Hampshire Dome

Dan and I headed back to the Dome for the Gate City Striders indoor track workouts.  The Dome is a 317 meter track which is great for indoor workouts but weird trying to figure out the interval part of the workout.  We met up with Dave Q and did 3 miles to loosen up, it was a bit weird with walkers, runners, and even a couple of insane bikers on the track.  Quick change into racing flats and we hit the track for another mile and some strides.  I felt kind of crappy and Dave had even mentioned that I was limping a bit (prior to warming up).  Our goal was 8x800 with 400+ rest and our goal pace was around 2:40.

Dan led the first one and he is a metronome clicking off low 80’s for each 400.  It is always a bit crazy on this track often weaving in and out of groups and trying to avoid soccer kids who are oblivious to what is going on around them.  For the most part we ran pretty evenly, alternating the lead for each 800.  Joe and Dave from GCS were in our group and Joe would sprint out in front for most of the 800’s.  It is always nice to have people to work with.

After the workout we did another 2.5 miles to get an even 11 for the night (and 17 for the day for me).  It really makes for a late night.  I’m not sure how my back and foot will do but I’ll keep giving it a go.

Looking back to the first workout of last year we ran almost exactly the same, just a hair slower during the 800’s and a bit slower in the rest (some of that was due to other groups starting).

6x800	Hampshire Dome	with Dan & DQ
Interval	Rest	1/8/2013
02:41.5	2:37
02:41.0	2:33
02:40.6	2:25
02:40.5	2:27
02:41.3	2:23
02:39.4	1:01	Week 1
16:04.3	13:26	29:30:00
6x800	Hampshire Dome	with Dan
Interval	Rest	1/3/2012
02:41.2	2:26
02:41.3	2:28
02:39.7	2:24
02:41.2	2:28
02:38.6	2:36
02:41.1	0:59	Week 1
16:03.1	13:21	29:24:00

Newton 10k - USATF NE championship

I took it pretty easy this week in anticipation of the tough competition at the 10k championships this week.  I dropped down to 80 miles for the week and did a shorter (8x400) workout midweek to get some turnover.  I felt sluggish all week, probably feeling the 10 mile Pack Monadnock race in my legs.  I went into the race planning to key off of Joe Shairs and some of the other top masters and see what happens.

Dave La, DQ, and I headed to the race a bit early so that we could drive the course and get some feel for what the race would be like.  It looked "rolling" but rolling UP through 5k then rolling DOWN to the finish.  It also looked like it'd be a warm day with the bright sun and climbing temperatures.  We hooked up with some CMS teammates (Joe, Jim, and Martin) and headed out for an easy 3 mile warm-up.  After that I changed into race gear and headed out for another mile with some strides.  I felt a bit tired and just the right amount of nervous.  I hit the line with 5 minutes to go and staked out a spot at the front.

I tried to relax in the first mile as many runners blew by me, my plan of running with Joe was over by 400 meters in.  It just felt too fast for me.  I was hoping to run right around 5:30 per mile and was happy with a 5:24 opening mile.  The rolling nature of the course had me slowing for miles 2 and 3 but I was also reeling in some runners.  I caught Joe and Dmitri Drozdov (SRR) just before the 3 mile mark.  Dmitri asked what the time was and I told him (16:40).  Joe noted "I'm toast, go".  I could see Wayne Levy (BAA) not too far ahead and he is leading the grand prix in the 45-49 age group.  I hoped to reel him in on some of the downhill running.

I never really shook Joe and never really reeled in Wayne.  Basically I stayed in the same place from 5k on.  I didn't feel great when we hit the 5m mark (in a personal best 27:46) but I gave everything I had.  I caught Kevin Tilton who was having a rough day and could see Joe closing on Al Bernier who was also having a tough go of it.  I kicked for all I had, knowing it'd be close to my PR and I slid by Kevin in the last 50 meters before the finish.  I ended up taking 9th in the masters with a new PR of 34:27.2 which is a scant one second faster than what I ran at the NE championships (James Joyce 10k) last year.

I'll take it easy again this week and not even hit the track.  All the training is in the bank now and I just need to get to the top of Mt Washington without messing up my calf and I'll be happy!

