tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18101019635204232852024-03-12T19:34:35.697-07:00Pat Rich's Running BlogRun in such a way as to get the prize.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.comBlogger287125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-43289571238059575022023-06-21T11:56:00.003-07:002023-06-21T11:56:32.467-07:00Go Out and Go On<p> <a href="https://youtu.be/MraYqQRwlIE">https://youtu.be/MraYqQRwlIE</a></p>Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-68265080841602806482023-06-19T08:51:00.002-07:002023-06-19T08:51:36.738-07:00Hot Cats on band camp<p> <a href="https://hotcats.bandcamp.com/?from=search&search_item_id=4266877752&search_item_type=b&search_match_part=%3F&search_page_id=2666163124&search_page_no=1&search_rank=4&search_sig=78e90dff3845042a2861033d87d40a28">https://hotcats.bandcamp.com</a></p><p>Since I've "retired" from running, I've mostly been spending my free time watching my son Ben improve as a runner in his first two years of high school and writing and recording some songs with some old friends. You can listen at the link above. Thanks!</p>Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-57282913316028974002020-06-27T11:22:00.001-07:002020-06-27T11:22:17.595-07:00Four miles solo todayI'm catching that wave of "return to normality" that's coming through and hopefully getting my butt in gear running-wise. I've had an amazing stretch of regular running (2-3 days a week, 2-3 miles/day, 9:00-10:00/mi.) with Ben which I hope will continue as my personal running dreams come back into focus.<br />
<br />
This will be my third week in a row over 20k (which is only 12.4 miles) after a month and a half of half that per week.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-2748274429419843192020-06-25T16:25:00.002-07:002020-06-25T16:25:57.172-07:00Recent RunningSince the beginning of April, I've been running two-three times a week with my thirteen-year-old son Ben to keep him moving in preparation of the imminent 8th grade XC season that begins this September.<br />
<br />
I'm hoping to supplement that with a little more solo effort on the side and get back in shape for Mt. Washington '21.<br />
<br />
<br />Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-63608487892368540252019-04-22T08:52:00.001-07:002019-04-22T08:52:27.899-07:00While the mice are away, the cat will run more, I guessThis past week of training was my highest mileage in four years and here's how it shook out:<br />
<br />
Saturday, April 13 - Merrimack River Trail Race in Andover, with a couple miles before and after with Heather and long-lost teammate Kevin Tilton (13.4 total). This race left me sore in areas I hadn't utilized since last year's event. My inov-8 trail talon 235's arrived just in time, and I think they probably made the difference from last year (30s faster).<br />
<br />
Sunday, April 14 - Heather, Ben, Grace, Emma and Rebekah headed down to NJ to see Heather's family for the first part of school vacation. I did 14 miles at 6:37/mi. in the afternoon<br />
<br />
Marathon Monday, April 15 - 8 miles in the morning before watching the marathon on tv; just under 4 miles easy afterwards (first 'double' of the year)<br />
<br />
Tuesday, April 16 - 12 miles in the morning at 7:00/mi.; big breakfast; 6 and a half in the afternoon<br />
<br />
Wednesday, April 17 - 10 miles at 9 am; another 6 and a half in the early pm just before family got back<br />
<br />
Thursday, April 18 - 9 at lunch, just over 7:00/mi.<br />
<br />
Friday, April 19 - 12 and a half just under 7:00/mi.<br />
<br />
Saturday, April 20 - early (5:50 am) 15 miles, longest run of the year<br />
<br />
Sunday, April 21 - 8<br />
<br />
Monday-Sunday total: 91.8 miles<br />
(Sunday-Saturday total, which is what my spreadsheet log uses, was 98)<br />
<br />
Either way, my highest mileage week since February 2015. If I run Cape Cod this fall and/or Boston next spring, I hope I can get a stretch of weeks like this. Hopefully, I can start getting my butt out of bed around 6 during the week and get some of Bob Wiles' 'Free Mileage' in before I take Ben to school...<br />
<br />Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-14880936531621288772019-04-18T08:20:00.000-07:002019-04-18T11:00:13.202-07:00Ben's first season of XCMy son Ben entered sixth grade this fall and turned 12 in September and had his first chance to be a part of a school running team. His coach was someone I have known for years and even worked under as an assistant back before Ben was born, so that was cool.<br />
<br />
Prior to the fall season, Ben's running had consisted of a handful of road/trail races and some consistent racing at Roger Perham's Monday night summer Asbury Grove races.<br />
<br />
(Every Monday from early July to early September Roger holds races at 6:00 pm. The fee is $1 for the week or $2 for the whole summer. He runs 4 races: 5 and under (250m?), 8 and under (600m?), 12 and under (~800m) and an open mile. He gives out ribbons with name, date, race and your time and we have collected quite a few as a family over the past eleven summers. I would guess Roger has been doing these races for about 30 years, and they start about a quarter mile from our front step, so we usually find our way there at least a couple times per summer.)<br />
<br />
I had little expectation that Ben would fall in love with running as hard as I have, but I was excited to see him doing it. He was committed to the practice schedule and I forced him to do his weekend runs and I hope he got a kick out of how interested I was in what they had done each day and how he was reacting to it.<br />
<br />
The boys team was about 10-12 kids and Ben was in the middle of that group. He got faster as the season went on, which spoke to the value of his regular training, and I think he'll stick with it.<br />
<br />
Here he is, finishing strong at the last home meet of the season:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V7Ko2mbfNdY/XLiVUsamUII/AAAAAAAADzc/BjQOeN-tGco7CZTjYRrnn-jBx1L3TgDQgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V7Ko2mbfNdY/XLiVUsamUII/AAAAAAAADzc/BjQOeN-tGco7CZTjYRrnn-jBx1L3TgDQgCLcBGAs/s640/IMG_0462.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
He's running track this spring, after playing basketball this winter, but will be taking part in the long jump, the 200 and the 400 in the first meet.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-84490001343414890842019-04-18T08:03:00.002-07:002019-04-18T08:03:33.582-07:00Since NovemberI've started 3 separate blog updates, none of which has been completed, which is a bit symptomatic of my life right now, but I digress...<br />
<br />
I trained a little more than I ought to immediately following Bay State, with not much racing on the horizon and a body that was asking to recover.<br />
<br />
I ran a 5k on Thanksgiving morning (cold!!) in NJ and got smoked by a former William and Mary runner visiting his girlfriend for the holiday. He told me afterward that he was trying to break 8 minutes in the 3k that winter, so that made me feel 'better'.<br />
<br />
My running fizzled a bit just before the end of the year, and I took some intentional time in January to heal up and let the competitive fire return. I probably ended up missing more days in January than I needed to, but my Friday appointments with Kevin Hankens kept me involved with running on at least a weekly basis.<br />
<br />
By the end of January, I had a few solo runs under my belt, and was making plans to race at New Bedford and the Upton 15k.<br />
<br />
New Bedford came quickly and I was a bit under-trained, but was happy to scrape out a low-1:15 and finish in the top 10 masters. I rode down with Kevin Hankens, who ran a significant PR (1:12:45) and beat me even more soundly than I had expected. I confessed to him afterwards that my drubbing at his hands was motivating to get my butt in gear.<br />
<br />
I had a couple good weeks between New Bedford and Upton and ran better at the 15k. My hope had been to run close to my 2000 Tewksbury Run Your Turkey Off time, when as a spry 24-year-old just a few weeks removed from my debut marathon, I had kept pace with North Shore Strider Joe Shairs most of the way and finished in 52:51.<br />
<br />
At Upton, I had people to chase the whole way, and a pack of Masters that caught me at 10k kept me honest all the way in. I ended up cracking 52 and finishing as 3rd Master.<br />
<br />
Since then, I've had a couple decent workouts, kept the mileage mostly in the 60's, and got a good race-beating from Tim Van Orden at the Merrimack River Trail race last weekend.<br />
<br />
Getting ready for the James Joyce Ramble on the 28th of this month. I finished 2nd last year in the US Masters' Championships in 33:02, running much better than I expected. I know the field will be good and I'd like to run close to that time again.<br />
<br />
This week, Heather and the kids were in NJ, so I got some extra runs in and will likely wind up with an 80-mile week. I'll see how I respond to the spike in volume and if I'll have the room in my schedule to split the difference and stick around 70 mpw for a bit.<br />
<br />
Gearing up for Mt. Washington I want to get some more time on my feet than I had last year. I think I could run 1:10 if all goes well.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-84383615151404809302018-11-21T12:40:00.000-08:002018-12-07T13:50:58.683-08:00Bay State Marathon recap…and SO MUCH MORE!!<br />
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Sunday,
October 21<sup>st</sup> was the 30<sup>th</sup> Bay State Marathon in Lowell.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The race
served as the USATF-NE Championship for the marathon distance and the final (7<sup>th</sup>)
race in the Grand Prix series. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Coming into
the race I was 9 points behind Ryan Carrara in the 40-44 age group, but I knew
he wasn’t running the marathon. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I also
trailed Judson Cake (Dirigo) by one point, but he wasn’t going to be there
either. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Dave Bedoya
(BAA) had the same total as me, but I didn’t expect him to be there either
after talking with him at Lone Gull a few weeks ago. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Finally,
teammate Al Bernier was one point behind me. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I knew I
would need to win the age group in order to get the 10 points to catch Ryan,
and if I could do that the rest would take care of itself. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Going in, I
figured I could run under 2:40, but it had been seven years since my last road
marathon, so I had a lot of doubts during the weeks leading up to the race. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I hoped I
might be able to break 2:35 and even harbored some thoughts of running close to
Jason Porter’s Masters’ course record of 2:33:44 set in 2010. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Preparations for the marathon:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
went well,
although I had a bit of an accelerated training plan. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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As of
September 1<sup>st</sup>, my longest run of the year was 18 miles, and that
