run on it.  I was thinking today that there are a lot of folks out there that can't run at all due to injury.  I am lucky that at least I can go out and do a trail run or shorter road run and still be involved, even if my racing has taken a bit of a backseat.  I guess it can always be worse.

02-02 - Thursday: 6 miles (snowy/icey roads and snowmobile trails).  E.Wakefield, NH.  House out to snowmobile trail off of Acton Ridge Rd.  Trail up to Balch and along the shore a bit, then back out.  Trail was about 2 inches of wet snow on top of a thick base of old snow and ice.  Good for Oroc running.  Out to Dearborn Rd. and all the way down to Great East Lake, along the back side to the other snowmobile trail off of Wansor and out to Scribner Brook and then back to the house. [44:31]  Lucky to have gotten any run in at all.  Last night after stretching a bunch, I tweaked my back.  Got awful sleep and was barely mobile today.  Decided to just give it a go and wander a bit.  Got a longer run in that I had imagined I would.  Called and setup an appointment for a massage again tomorrow in Wakefield.

02-01 - Wednesday: 10 miles (snowy roads).  E. Wakefield, NH.  From house, Perkins Hill loop x 2 + extended lake bang. Ran on dirt/snowy shoulder most of the way.  [1:09:32]. These Orocs are a godsend.  Calf started to ache a couple times.  Had to stop and stretch out a bit and was able to continue at a decent clip considering the road conditions. Was happy with myself for getting out on a night like this, where it's cold, dark, and lonely out there.  Didn't get out until way after dark and had to go w/ headlamp, which only allowed me to see 10 feet in front of me because of the foggy conditions.  Would have loved to have been able to sneak out during the warmer daylight hours, but it wasn't meant to be.  January has come and gone and I only got 1 race in and I can't really see racing again until an attempt at DH Jones, but even then, it will be a test just to see if I can run more than 4 or 5 miles hard without tearing my calf.

01-31 - Tuesday: 10 miles (total) - 5 miles (am).  E. Wakefield, NH.  Easy run on very snowy/icey roads.  Snowing all morning (so far). Some tightness/discomfort in my calf but not bad. [36:22]. 5 miles (pm).  Same loop but backwards.  Snowed all day and the roads were covered but the road in (all ice) was covered which made it a little easier to run on. [35:14].  Trying to spread out these miles to try to let my calf heal without losing mileage...

01-30 - Monday: 30 min spin.  Calf got really bad at the end of Sunday's run and I took it easy today and just hopped on the bike after most of the day of stretching and massage.  Calf actually got sore during the spin. Wanted to do an hour but right before 30 minutes, the calf actually started to hurt.

Training 01-23 - 01-29

Weekly Wrap Up:  57.2 miles for the week + 2 hrs spinning. OK week with the calf until Sunday, when it really started to hurt (a la Winni 25k).  No snowshoe racing (both I was going to do were cancelled) meant I could get in a long 'epic' run in.  A horrifically hard slog on Saturday w/ Judson Cake and Kevin Tilton, who both KILLED me.  They were out of sight a few times and it sucked bad.  I needed this run as a good swift kick in the rump and a good long 'ultra-effort'.  Time-wise, this was probably one of my longer weeks of 'training' in a long time, so the mileage not quite being where I'd like to be isn't exactly a big deal.  I think it's time for another massage however.

01-29 - Sunday: 5 miles (icey roads and paved roads).  Just an easy shakeout. Horrible ice on the way out and way back (I actually had to walk the last few minutes on the way back and almost fell half a dozen times). [37:17].  Was going to run 8-9 but at about 4.5 my calf barked badly.  I had to stop and stretch.  Jogged back to the road into my place and walked the rest of the way.  Not good.

Image above is a screenshot of only a few seconds of video I got at the top because my camera was dead.  Mt. Washington is towards the right-hand side of the photo w/ the obvious snowcover on top.


