Weekly Log 21-Jun to 27-Jun-2021: Mt Wash Slow Recovery

Miscellaneous rambling:

• Now having raced 6 out of the past 8 weekends (and three of them around the 25K distance), it's time to take a little break from racing and refocus.  Tentative race schedule.
• Our HR department sent out a notice detailing that on July 6, in person capacity will increase to 75%.  At this point, it's voluntary.  The notice included a survey to fill out and indicate 1) vaccination status and 2) your desire to return to work in-person at this time.  Quick and easy for me to return.  Vaccination status is easy (fully vaccinated); desire to return to work in-person is very easy as well.  I work most days outside on my deck in shorts, a t-shirt, and barefoot, often with Brady by my side; not looking to give up that freedom any soon.  It's the next phase in September where they're looking for a return to the new "normal" that has me concerned.
• I went to our local bicycle dealer to inquire about buying a new road bike to replace my 15-year old bike.  When I started the conversation, I was quickly interrupted with "you're looking to buy next year, right, Jeff?".  What?  No.  It turns out that like cars, the bicycle supply chain was severely disrupted by COVID, and the bikes they're getting in now are ones that customers ordered last June.  Ugh.

Recent photo snippet from one of my many WebEx meetings.
I'm occasionally asked if my background is a virtual background.
Nope!  And I don't want to give it up and go back to a concrete jungle.

Monday:  0

Mount Washington +1 Day:  Sore.

Tuesday:  0

Mount Washington +2 Days:  Even more sore.

Wednesday:  8

AM:  Mount Washington +3 Days:  Still sore, but a little less than yesterday.  Ran 5 miles slow and easy at Ninigret.  Matthew continued on for a few more, but I was done, so I waded and played with Brady in Li'l Nini Pond.

PM:  WTAC Fun Run #4.  Deliberately slow 21:44 5K.

Thursday:  8

Bluff Point and Haley fire roads.  STILL sore.  Ugh.  Getting a little worried, as my 25K is coming up in just two days.  

Separately, I had been forewarned that Bluff was now charging for parking for out-of-staters.  $15 on the weekends; I'm not sure how much on weekdays.  As I remember at Cockaponsett State Forest, when I legitimately had no idea that parking fees were charged to out-of-staters and didn't pay, I got a ticket for the exact same amount ($15), so I figured I had nothing to lose by not paying and hoping not to get a ticket.  That sounds petty, but if the amount were just $2 or $3, I'd likely have paid it.  Got lucky and didn't get a ticket, as presumably the same happened for the few other vehicles in the lot with out-of-state plates.

Friday:  5

Avondale grass paths and roads, again at an easy pace.  Still some residual soreness from Mt Washington, but mostly gone.

Saturday:  17

Catamount 25K race.  Separate write-up to follow.

We had originally planned hiking in the afternoon, but it rained pretty much the whole afternoon.  Maybe just as well.  Matthew wasn't feeling well, I was tired, and my legs were really sore.

Sunday:  5 run, 6 hike

AM:  The four of us (Matthew, Brady, Jana, and me) ran a portion of the Stowe Recreational Path (Stowe, Vermont), which was very convenient as it started/ended at the Innsbruck Inn, where we were staying for two days.  A really nice paved bike path, paralleling a classic rocky New England river, and views of barns and mountains.

Late AM/early PM:  Hike up to Camel's Hump.  Started at about 1,800' elevation, with the summit just over 4,000'.  

Rocks were wet pretty much the whole way,
and slippery in a few spots, as it had rained the day before.

Right before the summit.  Leashes were optional (for
dogs under voice command) until now.

Very windy at the very top.  My shirt and Brady's
fur and tail are blowing in the wind.

Socked in at the summit, with only occasional
fleeting views.

Very windy up top.

Starting the descent down into the clouds.
Brady wanted to race after Matthew.

The descent down was quite technical,
but the views were grand below the summit.

King of the Rock

Don't step backwards, Brady

Weekly mileage:  43 run, 6 hike

Weekly synopsis:  The recovery road back from Mt Washington took longer than I thought, so taking an extra day off this week made sense to me.  Didn't have close to the same soreness level from Catamount 25K that I did from Mt Washington, so I'm expecting to be back to a full regular week next week.  Also watching some different fall marathon opportunities in hopes of getting a spot, so it's time to start ramping up training.

Weekly highlight:  Probably the hike up to Camel's Hump.  Interesting hike and topography in a remote area I had not hiked before.

