Mill Cities Relay, week ending 12/6/09

I traveled up to Nashua for the second year in a row to the 1st leg of the Mill Cities Relay, for the NMC. I was not sure I would be able to make the start of the race as the weather was calling for snow and I need to snowplow. My day began at 2 a.m. when the snow stopped and I could hopefully get my stops done in time to head up to Nashua. Luckily we had less than 2" of snow and I was able to reach Nashua in plenty of time, much to the relief of my teamates who were deciding which one of them was going to have to do 2 legs! I wasn't sure what to expect with 2hrs sleep, and my legs tend to cramp up after snowplowing. As the brick dropped for the start I started slowly and my legs felt supprisingly good.
I began passing people and picked off 10 or 12 runners during the 5.65 mile leg and finished 8th in 32:45, 1:20 faster than last year. Our Coed masters team ended up 3rd in our division...good enough for a brick.
I ran back to the start after and for the first time my hamstring wasn't sore at all after a hard effort. I am definately ready for more miles and rested and hungry to train again.

week of 11/30 - 12/6
mon 0
tues 6.2 JA w/bob and brian 48:10
wed o
thur 10 from home 7:30/mi
fri 0 (work)
sat 10 easy 8:00/mi
sun 13 mill cities 32:45 for 5.65, 8th pl
Total 39 miles year=2305

Ayer Firefighters 5k and Training?

Photo: warmer days on the farm!

The Ayer Firefighters 5k on Thanksgiving was the race I had been hoping to break 17 minutes on this year. I ran 17:27 last year and was in much better shape this year. I am in the last week of mostly resting and did not run since Slattery's on Sunday. My hamstring is starting to feel much better and after warming up with Jaime I though I was ready to pop one more 40+ PR this year. I lined up with Jaime and Andy McCarron, and the race seemed to go out pretty fast. I tried to keep Andy in sight for the first mile and looked at the clock at 1 mile and saw 4:40, and began to panic until I looked at my watch and

read 5:40 which was 20 seconds slower than last year. I then got passed by Jaime and a few young guys, and realized my attempt to break 17 was out the window. Jaime got 20 yards ahead and I tried to focus on running hard but relaxed and at 2 miles I had caught and passed Jaime again. I hit 2 miles in 11:25 and by the 3 mile turn I was trying to put as much distance on Jaime as possible as he still has 2 minute 800 speed. Luckily the finish is downhill and I was able to hold off Jaime and another 40+ guy for a close finish. I finished 9th behind Andy in 17:46. After talking with several people, the consensus was the course seemed longer this year. The race director mentioned during the Awards about it being 400 feet or so longer this year, adding several 90 degree turns. I have now reached the end of my fitness and I am looking forward to serious Base training and no important races until DH Jones in February.

Training Nov 23- 29
M-W 0
Thur 9 mi ayer 5k 17:46
1+ mi at home
fri 8 mi 7:30/mi
sat 8 mi 7:30/mi
Sun 10 mi 7:40/mi
Total 36 miles Year=2266

Slattery's and Training 11/16-11/22

mon 5 miles easy around the farm and soccer fields
Tues 6.2 JA loop with Brian 46:30
Wed off
Thur off
Fri off , I had to force myself to take 3 days in a row off. Although I had to change a hydrolic line on my loader and was crumpled up like a pretzel underneath it for 5 hours making most of my body ache for the next two days.
Sat 4 miles 7:45 pace from home
Sun 10 total 3 mi w/u, race slatterys, 2+ cool down to watch Paula finish her first 5 miler
Total 25 year=2230 2nd lowest week this year

Slattery's Turkey Trot.
I have done this race sporatically for the last 25 years, and love seeing the old faces I haven't seen in years. This is a fun race for an old guy, racing against several high schoolers who tend to go out too fast and make me feel younger passing them along the way. I lined up with several CMS runners and went out slow with Kevin McCusker for the 1st mile 5:30. I then began passing several runners for the next mile and a half until I reached the 2nd woman Roisin McGettigan. I passed her and within a 1/2 mile she passed me back and I was stuck 1 second behind her for the rest of the race. I thought for sure I could out kick her but it seems my "get down" speed is still trapped in 1989. I finished 19th 28:54, 3rd master, I won a turkey (which was donated to a homless shelter) and ran 45 seconds faster than last year. I know I can run faster, but I will take this PR for now! I am really looking forward to cranking up my milage again starting next week.