01-28 - Saturday: 21.23 miles (snowshoes on snowmobile trail).  w/ Kevin Tilton and Judson Cake.  Epic run to say the least. Started out in West Ossipee and hoped on the snowmobile trails right off of Rt. 16.  Headed up around Mt. Whittier and followed the trails across and up to Mt. Shaw.  Horrifically long, tough grind.  The first 6 miles we were breaking through a thick crust making it almost unbearable.  We had to switch off taking the lead and breaking trail. There hadn't been any snowmobiles through there in a while.  When the climbs started, I started hurting pretty bad and my calf started to get bad.  6 miles into the run, the first group of snowmobiles came through thank god, and broke the trails for us for most of the way.  When the real steep climbing began, Judson and Kevin pulled away from me and I was left in the dust.  My calf got super bad and I had to walk some of the really steep sections.  We reached the summit in about 2 hrs. 2 minutes. My damn camera had died on the way up and I got hardly any of the summit on film, which was too bad because it was a crystal clear day.  The way back down was almost as brutal.  The top mile or so wasn't tracked through by the snowmobiles (as it was too icy for them to go all the way up) so it made going up and down on that section a little dicey.  There was a fair bit of decent climbs on the way back, but nothing like the way out.  We had to stop a few times on the way back down to eat some snow because none of us had any water and it was turning into a bonk party.  I probably bonked for the last 10 miles.  I didn't hydrate or eat breakfast like I should have for a 4 hour run.  I had no idea it was going to be that long and that difficult.  We finally got back in 3:52 total. Almost 4 hours of snowshoe running... the longest I've been in the Dion's at any one time. See Kevin's data here.  Some sick elevation gain (+- 4000 feet). I can barely walk and am sitting here typing this, hurting more from head to toe that I am even after running a damn marathon. Tomorrow is going to be horrawful.

Below is just a few clips put together as my camera just kept dying.



01-27 - Friday: 5 miles (icey dirty road/snowmobile trail). From house in E. Wakefield, NH around the lake and up into the snomobile trail that cuts over to Balch Pond.  Ran along the shore for a while and then turned and headed back out and back to the house.  Added on a few minutes at the end to get 5.  [38:00]

01-26 - Thursday: 10 miles (icey road/paved road) + 30 min bike.  E. Wakefield, NH.  Nice out again but the road in and out of the lake was horrific.  I had to walk to get out to the main road and walk back in.  10 miles out on the paved main roads (2 5mile loops) [1:05:12]. Got it in just before it got dark.  Calf got painful and stiff.  Stretched afterwards and hopped on the bike again for a 30 minute spin.  More stretching.  Bummed about BOTH the snowshoe races I was going to do this weekend are both cancelled (Sidehiller and Beaver Brook).  For my central/northern NH folks, let me know if anyone is up for a long run or something interesting on either Sat. or Sun. or both.

01-25 - Wednesday: 6 miles (ice) + 30 min bike.  E. Wakefield, NH.  Very nice weather but again, couldn't get out of the house until pitch dark.  Headlamp run on complete sheets of ice.  Wore the Orocs w/ the spikes and that was the only reason I didn't fall on my rump over and over.  Would have to loved to run longer but there are ZERO street lights around here and it gets VERY dark because almost nobody lives near here in the winter.  Most of the houses on the lake and in the surrounding area are seasonal and it's even tough to see with the headlamp.  Tonight there was a lot of fog and a lot of ice and it just made for a tough run.  Even on the main roads there are no street lights at all.   I ended up cutting it short and coming back in before I got hurt.  Hopped on the bike for a 30 min. spin afterwards.

01-24 - Tuesday: 60 min. spin on the trainer.  Worked through the daylight hours and then was on the phone w/ the bank and real estate agent until late.  Finally got away enough to hop on the bike even though the daylight hours were so nice.  A lot of the snow melted down and all the snow on the lake is almost gone.  A full hour on the bike was about all I could handle mentally. My calf actually started to ache, even on the bike.

01-23 - Monday: 10 miles (snowy/icey roads and paved roads) - East Wakefield, NH and Acton, ME.  From house out to Acton Ridge and up to Balch Pond and back down around to Great East and the loop back.  Exactly 10.  Felt tight and sluggish at first, but loosened up and felt great on the backside of the 10 miles.  Wore a new (3rd different) pair of test Trailrocs I got from Inov-8.  I just may have my new favorite shoe. Road was a little slick and about half of the run was on completely snow covered (but packed) roads.  Very hill loop (especially first 5 miles) but really quiet.  2 cars passed me on the entire run.  Both over 30 minutes in. Love running here!  [1:10:18].

