LONG DISTANCE 2007, Race #2
Northern Nipmuck 16 Mile Trail Race
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Northern Nipmuck info
2007 Northern Nipmuck results
2007 Northern Nipmuck photo slideshow
Didn't sleep particularly well, probably a combination of anxiety about the race today and various other sources of stress in my life right now. So when the alarm went off bright and early (well... early, at least) I seriously questioned the wisdom of setting out to run a 16 mile trail race over fairly difficult terrain on only a few hours sleep. You can probably figure out what I decided.
Packing for this race was tricky due to the unusually cold weather we've been having, but eventually I got my act together and set off on the drive to Bigelow Hollow State Park in Connecticut. The drive through the mountains on the Mass Pike was interesting, to say the least... all the cliffs had huge ice formations running down them, and at the highest point (Becket, I think) all the trees and bushes were coated with a layer of ice, like they'd been through an ice storm. At least the sun was shining...
Northern Nipmuck 16 Mile Trail Race
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Northern Nipmuck info
2007 Northern Nipmuck results
2007 Northern Nipmuck photo slideshow
Didn't sleep particularly well, probably a combination of anxiety about the race today and various other sources of stress in my life right now. So when the alarm went off bright and early (well... early, at least) I seriously questioned the wisdom of setting out to run a 16 mile trail race over fairly difficult terrain on only a few hours sleep. You can probably figure out what I decided.
Packing for this race was tricky due to the unusually cold weather we've been having, but eventually I got my act together and set off on the drive to Bigelow Hollow State Park in Connecticut. The drive through the mountains on the Mass Pike was interesting, to say the least... all the cliffs had huge ice formations running down them, and at the highest point (Becket, I think) all the trees and bushes were coated with a layer of ice, like they'd been through an ice storm. At least the sun was shining...
Pulled into the park (at least this year I knew where the race was, since they don't post any signs for this one!) Checked in, and geared up - tights, shorts, long-sleeved shirt, fleece vest, and gloves. I also stashed a windbreaker, fleece hat, and fleece earband in my waistpack (along with food and Gatorade powder for refilling my bottle.) Finally it was time to make the half-mile hike to the start, where everyone was crowded across the road in an attempt to stay in the sunshine until the last minute. At the urgings of the RD, we all moved to the starting line, where we got the typical "It's a trail race and the trail is well-marked. If you get lost and complain about it, we'll laugh at you." And then, with a quick ready-set-go - it was time for the shoes to meet the trail!
One plus to having done this race last year - I learned a little bit and didn't even bother trying to run for the first half mile or so. Between the long hill that starts this race and the race field 0f 100+ people all crowding onto singletrack trail, it made much more sense to save my energy. (My plan was to run conservatively in any case, and walk all the uphills.) Made our way through some mud and water (which I actually did my best to steer clear of, not knowing what the remaining 15+ miles would be like) and hit the runnable (for me, at least) section after a dozen minutes or so. After that it was up and down, up and down... some nice runnable sections, and plenty of steep climbs and descents. Came out along the stream/pond/swamp, and hit the first aid station (approx. 4 miles) in an hour, same as last year. Of course, the question was - would I manage to maintain that pace or have increasingly longer times between aid stations for the rest of the race, like last year?
The next leg started with a tough technical section, including lots of steep up and down. Also some cool stuff - pine forest, mossy boulder fields, and ICE. Two of the streams had huge icepacks (a good 6" thick.) I watched people slip and slide across those and decided to go around them. Hit the runnable section of the 2nd leg, a long stretch of singletrack through mountain laurel. Unfortunately, this was also where the folks ahead of me were coming back, so it was tough to maintain a steady pace, since every few minutes I'd have to dodge to the side of the trail and wait for them to pass. On the plus side, many of them were very pleasant and encouraging (one of the things I like about trail runners - many of them are pretty nice people.)
The last mile or so got pretty technical, some steep up and down and rough footing... ending in a climb down a cliff to the 2nd aid station and the turnaround, at about 2 hrs 10 minutes. Not bad, time-wise... but the return trip was where I fell apart last year.