was in May, so I realized what I needed most was some runs with more time on my
feet to approximate the toll the marathon would take. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
With some
ongoing knee concerns, I was unsure about how my body would respond to runs of
two hours, but I set some goals of increasing my long runs fairly quickly so
that I could get 3-4 20-mile runs in by the early part of October. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On Labor Day
(September 3), I ran an 18-mile loop which included a nice flat stretch on the
Topsfield/Danvers rail trail. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
This trail
would turn into my bread and butter for long runs. The long straight flat
stretches are not unlike the Bay State course. Although, admittedly, the
surface is a bit softer. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On Labor
Day, I started out with a mile around 7:00 pace, which was smart, and then
proceeded to run the next 6 between 6:08 and 6:23, which was not as smart. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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By the end I
had to stop and walk and felt fatigued like I hadn’t in a long time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I finished
in 2:07, which was a 7:04/mi. average, even with an 18<sup>th</sup> mile in
excess of 11 minutes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I was
encouraged about completing the run, but unsure about attempting anything
longer…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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However, six
short days later, on September 9<sup>th</sup>, I gave it a go at 5 in the
morning. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Most
notably, it was about 30 degrees cooler than it had been the previous Monday. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I made
provisions for a mid-run snack/water break by running out about 5 miles and
then running back home. I grabbed some water and Stinger chews and then ran the
second half carrying some more of each. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I started a
little smarter than I had on Monday (and I was half-asleep), running around
7:00/mi. for the first 5 miles and picking it up from there gradually. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I ran around
6:45’s for the second five miles and then ran in the 6:30’s the rest of the
way. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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It was my
first 20-mile run since March 1, 2015 (Caumsett 50k DNF) and it felt pretty
good in 2 hours and 14 minutes! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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That
afternoon I did some more easy running while my three older kids rode bikes and
then my Dad even joined in on foot for a mile or so. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I finished
up the historic day running some strides with my son Ben the night before his
first day of middle school XC!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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(Probably
fortunately,) my next long run would have to wait more than a week because I
had made plans to race the <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Downtown 5k in Providence</b> with my CMS
‘mates. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I did a
13-mile run with faithful teammate/training partner Kevin Hankens on Friday at
6:56/mi. pace. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
On Sunday I
headed to Providence, hoping I might be able to crack 16:00 for the first time
as a 40-year-old. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I figured
I’d be well under my “Masters PR” of 16:41 that I had run last December at the
Beverly Reindeer Run. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I did a
little over 3 miles for a warmup and really enjoyed the roads of Providence. It
was warm and sunny and a pretty good day to race a 5k. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I talked
with Judson at the start and found a spot a couple of rows back. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The start
was fast and I felt like I was tiptoeing for the first quarter mile because it
was so packed and I was trying to avoid tripping. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I was able
to keep the pace in the low 5’s (even though I hadn’t done much running that
fast, if any, in my recent training) and worked my way up through the masters’
field, going by Nat Larsen, Judson and finally Andy Gardiner. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sprinting up
the final hill I was closing on (13-year-old!!!) Aidan Cox, but I couldn’t get
to him before the finish line. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
My net time
was 16:01 and my chip time was 15:58, so I sort of met my goal of breaking 16. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I thought I
was first 40+ when I crossed, but soon learned that Dan Smith had run under
15:50! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I had a nice
cooldown with Ryan Carrara and Brad Klinedinst, enjoying more of the city of
Providence and then grabbed lunch at the best Chipotle I’ve ever been to (near
Brown) before heading home. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
That night,
I did a little over two and a half miles with my dad, encroaching on the
property lines of neighbors more than I would have if I were running solo. <span style="font-family: "segoe ui emoji" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol-ext; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">😊</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Two days
after Downtown, I took another crack at a long run. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tuesday
mornings Heather has Rebekah with her at work for a few hours, so it has been a
window of opportunity for me if I want to get out for a longer run during the
week. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I set up my
deck railing (in the rain) for a mid-run fuel stop, and planned on attempting
22 miles. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
On my way
out, I was feeling good, so I decided to just continue trucking on the rail
trail and forego the midway stop. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The rain was
everything from a fine mist to a full torrential downpour, and it was a nice
distraction most of the way. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
After a 7:03
opening mile, the rest of the run was between 6:14 and 6:45 per mile, and my
slowest mile after the 4th was a 6:39 15<sup>th</sup>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I started to
wonder if maybe I should hope for rain at BayState.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Friday of
that week, I did my third of four<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Tempo
workouts</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The first had
been a 20 minute road run on September 7<sup>th</sup> at about 5:45 pace. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The second
was 4 x mile on the track at around 5:25/mi. on September 11<sup>th</sup>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The plan for
#3 was 2 x 20-minutes with about 10 minutes of recovery in between. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I warmed up
just over a mile and a half and jumped into the first one. (This was on the
roads.) <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I managed to
cover 3.58 miles in the first 20:01, which averages to 5:35 per mile. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I recovered
for 9:45 at 6:52/mi. and then did the second 20 minutes at a 5:38 average.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Three days
later it was time for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">24 miles</b>!! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
And I
mustered<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>a 6:23/mi. average for the
distance, giving me a huge boost of confidence a month before Bay State. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I tried
another workout on Wednesday, which was a bit of a fail, but I didn’t have time
to dwell on it for long, because Sunday was<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Lone Gull!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
This was my
third time racing the Lone Gull 10k, and once again it served as the USATF-NE
Championship for the 10k in the road Grand Prix. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I was
looking to improve on my 33:02 that I ran at James Joyce in late-April,
although I really didn’t have any reason to suspect that I’d be able to. That
race was a big surprise and a highlight of this year. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Lone
Gull course is definitely faster than James Joyce, but my recent focus had been
on long runs and overall volume with a dash of Tempo work, nothing really at
10k pace or faster. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The “new” Lone
Gull course which eliminated the scenic but turny neighborhood loop seemed like
it would be even faster. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Each of the
previous times I’d run Lone Gull I came away with a new road PR at the
distance, running 32:21 in 2013 and 32:10 in 2014. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I lined up a
row or two back at the (new) start (before the bump) and we were off! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The first
mile was quicker than my 5:18 goal, and I was feeling a little clumsy at
points, like I wasn’t going to be able to hold it together, then I settled in
around 5:20 for the next two. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Three GBTC
guys came by me in mile 4 and I picked it up to try to hang with them, once I
was racing the co-ordination issues sort of just went away. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I could see
Brandon N. and Scott Leslie most of the way, so that was a good sign. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mile 5 I was
right back at goal pace and hoping I could hang on, and the new finish was
definitely fast - I was able to close hard for a 32:41 gun time, 32:38.6 net. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I was first
master, 30<sup>th</sup> overall and very pleased with the outcome here!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The next
week called for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">20 more! </b>Which came
on Tuesday, just two days after the 10k. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I ran fairly
evenly with a 66-minute first 10 miles and a 64-minute second ten. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
It was cool
and rainy (and beautiful) again. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Even though
I had maxed out at 80 mpw, I went into full-on taper mode here. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Most
notably, I did 18 the next Tuesday which included 3 x 2-mile tempo. I was able
to stay under 5:30 for the first two, but the last one was a struggle at 11:25.
