Kicking off 2020 with the TARCtic Frozen Yeti
“A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they’re capable of understanding.” - Steve Prefontaine
After a struggling through the last few of the months with nagging injuries, I was eager to get back into training and racing. I started 2020 with a solid month (303 miles) and raced the Frozen Yeti this past weekend, which hopefully has set the stage for another strong year.
TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30 Hour
Location: Westwood, MA (Hale Reservation)
Date: 2/1/2020
Distance: 30 Hour (15 mile loops)
Goal: 100k
Actual: 63.7 miles (102.5k) - 12:38:50 (11:54 / mile)
My training in January was simply consistent. The last 3 weeks had decent mileage (74, 90, 60) with just two longish runs (18.8 and 32.7). There was a bit of hill work mixed in, some trail work (mostly by head lamp), and some snow / ice running, but no speed work. In general, I was trying to get back to what I like about training; simply just going out and running.
My longest run going into the Frozen Yeti was a Friday night 32 miler. I convinced my friends Doug and Mat to join me for a run down to and around Castle Island with a stop at the Trillium Brewery on the way back. After a quick beer with them (before they headed home), I crossed the river, ran through Charlestown, Everett, and into Malden where I picked up the Cross Fells Trail (one of my favorite local trails) just before midnight.
After just under 5 miles of ups and downs, I popped out on the Medford side and finished the final 4.5 miles arriving home just before 2am. All and all it was a fun run and I felt pretty good (considering I hadn't run longer than a marathon since the Midstate in October). Oh and btw, it was 11 degrees out when I finished; True winter running.
I signed up for the Frozen Yeti as soon as it opened in the fall. Coming off the Midstate I was ready to get going again and was planning a year of crazy long events. Unfortunately my recovery from Midstate was much less than desired and I spent most of November and December fighting off one nagging injury after the other. After a few good weeks in January, I decided my goal for the Yeti was to get to 100k; a distance I have only crossed four other times before.
Our weather this winter has a been a bit erratic. It has included a little bit of snow, ice, cold, and an occasional heat wave. There isn't much like training in 75 degrees on a Sunday followed by 12 degrees on a Tuesday.
The week before the Yeti was mild. It got up to the 40s during the day and hovered just below freezing at night. Luckily this allowed for any snow on the trails to melt. While it would be fun doing this race during a blizzard, I wouldn't be able to run too far.
The race consisted of three (red, white, and blue) 5ish mile loops all beginning / ending at the Powissett Lodge. From a logistics stand point, this worked out pretty well as you keep your gear inside the lodge and all the food and drinks are inside.
As with most ultra's, I started out quick dropping a 9 minute first mile. Miles 2, 3, 4 were a bit slower
as these were the most technical miles of the whole course. Feeling strong at the end of first loop, I ran right by the aid station / lodge without stopping.
The second loop (white) was a bit easier, but during the 9th mile I started day dreaming and ran right by left turn sign. With races like this that loop back on themselves, you are never far from the course. As I caught up with a women and asked her how far along she was I knew I missed a turn so I turned around. I ended up adding about 3/4 of a mile.
As I went out on the third loop (blue), I caught back up to another runner (who had passed me while I was off course), named Beau from Biddeford, and we ran together for the next couple miles. He was coming back from an ACL injury and was eager to see how he would hold up. We ended up leaping frogging each other for the next 30 miles or so.
I finished the first big loop (3 little loops) averaging 9:40 per mile. I still felt alright, but that feeling of flow I had during the initial miles of the Midstate just wasn't there. I also felt that the rolling technical terrain of Hale was putting a bit of a beating on me. I remember back when I was training for my first 100k here in 2016 that they described running here as sneakily difficult.
My second time through the Red loop went fairly well. Knowing the course a bit more allowed me to mentally prep for some of the tougher sections. The white loop seemed to be going alright as well. At mile 22 I remember thinking this is the 2nd furthest I've run this year and I still feel pretty good. The blue loop seemed to really drag on. I am not sure what was going on. I was itchy all over. My glute was starting to hurt where I had injured it in the fall and the negative thoughts about calling it a day at 30ish miles came dashing into my head. Having run many ultra's before, I knew if I could just hang in there it would probably get better.