Weekly lowlight:  Very, very sore from Mt Washington Road Race.  I did not see that coming.

Changing of the Car

When I bought my previous car, a 2008 Audi A3, three years ago, I wrote about it but combined it into my weekly running post.  It was suggested it deserved its own post.  In retrospect, I agree, so here goes.

I had bought my Audi A3 with 90,000 miles on it.  I'm pretty sure that's the highest mileage car I've ever bought in my life.  The car's mileage was now up to 145,000 miles, but it still ran strong and was very fast and fun to drive.  It wasn't the mileage or the age of the vehicle (13 years) that led me to replace it a few weeks back, but rather a combination of the following:

• After 3 deer ran into my car, my right passenger door could no longer be opened from the outside.
• Key fob no longer worked.  (I was actually OK with the old-fashioned way, and wasn't about to drop about 2 grand at the Audi dealer to have it reprogrammed.)
• Driver's leather seat getting pretty worn and cracked.
• Rusty hatchback lift struts.
• Significant rust on front rocker panels.  (The driver's side was actually completely rusted through now.)
• And the clincher:  the A/C was no longer working, or at least not if above outside temperature 70° or more.  (I could live with that for around town driving, as I'm not going into the office or dressing up, but that doesn't work for longer summer trips.)  I think a new compressor is about 2 grand as well.

So time to begin the car search, again.  What am I looking for?

1. Late model year (i.e., within 5 years and preferably under 50K mileage)
2. All wheel drive
3. Wagon
4. Sunroof
5. Manual transmission

This was really the same wish list I had three years ago, when I bowed out of a new car purchase at the last minute for expense reasons and bought a 10-year old car instead and in the process gave up the first two of the five above characteristics.  I would call the first two characteristics "nice to have" and the final three, especially the last two, non-negotiable.  So I'm not making it easy on myself, as wagons are not popular here in the US with the SUV fervor.  As for manual transmissions, while most people in the UK and other cool European countries still drive manuals because reportedly most there find automatics boring, very few Americans buy manual transmissions anymore, except for automobile purists and diehards.  Throw in AWD on top of that?  Good luck.

After much research, I refined my search to a VW Alltrack, which in the SE model meets all five criteria above.  Unfortunately, it's not a good time to buy a car.  Used car prices are up 30% over a year ago.  Thirty percent!  Many dealers have half-empty lots as they can't get inventory.  This is attributed to less cars made during the COVID pandemic when operations shut down, a semiconductor shortage, and Americans starting to make large purchases again.  On the expense side, just personally the pressure has eased for me since my last car purchase, as our necessary but costly house repairs are in the rear view mirror, as are all but a year of college tuition bills.

As soon as this car came on the market, I gave the dealer a call to 
confirm availability, and Jana and I made the short trek to Vernon, CT
to test drive that afternoon.  Apparently the previous owner had a new job
which required him to get a truck and he had just traded the vehicle
in a few days prior.  We arrived at the dealer, and we had to wait,
as a woman was out on a test drive.  I had a bad feeling.  We decided
during the test drive to buy it, and sure enough, as soon as we got back to the
dealership, the salesman came out to advise us that it was now sold.  Ugh.

24 hours later, we were at a dealer in Bedford, MA
test driving another Alltrack that had just been traded
in.  This car's previous owner brought the car in for
regular service, and checked out a VW electric SUV
while waiting and ended up buy it.  Sounds implausible to
me, but to each his own.

2019 VW Alltrack SE, with just 10K miles.
As you can see here (this is in Westerly), we ended up
buying the car immediately after the test drive.  In this demand-driven
car market favoring sellers, there's no room for price negotiation.  If you don't want
to pay the sticker price, the guy right behind you will.

Immediately after the test drive, we offered full price.  Apparently cash is NOT king anymore, as the salesman advised if I pay cash, the price will be $700 more.  WHAT?!  He candidly discloses that if we finance through VW Credit, they get incentive money back from VW.  I'm calculating the math in my head with interest payments, and this doesn't sound like a good deal, until the salesman says we only have to make four monthly payments total, of any amount we want, and can pay it off then without prepayment penalty.  Recalculating ... yeah, weird, but that works.