It was hot and I think that was a factor. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
That Sunday
I did 15 one week out.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I drove up
to pick up my number on Saturday and was in and out of the hotel fairly
quickly. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I had been
tracking the weather and it looked like the start was going to be cold and wet,
but when race day dawned it was a little warmer than forecast and not raining
much at all. I was in my car at 6:10 am parked on the street near the finish
and my car thermometer said it was 48 degrees.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I jogged
back and forth between my car and the Tsongas Center a couple times to use the
bathroom, kill time and say hi to a few people. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Scott Leslie
hit me up with a much-appreciated non-caffeinated GU that I hung onto for a
short warmup with Greg Englehart and Dan von Staats (two former Cape Ann League
runners from my coaching days a decade ago).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I had long
sleeves on under my CMS singlet right up until the start and just ditched it by
the starting line a few minutes before they got us going. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Early on, I
felt like the crowd was very thin where I was running ~6:00/mi. Dan Vassallo
came by in the first mile and asked how I was doing and I told him as much.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Greg, Jon
Chesto and I found each other in the first couple miles and stayed together till
just about 20. Most of the miles were between 5:55 and 6:05, and Joe Shairs on
his bike kept us aware of the group behind us that was a little bigger than
ours and not far back. I was tempted to try to run harder a few times, but it
seemed like me knee would misfire if I tried too hard, so that was probably a
blessing in disguise, because it kept me in check.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
My dad was
at 3, 12 and 22 and Heather was at 7 and 17. Both had snacks and encouragement
on a chilly day that wasn’t spectator-friendly, albeit quite good running
weather.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Co-ordination
issues crept up early (around 2 miles), subsided, came back around 7, went away
again, came back at 11, and never reared their head significantly after that.
Of course, when I hit the wall at 20, I was going slow enough that my legs were
fine.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Somebody had
drawn a wall on the road at mile 20 which I scoffed at the first time by
(around 10 miles) and decided I would ignore when I came by it again. I had
fallen off of Greg and Jon a little at 18 and worked to close the gap,
coinciding with Scott Leslie’s plea as he went by me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
At 20, I was
more or less even with them, but it didn’t last long. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The 6:00
miles that had seemed comfortable for so long turned into 6:20’s all of a
sudden. I got passed by a handful of stronger and/or smarter runners from the
pack behind us between 20 and 23, and I was just hanging on.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I was
waiting for the wheels to come fully off, but I managed to reverse the trend a
bit the last few miles as the finish line got closer. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Garmin splits
had my slowest mile a 6:25 22<sup>nd</sup>. Fastest was 5:43 for the 12<sup>th</sup>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I dipped
back under 6:00/mi. pace for the last quarter-mile or so and just barely crossed
before the clock changed to 2:38:00. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I was 13<sup>th</sup>
overall and 2<sup>nd</sup> master (but first 40-44). Jon Chesto, who I had run
with for the first 20 miles is 47 and finished 42 seconds ahead of me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
2:37:59.4
was my guntime and 2:37:57.5 my nettime.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
In my foil blanket,
I found Heather and my dad, changed into warm clothes while successfully avoiding
cramping, and had some amazing Starbucks hot chocolate.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I caught up
with CMS teammates Hankens and Principe, as well as CAL alums Englehart and von
Staats who all ran PR’s for the distance!<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-61951008372141484972018-02-11T15:58:00.002-08:002019-02-14T10:10:45.418-08:00Bradford Valentine Race Report(and rest of the week recap)<br />
<br />
Saturday was the 27th Annual running of the Bradford Valentine Race in nearby Haverhill, MA. Road races are at a premium at this time of year, so Heather and I registered last week and enlisted my mom's help with the kids so we could run it together for the first time since 2008. There is a 5-Mile and a 6k and male/female team opportunities in a variety of categories, including husband/wife.<br />
<br />
Here's a condensed history of our experience at the race through the years:<br />
<br />
Heather (6k all four times):<br />
2008 - 27:00 (pushing Ben in stroller)<br />
2007 - 25:13<br />
2006 - 26:47<br />
2005 - 25:44<br />
<br />
Me (5M six times):<br />
2008 - 28:05<br />
2007 - 26:21<br />
2006 - 27:23<br />
2005 - 27:43<br />
2001 - 29:10<br />
2000 - 29:33<br />
<br />
We won the husband/wife team competition in '05 and '07.<br />
<br />
I had pre-race goals of 28:00 ("C") / 27:30 ("B") / and 27:00 ("A").<br />
<br />
I was reasonably confident in my ability to break 28, based on recent splits at longer distance races, and felt ok about my chances at 27:30. It's not a fast course, with some good hills and quite a few turns, but my biggest concern was that the roads wouldn't be clear and that would prevent the race from being fast at all. Cold and wind are always possible in early/mid-February, but we got a gem of a mid-winter day in that respect, with temps in the low 40's at the start and insignificant winds.<br />
<br />
Heather and I warmed up on the last mile of the course and the roads looked pretty runnable. We had driven in on the first almost-two miles and those looked fine, so I knew if there was any unsure footing, it would be on the middle "neighborhood" miles. We met up briefly with Alex Vlahos, one of my former Ipswich runners, who was running the five-mile and his teammate Hannah, who was in the 6k. Also saw Pat Fullerton at the starting line, who said that there was one hill around 3.5 miles that might be a little snowy.<br />
<br />
I tucked into the second row on the starting line and after a brief announcement or two, we were off!<br />
<br />
It felt great to be racing, and I quickly found myself in third, as Pat Fullerton (CMS) sped off to an early lead with Jon Lindenauer in tow. I tried to keep Lindenauer within striking distance as we made our way up the long straight climb the first mile and a half. I knew there was a pack of guys all capable of running well under 6:00-pace including Sam Fazioli (Whirlaway), Dan Chruniak (Wicked), Tim Catoggio and Alex. Before the mile, the 6k runners turned to the right and I wondered if any of those guys had chosen the shorter option.<br />
<br />
I checked my watch when I realized I must have missed the mile mark (or, as it turned out, there wasn't one) and the Garmin said "5:58" and "1.13 miles". That seemed pretty hot to me, considering we were climbing, but I felt pretty good and tried to roll with it. At the top of the hill, I had closed to just a few meters behind Lindenauer and I could hear footsteps (I thought more than one pair) behind me, coming on strong. As we rounded the first right turn onto the road by Bradford Ski Area, Sam went by me and pulled alongside Jon.<br />
<br />
At this point I wondered if Sam would pull away, and secretly hoped he would, which I thought might help me get by Jon. Instead, the two of them ended up running side-by-side and pushing each other the rest of the way. I was only a second back at two miles (by watch, again no marker), but in miles three and four they put 15-20 seconds on me. I was pleased that the roads were well-salted and free of any ice and snow except in a couple small instances.<br />
<br />
A little after three miles we rejoined the 6k runners, which made it a little harder to maintain contact with Sam and Jon, but I was really just doing my best to stay as close to 5:30's as I could and see which of my time goals I could hit. It would have been nice to work with them a little more closely, but I benefited from their speed either way.<br />
<br />
The hill by the golf course at 3.5 that Pat F. had warned about came and went without incident. I know from my Garmin splits that I was basically running 5:40-pace for miles 3 and 4, which was slower than I would have liked, but I honestly thought beforehand that these miles could be close to 6:00 if the roads were bad, so I will take it.<br />
<br />
By mile four, I was back on the road that Heather and I had warmed up on, so I knew how far we had to go and what the roads were like and I was able to pick up the pace a little. The last quarter-mile is a nice downhill and I was able to take advantage of that and close pretty hard. I still wound up 20 seconds in back of third, but I was happy with an official time of 27:13, my fastest 5-mile since I turned 40. Full results <a href="http://www.coolrunning.com/results/18/ma/Feb10_Bradfo_set1.shtml" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Heather was there, cheering me in, and as I turned back to get her race report, I could tell she was excited with her 24:05. We cooled down together over the full 5-mile course, Heather wanted to get some more miles in and make the day into a long day of prep for the Hampton Half next month. We got back just in time for awards and wound up winning the husband/wife category (after a ten-year hiatus from the race - glad the Mahoneys and Vassallo's weren't there, or it wouldn't have happened). Heather was third woman overall and I was first Master.<br />
<br />
Today I did almost eight easy in the cold February rain.<br />
<br />
65 for the week for the fourth 60+ week in a row.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-71914620885462728722018-02-08T08:21:00.001-08:002019-04-18T11:32:13.404-07:00Running into the second half of winterThe first week of February has been busy, but I've been able to get out and run so far and here's the report:<br />
<br />
