2019 Mt Washington Road Race

Sitting in my car before the Mt Washington Road Race

Gotta play a little catch up here with two weeks in the next two posts since I accidentally published the date post too soon. Haha. I enjoyed hearing the feedback on the date post personally from a few of you at Mt Washington on Saturday. I was hoping it would make people laugh because I certainly was laughing the entire time I was writing it. If you can't laugh at an experience like that then you're too uptight. Haha. And, yes, I'm sure that post will definitely scare off any future dates if those potential dates exist; they now know if it goes badly, I'm going to write about it. Haha. At least I won't use your name! 😃

So anyway, this week mainly culminated with my 8th time doing the Mt Washington Road Race. I did not specifically train for it this year. All I knew was that I was going to do something similar to last year but faster since I wouldn't be injured and could actually run more. Up until 2 days before. I was planning to use the run/walk method only going by feel and heart rate. I had no goal time. I was once again just experimenting. The only year I ran the entire thing was my second slowest (excluding 2018) so I knew then that running the whole way was not for me. I honestly don't understand why people feel they have to do that when chances are they could be like me and be faster running and walking. (And when I say walking, I mean either a brisk pace or powerhiking). But to each is own. I can at least say that I did that once, so I know for a fact it wasn't for me. Every other year, I've run most of it and walked randomly. Often running up to mile 4.5 before I walked. This year, I was going to do it starting at 1.5 miles (which I did last year. Up to 1.5 miles, running is actually faster.) and then start run/walk intervals for the entire rest of the race.

I've known that Layce Alves does this same method every year (and a PR of 1:24), so curiosity finally got the better of me so I messaged her on Friday to ask her her method. It turned out that she does timed intervals of mostly 90 sec run/30 sec walk. No less than 60 sec run. She said that her PR year she trained by doing 400s which makes sense. And interesting that she also runs until 1.5 miles, as well, so I was at least already on the right track. I decided I was going to try this. 90 sec on/30 off. I stupidly set my watch for this and turned on the alerts...something I ended up regretting especially since I never run with sounds on. It was the most annoying thing ever. But it did help at least. It was too late to train for this which by the way it sounded did require specific training. So I just thought I'd try this with zero goal time and adjust as needed. Learn what I need to do better and train for it specifically in 2020. So much like last year, an experiment.

After my awesome experience at Mt Washington last year, I knew I was done going into this race nervous and stuck on a time goal I've never achieved. Even my fastest time of 1:29:08 in 2015 was slightly disappointing since I felt far more fit than that and it was my low goal. This type of course will never be my strength so I've accepted that. It's time to finally be ok with whatever I do there. I planned to give 100% effort this year, but I was not going to be disappointed in the outcome. I'm so over that now. I want finish it every year and be excited for the next year. No more bad attitude.

I actually skipped the usual night before get-togethers this year. I didn't even know of any until after 5pm on Friday when Tom Hooper texted me that he and some other Six03 people were at the Moat. I was already on my way to Saco River Brewing to try their new limited release milk stout that would be gone before the night was over. But that wasn't the only reason I didn't go. I'm just super sick of the Moat. It's overrated. I like it, but come on, people. Try something new. Plus, it's all the way on the other end of town and traffic was bad. I had zero desire to go there. So I declined and continued to the brewery where I had the one drink and filled up two howlers to go. I stopped at the store on the way home to buy John and me dinner. Very low-key night. I liked it. No rushing around. No late night. I'd pick up my bib in the morning.

Not wanting to get stuck in race traffic I got up really early and was out the door by 5:15am. I had made a breakfast sandwich before I left so I was all set with pre-race food. I realized the night before that I had forgotten about race fueling so I scrounged up 3 Clif shot blocks from two open packages. I combined them and put them inside one of the gloves I would carry. Gloves would be the only cold weather gear I would bring. The hype in the days leading up to the race over the weather prediction had people completely freaking out. I don't fault race officials for it completely since they wanted to be overly cautious, but I do think they went a little overboard with the fear they instilled in people. I wasn't buying it. Haha. Not for a second. I thought it might be cold enough in the wind for light gloves so that's all I was bringing. Shorts, singlet, headband. That's it. I couldn't help but post this gif on FB on Friday after reading posts of people being terrified of the weather. I thought it was funny. Haha.

I captioned it, "Mt Washington Road Race runners be like..."

The drive up was easy. The weather looked great so far. I knew I was going to be right about this. Living here you know how quickly the weather changes. And the last thing I was going to do was bring a bunch of clothing that would just blow around in the wind and cause me to overheat.

Cool cloud on the drive up

I got there super early just before 6am. I ended up getting my favorite parking place along the river by the woods. Bib pick-up wasn't open yet due to the race officials having yet to make a decision on whether to stop the race halfway or not. What?! I didn't care either way, but I really didn't think the weather was bad enough to warrant that. The decision was delayed but they opened bib pick-up anyway so I got my number and went back to the car where I would attempt to nap for the next 1.5 hours. At some point the decision was made to continue the race to the summit as usual.

