Loon Mountain Race

I can never remember the exact details that brought me to Loon in 2016, but it gave me a special experience in running that I can never forget. I've raced on many surfaces but never quite had the moment of running straight up a mountain. Something that seemed insane or stupid to me in the past was now the most fun I could have. I had a pretty good debut, placing 67th overall in the National Mountain Running Championships. But, being a complete novice at mountain racing, there was plenty of time to shave off. That time wasn't really found in 2017. I did overall have improvement on most of the course, but only by around 30 seconds when I was hoping for more. The race felt different being non championships and a much muddier course that tacked on an extra downhill at the end. I came back this year with hardly any training as usual and expecting a much better result. Obviously that logic doesn't make much sense much but my overall fitness has always carried me through and if anything, I should be more fit this year.

Goals: While this was more a fun race than a target race for me, since I was in, I was going for the best finish possible. I hadn't made much of a dent into mountain racing in 2016 and had only slightly done so in 17' because of the much less competitive field. Being the national championships again, it was time to put in the kind of performance that would put my previous two races to shame. It's hard to estimate exactly where a top finish for me was, given that I had very little mountain experience and the field, course and conditions seems to vary greatly from year to year. I was more ambitious than usual for this, shooting for a top 20 finish at best and a top 30 finish at worst. Time-wise I had no expectations other than blow the last two years out of the water.

This year's course was similar to 2016 in that it finished at the top, but added .4 miles of flat dirt road in the beginning.

Pre-race was okay. I strayed away from my usual routine of eating 3 hours out because I didn't have my usual food being away from home and decided to grab an extra hour of sleep instead. I wasn't sure if this would affect me during the race, but it certainly did in the warm-up as I found myself in a long port-a-potty line 20 minutes until race start. Got everything out, did a few strides and got ready to go. Lined up third row or so near Steve Brightman and Jim Boule, hoping to get out much harder this year now that I knew the race well.

Decided to tuck my shirt in for this one as my singlet felt long and sloppy at the fun run earlier in the week. It felt a little odd being back here as I do such little mountain racing. On one hand, it was more relieving to be at this kind of race as I could forget about the pace and focus solely on getting up hills. On the other hand, it was going to be brutal and I was the least ready for it this year (even if I had the potential for the best finish). We were off soon enough, after I had moments of "Why am I even running this?". I wished I had lined up further up because I was passing people immediately including Brightman. Got out pretty fast in what I thought would be an appropriate pace for myself. I was very surprised to see low 5s in the first quarter mile, but thought it made sense, given the flatness. It wasn't long before we hit our first climb, usually what starts off the races here. I slowed a little and became less comfortable but maintained placement. Half a mile in, I became a little worried that the lead pack was only about 40 meters ahead of me. I could see the real mountain runners like Joe Gray and Andy Wacker ahead. I figured things would spread out soon and as we begun the first real climb up Brookway, they soon became out of sight. I could see Patrick Caron ahead but he was pulling away. I was just about a mile in and things already seemed to be falling apart. I was tired and falling back as people started to pass me. My quads were extremely tight to the point where it was almost painful. The race didn't seem to be going well and I was really looking forward to getting some recovery on flatter ground.

I soon passed the end of the Brookway ascent, turning onto what is always a fun trail section that breaks the race up. There are no grueling ascents here, so it does give the legs a needed break before popping back out onto the hard climbs. Yet, I still felt really terrible. I wasn't really that tired anymore but my lower quads were still insanely tight. People were blowing past me left and right and I had no response. The race seemed like it was over before I had gotten to the heart of it. Brandon Newbould and Drew Best went by me which seemed very odd considering I should never be in front of those guys. I figured I had either gone out too fast or they were being extremely conservative. Probably some combination of both. After that group left me, I was more or less on my own. The downhills breathed some life into my legs and made me feel a tiny bit better.

Exited the woods soon after that for a rolling mile. There are some decent climbs in here but enough descents and flats that the challenge was manageable. Saw dad at the waterstop who said I was in 27th. I was happy to be a decent position, but only saw myself being passed by dozens more before race end. Slowly caught up to a Canada runner on a very awkwardly sloped downhill. Now, the real race began.

The first portion of my race had felt significantly worse than usual but I was certain I had run much faster. Unfortunately, I also felt like I had sacrificed the more important part of my race- the last 2.5 miles of steep climbing to go out so fast. The first major climb is a quarter mile or so up 20% grade and it is brutal. I caught the Canadian early on and tried to push past him. He weirdly ran over to me to touch my back and encourage me as I passed him. Guess racing etiquette is different up there. The pass didn't last long as I ran out of steam immediately and we ran side by side for a while until he started to pull ahead. Towards the top, it seemed to too much for me and when I saw others walking, I followed suit. I didn't walk until UWB last year and I'm guessing not being into the mood to race it this year and not doing any hill work made me less tough. I was probably wasn't losing much time anyway as the runners were only going slightly faster than me. I alternated a walk-run, but running hurt a lot more. A couple guys went by me but I remained closed to the Canada guy.