Training 01-16 - 01-22

Weekly Wrap Up: 53.7 miles for the week but 3 days on snowshoes and most every day on some sort of snow or ice, made for a little slower going.  I also got a massage so I call this week as good as a 60-something.  Especially with the weather and road conditions. Calf is holding up.  The biggest thing is that I got a RACE in.  Yes, I raced.  First race since the first week in November.  I didn't want to miss Kevin's race up in North Conway on Saturday, so I headed up to test out the calf and more importantly the fitness level!  More on that soon as I put together an actual race report!.  A good week all in all. Some exciting news as we build up the team as well.  We're starting to come into real focus for 2012 and I just hope I can be ready to TRY to score for the team at DH Jones on February 26th. I have 35 days to try to weasel my way back into being able to get through a road race without dying and without my calf seizing up.


01-22 - Sunday: 10.4 miles (snowmobile trails) - out and back - ran on packed snowmobile trails w/ my microspikes w/ Judson Cake and Kevin Tilton from White Lake State Park in Tamworth, NH. [1:30:04].  -11 below at the start.  Eyelids kept freezing shut.  No real issues w/ calf, which is amazing.

01-21 - Saturday: 11 miles (groomed xc ski trail and single track) - 3 mile w/up (with strides) w/ Judson Cake over Whitaker Wood course in Intervale, NH (on snowshoes) [23:00]. Then 4 mile race: Whitaker Woods Snowshoe Race [1st - 27:28].  Afterwards, cooldown with Judson Cake and Dave Dunham while collecting flags from course. [46:18].  Calf only got tight to the point of being uncomfortable, during the cooldown.  It only slightly nudged me during the race near the beginning.  Full report to come.

01-20 - Friday: 4 miles (snowmobile trail) on snowshoes - Corridor 19 from Pray Hill down to near the Ossipee line. Could only do an out and back for 30 minutes because it was already 4:30pm. Most of the way out was downhill, way back was uphill.  [32:00].

01-19 - Thursday: 6 miles (snowmobile trail) - Seven Lakes Snowmobile trails from Ballard's Ridge Rd in Woodman, NH.  North on NH Corridor 19 .  Out was essentially all uphill.  Saw some great big bear paws (below) in the snow (got it all on video and may edit some of the run).  Great deep woods run. Nice and quiet. No snowmobiles to speak of but the trails were all nice and groomed out from prior traffic.  Ran up over Prey Hill area and down towards Belleau Lake before turning around and heading back (was running out of daylight). [42:03].  Got a massage earlier at a place I found in Wakefield. Really good work done there and just over an hour session for only 50 bucks! You cannot beat that.  Professional and friendly place that does Chiro, massage, ART, etc.  Calf (both actually) are killing me now, but I think it's from the massage and not really from the snowshoe run. Side note, the offer we made on the house we like in Madison was accepted.  Let the fun begin!

01-18 - Wednesday: 9 miles (ICEY as hell dirt roads, some ice covered paved roads, snowmobile trail, snow covered railroad tracks, and snow covered logging roads).  An out and back road run turned into a wandering session as I had to explore some surrounding trails and woods because the roads were so bad.  My road is now completely unrunnable.  The main road was so icey all the way across I don't know how cars could even drive on it.  I only ran down about a mile and a half and then hopped on the bottom end of the Seven Lakes snowmobile trails down near Seven Lakes Provisions, then ran along the crusty, snowy railroad tracks (which had only been traversed by a very large 4 legged critter before I came through there) until I happened on some completely snowed in logging roads that were pretty cool to run on, although I was breaking trail through a thick crust of icey snow and about 4 or 5 inches of powder underneath.  I started to come across a lot of posted land, which made me turn back and head out.  Running on the tracks makes me nervous because I don't know how often the train that runs up to Ossipee comes through and what direction it runs this late in the day, so I'm always looking back every 30 seconds or so. On a lot of the tracks, they are built way up with almost no ledge, so if the train did come, I'd have to jump down or slide down and find a place to stand until it passed by.  I hear it blowing the horn as it comes by in the distance, from the house, but I never know what direction it is going and it doesn't seem to be at the same time of day every day.  One of these days, I'll find out first hand :).  Enjoyable run nonetheless.  Because it wasn't a hard road effort, the calf was 'OK' but it was still tight.  [1:08:28].  Have an appointment tomorrow for a massage.


01-17 - Tuesday: 8.1 miles (icey, snowy dirty roads and paved roads).  House to the hayscale and then back. Beginning and end were extremely icey and slick as it was freezing rain falling on top of an already completely iced over road going into the house.  [54:01].  Calf felt sore and tight on the way back but not terrible. Everything was super tight again but not as bad as yesterday.  Ran up to a massage therapy place up near the hayscale and stopped in quick to see what they offer.  It's a full ART/sports massage/chiro practice so that's pretty sweet.  Scheduling an appointment to get in there this week for some continued work on my calf and everything else that is bothering me.

