Took my first stab at seeing whether or not my body can handle running this afternoon. The jury is still out (i.e. have to wait and see how I feel tomorrow) but the initial results are promising.
I tried about a 5K (ended up being 3.2 miles) from the house out to Collesion Rd. and then back to where the dirt starts, with a cool down walk back up the hill to the house. Perfect little loop for me to test my progress over that distance which is basically the run distance for a Sprint Tri. Like it was meant to be....
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/18848691
Ended up with a time of 24:38. Which I am pretty proud of. I compared that time to the 2009 results of the Black Fly Tri (one I am planning on doing next year) and I would have come in 67th of 314 competitors for the running leg. Granted I was fresh for this run and not two legs into a tri but I bet I would still be in the top 100 range which is actually a bit better than I thought I would be starting from scratch.
This was a decent effort for me, avg heart rate was just about threshold. Definitely wasn't 'race pace' but I doubt I could have gone too much faster at this point without cramping or having some other kind of issue.
So all things considered I think if I get some better shoes and start running a bit more I can get running under my belt no problem. Of course this all depends on my knees. There was some soreness (about as much as expected I guess) but I am hoping better shoes will take care of some of that.
Now I just gotta blow up my floaties and see how fast I can swim!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Bagging some peaks in the Belknap Range
on a bike.
Grant sent an offhand email at the end of last week mentioning a ride he called a "climbing extravaganza" led by a local leaving from Gilford and heading into the Belknap Range. I love extravaganza's in general and looking at the topo I was very intrigued. A ride didn't really look possible in that area which of course means you gotta get in there and ride.
We met at the Elementary School in Gilford and immediately started the climbing basically straight up to Mt. Rowe. It was rough going in spots, leaves were deep and there was some runoff from the previous days rain but it was doable and at least an even mix of riding and hiking. We toped out to some gorgeous views of the Lake and the range.
The days crew
There is some definite BC potential up here for this winter
Looking to Gunstock and Mt. Belknap
Picture with my kill for the trophy case
The descent down Gunstock heading to Mt. Belknap was great, very craggy and unrideable in spots (unless maybe you had a DH rig). We then rode as far up as we could and then hiked it to the peak of Belknap, the highest of the day. There was some decent exposure up there with even more great views, I was too busy loading back up on calories to remember to take pictures though.
The descent off Belknap was by far my favorite part of the whole ride. It made all the hiking well worth it. Super technical but basically all rideable, lots of great ridge terrain coming off the top and some brake burning slab sections and great singletrack. Picking good lines was paramount and really made things interesting. There were more than a few gut check points and a few spots where I was lucky to be running a 29er.
We bottomed out in the valley and started our way up what I believe was Mt. Piper (or maybe Whiteface, I'm not sure) and I got a great pic of the back side of Belknap that appears to have some terrain prime for backcountry skiing.
Grant sent an offhand email at the end of last week mentioning a ride he called a "climbing extravaganza" led by a local leaving from Gilford and heading into the Belknap Range. I love extravaganza's in general and looking at the topo I was very intrigued. A ride didn't really look possible in that area which of course means you gotta get in there and ride.
We met at the Elementary School in Gilford and immediately started the climbing basically straight up to Mt. Rowe. It was rough going in spots, leaves were deep and there was some runoff from the previous days rain but it was doable and at least an even mix of riding and hiking. We toped out to some gorgeous views of the Lake and the range.
The days crew
There is some definite BC potential up here for this winter
Looking to Gunstock and Mt. BelknapOnce we were on top of Mt. Rowe the riding turned quite a bit more rocky. Riding ridge line down into the valley between peaks and then basically dumping out onto and riding straight up one of Gunstock's trails. I made it as far as I could (which was much farther than I thought possible) and then hiked it from there.
Picture with my kill for the trophy case
The descent off Belknap was by far my favorite part of the whole ride. It made all the hiking well worth it. Super technical but basically all rideable, lots of great ridge terrain coming off the top and some brake burning slab sections and great singletrack. Picking good lines was paramount and really made things interesting. There were more than a few gut check points and a few spots where I was lucky to be running a 29er.
