Loony Mountain Race

Last Sunday I had the distinct pleasure of running up Loon Mountain in Lincoln, N.H. I'd overextended myself on a long run* two days before, so I mostly took it easy and had a fun race. The course was about 5.7 miles long, and had around 2400 feet of elevation gain. It had a two major parts: a primary ascent to the gondola station at the top, and a loop to the summit with a lot of crazy downhill running and about half a mile of hiking up a black diamond ski trail. I guess running would be theoretically possible, sort of like balancing the federal budget.

I mostly went out and entered a fairly Zen-like state, where I focused on keep an even level of exertion and having a good time. I could probably have gone faster if I'd wanted to really push it, but I wanted to see what I could do without really suffering. There were a lot of wild strawberries alongside the trails, and I really wish I'd had time to pick a few. I ended up finishing 19th out of 170, with a time of 59:49.















I recently read the Chi Running book by Danny Dreyer, and was

rather taken by its main line of argument: that we can accomplish more athletically by relaxing and letting our efforts flow naturally from a focused mind. He also has some ideas on running form and such, but trying to do a makeover on that can be a recipe for disaster. I think anyone who runs for long enough experiences a few moments where mind and body work harmoniously and without apparent effort -- the trick is to make this the norm. Listening to your body and preventing injuries is easy; the problem arises in convincing yourself that your external goals are less important than enjoying the process.

My long run on Friday was a strange combination of trying this mental attitude and an attempt to dramatically increase my long run mileage(from ~14 miles to what I thought would 19). I did it on Moosilauke, going up the Ridge Trail to the summit, down the Benton Trail, along the Tunnel Brook Trail, and back along the Hurricane Trail to the Lodge. The total mileage was probably closer to 22 or 23 than 19, at least according to the trail signs. I hit the wall pretty hard at Great Bear cabin around mile 18 or so, mainly due to sheer exhaustion and a slightly sprained ankle. I sprawled in the grass and ate wild strawberries, and then finally limped back to the Lodge. Next time I'm bringing more water or some iodine -- I ran out about 4 miles from the Lodge. Or I'll just drink out of a stream, like I did safely for an entire summer when working on Harris.

This weekend: Ascutney Mountain run on Saturday morning, Dave N.'s wedding in the afternoon, and another Moosilauke long run on Sunday. I'm going to try to go out fast for all of 'em.