Life of an Age-Grouper

Paumonok Pursuit 70K Run and Relay Paumonok is a local trail race put on by Jen and David of Jayasports.com. Jen and David are two long time fixtures of the endurance/multisport scene and have developed unique races across Long Island. Paumonok offers runners of all abilities an opportunity to enjoy the Paumonok Trail from Rocky Point to Hampton Bays. Despite the infancy of this race I have a feeling it will be be a fixture on my calendar for years to come and that it's popularity will only grow.  My intentions for Paumonok was to utilize it as a final tune up for Traprock.  It would serve as my last long run and as an opportunity to dial in my nutrition, clothing and sneaker choice, as well as pacing. The previous weekend I had an absolutely amazing time racing in Connecticut so the days in between were focused on recovery. Last year Mother Nature blanketed the course with 4 inches of fresh snow and freezing temperatures.  This year as I sat in the parking l...

Finding my ultra 1.3 Paumonok Pursuit 70k This past weekend the Paumonok Pursuit 70K was another excellent opportunity to learn what is going to take to go long, to find my ultra. I was part of a 5 member team and ran the first leg, 10.75 miles.  This distance certainly is not long by any stretch of the mind but presented an opportunity to learn and to be schooled on the nuances of ultra distance running. What I learned from my 10.75 miles in the trails: 1. Im learning from my mistakes and this time I ran in trail running shoes along with just one pair of socks. The trail shoes allowed for great traction on the undulating terrain that was blanketed with a fresh 3-4 inches of snow.  The effort, form and pace of those that wore running sneakers were truly handicapped.   2. Keep a "clean" distance between you and the runner ahead of you.  At the start of the race everyone was very keen on not giving the runner in front of them any breathing room. As ...