01-16 - Monday: 5.2 miles (icey, snowy dirt roads and paved roads).  Wanted to take a zero but decided to do a shakeout instead and man did I feel horrible.  I was so tight and stiff all over from yesterday's long run.  It took a while to get just a little loosened up.  My calf was painful and stiff most of the way.  When I finished I questioned whether it was better than a rest day. [37:20].  As I was running I saw about 30 wild turkeys in the middle of Acton Ridge Rd. I haven't seen that many turkeys in front of me since the 2011 New Bedford results ;).. JK.  The run was capped off by an idiot dog owner who had her dog ON a leash and it still got away from her and literally ran in between my feet in full stride as I was on a solid sheet of ice.  She seemed (get ready for it..) surprised that her dog did that.  I booted the dog in the mellon with my spikey Orocs on the back kick.

Training 01-09 - 01-15

Weekly Wrap Up: 61.2 miles with no days off but with one day at only 1.5 miles because of my escapade on the lake on Thursday.  Started the week off solid, threw in that horror show on Thursday, a couple of light days (one of them on snowshoes) and then a good longer effort on Sunday on some good hills.  Calf is 'holding up'.  I haven't raced since the first week of November of 2011, but I am still enjoying running just as much and more because of where I am now... More importantly, I'm enjoying life a bit more now since moving north and I still have a ways to go. Hopefully the calf progresses in the right direction.  Hopefully I also get fit one of these days. I felt VERY unfit on Sunday's run and struggled on the second half but that's simply because my mileage has been poop for so long now.  I've gotten very used to not racing...that is not good, but it is what it is.  I'm still not sure if I'll do any snowshoe racing this year because I'm not fit, my calf has been a huge question mark, and I'm just not feeling it...but we'll see.  Just glad to get some miles in this week and looking forward to building some hurting bombs.


01-15 - Sunday: 17 miles (paved roads and snow covered, groomed park roads). Effingham, NH, Parsonsfield, ME, Ossipee, NH, Wakefield, NH.  Loop with Kevin Tilton from Effingham Town Hall / Library up and around through Pine River State Forest (unplowed but nicely packed from snowmobile trails)  and back up Granite Rd/Pickpocket Rd to 153 and then back up through Parsonsfield ME and Effingham (with a small stretch in North Wakefield before and past Province Lake).  Honest pace from the beginning, as it was -11 this morning in Effingham.  Probably just under 0 or so at the start of our run.  5 or 6 degrees by the end.  Crisp and clear day out and a great day for meeting up with someone to get my butt going.  The water froze at our house right before I left and I think my lungs were frozen during the first few miles of the run.  This was a very hilly loop Kevin came up with and he dusted me on a few of the ups, actually putting some distance on me (a la Mt. Washington). The important thing here is that I took the state line from him about 12.5 miles in.  Then I bonked and was on cruise control after that.  That section along Province Lake was beautiful this morning... looking out past some of the mountains in Effingham, you got a great view of the snowy peaks of Whiteface, Passaconaway, etc. Kevin got a good view of my backside here as I smoked him to the town/state line...then he got the best of me over the next 4.5 miles.  Calf was junk immediately but never got any worse.  I call that a win. Almost 2 hrs of steady running in sub zero weather over VERY hilly roads and was able to manage 6:43 pace without a disaster (other than having my back, hips, hamstrings, etc. all seize up like it was mile 25 of Manchester)... I'll take it.  [1:54:27].

01-14 - Saturday: 6 miles (snowy, icey VERY SLICK dirt roads and paved roads). House to Perkins Hill to Province Lake Rd (153) to Acton Ridge and back + 1 mile add on. Solo of course.  [40:29].  Calf felt same as usual. No 'pain' but tightness in that same unusual way.  Looked at houses up in Madison and Tamworth all day and was lucky to get this run in at all.

01-13 - Friday: 6 miles (snowy, icey dirt roads and single track trail). Snowshoed the trails between Perkins Hill Rd. and the tracks.  These are established horse trails that I got permission to use from the owners last week. They welcomed me in there to help keep the trails open w/ my snowshoes.  Came upon some snowmobile tracks for the first time this season. Didn't run long or hard enough to even notice my calf.  That's a good thing I guess.  [50:00].