After a few minutes, clambered back up the cliff and hiked much of the technical section, before finally reaching the runnable section. At least on the way back I wasn't dodging other runners! This section went better than last year... I ran more, and a little faster, and the hiking didn't hurt as much. I was starting to get cold, though - the tempartures never got above the high 30's, and it was pretty breezy in some areas. Not bad in the sun, but as you can probably guess from the ice I mentioned earlier, the sun doesn't get to every part of this trail all that effectively. Took my only fall in this section - tripped on a root or rock and sprawled forward, fortunately on soft dirt. Picked up a few minor scrapes, but no big deal. Could have done without the last mile or so of technical trail, and definitely could have done without the steep downhills, but finally jogged into the aid station after about an hour and a quarter - a little past the 3 1/2 hour mark. No prayer for a 4 hour finish, but a 4 1/2 seemed like a remote possibility. (Hah!)
After refueling and chatting with the nice volunteers, hit the last stretch of trail... and remembered why I hated that section last year. After a stretch along the stream, the trail goes up and up and up and up. Some runnable stretches along the way, but I'd guess there's a good 2 miles of climbing in that 4 mile stretch. So I ran when I could, and hiked the hills. On the plus side, doing the Greylock Death March last year does afford some perspective on these long hills... none of them are 3 miles! About halfway along, the sweep caught up with me - he was making sure everyone finished and pulling down the orange flagging/picking up trash. From there it was run, hike, run, hike, until finally we reached the doubletrack and another challenge - shoe-sucking mud and water. Since I knew the end was in sight, I said the heck with it and blasted through the mud. OK, that wasn't the brightest move. Having wet feet definitely was more uncomfortable than when they were somewhat dry, as my shoes and socks rubbed more. But I finally reached the last bit of singletrack (a long downhill) and actually ran (well... slowly) down it this year. Reached the finish line in 4 hours 49 minutes - just in time to catch the fellow recording times, who was packing up because he thought everyone had finished!
So I didn't make 4 hours (which would have been a GREAT run) or even 4.5 (still pretty darn good.) But I did finish 20 minutes quicker than last year, and I wasn't suffering anywhere near as much, so I declare the race a success!
My improved time is probably due to a variety of factors - the cooler weather (last year was broiling hot and I suspect I ended up fairly dehydrated despite sucking down numerous bottles of water and Gatorade), foreknowledge of the course (so I knew to save some energy for later), possibly improved hydration/electrolyte replacement (only water for the first hour, and an hourly E-cap), and just maybe I'm in better shape than I was in at this time last year. (Different socks and shoes may have also helped... my feet weren't anywhere near as sore as last year, when I could barely walk and was snarling expletives every time I bumped a rock or root by the end.)
On the walk back to the car, I had a wildlife encounter... as I was walking up the road, a bobcat walked out of the woods a ways ahead of me. He stopped, looked at me, then zipped across the road and into the woods. (Sadly, he was missing the lower half of one back leg... stupid traps.) That was very, very cool!
After that, it was just a matter of munching some food (pizza and Pringles, mmm!) changing clothes, and then driving back to Albany (and wishing the car I was driving had cruise control - it would have been good to be able to stretch my abused legs!)
No question, I have a lot of work do do before NIPMUCK in June... but today says it may be doable.
Next up: I'm signed up the run the Muddy Moose 14 Mile Trail Race in two weeks... whether or not I'll be able to go depends a lot on what happens with my transportation between now and then. Wolfeboro is over 4 hours from Albany, so that's a bit of an expensive trip. So possibly Muddy Moose, or possibly the next race will be one of the one's I want to run in May.
JMH
2007 EVENT TOTALS
Running 36 mi, 9 hr 10 min
Cycling 6.2 mi, 33 min
Snowshoe 31.3 mi, 9 hr 11 min
states visited: CT, MA, ME, NH, NY
