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If there's one goal I'd like to achieve in this year 2011 CE, it could be summed up as: redeeming the long race. 2010 was a tough year for me and long races. I was in fact 0/3 successful races over the 10 mile distance. Some of these failures might not be obvious externally but--you always know when you didn't do the job you set out to do, even when your time or your place doesn't look so bad.
With that in mind, I'm happy to have had a strong start on that goal with the Derry 16M last week. I already blogged about it a bit on the club website, so I won't repeat the details. I was pleased to hold up well mentally over the last few miles, winning a little redemption from the embarrassment at Applefest (no you didn't miss a post--it was so bad I just never blogged about it). On the other hand, I was daunted that I ended up needing that mental reserve; my legs were wasted by the end, and it was pretty clear to me that, mental toughness aside, I wouldn't have been able to keep running more than another mile or two, forget 10.
That's not entirely surprising, as this snowy winter has kept my mileage way down--I've only been in the mid 30s these last few weeks.
Derry Mile 6
Mile 13
With all that in mind, here's a rough calendar of long races for 2011:
Old Fashioned 10 Miler (certain) 2/20 : last year went well. Hopefully I can live up to it this time around.
Hyannis Half Marathon (certain) 2/27: I've raced twice in Hyannis, one half, one full, neither successful. I'm going to turn it around this time!
DRB 50K (tentative) 4/17 : did this on a lark last year after my running friends from W. Va visited. I wasn't very serious about it and dropped out after 25K. Would like to return and finish the darned thing. I just have to come to terms with the pace that goes with the terrain, and the fact that, for this particular style of race, walking != fail.
Vermont City Marathon (certain) 5/29: It took me a year to get excited about running another marathon! At last I am, and I'm going to rock the shit out of this one! Burlington VT, here I come!
Highland Sky 40M (strong tentative) 6/18: How awesome would it be to go do an epic trail run, and visit my W. Va friends, all in one trip! I'm not sure how it'll play out, but I'll have a ruddy go at it--unless after Vermont City, I think my body is just physically unready for it.
Applefest Half Marathon (tentative) 10/1: I couldn't stand it if 2010 were my last mark on this race, but I'm not quite prepared to sign up for it again. Hopefully after Hyannis I'll be filled with confidence and ready to tear it up.
Mount Desert Island Marathon 10/16 (pure speculation): A friend mentioned this to me, and I went "oh, THAT race!" I had heard about it before and been really intrigued. I mean--the race has a fjord! What more could you want! Unfortunately the field is so small that I'll probably have to sign up soon if I really want to do it--I don't know yet, so we'll have to see. (any of you readers run it before?)
To get ready for all this distance awesomeness, it's apparent to me that I need more base. Like, lots more. Through a highly non-scientific process, I have seized on 70 miles as a peak marathon training volume, which I want to do running 6 times a week, no doubling up. I think if I can do that, then that BQ marathon time will just come naturally.
So what happened to my summer of speed! I mentioned it, then never wrote another word about it, or much of anything else. Well, in one sense it went unexpectedly well. I was able to break my old 5K pr at the Gilio 5K in May. That PR--17:35--actually came from at an away dual meet. Bloomfield, maybe? Anyway, looking back on it, I don't think all those high school XC courses were wheeled out very carefully--if I were really picky I'd probably have to give the honor to one of my old times at Wickham: 17:53, I think--but I'm not really picky; that was just a rambling aside about why some of my old PRs are the least squishy.
Writing that made me nostalgic for Wickham Park. I can practically smell that burned-grease odor that always permeated the top of the pavement hill from the nearby concessionary. I bet thousands of kids who raced there can remember the same thing.
.... Hm, right, Summer of Speed. The 5K went well. I wasn't really sure what to do next. I didn't quite feel enthusiastic about digging around for another 5K flat enough to challenge my track PR (17:08, thanks for asking). Then I ran the club handicap mile and damn near yakk'd (my own damn fault. Damn afternoon races--it's like the only race I do in the afternoon all year. I totally forget how to eat beforehand).
