Week ending 2/14/10

Another decent week which included two workouts and one race. Here is the quick summary:

Mon 2/8/10 8 miles 1:04:00 easy

Tue 2/9/10 8.8 miles in 1:03:30 which included 4 x 1/2 mile uphill repeats at 2:58 w/3:00 rest

Wed 2/10/10 8.5 in 1:04 20 minutes on grass

Thur 2/11/10 8 miles which included 8 x 1/4 at 80 seconds w/80 seconds rest

Fri 2/12/10 2 miles easy very sore

Sat 2/13/10 3 warmup/ 5 mile race 28:18/3 warmdown

Sun 2/14/10 8 easy miles in 1:08

54.2 for week 6:49:25 of running

Bradford Valentine 5 mile

Saturday morning I traveled over to Bradford, MA to race in the 19th Annual Valentine 5 mile/6k road race. This is another local road race which has an incredible tradition. It is also another race which I have never competed in before which is amazing since I lived on the course (Salem St) for 5 years. After bumping into Reno Stirrat and his wife Susan and Double D (Dave Dunham) and his wife Cathy, I travelled over to Dan Verrington's house which is at about the 1/3 of a mile mark. Dan and his wife, Martha, open up their doors for a few of us to warmup/warmdown and get ready to race. After walking to the start with Dan (so he could get his bib #) we went out for a 24 minute warmup and got ready to race. I was feeling good considering I did not decide to race until 7:30 AM but with a 10:00 start and clear skies with a nice strong wind I felt pretty good. My workouts over the past week had been good and I definately was not overraced. In fact, this was my first "road race" since Thanksgiving.

I got out really good (leading for about 100 yards) until the big guns showed up (Double J, Matt Germain, Joshua Gordon, snowshoe ace /RI resident Bob Jackman, Chris Mahoney and Dan V.) I thought about going with them but knew that would be a bad decision. Dan V. gapped me pretty quickly but I just tried to maintain enough contact hoping I could reel him back in at some future point. I hit mile 1 in 5:25 and was probably 10 seconds behind the lead pack and about 5 seconds behind Dan. Basically, the entire race was chasing Dan and just trying not to lose any more contact with him. MQ was at Carter's Ice Cream stand "filming the race" offering encouragement. Mile 2 was reached in 10:58 (5:33) and the course starts to get hilly and the wind was pretty strong. I felt real strong on the uphills and actually thought I could catch Dan (who was glancing back at every turn and I would offer a wave :))

At the Bradford CC, the 5 mile race meets up with the 6k race (very similar to the Feaster 5 when the 8k meets the 5k at 3.5). This is mile 3 (16:52) so my split was 5:54 (uphill w/ wind) and I was entertaining thoughts of catching Dan but he must of matched every surge I had. I really worked the climb at 3 miles and I think this is where we were closest to each other as we made a right turn towards the 4 mile mark. Dan hit the 4 mile mark in around 22:25 because he said he needed a 5:35 to break 28:00. I hit the 4 mile mark in 22:32 so I was only 7 seconds back but I was starting to feel the effort a bit with each stride. I kept pushing all the way to the end and finished in 28:18 ( 2 seconds off my PR) and 13 seconds off Dan V. He finished a bit stronger than me and seemed to have more on the downhill finish. Mile 5 was 5:46. 7 th place overall / 2nd master.

Last two weeks plus January totals

Week ending 1/31/10

M 1/25 4.2 easy in 32:51

T 1/26 AM 7miles in 53:00/ PM 1.5 in 10:00

W 1/27 0

Th 1/28 10 miles in 1:20

Fri 1/29 5.5 miles in 42:04

Sat 1/30 3 warmup/1 mile on SS/ 5 miles SS race (35:33)/ 3 mile warmdown

Sun 1/31 14 solo in 1:51:56

54.2 miles for week 7:09:06 running time...lots of leg and hammy/leg issues

Week ending 2/7/10

M 2/1 0

T 2/2 5.5 miles in 41:42/31 minutes on bike

W 2/3 AM 6 miles in 45:00/ PM 2 miles in 14:45

Th 2/4 7.2 miles in 52:00

Fr 2/5 7.1 in 56:37

Sat 2/6 9 miles in 1:06:51

Sun 2/7 PM 30 min on bike followed by 8 miles in 1:10:57

44.8 miles / 2 bike sessions/ 5:47:54 running time

Nothing to write home about but getting something in each day. Legs are feeling better and I should note that on Thursday I did 8 x 440 on roads with a 440 jog hitting each in 81 or better and got as low as 74.

January resulted in 229.5 miles with 5 days off. Total time run in January was 28:50:32

1 race (Snowshoe) 16th out of 91

Sidehiller Snowshoe (Sandwich, NH) 5.2 miles

Double J graciously picked me up at my house and we headed up to Sandwich, NH for the 6th annual Sidehiller Snowshoe race. Paul Kirsch, race founder and director, hosts the event and does a wonderful job as the race is one of three East region National qualifiers for the March snowshoe Nationals. This would be my first race of 2010 and only my 2nd snowshoe race ever, so anything, short of not finishing, was my goal. We arrived in the parking lot around 9:50 AM which gave us ample time to sign up and get prepared for a 3 mile warmup on the roads with Double D (who lent me some Atlas dual-trac SS's), Eric Morse, Jim Pawlicki, Scott Mason and several Tuesday Night Turtles. I felt good and after another warmup on SS's (after Dave helped me get them on properly) the race started promptly at 11 AM. Due to rain earlier in the week the course was modified into a 3 lap (1.73 mile per lap) around the relatively flat fairgrounds.

