Wason Pond trail race

I was looking for something to stretch out my legs a bit in anticipation of the Lithia Loop trail marathon championship next weekend and found the Wason Pond race.  We are so lucky in New England...plenty of races of various lengths and surfaces to choose from.

I headed up to Chester and bagged a couple of hills along the way.  I was early, so I decided a long warm-up would be a good idea.  I checked in with the RD and got a good look at the course map.  The course was very well marked, the big worry was footing.  Leaves were down and it was very hard to tell where you were stepping.  I did the first figure 8 loop of the course then added a little more to run up/down nearby Marsden hill.  After my 4 mile warm-up I changed into my Inov-8 212's and did another mile with strides.  The race was a bit behind schedule, so I put in at least another mile of very easy running...basically just enough movement to stay warm.

About 30 of us headed off on the double loop course.  I went to the front and was joined by two others.  I wanted to stay in front if for no other reason than to be able to get a view of where I was running.  I felt like I was moving well but was pressed on some of the uphills.  Local master Pat Connelley pushed hard on one of the hills and I fell back about 10 meters.  I tried to keep it close but also felt that I should wait until the second loop before really pushing.  I figured my best shot at winning would be to really make a big move in the second loop. 

Heading into lap 2

We were dead even passing the line in around 20 minutes for the slightly longer first loop then headed back on the loop.  I hit my watch and pressed as hard as I felt I could with about 3 miles to go.  Very quickly I heard footsteps fade and I kept pushing for the loop, eventually running it over 20 seconds faster than the first time around.  I ended up pulling away and taking a 1 minute victory.  This was my second win of the year and my 31st race.  I did an easy two mile warm down and called it a day - a 14 mile plus day.

That was my last hard effort, so now I'll take a few easy days and fly out to Oregon. 

Results:
1 37:19 Dave Dunham 46M

2 38:16 Pat Connelley 46M
3 40:39 Mike Fraysse 38M
4 44:35 Brennan Holmes 33M
5 46:26 TJ Stevens 34M

Thanks to DQ for encouragement on the course...sorry we didn't get any running together.

Four decades of Marathons

Earlier this year I’d read about Reno Stirrat completing five decades with a sub 2:45 marathon. I love numeric stats like that, and that record is something else! Reno has not only run fast, but he’s continued at a high level for an incredibly long time span.
The Baystate marathon marked my fourth decade (80’s, 90’s, 00’s, and 10’s) with a sub-3 hour marathon. Not quite (by a long way!) as good as Reno’s record but I’ve still got 9 years to run a sub 2:45 in this decade (not likely), then I’d only need to run a sub 2:45 at age 56 to match his record (no way).

Anyway here are my stats by decade
80’s – 1 marathon – Best time = 2:22:03 – 0 wins – 17th = best place – 17th = worst place

90’s – 21 marathons–Best time = 2:19:29 – 3 wins – 1st = best place – 56th = worst place

00’s – 10 marathons-Best time = 2:29:10 – 3 wins – 1st = best place – 75th = worst place

10’s – 1 marathon – Best time = 2:58:06 – 0 wins – 80th = best place – 80th = worst place
Next up: Lithia Loop trail marathon (National championships) in Ashland Oregon on Nov. 6

Grand Prix wrap-up

The Baystate Marathon (Lowell) was the final race in the 7-race Grand Prix series. Each race was the New England championship at that distance. Both the masters and open teams took second place in the final standings. Our top individuals were Justin Fyffe (4th place with 28 points) in the Open and Dan Verrington (19th place with 8 points) in the masters. In all five open runners and seven masters picked up individual points (by finishing in the top 10).

Top 5 Open teams
BAA 110
CMS 105
WRT 94
GBTC 76
GSH 75

Top 5 40+ teams
WRT 79
CMS 62
GCS 59
GMAA 54
GSH 49
CSU 41

Top 10 individuals
1 Matt Ely -BAA 40
2 Brian Harvey - BAA 30
3 Patrick Moulton -BAA 30
4 Justin Fyffe - CMS 28
5 Mark Miller - BAA 21
6 Nate Krah - adiNE 16
7 Nicholas Wheeler - adiNE 15
8 Dan Smith - GBTC 15
9 Eric Blake - BAA 15
10 Bob Wiles - CMS 14