I never could fall asleep, but I did lie down and rest my eyes. A little after 7:30am I started to get myself up and ready for a warm up. I hit the woods for a bathroom break then headed out for my run. I ran into Christin Doneski early on so we ran the warm up together. She was worried about what to wear and still trying to decide. After 1.5 miles, I got back to my car and started to get into race gear. I was wearing my Nike Pegasus 35 Turbo shoes today since I wanted something light but with a good heel rise. Even thought I was running for Central Mass Striders today, I chose to wear my new Run the Whites singlet that Andrew Drummond had given me the week before. I loved the singlet and what better race to wear it at than one in the Whites.

Full view of it

It was about 25 minutes to the start so I thought I'd run around a little more and ended up running into Andrew right away so I stopped to show him the singlet and then he joined me for another 1.5 miles. Another guy joined us along the way for half of it. Only 10 minutes to the start but I still needed to go back to my car since I had forgotten to put on my HR monitor chest strap; I wanted to pay attention to HR during the race in conjunction with the timed intervals. I also needed a sip of water and one more quick run to the woods. I was actually sweating quite a bit already since it was warm down low. 

When I got to the start line I was shocked to see people either wearing or carrying way too much clothing. Most of the people I was lined up near would be moving fast enough to stay warm and wouldn't need all that stuff. Not my problem, though. I was pretty sure my gloves would end up just being a shot block carrier the whole way, and I'd be right. I lined up with Christin and Amy Rusiecki near the front and was basically surrounded by all people I knew. It's nice to chat at the start line here.

Rick Chalmers snuck a photo of me at the start showing Amy and Christin how I was carrying my shot blocks. Haha.

After the cannon blast, we were on our way. I went out feeling like I wasn't moving too quickly on the down but then put in a little extra effort than normal for the first 1.5 miles. The interesting part about this is that I made a note of the women around me. Other than Suzy West who was close for the first half mile, all of the other women around me here would be the same women I would finish near. One woman I passed here passed me back at the start of the dirt road but would stay in sight the whole way. Christin went by me as soon as I started the run/walk. Haley Heinrich would be the only other woman to pass me the whole race. I would end up leap frogging with Dawn Roberts for the first half with my run/walk thing until she finally got to the point where I couldn't catch her after I walked just before halfway. I would keep her in view the entire rest of the way, though. The one person I basically "ran" with the entire way until the last half mile would be Laura Hegley. She ran the entire way so we leap frogged the WHOLE way. My legs were shot the last half mile so she ended up finishing about 30 seconds ahead. 

But anyway, I felt pretty good at my pace to 1.5 miles. My watch was beeping for the 90/30 splits and I was already annoyed with it before I started using them. I would end up driving everyone near me crazy with the noise. Never again! I'll just hit the splits on my own next year. Rookie mistake. Haha. 

The 90/30 splits felt good at first. I was able to surge ahead well on the run part and got past quite a few people. I even started to gain on Sarah Canney and Kevin Tilton quickly. However, around mile 3, it was apparent that I wasn't going to be able to keep this interval up much past treeline. I definitely wasn't in shape for a 90 second surge with only a 30 second walk break. I was going to have to modify soon. I kept going for as long as I could. I caught Sarah and we went through the halfway point exactly at the same time around 43:03. That's the only time I looked at the entire race until the finish clock since time wasn't a goal. I never even wanted to see it. But now having seen the half time, I knew I wouldn't be breaking 1:30 today for sure. It was still a good half time, though, so I guessed I'd be around 1:33ish if the wind wasn't too bad.

As we climbed above treeline the weather was still perfect, but the grade of the dirt road section had me start my new intervals. 60 sec on/45 sec off. Although not ideal, I knew I wasn't in shape to continue the 90/30, but I also knew right away how I need to specifically train for next year. 90 sec hill repeats at a similar grade. It was what it was, though, so I just continued. I actually felt really good otherwise. In fact, I felt way more overall fit than my legs would allow me to go. I could still carry on a short conversation, enjoy the view and still pass people. I was amazed at how great overall I felt. As we turned into the headwind, I began to modify my run/walk so that it varied with steepness and wind. I wasn't going to jog into a headwind. Instead, I ducked down into a fast powerhike where I could move faster and more efficiently. Right around mile 5 I passed Sarah Canney and started to catch up with Kevin. He still moving fast enough that it took me about another good half mile before I caught him. We leap frogged for a bit since I was run/walking and he was running, but I finally pushed past Kevin. With a little over a mile to go, I turned and looked back at the really sharp curve and saw Haley there. I had actually expected her to pass me sooner, but she was running smart and would finish really well, passing me and 4 other women, the last two on The Wall. 

By the time I hit mile 7 my legs were pretty burned out. I could still run, but I had to walk all the short hills. I should have looked at my time at this point because it probably would have motivated me to push harder and break 1:32, but I didn't. I started walking at the base of The Wall since my legs just couldn't run up it. Fortunately, I was able to give one last push when the grade eased and I passed a guy just before the finish.

