Chelmsford 4th of July - Carson Memorial Race

 I wasn’t sure if racing on the fourth of July would be a very good idea.  I got a PRP injection in my knee 10 days before and had only started back to running a few days previous.  Tom H had kindly given me a comp entry and a chance to run my 14th time at the Carson Memorial was too hard to pass up.  My knee was still feeling tender but wasn’t too bad once running.  I got in a 3 mile run at 5:15 to try to loosen up a bit.  I arrived a little early for the 9:30 am start and got to see a lot of familiar faces.  My 1999 Sullivan Farms t-shirt was the oldest version I spotted.  Dave La met me at the 1.5 mile mark to finish his warm-up from home and my warm-up from the start.  It was funny hearing a couple of the guys at the water stop that I know say to each other after I passed “he is still out there doing it”.  That was the best I felt on race morning! It was humid but temps were still only in the 70s, dry-mouth territory but not heat exhaustion weather.  I switched into racing flats and did another mile with some strides.  I wasn’t feeling terrible, just nervous, and worried about the start.  I’d gotten knocked down 3 years ago and with the number of small kids who jump on the start line it is always a rough start.  At least 50 Greater Lowell Road Runners gathered for a team picture (Dave and I are both also members) which broke up some of the tension.  Then it was onto the first fake start line, the second, and finally the real start line.  The post-pandemic years (the race was not held for 2 years) had fields around 1,200, this year there was a resurgence to over 1,800 finishers.  That meant a crazy packed start.
 
I missed hitting my watch at the start as I was using my arms to establish some space as we took off.  I did not realize I missed it until we passed the ½ mile mark and it did not beep.  I started it then, but missing the first ½ mile was a stupid mistake.  I thought I got out well but was feeling sluggish through what should be a quick ½ mile.  Doing the math working with the splits I had, and my finishing time had me going through in 3-flat.  That was a at least 5 seconds slower than hoped for.  Having just finished a 5k in under 6-minute pace I was hoping to run in the low 11:40’s.  I don’t think missing that first split change how I raced.  I went as hard as I could and just never felt smooth.  I got a few shouts along the way (Joe at the water stop, Petey near 1 mile, and my parents with ¼ mile to go) which was nice.  I passed people from ¼ to about 1.5 and only lost a couple of spots in the last ½ to some strong kickers.  It took all I had to struggle into the finish before the clock rolled to 12 minutes.
 
I had just enough time to grab a water as D-la finished.  We ended up taking 1st and 2nd in the 60+ with race director Bob Sullivan taking 3rd.  I grabbed my hidden running shoes that I’d placed behind a tree the previous weekend and had a nice warm-down run back to the start with Jen H.  It was nice getting to catch up and especially nice to have the race over and the worry done.  My time was a disappointment but I’ll enjoy my prize for winning the age group ($20 gift certificate to Sullivan Farms ice cream).
 
Place          Name                            Div/Tot     Guntime   Pace           Div              Age            Sex             City            St
1                 Alex Corbett               1                 9:14           4:37           M1929     27               M                Worcester                 MA
2                 John Mieszczanski   2                 9:25           4:43           M1929     23               M                Chelmsford                 MA
3                 Bryce Anderson        3                 9:59           5:00           M1929     20               M                Harrisburg                   NC
28               Cali Coffin                    1                 11:14        5:37           F1929       21               F                  Nashua     NH
 
Top 10 60+
53               Dave Dunham           1                 11:59        6:00           M6069     60               M                Bradford  MA             60
77               David Lapierre           2                 12:42        6:21           M6069     60               M                Chelmsford MA        705
95               Bob Sullivan                3                 13:02        6:31           M6069     60               M                Chelmsford MA        33
126            Thomas Noyes          4                 13:43        6:52           M6069     61               M                McCormick SC           208
136            Ken Goodin                 5                 13:49        6:55           M6069     69               M                Lowell MA              1433
152            Keith O'Brien              6                 14:02        7:01           M6069     60               M                                                 1641
155            Glenn Ackley              7                 14:05        7:03           M6069     63               M                Chelmsford MA        135
162            Peter Wasylak           8                 14:12        7:06           M6069     68               M                Dunstable MA           14
212            Steve Sears                 9                 14:46        7:23           M6069     64               M                Westford MA             480
221            Gerald Fredrickson  10               14:54        7:27           M6069     62               M                Westford MA             1065

