Over the river and through the woods

Race number 5 in the 8 race CARS series (06/08/19).  It had been a few weeks since the last CARS race and I was looking forward to getting back to the series.  I met up with "Totally Bad Ass (TBA)" teammate Scott Clark and we warmed up previewing the course.  I'd raced it once before (last year) and Scott had done it "many" times.  It was already 70 degrees and seemed warmer as we checked out the course.  It featured a couple of 180 degree turns, a nearly single-lane bike path, and a mile of Cross-Country.  This year it would also feature 2 big yard sales located just before and right after the XC portion.  Plenty of stuff to worry about while racing.

I switched into race gear and did another mile with some strides.  It was definitely warm and I felt sluggish, which is normal.  My plan was to stick close to Scott and try to get ahead of him for the XC part.  Over 200 took off at the start and the "root canal" tunnel followed by the 30' climb up over the highway and then the first 180.  All of that in the first 1/4 mile off the race.  A big group of about 10 went out very fast.  I found myself with Scott in the top 15 with the 2nd pack.  At the 180 I cut it tight (maybe a bit too tight) and got ahead of Scott as he went wider (maybe a bit more legal than my turn).  It was single-track over the Merrimack River but after that Scott went back around me.  We were passing some early starters.

Onto the XC part and I just couldn't get in front of Scott.  On a little downhill with a slight turn something "popped" in my hip/lower back (which had been bothering me for over a month).  It really hurt for about 200 meters but didn't impact my race.  Scott was a couple of seconds ahead but once we got back on the road he extended his lead.  Right before we hit the bridge again Jim Angell (also 55 years old) went by.  Damn, he looked good and I was feeling ragged.  I stayed close but Jim gapped me as we went up over the highway.  When we hit the root canal I found a kick and was able to get around him and put a second on him.  Scott ended up taking the 50+ in 18:16 with me second in 18:26.

Next up will be the Capital Classic 10k in 2 weeks.  Looking forward to a longer race!

Age Graded

                   MALE MASTERS AGE GRADED CARS RESULTS
           *****************************************************

Place Time    Agtime  Agegrd% Name                     Sex Age Hometown                   
===== ======= ======= ======= ======================== === === ======================= 
    1   18:26   15:36   83.20 Dave Dunham              M    55 Bradford MA             
    2   18:27   15:38   83.12 Jim Angell               M    54 Hopkinton NH            
    3   18:16   15:42   82.65 Scott Clark              M    53 Gilmanton NH            
    4   19:52   15:53   81.72 Mike Barry               M    62 Northwood NH            
    5   19:55   16:04   80.84 Gregory Peters           M    61 Laconia NH              
    6   20:34   17:25   74.57 Vincent Perelli          M    55 Penacook NH             
    7   21:32   17:30   74.15 Jay Smith                M    60 Concord NH              
    8   22:19   17:51   72.75 John Tuttle              M    62 Alton NH                
    9   22:41   18:45   69.25 Stuart Siegler           M    58 Alton Bay NH            
   10   25:15   18:46   69.18 Tom Walton               M    70 Contoocook NH    

Overall

    1   1/3    MOPEN   16:57   16:56  5:27 Andrew Tuttle          23 M   197 Alton NH                  76.67% 
    2   2/3    MOPEN   17:34   17:33  5:39 Sam Evans-Brown        33 M   284 Concord NH                74.86% 
    3   3/3    MOPEN   17:39   17:39  5:41 Colin Lessard          17 M   107 Bow NH                    74.14% 
    4   1/10   M1519   17:47   17:46  5:43 Sam Berube             18 M    46 Bow NH                    73.11% 
    5   2/10   M1519   18:09   18:08  5:50 Benjamin Neff          16 M   140 Bow NH                    73.05% 
    6   1/27   M5059   18:16   18:16  5:53 Scott Clark            53 M   194 Gilmanton NH              82.65% 
    7   1/11   M3039   18:23   18:21  5:55 Kevin Crowley          33 M   212 Concord NH                71.60% 
    8   2/27   M5059   18:26   18:26  5:56 Dave Dunham            55 M    15 Bradford MA               83.20% 
    9   3/27   M5059   18:28   18:27  5:57 Jim Angell             55 M   147 Hopkinton NH              83.12% 
   10   1/8    M2029   18:33   18:31  5:58 Timothy Lindberg       25 M   181 Ashland NH                70.12% 
   11   3/10   M1519   18:38   18:37  6:00 Gabriel Neff           17 M   141 Bow NH                    70.29% 
   12   1/15   M6069   19:56   19:52  6:24 Mike Barry             62 M    95 Northwood NH              81.72% 
   13   2/15   M6069   19:58   19:55  6:25 Gregory Peters         61 M    61 Laconia NH                80.84% 
   14   2/8    M2029   19:58   19:57  6:26 Dylan Tuttle           22 M   221 Alton NH                  65.08% 
   15   3/8    M2029   20:05   20:04  6:28 Michael Roy            22 M   246 Northfield NH             64.70%