Traprock 50K

On a frigid February night I found myself in a friends home talking ultra-running. Jordan and I had known each other in a previous life and had shared many experiences together but it wasn't until we both moved away from Portland and then subsequently moved back that we became running partners. 3 mile runs through the neighborhood to catch-up with one another turned into 3 and 4 hour trail runs every Saturday morning. He paced me at my first 50 miler, I watched him cross the line of his first 50k, and now here we were on a cold, cold night, thinking of spring and of bare trails and of our next ultra-adventure.


We had gathered at his place to watch Unbreakable (again) and scope out spring and summer races. Ian had mentioned the Wapack and Back 50 to me several weeks before and it seemed like a truly appealing race, an out-and-back on the Wapack trail in MA that two of our most bad-ass team members Val and Mindy had already set their sights on.

With registration still weeks away from opening we put Wapack on our calendar and began training. I began looking for 50k races in late April in the hopes of finding something tough, hilly, and generally mean about thirty days from Wapack. And this is where I found the Traprock 50k.

From the race website:

Consisting entirely of rolling forest roads or single track that can be extremely rocky, the course will provide a true test of the runner’s fitness and mental stamina. You should only consider entering this race if you are confident you have sufficient running experience such as having completed a recent road or trail marathon

Traprock training

Training was going well and I transitioned from an average of roughly 15 miles per week in the winter to the first 20 mile runs of the season pretty seamlessly. Then, on a long run in surprisingly deep snow which had drifted onto the trail I hurt my ankle-bad. The next several weeks were spent hobbling around on crutches, swinging kettle bells and rowing on the Concept 2, and hoping that I could heal up in time for Wapack.
Most of my training runs consisted of running the Knight Woods trail at Bradbury Mountain, a 1 mile loop with a small hill in the middle. I would run this 10, then 12, then 15 times in order to get as many trail miles in as I could while not straying too far from the car in case the ankle gave out.

Until 3 weeks before the race I considered dropping down the 17k distance at Traprock due to the setback from the injury and the subsequent lack of training. Then, after a long run on a rainy Tuesday morning I texted Jordan to say "50k at Traprock is on". I felt like we had made a commitment to one another and with my ankle in good shape I saw no reason to back out of our biggest training run for Wapack and Back.

We arrived in CT on the evening before the race and got a good night of rest before a beautiful day of running.

Ian ready to rip it up

TM Ultra Team

With no real time goal in mind and a sense of gratitude that I could even run the thing post-injury I embarked on one of the most relaxed and enjoyable trail runs of my life. The first 10.5 mile loop offered many pleasant surprises, most notable being the relatively runnable terrain in a race that I'd expected to be more of a hands-on-knee's affair. The few climbs that this course offered were undoubtedly difficult and the steepest of them, the stairway to heaven was one of the meanest things I'd ever encountered in a race.  But, on this day it didn't feel all that mean and I actually enjoyed ascending this set of stone steps on all three trips occasions. Half-way through the second lap I saw Jordan coming around a lollipop loop less than a 1/4 mile behind me. He looked strong and as I gave him a high five it occurred to me that within a few minutes we might be racing one another. I'm sure that this thought had passed through both of our minds as our training runs found us pretty evenly matched. We'd run into this interesting pattern of him charging out hard at the beginning of our runs and leaving me in the dust, me catching up about 10 miles into the run, and him and I leapfrogging each other as we take turns at feeling good and feeling bad. In our training we always made a plan to meet back at the car at a specified time which allowed us to run at our own pace, break away on our own path, or race each other when the spirit moved us-all of which occurred on these memorable Saturday morning runs. Now with Jordan pulling up next to me at the halfway point of the race I wondered how the next 15 miles were going to go down. We ran neck and neck at a relaxed pace and talked about our favorite parts of the trail and how good we were feeling. For some reason the competitive drive that I expected to kick in for both of us-as it had during so many runs where one of us begins to push the pace and the other drops, keeps up, or pushes harder and charges past- just didn't happen. There came a time when I stopped to stretch for a bit and Jordan ran on. I wondered if I would see him again and felt nothing but glad that he was having such a good run. I caught up to him on a stretch of road a few miles from the start/finish and we completed the second loop together, At this point I wondered if we would end up naturally falling into the same pace for the third and final loop and, with no desire to hard charge and race my friend for the next two hours, if we would possibly cruise into the finish line together.

