WELL, THIS IS DISAPPOINTING...
No Gail's Trail Run for the Turtle
Thursday, December 12, 2013
It's funny, really... I originally started running December's Gail's Trail Run because it was an opportunity to run the Leatherman's Loop course when there weren't 900-1000 other runners crammed onto a little over 6 miles of trail in the beautiful Ward Pound Ridge Reservation down in Westchester.... and was drawn back by the added appeal of running it in December, when sometimes there was snow on the ground and ice on the surface of the stream crossings. When the park managers denied the permit application and forced the RDs to move the race to Collis Huntington State Park in CT, I figured I'd run it once and that would be it. Except... I've been there three times now (the last two Decembers, and a one-shot March running that apparently established the current course) and have found that it's grown on me. I remember thinking during my first run there that it was kind of neat that the race was finally developing its own identity, rather than simply being "the winter Leatherman's." I think I was especially looking forward to doing it this weekend because this year my damn knee (and, in all honesty, my own issues with getting myself out the door) have kept me from many of my usual runs - and it seemed like an especially good way to wind down my year of very little running.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature has thrown a monkey wrench into the works, with anywhere from 6-12 inches of snow forecast for the area between Saturday and Sunday. Since much of the parking is done in the field next to the small dirt lot (not a possibility if there's more than a couple of inches of snow) the RD's decided to move the race up a day. Which means I no longer have a room reserved for the night before (a minor problem, I could probably get one) and more importantly the work I have scheduled for the Honda is now in direct conflict with the trip to CT. Factor in my anticipated semi-fried state after work tomorrow (it's been a long week) and the result is - I'm staying local this weekend. No race for me.
Sadly, about par for the course this year.
JMH
Showing posts with label races 2013. Show all posts
Showing posts with label races 2013. Show all posts
Friday, September 20, 2013
Getting Sick Sucks
Friday, September 20, 2013
Woke up this morning with a sore throat and clogged sinuses and things went downhill from there. Very annoying given that it was a really beautiful day and I was looking forward to going to one of the Columbia Land Conservancy's full moon walks this evening (at High Falls Conservation Area - right behind my parents' house and an area where I've spent a lot of time in the woods, long before it was a conservation area.)
Tomorrow is supposed to be warm and sunny too, and I'd been looking forward to spending a few hours on my bike. Stupid viruses...
Most annoying of all, when I went to cancel my motel room for tomorrow night (I'd been planning to go to the Where the Pavement Ends trail race in CT on Sunday morning) I discovered that I'd just missed the deadline to do so. I'd go down anyway and give it a go, except it's supposed to rain during the morning... and spending an hour in the rain isn't likely to do me any good if I'm trying to recover from the bug that's gotten its hooks into me. So I'll also be paying for a room I won't be using.
And since I barely had the energy to crawl into bed when I got home - today also ended my streak of getting outdoors for at least half an hour every day (since June 4.) I knew that once work started back up I'd miss a day sooner or later... but I was hoping it would end up being more on the "later" side.
JMH
Friday, September 20, 2013
Woke up this morning with a sore throat and clogged sinuses and things went downhill from there. Very annoying given that it was a really beautiful day and I was looking forward to going to one of the Columbia Land Conservancy's full moon walks this evening (at High Falls Conservation Area - right behind my parents' house and an area where I've spent a lot of time in the woods, long before it was a conservation area.)
Tomorrow is supposed to be warm and sunny too, and I'd been looking forward to spending a few hours on my bike. Stupid viruses...
Most annoying of all, when I went to cancel my motel room for tomorrow night (I'd been planning to go to the Where the Pavement Ends trail race in CT on Sunday morning) I discovered that I'd just missed the deadline to do so. I'd go down anyway and give it a go, except it's supposed to rain during the morning... and spending an hour in the rain isn't likely to do me any good if I'm trying to recover from the bug that's gotten its hooks into me. So I'll also be paying for a room I won't be using.
And since I barely had the energy to crawl into bed when I got home - today also ended my streak of getting outdoors for at least half an hour every day (since June 4.) I knew that once work started back up I'd miss a day sooner or later... but I was hoping it would end up being more on the "later" side.
JMH
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT
3 Mile Walk Around the Pine Hills Neighborhood
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
And after a positively sweltering day (the heat index was in the low 100's this afternoon) dark and stormy was definitely welcome, as it meant the cold front was finally moving in. Even the splatters of rain that made it past my umbrella felt good. Though it would have been nice to have a better view of the lightning that lit up the sky periodically.