We soon switched to a rocky, gravel service road which I remember hating last year for the lack of traction. I enjoyed it this year and felt like I was moving faster. One guy pulled over to the side for a break and the people around me as well as myself went by him. I was no longer getting rapidly passed and no longer feeling like death. Felt decent on the service road climb and even passed two guys up towards the top including the Canada guy and some guy from Texas. Soon enough I was at the gondola. Took some water from Josh Fields and stayed focused on the fact that I was nearly done. The descents were brutal as usual especially the one immediately following the gondola which is probably -20% grade. I knew I could go faster on haulback but wasn't willing to risk less control for more speed. Felt super wobbly and like I was about to fall over.

I forgot how long that section is as once I saw a sunny opening, I embraced myself for Upper Walking Boss. But I was only halfway through and had more descent to go. I gained on a few guys but didn't get close enough to reel them in. I made the turn and the Boss started. It took less than 30 seconds for my walk to start. There was hardly any running on it for me this year but I tried just not to be slow. This is always the most painful part of the year for me and my calves were burning. They were absolutely feeling the near 40% grade and I still had plenty to go. Surprisingly, I had a much better time on this. I felt like I was moving faster and only got passed twice, the first one being the Texan. I didn't have any strength to run. Saw probably the next 15 finishers only 150 meters of me, yet couldn't do anything about it. Even when passing Scott Mason, where I normally start to run, I was still in walking mode. With maybe 200 to go, I finally started a slow jog, determined to get one of the passers. I blew by him and crossed the finish line just over an hour.

I immediately felt awful and even threw up at the end of the finish chute, which is a first for me. Ended up 33rd place (two women beat me later, but I'm not counting that as the championship races are gender-separated), running 1:00:21. I was pleased. For my lower quads to feel so terrible early on yet still crack top 35, it was a solid race. Top 20 was always going to be a long shot and I came pretty close to B goal solely off my fitness, doing no actual mountain training. Not only improved massively in that department, but ran 2.5 minutes faster than 2016 (which was a short course) and 5 minute faster than 2017 (same distance, but slower) so I certainly put my past performances to rest and this is my new definitive mountain race. There's still plenty of improvement to be had as certain parts of my race felt weak. I definitely went out a touch fast and rested too much on the trail portion. I think incorporating more walking was a good idea but need a faster, more efficient method of power hiking. I also had felt like I wasn't mentally tough at all, thinking negative thoughts for a large portion of the race and always letting people go rather than going after them. Still had a strong performance overall and actually had a PR on ever single segment I race. There's dozens of segments of this course, one for pretty much every major section, meaning I improved everywhere, including places where I felt slow as a sloth. Also took off about 30s on my UWB PR, even if I was still relatively slow on it (41st place on that section).

I'll be back at this race for sure to take more time and place off. I'd prefer to do it again as the mountain championships, which will likely be 2020. May or may not do it next year, feel like I've gotten the full experience out of it and would rather wait until the same kind of field is available, as I prefer the uphill only course with a summit finish. The plan is to do 1-2 new mountain races next year, both in June. The first would be Cranmore, which I assume will be the 2019 championships and a new kind of race for me, both with the multiloops and the downhills which will be very interesting to try out. I'm hoping to fit this into my schedule. The second is Mt. Washington Road Race, something I've wanted to do for quite a while. This looks amazing and the ascent, mileage, experience and change to roads would all provide something new to my racing portfolio. I can only hope I get in through lottery. That's it for mountain racing for me this year, but plenty more to come in the next few years at Cranmore, Loon, Mt. Washington and likely more.

Weekly Log: July 16 to 22

Had considering jumping into a 10K held by HMF in central Connecticut, but just realized I didn't need or want to do more races than necessary. I had a planned a hiking and camping trip with a friend, mostly to get the VT and NY high points completed. After that, I began to do some of my college training after having the schedule for a week but not following as I had signed up for some races.

Monday: 4 Miles

After a pretty fun day of driving up to Vermont, just did not really have any time for running. Not wanting to take a zero I ran from the campsite looking for miles. Being at the base of Vermont's highest mountain, I was extremely hilly. This, combined with being really tired and being very dark made this an unenjoyable run. Stowe, VT. Pretty bummed out about only getting 4 as well.

Tuesday: 8 Miles

Nearly ran into the same issue as the previous night but decided just to get to the campsite late instead and fit in a run while it was light out. Very enjoyable easy route along beautiful Lake Champlain, although I was pretty wiped out from hiking Mt. Mansfield earlier. Legs and body were exhausted but I got the full 8 done and even dropped the last 3 miles sub-6. Was looking forward to a dip in Lake Champlain but was just way too tired to linger for long. Burlington, VT.

Wednesday: 8 Miles

Similar to Tuesday, just opted to do an out and back to get the 8. Also similar to Tuesday, I didn't have much motivation to run being super tired but ended up enjoying it. Ran much slower on this one as my legs felt really tight. Out and back from the campsite in North Elba (NY) to Saranac Lake. Very nice area in the Adirondacks. Enjoyed the mostly quiet roads and change in scenery.

Thursday: 12 Miles

Carter Preserve, ran perimeter trails. Started to do my coaches training schedule. Today called for 10 miles trails with strides at the end. Was sure how 10 will feel because I almost never run more than 8 but enjoyed it and it went by quickly. Too tired to do the strides right after, but got them in at home later. Broke in a pair of Saucony Peregrine 8.

