Saturday, July 13th

16mi*/1:40 at the Run With the Beavers 10mi trail race. 1:05:10. 1st place. Team Hammboj 1st place team. I really enjoy this race that Bob and Jackie Jackman put on in Chepachet, RI. There are clean bathroom facilities, a beautiful and well-marked trail, a pond for swimming, and great prizes. The Jackman's really know how to put on a race! Lining up for the start, I was pretty confident that I would get the win and I believed that Jonny would be able to get 2nd. The real concern was bringing home the team title. We'd really be counting on Glenn or Boj to get the win. I took off fairly hard at the gun and Jonny stuck close to me. We immediately separated from the field. Once we dumped out onto the dirt road, I pulled ahead of Jonny after the top of the hill. My thoughts were, "damn he's getting fast!". I turned onto the single track with the lead and loving the terrain. I really enjoy semi-technical single track with gentle up and downs. In other words, I love fast trails. You're moving quickly and have to think about every foot strike which makes it so fun. I hit the water stop at around 17:30 and pushed onto the dirt road. I felt good but definitely not as fast as last year. I saw Scott Mason taking photos on the side hill, technical spot after the bridge and gave him a wave. I finished the first loop in 32:13. I was pretty discouraged. Last year I came through the first lap in 30:41. Last year, I slowed down a full minute + on the second loop running it in 31:43. I figured I'd slow down a minute again this year. Mentally, that took a lot of wind out of my sails and I started to hurt making the climb up the dirt road on the 2nd loop. I felt like I ran really slowly from the beginning of lap 2 until the water stop. I hit the water stop in 18:30 a full minute back of my first split already. Crap! My new goal became to pick it up and not lose another minute on the 2nd half of this loop. I dug down and made it hurt. Suddenly, I started to feel good and was running smooth and relaxed. I felt like I ran this part of the race faster than the first loop. I crested the steep hill after the side hill trail and hammered for the finish. I hit the line in 1:05:10, which meant I ran the 2nd loop in 32:56. Bob made a remark about not being as fast as last year, but running more evenly. I thought the same thing, but really I just ran the last quarter of the race really well. Once I finished I drank some water, talked to Jen who ran the 5 mile, and waited for Jonny to finish. I didn't have to wait long. He came sprinting into the finish looking strong in under 1:10! It was sweet that we went 1-2 in a race. We heard reports from Bob that Boj took a wrong turn on the race which surprised me considering he is a trail veteran, a good navigator, and he used to run these trails in high school! Oh well, time to rely on Glenn for the team win. Jonny and I ran out on the course to cheer him in. Glenn was leading a train of 4 or 5 runners when we saw him on the side hill. He would power home, dropping everyone in his train and catching one runner ahead of him. His finish sealed the victory and domination of team Hammboj. The prize was some growlers of chromium replacement beverages. Glenn said the beer never tasted better! I also picked up a gift certificate for Brooks shoes (my favorite) and $40.00 to Big Gary's Discount Beverage. Jen and I stopped there on the way back to New Hampshire. We headed home with a car full of delicious micro-brews and fish.