The rest of the team, Ian, Joe, Ben, and Nate where having a great day on the trails and I saw them periodically as they came cruising down the backs of trails that I was just beginning to climb. With a 3 loop course and several lollipop sections I could see that they were all doing really well and tearing up the Traprock. I ended up a getting a bit ahead of Jordan on some of the climbs and found myself suddenly feeling better than I ever had at mile 23-24 of a 50k. I ran evenly and easily and found myself suddenly alone on a gorgeous stretch of singletrack that was just glowing in the midday sun. As I was enjoying the solitude of the trails I noticed the faint sound of breathing and the crunch of footsteps behind me. I turned to see Jordan coming fast and hard. Suddenly we were neck and neck and pushing the pace. We pulled into an aid station together and took exactly 5 seconds to down a drink and race back out onto the trail. Next aid station same thing-in and out and after each other again. Yet, even with us running neck and neck it didn't feel like we were racing each other. It felt like we were running a race together and was one of the most unique and enjoyable experiences that I've ever shared with a friend on the trails. I could still see either of us taking the lead at this point and the possibility of a duel finish was still on my mind as well.

I'd held back a bit on the second loop in the hopes of a strong finish and as we arrived at the middle of the last loop I felt a surge of strength and began to push hard. I ran the climbs that I'd hiked on the previous two loops and soon found myself alone on the trails again. I kept the pace up for the next mile or two and just as I was about to slow it down and do some late stage ultra-shuffling I noticed a dude in a bright red shirt a few hundred yards ahead. With another runner in striking distance I amped it up again and soon found myself running alongside him and his friend. We ran together until we reached the final aid-station at which I gulped down some ginger-ale and tried to race back out onto the long stretch of road. One of the runners held back while me and the other started a ridiculously slow late stage ultra battle for the books. He was just beginning to pull away from me when the ginger ale settled in my stomach and I felt ready and able to run. I was able to pass him and as I rounded a bend in the road I saw a group of 5 or 6 runners just a few hundred feet away. I raced harder than I ever had at this stage of a long race and was fortunate enough to catch up to, and pass, one after another. Most were supportive and encouraging except for one guy who shot me a snarky ass "How'd you get here?" We'd seen each other many times over the course the day, each time with him in the lead and descending a trail that I was just beginning to climb. I explained to him that I had run there and passed him on the last stretch of road before heading back into the trails.

The last climb and subsequent descent to the finish found me alone and pushing as hard as I could to stay that way. I crossed the line totally wiped by this late stage ultra-duel and pretty close to puking. This was the perfect end to an excellent Wapack training run and to a race that was as memorable for its mellowness as it was for a sudden slugfest in the last few miles and a unique racing experience shared between friends. Jordan finished shortly after and we hung out with the rest of the team for a bit. The Trail Monster flag flew high in the post-ultra haze of burger smoke, sore muscles, and smiling faces and I'm looking forward to hanging it up again at the Wapack and Back 50 in less than two weeks.

Ultra's make Nate happy

Big things

Big things are happening. Everywhere that I look I see someone taking a chance, making a move, taking a stand or chasing a dream. I see people who are becoming increasingly unafraid to bet on themselves and on each other. This speaks volumes to the awesome community that I am a part of and I am nothing but grateful.

Here are a couple of new things on my end that I wanted to share. A few posts ago I mentioned a big change in my business. Well, here it is. I've renamed the business Why Be Strong? and am now offering personal fitness consultations at my new website and running an outdoor training program based in Portland.


I've also been working on a revised edition of my book Paleo in Maine which is now officially completed and on the market. Check it out on Amazon!

I wanted to send a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me in these projects and helped to make them possible.

Spring in the air, dirt on the trails, good things ahead.

Gratitude

I was on a 20 mile training run two weeks ago when I hurt my ankle...bad. The run was an out-and-back from Bradbury State Park in Pownal, Maine to Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, and by mile 15 of the return I knew that I had done some damage. Each step of the next 5 miles reaffirmed that fact. By the time that we got back to the parking lot I couldn't put any weight on it and I ended up on crutches for the past two weeks.

I usually do okay with acceptance...and with putting things in perspective. Yeah, I couldn't run but I could still walk. I couldn't train the way that I wanted to, but I could still train. I wasn't battling a more serious illness, wasn't dodging bullets in a war zone, wasn't an innocent man on death row etc. Things could definitely be worse.

But, for some reason, this injury was a tough one for me to accept. I just began running regularly again after a taking some time off this winter and (after some huffing, puffing, and humbling first runs) I've never felt better. More importantly for me, this past winter presented some difficult personal challenges and as I hit the fresh dirt trails which snow had covered for the past several months I felt as though I had met these challenges not only intact, but stronger. I just bought a new GPS and some new gear, built up my mileage with a few 10 and 15 milers and a solid 20 two weeks before the injury, and was feeling that feeling that I get every time that I return to race training: it's a feeling of pure and absolute passion. It reminds me of the role that running plays in my life and, this year in particular, of the primal desire to race and race hard. I've never been more excited about a racing season and with the Traprock 50k and the Wapack and Back 50 miler fast approaching I ended up in serious funk. The past 14 days were spent hobbling to the YMCA in Portland and swinging kettle bells, rowing on the Concept 2, and focusing on targeted strength training (mainly deadlifts and squats, and core work) that will correlate to a stronger race performance once I'm ready to get back on the trail.