At the end of the second big loop, I had now clocked 32 miles and was still running in first place. I went inside, had a banana, PB and J, and a Coke and headed out for more.
Not sure if it is the caffeine, the carbonation, the sugar, or the fact that I don't drink it outside of races, or all four, but Coke seems to be a magical elixir in my ultra running. About 5 minutes later I was riding high again and counting the miles down until my pacer would join me at mile 45.
The next 10 miles were fairly uneventful as I just kept plugging away. As I headed out onto blue loop for the third time, Mat, my pacer was making his way to the lodge. He was over an hour early. Not wanting to hang around, I just told him to "Catch up." So after he checked in, he dropped 2.5, 8:30 miles to catch back up to me. After running by myself for the better part of eight hours, I was excited to have some company.
We finished the blue loop just before it got dark. I was at 48 miles now. One more big loop to go. I had another can of Coke, banana, grilled cheese, grabbed my head lamp, and we headed back out.
The next few miles were slow, but I was still able to run most of it. Mat and I chatted about everything from kids, to work, to beer, to training and racing. When we started, Mat was planning on doing a long tempo run on Sunday, but by the end of the night he had convinced himself that Sunday was a rest day.
The trail was beginning to get monotonousness before it got dark. Running by headlamp totally changed how we looked at it. In the middle of the white loop you cross the street next to what is called the pump house and go straight up a hill. The first time by I ran it. The next two, I hiked. The last time through I was half way up before I even realized I was on the hill so I just kept running.
We continued to count the miles down as we entered the final blue loop. This loop while not too technical did have a few sets of stairs you had to run down and ever step hurt by this point. Finally the lodge came back into view. We were happy to be done.
As I walked into the lodge to check in for the final time. I said "60! and I'm done!" The volunteers said "Nooooo. You are in the lead. Just walk." Laughing I said, "I hit mileage goal and even walking hurts at this point." One of my goals for this race was a solid effort, but not one so hard that I would break myself for the next month or two.
After a relaxing recovery beer, we got a ride back to our cars and headed home. All and all, pretty happy with the result. 4th farthest I have ever run and 2nd longest on technical terrain.
Huge shout outs to:
- Mat for keeping me company those final 20 miles
- Josh, Surjeet, and Carolyn for putting on an awesome race
- All the volunteers that helped out and shepherded us around
Thank you and looking forward to more fun in the future.
- Scot
After a struggling through the last few of the months with nagging injuries, I was eager to get back into training and racing. I started 2020 with a solid month (303 miles) and raced the Frozen Yeti this past weekend, which hopefully has set the stage for another strong year.
TARCtic Frozen Yeti 30 Hour
Location: Westwood, MA (Hale Reservation)
Date: 2/1/2020
Distance: 30 Hour (15 mile loops)
Goal: 100k
Actual: 63.7 miles (102.5k) - 12:38:50 (11:54 / mile)
 |
| Pic Compliments of Chris Wristen |
My longest run going into the Frozen Yeti was a Friday night 32 miler. I convinced my friends Doug and Mat to join me for a run down to and around Castle Island with a stop at the Trillium Brewery on the way back. After a quick beer with them (before they headed home), I crossed the river, ran through Charlestown, Everett, and into Malden where I picked up the Cross Fells Trail (one of my favorite local trails) just before midnight.
 |
| Trillium for a Beer (10:30pm) |
I signed up for the Frozen Yeti as soon as it opened in the fall. Coming off the Midstate I was ready to get going again and was planning a year of crazy long events. Unfortunately my recovery from Midstate was much less than desired and I spent most of November and December fighting off one nagging injury after the other. After a few good weeks in January, I decided my goal for the Yeti was to get to 100k; a distance I have only crossed four other times before.
Our weather this winter has a been a bit erratic. It has included a little bit of snow, ice, cold, and an occasional heat wave. There isn't much like training in 75 degrees on a Sunday followed by 12 degrees on a Tuesday.
The week before the Yeti was mild. It got up to the 40s during the day and hovered just below freezing at night. Luckily this allowed for any snow on the trails to melt. While it would be fun doing this race during a blizzard, I wouldn't be able to run too far.