I'm nervous anytime approaching car dealers, because I'm genuinely afraid of being assaulted by a Herb Tarleck type.  Not physically of course, but verbally and with mental games.  But I like this guy.  For a metro Boston car salesman, he sure is laid back.  He talks softly, no pressure, no gimmicks (well, other than deflating my "cash is king" posture), no extra bogus charges like so many other dealers apply.  During COVID, dealers can't ride in the cars during test drives, so that was a relief as well.  And he drives a VW stick shift himself, so while there would be no running talk, we can talk about the days of yore and lamenting some of the changes along the way.  (I remember my first car that had power windows and thinking "Why would anyone want these?" when the window crank worked just fine.)

Remember Herb, the salesman from WKRP in Cincinnati?
It turns out he just died.  Last week.

So now what to do with my current car?  I plugged in all the available data points I could in to Edmunds site.  This included obviously make/model/year, but also questions I hadn't expected such as how many dents, how the engine ran, how many keys I had, etc.  I had to input my e-mail address, and instantly got a valuation response back based upon the condition that I input: $1,800 for a dealer trade-in and $2,500 private sale.  The dealer offered $1,300 and wouldn't budge, explaining that obviously the car would go to auction and that the biggest factor in the lower price was the rusted rocker panels.  I understood, but was stubborn and turned it down, saying I could get more on my own.  No games, no bluffing, no counter-offer; the dealer simply said he understood and asked me if I still wanted to go through with the sale.  You bet!  No haggling, no trying to sell me upholstery protection, VIN etching, fake wood paneling, or registration fee surcharges, just a simple itemized bill with very few line items.  Two hours total, and a contract in hand, full price, not a penny down.  Odd, but completely stress-free.

So back to my current car.  I'm thinking about Craigslist and either a $3,000 or a $3,500 listing, and will take whatever reasonably reduced offer is made to be done with quickly, but already am not looking forward to the phone calls and strangers coming over the house.  I get home and have two unsolicited e-mail offers (referred by Edmunds), one a dealer in Norwich for $2,300 and another CarMax in Warwick for $3,000.  Dubious, we setup an appointment with CarMax for the next day, all done on the web, pretty neat.  The introvert in me was glad he didn't have to make phone calls and sit on hold while they try to sell me something I don't want.  Jana and I go up to CarMax the next evening.  The lot is near empty!  We walk in, wait a while, and a young gentleman named Max comes to talk to us.  He goes out with a camera to take pictures of the car and takes our one car key to go for a test drive.  I have no fear on the test drive, as the engine is strong and peppy; it's the cosmetic inspection I fear.

Final drive for my A3
This was a really fun car drive, and peppy with
a 2L turbo engine, but time to move on

We look out the window as Max is kneeling down taking a number of pictures of the rusted out rocker panels and is on the phone.  Uh oh.  Not good.  Is he going to offer even less than the VW dealer's offer of $1,300 now?  He comes back in and asks us if we're still interested in selling.  I said it depends on the price.  He said, I told you, $3,000.  Still skeptical, but absolutely.  Let's go.  Shortly thereafter I have a check in hand.  Too easy.  Surely the car shortage has a role in this.

Three days later, the dealer and I (and Matthew giving me a ride) meet halfway at the MA/RI border, and I take possession of the car.  Psyched.  The experience was easy, not the harrowed bait-and-switch and games I feared, and the journey is almost over.  The ensuing mandatory out-of-state VIN check at Westerly Police station is quick and easy.  The one final rub is registration itself.  Due to COVID, you can no longer just walk into the DMV in RI, and you need an appointment.  Sales tax is due in twenty days, but the earliest appointment I can get is in thirty days.  Anyway, at the risk of further boredom, there is a workaround available by contacting the tax division to get your tax paid with the state in advance of the registration and stave off interest and tax penalties.

I don't want trouble with the taxman.  You do remember this gem, right?
It's almost as old as me.

Fast forward a few weeks.  I'm thrilled with the new car to date.  Oh sure, there are always more things I could've gotten.  I really loved the blue color, for example, and this model doesn't have dual climate control.  But I got everything on my original wishlist (and more) and I have a solid, fun, and very practical car for vacation travel, and if I take care of it, this should last well into my retirement.

6-speed manual.  Oh yeah!

Plenty of space to store the bodies luggage.

Nice big sunroof.  Lots of glass.

Comfy leather seating.

I had a few moments of panic when I didn't see
any CD player in the radio unit.  It's here in the glove box;
how weird is that?

Whew.  Life is good again.  I get to play my classic CDs.

