A blog about ultrarunning, Ironman and hiking 4,000 footers
Road Running: Houston Marathon
Trail Running: Umstead 100, Ragged Mountain Stage Race 75 Miles, Manchester to Monadnock, Redemption at Jay Peak (3 loops this time, Kristen)
Triathlon: Redemption at Mont Tremblant (Note: must buy new tri bike)
Finish all the 4,000 footers in New England
Just a regular Monday rest day when you want to do everything, see everything and conquer the world from your sofa.
Saturday was a hike the Hancock Loop kind of day. The morning started out cold. When I left Concord it was 9 degrees and during the drive it hovered between 5 and 10 degrees. It was a high of 14 when I started from the Hancock parking lot on the Kancamagus Highway.
I know this trail so well. I’ve been on it five times already in the last two years. Attempting North and South separately in all seasons. Today my goal was to do the entire loop. In my mind I knew that if it didn’t feel right I would turn around: too icy, too cold, too scary.
All reasons to turn around.
At mile 3 I met my first hiker. A solo, woman on her way back to the trailhead. At 10:00 she had already done the loop – impressive. She told me she had an early start and the conditions on the ridge were amazing: no wind, some soft snow and no snowshoes needed. She warned of icy conditions going up and coming down but said all very doable. Running into her gave me the confidence that I could do this loop.
I’m so glad I did. Going up South Hancock was tricky. Icy spots had me grabbing trees and stumps to get up. Steep. Steep.
The ridge was awesome. Fluffy snow, cool views, no wind. I started to run when I could and felt giddy, laughing to myself at the pure joy of being at 4,000 feet in December. Joy. Joy. Joy.
A little more climbing to North Hancock and then down the steep trail back into the valley.
We hiked 9.5 miles; the most mileage Winnie has ever hiked.
Today, Sunday is a 16 mile run and then a recovery day on Monday.
Merry Christmas!
Environmental Justice and Climate Change
Health Care is a Human Right
Reproductive Rights
Ending the Gun Violence Epidemic
Affordable, Safe, and Inclusive Housing For All
These are the reasons why I’m choosing Cory Booker at the NH Primary.
So many lists of books to read.
Although, today, I found this from the Critic’s Notebook (NYT)
I’m adding Wendell Berry to top reads in 2020.
Other lists:
Top 10 Outdoor books, although I’ve read most of them.
This looks interesting:
And, of course, the ultimate list, the Best Books of 2019.
I’m currently reading Second Mountain.
My first race of 2020 is the Houston Marathon. This will be my second time running it with Mark. The first time was 2017 and I was living in Colorado. My training was going poorly due to snow and cold, living at 7,000 feet. I got to the starting line not very fit but we ran together and had a great time. The course is flat and runs through so many neighborhoods; my favorite was Rice University. I’m looking forward to seeing Mark and his friends who are also running. I’ve been watching their mileage on Strava, they will all do well!
When I signed up for Houston I was coming off a great summer running season. I was fit and getting faster. Then, I got injured – struggling to run with adductor and muscle soreness – hobbling for hours after after even a short run.
Now I think I have figured out the problem and have started running again with less soreness, but still it’s not super fun to run. I’m doing all kind of exercises, foam rolling, massage and more weight training.
I’m slowly adding miles running and hiking a lot, so in 44 days I’ll be ready. It’s been more fun hiking lately but I love running and can’t wait to travel to Texas and get out of the snow. It’s always fun to meet Mark and have a racecation.