Tomorrow it's supposed to be stormy for much of the day, so probably no riding then either... maybe I'll try a short slow run instead, since I overslept and missed the Barry Hopkins 3.8mi last Sunday at Olana. I'd like to get some sort of clue about where my knee is at before next weekend, so I can decide if I want to try either of the races I've looked at (the Red Apple 10k down in Kinderhook or the Falling Leaves 14k out in Utica.)
JMH
3 Mile Walk Around the Pine Hills Neighborhood
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
And after a positively sweltering day (the heat index was in the low 100's this afternoon) dark and stormy was definitely welcome, as it meant the cold front was finally moving in. Even the splatters of rain that made it past my umbrella felt good. Though it would have been nice to have a better view of the lightning that lit up the sky periodically.
Tomorrow it's supposed to be stormy for much of the day, so probably no riding then either... maybe I'll try a short slow run instead, since I overslept and missed the Barry Hopkins 3.8mi last Sunday at Olana. I'd like to get some sort of clue about where my knee is at before next weekend, so I can decide if I want to try either of the races I've looked at (the Red Apple 10k down in Kinderhook or the Falling Leaves 14k out in Utica.)
JMH
Sunday, August 04, 2013
No Indian Ladder Trail Race For the Turtle... Sigh...
Sunday, August 4, 2013
The Indian Ladder 15k was the first trail race I ever did (way back in 1998) and is also one of the races I've done the most number of times, so it holds a special place in my heart, and despite being injured I really wanted to participate in some way. I signed up for both races this year (same price as signing up for one, and a number of distance runners actually do both races) figuring that left my options open to do the 15k if my knee healed up or the 3.5 mi if it didn't... if nothing else I could walk the latter in an hour or less.
Except - we had a lot we wanted to get done before heading over to Syracuse this afternoon (so Ann could pick up her truck and head home for work tomorrow morning) and in the end spending a couple hours driving to Thacher, hobbling through the short race, and then driving back here was going to mean getting off to a pretty late departure this afternoon. So I decided a less rushed morning and afternoon was preferable to "running" the race this year - especially since I probably would have been disappointed with my performance (no doubt even slower than the last time I ran the short course, after having completed the long course a few minutes before.)
It was the right decision... but it's still tough to miss a race that's pretty significant to me, especially on the heels of missing so many other runs this spring and summer.
JMH
Sunday, August 4, 2013
The Indian Ladder 15k was the first trail race I ever did (way back in 1998) and is also one of the races I've done the most number of times, so it holds a special place in my heart, and despite being injured I really wanted to participate in some way. I signed up for both races this year (same price as signing up for one, and a number of distance runners actually do both races) figuring that left my options open to do the 15k if my knee healed up or the 3.5 mi if it didn't... if nothing else I could walk the latter in an hour or less.
Except - we had a lot we wanted to get done before heading over to Syracuse this afternoon (so Ann could pick up her truck and head home for work tomorrow morning) and in the end spending a couple hours driving to Thacher, hobbling through the short race, and then driving back here was going to mean getting off to a pretty late departure this afternoon. So I decided a less rushed morning and afternoon was preferable to "running" the race this year - especially since I probably would have been disappointed with my performance (no doubt even slower than the last time I ran the short course, after having completed the long course a few minutes before.)
It was the right decision... but it's still tough to miss a race that's pretty significant to me, especially on the heels of missing so many other runs this spring and summer.
JMH
Saturday, July 27, 2013
NO DRYDEN LAKE TRI FOR THE TURTLE... SIGH...
Saturday, July 27, 2013
... and I have only my own stupidity to blame for it. Turns out the AC units at the Ithaca Rodeway Inn are very loud... and the fan runs constantly when the unit is on. I spent about three hours trying to get to sleep and finally gave up. And since they want us at Dryden Lake ridiculously early (2 1/2 hours before the start) I don't think 3 hours of sleep is going to cut it.
Of course, what I should have done immediately is what I finally did at 3 AM... turned off the dang AC completely and fell asleep almost immediately. Dumb dumb dumb.
So I guess I'll get to Taughannock Falls and back home to Rochester a good deal earlier than originally planned - and I'll hit the trails for a much longer bike ride this afternoon.
JMH
Saturday, July 27, 2013
... and I have only my own stupidity to blame for it. Turns out the AC units at the Ithaca Rodeway Inn are very loud... and the fan runs constantly when the unit is on. I spent about three hours trying to get to sleep and finally gave up. And since they want us at Dryden Lake ridiculously early (2 1/2 hours before the start) I don't think 3 hours of sleep is going to cut it.
Of course, what I should have done immediately is what I finally did at 3 AM... turned off the dang AC completely and fell asleep almost immediately. Dumb dumb dumb.