Other CMS
23 Andy McCarron CMS 7
28 Jim Johnson CMS 4
30 Scott Leslie CMS 3

Top Masters
1 Wayne Levy BAA 53
2 Rich Smith GCST 30
3 Mike Cooney WRT 23

Other CMS
19 Dan Verrington CMS 8
20 George Adams CMS 7
24 David Quintal CMS 4
25 Tim Van Orden CMS 4
28 Joe Shairs CMS 3
34 Ken Tripp CMS 2
35 Ernest Brake CMS 1

In the woods of Vermont

Caledonia and Orange County, Vermont

Butterfield and Signal Mountains
10-23-10

The previous reports on COHP.org  have all of the information necessary to bag both Butterfield and Signal mountains. Here is my report from this weekend.

My running pal and state high pointer Eric, met up with me at a park and ride off of Route 89 and I piled into his car with all my gear (or so I thought) and maps to get us where we wanted to go. We arrived at the snowmobile trail/dirt road (Gore) off of route 302 by 9 AM and were met with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 30’s. The wind was pretty strong (20-40 MPH gusts) but otherwise it was a perfect day to be out in the woods. As I started getting the topo maps gathered up I realized that I left my compass back in my car. D’oh! I was only a little worried, I’ve got a fair amount of bushwhacking and orienteering experience, and although a compass would have made me a little more sure of myself I was still confident that I could navigate us safely up and down both mountains. The relative shortness of the bushwhacks (about 2 miles round trip for each) and the fact that the woods were very open and the sun was shining brightly in the east gave me the self-assurance that we would be safe to hike. The prominent saddle between the mountains and the stream and road to catch us if we drifted sealed the deal.

We decided to park right at the junction of 302 and Gore so that we could get some running in both before and after the bushwhacks. Eric had already got an early morning run in and I wanted to get at least 8 miles of running, so off we trotted (slowly) getting warmed-up with a nice gentle climb 2.2 miles of climb to the oft mentioned pull-out where most begin the bushwhack. After 21:02 we reached the pull-out and then quickly checked the map and location of the sun. It looked pretty easy, basically keep the sun on our left and head uphill in a generally south-west direction. The woods were great for bushwhacking, very open and easy to move through. There was only a dusting to 2-3” of snow as we got above 2,500’. We hit the top in 29:47 and quickly signed in. It was chilly when we stopped and the wind was blowing so after 4:35 we were on our way back down. Eric and I are both strong climbers but not the greatest at descending; we went relatively slowly and occasionally would see our footprints from the ascent. As we got to the lower slopes (and lost sight of Signal through the trees) we drifted a bit too far to the west. We hit the stream, but were only off by about 400m. We could see the bridge over the stream about 200m away. After a wobbly crossing of the stream we were back on the road 32:53 after starting our descent.

Next up we slowly jogged up the road looking for the height of land. I misread the trip report and we went a bit beyond the bridge before realizing that the suggestion was to head in BEFORE the bridge. A quick retrace of our steps and 5:28 since getting on the road, we were off into the woods again. This time we kept the sun to our right and sort of behind us as we made our way north and a little northeast up the slope. The woods were a little thicker than on Butterfield but still very enjoyable for a bushwhack. After 34:42 of reasonably easy ascent we were standing at the summit jar for Signal. The wind wasn’t quite as bad, maybe because there was a bit more vegetation, but we again made quick time of it spending just 5:42 on top. We had a little more difficulty on the descent, we ran into quite a bit more evergreens because we drifted toward the west. We hit the flatter parts and again were about 400m off, but had the stream to follow. We popped out on the road about 100m from where we’d entered 38:55 after starting our descent. When we came out we surprised a couple who were about to head into the woods (with cameras) to search for moose. After a couple of minutes chatting we took off down the road and finished up with a little over 18 minutes of running to get back to the car.

In all our two-peak bushwhack (a little over 4 miles) and our run (a little over 5 miles) took us a grand total of 3:14:54…that included a sprint at the end to reach the gate and crack the magic 3 hour and 15 minute barrier J When I got back to the car I took one of the THREE compasses I had and put it in my backpack for next time.

Totals
Distance = 9 miles
Climb/Descent = 2,727

View of Butterfield from the open gate

Another look at Baystate

Wow, conditions were great at the New England marathon championships last weekend. This really showed in the number of Boston Qualifiers and especially in the team times which were much faster than last year. I though the CMS teams (Open & 40+) both had a shot at winning. The Open squad looked to be the deepest we’d fielded in many years and the 40+ team also had not only depth, but (relative) speed at the front.