It's weird, but any time I shift into reverse, this video game pops
up on my dashboard.  I asked my brother Kurt (a BMW
mechanic) about this, and he said sometimes people appear
in the video game image and the object is to hit them.  Sounds
like a neat game.  I'm sure my brother wouldn't steer me wrong.

Now unlike the backup camera which I just totally ignore,
here's one new (to me) feature that I've already
used and appreciated:  blind spot monitoring.
It works!  It also comes with rear traffic alert.  The car
beeped like crazy when I was getting ready to back out of
a spot at Stop & Shop and a pedestrian walked behind my car.
I like it!

And, finally, my car seems to know me and my
forgetfulness already!  I think we're going to
get along just fine.

Weekly Log 14-Jun to 20-Jun-2021: Sixty!

Monday:  0

Silly me, it's Flag Day and I forgot to put out my American flag.

From an accomplishment and satisfaction standpoint,
I finished spreading the 5 yards of mulch and freed
up the driveway once again.

Tuesday:  10

Beach OAB with Matthew and Brady.  My earliest run this year (I think) at 6:15am, and first full beach run.  Very few on the beach today, perhaps because it was drizzling for at least part of the run.

Post-run, I went to the hospital for my regular weekly wound care treatment, and I got some great news:  the staff is projecting my head wound will be fully healed by the 4th of July!  That's three weeks ahead of schedule.  This great news more than made up for the pain from today's session with a scalpel.  Getting close!

Wednesday:  7

AM:  Shake-out run at Ninigret with Matthew and Brady.  Easy run, mostly on grass.

PM:  Fun Run #3.  I ran moderately hard tonight, but could only muster a 19:03.  I did run an 18:45 two weeks ago in cooler weather, but I don't know if possible to get anywhere near my fastest Fun Run time of 17:57 (2014, age 50).

It was great to see so many people turn out tonight to run or walk.  More than 100 runners and walkers in total toed the line.  The only downside tonight that I saw was an old guy (really old, even older than me) driving an SUV with Florida plates going down Elmwood Ave much quicker than I or others were comfortable with, ignored the young children in the street, and then proceeded to run over and break one of our course signs.  And just kept driving.  Dangerous and clueless.

Thursday:  10

Afternoon run at Burlingame with Matthew and Brady.  A tad warm, with streams drying up.  Vin Gormley and Burlingame Trails.

Friday:  10

AM:  Six miles at Grills with Brady.  Some trails off-limits for the summer now, given their overgrowth, but the core trails are still fine.  Killed my first deerfly of the season atop Big Hill.

PM:  Four more at Ninigret.  Played frisbee with Brady and then stick fetching at Little Nini Pond, while Matthew ran, and we caught up with him for the final four of his run.

Frisbee fun at Ninigret Park

He's getting pretty good at this!

Saturday:  6

I wanted to run trails and Matthew wanted to run roads, given an ankle condition, so we compromised and ran Blitzkrieg Trail (a very low trafficked dirt road in Richmond/Exeter).  Deliberately easy run before Mt Washington, with Brady joining us as well.

Sunday:  17

Mount Washington Road Race.  Race report to follow.

Weekly mileage:  60!

Weekly synopsis:  Biggest weekly mileage since the first week of March!  Yes, the biggest chunk came from today at Mt Wash, but it's also the first post-50 mile week since early March as well.  I feel like I'm back now from the abyss, and with only three more weeks of medical treatments and restrictions, I should be able to keep this up now of having 50+ weeks on a regular basis.  I do need to plan out training and loose mileage plans, but feeling pretty good about that.

Weekly highlight:  From a life perspective, it's clearly getting the great news on my ahead of schedule healing.  From a running perspective, finally running Mount Washington and doing well overall against my expectations.  Mt Wash has been on my bucket list for a number of years now.  I always considered it a "one and done"; now I'm not so sure.

Weekly lowlight:  The careless old Florida driver obliviously driving fast on a kid-crowded street and running over and breaking our course marking sign, without slowing or stopping one.  I wanted to chase him down and follow him to his house, but to what avail?  Other than that, personally really just a great week!

Niantic Bay 10K 2021

 

Niantic (East Lyme), CT

Friday, June 11, 2021

My third running of the Niantic Bay 10K.  In my inaugural run in 2013, I ran in 37:53, and then in 2014, I improved to 37:34, but that was way back when I was "only" 49 years old.  

