Ten Mile Turkey Run - Sun. Nov. 26

Early start on my own to get to this one, all the way off inside 495. When I dreamed up this series of runs back in August, I think, I was guessing Marlboro was somewhere near Worcester. Oops. I left at about 6:50 a.m. after a shower and drinking gypsy cold cure - took the Pike and had a pretty decent drive, Google Maps printout in hand. It was a bit tricky once I got off 495 into the town, but only had to make one u-turn, and then there I was, at some country club/park, at about 8:20. A few other runners and a sponsor's tent (SmartWater, by Glaceau) - Ivan showed up very soon after, with Chris too. We did a mile or so warming up, and then it was time to go. Start was set for 9, but after instructions, etc. it was 9:10. The website and other runners were saying how tough and uphilly the course was, but this turned out to be bogus. Ivan and I both planned to run it safe; I was worried about my head cold (weather was very nice in fact, quite pleasant out of the wind, so I carried hat and gloves after the first mile or two). But the race started downhill, and I followed the leaders, not too fast; they left the pack early and I followed, in 5th place, just waiting for the big hill. But it didn't come, and I lost sight of the leaders after a few miles. Ran solo, I think, from about mile 2.5 to 7. No push or pull is a bit hard, but the digivice helped. Needed to pee after about 6 miles, which stopped me from getting water in last stretch. Bad planning, not helped by the fact that the start was quite a long way from the loos. Well, it wasn't a big factor. At just past mile 7 the hill started and two of the 4-5 strong high school team came up and by, very methodically. I attacked back briefly, but they were in good synch and a bit too strong. Kept them in sight up the hill, the one long serious hill (not so steep, in fact) and then they pulled away a bit in the last mile. They were less than a minute ahead at the end though. So I came in 7th, thus:

Time: 1:06:32
Speed: 9 mph
Distance: 10 miles (by track; 9.85 by digivice)

Comment: Lovely course for next year, now we know how it looks and works. Ivan, continuing his string of bad luck, got lost after about 5 miles, and added nearly three miles; he was not alone, but was following two other runners, and so they all have an asterisk next to their names on the CoolRunning results. I wasn't out of breath and wanted to warm down, so I ran back to hook up with Ivan -- backtracked over 1.5 miles, and then did the final stretch again in his wake. So we both ran half-marathon distance in the end!

I made a bit too fast a start, maybe, given my general condition; 5K was just under 20 minutes (which constitutes a PB I think)and I faded a bit at mile 6 and 7. Then came the hill. . . Still, very happy overall with 7th, out of 70 finishers I think. The winner (25 yrs) was a repeat course-record holder, and places 2 and 4 went to two rather pro South Americans who I recognise from other runs (33 and 50 respectively). I had two highschoolers before and after me, quite satisfying.

Nine tired - Fri. Nov. 24

Felt too unwell to run on Wed. evening, and Thursday was out because of the Thanksgiving Day trip. So Friday morning, hoping for 10 miles, out in sunshine and slightly chilly air -- but a lovely day really -- for a trail run. Sinus pain from a grumbling cold I've picked up (maybe from R. or from a few nights too many with limited sleep and staying at work. . .); also just feeling tired, part of the same symptom set, probably. Too bad, as we've not really had any winter weather yet, not a hint of snow. Well, thinking to go fairly easy, I headed down the rail trail, pushing through the first two miles before feeling knackered and throttling back a bit; still managed the 5K in about 21:10, but then definitely slowed down. Didn't feel up to the almost 11 miles of the there and back trip, so veered off at about 4 miles left onto a snowmobile trail. Alas, lost the thread and ended up in the golf course, had to find my way to the club house and out onto 181. Dangerous, randomly on a golf course with no helmet! Will avoid in future. . . headed off 181 again at the Jabish trail, back on to the rail trail and slogged along to nearly home, but didn't feel up to 10 miles, so stopped the clock just shy of the development, thus:

Time: 1:10:07
Speed: 8 mph
Distance: 9.36 miles

Comment: running with a head cold kind of sucks, though at least it's not impossible. It's more the sense of weakness that's unpleasant, I think, though the sore sinus is not nice. Also a pain between shoulder blades. . . Well, I rested today (Sat.) and tomorrow morning I have the last of the scheduled runs for the year -- a ten miler in Marlboro. See how it goes.