 

Capital City Classic

 My final race of the month was the Capital City Classic.  I last did this race as a 10k, it was changed to a 5k in 2023.  Too bad, since most of the races in the CARS are 5k’s and it is so rare to find a 10k anywhere.  I’d heard the course was quick and had some hope to get in a decent time.  Race day was damp and mid-60s, which beat the 90’s (and real feel in the 100s) we’d had during the week.  I met up with Ernie Brake and we headed out for a course preview. South Main was still closed to vehicles (for the 50th Market Square Day event) so we had the whole road to run in.  The course was reasonable with the first 1.5 miles flat or a little downhill then a modest climb up Fruit Street past the State offices before a tough 60’ climb.  That left the last ¾ mile of either flat or downhill to “kick it in”.  I felt terrible warming up, I just could not seem to get going and it felt so fast (despite being just a little under 9 minute mile pace).  I changed into race gear and headed out for another mile with some strides.  That didn’t feel too bad which was encouraging.  My goal was to run as close to 6:00 miles as possible and hopefully give Ernie a race.
 
A decent sized field for the CARS series (250) was present despite the damp morning.  The depth of the field has taken a bit of a hit since they changed to a 5k as the race is no longer a NH championship so many of the local clubs no longer attend.  Based on last year I expected to be around the top 10.  As we headed down South Main three guys shot off and I was in a second pack with five guys. By ½ mile our pack was me, Ernie, and Terrence Ferns.  By the mile (5:59) Terrence had pulled ahead by a couple of seconds.  I was pleasantly surprised to be moving along a little under 6’s.  By 1.5 miles Ernie’s footsteps had faded.  I didn’t dare to look when we turned onto Fruit street (never let the competition know you are worried about them).  I kept focusing on Terrence as he slowly pulled away.  The tougher mile had me hitting 2 miles in 12:02.  I tried to push on the downhill but downtown just seemed so far away, it can be mentally tough to see the next turn a half-mile away.   With about ¼ mile to go I heard footsteps and thought I’d lost my lead over Ernie, but it was Steven Groulx, one of the regulars in the series (he’d run under 18 at SEA).  He stormed by and said, “come with me”.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t, I was all out. A 5:59 final mile had me crossing the finish line in 18:31 for 6th place overall and a win in the 60+.  Ernie came in 13 seconds later which was close enough to beat me in the age-graded scoring (he is 2 years older than me).  We took a quick moment to change and then did another loop of the course, or as the cop out on the course said “taking a victory lap”.
 
Place    Time     Pace     Name                           Div       Sex       Age      City, St
1          16:52    5:26     Christian Parenteau       MOPEN M         28        Montreal, QC
2          17:19    5:35     Patrick Cunningham      MOPEN M         29        Cambridge, MA
3          17:43    5:43     Andrew Strauss            M1929  M         20        Amherst, NH
4          18:13    5:52     Terrence Ferns              M5059  M         55        Sutton, NH
5          18:25    5:56     Steven Groulx               M1929  M         23        Chester, NH
6          18:31    5:58     Dave Dunham               M6069  M         60        Bradford, MA
7          18:41    6:01     Joshua Beaulieu            M1929  M         21        Bow, NH
8          18:44    6:02     Ernest Brake                 M6069  M         62        Sutton, NH
9          18:50    6:04     Allison Davis                 FOPEN  F          36        Contoocook, NH
10        19:17    6:13     Jason Schoeller             M1929  M         25        Manchester, NH
 

