The Segment Challenge email sent to the club in late April by William Ren came at just the right time for me. I had not run much over the winter, and the nudge of a challenge is just what I needed. Here are some of the things I experienced and learned. Spoiler alert: the Upper Valley is a great corner of the world. Experiencing its facets with the changes of spring and the weather made it even more interesting.
Five of the six segments were “old friends,” but even they changed throughout the challenge. This was most obvious in the arrival of spring along the Rail Trail. Spring also meant that the short bike trail by Hartford Avenue leading up to Dothan Brook School gave me a nice view of blossoming but invasive garlic mustard. Garlic mustard volunteers I met along the Rail Trail gave me a sign to post there; over the days I ran it, the pile of invasive removed by fellow pullers made a bigger pile.
The segments in downtown WRJ and Mt. Support Road gave a view of urban and suburban life in the UV, including the puffing of locomotives and chain smokers, and the trains of commuters traveling to and from Dartmouth and Darthmouth-Hitchcock.
I saw the interplay of natural and man-made: the changing patterns in the grit, flotsam and jetsam loosened by the sometimes torrential rains that hit urban WRJ. I picked up sacks of litter and recycled bits of metal dropped by vehicles. I saw the deepening groove in the mulch on Pine Park trails set by me and fellow segment runners, and remembered that the beautiful Connecticut River alongside those paths used to be a running sewer up until the early 80s. I saw the progression of construction projects along four of the six segments: Beaver Meadow, Mt. Support Road, by Hartford Ave (a very different view of the single-lane renovation of the overlying I-91 bridges), and at the far end of the WRJ segment.
I had many learnings and relearnings:
- While it’s true for all running, for ultra events especially, the race is in the pace. Don’t let the efforts of now spoil the efforts of later.
- This is especially true for skin care – skin for the win. I learned the judicious use of Hypafix, Leukotape P, and rubbing alcohol. I threw away my 20-year-old piece of mole skin. I learned better regimens for rotating shoes, insole liners, and socks.
- David Roche and other ultra runners are teaching us better ways to fuel the effort. Energy deficits make both the legs and the mind more sore. For me, Clif bars pre-cut into sixths or eigths and put into snack Ziplocks and eaten every 30 or 60 minutes beat faffing around with wrappers on the trail.
- David Roche also taught me better ways to strengthen and activate the hip flexors. His YouTubes and checklists are gold.
- I learned better practices for recovering well and not to lose my gains by trying to overextend. This is a big change from the “no pain no gain” mindset I learned of yore, and confusing “totally gassed” with “worthy fatigue.” Ultra events mean you’re continually between a rock and a hard place. What Sisyphus didn’t know is that the occasional “zero day” rock, and breaks during the day do, too.
- And not just being aware of fatigue: if you aren’t alert to niggles & hot spots, you’ll get blisters or injuries and the boulder you’re pushing will slide back down the hill.
- For those into tracking, HealthFit is a great app for synchronizing or exporting efforts recorded on AppleWatch to Strava or Training Peaks.
- Portapotties along running routes are a blessing, e.g., at the Norwich Community Pizza Oven and George Ratliffe Park.
- I learned that ticks don’t drop on you, but transfer to you from vegetation like trapeze artists reaching out or “questing” and grabbing on. They climb up on vegetation and stretch out their front pair of legs, waiting for a host to brush past.
- Speaking of questing: ask and ye shall receive (much of the time). Many of the things I needed to learn during the challenge were from answers given by Perplexity AI or ChatGPT. I’ve also learned to take answers from LL/Ms with a grain of salt, since if the answer isn’t obvious they’ll confabulate or hallucinate.
In summary, the challenge was an example that, as Yogi Berra said, “You can see a lot just by observing.”
Or in questing. The Segment Challenge gave me an ever-changing kaleidoscope of experiences and learnings to latch on to.