Training 11/2 - 11/15

week of 11/2 - 11/8
mon off
tues 6.2 49:02 JA loop
wed off
thur 6.2 47:20 JA loop w/Bob
fri off
sat 4 real easy from home
Sun 13.5 NEXC champs 28:57 splits 5:20,11:20,17: ,23:20. 3 w/u 5.5 in 2 runs after
total 30 miles year=2174.5
rested and took it easy all week, trying to have my best race. It didn't work but I had a great fall anyway.
Week of 11/9-11/15
Mon 4 easy around farm. My body is real real tired and sore. right hammy is killing me
tues 6.2 47:10 JA loop w/Bob and Brian. Stuggled badly to keep up
wed off
thur 6 2 with Bob then 4 with Bob and Mike
fri 6.5 Tried to do a track wo. 5x 1mile in 5:35 with 400rest did 1 in 5:45 and was completely wiped out. 3 wu 2 c/d
sat off
sun 8 ran the same loop from home as last sunday only 20 minutes slower ran 8:20/mi pace and stopped 4 times to streach hammy. Still Pretty tired.
total 30.5 year=2205
My body really needs some rest. I tweaked my right hammy at Mayors cup and it seems to be getting worse. I am going to try to run easy this week and race Slattery's on sunday and then run easy for a while to get my legs back! I have raced more this fall than I have in 14 years, and I feel completely fried!

New England XC Championships, series wrap up

Photos courtesy of Krissy K

Sunday I ran in the New England XC championships at Franklin Park. I got there real early and met some more new teamates and was real excited to compete on a full Masters Team. As we did our warm up I noticed the course was in perfect condition for fast times. When we lined up in our boxes I saw another group of CMS runners gather and we ended up with 12 runners! Outstanding participation for a cross country race. At the start of the race I felt pretty good and hit the first mile around 5:20 and was in sight of teamates Scott Clark and Dave Q. From that point on I couldn't seem to get any momentum and felt like I was jogging but I couldn't go any faster. Runner after runner passed me, several who I hadn't lost to all fall, and I had no response! I gave everything I had on the final kick and actually passed 1 runner. I finished in 28:56 for a new 40+pr, but a hollow one. I really expected to be low 28 or under today and I am not sure what the problem was. On the plus side I think CMS did very well against really tough competition, I have never seen so many fast old guys in one race. I met lots of new people over the course of the fall and love the comradarie of the CMS runners.

Back in August when I was struggling to fit in my long runs for the Baystate Marathon, I decided to skip the marathon and find a different goal for the fall. I picked out the cross country series because I love the sport and knew my friend and former HS teamate Jaime Aubuchon was doing it also. It is very ironic the series would come down to me and Jaime as our Leominster HS team never won anything and was 0-13 our senior year! Although I am pleased with most of my races this fall, I feel my times and efforts have slipped since the first race in August at Carlisle. I really felt I would be able to get faster from then, but each race I struggled more and more. I think I run better off higher milage for some reason. I am going to run Slattery's and a 5k on Thanksgiving to try to get some new 40+ PRs . Then figure out how to train going forward to take the next step up to get where I want to be.

Training 10/26-11/1/09

mon. 6miles real easy on trails around farm, hamstrings real sore
tues JA loop solo again real easy 50:10
wed off I felt like my body needed it today
thur track 3mi w/u 2 x 2miles w/400rest...11:09 (5:30,5:39) (3:30rest)
11:32(5:45,5:47)(3:00 rest) then 1mile with 200hard, 200easy (51)35(65)35(67)34(64)34...6:28 last mile. I tried to do the 200 easy under a minute but it was near impossible to recover.
fri 9.5 from home to farm to move tractor back...7:40/mi
sat off
sun 10.5mi After talking with Nate last sunday he had me do a tempo today of 8-10 miles at 90-100% marathon pace (6:30-6:53) After the 1st mile in 6:18 my legs were tight but I was running fast without much trouble so I decided to keep it up at that pace. I hit all splits faster than I have in the last 3 years and finished 7.5 in 46:42 (6:14/mi) over a very hilly loop. I have to check the loop again, it could be .1 off but still a very good effort. 3 miles easy c/d.
Total 43 miles
October 194 miles
year 2144.5

my goal next week is to rest and run real easy to have a great race at the NEXC Championships!

