Training for Marine Corps Marathon: Official week one

This week marked the "official" (18 week) countdown to MCM. I determined that I I counted the past few weeks as "official" training, that it would bother me forever. Because who does a 20+ week plan? Apparently, I do...

Summer arrived (in all ways) last week, but I was able to get in a good few days of early season work.

I hope to pre-load my weeks during these first few, allowing extra time at the end of the week to either:
-Go to horse shows/deal with life
-Hike
-Stack hay
-Get in one of the "following weeks" workouts, if I know the shit is going down.

Prepping for Hyannis/Boston over the winter I had the following challenges to cope with:
-Winter weather
-Coping with said terrible conditions
-Having no staff at work

During the summer I have the following challenges to consider:
-Summer weather......
-3 or 4 multi day weekend horse shows
-last minute, physically taxing thousand bale hay deliveries
-12 hour workdays, but a few days when I get done early (yay!!! not a challenge!)

I'm basically planning to get my runs in when they can be done. I feel like this could make for a really messy looking week (on Strava anyhow) but the miles get in regardless!

It was nice to feel motivated last week. I reached my "required" mileage by Thursday which was a really great feeling.

Easy run Monday, "long" 7 mile run Tuesday, 8x400 at a mid-7 pace on Wednesday, and a recovery day on Thursday. I added a few miles (like, 3) on Saturday because I wanted to check out what was going on in town. #nosy

I got soaked on my Tuesday run, which actually feels pretty great during the hot summer months.

I'm just drenched. 

I ended up doing next weeks "long run" (9.1) on Sunday because by early week schedule is STUPID. It was 65 and raining too, so BONUS. This will make me look MOTIVATED on Strava this week, and LAZY next week, but I know what's up.

Stats:
Miles: 24.8 (not counting the bonus 9.1)
Hottest day: 83, woof
Longest run: Technically, 7

Training for the Marine Corps Marathon: Week 2 & 3 (pre training)

Right, so despite a 3 day horse show, I still managed my goal of getting in 4 runs during week 2. (week starting June 10)

I had a "long" 7 miler, and then an assortment of shorter runs.

Really, nothing too exciting to report at this time!

The biggest challenge is managing to find the time and energy to get ANY run in at all. (this is certainly not a problem unique to me. Everyone deals with time management.) Especially when it begins to get hot, the LAST thing I want to do at the end of a long, hot day of working outdoors is go on a stupid run.

As things turned out, week 3 (June 17) was a bust. I'm a bit ashamed to have had a zero week (well, a couple hikes.) Basically, it was a bit of this, a bit of that, and mostly the desire to spend time with my sister who is visiting for the first time this year. Not going to be ashamed for THAT!!

Plus, we got a couple pretty hiking pics.

Yay!!

Pretty

Stats:
Well......
20 miles during horse show week (high temp 83, long run 7)
The following week, NADA

Mt Willey and Mt Field: 4k footers #8 & (repeat) 9 of 2019

Summer arrived.

The three of us headed off last Sunday to FINALLY conquer Willey after being thwarted by snow, and trail conditions several weeks ago.

It was a toasty day, well into the upper 70's and just as sunny as you could ask for. RARE.

We left the Willey House (a fascinating historical landmark) exactly at 12:00 and headed up the Kedron Flume trail.

Warm day, no snow

We have discovered that Ellie has developed a real obsession with running water, and she happily played in the flume, much to our amusement.

Vizsla Butt

(it's about a .80 mile hike to the flume- great for kids or people who love a pretty falls.)

The day was beautiful, and the views were good right from the get go.

Always nice to see a view!

After the falls, the trail (Ethan Pond to Willey Range Trail) was in super condition. No snow, very little mud, easy stream crossings. The trail might have been low on blazes in a couple places, but it was extremely obvious that you were on the trail.

It is only 2.5-ish miles to the top of Willey, so you gain some serious elevation. Lots of it is pretty low key and non technical, but definitely UP.

