Monday, July 14, 2008

WHO KNOWS? 2008 - Race #13
New Paltz Summer XC Series #2
Lou's Run 4.4 Mile Trail Race
Monday, July 14, 2008

Wow, that was tough. We ran some of the same trails that are used for the Pfalz Point 10 mile Trail Challenge in September, but in reverse. Lots of rollers for the first part of the run, along the fields and then into the woods... and then the climbing began and didn't seem like it was ever going to stop! Up and up we went, until we finally reached the water stop... and then had to climb some more to reach the top of the hill and then loop back around. After that it was mostly a long downhill, which is tough in a different way, for me at least... but I pounded it out and made up some time I lost during all the uphill early on. Eventually we ran down through one of the fields bordering the road to the Spring Farm trailhead, and then had to run up the same road we had to walk up earlier to get to the race... that made for a tough finish! But I did a decent job, crossing the finish in 49 min 12 seconds... not a phenomenal pace for 4.4 miles, but not bad for this year, especially considering the hills during the first 2/3 of the course.

As always, the Gunks were beautiful... the drive to the mountains, with Sky Top and the ridges off in the distance, always takes my breath away, and the views of the Catskill Mountains from Spring Farm are always wonderful. I'm glad I decided to do the summer series this year... it's a bit of driving, but it also provides additional opportunities for me to visit a place I absolutely love. And it feels good to push hard over a shorter distance and not worry as much about running out of gas before the race is over.

Next up: the Moonlight in Vermont 4 mile Midnight Road Race... running a race in the dark should be a lot of fun!

2008 Event Totals
Run 96.0 mi / 21 hr 26 min
Bike 20 mi / 1 hr 32 min
Snowshoe 45.7 mi / 13 hr 19 min

states visited: MA, NH, NY, VT
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