Work has been a bit more challenging, with some new clients coming onboard I've been stretched a bit to find good caregivers to take care of everyone who needs help. Honestly, it's been "more challenging" like two customers in a row asking for no pickles on their mcdonald's cheeseburgers, I'm just not always the most eager to tackle change. Or my other analogy was that answering the latest client requests has been as demanding to me as life for the Old-time Mainer on his front porch who has two out-of-towners stop and ask him for directions in the same week. I can't really be too put out about it; it means Marathon Home Care is growing, and that's something we want.<br />
<br />
I had a great run to kick off the month on Thursday, the first. I ran out to the snowman-shaped neighborhood on Lord's Hill in Wenham and ran 3x the neighborhood loop with two minute recoveries in between. The loop starts with a big climb (in either direction) and includes some good up and down running throughout. I had run 2x the neighborhood once in January and the loops each took me right around 12 minutes, so I was hoping to add one more in this time without slowing down. I ended up running the first and third loops in reverse direction, partly to make it more interesting and partly because there is a Strava segment up the first big hill that I wanted to grab. I ran 11:55, then 11:58 the normal direction, then 11:55 again on the last one and ran home feeling good like I should after a tempo-type workout. (I ended up missing the hill segment by a couple seconds, but snatched it this Tuesday instead. It is a TOUGH hill to run up fast, and the old segment was run at 5:40 - something pace, so I have been going into oxygen debt immediately, like Gimli trying to keep up with Aragorn and Legolas)<br />
<br />
On the cooldown home, I was letting my mind wander a bit to work stuff and warmer weather races as I turned into my neighborhood. I saw my 70-year-old neighbor Mary, out in her apron but no coat, and as I approached her, she reached down with bare hands into the snow and came up firing at me with a snowball. It was such a great tension breaker I was practically laughing when I got home. (Notably, Mary is the mother of five boys, one of whom ran sub-4 in the mile after college, and now has 20 grandkids and her first great-grandchild as of a month or so ago, not that I stop and talk to her much...) 😉<br />
<br />
Friday, I met Alex Vlahos at his office in Beverly at lunch and ran almost seven miles with him at 7:38 pace. It was snowy and icy on the sidewalks so we stuck to quieter roads than normal.<br />
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Saturday, it was pretty cold again, and I bundled up for an out and back 10 miles by the Beverly Airport at 6:41 pace.<br />
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Sunday, Jose Ortiz met me in Ipswich right after church and I joined him for fifteen miles with alternations of 3 minutes on, 2 minutes off for the last three miles. The first twelve passed quickly in spite of the freezing rain, as we got to catch up. It was the first time I had seen Jose in a few years, and we have had some close battles with each other on the roads at Grand Prix events and the Yankee Homecoming 10-mile.<br />
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When we got ready for the first "three minutes on" I had in mind 5:40-pace or maybe 5:30 if we were feeling good. Jose had said they were half-marathon to marathon pace, and he is shooting for 2:30's at Boston and probably 1:11-1:13 at New Bedford before that. I knew it would be a stretch for me, but the intervals weren't that long, so I thought I'd be ok.<br />
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To my surprise, on the first one, I found I just could not hang with Jose. I was a good 5 seconds back after a minute and a half of running. I probably finished all four pick-ups at least ten seconds in arrears of him. I wasn't sure if I was just tired from the twelve miles, or not in as good shape as I thought I was, or getting sick, or what.<br />
<br />
But when I finally caught up to Jose afterwards, I found out what was wrong: he was trying to average 5:30-5:40 over the entire time, including the two minutes off, so he was running the three minutes on at 5:00-5:10 pace. So I was ok with being dropped at that pace.<br />
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With the 15 miles with Jose, I wound up with 66 for the week, my highest mileage week since just after the Patriots won their fourth superbowl against the seahawks on the malcolm butler interception.<br />
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Monday, I woke up with a bit of a cold and thought I'd be beat up from the run with Jose the day before, but felt surprisingly good at the start of my run. At about three miles, I felt like death, and struggled until about 5, and then was ok at a slower pace, finishing up 9 miles.<br />
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Tuesday, I went out and ran the snowman again, relaxed and still recovering from the week before - 8 miles at 7:11-pace.<br />
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Yesterday, I had planned to run before it snowed, but a morning meeting ran over by an hour, so it had already started snowing when I got out at noon. I fell once early on some ice that was under a dusting of new snow, but then as the snow got deeper, it was easier to stick in on the unplowed roads and untreated sidewalks. Another 8 miles at 7:19-pace.<br />
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Still haven't shaken this cold, it's gone from a sore throat/Superbowl loss hangover to a cough/nasally drip, but it hasn't kept me completely doan and out, so I'll try to keep running through it with a little longer run today (maybe ten or eleven when the ice melts) and back to 6-8 tomorrow before heading to Bradford on Saturday with Heather for the Valentine 5-mile/6k race.<br />
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I'm looking forward to having an actual race to write about soon!<br />
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<br />Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-51526499924630069802018-02-01T07:34:00.001-08:002018-02-01T07:42:34.080-08:00January 2018 RecapThe first month of the New Year is on the books, and it was fairly successful by most measures. I wish I had gotten a race in, but weather caused Whitaker Woods to be moved, which hopefully means I'll race more than once this month.<br />
<br />
Total Mileage for January:<br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">243.8</span></b> in 29 days of running (2 days off with stomach bug)<br />
<span style="color: blue;">8.4</span> miles/day for days run; <span style="color: blue;">7.86</span> miles/day for the whole month<br />
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This was my second consecutive month over 200 miles, for the first time since 2015, and my highest single month total since March 2015 (256.92).<br />
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As far as January's go, this was in the middle of the pack - I've had some big first months of the year, including 2015 (475.38), which is the most miles I've ever run in any month. It's hard to imagine running twice as many miles as I did this month, since it didn't feel like I was slacking off. I was just completely committed that January three years ago. There would be a link here to the video of the wilesthing saying, "My wife says I need to be committed...so I am." but I think it's been removed.<br />
<br />
(Since I've been compiling data lately...)<br />
<br />
January mileage:<br />
1. Jan. 2015 - 475.38 (#1 mileage month all-time)<br />
2. Jan. 2013 - 389.73 (#5 mileage month all-time; #1 mileage month of 2013)<br />
3. Jan. 2012 - 342.43 (#15 all-time; #2 mileage month of 2012)<br />
4. Jan. 2011 - 246.96 (big dropoff from 3 to 4; #8 mileage month of 2011)<br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">5. Jan. 2018 - 243.8</span></b><br />
6. Jan. 2014 - 224.49<br />
7. Jan. 2007 - 176.2<br />
8. Jan. 2016 - 62.6<br />
9. Jan. 2017 - 18.76<br />
<br />
(Where are 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010?)<br />
<br />
It's a big improvement from the last two years, and I hope foreshadows a year of greater consistency (and success) than the past couple.<br />
<br />
My longest run was <span style="color: blue;">16.13</span> at <span style="color: blue;">6:07</span> pace on the 3rd of the month, which I'm also counting as one of three workouts. The other two were on the 19th (2 x 2-mile T on hilly roads) and the 24th (3 x mile T on the track).<br />
<br />
Also, notably, I ran with Heather twice, including a longer run as we prep for a half in March.<br />
<br />
I ran three times, including one of the workouts, with Alex Vlahos and Nate Hausman, and once each with just one of them.<br />
<br />
And the inaugural run of the Bill and Bob's Famous Track Club with Jordan Kinley, Kevin Hankens and John Page happened last Saturday.<br />
<br />
Also, the hat that I'm wearing in the banner pic (at Gil's Fat Ass 50k in Bradley Palmer, January 2015) has gone missing, so keep an eye out, please - my mom knit it for me.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-24525629359172678332018-01-30T07:22:00.001-08:002018-01-30T07:32:21.294-08:00Looooong overdue Reach the Beach race report(I was originally going to post this in late September, to put it in context - the kitchen has been done since early October.)<br />
<br />
Since my last update (September 10), a few things have happened, not the least of which is that we have made some significant progress on our complete kitchen remodel. The cabinets are in, the flooring is down, the walls are painted. All the new windows are in, the countertop is on (yesterday), the lights are in and functional. Still waiting for the stove and sink to get re-connected which will be huge (hopefully Friday). We've been doing dishes in the bathroom sink and grilling/picnicking/toaster ovening since the beginning of July. My wife's patience has been tremendous. She even let me have my way with the dining room wall, which was perfectly fine sheetrocked, but I got to cover it up with some huge (18" and 24" wide) pine boards from a local sawmill. I think it looks nice.<br />
<br />
The running story is that I continued between 50-60 miles a week for two more weeks, then had to cool it a little last week, took a few easy days and a few days off, and resumed activities this Monday with a new focus...<br />
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The first week since my last update was getting ready for the Reach the Beach relay, which CMS 'mate JJ had invited me into only a couple weeks prior as a fill-in for an injured team member. The relay runs from Bretton Woods in the northwest corner of the White Mountain National Forest down to Hampton, NH on the southern coast. The distance has varied over the years, but this year's course was 203-ish miles. It's always around 200 miles.<br />
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Monday (the 11th) I did 5 miles with Nate Hausman from Gordon before lunch.<br />