So I guess I'll get to Taughannock Falls and back home to Rochester a good deal earlier than originally planned - and I'll hit the trails for a much longer bike ride this afternoon.
JMH
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
WOODCHUCKLES REDUX & A TROUBLESOME BIKE
11 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Yesterday I left the bike I usually ride out in Rochester, both because it was raining steadily and I'm hoping my knee will have recovered enough for me to do the Tri the Oatka paddle triathlon in a week and a half - so during that time I need to put in a few miles on the bike I typically ride during races. I knew I needed to replace the tires first, so this morning I tackled that job. What I had forgotten was that I also needed to replace a broken spoke on the front wheel - and unfortunately I didn't notice that until after I had the tire replaced. Sigh...
Heading out on the bike path I felt a steady bump from the back wheel that probably meant the wire bead wasn't seated properly on the rim in one spot... I've had that issue once or twice before with that wheel, most memorably during the Mohawk Towpath Duathlon back in 2007. I figured it would be OK for a few miles so I decided to endure it until I got back to the car (how's that for foreshadowing?)
Stopped at Lock 7 to look for the six woodchuckles I saw a while ago... no sign of them near the burrows. But, as I was getting ready to leave, I spotted them - all the way across the lawn, in a brushy area near the road. Either woodchucks are incredible burrowers, the little squirts have gotten very brave, or Ma and Pa woodchuck have booted them out, because they were a good 100 yds from the burrows next to the Lock. Then again, if it came down to a 100 m dash between me and the woodchuckles, I'd put my money on them. Spent a few minutes taking photos of them, before my being there scared them into the brush, then headed on down the bike path.
Except now the "bump, bump, bump" was much worse, and when I stopped I discovered that the tube had popped the tire off the rim and was getting steadily worse. So I deflated the tube, did my best to re-seat the tire, and then pumped it back up as best I could with my hand pump. That took enough wind out of my sails that I considered stopping when I got back to the car. I haven't been on the Dawes since the end of April, and the frame geometry and gearing is just different enough that it can be take some getting used to - in other words my legs were grumbling.
On the way back I stopped at the Niska Isle bridge to take some pictures and was treated to another goose parade (flotilla?) as several families made their way single file to the far shore. An incredible number are hanging out in that area - looked like 8 adults and 30+ youngsters of various ages.
I managed to convince myself that it was worth riding down to the old railroad bridge ove Shaker's Creek, and I'm glad I did - I'd have felt pretty wimpy later on if I'd stopped after 6-7 miles. And tomorrow I get to work on the back tire again... it looks like the rubber over the bead may have torn away, so I may need to throw that one out and put a different one on...
JMH
11 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Yesterday I left the bike I usually ride out in Rochester, both because it was raining steadily and I'm hoping my knee will have recovered enough for me to do the Tri the Oatka paddle triathlon in a week and a half - so during that time I need to put in a few miles on the bike I typically ride during races. I knew I needed to replace the tires first, so this morning I tackled that job. What I had forgotten was that I also needed to replace a broken spoke on the front wheel - and unfortunately I didn't notice that until after I had the tire replaced. Sigh...
Heading out on the bike path I felt a steady bump from the back wheel that probably meant the wire bead wasn't seated properly on the rim in one spot... I've had that issue once or twice before with that wheel, most memorably during the Mohawk Towpath Duathlon back in 2007. I figured it would be OK for a few miles so I decided to endure it until I got back to the car (how's that for foreshadowing?)
Stopped at Lock 7 to look for the six woodchuckles I saw a while ago... no sign of them near the burrows. But, as I was getting ready to leave, I spotted them - all the way across the lawn, in a brushy area near the road. Either woodchucks are incredible burrowers, the little squirts have gotten very brave, or Ma and Pa woodchuck have booted them out, because they were a good 100 yds from the burrows next to the Lock. Then again, if it came down to a 100 m dash between me and the woodchuckles, I'd put my money on them. Spent a few minutes taking photos of them, before my being there scared them into the brush, then headed on down the bike path.
Except now the "bump, bump, bump" was much worse, and when I stopped I discovered that the tube had popped the tire off the rim and was getting steadily worse. So I deflated the tube, did my best to re-seat the tire, and then pumped it back up as best I could with my hand pump. That took enough wind out of my sails that I considered stopping when I got back to the car. I haven't been on the Dawes since the end of April, and the frame geometry and gearing is just different enough that it can be take some getting used to - in other words my legs were grumbling.
On the way back I stopped at the Niska Isle bridge to take some pictures and was treated to another goose parade (flotilla?) as several families made their way single file to the far shore. An incredible number are hanging out in that area - looked like 8 adults and 30+ youngsters of various ages.