01-12 - Thursday: 1.5 miles (lake ice and snowy roads).  Snowshoes from house along the shores of the lake until the start of the third cove, where I fell through.  Stunned, I ran back on the roads. [11:00].  Better than a zero?  Not quite sure.  Too wet and cold after to continue.  A good rest day I suppose.

Visual Evidence...hilarity ensues at around 5 minute mark.



01-11 - Wednesday: 10 miles (icey dirt roads, paved roads, railroad tracks). From house up Perkins Hill and down to tracks.  Headed north on the tracks up through North Wakefield and all the way to just shy of the Wolfboro town line (North Wakefield Rd.) and then turned back.  5 out 5 back.  Tough footing on a lot of the rail bed and rocks on either side...slow going in spots.  Calf tight as always. I may just stop mentioning the normal calf pain/discomfort/tightness from now on unless it is really bad. [1:12:56]

I recently posted some footage (just the first climb) of my run over at Moose Mountain in Brookfield/Middleton, NH this past weekend.  See below for the first of maybe a few clips.




01-10 - Tuesday: 10.2 miles (icey dirt roads, paved road).  Out and back down Acton Ridge Rd. and out onto 153 North into Woodman, NH and Ballard's Ridge and back.  Hilly as a mofo (Wakefield is hilly in general).  Calf stunk on the way back but it is what it is.  Maybe it will just always hurt and I'll get used to it?  Got to do this run mostly in the daylight which was a plus.  Lots of stretching afterwards.  [1:08:08].  'Almost' felt like a real runner at one point.

01-09 - Monday: 10.5 miles (icey dirt roads, paved road). 5 lake bangs around Lake Ivanhoe in E.Wakefield, NH.  Solo w/ headlamp. Couldn't get out the door until about 5:30ish and of course by then there are only 2 street lights and almost no houses lit up in the entire 2.1 miles around.  Even w/ the headlamp it was tough to see.  Slick in spots w/ the ice on the dirt road most of the way.  2/3rds of the run is on dirt roads. Heard a dog barking somewhere off in the distance on each bang and actually saw 2 cars and 1 UPS truck out on the main road, surprisingly, during the 10.5 miles.  Calf was sore and tight by 4th bang.  [1:09:29].

Training 01-02 - 01-08

Weekly Wrap Up: 43.4 miles on 6 days.  Good first week up here at the lake. One rest day because it was another end to end busy day on the road, closing on our place and getting the heck outta there.  I am so happy to be up in the mountains now and am really looking forward to exploring trails and country roads up here.  My calf hasn't been that great, but it really hasn't prevented me from doing anything yet.  It was also cool having some folks to run with on Saturday, as the Rochester Runners just happened to be doing their Lovell Lake run this weekend.  All in all, I am happy w/ this week and look to build up this coming week.



Above: the first part of the trail up Moose Mountain - Brookfield, NH.

01-08 - Sunday: 7 miles (mountain, snowmobile trails, ski slopes).  Brookfield, Middleton, NH.  Started out at Moose Mountain Recreation Area in Brookfield and ran straight up one of the ski slopes to the summit of Moose Mountain (1742 ft) and then around the top for a while and back down the other side via snowmobile trails (Evergreen Valley Snowmobile Trails).  Eventually wound back up and around and back down to the lodge. [58:00].  Great day for a run and it was awesome to explore what looks to be miles and miles of trails that wind up and over and around the Moose Mountains Reservation.  Calf was horrible at first, but loosened up a bit as I went.  Very slippery in spots with lots of ice on the rocks. I recorded the entire thing on my new GoPro Hero 2 headcam. I'll be editing and posting some stuff soon.

01-07 - Saturday: 12 miles (paved, dirt, icey roads) with Nate Huppe.  Met Nate and a group of Rochester Runners at the Poor People's Pub in Sanbornville (5 miles from my  house) at 8am. Nate and I ran around Lovell Lake on a very nice and very hilly lake bang over snowy dirt roads and nice rolling paved back country roads.  Beautiful morning out along the lake. Not one car passed by on the lake loop until we got out on the main road section, and even then, only a couple. I could get used to this ;).  We then hooked left and headed out across Rt. 16 into Brookfield, NH (bagged Brookfield) and down to the what I think are the Evergreen Valley snowmobile trails but we had to turn around at that point a we were over 10 miles out.  Ended up with a solid 12 miles before breakfast.  Haven't done that in ages.  Calf was bothering me but wasn't awful. As long as it isn't awful, I'm going to deal with it. Not sure about racing, but these runs are going 'ok' for now. [1:21:50].