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Tuesday I did 6 and a half miles in the morning and then 3 and a half at night in the dark with a headlamp and reflective vest to get ready for Reach the Beach - two of my three legs were in the dark.<br />
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Wednesday I ran down to Patton Park in the morning and met Abram KJ for a Cutler loop. I had planned to run home, but was feeling pretty gassed afterwards, so gladly accepted a ride home from him.<br />
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Thursday I did 6.6 on the roads in the morning at 7:11/mi. pace.<br />
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Friday I got the kids to school, then loaded up my gear and headed to Hampton. I met up with the team - Jim Johnson, Kevin Tilton, Matt Veiga (all of CMS); the legendary Josh Ferenc; Eric MacKnight and Shaun Donegan from metro-Saratoga, NY and a bunch of NH guys I didn't know - Andrew Huebner (who ran 2:17 last year), Andrew Drummond, Chris Dunn (a different one than I was expecting), Matt Garfield and Derrick Hamel.<br />
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We piled into the team minivans and headed north. I was in van 2 (runners 7-12) with Hamel, Huebner, Garfield, Dunn and Tilton. Kevin was also our driver for the majority of the 24 hours we were out there. We indulged in some pre-race chit-chat on the ride, grabbed lunch at Subway and got to Bretton Woods around 2:30 for our 3:30 start. I was nervous about how well I'd be able to run on only a few weeks of consistent training. I knew the projected expectation was 5:45/mi. for me, but I was really hoping to just run 6:00 pace, especially for my first leg, which was 8 miles in the dark.<br />
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Here's an early shot of all of us at Bretton Woods, before our 3:30 takeoff:<br />
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Matty V. started things off for us, running the first leg up and down Bretton Woods. There were only five teams starting at 3:30, all the other teams had gone off earlier in the day at half-hour intervals since 6:00 am. Teams were seeded based on their expected times and Jim had given us an ambitious goal of all sub-6:00 pace legs, with some significantly faster.<br />
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It was hard waiting around with all the normal pre-race nerves for such a long time: we got to Hampton at 10:30 in the morning, got to Bretton Woods at 2:30, the race started at 3:30 and I didn't run my first leg until 8:00 pm. It was cool to see our guys run so well and that just built up the excitement as I waited my turn. Matt came down the hill in the lead and we never gave it up. From the time JJ took the second handoff we just passed teams the whole rest of the way.<br />
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Those of us in Van 2 hung around for the first couple exchanges, then we drove ahead to exchange 6, where we (Hamel) would receive the baton (snap bracelet) from Ferenc. At the exchange, the sun was setting and we were getting ready to have to start wearing our night gear, which we would don from 6 pm to 7 am. Derrick ran a really strong first leg for us, keeping the momentum that the van 1 guys had generated while it was still light out. When Andy Huebner left on his first leg (#8), I knew my time was drawing near and the darkness was finally settling in.<br />
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My first leg started at the Madison Elementary School and ran 8 miles along Silver Lake, mostly on Rtes 113 to 41 before turning onto Ossipee Lake Road and ending at a Lutheran campground where I would hand to Chris Dunn (the younger - recent USM grad). I knew the pace had been hot for our boys most of the way, but I was really just looking to run 5:50's or something, so when my Garmin beeped in the dark and showed "5:19" for the first mile, I was a little scared, a little excited. I tried to stay relaxed and managed a 5:34 second mile. Mile 3 was a 5:39 and could sense the slowing trend, but I still had 5 miles to go. I passed one runner each of the first three miles and wouldn't see another soul until mile 6.<br />
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Mile 4 was a 5:50 and I had a gut check. I was still ahead of goal pace, but losing time each mile. The leg was mostly flat, but I didn't know what was ahead and I also had no sustained efforts of this length in any recent training...<br />
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Mile 5 was a little downhill and I managed to claw out a 5:42.<br />
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Mile 6 continued mostly downhill and that was a 5:43 and I felt safe.<br />
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Finished with two 5:44's, although I know I slowed quite a bit over the last quarter mile on the dirt roads before I handed to Chris. And I still really ran up on him (foreshadow) before handing off.<br />
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I was pretty delighted with a 45:19 for 8 miles based on the running I had been doing. Even in the two weeks since, the glow has faded, but at the time I was really feeling good about it.<br />
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I had my longest leg out of the way (my next two were 3.5 and 4.1 miles) and that was a relief. But the fun was just beginning...<br />
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We closed out our turn with Dunn and Tilton and then grabbed some food at the exchange (Kevin's elementary or middle school!) Then we drove ahead to exchange #18 where we hoped to catch a little rest before we got the baton back from van 1.<br />
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It was a little after 10:00 pm when we finished up, and we were expecting them around 1:30 am, but it took us a long time to drive the course down to the exchange zone. I think we got there at 11:30 or so, still giving us two hours of potential rest, but there was little if any actual sleep that took place, and I didn't have any of it. I stretched out on the grass a couple times and reclined in the front seat of the parked minivan, but the closest I came was a couple really good yawns.<br />
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At 1:20, van 1 came in, tired but psyched - they had been passing 50-60 runners per leg - and shortly after that Ferenc cruised in and handed to Derrick and we were off again.<br />
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Derrick, Andy H. and Matt G. all had tough second legs, in the dark, hilly, foggy and tired. Matt and I sort of bumped at the exchange as he came off his long leg and I tried to go hard for a short three and a half miles on no sleep at 3:30 in the morning. I cranked a 5:08 opening mile, and then didn't have a whole lot of gas for the next two, but they were ok (5:36, 5:38) based on everything. The last half-mile (my second leg was only three and a half miles) I was trying to pick it up and had a left turn off the main road, then a right onto this sidewalk that led into the exchange where Chris Dunn the younger was waiting. I had a nice little downhill and came soaring in and Chris wasn't quite moving fast enough and I basically ran right up his back. We both went down on the concrete, I was right on top of him and only scraped my knuckles, but I was so dazed by the whole thing I couldn't react very quickly to get off him. I found the crumpled baton underneath us and handed it to him. He had let out a noise of exasperation, frustration and some other stuff as he went down, but he got up with a bloodied knee and took off for his 8 mile leg!<br />
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At the next exchange I apologized and he said he forgave me, but that he had run angry the whole way. Can't say I blame him. I had quite the adrenaline boost myself from the whole ordeal, but it wasn't going to last until 8:30 when I would need to run again.<br />
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Kevin finished off our second turn in Brandon Newbould's backyard by Bear Brook State Forest just before sun-up and we all re-convened briefly (both vans) before Matty V. took us into the home stretch. We were psyched to be into the final 12 legs, but still had some ground to cover. Going back through some now four-month-old texts, I can see Jim's 7:23 am announcements that "Andy (Drummond) got the scalp" and "we are in first". With 8 runners left to run we had overtaken every team, some of which had started 10 hours before us. Granted, this is not an ultra-competitive event, it's more of a team-builder, but we were certainly taking advantage of the opportunity to do both (compete and team build).<br />
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Our van stopped at Dunkin's for some breakfast and I was grateful for the sausage egg and cheese and the coffee in preparation for my final four-mile leg. Derrick, who was running first for us, had a really short leg, so we had to leave him before he got the baton to make sure we had Andy H., our next runner in place to receive. Derrick absolutely crushed his final leg, and handed to Andy, who had a long stretch for his final effort. Things were getting a bit blurry at this point with the lack of sleep, hard running, adrenaline, caffeine, etc., but we were joined by a now-finished van #1 at each exchange and it was fun to have the always beaming Ferenc around before, during and after my final push. I got the baton from Matty G. in an otherwise quiet office park and took off, hoping to run my last 4.1 miles respectably. I was cruising at 5:40ish pace toward North Hampton until I hit a red light crossing route 1 and had to wait for 40 seconds to get going again. There was a safety official there, but he held me up until the light changed. Not that 40 seconds makes a huge difference over 203 miles, but it nonetheless killed my final leg and dropped my average pace to 5:50's. Plus, standing still for that long in the middle of my final leg made for a killer re-start when I could finally go again. I handed to Chris Dunn the younger, with no collision this time, and cooled down a mile or so while Ferenc drove our van ahead. I was feeling really good at this point, all things considered, happy to be done, but proud to have acquitted myself ok on a team that was far fitter than me.<br />
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Here's a picture from Andy D. of me finishing up my final leg:<br />
