Monday: 7.5 miles - 6 x Camp Nokewa trail loops. My body was toasted thanks to Ragnar, even with a day off. I just tried to complete as many loops as possible for the elevation and the post run swim in Carr Pond. Total time: 1 hour with 1,040' of elevation gain (according to RideWithGPS).
Tuesday: 10.5 miles - Ten Rod Road dirt hill repeats. Last day of June and I needed another 1,000'+ day to complete my Climb For Nepal challenge (reaching the height of Everest). I parked on the New London Turnpike near the Wawaloam School. I then did 3 out-and-backs on the stretch of dirt road between the NLT and Rte 3 (at the intersection with Rte 165). A good hill on each end. The road itself is in great shape and well shaded. Some people use it as a cut through and drive really fast though. On a dry day like this one, it would create a plume of dirt I had to inhale. This was the only negative. The best part was finishing the month with 29,202' of elevation gain - slightly exceeding my goal. Total time: 1:18:24 with 1,367' of climbing.
Wednesday: 5 miles - Big River trail loop with my boss. I was planning on an easy day and then I got a call from my boss who wanted to run around Big River if I didn't mind showing him. We met at the Hopkins Hill lot and did a fun loop around Carr Pond and over the ridge. I debated tacking on a few more miles, but I really was content with just taking it easy on this hot day. Total time: 44:12.
Thursday: 0 - fun day spent in Stoddard New Hampshire with my family and my brother Glenn's family.
Friday: 6 miles - Mt Monadnock hike with my son via the Dublin Trail. My son has been asking to summit Mondnock since last fall. We finally nailed down the time to do it, and had decent weather to boot. We began around 9AM and made it to the top in about 2 hours. My son was very pleased with himself. Total time including a lunch break was about 4 hours.
Making a friend near the summit
Dublin Trail marker at the summit
summit selfie
trail graffiti left for me?
Saturday: 10 miles - Keene 4 on the 4th race. 10th(?) overall, 22:12. I traveled down from Stoddard with my dad and met up with my brother Greg at registration. The weather was really good - mid 60's and overcast. I did a warm up with Greg, 4 time winner Thomas, George (on bike), and a couple of fast high school kids. My legs felt really good thanks to the light workload the last 3 days. I didn't have any expectations going into this race. I was more just curious how all the mileage and hill training translated to road speed. My plan was to not look at my watch and just run by feel. Before the start I met up with Glenn and family, plus other familiar faces (Boj, Chris B, Clint). I did quite a few strides to keep lose before the gun. The field for this race is always competitive. I lined up in row 2. The first mile is on the bike path and a gradual up hill. I tried to be smart with my effort, but it is so weird to have so many people in front of me, but even weirder to have Greg only a few steps ahead. Last year I ran near Chris Barry the entire time and I found myself slightly in front of him this year. He ran a very disciplined race last year and I thought that I was in the right spot at this juncture. I made a mental note to increase my effort as I tend to slow down once the adrenaline wears off (usually after the first 1000' meters), and the bike path kept "climbing". By the time I finished the first mile (not sure where the mile marker was - Strava data had it as 5:30), I was by myself. There was no one catchable in front of me and I didn't hear anyone that close behind. This was going to be a time trial, at least for a while. I tried to keep up my effort on the slightly undulating road. I then bombed the steeper down hill and tried to sprint across the soggy field section. This really takes you out of your rhythm. After some tight turns (GPS mile 2 5:41 - might be off), you then are traveling against a long stream of runners. The advantage to this is that I was getting a lot of support (since I was alone). I wasn't sure if I was hitting the tangents as well as I could if the course didn't double back on itself. I sprinted the short steep hill, and began reeling in a young runner ahead of me. Finally I reached the bike path again and I knew I had about a mile left, mostly down hill or flat (GPS had my third mile at 5:52 which doesn't make sense). I steadily gained on the youngster ahead of me. In a fatherly moment, I encouraged him to keep it up and not let me pass him. He didn't and I passed him a few moments later. I was trying to really let my legs go. I was now glancing at my watch (first time was at about 3 miles) looking at my overall average pace. It was at 5:40 and I knew I was going to have a decent finishing time. I kept pushing, but waiting for the final turn to sprint. I had no one around. I hit the final straightaway and when I got visual on the clock it had just turned to 22 minutes. I was going to PR! I sprinted harder and finished in 22:12. I composed myself and then chatted with others as we watch our family and friends come in. I got in a group cool down with Greg, Thomas, Chris B, and Chris R. I bonked the last mile. A quick stop at D&D helped. Unfortunately, I'm not in the results. I did contact the timing company and they nicely put me in, but at this time, they haven't resubmitted to CoolRunning. Whatever.
finishing up - photo by tri-state-racing
Funness ensued back in Stoddard with the full Hammett clan, despite the unforecasted rain. We did manage to get out on the boat in the early evening.
swimming with the kids in Highland Lake
Sunday: 17 miles - Burlingame trail run alone. We had another fun morning on the lake and in the pool in Stoddard before heading back home in the afternoon. I didn't get to do a hilly trail run in NH this time, but at least I had some time in the early evening at home to get in a long run. It was muggy and a little buggy. I ran a peppy pace the entire time and felt good. A great way to end the week. Total time: 2:11:40 with 796' of climbing.
Weekly Total: 56 miles
Last Week: 45 miles
Year to Date: 1850 miles
Nice race! Hope to see you at run4kerri in a few weeks
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