I felt that at least three open guys would break 2:30 and that the masters would average 2:40 for the top three guys. Both of these team times would on average be fast enough to win.

The masters were topped by an (always) strong Whirlaway team and only slightly ahead of a very strong Gate City team. This was a bit of a shock considering the fast time (8:00) by the CMS team. I hear rumor that Joe Donnelly, who has had a fantastic year, is jumping ship and may be wearing the red and black of Whirlaway come this spring…the rich get richer. J

Our open team took home top honors with an impressive 6, 7, 9 finish by the three scoring team members. The time (7:23:18) ranks second all-time at a NE championship. It is topped only by the 1996 CMS record of 7:21:49. The master’s time was the 9th best ever run by a 40+ team and 3rd fastest by a CMS 40+ squad. It was also the fastest since the extraordinary 7:42:10 run by CMS 40+ in 2001.

Week ending 10-24-10

A recovery week after the marathon on Sunday.  Felt back to "normal" by Wednesday.

M - Lunch 3 easy in 22:55

T - 430am Industrial park 5 in 38:48, Lunch run 3 in 21:39

W - 430am Industrial park 5 in 36:54, Lunch run 3 in 20:33, PM 3 on the track at Nashua in 21:16

Th - 430am Industrial park 5 in 36:56, Lunch run 3 in 20:45.

F - Lunch run 3 in 20:21.  PM Sunset run up/down Mt Kearsarge 8m in 70:44

Sat - 2.2 out to Mt Butterfield (then Bushwhack to the summit) then .3 to Signal Mtn (then Bushwhack to the summit) then 2.5 miles out.  PM 3+ in Hubbard park (high point of Montpellier) in 25:27

Sun - From Sugarbush run up to Lincoln Peak, then on the ridge ran the Long Trail out/back to Mt Abraham, back to Lincoln Peak, then Nancy Hanks Peak, Castle Rock Peak, Cutts Peak, and Mount Ellen, then down the ski trails and access road to the base.  Total about 9 miles in 2:59:54.

Totals
Week=58
Month=241
Year=2,120
Life=109,491

2,400' climb up Sugarbush to Lincoln Peak

Week Ending 10-17-10

I took it pretty easy this week leading up to the Baystate Marathon. My plantar fascia was sore all week from the New Castle race and my other ankle has been bothering me for a couple of weeks. My goal was to get through Baystate and see how my foot feels. I’ll decide on whether I should go to Oregon for the Trail Marathon Championships sometime later this week.

242, 258, 240, 240 - Pic by Krissy

M -Run up/down Mt Kearsarge at Sunrise 1:13:04

T – 430am Industrial park 5 in 36:33. Lunch run 3 in 20:02. Afternoon 3m run at Physical therapy 21:26.

W – 430 am Ind pk 5 in 36:18. Lunch run 3 in 19:35 (PR). PM 3 on the track at Nashua 19:46.

Th – Lunch run 3 in 20:02. PM out/back 5m at PT in 34:52

F – Lunch run 3 in 20:51. PM Winni 5 with Ken T and JJ in 37:23.

Sat – Morning o/b 8 on the Freeman rail trail 58:52

Sun – Warm-up to the start then 26.2 miles (2:58:06) at the Baystate marathon.

Totals
Week = 81
Month = 183
Year = 2,063
Life = 109,433

Tossing my t-shirt to Krissy at the 3m mark (behind the back move).

Baystate marathon

I ran the Baystate marathon yesterday and it was a perfect day to be out there running.  My goal was to run just under 3:00 (last year I ran 2:59:41) with very even splits.  My hope was that my foot (plantar fascia) would hold up well and I'll be okay to do the Lithia Loop US trail marathon championships on 11-07.  So far so good on my foot but I'll wait a few days before deciding.

On the final bridge - Picture from scottmasonphoto.com

It took the first three miles for me to dial in on 6:52 pace, but from that point on I was very close to hitting my pace.  Unlike last year I didn't have a lot of company.  Just a couple of guys ran with me for most of the first 13 miles.  From 17 on I ran alone, but I'd upped the pace and was starting to pass a LOT of people who were feeling the effects of going to hard in the early miles.  I was feeling like getting the race done and my last 5 miles were my fastest five of the day.  My three fastest miles of the day were 23, 19, and 24.