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Chris handed to Kevin and we all drove ahead to Hampton Beach to run it in with him. We were excited to see him striding up the sand toward us, and chased him in to the finish chute, as the announcer told an empty parking lot who the winners were. We congratulated each other and then all headed home to crash before the awards and after-party started. It felt a little funny to be competing so hard with noone around to see it, but it was a great time. Not sure if it will ever happen again, so I'm glad I got to be a part of it!<br />
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Overall, we ran 203 miles in 19:13:22.4, which means we would have broken 19:13 without my two delays (traffic and collision). We averaged right around 5:40/mi. the whole way and ended up among the fastest teams to ever complete the relay. (Hard to compare times because the course has varied over the years. However, there were a couple Bucknell alumni teams the first years that ran comparable times to ours. And I think another Tilton team that was close, too.) It would have been interesting to have another team nearby running a similar pace.<br />
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Here's the link to Andy Drummond's awesome video for anyone interested who hasn't seen it yet on facebook:<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/adrummond/videos/10100108310731375/?id=100012955037999" target="_blank">Team Cutters Reach the Beach 2017</a><br />
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And <a href="https://www.facebook.com/adrummond/media_set?set=a.10100108108756135.1073741890.15401583&type=3" target="_blank">photo album</a>.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-9393276573258155152018-01-26T13:45:00.000-08:002018-01-29T18:05:14.489-08:00End of the week/Racing Plans/Random ThoughtThe last two days (since I claimed spring was kind of here) it has been more seasonably normal and back in the 20's. The sun has been bright though, at least midday when I've gotten out, and it is noticeably stronger than it was during the super cold from a couple weeks ago. This leads me to my random thought:<br />
<br />
(Yesterday on the run I was thinking about how strange it is that winter begins with the shortest day of the year and it also begins ten days before the end of the calendar year. I'm always thinking about the days getting longer during the winter months and trying to celebrate each minute of extra daylight, so I was dividing the year into other categories and I came up with this:<br />
<br />
if you divide the year into 5 equal portions, you come up with 73 day intervals. If you centered the "first" interval around the shortest day and just for simplicity call that December 21, you'd have the shortest 20% of the year, which I'll call "the dark fifth", from November 15th - January 26th, which means that today is the last day of that interval. It gets a little trickier from there, but I decided that I would add the 37 days from Jan. 27 - March 4 and the 36 days from October 10 - November 14th and call these "the gray fifth". It's confusing because they're not continuous, but it's just a gray season before the dark season and a gray season after. "The bronze fifth" is March 5-April 9 and September 3 - October 9. Silver is April 10 - May 16 and July 29 - September 2. and, finally, the golden fifth runs from May 17 - July 28, centered around the (sometimes) longest day of the year, June 21.)<br />
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I ran eight miles in 57 minutes on the William Fairfield loop.<br />
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Today I did the Lord's Hill full snowman loop in reverse for 8 miles in 56 minutes.<br />
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I went over 200 miles for the year (just before JJ crests 300). The only month last year that I ran 200 miles was December, so I'm definitely staying ahead of where I was.<br />
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I'm also signed up for 5 races already, which is an unprecedented amount of foresight, and I'm hopeful I can make it to them all:<br />
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Bradford 5-mile and 6k; Sat., Feb. 10 - Heather and I are planning to run the husband/wife category for the first time since 2008, which ended a string of four years straight for us. We were first in '05 and '07 (we both ran our best times in '07). Since our last appearance their have been some really fast years (Mahoneys and Vassallos) and some years when we probably could have won. It will be fun to be back after ten years away.<br />
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Whitaker Woods Snowshoe 4-mile; Sat. Feb. 17 - this is the reschedule and should work out because I'll have some freedom to travel while Heather and the kids take to NJ for school vacation.<br />
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Half at the Hamptons; Sun. Mar. 4 - Heather and I signed up with five friends in support of our friend Amber's debut at the distance. I'm secretly hoping I might have to make Derrick Hamel work to run sub-1:15 for the win.<br />
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Merrimack River 10-mile Trail Race; Sat. Apr. 14 - I've only run this once before in 2015, post-Caumsett, in 1:04:58. I've been looking at the Master's records and particularly wondering if I have a shot at the 41-year-old single age mark of 1:02:30 that Ethan Nedeau ran a few years back. It would require being faster than I was at age 38, but I was pretty banged up and discouraged at that point in the year. I was running a fair amount still, but something was definitely wrong.<br />
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Mount Washington Road Race; Sat. June 16 - I get to go back for the first time since 2015, when I had hoped for a 1:05 (some months before) and mustered a 1:20:15. Improving on that time will be the first order of business, followed by a sub-1:15 goal, which I hope might enable me to be a part of a competitive CMS Master's Team.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-32740523953814665812018-01-24T17:17:00.001-08:002018-01-24T17:17:57.227-08:00spring is kind of hereI know that three years ago on this date we hadn't even gotten our first blizzard yet, that kicked off a fairly epic stretch of winter weather, but it feels like winter is over. We had some early snow and then it got really cold, and it's been really mild lately.<br />
<br />
Yesterday I was waiting and waiting for the temperature to rise before I went out, it was supposed to be in the fifties, but it seemed like we stuck around freezing way longer than forecast. Finally, at about 2:30, with 35 degrees on the thermometer, I headed out, hoping everything wasn't too icy. I had gone about a mile and went up this little hill and at the top it was a different season. It was real foggy and about 20 degrees warmer. I stayed in this pocket of warm air for the rest of the run, I think it was the warmer coastal air finally moving inland. When I got home it was fifty at my house.<br />
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Sunday at noon, with Heather's parents still toting all our kids around and the Patriots' game still a few hours off, Heather and I got out together on the roads for 6.7 in 51:46. I took her over to Lord's Hill and up the main climb as a part of my efforts to get her on some hilly terrain on the days she's not on the treadmill. We also jacked up the treader with some 3/4" pine to get it slightly uphill with the broken incline feature.<br />
<br />
Monday I ran a slight variation on my eight mile loop, heading south instead of north on 97 and running a loop over by the beverly airport. 9.73 miles in 1:05:08.<br />
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Yesterday my run in the fog was 8.61 in 59:37.<br />
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Today, I met up with Alex Vlahos and Nate Hausman at the Gordon College track for some tempo miles. Alex was really excited (so was I) and Nate was nervous about the workout. We did two easy miles on the track and then set off on the first one. The goal was 3 x 5:48 or so and keep the recoveries short. The first one was right on, although the first lap was fast and the third was slow. I led and Alex was right on my heels the whole way, which was great incentive to keep moving. The recovery was a little long, but that was fine, and we headed into the second one. The first lap was quick again, but then we stayed consistent, for 5:44 second. The second recovery was long again, but this was a January outdoor track workout, so I wasn't feeling like we had to be too strict. The third we were running 84's for the first three laps and then we closed with an 81, for 5:33 on the last one. Did a couple mile cooldown on the roads and called it a (good) day.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-40848524513025587582018-01-20T14:58:00.000-08:002018-01-20T14:58:39.132-08:00SnowmanticsThe rest of the week has gone well, with a chance to do a longer run with Heather today while her parents are in town, and an impromptu workout yesterday and a couple runs with friends.<br />
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Tuesday I met up with Nate Hausman and Alex Vlahos at the Gordon College track and we ran a seminary loop on the roads. This was a staple 6-miler for Nate and I when I was coaching at Gordon (2012-2015). From the parking lot where we met it was closer to seven miles.<br />
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Wednesday I ran out to Lord's Hill in Wenham again and ran the entire neighborhood which is the shape of a snowman. It was a little snowy on some of the roads, but the temp was above freezing, so the traction wasn't bad. The full snowman is a hilly 2-mile circuit that I made a strava segment and also plans for a workout some time later this winter.<br />
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Thursday I met Nate and Al again for the same run as Tuesday. The sidewalks still had a little snow left from Wednesday, so we were mostly in the road.<br />
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Friday I went back to Lord's Hill and cranked a 5:49 2nd mile during my warmup on the way over. I was running with music for the first time in a while and didn't realize how much I was pushing. I backed off the last three-quarters of a mile before I got to the neighborhood and then dropped it back down for the neighborhood loop which has a couple big up and downs. I ran both loops right around 12 minutes, with a 2 minute jog recovery in between. Then ran home quick for 10 miles in 62 minutes.<br />
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Today, Heather and I went out around noon, planning on a 10-mile loop together. It was warm, but we both still opted for tights because it was cloudy and windy. We added on for 11 at 7:20/mi.<br />
