Good Beer For A Good Cause

Just a quick shout-out for an event that sounds like a major fun time, The Finger Lakes Brewfest, which will be held on Thursday, June 16, at 6pm. Good food, brews, and music ... does it get any better? Roosterfish Brewing, local sponsor for The Finger Lakes Fifties, will be in attendance.

The festival is a benefit to increase awareness and facilitate monies to be donated to “Gas Free Seneca,” a local non-profit group dedicated to stopping LPG gas storage in the Watkins Glen area.

Details for the event can be found HERE.

The Measure Of "Fitness"

How do you measure your level of fitness? How do you compare it to the level of fitness of other runners? Do you even care to compare it? I guess I don't really have the answer to these questions, mostly because I really don't care anymore, mostly because I have become happy with my level of "fitness", whatever that is. I guess some measure fitness by speed and looking at some of the runners around me, I guess I can see that they are fit and they are fast. But I also know that if I was pitted against them in, say, a 100K or a 100Mile event, it may then become a run of the tortoise vs. the hare. I am fit, but I am not fast, and I can keep going and going ... just like the Energizer bunny. And the runners with "fast fitness" who don't have "endurance fitness" can and will be hunted down.

I guess the reason that I am even contemplating this and subsequently posting this is in response to a comment that was made to me during a "fun" (not racing) group run this past weekend. A fairly large group of runners gathered for a trail run Saturday morning and not long into the run the group split. The nice thing with these runs is that there are runners of all speeds and you never have to run alone because, it seems, that there is always someone who runs your speed. Which is nice. Our group of four were at the back of the pack, enjoyng our time on the trails, when I jokingly asked "Is that group racing up there or what?" At that time, a faster runner who had started late and then caught up to us stated "They're not racing, they're just more fit". What the hell? Immediately I was insulted. Likely this distracting comment is why I crashed my knee into a large branch while stepping over a down tree.

I know that I am not fast but I have endurance on my side. But just because I am slow, make no mistake, I am fit! As are so many others who run at the back of the pack with me. So to those who say that slower runners are not fit, maybe I will see you toeing the line at the next 100K or longer event. And then I will see you at the finish line ... and perhaps I will be there watching you cross the line after me!

Factors That Make Or Break A Trail Run

i haven't really had time to spend many hours out on the trails and have really felt the withdrawal lately. i was lucky enough to remedy that yesterday, spending 8+ hours (something like 8 hours, 14 minutes, i think) out on the trails of bear mountain, ny, at the north face endurance challenge. the race itself was exactly what i had expected. i was warned by some that it was a very commercial event, so i was prepared for the almost impersonal feeling that comes with these big-name events. but i had also heard of what a great course it was and i knew that no matter what, if the course was good, i would have a good time. i had expected it to be very crowded on the trails and was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case; most of the time i ran alone or with only a few people around me. during this long run i was able to contemplate on the factors that, for me, can make or break a successful day on the trails.

1. Training Factor: this was my first long technical trail run. i checked the elevation chart on the race's website and i was prepared for the climbs and descents. what the website did not show was pictures of what the trail actually looked like to show you just how technical it is. i am not fast on this stuff, but i love it, so i just decided to go slow and enjoy the experience. and i did ... on both counts.

2. Nutrition Factor: some good, some bad. some my bad, but i think mostly the race organizer's bad. i had decided to use my hydration pack with water and NUUN tabs for electrolytes. usually when i do this i carry my own extra tabs for when i have to refill the pack. i did not do this this time, as the race advertised that NUUN would be available at the aid stations. my bad ... i should have carried extra anyway. race organizer's bad ... i was told at an aid station that NUUN did not sponsor this year, so they did not have the tabs for the runners. no way should this ever happen that something is advertised to be available to the runners and then not have it for them. fortunately i had, at the last minute, packed some endurolytes, so i was able to go with plain water and have my electrolyte caps. i was also disappointed in the quality of the food at this event. again, a few things listed on the website not at the aid stations. perhaps i am just spoiled by those great smaller events that have grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries, and they just keep my gut satified. i just like REAL food. those 8 packs of Gu roctaine just didn't cut it and always leave my mouth feeling sore from the excess sugar.

post race food also gets a bad grade here from me ... a minimal amount of food was free to the runners and if you wanted more you had to pay for it. good food at the aid stations and post-race are the main standards that i grade an event on. the north face failed big time for me on this one. course markings are the only other thing that are the biggie for me and i will give north face good grades here ... the markings were most excellent.

