The Best Places to Run near Westerly, Rhode Island

Title speaks for itself. Been running for a while in this area which means I've checked most of the running areas. I'll keep this to locations within 45 minutes or so driving as that's generally about as far as I'd go for a run without planning something bigger out (30 mins is my limit when making a last minute decision). My ideal running venues include single-track trails, non-technical soft surfaces (rail trail, dirt road), roads, and places to workout. 

Roads

Coastal Roads: Mystic, Westerly, Charlestown Beach

Stonington/Groton, CT

Westerly, Charlestown and South Kingstown, RI

Great spots to get in road runs. Quiet and with some scenic spots. In Mystic I like to start at the YMCA, take Hewitt/Mistuxet over to Groton and then the 3 mile river road stretch is really nice with great scenery. Good hill options coming back. Nice place to do any length of run with plenty of options to make routes longer. Downtown Mystic is busy but shouldn't be bad in the offseason or early morning.

Westerly beach area has so many road options, mostly flat and quiet (in offseason) which makes it great for tempo runs or longer road work. Just a lot of options, with plenty of roads in Weekapaug, Watch Hill and Misquamicut. My favorite stretch is probably Ocean View Highway, just a really smooth and fast road with nice scenery. There's also a long stretch of beach to run on which is nice when it's empty and low tide. For short runs/doubles or workouts, I like Avondale. Good place to do road intervals around the 1K loop.

Charlestown Beach, similar to Westerly, just has a good amount of roads that are quiet (again, in offseason), flat and fast. I don't think it's as good as Westerly as there are a lot fewer loop options and I often run the out and back to get to Charlestown beach. The beach running isn't great here with only a few smooth miles then it gets really rocky. I like to combine some of these runs with the matunuck roads which are very smooth (around Kerri course). Trustom pond trails adds some manicured easy surfaces but is only a few miles with some out and backs. 

Newport/Middletown Roads and Paths

Newport and Middletown, RI

It's always a joy to make the 45 minute drive over to Newport/Middletown because the scenery is just really nice over there. There are a ton of really nice options. In Newport, Fort Adams is a good starting venue on the ocean, and besides the 2 mile perimeter paved path, you can get to over to the scenic Ocean Avenue. The cliff walk has great views although is not super smooth. Bellevue avenue is cement but running by the mansions are nice. Middletown is even better in my opinion and less crowded. Tuckerman, Sachuest Point and Indian Avenue are great to run on. There are also some soft surfaces, a 3 mile gravel manicured loop at Sachuest Point with great views and the Sakkonnet greenway has 10-13 miles of manicured gravel and grass path. 

Madison Roads + Hammonasset Beach State Park

Madison, CT

Also a 45 minute drive, Madison is a nice town. Hammonasset has free parking and is an enjoyable place to cruise around the roads as well as some manicured paths + boardwalk. Middle Beach road is very scenic and has lots of expensive houses to look at. The inland roads aren't bad either. Stopping at Madison Coffee House post-run is a must.

Honorable Mentions: Jamestown Roads, South County Bike Path, Old Saybrook/East Lyme Roads

Non-Singletrack Soft Surfaces

While I love trails, sometimes the slow pace and technical terrain is too much and I prefer something in between. Dirt roads, grass fields and rail trails offer a soft surface to get recovery or prevent injuries from the pounding without the feeling of being out there forever. 

Ninigret Park/National Wildlife Refuge

Charlestown, RI

If you follow me on Strava and haven't muted me, you probably notice I run in Ninigret a lot. It's just a really enjoyable park to run in with a variety of easy, manicured terrain. While it wouldn't be great for a long run, I like to come here and run the perimeter of the soccer fields as well as the cross country style wide paths in the center of the park. Great for easy, mindless recovery on soft surfaces. If you don't want to do a bunch of laps, head over to the NWR part and running the perimeter of mostly manicured gravel and grass trails is about a 4 mile loop of just smooth soft surface running (two of the paths are paved). It's also a really nice place to workout, as the bike criterion is extremely smooth and about .9 miles around. The downside to the crit is that sometimes there are a lot of bikers and it gets quite windy. It is very fast and about a good of a place as any to do road intervals in good conditions. The bike path and nearby Arnold circuit (2 mile road loop) add some more options for paved surfaces.

Bluff Point and Haley Farm State Park

Groton, CT

I generally go to Haley to do the fire road/manicured path 7-mile lollipop which can easily be extended to 9 or 10 miles adding on the boardwalk or the Haley grass path. It's a really smooth place to get in some easy miles without being on pavement. Nice scenery for connecticut on the Bluff side. This is also a pretty good place to run singletrack trails with some extra preserve options on the cross-town trails. I'm not including that in the trail list however as the best trails in Bluff/Haley aren't marked and can be confusing to those not familiar with the preserves. 

Arcadia Management Area

Exeter, Richmond, and West Greenwich, RI

This is actually a recent addition to the list as I've gone here to run dirt roads a few times in the last month. Dirt roads aren't common in densely populated states like RI and CT, but Arcadia has a good amount of them. Running a 9 mile dirt road loop yesterday, I was surprised on how quiet it was as maybe just two vehicles passed me the whole time. Great place for soft surfaces, I can see this being a regular recovery/soft surface run for me going forward.

Airline Trail

East Hampton, CT (and many other towns)

While generally a good area for running, there's a real lack of unpaved rail trails near Westerly. I'm not really a big fan of paved bike paths unless I can make a loop with them, but I don't mind out and backs on unpaved rail trails as it's good to be on a soft surface that's really smooth and easy to get into a rhythm with. Airline trail is about a 45 minute drive and I've only run on it once, but was surprised just how smooth and well maintained it was. Manicured gravel surface that was fantastic to run, definitely the best rail trail I've run on and is much better than the ones I've done in Maine and New Hampshire.

Honorable Mention: Goddard State Park- Warwick, RI: very runnable wide trails, just not enough of them. nice swimming/beach area

Trails

Burlingame State Park

Charlestown, RI

Like Ninigret, Burlingame is just a great to go to place to run easy miles. There are a ton options here, but I mostly enjoy the vin gormley loop with burlingame trail add-on starting at the picnic area. There are so many side trails, you could probably make a 20-25 mile loop without much overlap. There's plenty of other trails besides vin gormley in the campground area as well in the Northern burlingame section. I also like how runnable these trails are, mostly non-technical singletrack which is a joy to run on. I've done workouts on the campground roads which are surprisingly expansive and great to run when camping isn't in season. The roads outside the park are also quiet, hilly and pretty good for running. Burlingame also has the advantage of having Watchaug Pond which is a fantastic spot for a swim or just a post-run dip. I enjoy running in any of the places on this list, but Burlingame is probably #1 for having many great trail options.

Carter Preserve

Charlestown, RI

With nice beach roads, Ninigret, and Burlingame, Charlestown is the place to run. It also has Carter preserve, which has some well-marked and maintained singletrack through interesting and unique vegetation. The northeast side of Carter has more technical and hilly trails which are a blast, while the southwest section has non-technical and wider, easier trails including the open grassland section. This isn't quite as high on my list as running the perimeter will only get about 7 miles, but it can be combined with the local roads or nearby Carolina Management area if going longer (I've also started at Chariho HS and done lollipop style routes).

