2013 Mt. Greylock Trail Races

We had a fun day at the Mt. Greylock Trail Races. Debbie ran Greylock for the 15th year in a row, which I find truly remarkable. She burst on to the New England trail running scene in 1999 and is still going strong. I’ve been to 13 of her 15 Greylock’s and I’ve run 10 of them myself. She is my “Queen of Greylock.”

Today, we both ran the “half marathon,” and the next generation ran too. Our son did the 5K and he loved it. Thanks to the Carew Family for looking after him during the race. Apparently, he was “bombing the descents.” He was thrilled. Thanks to Kim Brown for watching our daughter while we were all frolicking in the mud, including her husband, Todd, who did the Mt. Washington Road Race/Greylock combo again.

Donald Pacher also did the double, yet he was still strong today. He and I were together on the climb up Greylock and for a few miles of descending, but I couldn’t hold his pace. It was a wet one today, after all of the rain that we had in the past week. The trails held up OK, but the dirt roads were a mess.

The weather was OK. It was overcast and relatively cool at Greylock Glen. There was no wind on the summit. I had one very hard fall coming down the back side of the mountain on a jeep road. I knew it was going to hurt before I hit the ground. My right knee, left elbow, and left hand took the brunt of the impact, but I bounced up and kept going, albeit a bit more carefully.

This is a heavy week for me as I cram in the distance and intensity around a busy work schedule. I had a beautiful ride in the Connecticut River Valley yesterday, covering more than 75 miles in brilliant sunshine. So I wasn’t on my “A game” today, and finished about seven minutes slower than last year.

Debbie finished 2nd, which was a nice bounce back result after last week’s Cayuga Trails 50 miler. More importantly, she felt better and pushed it hard at the end. The Shenipsit Striders had the tent set up and we had a nice contingent up from Connecticut. It was great to see all of our WMAC friends too. Special mention to Tony Bonanno who came screaming past me on the final descent. He had a strong race.

We stopped at the Haymarket Cafe in Northampton for smoothies and buckeyes. The only challenge was two smoothies for four people creates conflict in the car! Then we did dinner at Agave Grill in Hartford. It was a great family day.

Race Results

2013 Cayuga Trails 50

Saturday’s inaugural Cayuga Trails 50 was a really good event. We made the trip to Ithaca, New York so that Debbie could run the 50 mile trail race. The start/finish was at Robert H. Treman State Park, which was our home for the weekend. We drove up on Friday afternoon and camped 1/4 mile from the finish line, which was about as convenient as it gets.

The race made use of the trails in the park and near the park. The course wound its way through several aid stations multiple times. The start/finish was blessed with an amazing playscape, so our kids and about a dozen other children were suitably entertained.

For a first time race, Cayuga was promoted and produced very well. In 2014, this race will be the USATF 50 Mile Trail Championships. Race Director Ian Golden also promotes the Virgil Crest Ultras, so he is no rookie when it comes to holding a big event. He and his team of volunteers did a fine job of putting on Cayuga. He brought in loads of sponsors, which permitted an uncharacteristically large prize list for an ultramarathon. It wasn’t all slick production. He instilled some character in the race and even started the runners by blowing through a ram’s horn.

That prize list attracted some top talent on both the men’s and women’s side. Part of the prize list was fueled by a grant from the local tourism board, which was a nice touch. It is great to see trail-blessed communities promoting trail running. Debbie wasn’t in the money, but I still support the prizes for those who were. The race still had the requisite apple pie prizes, but a little cash always helps a trail runner’s budget.

Debbie struggled mightily, but kept plugging along and got to the finish in just under 10 hours. It was an emotionally and physically draining day for me with responsibility for both of our kids and crewing duties. I love to see her run up front, but she and I are both learning that juggling family, work, community, and athletic responsibilities is a challenge. I hit my 40 last year and she is approaching hers in 18 months and the days of focusing solely on sports are long gone. No excuses for either of us…I’m really proud that she found her way to the finish line, though I know she was hoping for better legs on a big day.

The men’s race was very competitive with Sage Canaday winning in 6:47. He was followed by Matt Flaherty, Jordan McDougal, Brian Rusiecki, and Yassine Diboun. There were several other notables in the top 10, including long time friend and New England runner, Ben Nephew. In the women’s race, Kristina Folcik had yet another breakout performance, winning in 8:23 and finishing 12th overall. She was followed by Sandi Nypaver, Amy Rusiecki, Jessica Snyder, and Jacqueline Palmer.

I was really impressed with Kristina’ s effort. She pushed hard and took over the lead when Cassie Scallon slowed after suffering what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Overall, I was impressed with all of the runners. There were some awesome age group performances right on up to 60+.