3. Foot Factor: almost, almost blew it on this one. i had planned to wear my new inov-8 baregrips for the great traction that i was sure i needed. the baregrips do not have any cushioning on the bottoms, which i normally don't mind. thank you to max king who just gave me "the look" when i told him i was going to wear them on this course. and thank you to me for being stupid enough to run a road 50K two weeks ago and making my left foot bottom so tender that i HAD to rethink wearing the baregrips. went with the brooks cascadias at the last minute and that was WAY the right choice.

4. Fun Factor: i always have fun on the trail. even when i am grumpy, hypoglycemic, cursing, and hallucinating, i have fun on the trail. i ran with old friends and new ones, it was a beautiful sunny day, and we were in the woods for a LONG time. it just doesn't get any better.

so that about sums it up. and with that said, although it was fun and a beautiful run, i think i will stick to the smaller club events that really know how to take care of you for the long run. at this big-name event i felt like i was just another number. i guess i just like the "family feel" of the smaller races. but if i hadn't tried this one i would not have seen what a beautiful trail it was out there and i would really like to go back with a group of friends and camp and just have a good running party ... with good beer and good food!

reality check ... i am not a roadrunner ...

yes, i run the roads ... sort-of. we have a lot of seasonal dirt roads around our house and i love to run them. there is no traffic and they are dirt ... soft sometimes, rocky sometimes, not unlike the trails. in the winter i am forced to run on the regular roads where traffic goes. my favorite dirt roads allow access to me only on skis or snowshoes. and i run road races ... sometimes. so i run roads ... or so i thought. well, i was given a HUGE reality check in this department this weekend. and what i found out is that i am not really a roadrunner.

yesterday joe and i were in connecticut for the jack bristol lake waramaug ultras (50k, 50mile, 100k); a multi-loop run around lake waramaug. it all started when i didn't get into the bull run run 50 mile race this year and had to find something else to do. i had heard good things about the lake waramaug ultras and thought it would be a fun thing to do (joe's sister also lives very close to this race venue, so we would get to visit with her and her husband, which is always good fun). i am comfortable with the 50 mile distance, so i signed up for that race. joe had planned to run the BPAC 6-hour race, but skipped that due to bad weather and decided to go with me to lake waramaug and run the 50k. piece of cake, right?

well, first of all, the morning started out with temps below what was predicted (it was around 40 degrees at the start) and the weatherman's prediction of 70% chance of rain was wrong ... it was a 100% chance of rain. hard rain. but ultras are always fun just being around the other runners and the volunteers, so it was ok. however, after only a few miles i knew something wasn't right. my left hip was nagging me with an achiness i have never felt. but i thought i was just stiff and not warmed up yet, so i just kept trotting along. unfortunately about five miles in, the ache was no longer nagging, it was starting to scream. i ate, i walked, i jogged ... nothing helped. and then i realized it ... the pavement. i thought i had done enough road training, but the reality of it was that i don't really road run. i thought i run on the roads, but the reality is that even when i run on paved roads, i don't. i run on the side of the road where it is soft and dirt. wow ... pavement is much harder. and i don't like it. and there are no dirt shoulders (well, very few and in very short segments) on the roads around lake waramaug.

fortunately, as i was self-commisserating early on, there was joe. my hips and low back were in agony and my pace had slowed. i had already decided to down-grade to the 50k distance and not hurt myself for the upcoming Bear Mountain 50K. at least i was feeling mentally better running with joe and that helped to keep me moving. and it was fun again! our buddies karen, rob, and will were manning an aid station, serving some awesome grilled cheese sandwiches and hot hot soup. joe's brother-in-law, dan, jumped in and ran about 10 miles with us and we just had a good time!

joe and i finished the 50k in under 6 hours (i don't really know what time it was ... seeing friends and talking, i forgot to look at my watch!). the rain stopped for a bit when we finished so we were able to visit with karen, rob, and will at their aid station. it was just good fun. today i feel a bit sore in the hips, but no long-lasting damage. it was, all in all, a great weekend of friends, family, and running, but i can't wait to get back to the trails. trails don't hurt ... even my falls hurt less than pavement. but i know i can't help myself ... if my friends are all going to be at a run, pavement or trails, i can be coerced into doing it too. i hate being left out!

And The Madness Continues ...

‎100K last weekend, trail run yesterday morning = good 5 mile race yesterday afternoon. bad news is that the race was 9.3 miles! oh well, Forks XV is a classic and just fun to be with friends and running! thanks to tom hamlin, TCRC, and all the volunteers for hanging out in the cold wind for us!

