Take a HIKE!

This summer has been rife with uncertainty, waiting, wanting to forge ahead but unable to. One thing after another has seemed to happen in some cases and nothing, not even a clue in others. Every fiber of the families patience has been stretched and tested. There has been tears, arguments and yes even laughter, a roller coaster ride to say the least, and the ride has not come to a complete stop. Even as I write this I feel like we are just keeping our heads above water. Somehow however we have stuck together and continue to preserver.
What a sad state of affairs. But nobody wants to read about whats wrong: negatives, the dark side. Even though the looming darkness appears to be all that has happened this summer that is simply untrue, there a bright spots, tons of them and they are along the Appalachian Trail in New York and New Jersey.
We have done 3 mile hikes in the morning, shuttled cars so we could get in a quick hike and a swim at Wawayanda State Park before dinner, we have had a picnic at the NJ/NY state line, and found some national pride over looking Greenwood Lake.

We have met countless thru-hikers, listened to stories of life on the trail, where they have been and where they are headed. Some of them with trail names that made us laugh until our sides hurt. We have been caught in the rain, in the dark and run out of water but through it all we have been together.
Some hikes are more memorable than others, a pleasant stroll across the board walk between 517 and 94 is remembered as a breeze, while descending the stairway in pouring rain thunder rattling and lightening flashing around us, plain scary. Listening to the hum of the cicada at cat rocks, chasing fire flies on Pochuck mountain, being startled as a bear crossed the trail in front of us, or when a dozen deer took off running along next to us or the 4' rattle snake.         
So fond are the trail memories that I would like to think that the other stuff just doesn't matter but of course it does. Everything matters really but when the other stuff, the darker side of life seems to force you into           treading water grab a pack, a snack and take a HIKE. You will be glad you did and I assure you as time passes the memories will be of the time spent together on the trail.                                                    

4' rattle snake

 

Sate Line Picnic

           

Together

National Pride

         
                                                   

                 

I have Caught the CrossFit Bug

I have witnessed my sister Sara’s transformation after three years with Trident CrossFit  in Alexandria, Va. Not only has she lost weight and gotten extraordinarily fit she now exudes a NEW confidence, positive attitude, and mental toughness that make her glow. Sara has clearly flourished with CrossFit, over come self doubt and limitations she may not even been aware she had.

CrossFit is something I have considered, heard the buzz, met the owners around town a few times and knew some folks that spoke highly of the experience or should I say “results”. It just had not fit into the plan. Of course we can find all sorts of crazy ways (excuses) to not do something, stay in our comfort zone if you will. I am not really making excuses, I have been running, a lot. Trail running, road running, running long races, short races, volunteering at races, helping people finish races, training for a goal race and then another goal race. I have lost weight, gotten fit, met a lot of wonderful people and accomplished things I never would have considered possible five years ago. See "CrossFit" just had not fit into the plan.

Running has helped my life evolve the last few years. I set goals and achieved them giving purpose to what I was doing. I embraced the lifestyle; a choice motivated by good health a stronger body and clearer mind. With all I achieved on my own it was watching my sister Sara clean over 50% of her body weight during her work out that truly inspired me and helped me realize the potential for CrossFit success, but….. even armed with this realization, I was training for a race.

Those crazy excuses I mentioned we conjure up to not do something surfaced, don’t have the time, don’t feel comfortable at gyms, I am certainly not strong enough for those kinds of work outs. Phooey………… No more excuses, I signed up and quickly learned that CrossFit is a community of individuals from all walks of life who believe in working hard to reach there fitness goals. It is functional full body fitness, focused on teaching the basics of a safe quality work scaled to all levels to optimize your success.

It was evident at my first CrossFit session that the coaches and members are passionate about fitness. Everyone jumps in to help rack weights, they stick around encourage, support and cheer on fellow members wrap up there work out of the day (WOD). Members introduced themselves and welcomed me to the gym or more appropriately, Team. I know can you believe it introduced themselves?

A WOD is an intense and seemingly unforgiving. Obviously your accountable to yourself and strive to do your personal best every work out however, you will be working hard together and you are just as accountable to your peers. The camaraderie is infectious, the competition; often as much mouth as legs is subtle. No gym would be complete without that easy banter, music and sweat.

The WOD of the day is the bread and butter but CrossFit covers all aspects of fitness, nutrition, recovery, best practices for success and support. Whether you are an elite athlete or someone hoping to get into shape CrossFit will work for you.

*There is one Catch; you have to show up and do the work!