Splits: 5:25 11:02 (5:37) 16:40 (5:38) 22:22 (5:42) 27:46 (5:24) 34:27 (6:41)

Results:

      1    RUBEN SANCA              DRACUT, MA  MA        810    24   M       1 Top Fin  30:15.4     

      2    KEVIN JOHNSON            HANOVER  NH          8523    23   M       2 Top Fin  30:16.3     

      3    NATE JENKINS       CMS   ANDOVER  MA           866    31   M       3 Top Fin  31:12.2     

CMS finishers

     25    KEVIN GORMAN             NORWOOD  MA           863    35   M       6 30-39    33:40.9     

     26    GREG HAMMETT             CHESTERFIELD  NH      864    34   M       7 30-39    33:43.4     

     38    ALAN BERNIER             PROVIDENCE  RI        861    37   M       9 30-39    34:15.3     

     39    JOE SHAIRS               PEABODY  MA           869    44   M       8 40-49    34:16.4     

     43    DAVE DUNHAM              BRADFORD  MA          862    48   M       9 40-49    34:27.2     

     44    KEVIN TILTON             NORTH CONWAY  NH      870    30   M      11 30-39    34:27.1     

     57    JIM PAWLICKI             LYNN  MA              867    37   M      17 30-39    35:22.3     

     79    JASON PORTER             BEDFORD  NH           875    42   M      17 40-49    36:36.0     

     94    MARTIN TIGHE             PROVIDENCE  RI        871    54   M       9 50-59    37:24.6     

    134    DAVE MINGORI             CHARLTON  MA          745    45   M      30 40-49    38:54.8     

    179    DAVID QUINTAL            SALEM  NH             874    49   M      44 40-49    41:00.7     

    246    DAVID LAPIERRE           CHELMSFORD  MA        159    48   M      58 40-49    43:09.8     

Top 10 masters

      7    JOSEPH KOECH             CHELMSFORD  MA       8662    43   M       1 40-49     32:36.2     

     20    JOSEPH NAVAS             NORTH EASTHAM  MA    8595    41   M       2 40-49     33:19.4     

     23    KENT LEMME               PITTSFIELD  MA        683    45   M       3 40-49     33:31.5     

     24    GREG PUTNAM       CMS    STONEHAM  MA          868    42   M       4 40-49     33:36.1     

     31    DMITRY DROZDOV           LINCOLN  MA          8710    40   M       5 40-49     33:59.8     

     32    TODD CALLAGHAN           BEVERLY  MA           885    42   M       6 40-49     34:02.7     

     36    WAYNE LEVY               WABAN  MA            8532    46   M       7 40-49     34:10.0     

     39    JOE SHAIRS     CMS       PEABODY  MA           869    44   M       8 40-49     34:16.4     

     43    DAVE DUNHAM    CMS       BRADFORD  MA          862    48   M       9 40-49     34:27.2     

     54    JONATHAN MAY             CHARLESTOWN  MA      8649    43   M      10 40-49     35:02.2     

USATF NE 12k championships

I headed up to Bedford feeling good about my training but nervous about my “easy” week.  I had planned to drop my mileage down and take it pretty easy this week but felt like I’d recovered okay from the Sleepy Hollow Mountain race and didn’t drop nearly as much as expected.  In retrospect I probably should have skipped the track workout on Wednesday which is just a bit too close to the race for me to fully recover.  I felt sluggish on Thursday and Friday but surprisingly didn’t feel bad on race morning.

A big group of CMS teammates headed out for our normal 3 mile warm-up, which was a good time to check out the course from 6 miles to the finish.  It is always a good idea to know the course and I’ve run this one so many times I’ve got a pretty clear idea of where I am at any point in the race.  I switched into racing flats and headed out for a few strides and made my way to the line.  I staked out a spot on the far right of the line and was happy that they got things going with little fanfare.

I tried to run controlled the first mile, know that a lot of people would get excited and head out too fast.  I wanted to “ease” into the race and hopefully have a strong run after we’d passed three miles. In the early miles I ran with a very chatty Brian Ruhm (GCS), he was talking about how fast the pace was but I saved my breath for BREATHING J  By three miles I was feeling pretty good and tried to up the pace on the tougher fourth mile.  I slowly began reeling in some of the top 50+ runners (Paul Hammond – WRT, and teammate Martin Tighe).  At four miles I started thinking that maybe I had a shot at Wayne Levy (BAA).  Wayne is leading the Grand Prix in the 45-49 and I kept thinking “maybe he is tired from Boston”.  I ended up catching Wayne right at the 6 mile mark but he would not be dropped.  We had a lot of back and forth through the 7 mile mark where he gapped me and I just couldn’t reel him back in.

