This had to be the most interesting year for the Boston Marathon, beyond the bombing and aftermath, which were tragic at best. More on that in a bit.
I decided last fall put 100% of my effort into snowshoe racing this past winter. This was my third year competing in this sport and my goal was to run every race in both the Maine and NH series. Luckily Mother Nature cooperated and only one race in NH was cancelled due to lack of snow. Other races had scant coverage in places, but the conditions were fantastic at each race.
First up was Beaver Brook on January 12th. This race features a mass start in a large, unpacked, field. Talk about rooster tails. I swung far to the right so I could actually see where I was going. The course turned into and stayed single track for the rest of the race. I was able to pick off quite a few people and ended up 14th overall and second in the AARP (50-59) division.
Next up was Whitaker Woods on January 19th. This race is held in scenic North Conway, NH and was fast and wicked hilly. Most of the course was on groomed ski trails due to lack of snow cover in the woods. I ran almost the entire race with Amber Ferreira, who besides being a ranked triathlete, placed second a the 2012 National Championship race. I was 8th overall and first in my AG. Thank you Jeff Litchfield for not showing up on this day.
The following day was the first of three races which make up the Bradbury Mountain Snowshoe series. This was a very twisty single track course. I chased David Roberts, an extremely fast 58 year old, the entire race. I finished seconds behind David which was good enough for 6th overall and second in my AG. The sad thing is I tweaked my left Achilles during this race, which did not finally heal until a week or so ago (two weeks after the Big Sur Marathon).
On January 26th I headed back to NH for the third race, the Sidehiller. This is a really fun and challenging course which loops a big field, crosses a road, and then starts a really big climb. My Achilles was barking pretty bad during this race, but I was still able to place16th overall and fourth in my AG.
The Exeter race was cancelled due to lack of snow, which was a blessing, as this gave me two weeks to rest my Achilles. I used a protocol consisting of RICE, cold laser and magnesium lotion. My injury was recovering nicely, but I knew it would need more than two weeks.
The second Bradbury race was held on February 10th. The White Out was a little less twisty than the first race, but due to a rather good dumping of snow, resulted in single track with little to no chance of passing. Can you say congo line? I was able to push hard and my Achilles fet fine until after the race. David Roberts gained some time on me in the series, so this meant lots of work for the third race. On this day I finished 8th overall and second in my AG.
The next race in the NH series was the Kingman Farm on February 16th. This is a nighttime race, which was way exciting. There was a fair bit of climbing, which meant killer downhill for the second half. I stayed right behind Kristina Folcik, La Sportiva, for the entire climb. Kristina had a calf tighten up on the downhill and told me to pass. I ended up 11th overall and 1st in my AG. I got home late and had to get up early for yet another NH race.
This weekend was the second double header weekend, but only allowed a short break between races. The Horsehill race was a combination of snowmobile trails and single track, with lots of switchbacks. Once again I chased Kristina, but she dropped me on the snowmobile trails to the finish. I guess I am not as resilient as I used to be. I finished 9th overall and first in my AG.
Another two week break and then the third and final race of the Bradbury series on March 3rd. The Blizzard was going to head up over Bradbury Mountain twice, which I knew would be hard on my Achilles, but I knew I had to give it my best. I went out faster than normal making sure I stayed in front of David. I pushed hard for the entire race and did not notice any pain in my Achilles until we completed the second big climb. I was able to suck it up and hobble into the finish to place 6th overall and first in my AG. I ended this series third overall and first in my AG. Mission accomplished, but I was barely able to walk.
The Granite State Series was one week later. I worked hard to get my Achilles in order, but ran out of runway. I had a large enough margin to win this series (best time for four of the six races before the grand finale). I decided to run the race and walk if I had to to finish. I was fine for the first three miles, but due to abnormal gait (babying the Achilles), my opposite calf muscle locked up. I limped along, walked a bit, and then ran the last downhill to the finish. It was not my best race, but I was done. I finished 26th overall and 6th in my AG. I was eight overall for the season and first in my AG. I was fourth of the 13 people who competed in all six NH races. It was a lot of fun, but I am unsure if I will hit each and every race next winter.
I now had a little over five weeks to recover and hopefully train for my sixth running of the Boston Marathon. I took off two weeks to give my Achilles a rest. I managed to get in a lot of short trail runs, two ten mile road runs, and one 13 mile road run. Not good marathon training, but it would have to do.
I decide to drop back to Katy's wave to run with her. I will spare the details, but all went reasonably well until we hit about 16 miles. My legs felt like lead and my Achilles was starting to hurt. I struggled to keep up with Katy, who was having a fantastic day. I finally told her to leave me on Heart Break as I had run out of gas. I slowed down to a jog, put my head down, and pushed toward the finish. Katy went on to set a new marathon PR. Mucho congrats.
I hobbled down the long finish march to get my medal and some food. I then set out to find Katy. She had already retrieved her drop bag, so I went and got my drop bag. I tried to call her, but no answer. She then called me and told me she was at the family meeting area. We decided to walk the 2.5 miles back to our hotel, in hopes that this would help get blood into my injury. We were not very far before we heard a loud explosion and felt the ground shake. The doorman at the hotel we were in front of thought it was fireworks. We continued on and were not sure what had transpired until almost an hour after the bombings. This was truly a sad day for all effected, although it was heartening to see the running and greater community at large rally in support of the victims. BOSTON STRONG!!!!
Thirteen days later and a coast away and the strong support for Boston continued. Katy and I ran our fourth Boston 2 Big Sur Challenge, which was also our fifth running of the Big Sur Marathon. the support for Boston was fantastic.
I felt better during this marathon and my Achilles behaved much better. I think I am finally recovered.
Katy is hoping I will run another marathon to qualify for the 2014 Boston Marathon. I am not so sure this will happen. I am at a point where I am more than happy to run marathons and other races with Katy, but have less interest in running these type races just to get a qualifier. I will certainly do everything I can to support her in becoming a Boston streaker.
Next up is The Pineland 50K and then the fun begins as we start our weekly trip to the mountains of Maine and NH to train for our second running of the TransRockies Six Day race.
Until next time, enjoy!
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