Success At The NJ Ultra Fest

OK, so I am finally getting around to writing down a report of last week's trials and tribulations. Usually at this time of year, Joe & I travel to the HAT Run 50K in Maryland, a top-notch trail run on great trails which is always a great way to ring in spring. Well, this year the HAT registrations filled in 2 days. And although the HAT Run is a really great event, it has grown in size and last year I actually found that the trails were just a bit too crowded for me. So I had actually decided that I wanted to find something new this year, something that was a bit more "homey". And fortunately, my bud Johnny had told me about the NJ Ultra Fest, which just so happened to be going on on the same day as HAT Run. I really love the 50 mile distance and, although I am not fast at it, feel that it is very do-able for me, so I am always looking to challenge myself with something more. Unfortunately, that has led me to attempting more 100 mile races which I have not been so successful at. The cool thing about the NJ Ultra Fest is that it offered me something in between ... the 100K! This would be my second try at this distance and from my first go at it, I knew that even though it is only 12 miles longer than my comfortable 50 mile love, that extra 12 miles is WAY challenging! (Funny ... my first 100 mile attempt was with a DNF with 12 miles to go ... perhaps this was some kind of foreboding for me?). Anyway, back to the Ultra Fest. First of all, it was cool that it was only a 3 1/2 hour drive to get there (which equals 3 1/2 hour drive home when you're sore, tired, and stinky!). Really nice. Joe and I found our way to the race site quite easily with the assistance of Tom-Tom, our new travelling guide. We arrived to find our buddy, Jim, and his dad, Don. This weekend would be redemption runs for both Jim and I, since our DNFs at the Beast of Burden. I think we were both ready to make ammends. We quickly found Johnny and his friend Dave setting up their tents and we settled in next to them, setting up our tent "Aid Station". The plan was to put all of our race junk in the tent for easy access during the race and "camp" inside our vehicle. This proved to be an excellent plan because the wind was blowing like mad and the tent just rocked & rolled from side to side the entire weekend! We met the Ultra RDs, Rick & Jenn McNulty when we picked-up our race goodies (a really nice bag & tech shirt) and found them to be super nice, down to earth people. They were awesome and really put on a super event. A nice simple pasta dinner at the race site and Joe was off to bed to rest for his 50 mile debut while I sucked a couple of brews with new and old friends. Around 9pm it was off to bed for me, because if I don't go to bed by this time, it will be that I am up until 2 or 3am, which wouldn't bode well for my 5am start! I slept well, woke and downed a Starbuck's Double Shot to caffeinate me, and a couple of Pop Tarts, got my running gear on and walked that couple hundred feet to the starting line ... I love races where you get to camp right at the start! Joe was up to see me off and then prep himself for his 6am start. I am so used to having him be able to "get me ready" but this time I had to get myself together by myself since I didn't want to take Joe away from concentrating on his own run. At 5am, after a few last-minute instructions from RD Rick, we were off into the dark. I had looked at the map of the course, and although it seemed quite simple and self-explanatory, I really wasn't totally sure of where I was going. It was cool and the full moon helped to light the way, and I just tried to run easy. I finally felt comfortable when we reached our 6-mile turn-around point. On the way back to the start/finish I would see Joe heading out for his first out-and-back ... this was a great way to pass the day, seeing familiar faces over and over again and encouraging each other. The course was flat, which some may find this to be fast, but I find it to be quite challenging. When there are hills I know when to walk, when to eat, and get to use different muscles. Things are just different on the flat. So on and off I felt good, felt like crap, ran, walked, but got to see lots of friends and just had a great time. Just around the 6 mile point on the western section there was a pasture of Clydesdale horses ... my peeps! ... and they were just awesome. I could have stood there for hours just staring at them. But I had a job to do ... 62 miles in what I was hoping would be a PR. Throuhout the day I saw Joe and he looked absolutely fantastic! I was shocked because for two weeks leading up to race day he had been coughing up both lungs and just plain feeling like crap and had barely been able to get out for training runs. But, as usual, he somehow, somewhere, pulled another amazing run out! Joe finished his 50 miles in 11:22 and change and looked (and walked!) quite well after. Amazing. I fuelled throughout the day with just plain water with NUUN tabs and Honey Stinger Waffles interspersed with my fave tapioca pudding. This was perfect as I never felt hungry or out of fuel. Just before my last leg of 9 miles I downed my traditional 5-HR Energy with caffeine and was off. It did the trick and I had an amazing last 9 miles, completing that section in under 2 hours! I finished my second 100K in 13:23:31, a PR. Joe and I celebrated our runs with some nice spicey chicken wing pizza and for me, a couple of Harp Lagers. Up Sunday morning to talk with the other race finishers and cheer in the remaining 100 milers. We then all shared trail tales at the post-race celebration at the Long Valley Brew Pub where there was an EXCELLENT food spread!Through tears of happiness and exhaustion, RD Rick presented the post-race beer awards (a really excellent local brew) and fine pint glass with the race logo on it. The weekend of running was a huge success ... redemption for my running and finding just what I was looking for in a race ... fun with friends and a nice "homey" feeling with everyone there. RDs Rick & Jenn were the best hosts! I will definitely put this one on the calendar for next year. The drive home was uneventful with Tom-Tom leading the way ... and LARGE Shamrock Shakes to celebrate with!

