30th Red’s Shoe Barn
I haven’t raced at Red’s in Dover, NH since 1999 but it fit perfectly in the schedule this year. I feel like I’m rounding into shape and my dislike for 5k’s (too fast!) got me looking for a good 5 mile race. Although Red’s isn’t the fastest course around, it is actually pretty hilly, it was on the right day and at the right time so off I went.
I did a nice easy warm-up with JJ checking out the first 1.5 miles of the course. I had also driven the course prior to arriving in Dover, just to refresh my memory. There were no major hills but it seemed that every mile had some “up” in it. After the 3 mile warm-up I headed out in my racing flats and did another mile while getting in some strides. I felt pretty good and fired-up to get going.
At the start JJ bolted to the front and was looking back by 200m in. I’m not sure what he was doing looking back, seemed a bit early to be worried about the competition and there really wasn’t anyone to challenge him anyway. Nate Huppe was alone in second and I settled into fourth tucking in behind Fergus Cullen. I had checked out prior year’s splits and knew that if I wanted to run a 40+ PR (27:52) I’d need to run around 5:35 for the mile and definitely no slower than 5:40. There was a slight headwind so I mostly just tucked in behind Fergus and a couple of other guys joined us. When I saw the mile split (5:42) I accelerated and would run the rest of the race alone.
I covered the second mile in 5:24 and felt pretty strong, at around 2.5 the course takes a 90 degree turn which is perfect for catching a glimpse of the field. I was surprised to see four or five guys in a line just a few seconds behind me. So much for losing them with my surge. I hit three miles in 16:47 (5:41) and was still thinking I’d be pretty close to a PR. Three to four is probably the toughest mile on the course with a steady climb from 3.5 to 4 which you can see basically from the 3 mile mark. It is a long challenging mile. I got a little excited when I saw Nate grabbing at his hamstring (JJ said I must have “smelled blood in the water”). He slowed up quite a bit, but recovered nicely in the final mile.
I hit four miles in 22:28 which was pretty close to what I was hoping for. I knew the last mile would be fast but first you have to climb from 4 to 4 ¼ or so. I hit the top and pushed the downhill. When I hit the bottom I knew I only had about a minute to go, but I was tightening up. Finally I could see the clock and the damn thing started clicking faster and faster! I kicked with everything I had left and crossed the line in 27:49…a new PR. After a few minutes with hands on knees I headed out for a couple of miles warm-down and called it a day. Third place overall and first master were a bonus.
Place Div/Tot Div Time Pace Name Ag S Race# City/state Team
1 1/53 M3039 25:25 5:05 Jim Johnson 33 M 487 Salem NH CMS
2 2/53 M3039 27:20 5:28 Nathan Huppe 31 M 427 Dover NH RR
3 1/41 M4549 27:49 5:34 Dave Dunham 47 M 353 Bradford MA CMS 40+
4 2/41 M4549 28:10 5:38 Brian Ruhm 45 M 352 Nashua NH GCS
5 3/53 M3039 28:16 5:40 Fergus Cullen 38 M 20257 Dover NH
6 3/41 M4549 28:32 5:43 Patrick Connelly 47 M 286 Chester NH GDTC
7 4/53 M3039 28:38 5:44 Bret Page 33 M 324 Sanbornville NH RR
8 4/41 M4549 28:46 5:46 Randy Macneill 49 M 20271 Epping NH GCS
9 1/42 M5054 28:58 5:48 Michael Brady 51 M 20206 Durham NH
10 1/10 M0114 29:21 5:53 Cameron Barth 14 M 496 Lee NH
Splits from my four Red’s shoe barn 5m races
1996 | 1998 | 1999 | 2011 | ||||
0:04:49 | 19.90% | 0:06:01 | 20.77% | 0:04:59 | 20.19% | 0:05:42 | 20.49% |
0:04:39 | 19.21% | 0:05:32 | 19.10% | 0:04:44 | 19.18% | 0:05:24 | 19.41% |
0:05:02 | 20.80% | 0:05:48 | 20.02% | 0:05:07 | 20.73% | 0:05:41 | 20.43% |
0:05:00 | 20.66% | 0:05:51 | 20.20% | 0:05:03 | 20.46% | 0:05:41 | 20.43% |
0:04:42 | 19.42% | 0:05:46 | 19.91% | 0:04:48 | 19.45% | 0:05:21 | 19.23% |
0:24:12 | 1st & CR | 0:28:58 | 0:24:41 | 2nd Pl | 0:27:49 | 3rd pl |
1 comment:
The looking back in the first 200M was obviously to see where the hell everyone was. Nobody (not even me) would be looking back in the first 200M because they are 'worried' about losing the lead or competition, etc. I was jogging and nobody was even close to me...hence the looking around to see where on Earth people were. After the first mile, I never turned around at all because I knew it was just up to me at that point. I'm surprised you didn't realize why someone would be looking around, perplexed, during the first 200M of a race they are way out in front in right at the beginning....either that or you are just pokin' fun at me ;)...
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