New England 10 mile championships

 I’d been thinking about this race for quite a while.  Last year the New Hampshire 10 mile (USATF champs) was the final race I ran before ending up sidelined with a sacral stress fracture.  I wanted redemption this year as it was my worst race of 2019. On Thursday morning leading up to the race my left glute/hip was quite sore.  I wasn’t especially worried until the afternoon run when I felt much worse.  Definitely had some sort of strain.  Nothing left to do except hope I could race on it.

Race morning was just about ideal for racing with temps around 60 and a light rain (that’d be off and on).  I did a gentle 2 mile warm-up and didn’t feel bad, just a bit tired.  Maybe the early race start and worries about the glute had me feeling sluggish.  At 6:45am the first group was called to the staging area.  We’d be lined up (socially distanced) based on our projected finish time with the fastest going first and everyone following at 10 second intervals.  Not quite racing in the traditional sense but as close as we can get to real racing right now.  Jeff Walker was my main rival in the 50+ age group and he’d be starting 20 seconds ahead of me.  Alyssa Anderson (former GLRR & CMS teammate Tom Anderson’s wife) would be starting 10 seconds in front of me.  I was hoping to catch Alyssa in the first 3 or 4 miles and work with her as we were both aiming for a 1:04.  It was a little weird standing in line as each runner was announced and sent on their way.  I did a lot of walking in place to keep the blood flowing and 6:40 after the first starter I was on my way.

With a goal of 1:04 I wanted to be around 3:10 for the first FLAT ½ mile.  I was a bit shocked when I hit the half in 3:25. Wow!  Way too slow, but it felt pretty fast.  I could hear the guy who started 10 seconds behind me closing and he flew by just before I hit the mile (6:47).  I had two thoughts when I saw the split.  “I’ll be lucky to break 65” and “Maybe it isn’t as bad as I think”.  The second thought was due to the tough little ½ mile long hill we’d climbed.  My glute was just sore but not slowing me down so I concentrated on finding the right pace.  Alyssa had caught Jeff and they were both about 25 seconds ahead at 2 miles.  I slowly reeled in the gent who had caught me early on and got within a couple of seconds by 4 miles (26:08 = 1:05:20 pace).  I was feeling a lot better as the worst of the hills were almost behind us and the pace would definitely be quicker in the second half.  A little before 5 miles we did the out & back section of road which was a great time to see exactly where the competition was.  Alyssa had fallen off a little behind Jeff and I didn’t see anyone behind who might be closing on me.  I finally drew even with the guy I’d been tracking as we hit 5 miles (32:32).  He asked if we were done with the hills and I told him “no, but we’ve done the hardest ones”.  We really only had a few “bumps” left in the second half and a good quick last 2 miles.  I was feeling good and stopped thinking to myself “wait” and shifted to “go”.  The next 2 miles were my fastest of the race with a 6:06 and a 6:02.  That brought me up to Alyssa (we ran together from 6 to about 7.5).  It also got me a bit closer to Jeff.  By 8 miles he had about 15 seconds on me (which would mean I was five seconds ahead of him on overall time).  At nine miles I’d closed to about 10 seconds (with a 6:09 mile).  The last mile was on the Rockingham rail trail and I just couldn’t muster much of a kick.  We turned off the trail for the final run to the tape and I couldn’t see Jeff so I had no idea how much he’d got on me.  My last mile was 6:10 which brought me in with a 1:03:26. The second 5 miles took me 30:54 which was faster than I’d raced the Luti 5m back in July.  Needless to say I was very happy with that.  I talked to Jeff for a moment and later found out I’d beat him by 4 seconds!  This was my first age group win at a ROAD New England championship! 

Millennium did an incredible job putting on this race given the current pandemic.  Everything seemed to go very smoothly.  It was great to be back out there and see so many familiar faces!  Hopefully we’ll be back out racing again soon.  It was also nice to see some tight competition up front as the top three finishers were all within 7 seconds.

I’ve got to get my glute checked out, a big knot is making it very difficult to run without limping.  Luckily not much on the calendar for upcoming races!