We bottomed out in the valley and started our way up what I believe was Mt. Piper (or maybe Whiteface, I'm not sure) and I got a great pic of the back side of Belknap that appears to have some terrain prime for backcountry skiing.
I am liking the density of those trees...
Coming off Piper we hooked into an extensive network of doubletrack and fireroads for the haul back down into town. We ran into two jeeps who were (DL)mudboggin and a hunter or two. The doubletrack descents were really fast and very fun. Sketchy in spots with some baby head rollers that you couldn't really see due to all the leaves but nobody exploded. We eventually kicked out onto some pavement and we all let it rip on a short hill back down into town. I hit 42.1mph. Very fun but also kind of cold.
The GPS data from the ride appears to be a bit more accurate probably because we were more exposed and not under such dense tree cover like a usual MTB ride.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/17729852
oh and while I'm at it I also got an awesome ride in on Saturday with Adam at FOMBA. We checked out a new trail I had heard about from a fellow NEMBA member. It was crazy...tons of real big built up features...teeter-totters, bridges, a giant A-frame over some swampy area, sweet lines built into natural rock outcrops. Lots of work went into this trail and it is AWESOME. Forgot the camera and also forgot that my new phone has a camera. Off chance I might try and get down to ride this again before the season is done, it was that good.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/17617614
The GPS data from the ride appears to be a bit more accurate probably because we were more exposed and not under such dense tree cover like a usual MTB ride.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/17729852
oh and while I'm at it I also got an awesome ride in on Saturday with Adam at FOMBA. We checked out a new trail I had heard about from a fellow NEMBA member. It was crazy...tons of real big built up features...teeter-totters, bridges, a giant A-frame over some swampy area, sweet lines built into natural rock outcrops. Lots of work went into this trail and it is AWESOME. Forgot the camera and also forgot that my new phone has a camera. Off chance I might try and get down to ride this again before the season is done, it was that good.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/17617614
Friday, October 30, 2009
How'd I Do? / Where'm I Headed?
So right around this time of year I like to try and look back over what I've done this past riding season as I mentally get ready for riding snow and figure out how I am going to train for whatever it is I will be doing next year.
This season I was a little bit less specific with my goal setting and race planning. I knew I wanted to try some longer format races (which I did, with mixed results) and spend less time traveling all over to hit all of the EFTA races, which in hindsight I partially regret because this would have been the year I could have won the whole thing. I was putting up strong enough results at the races I attended that if I had simply shown up I think I would have had it in the bag...oh well.
I am not sure if I will continue to make stabs at the 6/12/24hr formats. Pat's Peak was fun (in a way) but I think in the future I will need to do more course recon. Lots of hours on a course that isn't that awesome kinda sucks. I will also probably only do that format again if I'm on a team. That's a lot of time to be on your own solo and I'm just not serious enough about racing to ride a short loop over and over for hours unless I'm sharing the torture with friends. I did however prove to myself that mentally and physically I can pull at least a 6hr off and be marginally competitive.
As to the NH100, I am still trying to figure out if that was awesome or the worst thing ever. It broke me something wicked but I definitely enjoyed the single lap adventure format as opposed to the 6/12/24. I finished the distance and I didn't come in last, but I felt like I should have done much better. Granted, the heat that day was outrageous and I have come to the conclusion that I am one of those 'belgian-inclined' type riders that does better when things are a bit colder or even wet. So again, I proved to myself that I could do it but I will probably not focus on this type of format in the future. But I can almost guarantee that I will continue to try and have at least 1 epic type race/ride on my schedule each year...otherwise how am I going to figure out what I am capable of?