The day dawned damp and muggy after heavy rain on Friday. It rained on and off throughout Saturday’s race and sections of the trails were waterlogged. The race had more than 10,000 feet of elevation gain and there was a mix of hard packed trail, rough paved trails, and rugged singletrack. Debbie said that the surface and terrain wasn’t as challenging as she expected, but it was still a tough course. The results show 133 of 164 runners finished.

In addition to seeing Debbie at the start/finish (North Shelter Aid Station), we saw her at the Underpass Aid Station, Buttermilk Falls Aid Station, and Old Mill Aid Station. The race was a good one to spectate and the scenery was beautiful. I didn’t get deep onto the trails during the race, but on Deb’s recommendation, I got up early yesterday morning and ran the section of trail between North Shelter and Old Mill. That section on the Gorge Trail took runners past the impressive Lucifer Falls. It was spectacular.

We saw a lot of friends this weekend and it was fun to hang out. Ryan Welts was crewing for Kristina, and we saw him at several aid stations. It was nice to catch up with him. Anthony Eisley was crewing for his wife, Carly, and it was nice talking to him. We hadn’t seen Amy and Brian Rusiecki in a while. Gary Hebert was there from the Shenipsit Striders. I got to meet Meghan Hicks in person. She was covering the event for www.irunfar.com. Last month, she spoke with Debbie and me via phone from her home in Utah as part of a project she is working on for Trail Runner Magazine.

Meghan is a native up upstate New York and she came out to support this event. She spoke on a panel of ultrarunners as part of pre-race festivities that started earlier last week. We also got to hang out with our friend, Kelly Wilson. She met us in downtown Ithaca on Friday night at the race check in, then joined us for dinner at the Moosewood Restaurant. We had only been there once before, on a previous trip to Ithaca for the Finger Lakes Fifties. We had another great vegan meal.

Yesterday morning, after my run, and more time at the playground, we took our kids back up to the Old Mill. We checked it out and learned all about the hydro-powered grain milling process from 150 years ago. Then, we did a loop that included the Rim Trail and Gorge Trail. We wanted to show the kids the mighty Lucifer Falls. They had a blast, and it helped that it was warm and sunny. After the hike, we loaded up the van and stopped back in downtown Ithaca. We had lunch and a monster dessert at Waffle Frolic, and then did some window shopping at a toy store. The road trip back to Connecticut was a relatively uneventful five-hour drive. All in all, it was another fun weekend.

Thanks again to all of the volunteers and congratulations to the runners who tamed a new and difficult course.

Race Results

Printroom Photos

17th Redbones Annual Bike Party & Benefit

Last night’s 17th Annual Redbones Annual Bike Party & Benefit was a great time. It’s crazy to think that I’ve known about this cycling community benefit in Somerville, Massachusetts, for its entire existence and I had never been. It took the acquisition of a Boston area company (Sterling Machine) to get the Hub back on my radar and it feels like I never left.

The 2-3 hour drives have been a bit tiresome, but the Beantown vibe has been great, especially with the Bruins on a roll and the Red Sox playing better than expected. There is nothing more entertaining than  Boston sports radio.

 

After work yesterday, I drove over to Somerville and parked on Mass Ave. I had my Seven Tsunami in the back of my Subaru Outback. I was changing from work clothes into something more suited to a block party, when a driver attempted to parallel park in the open spot in front of me. I’m not bashful about my own parallel parking skills. If it was an Olympic sport, I don’t doubt my chances at taking home the gold. The other driver had enough Somerville resident parking stickers to assure her credibility, but her bumper said, “hack rookie.”

 

She bumped me once. Then she bumped me twice. Then I got out of the car, walked over to her window, and leaned in. I startled her when I asked, “What are you doing?” I got a blank stare. I said, “You bumped me.” She said, “I didn’t know you were in the car.” I said, “Why does that matter?” She said, “That’s what bumpers are for.” I said, “Maybe your bumper, but not mine.” My car isn’t a year old! I said, “All you had to do was ask for help.” She asked me to back up. I obliged, then guided her into her spot. I believe in the Scout slogan, “Do a good turn daily.” I also believe in karma.

She got out and retreated down the sidewalk. I took photographic proof should my bumper fall off at a later date. Her bumper looked like it had been in a war zone.

Anyway, I couldn’t show up at a bike benefit in a car, so I pulled my bike out and rode the four blocks to Redbones in Davis Square. The street was alive with activity. Now Redbones is not exactly suited for vegans. So, I opted for the a la carte menu of beer and nothing else. I grabbed dinner later in the night at the neighboring Diesel Cafe.

 

I had the valet park my bike and spent a couple of hours mingling with new and old friends. The benefit was primarily for MassBike and NEMBA, of which Horst Engineering, Thread Rolling Inc., and Sterling Machine are strong supporters.