 Place Div Div Pl Name Age City St Time

32 M55-59 1 Dave Dunham 56 Bradford MA 1:03:26.0

33 M55-59 2 Jeff Walker 56 Westerly RI 1:03:30.1

43 M50-54 1 Mark Crane 53 Nashua NH 1:06:35.7

47 M50-54 2 Dan Somes 52 Centerville MA 1:07:33.8

50 M55-59 3 Paul Donovan 55 Hollis NH 1:08:20.8

54 M50-54 3 Andrew Bragg 50 Pepperell MA 1:08:54.8

66 M55-59 4 Conrad Struckman 59 Hollis NH 1:11:17.6

67 M55-59 5 Michael McGuire 55 Stratham NH 1:11:24.0

68 M50-54 4 Kent Sirimoglu 53 Nashua NH 1:11:37.5

75 M55-59 6 Bill Newsham 55 Brookline NH 1:12:21.4

76 M50-54 5 Dave Beliveau 52 Goffstown NH 1:12:30.7

Week Ending 08/30/20

 Feeling good right up until I wasn't.  Thursday morning run had me with a sore bum (upper glute).  It bothers me now and then but Thursday was much worse.  I took it easy in the afternoon and hoped for the best for the Saturday morning race.  Made it through the New England 10 mile championships but my glute is tender.  Might be time to get some PT on it.  Ice, anti-inflams, ultrasound and light stretching haven't had any impact (although it has only been a few days).

Week - 87

Month - 393

Year - 2552

Life - 147,459

M - 440am Methuen rail trail 6m in 817s

      1130am Industrial park 5 in 719s

      315pm Groveland rail trail ride 1 hour (13.1 miles)

T - 440am Methuen rail trail 6m in 740s

      1130am new loop up trails to Barker and down the water tower road 5m in 729s

      3pm bike into North Andover 1 hour (14.2 miles)

W - 440am Methuen rail trail 6m in 744s

      1130am River out/back 6m in 735s

      315pm Industrial park 5 with Doug D in 817s

Th- 440am Methuen rail trail 6 in 800s

      1130am Winnekenni 5m in 754s

F - 435am Bradford rail trail 6 in 805s

      Noon Weir hill out/back 4 with Doug D in 846s

Sat - 620am 2m warm-up in 830's, 706am 10 mile race in 620s

        930am nice relaxing 5m warm-down in 928s

Sun - 620am 1:30 bike on the Northern rail trail (21.3 miles)

          830am GSRT group run 10m in 921s

Morse keeps me from winning

Thirty years ago today (08/26/90) - the NEAC 5k road championships were held in Greenwich RI.  Tom Anderson (CMS) took it out hard for the first mile, and I hung in the chase pack.  GLRR teammate Rachid Tbahi and I went with Eric Morse (CMS) with ½ mile to go.  Morse took the win in 14:24, I got second (14:26) and Rachid took 3rd helping GLRR to a rare victory over CMS.

Eric and I would race more than 100 times over the years.  Of the times we raced there were only 20 times that we went 1,2.  It was rare for me to keep Eric from getting the win with only three 1,2 finishes with me on top of the podium.  The race in Greenwich was the first of 17 times that Eric kept me in the runner-up position (which he called “first loser”).  Of all of the second place finishes I have (228 second place finishes!) Morse and Dan Verrington have both knocked me out 17 times.  Richard Bolt has the next most with 7.

All of the times Morse took the win and I got second place:

Date	Location		Distance	Eric	Diff	Me	Race
08/26/90	Greenwich	RI	3.11	14:24	00:01	14:25	NEAC 5K
11/22/92	Fitchburg	MA	5.00	23:31	00:02	23:33	Slattery's
09/26/93	Manchester	NH	3.11	14:29	00:02	14:31	NEAC 5K
05/22/99	Bedford	NH	7.45	37:14	00:10	37:24	USATF NE 12k
05/29/99	Westminster	MA	4.30	24:18	00:14	24:32	Wachusett Mountain
06/06/99	Wilton	NH	10.00	58:35	00:14	58:49	Pack monadnock
06/12/99	Portsmouth	NH	6.21	30:25	00:06	30:31	USATF NE 10k
06/26/99	Stratton	VT	5.77	46:33	00:32	47:05	USATF NE champs
05/27/00	Westminster	MA	4.30	24:32	00:45	25:17	Wachusett Mountain
06/11/00	Wilton	NH	10.00	1:01:25	00:36	1:02:01	Pack Monadnock
05/26/01	Westminster	MA	4.30	24:30	00:31	25:01	Wachusett Mountain
06/03/01	Wilton	NH	10.00	59:07	00:33	59:40	Pack Monadnock
06/23/01	Windsor	VT	3.80	28:47	00:52	29:39	Mt Ascutney
05/11/02	Warner	NH	8.50	51:49	01:44	53:33	Mt Kearsarge
06/09/02	Anchorage	AK	5.80	47:30	01:13	48:43	Wolverine Peak
06/28/03	Windsor	VT	3.80	29:49	00:34	30:23	Mt Ascutney
01/08/17	Hanover	NH	1.86	10:17	00:05	10:22	Dartmouth Relays

Looking back August 2015

5 Years Ago: August 2015 – I was coming off of a lingering illness (sinus infection) and only raced twice during this month.  I started off with the USATF NE 5m championships (08/09/15) in Narragansett RI. My goal was sub-29:00.