The field seemed to be deeper than 2009...CMS took the open title but the top times were much faster than last year and it was a close battle.  The CMS masters took second place despite averaging 2:40:17!

1. WHIRLAWAY 2:33:42 2:36:17 2:40:56 (2:47:53) (3:03:08) = 7:50:55
JASON PORTER, MARK GIBSON, CHRIS SPINNEY, EPHRAIM EZEKIEL, M LECHLEIDER

2. CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS
2:37:21 2:40:25 2:43:04 (2:58:03) (3:07:06) = 8:00:50
GEORGE ADAMS, KEN TRIPP, DAN VERRINGTON, DAVE DUNHAM, ERNIE BRAKE

3. GCS - TRIAD RACING TEAM
2:37:57 2:40:15 2:44:37 (3:10:44) (3:14:26) = 8:02:49
JOE DONNELLY, BRIAN RUHM, MARK ENGERMAN, STEVE WOLFE


My Splits:
1 6:41

2 6:44 0:13:25
3 6:55 0:20:20
4 6:49 0:27:09
5 6:57 0:34:06 0:34:06
6 6:56 0:41:02
7 6:50 0:47:52
8 6:53 0:54:45
9 6:55 1:01:40
10 6:53 1:08:33 0:34:27
11 6:50 1:15:23
12 6:49 1:22:12
13.1 7:43 1:29:55 1/2
14 6:10 1:36:05
15 6:50 1:42:55 0:34:22
16 6:52 1:49:47
17 6:46 1:56:33
18 6:40 2:03:13
19 6:38 2:09:51
20 6:43 2:16:34 0:34:29
21 6:43 2:23:17
22 6:44 2:30:01
23 6:36 2:36:37
24 6:39 2:43:16
25 6:42 2:49:58 0:33:24

CMS club record - Marathon

CMS top marathon times


With the New England marathon championships just a day away I thought I’d take a look at the CMS club record for the marathon. I think it will be a while until someone takes a shot at Andy Ronan’s club record of 2:11:27; however there are a handful of guys running at Baystate who should make it onto the CMS list. I’m currently maintaining the cut-off for the list at under 2:33. At that time there are 52 different CMS members running 168 marathons to make the list. This is as of the end of 2009 and a couple of guys have made the list since then (but I only update at the end of the year). Dan Verrington (who is running Baystate) tops the list with an amazing 19 marathons (as a CMS member) under 2:33. Jim Garcia trails by only one with 18 times under 2:33. Yours truly is next with 13, followed by Kevin McGovern and Byrne Decker who both have 10.

Here are the top 25 times
1 2:11:27 Andy Ronan - Boston 1991
2 2:13:30 Andy Ronan – London 1990
3 2:13:38 Geoff Smith - Boston 1990
4 2:13:49 Andy Ronan - Twin Cities 1989
5 2:18:00 Geoff Smith - Boston 1991
6 2:18:30 Scott Bagley - Columbus 1991
7 2:19:50 Dave Dunham -Rocket city 1996
8 2:20:46 Reno Stirrat - Rocket city 1987
9 2:20:47 Mike Whittlesey - Twin cities 1995
10 2:20:51 Dave Dunham - Rocket city 1992
11 2:21:05 Scott Bagley - Olympic trials 1992
12 2:21:10 Dan Verrington - Vermont city 1996
13 2:21:16 Jim Zimmerly - Rhode Island 1992
14 2:21:18 Dave Dunham - Olympic trials 1992
15 2:21:36 Dave Dunham - Bay state 1998
16 2:21:40 Scott Clark - Rocket city 1990
17 2:21:55 Dave Dunham - Pittsburgh 1999
18 2:21:56 Larry Sayers - Stamford 1988
19 2:22:21 Jim Zimmerly - Columbus 1991
20 2:22:35 Dave Dunham - Rocket city 1998
21 2:22:38 Dan Verrington - Rocket city 1996
22 2:22:43 Reno Stirrat - Rocket city 1988
23 2:22:58 Craig Fram - Boston 1995
24 2:23:09 Bob Johnson - Montreal 1981
25 2:23:09 Rick Doiron - Columbus 1991

Also for those interested here are the 50th, 75th, etc… Check out the CMS website for the complete list and club records at other distances. www.cmsrun.org
50 2:26:06 Frank Ritchie - Green Mountain 1986
75 2:27:51 Dave Dunham - World Cup (Greece) 1995
100 2:29:10 Brian Pickell - Jacksonville 1988
125 2:30:38 Mark Perrone - Rocket city 1988
150 2:32:05 Tim Blouin - Unknown 1984

I don't have a picture of Scott and me at the Olympic trials in 1992 but this is a little later that year when we ran 60:59 and 60:53 respectively.

