This was the 9th time I’ve headed down to New Bedford to take a shot at the (not) scenic 13 mile course and take on the best in New England in the ½ marathon championship.
I worked out some splits based on my other times at the race (I’ve run 1:05:02 as my best and 1:18:22 as my worst). The course has some rolling hills early, some windy miles in the latter parts and a tough hill at 12 miles. My time at the 10 mile a couple of weeks ago (57:15) projected to a 1:16:02 on the MacMillan pace projections. I thought if I had a really good day I might crack 1:16 so I wrote up splits for a 1:15:00. I would be very disappointed if I didn’t break my masters PR of 1:17:11.
Dan Verrington and I did an easy 2 mile warm-up 45 minutes before the start. I felt queasy and Dan was complaining about a hamstring (after he mentioned his hamstring MINE started to hurt). We switched into racing flats and walked to the line. I headed to the far right of the line and no one seemed to want to get right up on the line so I did. It was a good spot to be in; I got out clean and didn’t have to worry about getting tripped up.
I immediately spotted teammates Joe Shairs and Ross Krause. Ross had asked what pace I’d planned and told me before the start he’d be keying off me. Joe was just a step or two behind me at the 10 mile so I expected to be around him. We hit the mile just a couple of seconds slower than the projection, which was fine. I really wanted to be within 5 seconds of the predicted split so I’d be around 1:16 flat at the finish. The second mile was much faster than anticipated, I’m not sure why (maybe a fault in my math?). We basically ran together through the hilly up and down of miles three and four.
Just before four miles the course gets very fast and straight and I believe we had a bit of a tail-wind. We hit 5 miles in 28:30 which was within 10 seconds of where I wanted to be and I tucked in behind a group that was blocking any wind and just tried to concentrate on staying on the back of the pack. It felt a little quick at times but I also felt really good at other times. I kept thinking “go another mile with them and see how you feel”.
I was a bit shocked when Dan came by right around 6 miles. He must have been feeling good because he just flew by! I ended up re-grouping and sticking with Dan and Paul Hammond (Whirlaway) through the next couple of miles. Seven was right on, but 8 was 13 seconds behind pace. I was still thinking I’d be in the 1:16 range at that point. Nine miles was a very windy stretch and Paul, Dan, and I slowed to over 6:00 pace. I wasn’t worried and was feeling pretty decent. I looked ahead and was tracking Wayne Levy (top 45-49 at the 10 mile) and he was 30 seconds ahead at 9. I thought “I’ve got a chance at catching him if I can get a few seconds a mile on him”. I swear that a quarter mile later I was thinking “I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish”. My legs just ran out of gas. Even with that I ran my second fastest 10 mile since turning forty going through 10 only 30 seconds slower than I’d raced at the 10 mile a few weeks back.
The last 3.1 miles were a struggle. My head was still in it but my body would not listen. Dan was about 10 seconds up and seemed catch-able, but I just couldn’t increase my pace. I had Paul Hammond right next to me (snorting, wheezing, and moaning) which kept me motivated but every time I made a move he’d cover it. I had nothing left down the final straight as he kicked in to beat me handily.
I ended up 11th in the masters in 1:16:48 which is a new PR for me by 23 seconds it is also my best ½ marathon time since 2002. The lesson I’ve learned from this race is that my training is lacking for a half-marathon. I think I’m about as fit as I’ve ever been since turning 40 but the way I’m training (mostly 2 runs a day) is not conducive to a fast half. I have no plans on changing my training because I believe the double runs are also one of the reasons I’ve been able to train consistently and get all the PR’s I’ve been getting. I’ll just have to avoid doing any half-marathons J
The CMS masters team had another excellent day, but got smoked by the excellent BAA. Results below don't include the previously mentioned Wayne Levy. MALE MASTERS TEAM RESULTS (17 teams)
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1. Central Mass Striders
1:14:39 1:15:12 1:15:54 1:16:30 1:16:48 (1:17:36) (1:36:02) = 6:19:03
GEORGE ADAMS 41 M, JOE SHAIRS 43 M, JASON PORTER 43 M, DAN VERRINGTON
42 M, DAVE DUNHAM 47 M, JOHN PAJER 49 M, JOSEPH ALFANO 46 M
2. BAA
1:11:00 1:11:13 1:19:18 1:19:38 1:20:52 (1:21:15) (1:24:04) = 6:22:01
PETER HAMMER 45 M, KEVEN O'NEIL 42 M, REY FLORES 47 M, JON SCHOENBERG
48 M, PAT STUMBRAS 53 M, MICHAEL MCGRANE 41 M, BERNIE O'REILLY 49 M
3. Somerville RoadRunners
1:14:20 1:14:55 1:16:01 1:17:11 1:21:27 (1:25:53) (1:26:33) = 6:23:54
ROBERT CIPRIANO 52 M, JONATHAN MAY 43 M, JOE O'LEARY 44 M, RORY FAGAN
49 M, CHRISTOPHER SMITH 46 M, MARTIN VAN WALSUM 53 M, JEFFREY SILVEIRA
50 M
4. Whirlaway
1:16:43 1:17:35 1:17:56 1:18:49 1:19:09 (1:19:50) (1:19:53) = 6:30:12
PAUL HAMMOND 52 M, BRIAN ALLEN 40 M, SCOTT ANDERSON 47 M, EPHRAIM
EZEKIEL 54 M, MICHAEL COONEY 50 M, PAUL DOE 52 M, ERIC BEAUCHESNE 42 M
5. GMAA
1:13:54 1:14:32 1:20:25 1:22:52 1:23:34 (1:26:37) (1:29:36) = 6:35:17
JOE NOONAN 43 m, NORM LARSON 56 M, BOB AYERS JR. 51 M, JACK PILLA 53 M,
ALLEN MEAD 42 M, TIM ZITER 40 M, JIM FARRINGTON 42 M
My splits
Running | 1:15:00 | |||
Time | Predicted | +/- | ||
1 mile | 05:32 | 5:32 | 5:29 | 0:03 |
2 mile | 11:04 | 5:32 | 5:47 | 0:15 |
3 mile | 16:57 | 5:53 | 5:52 | 0:01 |
4 mile | 22:53 | 5:56 | 5:54 | 0:02 |
5 mile | 28:30 | 5:37 | 5:31 | 0:06 |
6 mile | 34:15 | 5:45 | 5:34 | 0:11 |
7 mile | 39:47 | 5:32 | 5:31 | 0:01 |
8 mile | 45:39 | 5:52 | 5:39 | 0:13 |
9 mile | 51:52 | 6:13 | 5:52 | 0:21 |
10 mile | 57:45 | 5:53 | 5:41 | 0:12 |
11 mile | 1:03:46 | 6:01 | 5:45 | 0:16 |
12 mile | 1:09:54 | 6:08 | 5:51 | 0:17 |
13.1 mile | 1:16:48 | 6:54 | 6:32 | 0:22 |
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