Today was Jen Norton's 40 year old birthday and what better way for a triathlete to celebrate a big birthday than to run a half marathon? Jen's family and friends all gathered this morning in downtown Concord to run a 13.1 mile celebratory race. Amber after being laid out all week with the flu and not having walked more than a few feet without feeling light-headed decided it would be a good idea to run. I decided that if a flu-ridden person would be able to make it I could as well.
Sean Snow, Brian Lavoie and I took to the front of the pack early and stayed out for the entire race. After a brief smooch by Brian to an apparent stranger and a wrong turn that added about a 3/4 mile to our run, we were on our way. Sean and Brian decided that it would be a good idea to continue on the scorching hot pace over some of the hilliest part of Concord. Stopping to thank all the volunteers(Jen's friends around town) for water stops, and waiting frequently for me to catch back up and we were still on a 6:20 pace. Come on this was supposed to be a fun run!!! Clearly not as at mile 10 1/2 they decided to kick into high gear and leave me behind.
Amber took it a bit easier but still only finished about ten minutes behind me. She ran steady but joined a larger group of fellow triathletes including the recent Ironman, Lisa Ransom.
The only thing more fun than the brutal race was the post race and Jen's. Great fun and friends, is there a better way to spend a Saturday?
Once a runner, now a father. Danny takes on the world of parenting. Miles of trials, trials of miles or more like trials by diapers. Stay tuned!
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Saturday, November 21, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway
The Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway is a hiking trail that links Mount Monadnock with Mount Sunapee over a fairly undulating 50 mile greenway that traverses public as well as private land. It was created in the 1970's as a way to link two of the major southern New Hampshire mountains together. Most people that hike it stick to the most popular trails surrounding the two peaks. According to the MSG website, for those interested in hiking the entire 49 miles in one shot, there are 5 campsites along the way and those attempting it should plan on the trip taking 3-4 days.
Soooooooooo.... It seemed like a good idea to try it in one. I convinced one of my friends, Josh to come along as well. Misery does apparently love company. Knowing that the going would be slow in the dark and with all the water that we had in the past few weeks, we started out at 3am at the base of Monadnock. Quickly skirting up to the summit in only 45 minutes, I thought that this trip would be a breeze. Afterall, I have run 50 miles in 8 hours, hiking it in a day would be a piece of cake. No sooner had this crossed my mind, did we get lost. Anyone who's been to the summit of Monadnock knows that it looks pretty similar from all sides as it rises up from the surrounding landscape. Great for views, not so much for finding the correct trailhead at 3:45am. After a good twenty minutes of scrambling from rock to rock we finally found it and were on our way. Oh, did I mention that the 49 miles is from summit to summit? Getting up and down can add anywhere from 4-9 miles to the total hike. Yikes!
Our goal for the entire hike was simply, start in the dark so we wouldn't have to end up in the dark. We figured if we could keep going at about 4 1/2 mph we'd be able to get to Sunapee as the sun was setting. What we hadn't counted on was: a)Danny falling ~50 times between the hours of 4am and 7am, b) insufficient bridges making streams a continual fording event, c)the weather- we had brought winter weather gear and ended up keeping them in our packs and although it is better to be well-prepared we ended up having more weight than we'd expected, and d) Hunters!!! Granted it was hunting season, and I was wearing an aptly colored brown and white hat, but still. At one point we had to slow to a near stand-still as an anger-spewing Orange-garbed rifle toting predator was wildly swinging his loaded gun while talking on his cell-phone.
Despite the slow going, this trail is not one to miss. I have lived in this area for most of my life and hadn't heard of most of this hills we climbed and had not laid foot on a single step of it. What a shame as there were some amazingly beautiful sections, nearly untouched by the people who live nearby. It has opened my eyes to the opportunities that lay all around us in this beautiful state.
All told: Summit to Summit 13:33 hours, 3.7 mph; Base to base 14:47 hours. Danny's food intake: 5 peanut butter sandwiches, 160 ounces of water, 12 ounces of Hammer Gel, 4 snicker's mini-bars, a V8, a sour pickle and a large bag of trail mix.
Up Next: Taking it easy for the next couple months, small day hikes, 5K's and then ramping back up for the Snowshoe series that starts up the beginning of January. Hope to see you there!
