To The Brink... 20th - 26th

I've decided to loosely keep track of the elevation gain for my weeks.  I always want to get the best bang-for-the-buck when I drive to a mountain for repeats, or get a solid hill workout in a long run, and usually take note of the gain.  I figure it's time to start increasing the elevation in preparation for the 100 miler, and knowing where I'm at for the entire week is a good starting point.

It's a bit laughable though as most of my runs are relatively flat and what little elevation I get is in one or two workouts.  So take all these figures with a grain of salt, especially because every tracking software out there gives different figures.  I've gone with the lower end and use this data as reference just like time on feet, or mileage acquired.


Monday - Rest

Tuesday - Sebago to the Sea:  1:34:24, 9m, 594ft.  Started off at the Riverton Trolley Park and hit the Sebago to the Sea trail via the golf course and beyond. Ended up bushwhacking a bunch when the trail ended and explored a bit to find more trails. Slipped a few times due to no screw shoes but otherwise the trails were OK.

Wednesday - Mt. Agamenticus:  1:41:10, 10m, 2160ft.  Drove down to Agamenticus with Dave L. today for a little hill fun. Dave is getting ready for a hiking trip and had never been to the mountain so he explored the area while I ran. I decided to use the screw shoes knowing there probably wasn't much snow and ice left. It turned out to be about 70% mud, rocks, and ground and the rest ice and snow, mostly on the back side of the mountain. Running randomly I bumped in to Dave a few times and at one point slipped after chatting with him a bit. I was surprised, and my right toe starting hurting so I inspected my shoes to find the majority of the screws gone. The trails are just too rocky in some sections to avoid losing the screws, but it's still just too dangerous to not have them in.

The run went well, although I was definitely slowing down at the end and ready for some caloric replenishment.

Thursday -  Scarborough: 1:20:46, 9.2m, 333ft.  Real nice and scenic run from the house on the road/shoulder over to Scarborough Marsh area. Took a bunch of roads I've not been on that much and had an enjoyable time looking at the houses, the marsh, trains, birds and seeing the sky change. Took it nice and easy in my old Mudroc 290's and felt relaxed most of the way.

Friday - Eastern Trail:  49:41, 6m, 99ft.  Nice mellow run along the Eastern Trail with only a few icy spots.
Scarborough:  44:05,  5m, 250ft.  Tried out the Inov-8 Road 233's with some slippery results. It's probably been three years since I had on road shoes and I was definitely not used to the hard rubber on slippery snow and slush. I bit dangerous in the conditions and darkness on the roads.

Saturday - Bradbury:  3:23:31, 18 m, 3292 ft.  Really low energy run. Struggled to maintain pace and keep fueling and hydrating to make it through.  We started with the usual healthy pack of Trail Monsters Jim, Ian, Zak, Blaine, Jamie, Mindy, Val, Dave, Jordan, and thinned out as the day went.  We ended with Ian, Zak and I, with Mindy and Val getting 20.

After 8 miles in really great crunchy, snowy conditions hitting Tryon Mt. and cruising on part of the Beautiful Loop I knew the last half of our run was going to be tough.  We hit 6 hill repeats on Lunch Break Hill.   Due to whatever combination of the weeks workouts, poor diet the day before and just feeling blah, I was a sack of uselessness on the hill.  My heart was racing so much and my breathing was so labored that I ended up just walking most of the final three laps.  All smiles though as I knew there was no chance of quitting the workout, that this day was going to be all mental acuity for "the bank," but not much for fitness.

It was great to see Ian having an awesome day and fully charging all the repeats and looking light and strong.  Zak as well didn't walk any of the hills and stayed solid throughout the workout, even though he ran out of water and bonked.  It turned out Val and Mindy had great days also and by the sounds of it so did the rest of the TM's.  I finished the day well, stuffing my face in front of the fire, but I want to make sure I don't overdue it as I feel I'm on the brink of over-training.  Time for a nice recovery week.

Sunday - Scarborough:  2:26:09, 17.3m, 680 ft.  Surprisingly nice road run on a sunny, windy day. I took it nice and easy and ran down past Higgins Beach then did the Scarborough Downs loop and a bit around the neighborhood to round it out. Felt a bit tight from the previous weeks runs, especially yesterday's, but didn't feel too bad running 95% on the road with the 233's.

Time:  12:00:00
Distance:  74.6
Elevation Gain:  7408