Li'l Rhody Runaround 2017: Race, Stats, Graphs, and a Mystery Question

Charlestown, RI
Sunday, November 19, 2017

This fall just flew by, and all of a sudden the 26th edition of the Li'l Rhody was here.  The weather forecast did not bode well for race turnout, with rain overnight continuing until mid-morning.  By race start, it was sunny but windy and a balmy 57 degrees.  I suppose one unintended benefit of a lower turnout this year was there no long bathroom line, and thus we were able to start punctually at 11:00am sharp.

The start:  As RD, as usual, I did not get a warm-up.  No complaints, just a fact.  I jogged over to the start line, tried to keep my requisite race director remarks brief and concise, and lined up in the second row behind the speedy Hammetts, near Leslie, and out of the way of the high-school XC runners who I just knew would bolt out.

Always tight at the starting line.
(Pic by Jana)

Starting to thin out a bit.  The high school runners have bolted out.
I'm about two rows back.

The front half:  The first mile feels like a sprint to me.  3/4 of a mile is a run down a rutted dirt road (Sanctuary Road) and I'm trying to hold back a little while also trying to snag a decent spot headed into the single-track.  Sure enough, all five of the high-schoolers are ahead of me.  Many runners go around some of the deep puddles left over from the rain, but I follow Bob Jackman's lead and more efficient route of just plowing through them.  At one point just before the trailhead, two high-schoolers (Sebastian and Colby) slow to the left to take the route around another puddle, and this was opportunity to pass them through the puddle.  Evidently, I must have splashed them pretty good, as Colby said, "Thanks a lot, Mr. Walker".  I told him he's going to wet soon enough, so might as well be now! :)  Hit the mile in 5:53 and am already breathing hard.

In the second mile, in the campground, I come up to pass the Aaron, the next high-schooler.  I thought he might give more chase, but I pull away and saunter on.  As we leave the campground and enter the long straight stretch of single-track, I can see Tom a ways ahead of me and Jackman ahead of him.  This is not my favorite stretch, and I'm longing for the more twisty sections and a few rocks.

By the time I get to the long series of bog bridges, I can no longer see anyone ahead of me.  The bridges are very slippery, as I feel like I'm about to careen off of them, I intentionally slow the pace to get back under control.  The bridges here, just before and after the covered bridge, are not straight, and that's not helping.  At Klondike Road, I see Matthew filming as I turn back into the woods and fortunately have a few small rock gardens and stream crossing here.  For the next mile and a half out to the water stop and Buckeye Brook Road, I don't see anyone and don't hear anyone behind me.  Despite being in a singlet and short shorts, I'm feeling quite warm and am happy to take a cup of water at the stop.  Matthew, Crutch, and Paul are also here watching and filming.

Half-way through the race
(Pic by Paul Gray)

Thanks much to the water stop crew for being out there!

The back half:  Exiting onto Buckeye Brook Road, I am distracted (that happens quite easily) when I see a vehicle coming towards me that based upon the make, color, and a snippet of the license plate number, it appears to be Eddie.  No, that can't be, as it's owner, BLS, is supposed to be running this race, as in right now.  Color me confused.  I tell myself to focus, and am surprised to see the runner ahead of me is not Tom.  I catch up to him and see it's a different Thomas - not Tommy 5K, but another WHS runner, Thomas McLaughlin.  Judging on how quickly I catch him, I'm guessing he's fading already.  I re-enter the woods just behind him, and follow him for a 1/4 mile or so before finding a decent place to go past him.  Not long after that, I actually see his father and brother pulled off on bikes and they give me some encouragement.  I yelled that Thomas is just behind me, and moved on.

Coming up "Rhody Rise", I can see a runner ahead of me again, due to the way the trail rises and then goes right.  It's Tommy 5K again.  At the top of the rise, I hear "JeffWalker" yelled out, notice it's Justin's daughter, and I found this re-invigorated me.  The final two miles in the woods went by quickly for me.  I felt good, prefer the back half over the second half, and would see Tommy ahead of several occasions, yet could never bridge the gap. 

