Life of an Age-Grouper

The Xterra Shepaug Trail Race brought me back to my childhood as I found myself smiling and laughing  as I ran through puddles, jumped over down trees, charged and climbed uphills, launched over streams, evaded thorns, danced through mud and occasionally got lost. The Shepaug 25k was easily the most fun I have ever had at a race. Long Island certainly has trails that can be utilized for mountain biking or running and I'm extremely fortunate to have trail access right out my front door but these trails are lacking.  The topography and environment simply don't provide what I want to run on or through and certainly can't prepare you for real trail running. I had an idea of what Connecticut could offer me and as such I signed up for the Xterra Shepaug 25k Trail Race in Bridgewater, Connecticut.   I did my best to prepare for this race but found it difficult since there was limited information on the World Wide Web. It didn't take very long however to figure out wha...

For what seemed like an eternity, race morning had finally arrived.  My Spring race season was about to begin at the Caumsett 50k located in Lloyd Harbor, New York. The Caumsett 50K is an odd race. Why the USATF would chose to hold a National Championship race in March, on Long Island is beyond me? They could not have selected a warmer, more easily accessible location? Besides the location and timing, this race was broken down into 3 categories; 50k Champs, 50k and 25k.  The total number of runners was around 375 people on a relatively flat and looped 5k course. Caumsett provided me with opportunities. The opportunity to celebrate the fitness I had accumulated over the Winter. The opportunity to dial in my nutrition and hydration during race conditions. The opportunity to learn about and grow from, finding my ultra. Being my first ultra distance race I had only one true goal and that was to do the race fully self-supported in preparation for the Traprock 50k in April....

February was an interesting month of training. The first two weeks started off as planned with the focus on climbing. Despite the relatively short distances covered the stress of climbing was certainly taxing ( nearly 25,000 ft. ) The resulting accumulation of fatigue and subsequent need for recovery was perfectly timed with a week off from work.  I took full advantage of the recovery week; hydrating, fueling, resting, sleeping and spending time with Meliss and Noah.  As the fatigue dissipated and the rejuvenation commenced an ironic phrase kept popping into my head, "there is a delicate balance between peak fitness and absolute disaster."  I welcomed the snappiness in my legs as the week came to end. I wasn't however very hospitable to the emergence of a cold. The ensuing cold sucked the life out of me for nearly a week which resulted in a less then ideal lead into the Caumsett 50K. "There is a delicate balance between peak fitness and absolute disaster." ...