Friday: 8 Miles

Ninigret workout. 2x3K at 10:30 w/60s recovery. Ran a bit too fast, hitting 10:08/9:59. Pretty hot out. Used the recovery to stop at my car, get a drink and take my shirt off. Probably took 2 minutes instead of 1. Felt okay, not hard but not easy at all. Difficulty: 2/5. Took the bike path CR, so that's another segment checked off.

Saturday: 12 Miles

Looped around Burlingame in the early afternoon. Took vin Gormley to Ninigret trails and north south trail to make a longer version of little Rhody. Mostly enjoyable, surprisingly pretty good weather.

Sunday: 13 Miles

Ran from the Weekapaug breachway out to watch hill and back with Tom. Pretty enjoyable, we cruised at 6:30 pace the whole way and it felt very comfortable. Legs got really heavy halfway throughout as it was raining out the whole time but overall a good run.

Weekly Total: 65 Miles
YTD Total: 1,060 Miles

Weekly Highlight: Honestly, an awesome and nearly perfect week. Got in two great hikes, did exploration in the mountains and had strong, enjoyable runs every day except Monday. I don't think I've done three 12-milers in a week, so this is not only my second highest week ever but the highest I've done without doubles.

Weekly Lowlight: Not much at all. Monday's run was unenjoyable and not what I wanted, but I more than made up for it later.

Two 5Ks- Weekly Log: July 9 to 15

Starting to get into summer racing, having two fast road races this week. The first, on Wednesday, is another Westerly Fun Run for everyone else, but an all-out CR attempt for myself. Next will be on Sunday at the Sailfest 5K in New London, a great event that I try to do as often as possible.

Monday: 8 Miles

Ran pretty late as I needed to sleep in to recover from Loon. Temperatures were more comfortable than last week's brutal upper 80s, but still being in the lower 80s, they didn't exactly feel good. Tacked on some local misquamicut roads and mixed in Newbury trails. Felt okay.

Tuesday: 6 Miles

Ran a road loop from Avondale in the morning. A little later than I wanted. Felt okay. Cut off a few miles and didn't push it to rest up for the fun run.

Wednesday: 8 Miles

Westerly Fun Run CR Attempt. Went out really hard the first half mile which probably hurt me later on. Settled in the second half to split a slightly fast 4:48 first mile. Legs went to complete crap after that and the rest of the race was a suffer fest. Slowed down a lot but stayed strong enough to run a 5:00 average pace and run a 16:07, probably my top 5K effort ever. Splits: 4:48/5:10/5:06. Overall pleased with the performance. Would have liked to run faster miles 2 and 3 (would like sub-5 all three miles) but still ran a pretty decent pace.

Thursday: 11 Miles

Took the morning to explore some new trails in Talcott Mountain and Penwood State Parks in CT. Super fun trails, extremely hilly and moderately technical made for some very enjoyable run. Got to run the metacomet trail again, awesome trail. First 7 was a loop in Penwood followed up the ascent up Talcott.

Friday: 8 Miles

Had to take care of a few things in the morning, so woke up earlier than usual to get a run in. To save time just ran from the house. Planned around the pond loop but instead did an out and back to breach drive and back because I was enjoying running on Atlantic ave. Felt pretty good and a ran a decent overall pace of 6:27, progressing from 6:50 to 6:10. Not sure what is it about morning runs from but always have digestive issues and have to poop.

Saturday: 7 Miles

Waited until later in the day to run. Tried to run beach at low tide but was about an hour. Went from town beach to watch hill and back. Even though it was still low tide, it was pretty annoying how A) sloped the beach was at times, B) soft it was at times and C) how high the water came up, especially crossing the rocks at the end of atlantic. Overall, not an enjoyable run. Super bored the whole time as the miles dragged on. Feet and ankles felt really messed up.

Sunday: 9 Miles

Sailfest 5K. Was looking for a big time after running a very strong split at the fun run (and feeling pretty flat while doing so). Not sure what the problem was but felt so much worse and completely died. I felt terrible pretty much the whole race. Still broke 16 to make it a not awful performance, just not very good. Some Mohegan strider showed and absolutely wrecked me after we ran together mile 1. 15:58, 2nd OA. Will do a follow up post.

Weekly Total: 57 Miles
YTD Total: 995 Miles

Weekly Highlight: Had a mostly good fun run, pretty sure pace-wise and 5K split were right around a PR which is great because my PR was run on a track. Not only ran a very fast time for myself but my legs didn't even feel fresh that day and I still feel like there's plenty of room for improvement on miles 2 and 3. I think I'm capable of running under 15:30 on a good day and probably around 15:10 on a track. I say this often, but I truly feel like I am in the best shape of my life right now. Thursday's trail run was super fun as well.

Weekly Lowlight: The other 5K. Splits at Sailfest were +5/+10/+5. Sailfest is probably a harder course overall (not including the ridiculous amount of extra distance you get at the fun run) but I ran so much slower, even though I didn't feel good at all at the fun run and went out much smarter at Sailfest. Would like to get in another hard 5K before the summer ends to run a fast time.

Loon Mountain- Weekly Log: July 2 to 8

Headed back up to the white mountains, only this time for a race. Loon Mountain Race again, not as excited this year because I've done it twice, both championship and non-championship. Feel the only thing new going this year is that I have some extra experience going in and should be in better shape, meaning a better finish. Hoping for a top 20 finish.