Like up the helpful stairs

The steep sections were broken up by some easy places, which made the hike very manageable. I would say that this should not be someones first 4k footer, but it's a good one (and a pretty short one) to work towards.
We had heard/read a lot about the ladder/stair section and had some concerns that Ellie would have issues. It was a little intense, but dry so we all managed well. If you had a timid dog, they could certainly be an issue.

The first of about 8 or so stair/ladders

After the ladders, there was more UP, and some rocky stretches.

Nothing major, but definitely not a dirt trail

Right at mile 2.5 we summited. The actual summit was ANOTHER low fanfare cairn, but there were a number of scenic vistas that were very impressive. Definitely a good reward for the elevation gain!

Really lovely

A perfect day

We spent a moment in contemplation at the summit. Retrace our steps, or continue to Field, finish at Crawford Depot, and try to find a ride back to Willey House.
The good weather, and the first good trail conditions of the year pushed us towards Field. Knowing we were only adding a mile or so to our plan, we headed off.
And quickly found snow (which was totally minor, but funny to see!)

Evan would have postholed!!

Clearly, the trail between Willey and Field has dried up, and been cleaned up considerably since our last attempt. Lots of evidence of recent blowdowns being cleared, which left the trail in great shape.

I'm such a super fan of beautiful trails like this

We came across a spot where it appears some awful weather happened at some point in the past. It's not easy being trees in the Whites.

Sorry trees

It really was a great walk between the two mountains, and one that we enjoyed all the more without the snow! Before long we were on Mt Field, and appreciated how pleasant it was without 4 feet of snow upon it!

About 40 degrees warmer than last time

Very Pretty

The hike down Avalon was uneventful an quiet. We saw a grand total of maybe 3 people. We agreed, that in conditions as good as we found on this day the trifecta of Tom, Field, and Willey would be completely manageable. My suggestion, if you plan to traverse and not do an out and back, start at the Willey side. (I'm a fan of taking the hard path up and easy path down- and between the ladders and the steep rocks, Willey is the harder ascent in my belief.)

Anywhoo. We made it down!!! YAY!! Ellie enjoyed playing in all the streams on Avalon, and was basically a big goofball every time she heard water.

Why the long face, Elle?

We got super lucky and immediately scored a ride back to the Willey House with a super nice woman from Mass, who was enjoying a camping weekend. Really good timing, and much appreciated on our part!! It was a big enough/fast enough/hot enough hike to have all 3 of us feeling a little tired, so we were glad not to have to walk 2.5 miles on 302 back to the car.

We got back and had a parking lot party. Basically everyone driving past us gave us a honk, because we are awesome.

Or because we have a very cute pupkins

So final thoughts. Willey is another 4k footer off "the list" for us, and it was vigorous but manageable. Short and steep. Great views, fun water crossings, a few unique challenges like the ladders. It was another 99.9% below treeline hike, but that makes it a decent choice for a foggy day when you don't want to die on Mt. Madison.

Strava data: (we take this with a grain of salt) 
-elevation climbed: 3,494
-miles covered: 6.5
-elapsed time: 4:20- plenty of water play time for the kid. 

Difficulty: Moderate due to steep sections, ladders, some rocks. Safe because below treeline and not too terribly long. 

Views: Quite good, several chances to enjoy the scenery. 

Bugs: Black flies were out, but we mostly avoided them

Dog friendly trail? Yes, but you do have several stream crossings, a few steep and rocky stretches and the series of stair/ladders. While Ellie had no issue, there is NO way that out Lab could have managed this trail. So proceed with caution. 

Training for Marine Corps Marathon: Week one (pre training)

Yes. Somehow I decided that it would be a great idea to run a fall marathon this year.
I'll admit this: The last time I made such a decision I declared "never again!!"

My assumption is that since I have made the choice to run a late October race, this is a great chance to change my attitude and embrace sweaty summer training. I suspect this will not be a yearly occurrence, but I plan to not only make the best of it, but really give a good effort.

I took some off time in May, as per the plan. And then caught a nasty cold, which was not on the plan. During June, I hope to do 4 runs per week, all base building.

Week one went as planned.

4 runs, all pretty standard, all about 4-ish miles.