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53 miles so far in six days this week.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-81272976567602455512018-01-16T08:18:00.001-08:002018-01-16T08:18:16.005-08:00Half of JanuaryWith the coldest month of the winter half past, I've already been sick (for most of last week) and missed a couple days of running, so hopefully I'm good for the rest of the winter. We've been through some bitter cold and seem to be settling into a more normal weather pattern, with temps in the 20's-40's, which is also encouraging. We've had a decent amount of snow, but it's virtually all melted, so the roads and sidewalks are clear and the trails are close.<br />
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Personally, I seem to be capable of running 50-mile weeks fairly consistently without any apparent risk of compromising the torn meniscus in my left knee. If anything, my legs feel stronger and better able to compensate now that I have been running again consistently for a few months.<br />
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It's tough not having any definite races on the schedule (until Half at the Hamptons March 4), and little opportunity to find something available on short notice. I'm hoping we might be able to sneak up to the Bradford 5-Mile in a couple weeks if we can co-ordinate some childcare for the morning. My parents, who are almost always available to hang with the g-kids spend most weekends in the winter skiing.<br />
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The Whitaker Woods snowshoe race was postponed indefinitely with all the rain last weekend, so I'm waiting to see if the reschedule date will be something I can make.<br />
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Friday I did my almost 8-mile loop and expected to feel better than I did. 6:46 pace was a struggle and I felt like I definitely still was not recovered from the stomach bug.<br />
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Saturday, with no race I headed out for something. I almost didn't run at all I still felt so crummy. I went two miles and turned around to come back and call it a day. Then something in me decided to add a little on and before I knew it, I was heading out along the Wenham canal in a test of my endurance and toughness. I was running into the wind in the mud on the shady side of the water. I came through to the rail trail, which was clear except for a couple super-dicey sections that I basically had to walk. Got out to rte. 97 in Topsfield and ran up the big hill back toward Wenham and then headed home. Almost 10 miles in 7:14 pace.<br />
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Sunday afternoon (3 o'clock) I ran out to Lord's Hill and up. This week I ran the entire perimeter of the neighborhood and came back for about 7 miles.<br />
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Finished the week at 35 miles, which was a step back, but a necessary one. Only ran 3 miles the first 3 days of the week, so recovered ok. Just about every day was a struggle to get out.<br />
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Yesterday I finally felt ok again and did a loopy out and back 15k under 6:30/mi.<br />
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108.75 miles for the year through 15 days of the first month.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-73971739348483986842018-01-11T13:06:00.001-08:002018-01-11T13:06:22.827-08:00Feeling betterThis stomach bug had me down from Monday - Wednesday, although I did manage a brief 3 mile tour of town yesterday. It was so nice out and I think it did me some good to get some fresh air and move my legs to remind myself that I'm a runner. We had one kid home from school last Thursday, two home Monday, three home Tuesday and two home yesterday, before they all went back today (except the baby).<br />
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It was fifty degrees at lunchtime today and I did the 8-mile loop through Wenham at 7:00/mi. and felt much better. With the continued warm and the rain forecast tomorrow and Saturday, there probably won't be much left of the foot-plus of snow we got last Thursday.<br />
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Still hoping to get out for some ok miles tomorrow, but not overdo it before the snowshoe race on Saturday. I'm guessing there will still be plenty of snow at Whitaker Woods, although it looks like it might be a rainy raceday.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-31855094227120385842018-01-09T14:14:00.000-08:002018-01-09T14:14:06.311-08:00Sunday and sickSunday afternoon or late morning I bundled up for what I anticipated would be my last run in super cold temps for a while. I ran the same route as Saturday, down to the end of Cedar Street and then up and around Lord's Hill. Sunday was a more sustained effort and I pushed the little climb and felt good. There is this beautiful view as you come off Burnham Street and onto the road that brings you back down the hill where you can see a long way (for around here at least). It made me appreciate the beauty around here, which seems more poignant when I'm barely peeping out of the hood of my jacket with almost no skin exposed.<br />
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I ended the week with 64 miles, which matches my highest week since April 2015. I mapped out my plans for this week, looking at getting to 60 miles again comfortably, with Whitaker Woods snowshoe race on tap for Saturday, but then I got sick yesterday and haven't run for two days.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-31531130865119057362018-01-06T12:32:00.003-08:002018-01-06T12:32:34.142-08:003 more days of snow and coldThursday I was up early and there was a big storm coming, so I made some coffee and had breakfast with Heather then bundled up and headed out around town in the dark for a few miles while Heather got on the treadmill. A little over 5 miles at around 8:00/mi. Spent some good hours shovelling after that, and then, on a whim, I threw on my snowshoes and a headlamp after the kids were in bed and trudged around the snowy swamp for 20 minutes or so. I started out trying to run, but the snow was deep (12"+) and eventually it was more of a hands on knees slog. Then I swung back by the house and let Bear out on the fun.<br />
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Yesterday it was back to bitter cold, and I contemplated the treadmill, but ended up testing out the roads. They were pretty clear and snow even seemed to be melting in the late morning sun, despite the frigid temps. Mostly I stayed on the shoulder, but hopped onto the sidewalks in spots, where they had been plowed down to an inch or two. Even had a few consecutive sidewalk strides on beautiful pavement. I ran my eight mile Wenham loop in just under an hour.<br />
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Today it was 10 degrees by midday, which was warmer than the forecast high, and the sun was strong again, so I went out again. Just a little over 6 miles, including a good hill in a neighborhood I don't usually run in. Tomorrow is the last of the super cold days, then we may see forties a couple times later in the week. Looking forward to it!Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-2731965448713674612018-01-03T14:20:00.001-08:002018-01-03T14:43:11.896-08:00Feeling like a real runner againThe week and the year are off to a great start: after three days I'm on pace for 4400 miles. Just got to maintain.<br />
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Monday it was really cold again, so I bundled up for an 8 mile loop into Hamilton just for some variety. My regular loop is mostly in Wenham. I discovered that the Wenham sidewalks are much better, but I was so tunnel vision with my hood up and paying careful attention to every footfall on the snow and ice that I missed my turn and ended up running an extra mile or so.<br />
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Yesterday was also right around zero in the morning, so I decided to go short twice. I did a little under 5 miles in the morning, staying mostly in the neighborhoods. At lunch, I met Alex at his office and we did our almost-six-mile loop at 7:40/mi. or so.<br />
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Today was the Great Warmup and I had an idea of doing a long run before we get another big snowfall tomorrow. I didn't get out when I had anticipated because Grace was home sick from school and Heather had to work at the church, so it was almost 11:30 when I left the house. It was in the mid-20's by then, which is the warmest it has been in over a week. The sun was shining and there wasn't much wind. I laced up my new Mizunos (Wave Riders) and headed out of the grove. I mapped out a route that would allow me to take another crack at Colton Gale's "Larch Row Bump" Strava CR about 2 miles into a 16-mile loop. I looked on the map a little more closely at where it was, since I had only a vague idea when I tried for it last week. It's a short enough segment that I had to hammer pretty hard and I worked too much to not get it last time.<br />
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I was right around 12:30 for the two-mile split, and then I roared up the Larch Row Bump with confidence. I ended up running it in 59 seconds, and the old mark was 65, so hopefully if Colton ever comes back to the North Shore he can give it another go. :) Then I tried to settle back in to the pace I had been running and carry on like it was no big deal. I was running barely above 6:00 pace and feeling ok, so I just kept letting it happen.<br />
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I was able to let my mind wander a little more than I have been lately - today was the first day that I didn't feel like I owed every driver a "thanks for not running me over" wave - but I was pretty focused just to keep the pace up. I was a little overdressed, probably because I had forgotten what sunny and 25 feels like, but I was working, too.<br />
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I headed down Larch Row into Hamilton where it becomes Essex St. and then Route 22 all the way into Essex. I hopped onto the Essex Turkey Trot course for a brief climb and then angled my way into Ipswich. There were some ok hills, and even through 12 miles I was keeping the pace at or just under 6. The last four were a bit more work, I slowed a little, but it was really good to test things out and feel depleted.<br />
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Did a little snowshoe training this afternoon with Grace and Emma to hopefully get them ready for the snowshoe shuffle in Wolfeboro in a couple weeks.<br />
