I decided to give the Frank Nealon 15km race a go as I'd turned 60 just a couple of days prior. I'd done the race a couple of times (it has been part of the USATF NE grand prix series for a few years) but not enough times to be burned out. I was a bit nervous as I haven't done a race longer than 5 miles in the last two years but was hopeful that muscle memory would carry me through. I wasn't exactly feeling great as I'd driven 1,400 miles from Zephyrhills to Haverhill in 30 hours from Thursday 4am to Friday 10am. A restful week in Florida at my parents house gave me hope that I'd banked enough sleep.
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| Healthy snacks my folks gave me for the ride home |
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| Rocking the 1990 Track Suit |
I arrived in Upton at 9am and quickly got my race number and headed out for a warm-up. I figured with the longer distance I only need to do a couple of miles to loosen up. Boy, I was feeling beat doing the first mile of the course. Every little up-hill was a struggle. Not a good sign. I changed into my race flats, gingerly tightening the laces as my left foot has been killing me the last few weeks. I decided to wear a long-sleeve CMS top and gloves as it was 40 degrees and the wind was howling (over 20 mph with gusts to 35). Another easy .7 of jogging got me to the start line. I felt bad as teammate Dave Harper came over to wish me a happy birthday and he tripped on the poorly marked curb!
I headed to the start line and counted back about 20 rows which would put me in around 200-250th place which would be about right based on past results. I was hoping to run under 61 minutes and thought if I had a really good day I might be able to approach 60-flat. As I lined up I looked around and spotted Terry McNatt (CSU), Alex McHenry (GMAA), and John Barbour (GLRR), which meant I was about where I should be. It was quite crowded during the first mile and I passed the marker in 6:36 which was MUCH slower than I'd hoped for. I felt lousy and figured I was in for a long day. Over the next mile I reeled Terry in and we ran together to the 5k mark (20:30). I was feeling a bit better and started picking off people. I locked in with a younger Somerville RR guy and we rolled along reaching 10k in 40:40 and I began thinking that 61-flat would be do-able. The rolling course and wind took its' toll over the last 5k, I didn't exactly fall apart (20:35) but lost the battle with 61 crossing the line in 61:15. I ended up taking 4th in my new age group placing 201st overall in a field of about 650.
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