Saturday, November 26, 2011

November Races

I ran two races in November on the 20th and the 24th. These are my Thanksgiving Day races. The first was the Lil Rhody Runaround. I was going into this race with hopes of finally breaking 45min and possible getting the course record which I believe is 44:39, set by Stephen Herrera. He was the guy who won it every year back in the late 1990's and early 2000's. I guess I've kind of taken over the reigns as I've won it now 4 times. I was going for 5 wins.
Race day was unseasonably warm, in the low 60's. It honestly felt hot to me. On my warm-up my legs felt a little flat, but I was still confident I could win, not so confident about the fast time. At the start of the race I went out pretty hard like I always do and separated myself from the field. I like to go out hard because the first 3 miles are the fastest part of the course, besides the finish on the road. I try to get some time in the bank, before the technical and hilly sections hit. The trick is to go fast, but not get in debt. After about 12minutes of racing I felt like I was going really slow and my legs did not feel responsive. Last year I felt powerful and snappy the whole race and knew I was running a fast time (pr 45:03). I was disgusted with myself. I shut off my watch and decided to just try and push on and get the 5th "W". Coming onto Buckeye Brook Rd., I glanced behind me and couldn't see the 2nd place runner so I figured I had it in the bag unless I really faded. I felt slow and hot the rest of the way. I even splashed water on my face which was a first for this race for me. I hit the final road section and felt like I wasn't going very fast. Last year, I really was hammering here. This year I was surviving. A dog came out after me on Prosser Trail Rd. and I stopped for a few seconds to scream at it. That gave me a short lived adrenaline rush. I turned into the finishing parking lot, thinking I was going to run in the 47 minutes. I felt that awful. I was shocked to see the clock at 45:30 as I kicked into the chute. I got 1st place in 45:36 and picked up my 5th win. I was satisfied with the win, but honestly it was pretty ugly. I was pleasantly surprised to be in the 45's with my 3rd fastest time. It was great having my nephew, niece, sister in-law, and mother at the finish cheering for me. Now came the fun part, watching my friends and family finish and then enjoying some chromium replacement at Jonny's house.

Next race, Thanksgiving Day, the Pie and Glove 5K in Corning, NY. Jen, her sister Katie, and I went to this race. Last year, I ran my 5K p.r. in 15:37 with snow and wind. It's a flat course with lot's of twists and turns to keep it exciting. There are two 180 degree turns which really slow you down, but the course is fast everywhere else. The weather was gorgeous, 40 degrees and sunny at the start. There were some seriously fast looking dudes on the starting line with 1500 other people behind us. We went out fast in a pack of about 10 people, with me sitting at the back. At the mile (4:53), I made my move into 2nd place. The leader made his move at this time too and had a 3 0r 4 second gap on me. I never closed it, in fact he put a few more seconds on me as we both ran in no mans land into a slight head wind, up a very very slight uphill into the 2nd mile(5:16). The final 1.1 mile was uneventful with me making no ground on the leader and nobody closing on me. The winner hit the line in 15:33 and I came in 2nd in 15:40(5:03 pace) My last mile was under 5min, but it was a fairly mediocre effort. I went out the night before and ate way too much spicy, greasy food, washed down with some heavy beverages. I just wasn't as sharp as I should have been on race day. The result a missed p.r. by 3 seconds and a chance to win. Oh well. I have to say, I'm fit. If two unimpressive races net me two pretty fast times, I need to be excited at where my fitness levels are at going into the winter indoor and snowshoe seasons. The races were fun, but the best part is spending time with family and getting out there and being active and celebrating fitness and health.

Week of November 14th-20th

Monday: 13mi* / 1:20. Goose Pond 12 mile tempo w/Boj, Fyffe, and Najem. We were rolling out there. Got dark. Boj killed it! lifted weights.

Tuesday: 4mi / 29min in Pisgah w/Jimmy and Griffin. Wow my legs are tired and sore.

Wednesday: 10mi* / 66min. Workout: 2-2-4-2-2-4-2-2-2-2-4-4(34,33,68,32,32,65,31,31,30,30, 59,66) full rest. w/Fyffe, Najem, Miller and Ferenc. Great workout. I had to take a pit stop so I missed a 4oo and then added one at the end to make up for it. We ran 59! My fastest 400 in a while. Felt pretty damn good! lifted weights.

Thursday: 8mi / 61min in Waterville Valley w/Pat Ard and Sontag. Nice run. Legs pretty sore. Snow flurries. Pushups.

Friday: 8mi / 59min in Waterville Valley w/Pat Ard and Chris Reilly. Nice and easy in a dusting of fresh snow. Had fun at the conference.

Saturday: 5mi / 35min in Pisgah w/Griffin. Nice cool sunny morning. Ready to race tomorrow.

Sunday: 12mi* / 1:14. Lil Rhody Runaround - 45:36 (5:42) 1st. Had fun at Rhode Island Thanksgiving. Nice to see 6 family members and many friends out there running and cheering.