Tillinghast Pond 

West Greenwich, RI

Tillinghast is managed by the Nature Conservancy, same as Carter, so it has similarly great maintenance and well marked trails. However, Tillinghast is bigger and has more options especially when combining with nearby Wickaboxet. Great singletrack trails through some pine forests and like Carter, some unique vegetation. Good variety as well, some twisty hilly trails, some technical ones, and faster non-technical stuff around the pond. In terms of quality, it's hard to beat the trails here for Rhode Island.

Arcadia Management Area

Exeter, West Greenwich, and Richmond, RI

Arcadia makes two categories as there are so many miles of singletrack trails. It's relatively easy to learn/follow them as well as many of them have clear marking as blazes. I enjoy doing the 11-12 mile on Breakheart, Mt. Tom and Hudson trails, most of which is fairly hilly but not too much technical trail. There's quite a few more options for longer runs with a good amount of trails in the richmond section. Arcadia would have to be #1 place in RI for single-track trails in terms of quantity while also still being easy to follow.

Cockaponset State Forest

Chester, CT

Good amount of hilly singletrack trails that are mostly well marked. I've done the FKT for the cockaponset trail twice and it's a fun runnable trail with good climbs and descents. Probably should run here more often as it's only 45 minutes but has some great trails.

Honorable Mentions: 

Grills Preserve- Hopkinton and Westerly, RI: gets overgrown and the Westerly parking isn't in a very nice area but some nice trails

Yawgoog trails- Hopkinton, RI: too technical for me and some spots I think are confusing, but cool spots along the ponds

Big River- West Greenwich, RI: awesome trails through pine forest, but nothing marked and very easy to get lost

Pachaug State Forest- Voluntown, CT: some great trails, but a lot of garbage dirt roads (very rocky) that are hard to avoid, I also find navigation challenging here

Duval- South Kingstown, RI: fun and unique trails, just not much mileage here and you have to do the out and back

Goodwin trail- East Lyme, CT: nice trail but I'm not really interested in OABs (it's not part of a larger system, just some short side trails)

That's the list. The inclusion of each of these means I highly recommend running at any of them. As for tracks, I think Narragansett HS has a great track but I don't do many track workouts at home so that won't be a category here. Maybe I'll make a follow up of non-local places that I've enjoyed running.

Acadia- Weekly Log: July 12 to 18

 Several new additions to my week. Started doing a small portion of my mileage with leg untaped. My achilles feels much stronger than when attempting this 2.5 months ago, so hopefully slowly reducing the mileage I have to tape my leg up for will get it to full health and tape-free running. Earlier in the year, I did a few weeks of decent bike mileage (for me) and thought I didn't hate it like usual and want to do some triathlons in the summer. I did those mountain/trail races which took up space for triathlons, but now have several coming up and no running race plans. 

Did a very tough mountain run in Acadia National Park, which I had been meaning to get to the last two years on Saturday.

Monday: 8 Miles

+19 Mile Bike

Tried something different and starting some light bike training ahead of triathlons (I'll seriously train for these down the road, but just don't have the time and need to focus on running now). Biked to Ninigret in the evening, first bike since May. Legs were feeling it, but didn't have the usual chest burn I have sometimes when biking for the first time in a while. Maybe because a lot of those bikes come after a period of no exercise, whereas I've been running now. 

Easy 8 mile in Ninigret where I definitely felt the bike there. Also getting weak at the end. Untaped my leg for last 3, was surprised to have a lot of strain and discomfort. Guess the tape takes so much stress out of it that I'm just not used to bearing full weight. Planned on 2 miles untaped every other day after this. 

Biked back, not bad. Averaged 17.9mph for the bike which is much better than what I usually put up. Didn't feel like I hammered either so I was pleased. My fastest ride tied with Block Island 2016. 

Tuesday: 10 Miles

Evening vin gormley plus burlingame loop. Pretty low on energy in the last few miles.

Wednesday: 12 Miles

5 miles AM easy Ninigret. Wrote on strava that my foot was bothering me but I don't remember this run at all (I've run in Ninigret a lot this year).

7 PM fun run double. Wanted to pace Sebastian 4:55 pace through 2 miles, maybe if I had something left I'd go for it myself. Felt super flat and was pretty much grinding it out. Ran a perfect mile (4:56 and pretty even), but just had no gas after that. Had to drop off after 1.3ish when Sebastian went by me and I could only manage 5:20ish pace. Kind of a disappointing effort but I didn't back off/taper for this like a race and I think my tempo/aerobic 5:20-5:30 efforts are a lot better for me right now (obvious 5:20 is easier than 4:55, I just mean doing longer tempo work is more comfortable than shorter 5k intervals). I was really more disappointed about not completing my pacing job, usually if I say I'll pace a certain length I can get there. I did think this was a possibility, I've done so little this fast and that 2nd mile is really hard. The fun run has been a place where I've had big CR goals but after Andrew McCann destroyed the CR (15:45) and nothing this year that has indicated I'm in any better shape than 2018 when I ran 16:07, I think I'm done with a hard fun run season for the year. Not really something I'm upset/disappointed about, I'm completely focused on Cross Country this year and hoping to perform well my final season. I think being in decent but not incredible shape will help greatly going into the season.

Dropped a low 6s to recover mile 2 then back into tempo pace, felt decent.

Cooldown home untaped, felt much better (albeit shorter) than Monday.

Thursday: 10 Miles

Beach OAB, super foggy and had some weird discomforts and stiffness in a lot of spots. Not the best I've felt on this run.

Friday: 7 Miles

Typical Haley-Bluff non-technical dirt lollipop. Just a easy run before a big mountain effort Saturday. Mid-80s and super humid so this was a real struggle. A few points where I just felt terrible, had to unexpectedly stop because I was tying up running easy. 

Saturday: 16 Miles

+10 Mile Bike

Went for the Acadia Traverse FKT in Bar Harbor, Maine. Up at 4AM (in Dover, NH apartment) and started just after 9AM after a decently long drive. Dropped my bike at the Sargent Mountain trailhead and started at the Gorham mountain trailhead. I was confident I could get this one and I didn't think the time was anything crazy, but at 6,500ft gain this was significantly harder than any FKT I had attempted. 

This route, while a traverse, has a lot of ups and downs and isn't a ridge run like a lot of other traverses. Unlike a ridge run, the ups and downs are frequent and you aren't really almost done with the climbing until you're almost done with the route. I gave little thought to that before the route. The first section went very well. I felt really fast up Gorham, over to the Beehive and up Champlain, a good but runnable climb. Fun terrain, with some technical wooded sections and smooth open rocky ridge running. Awesome views of the ocean as usual but not much time to check them out. This area was absolutely packed and I frequently called out to the people ahead to let them know I was coming. The Beehive was the toughest area, packed with people. There was one scrambly section leading up to the Beehive intersection and I got unlucky that a bunch of people were coming down. I let the first people go, but after realizing they weren't going to let me go, I kind of just went anyways which was a challenge with people going the other way. 