01-06 - Friday: Off. Closed on my condo in Salem, NH.  On the road from E.Wakefield to Salem at 6:30am and didn't get back until 9pm after a long day of legal stuff, bank stuff, errands, DMV, etc.  Hopefully this is the last end-to-end busy day I have for a while...

01-05 - Thursday: 8 miles (icey dirt roads, paved roads, logging roads, train tracks). Exploratory run from house in E.Wakefield.  From house, out and up Perkins Hill Road to top of Perkins Hill and then explored the many logging roads around the north side of Perkins Hill.  Back out and down 153 to the train tracks that go to Ossipee Aggregates but headed south on the tracks back to Acton Ridge Rd.  Turned up Acton Ridge Rd. and headed back up (doing a small loop around Deboer Ln) to the lake for one lake bang back to the house. [54:14].  Starting to feel like a runner again (almost). I am liking the fact that I left at 3:50pm and even when I got back, it was still light enough to run without the headlamp. I am also liking the fact that it feels like I almost have the world to myself up here while on a run.  Even on the main roads there's no one around.  My stress level is at an all time low.

01-04 - Wednesday: 8 miles (icey dirt roads and snowmobile trails). E.Wakefield, NH from house. Ran south to Great East Lake on small section of snowmobile trail.  Many small bridges and very swampy/boggy as it goes into Great East.  The ground was frozen completely, as was the ice but I wasn't about to continue on the lake with no snow on it.  Turned and headed north and around Ivanhoe and picked up the trail north off of Acton Ridge Rd. and went up to Balch Pond and ran up around the area where the trail cuts across Balch and then back down and out to Ivanhoe again. Ran back around the lake and down Wansor Rd. all the way to Great East again on the dirt roads and did the big loop back on Dearborn and back to the house.  Again, didn't see a soul anywhere.  Very quiet, very peaceful.  Cold as hell.  Starting to enjoy running again.  Calf and hammies were sore but I'm looking ahead and need to start getting serious about this.  Will go and see how far I can push it eventually before I have issues again.  It's been months and rest hasn't helped.  Need to start building up some miles but need to do it gradually. Strange to see all the snowmobile trails marked with arrows, signs, tape, etc. yet almost no snow at all except pushed up from the plow on the side of the main roads. [56:00]

01-03 - Tuesday: 6.3 miles (icey dirt roads) around the lake again in E.Wakefield, NH from house.  Alternated direction on loops (3 bangs). Headlamp run for most of it.  Very dark. Not a soul around.  Heard a dog barking a couple times but that was it.  Orocs again.  Very icey and cold.  Calf is a little suspect. [44:47]

01-02 - Monday: 2.1 miles (icey dirt roads) around the lake in E.Wakefield, NH from the house.  1 dark lake bang w/ headlamp.  Frigid and icey and slow.  Couldn't get out until late after being gone all day down in Salem for some last minute cleaning of the now empty condo.  We are closing officially on Friday but had to go back down to clean and paint.  Didn't get back up to Wakefield until 8pm or so.  Went out and did one lake bang to basically avoid a zero.  It is DARK here at night.  Not that many year-round residents on the lake and almost no cars to speak of.  The road is all ice.  Wore the Orocs and was fine.  15 weeks until Boston.  Awful. [15:40]

Training 12-26 - 01-01

Weekly Wrap Up: 23 miles on just 2 days.  Sick most of the week and moved from Salem, NH up to East Wakefield, NH for the winter.  We sold our condo in Salem and are house-sitting for my parents at their lakehouse in East Wakefield (on Lake Ivanhoe) until the Spring.  We will be looking for a house of our own up north this winter and I will be doing my training here and looking forward to the peace and quiet of the area during the winter months. I just needed to get this move over with, and my illness over with.