CMS history at the USATF NE marathon championships

Baystate Marathon – 10-17-10 Lowell, MA

$13,400 total prize money

Course record: 2:21:36, Dave Dunham-1998 (This really should be the “event record” not the course record, I think the current version of the course is actually a little tougher than the ‘old’ course - dd)
The marathon distance has been contested in all of the Grand Prix series (1985-2009). This will be the third time Baystate has hosted the championship. Cape Cod has hosted the championship twenty times. CMS has won the team championship eight times (last time in 2009) with Whirlaway winning six times and GLRR taking the title five times. CMS holds the team record with an impressive 7:21:49 from 1996, which is an average time of 2:27:16 (5:37 pace). That year CMS put four finishers in the top seven including a 1-2 finish by Craig Fram and Dave Dunham. Probably the most impressive performance by CMS was the 1985 championships which were held in Worcester. CMS runners placed six in the top nine and ten in the top 18. In the 2009 victory at Baystate CMS placed three runners in the top seven.
CMS runners have been the individual winners four times. The last time

Mt Kearsarge

I was looking for something fun to do on the holiday on Monday and decided it would be interesting to run up/down Mt Kearsarge and catch sunset.  I'd run up the auto road many times in the past doing the 8.5 mile road race from downtown Warner, and I'd even done a sunset run (in snowshoes) a few years ago.  Sunrise seemed like a fun challenge.

I hit the road at 430am and was at the base of the road just before 6am.  I knew that it would be close to sunrise when I hit the top so I had to hustle and get going.  I ran the first couple of miles with headlamp but really didn't need it, the road was smooth and it was a nice steady climb.  I hit the parking lot (finish line of the old race and 3.5 miles from the base) in 33:39 or sub-10 minute pace which was a pleasant surprise (I'd guessed a bit slower).  The next 1/2 was pretty slow as I hit the rocky trail to the summit, but I was on top 6:58 later and just as the sun was rising.

It was a bit of a surprise to see four other people on the summit.  I found out they drove from Boston that morning and hiked from the other side of the mountain to catch sunrise.  I hung out for just under 10 minutes taking some pictures then it was time to run down.  It was perfect weather, 40's and comfortable on the road and a bit cooler and windier on top.

It took me 7:47 to carefully navigate the trail back to the parking lot and then 24:38 (7:02 pace) to run the final 3.5 back to my car.  In all it was 8+ miles round trip with 1,600' of climb/descent.

Pictures = http://doubledmountainrunner.shutterfly.com/2187

Back to the track

I’ve done 559 workouts over the last (nearly) 32 years of running. Over the last 10 years I haven’t done many due to injuries and getting speed-work from racing. I found that there is a definite correlation between speed-work and injuries. Of course the connection may be that if I’m fit enough to do workouts I’m probably doing more mileage which may be more closely tied to injuries than fast running (a relative term).

Anyway, last Wednesday night I did my first speedwork this year. The idea was to get some leg turnover prior to racing at New Castle this weekend and also to see how my foot feels after doing some faster running. I hoped to run under 80 for four x 400m with a 400 rest. It may not sound like much of a workout but I’ve found that 2 miles of speedwork is about my limit (before I start breaking down) and 1 mile of speed seemed to make sense for the first workout. I was lucky enough to have Robert the Hungarian join me which made it easier in less than ideal conditions. It was a bit under 50 degrees raining and windy when we hit the track.

I was pleased with the result, running 77.9, 77.8, 78.4, and 77.9 for the 400’s. The first workout always seems to be the toughest and I certainly was wondering during the third one how I hoped to go out in 5:20 this weekend if it is tough to run a 78 second quarter. My goal this weekend is to break 17 with a stretch goal of breaking 16:50. Time will tell.

Last Wednesday night’s workout:

3 mile warm-up, 77.9 – 400 rest in 1:58, 77.8 – 400 rest in 1:56, 78.4 – 400 rest in 1:56, 77.9, 2m warm-down.