The entertainment by the Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Brass Band was fantastic. They got the crowd all fired up before the big raffle. Nothing beats a Monday night party complete with a beer garden and LOTS of bikes. Several sponsors had booths and there was a lot to take in. Redbones has been a strong supporter of the biking community for a long time. I didn’t score any of the great raffle prizes, but my contribution went to a good cause!

I’m pretty sure I’ll find a reason to return for the 18th and I’ll bring the family with me to dance along.

2013 Rev 3 Quassy Half Rev

This is a short race report because I’m knackered. Today’s Rev 3 Quassy Half  Rev was really hard. It was the third year in a row that I’ve done this race, and it was my slowest time yet. I was an amazing 15 minutes slower than last year in 5:10:42. 10 minutes of that difference came on the run and five minutes on the bike. The bike felt good, but I cracked hard on the run. They can’t all be good…

It was pretty warm today, which normally, wouldn’t be an issue, but it was the first time I had exercised in real heat in 2013. Everyone else had to deal with it too, so I won’t make any excuses. It was my first triathlon on the year, so it was good to see old friends and get back into the groove. There were a lot of racers from my tri club, the Hartford Extended Area Triathletes, because this is like our hometown race. The part of the race I was most pleased with was my transitions. Imagine that!

There were nearly 200 athletes in my 40-44 age group and like a thousand overall in the 70.3 mile race (1.2 mile swim/56 mile bike/13.1 mile run). Yesterday’s Olympic distance race had even more people. This was a good test for later in the summer when I return to the full Ironman distance. My fitness isn’t quite there yet.

My swim was slow like usual, but at least I felt good. No floundering and I stayed on course. It was smooth for me. I felt really strong on the bike, but the time didn’t show. I had to stop once because my seat bag that holds my spare tire came loose. I lost the strap, so I had to stuff the pack in my jersey. I also lost my salt capsules and gel flask (before using any) about 15 miles in to the bike leg. I ended up being underfueled, so I’ll make that adjustment next race. The Quassy course is relentless with lots of hills and more little ring climbing than any ultra distance triathlon that I’ve done. Even the run has some serious climbing. The swim is the only flat part of the course.

Debbie, Mrs. Schieffer, and the kids came to see my finish the bike and start the run. They had a lot of fun at the amusement park and particularly enjoyed the new water park features. The family was a huge help and it was great to have them around. I return the favor next weekend when we head to New York for Debbie’s race at the Cayuga Trails 50 Miler.

I’ll nurse my sun burn, recover, and start training for the next one.

Race Results

2013 Trails Day & Scout Expo

We kicked off the Trails Day Weekend with some father/son time. I’m a member of the Connecticut Forest & Park Association Board of Directors and Horst Engineering/Thread Rolling Inc. are big CFPA supporters, so I wanted to stop by the first of two Bolton hikes.

 

We didn’t do the two mile hike, but we were there for the history and introductions by Rod Parlee and Hans DePold (Town Historian). I always learn something new when I hear Hans speak. Last week, as a prize for winning the Historic category of the Bolton Conservation Commission Photo Contest, I got a Bolton history book authored by Hans. Good stuff!

After visiting the hike and shooting photos, we went to the Connecticut Rivers Council Scout Expo at the Hebron Lions Club Fairgrounds. Our son will enter Tiger Cubs this summer and this was his first event as a prospective Cub Scout. Last night, we pulled out a big bin that I’ve had in storage. It holds all of my Scouting stuff, including my Eagle Scout award and memorabilia. It was a lot of fun to show this to our kids.

The expo was fantastic with lots of cool stuff and it brought back a lot of memories. I especially like the history of Scouting exhibit. We did some outdoor activities including fire starting and we did a bunch of crafts including leather working and copper tin foil impressions. Let the weekend begin!

Bay Circuit Trail & North Shore NEMBA

This past Thursday, I was at our Sterling Machine operation in Lynn, MA. After work, I drove over to Harold Parker State Forest in Andover to meet up with the North Shore NEMBA crew for the Thursday Night Ride. Including me, the group was 12. It was a beautiful late May evening that was hot and muggy. We rode until dusk. I captured the route on my GPS.

The weekly ride is billed “intermediate.” I wasn’t looking for anything more than some guidance and new trails, so that was fine. There was a fair amount of standing around, but I was cool with that, with the only exception being the mosquitoes. We waited for everyone. Bob Ganley was our host and we saw parts of Harold Parker, the Ward Reservation, and several other land trust/conservation properties. Sections were part of the Bay Circuit Trail which is getting a lot of marketing thanks to a partnership between the Appalachian Mountain Club and the Trustees of Reservations. We even got to go up the historic Boston Hill, where there used to be a ski area. The view east to Boston and beyond was fantastic and we had a good look at the skyline despite the haze.

