LOONEY LAPS...

And so, on Saturday, Gabriel lined up at the Looney Leprechaun 20km trail race, the first of the 2020 USATF Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Series.

It was a cold and windy morning in Richboro, as the previous night was filled with rain. The course was pure mud, but Gabriel thought this would be advantageous, as he was dreading a flat and fast course.

At the starting line, he noted Steve Templin and Peter Weida, the latter being the runner Gabriel had been leading at the Ugly Mudder until he veered off course due to course markings. Weida is a mileage animal, very strong aerobically, but not a great technical runner, as Gabriel had bested him at Conestoga by over 10-minutes and was well on his way to victory at Ugly Mudder, but the flatter course at Looney would prove to Peter's strengths coming off a 26-min 8km clocking on the roads.

Peter went out quickly, Gabriel settled in, and that was pretty much the race. Gabriel stayed about 100m back of Weida the entire race, only coming within 20 meters at the first major climb, but Gabriel did not take the lead, opting solely to pass 2nd place (a 10km runner) and then after the first lap Gabriel thought about ending his day in hopes of saving it for Bel Monte. However, he could not let down his team, the Rosemont Running Club, as he is their #1 runner, and he went off on a second loop in preservation mode. Everything was fine until 2 miles remaining and his right glute mede opted to shut off and he ran 1-leggedly to the finish line, holding onto 2nd place ahead of a young buck and a very strong Templin.

It will be a week of meetings and recovery on the roads, as Gabriel preps for his next adventure- a return to Bel Monte, where he is the course record holder with his 2:13 from 2013. Let's see what unfolds in this ITRA race...

LOST ALL HOPE

Mill Hall, PA
Saturday, 5/9/2019

In an attempt to beat Mother Nature in regards to an impending rain storm, Gabriel opted out of the Greenwood Furnace on Sunday to race in Central PA on Saturday at the Mountain of Hope Trail Challenge.

Gabriel was hoping it would be a great substitute for a long run, as the course seemed super technical. Race day came, and Gabriel timed the start almost to perfection (too close for comfort or warm-up), but he took off comfortably on what he thought would be a 5-mile climb to the boulder field. However, they did descend a couple of times and when presented with a fork in the trail, he opted the wrong way because he saw an orange ribbon. The trail heading north did not have any ribbons. However, after half a mile, he knew he was heading back to the start, so instead of mailing it in, he turned around and rejoined the race right in front of the lead Amish pack.

The boulder field was a disaster. The rocks were slick. His Salomons offered no assistance. It was painfully slow and ugh. He was passed into 5th place on this climb, not being able to offer much resistance as he slid on each rock. Finally, he got some runnable trail and set-out to reel in the leaders. He absolutely bombed the downhills and pushed the uphills, finally catching Lantz on an uphill and the Amish on a downhill heading into some singletrack. He finally spotted the leader, who was absolutely crashing and bonking. He hit the last aid station thinking his battle was done and it'd be fun descent to the finish, but no, they were sent back onto treacherous technical singletrack and Gabriel shut down both mentally and physically.

This was not his cup of tea. Another few minutes spent lacing up his shoes, he finally made it to some jeep trail and hammered. He finished up at 5:40/mi pace, making sure to strengthen his legs to the finish and get some stimulus out of this effort. 2hrs+ later, Gabriel was defeated.

On a positive, it was a Masters Course Record and a decent time, and Gabriel had minimal soreness after and a wonderful lunch in Lewisburg at  Elizabeth's. Otherwise, it sucked.

NOT SO CHILLY

Jan. 27, 2019
Reading, PA

A fortunately timed polar vortex stormed into the region, postponing the infamous "Chilly Cheeks" 7M to a weekend in which Gabriel could participate.

With limited training, and with a minor confidence booster earlier in the week, Gabriel drove out to Mt. Penn alone with his imagination. He imagined a course dry of snow. He imagined a race in which he would be chasing the leaders, and he imagined a race in which he would have to hurt from mile 3 to mile 5, the uphill, rocky section.

The gun went off, and the pack set off, navigating the tricky start. By 400m, Gabriel had had enough and positioned himself into 2nd place, behind the committed champion. By 800m, his legs weren't really functional, but he held his position. By 2 miles, he knew he could have a good day. He was descending well and climbing well, his choice of weapon holding up well on the frozen ground. Every turn or so Gabriel would see the leader, and he'd be energized that perhaps he could repeat his form from 2015. So he kept at work. He kept working, step after step through the forest. Finally, he reached the 5 mile mark and started the descent to the finish line, knowing he had wrapped up a stunning personal victory.

Surprisingly, the data showed a race well above his fitness level - again. He had been able to tap into more motivation and inspiration than the field, and it left him quite satisfied... until the following week, where he would look to repeat his performance.

2107 - THE FURNACE REKINDLED

And so, 2017 began with an interesting invitation - newly carved trails in new ground close to home at River Valley Ranch - for Gabriel to test his fitness and health.

The virgin 8 mile course was run on completely cambered trails, but he was so full of effortless running against Stasiowski that he ignored his desire to only complete one loop and finished up both loops, scoring a decisive and fun victory. To start 2017 with a victory on day one of the new year was exciting and promising...

However, Gabriel would not line up until April, after a trip to his homeland of Cuba, Gabriel was rejuvenated and running well, albeit with only of one week of training.

