Pineland Farms Trail Running Festival Race Report - Part 1. The short races

My family and I arrived in Freeport, ME on Friday night for a weekend of running. My two kids are 6 and 2 and both love to run. My wife wants to love to run and really tries to like it because she loves me. My college buddy Jabbar had come up from Virginia to run with me in the 50K ultra. It would be a first for both of us.

Saturday was really hot and humid at Pineland for the shorter distance races. We got there early and went to say Hi to Jason and Shelly Robillard who were in town to run and help out Merrell. The races Saturday were a 5K, Barefoot 5K, 10K and the 5K Canicross where you run 3.1 miles attached to your dog. The Canicross is absolutely hysterical and chaos ensues immediately. Apparently, dogs too have nervous bladders during races.



My wife and 6 yr old son ran the 5K which started at 11AM. I'm very proud of them both as this was their first trail race.


My daughter and I were doing the barefoot 5K that started at 11:10. My daughter is 2 so she rode in the jog stroller.


Our plan was to run our races and I would catch up to Pam and M at some point and run in out with them. The barefoot 5K was listed as a premier barefoot event in Runners World and it didn't disappoint. The course is fairly barefoot friendly and whatever barefoot hazards are there are easy to spot. Unless you are pushing a jog stroller. The addition of the jog stroller amped up the difficulty considerably. The uphills were not runnable due to footing. The downhills were killer because I had to brake the stroller. The stroller also hampered my ability to see the hazards to some extent. All that said, it was a blast and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.


Photo Credit: Maine Running Photos

We ended up finding M and Pam at the aid station but A and I continued since she was getting a bit antsy. Somewhere along the way, she fell asleep and slept through our 36:30 finish which is pretty good considering the difficulty added by the stroller. This barefoot experience just adds to my esteem for my friend Adam who ran the 50K barefoot in less than 6 hours the next day. He is badass. But I digress, Pam and M crossed the line looking strong shortly after us.


Photo Credit: Maine Running Photos

We stuck around for beer and food and enjoyed the party that is Pineland. The Pineland grove (start finish area) is a giant old timey BBQ party. It is awesome. For an addicted runner such as myself, this place was like an opium den. Race Directors Erik and Ian put on one hell of a show. M even got to show all the grown ups his good running form during Jason Robillard's Bareform clinic.


My wife was finally able to drag me out of there and we went back to the motel to clean up before venturing into Freeport with Jabbar for dinner and LLBean.


How else would LLBean celebrate their 90th anniversary but with a giant BootMobile.

Unfortunately, my wife developed a touch of food poisoning and spent most of the evening sick. I was concerned for her and called Jabbar to tell him it was likely I wouldn't be racing in the morning.


Since this is titled Part 1, I'm sure I've blown the cliffhanger aspect. Spoiler Alert: I got to run in the 50K

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of Pineland Farms Trail Running Festival.

- Cheers!

Location:Pineland Farms - New Gloucester, ME

115 Days into the 120 days of running: A challenge or complete insanity.

Update:  112 days into this thing and now I'm an Ultra Runner.  Sheesh.  Details below.

OK, so I've recently gotten in with the wrong crowd. They are very persuasive and ninja masters of psychological manipulation.
My first evidence of the ninja power came when I signed up for my first Ultramarathon at Pineland Farms Trail Running Festival with the help of this group.
Now, the Facebook crowd has spawned the 120 Days of Running Challenge which is basically to run every day for 120 days. The minimum is actually 1 mile and you can even walk it in a pinch. 
So, what the hell...  I'm in.
I'll use this post as a journal of my running starting today and update it as I go.  I'll also be participating in the Facebook group to share in all the dumbassery that ensues.
120 day challenge started for me on 7Feb2012 and ends on 6Jun2012 which is the 68th anniversary of D-Day. It also spans the Ultra so the 1 mile run after 32 miles should be fantastic.
________________________________________________