Monday: 8 Miles

Evening running in Ninigret. Decided to ramp things up a bit by going for the segment in the wildlife refuge section. First three were moderate- with CRs in the 6:30s pace range, I ran a tempo pace around of each. They were also tiring but still relaxed and comfortable. The Ninigret path CR was at 5:16 for 0.8 miles. Pretty much ran this all out and obliterated the CR. Overall a nice little tempo session followed by a hard (near) mile. 8 at 6:10 pace.

Tuesday: 8 Miles

Stonington Fun Run in the evening. Got dropped off on Farmholme road and did a 4 mile point to point warm-up. We left way later than I wanted to and I didn't want to risk being late so I ran the warm-up at 6:23, much faster and more uncomfortable than I wanted. Not sure whether this or this run screwed me up, but whatever reason my quad felt awful (extremely heavy and tight) during the actual fun where I ran a 5:48 average pace, progressing from 5:58 to 5:37. 1 mile CD to make 8, but felt pretty terrible.

Wednesday: 7 Miles

Have been eager to run hard trail segments for a while and want to go after Sammy C's Up where several WTAC members ran all-out efforts on last fall. Had no idea what I had to offer on this. The truth is, I don't know these trails very well (or many trails, that is) and that was my major flaw coming in and I went off the trail. That was super frustrating and I jogged back on the road. It was super hot out and I felt terrible. Got it together and went for the Lenny Lane CR, except I was much more tired this time. Apparently got it by a whole minute but upon review, I missed a big section and decided to flag it.

Thursday: 5 Miles

After feeling awful Wednesday and Sunday, I didn't think it could get any worse. I was wrong. Ran in upper 80s, completely exposed again from Stonington High School. Instantly felt terrible and considered aborting my run just a few miles. Stopped and took a lot of breaks, and somehow managed to get 5. A lot less than my desired total. Literally felt like I could not go on.

Friday: 10 Miles

Went back to Burlingame for the CR attempt, but after feeling tight/heavy and having a race in just two days, decided just to scope it out for the next time. Felt really tired at first on Sammy C's but felt okay afterwards on a long dirt road loop. Tacked on another loop which is the start of BRR before returning on Vin Gormley. Was surprised to get 10, but was happy to get back some of the lost miles.

Saturday: 6 Miles

Mine Falls shakeout in Nashua, NH. There were a couple different places on the drive up where we could stop, but this ended up being the most convenient. Have wanted to run here for a while. Just as I expected, the trails were XC style, wide, flat and manicured. Perfect for a shakeout. Still felt pretty warm and tired. Miles went by slowly.

Sunday: 9 Miles

Loon Mountain. Made a lot of mistakes, but held on for a pretty solid finish and am mostly pleased with the results. Improved on every single segment (which there are at least 15 of), meaning I pretty much ran every section faster than 2017 and 2016. Huge improvement time-wise, about 4-5 mins faster than the last few years. 33rd OA, which isn't quite as good of a placement as I wanted but not too far off. Will do a follow-up write-up but haven't really been working on anything lately, so it may be a while.

Weekly Total: 53 Miles
YTD Total: 938 Miles

Weekly Highlight: Going up to New Hampshire to race Loon again. Hadn't been excited for this as I had done it before and didn't have much confidence in my mountain abilities this year, but still pulled off a strong performance and had fun doing so. Enjoyed running in Ninigret Monday.

Weekly Lowlight: Most of the runs were week were not so great. It was ridiculously hot and humid all week and I was felt crappy and unmotivated, taking many more breaks in a week probably than I do in most months. Hoping for better weather and feeling better on runs.

Summer Plans

After a week off and a week of running, I'm looking forward to this summer. While it'll be short and over very quickly, I hope to make the most of it while it still lasts. Overall, I'm looking to get in a solid training base for XC in the fall, get in a few hard race efforts with hopefully fast times and explore new places, both close and far. Training wise, I'm looking to run 60-70 miles a week and get in a long run on Sundays which will be fairly new for me. I still haven't received a training schedule but I'll probably just do a few race specific workouts here and there. I've been looking at races and am mostly focusing on doing, local fast road races rather than something completely different. While I love trail races, there just aren't that many in summer without going too far away. I've come up with a list of potential races and will list them below.

Note: the formatting is incredibly weird in this post and will likely be painful on the eyes. I blame blogger.

Loon Mountain Race

July 8th- Lincoln, NH
Trail/Mountain
Status: Registered

Previous Results:
2017- 1:05:35, 11th of 462 (6.6mi course)
2016- 1:02:55, 67th of 577 (10K, US Mountain Running Championships)

Goals and Thoughts: To be completely honest, I'm not that excited for Loon this year. While I've thought about doing fun run trails all year, it just seems like more of a road racing summer for this year. I feel like I'm in good shape right now, but really have no idea what I have to offer in mountain racing. I'm already committed so I want to run well place wise. I'm hoping to get out much more aggressively this year as I always fall apart on UWB. Need to get everything out of the tank before that point. Ideally, I would like to finish top 20. If the race was exactly the same as 2016, I feel top 40 should be a given. Need to be tough and hopefully come out strong in the end.