Sunday Run-a-hike -- Nov. 19

Feeling a bit pressured from work and tired from spending Saturday evening (until Sun. a.m.) in the office, and then doing long-postponed housework, I wasn't sure about a Sunday run, but Mark called just in time to change my mind. It was a gray and gloomy day, a bit chilly, but moist and no wind. We met at 3 at the foot of Holland Glen. Started up there intended to come out on upper Gulf Rd, but as so often happens, took a wrong turn and ended up going all over the place until we came out at Munsell Cemetery. So then nothing for it but to go the long way around Knight's Pond and to Gulf that way, rejoining the M&M from the top. It took a while, but we retraced our steps down the trail, and all was fine until (getting dark now, around sunset) we tried to make the last connection to the Holland Glen trail. Couldn't find it. Blundered around a bit and finally found some blazes, but they didn't feel right, so we tried again. Seemed to be right, blazes (thankfully white) were clear -- then I realized we were going back UP the hill, back the way we had come. Arghh. We re-backtracked and into the woods a third time. really dark enough now not to see each other except up close. Managed to stumble along using the stream as our guide, and finally came to the waterfall, and then blundered on down the down trail , or more or less parallel with it. I'd stopped the clock when we entered the woods the first time, so I didn't mind walking, but the repeated encounters with invisible underbrush were a bit of a pain. We made it back to the cars at 5:20, me thinking much of food and wanting to make amends for getting so lost with a pint. Bu that had to wait, as we'd used so much time already. Raincheck, enfin.

Time: 1:32:20
Speed: 5.3 mph
Distance: 8.11 miles

Comments: it looks slow, but there were a lot of serious climbs there, and we were chatting all the way, as well as meandering a fair bit. Very nice exercise, and a break from racing-type work. Must learn my way round those trails though!

Running in the dark again - Sat. Nov. 18

Needed to get out today as next week will be busy; use the weekend to the max. Well, sort of: I wasn't feeling like going hard or far, but wanted to add some miles and see how a few more hills would be. Route was the Old Enfield one, but I really noticed the hills. Started out onto 9, along to Bay, down there to the bottom of Allen, then Allen all the way, uphill to 9, across and uphill to the top, then down to cross 202 and up hill again. Enfield downhill to 9, loop left round the tractor dealer, down Jabish across the river and up hill to the town common (*really* felt that one) -- then it's down hill all the way. Stopped the clock at the big mart, thus:

Time: 47:53
Speed: 8:49
Distance: 6.78 miles

Comments: that pushes the weekly total over 20 miles for the first time in AGE! Nice, but my ankle regions are sore and my right knee is in need of some supportive maintenance. Time to get my road bike out for a couple of rides this week maybe.

Back on t'road again - Fri. Nov.17

Well, it was nice to feel I had a reason not to be running -- there was no time at all this week anyway, but I could put it down to "recovery" from the Monson Classic. By Friday, it was wearing thin, and I really needed to stretch out again. So a short evening run -- basically the local 5K, a bit extended. Up to 9, across to go past the VFW and on to 202; along to Allen, turn left to go up that hill and down the other side on to 9 (nearly ran out into traffic: it was dark, and there was no white line marking the end of the street!), up to the left, then down Bay to Hamilton and back along that route.

Time: 31:28
Speed: 8.35 mph
Distance: 4.38 miles

Comments: a first run sort of feeling, with very sore/tight hamstrings. Running in sweat pants and two layers, hat, etc., and I ended up with numbing foot again. Hmm. It wasn't so bad, but I've got to find an antidote. Pace was okay -- I wasn't pushing it except when it felt good; watched the clock at the 5K mark and it read 21:38. Comfortable. Still a bit of prep to do before the 10 miler in Marlboro next week. . .