1. 7 Feb 2012 - 4.8 miles at lunch with Scott. Wearing my Road Gloves.
2. 8 Feb 2012 - 3.0 miles at home. Wearing my Road Gloves
3. 9 Feb 2012 - 3.8 miles at home. Wearing my Road Gloves
4. 10 Feb 2012 - 6 miles at lunch. Wearing my Road Gloves.  Form was beginning to suffer towards the end.
5. 11 Feb 2012 - 1 mile total.  Rest day.  1/2 mile to the dentist in my Vivobarefoot Off Road Hi boots and a last minute 1/2 mile before bed barefoot on the treadmill to preserve the streak.
6. 12 Feb 2012 - 8 cold miles in the woods wearing my virgin second pair of Trail Gloves.
7. 13 Feb 2012 - 3.4 miles in my Invisible Shoes
8. 14 Feb 2012 - 1 mile on the treadmill barefoot
9. 15 Feb 2012 - 2.9 miles a t home. Wearing my Road Glove
10. 16 Feb 2012 - 5 miles at lunch. Wearing my Road Glove
11. 17 Feb 2012 - 3.8 miles at lunch.  Rocking my Evo IIs.
12. 18 Feb 2012 - 2 mile hike with the family.  A little running due to kid chasing
13. 19 Feb 2012 - 11.5 miles on trails with Trisha and Heather.
14. 20 Feb 2012 - 2.8 miles of trail hill repeats wearing the Road Gloves.
15. 21 Feb 2012 - 4.8 miles at lunch.  115 to go.
16. 22 Feb 2012 - 4.0 miles in my huaraches.
17. 23 Feb 2012 - 3.8 miles at lunch.
18. 24 Feb 2012 - 1 miles on the dreadmill.  Rest day
19. 25 Feb 2012 - 6 quick miles on the trails
20. 26 Feb 2012 - 5.5 quick miles on the same trails.
21. 27 Feb 2012 - 4.0 miles at lunch
22. 28 Feb 2012 - 2.9 miles at lunch.
23. 29 Feb 2012 - 4.0 miles at lunch.  Snow was falling.
24. 1 Mar 12 - 2 miles on the treadmill for rest day
25. 2 Mar 12 - 4.8 quick miles on snowy sidewalks.  Fun.
26. 3 Mar 12 - 2.9 miles racing to beat sundown
27. 4 Mar 12 - 5 miles flying on the road
28. 5 Mar 12 - 5 miles at lunch with Scott.
29. 6 Mar 12 - 1 recovery mile
30. 7 Mar 12 - 5 fast miles on a beautiful spring day.
31. 8 Mar 12 - 4 miles at lunch.  So warm, I had to loose the shirt.
32. 9 Mar 12 - 1 mile  
33. 10 Mar 12 - 1 mile
34. 11 Mar 12 - 10.5 miles on the trails
35. 12 Mar 12 - 3 miles at lunch.  Barefoot baby!
36. 13 Mar 12 - 4 miles at lunch.
37. 14 Mar 12 - Ran 3.7 miles which is a little greater than Pi.
38. 15 Mar 12 - Ran 3.0 miles barefoot at 42degrees and cloudy
39. 16 Mar 12 - Ran 1 mile barefoot in the treadmill 
40. 17 Mar 12 - Ran 2.5 miles with Pam on the trails 
41. 18 Mar 12 - Ran 1 mile total.  1/2 mile with Amanda 
42. 19 Mar 12 - Ran 3.0 miles barefoot 
43. 20 Mar 12 - Ran 5.0 miles 
44. 21 Mar 12 - Ran 2.9 miles barefoot  Running total is 152.3 miles 
45. 22 Mar 12 - 2 miles at track night with intervals.  Ouch
46. 23 Mar 12 - 4 miles on a beautiful afternoon.  Still sore from track night.
47. 24 Mar 12 - 1 mile
48. 25 Mar 12 - 1 mile
49. 26 Mar 12 - 4 miles on the road
50. 27 Mar 12 - 1 mile
51. 28 Mar 12 - 5.2 miles at lunch in the rain.
52. 29 Mar 12 - 2.5 miles coaching at the track
53. 30 Mar 12 - 5.2 miles top taper for 15K tomorrow
54. 31 Mar 12 - 9.3 Mile PR in the TVFR 15K
55. 1 Apr 12 - 9.5 miles on the trails for recovery.
56. 2 Apr 12 - 1 mile in the 'mill
57. 3 Apr 12 - 4 miles at lunch
58. 4 Apr 12 - 5.1 miles at lunch
59. 5 Apr 12 - 2.25 miles at track night
60. 6 Apr 12 - 4 miles at lunch.  213.3 miles total so far.
61. 7 Apr 12 - 12.5 trail miles at dawn
62. 8 Apr 12 - 1 treadmill mile
63. 9 Apr 12 - 5.2 miles at lunch
64. 10 Apr 12 - 2.9 barefoot miles.
65. 11 Apr 12 - 2.9 miles dawn patrol
66. 12 Apr 12 - 1.5 miles at lunch.  freezing 40 deg, Thunder, Hail, Downpour.  Bailed out when co-worker offered me a ride home.  Redeemed myself with 3.5 miles in interval training later
67. 13 Apr 12 - 3 miles barefoot
68. 14 Apr 12 - 7.5 miles on the trails
69. 15 Apr 12 - 3.1 miles barefoot at Boston Barefoot Running Festival 5K
70. 16 Apr 12 - 2.9 hot freaking miles at 98deg in the sun after working Hydration at the marathon
71. 17 Apr 12 - 4 miles at lunch
72. 18 Apr 12 - 2.1 rest miles.
73. 19 Apr 12 - 5 miles at lunch
74. 20 Apr 12 - 3 miles barefoot.  Got yelled at.
75. 21 Apr 12 - 7.5 miles of trail.  
76. 22 Apr 12 -1 mile on the treadmill
77. 23 Apr 12 - 4 miles at lunch
78. 24 Apr 12 - 2.9 miles at lunch
79. 25 Apr 12 - 5 miles at lunch
80. 26 Apr 12 - 4 miles at lunch
81. 27 Apr 12 - 1.5 miles at lunch
82. 28 Apr 12 - 1 mile
83. 29 Apr 12 - 26.25 miles on a trail 6hr.  Woohoo!
84. 30 Apr 12 - 3 miles at lunch for recovery.  329.45 miles so far.
85. 1 May 12 - 3 miles
86. 2 May 12 - 3 miles
87. 3 May 12 - 1.4 miles
88. 4 May 12 - 3.75 miles
89. 5 May 12 - 1 miles
90. 6 May 12 - 3.2 miles
91. 7 May 12 - 5.1 miles
92. 8 May 12 - 3.75 miles
93. 9 May 12 - 3.7 miles
94. 10 May 12 - 3.75 miles
95. 11 May 12 - 3.75 miles
96. 12 May 12 - 5.8 miles
97. 13 May 12 - 3.9 miles.   374.55 miles so far.
98. 14 May 12 - 2.9 miles
99. 15 May 12 - 4.0 miles
100. 16 May 12 - 3.0 miles
101. 17 May 12 - 4.0 miles
102. 18 May 12 - 4.0 miles
103. 19 May 12 - 5.0 miles
104. 20 May 12 - 6.0 miles
105. 21 May 12 - 1.0 miles
106. 22 May 12 - 1.0 miles
107. 23 May 12 - 3.75 miles
108. 24 May 12 - 4 miles
109. 25 May 12 - 3 miles
110. 26 May 12 - Barefoot 5K at Pineland with my favorite little girl in the jog stroller.
111. 27 May 12 - 50K at Pineland farms Trail Festival (31.5 miles) - My first Ultra!
112. 28 May 12 - 1.5 mile recovery run
113. 29 may 12 - 3 miles
114. 30 May 12 - 4 miles
115. 31 May 12 - 3 miles