Westerly Fun Run

July 11th- Westerly, RI
Road
Status: Committed

Previous Results:
2017- 16:21

Goals and Thoughts: Even though this seems like the least important race, given its a fun run, I'm really looking forward to attempting another CR, hopefully well under my 16:21 effort last year. I feel like I'm in great shape right now and still have a week to get in better shape. I feel like 5K is my best distance right now and want to absolutely hammer this course. After running a 4:55 second mile last week, I know I can go out sub-10 for the first two miles. As long as I can manage around a 5:05 third mile, I'll have a shot at breaking 16 (which is around a 15:30 effort). Have a backup date of August 8th.

Sailfest 5K

July 15th- New London, CT

Road

Status: Registered

Previous Results:

2016- 16:12, 2nd of 221

2015- 17:26, 4th of 225

2013- 22:16, 33rd of 234

2012- 24:24, 120th of 454

Goals and Thoughts: Looking forward to race 5Ks this summer, but not sure if I'll have the freedom to in August. Going for a pretty big time at Sailfest, hoping for under 15:40. I know the hills in mile 2 will be tough but if I manage to be tough as well I know I can hit a solid time. Probably going to see how the fun run goes a few days before and try a similar strategy if it does go well. Maybe a W is in the book as well, although with consistent sub-16 winning times, I'll need an extra gear in the last mile. I was tempted to run beavers because of the championship status but after getting redemption last year, I don't feel that its necessary.

Blessing of the Fleet

July 27th- Narragansett, RI

Road

Status: Undecided

Previous Results:

2016- 57:42, 12th of 2438

2015- 1:01:42, 53rd of 2385

2013- 1:07:47, 137 of 2710

2012- 1:17:21, 341 of 2642

Goals and Thoughts: I'm am completely on the fence for this one. On one hand, I didn't race Blessing last year and could hit a pretty big PR without even going all out. On the other hand, it's been two years since I've done a long distance race and don't really feel ready to do one again. If I do this, I'll definitely be going after a big time, probably sub-55 but definitely sub-56. I feel like its possible on a good day but I don't want to get to mile 3 and already be on the pain train. 

Run 4 Kerri

August 5th- South Kingstown, RI

Road

Status: Registered

Previous Results:

2016- 21:10, 8th of 488

2015- 22:42, 17th of 519

2013- 27:59, 83rd of 729

2012- 28:56, 91st of 693

2011- 30:52, 88th of 470

2010- 33:55, 263rd of 810

2009- 35:56, 330th of 883

Goals and Thoughts: Not really sure why I didn't do this last year. I know I didn't want to race as much but not sure why I picked doyle over this. Definitely missed out on a good race and am excited to be back this year. Emailed the race director about getting a spot in the elite field (personalized bib!) which he said I could have. 4 Mile race is essentially a long 5K so hoping not to be too much over 5K pace. 20:30 or faster would be pretty good. It'd be awesome to crack 20 but that seems super unlikely and would probably hurt like hell just to try. Really excited for this. 

Bobby Doyle Summer Classic

August 12th- Narragansett, RI

Road

Status: Undecided

Previous Results:

2017- 26:52, 13th of 357

2016- 28:10, 48th of 679 (USATF-NE 5-Mile Champs)

2015- 28:31, 113th of 663 (USATF-NE 5-Mile Champs)

Goals and Thoughts: Like Blessing, I don't really know if I'm going to do this. The primary motivation would be to have a huge PR but I don't feel that its necessary to run it. It's still an awesome and highly competitive race but I'm just not sure yet. I know I could take a solid minute off my PR and crack 26. Ran mediocre last year and downright awful the year before. This might be a last minute decision. 

The Last Period

The following 5 races I all am extremely eager to run but not sure how many I will be able to do given that it will be right before I go to college. If I have to go to college early for running, I may be miss some or all of these. If I move in at the regular time, I potentially could make all of them.

Bottone Mile

August 15th- Westerly, RI

Road

Status: Interested

Previous Results (track):

2015- 4:44, 1st

2014- 5:22, 5th

2013- 5:34, 12th

2012- 6:10 (non-elite section)

2011- 6:27 (non-elite section)

Goals and Thoughts: Really would just be doing this one for fun and to support WTAC events. I don't really think anyone gets excited about the Bottone mile and now that it's on road, absolutely no one will be. Either way, I'm hoping to hammer this. But being on roads, I can't really expect much time-wise. I suppose under 4:40 would be pretty good but I wouldn't be all that surprised if I ran 4:50.

Wahaneeta Trail 5K

August 18th- Westerly, RI

Trail

Status: Very Interested

Previous Results: 

2017- 20:05, 1st of 50

Goals and Thoughts: Had an absolute blast running last year. Didn't really race, sitting on Tom for half the race and then taking control. Was disappointed only running 20:05, even if I still broke the CR. Really difficult course, not fast at all. Want to hammer it this year, maybe break 18. Not sure whether a fast or conservative start would be better here. I could see myself being in a lot of trouble if I went out too fast here. 