Dan Verrington and I found our way into the fourth or fifth row from the line around a few of our CMS teammates.  It seemed really fast to me as I headed down the small hill in the first mile.  Dan hammered on by me after the first half-mile.  I just felt like my tank was empty and could not get going.  I caught up to Dave Principe and we worked together.  My last mile was 5:52 and Principe got 5 seconds on me in the last 200 meters.  I had no kick left.  My official time was 29:01, and my chip time was the same.  So, apparently, I missed the start mat as everyone who started around me had either a 2 or 3 second differential.  I’m taking my watch time of 28:59!  Goal met.

50+ Results:

1          27:40    Douglas Martyn   55M      WRT

2          27:50    Chris Lawrence   51M      BAA

3          27:59    Tom Thurston     51M      GMAA

4          28:06    Wayne Levy       50M      BAA

5          28:16    Jason Cakouros  50M      HFC

6          28:19    Jim Miller           56M      GMAA

7          28:26    Titus Mutinda     50M      GBTC

8          28:32    John Sullivan      54M      GMAA

9          28:32    Michael Cooney  53M      WRT

10         28:38    Dan Verrington   53M      CMS

11         28:53    Henry Scollard    51M      WRT

12         28:54    Alejandro Heuck 51M      GSH

13         28:59    Dave Dunham    51M      CMS

                                                           

18         30:30    John Gillis          51M      CMS

19         30:46    Phil Savoy          53M      CMS

25         31:40    John Griego        57M      CMS

36         35:13    David Lapierre    51M      CMS

42         36:07    Stephen Laska    53M      CMS

50         38:49    Frank Ruggiero   56M      CMS

 

The next weekend I ran the Moose Relay (08/16/15). The race is held in the woods of Mine Falls (Nashua NH) where the trail is pretty firmly packed with excellent footing.  I signed on for two legs and opted to do two in a row rather than worry about tightening up in-between efforts.  I set my goal at 30 minutes or a bit over 6 minute pace.

My brother-in-law John was running leg 1 & 4 and predicted he’d run about 20 minutes, John came flying in right at 20 minutes and off I went. I headed out pretty hard and tried for find a good pace.  I came through my first loop in 14:45 and grabbed a couple of cups of water as I headed back out.

I may have pushed it a bit too hard, I kicked it in as hard as I could and handed off to John for the final leg.  My time for 4.8 miles was 29:36 (6:10 pace) and my lap splits were 14:45 and 14:51. Slowing only 6 seconds in the second lap was better than I’d hoped for.  John also had a good day running just a few seconds slower for his second lap and bringing us home in 70:03.  We took the victory in the 2-person relay and were only beaten by two 4-person teams.

Week Ending 08/23/20

 Got back to normal mileage and mixed in a few bike rides as prep for the “Cross NH adventure trail” coming soon.  Tired and heavy legs all week.
Week = 81
Month = 306
Year = 2,465
Life = 147,372
 
M – 440am Methuen rail trail 6m in 820s
         1pm (at work) to the River for out/back 6m in 740s
 
T - 440am Methuen rail trail 6m in 811s
       1130am Industrial park 5 in 716s
 
W - 440am Methuen rail trail 6m in 804s
        1130am Reverse Kingsbury 5m in 724s
        3pm bike Bradford 1 hour (14.1m)
 
Th - 440am Methuen rail trail 6m in 751s
        1130am Industrial park 5 in 653s
         3pm bike Sivermine 1 hour (14.8m)
 
F - 440am Methuen rail trail 6m in 731s
      1130am Kingsbury 5m in 731s
       315pm Scouting the WCRC marathon on bike 13.3 miles 54 minutes
 
S – 630am 3 with D-la, into 7 more with D-la and petey (bike) Freeman rail trail 10m in 834s
      930am nice relaxing 5m in 904s
 
S – 545am bike from MHT to Windham depot and back with a few laps on the NE velodrome total 1:30 at 14.2mph

       830am GSRT group run 10m in 917s

Looking back August 2010

10 Years Ago: August 2010 – I kicked off the month with a cortisone shot in my plantar fascia but didn’t let that slow me down much (I wore a walking boot for most of month only taking it off to run).  Eric Morse and Al Bernier joined me for a short trip where we bagged three state high points (WI, MI, MN) along with some county high points and a couple of fire towers. 