His lack of training showed, but it was completely promising to finish 15km of arduous, hilly miles and run with energy and without crashing. He ran well but was unable to maintain the fitness of the top two runners. A third place was unfamiliar, but acceptable at this point.

And so the fire was rekindled and Gabriel jumped at the opportunity to revisit the Greenwood Furnace Trail Challenge. This beast of a course would let him know if he was on the right track. Basically 20km of ascending and descending in some of the nastiest terrain in Central PA, Gabriel set out for the challenge.

He arrived with good time, go out, tested the trail (it had rained all weekend) and opted for road shoes. He wanted health, first and foremost. He set out in about 6th place, moved up to 2nd by half mile and then took over the lead within a mile and kept pressing on the climb. He was free with no real concerns.

However, on the first descent, it was tremendously rocky - a boulder field, and he could feel himself giving up all of his advantage from the climb. Finally, he hit some nice singletrack, mud, and road, and stretched out his legs, but he was being pursued closely. He would have to commit to the re-climb.

And so Gabriel dug in, quads burning relentlessly, he pushed and pushed and pushed. When he got to the summit, he committed himself to a suicidal descent, but it was amazing, he was running so well. However, when he hit the jeep roads, by 11 miles he was done with fitness and concerned. The battery was draining. He was worried he would not be able to finish. However, the singletrack came and he was rejuvenated and sprinted home... winning in a dominating fashion four years apart!! Although he felt he would run a 1:43, the 1:46 baffled him, but it was wet, muddy and damp. He took what the course gave him.

He was back...

THREE DEAD TURKEYS

Nov 12, 2016

GETTYSBURG, PA - And so, Gabriel headed out for a third attempt to win a turkey. After a string of nice victories and some pretty stout training, Gabriel was feeling ready. He warmed up well, and then realized he had locked his keys in the car. Quick decisions needed to be made, and Gabriel opted to break his passenger window with a cinder block. Perhaps this adrenaline rush would hurt him, but he was ready.

He got out well, but there was another good runner in the field with good form. Gabriel followed him until he knew he wanted to be first on the trail for good visibility. And so, before a half mile, Gabriel bolted to the lead and led the pack up the first climb, first descent, and into the back woods. He ran relaxed and very strongly up all the climbs. He was confident and feeling good. That climb up Bakers Knob was a doozy, and he loved every second of it, but he noted that the 2nd place runner had just entered the lollipop that he was exiting. He ventured he had about a 2 min lead. Not great.

And so, he bombed down, looking forward to the final 5K hill circuit. He passed the starting line feeling some fatigue in his left hamstring and then started the climb. He quickly realized he had not done any work attacking uphills after 45-min of hard racing and his left leg would have nothing of it. The hamstring/adductor was fried, and he was now worried. He was giving away his entire lead on a single climb. He was hoping to top out so he could flow downhill, but the footing was uncertain and his legs were not cooperating. Finally, he saw the finishing return and had victory in hand. Three times a champion. Three times rough races. Oh well...

TANGLING WITH THE TURKEY A SECOND TIME

11/14/2015
Gettysburg, PA

Over-coming a pretty serious injury, Gabriel was unsure if he was going to line up to feed his family this year. But some great dry-needling work by his PT, Lacey Erwin, Gabriel had put in a good solid week of training and felt good enough to give turkey hunting a chance.

His eldest drove out with him, as she would compete in the 1M jaunt. He did not have a sufficient warm-up in the 40-degree wind-chill, but he felt good. His entire plan centered around going out relaxed and attacking the second part of the course. He felt he went out controlled, but by the major descent of the opening loop, his left side had tightened. He was barely able to operate at full strength. This was troubling. He wasn't running like himself. He was concerned. But he kept working. Stopping to stretch and running, he kept forcing the pace, forcing the effort and he knew his body would respond - or at least he hoped it would.

Finally, after stumbling down a big downhill, something clicked and Gabriel found himself flowing effortlessly along the trail. He set to attack. He knew the CR was out of reach, but he kept running hard to give himself some reward for making it out to race. He hammered up the last climb and bombed down the last hill to finish as strongly as possible.

Although the CR was not reset, he was very pleased with the final 3-4 miles and they were faster than the 2014 race. At least he took some solace in that: a minor victory.

LONELY ON THE PEAK

September 4, 2015
Big Sky, Montana

This was a lesson in stupidity. Gabriel felt he needed to secure points in the US Skyrunning Series and he had an open weekend, albeit a tight window to travel. So, he thought it would be a good idea to red-eye a flight to Big Sky, Montana for the Lone Peak VK, as part of the RUT weekend, an iconic and quickly growing bucket list event.

He arrived late, drove 2hrs to a hotel, wasn't checked in until 3AM, then attempted to wake up and race on an empty stomach with no sleep. It was a recipe for disaster. On the warm-up, he felt his heart rate was through the roof. He wasn't recovering at 8-9:00/mile pace. Hmm, this would not be good.

The gun sounded among a plethora of professionals, including the rising firestorm that is Remi Bonnet. Gabriel ran up alongside him at the half mile mark and figured, "I can run with him..." That was short lived, as Gabriel's battery completely drained and he was forced to walk from the first mile to the third mile in absolute misery, even stopping to sit on a rock and contemplate life. Thankfully, he finished up, about 20-min slower than usual. He had learned his lesson. Never again.