That pretty much takes me to the last race: the Bridgton 4 on the 4th. It always astounds me to see 1800 people all toeing the line in the middle of small-town Maine. But maybe it shouldn't surprise me--the race is well run, and the town is always hopping that time of year. The course, however, is not easy. Not trail-race hilly, of course, but still--you need to respect that first hill, and you need to be thinking about the rollers on Dugway, or they will EAT you (I am sorry to be reporting from personal experience, here).
Yesterday's rendition went over much differently. I was a bit worried at the start that I hadn't got enough water, as it was shaping up to be hot, and there was none at the line. A lot of high school kids and campers come out for this race, so there was a fair bit of horseplay and clowning around in the parking lot adjacent to the race start. I skulked around in the shade as best I could and tried not to think about being thirsty. Props to the two guys (girls?) dressed up in full-body duck suits--those things must have been wicked hot.
We were thoroughly anthemed before the RD handed over the starting pistol and set us to our marks. The shot rang and we were off. Almost immediately, a pleasant surprise. The heavy feeling in my legs disappeared, and along with it the doubtful boy-I-wish-I-had-studied-for-this-test sense that came from two pretty so-so weeks of training. I felt good. I knew I could run the flat opener much harder, but I picked my own pace and ran it confidently.
I don't remember having to think about the hills, which is always the best way to do them. Mainly I remember carrying my strength into the last mile, passing a guy, he catching up again; kicking--just a little too early!--fading off behind me as I crossed the line.
A good race, a personal CR by 20 seconds. As usual, when I finish a race with a little vim left, I have to wonder if I could have run harder. The price of running a controlled race, perhaps?
I am closing the book on my summer of speed for 2010, although it's certainly too early to write off the possibility of a 2011 edition. Now it's time to start thinking about Applefest, and then Baystate Marathon. Next calendar race: Marshfield 20K (speaking of squishy prs...)
Immediately following the Blue Hills Foxtrot, I jumped in my car and made my way over to Dedham to spectate the James Joyce Ramble. This is a fairly big 10k that puts up enough purse to bring out some serious runners. I didn't see any Kenyans this year, but the BAA guys showed up in force.
No fancy race commentary from me. I'll just post the pictures I took. Most are rubbish, and I missed half the club. Don't ever hire me to be an event photographer.
nice shoes, twinkle toes
too much energy for mile 5
I wonder if he caught that guy in the hat...?
I noticed the guy behind Maureen, because he's wearing a MV 20M shirt from 2010, which I know Maureen also ran. A rematch, apparently? I looked up his name in the JJR results, but when I cross-referenced the MV20 results, he did not appear, so I'm guessing he either borrowed the shirt, or the number. Incidentally, if it was a rematch, Mo would have smoked him--she finished in 212th place; he faded to 827th.
one more shot of Mo.
My only approach shot of Mel was totally obliterated by some other guy. Oh well.
Mike turns the corner.
I almost totally missed Dave. (I was looking for the mask, sorry!)
ditto Michelle.
this guy is not actually in our club. Looks like you could bronze him and put him on the top of a cross country trophy, doesn't he?
Yesterday I helped the CSA put in its potato crop for the year. Potato planting is surprisingly easy. The farmer has already furrowed the field with his tractor, which takes care of by far the hottest and heaviest of the four jobs. The other three consist, in order, of: (1) chopping seed potatoes into about golf-ball sized chunks; (2) dropping the potatoes into the furrows; (3) hoeing over the furrows so the potatoes sit in about 2 inches of dirt. You couldn't have asked for a nicer day to do farm work: blue skies and temps in the 60s, new green on all the trees and robins caroling in the bushes. I'd figured to spend about 2 hours there, but somehow double that time drifted by before I knew it. Something about farm-work just puts you in the zone. Potato, flick, potato, flick, potato, flick, row after row after row....; after a while the action becomes unconscious and higher brain functions largely unnecessary. After the fact, I'm totally at a loss to identify what I was thinking about; I just don't remember ever being bored.
That aside had almost nothing to do with running, except that my back was a little sore this morning, prior to the Foxtrot. It worked itself out by the time I started racing. All right then, enough about potatoes! How did the race go?