The beachcroft path descent down Champlain was awesome. Epic view of Dorr Mountain's bald eastern face while going down a switchbacky rocky step path. Good amount of people towards the bottom, including one group I yelled out to several times with absolutely no one hearing or acknowledging me. Nearly wiped out passing them off trail. I felt a little tired going up Dorr which was steeper than anything so far. It was still runnable and had a good amount of switchbacks. I began some walking sections, walking what felt steep and running what didn't. Didn't take too long to summit Dorr, quick tag of the sign and out towards Cadillac. The Cadillac climb was short, but much steeper and I walked most of it. I found it difficult to locate the actual summit (no discern marker), so I just went off of what looked like the highest point. Stopped for a few minutes to have some water, a gel and waffle and catch my breath. I estimated (wrongly) that this was about the halfway point of the route and I was well ahead of the FKT pace. I was about halfway done with climbing. I had a backup FKT route of the blackwoods loop, which would diverge very soon and be done with climbing. I only wanted to reserve that for if I felt terrible or was really struggling, so I opted to continue on the traverse. 

View from Cadillac

The Cadillac south ridge trail seemed fun (more open ridge runnable stuff), but I quickly diverged on the Cadillac west face trail. About -20% average grade. A lot of it was open smooth ridge, but some really steep spots that I didn't want to hammer down as a fall here would be bad. Some awkward sideways running on that slope with some very wet and slick spots that were challenging. Despite feeling mostly good up this point, this descent felt really long and exhausting. I was definitely battered and my legs were feeling it. I had gone from feeling great to really struggling and holding on, not a good sign with 8 of the 13 peaks left and 3,000ft of climbing. The Pemetic Ascent was brutal, maybe 17% average grade. Didn't have the legs for it at all and walked the majority of it. Legs just so tired. Eventually got to the summit of Pemetic but it had been almost an hour since Cadillac. I thought I still had a shot at the FKT, but it was a mental challenge to continue with a good chunk left. I sat for 3-4 minutes to recover my legs and told myself to get going before hitting 2:40 elapsed time on my watch. The pemetic descent was just as rough as the Cadillac one and really did me in. Just huge presidential-like boulders at a very steep grade. Not runnable for me, took forever to get down and horribly exhausted legs once again. I ran, slowly and fatigued, up towards North Bubble and just couldn't run anything steep. Slow walk up North Bubble, realized 6 more peaks and 2,000 feet more climbing wasn't in the cards and called it. Laid down at N. Bubble for a little bit then jogged with lots of breaks including walking. Got over to Jordan Pond and was so happy they had a water fountain to fill my empty pack. Took another good break which really replenished me (not my legs though) before figuring out the quickest route back.

View from North Bubble

Ended up going up Penobscot, another cool ridge trail, as taking Carriage roads/flat trails would be significantly more miles. Tiring technical but runnable descent back. Had no leg power on the bike back but the scenery helped. 

Was disappointed to bail on an FKT. Also disappointing that I probably could have gotten the Blackwoods FKT but I felt bad just after going for the full traverse. I was so disappointed/upset on North Bubble. I really wanted it in the moment and was definitely bummed out. Interestingly my mindset has totally changed and it isn't a big deal at all anymore to me. I guess that's the difference between FKTs and races. A bad/failed FKT is disappointing in the moment only, the disappointment of a bad race lasts a while. I've never experienced that kind of leg fatigue before, just brutal. I think this is for a few reasons:

1. I was in much better mountain/technical trail shape in 2020. Just did a lot more mountain runs with a better buildup towards the harder stuff (started with 2,000ft elev gain runs in March and worked my way up to 5K). This year I jumped right into the technical with little experience/buildup like 2020 and it's been much harder. It wasn't planned like that, but just where I fit in technical/mountain runs around races. 

2. An easy effort mountain run is a lot easier than a hard one. I generally go at least somewhat hard on most mountain climbs/descents. What's different on an easier runs is I'll go easy on more runnable stuff and take breaks at most lookouts or summits. Those breaks and easy portions (as well as not going quite to the well on the climbs/descent) help me stay fueled and push back fatigue. I went hard from the start here and with no breaks until Cadillac, I think pushing for 1.5 hours straight really did me in. 

3. Mountain runs with constant ups and downs are much harder than mountains run with a long up then a long down. I like getting the climb out the way in the first half of the run then looking forward to mostly downhill after that. Getting the climbs done while fresh and feeling good really helps, versus a run like this with many big climbs in the second is really tough. I had it in the first half, I didn't in the second. I think had the first half been a 6,000 foot climb, I may have gotten the FKT with only downhills left which are generally easier to continue on tired legs/weak body.

This run definitely told me I'm not in mountain/technical shape this year or at least not enough to be doing big runs with over 5,000ft of gain, good mileage and certainly no FKTs of that nature. Given past runs, I think my peak mountain fitness should be enough for this FKT, I'm just nowhere near that right now. I've done pretty much everything I've wanted to this summer minus a few FKT attempts except go to the White Mountains. Just got caught up in lots of racings, highpoints and going to different places (Catskills, Acadia). May try to get there the weekend before XC starts, but it may just be a hike as the routes I originally wanted to run are all long and tough, and I don't know if I have that in me, especially right before practice start.

Sunday: 8 Miles

Ninigret recovery. So beat up, very sore calves. This Acadia run probably hit me harder than Mt. Washington road race.

Weekly Total: 72 Miles

YTD Total: 1,142 Miles

Weekly Highlight: Going to Acadia/Bar Harbor for the first time in two years.

Weekly Lowlight: Struggling in Acadia.

Olympic Medal Picks

 A little over a week out from the athletics portion of the olympics, so I'll give my picks here. My trials picks were a mixed bag: 2/3 men's 800, 2/3 men's 1500, 2/3 men's 5000, 1/3 men's 10K. There's a bigger gap between the best of the US and the next contenders, whereas on an international stage everyone is so good that it's really tough to predict. I'll do my best but will probably be way off. These are just kind of random events that I'm following.

Entries here

Men's 100

1. Trayvon Bromell (USA) 9.81

2. Andre DeGrasse (Canada) 9.90

3. Ronnie Baker (USA) 9.92

I don't really know what I'm talking about with the sprints, but the men's 100m has been really exciting this year. Bromell has the world lead and has won all but one race, he's the clear favorite going in. DeGrasse has had mixed results but an impressive medal count that few others in the field can match. Baker was second at trials and #3 time in the group of people who are competing the olympics. Kerley hasn't looked great in recent races. I'd probably take Yohan Blake or Akani Simbine for 4th and 5th spots.

Men's 200

1. Noah Lyles (USA) 19.71

2. Kenny Bednarek (USA) 19.84

3. Andre DeGrasse (Canada) 19.90

Lyles has been inconsistent this year but got it done at the trials, he'll be around when it counts most. Bednarek has been consistent and should be up there. DeGrasse has the medals. Maybe Erriyon Knighton, Yohan Blake and Divine Oduduru for next three spots in no particular but I have no clue what I'm talking about with this event.