Battle of Stonington 5K

August 21st- Stonington, CT

Road

Status: Interested

Previous Results: 

2013- 19:39, 18th of 244

2012- 20:48, 38th of 244

2011- 23:33, 65th of 176

Goals and Thoughts: I've never really liked this race which mostly came down to the incredibly boring and mentally difficult two-lap format. I also never really had the option to do it in the last few years because it was during the first week of Cross Country and I had to choose between Battle and Schonning. Even though I still hate two-loop courses, there's no denying that this is an incredibly fast one. This will all come down to whether I have the flexibility to do it or not, but would love to have the opportunity to race another 5K, especially a whole month after Sailfest. Feel like this would be a perfect opportunity to test my fitness right before the XC season starts up and have a shot at a decently big W.

Stonington XC Fun Run

August 22nd- Stonington, CT

Easy Trail/Grass

Status: Very Interested

Previous Results: 

2017- 18:42, 2nd of 112

Goals and Thoughts: Had a lot of fun doing a mostly easy effort here last year (although pretty much no one tried). Not sure whether I'd want to hammer this or not especially as I would be completely trashed from battle and wanting to rest for Schonning. Either way, I still want to get the win and CR. Not sure how fast I could run this- given that mile 2 is a lot slower. Maybe 16:30ish.

Schonning 5K

August 24th- Westerly, RI 

Road

Status: Interested

Previous Results:

2016- 15:42 (3-Mile), 1st of 95

2015- 17:02, 1st of 98

2014- 18:27, 5th of 131

2013- 18:33, 7th of 105 (short course)

2012- 21:45, 31st of 129

2011- 23:51, 22nd of 52

2010- 24:24, 33rd of 85

2009- 26:06, 55th of 85

2008- 29:56, 55th of 70

Goals and Thoughts: This race is/was very important to me as I think it may have been my first ever race. As you can see from results, I had a long streak going but finally gave it up last year. Got really upset about two things that happened in 2016. The first was that a turnaround was skipped, making the course a good 200 meters shorter than 5K and the second was that I was asked to run on the sidewalk going up Grove street which is not fun at all in a 5K. Got really upset about it and vowed not to come back the next year. Worried this will happen in 2018 but still want to race it anyway and get in another hard 5K or at least have another strong showing on this course. I think the only other race that I started doing so long ago and have such a long streak at is Stavros, which I won't be able to do for the next 4 years. 

So that's my planned race schedule. The big ones are Kerri, the fun run and Sailfest. Blessing, Doyle and last ones are all big question marks. Loon will be more for fun, but I'll still hammer it. 

Hiking

Ever since I organized and completed my first self-planned hike last November up Mount Monadnock, I became addicted to hiking and have put so much thought into what hikes I can do since then. And due to injury, a tight training/racing schedule and poor planning, I really haven't done much since that. I explored Sleeping Giant State Park in December but then did nothing until hiking Mount Greylock in pretty poor conditions in April. After the outdoor track season, I've had much more freedom and hiked in High Point State Park (NJ) and the Hudson Highlands (NY). Had a huge breakthrough doing something completely new- a Presidential Traverse which had about 4 times the amount of elevation and duration than my previous longest hike as well as being much more technical than any other. I won't do anywhere near as much hiking as I originally wanted to- due to the time, energy and money it takes to do so. However, I still have some great hikes planned out, even if none of them will likely be as much of an adventure as the Presidential Traverse. Check out my Mountains Conquered and High Points pages for regular updates. 

CT High Point- Mount Frissell, Bear Mountain

One of my big lifetime goals in hiking and travel is to summit/complete all 50 U.S. highpoints. I wanted to get the ball rolling this summer by getting 8 of them. I currently have 4- RI, MA, NJ, and NH. The CT one is completely out of the way. The official high point is Mount Frissell, whose summit lies in MA but the highest peak is actually Bear Mountain. I need to figure a day to do this, hopefully as soon as possible to get it out of the way.

Vermont/New York Hiking- Camel's Hump, Mt. Mansfield, Mt. Marcy

I'm planning on going on a short (3-4 day trip) up to northern Vermont and New York to do some hiking and high points. While I'll do other activities besides hiking, hiking will be the focus of the trip. Day 1 I'll do a short hike up Camel's Hump after the drive up, Day 2 will be a hike up Mt. Mansfield, the Vermont High Point. Day 3 I had planned to hike the Adirondacks Great Range Traverse (24 miles, summiting around 10 mountains in Adirondacks high peak wilderness including Mt. Marcy) but after experiencing the incredible exhausting logistics and exhausting hike that was the Presidential Traverse (which was an amazing hike but the driving, figuring out the logistics of getting back and the toll it took on my legs as well as my running was brutal). After two days hiking, I might rather just do Mt. Marcy and save the entire traverse for another time.

                            

                            

                            

Maine Hiking- Acadia National Park, Baxter State Park

I'm also planning on going on a longer trip (5-6 days) to Maine to do some hiking and other activities. I'll probably do a few hikes in Acadia National Park including Cadillac Mountain and Champlain Mountain, the former is the first place to see sunrise in the US (although I guess that's in fall and winter only) so a pre-dawn hike and experiencing sunrise on top would be pretty epic. I'd also like to check out coastal towns like Camden and Portland. The big draw of the trip is hiking Mount Katadhin, the Maine high point where the Knife's Edge is supposed to be one of the most difficult stretches of trail in the Northeast. Not sure whether this will be more epic than the Presidential Traverse but hoping it comes close.