Liquidation Sale at Running Warehouse: wicked deals and awesome service

I'm a huge fan of runningwarehouse.com. They have pretty good prices and run some really good sales. Everything you order arrives with free 2 day shipping and they pay for the return shipping. Bonus if you are unsure of the shoes you are buying.
I recently ordered a new Garmin and some clothes times from their liquidation sale. I scored some short shorts (BI3s) for $19. As always I used my trusty runblogger.com coupon code (runblog10, thanks Pete) so I actually got them for about 17 bucks.
Running Warehouse posted a 20% off link on their Facebook page today on liquidation items. That would mean Brooks Infinity III shorts for just over $16 which is a steal for the fashion trend of the year. Go buy them now! Also, there are some 20% of minimal shoes on clearance too.

Double Your Savings! We've got two big sales this week: 20% off a wide selection of light and fast shoes, and an extra 20% off liquidation apparel. Hurry, sale ends Saturday, May 19 and is limited to stock on hand. Cannot be combined with any other offer or discount.
Women's Sale Shoes: http://bit.ly/Jw1U6f
Men's Sale Shoes: http://bit.ly/JMQqYV
Women's Liquidation Apparel: http://bit.ly/JH3M9D
Men's Liquidation Apparel: http://bit.ly/JrCWDj

Anywho, I lamented on their Facebook post that I had ordered my stuff too early and missed out on a great deal since I had just received my order on Monday. Within 20 minutes, I had an email with a nice note saying that they were refunding my credit card an additional 10% to match the discount announced today.
That is some great customer service! cheers to you runningwarehouse.com

Running naked in the rain

It's 58 degrees and pouring and 8PM. I'm on day 93 of 120 days running challenge. I have to log a mile at least and I have a nice dry treadmill in my basement. I post on Facebook that I'm not looking to going out there. It doesn't take long before my crazy friend, whose opinions I value highly by the way, start saying "go out there!", "Running in the rain is awesome.", etc.

So, what's a crazy guy to do. Go run outside of course. Screw the treadmill.

Knowing that I was going to get wet, I went as naked as the conditions and the law would allow.

Short shorts, wind breaker, and sockless Trail Gloves.

I've run in the rain before but never at night in such heavy rain.

What a freaking blast! The rain on my legs, the soaked feet, and the sound of the rain amplified in the darkness.

Wet tshirt contest at the Durtyfeets house.

Go out there and run in the rain people!