Men's 400

1. Steven Gardiner (Bahamas) 43.41

2. Michael Norman (USA) 43.59

3. Wade van Nierkerk (South Africa) 43.82

Men's 400 Hurdles

1. Karsten Warholm (Norway) 46.58

2. Rai Benjamin (USA) 46.68

3. Alison Dos Santos (Brazil) 47.04

Women's 400 Hurdles

1. Sydney McLaughlin (USA) 51.76

2. Dalilah Muhammad (USA) 51.87

3. Femke Bol (Netherlands) 52.32

Men's 800m

1. Clayton Murphy (USA) 1:42.71

2. Nijel Amos (Botswana) 1:43.11

3. Emmanuel Korir (Kenya) 1:43.38

Guys who will make the final: Clayton Murphy, Nijel Amos, Emmanuel Korir, Ferguson Rotich, Michael Saruni, Marco Arop, Jesus Lopez, Elliot Giles

American predictions: Murphy 1st, Hoppel and Jewett out in semis (Jewett just misses final, Hoppel way off)

With 13 guys under 1:44 (not all are racing) but no one who has dominated races this year, this is a wide open event where all 3 of my picks could end up not medaling. As much as I'd like a US sweep, Hoppel has looked terrible in pretty much every race this year including the trials where he barely made the team. Hard to see medaling and potentially won't even make the final, Isaiah Jewett is a question mark not having raced since the trials and having such a long season. I don't think his frontrunning strategy will be enough to medal at a world stage. The british runners are good but would have to run a huge PR to be in the mix. Michael Saruni won the Kenyan trials but hasn't run very fast this year. I'm pretty confident Clayton Murphy and Nijel Amos are the two best guys at their peak, but both are inconsistent. Amos was a big question mark until his great run at monaco but is known to bomb major races. Clayton has run a lot of mediocre races (pretty much everything except the trials) but often delivers when it counts. Third spot goes to the best kenyan. Emmanuel Korir only got third at the trials but bounced back for the #2 time in the world at Monaco beating 2nd placer at the trials Ferguson Rotich. Saruni beat them both at the trials but hasn't run faster than 1:44.96. It's too much to drop off 2 seconds off that time, so I'll stick with Korir for third who did the best in a fast race which an olympic final will be.

Women's 800

1. Athing Mu (USA) 1:56.87

2. Ajee Wilson (USA) 1:57.02

3. Jemma Reekie (UK) 1:57.63

American predictions: Mu and Wilson go 1-2, Rogers just misses a medal

Pretty confident in first two. Mu has run great all year, had an amazing trials and it'd be a shock for her not to have a great race. Ajee Wilson brings it when it counts and is rounding into form nicely. Third spot is a toss up between people who have run fast (Almanza and Goule) but bombed recently at Monaco and the slightly slower Brits who ran well at Monaco. I'll take recent success and consistency first over a faster time but not backing it up. Raevyn Rogers also runs well when it counts and could complete the US sweep.

Men's 1500

1. Timothy Cheruyiot (Kenya) 3:28.91

2. Jakob Ingebrigsten (Norway) 3:29.41

3. Oliver Hoare (Australia) 3:29.72

Guys who will make the final: Timothy Cheruyiot, Jakob Ingebrigsten, Oliver Hoare, Josh Kerr, Jake Wightman, Stewart McSweyn, Matthew Centrowitz, Marcin Lewandowski, Taoufik Mahkloufi, Cole Hocker, Samuel Tefera, Charles Simotwo

American Prediction: Centro 5th or 6th, Cole Hocker barely makes final then gets last, Yared Nuguse just misses final (I think Centro and Hocker both have outside medal chances, though)

Probably the best event at the trials, absolutely loaded. Unlike the men's 800m, I expect pretty everyone to bring their A game as this is a much more consistent group. If the "favorite" in the 800 doesn't medal, they probably had a bad race. Here everyone is so good, the "favorite" could have a great race and finish 8th. Timothy Cheruyiot has absolutely dominated the event for the last few years. He frontruns every race as basically a rabbit then still is strong enough at the end to win. He did it in 2019 worlds, he'll do it again here. His one off day at the Kenyan trials means nothing to me- he had an injury on the day then bounced back with a repeat win at Monaco running a PR and all-time top 10. I'd probably put Katir second, but he's just doing the 5K. Jakob Ingebrigsten has pretty much been the dominant #2 in the event. If Cheruyiot isn't there, he almost always wins. He clearly has strength with a 12:48 5K. Pretty much never runs bad and still managed 3:29 low with a cold in Monaco. Wouldn't bet against him. Third spot is more open to me, there isn't one guy who is clearly better than the rest like Cheruyiot and Jakob. Pretty much none of these guys have raced each other either. I think it's between Oliver Hoare and Josh Kerr. Both have been absolutely dominant and won pretty much every race (Hoare lost only to Jakob). I think Hoare looks a little better but it's a close one. I'd put Jake Wightman in that group but he just came off a bad race and lost to Kerr at British champs. 

Women's 1500

1. Faith Kipyegon (Kenya) 3:54.78

2. Laura Muir (UK) 3:56.23

3. Elle Purrier (USA) 3:56.58

American predictions: Purrier 2nd or 3rd or 4th, Cory McGee makes final but not up there, Heather McLean out in semis

I don't think Hassan runs, but if she does she'll most likely get 1st or 2nd. Not sure if someone will actually push the pace without Hassan which could change up the medal counts. Muir and Purrier are basically the same to me and are interchangeable. Some fast times from Ethiopians but don't think they'll be as strong in a final.

Men's 5000

1. Jacob Kiplimo (Uganda) 13:07.78

2. Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda) 13:08.32

3. Paul Chelimo (USA) 13:08.41

American predictions: Chelimo 3rd to 5th, Grant Fisher gets 8th or 9th, Woody Kincaid tired from 10K and rounds and doesn't run well

Super wide open event, very hard to predict. I think Cheptegei is a better time trialer than racer and Kiplimo will have a better kick, at least for the shorter event. Katir has been running stellar all year and has phenomenal range as well as closing speed. Mo Ahmed could definitely steal a medal, probably my pick for 4th or 3rd if someone bombs. I don't think Jakob will run but he's definitely a medal threat if he does. Justyn Knight and Getnet Wale should up there, but I don't think they'll have the closing speed to medal. Edit: Forgot about Paul Chelimo as he's not high on the time lists, but I think his experience will come through in a stacked field. Given Cheptegei's bad race in Italy, I think Katir, Chelimo, Cheptegei, and Ahmed are all in the medal mix but I think Kiplimo has an edge up on that group. Would be a crazy stacked event if Jakob does run. I'll predict Katir 4th, Ahmed 5th. Maybe Marc Scott does well but he's doubling and hasn't been running great after March.