Next up was the Mount Ashland hill climb (08/07/10) one of the longest continuous climbs for a Mountain race in the U.S.  The field of about 220 headed off for the first couple of miles of paved road. I found myself in the top 15. By the time we hit the first aid station at 3.8 miles I had moved up to 8th place and was feeling very comfortable. I could see Tim Van Orden moving through the pack and I’d passed Richard Bolt around 3 miles. I was still feeling good at 10.5 as I grabbed a water and Gatorade to wash down my third and final Gu of the day.  The final part was very steep, it was a leg burner.  Somehow, I managed to hold off the guys closing on me despite my calves, shins, and quads starting to give out.  Tivo ended up having a great race, finishing 3rd overall and breaking the masters record (running a 1:55:33).  I surpassed my stretch goal of 2:00-2:05. Richard Bolt had a solid run in his first race as a master, taking 15th overall (5th 40+) approximately half-way between his two previous times on the course.

Next up (08/22/10) was the Moose 4x2.5 mile relay.  My plan was to run somewhere from 6:00 to 6:30 pace.  I got to pick which leg I'd run so I took the leadoff leg.  Mine Falls was busy with lots of folks enjoying the coolish (70's) weather, although it was a bit humid.  I headed out in the top five.  About 400m in Titus Mutinda moved to the front and I picked it up a bit to go with him.  I stayed close through about a mile then Then Titus just floated ahead.  I was pleasantly surprised to hit the line in 13:46, just a tick over 5:30 pace.  That was a lot faster than I'd hoped for.

I headed down to NC to act as the USATF liaison for the 10km trail championships (08/28/10). The Continental Divide race in Laurel Springs NC also hosted last year. Tim Van Orden and I headed out for a nice easy 2 mile warm-up. I got in the second row at the start and off we went.  I kind of eased into the race and by the half-mile was around 25th place. Then the climbing started, and I moved by a few fast starters. I passed a few guys in the second half of the race and moved into 14th place. TiVO had an excellent run, taking the top 40+ spot and 5th place overall. I exceeded my goal of 50 minutes running 48:58 and just missed money (top 3 40+) with my fourth place in the masters. I did take home a silver medal in the 45-49.

 Continental Divide 10km - USA National 10km Trail championship

1 41:59 Bobby Mack Raleigh NC

2 42:31 Ryan Woods Boone NC

3 44:22 Ryan Moravec Belle Vernon PA

4 44:51 Jared Scott Flagstaff AZ

5 45:25 Tim Van Orden Bennington VT CMS 40+

 14 48:58 Dave Dunham Bradford MA CMS 40+

 Masters

1 45:25 Tim Van Orden Bennington VT CMS 40+

2 45:45 Chad Newton Pisgah Forest NC

3 47:35 Andy Ames Boulder CO

4 48:58 Dave Dunham Bradford MA CMS 40+

Looking back - August 2005

 15 Years Ago: August 2005 – I raced three times during this month while logging a meager 238 miles (with 2 days off).  I started the month (08/06/05) with the Race to the Face triathlon.  My only tri.  I got stuck in the 2^nd wave which meant I had to pass more than 200 people during the single-track section of the mountain bike ride (6.5m bike, ½ mile swim, 2.5 mile mountain run with 2,200’ of climb).  I had a good ride then almost downed during the swim.  The climb went well as I passed MANY (basically everyone who passed me in the water).  I had the 29^th fastest bike time, 112^th in the swim, and 5^th in the run to take 18^th place overall.

 

On 08/24/05 I headed to Lynn Woods for the always fun and competitive Lynn Woods relay (4x2.5miles).  I was the anchor leg on this humid but not hot (60s) night.  Not a great night for me running 14:13 for the 2.5 miles.

 Three days later (08/27/05) I ran the Chamberas XC race in Carlisle.  I felt awful the entire race with lousy arch and a total lack of energy.  It showed as I took 10^th place over the 3.5 mile race in 18:59.

 

Looking back - August 2000

 20 Years Ago: August 2000 – I raced four times while amassing 480 miles during the month.  The 480 miles marks the most I’ve ever run in any August.  Weeks of 131 and 121 while in Europe helped with that total.  My goal was a few marathons and beyond in the fall, so heavy mileage was important, although I don’t think it had a major impact on my racing.  I started off the month (08/01/00) at the Newburyport Yankee Homecoming 10 mile taking 2nd place in 51:34. 