From my list of all-time hardest workouts
1 - 10 mile tempo run on the Elks half-marathon course – 51:19
2 – 3 x 2 miles on the Pinkerton track with 800m rest – 9:33 / 9:27 / 9:24
3 – 9 mile tempo run on the Elks course – 45:40
4 – 8 mile tempo run at Fresh Pond – 40:56
5 – 6 mile tempo run on the Elks course – 29:45

Great Island 5km

It's been a few years since I've raced in New Castle and I was glad it fit the schedule this year.  I really wanted to break 17 this weekend, figuring after a couple of upcoming marathons I won't be up for any "fast" stuff.

I met up with DQ, Dan, and Bob W and we headed out for a warm-up on the course.  I forgot how many turns and rolling little hills the island had.  We also had a fair amount of wind, especially along the water...as always it seemed like there never was a tail-wind.

I felt lousy warming up but not too bad doing strides before the start.  My original plan was to go out in 5:20 or so and hopefully hold on to Dan and Dave.  Dan is a notorious slow starter so I figured he'd go by at about 1/2 mile and I'd try to go with him.  My hope was that both of them would drag me along to a 16-something. 

At the gun Dave was out fast and almost led to the first turn, Dan was close behind him and I was already struggling to hang on.  It took me about 400m to get by the first lady and I slowly reeled in Dave to settle in at 9th place.  We exchanged places back and forth with Connolly (Plaistow) for the first two miles.  I hit the mile in 5:20 and it seemed on the downhills I'd move ahead and on the ups one or both of them would go by.  Dave led us through 2 miles in 11:02 (5:42) and threw a bunch of surges, each time pulling away and we'd reel him back in.  With about 1/2 mile to go he took off, Connolly followed and I just tried to hang on.

With about 400m to go I was passed by McNeil (Barrington) who continued by me and moved up to take 7th, just edging Dave.  I went through 3m in 16:36 (5:34) and kicked as hard as I could (partly because I heard Andy calling the first woman's name) running a 33 plus for the last .109 (certified).

Not quite what I hoped for but the hardest I've run in a while.  Now I need someone to explain to me how the ENTIRE FIELD has a gun time and net time that are at least 1 second apart.  How can people on the line take over 1 second to cross the line??????

17th Annual Great Island 5K

October 10, 2010 New Castle, NH
1 1/123 M3039 Bob Wiles 33 M 5 Kittery ME 15:06.95 4:53 15:08.08
2 1/57 M2029 Robert Gomez 27 M 1014 Saco ME 15:09.75 4:54 15:10.92
3 2/57 M2029 Wesley Dinnan 23 M 1303 Newmarket NH 15:29.60 5:00 15:30.63
4 3/57 M2029 Erik Travis 26 M 688 Lee NH 16:35.03 5:21 16:36.53
5 1/127 M4049 Daniel Verrington 48 M 6 Bradford MA 16:44.77 5:25 16:46.34
6 4/57 M2029 Scott Proulx 27 M 953 Northborough MA 16:48.89 5:26 16:50.00
7 5/57 M2029 Peter McNeil 26 M 870 Barrington NH 17:02.51 5:30 17:04.69
8 2/127 M4049 Dave Quintal 47 M 1279 Salem NH 17:04.86 5:31 17:05.97
9 6/57 M2029 Donny Connolly 22 M 1188 Plaistow NH 17:05.98 5:31 17:07.11
10 3/127 M4049 Dave Dunham 46 M 3 Bradford MA 17:08.13 5:32 17:09.52
11 1/182 F3039 Salome Kosgei 30 F 2 Hollow NY 17:10.71 5:33 17:12.49

Week Ending 10-10-10

72 mile week with a track workout (first in over a year) and a race (first in over a month).

M - Lunch 3 in 19:57, PM o/b Winni with double-J in 58:01

T - 430am Industrial park 5 in 36:05, Lunch 3 in (PR) 19:41, PM 6m loop at Gates Pond in Bolton with Albee in 45:02

W - Lunch run 3 in 21:28, PM track workout 4x400 in 77, 77, 78, 77 with 3 w-up and 3 w-down (with Robert)

Th - 430am Ind Pk 5 in 37:39, PM nice long 5 in 41:13

F - Lunch 3 in 20:35, PM Winni 8 with Robert in 59:01

Sat - 730am 8m Winni o/b with DQ, MQ, Dan and Robert in 59:28

Sun - 3 w-up at New Castle 5k, 1m doing strides, 3.1m race in 17:10, 1m warm-down in 8:20.