Soooooooooo.... It seemed like a good idea to try it in one. I convinced one of my friends, Josh to come along as well. Misery does apparently love company. Knowing that the going would be slow in the dark and with all the water that we had in the past few weeks, we started out at 3am at the base of Monadnock. Quickly skirting up to the summit in only 45 minutes, I thought that this trip would be a breeze. Afterall, I have run 50 miles in 8 hours, hiking it in a day would be a piece of cake. No sooner had this crossed my mind, did we get lost. Anyone who's been to the summit of Monadnock knows that it looks pretty similar from all sides as it rises up from the surrounding landscape. Great for views, not so much for finding the correct trailhead at 3:45am. After a good twenty minutes of scrambling from rock to rock we finally found it and were on our way. Oh, did I mention that the 49 miles is from summit to summit? Getting up and down can add anywhere from 4-9 miles to the total hike. Yikes!
Our goal for the entire hike was simply, start in the dark so we wouldn't have to end up in the dark. We figured if we could keep going at about 4 1/2 mph we'd be able to get to Sunapee as the sun was setting. What we hadn't counted on was: a)Danny falling ~50 times between the hours of 4am and 7am, b) insufficient bridges making streams a continual fording event, c)the weather- we had brought winter weather gear and ended up keeping them in our packs and although it is better to be well-prepared we ended up having more weight than we'd expected, and d) Hunters!!! Granted it was hunting season, and I was wearing an aptly colored brown and white hat, but still. At one point we had to slow to a near stand-still as an anger-spewing Orange-garbed rifle toting predator was wildly swinging his loaded gun while talking on his cell-phone.
Despite the slow going, this trail is not one to miss. I have lived in this area for most of my life and hadn't heard of most of this hills we climbed and had not laid foot on a single step of it. What a shame as there were some amazingly beautiful sections, nearly untouched by the people who live nearby. It has opened my eyes to the opportunities that lay all around us in this beautiful state.
All told: Summit to Summit 13:33 hours, 3.7 mph; Base to base 14:47 hours. Danny's food intake: 5 peanut butter sandwiches, 160 ounces of water, 12 ounces of Hammer Gel, 4 snicker's mini-bars, a V8, a sour pickle and a large bag of trail mix.
Up Next: Taking it easy for the next couple months, small day hikes, 5K's and then ramping back up for the Snowshoe series that starts up the beginning of January. Hope to see you there!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Danny Training?
Sick of yet another sub-par performance at the Manchester Marathon, I have taken up the call: to finally get mybutt in shape and train. In a form fitting a more "coachable" athlete, I have taken the first few steps to enacting my new training program. I've gotten a membership to the YMCA, and have already swam on three separate occasions. Additionally, I'm currently on Day 3 of the 90 day regime set up in P90x a program dedicated to "muscle confusion" by switching the order of exercises, and incorporating new exercises during each phase. So far I'm very sore, which I can say hasn't happened since high school football practice.
My typical strategy of 2-3 runs a week and doing whatever is going on on the weekend(in addition, of course, to holding my breath and contracting my abs), is out the window.
My new plan: daily P90x routines(varying from upper and lower extremity exercises to yoga and plyometrics), at least 2 days of lap swimming/week, 2 days of spinning on the trainer(another recent addition to the Ferreira household) and the typical 2-3 runs that I can fit in during my lunch breaks.
If all goes well and the new me can continue to wake up earlier and(more importantly) stay motivated, this program should culminate at the New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon on Feb 28th where I'm expecting significantly better results than in previous events. Then the program recycles itself where my next goal will be the Pineland Farms 50 miler where I hope to break the 8 hour mark(I ran 8:22 last year on 20 mile weeks).
I'm hoping by posting this now, for all to read, will keep me motivated as well as honest. Well, here's to hoping!
My typical strategy of 2-3 runs a week and doing whatever is going on on the weekend(in addition, of course, to holding my breath and contracting my abs), is out the window.
My new plan: daily P90x routines(varying from upper and lower extremity exercises to yoga and plyometrics), at least 2 days of lap swimming/week, 2 days of spinning on the trainer(another recent addition to the Ferreira household) and the typical 2-3 runs that I can fit in during my lunch breaks.
If all goes well and the new me can continue to wake up earlier and(more importantly) stay motivated, this program should culminate at the New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon on Feb 28th where I'm expecting significantly better results than in previous events. Then the program recycles itself where my next goal will be the Pineland Farms 50 miler where I hope to break the 8 hour mark(I ran 8:22 last year on 20 mile weeks).
I'm hoping by posting this now, for all to read, will keep me motivated as well as honest. Well, here's to hoping!