Training Log Archive: Ari-o

Next morning: packing Lakes! I offered and it was accepted, because why not? Pack up was some cardboard and recyclables; my policy is that if I'm not getting paid I'm not packing garbage water. The packboard Beo made for me last year is legit.

75 pounds—all the weight left—down. I wasn't really ready for it; it's hard! (Also, I'd packed Tucks the night before.) I had a little tip-over near the top, then slowed down to keep from ruining myself. Took me an hour with plenty of crumping.

Then out for an afternoon trail run. One of the croo suggested the Mount Eisenhower Trail, which I'd never run, and coming up the Dry River, which I last hiked in 2013 when it was closed because of Irene, very washed out and blown down. This wasn't a bad idea at all, aside from all of the spiderwebs I went through (finally saw another person past Dry River Shelter 3 and he'd broken trail for me). Amazing how the trails on the ridge may measure annual users in the tens of thousands while these may see no more than a few dozen people per year. Beautiful, wild, and even some good White Mountain trail running.

Friend from NP-Chi was putting on a DIY-ish triathlon in Southern NH. So I motored up to Salem, got my bike out, and got ready to swim.

I. Do. Not. Swim.

I mean, I can move through water. But I can't do it well or quickly. But it was about half a mile of swimming back and forth and I'd be damned if I wasn't going to finish the thing. I made it—and didn't get lapped—and I was tired. I think 90% of me swimming is just not drowning, and the other 10% is moving forwards.

Then out to bike! Lots of people were on borrowed bikes, but I had a real bike. A few hills to climb (in Chicago parlance, some big hills) but mostly rolling. The directions were that you'd go around the lake and that it was well-marked. And it was, mostly, except where it wasn't. I missed a turn somewhere and wound up a couple miles off course but was able to find my way back to the route. I would have easily won the segment and probably the race overall except for the three bonus miles. But, hey, bonus miles! And it will teach me to find the map beforehand next time (which was apparently posted online somewhere).

Then the run. This also wasn't that well-marked. I wound up running in to an infinite loop of course markings, and after a couple of times around just ran back to the start. Didn't feel very fast; also running in bike shorts is weird.

Anyway, I now have more of an appreciation for triathlons, and just as little interest in doing more of them.

Then time to go to the Whites! I was sent on a mission to go to StoHo and get a packboard left out for me and ferry it up to the hut. Except it hadn't been left out for me. I then went on a tour of Pinkham with StoHo people looking for it, involving trying multiple keys to get in to the pygmy room (a room with a short door) where it might be stored and after all of that, leaving about an hour later than planned. But I was able to bungee a water bottle to my pack board, tie on a cow bell, and bungee on a head lamp, too.

Which I needed.

The trail reroute on to the Sherbie is sort of a pain, and I made it to Tucks in about an hour. I got some food from the caretaker there and then set off to climb the headwall in the dark. It was fine, and a nice time of day to climb it (cool and uncrowded) with some fog at the top. And a couple of Quebecois hikers going down. I told them to be real careful; I didn't want to SAR them later (turns out Lakes went on a SAR two days later for a guy and his two kids who set off at Pinkham and called for guidance at 9:30 at the top of the headwall, 8 hours and 3 miles after they'd left; two days removed and I would have stumbled right in to them). Foggy on top, I did some cairn-hopping, but the fog let up and I could see the valley and the hut, which I arrived in to right around lights out.

HRM never got high. L1 the whole way. Hard to run with a packboard.

Deck on the dock.

Headed to Boston to get my rollerskis and rode bikes with Jess on the way (and then gave her a ride down). Lovely ride in Freeport and Brunswick, once out of town it's great. Some nice rolling hills kicked my butt, but running up the mountain may not have helped.

Trail run! Just beautiful day. Puttered around in the AM, then up to run up Mount Abram/Abraham. One other car at the lot, guy came down the trail. Had the mountain to myself. He saw another guy running in the morning, and was amazed there were two trail runners. Well, yes, we exist. Said the other guy did the run in 2:18.

The first 2.5 miles are lovely. Nice trail, runnable, and not very steep. Of course, you don't gain a ton of elevation. The last mile and a half climb 2000+ feet, but lovely forest and the top is way above treeline and scree-y. I explored down the ridge a bit, too, then went back. Down in 2:30, including the exploration up top.

Abraham-Saddleback OR Abraham-Sugarloaf would make an excellent day run traverse with spotted cars.

Hills! Went out after the rain for a cool but muggy run. Powered up the hill (not quite my fastest time) then bombed a <7 down to Torsey, over to Town Hall, and then pushed hard up Nickerson. Well <10 min mile, spiked the HRM up to L4, so that was fun. Then straight in to the lake!

40 mile week. Time for trails, bikes, and rollerskis.

Errands in Boston, then up to Maine for a while. Rolled in, ate some food, and it was lovely. 70, dewpoints in the 50s. Also, on the way in I'd spied a road with new pavement just begging to be scouted. And which seemed like a good run.

Garmin worked up the road (PR up the road, which is nice … 9:13 mile) but then it started showing me 800 feet below sea level running 6:30 miles, which I wasn't. My HRM is buried in a bag somewhere, so I had no frame of reference. So, just run. Hit the new pavement and Garmin got a bit more on track, finally caught up after about 4 miles (so able to get a distance/elevation based on time out and back). The newly-paved section of road is 1.75 miles of beautiful rolling back road. Pavement looks like a new layer which won't last too long, but for a year or two will be a lovely extension, or potentially good for some intervals with transitions and/or part of a longer loop.

Rain tomorrow, then sun sun sun!

Quick run around the neighborhood in Chicago on travel day. Then missed bag check cutoff (aided by surly employee), so some time, and G&Ts, in the UA Club, takeoff in TSRA, 30 minute wait for bags in Boston. 4 buses, 4 trains, 1 airplane, back in Boston.