Training 10/19-10/25

Mon 6.5 from Oakridge through the farm and trails easy
Tues 6.2 JA loop with Brian 47:39
wed 6+ from farm to soccer fields, did 5 loops of 1000 with 12x100 strides to test new spikes
Thur 6.2 JA loop with Mike and Bob 45:40
Fri 2 easy around the farm
Sat 6.5 from home in cold rain easy
Sun 13mi 3.5 warm up with cms guys, race Mayors Cup 29:06, 131st pl
4.5 cool down with cms guys and extra with Nate
Total 46.5 year=2,101.5

Mayors Cup

I returned to Franklin Park for the first time in almost a quarter century Sunday for the Mayors cup 8k. The Weather was perfect the course was not. I warmed up with my new teammates a few who I was meeting for the first time ( a great bunch of guys) It became obvious this was not going to be a fast race, but a pure cross country race.There was lots of mud and the grassy areas were quite soft. I started a little conservative and had trouble getting any rhythm throughout the race. I felt flat and slow but gave a hard effort. My splits were 5:22,11:30, and 23:25. I finished in 29:06 and noticed my brand new spikes gave me brutal blisters on both big toes. Hopefully these will heal before the NE meet in two weeks. All in all a solid day, I got to do an extended cool down with Nate Jenkins and talk running with him. I look forward to retuning in two weeks and post a much better time against all Masters, and see where I stack up.

thanks to Kristen K for the photo's and cheering the team on.

Training 10/12-10/18

Mon off
Tues 5 easy
Wed 6.5 easy
Thur 6 JA loop w/mike,Bob 46:12
Fr 6.5 move tractor to field then 5x10sec short hills
Sat off (thinking of jumping in Baystate on sun to get Boston Qualifyier)
Sun 12 looked at weather and decided to skip marathon. Ran to Doyle field 4mi then did Aussie Quaters in rain/snow (44)79(52)81(53)80(54)81(53)81(53)81(53)81(53)74=17:38 7 seconds faster than last month in much worse conditions. My legs would not turn over today so the quaters were much slower but the 200 rest was a lot faster. I'm not sure what that means but I hope to run a 40+pr at Mayors cup next week
Total 36 miles brutal low week but I was fighting a chest/head cold all week and I didn't want it to linger

Year= 2,055

Training 9/28-10/11

week of 9/28-10/4

mon 5 easy solo
tues 6.2 easy am 47:50
4.5 from farm to fields
wed track 3mi w/u 3mi c/d 3xmile 200rest
5:15(1:50)5:28(1:50)5:27
thur 10mi 7:40/mi from home to farm
fri off
sat 4.5 in rain from home real easy
sun Topsfield 8K ran the main loop as a warm up 3mi , course had some wet areas but n0t bad. Ran 29:01 , 2nd master behind new teamate Dan Verrington ( a beast of a runner) A new 40+ Pr on a tough course, I hope to break 28 min by the end of the year if I can stay healthy! Ran for my new team CMS and I am really excited to be on such a great team. Pm ran 4 miles from farm to fields easy

Week total 53.5 miles

Week of 10/5-10/11
mon 5 mi from farm to fields
Tues 6.2 JA loop with group 48:00
Wed Track Aussie Quaters 4mi w/u 2 c/d
tough workout;getting a head cold and there was 40mph winds. Only could manage 1/2 of the workout today. (47)78(55)73(52)80(101)83=8:52 I was on pace with the last time I did this w/o but was struggling badly on the last couple quaters. 8mi total
Thur 7 @7:30/mi from farm to sterling shop
Fri 6.5 easy from home
Sat 4.5 real easy from home
Sun Wayland 5k x-c, Ran most of the course as a warmup then ran 17:29
for 14th place again 2nd master and I could not catch 50 year old Mark Reeder on the track. Felt real flat and tired today, I hope to get 2 good weeks of training before Mayors Cup .
ran 2 c/d with Jaime then 4 miles in the PM from farm to fields
Total 50 miles for the week 2,019 for year
this puts me over 2000 miles for the year for the first time since 1990