I did score some decent results on the EFTA side of things this year. I thought I put up fairly strong rides at the three races I attended and if I am going to be hanging my hat on anything this year it will probably be that. I was in the mix at Bear Brook, got a podium at the Pinnacle and rode well at Millstone (even with some IT band issues). It was apparent this year that I'm not getting any slower when it comes to XC racing so that is good. I think the EFTA circuit will continue to be the core of my racing year to year. There are several local races with courses too good to pass up.
So thats that, proved I could and didn't get any slower. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. But as everyone knows that doesn't mean the war is over. 2010 is quickly approaching and I need to figure out if my body can pull a sprint triathlon off. This year has made me confident that my body can handle new challenges but this will really be pushing the limits. New cycling challenges are easy...running and swimming? uh oh.
I am tentitively planning on using Garmin Connect to try and track my various running / training / skiing / etc. this offseason. I am going to need to train a lot to get running and swimming under my belt and the only way for me to stay motivated with that is to track everything so if I slack it is readily apparent right on the screen in front of me. I plan on using some more of the PSU facilities this off season...getting in the pool, riding the sweet new trainers in the HUB with the 'computrainer-esque' interface where you can race people and the features of the terrain on the screen dictate the difficulty. Gonna start running and trail running around the house as well as earn more turns this season on snow.
Next year I don't want to just prove I can do it, I want to prove I can do it fast.
Now all I need is for everyone to stop getting married so I can actually have a few free weekends next season K THX BYE!
This season I was a little bit less specific with my goal setting and race planning. I knew I wanted to try some longer format races (which I did, with mixed results) and spend less time traveling all over to hit all of the EFTA races, which in hindsight I partially regret because this would have been the year I could have won the whole thing. I was putting up strong enough results at the races I attended that if I had simply shown up I think I would have had it in the bag...oh well.
I am not sure if I will continue to make stabs at the 6/12/24hr formats. Pat's Peak was fun (in a way) but I think in the future I will need to do more course recon. Lots of hours on a course that isn't that awesome kinda sucks. I will also probably only do that format again if I'm on a team. That's a lot of time to be on your own solo and I'm just not serious enough about racing to ride a short loop over and over for hours unless I'm sharing the torture with friends. I did however prove to myself that mentally and physically I can pull at least a 6hr off and be marginally competitive.
As to the NH100, I am still trying to figure out if that was awesome or the worst thing ever. It broke me something wicked but I definitely enjoyed the single lap adventure format as opposed to the 6/12/24. I finished the distance and I didn't come in last, but I felt like I should have done much better. Granted, the heat that day was outrageous and I have come to the conclusion that I am one of those 'belgian-inclined' type riders that does better when things are a bit colder or even wet. So again, I proved to myself that I could do it but I will probably not focus on this type of format in the future. But I can almost guarantee that I will continue to try and have at least 1 epic type race/ride on my schedule each year...otherwise how am I going to figure out what I am capable of?
I did score some decent results on the EFTA side of things this year. I thought I put up fairly strong rides at the three races I attended and if I am going to be hanging my hat on anything this year it will probably be that. I was in the mix at Bear Brook, got a podium at the Pinnacle and rode well at Millstone (even with some IT band issues). It was apparent this year that I'm not getting any slower when it comes to XC racing so that is good. I think the EFTA circuit will continue to be the core of my racing year to year. There are several local races with courses too good to pass up.
So thats that, proved I could and didn't get any slower. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. But as everyone knows that doesn't mean the war is over. 2010 is quickly approaching and I need to figure out if my body can pull a sprint triathlon off. This year has made me confident that my body can handle new challenges but this will really be pushing the limits. New cycling challenges are easy...running and swimming? uh oh.
I am tentitively planning on using Garmin Connect to try and track my various running / training / skiing / etc. this offseason. I am going to need to train a lot to get running and swimming under my belt and the only way for me to stay motivated with that is to track everything so if I slack it is readily apparent right on the screen in front of me. I plan on using some more of the PSU facilities this off season...getting in the pool, riding the sweet new trainers in the HUB with the 'computrainer-esque' interface where you can race people and the features of the terrain on the screen dictate the difficulty. Gonna start running and trail running around the house as well as earn more turns this season on snow.