USATF NE 5km championships

 The USATF New England 5km championships moved to a new venue this year, the Great Bear 5k in Needham MA.  I’d never done this race although it has been around for 20 years.  I guess it never timed out and in my mind Needham is a “city” race which I don’t like due to logistics, crowds, etc.  I had some concerns as the link on USATF and on other sites went to a dead-end.  The actual website was also not great with little information (I was concerned about parking).  I did find the course map on the USATF NE certified course list and then drew it on Mapmyrun so I could get an idea of the terrain.  It looked like a decent course with about ½ mile before the first turn which is good for a packed 5k.  The last ¾ mile would be tough with 60’ of climb.  It doesn’t sound like much but is definitely noticeable when racing a 5k.  My goal was to hopefully crack 19 minutes, as my best time this year was set indoors (19:07) early in the year.  Based on the course topography I wanted to be no slower than 6’s for the first two miles then hopefully hang on for the last tough part.

I picked up teammate Dan Verrington and we were at the race site early in anticipation of parking issues.  We parked ½ mile away in a big lot and could have parked closer at that early hour.  We parked right next to teammate Joe Shairs who also arrived early to be safe.  We hiked to the start and got our feet soaked in the playing field you had to cross to get to the school.  Fortunately (for me) I never warm-up in race socks so I’d have dry feet for the start.  With the drizzle and 55 degree temps it’d be nice for racing but feet would get wet anyway once we got under way.  Number pick-up went without a hitch and soon after it was time to warm-up and preview the course.  I was surprised by how many people ran the course in reverse for a warm-up.  Not sure why you would do that.  It makes much more sense to view it as you will race it to get some landmarks in your head and any things you need to watch out for.  I felt lousy during the warm-up which is typical.  Dan was coming off of a sub-19 5k and he seemed ready to rock.  This would be our last time carpooling to a race as he is headed off to retirement in Vermont soon.  We changed into race gear and did another mile over to the start line.  I threw in 3 sets of strides to try and loosen up a bit and felt flat.  The crowds were already lining up as about 900 would take part including nearly 500 USATF NE members.

I counted 20 rows back and started to look for a spot to slide in, figuring I’d finish in around 200th.  I saw a big group of Whirlaway guys which included top 60+ runner Charlie Bemis and I parked myself 2 rows behind them.  Terry McNatt (CSU) who I’d run with for much of the 15k in March was also right there, so it looked like I was in the right place.  Teammate Tim Van Orden joined me as he has only run a few times this year due to injury but was jumping in to help out the 50+ squad which was “light”.  They walked us up to the start which spread things out a little bit and after a slight delay (started around 10:03) we were off.  I passed Charlie and Terry within the first ¼ mile which was a little surprising (although I think Charlie is coming off of an injury).  Soon after I caught Constantino Rago (BAA) who is also one of the top 60+ guys.  TiVO and I were working together and steadily passing people.  We hit the mile in 5:53, I was feeling good and happy to be under 6’s.  It had been really crowded for the first half-mile and but I didn’t panic even though it felt like I should be going faster.  I think that paid off as we continued to pass people.  We would end up passing 95 people, mostly in the first 2 miles and only two guys would pass us during the entire race.  We hit two miles in 11:42 (5:49), and I was thinking “hang on”.  There were a couple of dicey moments during the race when people just slowed or didn’t cut tangents, so I did have to do some last second zig or zagging.  The last ¾ mile climb was pretty much what I thought it’d be.  It wasn’t terrible but it knocked the pace way down.  TiVO made a big move on the last of the climb but I got back around him at 3 miles 17:57 (6:15) and kicked for all I was worth.  I crossed the line in 18:37.8.  This was my first USATF NE grand prix win in my new age group!  Although I outright won 14 grand prix races as an open runner, I’d only won twice before in any age group (the 10 mile in 45-49 in 2013 and the 10 mile in 55-59 in 2020).

 Our team had a great day with Dan taking 4th in the 60+ and Gary Cattarin taking 9th which got us a first place!  The 50+ team also scored a victory with Arthur Besse, Joe Shairs, Tim Van Orden, me, Dan Verrington scoring.