Women's 5000

1. Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) 14:19.34

2. Helen Obiri (Kenya) 14:21.65

3. Gudaf Tsegay (Ethiopia) 14:22.11

American Predictions: Karissa Schweizer 6th, Elise Cranny 10th, Rachel Schneider way back

Men's 10000

1. Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda) 26:39.42

2. Jacob Kiplimo (Uganda) 26:41.32

3. Moh Ahmed (Canada) 26:42.31

American Predictions: All finish top 10 with big PR's, Fisher 6th sub 27, Klecker 7th, Kincaid 8th

Loaded event, maybe 2nd best race of the trials? Maybe 7 guys who could win and another 3-5 who could medal. Cheptegei won 2019 worlds over Kejelcha. With no rounds to throw him off his game, I think he'll repeat here and make it fast. Put in Kiplimo and those could be your medalists. Moh Ahmed could pull off a medal, the Ethiopian contingent of Selemon Barega and Hagos Gebriwhet (along with Yomif Kelejcha) is tough to beat. Edit: Gebriwhet isn't on the team (?) (might be in 5k?). Geoffrey Kamworor is also strong. The americans plus Marc Scott are lurking. 

Women's 10000

1. Letesenbet Gidey (Ethiopia) 28:53.45

2. Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) 29:02.31

3. Gudaf Tsegay (Ethiopia) 29:29.31

American predictions: Emily Sisson 6th 30:25, Karissa Schweizer 7th 30:30, Alicia Monson not top 10 but PR's

This will be a fast race where the world record gets broken, I predict a reverse order of the 2019 championships and Gidey will break Hassan. No idea if Tsegay is running but she's listed in the entries yet didn't race the event at Ethiopian trials so who knows. 

Men's Steeple

no idea

American predictions: Mason Ferlic 10th, Hilary Bor and Bernard Keter bomb

Women's Steeple

1. Hyvin Kiyeng (Kenya) 8:58.98

2. Emma Coburn (USA) 9:00.13

3. Beatrice Chepkoech (Kenya) 9:03.45

American predictions: Coburn 2nd, Frerichs 4th or 5th, Constien not top 10 maybe doesn't make final

Men's Marathon

1. Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) 2:07:35

2. Lawrence Cherono (Kenya) 2:07:53

3. Galen Rupp (USA) 2:07:58

American predictions: Rupp 3rd, Jake Riley and Abdi not top 30

Tough event to predict, loaded with so many east africans who have run super fast but don't have the championship pedigree to back it up. The Ethiopian team is stellar and Mosinet Geremew isn't even on it. However, none of those guys are consistent enough to think they'd medal. Shura Kitata won London and the Ethiopian trials so I think he has the best shot. Desisa usually does well at major championships. Eliud Kipchoge is the goat and will likely deliver. I originally had Rupp 2nd but Lawrence Cherono's resume is tough to beat- won Boston and Chicago in 2019 then ran 2:03:04 last December (#8 all time). I think Rupp's experience and ability to run well when it counts will get him another medal, even if he's been a bit rusty this year and isn't the third best runner on paper.

Women's Marathon

no idea

American Predictions: Molly Seidel 10th, Aliphine Tuliamuk 25th, Sally Kipyego not in top 30

Weekly Log: July 5 to 11

Getting back into running after some low mileage weeks.

Monday: 10 Miles

Wiped out from the 15 hour drive home on the 4th, slept until maybe 2pm. Easy Haley-Bluff loop with Keith, probably would have taken the day off if solo.

Tuesday: 8 Miles

Carter Preserve easy stuff in late morning, pretty rough humidity.

Wednesday: 11 Miles

Was running late to the fun run, so warm-up was pretty fast and rushed. Wore myself out there and was pretty tired headed into the fun run. Sebastian always hammers here so I tried to push him for a mile, only to go out too hard, realize I had nothing and totally drop off after .75 at 4:40 pace. "Jogged" the second mile then rebounded a bit for mile 3. 

Thursday: 8 Miles

Arcadia dirt road loop, always nice to go soft surface without the technical challenge. 

Friday: 8 Miles

Just a regular vin gormley trail loop. Tested out the Chris Garvin/Seth Acton-recommended ankle brace which works well. It was a bit uncomfortable on this run but I have since gotten used to it. Still had a bit on ankle anxiety/fear on this run.

Saturday: 12 Miles

Paced Dad for an extended around the pond with 2x3 miles at his goal MP (6:30). Went too fast first set, then started out well second set but cut it down when I realized I was solo. Very humidity and sweaty. On Atlantic Ave, some fat biker gestured for me to get on the sidewalk then called me an asshole when I didn't move. 

Sunday: 11 Miles

Groton trail traverse, running the fun Bluff Point twisty stuff out onto the rocky beach/coast. From there, took typical trail into Haley and then the cross town trail to beebe pond end. Merritt Family preserves and Beebe Pond are pretty technical stretches of trail. A good run, but legs were tired at end. I enjoyed the unrunnable rocky coast section, makes me want to do something similar in newport or block island.

Weekly Total: 68 Miles

YTD Total: 1,070 Miles

Weekly Highlight: Getting back to decent mileage after a very inconsistent prior 4 weeks (48, 70, 52, 38).

Weekly Lowlight: Been having some foot discomfort/pain in a specific spot (had this during Catamount weekend). Most of the time it's just a mild discomfort that isn't an issue, but sometimes it hurts a bit. Seems manageable but it's a bit frustrating to not have been 100% healthy any day this year. 

Ranking Every Mountain I've Summited- Part 3: The Top Tier (20-1)

You can read Part 1 and Part 2 by clicking the links. My 20 favorite mountains that I have summitted. See part 1 for more details on how I ranked these. These are the 20 best, so accordingly I like them all quite a bit and small details held certain ones back from being higher. Note I made this list at the end of 2020, so it does not include any mountains I've done for the first time this year. I will likely do some kind of ranking for that at the end of the year. The overall rating is out of 35 points. First three ratings are out of 10, elevation is out of 5 based on how high the mountain is.

20. Mount Garfield (NH)

Elevation: 4500'

# of Summits: 1 (September 2020)

View Rating: 9

Summit Rating: 8

Trails Rating: 7

Elevation Rating: 3

Overall Rating: 27

Garfield has a nice summit and great views, definitely a classic White mountain. Didn't like the wet trails so much.

19. Mount Eisenhower (NH)

Elevation: 4780'

# of Summits: 2 (June 2018, August 2018)

View Rating: 9

Summit Rating: 6

Trails Rating: 9

Elevation Rating: 3

Overall Rating: 27

Eisenhower is the best southern presidential, with a big flat summit of crushed rock and a big cairn. Fun terrain in both directions and awesome views.

18. Mount Washington (NH)

Elevation: 6288'

# of Summits: 3 (June 2018, August 2020, June 2021)

View Rating: 10

Summit Rating: 4

Trails Rating: 10

Elevation Rating: 4

Overall Rating: 28

Like the other northern presidentials, it's tough to beat the views, trails and terrain on mount washington. The elevation is impressive as it's by far the highest peak in the Northeast. What puts it all the way down here is the paved summit which is normally crowded with tourists.

17. Mount Flume (NH)

Elevation: 4327'

# of Summits: 2 (July 2019, September 2020)

View Rating: 9

Summit Rating: 8

Trails Rating: 8

Elevation Rating: 3

Overall Rating: 28

Flume is a cool and unique summit, a half exposed ledge of jagged rock with impressive views of the Franconia ridge to the north. 

