What happened to summer? (Part 2)

July was the start of a new race series.  Granby, MA had a 5 week series of 3.1 mile cross country races to benefit the Granby Athletic Association.  In addition to the 5K, they also had kid races of 1 mile and 100 yards (depending on age).

An application was brought in to work, and I thought it would be fun to run a new course one week.  So, on the first night, I showed-up (along with 14 others) and ran.  What a nice (and tough) course.  Part of it was on grassy fields, and part was on horse trails in the woods.  This reminded me why I loved cross-country in high school.

The series was a points series, and with the way I liked the course, I had to come back for the next four weeks.  Persistence paid off.  I was able to win my division, and my friend Katie (who got me to run the series) was able to win her division also.

My next big event of summer was the Shipyard/Old Port HalfMarathon in Portland, Maine.  The weather was a little more humid than I would have liked, but the temperature was nearly perfect.  If everything went perfect, I was shooting for a 1:55:00.  My “satisfied” time was 2:10:00.

The way that they ran this race was a little different.  Two waves at the start.  Women first, and about 18 minutes later the men.  The split in time was based upon the median finish times of men and women in the half marathon according to a report by Running USA.  This would have been great except for the fact that they had a delay in getting a police car back to the start line to lead the men.  We ended up starting about 30 minutes behind, rather than 18.

The first three miles were way too fast for the pace I wanted (8:05, 8:11, and 8:15).  Either this was going to be a spectacular race, or I would pay later.  The course was relatively flat, and I continued to keep a good pace for the next two miles (8:41 & 8:46).  Still on pace to under 1:50. Miles 6 thru 9, I slowed a bit (9:03 to 9:34), but at mile 9, I was still on pace to a 1:55… then the wheels fell off.  I “BONKED” at about 9.25 miles.

The last four miles were just a matter of me keeping myself going forward, and staying under that 2:10.  As long as I met that goal, I’d be satisfied.  The last half mile, I was able to keep a slow jog without walking, and in the end I finished with a 2:07:28. Not my best of worst… just somewhere in between.

Along the way, I heard a phrase that I now try to keep in my mind, and use to help motivate some of my friend that may be afraid of running in a race out of fear of finishing last.  “Dead Last is better than Did Not Finish, which trumps Did Not Start”.  It’s not how fast of slow you are, It’s about the courage to try.

What happened to summer? (Part 1)

Wow, where the heck did the summer go?!?!?  The last entry to my blog was before the fourth of July, and that seems like it was just yesterday.  So, what have I been up to…

 The third of July was my first in a series of races this summer.  Some were big, some were small, some fast, some slow, each race that I run has its own uniqueness.  This one was the biggest of the summer. 

The Finish at the 50 is a relatively new race, and it's unique in the fact that you finish at the 50 yard line of Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA.  Home of the New England Patriots!!   It’s now in its third year, and this year they offered a 5K, as well as the 10K that’s been around since the beginning.  Last year, I ran the 10K, and I was doing the same this year, so I had a goal… beat last year’s time.  This year, they made a few changes, race time was at 6:30PM as opposed to 10:00AM, and with two races (both starting at the same time) there were twice the amount of people.  I had hoped that the temperature would be a little cooler, but not this time.  86 degrees at 6:30PM, and there was 50-70% humidity.  CRAP!

The race started, and unfortunately most beginner runners don’t realize that you don’t need to start in the front, unless you do a 6-minute mile or less. Now, I only run about a 7:30-8:30 myself, so I start mid pack.  This is especially true when they have pace signs posted.  The first mile sucked!  That’s about how long it took to weed out the slower runners (some of who were walking after less than ½ mile).

In the end, I had a minor amount of success, and finished about a minute ahead of last year.

Four days later, it was time for another 5K.  This one was in Holyoke, MA at the Ashley Reservoir.  This is one of my favorite running locations.  The Jonno Gray 5K is a first year race that was set –up in the memory of a local athlete that suddenly passed away this past winter from an undetected cardiac flaw.

What a difference a few days makes. Another evening race, but the weather was more cooperative this time.  I pushed as much as my body would let me, and the result was a season best 23:57.