At Four Thousand Feet

…and I have so much to post about that it’s almost overwhelming! The past two months have been just fantastic for me. I ran my first ever ultramarathon, hiked/jogged my fastest Pemi Loop to date, and successfully achieved my biggest goal of the year – to finish the Vermont 100k. It’s truly been a wonderful, productive, exciting few weeks.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Photo courtesy of my friend Tim Charboneau.

…once again, rethinking. It would really be nice if I could make up my mind on this whole grid situation.

Trail runners and MSR snowshoes? I’ll admit, at first I was a little wary. As a rather clumsy individual prone to excessive ankle rolling, I grimaced at the thought of teetering along an unstable spring snow monorail, my delicate ankles just begging for an injury. But with the coming of warm weather, my shiny new pair of Inov-8 Rocklite 312 GTXs were just itching to get out. I must say, wrapped up in winter gaiters they looked positively adorable:

How wonderful it felt to finally be out of winter boots. So wonderful, in fact, that my friend Eric and I decided to go on a spring hiking rampage. Over the course of a single April weekend, we tore up the Willey Range, the Wildcats, the Hancocks, and Garfield – 41 miles in total (thanks to the Gale River road walk). Not an ambitious distance by a long stretch, but I was quite pleased by our effort given the tough conditions that we faced.

What of the trail runners? Well, I’m glad to report that they held up fantastically, as did my ankles. Dare I say I’m wildly excited to have discovered this combination?

Unfortunately, picture taking conditions were sub-par. Nevertheless, here are a few photos:

…more here.

On Sunday April 4th I stood atop Mount Osceola for the 12th time, marking my first completion of a single grid peak. Initially, I was absolutely thrilled. Although the hike up was slightly trying (given the oh-so-wonderful spring conditions), the summit itself was lovely as usual. Now a week out from the hike, however, I find myself in a bit of a puzzling situation. While I still am (and always will be) tremendously passionate about the White Mountains, I’m not entirely sure if I want to continue pursuing the 48 x 12 list.

The truth of the matter is, grid hiking has become too restrictive for me. I have goals for the summer that simply will not come to fruition if I continue to hike in such a grid-obsessed manner. I’m in the best shape of my life right now, and I’d like to take complete advantage of my current fitness level. I want to hike harder, longer, and farther than I ever have. For all I know, the extent of my physical endurance might never amount to much. Nonetheless, I’ll never truly know what I’m capable of achieving unless I head out there and push myself as hard as I possibly can.

I’m sure I’ll continue picking away at the grid in some capacity. Yet for the time being, I’ve decided that the list will no longer be my focus.

I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite pictures from Osceola…

More Behind the Cut »

After a good deal of encouragement from a few very persuasive friends, I decided to participate in the Eastern States 20 Mile Run this past Sunday. Starting in Kittery, Maine, the race runs along the entirety of the New Hampshire seacoast, rewarding runners with stunning views of the Atlantic for the majority of the course. Heading into the event, my primary goal was simply to finish. I knew it’d be a bit of a struggle for me, especially considering that I’d hiked 12.7 miles the day prior. Nevertheless, having never run a 20 miler I found comfort in knowing that whatever time I posted would end up being an instant PR.

Sunday dawned crisp and clear – just warm enough to warrant shorts and a t-shirt which I was most pleased about. After a slightly stressful drive over to Maine, I met up with my good friend Sabrina at the Traip Academy in Kittery. Miriam and Adam arrived shortly thereafter, and the three of us sat about engaging in last-minute race preparations. I was a nervous bundle of energy, constantly fiddling with my shoes and waist pack. With twenty five minutes to race time, we slowly made our way over to the start. The crowd increasingly started to gather. In what seemed like no time at all, we were off.

Not wanting to start off too fast, I settled in towards the back of the pack and used the first few miles as a warm up. The race brought us down Walker Street, where we soon took a sharp left and crossed the bridge into New Hampshire. Running through Portsmouth was an absolute pleasure. The streets were filled with cheerful spectators, and I knew we’d soon be hitting the beach.

At the 4 mile mark we took another sharp turn towards Odiorne Point State Park. By this point, the pack had dispersed quite a bit and I’d fallen into a decent rhythm. Rounding the bend, I was thrilled to see Adam’s bright blue car parked at the side of the road. He was kind enough to snap a few pictures of me as I ran by:

Aid stations were interspersed along the course at 3 mile intervals. Every time I reached one, I was happy to have my waist pack with me, as it enabled me to refill my water bottle quickly and efficiently without having to slow down.

Hitting the half marathon mark, I knew I’d soon be entering unchartered territory. Although I’d completed several hikes in the 20 mile range this past winter, my longest run of 2010 clocked in right around the 15 miles. My mind was temporarily filled with nervous thoughts. Yet as the last few miles steadily ticked by, I slowly came to realize that my worries were unfounded.

Making the final right hand turn back onto route 1A, I knew I had the strength to make it to the finish – even battling a headwind! Picking up my pace ever so slightly, I started to pass a few of the runners in front of me. In the distance, I noticed two figures standing alongside the sidewalk. My parents! Seeing them gave me the last little boost I needed to get through those final minutes. With 1/3 mile to go, I let it all out…

The race clock suddenly came into sight. I was going to finish in less than 3 hours!

Crossing the finish line, I was overcome with joy. I’d done it. I’d run 20 miles – in 2 hours, 53 minutes, and 46 seconds. Wrapped in a big bear of a hug from my Dad, I couldn’t stop grinning…

Congratulations to the girls on a successful race! I highly encourage you all to check out Miriam’s fantastic race report.