16. Mount Lincoln (NH)

Elevation: 5089'

# of Summits: 3 (July 2019, June 2020, September 2020)

View Rating: 10

Summit Rating: 6

Trails Rating: 9

Elevation Rating: 4

Overall Rating: 29

Lincoln sits in the middle of the iconic and beautiful Franconia ridge. The summit isn't very big or notable and it just sits of the shadow of the greater mount lafayette.

15. South Twin Mountain (NH)

Elevation: 4902'

# of Summits: 1 (September 2020)

View Rating: 9

Summit Rating: 8

Trails Rating: 9

Elevation Rating: 3

Overall Rating: 29

Don't remember much about south twin, but good summit with some nice views and a very challenging climb from Galehead hut. Really cool trail heading south.

14. Mount Liberty (NH)

Elevation: 4459'

# of Summits: 3 (July 2019, June 2020, September 2020)

View Rating: 9

Summit Rating: 9

Trails Rating: 8

Elevation Rating: 3

Overall Rating: 29

Liberty is just a classic- great trails in every direction, awesome panoramic views and a large summit that's great for taking a break. Just doesn't quite hit of the highs of it's larger neighbors and the presidential range, but it's fantastic for a 4,000 foot mountain.

13. Mount Marcy (NY)

Elevation: 5344'

# of Summits: 1 (July 2018)

View Rating: 9

Summit Rating: 10

Trails Rating: 6

Elevation Rating: 4

Overall Rating: 29

Marcy has a huge summit and offers really cool views of the nearby Adirondacks. The highest peak of New York is certainly impressive, but it's a long way to the summit on a completely forested approach.

12. Mount Mansfield (VT)

Elevation: 4393'

# of Summits: 1 (July 2018)

View Rating: 9

Summit Rating: 8

Trails Rating: 9

Elevation Rating: 3

Overall Rating: 29

Mansfield has a lot of interesting and strenuous trails, but the mile stretch of the alpine long trail on smooth rock above treeline is fantastic. 

11. Champlain Mountain (ME)

Elevation: 1070'

# of Summits: 1 (August 2018)

View Rating: 10

Summit Rating: 9

Trails Rating: 10

Elevation Rating: 1

Overall Rating: 30

By far the smallest mountain in the top 20, Champlain is the absolute best of Acadia. It's over 1,000 feet, has awesome and unique trails in every direction and offers absolutely stunning views of the Atlantic ocean. It's probably an unpopular opinion, but I think this is the single best view in the Eastern U.S. The combination of ocean and mountain can not be beat.

10. Mount Bond (NH)

Elevation: 4698'

# of Summits: 1 (September 2020)

View Rating: 10

Summit Rating: 8

Trails Rating: 9

Elevation Rating: 3

Overall Rating: 30

Mount bond has great views and awesome trail approach from any direction.

9. Mount Monadnock (NH)

Elevation: 3166'

# of Summits: 2 (November 2017, June 2020)

View Rating: 8

Summit Rating: 9

Trails Rating: 10

Elevation Rating: 3

Overall Rating: 30

Monadnock is a really interesting mountain. Despite being in the southern portion of the state, it's still over 3,000 feet and has a great bald summit with awesome views. There are so many trails and many possible combinations of approaches, most of which are really rugged and fun. Just a special mountain, especially being so far south of the 4,000 footers.

8. Mount Cardigan (NH)

Elevation: 3155'

# of Summits: 1 (July 2020)

View Rating: 10

Summit Rating: 10

Trails Rating: 8

Elevation Rating: 3

Overall Rating: 31

Cardigan is another special mountain that doesn't hit 4,000 feet. The views are special, the trails are great, and the huge round summit is fantastic. A remote but extremely enjoyable mountain.

7. Mount Adams (NH)

Elevation: 5793'

# of Summits: 2 (June 2018, August 2020)

View Rating: 10

Summit Rating: 7

Trails Rating: 10

Elevation Rating: 4

Overall Rating: 31

The Northern Presidentials have the finest terrain and hiking in the eastern U.S. in my opinion, and all three of the Northernmost peaks are absolute gems. The views are outstanding, the terrain is rugged with many trails to choose from, and quite a bit is above treeline. They're not quite top 3 material just because the summits are rocky and jagged so it's not a comfortable place to linger.

6. Mount Madison (NH)

Elevation: 5367'

# of Summits: 2 (July 2018, August 2020)

View Rating: 10

Summit Rating: 7

Trails Rating: 10

Elevation Rating: 4

Overall Rating: 31

The classic rugged start of the Presidential Traverse. See everything about Adams but I like the summit just a little bit more.

5. Mount Chocorua (NH)

Elevation: 3490'

# of Summits: 1 (July 2019)

View Rating: 9

Summit Rating: 10

Trails Rating: 9

Elevation Rating: 3

Overall Rating: 31

Chocorua is truly special, considering it's not a 4,000 footer. Fantastic views, rocky above treeline terrain and maybe the most massive summit of any of this list. There are many mountains taller than this in the state, but few as impressive.

4. Mount Jefferson (NH)

Elevation: 5712'

# of Summits: 2 (June 2018, August 2020)

View Rating: 10

Summit Rating: 8

Trails Rating: 10

Elevation Rating: 4

Overall Rating: 32

Jefferson's summit isn't quite on the trail and I found it a better place to take a break. 

3. Bondcliff (NH)

Elevation: 4265'

# of Summits: 1 (September 2020)

View Rating: 10

Summit Rating: 10

Trails Rating: 9

Elevation Rating: 4

Overall Rating: 32

Bondcliff is isolated, has an above treeline approach from Bond which is uncommon for the mountains under 5,000 feet. The views are fantastic in every direction and unlike many of the surrounding mountains, it really feels like the wilderness. Huge summit with the iconic cliff.

2. Mount Lafayette (NH)

Elevation: 5249'

# of Summits: 3 (July 2019, June 2020, September 2020)

View Rating: 10

Summit Rating: 10

Trails Rating: 9

Elevation Rating: 4

Overall Rating: 33

Lafayette just checks all the boxes. Above treeline approach. Amazing views. Lots of trail options. Huge summit you could spend all day on. It's awesome and I don't see myself getting tired of it.

1. Mount Katahdin (ME)

Elevation: 5267'

# of Summits: 1 (August 2018)

View Rating: 10

Summit Rating: 10

Trails Rating: 10

Elevation Rating: 4

Overall Rating: 34

Katahdin is simply epic. Every trail is great, but the above treeline portion on the Knife's Edge can not be beat in the East for the extreme technical ruggedness and wow factor. The views are amazing. Just nothing really bad to say about the mountain. It's iconic and lives up to the hype in every single way. I don't see anything in the Eastern U.S. topping this one.