The descent off of Boston Hill was a highlight. There was fresh-cut trails with beautiful flowing switchbacks and some great bridges. It was just rough enough to keep you honest. I learned that Harold Parker has more than 30 miles of trails that are mountain bike friendly, but we only saw a small amount. They say it takes four Thursday rides (about two hours long) to cover all of the trails when you focus on them. However, this week, Bob took us to several other trail systems in town. I plan to return, though I was encouraged to bring my full suspension bike next time.

Well, I don’t have one. This ride featured 11 other riders, and everyone was riding a full suspension. Some even sported body armor (knee, shin, and elbow guards).  I was un-phased because my goal is to always stay on my bike. I only fell once, and it happened to be off of a bog bridge. Thankfully, it was on a dry section. 50 feet up the trail, it would have been a two foot fall into some serious muck. There were several cool sections of bridges over this bog.

This was a throwback ride for me. I rarely get on group rides, whether they are on road or off-road. This was old school with many long time riders, which was great to see. Full transparency: I was heckled multiple times…and I loved it. Don’t shy away from this ride. It was all good-natured ribbing with the quality of trails and true trail ethic in mind. Several of these dudes were hard-core trail maintainers and builders. Erosion and trail health was at the top of their minds.

The worst attacks came after I ended up in front on one section of trail late in the ride. I didn’t know what was coming around a bend (I think everyone assumed I should have) and instead of going over a tree (obstacle) in the trail, I went around it. That caused much consternation and several rebukes, including these gems: “No shortcuts” and “Don’t take the pu%#y line.” I bit my lip, but was thinking, right on! Way to welcome the new guy!

I took it all in stride and managed to clear all of the other trail obstacles despite riding my Seven Sola SL 29er rigid singlespeed. I’ll return to the ride, and it will be on the same bike. The rocks and roots don’t bother me. I made sure that I didn’t mention my upcoming half Ironman. That would have likely resulted in even harsher criticism! I was already drawing looks for my color coordinated Lycra kit. Like I said, don’t let any of this dissuade you from joining this crew on an upcoming Thursday night. It was a great ride on some great trails!

2013 Soapstone Mountain Trail Race

Well, the 29th annual Soapstone Mountain Trail race is in the books! It was a fantastic day in Somers, Connecticut. The Shenipsit Striders nailed it again, with an awesome event. I’m so proud of Debbie and her team of volunteers.

It was great to see so many friends from the New England trail running community (and beyond) on our home course. Feedback from many of the runners was excellent. The Shenipsit State Forest course was in good shape. It wasn’t bone dry, and even dusty in spots. There was a smattering of mud in some of the wet areas, but the infamous streambed was mostly dry. The logging damage remains, but the course markings were the best that they have ever been.

This race has so much tradition and it is great to see it thriving under a new generation of oversight. Debbie has been the Race Director for more than a dozen years, but the past few editions have seen a dramatic increase in the number of enthusiastic club member volunteers and other volunteers.

Soapstone is grassroots trail running at its finest and our format is appreciated by so many. We had good weather for running and spectating. It was mild, a bit muggy, and the rain held off until the fifth hour of the race. By then, just about everyone was finished.

The 24km race was won by Matt Shamey in 1:38:38. He was followed by Brian Nelson, Ben Carrington, Ryan Welts, and Brett Stoeffler. The course was slightly shorter than in years’ past. We cut out a small hairpin section that may have saved runners a minute or two depending on their pace. First woman was Kristina Folcik in 1:54:40, a stellar time. She had a breakout year in 2012 and has taken it up a notch in 2013. She is crushing the local competition and making quite a name for herself on the national ultra scene. She was followed by Nicole Kornas and Meghan Pagliuco.

The 6km Soapstone Sampler, with modified Dipsea timing system, was won by 71 year-old Hal Bennett in an age/gender graded 23:12. His gun time was 34:24. He was followed by Alex Smith and Brian Smith.

I ran the 24km race and was very pleased. It was a lot of fun to run stride for stride with Mike Mazzotta between mile one and mile 13. We traded pulls for more than 90 minutes before he pulled away in the last mile. I only had one fall and it was mostly a soft landing. I’ll feel it in the morning. I ended up in a cloud of dust, but it could have been worse. I was very happy that I didn’t fade until the last bit. This bodes well for my fitness level, which I finally feel is building again after a rough start to the year. Bring on the triathlons!

179 runners finished the long course and 67 runners finished the short course. That is a decent turnout. Special thanks to Jerry Turk and Kerry Arsenault from RAT Race Timing. They did a good job dealing with the challenge of more than 100 race day registrants in their first year on the job.

We started a new tradition this year with the addition of a kids’ race. More than 20 kids finished the un-timed run. Most did the one loop 1/2 mile race, but our son and one other kid did two loops. The parents and children had a joyous time. This was a real hit.

See you all (and more) at the 30th anniversary Soapstone on Sunday 18 May 2014!

Race Results

Printroom Photos