I managed to convince myself that it was worth riding down to the old railroad bridge ove Shaker's Creek, and I'm glad I did - I'd have felt pretty wimpy later on if I'd stopped after 6-7 miles. And tomorrow I get to work on the back tire again... it looks like the rubber over the bead may have torn away, so I may need to throw that one out and put a different one on...
JMH
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
GOOD NEWS... BAD NEWS...
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Got word tonight that this weekend's Big River Half Marathon in RI is being postponed due to the amount of snow still on the trails (a sad thought, given how little snow we have here!) Having lost three days to being sick, I can really use the time I would have spent travelling to grade exams...
Unofrtunately, the race has been rescheduled to 3/30, when there are already two other races I was trying to choose between - the Mt Penn Mudfest in PA and the Shenipset Old School Trail Half Marathon in CT. Sigh.
JMH
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Got word tonight that this weekend's Big River Half Marathon in RI is being postponed due to the amount of snow still on the trails (a sad thought, given how little snow we have here!) Having lost three days to being sick, I can really use the time I would have spent travelling to grade exams...
Unofrtunately, the race has been rescheduled to 3/30, when there are already two other races I was trying to choose between - the Mt Penn Mudfest in PA and the Shenipset Old School Trail Half Marathon in CT. Sigh.
JMH
Friday, February 22, 2013
A Snowshoe Race Cancelled Due To... Too Much Snow????
Friday, February 22, 2013
Well... that's what it looked like originally, when the forecast called for about a foot of snow in Hawley between Saturday night and Sunday morning. Good for snowshoeing, bad for parking at the SCA Americorps HQ that we get to use for the Moody Spring and Hallockville races.
While the forecast is now for a lot less snow, Sunday's race is still cancelled - MA DCR pulled the permit, on the grounds that they don't have anyone to plow the parking lot Sunday morning.
While I'm not particularly fond of the Hallockville Orchard race (it's mostly on snowmobile trail) I will still miss the chance to spend some time with my friends over in the forest in West Hawley. On the plus side - I can stay closer to home and get my backside out for a long run instead.
JMH
Friday, February 22, 2013
Well... that's what it looked like originally, when the forecast called for about a foot of snow in Hawley between Saturday night and Sunday morning. Good for snowshoeing, bad for parking at the SCA Americorps HQ that we get to use for the Moody Spring and Hallockville races.
While the forecast is now for a lot less snow, Sunday's race is still cancelled - MA DCR pulled the permit, on the grounds that they don't have anyone to plow the parking lot Sunday morning.
While I'm not particularly fond of the Hallockville Orchard race (it's mostly on snowmobile trail) I will still miss the chance to spend some time with my friends over in the forest in West Hawley. On the plus side - I can stay closer to home and get my backside out for a long run instead.
JMH
Sunday, February 17, 2013
COLD & WINDY
Sunday, February 17, 2013
I really wanted to go back out and take down the markings for the Moody Spring course today - mainly because it would have given me a longer snowshoe than I ever done before (I think my current max is somewhere around 9.5 miles) and I really need to be building distance if I want to have any hope of making it to the finish of the Big Island Marathon in a month... exactly a month... OK, I feel ill now.
But today started out cold - about 10-15 degrees colder than yesterday - and turned very, very windy. Cold I don't mind. Cold and windy, on the other hand, can literally be a killer combo. Today it was bad enough that I couldn't even convince myself to stop anywhere on the way home to go for a walk, on a wonderfully sunny day.
As I sit here and listen to the wind howl outside, I'm pretty sure I made the right decision.
JMH
Sunday, February 17, 2013
I really wanted to go back out and take down the markings for the Moody Spring course today - mainly because it would have given me a longer snowshoe than I ever done before (I think my current max is somewhere around 9.5 miles) and I really need to be building distance if I want to have any hope of making it to the finish of the Big Island Marathon in a month... exactly a month... OK, I feel ill now.
But today started out cold - about 10-15 degrees colder than yesterday - and turned very, very windy. Cold I don't mind. Cold and windy, on the other hand, can literally be a killer combo. Today it was bad enough that I couldn't even convince myself to stop anywhere on the way home to go for a walk, on a wonderfully sunny day.
As I sit here and listen to the wind howl outside, I'm pretty sure I made the right decision.
JMH
Friday, January 11, 2013
HURRAY! WE HAVE A SNOWSHOE RACE TOMORROW!
Friday, January 11, 2013
Between the warm weather and the rain we're supposed to be getting, I was pretty sure it would be cancelled... I can't imagine that conditions will be ideal (if nothing else, we're going to be sweating bullets in the 40 degree weather... or else swearing at the rain!) but current word is that tomorrow's snowshoe race at Constitution Hill is ON.