Once we learned that this race was going to happen live, our merry team of the WTAC Clamshell Committee decided this would be our June race.  Dave Goodrich texted me when the race opened up and clearly warned me that there would be only two waves of 50 each, so sign up quickly.  Despite that, I procrastinated and ended up with only being able to sign up for the waiting list.  Obviously, since I'm writing this post, I did get in, and as COVID restrictions eased, they also added a 3rd wave.

Walkers started at 5:30pm and runners at 6:00, 6:10, and 6:20pm.  Each wave had a different check-in location, and runners were asked not to arrive any earlier than 5:30pm.  I followed this to a tee, and we pulled into McCook Park at 5:32pm, only to see my teammates (and many others) deftly ignored this unnecessary rule and were ready to start their warmup.  They were kind enough to wait for me, and fortunately the check in was very quick and Jana took my glass (entry give-away) back to the car, while I joined the group for a warm-up.

It was funny in retrospect to see that fellow teammate JV had billed this race on Strava with comments of "perfect running weather".  Sure, much of the heat and humidity from midweek had fortunately dissipated, but it was still 71° and sunny as we arrived.  Admittedly I'm probably on the opposite end of the spectrum, as perfect running weather to me is probably about 48°.  Anyway, different strokes (remember that show?) for different folks, and it was good to see JV and so many other WTAC runners come out for this race.

The race is an out-and-back to the southern end of a peninsula.  Fortunately, there is no cone turnaround and instead you have a small block that you run around, which is nice.  Very similar to Strides 5K in Waterford in that aspect.

Nice looking beach right near the starting line,
just before the start.
(All pics by Jana)

Out and back with a small lollipop
at the southern end of the peninsula

Run out:  At the starting line, no masks, and no social distancing.  Woo hoo!  Chatted with several folks on the front line.  JV and another commented on how big and heavy my watch is.  There is truth to that.  Not in a hurry to replace my functional Fenix 2, though, until it dies.  Seven years strong!  

Wave 1, waiting to get started.
Look Ma, no masks and no social distancing!

At the start, there was a long pause on "Go" and technically I think I false started because of that, but only by a second or so.  Dave led the Wave 1 runners out, and after 1/4 mile or so, I found myself in 8th place in the wave.  (Unfortunately Nick was running in Wave 2, as the waves were unseeded.)

Awkwardly ahead of Dave with my false start.  I wouldn't
see Dave for very long, less than a mile to be sure.  On the other
hand, the girl on my right was stuck with me for a while.

For the whole way down, I ran in a trio:  a 25-year old woman, a guy who could be in my age group but more likely was in his 40s.  Occasionally one of us would pull ahead (like me on the downhills only) but we would always quickly regroup.  I ran the first mile in 6:01 and second mile slightly faster (slightly downhill also!) in 5:59.  But by the 3rd mile I was feeling quite warm from the sun on the open roads, and was slowing down.  6:17!  Ugh.  I had bypassed the water stops thus far, but was feeling dehydrated and took a water at the next stop at the end of the peninsula.  Due to COVID, there were no cups, but instead a small plastic water bottle (with caps taken off by gloved volunteers) was handed to runners.  A bit of waste, but I get it.  I took the bottle, took two swigs, spit them both out, threw the bottle and continued on.  As we approached the Mile 3 marker, the other guy running with us was breathing noticeably harder than me, and the girl had pulled quite a bit ahead of both of us.

Run back:  Fortunately, at the block where the course turns around, this was heavily shaded.  Between the shade and having rinsed my dry mouth, I got a second wind.  Turning back onto the main road heading back towards the start, it's also a positive mental feeling that you're on your way back.  I am also feeling encouraged as runners are coming towards me now, many with positive cheering.

After just half a mile, I surprise myself by catching back up to the lead woman.  The guy that was running with us has dropped back.  My splits return to a 6:04 and 6:05 (Miles 4 and 5, respectively) and I'm sure it's mentally helpful to see all the runners coming towards me now, in Waves 1, 2, and 3.  I'm running just behind or adjacent to the lead woman, and feeling pretty good now.  The final mile features a small hill of about 50', but it's apparently enough to slow me down, as my pace drops to a 6:14.  I push it in to the finish, with the lead woman passing me for the final time, as I'm not about to outkick someone less than half my advanced age.

Final steps before finish.

Final results:  38:16, 11th overall of 129, 1st in age group.  Full results here.