1                 18:37.8    Dave Dunham           M60          Bradford MA              05:59.5    CMS

2                 19:14        Charlie Bemis             M61          Derry NH 06:11.2    WRT

3                 19:17        Constantino Rago    M62          Boxford MA                06:12.1    BAA

4                 19:27        Dan Verrington         M61          Haverhill MA              06:15.4    CMS

5                 19:31        Craig Mercier             M64          Burlington MA          06:16.6   

6                 20:16        Peter Cannon            M60          E Greenwich RI         06:31.1   

7                 20:20        Richard Jordan          M61          Marblehead MA       06:32.4    Notch

8                 20:25        Gary Cattarin              M61          Marlborough MA     06:34.0    CMS

9                 20:34        EJ Hrynowski             M61          Arlington MA            06:36.9    GLRR

10               20:51        James Gildea              M62          Weston MA                06:42.4    BAA

60+ Teams

1 CMS 58:29 – Dunham (18:37), Verrington (19:27), Cattarin (20:25)

2 BAA 1:01:50 – Rago (19:17), Gildea (20:51), Tingle (21:42)

3 WRT 1:02:15 – Bemis (19:14), Warren (21:09), Peijffers (21:53)

4 GLRR 1:05:12 – Hrynowski (20:34), Tang (22:10), Hagerty (22:28)

5 NE65+ 1:05:54

6 Notch 1:08:02

7 CSU 1:08:28

8 SRR 1:10:16

9 HFC 1:15:47

10 HHS 1:21:25

CARS (Capital Area Race Series) race #1 - SEA 5k

 Due to injuries I hadn't done the CARS the last two years.  I was looking forward to getting back to racing in the Concord area again this year.  The Kezar Lake squad (Ernie Brake's club) looked strong so this year I'd signed up with the Northeast Delta Dental squad.  The team scoring is based on the top 3 Age Graded points, so it should be a good competition.  I haven't been feeling great with the major concern being my ankle which is always giving me some pain.  Lately it has been quite bad and since it has been 2 years since I last saw my podiatrist it is time to go back.  Still, I'm training pretty hard and my mileage is solid.  My hope was to run around 19 flat (and hopefully under).

I got in a nice warm-up/course preview with Ernie, Scott Clark, and Tim Cox (and his youngest son Broden).  It was nice catching up with the guys and commiserating about getting old and so many injuries and niggles. Right before the start Tom Raffio (NEDD) gave his prerace instructions and a birthday shout-out for me. In my honor, he also bought 250 donuts from Brothers for everyone to have after the race.  I also got a nice gift basket (in a Nike shoe box) from Kara and her girls with a bunch of gift cards (donut related) and a box of Capn' Crunch!  Sarah also gave me a big cookie and got Governor Sununu to honor my birthday with a proclamation and a flag flown over the Capital Dome!

Now I had to race!  I went out in 10th place and by 440 yards in I'd moved up to 9th.  Ernie Brake was a half-step behind as we hit the mile in about 6-flat (Garmin split).  Ernie pulled around and really accelerated at 1.7 miles.  I lost a couple of steps and thought the race was over.  We had a bit of a headwind at that time and Ernie tucked in behind Max Goupil.  I got back up to him at 2 miles (12:10) happy with the split and that it was a RACE.  By 2.5 I had a step on Ernie and we'd dropped Max.  I had visions of beating Ernie but he had other thoughts as he eased by me with 440 to go.  I had no reaction and struggled into the finish 4 seconds behind Ernie in 9th place running 19:11.  I knew Ernie would be me in the age graded as well as he is 2 years older than me.  I was disappointed with the time but happy that I gave all I had on this day.  I'm hoping to give Ernie a good race in 2 weeks when the next CARS takes place at NHTI.  Onward!