Review And Redemption

OK, after a great time of running yesterday it finally got me into the mood to look back at my racing since the new year has begun. First of all, yesterday was the 10th Annual St. Patrick's Day 4-Mile Road Race in Binghamton. This is truly one of the best races around ... the RD is awesome, the volunteers are so great, and the church ladies really know how to put on a spread! Joe and I, as always, were totally geared for the race and ran in full uniform. I finished in 27:42, 10 seconds faster than last year. Good enough for second Female Masters and first Athena! It was a great day of running and most importantly, great to see all of our friends during the social hour after the race!

So back to February, a race I have been putting-off writing about because, quite frankly, it just drained the hell out of me. Last year was the first running of the Beast Of Burden Winter 100 (miles) and 24-HR race in Lockport, NY. Last year I ran the 24 hours and it was just very cool and fun! Just run what I could in 24 hours and no pressure. So I was game for that again this year ... but for some unknown and likely insane reason, at the last minute, I decided that I could do the 100 miler. What the hell was I thinking? My last long run had been in early December and due to lack of enthusiasm and bad weather, long runs were just hard to come by to fully prep for this event. But I was confident that I could do it.

Well, long story short ... The Beast showed-up in full-force! The temps were low 20s with just NON-STOP winds, gusting 20-30 mph. The snow was actually quite good for running and my yak traks worked well. However, the cold (which I usually love) combined with the wind and windchill, just made it hard. I had been practicing with a new fuelling strategy of drinking Hammer Perpetuem as my main fuel, which worked OK. But what I realized was that the fullness from the Perpetuem actually kept me from eating enough solid foods and apparently the Perpetuem wasn't enough to keep me fuelled for the long-run. Lesson learned. I like and need to eat solid foods, especially in that type of environment, to keep me well fuelled.

But the main issue for me was that for the first time I actually felt hurt during the run. Not just hurting, but actually hurt. There is a difference. Hurting is expected ... you expect to hurt during this type of run. It's not easy. But being hurt is different ... like there is actually an injury presenting itself. Approaching the 50-mile mark, my right groin felt so strained that each step forward with that leg felt like some ligament or something might just tear. It was incredibly painful. There really wasn't much of a decision to make ... no way did I want to do permanent damage to myself and jeopardize the rest of my racing season. The hard part was, well ... yet another 100-mile DNF. I am so hating that feeling.

So I rested and drank some beers and coffee with Bailey's and that seemed to ease the mental anguish but unfortunately it did little to help my leg pain. At least the continuing pain let me know that I made the right decision in stopping. The nice thing was that I got to help Joe crew for our friend Karen who was also running the 100. She is one amazing and tough lady. I just wanted to cry (and I think I may have) when I saw her approaching the last couple of miles on the other side of the canal. Karen finished in 29 hours, 2 minutes ... DFL. But, like I told her, DFL is actually a great place to be ... the cheers are as loud for you as they are for the winner! I know ... I have been there.

So it was a great weekend and actually a very fun time. Lessons learned, as I always do at each one of these things I attempt. I was honored to be there to see Karen truly grit it out in some of the harshest conditions. I will go back again next year and take-on the 24 hour again and see what I can do. I love to run, but I love more having fun when I am doing it ... and the 24 hour event for me is fun. No pressure. And really, for me, in those conditions, it's all about finding out what you have in you. So Sam ... I WILL BE BACK!

(Karen & Chris pre-race at the BOB)

And on another note ... Fox Soccer Plus ... thanks for NOTHING! I can't even watch the Six Nations rugby tournament because you're not showing it! And I so needed the distraction of watching good rugby and I am apparently missing some really great action by England who are so far undefeated and could take the Six Nations in a grand slam!