Totals
Week = 72
Month = 102
Year = 1,981
Life = 109,352

Billerica High School Hall of Fame

I got the opportunity to catch up with a few high school teammates at today's hall of fame induction ceremony.  It was great to see John (1981) and Jim Dangora (1982) both get inducted this year.  John pushed me both literally and figuratively during my sophmore and junior years...it was a hoot to see him again after 30 years.  Kevin Curtin (1981) and I were inducted a few years back.  Kevin coaches for New Balance Boston.

Kevin Curtin, John Dangora, Jim Dangora, and dd

Looking Back

5 Years ago – Oct 2005

I was on my way to a stress fracture and only raced twice.  I went with Morse to the Syracuse Festival of Flowers 5k road race and ran 16:34 to take 3^rd in the 40+.  I was outkicked by a 13 year old kid!  Luckily I was not “girled” as the women had a separate race.  Eric took 2^nd in the masters with a fast 15:19.  I won $50, which cut into the weekends travel expenses.  The only other race I did was Jennifer’s run in Lowell.  I was the top master in 17:24 noting how bad my leg felt…a couple of days later I was on the injured reserves.  I had a fibula stress fracture that put me on the sidelines for 6 weeks.

10 Years ago – Oct 2000

The big race of the month was my first Ultra (beyond marathon distance) a 100km race in Boston.  I was surprised to earn a victory in 6:46:39 (6:32 per mile for 62.2 miles) and get one of my biggest paydays - $3,000.  A week later I ran the Nute Ridge ½ marathon which was part of the Hockomock Swamp rat series.  I took 2^nd to teammate Larry Sayers in 1:14:27 and won $25.  Two weeks later I closed out the month winning $100 at the New England marathon championships in Falmouth.  I took 5^th place in 2:30:53, but the story of the day was Eric Beauchesne and Chris Teague who went off course just before 25 miles.

15 Years ago – Oct 1995

I started the month with a course record at the New Castle 5k (14:59).  The course had about 100 turns and ran on every road in the miniscule and scenic town.  Rod Viens and Scotty Clark took it out hard, but Dan Verrington had the lead through 1.9 miles.  I moved by Mike O’Brien in the last ½ mile to take the win.  Dan finished third in 15:08.  A week later I took the win over 31 finishers at the Brooksby Farm XC 5m in 26:56.  The race was a prep for the Mayors cup the following week.  I took 27^th in 24:41 and noted in my training log “out hard, but WAY back”.  The final race of the month was a win at the HFC XC race in the Fells in 15:33 over 5km.

A lot of familiar faces...Clark, O'Brien, Verrington, Viens, Hammond.

20 Years ago – Oct 1990

Only two races this month and one was a “workout”.  I won the Hollis Applefest ½ marathon in 1:06:31 setting a course record.  Splits for the mostly downhill 1^st 10k and mostly uphill 2^nd 10k were 30:35 and 32:30.  It was  a solid run despite a head cold and 79 degree temperatures.  A week later I “ran through” the Lowell (Baystate) marathon in 2:58:28 using it as a long run in preparation for another fall marathon.

Starting line, with some familiar faces...

25 Years ago – Oct 1985

I had arthroscopic surgery on my knee in late September so no running or racing in October.

30 Years ago – Oct 1980

Six races in my first full season of varsity XC (my junior year at Billerica High).  I won in a dual meet against Austin Prep on our home course, which if I recall was 99% paved, running 15:33 for 3 miles.  A week later John Dangora (who is getting inducted into the BMHS hall of fame this weekend) and I tied over 3 miles in a dual meet against Wilimington.  Three days later I finished 6^th at the Catholic Memorial meet at Franklin Park.  I wrote “felt tired” in my training log which may have been from a very aggressive opening mile of 4:46.  Another 3 days later and I won in a dual meet at Tewksbury where John Dangora and ?? Romano got into a fist fight at the finish line.  I remember stopping about 1 mile into the race when both of them wanted to “throw down” behind the high school.  At the finish Romano tried to shake hands with John who proceeded to jump him.  It was crazy!  I remember Mike Granfield trying to separate the two.  Gotta love fired-up runners!  Four days later I finished fifth at the Northern Area championships at Bradley Palmer (3m in 15:54) and I closed out the month on the 29^th tying with Mike Busnach in 15:30 in a dual meet at Methuen.  We decided to tie when Methuen held out there top four runners, so they’d be fresh for upcoming “big” meets.