01-01 - Sunday: 5 miles (snowmobile trails, dirt roads). Finished the week off (and started the new year off) with a run up in E.Wakefield, NH.  Ran from my house, on ice packed dirt roads, around the lake and onto the snowmobile trailhead over at McCutchon Corners and up through the Cross Lakes Trail North section to Balch Pond.  The lakes are frozen, but I wasn't about to run across, even with my Oroc's on.  The short snowmobile trail section was very nice but most of these trails here in the Seven Lakes Snowmobile Trails cross many of the lakes here in the region. Once the snow starts flying, I'll be able to shoe these in full, including the cross-lake sections. [35:00]

12-31 - Saturday: 0.  Again, moved all day.  Picked up the rental truck (same exact truck as Wed.) at 7am in Salem and proceeded to work with Kristin and my neighbor Peter to unload the rest of my world from our house and into the truck.  We worked until 1pm straight with zero breaks.  I still had waves of awful stomach pains that was VERY hard to work through.  Lifting heavy stuff was getting me winded and with that came waves of awful stomach pains that would cause me to keel over in pain and have to stop.  Went through this all day but thankfully I was no longer throwing up and was beginning to be able to hold down water and rehydrate as I moved.  I also had no more headache, so I could manage through the stomach issues as they came.  Kristin and I hit the road at 1pm and drove the 2 hours north to Wakefield (slow because we had a full truck) to unload.  We started to unload at about 3:15pm and didn't finish until about 5:00 or so.  Then we headed back down to Salem to drop the truck off and get something to eat.  We didn't get back until 7pm or so, then ate, then got back to the house to get our cars and load the cats up at about 9pm or so.  We then had to turn around and both drive our cars back up to Wakefield, NH another 90 minutes in slick and slow conditions.  We didn't get up into Wakefield and unload the cats and last of the belongings until almost 11pm or so.  Once we unloaded the cats and got settled into the house, there was again no way I was going to try to squeeze in a run.

12-30 - Friday: 0. STILL SICK. I slept for most of the day on Friday, as I still had a horrific headache.  Still going through what I think was food poisoning and bad stomach pains all day.

12-29 - Thursday: 0. SICK AS BALLS. I woke up early on Thursday after moving all day on Wednesday without as much as a 2 minute break, and proceeded to go through waves of projectile vomit and...ahem...other stuff. I had a massive issue with my stomach and my head was absolutely killing me.  I had a high fever and was throwing up all morning.  I could hardly stand up for more than a minute or more and had to keep lying down and putting a cold cloth on my head.  I had a migraine that lasted the entire day and I couldn't get out of bed for more than just to purge water and other things in the bathroom.  Definitely a case of food poisoning no doubt from that damn gas station sandwich on Wednesday night.  My puke was green, as was the italian sub.  Needless to say I laid in bed the entire day and slept through until Friday.

12-28 - Wednesday: 0. Moved all day.  I picked up my rental truck at 7am in Salem, NH.  Proceeded to drive back home and fill up with essentially everything I own that was filling my full sized garage.  I filled a 16 foot Budget rental truck and emptied out the garage + some of the house, all by myself in decent weather thank God.  But I didn't take a break, eat, or drink anything the entire time.  My calf started to kill, my back started to ache, my arms, etc. all started to get sore.  I finished loading the truck and was on the road at 1:15pm!  Drove the 2 hours north to the storage unit off of 16 in Wakefield, NH and got there about 3:15pm.  Went inside, signed all the paperwork, and was getting started with unloading (again, solo) at 3:30pm.  I worked for 3 straight hours all alone in cold, windy weather and some light flurries.  I didn't finish and get on the road again to head south until 6:30pm and it had already been dark for 2 hours.  I was exhausted and sore and had zero time to run, as I wouldn't be getting home until 8:30ish.  I stopped at the Irving Station in Wakefield on the way back to initially just grab a snack and coffee, but when I was in there, decided to grab a gas station sandwich.  BIG mistake.  I sat in the parking lot and ate the italian sub that had obviously been sitting there all day if not longer.  Then I made my way back home.  Got back to Salem and had to go drop the truck off and drive home.  Didn't get home until after 9, so I decided to bag the run.

12-27 - Tuesday: 18 miles (trails) - this was a dumb move.  In the midst of moving and coming off of two days of being sick as balls I decide to run for over 2 hours. Not good.  I ran 6 miles (out 3 and back 3) at River trail from hotel.  All was good.  Turned around and ran 3 back to get Matt Pims who was on his way down from his house.  We ran back to hotel to pick up Emery Bickford.  We all turned around and went back for 3 more out and back.  At the turn around on the last out and back, my calf started full blown sucking.  I'm talking as bad as it has ever been.  I had to stop and stretch a bit and it actually lasted the last 2 miles, but it is just super sore.  I am going to start doing some yoga w/ Kristin once we are up at the lake.  Spending the next few days moving, so I'm not sure how much good running I'll get in.  I know right now that my calf is killing me. Icing as we speak (and picked up a new spikey stick roller today to get some deeper massage on the muscles). [2:02:08]