Trident CrossFit

Scott T2 Kinabalu Review

 The chances a shoe company will provide me a shoe sponsorship are slim but when I find a pair of shoes that fit well and don't hurt my feet right out of the box I am going to give them there due.

Scott T2 Kinabalu

Out of the box
 These shoes are bright, felt light and did not hurt my feet when I put them on in the living room. After switching to a thinner sock they felt even better. My first few runs in the Kinabalu where 3, 5 and 7 miles, I experienced no weird rubbing, blisters or sore feet, they breath well and where lighter than other shoes I have worn, I was impressed.

Fit ~ I have a wide foot, narrow ankle
The toe box is roomy but does not feel loose. It was a little snug in the fore foot but the thinner sock had helped that. I altered the lacing a bit to keep my heal in place and have not had any trouble with the laces that other reviewers have mentioned, I tie a double knot. The Kinabalu keeps your foot secure and feels true to size. I wear an 11.

The Feel
Scotts " Aero Foam" provides great cushioning on a wide comfortable platform. The eride "Rocker" was designed to smooth transitions for heel and mid foot strikers into a more efficient fore foot strike. As a heel striker I  was not sure what to expect about the forced transition the rocker claimed but it was not alarming. I must admit however that I had some tender lower leg muscles after my first few runs but nothing that kept me out of the shoe.

The Tread
 The Kinabalu features a solid forefoot rock plate and well separated lugs heal to toe that provides good secure grip on the trail while climbing and descending. This is a trail shoe made for hammering through dirt, rocks, roots and mud not a trail/road hybrid. Scott describes the Kinabalu as the "ultimate light weight trail machine" and they are. I wore these on a rainy, muddy 22 mile slog and although obviously wet I did not feel like I was running on sponges do to the unique weep holes that channel water out of the shoe, pretty cool.


Notice weep holes back of left shoe and front of right just behind toe

 

Tread

Wrap Up
 I just completed The North Face Endurance Challenge, DC: marathon in The Kinabalu and they did not disappoint. They proved extremely breathable and comfortable in the 97 degree heat and where flawless in the terrain. This is my trail shoe for the summer and hopefully summers to come.

*I have been so Happy with this shoe that I have purchased the AF Trainer and love em'!

The Longest Day



 After testing my fitness at a local half marathon at the end of April, my disappointment with not hitting my 2 hour benchmark left me concerned with how ready I would be in six weeks for a trail marathon. I re-read my March 24th post where I laid out this craziness and was pleased to discover I had written that "my ultimate objective was to be fit and race ready allowing myself to enjoy the process."

 So I focused on just that, being as ready as I could be while enjoying the process. Six weeks flew by and as I prepared physically, I found my biggest concern to be the heat or at least the potential for it.  The course which began in Virginia's Algonkian Region Park was described as not very technical, runnable and fast. It was also said that "the first half was flat and fast, matter of fact, so is the second half." I felt that if a course was described as flat and fast I could at least run it, so I did not give much credence to the"3 star" rating given to the Overall Difficulty of the course. My biggest concern was the heat and I felt that would be my challenge. My sister had been providing regular DC temperature reports and they had been variable. It had not been to hot but I knew it could be.
 On race day, the temperature and humidity rose as quickly as the sun. My brother-n-law graciously shuttled me to Sterling, Va where I caught a school bus to Algonkian Park and the start/finish festival area. The North Face has nailed the festival atmosphere! The music isn't so overbearing that you want to run away, everything is easy to find and everyone so helpful. I arrived early enough to make sure I was not rushing to check in, checked my bag and had some time to meet and greet prior to the start. The common thread of concern with fellow racers that morning was the heat and its effect on performances. These concerns where reinforced by the events MC who periodically reminded us of the importance of hydration as the mercury rose and the start time approached.
 The terrain didn't vary much at the start, we headed out into an open grassy field, then meandered over some paved cart paths before turning onto a long, shaded, straight, flat gravel road as long as the eye could see. There was a hum of pleasant chatter everywhere and my pace felt good. Eventually, I found myself running and chatting with none other than the patriarch of The Endurance Challenge himself Dean Karnazas.
  

Sugarland

The courses narrow single track meandered along the Potomac's flood plane allowing random glimpses of the rivers beauty through dense foliage..

The Potomac

 There where a few stretches were the once swollen waters of the Potomac had obliterated the shore line trail forcing detours away from the river into steep, short climbs that flattened briefly at the top only to shoot straight back to the river and back up again in succession. As I came to the top of one of these climbs, I met Mike Wardian, (winner of the 50 mile event) seemingly unaffected by the heat, blazing towards the finish.

