Early Morning Trails: TARC Fall Classic 2013 Race Report 10/19/13

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

TARC Fall Classic 2013 Race Report 10/19/13

I ran the 50k distance at the TARC Fall Classic race in Carlisle/Chelmsford's Great Brook Farms. Check out the writeup on Far North's website HERE.

Here is a breakdown of my training over the last 12 weeks:

7/29 - 8/4: Recovering after the Bear Brook Marathon, Easy runs (44 miles total, 2,566' climb)

8/5 - 8/11: Tempo, easy runs, and long at the Monoosnoc Trail (44 miles total, 7,480' climb)
8/12 - 8/18: A few easy runs, long hill repeats at Wachusett Mtn. (52 miles total, 6,730' climb)
8/19 - 8/25: Hill repeats Monday, then off until Semi-double Presi Traverse attempt (35 miles total, 11,870' climb)
8/26 - 9/1: Recovery week, easy runs with Mt. Chocorua climb Sunday (23 miles total, 3,725' climb)
9/2 - 9/8: Easy stroller jogs with long run at Wapack Trail (42 miles total, 5,424' climb)
9/9 - 9/15: Tempos, easy runs, hill repeats, long run in Douglas, MA to North South Trail (57 miles total, 2,803' climb)
9/16 - 9/22: Hip was nagging me, recovery week then a hill session at Pleasant Mtn. Maine (17 miles total, 5,840' climb)
9/23 - 9/29: Tempo runs, intervals, fartlek (41 miles total, 2,014' climb)
9/30 - 10-6: Longer tempos, hill repeats, and a second visit to Pleasant Mtn. (50 miles total, 8,502' climb)
10/7 - 10/13: Easy runs, long tempo run with Mt. Wachusett climb (45 miles total, 4,513' climb)
10/14 - 10/20: Easy runs, tempo and race, with shakeout run Sunday (61 miles total, 4,740' climb)

I am a strong believer in elevation/climbing in training and even though I live in central Mass. where it is not that hilly, I try to fit in as much climbing as possible in my runs. It seems to help with my leg strength when I encounter hills as well as assisting in breathing control. I started using Strava as a tool to measure my runs rather than just guessing and writing them down on paper and never really knowing the climbing that I had been doing.

The climbing should be helpful for the five loops along the Skyline Trail at Middlesex Fells on December 7th.