Old course records

I have four CR’s that still exist at races held in October. Two have already held up. The Hollis Applefest CR of 1:06:07 is now 18 years old (yikes!), it was definitely a tough year to break the record as it got into the 80’s on race day. One of my newer CR’s held up at Stark Mountain. No one came within five minutes of my time from 2007. I think Morse (injured) or Tim Van Orden (running the 5km National champs – 15:48) could have given it a good shot this year, although I hear it was pretty wet on the course. The other two races will be held later this month. The White Mountain Milers ½ marathon celebrates the 25th running this year and my CR was set 21 years ago. At 1:05:43 I think it’d be tough to get someone fast up there to break it with a $42 entry fee and no prize money. Guys who are good enough to run under 1:06 rarely do it in a race where they wouldn’t get significant cash. The final October CR is the Gravy race 10k in Canton. The talent to break 30:12 certainly exists in New England, but with no money it would be unusual for that time to get beaten. Time will tell!


10-15-89 WMM ½ marathon N Conway, NH - 1:05:43, 25th annual in 2010

10-27-91 Gravy race 10km Canton, MA - 30:12, 22nd annual in 2010

10-10-92 Applefest ½ marathon Hollis, NH - 1:06:07, 28th annual in 2010

10-06-07 Stark Mountain hill climb Fayston, VT- 23:50, 12th annual in 10

Week Ending 10-03-10

I finally got my illness diagnosed (sinus infection) and started on some anti-biotics. Hopefully it will clear up quickly and I’ll start to feel better. I decided that racing wouldn’t be a good idea this week, but did run my first orienteering meet in two years. Another “okay” week, but only a couple of weeks to Baystate and only five weeks until the trail marathon championships.

M - Lunch 3 in 21:15, PM Winni 5 in 33:28 (pushing it a bit)

T – 430am Industrial Park 5 in 36:45, Lunch 3 in 20:32.

W – 430am Industrial Park 5 in 36:14, Lunch 3 in 20:13, PM 5+ at Nashua in 35:14

Th – 430am Industrial Park 5 in 35:44, Lunch 3 in 19:46 (40+ PR?), PM 3 @ Pinnacle PT in 21:17

F – Lunch 3 in 20:59, PM Winni 5 with Doug in 37:09

Sat – Nice enjoyable 5m in 38:45, 2 warm-up, 2 warm-down, and 4+ Orienteering in Waltham.

Sun – 6:20 am 8 miles on the Bruce Freeman bike path, Petey biked with me in 1:00:58

Totals
Week = 70
Month (Sept. 301) = 30
Year = 1,909
Life = 109,280

Next up: Still haven’t figured out where (if at all) I’ll race this weekend. Planning on doing my first track workout in a long time, by jumping in for the final workout at the Gate City Striders on 10-13. It is my favorite pre-marathon workout. 400m/mile/400m with the 400’s “easy” and the mile “all-out”.

Orienteering

I've been Orienteering since 1992, but haven't gone out in about 2 years.  Yesterday was a great day to head out to the woods and work on off trail navigation.  NEOC put on a great event.  I had a lot of fun going up and down Prospect Hill twice during the 5.3km course.  I forgot how nice Prospect Hill, an old ski area, is...I hadn't Orienteered there since 1996.

Lunch Loops

I run the same 3 miles at lunch and it never gets old.  It is a little less than 1/2 mile to the park and a loop in the park is just under .6.  I do four loops and a small extra loop in the parking lot at work and it comes out to an even 3 miles.  Days like thursday are great, no one goes to the park when it rains, other days the crowds can be pretty thick around lunch time.  I'm not sure what my all-time best is for the loop because I now use a different parking lot.  I recall "back in the day" clocking a sub-18 with Robert (around 2001).  Today I ran 19:46 which is my fastest time this year (previous best was 19:53).  I typically run how I feel and keep the effort the same every day.  I never know what the watch will show because every day feels the same to me.  I'm happy that I can feel decent running under 20, maybe I'm finally getting in shape...

County High Points

Latest version, 132 county high points visited.