April 2012

10 years ago (April 2012) - I started off the month with a race in Newmarket NH. My goal was to run somewhere between a race and a hard workout. I went out conservatively (pictured below) and found myself around 20th place. By 9 miles I’d moved into the top 10 and I started thinking about pushing it. My calf was a bit hinky so I didn’t really get moving.  Six of the top eight finishers were masters including teammate Jason Porter who was third place overall.

Great Bay Half Marathon Newmarket, NH, 4/7/2012 (1,222 finishers)
1 Jim Johnson   34M 1451 Madison NH   1:14:17.8 5:39
2 Tim Mallard    22M 805 Durham NH     1:15:05.3 5:43
3 Jason Porter   42M 1057 Bedford NH   1:17:00.3 5:52
4 Rich  Smith    42M 1227 Enfield NH     1:17:49.3 5:55
5 Brian Ruhm    46M 1135 Nashua NH    1:18:05.8 5:57
6 Dave Dunham 48M 354 Bradford MA   1:18:14.6 5:57

I should have known this was going to be a race (Circle Trot 5k) to remember when I picked up the course map. There were 27 turns in the 5k, including a 90 degree turn 50 meters into the race. The loop not only crossed itself (400 meters in) but it also crossed the 10k and 2k and at time ran against the 10k course. It was UGLY! I went off course during the warm-up and knew it might be an issue.  Of course I was sent off course and eventually found my way to the finish.  I disqualified myself even though I would have won by a big margin.  Later I learned that everyone in the 5k and 10k ran off their respective courses.
                                               
The next weekend (04/20) I was back in Concord for the Delta Dental 5k. The temperature (80) and the wind (really blowing) would not be the best for a fast race. I met up with teammates Michael Quintal and Scott Clark (and Scott's son) and we went out and ran the course as a warm- up. The start was pretty crazy with a bunch of kids sprinting out. I moved into the top 10 by ½ mile with Scott right with me. The wind was really tough and I felt the heat in the second mile as we ran mostly side-by-side or me a half step back. I got a little ground but he stormed back and went by with about 1/4 mile to go. I stayed close and found another gear at the 3m mark (16:36 - 5:32 split) and was able to pull away in the last 10th to take the top 40+ place with Scott right behind me. 
8th Annual NHTI/Delta Dental 5K Road Race  

1          15:55    5:08 Justin Freeman      35M      New Hampton NH
2          16:13    5:13 Matt Chorney        23M      Jackson Hole WY
3          16:48    5:25 Jesse Young          22M      S Berwick ME
4          16:51    5:26 Mike Quintal          34M      N Andover MA   CMS
5          17:08    5:31 Sam Wood            25M      Laconia NH       CMS
6          17:09    5:32 Dave Dunham       48M      Bradford MA      CMS
7          17:14    5:34 Scott Clark            46M      Gilmanton NH   CMS

The following weekend I headed back up “north” for an unusual distance for a road race, 3 kilometers. Long-time friend John Mortimer and his wife were putting on a first-year race and I knew they'd do it right. I went to the front right away and tried to really keep the tempo fast on the first downhill. I was surprised to be passed about 1/4 mile in and recognized Neal Graves, by the turn he had a couple of seconds on me. I crossed the line in 2nd place in 9:48 with Neal a good 5 seconds ahead of me. 

Grantham Get Fit 3k      
1 Neal Graves               29M      Croydon, NH     9:41.81             5:13
2 Dave Dunham            48M      Bradford, MA     9:48.41             5:16
3 Jennifer Mortimer       30F       Nw London, NH 11:16.57           6:03
4 Kurt Gergler               45M      Sunapee, NH     11:55.28           6:24
5 Tom Walton               63M      Contoocook, NH 12:26.92           6:41