Monson Memorial Classic 2006- woot!!

Well, I'm plenty sore now, and the solid waves of heavy rain made it one of the least "comfortable" runs I've ever attempted, but I blasted through my hoped-for time and knocked almost 30 seconds off my best half-marathon pace; overall that's just over 7 minutes off my best time. Woot indeed (though I think that uses up most of my improvement space for a few years).

Interestingly, new course records were set this year for men and women too, so maybe a little bit of HEAVY rain makes people run faster. . .? Mark turned in a time faster than last year but not his fastest, which interestingly he set in his first half-marathon two years ago. Ivan was not so lucky; something (shakes and blurred vision, etc.) took him out at about 10-11 miles, apparently. Still, we're all planning to be back next year.

It was a nice temperature for running -- and the rain wasn't particularly cold, though I was _worried_ it would chill me off too much. Road surfaces were, well, roads, but not all too hard; some were shale and oil, which is a bit more gentle. The run was really clustered at the start and I had to dart about to find running room. As soon as we turned off the big road I was okay, but then it seems like it was up hill _all_ the way. I kept wondering when we'd crest the hill. Well, we did a few downhills, but all in all I must remember for next year--it's a hill run, basically. Not steep; nothing steep. but insistent, incessant, wearying.

Had some good targets to pick off in the first section, then from about 8 miles it was hard to stay ahead; at 10 miles people started passing me back again. Didn't lose too many spots, but there were 3-4 in the last 3 miles that I really wanted to stay up with. Couldn't. Legs were stiff, feet were beginning to blister (right foot, anyway -- soggy soggy shoes by that point).

My pace varied with the terrain, but overall I evidently didn't fade as much as it felt. Rather, the real distance runners simply picked up the pace from about 10 miles. (Wonder if I'll manage a marathon next year. . .) Here's the splits, per my digivice:

Lap time
1 6:30
2 7:03 (trying not to go too fast)
3 7:04
4 6:49
5 7:06
6 7:23 (this was a hilly one and I needed a drink)
7 7:14
8 6:51
9 5:54 (so doing this in practice wasn't a fluke!)
10 6:15
11 6:48
12 7:06
13 6:45 (pretty fair finish; too bad I couldn't do it in mile 12 too!

and then a little bit more.*
*A half marathon is not quite 21.1 km, and it's a few yards less than 13 miles and 200 yards. Weird.

Here's my official time from the posted results (as usual I forgot to switch off my time piece once I crossed the line, doh!):

Time: 1:30:22
Speed: 8:69 mph
Distance: 13.1 miles

Comments: soreness after the run, but energy and breath still plenty there. Very sore today (two days later) as I've not been out since, and I've a ton of deskwork to do still tonight. But definitely very encouraging, and lets me wonder a little what to set as targets for next year. This year my goal was a half marathon at 7:15 pace. Should I think about the marathon challenge? I don't know. Too distracting, I fear. this I can (just about) do while doing other stuff. And only boring people senseless in the confines of this blog :-)

Running Home - Fri. Nov. 10

After Monday's nerve trouble I really wanted to get out again and see if it would recur -- but the schedule at work made that impossible. Friday morning I sort of could have gone out, but not for long. In the end I figured I could run home, since I had no obligations this (Sat.) morning. After last class ended at 6 p.m, changed and loosened up a bit and then set off. No backpack this time, and a bit of light from the clouds; a mild and damp evening, too--really pretty good conditions. Lack of mileage lately meant it felt okay instead of good; I wasn't aiming for speed but just wanted to cover the distance. Pace did slow down over the last 3-4 miles, going from more or less 7:00s to more or less 7:30+. I definitely felt (still feel!) tired and not with energy to spare, but I think I'll manage Monson tomorrow. Here's how it looked:

Time: 1:20:44
Speed: 8.2 mph
Distance: 11.01 miles

Comment: 13.1 miles seems a wicked long way. How do people do marathons? (same as playing Carnegie Hall, I know). And it _will_ be raining. So a slow time, unless there's some magic in the air. . .