                                 

                             

                             

That's my plan for this summer. It doesn't cover that much but I'm thinking the two little trips will be an absolute blast. Planning to do more over time (I'll get to that later).

Segments

While not a huge focus of the summer, I do want to run some segments fairly hard and take some local CRs before heading off to New Hampshire where I'll end up doing the vast majority of my runs. I feel like it'd be a lot of fun if someone takes a segment that I tried hard on while I'm away and would keep me excited to come back. I made a list of segments I want to take this summer, and started off by taking 4 segments in Ninigret (Grassy Point, Cross Refuge Trail, Fishing and Ninigret Path) and 1 in Watch Hill (The Breen-Pasadena Shuffle). Also took Avondale Trail but lost it after just a week. Sorry about the formatting moving forward. This is copied from a word document but is extremely difficult to change in HTML.

Here's the remaining list:

Ninigret

Ninigret Bike Track- 0.91 Miles

Pavement

Current CR- 4:34 (5:00 pace)

Current CR Holder- Jonathan Hammett (11/09/2014)

Difficulty: Very Hard

Estimated Effort- 4:19 (4:45 pace)

Bike Path Loop- 1.23 Miles

Pavement

Current CR- 6:54 (5:36 pace)

Current CR Holder- Tom Bousquet (12/28/2016)

Difficulty: Moderate

Estimated Effort- 6:27 (5:15 pace)

Charlestown Chili 5K- 3.06 Miles

Pavement

Current CR- 17:32 (5:44 pace)

Current CR Holder- Jonathan Hammett (01/27/2018)

Difficulty: Moderate

Estimated Effort- 16:49 (5:30 pace)

Arnolda Circuit- 1.93 Miles

Pavement

Current CR- 10:51 (5:37 pace)

Current CR Holder- Jonathan Hammett (11/09/2014)

Difficulty: Moderate

Estimated Effort- 10:27 (5:25 pace)

Local

WH Lighthouse Sprint- 0.71 Miles

Pavement

Current CR- 4:05 (5:44 pace)

Current CR Holder- Scott Snyder (12/23/2015)

Difficulty: Easy

Estimated Effort- 3:40 (5:10 pace)

McCoy Fun Run- 3.19 Miles

Road

Current CR- 16:21 (5:07 pace)

Current CR Holder- Matthew Walker (07/26/2017)

Difficulty: Extremely Difficult

Estimated Effort- 15:57 (5:00 pace)

Bluff Point

Bluff Point Fire Road Full- 3.60 Miles

Dirt/Gravel Trail

Current CR- 19:45 (5:28 Pace)

Current CR Holder- Sam Peckham (04/25/2018)

Difficulty: Very Hard

Estimated Effort- 19:12 (5:20 pace)

Bluff Point Fire Road Descent- 0.76 Miles

Dirt Trail

Current CR- 3:37 (4:44 pace)

Current CR Holder- Stephen Pretak (08/18/2016)

Difficulty: Impossible

Estimated Effort- 3:36 (4:44 pace)

Bluff Point Fire Road Climb- 0.77 Miles

Dirt Trail

Current CR- 5:00 (6:27 Pace)

Current CR Holder- Matthew Ridley (04/30/2013)

Difficulty: Moderate

Estimated Effort- 4:37 (6:00 pace)

Burlingame 

Sammy C’s Up- 2.27 Miles

Technical Single-Track

Current CR- 17:34 (7:43 Pace)

Current CR Holder- Jonathan Hammett (10/18/2017)

Difficulty: ???

Estimated Effort- ??? (All-Out) 

Sammy C’s Down- 2.35 Miles

Technical Single-Track

Current CR- 18:18 (7:46 Pace)

Current CR Holder- Jonathan Hammett (06/11/2017)

Difficulty: ???

Estimated Effort- ??? (All-Out)

Duval

Bull Head Lollipop- 0.96 Miles

Trail

Current CR- 6:18 (6:30 Pace)

Current CR Holder- Mike Galoob (05/13/2018)

Difficulty: ???

Estimated Effort- ??? 

Duval: Old Post to Gravelly- 0.70 Miles

Trail

Current CR- 4:47 (6:47 Pace)

Current CR Holder- Mike Galoob (05/13/2018)

Difficulty: ???

Estimated Effort: ???

Duval: Gravelly to Old Post- 0.71 Miles

Trail

Current CR- 4:22 (6:08 Pace)

Current CR Holder- Mike Galoob (05/13/2018)

Difficulty: ???

Estimated Effort: ??? 

Duval Trail- 1.71 Miles

Trail

Current CR- 10:31 (6:08 Pace)

Current CR Holder- Mike Galoob (08/12/2013)

Difficulty: ???

Estimated Effort: ??? 

Duval Trail (Red House- Gravelly Hill)- 1.68 Miles 

Trail

Current CR- 10:47 (6:25 Pace)

Current CR Holder- Mike Galoob (07/05/2017)

Difficulty: ???

Estimated Effort: ??? 