Photo by Peter Maskimow at the base of The Wall. 

Just before the finish, Andy Schachat called my name and accidentally said from "Albany, NY" so I laughed and pretended like I was mad, but then he corrected it. Came through the finish laughing my head off because of it. Finished in 1:32:08! 20th female, 3rd master female, 1st in 40-44. Sweet! I was so happy! My third fastest time!. My 2nd fastest in 2016 was barely faster in 1:31:57 (11 seconds!). Had I looked at my time, I'm pretty sure I would have beat that time. But whatever, I was much, much faster at this time in 2016, so I was ecstatic. This timed interval run/walk thing is the way to go for sure! The coolest thing that I didn't realize until the next day was that I won prize money! I never in a million years expected to win prize money at the Mt Washington Road Race, but 3rd master gets $100! Woohoo! Team-wise we didn't do great. 3rd Masters Team was the best we got, but I'll take it. With the age group win and team top 3, I get a guaranteed entry for next year. Full Results

The three of us who counted for the team scoring

The award plus my 40-44 age group medal.

As soon as I finished, I took my blanket and medal and moved out of the finish area for some water. I didn't feel that tired or worn out. Fitness wise I felt like I could have continued on. It was the legs that were shot this time, so I think with at least a little bit of training next year, I could probably improve. I should quickly mention that my HR remained very consistent the whole way. 171 with every 90 second run and down to 165 during the 30 second walk. It stayed just under 170 once I switched to 60/45. Pretty much what I was hoping for. Not to be at my max while running, but close.

The weather at the summit was gorgeous even though the wind was a little cold. It's impossible to get far without starting half conversations with everyone you know so it took me a good 15 minutes to get to Paul's truck to put on some warmer clothes, and it was only then that I started to get cold. Just he fleece blanket had been enough. I was so happy with what I chose to wear today. I thought the weather was perfect through the whole race.

Just when I thought I was smart for not overdressing for the race, I did a 180 and stupidly overdressed for the run down. I knew I would be slightly warm in what I was wearing, but I had no idea just how warm. I started off with two jackets, pants, two pairs of gloves and a warm hat. My brain must have been fried. I had shorts and a t-shirt in my bag but opted for the warmer stuff which was actually perfect for a half mile. Just as I caught up with Amy Rusiecki, Maureen Gillispie and 3 other people after about 3/4 of a mile, I was already way too hot. I had to run fast to catch them. Had I known they were purposely running down fast I never would have made the effort. With what I was wearing, I was way too hot to run that fast and dehydrated quickly. I was so thankful to run into Christin unexpectly which gave me an excuse to let the others go ahead. Christin had planned to ride in a car down but decided to walk the first 3 and then zig-zag jog the rest of the way. So I stayed with her for most of the rest of the way. I didn't really fit in with other group anyway. Just felt like an outsider so I was happy to be with a friend now. It was a struggle still even at the slower pace, but I enjoyed chatting with Christin the whole way. I was SO thankful to finally get to the spring just before the mile 2 sign. I chugged that water. I was so overheated and dying. Christin stopped to use the bathroom and I kept on, pretty much stumbling into the parking lot. I went right to the Six03 tent, grabbed a beer and walked to my car. I called John who was able to stay home by himself for the first MWRR ever. I woke him up. Haha. I'd already raced and run back down before he woke up. I changed into some much cooler clothes after I talked to him.

As tired as I was, I did not regret running down. I was able to enjoy hanging out at the bottom longer and didn't have to wait in line for food. It's crazy just how impossible it is to get from point A to point B without getting into a conversation with multiple different people. It's fun, though, and I enjoyed seeing everyone. I ended up at the Six03 tent again. I was happy to have Christin and Brandon Newbold join since once again, I just don't feel like I fit into the Six03 crowd much. Just always on the outside of the circle. Fun group, but I just don't have much in common with many of them besides running. So we had our own little group there where I was comfortable. And I have to laugh at that because it's always Whirlaway people (Brandon and Christin are both Whirlaway) I'm most comfortable with, even though it's a team I would never join. I wonder why that is.

I stayed through the awards, got my bag from Paul's truck, chatted in between, took CMS photos, chatted some more, got my stuff from the tent, headed to the car, ran into Jodi Hall who I was really happy to see. She's so fun. Talked to her for another 15 minutes. Haley joined us for another 5. Then I finally made it to the car. Haha. Although I wanted to leave earlier, I still love it.

The drive home, I didn't love. So much traffic and motorcyclists driving 10 under the speed limit. I wanted to yell at them, "Trade in the Harley's for scooters if you can't go faster than that!" Haha. Of course I didn't. Finally got home. We had been invited by Fred Ross to join him, Donna Smith and Suzy West for dinner at their rental in Glen so we went up there after I showered and took out the dogs. I enjoyed the more subdued evening as opposed to going out to a restaurant. We had wine and homemade pizza. John even got chatty a bit at dinner which was nice. By the time we left around 9pm, I was exhausted. The early morning and the running (17.8 miles for the day) had done me in so I was in bed not too long after.