 

Hopkinton 5k series

This weekend I headed up to the Hopkinton (NH) 5k series race number one.  The Raffio’s started putting this race on back in 2021 when it was hard to find races due to the pandemic. The course is a simple out and back on quiet side roads that features about ½ mile of dirt road which is notoriously icy.  That also happens to be the part of the course with the only real hills two little bumps that don’t feel so little when racing. In all there is a little over 100’ of climb/drop.  I’ve done pretty well here and in fact picked up my first win of the year on this course last February.

I was not feeling very good in the days leading up to the race.  I generally run on “feel” and try to keep my morning runs in the ‘comfortably hard’ level.  Usually I’ll run anywhere from 8:30 pace (on a Monday after racing) down to slightly under 8’s by the end of the week.  This week I ran mostly in the 810-820 range and just felt flat.  Nothing in particular bothering me (just the regular stuff – glute/hamstring, ankle) just not feeling great.  I did start to feel a bit better on Friday and that is when I decided to give Hopkinton a go.  My goal was to run under 6:00 pace, which seemed reasonable since I’d run 5+ miles at 6’s back in December.

It was 22 degrees and sunny when I got to Hopkinton, not terrible for early January.  I previewed the course for a warm-up and the hill was indeed a bit icy and had some frozen ruts. The parking lot/driveway to the fitness club was a mess.  I had to wonder how they could run a business that relies on people showing up at the facility and NOT do a good job of shoveling the driveway.  Weird since it was only a couple of inches of snow.  They moved the start finish closer to the road so we’d only run about 50 yards on that before getting onto better footing.  That shortened the race to just a touch over 3 miles.

After a mile more of warm-up with some strides I joined the 34 others at the start.  After a very cautious start I pushed the pace and could not hear anyone behind me.  That was both good and bad.  I was pretty sure that baring disaster I’d get a win but it’d be a time trial, no one would be pushing the pace.  My watch beeped at the ½ (3:03) which wasn’t too bad, it felt a lot faster but I was still hopeful of a decent time.  A 3:06 for the second half meant that I would definitely not be seeing 6’s on this day.  I slowed significantly on the climb (3:13) but sort of bounced back (3:09) coming back.  I was able to see that I had a 30 second lead at the turn so it probably would’ve been easy to slow down.  I managed a 3:04 and 3:04 to close it out in 18:41.  I can’t complain about the effort, I definitely worked hard but 6:13 pace is pretty slow for where my training is at (or at least where I thought it was at!).  The win gave me my 45^th consecutive year with at least one first place finish.

HOPKINTON WINTER 5k SERIES RACE 01/08/23

1          18:41.7  6:02      Dave Dunham     58M      Bradford MA       M5559

2          19:53.7  6:25      Allison Davis       35F       Contoocook NH   F3539

3          21:06.5  6:48      Sarah Galligan     35F       Concord NH        F3539

4          21:40.7  6:59      Ryleigh Lorimer   27F       Sanbornton NH    F2529

5          21:45.5  7:01      Ashley Riccio       29F       Barrington NH     F2529

6          21:58.6  7:05      Justin Nimmo      21M      Exeter NH           M2024

7          22:19.7  7:12      Sky Sobel           40M      Contoocook NH   M4044

8          23:02.4  7:25      Brendan Curran   32M      Manchester NH    M3034

9          24:52.6  8:01      Max Goupil         12M      Contoocook NH   M1014

10         24:55.8  8:02      Chris Baerman     57M      Laconia NH         M5559

Millennium Mile

I kicked off the new year with a return to Londonderry for the Millennium Mile.  This would be my fourth time running the predominately downhill mile.  The old course started near the middle school and headed southeast, the new version started in about the same area but headed northwest the total drop of 90’ was about the same in either direction but then newer course climbed 11’ from .75 to .9 miles whereas the old course only climbed 2’ over the same distance.  There was a stiff 15mph breeze which would be a headwind that would make this a less than ideal day despite temps approaching 50 degrees at the 2 p.m. start time.