Guess that means I'm getting my backside out the door tonight for a run - finally, after a week of being far lazier than I should have been, given what I have coming up this spring...
JMH
Friday, January 11, 2013
Between the warm weather and the rain we're supposed to be getting, I was pretty sure it would be cancelled... I can't imagine that conditions will be ideal (if nothing else, we're going to be sweating bullets in the 40 degree weather... or else swearing at the rain!) but current word is that tomorrow's snowshoe race at Constitution Hill is ON.
Guess that means I'm getting my backside out the door tonight for a run - finally, after a week of being far lazier than I should have been, given what I have coming up this spring...
JMH
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
MIGHT AS WELL FACE IT...
No Seashore Nature Trail 50k for the Turtle
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
I haven't run for almost two weeks, and my foot hasn't bounced back to normal... more like a slow crawl punctuated by occasionally being dragged backwards every once in a while when I do something stupid. I suspect this is going to be a slow-healing injury that I'm going to have to manage carefully so that I can be ready for the Big Island Marathon in March and Rock the Ridge in May - and attempting a 50k after little or no running for 6 weeks doesn't qualify as careful management. In any case, the 50k was going to be a struggle after spending November training for it - as things stand now, it's questionable if I'd even be able to finish in 8 1/2 hours, regardless of the state it would leave my foot in afterwards.
So I'm doing the smart, mature thing and pulling myself out of the 50k, growling and snarling all the way, damn it.
Hopefully taking it easy for the next month or so will leave me in a better place going into snowshoe season and next year's running season. And in the meantime I'll try to do some thinking and see if I can figure out how to have my running in 2013 not suck nearly as much as I did in 2012.
Can we have some cheese to go with all this whine? Sigh.
JMH
No Seashore Nature Trail 50k for the Turtle
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
I haven't run for almost two weeks, and my foot hasn't bounced back to normal... more like a slow crawl punctuated by occasionally being dragged backwards every once in a while when I do something stupid. I suspect this is going to be a slow-healing injury that I'm going to have to manage carefully so that I can be ready for the Big Island Marathon in March and Rock the Ridge in May - and attempting a 50k after little or no running for 6 weeks doesn't qualify as careful management. In any case, the 50k was going to be a struggle after spending November training for it - as things stand now, it's questionable if I'd even be able to finish in 8 1/2 hours, regardless of the state it would leave my foot in afterwards.
So I'm doing the smart, mature thing and pulling myself out of the 50k, growling and snarling all the way, damn it.
Hopefully taking it easy for the next month or so will leave me in a better place going into snowshoe season and next year's running season. And in the meantime I'll try to do some thinking and see if I can figure out how to have my running in 2013 not suck nearly as much as I did in 2012.
Can we have some cheese to go with all this whine? Sigh.
JMH
Thursday, August 09, 2012
A FUTURE CHALLENGE?
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Today I received an e-mail about an event happening down in the 'Gunks next May - the Rock the Ridge 50 mile challenge, being put on as a fundraiser for the Mohonk Preserve. Ordinarily I wouldn't even consider a 50 miler - I'm too darn slow to make the time cutoffs at most of them - but this one has a 24 hour time limit, which even I should be able to do. And it's in an area I absolutely love...
The catch - registration is a whopping $150, plus participants have to raise a minimum of $250 as well. I've got to admit, the registration fee seems fairly steep to me - but I've also been thinking about this all day, which tells me I've been bitten by the bug. The only question is - will it gain enough of a foothold for me to fork over the cash before the cap for individual runners (50) is met? (There are also relay and team options, but somehow I doubt I'll find three other folks willing to travel at my glacial pace and also willing to shell out that much money to do it.)
Decisions, decisions...
JMH
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Today I received an e-mail about an event happening down in the 'Gunks next May - the Rock the Ridge 50 mile challenge, being put on as a fundraiser for the Mohonk Preserve. Ordinarily I wouldn't even consider a 50 miler - I'm too darn slow to make the time cutoffs at most of them - but this one has a 24 hour time limit, which even I should be able to do. And it's in an area I absolutely love...
The catch - registration is a whopping $150, plus participants have to raise a minimum of $250 as well. I've got to admit, the registration fee seems fairly steep to me - but I've also been thinking about this all day, which tells me I've been bitten by the bug. The only question is - will it gain enough of a foothold for me to fork over the cash before the cap for individual runners (50) is met? (There are also relay and team options, but somehow I doubt I'll find three other folks willing to travel at my glacial pace and also willing to shell out that much money to do it.)
Decisions, decisions...
JMH
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