Some gains this week, but still feeling so sluggish. Had a couple of runs where the knee wasn't too bad and a couple where it was terrible. I'll take the good ones...
Along with the running I got in some nice walking and a couple of Geocaches. Passed three thousand miles for the year, still a shot at 4K.
Week - 86
Month - 237
Year - 3,037
Life - 165,813
I started back to running after missing 18 days. I was very tentative as I had both the foot and knee bothering me and I had the big brace on my arm. It was much nicer once I got the brace off and the go-ahead to run without the smaller brace as long as I stayed on decent surfaces. Falling could be a major setback! I started physical therapy for the thumb and slowly increased my mileage running. I’d struggle all month with a much slower pace than I’d been running prior to the injury.
Eric Morse and I had planned on a trip to up-State NY to tackle the Adirondack Rail Trail. I felt I was doing enough running to still give it a go, knowing I’d be doing a relaxed pace and runs between 4-9 miles. The goal was to complete the entire 34 mile length from Tupper Lake to Lake Placid. The segment from Tupper Lake to Floodwood was still under construction and officially closed but we figured a stealthy early morning run would not be noticed.
After a nice little 3 mile road in the Industrial Park, I hit the road on Friday morning for the 5 hour ride. A little more than half-way I stopped at the scenic bridge over Lake Champlain at Crown Point. I found two Geocaches which gave me a good excuse to get out and walk around for 10 minutes.
Then it was onward to meet Eric for a 2 p.m. run. We spotted a car at the depot in Saranac Lake Depot and then drove to the fish hatchery on Station road for a pleasant run netting us 9.5 miles of the trail. That would be the longest single run of the weekend. We had just enough time to pick up some food and drink and check into the hotel before we hit the road again. This time we spotted a car at Ray Brook road and then drove back to Saranac Lake Depot and ran 4.5 miles. That ended a long day with 17 miles of running (my most since coming back from injury).
We were up before dawn and parked in Tupper Lake after dropping a car at Floodwood. Unfortunately the construction crew was already out there by 7 a.m. We tried to sneak onto the trail but were foiled right away. We did 2 miles trying to find a way onto the trail. Then we tried a dirt road that accessed the trail. Once we hit the trail we immediately saw construction vehicles and had to turn back again, still we got in a nice 5 mile run.
Next up, we hit the donut shop/laundromat in Tupper Lake and picked up a dozen cake donuts with tasty frosting. That would be the carrot that’d be dangling in front of us the rest of the day. We headed over to Mt Arab and got in a nice 2 mile hike (900’ of climb/descent) with some great views from the fire tower on the summit. After that we headed to Station road and then ran the 7 miles back to Floodwood. We checked out a little bit of the closed section and saw more construction vehicles, so we definitely could not have done that section. We’ll have to finish “red lining” the trail later.
The afternoon featured donuts, french fries, and a lot of college football. We were up at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning and greeted with 33 degree temps and a lot of frost on the car windshield. We dropped a car at the end of the trail and drove on to Ray Brook. The final 6 mile run was chilly with an east wind making it feel even colder. Unlike the other runs we’d done we saw only one biker during the early cold miles. We were done a little after sunrise and on the road. I finished off the weekend with a pleasant run on the Stevens rail trail in Warner and some Dunks while relaxing in the sun.
Moving forward. Not a bad week, my thumb is improving and I've managed to keep my foot and knee under control (so far). Had a lot of fun taking a long weekend and running on the Adirondack rail trail with Eric Morse. Put in 12+ hours running and 5 hours on the bike for the week. Had a couple of miles sub-8. Sub-9 feels like I'm hauling (ugh).
Week - 81
Month - 151
Year - 2951
Life - 165,727
5 years ago September 2020 - Not much going on during this month. My glute/piriformis flare-up had me slowing down and back to Pinnacle Physical Therapy for the first time this year. I also had a flare up with my ankle/posterior tibial tendonitis. I did manage to sneak in a race at the end of the month which was just what I needed!