I ran 5 miles in the morning and felt a lot better than expected.  I should have known that was a bad sign.  I killed time all morning just trying to get to noon when I could hit the road.  I got my number and had time to chat with race director John Mortimer before heading out for a warm-up.  It was great seeing so many familiar faces!  I did a 3 mile run heading down the course to check it out (I’d run this version back in 2021).  After that, I got on my race gear and headed out for another mile with some strides.  I felt terrible on the first couple but then loosened up.  My goal was sub-5 (I’d run 5:01 back in 2021) which would put me around 30-40^th place.  I lined up in the second row which seemed appropriate based on where I thought I’d finish.  Nearly 1,100 shot off like it was a 100 meter sprint.  I had MANY pass me in the first 100 meters but after that I was not passed the entire race, which is about the only good thing I’ll take out of this.  I started passing groups of people by about 200 meters and would keep passing the fast starters right to the finish.  I never looked at my splits until after the race, I just ran as hard as I could.  I could not believe when I saw the clock for the first time and it was already well over 5 minutes.  Ugh.  I gave my  all but only managed a 5:19 which is as fast as I ran in an unaided mile back in May.  I did notice that everyone on Strava including me came up with 1.02 or 1.03 for the distance.  That doesn’t sound like much but is as much as 10 seconds.  I managed to take second in the 55-59 age group (and 4^th in the 50-59) which is something.  Peter Kashulines ran an excellent 4:59 to win, and I’m sure he was also disappointed as it was 10 seconds slower than his 55-59 age group record he set in 2021.

I finished the afternoon with a run back up the course and then a 2 mile warm-down around the apple orchards.  I managed to make a youngsters day giving him my award which was a nice Millennium Mile coffee mug.

All-time 55+ (all sub 5:30's)

1	4:49	Peter	Kashulines	57	2021
2	4:52	Mark	Hecox	55	2020
3	4:55	Scott	Grandfield	55	2021
4	4:59	Jeff	Weatherhead	55	2006
5	4:59	Peter	Kashulines	59	2023
6	5:01	Ken	Houle	56	2003
7	5:01	Dave	Dunham	56	2021
8	5:02	Stan	Dutton	58	2002
9	5:07	Rich	Marion	59	2021
10	5:08	Judge	Jones	58	2008
11	5:08	Michael	Dufour	55	2020
12	5:09	Stan	Dutton	59	2003
13	5:12	Doug	Shattuck	55	2018
14	5:16	John	Noland	56	2019
15	5:18	Eric	Krathwohl	55	2009
16	5:19	Dave	Dunham	58	2023
17	5:20	Richard	Molloy	59	2000
18	5:20	Jeff	Walker	58	2023
19	5:22	Brian	Mahoney	55	2005
20	5:22	James	Miller	57	2019
21	5:23	Bill	Tidd	59	2022
22	5:24	Brian	Mahoney	57	2007
23	5:26	Bob	Gillis	56	2012
24	5:26	Fil	Faria	58	2023
25	5:27	Kevin	Buckley	56	2004
26	5:27	Bob	Gillis	55	2011

Mill Cities Relay

 I hadn't done the Mill Cities Relay (MCR) since 2017 when I signed up this year.  I'd first done the race back in 1987 and of the 12 times I'd done it I'd run the long leg 7 times.  I really wanted to finish the bingo card with the one leg I'd NEVER done...the first leg.  The Winners Circle accommodated my request and it was "game on".  Dave Lapierre was doing leg 1 as well for GLRR and Dan Verrington was doing leg 2 for the WCRC 60+ team.  A carpool made sense.  I picked up Dan at 6am and Dave at 630am and we got to Nashua at 7am.  By, 710am we were out on the Heritage rail trail for a 2.5 mile warm-up.  Conditions were very good with temps around freezing but a light wind out of the north and a cloudless ski made for perfect racing conditions.

