Sleepy Hollow Race Report

On mothers day I had the pleasure of running the first annual sleepy hollow mountain race which was held in Huntington Vermont.  The race was being put on by Kasie Enman who is the 2011 World Mountain Running champion so going in it was obvious the course was going to be challenging. The race acted as the first race of the USATF New England Mountain Running Series.

I arrived at Sleepy Hollow Inn the night before the race and set up my tent in the field right by the start.  After setting up camp I took a quick run out to the course.  The course definitely didn’t disappoint in the toughness department.  In addition to the unrelenting climbs over the 3 loops totaling six mile, there was shoe eating mud for the entire first two loops making for some hard yet fun running.  On the steep down it was more like water skiing than running because of the mud and on the ups it was like one step forward two steps back.  None the less is was an awesome course laid out on cross country ski trails. Most of the running was on wide grassy and muddy trails with some awesome sections of single track tossed in to mix it up.  In the first 1/3^rd of the race we topped out to the high point of the course and hit some brutal climbs in doing so.  This was especially true in the second huge climb of the race which felt like I was going up for a good 15 minutes. 

The hills in this race definitely killed me as I way underestimated what I needed to be doing in training to be ready for them.  Not being able to climb the way I was hoping the game plan quickly changed to just get up the hills and hall ass on the downs to make up ground.  This definitely worked to keep me somewhat in the race but I paid the price in the last couple miles of the race as my legs where completely shot.  Trying to sprint in at the finish was an absolute no go.  All in all, the race kicked my but, I had a blast the whole way though.  I didn’t run nearly as well as I had hoped for, but can definitely say a huge overlook in what it would take to be prepared for the hills and some very sloppy conditions caused the not so spectacular performance.  I also can’t complain too much coming in 12^th place in a time of 43:36 in my second ever mountain race.

The race was awesome either way. Did I say that already?  It was great being able to camp in the field at the start, and it was very well organized with some great food at the end. I especially liked the fact that maple syrup was given out as awards, that was cool seeing as we where in Vermont.  Everything was efficient and you can definitely tell some very hard work was done on the course to get it ready.  I actually ran into Kasie on the course the day before working on it with a group. Sorry this isn’t a long or overly detailed report, I didn’t want to bore people.  On a side note outside of the race the Ben and Jerry’s factory is only 20 minutes from the race.  You better believe I made a stop there for a tour and some ice cream on the ride home.  There is no food I love more than Ben and Jerry’s.

http://sleepyhollowmtnrace.wordpress.com

A Run up the Falling Waters Trail in the Winter

One of the iconic hikes in New England runs along the Franconia ridge from Little Haystack to Mt Lafayette going over Mt Lincoln in between.  During the summer the hike up the Falling waters trail to little haystack involves steep and difficult climbing.  The 3.5 mile trail climbs 3100 feet to reach the wide open summit of this 4780 foot tall hill.  So the obvious question is; why wouldn’t you want to run up this trail in the winter?  How rocky this trail is during the summer makes it more of a fast hike with a lot of boulder scrambling.  In the winter because of its shortness and awesome views this trail is almost always well packed from snowshoes, which makes for much better running. It is some of the most scenic running you will do in a 6-7 mile round trip anywhere in the northeast but will absolutely kick your butt in the process. After the first half mile to mile of gradual up hill the trail starts really climbing and doesn’t stop till you hit the peak.  The falling waters trail officially starts when you take the right over the bridge up to little haystack instead of going left up the old bridal path to Mt Lafayette.

                This trail is named after the waterfalls you encounter on the trail however in these winter conditions they are more walls of ice and snow. The first mile winds up the side of the mountain crisscrossing over the stream which feeds each fall on the trail. The trail climbs gradually with a few steeper sections gaining 450 ft in this first mile.

