New Haven Road Race 2009

Any race where I can listen to Nine Inch Nail's Sin prior to the start is a good one.

I turned off my ipod and waited for the race to start. the elite women standing around me were giving me that 'you don't belong here' look, and well, maybe I should be a row farther back than I was, but I don't feel bad about being there.

The race has such a quick start and you can't help but feel like you're in trouble a little bit as men, women, children and who knows who stream by you. And you know you are going to get beat by all kinds of people. Or well, I do. Of all the races I do this is probably the one where the most women beat me.

I really was committed to running a slower first mile. Mary-Lynn Currier and Cheryl Anderson were behind me, I think, chatting. I saw Chris Schulten go by. I saw David Pantin and Jim Zoldy, Rob Barker, George Buchanan and others. Some where running around me but most were passing me.

I hit a mile in 6:01. That was perfect. I mean, I knew I was going to run slower miles then that. I was looking for 6:20s. But I also know that if I run mile 1 at 6:20 instead of 6:01, that's just 19 seconds slower I run the whole race.

After a mile, Rob Barker went by me. We spoke for a while after the race and he said that part of his plan was to be behind me at mile one, no matter if it was just a second. "Because I go out too fast ?" I asked, and he agreed, that yes, I do. And that is and isn't true. There's a fine line between running a hard first mile that's faster than your race average and blowing yourself up.

However, as Jim and Chris and then Jeremy Howard ran away from me as I headed towards mile two you can't help but feel that you're taking a chance and that, well, you just aren't that good. One of things I'm learning to accept is that guys like Jim and Chris that I know are better- guys that are nice guys, people I like, after all- I have to be willing to run my race and not let it get in my head that I'm getting beaten. After all, in this race tons of guys are going to beat me.

I went through two miles at 12:03 and then started to feel my way towards that slower pace. You climb to the clock at two miles and then power your way downhill.

I hit three miles with a 6:20 mile, my slowest one of the day, and I was feeling OK. Ryan Freitas from UNH Cross Country was somewhere near there cheering people on.

I was sipping at my bottle of Vitalyte by this time.

The section through the bridge is a tough section. It's downhill, there are a lot of people, and they tend to start to push in this area. But I don't want to race or contend with people here, I want to run a nice steady pace. I was having some back and forth with a guy in a green shirt. For the most part, at this point, I felt like he was on my heels, which I don't like.

So when we got to the 4 mile clock I ran straight at the clock, trying to scrape him off. Next time I saw him he was basically in the middle of the road, although as I was running tangents, we would meet again.

I took the hill at just about 85%, not going all out, knowing I would have to run hard on the downhill.

It was here that we picked up a throat-clearer. you know the type. Every three or four strides he has to clear the phlegm out of whatever location it has lodged in his throat. Not his fault. Doesn't change the fact I cannot stand it. The guy in green made a move. I sprinted across the gap to get with him. Next thing I know throat-warbler mangrove (Monty Python) is along for the ride.

Coming down off the bridge you have to be careful. You are running so hard off thebridge but then it flattens out and your instinct is to maintain that stride.

I didn't. I saw people pulling away a little, but that was okay. It turns into an uphill, then winds back towards Long Wharf.

I held my position and took a Clif Shot as I headed to the 10K, which I hit at about 38:37. I was in a pack. Judging from a picture I was sent and will post here tomorrow, Frank Tiorello was right behind me. The green shirt guy started to pull away as we made our way onto Long Wharf. There was a good bit of wind.

I kept on the tangent here and ran solid. People who had passed me earlier were starting to come back to me. I went through 7 miles and I knew I had a shot at a sub 1:18 run, which was great, and I felt like I was solid and in control of my run. James Beaubrun went by me somewhere in here I think.

As we went into the eight mile and there is some more uphill slanting road, I was really working on steady pacing. I watching James pick people off and my goal was to go after those same people even as he separated from me. That was a good strategy. I knew what pace he was running and what pace I was running so it allowed me to set expectations as to how quickly I should be making catches. At each water stop I poured one or more cups of water over my head and pushed on.

There wasn't much tell until we hit East Rock. I saw James catching a guy in my age group that I often have problems beating, so I closed that gap and them we entered the park. there were two guys together and I realised one of the guys he was drawing even with was Barks as they went up the hill.