 The 42st ANNUAL YANKEE HOMECOMING 10 MILE

    1    51:21  5:09 MICHAEL SLINSKY        31 M  CHELSEA NY          SAUCOUNY

    2    51:34  5:10 DAVE DUNHAM            36 M  BRADFORD MA        CMS

    3    51:39  5:10 NELSON ROCHA           31 M  DANBURY CT

    4    52:04  5:13 DANIEL VERRINGTON   38 M  BRADFORD MA        CMS

    5    52:17  5:14 ERIC BEAUCHESNE       30 M  CHELMSFORD MA    GLRR

     9   53:16*  5:20 LARRY SAYERS           40 M  BELLOWS FALLS VT  CMS

   10   53:19   5:20 JOHN AYERS               34 M  BEVERLY MA             NSS

   13  53:40   5:22 JONATHAN CORSO       31 M  HAVERHILL MA         WHIRL

   14  54:14*  5:26 DOUG MARTYN           40 M  NO ANDOVER MA      WHIRL

   16  54:24*  5:27 PATRICK MOULTON     18 M  PELHAM NH

   18  54:39   5:28 JOE SHAIRS                 32 M  PEABODY MA            NSS

   19  54:57*  5:30 LOU RISTAINO            41 M  EAST BOSTON MA     WHIRL

   28  57:19*  5:44 LAURENCE OLSEN        53 M  MILFORD MA            TVF

   32  57:41   5:47 PATRICK RICH              23 M  SO HAMILTON MA     WC

   37  58:49   5:53 JOHN GILLIS                36 M  MANCHESTER MA      NSS

   44  59:14   5:56 SUSANNAH LANDRETH  32 F   NEWBURYPORT MA   CMS

 Eleven days (08/12/00) later I had a solid run at the Bridge of Flowers 10k.  The time wasn’t great (32:26) but there is a nearly mile long hill in the race.  I went out conservatively in 9th place at the mile then worked my way up to 5th place by the top of the hill.  I held on to 5th place trailing only Non-New England runners and as such was the USATF New England Champion. 

 THE BRIDGE OF FLOWERS CLASSIC

    1   PAUL MWANGI            33 M OSSINING NY                 30:58   4:59

    2   PAUL MBUGUA            38 M FARMINGTON NM           31:02*  5:00

    3   MALCOLM CAMPBELL   29 M MARIETTA GA                31:48   5:07

    4   MICHAEL CHETTLE      23 M HOBART, TASMANIA       32:13   5:12

    5   DAVE DUNHAM           36 M BRADFORD MA               32:27   5:14        CMS

    6   SANDU REBENCIVC     31 M W SPRINGFIELD MA        32:50   5:17        GSH

    7   DAN VERRINGTON      38 M BRADFORD MA               32:57   5:19         CMS

    8   NELSON ROCHA          31 M DANBURY CT                 33:13   5:21

    9   ERIC LAVIGNE            24 M ASHLAND MA                 33:50   5:27        GLRR

   10  LARRY SAYERS           40 M BELLOWS FALLS VT         33:52   5:28        CMS

    13  GARY GARDNER           29 M ELMONT NY                 422 CMS          34:46   5:36 CMS

   14  MATT KOCYBA            26 M BIDGEFIELD CT             421 CMS          34:52   5:37 CMS

 16  KEVIN BECK             30 M CONCORD NH                420 CMS          34:59   5:38 CMS

   18  CARLOS RIVERA        26 M SPRINGFIELD MA            370 GSH          35:22   5:42 GSH

   23  DENNIS FLOYD         23 M LYNN MA                   577 GBTC         36:11   5:50 GBTC

   25  ROBERT CHASEN       45 M SO WEYMOUTH MA         685 TVF          36:16   5:51 TVF

   27  STEPHEN PETERSON 34 M CHELMSFORD MA             433 CMS          36:23   5:52 CMS

   28  LAURENCE OLSEN     53 M MILFORD MA                361 TVF          36:27*  5:52 TVF

   29  KEVIN MCCUSKER     43 M ASHBY MA                  117 NMC          36:32   5:53 NMC

   31  PAUL FRATINI           35 M LUDLOW MA                 636 GSH          36:42   5:55 GSH

 The following week (08/20/00) I was back in Susa Italy for the Challenge Stellina, a 9.5 mile mountain race on the slopes of Monta Rosa.  I had a reasonably good race taking 9th place in 1:23:30 and picking up $100 (200,000 lire).  I trained pretty hard that week and into the following week as teammates Paul Low and Dan Verrington joined in for three runs a day nearly every day.  Between runs we’d eat, nap, and play cards.  Despite the hard training I still managed a good run in Austria at the Kitzbuhel mountain race (8 miles with 4,000’ of climb) on 08/27/00.  I took 3rd place in 1:00:28 and won $250 for the effort.  The final 400 meters was brutal with each 100 meters tougher than the last.  My final 100 took 45 seconds (12 minute mile pace).