March challenge completed

It's certainly been busy since I last posted! Today I completed my challenge for March. First I ran 11 miles with my training group, who is planning on running the More half-marathon in NYC in two weeks. After a 45 minute break, I then walked 11 miles with the walkers in my training group, for a total of 22 miles on my sneakers today.

I felt great!

We finally had sunny weather, even if it was 20 degrees when we started. All of the women in the group are energetic and determined to meet their goal of completing the half-marathon. One even ran the last two blocks today (she's a walker) so that she could finish the 11 miles in under 3 hours!

Even though my feet and legs are tired, I'm so thrilled to be a part of this inspiring group, that I'm almost considering a run tomorrow (almost). My April challenge will be to complete the half-marathon with this fantastic group!

February challenge completed!

I'd been thinking about a snowshoeing challenge for the month of February, but then the weather derailed my plans. Rain, sleet, freezing rain, and the ever-popular ice pellets were more prevalent than snow this year in southwestern Vermont.

Friday we finally got 2-3 inches of white, fluffy snow. Yes, it was on top of ice, but it was still snow, and with snow comes snowshoeing. Mike agreed to snowshoe with me to Lye Brook Falls, a gorgeous hike within the Lye Brook Wilderness area in Manchester. The falls are about 160 feet tall, and used to be transversed by a railroad used for logging in the early 1900's.

The hike to the Falls is 2.5 miles according to the Forest Service sign. It took us 1 hour and 15 minutes , and we were the first ones to walk through the fresh snow for most of the way. Much of the path follows the old railroad bed, but there were many small yet fast-moving streams we crossed, and one particularly treacherous section that dropped off steeply just to the edge of the trail. I felt like a mountain goat for the last 30 minutes of the hike up to the Falls.

Usually you can hear the roar of the water as you approach the Falls, but yesterday it was eerily silent. We found out why when we reached the end of the trail: the Falls were frozen! Some water was running under all the ice, but not enough that you could see or hear. The frozen water was spectacular, and it made me wonder about the power that will be unleashed when it melts.

On the hike back down to the car we passed a couple snowshoeing up. They were the only people we saw the entire way on this usually popular hike. It was peaceful snowshoeing through the pine tree forest, stepping over downed trees, and looking for animal tracks in the fresh snow.

Challenges so far to celebrate turning 50 in June, 2008:

June 2007 - Green Mountain Relay (200 miles, 12 people, 2 vans, about 34 hours)

July 2007 - Rutland 5K trail race (with Mike!)

August 2007 - Olympic distance triathlon at Lake Dunmore, part of the Vermont Sun series

September 2007 - bike century in Saratoga (very rainy)

October 2007 - Cape Cod Marathon (no rain)

November 2007 - hike to the top of Mt. Equinox (again with Mike)

December 2007 - I love Woodford 4 mile snowshoe race (yep, running on snowshoes)

January 2008 - Chevron Houston marathon with my sister, Diane

I don't have anything specifc planned yet for March, but there are a few ideas perculating. I'm running the More Half-Marathon in NYC in April with my training team, and then don't have anything scheduled for May or June. I'm thinking about a possible marathon in June.....

If you have ideas or suggestions for a challenge, let me know!

December goal met

My challenge for December was the 3.5 mile "I Love Woodford" snowshoe race yeld yesterday in Woodford, VT. There was about 18 inches of snow on the ground, and it was fairly balmy with temperatures in the low 30's and no wind. 100 hardy people showed up to run the race through the woods of the state park.

Not only is Woodford a beautiful area, but running on snowshoes is a hoot. Once you get through the oxygen deprivation of trying to run (shuffle?) through snow on snowshoes, usually up hill, it becomes pure joy. When was the last time you went out in the woods to play? As I sped up near the finish, a photographer told me it looked like I was having a lot of fun. I couldn't stop smiling, because I was having a great time.

Of course, the knowledge that there was homemade, piping hot vegetable soup waiting at the finish helped enormously. Luckily I'm slow plus I stayed to help out at the finish line, so most of the cookies were gone by the time I got there.

That makes 7 monthly challenges I've completed since I turned 49 in June:

June: Vermont relay race

July: Rutland trail run

August: Olympic distance triathlon at Lake Dunmore

September: bike century in Saratoga, NY

October: Cape Code marathon

November: hike up Mt. Equinox with my husband

December: I love Woodford snowshoe race

Next up in January is the Houston marathon with my sister. Stay tuned!

November challenge completed!

Mike and I climbed the Burr and Burton, or Blue Summit Trail, to the top of Mt. Equinox yesterday. According to the Day Hiker's Guidebook, it's a 4.5 hour trip but we made it in three hours. The summit is at 3848', the highest mountain in our area.

Even though we've lived where we can see Mt. Equinox for the past 16 years, driven up the toll road, and even hiked at both the summit and the base, we'd never hiked up the entire mountain. That was the challenge!

The trail was steep - the whole way. Unlike most trails that go up and down, there was no down until you reached the top and turned around. The first half was along an old gravel road, covered in leaves. The second half was a rocky trail, more like an old streambed than a real trail. There weren't as many leaves, but numerous downed trees we scrambled over or under.

The hike up Equinox got our hearts pounding, while the hike down was a real workout for our quads.

A beautiful day, great company, and another monthly challenge checked off my list! Challenges so far:

June: Green Mountain Relay Race

July: 5K trail run in Rutland

August: Olympic distance triathlon at Lake Dunmore

September: Century bike ride in Saratoga Springs

October: Cape Cod Marathon

November: summit Mt. Equinox

I don't have a set challenge yet for December. If we have snow, it might be a snowshoe race. If there's not enough snow, perhaps I'll do a run on New Year's Eve. Stay tuned!

July challenge

My challenge for July was to run a 5K trail race in Georgettii Park, Rutland, VT. It was a blast!

Running on trails is a LOT different than running on the road. Mud, rocks, streams, and foot bridges over streams are part of the fun of running on trails. Plus, the race was at 6:30 pm, and I'm typically an early morning runner. Add in hot temperatures and high humidit, and I was sweating while sitting in the shade waiting for the race to start!

The race was well-organized, the course extremely well marked (I never even made a wrong turn!), all the runners were friendly, and they had Tootsie-rolls at the end. The best part was that my husband, Mike, ran the race as well. It's always more fun to travel to a race, hang out before and after the run, and then stop for something to eat when he's with me.

Running this trail race reminded me how much fun it is to run on trails periodically. I guess I'll add that to the training mix!

Next up for August: an Olympic distance triathlon at Lake Dunmore, VT. See you at the pool!