My goal for the 5.62 mile leg was to get through 5 miles in under 31 minutes.  I thought if I had a great day I might go as fast as 30:30.  I did not feel good warming up and as Dan took off in my car Dave and I went out for another mile and some strides.  That did not bump up my confidence as I felt flat.  It was great to see so many familiar faces, this is such a competitive event but also a great chance to see friends.  I saw Todd Callaghan (CMS) who was running for Wicked and Dave Harper (CMS) running for NMC.  Todd was doing a later leg but Dave would be matching up in leg one.  He had buried me at our last meeting (Rachel's Run XC), I was hoping to keep him in sight.  Right before the start I bumped into Bob Sullivan AND BJ Bottomley!  I got a big hug from both as we lined up for the traditional dropping of a brick to signify the start. 

I struggled a bit at the start, trying to find a comfortably hard pace.  We turned onto route 111 about 600 meters into the race and I counted 25 ahead of me.  I hadn't realized how many fast runners would be in the first leg.  When I've done the longer leg (number 3) I've always caught many people since I'd start further back.  There were 175 teams out there so I was in the top 1/7th but that wasn't quite where I'd thought I'd be.  My watched beeped at the mile and I was a bit surprised to see 2:55.  Much faster than expected, and that helped me relax a bit.  We had an uphill crossing the river and another after that and as the guys around me pulled away I tried not to worry as I was running as fast as I should. I reached the mile in 5:59 and began focusing on those in front of me.  I caught back up to Dave right at the 2 mile and he noted "I think this is my 50+ PR for 2 miles".  The 6:07 second mile would be my slowest.  I really focused on the next person in front of me and started picking people off.  Some I recognized (Justin Daglish, Mike Lubeck) and others I didn't.  I hit three in 18:13 and figured I'd be able to manage a 30:30 if I didn't fall apart.  I also kept in the back of my mind that it was another .62 after the 5m mark that I'd hand off.

I got into a good groove over the rolling terrain.  There were no big hills but gentle rollers that made it seem like we rarely were running on flat ground but also never on anything too tough (except the last hill at 4.75).  Two sub-6's and I was through 5m in 30:08, well up on my goal!  Now I just needed to finish!  Mike Lubeck blew by just before the 5m and then put a good 20 seconds on me in the last half-mile.  Another guy I had caught also outstepped me just before the line.  I didn't have any kick left as I felt like I was kicking the whole way!  I handed off and my race was done.

Danny V gave me some notes on where the car was then I waited for D-la to come in.  He had a fantastic race run 6;50 pace!  We had a heck of a time locating my car.  I guess we were both a bit bonky as we missed it a couple of times.  Finally we motored to the end of leg 2 arriving just before Dan who then joined us for an easy (well not too easy but very slow) 2 mile warm-down.

Date City St Dist Time Leg Team Notes
12/06/87 Lowell MA 9.60 48:05 4 GLRR very cold, long leg of MCR splits of 450/450/500
12/04/88 Tyngs MA 6.60 33:30 2 GLRR Team 2:28:03.  1st GLRR 2:25:27
12/02/90 Lowell MA 9.60 48:23 4 MBTS Team 3rd 23214 GLRR 22945 WC 22955. Mike B/Bob B/Petey/Me/Artie
12/06/92 Tyngs MA 4.60 22:09 5 MBTS 20s windy, felt good.  Scott Spence, Petey, Mike Beeman, Artie,
12/04/94 Lowell MA 2.30 11:29 3 Dave's Ran on Dave's team. 516/458/125
12/08/02 Lowell MA 9.30 54:10 4 Rogue Runners Rogue runners 
12/05/04 Lowell MA 9.40 54:35 4 WCRC 40+ Felt good, only one guy caught me (SRR) ran pretty even
12/03/06 Lowell MA 9.40 55:19 4 WCRC Mixed 40+
12/08/13 Nashua NH 4.75 28:58 2 Gate City A bit harder this time out but felt good.  617/602/558/642?/345?
12/07/14 Lowell MA 9.50 55:40 4 Gate city 50+ team Team took 2nd to WRT in the 50+ 2:41 to 2:36
12/06/15 Methuen MA 4.75 27:31 5 Gate city 50+ team 5:47 pace, was aiming for 6's.  Held off Whirlaway 50+ team
12/03/17 Lowell MA 9.60 57:29 4 WCRC mixed 40+ Relay, very even 6's the entire way.  Hoped to pick it up after 5 but struggled 8 to finish.  15km split 55:54