Exiting on to the dreaded road is always my least favorite part of the course.  I could see Tom up in the distance, knew I wasn't catching him on roads, and never looking back, I had no idea who or how far back the next runner was.  (In fact, the next runner was more than two minutes back, but it's good to run scared.)  The final 0.6 mile on the road was a 5:50 pace, so I'm happy with that.

Final stride before finish.
(Pic by Jana)

Final results:  51:27.  9th overall.  1st in age group.  Full results here.

Another year, another great orange shirt!

Tried something new with giving pint glasses for awards.  Thoughts?

With an extension cord / generator issue, I was relegated
to conducting the award ceremony from the chilly wind outside the cabin!
My trusty assistant Mike B helped to pass out awards.

From a club perspective, unfortunately, this was the smallest number of finishers in the past 18 years.  The total number of registrants was 194, as more than 30 pre-registrants didn't show up.  That is rather high, with the likely culprit the weather.  It is tough to quantify exactly how much of drop-off comes from weather, as opposed to Mews being on the same date, as opposed to just changing participants and trends over the years.  The weather factor and effect on participants is a bit of speculation, but we can take some guesses on the other two:

Mews:  Taking a look at the finishers of Mews 2017, we can see that exactly ten (10) of the 1,674 finishers of this year's Mews race ran in the 2015 Rhody (the most recent year in which they were held on the same date).  That's a pretty small number not suggesting correlation, albeit limited data points. [Note Mews and Rhody will tentatively be on the same date in 2018, but different dates from 2019 - 2021]

Repeat Runners:  How many people run the race every year? 
Number of people running the race every year the past ...
3 years in a row:  24
5 years in a row:  12
8 years in a row:  4
10 years in a row:  3
13 years in a row:  2

Mystery question:  So who are the two runners that have run it the past 13 years in a row?  Think about it, formulate your guess, and we'll have the answer for you in a jiffy.  (no cheating and scrolling down just yet)

Perhaps not surprisingly, we can see many of the same runners' names over the past few years, but if you go back 10 years, they are largely different runners than in today's race.  Races and participants change over time, and that is also a contributing factor here.



Hopefully 2017 was an anomaly, and we can return to higher numbers.



On a personal note, it remains to be seen if I've peaked and am relegated to 51+ minutes.

---

And now, the mystery answer:
The two runners that have run Rhody the past 13 years in a row are Colburn Graves and myself.  I've run Rhody 14 years in a row now, and Colburn has run it at least 16 years in a row (I don't have individual records before 2001.)  Our oldest club member at age 84, Colburn told me moments after crossing the finish line this year that this would likely be his last Rhody.

Very close in the Rhody streak category are Rose Buckingham (12 straight years), and Jonny Hammett (9 straight years).

Weekly Log 20-Nov to 26-Nov-2017

Monday:  8
Annual ritual of running the Li'l Rhody course the day after as a final sweep.  As usual, sweepers Mandy and Tammy did an excellent job.  Much of my run was in the dark and enjoyable; however, unfortunately, post run the pain came back.  Time to take another day off.  Frustrating.

Tuesday:  0
Planned day off.

Wednesday:  0
Unplanned day off.  Rainy and raw the whole day.  Had no motivation to get out there.  What a wimp.

Thursday:  8
30 degrees and sunny.  Beautiful day for running!  Thanks to Tommy for organizing a group run.  Trails at Grills with Muddy, FiveK, and Jonny.

Came home and signed up for Christmas 10K.  Should be a fun run and WTAC lunch outing in Newport.

Friday:  0
Intermittent pain.  Took the day off.

Saturday:  10
Solo early morning trail run before the WLT Annual Meeting at Wahaneeta.  Awesome day for running, with my kind of weather (sunny and 40s).  No pain!  Well, other than my bonehead move of slamming my shin into a stone wall.