Carter

The Grassland Mile (CW)- 0.97 Miles

Grass

Current CR- 5:08 (5:15 Pace)

Current CR Holder- Chris Garvin (04/29/2014)

Difficulty: Moderate

Estimated Effort- 4:51 (5:00 Pace)

The Grassland Mile (CCW)- 0.98 Miles

Grass

Current CR- 4:48 (4:52 Pace)

Current CR Holder- Chris Garvin (09/14/2013)

Difficulty: Hard

Estimated Effort- 4:39 (4:45 Pace)

Jamestown/Newport

Newport Cliff Walk- 3.39 Miles

Pavement/Cement/Rock

Current CR- 21:34 (6:21 Pace)

Current CR Holder- Mike Galoob (10/05/2014)

Difficulty: Hard

Estimated Effort: ???

Beavertail- 5.91 Miles

Road

Current CR- 36:21 (6:09 Pace)

Current CR Holder- Jonathan Hammett (5/31/2016)

Difficulty: Hard

Estimated Effort- ? (5:50 Pace)

Obviously I won't get to all or even probably half of these. I made this list back in April so my goals aren't quite the same now as they were back then. I'd probably only will focus on Sammy C's Up, The Ninigret and the Duval segments. Regardless, these just seem like a great way to make workouts more interesting.

Destinations

Other than just doing new hikes I'd also like to explore new places while running. So far I have run in The Cumberland Monastery and The Preserve. Here's a list of other runs I want to do (note: this is more of bucket list than a 2018 summer list):

• Talcott Mountain/Pennwood State Park
• Salmon River State Forest 
• Bluff Head Trails
• Cockaponset State Forest
• Nipmuck State Forest
• Nehantic State Forest
• People's State Forest
• Parker Woodland
• Colt State Park
• East Bay Bike Path
• South County Bike Path
• Fisherville Brook Wildlife Refuge
• Block Island
• Fisher's Island
• Wachusett Mountain State Reservation
• Holyoke Range Traverse
• Greylock Range Traverse
• Mine Falls Park
• Monadnock Double Traverse
  

Future Summers

This has a lot of potential to change, but I'm already thinking about plans for the next summers. Here's a list of racing and hiking destinations I hope to cover in the next few years or the years after that. Getting out a month earlier will give me many more option to race, but not sure what I'll be able to do.

2019 Potential Races

• Shad Bloom 10K
• Niantic Bay 10K
• Backroad Ramble
• Mt. Washington Road Race
• Blessing of the Fleet
• Beach to Beacon 10K

Bucket List Races (Summer)

• Healthy Kidney 10K
• Sleepy Hollow Mountain Race
• Pack Monadnock
• North Face Endurance Challenge- NY
• Mystic Half/10K
• Wachusett Mountain Race
• Pineland Farms Trail Running Festival
• Twilight Trail Race
• Cranmore Mountain Race
• Mt. Ascutney Foot Race
• North Face Endurance Challenge- MA
• Gaspee Days 5K
• Catamount 25K
• BAA 10K
• Whiteface VK
• Whiteface Sky Race
• Mount Marathon
• Peachtree Road Race
• Tarc Blue Hills Skyline Run
• XTERRA Steep Rock
• Pikes Peak Ascent
• Kilington Mountain Race

I also have big plans for hiking in the next four years or so, but rather have a list of ideas than thought out plans. The big ones is to get around 18 high points in one very long road trip that focuses completely on hiking. Obviously this would be very difficult logistically, so hopefully my plan would be get out of college, race Shad Bloom, go on the trip and be back in time to race Backroad Ramble. I'd get every remaining high point in the east and maybe spend extra time in the nicer areas like the great smoky mountains and Shenandoah National Park. My second goal is to do some epic hikes like the Presidential Traverse including the Pemi Loop (probably two days). Since I don't have set plans besides these two, here are a list of hikes/mountains I would like to complete at some point. I'm sure this list will only grow over time, but these are the ones I've done some research on.

Short Hikes

• Bear Mountain (NY)
• Storm King Mountain (NY)
• Mount Watatic (MA) 
• Wachusett Mountain (MA)
• Mount Kearsarge (NH)
• Mount Major (NH)
• Mount Cardigan (NH)
• Mount Chocorua (NH)
• Mount Moosilauke (NH)

Long Hikes

• Adirondacks Great Range Traverse- 24 Miles (NY)
• Devil's Path- 20 Miles (NY)
• Taconic Rim- 26 Miles (MA-CT-NY)
• Pemi Loop- 31 Miles (NH)
• Bigelow Range Traverse- 16 Miles (ME)

College Goals

I really have no idea what to expect in college, but am hoping to have a huge breakthrough to propel me to the next level of running. I'm excited for much higher mileage. I was pretty happy how my first two years of high school running went, but not so much with the last two. Basically, I want to catch up to my original HS goals my first year of college and then build on that. I hope to be a 3K/5K runner indoors and a 5K/10K runner outdoors. I don't know much about college running, so I'm sure my goals will change over time. I don't know anything about cross country or 10K times, so I'll leave those out.

Freshman Year Goals

• Sub 8:30 for 3K
• Sub 15 in the 5K (Indoors)
• 14:45 for 5K (Outdoors)
• Be a regular scorer for UNH in XC

Overall Goals

• Become the top distance runner at UNH
• Break the school record in the 3K (8:02), 5K (14:02) and 10K (29:32)
• Become an all-american
• Break 8 in the 3K and 14 in the 5K
• Break 4:10 in the mile

Hopefully this super long post didn't bore you too much. Looking forward to a summer of running and then starting out as a college runner!