What a fantastic day for a trail run! Cool and cloudy, not raining, but overcast in the particular way the sky has when it is earnestly considering it. The woods were an emerald dream of verdurous spring-time growth, rich dark mud, and flowing streams. We toed the line at 9am and got to it.
Right from the siren two guys jumped out ahead and I tucked in behind them. It was faintly possible they were running the 3 mile, but I thought it unlikely: you can usually tell a 5k from a 10mile runner by their arm carriage--besides which,the hard-core guys almost always do the longer distance at this race.
I love the course layout for this race, but I particularly love the first couple miles as they are fairly flat, your legs are fresh, and you can really fly, spinning over all the obstacles, your feet magically finding the stable ground between the rocks and roots that vein the trail. The trees blur by, and you take each downhill like a waterfall, inexorable, flowing always into the easiest path.
I don't run this race with a garmin. If I did, I would look at it and think I should be running slower. That might well be true--but I can't bring myself to do it. Flying through those early miles is just too much fun.
Around mile 2 I started losing contact with the lead pair. All my muscles were feeling strong, but my breath was coming fast, and I knew I had to hold onto it.
In 2008 (the last time I did the 10 miler), I somehow got confused during the race and thought the limed mile marker reading "5" actually read "6". As you can imagine, it was a bit of a psychological blow when I hit mile 6 again -- near the top of long up-hill. I was determined to have a better back half of the race today.
I took some water from the 'stop at mile 5 and I totally nailed it, except I got some on my glasses. I think my water station technique has improved.
Mile 6 and 7 are tough in this race. There's a couple long uphills to contend with, then the easy even Green Trail--which nonetheless throws some up at you--and then a brief section of the skyline trail, which absolutely sucks. I knew it was coming this time and was bracing myself for it. Perhaps too much so--in the middle of one of those long climbs, an HFC guy caught me! I willed for some faster turnover, but my legs were giving what they were giving. I caught up a little on the next down-hill, but not enough. Inexorably, he started to gap me.
I reached the mile 7 mark with great relief; The last 3 miles of the race are mostly pretty easy, and I still felt strong, my attitude focused on racing, not merely surviving. I flowed into the next downhill, feet finding the way.
Total solitude for the next three miles. I kept hearing what I thought were footfalls, but any time I hit a switchback turn (of which there are many), I couldn't see anyone behind me. At mile 9 I rejoined the green trail and picked up the pace. What a joy to stretch your legs after all the single-track where self-preservation forces you to be careful.
No one near me at the finish. A big kick over the footbridge, and I was done.
Results: 4th OA (AG ? ), time of 66? minutes
I didn't hang around for the awards so I don't know exactly how I did. Although I wasn't foolhardy enough to attempt double-headering like last year, I still wanted to catch the JJRamble....
One observation: holy crap what a difference it makes on the downhills to land more on your forefoot. I experienced a big improvement in downhill speed since the Great Footstrike Conversion of '09. Heel-striking downhill on trail is scary; you take fewer strides, so each stride has that much more weight behind it. And if the plant is bad, you're already totally committed, so there's nothing you can do. Maybe you roll your ankle, maybe you just jam it awkwardly. It tends to make you cautious in a way I hadn't appreciated.
Today I biked into Wellesley to watch the Boston marathoners go by. This was only the second boston marathon I've spectated in person, and I had a much better cheering spot this time. The runners really lucked out weather-wise; it was chilly but not super-windy, and it rained nary a drop. All told a beautiful early spring day. It was really inspiring to watch the elites go by: nothing but flow, a pure harmony of motion. What other terrestrial animals run like that? Us and timber wolves, and huskies, maybe.
When the men passed by Hall was in the lead, which I thought was not his plan (what happened to finding a happy middle between leading and settling in at the back of the pack?) All the same, looking at the results, he clearly knew what he was doing since he ran such a great time. Not a win, but what can you say to 2:05:51? That's not just great, that's a staggering time for Boston. You've got to give it up for the new Robert Cheruiyot; he earned it!
I was looking for GNRC jerseys the whole time, but didn't see any! (I hung around 'til 1 o'clock, and I was pretty near the half-marathon mark). You guys must have slipped by me in the crowd. Hopefully my hooting and hollerin' cheered you on in spirit!
Derry Mile 6