High Point Trip- Weekly Log: June 28 to July 4

Finally resumed highpointing after a one-year hiatus. Just couldn't get plans going last year with so many COVID restriction on camping. I've been thinking about a southern appalachians highpoint trip for a long time (since 2018), so it was great to finally get going on it. This will be just be brief comments on my running as well as the usual running totals, like the last highpointing trips, I will have an extensive recap with photo and video of each highpointing plus short write-ups for the non-highpoints runs, hikes and driving. 

I had signed up for the Peachtree road race but decided to defer. Not only do I not feel ready for a road race 10K, but the logistics were tough (point to point so I'd have to leave all my stuff in my car, no phone, money for subway or water to bring to the start) and I think I'd just be exhausted after driving, camping and hiking all week. I'll do it down the road when I can train for it and stay in a hotel so I feel rested.

Monday: 5 Miles

OAB on the Delaware and Raritan canal path in New Jersey. Brutally hot at 91 degrees, just managed to get it done before I felt too bad but hottest I've run in some time.

Tuesday: 8 Miles

Neat trails in Eastern Pennsylvania. Tried out an ankle sleeve in which I still had somewhat of a roll.

Wednesday: 9 Miles

Old Rag mountain loop. Very technical and with a lot of scrambling, sprained ankle showing the sleeve isn't going to work and I'll need a real brace. Great loop though, I'll have a video of this up next as it's the first thing I filmed.

3 short hikes in Shenandoah National Park, did the two highest peaks in the park plus a mediocre waterfall. 6 miles hiking.

Thursday: 8 Miles

Easy run on non-technical surfaces from the campground. Virginia highpoint, an 8 mile hike in afternoon.

Friday: 0 Miles

Off day as I did 3 highpoints and 11 hours of driving. Just no way to comfortably fit in run if I wanted to complete this ambitious day. 10 miles hiking.

Saturday: 8 Miles

Ran from campground in Great Smoky mountains, lots of great trails mostly non-technical but really hilly. So many trails in this national park.

2 highpoints with a 7 mile hike in there.

Sunday: 0 Miles

Another off day with two highpoints and 15 hours of driving to get home.

Weekly Total: 38 Miles (33 miles hiking)

YTD Total: 1002 Miles

Weekly Highlight: I'll call 8 highpoints, 2 national parks including a new one and going to 13 states including 3 new ones a successful week. Brings me up to 20 highpoints total and I've now been to 35 states which ranks me second in the household (I'm still last in countries though).

Weekly Lowlight: The downsides of the trip were excessive rain getting everything wet Thursday and Kentucky. Didn't like that state very much. Not a fan of Ohio either.

11 videos to come and eventually a big blog post for the highpoints. Will take a while but I'll slowly chip away and hopefully it won't take me a year like the last two.

Catamount- Weekly Log: June 21 to 27

 25K trail race, similar to Pinelands.

Monday: 0. Beat up from Mt. Wash.

Tuesday: 10 Miles

Around the pond+ with Keith. Sore at the beginning but felt better as I went on.

Wednesday: 7 Miles

Easy Ninigret. 

Thursday: 8 Miles

Bluff + Haley easy paths.

Friday: 5 Miles

Avondale pre-race run, encountered two problems. 1) Mild sore throat that could potentially hinder me during the race or turn into a greater sickness. 2) Foot pain just posterior to the ball of my foot, which I felt during the road run down Mt. Washington. Both could be nothing but was a bit worried to have both pop up pre-race. Nothing I could do but just relax and put it out of my mind.

Saturday: 17 Miles

Catamount 25K in Stowe, VT. Woke up feeling quite a bit more sick than the past day. Didn't feel it too much or foot pain during the warm-up, so refocused and got ready to do. The course is the same concept as Pinelands, a big 15 miles loop on winding XC ski trails. This course was a bit tougher, however, as there was an extra 1,000 feet of elevation gain and some significantly large climbs than Pinelands. Additionally, the trails and grass were much less manicured and while never really technical, just having uneven grass and rocks made it less smooth and a bit slower. The goal was as usual in a low key trail race- win and break the course record. The second would be really tough, especially as it was held by a guy who got 5th place at Mt. Wash and that year he beat the guy who holds the Presi, Pemi and Hut Traverse FKTs. For the win, I was particularly worried about the top seeded guy who was signed up for both the 25K and 50K, and pretty similar PR's to me on Strava. 

I spotted the top seed on the line who looked ready to go. No one else seemed to be a big threat. We waited around for a bit then were off. One guy led us out, the top seed, Justin got right on him, and I followed behind in third. After just a quarter mile or so, the top guy eased way up and Justin went into the lead. I stayed right on him but noticed I didn't feel comfortable at all. I ended up taking the CR for the first climb which is kind of weird considering we were neck and neck (I was slightly behind). I felt better on the ensuing downhill and passed him on the left but he stayed right on me. Went through the first mile together, then he repassed but made no ground up. We hit the first climb in mile 2, and I felt like absolute garbage. Felt like I was just trotting along but had zero drive or strength to put in a solid climb. Justin was the absolute who put in a powerful climb and just like that, the race was over. I bombed the climb, he crushed and the next intersection I hit I was told I was 20 seconds back. I felt ill, super weak and knew it was going to be a long struggle of a race.

I felt decent again on the following 300 foot descent. I believe the winner and I were running the same pace but he was way ahead. We then hit the 700 foot climb of the race to the high point of the course. I was so out of it and just hurting big time. Ran a 9 minute mile here where the top guys from last year were hitting high 7s and Justin ran in the 7:30s. Absolutely the low point of the race feeling horrible, thinking I'd get caught and not even being 1/5 done. 

Eventually got to the top after a long struggle. The next bit had a downhill followed by an uphill then into a long dirt rocky road (2 miles, -700ft). The downhills were the only sections I felt good on the whole race and I ran a solid sub-6 pace for the two miles, 30 seconds ahead of the winner. Came up on the aid station around mile 9 and had some water. I felt too sickly with a congested throat to consume a gel. The rest of the race was a blur. I felt awful, ran extremely slow and was shocked I never got caught for 2nd. The uphills hurt. I managed a small kick in but stumbled a bit on the uneven grass. Ended up 7 minutes behind the top and got pushed to third after a guy from wave 2 was a few minutes ahead. 

Results: 3rd in 1:47:57. Obviously a pretty weak performance, but it's tough when I feel that terrible and battle sickness throughout. Glad I at least kept the downhills respectable through the first 10 miles. I'd like to think I could compete for the win on a good day, but the top guy was just so strong on the uphills that it would have been tough. Congrats to him for a dominant win followed up with a tight second place in the 50K the next day. The second guy ran an impressive solo performance of wave 2. I wish the seeded had completed by PR's or race estimates, as that guy clearly didn't belong in the second wave and I would have preferred to have battled him during the race and cross the line third. I'm not a big fan of wave starts during COVID for this reason- your gun place should correlate with your net place for the most part and not have big surprise losing to people you never saw during the race (this also happens in Millennium running events, where the 3rd place across the line won the NH 10 miler and they held out the winning tape for the top 3 guys). While the start venue was really pretty in the mountains, I just didn't like the course. Of course when I want to do a trail race, I'd like to have quite a bit of singletrack in there, but for pineland which had none, the doubletrack and ski trails were so smooth and manicured that it just felt really comfortable. Here everything felt more uneven, older and like a lot less maintenance was done. I like my singletrack technical and my doubletrack/dirt roads smooth. Just a weird feeling and didn't feel smooth and comfortable on much of it. Still good to cross off a bucket list race, but despite the poor performance this may be a one and done performance for me. Well marked and great race direction however.