10K interrupted - Mon. Nov. 6

Doing a reverse Enfield on a mild and moonlit Monday night, was going fine, but felt oddly stiff in the thighs; also a tight shoe was bothering me. Then after 5 miles, coming along Allen from Enfield, started to feel especially odd in the right leg. By the time I hit 202 I realised it was not working right--in fact it was quite numb! When I stopped and tried standing on it I almost keeled over. Tried loosening the laces and restarting, but it was not ready, so I gave up and stopped the clock. Waited a bit and then tentatively jogged home--seemed better, and I was okay by the time I got back. But odd, a bit creepy, and nto something I want to repeat. Here's what I managed before stopping:

Time: 40:01
Speed: 8.4 mph
Distance: 5.62 miles

Comment: some sort of blood flow problem; I must be susceptible to overtight shoes. It really felt like a dead leg of the sort you get from doing seiza 正座 for too long. Bouf. Live and learn.

five and dime - Sat. p.m. 10K, Nov. 4

After the Fun Run in the mid-morning I had a timeslot when I could go out again, so I grabbed it. Sunny, chill but fortunately windless (except at the top of hills), and I thought a trail run would be best (the morning 5K was all road). Into the snowmobile trails across the stream, then go right and along the top instead of the rail trail, joining it just before the level crossing on Hamilton; straight across and more "walking the right of way" till if comes out on Federal. Then (as on the rainy day a week ago) back up to 9, down to the trail up across from Tiltons, and follow the old town road to Allen. Go right, down hill, cross 9, more downhill, then up Bay to Hamilton and follow that to Geo Hannum, where I veered off in pursuit (!) of a trio of quad bikes. Stopped the clock at 10K or so, and jogged gently back across the development.

Time: 46:06
Speed: 8 mph
Distance: 6.16 miles

Comment: quite happy with this one; lots of trail, good range of hills, and though the pace isn't spiffy seeming, there was a 6:40 and a 6:50 in with the slower miles. After at least jogging 5K already, it made for good training, and it was a lovely day for it!

Family Fun Run -- Sat. Nov. 4

This year a much later date (Nov. 4 instead of Oct. 1) for this nice small local 5K event -- last year I had the pleasure (sort of -- it ended up confirming for her that running was NOT for her, alas) of running it with Nina, and this year it was R's turn. He was pretty gung-ho, but at the last minute (a typically over-scheduled weekend here, after a too busy week--no running at all) we found that his nice running sneakers (Adidas) were too small, so all he had were his really non-athletic everyday ones (NBA brand? and zip ups--only the zips don't hold). Not much we could do. Stretched bit, chatter to a couple of people who like me have been at all three of these runs, and in no time we were off. Like Nina (and me when I was 11~14 or so) he suffered from frustration-induced poor breathing, and we had to keep stopping to do up the zips in his shoes. I towed him up a couple of hills, and though it seemed impossibly slow -- surely everyone had passed us -- we kept moving. He rallied a bit as we passed the BFC for the last loop, but then got upset again. I piggybacked him (risking knees, but it seems to have had no bad effect) a stretch of the last hill, and then he managed a rally at the very end, really running for the line. 34: 47, he managed, coming in 44th of 52. Last year Nina was 39th of 43 in 34:53 (no final sprint, IIRC). I'll put my miles down here too, but it didn't feel like running really:

Time: 34:55
Speed: ??
Distance: 3.1 miles

Comment: still a Fun Run, and I'll do it next year with him. In a half-dozen years or so, he'll be beating me, I hope. It seems like he could actually be a runner and enjoy it, in time. Meanwhile, the other story of the event is Bill Wheeler. More on that in another post.