The hill in East Rock is very short, much shorter than you think, and then it's a long, hard downhill, complete with photographers. I knew I would have to work just to stay even on the downhill, but that if I wasn't careful I would blow up here. I worked it hard, gave a peace sign to the cameras and then enjoyed the bagpipes.I was able to use a long stride to basically hold position. After we turned, now in mile 11, I made my move on Barks and was able to close the gap. As I went by, I reached out and gave a gentle pat and a 'Come on, Barks.' I was hoping he would be able to stay with me.

The last 1.4 miles of this race are cruel because they are downhill, you are running hard and yet, you are not running as fast as you think you should be and there are so many people in front of you.

I was caught by a small number of people in mile 12 (two maybe). But in that last full mile I closed on several people. Right about at mile 12 I heard one of the Hartford Track guys say 'Go Frank' to someone less than 50 yards behind me and I knew he must mean Frank Tiorello.

I got into the last four tenths of a mile and really turned it one. I had a guy right in front of me and I passed him and beat him into the line and overall, it was a good race.

Barks finished right after the last guy I passed.

It was a great day for a race with beautiful weather, lots of sun but not too much heat and I think a lot of people had tremendous days, both in front of and behind me, and certainly the race was a huge success- a nice benefit as a board member. Too bad I'm not fast enough to have seen the top three guys finish within seven seconds of each other- what a race.

New Haven Road Race 2009- Quick Shout Out

What a perfect day for a race. And what a race- three guys finish within seven seconds at the top and eight break an hour- for 20K !

First as a board member, I want to thank everyone who gave me such great feedback on the race. I've rarely heard such uniformly positive buzz about a race, but I agree that today's race, with John Courtmanche and John Byzsiewicz leading the way, went off great.

Second, I wanted to mention a few people I saw or didn't see today. Ryan Pancoast ran a 1:12 ! Jim Zoldy- 1:13- just awesome. Chris Schulten, another great race today as you and George Buchanan came in at 1:14. Psst- George is in his fifties ! He's unbelievable...

James Beaubrun- awesome smart race. Having never run a race over 10K, coming in with a 1:16 in your first 20K and running strong in the back 10K was the way to go.

Barks- thanks for pushing me and for hanging out afterwords.

Charlie- going to do Hammerfest ?

In all the years I've run the race, I think today's race itself might have been the most enjoyable one yet. I'll post a race-recap tomorrow and rate the race on Racevine.com...

Karma- Which I don't believe in

As often happens on my day off, I was late getting home from work.

Actually, we had a New Haven Road Race Board meeting Friday morning, which are held at the Fire Academy, which is about 5 minutes from UNH (counting the lights). So I stopped in for a few minutes to take care of the insurance for the USATF-CT JO meet. 90 minutes later I was actually on my way home.

By a few minutes after 11:00 I was home, the cats had been fed, and I was actually dressed to run for 45 minutes as a warmup to my ride- scheduled for 3 hours, but I already knew I was only going to be able to make 50. It was my birthday, and I had things to do. But I stopped long enough to pay a bill online, which is a pretty quick thing, then I headed out.

It was still foggy and misting as I started running the opposite way on the Branford Road Race course. I'd crested the hill (the downhill between 3 and 4 on the course), and was headed down (the uphill on the course in that mile). Suddenly, about 5 seconds ahead of where I was there was a weird cracking noise, followed almost immediately by a tree branch crashing down across the side of the road I was running on.

It was about 8 feet long and at its widest, as big around as my calf. Not huge, but it would have been enough to brain me or at least knock me down.

I'd been aggravated about getting what I considered a late start to my workout.

Not anymore... that's my foot next to one piece.

Anniversaries

I just wanted to note that on the 7th anniversary of having been arrested during a long run at lunchtime, on my wife's birthday, I went out and did a hard, 40 minute high tempo run on some of the same roads and managed to come back in one piece and not arrested.

It was in the twenties with a bitter wind, and I was running in bike shorts and a singlet. I learned something on this run (this was back on February 5th).

For years I'd been thinking that I was much tougher when I was a teenager, that I used to run in shorts and a t-shirt. This is back in say, 1982 and I seemed to be invincible to the cold.

And here I was, so far behind schedule that I didn't have time to go to the gym and run on the treadmill and also didn't have proper gear to run outside. And I ran outside anyway.

At first, I was suffering and then the skin on my legs suddenly got this 'I'm going to kind of shut down and leave you to this running thing' and it struck me.

I wasn't tough in 1982. I was poor, and running gear technology was not where it is now. There wasn't the fine selection of tights, gloves and jackets we have today (and I run in). And what there was, I couldn't afford to buy. I'm not saying I didn't own a wool cap and mittens, but that was about all I owned. Tights ? Huh ? Tight ?

