Double Quinnipiac Trail FKT attempt #2
I have gone after the New Quinnipiac Trail North to South two times and failed for various reasons. Last Fathers Day I went after Justin Kousky’s Double New Q Trail FKT, and failed by 27 minutes. I was not sure if I was going to attempt it again this year, but the weather was absolutely perfect with temperatures in the 60’s and I decided to give it a go.
I had 4 drop bags along the course including Rt 42, Brooks Road crossing, bottom of Sleeping Giant, and end of sleeping giant (Hartford Turnpike). Unfortunately, someone stole my drop back at the bottom of Sleeping Giant. Immediately I thought about dropping, but got over it fast in hope that I could conserve my fluids and calories on the way out to the turn around and back.
I was about ten minutes up on Kousky’s FKT for most of the run, although I refused to really look at my watch other than at the stops I dropped bags. With about 2 hours remaining I was confident I was going to get it based on how my legs felt, and from there I started to conserve a little energy knowing I had some of the downhills from Roaring Brook until the end. Ended up getting a bit dizzy over the last 15 minutes, but felt like if I had my SG drop bag I would have been closer to 7 hours. Overall extremely pleased and humbled by the day, and it’s given me a ton of confidence headed into my 100K race in August.