Its been sometime since I have been on the trails running and to be doing so again has given me a certain energy that running trails can only bring. 

In December when I began to put my ultra-running race calendar together, The Grindstone 100 was on my list but so was The Badwater 135 and at the time I had know Idea if I would get in nor how I would feel if I finished such an epic event. Ever since I crossed the finish line of the Badwater 135, I wanted more.

Another adventurous weekend coming up! Elizabeth and I are heading down to Virginia where she will be racing in the Grindstone 100 Mile Endurance run through the George Washington National Forest.

The Badwater 135 is billed as one of the toughest ultramarathons in the world and after completing it I would have to agree. The Badwater 135 Mile Ultramarathon is a race that pits the runner against one of the most hostel environments in the world, Death Valley.

I knew the Appalachian Gap Road pretty well and was familiar with its final pitch of around a 20% grade to the summit. I had raced up Middlebury Gap in past GMSR as well and really enjoyed this stretch of road but I kept hearing about Lincoln Gap and about some of the others with their dirt sections and steep grades. I was deeply interested, as I needed to see and feel what the suffering was all about

May 14th Joe and I headed to Virginia to run/adventure in the beautiful Shenandoah Mountains. We were there for The Massunuttan Mountain Trail 100 Mile Run that started at 5:00 am that Saturday. 200 people or so toed the line for the start of the MMT 100, which is billed as one of the hardest if not the rockiest 100 milers in the nation, which included 18,000 feet of elevation gain along the way.

he races were great this past weekend. I really enjoyed the time! I raced early on Saturday morning in Central Park for one of our CRCA club races (May 30th); there is nothing like attacking a group of 80 or so motivated riders at 5:45 am right from the gun.

On your marks get set go... our alarm went off at 2:50 a.m. I rose to my feet and started preparing myself while Joe loaded the truck, here we go, my season is about to start and guess what, its pouring rain outside exactly like last year!

As we approached the 1st climb of the day, I would learn just what kind of day I was in for. Unsure of how I was going to physically be feeling since coming off of a big training block with minimal recovery before the race,