Caught up with Dave (2nd in wave, but 5th overall as the three waves were all unseeded) and chatted with for a bit and then with SNERRO principals Pete and Way before coming back to watch Wave 2 finishers.  We have a quality timer now in Rat Race Timing, but I do miss the fun factor that SNERRO brings, including announcing each runner and playing good music (AC/DC was playing as I finished!) at the start/finish.  Went up to the lead woman and apologized for panting just behind her for most of the race, lest her Strava title be "Stalked by a creepy old man the whole way".  About five of us went for a cool-down and catch-up before parting ways.  A great turnout by WTAC and a fun event overall.

Just part of the dozen of WTAC runners this evening.

PS - There was an award for winning my age group, which turns out to be a gift certificate to the lead sponsor, Coastal Crab.  That sounded pretty cool when I erroneously assumed it was a seafood restaurant specializing in crab, but once I learned it's actually a clothing store and you have to go back to Niantic to pick up the certificate as well (no awards ceremony due to COVID), I'll pass.

Weekly Log 7-Jun to 13-Jun-2021

Miscellaneous ramblings:

• Surprised to learn that Run 4 Kerri is cancelled again in 2021 due to COVID.  Decision just made this week.  The cancellation noted that the organizers didn't want to burden sponsors hurt by the pandemic, so they opted to cancel instead.  As a fellow local RD, not sure I really understand that one.  We took the same approach of not soliciting sponsors for Li'l Rhody last year for the same reasons, and just made due with less revenue, and this year for Clamdigger, the sponsor response was amazing.  Their choice obviously.
• Still hoping to get into VCM, but thus far only open to 2020 entrants.
• Speaking of Vermont, an unusual requirement of Catamount (two weeks hence) is that all runners need to present either a completed vaccination card, or a negative COVID test within 72 hours.  The former works for me; I just hope I remember to bring it!

Monday:  2 walk

Wahaneeta family walk.  Saw 3 frogs and 1 chipmunk.  Brady seemed much more interested in the chipmunk.

Tuesday:  7

It has been seven weeks to the date since my second head surgery.  The first few weeks were frustrating to me in that progress was not seen.  At all.  I was told to have patience, which was hard for me.  At this point, the wound care staff now advises me that the wound healing has accelerated and is now ahead of what they normally see vis-à-vis other similar patients.  They reiterated that they attribute this to my running, and advise me to keep it up!  The wound depth and volume has shrunk, and the surface area is 35% of the original size!  All the black and yellow "slough" stuff is mostly gone, and to me it's now more like a bloody raspberry type of wound.

I was feeling really grateful for the progress made above; hence the title I gave my Strava post.  Went out for a 7-mile road run in mid-morning after treatment and despite the heat and humidity, just feel happy to be out there.  Ran into JV and Eric R in the Avondale area, and would have joined them for some miles, but they were just finishing up.

Wednesday:  8

AM:  5 miles at Woody Hill with Brady.  God-awful humidity.  As in 100%.  It's not a heat-wave, at least not along the coast, but we're in a 5 day stretch of warmer than usual with nasty humidity.

PM:  Fun Run Week #2.  Took it very easy and ran a 21-and-change 5K, as I have the Niantic Bay 10K coming up in two days.

Thursday:  5

Charlestown.  4 miles at Carter Preserve, followed by a mile plus at Richard Trails.  A long-bearded runner was finishing up his run just as I got out of the car.  I know that dude!  It's Seth.  First time here since Border Patrol Challenge over the winter.  Obviously very different scenery today.  Chatted with Seth a bit.  He mentioned all the ferns I would see today.  Indeed; surreal at some points.   Wish I had brought a camera.  Was then impressed by all the mountain laurel in full bloom.  Hence I named my Strava title "Mountain Laurel & Ferns".  Seth had a very different title with "Ferns and Mountain Laurel"!

Rehydrated, we made one more stop:  The Richard Trails system is very small, albeit somewhat diverse terrain and seemingly expanded from when I ran it a number of years ago.  Pine-needle covered trails abound.  There is a small inner loop which is pretty flat, and then an outer loop that is surprisingly hilly.

Friday:  9

Niantic Bay 10K.  Race report to follow.

Saturday:  10

Ran a shortened version of classic Arcadia loop with Brady.  Got caught in a few light showers and it felt really good after the heat of late.  With temps in upper 50s, Brady seemed much more active as well.  The whole time we were out there, we only saw one other human (with his yellow lab).  I imagine this may have been due to the rain.  Unfortunately, a few sections of Mt Tom trail (just west of check station) and Shelter Trail are starting to get overgrown, and if you couple that with the inevitable arrival of deerflies just around the corner, my Arcadia runs may be over or at minimum limited for the next few months.