Total: 60mi. Good week. I had 3 quality runs this week. Right plantar fascia is a wee sore. I need new shoes.

Week of November 7th-13th

Monday: 3mi / 18:40. lifted

Tuesday: 10mi / 70min. lifted

Wednesday: 10mi* / 66min. Workout: 16-12-8-8-4x4 (4:56,3:40, 2:28, 2:27, 71, 69, 70, 66)

Thusday: 2mi / 14min
8mi / 53min. lifted

Friday: 8mi / 53min

Saturday: 11mi / 77min + hiked 1:30 in Watkins Glenn Gorge

Sunday: 18mi* / 1:52

Total: 70mi - Great week. Good long run and workout. Lifting feels awesome.

Week of October 31st-November 6th

Monday: 2mi/16min
Tuesday: 0mi
Wednesday: omi
Thursday: omi - lifted
Friday: 8mi/54min
Saturday: 10mi/64min + 4mi/30min
Sunday: 12mi/1:25
Total: 36mi - Crappy week. Got a nasty cold, lost my voice. Recovering from marathon.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Week of October 24th to 30th


Monday: 2mi/16min in Health class

14mi/1:34 on Grafton Powerlines Trails w/Ferenc and the girls. Good run the hills out there are tough!

Tuesday: 2mi/16min in Health class

4mi/27min in Pisgah w/Griffin. Good run nice weather.

Wednesday: 2mi/16min in Health class

8mi/68min in Pisgah w/Jen and Griffin. Had fun out there saw 6 turkeys and a barred owl called to us.

Thursday: 5mi/33min in Pisgah w/Griffin. Snowing w/freezing rain. 37 degrees


Friday: 2mi/16min in Health class

8mi/51min in Pisgah w/Griffin. We got 3 inches of snow last night, most of it is melted now.


Saturday: 4mi/28min in Pisgah w/Jimmy and Griffin. Cold morning 30 degrees. Ready for tomorrow. We're gonna get a Nor'easter.




Sunday: 27mi*/2:41 Cape Cod Marathon-2:36:45 (5:59) 7th. This is a brutal course with non stop up and downs in the second half. It was very windy with temps around 40 degrees at the start. It felt cold. We lucked out though, because it wasn't raining. I ran the first few miles with Jim Johnson, then Kevin Alliette from Whirlaway went by and I latched onto him and ran with him until 8miles when I had to stop to drop a deuce in the woods. I lost about a minute and when I emerged from the woods, George ran by. I ran with him for a half mile or so and then I pulled away to see if I could catch Scott Leslie. It took me 7 miles to finally catch him. It sucked because we were both working hard running into the wind. I almost yelled to him that he should wait and we could work together, but that didn't seem fair to him. We worked well for quite a few miles changing leads to take turns in the wind. Somewhere around 21miles, we saw Justin Freeman run into the woods for a bathroom break much like mine. He caught back up to us and pulled away. I tried to go with him and left Scott. I was starting to get very tired and had a big blister on my toe. Around 23 miles, I started to feel energized. I picked it up and I could tell I was moving pretty well for so late in a marathon. I could see 3 runners up ahead and worked hard to catch them. I caught one of them and passed him in the last mile. I was really happy to finish 7th in these tough conditions. It made me think what if I didn't have the bathroom break. Could I have stayed with Kevin who ended up finishing 3rd? Maybe. I was pumped to see George run so well and win the Master's title. It was great running with Scott and he was a big help, he even gave me a gu because I dropped mine in the woods during my pit stop. I was extremely happy, but not a bit surprised to see Patrick Rich win in a jaw dropping 2:28! That is amazing in those tough conditions on this tough course. Jim ran well considering how banged up he's been lately. He showed his toughness today. Sontag ran a big p.r. in 3:32. Congrats to everyone who toed the line and finished on a monster of a day on a brutal course. This was definitely memorable.



Here are my miles:

1mi-5:35

2mi and 3mi-11:32(missed 2)

4mi-5:38

5mi-5:51

6mi-5:53

7mi-5:52

8mi-5:53

9mi-6:49(pit stop)

10mi-5:51

11mi-5:58

12mi-6:04

13mi-5:47

13.1-1:17:28

14mi and 15mi-11:30(missed 14)

16mi-6:00

17mi-5:43

18mi-6:03

19mi-6:03

20mi-6:13

21mi and 22mi-12:04(missed 21)

23mi-6:22

24mi-6:15

25mi-5:56

26mi-6:19

.2-1:22

total-2:36:45(5:59)

Total: 78mi - Good week. Time to recover and start training for indoor track.

October 17th to 23rd

Monday: 2mi/14min

Tuesday: 2mi/14min
2mi/14min
10mi/63min

Wednesday: 2mi/14min
9mi/59min

Thursday: 4mi/30min
9mi/58min

Friday: 10mi/66min

Saturday: 8mi/55min -Got Married!!!

Sunday: 0mi

Total: 58mi