I ran my first mile this morning and I'm in no pain as I write this. I'm planning on a 3 miler tomorrow morning and I'm optimistic. But, most importantly, somewhere along the line I've regained the perspective that I lost along the way....

There's no "it's only running and I'm grateful for what I have" morale here. Just the opposite. Running has become a huge part of my life over the past few years, largely due to the amazing community that I'm a part of and partly due to my discovering a passion for the 50 and 100 mile distance and the races that I've put on my radar a result.

The past two weeks have reminded me that I am extremely grateful to have something that I love so fucking much that it kills me when its gone. Those are the kind of experiences that I want to fill my life with, the type of relationships that I want to have, and the degree of importance that I want the important things in my life to take.

Looking forward to the run tomorrow, and the one after that, with the sense of gratitude still fresh in my mind. Looking forward to the Traprock 50k and the Wapack and Back 50, where hopefully the only pain that I feel is the pain that I've earned on the trails.

 

Have we met?

Hey, I'm Intensity. Just wondering if we've met.
If we had, you'd remember...
You'd remember because it was awkward and uncomfortable.
You'd remember because it hurt.
What you might remember above all though is how it felt afterwards.
It felt good. You felt strong. You were proud.
Crossing the bridge between I CANT and I WILL and I DID isn't easy traveling, but do it once and you come out stronger. Do it again and get stronger still.
So if we've met before let's get together again soon.
If not,let's set a date....

As good as it gets

This is about as good as it gets....take twenty seven minutes and one second out of your day to watch it. And then get after what ever what you love to do, with no excuses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

F#@K Off

 

 

When was the last time that someone told you to f-off? It had been a while for me and I started to question whether that's a good or bad thing. I both hate and fear rejection, even mild rejections hang on me for days,but there's one thing I've learned through the process of chasing goals, falling flat on my face, shaking it off, and picking up the chase: The things that are most important to me incur the most risk, they lie in that danger zone where a f-off is just as likely as a handshake. And I'm starting to see both as a sign of progress.

 

Asking someone to believe in you, or simply to believe you, is asking a lot nowadays. Sharing an idea that seems crazy, asking someone to join you in a leap of faith, or just straight up saying what you mean when no one in the room agrees may just result in someone telling you to f-off. If so, congrats. With the best things in life lying just outside of our comfort zones we'd better be ready to break some rules, make some new ones, and risk rejection of who we are today in order to become who we want to be tomorrow. So the next time that you're sure the room is in agreement, certain that the answer on everyones lips is yes, and pretty confident that no ones going to tell you to f-off...it might be worth asking if you're in the right room.

Photo from Trust Your Journey posted by my friend Vanessa.

Rearview mirror

" It's possible that you've never thought of ideas as competition at all, but as creators we have no choice but to think this way. We have too many ideas all the time, and probably you do too. Which to follow, which to wait on, and which to take off life support?" - Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, The Impact Equation

I try to view the past through my rearview mirror. This small but critical lens allows me to observe and reflect on the road behind me while maintaining steady forward motion towards the goals that I am committed to reaching...lots of interesting things back there but no time to pull over and stare.

As 2012 draws to a close I've been giving a lot of thought to the development of my business, X-City Athletics, my desire to coach others towards reaching their health and fitness goals on a full time basis, and the opportunities that I have before me to make 2013 a year of major progress in that regard. I am making some significant changes to X-City's programming, marketing, and business model and following those ideas which I find myself inspired by in the late hours of the night and greeted by first thing in the morning.

Julien Smith and Chris Brogan raise a great question in their new book, The Impact Equation. The answer, for me, is to follow the ideas which follow you, the ones that you can't shake no matter where you go, and the ones that you intuitively know to be worthwhile and deserving of your time and effort. Then sharpen them, refine them, and when the time is right, make a committed and targeted move to bring them to life. The time is almost right for a major change at X-City Athletics. I'm going to spend the first month of 2013 preparing to implement an idea that I am truly excited about and in mid-February I'm going to move on it. Hard. I hope that the start of 2013 inspires similar acts of calculated risk, impassioned action, and heartfelt advances towards the goals that you hold close...

Wishing everyone who's found their way to 100th Mile a truly happy new year. I'll keep you posted as this "big idea" develops (and if you have a goal that you're willing to share with the blogosphere-I hope you'll post it in the comments section and keep me posted too)