Charlie

 Unfortunately, it took me longer than I had intended to reach the turn around but I was so grateful to replenish my water and see my wife it really didn't matter. It was fun to have the aid station manned by Charlie Engle of "Running the Sahara", he was providing runners with much appreciated ice water dousing and electrolite drink. Admittedly, I had underestimated the difficulty of the course. The flat and fast start combined with the hills and the heat had slowed my pace considerably. I could not guess how long it would take me to finish.
 As the next aid station came into view at around mile16, it appeared to be as busy as a Metro entrance. Racers 3 deep grazed at the feed table, others waited to be dosed with ice water for a brief reprieve from the heat, others layed off to the side of the trail in the care of the EMS staff who were visibly concerned with the state of some of there charge. It was here I made the decision to finish under my own power, to finish smart, without suffering long term effects of the heat.
  I executed a methodical run, walk, hydrate drive to the finish.  Somehow, the hills seemed to have gotten steeper since I had past over them earlier in the day. I ran as often and as far as I could but continued to feel the effects of the heat. At one point, my mouth felt extremely uncomfortable and pasty so I removed my tooth plate and took a swig of my water bottle. Instantly, I experienced a cooling I hadn't expected. I took another drink with the same affect and slowly increased my pace to the finish grateful for what I had discovered and thrilled to cross under the red arch at the Finish.

The Finish

Cooling the feet

"I should have done better, I could have done better!"

 Typically January and February are non training months-time for reflection, time to take stock in strengths and weaknesses and plan a strategy for the following year. Historically that has meant setting a fall race goal and spending the next seven or so months preparing for that focus event. Then in early spring, often irritable and antsy; I find myself slogging through the miles, "rebuilding my base fitness." After a couple months of that I enter the next phase feeling like I have a long way to go to be fit. Traditionally this is when I ratchet up my training a notch often resulting in a careless injury that slows me down for a couple weeks. Then realizing the year is half over, I reevaluate my approach and finally get down to some productive training throughout summer as my goal race sneaks up on me.The race approaches in a fever pitch, then, blink; its over. I'm happy with what I have accomplished but, something isn't quite right......I have a nagging feeling telling me, "I should have done better, I could have done better!"
 With that nagging still in my head from last fall...... "I should have done better, I could have done better!" I entered 2013 with a totally different strategy. Instead of 1 goal 10 months away I set a number of short term goals using each as a stepping stone to the next. For example in January, February and March the goals where simple, run at least 15 days of each month, slowly increasing miles into March. These goals allowed me the flexibility to focus on base building without stressing when work or weather interfered.During this phase I ran a couple 5k's to test my fitness and registered for an April 1/2 marathon*. In May I plan to volunteer for the Bear Mountain leg of The North Face Endurance Challenge, I did this last year, met some great people and it was a blast being on the other side of the water cup for a day. May's training takes me into June and to Washington DC for the trail marathon of the DC leg of The North Face Endurance Challenge. At the end of July I will head up to the 25th Vermont 100 as a pacer and August is set aside for some time on the Appalachian Trail, I plan to run the New York section, north to Connecticut. Then Septembers training will take me into October where the plan is to run two marathons, one trail one road.
 Ultimately my objective  is to be fit and race ready allowing myself to enjoy the process. I have not spent early spring slogging through the miles, irritable and antsy, so the new approach has been effective . As a runner you earn every mile and every result, I hope these stepping stones improve mine.

*The George Wodicka Hook Half Marathon was my first half marathon, I weighed over 230 lbs, finished in over 21/2 hrs and it took me over a month to recover.

5k PB St. Paddy's Day 2013

Thanks Rex

 I work in the ski industry, mountain operations and 70, 90 even 100 hour work weeks and no days off are not uncommon this time of year. The constant battle with Mother Nature to eek out a ski season in the Mid-Atlantic is hard fought and takes its toll on health, patience and relationships. I work, eat and sleep and when I am not working I don't want to do anything, nothing, NADA! Unfortunately, that includes skiing, running and other outdoor pursuits I enjoy and quite frankly rather be doing. This morning while perusing Facebook I watched a short clip that my friend Rex Lint produced for Northern Escape Heli-Skiing - http://vimeo.com/57413660 . It made me realize that I need to stop loafing around and do what I love doing

  So.....I got off my ass and went for a run. It was not far or fast but I got out the door and you know what? I feel better! It is so easy to get wrapped up in all the bullshit that clutters up our daily lives and feel sorry for ourselves. You can't wish things better or wait around for them to change on there own. So I went for a run and plan to run as often as I can this winter and ski ya.. ski, how about that. Wish I would have made this discovery last week when I could have run when it was 50 degrees, better late than never.

