Second of two weeks in Vermont...
1/25 - Short run of 3.5 miles, dirt road and snowmobile trail by headlamp.
1/26 - Greenbanks Hollow-VAST loop in Danville, 8 miles. Much warmer today, temps 32F +/-.
1/27 - Rest day.
1/28 - 10 miles on beautiful, quiet dirt roads in Barnet Center. No cars the entire time. :)
1/29 - 18 miles of Kilkenny Ridge in 12.5 hours(!) breaking trail on snowshoes. Winter Wonderland!
1/30 - 4 miles on dirt roads and snowmobile trails.
1/31 - 9 miles of snow covered dirt in Barnet Center, single digits but sunny. Bye-bye Vermont - I love you in summer but only kind of like you in winter.
2/1 - Hopefully back to Tan Land. Currently on hold, trying to reroute flights through blizzard... ai yi yi!
Update: Persistence (~3 hours) and assertiveness ("No, I will NOT be routed through O'Hare you idiots!!") hopefully will get me to LAX, via Atlanta, today...
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Brrr...mont
1/19 - 9 miles on quiet, snowy dirt roads in Barnet Center.
1/20 - 7 miles of same in North Danville. Shoveled my parents' roof.
1/21 - 8 miles on McLaren & Somers Hill Roads in West Barnet.
1/22 - 8.5 miles snowshoeing on the Rattle River Trail (AT) in the White Mtns. Getting colder...
1/23 - Cold. We're taking the day off! Went out for a nice breakfast in Gorham.
1/24 - Minus 20 this morning. Waited until it "warmed up" to minus 4 before setting out on a 7-mile loop in Danville - down a dirt road, through a covered bridge, and back on hardpacked snowmobile trails. Beautiful, crystal clear views of the Whites ~40 miles away - Moosilauke, Franconia Ridge & Twin Range, all the way up to the Presidentials. Haven't been in temps this cold since Denali '08 & haven't run with a face mask in, oh... about 10 years. Nuts!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Looking ahead & My new 50 Project
Although I am not much of a planner preferring to live life more spontaneously, I do have some plans and ideas shaping up for the coming year. Some are firm, some are still in the idea stage:
March: Coyote Two Moon 100 mile (finally going to run the thing!)
May: Jemez 50 mile
June: Black Hills 100 mile (inaugural event!)
July: Finally finish the Colorado 14ers (6 left) & Hike the Hardrock course w/Chris (4 days)
August: Sierras! Probable combo of peakbagging and long trail miles... TBD.
September: Vermont 50 (a maybe)
November: Coyote Vegas
December: Cajun Coyote
Yes, there are actually three 100 miles there! After a four-year break from the distance, finishing The Bear last September was a positive enough experience that I want to do a few more. :)
I also have created a new 5-year project for myself--that of doing a minimum of 50 trail miles in all 50 states, along with the already completed 50 high points by the time I'm 50 (hence my choice of races in New Mexico and South Dakota). It is my belief that there are beautiful and interesting trails to be run and hiked in each of the 50 states. Upon realizing that I was already over halfway there--and with the ability to combine some trail bagging with business travel--the project seemed to be a no brainer. Miles can be either run or hiked, and both race and solo nonrace miles can be counted, as can multi-loop (Rocky Racoon, Cajun Coyote) courses although my preference is for 50 unique miles. In some states--e.g. Vermont, New Hampshire, Virginia, Colorado, California--the criteria has been met multifold. I am planning to create a separate page documenting trails/ultras completed in each state (click on link under C2M logo). This project will take awhile and that's a good thing. I think it'll be super fun!
March: Coyote Two Moon 100 mile (finally going to run the thing!)
May: Jemez 50 mile
June: Black Hills 100 mile (inaugural event!)
July: Finally finish the Colorado 14ers (6 left) & Hike the Hardrock course w/Chris (4 days)
August: Sierras! Probable combo of peakbagging and long trail miles... TBD.
September: Vermont 50 (a maybe)
November: Coyote Vegas
December: Cajun Coyote
Yes, there are actually three 100 miles there! After a four-year break from the distance, finishing The Bear last September was a positive enough experience that I want to do a few more. :)
I also have created a new 5-year project for myself--that of doing a minimum of 50 trail miles in all 50 states, along with the already completed 50 high points by the time I'm 50 (hence my choice of races in New Mexico and South Dakota). It is my belief that there are beautiful and interesting trails to be run and hiked in each of the 50 states. Upon realizing that I was already over halfway there--and with the ability to combine some trail bagging with business travel--the project seemed to be a no brainer. Miles can be either run or hiked, and both race and solo nonrace miles can be counted, as can multi-loop (Rocky Racoon, Cajun Coyote) courses although my preference is for 50 unique miles. In some states--e.g. Vermont, New Hampshire, Virginia, Colorado, California--the criteria has been met multifold. I am planning to create a separate page documenting trails/ultras completed in each state (click on link under C2M logo). This project will take awhile and that's a good thing. I think it'll be super fun!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Year-End Review
It's already the 11th day of the New Year, so I'm a little overdue on my annual review. I love lists and love documenting this kind of stuff, my excuse being that I'm half German. :) It's fun and interesting to reflect on the adventures, trips, and goals of the year just passed before looking ahead to the next 12 months. So here goes a short & sweet list of my highlights for 2010:
January: Quad State Quad Buster
February: 100 Miles on the Arizona Trail
March: Winter NH48 FKT 8d4h2m & Coyote Two Moon
April: Georgia's 54m. Duncan Ridge Loop, Crewing Chris at LD50
June: Laurel Highlands #3
July: Cross-country road trip to Vermont, Fastpacking the Long Trail (my #1 highlight!)
August: NH48 in 4d20h, Road trip back to California
September: Bear 100
October: Coyote Moab, Knobstone Trail in a day
November: 100-Mile week in the Shenandoahs
December: Cajun Coyote
Miles for the year totalled just under 3000, almost exclusively on trail. I did 70 yoga classes, mountain biked only twice, skied once, and according to Plus 3 stats raised over $525 for The Conservation Alliance. Alas, I slacked in the book department averaging little better than one a month but definitely plan to remedy that in '11. Constants include seeking new and creative endurance-related adventures, continuing to find ways of challenging myself, an intense love of the natural world and spending as much time as possible in it, and most importantly, sharing all of it with Chris.
Next post: goals for the coming year!
January: Quad State Quad Buster
February: 100 Miles on the Arizona Trail
March: Winter NH48 FKT 8d4h2m & Coyote Two Moon
April: Georgia's 54m. Duncan Ridge Loop, Crewing Chris at LD50
June: Laurel Highlands #3
July: Cross-country road trip to Vermont, Fastpacking the Long Trail (my #1 highlight!)
August: NH48 in 4d20h, Road trip back to California
September: Bear 100
October: Coyote Moab, Knobstone Trail in a day
November: 100-Mile week in the Shenandoahs
December: Cajun Coyote
Miles for the year totalled just under 3000, almost exclusively on trail. I did 70 yoga classes, mountain biked only twice, skied once, and according to Plus 3 stats raised over $525 for The Conservation Alliance. Alas, I slacked in the book department averaging little better than one a month but definitely plan to remedy that in '11. Constants include seeking new and creative endurance-related adventures, continuing to find ways of challenging myself, an intense love of the natural world and spending as much time as possible in it, and most importantly, sharing all of it with Chris.
Next post: goals for the coming year!