I’m very happy with a top 10 masters finish (rare) and only Wayne beat me in the 45-49.   The only frustrating part is missing my PR by 1 second!   Maybe in three weeks when we run the 10k New England championships I’ll really take it easy leading up to the race?

Splits:

5:24

10:54 (5:30)

16:41 (5:47)

22:20 (5:39)

27:55 (5:35)

33:29 (5:34)

39:15 (5:46)

41:46 (2:30)

38th Annual Bedford Rotary Memorial Road Races

2012 USATF-NE 12K Championship

May 19, 2012    12 Kilometers (USATF Certified #NH10012RF)     Bedford, NH

Place Div/Tot  Div   Time     Pace  Name                   Ag S Race# Team   City/state              C/f

===== ======== ===== =======  ===== ====================== == = =====

    1   1/19   M1824   36:51   4:57 Kevin Johnson          23 M   182 WMDP   Hanover NH                 

    2   1/64   M3039   37:40   5:04 Nate Jenkins           31 M   131 CMS    Andover MA                 

    3   2/19   M1824   37:59   5:06 Eric MacKnight         23 M   369        Clifton Park NY            

CMS finishers

   11   8/64   M3039   39:31   5:18 Kevin Tilton           30 M   395 CMS    North Conway NH            

   15   9/64   M3039   39:37   5:19 Mike Quintal           34 M   393 CMS    North Andover MA           

   21  11/64   M3039   39:58   5:22 Alan Bernier           37 M   385 CMS    Providence RI              

   22  12/64   M3039   39:59   5:22 Greg Hammett           34 M   388 CMS    Chesterfield NH            

   23   3/23   M2529   40:25   5:26 Dan Vassallo           27 M   396 CMS    Peabody MA                 

   29  14/64   M3039   40:58   5:30 Scott Leslie           30 M   389 CMS    Rutland MA                  

   31  15/64   M3039   41:06   5:31 Chris Mahoney          34 M   390 CMS    Havehill MA                

   34   5/80   M4049   41:13   5:32 Greg Putnam            42 M   392 CMS    Stoneham MA                

   36   6/80   M4049   41:21   5:33 Joe Shairs             44 M   394 CMS    Peabody MA                 

   39   8/80   M4049   41:46*  5:37 Dave Dunham            48 M   386 CMS    Bradford MA                

   43  10/80   M4049   42:01   5:38 George Adams           42 M   384 CMS    Gilsum NH                  

   49  17/64   M3039   42:16   5:41 Kevin Gorman           35 M   387 CMS    Norwood MA                 

   50   3/83   M5059   42:20*  5:41 Martin Tighe           54 M   492 CMS    Providence RI              

   55  14/80   M4049   42:50   5:45 Dan Verrington         49 M   397 CMS    Bradford MA                

   57   8/23   M2529   42:57   5:46 Sam Wood               25 M   398 CMS    Laconia NH                 

   65  21/64   M3039   43:12   5:48 Jim Pawlicki           37 M   391 CMS    Lynn MA                    

  113  29/80   M4049   47:43   6:24 David Quintal          48 M   478 CMS    Salem NH                   

  145  39/80   M4049   49:39   6:40 David Lapierre         48 M    14 CMS    Chelmsford MA               

 

Masters

    9   1/80   M4049   39:24*  5:18 Joseph Koech           43 M   416 RUN    Chelmsford MA              

   27   2/80   M4049   40:52*  5:29 Joseph Navas           41 M   428 WHIRL  North Eastham MA           

   30   3/80   M4049   41:04   5:31 Joshua Brown           44 M   284 GMAA   Burlington VT              

   33   4/80   M4049   41:10   5:32 Todd Callaghan         42 M   196 GCS    Beverly MA                 

   34   5/80   M4049   41:13   5:32 Greg Putnam            42 M   392 CMS    Stoneham MA                

   36   6/80   M4049   41:21   5:33 Joe Shairs                44 M   394 CMS    Peabody MA                 

   38   7/80   M4049   41:42*  5:36 Wayne Levy             46 M   354 BAA    Waban MA                   

   39   8/80   M4049   41:46*  5:37 Dave Dunham          48 M   386 CMS    Bradford MA                

   41   9/80   M4049   41:53   5:37 Dmitry Drozdov         40 M   494 SRR    Lincoln MA                 

   43  10/80   M4049   42:01   5:38 George Adams          42 M   384 CMS    Gilsum NH