Sunday:  10
Really fun Charlestown Beach run with FiveK, after dropping Mark off at the airport at 5:30am.  Another beautiful running day with temps in the 40s and sunny.  Road for 7 miles (~6:45 pace) and 3 miles on the beach at sunrise.  Followed it up with coffee, scones, and running conversation at The Bakery.

Weekly Mileage:  36

Weekly Synopsis:  Obviously, a very low mileage week two weeks in a row.  I just have to get this abdominal / groin / prostate issue behind me and feeling better before building up mileage again.  On the plus side, I felt pain free after both Saturday's and Sunday's runs, and relative to runs of late, those were both long runs!

Weekly Log 13-Nov to 19-Nov-2017: Winding Down

This is Rhody week.  Going to take it real easy during the week and hopefully be rested up and in good shape for the annual pre-Thanksgiving trail race.  Having seen four doctors in as many weeks, and enduring some painful runs and maladies, I'm going to try to take the latest specialist's advice of some R&R, with hopes that taking it easy combined with medication will set me right.  Or at least back to my usual self.  Minor in the scheme of things compared to people with real problems, but annoying that running has been painful lately.

Monday:  0
Planned day off.

Tuesday:  2
Super easy jog at Bradford Preserve, trying to plot out a run for the reconnaissance of the club's Jingle Bell Run.

Wednesday:  3
Another very easy jog, from Bradford Citizens Club, with another possible route for Jingle Bell.  All trails, in the dark.

Thursday:  11
AM:  8 miles.  Li'l Rhody preview in light rain.  15 minute warm-up, 10 x (1-minute on, 1 off).   I am consciously trying to run easy this week, but thought one moderately hard effort should be done.  Felt very sluggish. 
PM:  3 miles.  Ran a third option for Jingle Bell.  Not enamored with this one.  Incorporates the requested fire roads, but those are in rough shape in this section.

Friday:  0

Saturday:  5
Solo easy run on Kimball and Ninigret trails.  So seldom run on these trails.  A few blow-downs need to be cleaned up.

Sunday:  9
Li'l Rhody Runaround.  Separate race report forthcoming.

Weekly mileage:  30

Weekly synopsis:  Not a good week.  Between groin area ailments and taking it easy for Rhody, this was a planned lower week.  Hope to put this past me, and start ramping up into deciding on some type of spring marathon or long race.

Weekly Log 6-Nov to 12-Nov-2017

Monday:  6
NST from Baker Pines Road, Richmond.  Continuing Jonathan Short's fall segment contest, this is #2 of 5 for me.  Never been here before.  Well enough marked, but I got off course at a blown-down tree blocking the trail.  Fairly technical.



I had a lot of sliding and slipping here on wet rocks.
Much more technical than I had expected.

Tuesday:  13
AM:  5 miles in Cranston.  Working in Cranston for the day, I parked at the Cranston Y and ran a mix of bike path, roads, and cemetery dirt roads, where I visited my father, grandparents, and ancestors.
PM:  8 miles at Beach Pond, Exeter, RI/Voluntown, CT.  Ran segment #3 of 5 and despite getting off course twice, still took the CR.  I suspect it won't last long.

Deep in the woods south of Beach Pond.
Is this where they hid the bodies?

Circumnavigating Beach Pond on Tippecansett Trail.

Wednesday:  5
Afternoon run from Bradford Preserve into Woody.  This is the first week post-DST, and we lost an hour of daylight.  Brought my headlamp, which proved a smart move given that it got very dark halfway into my run.

Thursday:  0
Unplanned day off.

Friday:  9
AM:  5-mile run through Champlin and Mastuxet trails.
PM:  4-mile run in Belfast, Maine, with Matthew.  27 degrees was the afternoon high, and it was very windy.

Saturday:  7
Camden, Maine.  18 degrees!  Chilly, but fun mountain run in Camden Hills, including Mount Battie and Ocean Lookout.  Would like to come back in the summer and spend more time on these trails.

The climb up Mount Battie
from Route 52 was
certainly steep and technical.

