Substance Abuse

Hi. I’m Michael and I have a running problem ...

Well, it’s not so much a problem, as it is an obsession - really. It all started when I was an out-of-shape 28-year old who desperately needed a lifestyle change. “Why not start running again?” I thought. “It couldn’t possibly be any worse then when I was in High School, right?” Come to find out it takes significantly more effort to propel a 240lb. body than it does a 140lb. one!

When I started running, I decided I needed a goal to take my mind off the pain that my body was feeling. So, once I could go a mile without stopping, I started training for the Boston Marathon. For some reason this seemed like a very logical progression to me. Little did I know that my decision would mark the beginning of an odyssey filled with stunning disappointment and profound joy. The likes of which can only be found in the world of long distance running.

The Angry Bee

I don’t know if it was the ending of the summer, or the early-onset darkness, or the near-doubling of my commute time.  Perhaps it was the Florida-like humidity, or the concrete collecting in my legs, or my bewildering inability to find sleep.  Maybe it was a feeling of post-partum after the completion of my Summer of 48, or the embarrassment of yet another speed workout gone wrong, or the realization that my Sub-3 hour goal for Baystate seems more and more out of reach every day.

Whatever the reason, there’s just no denying that, last week, I was one cranky bastard.



In my heart, I know I have absolutely no reason to be angry.  I have had a great year so far – both in and out of running.  My two older children are thriving in college and seem to have things well under control.  My two younger children amaze me every day with how much they’ve grown and we enjoyed a fun (albeit busy) summer together.  I accomplished a huge goal by running up NH’s 48 tallest peaks – in 7 days.  And I’ve been able to race whenever, and wherever, I want.

So, what’s my problem?

Tripping Through the Whites

Back in June, I outlined my Grand Plan to climb all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4000 foot peaks in a span of 6 days. I had aggressively (and wrongly) assumed I could run/hike over 33 miles a day (with 3 of those days at around 37 miles) and still enjoy myself. Then I started my trip. And all it took was one 37 mile, 8 summit, 13 1/2 hour day for me to quickly change my tune.  For some reason,  the 30 mile mark was just about the point where it stopped being fun.

So, after Day 1, I re-shuffled the deck. I extended the trip from 6 days to 7 ½ and lowered my average daily mileage down to 30. The big change included taking Owl’s Head and Isolation out of the Pemi & Presi traverses. And, I set them both up as “stand alone” events. This did increase my overall mileage from around 200 to over 225. But, it made both traverses a heck of a lot easier and the summit attempts of Owl’s and Iso a heck of a lot more fun!

Below is a brief trip report of each of my 7 ½ days on the trail - with notes and totals from each day. I also did more detailed trip reports for the Cabot and the Pemi portions - if you have some more time to kill. And for the truly OCD, a fully detailed spreadsheet of the entire endeavor (including start times, trails, distances, splits, elevations, etc.) can be found HERE.

Also, photos from each of my trips can be found here: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3.

I had an awesome time running around in the woods this summer and I feel so blessed to have had a chance to do so! I learned quite a few things that I can use going forward as I continue to explore the wonderful world of endurance running, namely: Navigation, Pacing, Refueling and Recovery. But, most of all, I learned a lot about myself. A few of those things (48 to be exact) are shared HERE.  Enjoy!

Summer of 48 - Complete

For easier viewing, click on the image, then right click and select "View Image". This will allow you to zoom in and read all the small print.

48 Things

48 things learned while hiking New Hampshire’s 48 highest peaks:

1. Don’t forget to look up every once in a while.
2. Bring more water than you think you’ll need. Or …
3. Bring a water filter. Unfortunately, I did neither.
4. Don’t hike alone. It’s more fun with friends. Or …
5. If you do hike alone, don’t tell your wife.
6. Read the AMC guide. I didn’t because it scared me.
7. I like single track. Well-pruned single track.
8. I don’t like low, pointy, angry branches.
9. I also don’t like clearing cobwebs with my face.
10. Make a point of volunteering on a trail building crew.
11. AMC Hut Croo are seriously awesome people.
12. Views are great, but never guaranteed.
13. Always have a Plan-B. And, a Plan-C. And …
14. Never trust the local weather forecast.
15. Ridgelines know no seasons.
16. It never ALWAYS gets worse.
17. Never underestimate the power of a hot shower.
18. Or, the comfort of real food, for that matter.
19. Know your animal scat. And …
20. Keep yours at least 200 ft. from a water source.
21. Don’t throw your pack across a river. It will break.
22. Wait for a thunderstorm to pass before climbing.
23. The mountain will always be there. Unlike you.
24. No 4000 footer ever gives up her elevation easily.
25. The best trail-ends are ones with cold rivers to sit in.
26. Fear of missing a shuttle ride is a great motivator.
27. Chaffing can ruin an otherwise great day.
28. Bike shorts can be your best friend. Seriously.
29. Keep your camera battery fully charged.
30. Mount Clay (5333 ft) should be part of the 4k club.
31. All mountains should come with fire towers.
32. Able Crawford was a trail building genius.
33. Hiking up out of notches is very hard work. And …
34. Hiking down into notches can be quite terrifying.
35. Mount Moosilauke is extremely underrated.
36. Mount Washington is extremely overrated.
37. Never turn your back on a mountain. It may bite.
38. Wet rocks are vengeful rocks. In disguise.
39. Don’t think too far ahead. You’ll fall on your behind.
40. Leave bushwacking to the professionals.
41. Tim Seaver is an absolute trail-running stud.
42. It’s possible to be nauseous and hungry at the same time.
43. It’s even possible to become sick of yourself.
44. Be kind to your fellow hikers while out on the trail.
45. It may hurt to walk but it doesn’t hurt to smile.
46. Even the best solo hikers can’t do it all on their own.
47. If something doesn’t scare you, it’s not worth doing.
48. Plan the next trip now. True regret is the path not taken.
    