Next year I don't want to just prove I can do it, I want to prove I can do it fast.
Now all I need is for everyone to stop getting married so I can actually have a few free weekends next season K THX BYE!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Hopkinton-Everett Dam Trail Day
I finally got to head down to the Hop-Ev / Elm Brook area to assist with building a new trail yesterday. CNHNEMBA has hosted a few weekday rides there this year but it is kind of a long drive for me from Plymouth to try and get there after work and I could never make it in time.
The Hop-Ev land is also owned by the Army Corp of Engineers (same as Franklin Falls) and they are great with allowing access and providing support. There has always been a rough network of multi-use trails in the area but there is potential for lots of great singletrack and there is now quite a few motivated individuals in the area and with the help of the NEMBA troops I think Hop-Ev is going to be an amazing place to ride in a year or two.
We had a much bigger crew than I had anticipated. Lots of local support and a boy scout troop even came out to lend a hand. Our local contact Sharon had already flagged a trail for the day and all we needed to do was lop branches and rake / ride it in. We broke into two crews and set to work on each end of the trail and were able to hash the whole trail in in about 3.5hrs. Final distance came in at just over 1 mile total.
We were able to take advantage of lots of interesting features as well as build up a crossing over a rock wall. There was also a low lying area that is going to require some additional attention which could turn into a really fun / interesting bridge building project.
Loading up our implements
raking it in
building some features
rock wall crossing
the whole crew just after meeting up in the middle
The Hop-Ev land is also owned by the Army Corp of Engineers (same as Franklin Falls) and they are great with allowing access and providing support. There has always been a rough network of multi-use trails in the area but there is potential for lots of great singletrack and there is now quite a few motivated individuals in the area and with the help of the NEMBA troops I think Hop-Ev is going to be an amazing place to ride in a year or two.
We had a much bigger crew than I had anticipated. Lots of local support and a boy scout troop even came out to lend a hand. Our local contact Sharon had already flagged a trail for the day and all we needed to do was lop branches and rake / ride it in. We broke into two crews and set to work on each end of the trail and were able to hash the whole trail in in about 3.5hrs. Final distance came in at just over 1 mile total.
We were able to take advantage of lots of interesting features as well as build up a crossing over a rock wall. There was also a low lying area that is going to require some additional attention which could turn into a really fun / interesting bridge building project.
Loading up our implements
raking it in
building some features
rock wall crossing
the whole crew just after meeting up in the middleA few of us suited up and raced the sun trying to get a short ride in to see how our handy work panned out. It actually rode really well and was much firmer than I had anticipated. I think this trail will ride in quickly as long as we can get some consistent traffic on it next year. And there were already spots that you could tell will have great flow and be real fun as soon as it is riding a tiny bit faster. Here is the ride data:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/16572072
The new trail is the squiggly singletrack and we added a big loop before riding the new trail in the other direction to head home. Ended up just beating the sun, can't beat that.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/16572072
The new trail is the squiggly singletrack and we added a big loop before riding the new trail in the other direction to head home. Ended up just beating the sun, can't beat that.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Crotchtoberfest '09
Just because we moved doesn't mean our Fall Extravaganza would fall by the wayside. Slight name change and we are off and running. Had a great time and great weather this weekend. Snagged two rides on Saturday, first at Franklin Falls and the second at the Concord Hospital Trails.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/15872531
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/15872525
Trails could have been a bit dryer but basically textbook fall riding. Of course I completely forgot to bring the camera on the actual rides, oh well. But I did manage to remember it for all the fall activities on Sunday.
I challenge you to represent Fall better in three pics, and GO.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/15872531
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/15872525
Trails could have been a bit dryer but basically textbook fall riding. Of course I completely forgot to bring the camera on the actual rides, oh well. But I did manage to remember it for all the fall activities on Sunday.
I challenge you to represent Fall better in three pics, and GO.
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