The tower atop Mount Battie.
Haven't been up here in a number of
years since we camped at Camden.
It looks redone, or at least refinished.

 

Fun running up the rocks.

The trail signs were very well placed at intersections.
Between the trail signs and a PDF course map I had
pre-loaded on my phone, I felt very comfortable navigating
these trails.

View from atop appropriately named "Ocean Lookout".
Did not tarry long here, as the fingers and toes were getting cold.

Back in Camden village, you can see picturesque
Camden Harbor in the foreground, with the hills I climbed in the background.

Sunday:  5
Spent three hours with Matthew at Urgent Care, as he had ankle issues for a few weeks, but now hobbling.  They suspect a strained ligament, put him on crutches, and referred him to an orthopedic specialist.  Hope it clears up for him before indoor season.

In the afternoon, I headed out for segment #4 of 5:  "Canonchet North", the Narragansett Trail from Canonchet Road to North Road.  If you're familiar with this section, you'll know that this is rather technical.  Came out of it with a bloodied elbow and a raspberry on my derriere from sliding on rocks, but that's the price you pay.  Missed the CR by 34 seconds.

Weekly mileage:  46

Weekly synopsis:  46 isn't bad, but absent any specific goals, it's hard to measure.  It was fun to run 3 of the 5 segments this week.  All were technical for some sections.  I only have one left now, but will probably go back to a few to try to improve.  It's just a fun informal contest, but it has inspired me to get out there, so that's good.

Weekly highlight:  Maine mountain run, by far.  That completes the New England circuit for me, and this was the 2nd consecutive year that I have run in all six New England states.  Running in different locales is just so much fun, and New England is a pretty nice place to be.

Weekly Log: 30-Oct to 5-Nov-2017

November?  Really, it's November already?  I know it's trite to say "Where did the time go?", but it seemed Halloween jumped upon me and now Christmas is next month?   When does time slow down?  When I retire?  Or when I'm too old to enjoy life?

Anyhow, one full week post Bimbler's Bluff I'm recovered now, but am absent any specific goals.  You can see my scant race schedule for the remainder of the year here.  I think what will help next is to plan out a major race for the spring so that I can start to plan for training soon.

Monday:  5
In the aftermath of a strong wind (gusts up to 67mph in Westerly) and rain storm, I ran down to the ocean to witness nature's wrath.  The hum of generators was pervasive throughout Misquamicut, I saw several downed limbs and power lines, and the ocean was churning.

Tuesday:  0
Halloween, one of my favorite holidays, but one that I was poorly prepared for.  Being away much of the month of October, combined with a strong wind storm, I had set up the yard more sparsely than usual.  Helped the Westerly Land Trust in the morning by painting blazes on a new "white" trail at Grills.  In the evening, spent three hours outside in front of a bonfire in my driveway, as I have the past few Halloweens.  Several trick-or-treaters and their parents lingered for a while, and a neighbor brought over beers (Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale) to enjoy over fireside conversations for a while.  It was good catching up with him.

Wednesday:  7
Blue Heron Trail, Dedham, MA.  First time here in a while.

Thursday:  8
Took advantage of a doctor's appointment in Wakefield to run somewhere different.  At first, I thought of running near home, then showering at home, and going to the doctor's.  Boring.  Wrong approach.
Leveraged the reciprocal privileges of the Y and checked in at the South County Y and then ran a mix of roads and the South County Bike Path.  I had not been on the bike path long when I saw two cyclists approaching in the distance, and one said loudly "Who the HELL is that?".  Mike Galoob in the flesh, as he was riding with his daughter to school.  Chatted for a bit before continuing on. 
Ran an average pace of 6:48, with three miles in the 6:30s.  I needed for that confidence, and need to have more mid-week speedy runs.

Friday:  5
Second day of road runs.  Ran from Westerly Town Beach, using the Clamdigger course, except ran on the beach on the way back.  Being 70 degrees on a bizarrely warm November day, I submerged myself in the ocean at the end of my run.