Weekly Stats:
Miles: 17.8
Warmest run-: 79 which felt HOT

Mt. Hale, 4k footer #7 2019. May 19, 2019

We saved Mt. Hale for a rainy day. (actually, we really saved Mt. Hale until Zealand Rd opened, which it did last week!)

Mt. Hale, by general opinion, seems to be very unpopular. My Dad (and many others) referred to it as "a very disappointing hike." Hence, we saved it for a crapy day, AND had zero expectation. Basically I was like "Hey Evan, Mt Field was a shit hole and you hated it, NOW we are going to go hike Hale!"

The first thing that went right: The staff at Dunkin was friendly to us. Randomly, we have concluded that how the pre-hike Dunks experience is directly relates to how our hiking experience is. (ok!)

The second thing: The weather (contrary to the forecast) was somewhere between decent, and spectacular.

The third thing: It was just a REALLY terrific hike. Go figure.

We arrived! The little lot at Hale Brook trail was almost full, but because luck was on our side, we snagged the last spot. The sun was (almost) shining, the birds were singing, it was warm (62!) and we could tell the sun wanted to break free.

And WE WERE OFF

The trail was in great shape, extremely easy to follow, and well marked. And it was warm!!!

Sun's out, guns out

There were a couple little water crossings to hippty hop over, but very low key. All of us enjoyed the stream that could be seen many times, lots of nice little falls and flumes. It was quite lovely.

At a crossing, so pretty!

We were literally .2 miles into the hike, and all of us were like "this trail is the BEST! We love it here! We need to make sure to tell NOBODY or EVERYONE will be here!" It actually is a really great trail, but stay away, haha.

Hiking puppy

There was no snow for ages. We saw a dab here and there, but we were completely through the switchbacks before we considered traction. And Evan bare booted it.

First switchback, first dab of snow

So there's a decent bit of climbing (like 1k feet in the first mile) but it's a short hike, with actual switchbacks, so it is not demanding or relentless. It's a mountain, and mountains go up. But this is not a hike that is a bitch and a half. Even in the snow (and yes, there was some snow.) but it was also warm, and it got warmer throughout our hike.

Some snow, but not a ton

And after a bit of snow, there was plenty of bare trail. It was a gift from the hiking gods after the miles of snow the previous day/week. I think mayyyybe there was one posthole made all day!

Ellie loves the bare ground

And just like that (after meeting a pretty ornery trail dog, which is rare) We made it to the summit.

And there is a huge pile of stones!

It was super nice out. Warm. We sat around for over 20 minutes and had lunch. We had the place to ourselves, and it was really pleasant.

Summit photo!! Crazy hair, don't care

On the descent, we even saw a view. See? Hale totally has views!

That is totally a view

It was a pleasant, and warm hike down. When we reached the base, it was a staggering 75 degrees, blazing sun, and just gorgeous!!

WE MADE IT! WE LOVED IT!!!

We enjoyed quite a bit of picnic table/parking lot time, soaked in the sun, made some new friends and had the obligatory post hike brew.

As always. 

Ellie also enjoyed some R&R and a snack.

So comfy.

This was a shockingly good way to wrap up binge hiking week. We did Hale just to "get it out of the way" but found it to be truly enjoyable. Definitely a solid choice for a first 4k climb, to escape the bigger crowds at the more popular mountains, or to simply enjoy a great trail.
We had a great day, and the kids were wiped out.

Exhausted!!!!

So that's it from hiking insanity week 2019. It was a GREAT time and really fun to see so many new trails!

Stats 

Total elevation: 4054 (back to squeakers!) 

Strava data: (we take this with a grain of salt) 
-elevation climbed: 2,303
-miles covered: 4.1 (book is 4.4)
-elapsed time: 2:54 (included 20 minute break on summit. many leisurely stops. basically a casual day enjoying nature.) (Book is 2:15, I believe. I plan to doublecheck this though, as I'm surprised it's that little time.) 

Difficulty: Easy for a 4k footer. But you still must go up, and cross several small streams. 

Views: Decent if limited 

Bugs: There were a few, mostly in the lot

Dog friendly trail? Yes, unless your dog hates streams (or other dogs. then seriously people....)