2023 Unsupported Trail Race Unofficial Challenge #27

Winter Solstice 26.2 km (16.3-miles)

Back to Bear Hole with J Evil & K2 to celebrate the Winter Solstice.

It was cold at our 9:00 a.m. start, low twenties, but sunny.

Later on, around noon, the sun disappeared and despite it getting warmer, the dampness was very noticeable (especially after being out on our feet for over 3-hrs).

K2 led J on the 3.1-mile loop, then J switched to some mountain biking.  

K2 continued for two-full loops and pieces of a third.

I kept a steady pace throughout, with my best speed at 5.1 mph.  I held this amazingly well, and I managed to hit 14.9-miles still averaging 5.0 mph.  I didn't hit the wall totally until the last half-mile, where my gps showed me traveling at a mere 2.3 mph.  

I decided to call it a day a few minutes later at the parking lot.  We scheduled to be out as much as four-hours but my day was done at ~3:25:00.

The things that were highpoints for me were:

Managing 15 good miles and 16.2 total miles overall was pretty great.

The last time I had a better mileage day was October 9th, 2021 on the Burlington Trail Run.

I ran controlled but hard "enough".  5 mph average for 15 miles is very productive.  I can build on this.

Once I can comfortably run in the 13 - 18 mile range, even cutting the speed back to 4.5 mph, I believe I will be marathon ready once again.  It has been too long.

Only negative was going wrong a few times around Ashley Pond - I do not know the roads well enough and ended up having to do some backtracking there.  No big deal.

Same repeat of yesterday's ramble around the Point (end of work-day), 3-miles. 

At the end of the workday, I took a road-run around the Point for 3-miles. 

Busy day:

New set of tires for the car;

New Safe-Deposit Box at a different banking institution;

Trail Run exploring more of Bear Hole Reservoir;

Emergency Call-In at work late evening.

The Bear Hole Run was another decent day of learning and connecting the maze of trails.

Completed 6.8-miles.

Bands and Live Performances I've been a part of:

#11.

Primitives, Dong Show #3, Who Knows, sometime late 1984.

By this the 3rd Dong Show, the alcoholism and associated anger amongst each and everyone present (participant, entrant, judge or audience) cast a bad vibe over the entire club.

Boy Joe, a co-worker from SE and regular performer for the Dong Shows, totally outdid himself by performing a strip-tease in drag.  In front of a capacity crowd.  I played guitar for this piece, with Young M on drums.   

Joe was gonged, but honestly this was an incredibly brave and punk performance for the times.  

Shoot, for where it took place, it would still be something today, forty-years later.

As the performers attempted  to entertain, the Judges did not seem to be enjoying themselves, it was almost like they hated being there.  Took it out on everyone trying to perform "something".  

The idea of "fun" must not have crossed their minds.  

That being said, the Primitives were back.

We were the defending People's Champions.  We practiced hardcore for weeks to get ready.  

We performed a wonderful "Do You Love Me" by the Contours.

We thought we had momentum.  The vibe was there.  Fans showed up.  We rocked and rolled.

The crowd responded "YEAH"!  We cranked high decibels.

We were performing well, and practiced regularly.  

We were tight.  Musically, Vocally and Performance Presence.

We got gonged early, which surprised and really ticked us off.  

In the end, nothing surprising.  Rumors of the "Big Fix" floated around all week leading up to the event.  Game-Day revealed a group in Halloween costumes badly dancing to Thriller on tape were rewarded with the Trophy, and subsequent cash prize.

Thinking back, if I can remember anything at all, it is that the judges acted as though they were supposed to gong everyone participating other than the predetermined "winners".  Not even giving anyone a chance to complete their act.  Sort of like there was a time-limit or something.  

It was the end of the Dong Shows, it just didn't sink in right away, and one more attempt was made but the magic was gone.

Yearly Eye Exam today, passed for another year! 

Completed the rainy day with a slightly shorter shift at work (fair enough after last nights work).

Bear Hole North to Ashley Pond in Holyoke.

7.1-Miles of winding single-track for the most part.

Beat the rain, late-shift at work later on due to heavy rain and wind.

Bear Hole with K2.

8.0-Mile Loop with a 0.6 cool down.

Bloodwork and Physical from earlier this week (Monday the 11th) showed that I am strongly positive for Lyme Disease.

Another round of Doxy is necessary.  At least this diagnosis explains my discomfort lately.

For the majority of todaty, DL and I drove out to Hoosick Falls, New York to meet my folks for our seasonal  beef pickup.

Bear Hole early prior to work, under 30-degrees so it was easy to dress correctly.

6.7-miles with some nice exploration north of the Mass Pike.

Cowles Park for 3.4-miles. 

"Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #29 for 2023...

"Bad Chili", Joe R. Lansdale, published 1994.  The fourth tale in the Hap & Leonard Series.

"High Points" along trails during November 2023... 

Still Building up....

• Sodom Mountain, Southwick, MA
• Griffen Hill, Savoy/Windsor, MA
• Walnut Hill, Williamsburg, MA
• Marsh Pond Hill, Metacomet Ridge, East Granby, CT
• East Barndoor Hill, McLean Game Refuge, Granby, CT
• West Barndoor Hill, McLean Game Refuge, Granby, CT
• Stony Hill, McLean Game Refuge, Granby, CT
• The Pinnacle, Penwood, Bloomfield, CT
• Judges Hill, Notchview Reservation, Windsor, MA
• West Suffield Mountain, Metacomet (NET), Suffield, CT

Journey out to the Folks, nice visit with coffee with light rain and fog during the drive both ways.

Rested in afternoon as I had a 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. shift at work due to the heavy rain event. 

Drove out to Bear Hole with K2 to get him set up on the 3.2-mile loop, and for me to piece together a few more miles into a runnable longer loop.

35-degrees when we began, and 49-degrees when we finished 3-hours later, so you guessed it, we overdressed badly.

K2 completed two full loops and a modified part of a third - so good work on his part.

I explored a bit, managed 11.1-miles at a decent pace without getting totally tired out.  Out of the eleven-miles, I have a solid, well flowing 7.2-miler as well as a shorter 6.5 - 6.7-miler.  I  have an idea to add another mile on in the northeast, we'll see.

This is a bit of progress, anyhow.

After cleaning up at home DL and I grabbed out Christmas Tree and Decorations out of storage for the Holiday Season.