Saturday:  7
Burlingame campground trails and NST with Jonathan Short.  I was doing well for a while trying to follow the campground trails used for the Brrr-lingame race, but then lost the trail for a while.

Sunday:  12
Rhody prep with Tom.  Good run on the Rhody loop, but down to North Camp and up to the Kettle Pond observation tower.  What few blowdowns there were from the storm were already cut up and cleared. 
On the downside, I had forgotten how flat and straight as an arrow the first couple of miles are.  That does not play to my strength at all.  I rather prefer the back half with a few hills, twists, and rock gardens.  Race day minus two weeks.

Weekly mileage:  45

Weekly synopsis:  While not the weekly mileage I'm looking for, it's trending in that direction since Bimbler's and I'm now fully recovered.  This was a good mix this week, with three road runs, a prep for Rhody, and even a November swim in the ocean.

Random musings: 

• I just learned this week that the song "Jeremy" by grunge band Pearl Jam is really about a despondent teen named Jeremy who blew his brains out in front of his high school English class.  Horrid.
• While the majority of locals are enjoying this fluctuating "indian summer", I am not.   I find I much prefer a fall day that starts in the low 40s and rises to the upper 50s.
• I learned that when you live vicariously through someone else's activities, you not only revel in their successes (like when Matthew won the Class B Championships last weekend), but you also hurt when things don't well go for them.  The specific case in point was RI XC State Championships this weekend, where Matthew was one of the favorites, but unfortunately had a bad day and did not place well.  We've all been there with a bad race, but I had a tougher time seeing Matthew in anguish than times when my own races have not gone well.  Most coaches and parents were very supportive and told him he'll bounce back, but when one of his coaching staff said some pretty hurtful words, it stung me as well.  Matthew is self-critical but resilient, is a great runner, and has many great races ahead of him.

 

Bimbler's Bluff 50K!

Guilford, CT
Sunday, October 23, 2017

Background:  I have had an ultra in my sights for the past few years.  Wrote it down formally as a 2017 goal back in January.  It's easy to have a lofty goal; it's executing on it that requires just a tad more work and commitment.  Feeling good with my running over the summer and into the fall, I took the next step of running a "Bimbler's Bite" in late September.  This was a 15-mile group run preview of the toughest part of the course, and while it was tough, it was the confidence I needed to go ahead and register.

Pre-race:  I had spent the evening before re-reading Crutch's and Seth's prior year race reports; both were helpful in painting a picture of the race and potential pitfalls. Given a race start of 8am and an hour ride to Guilford, CT, I left the house in the dark at 6am.  I was a bundle of nerves as I pulled into the parking lot at Guilford Lakes Elementary School, the start and finish of the race.  At the time, it was 53 degrees.  As I walked from my car to registration, I heard my name called out.  Turning, I saw it was Rob Buttermore calling me from his vehicle.  I went over to talk to him and this definitely had a calming effect.  After checking in, I retreated back to the car to decide on final garb (short shorts and a singlet), affix bib, and fill up my CamelBak.  Not wanting to make it too heavy, I opted for 24 ounces of Gatorade, and put 6 GU packets into one of the pockets.  Good to go.  On to the start line, where I spent time catching up with additional familiar faces:  Stan Mickus, Kenny Shardlow, Crutch, Eric Winn, and Molly (a fast NH runner that I had met at the Bimbler's Bite a few weeks back).

With Stan, just before race
start, at national anthem.

The stick - going up:  I suppose I should start out explaining what is meant by the "stick":

Lollipop course:  Starting at the bottom of this pic,
you make your way up the stick (~ 9 miles), before running the
lollipop head CW (~14 miles), and then making your way
back down the stick to the finish (~9 miles).
Each blue pin represents an aid station.

The race started immediately after the national anthem, and we first ran around a small school field to help spread out before entering single-track across the street.  I heeded advice that you want to get out to the single-track fast to avoid being stuck in a jam of runners, but I overdid it going out fast.  Rob went out in 2nd and I hung just behind him for the first half-mile or so, before I pulled ahead of him.  It felt odd and wrong to be in 2nd place, but that didn't last long, and when a runner went past me quickly about a mile in, I somehow felt relieved.