Sunday:  8

3pm run with Matthew, OAB on roads from Fort Ninigret to Charlestown Breachway.  The temperature was "only" 72° but with open sun it felt more like 80.  Couple that with really stiff legs, and I was whining from the get-go.  A mile or two in, engrossed in conversation rating natural beauty in individual US states and Canadian provinces, I soon forgot about my complaining and the run went by relatively quickly.  Brady would've hated this run, so we left him home.

Weekly mileage:  48

Weekly synopsis:  A good week overall.  No complaints on my running.

Weekly highlight:  Probably the Niantic Bay 10K.  The heat had dissipated by Friday, and it was good to see so many runners.

Weekly lowlight:  Humidity.  Ugh.

Pineland Farms 25K

New Gloucester, ME

Saturday, May 29, 2021

Certainly my first visit ever to New Gloucester.  In fact, I don't think I had even heard of New Gloucester before, so besides the running experience, it's good to have expanded my horizons as well.  As New Gloucester is about a 4-hour trek from Westerly, Matthew and I opted to head up the night before and stay in nearby Lewiston.

Shrimp scampi.  Good to get in a pasta dinner the night before the race.
If you're ever in Wells, Maine for dinner, I highly recommend
Varano's Restaurante Italiano.
---
Just to be extra gluttonous, we had their delicious chocolate cake and
coffee for dessert.

The next morning, after a quick breakfast of oatmeal and yogurt, we checked out of the hotel and made the short trip to Pineland Farms, arriving about 45 minutes before race start.  The 50-milers had started at 6am and would be making 3 loops (plus a little extra), 50-K started their first of two loops at 8am, and we would be starting our single loop of 25K at 9am sharp.  (For those gluttons for punishment, the 24-hour run as many loops as you can division would start at 12noon.)

On Sunday (tomorrow) the "trail festival" continues with additional options of 15K, 10K, 5K, and 5K Canicross.  We had initially considered that as well, and I think it would neat to enter a race with Brady, but one deterrent is the irony that except for the canicross race itself, dogs are strictly prohibited at Pineland Farms at all times.  Thus, if we all went up, Brady would have to stay in the car the whole time during our 25K race today instead of coming out on leash with Jana to watch.  But I digress ...

Many events in the schedule.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, or rather farm, it was an unseasonably chilly 43° with light rain when we arrived.  This is Memorial Day weekend after all!  Parked about 1/4 mile away and walked to check in to pick up our bib and pretty cool tech hoodie.  Saw a number of runners with packs and wondered if this was like Soapstone in which it would be a cupless event.  (We brought our packs, but I'd really prefer not to wear them.)  Eventually saw most of the faster looking guys NOT wearing packs and not carrying hand-helds, so opted to omit.  After a return to the car and then a short warm-up on the course, wearing jackets, headed over to the start, and put the jackets under a tree.

Runners bundled up check in.

Well, that answers that question!

After some brief instructions, we were off.  This was my first mass start race since pre-pandemic.  Made sure to get very close to the front.  One guy in light blue led us off, with Matthew right behind, and a number of very fit looking guys chasing.

Kind of a crazy, twisty course route!

While there were lots of switchbacks indeed
(like here), they were all very wide turns,
so no sharp turns at most switchbacks.

Matthew quickly eclipsed the leader and after a half-mile, I didn't see him anymore.  The dust settled, and I was in about 7th place.  At the first of many switch-backs, I could see all of the race leaders as they came back towards me, except Matthew.  The first three miles were downhill on wide double-track gravel trails.  One guy passed me a couple miles in, and while I re-passed him on a downhill, he went past me for good on a hill climb.

This picture (from race organizer's FB page) is actually the start
of the 50 Miler that day, but it's the same course and gives you a feel for the
types of trails we'd be running on (double-track, non-technical).

At about 4 miles in, we ran the first of several fields.  In each of these cases, we'd run the perimeter of the field, which was always mowed, but more of a rough hewn ankle height, with wet clumps of cut grass, rather than a finely mowed lawn.

This is what the grass/hay fields looked,
and how the course was marked through here.