12-26 - Monday: 0.  Sick as a dog on Sat. night/ Sun and didn't get good sleep on Sunday night.  Woke up early to go up to Wakefield, NH w/ my Dad to move stuff up there and go over some last minute things at the house before he leaves for the winter.  I have sold my place in Salem and am moving up to E.Wakefield, NH for the winter to house-sit for my parents while they golf down in Myrtle Beach for the winter.  They go from end of Dec. until April.  Kristin and I will be actively looking for a new house in the Madison/Conway area and should be up there by Spring.  I hope to solve this calf issue so I can start doing some good quality trail and snowshoe runs in the Wakefield/Brookfield/Ossipee/Western Maine area this winter.  On the way back down out of Wakefield, my dad took me over to the Moose Mountains (technically in Brookfield).  I had always wondered what mountains those were right on the border of Wakefield/Brookfield and to the west on Route 16 as you come into Wakefield from the South.  He took me up the road to the old Moose Mountain ski area, which now to our surprise is a new tubing and skating park.  I went in and talked with the owner, who gave me the green light to use the trails all over the mountain and surrounding area, that they groom ( & NH snowmobile corridor 22) this winter for some snowshoe running.  I just hope my calf will hold up.

Training 12-19 - 12-25

Weekly Wrap Up: 32.7 miles running + one small session on the bike and my calf is still an issue.  I also got super sick on Sat night / Sunday. Running has been pretty awful because of my calf but I've also been super occupied with moving.  I will do a write up in a bit, about the move and my plans / goals for 2012.  Right now, just trying to get the move over with and get healthy.  The super warm weather and lack of precipitation (of the white kind) has probably allowed me some more weeks than usual to try to get back to real training before I have to attempt to do some snowshoe races (whilst injured). Woodford already got cancelled (as supposed to be Monday - 26th) and it is not looking good for Beaver Brook on the 31st (although I don't think anything has officially been announced about BB just yet).


12-25 - Sunday: Off.  Sick as a dog all day and down in Pembroke, MA for xmas at Kristin's parents house.

12-24 - Saturday: 6.2 miles (roads) - Salem, Methuen.  Out and back 10k from house (solo). [41:30]


12-23 - Friday: 8 miles (trails) - River trail w/ Dave Dunham and Ken Tripp.  Out and back 6 + out and back to boathouse.  [57:33]

12-22 - Thursday: 30 min (bike) . Didn't want to aggravate anything so I hammered 30 minutes on the bike.  That is about all I can swing on this thing at this point.  I was a sweating, hurting mess after 30 minutes and that's enough for right now. PF has been bothering me last night and today actually.  Slept with the boots (night splints) last night.  Been busy the past couple days moving and packing.  Spent most of the day up in Wakefield, NH moving stuff into storage... So the runs haven't been long the past week, but the quality was good yesterday and today's bike was a good cross over to make sure I keep somewhat fit and not aggravate anything.

12-21 - Wednesday: 4 miles (roads)  w/ Emery Bickford.  Salem neighborhoods from Emery's house.  Probably my fastest run since my last race.  Since it was a short headlamp run, we decided to work it a bit.  I think it was probably a little further than 4 because we ran pretty damn quick for 14 minutes and turned around...back in 12:20 but we were hammering. [26:20].  Unfortunately my calf and leg were sore before, during, and a bit after.  Not thrilled with how it felt, especially leading up to the actual run.  Did a lot of stretching and massage beforehand.  Thought I was out of the woods after yesterday's run with Chris, but apparently not completely.

12-20 - Tuesday: 8.5 miles (rail trail) w/ Chris Mahoney-Searles.  Salem, Windham, Derry. Don't look now but I had the BEST day 'calf-wise' in what seems like months.  Two days in a row without any calf 'sensation' at all.  I was beaming by the end of this run. Chris and I ran pretty steady.  It was the best run 'tempo-wise' I've done in a long while.  [1:01:51].  Fun talkin' running and racing w/ Chris...it's been a while.  Got each other pumped up for the 2012 GP.

12-19 - Monday: 6 miles (rail trail) w/ Emery Bickford.  Salem, Windham.  Headlamp run from Cycles Etc. Out 3 and back 3.  [42:11].  Calf felt good.  Hamstring barked a little but it was the best I've felt in a while (leg-wise).