The course was well marked at all intersections ...

... and orange streamers as "confidence markers" were
very much appreciated, especially as no one was near for
the vast majority of the race.
(Note all pics in this post are from Bimbler FB page,
except the three up-close pics of me, which I
purchased from the race photographer.)

At about Mile 3, someone came right up behind me and stayed on my shoulder.  The trail opened up to double-track and eventually my competitor came up next to me for a while.  His name was Chris, from NH, had a similar running experience of going from road marathons gradually into trails, but he had already run a 50-miler and had his sights on a 100-miler.  Chris and I ran and talked for the next few miles until he started to pull away about Mile 7 and I made the decision to let him go and he was quickly out of sight.  Being my first 50K, I really had no idea how to pace.  I knew I could I run faster than this, but took it conservative with fears of crashing later in the race.

Crossing Route 80 about 3 mile in,
with Chris in tow

Lollipop:  I was really happy to reach the base of the lollipop, and start on this section.  I knew it would be the toughest section, but mentally it allowed me to also check off that I was done with the stick upward section.  Once I hit the lollipop, the double-track was done, and twisty, hilly single-track began pretty much immediately.  After meandering up, down, and around rock piles, we cross Route 77 and enter the Mile 10 Bluffs Head aid station.  I'm reminded that I'm in 4th place, and I can hear the cowbells ringing signaling that the 5th place runner is coming in behind me now, so I down a drink, grab a couple of chocolate chip cookies, and saunter off to begin my climb.

Coming into the Mile 10 aid station

Mile 10:  Mix of snack food and drink

Mile 11 is a 400' climb up Bluff's Head with some loose, rocky scree.  I run as long as I comfortably can, but then find myself power-hiking two of the steeper sections.  You spend about three miles running at the top of the bluff, before you start some steep descents.  After descending off the Bluff at about Mile 14 and onto the Lone Pine Trail, I see another runner up ahead.  It's Chris (the guy I ran with miles 3-6) coming back to me!  As I get closer, I hear "Is that Jeff?", and as I go past him, I heard off some words of encouragement.  Shortly after this, I run into a couple of hikers with a map and ask if I can help.  (Obviously they have no idea I'm in the middle of a race.)  I apologized, saying that I was from out of state and didn't know the area.  (I wouldn't have stopped and jeopardized my race anyway, but hopefully my version sounded kinder.)

It's easy to get distracted while running on top of the bluff,
with distant valley views

Next, I head into the aid station "Braeburn" at Mile 16, re-crossing Route 77.  At this aid station, I stop a little longer and take off and hand over my CamelBak to a kind volunteer that refills it for me, while I scarf down some Fig Newtons.  I guestimate that I was stopped for a full 90 seconds, yet I must have put distance on Chris, as I left the aid station before he came in.

A runner leaving the Mile 16 aid station

Leaving the Mile 16 aid station, other than an immediate climb, the next few miles of terrain are much easier.  At exit 18, we exit onto a dirt road for a while.  There are several people out walking, some with leashed dogs, none making any effort to get out of my way, and all who seem oblivious that there is a race going on.  We exit the dirt road for single-track, and a hiker coming my way asks me how to get to "the pond".  I guess I can't blame him if he has no idea I'm in a race (isn't the bib a clue?), but I just remember my patience getting rather thin about now.

At Mile 21, I can see the pond/marsh that we circumnavigate, and from my training run, it reminds me that I'm getting close to the Renee's Way aid station at Mile 22.  There are many home-made signs along the trail as we get close, everything from "You're approaching the best aid station in the world!" to good luck to so and so.  I remember Renee's Way aid station well.  The volunteers were very upbeat and shouted "there's a runner coming!".    One woman offered me soup.  Soup!  Yes, I like soup, but how does one eat soup on the run?  I politely decline, saying the temperature is too hot for me already (it was getting very warm by now).  Another volunteer asked me at least to try one of their famous pickles, which I also declined, saying I didn't want to try anything different mid-race.  I was probably at this aid station for less than 30 seconds, as I grabbed a single cookie, a cup of water, thanked the volunteers and got to keep moving.  I felt really good through here, like I could easily run another 10 miles.  Little did I know ...