I wasn't tough. I was just poor.


I'm glad I can afford good running gear now....

New Haven Road Race 2008- Part II

So we turned onto Long Wharf. There was some wind, and it's a long stretch so you can see a lot of people. I worked on taking each pass slowly, and this was an area where there was plenty of opportunity to move up. I saw someone I know pretty well slip into a porta-potty- felt bad for him. You have to go bad when you stop during a 20K and it cost him.

Eric just kept up the pace. It was hard to tell which one of us was exactly setting the pace and I don't think either of us was entirely. We were both just running. I tried to give him a little extra room in the turns because when your quad is hurting, changing direction is tough.

The attrition started to become more visible. We went by people who were walking, stopping at the aid stations. Once in a while, someone tried to run with us as went by. I told Eric he should go if he was ready, but he stayed with me and we just kept moving up.

That was pretty much it until we went into the park. A woman went by us and that was what Eric needed to shake out the discomfort in his leg. By the time we'd finished climbing the hill and going down the other side to where the bagpipes were, he had a good 15 seconds on me. As I went over the bridge, I saw George Buchanan in the distance.

EH caught him, and they both took off- so much for catching up to George and getting a super-fast finish.

To be honest, the last two miles I felt like I was not really at that next level. However, in the last .4 miles, it all came together. I passed about half a dozen people including one of the elite runners right on the line.

Then it was beer and hanging out with friends, and all in all, a good day. I managed to trim 30 seconds off last year's time, down some serious Red Hook, and then mow the lawn...

New Haven Road Race 2008- Part I

It's a strange thing, this road race.

The 20k is one of the races I've run just about every year since I started running again. In fact, I just looked up the results and was surprised to find that this was my tenth straight year running. It was also my third slowest time, but in a pattern that's more positive, it was another race that I ran faster than the previous two years.

My plan was simple this year. Don't run crazy the first 10K, then try and work my way back into the race in the back half. I wasn't really sure where I was at- I'd swum in the Sound the day before and for the first time this year I'd gotten really stuffed up.

The race is hard in that there are so many talented runners there. I start in row 2B/3A, which is pretty close to the front. I always see a lot of people I know there. I ended starting right next to Pat Dennen, who is getting married- congratulations, Pat. Also right near me were Eric and George Buchanan. Eric was planning to try and run sixes and I joked with him about that, because he always says that.

We'd agreed to bring in Ryan Shea's dad to talk before the race start, and John Courtmanche was up there to introduce him even though John himself was running the 20k. Let me stop and say that until I joined the board of the road race, I had no idea what all needs to be done to get this race off the ground, and no one does more important work than John, our board president and a great guy. I've never seen him go five minutes without smiling.

The race started and it was a big jostle-fest. I started running at what I hoped was my pace and the hoards went around me. I didn't worry about it. At about the half-mile mark, Eric went by and I saw him wedge his way past the people in front of me- it's extremely crowded and he managed to move up pretty deftly. I stayed relaxed, tried to ignore the stuffiness in my head and just run, and not panic or get aggravated as people went by. I saw a few people I knew- Rob Barker, Frank Tirorello, Chris Dickerson.

We took the turn onto the first hill and I really tried to keep it smooth and easy. That hill, near Southern, is way too early to push on. I took water, drank some, poured some on me, and watched the people in front of me. Running away from me. I tried to lock in on the people around me and found someone that was running a good pace and just tried, again, for the umpteenth time already, to relax.

Then after three miles, I got passed by a pair of guys I know. They are both good runners in their 50s. However, they are they are also runners that, if I run anywhere between 6:10 and 6:20, I should go over the line in front of. I surged. It was the only time in race I did that. It didn't work. I did get ahead, but i was pushing too hard, and I started to think about it as I headed along that downhill part of route 10 prior to the route 34 intersection. I was running in the 6:10-6:15 per mile area, which was my goal. So why did I care if someone I felt I might have a fair chance of beating was passing me between mile 3-4 ?

I decided to let him go. That put him, the other runner he was with, and Zofia W. in front of me. I told myself that New Haven is a war of attrition and you just have to be patient.

Then next thing I knew, I was on route 10 past 34 and suddenly, I saw a runner walking back towards us on the sidewalk. I thought I recognised the general build and the sunglasses, and as I got closer I realised it was Eric- it looked like his thigh was hurting. I asked if he was all right or if I could do something and he said no, keep going. I might not mind seeing other runners come back to me as the race progresses, but I certainly don't want to see anyone hurt, much less a friend. But Eric's made of tougher stuff...