After Paul gave the race commands, 91 hearty souls took off. I put myself up front and soon found myself in about 20th place. There were many fast and talented runners in attendance so I just tried to hang as close to Double D, Eric M and Steve Wolfe and other 40+ racers. Having limited experience on snowshoes makes it very strange and awkward but soon I was getting the hang of it and I just tried to relax and

not lose too much contact with the guys I wanted to race with. The flat to downhill sections gave me the least amount of trouble but once we go to the single track section, I felt like the trail was boxing me around. The only climb was minimal and on the first go around I went up without any problem. As we approached the 1st circuit I was about 15 seconds behind Double D (11:22). By this time, I had other racers to concern myself with and both were 40+. They were Dave Principie (TNT) and Stan Snow (VT).

I knew I wasn't going to be able to hang with the top 3 masters (DD, Wolfie and Eric Morse) after the 1st lap but I had company the next two go arounds.

I hit the 2nd lap in about 23:30 (12:08) and finished 16th in 35:33 (12:03). I qualified for the nationals.

Up front, Kevin Tilton (CMS/Innov8) took the win with Josh Ferenc 2nd and Jim "Double J" Johnson (CMS/Innov8) 3rd.

Last 2 weeks (weeks ending 1/17/10 & 1/24/10)

I have not written a blog entry in awhile and feel that I should briefly recap my training for the last two weeks. No races run so no race reports. No significant difference from prior weeks but I am attempting to build up my mileage while being cautious not to overdo it.

Week Ending 1/17/10

Monday 1/11/10 AM 6 miles 44;23

PM 4.5 miles 33:04

Tuesday 1/12/10 6 miles 43;30

Wednesday 1/13/10 9 miles 1:03:45 out and back to Drew Rd (Derry prep course)

turned around midway up hill

Thursday 1/14/10 4.5 miles easy jog

Friday 1/15/10 9+ miles 1:05:46 same course a s Wed but ran all the way up

Drew Rd (ran to Weber Forest entrance)

Saturday 1/16/10 10 miles in 1:09:54 with Paul Young and Michael Q in NA

Sunday 1/17/10 0

Totals 7 runs in 6 days 49.0 miles 5:55:32

Week ending 1/24/10

Monday 1/18/10 10 miles 1:15:50 used Yaktracks

Tuesday 1/19/10 8.5 miles 1:04:14 (Yaktracks)

Wednesday 1/20/10 8 miles 58:00 (Yaktracks)

Thursday 1/21/10 10 miles 1:13:15 out and back to Weber Forest (ran on some

snowmobile trails)

Friday 1/22/10 AM 5.4 miles 38:00

PM 4 miles 29:00

Saturday 1/23/10 0

Sunday 1/24/10 11.25 miles 1:22:40 ran to 4 mile of Prep 16 course and ran w/ J

Gorman for 3.5 miles

Totals 7 runs in 6 days 57.2 miles 7:00:59

Week ending 1/10/09

Another decent week but the total mileage is still lower than my expectations. The quality is good and I feel pretty good and I am pleased with the progress thus far. I hope the weather warms up a bit to make things a bit easier soon. I ran 6 days this week and ran a total of 48.1 miles with 7 total runs which took a total time of 5:59:00.

Monday 1/4/10 5 miles easy in 34:00

Tuesday 1/5/10 8 miles in 1:02 -Hot Dog hill short version

Wednesday 1/6/10 AM 43:00 5.5 miles PM 46:21 6 miles

Thursday 1/7/10 off

Friday 1/8/10 8.5 miles in 1:00:54

Saturday 1/9/10 7.65 total miles 20 warmup/2.65 in 15:34/20 min cooldown "dd"

Sunday 1/10/10 7.5 miles in PM after Pats loss in 55:39

More of the same next week with an effort to increase mileage and incorporate some snowshoeing. Possibly a 5k tempo effort at the Fudgicle on Saturday.

Time trial

During my run tonight, I decided to do a time trial over my old HS XC course in North Andover, MA. After a 20 minute warmup, I got to the start of the course and went out conservatively and hit the rolling mile in 6:20. During my HS days (77-80), I would generally hit this mile in an easy sub 5 and I believe I hit in 4:48 when I set the course record my senior year (12:45 for 2.65 miles all roads with one significant hill at the mile). After the mile tonight, I began to work the hill and made a serious effort on the downhills and hit two miles in 11:40. It should be noted that there is a lot of downhill at 1.25 miles. I was really just holding pace and not over doing it (on top of dodging the night traffic). I finished strong and was not winded at all. I hit the Mill Pond bridge in 14 minutes and finished the course in 15:19. I have to add a bit of time to that due to the new HS entrance which has erased the old XC course finish. I would say about 15 seconds. So my time would be about 15:34 (5:53 pace).

Finished up with a 20 minute cooldown..