Mile 22:  Yes, despite temps in the 70s, there really was soup served.
Appreciative of all the volunteers and offerings, but soup didn't fit for me.

The cheery aid station volunteers and various offerings.

After Renee's Way aid station, it was only another mile back to the end of the lollipop and the return to the top of the "stick".  There was one guy, not in the race, running towards me on the trail, saying I was looking good and in 3rd place.  I had forgotten that this mile was technical and that a number of rock gardens awaited me. 

The stick - return to finish:  I rejoiced as I started my way back down the stick.  It was a net downhill and a "mere" 9 miles to the finish now.  Unfortunately, I was now having a full bladder issue with a "sloshing" feeling in my stomach.  I sucked it up for another couple of miles, but it was getting really uncomfortable, so at about Mile 25, I just stopped on the side of the trail.  If felt so good to pee (is that weird?  is that TMI?), but there was a cost to pay.  After stopping this time, it was just so hard for me to get going.  I felt like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz; the legs just did not want to move.   For the next few miles, on terrain that I had been running 8-minute pace on the way up, I was now running 10 minute pace.  By Mile 27, I was completely ready to be done.  Why couldn't this "just" be a marathon?  My pace continued to slow, and while I'm proud that other than the steepest sections of Bluff Head climb, I had run everything up until now, I found that on two hills of a mere 50-80' climb, I lacked the energy/motivation to do anything but walk the hills.

There was a lot of creaking and groaning coming from my legs,
but not much forward inertia.

One more problem:  it's very warm by now (thankfully I opted for the singlet!), I'm feeling dehydrated, and my CamelBak is almost dry.  WHERE THE HELL IS THAT AID STATION?!!  At Mile 29, I sense a person coming right up on me.  My slowing and walking had cost me and the wolves are now upon me.  My watch shows 29.7 miles as the final aid station comes into sight.  I stop and see that it's Molly that has caught me.  Wow, is she strong!  (She will later tell me that she felt bad for me at the final aid station, as she said I didn't look good.)  There are only 2 miles left, and I know that I should just continue, but I'm out of water and parched, and I ask the volunteers to fill just 1/4 of my hydration pack and I grab a brownie (yes, a brownie!) and wave Molly on.  She says she'll see me in a few minutes.

Mile 29:  Costumed aid station volunteers.  Thanks for the much needed pack refill!

Fun aid station!

With my pack partially filled with water, I saunter on.  I'm just kind of shuffling my feet along, probably nearly scuffing them on the ground.  Until I trip on a rock and fall.  I get up and get going ... into a ROCK GARDEN!  This was acceptable even as late as mile 23, but NOT at Mile 31!  This is just cruel!  It's a real effort for me to pick my feet up and over the rocks.   I can hear traffic on a road and know we're getting really close.  I can also hear someone behind me now, and although I have next to nothing left, I hobble faster, get across the finish line, and hold off my next pursuer by 17 seconds.  FINISHED!!!  50K in the bag!

A sight for sore eyes!

Final results:  4th overall of 134 finishers on the day (10 would either drop out or be pulled from the course for not making time cutoffs).  1st in age group.  Full results here.

Post-race:  There was a cadre of volunteers at the finish line, but in particular Michelle was like an angel to me.  With only three finishers ahead of me, I got some focused attention (unsolicited but very much appreciated!).  I must not have looked good, as she came right over and took my arm to keep walking as we made a couple laps under the shaded canopy (it was direct sun and about 74 degrees now).  The cold water she served me tasted like nectar of the gods, and the chocolate milk was heavenly and restorative.  I followed that up with a slice of cheese pizza and an apple, before finally taking off my shoes and socks and plopping in a chair that she had set up.  I hung around for about 45 minutes total, alternating between standing, sitting, and lying down.  When I was finally leaving, she picked up all my stuff, even my filthy shoes and socks, and brought them over to my car and put them inside!  She said she was a veteran race volunteer (which I can believe!) and her husband was still out in the race.