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Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-89666790648001714452018-01-01T07:05:00.001-08:002018-01-01T07:05:49.983-08:002017 recap/2018 goals2017 shaped up to be a hopeful year and I'm grateful that I'm motivated to post a recap, which hasn't happened since 2014.<br />
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I didn't run a ton (913.63 miles), but that was up from even less (353.5) in 2016.<br />
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I had fun being a part of some team events at the Lynn Woods relay and Reach the Beach.<br />
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I raced a few times (actually 9 times, if you count each of my rtb legs as a separate race, or 7 if you count it all as one race).<br />
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There were some signs of improvement in the last months of the year, including two wins at the Chatham in the Fall 10k (35:49) and the Reindeer Run 5k in Beverly (16:42).<br />
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December was the first month since March 2015 that I reached 200 miles for the month (219.84). That's a trend I'd like to continue as I head into the frigid New Year.<br />
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My 'C' goal for mileage this year would be to get back to 2000 miles (or 2018 for 2018). And I would be pleased with a C based on the last three years. Some 'C' time goals are 27:59 for 5m and 34:59 for 10k, sub 1:17 half in March.<br />
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My 'B' goals are: 2500 miles (basically 200 miles per month, which seems sustainable now), low 16's for 5k, low 27's for 5 miles, sub-34 for 10k, sub 1:15 half in March.<br />
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I'll stay away from the A goals for now, since these are all still pretty ambitious.<br />
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I'm looking forward to finally making my snowshoe debut this winter, and then following up with some road and mountain races in the spring and summer.<br />
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And seeing those familiar, long-lost but not forgotten faces at races and continuing to take advantage of the chances I have to train and race with family and friends close to home.<br />
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Yeah!Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-23368692321598981232017-12-31T13:35:00.000-08:002017-12-31T13:35:07.749-08:00Since WednesdayIt's been really cold the last few days, with highs barely getting into the teens and windchills regularly below zero.<br />
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Wednesday I ran my new 8 mile loop at 6:49 pace, which was working pretty good with snowy roads and sidewalks. I discovered that I could run in the tracks that the sidewalk plows (bobcats) left and even where it was icy, there was enough tread to get a decent grip.<br />
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Thursday, I opted for a hooded shell (jacket) which I have run in every day since. There is this crazy snow globe going on inside the hood, because I sweat and breathe inside and it condenses on the inside and then freezes and then snows back down inside anytime I turn my head or bump the hood. I also have run in sunglasses the last four days and that has prevented the icy eyelashes that can plague runners in this type of weather. I ran four and a half in the morning and 6 at lunchtime.<br />
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Friday, I did a 10 mile loop on the roads, pretty relaxed, except for a surge I put in to try to take a hill Strava segment on Larch Row that Colton Gale set last winter. I missed it by a few seconds so will have to take another crack at it another time.<br />
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Yesterday morning I did just under 10 miles from home down into Topsfield and back.<br />
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Today I ran the new 8-mile loop again with some pretty quick miles. Not really a progression, but I found that when my knee gets sore it helps to run faster. The fastest I've run this week - 6:26/mi. for the run.<br />
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52 miles for the week, which is three weeks straight over 50.<br />
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Looks like a couple more cold days before we get back into the twenties on Wednesday.<br />
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<br />Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-56556935653622488262017-12-27T06:44:00.001-08:002017-12-27T06:44:23.967-08:00NJ and back againLast Wednesday I got out for my new 7-8 mile loop from home, down to the center of Wenham, along Cedar Street on the back side of Wenham Lake, to Rte. 97 north to William Fairfield Dr, through the neighborhood there back to Cherry Street back to the center of Wenham and home.<br />
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I got up early on Thursday and did the same loop again before we left for New Jersey for an early Christmas celebration. Heather was able to get in a few miles on the treadmill at the same time.<br />
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We had planned a Saturday long run together on the rail trails down in Long Valley, but I wasn't sure if there would be any other opportunities to run while we there. To my delight, after we opened presents on Friday, and before dinner with extended family, I was able to sneak out for just under an hour on the hilly roads around Heather's parents' house. In particular, I was pleased to lower my Strava segment CR on the Drakestown Road climb (by 42 seconds, didn't realize until I got home to MA) in my efforts to not exceed my "40-45 minute run" by too much. Averaging under 6:40's for seven and a half miles around my inlaws took some concentration and co-operation from my legs and lungs. I was feeling really good by the end.<br />
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Saturday Heather's brother Andrew joined us for 13 miles out and back on the rail trail near their parents' house. It was cold and rainy, but based on what I was seeing, greatly to be preferred to the weather in New England that day. We averaged just over 7:30's, and I think Heather was pretty encouraged about her preparedness for a half marathon that's still over two months away.<br />
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I didn't get up early and run on Sunday (Christmas Eve) before we headed home, partly because I wanted to sleep in and partly because my body (my left knee in particular) was begging for a break. I ended up with 54 miles (in 6 days of running) for the week, so the trend continues to be upwards.<br />
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Christmas Day was another day off, with joyous reunion with my brother Adam and his family, who we haven't seen since last Christmas (they live outside Charlotte) and a few inches of unexpeccted snow. We did some sledding in the afternoon and I started ruminating on a snowshoe run,<br />
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which came to fruition yesterday - six miles on the snow-covered sidewalks and on the relatively untracked forest trails of Hamilton - right from my back porch, which is a rare and lovely thing, particularly in December on the north shore of Boston.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-12428302075578483972017-12-19T15:44:00.002-08:002017-12-19T15:44:27.067-08:0012.19.17With the busy-ness of holiday travel ahead, I have been trying to frontload this week with some mileage and quality. Yesterday, was my first double in two years (maybe) and today I got the same guys who ran with me yesterday afternoon to join me for an impromptu track workout.<br />
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I consulted the Daniels Running Formula and grabbed one of Jack's staple early buildup (which I am in) R-workouts. Sets of 2 x 200 + 1 x 400. Based on my recent 5k time of 16:41, this called for 200's at 36 and 400's at 74. That seemed manageable and not all-out, but definitely still faster than anything I've done recently. I arrived at the Gordon College track a few minutes before noon. It was unseasonably mild (mid-40's) and as I turned into the driveway the sun came out from behind the clouds for the first time all day.<br />
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I hopped out of the car and jogged to the track. There was a really fast-looking college girl doing 150's in sprint spikes. I hoped I would look so fast. I started jogging an easy warmup and Nate showed up on the second or third one and we chatted while running easy. After two-miles, Al showed up and I ran to the bathroom while he got in a quick mile. Then we toed the line for the first 200. Because there was a little ice on the final curve, we decided to run our 200's from the finish to the start. The first one I felt like I was getting way up on my toes and using muscles I haven't in a while. We came through in 36 and jogged REAL easy back to the start. The second one I decided to run more normally, because I was nervous how sore I'd be if I ran two miles on my toes. It was a 38. We jogged another 200 and went into the first 400. I felt ok going through 200 and didn't check the watch, but never felt bad on the way to a 72-high. We jogged the corner and back and then did the sequence again.<br />
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Most of the 200's ended up 37.xx and the 400's were 74-flat or faster. We did 4 sets and then two miles for a cooldown. I think we all were glad to have it done and activate some muscles that hadn't been used in a while for any of us.<br />
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I'm pretty sure I felt so good because of the Rothlin workout I did a few years ago.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810101963520423285.post-26768082933682790632017-12-18T17:36:00.004-08:002017-12-22T18:15:24.024-08:0012.18.17Saturday, I ran at 9:30 in the morning, which is a time of day I don't run much, but a great time to run in the late fall almost winter. I did a little under 8 miles at 6:40 pace on the roads.<br />
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Sunday, I ran at 10:30 in the morning, also very nice, it was chilly and sunny in appleton farms. Five and a half at 7:15 pace on trails.<br />
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This morning, I (finally) got up when my alarm went off, after a few fails last week and got out for an easy 4 and a half miles in the dark on the roads. This afternoon, I met Nate Hausman and Alex Vlahos at the Gordon College track and we ran six and a half miles on the roads at 7:20 pace as a light snow fell.Patrick Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018340056717339542noreply@blogger.com3