At Mile 6, the next field perimeter came up, and it was so similar to the previous field perimeter a couple of miles back that I was momentarily convinced that I was running circles and back at the same spot.  The course was very well marked, but doubled back on itself often, and there were so many spots where I could have zoned out, missed a marked turn, and gone off course.  Finally, when I saw barns, I knew we were in a different spot.  Kind of neat that we were running at times on a working farm, with tractors backing up and cows mooing.  From here on in, I start catching and passing a lot of the 50 Milers and eventually probably the back-of-the-pack 50K'ers.  I am often running adjacent to another section of the course, so I frequently see runners ahead of me, behind me, and on trails next to me, and I can't discern where in the course I am or am going.

If you look at this satellite image of my Strava
tracks, you'll see there are many fields we're running across
or on the perimeters of.

At Mile 7, we now in effect reverse the first three miles of the downhill from the start, as we started a slow, gradual 3-mile climb back to the starting area.  As we approached the start/finish, I opted to take the only GU that I had brought.  Crossing adjacent to the finish line, I threw the empty GU wrapper in the trash and continued across the only road crossing, for the second part of the course.  Fortunately, there was a police car and officer stopping traffic for runners to cross.  We quickly come up on a water stop, but there are no cups of water, only bottles of water.  Seems too cumbersome, I'm not dehydrated like Soapstone, so I opt to skip and run sans  water break.

10 miles in, we run around yet another field perimeter.  This is wet and besides the clumps of hewn grass, the ground itself is clumpy and feels uneven in places.  I must've unconsciously slowed down (I did) as a runner is coming right up on me in this field section.  This runner is approaching but is not yet close enough for me to tell if a man in my age group, and wearing a hat is not helping.  I'll just assume that the runner is in my age group, and that actually helps me pick it up a bit, and I have a second wind now.  Two miles of mostly downhills also plays to my strength, and while I'm not able to shake my competitor, I also am able to keep some distance.

Miles 12-14 are pretty flat, on gravel double-track, and I push them hard and finally am able to put a gap on my competitor to the extent the runner is no longer in sight on switchbacks.  The rain has returned now, but ever so lightly.  One more grass field to run around, and then a slight uphill to cross the road again, and I am very close.  I recognize and pass the original lead runner in this area!  He looks like he's having a tough time.  The finish line is in sight; you can go left to continue the 50K and 50M course, or right to finish the 25K course, and despite this being clearly marked, I somehow am zoned out and take the left!  What a dolt.  Fortunately, Matthew is watching me come in, and despite probably being embarrassed at the stupidity of his old man, sets me straight and I change course and head to the finish line.

Finish line!

My competitor comes in 37 seconds behind me.  Not only is the runner NOT in my age group, but she is a 40-year old female.  Time for an optometrist visit?   Anyway, she congratulates me and I do the same to her (female winner).  She said she was trying to catch me, but that I ran a fast pace at the end.

Final results:  1:50:36, 6th overall, 1st in age group.  Full results here.

I must've passed one more 25K runner somewhere in the last few miles, as I ended up finishing one place higher than I thought I was in.  We didn't stay around long, and Matthew had already finished 15 minutes prior (he won the race outright) and we would soon both be cold.  It was light rain again and the temps would never get out of the 40s that day.  We asked about awards, and were told they were waiting for all the age groups to come in.  I explained that we had come up from RI for the race and needed to start the trip back.  The organizers just asked us to hold on for 5 minutes or so, and they would verify and come back with our prizes.  That was really nice of them, and I'm glad they did, especially for Matthew's sake, whose loot included a bigger coupon to the local running store (I got $25, he got $40), plus a $50 LL Bean gift card.

While we waited for awards, I saw a number of other 25K runners make the same final turn error that I did, so I felt less dumb than I originally had.  We went to try the empanadas that were being promoted, but everything was for sale and not knowing that, we hadn't brought cash out to the start line.  The grill (hamburgers and hot dogs?) hadn't started yet either, but just then an announcement on the loud speaker noted noted that those would also be for sale.  I think the RDs should either get the food donated or they should pay the food vendors out of the race proceeds, even if it means bumping up the entry fees a few shekels to compensate.  It's just not convenient to carry cash at a race.

Technical hooded shirt and medals
for all 25K finishers.

One of the food vendors at the race.  Never got to
try any of the food, because I didn't bring any cash
while racing.

Overall, this was a fun race and a huge redemption for me after my Soapstone letdown.  There is zero single-track at this race, so perhaps more akin to traditional XC terrain?  While light rain and low 40s isn't the weather that most would expect or want on Memorial Day weekend, I welcomed it for racing!