Weekend (Bretton Woods Fell Race)

May 31st (Friday): 3 miles (20:26) quick in the morning. Work 7:30am-4pm. Taught the contractor orientation in the morning. Leftovers (finished off the catering food) for lunch. Home to do some car research on KBB and consumer reports.

2nd run at 8pm. 6+ miles (42:xx). Helped out Goup with a couple of his uphill sections of his mile workout loop. Protein shake for dinner. Drove down to Clifton Park for Fast 6. Aww yeahh! Wicked intense movie and a scene at the end for the next one. Fast 7! Bed by 12am.

 

Might be obsessed. 

June 1st (Saturday): 8am wakeup. Tagsales and garage sales in the morning hours before making the trek over to DoubleJ's house in Madison, NH. 4.5 hours of driving through some scenic roadways. Only stopped once for gas and a quick stretch. Downed a whole bunch a Gatorade from a 2 liter Polar Seltzer bottle. A couple Clif Bars for snacks. 3.5+ (27:54) miles with DoubleJ in his backyard (trails, dirt road).

Stopped down at the lake. Saw a moose on the drive over. Stopped to observe. Took a "dip" in the lake. Soaked the legs from the knees down for about 20 minutes or so.

  

Link to the Youtube Video

First moose of my life. Video courtesy of DoubleJ. 

Back to the house to figure out dinner. Decided to stop over to the convenient store for dinner. Buffalo chicken wrap and a couple mozzarella sticks (thanks to Jim). Hung out the awesome/amazing Tabitha (5 month old daughter). Chilled and bed at a decent hour.

June 2nd (Sunday): 6:50am wakeup to a brisk room. Pulled a blanket over me in the early morning hours because I had a chill. Bathroom and downstairs for a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese. On the road just before 8am to Bretton Woods.

 

Elevation profile. Website for details.

Arrived in the parking lot by 8:45ish. Up to the lodge to register and mingle among the competition. Everyone speculating on the strategy of the best way to get to each checkpoint across the mountain. Back to the car to change up and get out for a easy 2++ mile (16:58) with Kevin Tilton and DoubleJ. Changed into dry shorts and stripped down to just racers, shorts, and sunglasses (Julbo). Over to the starting line for a couple strides and get this thing started.

 

The start of torture. 

The first 3 checkpoints (A,B,C) went well. Tough at times to navigate, but overall was in a good position and effort. Though I slammed the gas on the first downhill so I was shot the next uphill AND downhill. 

 

Dazed and confused.

 I found some mud.

With the fatigue in my legs mixed with the extreme heat from the sun beaming down on my back, I powerhiked/walked/recovered the next 2 checkpoints (D, E). I hit E and pounded to cups of water, gained a second wind and charged what I could up the hill. I ended up going to shortest (yet toughest) way to the last checkpoint before the descent to the finish. I climbed fairly well and met up with Todd at F. The guy said we were 3rd and 4th. I was baffled and almost didn't believed. Cruised the downhill and finished up in 3rd with a time of 78:18 for the unknown distance. I would estimate it around 7.5 miles. The safe route was 7.9 miles, but I definitely cut off some distance with the final up/down section. 

Finishing up.

Cooldown with Newbould and Jake (from Somerville Runners). 2++ (23:04) miles ridiculously slow away from the mountain. We were just trotting along to keep the legs moving. Awards and back to DoubleJ's house. Stopped for a Dr. Pepper and a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich.

 

New friend. Bundle of fun!

The rest of the day was hanging out with Tabby (giving her a tour of the downstairs which she already knows and preventing her from crying). Spaghetti and meatballs was made by Kristin (Jim's wife) for dinner. Headed back to NY by 6:50pm. Beautiful views on the way home. Some passing downpours, but no problems. Home by 11:10pm.

It was way better in person. Sunset.