Had a nice ride with CMS teammates (Jim Pawlicki, Joe Shairs, and Greg Putnam) on the Labor Day holiday. We put in 15+ miles on the Topsfield rail trail, then Doug DeAngelis joined in, and we ran another 11+ miles on the Topsfield and Independence trails. Always great to get out there and connect with friends, especially this year (pandemic).
Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail Ride - I was looking for something interesting to ride after doing the Northern Rail Trail. I came up with the Cross New Hampshire Adventure trail (XNHAT). Of the 83 miles of the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail: 40.4 miles paved road, (only 10 miles on a primary road, 30 miles on quiet paved backroads), 11 miles dirt road, 15.5 miles dirt rail trail, shared with ATVs, 15 miles dirt rail trail, non-motorized only, 1.1 miles paved recreation path. I put the word out and CMS teammates Kevin Tilton and Paul Bazanchuk were both "in", the only others to join in the fun were Jim Graham and Jeff Litchfield. I got up at 1am on Saturday morning and was in Bethel Maine ready to run at 3:30 am. I got in a nice 5m run on the rec path and north road (where we'd finish the ride). Kevin showed up at 4:30am and I drove us over to Woodsville NH (Haverhill) for the start of our ride. We met up with the others and went over the bridge to start at the Vermont border. At 6:48am we were off and riding. It was only 34 degrees but it was going to be a bright sunny day (sunrise was at 6:30am).
Total time for the ride was 7:20 with a moving time of 6:49 over 82 miles with 3,381' of climb. Except for my ankle and rib (from a fall) everything felt pretty good.
Results: 1 Ben Neff 17:46 2 Roanee Nickson 18:50 3 Connor Bernard 18:53 4 Dave Dunham 18:54 5 Garrison Hiltz 19:05
10 years ago September 2015 - I started the month with the USATF NE 20k championships. My plan was to be conservative for the first 10k and try to attack the second half. The first mile was a quick (mostly downhill) 5:51, and I eased up a bit as we hit the first hill. I’d found a comfortable pace, but it varied wildly depending on how much up or down there was. I was in 77th place at 10k with a line of people in front of me to hunt down. I reached the finish in 1:16:36 moving up 15 places in the second 10k and running a negative split (38:27 first 10k and 38:09 second 10k). Our team did well, taking third place in the seniors.
50+ Pl Pl Time Name Team
1 37 1:13:51 Christopher Lawrence BAA
2 40 1:14:05 Wayne Levy BAA
3 50 1:15:32 Dan Verrington CMS
4 52 1:15:38 Douglas Martyn WRT
5 54 1:15:41 Michael Cooney WRT
6 58 1:16:06 Jim Miller GMAA
7 62 1:16:39 Dave Dunham CMS
Next up was the Lone Gull 10k which was the final race in the seven-race USATF NE road running grand prix series on Sept 20. I found a spot on the line in the sixth row, right behind Dan Verrington and Byrne Decker. I followed Byrne through a comfortable first mile as we weaved through a lot of fast starters. Dan floated on by right around the mile. I hit the headwind from just after four miles (to the finish) and was lucky enough to catch a few tall people to tuck behind. I caught a few 50+ runners along the way; I only lost ground to a couple of people over the last few miles and hit the finish in 36:38. Our team had a solid run taking second place in the seniors. Splits: 5:44, 5:57, 5:46, 5:59, 5:51, 6:03, 1:18
Top 10 Seniors:
Pl O'all Name Age City, St Team Chip
1 58 Douglas Martyn 55 N Andover, MA WRT 35:02
2 68 Chris Lawrence 51 Lincoln, RI BAA 35:25
3 75 Wayne Levy 50 Newton, MA BAA 35:42
4 76 Michael Cooney 53 Chelmsford, MA WRT 35:44
5 81 Jim Miller 57 GMAA 36:04
6 82 Peter Bottomley 53 Cape Eliz, ME DIRIGO 36:03
7 83 Dan Verrington 53 Bradford , MA CMS 36:08
8 91 Dave Dunham 51 Bradford, MA CMS 36:40
9 94 Alejandro Heuck 50 Amherst , MA GSH 46:30
10 96 Henry Scollard 52 Cambridge, MA WRT 36:51
Joe English Twilight challenge Freestyle farm ½ marathon - I was looking for the elusive win to continue my streak (1979-2014) and this second year trail race looked like a possibility. They offered a six-hour run, a marathon, a marathon relay, and a half-marathon all contested over a 2.6 mile loop through the woods. The unusual part would be the start time which was 5pm for the 6-hour, and 6pm for the marathon & half-marathon. That meant that everyone would be running at least some of the race in the dark.