Next thing I knew, he was running alongside me. I asked him what was wrong, and as we headed into the hill, I tried to make sure we stayed moderate. I also dropped my Gu and had to go back for it, but was able to do that without losing any time. From this point to the 10 mile, I would be moving up and passing people, except for about two people. Although Eric's thigh was bothering him, we were working hard enough to pass the people in front of us. We went under 95 and sure enough, the same people that were running away from me before were now coming back. I downed a Gu and we started passing- Zofia, these other two guys, and we just kept moving up, slowly, but surely. There was nothing dramatic about it, just a nice steady rhythm of passing, dropping, passing, dropping.

We went through 10K at about 38:44...

Running New Haven- Undressed

It's funny how some race courses retain their basic charms and feel year round, while others- don't.

I was looking to do a longer run today and the way my schedule and day care worked out, the only option to do that was to do it at the end of my work day at work. That means running in West Haven and New Haven. A run up to an hour I can do in the area of Yale Bowl, but I was hoping for 75 minutes, so I decided to try something different.

I headed up 139 to 34 and hung a right, ran down to 10 and once on Route 10 I was on the race course. Of course, on race day, the road is closed, there are cheering people spread out all over the course and there are water stations. At 4:15 on a weekday, there's mostly just a lot of traffic, punctuated by the fairly regular interruption of sirens from police, fire, and ambulance (I saw at least one of each during my run).

New Haven is one of those races that just wears you down. Technically, it's a relatively flat, unquestionably fast course. In the real world, the course eats we amateurs up. It's almost always hot (like it was today, although today was worse), humid (again like today), and the course sends you on a series of upgrades and uphills.

Running from work starts with a decent climb, a tough downhill, and then a decent flat stretch before turning downhill on 34. That part of the run was easy, but once I turned onto 10 I pretty much felt the course. I was in the grass on the opposite side of the road, there was a lot of traffic, but the tunes were good, the knee was manageable and I was looking forward to getting on the bridge and climbing.

I got over the bridge, around the underpass below 95 and started working my way towards Long Wharf. I usually feel like I'm struggling in that stretch. If I started out too fast, that's where I fade. I turned onto the that street IKEA is on and by some ironic twist, I hit the exact place where the 10K mat is at 37:10 or so. Right on schedule, except I hadn't run 10K to get there. I went under another underpass and I was on Long Wharf.

Long Wharf, at least today, looked to be subtly uphill. But that wasn't what I really noticed. Let's just say that Long Wharf on race day is a sanitized placed. Hopefully whatever happens on Long Wharf stays on Long Wharf, or at least in the cars on Long Wharf it happens in. At the end of Long Wharf I wrapped back onto Water Street, headed for Route 1.

Route 1, Downtown New Haven.

Tough road.

Tough neighbourhood.

Even the churches have bars on the windows. No one should have to live in a place where the churches have bars on the windows. No one.

Of course, it's all too easy for me to breeze into a rough neighbourhood during a hard run, feel bad about it, and then get on with my own upper-middle class life and go back to my nice suburban house, two-car, two-garage, one child in great day care. There's something pointedly wrong about that.

Towards the end of this section of the run, the song Nightswimming came on my iPod. I've been given a little ribbing about having this song on my iPod and there's no question it's a downer. I have a little bit of history with the song- songs about swimming in general- but this is one that I associate with Lake Placid. I'm running along and there are literally shards of glass underfoot with each and every step. There were places where the sidewalk simply ended, just a dirt path. Abandoned buildings and businesses and lots that grow over and aren't grabbed up by greedy developers to be re-developed and re-sold. Bars on doors.

Depressing. No question. I realise I'm getting an emotional undercurrent seeing these things which is basically the same one I get when I hear the song and think about Lake Placid the years I'm not doing that race (like this one). Some places have a pull on you, but let's face it, there's a big difference between doing a race and well, having to live and work somewhere that's, well, just unpleasant, some place where there are bars on even the screen doors.

And then it happens. you break through to the route 10 crossing, the song changes from Nightswimming to Nickleback's Figured You Out, you pick up the pace and leave it behind you. And as you head for the final, long hill, you get U2's Beautiful Day (talk about a song that evokes Lake Placid) and the sun very coincidentally comes back out, and it really is a beautiful day. And you wipe the sweat off, you jump in the car and head off to day care, the workout good, the workout over.

But there's this nagging feeling you're still missing something...