The race consisted of three (red, white, and blue) 5ish mile loops all beginning / ending at the Powissett Lodge. From a logistics stand point, this worked out pretty well as you keep your gear inside the lodge and all the food and drinks are inside.
As with most ultra's, I started out quick dropping a 9 minute first mile. Miles 2, 3, 4 were a bit slower
 |
| Acting calm before the start. |
The second loop (white) was a bit easier, but during the 9th mile I started day dreaming and ran right by left turn sign. With races like this that loop back on themselves, you are never far from the course. As I caught up with a women and asked her how far along she was I knew I missed a turn so I turned around. I ended up adding about 3/4 of a mile.
As I went out on the third loop (blue), I caught back up to another runner (who had passed me while I was off course), named Beau from Biddeford, and we ran together for the next couple miles. He was coming back from an ACL injury and was eager to see how he would hold up. We ended up leaping frogging each other for the next 30 miles or so.
I finished the first big loop (3 little loops) averaging 9:40 per mile. I still felt alright, but that feeling of flow I had during the initial miles of the Midstate just wasn't there. I also felt that the rolling technical terrain of Hale was putting a bit of a beating on me. I remember back when I was training for my first 100k here in 2016 that they described running here as sneakily difficult.
My second time through the Red loop went fairly well. Knowing the course a bit more allowed me to mentally prep for some of the tougher sections. The white loop seemed to be going alright as well. At mile 22 I remember thinking this is the 2nd furthest I've run this year and I still feel pretty good. The blue loop seemed to really drag on. I am not sure what was going on. I was itchy all over. My glute was starting to hurt where I had injured it in the fall and the negative thoughts about calling it a day at 30ish miles came dashing into my head. Having run many ultra's before, I knew if I could just hang in there it would probably get better.
At the end of the second big loop, I had now clocked 32 miles and was still running in first place. I went inside, had a banana, PB and J, and a Coke and headed out for more.
Not sure if it is the caffeine, the carbonation, the sugar, or the fact that I don't drink it outside of races, or all four, but Coke seems to be a magical elixir in my ultra running. About 5 minutes later I was riding high again and counting the miles down until my pacer would join me at mile 45.
The next 10 miles were fairly uneventful as I just kept plugging away. As I headed out onto blue loop for the third time, Mat, my pacer was making his way to the lodge. He was over an hour early. Not wanting to hang around, I just told him to "Catch up." So after he checked in, he dropped 2.5, 8:30 miles to catch back up to me. After running by myself for the better part of eight hours, I was excited to have some company.
We finished the blue loop just before it got dark. I was at 48 miles now. One more big loop to go. I had another can of Coke, banana, grilled cheese, grabbed my head lamp, and we headed back out.
The next few miles were slow, but I was still able to run most of it. Mat and I chatted about everything from kids, to work, to beer, to training and racing. When we started, Mat was planning on doing a long tempo run on Sunday, but by the end of the night he had convinced himself that Sunday was a rest day.
The trail was beginning to get monotonousness before it got dark. Running by headlamp totally changed how we looked at it. In the middle of the white loop you cross the street next to what is called the pump house and go straight up a hill. The first time by I ran it. The next two, I hiked. The last time through I was half way up before I even realized I was on the hill so I just kept running.
We continued to count the miles down as we entered the final blue loop. This loop while not too technical did have a few sets of stairs you had to run down and ever step hurt by this point. Finally the lodge came back into view. We were happy to be done.
As I walked into the lodge to check in for the final time. I said "60! and I'm done!" The volunteers said "Nooooo. You are in the lead. Just walk." Laughing I said, "I hit mileage goal and even walking hurts at this point." One of my goals for this race was a solid effort, but not one so hard that I would break myself for the next month or two.
After a relaxing recovery beer, we got a ride back to our cars and headed home. All and all, pretty happy with the result. 4th farthest I have ever run and 2nd longest on technical terrain.
Huge shout outs to:
- Mat for keeping me company those final 20 miles
- Josh, Surjeet, and Carolyn for putting on an awesome race
- All the volunteers that helped out and shepherded us around
Thank you and looking forward to more fun in the future.
- Scot
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