As for my foot, I had some soreness/discomfort that slightly worsened as I went on but didn't impede my performance in any way. Quite of bit of discomfort walking afterwards though.

Sunday: 5 Miles

5 miles OAB on paved bike path in Stowe. Was worried about foot but not too much of an issue.

Hiked Camel's Hump after, which had been a bucket list mountain for me. Struggled with foggy contacts but the long trail part was pretty cool with decent views and rugged terrain (some scrambling). Burrows-Long-Forest City. Felt good on Burrows and Forest City but the Long trail portion seemed to take a while. Foggy and windy on top but it was sort of clearing up.

Weekly Total: 52 Miles

YTD Total: 964 Miles

Weekly Highlight: Watching some great races of the Olympic Trials. Just nothing stellar for my running.

Weekly Lowlight: Foot pain, sickness, and struggling through a very light fun run tempo and a race. None of the above is fun. I'm only worried about the foot pain going forward but it does seem manageable.

Mount Washington Road Race- Weekly Log: June 14 to 20

Monday: 7 Miles

Easy ninigret in the evening.

Tuesday: 10 Miles

First OAB beach run of the year. Need to wear shoes for now until I'm fully off the athletic tape on my leg.

Wednesday: 12 Miles

AM easy 4 miles at Ninigret.

PM 8 miles Fun Run, 3 warm, 3 light tempo (5:43 average pace) during fun run, 2 cooldown back home. Wanted some relatively easy but still fast ahead of Mt. Washington. Strugglefest, felt flat and really out of it. 5:43 should be a breeze (marathon pace goal in just 16 months or so), but this was rough. 

Thursday: 10 Miles

Bigger rhody loop, a few very painful ankle twists. Ankle has been struggling this year and it just takes one little obstacles to have these painful twists. None of the trails were super technical and the spots where I had these twists weren't technical at all as I let my guard up. It'll take a while to have a fully healthy ankle so I'll need to explore the ankle brace route.

Friday: 8 Miles

More Ninigret easy miles.

Saturday: 6 Miles

Easy OAB on Blitzkrieg trail ahead of Mt. Wash.

Sunday: 17 Miles

Mt. Washington Road Race

2-mile warmup + bathroom break before making my way up to the start. I got into the 15-person elite wave that got to go first since they seeded based off 5K PRs for those who were first timers, not a great metric considering that isn't relevant for a longer mountain climb. I knew I didn't really belong, so my plan to go to straight to the back and hang there for the first portion of the race. Joe Gray showed up at the last minute. Soon enough, we were off. I went to around 10th place or so, a few of the guys behind just seemed too conservative. The first half mile felt extremely relaxed and controlled which was a great sign after hurting pretty much a quarter mile into Ascutney. I passed Brandon Newbould which I didn't feel great about since he's very fast and experienced at this stuff, but it just seemed like the natural thing to do. Really just cruising through most of the mile. It felt a little more forced hitting the mile mark, but still well within myself. Hit the mile in 7:56, 4 seconds ahead of my goal. Based off other's past strava activities, I wanted to go roughly 8-9-9:30-9:30-10:30-10:30-10:30 for mile splits which would put me around 1:12. Most years that would be top 10. Originally my goal was sub-1:10, top 10 but after Ascutney I realized that wasn't realistic and 1:13-1:15 was a better goal.

Around 1.5, I no longer had extra gears and just began the slow down and struggle. The passing began, with a guy or two getting past me every few minutes. I was pleasantly surprised they had paper cups for for our waves which saved me from stopping to refill. Mile 2 I was only 20 seconds or off the goal, but much more concerning as I didn't really have much push or drive left. Mile 3 a whole slew of people went by me including Newbould. That group ended up going 1:13 and a lot of top 10 guys, so that was probably my ideal race group right there, but like Ascutney, there just isn't the drive or gears around to make decision to go with people. I simply don't have it on this kind of grade.

Mile 3 was a good minute off goal pace and a bit of a struggle. I knew a good/great race was out the window and readjusted to thinking 1:15/1:16 might be a respectable time. Hit the halfway point in 34 minutes or so, not a great sign given how much harder it is. I was even more off on the above treeline stuff as the grades got steeper. I did have the benefit of catching up to guys, mostly in the elite wave who seemed to have less experience as they were mostly walking. At this point, for every guy who passed me, I'd pass another. I was pretty surprised to recognize one guy I was passing as David Sinclair, a professional trail runner from California who I guess just had an off day (probably would be top 3 based off some of his results). Erik Vanderdries the 56 year old passed me during mile 5. I hung with him for a few minutes then he was gone. Next was Brightman who got me with 1.5 to go. It actually a while (3-5 minutes) as he caught me on a pretty steep section and while I was running in a slow but steady effort, he would have short boughts of walking followed by fast surges of running. It seemed to work out as despite the walking, he kept even with me due to the surges and eventually went by. He was the last guy I saw before we hit a thick fog with little visibility. It was super windy and I kept thinking by bib was going to rip off. There was a relatively flat section that I wanted to pick up and get a quicker pace down but the lack of visibility and wind was challenging and my pace wasn't impressive here. The end was very disorienting as I heard lots of cheering and cowbells but had no idea where I was going or when the finish would came. The wall was pretty steep and eventually I was across the line in 1:17:55, for 22nd place. Neither stat is very respectable and very far off even my C goals. Definitely disappointing but glad I had Ascutney as a reality check a week out otherwise I'd probably have a hard accepting this result. 

My takeaways from this are:

1) I have no clue what I'm doing with uphill road race. With trail climbs in FKTs or just mountain runs, I've gotten into a nice groove and felt that my end pace/time for those ascent. Here I feel good for just a little bit and then really struggle and fall off. I don't think I went out too fast for this, but I really don't know how to gage my effort at any point.

2) I seriously underestimated the difficulty of the steep uphill road race. Ascutney was brutal and this didn't feel as bad but was still very hard and uncomfortable. Zero rhythm to be found climbing or gears to expend at the end, just not what I expected at all. I think hill training and getting more experience will be valuable for future auto road climbs.

3) I didn't belong in the elite field. I believe I ended up finishing 11/15 of the elites, so not the worst showing but as an absolute rookie and being way off the top 10, I had no business being put in the elites. Take the more experienced like Brightman and Vanderdries and put them in there next time.

Still glad to cross off a bucket list race. I'm not happy at all with the performance but aren't really sore about it either. I simply underestimated the race, wasn't quite ready for it and I'd like to come back for some redemption. Thinking 2023 will be a good year to return and do the mountain series as I'll be out of college and won't have a track season to recover from.

Weekly Total: 70 Miles

YTD Total: 912 Miles

Going to skip the highlights and lowlights for this week.