There was a nice mix of dirt path (mostly dirt road width) and some grass, nothing rough no roots or rocks. They clearly marked the course with flagging and glow sticks and had each kilometer marked as well. The start/finish was located INSIDE of the barn at Freestyle farm, which was unique (and would be hopping during the race). They had tables set up for water and lap counters for each of the events. 
I concentrated on keeping the guys in sight. They were 30 seconds ahead at the end of lap two. Busby struggled a bit on lap three and I began to close on him. About halfway through lap three I caught him, but now I could not see the leader. Collins had about 45 seconds on me as I finished the 3rd lap. It was getting dark during the third lap as it was now about 7pm and I grabbed a drink and my headlamp as I rolled through the barn with two laps to go. The glow sticks were glowing and the “signal fires” were lit. I slowed a bit and struggled over the final lap and never got any closer to Collins who took the win in 1:24:15, I crossed the line in 1:25:20 and Busby was next in 1:26:55.
Top 3
Pl Name City, ST Age Time Age group
1 Ryan Collins 30 1:24:15 30-39
2 Dave Dunham Bradford , MA 51 1:25:20 50-59
3 Christopher Busby Edinburgh 33 1:26:55 30-39
4 Dave Herd Lee, NH 33 1:40:08 30-39
35 finishers (5 in the 50-59)
Struggling with knee and foot pain throughout the week. I guess that kept my mind off my hand pain (laugh). Got the cast off my hand and now with a removable brace, much easier to workout but a lot of stress on my wrists even when biking indoors. I'm hoping I can be on the outdoor bike by next weekend. Slowly increased my running this week and started back to morning runs and doubles. I'll take whatever I can get!
Week -
Bike - 5:30 = 117.9 miles
Go - 5:30 = 77.0 miles
Total = 11:00 194.9 miles
Run = 55 miles (8:23 for 9:09 pace)
Grand total = 19:23
20 years ago September 2005 -Not a bad month with 300 miles and five races including three races in 24 hours. I started the month (09/13/05) with the Governor Dummer XC invitational. The coach was also a Winners Circle Running Club member and they would kick off the season racing against WCRC. I ran with Mick Grant for the first 3k then moved up into 2nd place (the winner was out of sight) and ended up taking second in 17:56. A few days later (09/16 & 09/17) I hooked up with the “Loco Banditos” for the Reach the Beach relay. Teams of 12 alternated over the nearly 200 mile race. I had a LONG wait to run my first leg as I was the 12th man. My first run was a 4 mile (24:29) at 10pm. Next up was a hilly 6.9 mile (41:48) at 7am. My final leg was the last 4.95 miles (definitely not accurate as I ran 24:29) at 2pm. A week later (09/24/05) I ran my 40+ PR at the Eliot Festival 5km in Eliot ME. Conditions were perfect and the field was full of fast people. I finished 35th running a 16:28.5.
15 years ago September 2010 – I got in 347 miles during this month but only raced twice. I took ninth (2nd 40+) at the Pemi Youth 5k (17:40) in Plymouth NH on 09/04. A few days later (09/08/10) I finished in 6th place and took tops in the masters at the Boston Scientific 5k in Oranmore Ireland running a 17:04.