USATF NE 5km championships - Needham Bigsteps 5k

 I wasn't sure about doing a Grand Prix race as they tend to be pretty crowded at the start and since I've been focused mostly on cross-country I wasn't sure how "speedy" I'd be.  After doing the Great Bay 5k two weeks ago and runnign sub-18, I figured I'd give the Bigsteps race a shot since it was also part of the USATF all-terrain series (I'd done all of the races but had a DNF at Loon Mountain).  I was hoping to crack 18 minutes again, but knew that'd be tough with this course.  It probably wasn't wise to also have a 90+ mile week and get in over 6,000' of climb and descent but that is what being on "vacation" does for me.

Boy, 1030am start time seems SO late in the day.  I already had too much mileage so I spent the morning on the computer doing data entry (putting Eric Morse's training logs into excel).  I got to the race fairly early (915) and was happy to see so many familiar faces.  That reminded me of one of the reasons I've enjoyed doing Grand Prix races.  

Jim and Krissy, me (smirking) and Scott G

I bumped into Alex McHenry who was heading out for a warm-up after his 3+ hour drive from VT.  We linked up and ran the course to check it out.  The first mile had a couple of turns (that'd be tough in the crowded start) and 15' of drop.  The second mile would be faster with 30' of drop but almost all of that was in the last 1/4 mile.  The final mile would be sneaky tough, with 30' of climb in the first 1/2 mile and a steady climb of 40' over the last kilometer (.6 miles).

I quickly changed into race flats and singlet and headed out for a mile with some strides.  I felt a bit tired but the strides felt good (I hadn't done anything under 8:15 pace all week).  I got to the line with four minutes to spare but they ended up starting at least a minute early so I'm glad I snuck in on time.  I jumped in about 15 rows back, it was really tight with such a narrow start on the access road to the school.  Too bad, they didn't (or couldn't) start on the wide main road.  Off we went and it took me four or five seconds to cross the line and then another 100 meters of slow running before we turned onto the main road and I could start going.  I glanced around and saw Jeff Walker (RI) who is running VERY well right now. I'd seen him before the race and he was aiming for 17:40, so I wanted to keep him in sight if I could.  I also saw Dave Westenberg (top 60+ guy from GLRR) only a few steps ahead.  I was where I should be and just started picking people off (mostly women who had started ahead of me - USATF gives them a corral at the front, which is fair...but you have to be careful as you can end up running right up on someone).  I was 2:55 at the 1/2 mile which was a bit slower than hoped for (but was really about 2:50).  I got rolling after that and latched onto Kevin Alliette and Bob Jackman.  We hit the mile in 5:39 which was right on schedule.  Walker began to pull away and Jackman also shook me loose before 2 miles (11:17).  At that point I felt I had the sub-18 but figured it'd be close with the uphill running.  I was also running out of steam.  From 2 to 2.5 I was 3-flat and I really tried to put together a kick after that.  It did not happen, another 3-flat and I now thought I wouldn't break 18.  I kept pressing as I was getting passed left and right.  The last steeper part up the access road was so tough and seeing the clock tick away didn't help.  I crossed the line in 18:02 clock (or gun) time and was happy to find after that my chip time was 17:56.6. Goal met and bonus of finishing 5th in the 55-59.

I got in an enjoyable (but FAST) warm-down with Dan Vassalo and Tim Shea.  Dan had broken my BayState marathon record a few weeks back and was looking to chat, I was very interested to hear his account.  Sub-8s for a warm-down is cooking for me but a slog for those guys.  I hope they had fun, because it was a blast for me.

M55-59

M50-54