SIZZLE THE PIG - MT PENN MUDFEST RIOT

Reading, PA - And so, Gabriel embarked on the journey to Reading with his Grandmother, Abu, his wife, and his three daughters... onto Reading, PA in 2hrs+.

The drive was uneventful, but soon enough it was time to get serious. Gabriel went out on a reconnaissance warm-up, learning that the start would be half a mile on road, and then some pretty technical single-track. A wise owl let Gabriel know that you want to lead heading into the single-track. And so, a plan was formed.

Upon warming-up, Gabriel noted the runners - several locals, as this was the largest trail race in PA and pretty much the Mid-Atlantic... a runner from Dickinson (that would claim he was not "adept" on trails); several other locals that knew the trails like the backs of their hands. Gabriel was primed to go hard from the gun and run hard for one full hour. That was it.

And so the gun, rather, the flying pig shot out of a cannon and when the pig landed the race would start, sounded and Gabriel set off immediately into the lead at about 5:10-5:15/mi pace on the road. Within half a mile, several runners backed off his pace, and Gabriel set upon separating himself from the field in the first mile. Mission accomplished. It was now a race against the course and his body. There were great terrain changes, alternating long inclines with treacherous descents. Finally, he knew he would be hard to catch when there was an 18% grade for about 800m... that was one serious climb.

On the back-half of the course, Gabriel was brought to his knees via fatigue and a tree across the trail. He warned himself not to get lazy. The out-and-back of the course then began, and it was a battle against the on-coming runners, many of which were only looking down at the jagged, ankle-breaking AT-type rocks. Gabriel did his best with yelling, "UP!!!" every third stride.

Finally, the 1hr mark hit upon his watch and Gabriel was ready to finish. He hammered home victor in a great  effort, winning by exactly 3-minutes over the local ace. A decorated piggy-bank, a basket full of Godiva, and some forever-lasting memorable moments with his Grandmother and family in the sun in the fields of Rotary Park ended the day.

Gabriel went to bed knowing he would win. He woke up expecting to win. And he raced like he would win. It is back to great times and fitness. And now, some recovery before lacing up tomorrow for 2-2.5 hours of trail... again.

THE MAZE 30K

ALMOST FIGURED OUT THE MAZE

Austin, TX - And so, Gabriel's journeys took him to the land of weirdness, where he would be submerged in a maze of trails so confounding that only on race days are runners encouraged to enter, lest they be left to be lost.

Awakening to 25-30mph winds and 48-degrees was not in the plans. This race was supposed to be an exposure to 80-degree high Spring heat and after a day at the lovely Hamilton Pool and a night of Tex-Mex, cold weather and wind was not very motivational.

Arriving late, Gabriel had a decision to make: use the porta-potty, or tie his laces. He opted for the porta-potty. Neglecting the use of a headlamp, or warm-up, Gabriel was content to sit in the top five for about a mile before taking the lead. Once in the lead, he wanted to distance himself from the chatty local legend, Paul Terranova. Terranova had just placed 2nd at the USATF 100K championships at Bandera, so Gabriel knew he had to make him hurt early. And it was paying off... minute after minute, the chattiness died down and Gabriel forged a lead. However, he opted to decide to finish one loop without his laces tied, but he would have to tie them after the first 10km loop, which he did and was surprised that in that 80-seconds, he was not passed.

Halfway into the second 10km loop, he spotted two orange Rogue singlets closing the gap on him... ah, 10K runners. And so, two Rogue guys shot past, full of run, hitting 6:15/mile pace and Gabriel let them past. However, it shortly occurred to him that these runners were not in the 10K, they were his competition in the 30K. These guys were flying! Gabriel had been caught. And so, he drafted behind them for a couple of miles before finally surging back into the lead at breakneck pace, working to put himself and his opponents in debt.

The younger stallion broke first, but this elderly looking Aussie was stubbornly strong and full of run. Eventually, after a couple of miles, the Aussie took the lead and used the maze traffic of runners to get away. Gabriel re-focused on himself. Coming through the 2nd lap, Gabriel was in 2nd, with no clue of how far back from 1st, but as he took down a gel, he noted 3rd coming in and the confirmation that the leader was attacking. Gabriel set off to complete the third loop, unsure of the result.

Gabriel hit a rough patch, stopped to fix his laces once more, and was passed by the young stallion. However, once Gabriel got moving again, he realized the stallion was in dire straits, and Gabriel passed him back on the uphills and distanced himself, finally re-engaging to cut time into the leader. And so, with 30-min of run remaining, Gabriel hunkered down and ran hard. He ran and ran, but ran out of time. His last mile in 5:32, he still couldn't catch Scott Rantall, a 66-min/2:20 Marathon performer and only 30-years old. He had been duped.

However, it was a great run. Nothing hurt, there was plenty left in the tank, and his spirits were high. He defeated third by a few minutes, including the local legend. It was a good day, although the maze did defeat him on this day.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG, GOES WRONG

Upper Marlboro, MD - And so, Gabriel, entering with four weeks of building a base from 18 miles to 48 miles/week, suffered a mild setback Monday entering this race, straining his left gastroc. It has been a frustrating voyage of calf strains lately, which are unsolved at the moment, but this left Gabriel with no running during the week, except for a couple of 8-min/mi treadmill runs, full of caution.

The Patuxent River Trail 10K was the first Trophy Series race of the season, and with payment already made, Gabriel was committed to race. He figured he could get through 10km of trails. However, he did not intend for some pretty good competition to line up.

At the start, in 35-degrees, hordes of runners raced for the muddy single-track. Gabriel was in about 7th at the turn and already feeling tapped out. At least his calf was feeling good and he set off to chase down the leaders, which was not as simple as anticipated. The two leaders had gotten away well, and Gabriel was hot on the chase.

At 4km, Gabriel made the catch on an uphill and decided to storm past and attempt a breakaway. However, his fitness could not match his courage, and he was caught by 5km and then passed by 6km, his race over. Gabriel maintained his pace, one leg in front of the other, but was unable to respond, except for one final push in the last 2km that ended as soon as it started.

Oh well, the expectations were not met, but with only four weeks of training since the most devastating injury of his career and still 5-7lbs over race weight, it was a step. He does not enjoy losing, but this is the path committed.