    

Happy Trails!

Wapack Attack

One of the better signs

In my seemingly never ending attempt to run nearly every trail in New Hampshire this summer, I headed over to New Ipswich, NH for the Wapack Trail Race. I had done this one twice before. In 2009 I got so dehydrated that I needed to sit down and “collect myself” in the closing miles of the race. I staggered across the line in 3 hours and 16 minutes. Last year, I ran it a little smarter (and lucked out with good weather) And I finished 3 minutes faster – over a longer course.  What would this year bring? In a word …    Misery.

Making Memories

As discussed previously HERE, once you become a parent, your life is no longer your own. And, even though this fact of life is widely accepted, it’s still sometimes hard to accept.  Parents try to hide it, run from it, or even gloss over it.  But, it’s still there, bubbling beneath the surface of our collective consciousness.  That is, until we take our kids on vacation. Then it’s front and center.  Like a slap in the face.  With a sledgehammer!

It used to be (in “once upon a time” time) that vacations were enjoyable and relaxing. A

tranquil time to get away from your troubles at home (or at work) and just recharge your batteries.  This is no longer the case.  Now, vacations are soul-sucking, brain-bending, heart-breaking feats of super-human strength that end up leaving you more tense and tired than when you began.  The reason for this sudden, but colossal, shift of fate?  Kids!

Don’t get me wrong.  I love my children. But there’s no denying that “vacations” are dead.  And my kids killed them!

Feeling Burnt

Over the course of the last 3 weeks I've been transitioning from "base" phase to "prep" phase in my Baystate Marathon training program. During that period I've also been having a very difficult time getting my legs to turn over. I've been feeling sluggish and completely out of sync - in short, "run down".

At first, I thought it was just the warmer "dog days of summer" weather and a recent inability to get an adequate amount of rest. However, after looking through my training log for the past 10 weeks, I think I may have discovered my problem. Overtraining!

Mine Falls Summer Trail Series

For the past seven years I have been the race director of what was once a small trail race series held in Mine Falls Park (in Nashua). The Mine Falls Summer Trail Series is hosted by the Gate City Striders and is a shorter version of the 24-race trail series that Mike Amarello had put on as part of his Moose Milers Club.  When we took the race over we decided to add a 5m race to the existing 5k course to offer a bit of variety in terms of distance and terrain. At our first race in 2007, we had 42 runners. Which I thought was pretty good considering it was about double what Mike was getting every week during his tenure.

Sweet Agony

Every runner knows that there’s a certain emotional ebb & flow associated with the  experience of running. Runners “Highs” and “Lows” are just part of the give & take nature of the beast. Whether it’s the supreme joy of suddenly (and effortlessly) running your daily 6 mile loop a minute faster than you’ve ever run it before, or the slow (but oh-so-sure) death of bonking hard halfway through your Sunday 12 miler, the peaks & valleys of a run are what we’ve grown to love (and also hate) about our sport. And never are these ups & downs more dramatic than when a “run” becomes a “race”.

Such was the case for me Before, During, AND After this year’s Bear Brook Trail Marathon.

Racing Mountains

Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the mountains. I’ve been run/hiking the New Hampshire 4000 footers as part of my Summer of 48 - AND - I’ve been doing some racing as part of the Western Mass Athletic Club’s Grand Tree.  And, while these two endevours are somewhat related (lots of ups and downs) they really are two vastly different kinds of efforts.

Run/Hiking 25-30 miles in the span of 10 hours is all about endurance. You must make sure you stay well below the “red-line” in terms of pace if you want to have enough energy to make it all the way to the end. You’re pushing yourself, obviously! But if you’ve become used to spending that kind of time on your feet, it’s not too terribly tough to move at 2½ to 3 miles per hour.

Racing 7-14 miles in the span of 1-2 hours is a completely different animal. The biggest difference is that you have some company - fellow racers that you are trying like mad to beat to the finish line. Therefore, you are pretty much on the “red-line” for the entire event. Mountain racing isn’t done at the same breakneck speeds (at least for me) as road racing, but you’re still moving twice as fast (per hour) as run/hiking. The good news is, after 2 hours, it’s usually over.

The last three mountain races I’ve done are: The Greylock Half Marathon, The Blue Hills 12k and The Cranmore Hill Climb. Each one was very different from the next and each had VERY different results ...

Getting High

(With a Little Help from My Friends) 

This past weekend was Stage Two of my Summer of 48 hiking extravaganza. I was particularly excited (and nervous) about this 3-day trip because of its increased degree of difficulty over what I’d done on Stage One. This time around I would be “bagging” 22 of the 48 four thousand foot peaks (nearly half!) including ALL the higher summits along the Presidential Ridge. It would be quite an undertaking, to be sure, but I felt confident, based on my results last time out, that I could pull it off. Plus, I’d be spending one of the three days hiking with some friends. What could be better than that!