A hat and glass for finishing,
and an apple pie for winning my age group!

I said good-bye to my new NH competitors Molly and Chris, who finished two minutes ahead of and behind me, respectively, Rob Buttermore, and Kenny Shardlow who had just finished his 6th Bimblers 50K.  I would have liked to have seen Stan and Crutch come in, but was feeling uncomfortable, and felt good enough to drive now.  A very sore and mildly painful afternoon followed, but I basked in the delight of finishing my first 50K race and placing well on top of it all.

Weekly Log 23-Oct to 29-Oct-2017: Recovery Week

Post Bimblers-Bluff week.

Monday:  4
Wanted to get into WHS XC trails to check out conditions prior to a Westerly - Stonington non-league XC meet.  One small tree down that will need a chainsaw.
Very, very slow running the day after the 50K.

Tuesday:  0
Had originally planned to get in a few miles part of setting up and taking down the course markers.  With the meet cancelled due to impending rain and the legs still sore, opted for a run-free day.

Wednesday:  5
Needham, MA.  Slogged out 5 rainy miles on roads.  Legs have a ways to go to recovery.

Thursday:  0
Give the legs another day.

Friday:  4
Wahaneeta Preserve, late afternoon after work.  I had no sooner gotten started, when crossing my first bridge (near field/pond/dam), I broke right threw one of the bridge boards and went down hard, twisting my ankle in the process.  Ugh!
Just lay there for a while, before I got up and fortunately was able to resume my run.  Fished the broken board parts out of the stream below, and later e-mailed the Westerly Land Trust about the incident and offered to help, but they thanked me for the heads-up and said they'd be out this weekend to repair.
Mid-run I ran into Beth and Gus, which was a much more pleasant encounter than my encounter with the bridge!

Saturday:  7
The most successful leg test yet!  7 miles at Canonchet Preserve with Jonathan and Muddy.  This was my first foray into the property.  Much is blazed, but still not always the easiest to follow.  Some areas fairly technical jumping over rocks and logs, other areas had nice features of boulders, streams, and remains of stone cellars.  Thanks to Jonathan for putting this one together.

Saturday afternoon we spent the afternoon up at Ponagansett (Glocester, RI) watching the 2017 Class B RI High School XC Meet.  For the boys' run, you'd think I was personally running it based on my nervous excitement both before and during the race.  I'll defer to Matthew's write-up for his more in-depth and no doubt more accurate description, but it's a very spectator-friendly course where I saw him go by six times, so I'll chime in briefly with my vicarious running of the course:  After the dust settled, and pretty much for the vast majority of the race from my vantage point, Matthew was in 2nd place, trailing the Classical High School leader by anywhere from 5 to 30 meters.  When we saw him re-emerge from the Covered Bridge Trail onto the fields for the final time, my Mom saw him in the lead before I did, and it was just an ecstatic moment from there on as he increased his lead to the finish.  16:05.  2017 RI Southern Division Champ, and now the 2017 RI Class B Champ as well!  Awesome!  RI State Championships next week, followed by New England Championships.

A great day for Matthew and the Westerly team!

3-minute post race interview with Matthew

Sunday:  6
Finally everything aligned for me to get in a run with Tommy.  It had been a few weeks.  Ran through Woody CCW to mix it up, and had a good time catching up on everything from Haley's swim lessons, Matthew's races, Bimblers, and spring marathon plans.  Pretty much recovered.

Weekly Mileage:  27

Weekly Synopsis:  Lowest mileage week since June 2016.  That's OK, though.  This was a recovery week that took a little longer than I had expected, and with a few ups and downs.  I'm happy to have completed my first 50K trail race, and a recovery week was very much in order.  Now, onwards and upwards.