The forecast keeps looking more furnace-like, as is the story of this entire year in the midwest. Last I checked we were looking at high 80s on Saturday, and with aid stations 5-6 miles apart and word around the campfire that the race organizers aren't too good about stocking ice on course, well, conditions are going to be tough for the 50 milers and killer for the 100 milers. I'm definitely using my Ultimate Direction Wasp hydration pack, which holds 64oz, and the plan is to drain almost all that between the long segments.
I have two goals this weekend: start slow and chug water + salt. If I do these two things right, everything else will fall into place. My fueling -- aside from dehydration issues -- is pretty solid for the 50 mile distance. Namely, gel and/or GU Chomps every 30-45 minutes, with some solid food at the aid as I can take it. The training is there for a decent showing, especially in my first year doing ultras and still working on my endurance run base.
Over the past month since Gnaw Bone I've had a few key workouts that highlight a very successful training period with consistently high volume, if not always very high mileage. And by that I mean that I haven't broken 100 miles per week yet, which I consider the standard for very high mileage, which I'll be putting in after Mohican in my last build periods before Leadville.
Gnaw Bone 50 miler took a full week for my sticks to recover, so my mileage was very low due to residual pain and fatigue. But the following week I was starting to run pretty well, and I had a 4 day weekend around Memorial Day weekend, so Jon and I were finally able to run Stinchfield Woods together, and I think he liked the long hills, variety of terrain, and remote locale as much as I do. We ran 18 miles, the same distance as the full loop of the Potto, but according to Jon's Garmin 310XT, Stinch has more vert, by around 1500' vs 1800' which is what I suspected from how much more my legs are crying after a Stinch run.
The next day, we ran a circuit in Ann Arbor that I've been wanting to connect since I started seriously running trails around here last fall. We did Argo/Cedar Bend/The Arb/Bluffs/Kuebler/Bird Hills/Leslie for 27 total miles, with probably 3 miles of that being on paved path and the rest all trails. Starting from my house. Not damn bad for living in a "city". Here's The Garmin Connect data for the Ann Arbor run.
This niche little midwest town has some seriously tough terrain if you seek it, and Jon's Garmin registered 3400 feet of elevation gain. That's great Leadville training in my book.
The other key training run was in Connecticut, where Alaina and I drove to watch her race in Rev3 Quassy, her first Half-Ironman as a pro. She totally killed the bike and run on this absolutely brutal course, with steep, incessant hills and technical bike turns, taking down at least 5 other finishing pro's to finish 12th female pro with a time of 4:58. So proud of her for overcoming a rough swim, sticking to her strengths, and crushing dreams while plenty of other females DNF'd the very tough race. Go Alaina go!
A few days before her race, I found a few mentions of Mattatuck trail online, and it was supposed to be the gnarliest, most technical, hilliest trail near Middlebury, CT. And it did not disappoint.
Although I did get a little lost driving there, as the parking lot I expected to exist, um, did not exist, I eventually drove by a sign that said Mattatuck Trail, so I found a parking lot nearby and hopped onto the trail. Did I mention it was raining? No? That's because it was pouring. I was drenched the moment I left the car, and probably had about 30 minutes of non-rain run. In other words, it was awesome.
The short version of the run: I went into the woods. It was really hard. I had fun. The End.
Longer version: Many parts of this run were simply not runnable. Roots, boulders, rock, mud, more rock, sections so steep that running downhill was slower than running uphill -- all this combined to make Mattatuck trail one of the hardest and most rewarding runs I've ever done. The peaks were rock outcroppings with brilliant views of the surrounding area. I saw no one for 4 hours. I got lost then found myself. I felt like I went back to pre-historic times because of all the ferns and exposed glacial rock. Something in the woods shook the water off an entire tree, then did the same to a series of huge trees when I coughed and it ran away and I got really really scared and ran faster.
Along with Red River Gorge and the Smokies, this was one of the best runs I've ever had, and probably one of the most strikingly memorable experiences of my life.
The next day, as Alaina headed out on the bike portion of her race, I ran a hard and steady 17 miles on roads, covering most of the run course and part of the Greenway trail in Middlebury, CT. My legs were a bit cracked on the back half, but I kept up a steady effort and had fun running on roads for the first time in months. The day before I'd covered 17 miles in 4 hours on trails. This day I covered 17 miles in 2 hours on roads. That's good fun.
I know that I'm ready for the Mohican 50, and all I need to do is execute with these feeble brainz and I'll have a fun race, a great time, and some memories forever.
In terms of music news, I bought my Saturday ticket for the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago -- where my brother just moved! -- in July and I'm in for some fantastic music and a great time with my brother. I'm stoked for Cloud Nothings, Atlas Sound, Lotus Plaza, Cults, Youth Lagoon, Flying Lotus, Sleigh Bells, Chromatics, Hot Chip, and Grimes. Damn, that's gonna be really fun. Samples of those I haven't posted below.
Atlas Sound -- Te Amo
Youth Lagoon -- Cannons
Cults -- Abducted
Sleigh Bells -- Infinity Guitars
Hot Chip -- Over and Over
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