Thanks Rex

                                         "Those not happy with the angle of the sun should climb up and change it." Ancient Proverb

Tussey mOUnTaiNBACK ~ 50 mile Ultra

Things did not go quite as planned leading up to this event. I spent the months prior to the start nursing and working around a bout of planter fasciitis that limited my training. Some how I was able to stay positive,  focused and flexible enough to continue training at all. It was a test of patience and perseverance that got me to the starting line feeling strong and comfortable although admittedly not 100% confident about my ability to finish under the 12 hour cut off time. I was confident I could cover the distance but unsure how quickly, and I was a little worried about that.

 I was very fortunate that my in-laws have family in the State College, Pa area that where gracious enough to have me as a guest. I arrived mid-day Saturday and spent a lovely afternoon chatting and watching college football with my hosts Ed and Carol. I slipped out in the evening for race packet pick up, check in and to attend the race banquet. The volunteers where extremely friendly and helpful allowing for a smooth painless experience followed by good eats and an opportunity to meet and speak with a number of other racers.

 Morning came quickly as it always does on race day. I woke rested, enjoyed a bowl of oatmeal and cup of coffee before heading to the venue. The early morning weather felt a little fickle so I mulled over what to wear, again.  Pre race activity was similar to a busy ant colony. Participants and support crews streamed into the parking lots, volunteers received assignments and jumped into vans headed to distant aid stations out on the course, last minute sound and timing system checks being administered, racers in varied states of readiness awaited go time at 0700.

 The energy in the air immediately intensified in anticipation of the start as racers streamed out of the cars they had been warming in like ants to a dropped chip at a picnic.  Being an elite event, host of the 2012 USA 50 mile Championships, the field consisted of those vying for prize money and those hoping to keep ahead of the cut off times of there first 50. Some 200 racers left the line at the sound of the gun just as the sun was throwing out its first rays of light into the chill of the morning.

 At the last minute I had decided to throw on a vest, I am glad I did, it was still quite cool as we left the start and headed into the trees crossing a stream a couple times before heading into a steep climb. I felt strong in the first 17 miles of varied terrain along gravel roads, lined with old conifer groves, passing several old hunting cabins from the 30's and 40's fittingly named: Sand Spring Camp, Laurel Run, Manor Hunting Club and Bard Gun Club. The dense cover of the huge trees rarely allowed a glimpse of the sun and I was quite comfortable after adding my vest. My split times at this point where with in a couple minutes of my plan so I was extremely pleased with myself.

 Unfortunately, my pace slowed during the next 10 or so miles as the course took on several long and moderate climbs. I felt sorry for myself, knowing that my slowing was directly related to the reduction in training cause by my sore foot, but my foot didn't hurt, never did. My mind wondered everywhere as I slowed to a trudge quite sure I was not going to make the cut off. "Keep moving!" is what I told myself repeatedly and with the help of other runners and aid station volunteers I was able to do just that.

 Prior to the 1/2 way mark I met a runner who appeared to be moving at a similar pace, we exchanged a few words as we yoyo'ed back and forth through the miles. Eventually deciding as it became evident we would be racing to stay ahead of the cut off, we would finish together, cut off or not.

 One thing was clear my new found partner could speed hike like I was standing still. If I slowed at all she would disappear up over the hill or around the bend as if telaporting. We checked in on each other as we moved through the check points, staying just ahead of the cut off. At one point I found it quite funny that I had been running and hiking and talking with this women but didn't know her name. I asked " What is your name?" she said "Monica, yours?" "Michael" I said, we kept running.

 After passing mile 40, which had been the furthest I had run to date and still being ahead of the dreaded cut off I knew I would make it. I had started the race with 10 min. miles slogged through a few twice that but now with the end in site I felt a renewed energy. The finish was in my grasp, "Are we there Yet?" NO... we still had this little 4 mile out and back section that took us up and over and out to a scenic overlook that on this day would received less attention than Clark Griswold gave the Grand Canyon in Vacation.

 I left the last aid station knowing that I would have to keep moving to finish in time. Monica and I fell into a comfortable 12min pace. At this point I was just ready to be finished. I had gotten past the disappointment of not reaching my goal and embraced just accomplishing such a feet. In the end after a long day Monica and I did cross the line in 11:36, Tussey mOUnTainBACK FINISHERS!