Bear 100 Training!

One great thing about moving to Albany is we are now within a 2 hour drive of the Catskills, Adirondacks, Green and Birkshire mountain ranges. Love having them so close! I have been trying to get to one of those places at least once a week to get in some elevation training for The Bear... no 5,000 foot climbs, but close enough :) A few pics of what my training has been the past couple months...

Vermont 100 pacing-

Paced for 30 miles at VT100- loved going back! My third year going to VT100- once to crew, once to run and this year to pace and volunteer, loved it!!!

Was able to see a lot more of the course in the daylight compared to when I ran last year :)

Someone made a runner nap area 

Adirondacks

High peaks

Had to carry Lucy down this ladder

Was able to knock out a few 4000 footers... Upper and Lower Wolfjaw, and Armstrong. Can't wait to go back for more. 

Catskills

A bit hilly and technical

Favorite running buddy :)

Mt Greylock 

In the winter, this is the ski slope- steep!!

Great overlooks on the top... highest peak in MA

A little late, but Finger Lakes 50 Mile Report

Oh man, where do I start? This was a tough one for me. I wasn't quite trained for this race but since my parents were coming out to run it with me I HAD to do it :) I knew I would be able to finish it, just didn't quite know how fast it would be! Mom and I decided to stick together since we ran the 50k together at this race last year. We loved it before, it's a 16 mi loop- rolling hills, single track, gravel roads, meadows... it has everything! And this year it had MUD! Lots of MUD. Shoe sucking mud. The first lap was good, felt strong, then we hit the second loop and my stomach started screaming. Nothing sounded appetizing, so I (stupidly!!!!) thought I would just hold off on eating until something sounded good. BAD IDEA! Stomach didn't settle down for the rest of the race. I couldn't stomach anything, any time I tried eating,  it felt like it would come back up... no fun. Which meant, I ran the last ~25 miles without eating anything- stupid, so stupid. I started dragging, slowed WAY down. Mom stayed with me the whole time pushing me on and keeping me going. I was so ready to see the finish line. Hard day for me- both physically and mentally- it definitely showed me how much training I had/have to do before The Bear 100! Was great having the parents running as well, love our ultra family :)

Pre-race selfie :)

Mom running through one of the cow fields/meadows

Moooo

So much mud!

Favorite spot on the course

thinking... I don't want to go any further...

DONE!!!!!!

Finishers award! Chair and pint glass!

Post race- I was looking forward to laying down the last 20 miles. So sick :(

Luckily there was a pond to wash off all the mud

Mt Dew and pickles make everything better

Race recap- North Face Bear Mtn 50K

Here's a recap of some of my spring/summer races since I never posted them before. I ran the North Face Endurance Challenge at Bear Mountain again this year, this time the 50k. Race went really well, again, I wasn't quite prepared since I wasn't running much this Spring, but it still went relatively well. Beautiful course but super muddy this year (it's been a trend actually!) Here's some pics....

At the start of the 50K

Still too early for much greenery

A rare flat area :)

Beautiful lake we ran around

Sneaking up on Gretchen and Andrew- wasn't able to quite catch them though!!!

My time wasn't amazing, but I was happy I ran it and felt great the whole race. It's a beautiful trail and wonderful area- one race I will probably keep coming back to year after year. 

Third times a charm... Bluff 50K

What a great way to start... had my trail name on the bib!!!!  

After a horrible Hartford Marathon, I was in need for a lovely, fun, happy trail race. The Bluff 50k was the perfect thing to get me out of my post marathon funk. I decided I would go into the race with no expectations. I've run the Bluff the past two years and I didn't want to have to compare times, or go into the race with any type of goal. 

I knew several people at the race, so before the race even started, everyone was chatting and having a good time. I started near the back of the pack and just took my time- no rush. People went by and I was in no hurry to chase after them. I decided if I felt good at the end, THEN I could start chasing people down. 

The race went pretty uneventful... it was probably the nicest fall day New England has had to offer, a perfect 60 degree, sunny day, and fall foliage was at it's peak. We made our way up to the top of the Bluff Head and the views were spectacular- that is one (of many!!) reason I run this race each year. You can see for miles. 

Top of the Bluff... totally worth the climb!

After the Bluff Head, the course gets tricky, lots of rocks and many more leaves to cover them up so each step is a new surprise. Actually sounds a lot like Ozark Trail 100. 

I kept running with new people, one of the best parts of trail running is constantly meeting new people and getting to know each other on the trails. Everyone is always so friendly and chatty. Makes the day so much better when you can find people to run with and talk the day away. 

Little bit of a climb

Made it to the halfway point, and filled up on grilled cheese! It was the best thing I had ever tasted!! I knew I could get through the rest of the day with those little sandwiches! YUM! We continued on, walking, running, chatting, and soon getting lost! There was a new section of trail that a bunch of us missed and went about a quarter mile past the turn off. Oh well... just got my moneys worth! :) The new section was great- lots of sharp turns back and forth and up and down, it was a mountain bikers paradise. I love that this race has so many different types of terrain, some climbing, some technical, but still lots of runnable forest roads. I'm discovering that the runnable forest roads are my new favorite, but you also need some hills to break up the running parts to give yourself a walking break :) This race has it all.

Kinda scary while I heard gun shots getting closer and closer

Towards the end of the race, around mi 28ish I got a new burst of energy, I felt great, still had some gas left in the tank so I decided to take off and kick it into gear. I booked it the last 4 miles or so of the race, and felt great! I was so happy to have felt so good, no stomach issues, no leg pains, no cramping. I don't know if I have ever felt so good towards the end of any race. I guess the Hartford Marathon was just a great training run for the Bluff. This was my third year at the Bluff and I hope to keep coming back year after year. Great race and thanks Jerry!

LOVE the finishers awards!!!