The second major fall, Swift water falls is at roughly the mile mark on this trail.  The trail runs across the base of this 60 foot ice cliff and up the left side bringing you adjacent to the top of the ice fall.  At the top of this hill you scramble up a small climb to the right and keep on pushing up the mountain.

From here it gets a little steeper for the next half mile to the third wall of ice on this run. You switch-back up the mountain running along some cool and steep side hills.

This section gains another 550 feet for 1000 feet of climbing at about 1.5 miles marked by Cloudland falls.  This is roughly the halfway point to the summit.  At the base of the falls you have to climb a steep rock section covered in ice followed by a 100ft section of trail which is about 2 feet wide and runs up the side of the 80 foot falls to the top.

In reality this section of trail is about a foot wide.  If you where to step onto the unpacked shoulder you’d sink up to your knee which could very easily result in a fall off the side here.  Use caution on this section. Up to this point bare trail shoes are fine, but beyond here micro spikes are recommended.  Slipping on the trail up beyond this point can end up in a bad fall.

From here on out the real climbing begins.  After climbing up next to the fall you run over the stream into the woods on a section that felt like being on the moon in these winter conditions.

 This was followed by some nice climbing under cliffs, and through the thinning trees. 

The great views begin coming during this last half of the trail.  The next stop is the cut off for the side trip out to the shining rock cliff. This is a good spot to take a break as well as put on a wind breaker before back tracking to the main trail and entering the alpine zone.  Even if the run has been perfect weather all the way up, when you get above tree line it is almost always windy and in the winter, this means some truly freezing conditions. That 40 degree day becomes 10 when you get hit by the wind above tree line.

Unfortunately due to a later than planned start and storms blowing over the top of the mountain all day which would have made for no visibility when we got out of the trees. I don’t have pictures of the section above shining rock. So I put a call out to friends for some summit shots from a past hike up this trail we did a few years back.  This is the most scenic and difficult section of the trail which kind of bummed us out that we couldn’t get out of the trees. It’s a choice you need to make often when running in the mountains. When you’re that far up with miles to get to the car and no one to help if you get in trouble, it is ALWAYS best to air on the side of caution.  Once you start approaching the ominous alpine zone sign warning of the worst weather in the world and past hikers who have died in summer and winter the running becomes very difficult.  It turns into a scramble/run since the trail stops switch backing and takes a strait shot up to the peak when you leave the trees.  Once you’re up there though, you will be in awe of the amazing views and how small you feel being up there.  The ridge to the left brings you over Mt. Lincoln to Mt. Lafayette.  Going to the right brings you to Mt. Liberty and the Flume(Do not go near flume if you don’t have full crampons, ice axes and experience with ice climbing).  Directly over the back of the summit is an amazing view of the pemi-wilderness.  Off the front of the summit are great views of Cannon Mountain and the Bond cliffs.  From here you can go across to Lafayette if you have crampons and do a loop back to the car taking the green leaf trail.  If you don’t have full crampons you are best served turning around and going down where you came up.  Enjoy the 3 mile descent and of course be careful.  This is an amazing places and well worth the run up. hopefully I’ll see some of you on the trails up there. I look forward to bringing more of these reviews to Flotrail.  Running in the mountains in the winter is slower but it is also an experience that most never get.  Oh yea, here are the views I promised.

It time to get back on track!

Ok, so I have completely slacked on the blog over the winter between finishing school, a new job, and spending most weekends in the White Mountains hiking.  It is time to get back on track! 

I’m going to switch it up a little bit by focusing only partially on the write up of different fitness aspects and more on the current races going on and the training I’m doing currently.  I’ve been focusing on training for about 10 weeks now and have run two races.  Race reports will be on their way for those. I have also done a trail review over on flotrail.com as well as a video trail review which will be posted here shortly.

Some of you know my focus has turned to trail racing and mountain running recently and I have been doing a lot of training on the trails and hills since.  I’m hoping that by adding some real life experience of training and how it’s affecting my racing some attention will be brought the great races held on the local mountains and trails.