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Downtown Temple,NH

Monday, February 23, 2009

Jones Group 10-Miler

Sunday - Part II of my weekend double took place in Amherst, MA. This would be the 1st race in the USATF NE Grand Prix series, a "challenging race along scenic, hilly rural roads (some dirt)" according to the website. Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

I left my acidotic RACING membership at home and went with my Gate City Striders card instead. I met up with a bunch of Striders in Nashua and we all piled into 3 vehicles for the roughly 2hr drive to hilly Amherst. 33 of us made the trip which was pretty amazing considering the doom and gloom forecast we've been hearing about for a couple of days. Turns out the weather held out for most of the race and was only a minor inconvenience for the ride home. (photo credit - Mike Wade)
Generally I have some sort of a goal going into most races. I don't always 'share' my goal but that's a different story. I can honestly say I had NO goal going into this race. I really, truly had no idea what pace I would run.

With so many fast guys (and girls), I was careful not to get too close to the front. With very little hoopla we were off. Right from the start I spotted a few familar faces; Todd Brown (CT) who I ran with for 90% of the Baystate Marathon and Keith Schmitt from Dover,NH who I ran with for about 90% of the Boston Prep race. Both were masters runners and both were close enough to my pace that I felt pretty comfortable where I was. Technically I trailed a small pack they were running in for the majority of the race. I could never quite catch up to them and was stuck in no mans land for much of the race.

The first two miles were relatively fast (6:03 and 5:48) but I knew the hills were coming. The next 2+ miles were net uphill with a couple of steep sections and my times slowed a LOT (6:41 and 6:52). I struggled on the hills and my legs were definitely fatigued from snowshoeing the previous night. Mile 5 and 6 were mostly flat (6:20 and 6:14) with part of this section on an iced over dirt road (which made traction challenging with racing flats). Mile 7 (5:56) was nearly all downhill and mile 8 (6:08) was mostly flat. I was feeling much better after running a couple of easy terrain miles. I was also gaining on the small pack in front of me which now included fellow GCS team mate Joe Rogers. I have never beat Joe in a race so to be this close to him was puzzling to me. Right around mile 8 I decided to pick up the pace and I passed Joe with my definition of 'authority'. I had also caught up with Todd after pushing pretty hard up the hill to mile 9 (5:58) and was close to Keith but he was doing a good job maintaining his lead. Mile 10 (6:21) had a nice double up hill climb with about 1/2 mile to go before finally peaking, providing for a fast downhill finish (except for a strange, awkward loop around a parking lot). Overall I was pleased with my run, a little sore today but pleased.

The group that finished around me are listed below, including some of my GCS team mates.
Place Div/Tot  Div   Time     Pace  Name                   Ag S Race# City/state              Team
===== ======== ===== ======= ===== ====================== == = ===== ======================= =====
101 6/86 F2039 1:01:51 6:12 Christy Carrara 33 F 279 Hudson MA NBB
102 28/131 M4049 1:01:59 6:12 Ron Moreau 43 M 29 Natick MA BAA
103 29/131 M4049 1:02:13 6:14 Keith Schmitt 40 M 692 Durham NH
104 30/131 M4049 1:02:14 6:14 Kevin Delaney 40 M 82 Arlington MA CSU
105 67/122 M2039 1:02:18 6:14 Ben Ndaya - Mizuno 32 M 697 Lowell MA RUN
106 3/109 M5059 1:02:20 6:14 Ephraim Ezekiel 51 M 342 Newton MA WHIRL
107 4/109 M5059 1:02:20 6:14 Jon Waldron 51 M 667 West Newton MA CSU
108 31/131 M4049 1:02:21 6:15 Andrew Biancheri 40 M 168 Westborough MA GLRR
109 68/122 M2039 1:02:23 6:15 Pat Ard 24 M 336 Raymond NH WHIRL
110 32/131 M4049 1:02:26 6:15 Steve Wolfe 44 M 164 Merrimack NH GCS
111 33/131 M4049 1:02:29 6:15 John Chapin 42 M 315 Arlington MA SRR
112 5/109 M5059 1:02:42 6:17 Tom Offenbacher 52 M 177 Westborough MA GLRR
113 34/131 M4049 1:02:46 6:17 Ted MacMahon 43 M 460 Harvard MA
114 7/86 F2039 1:02:48 6:17 Carly Graytock 30 F 17 Cambridge MA BAA
115 35/131 M4049 1:02:50 6:17 Joseph Rogers 41 M 156 Lyndeborough NH GCS
116 69/122 M2039 1:02:55 6:18 John Barrett 39 M 1 Needham MA BAA
117 1:02:55 6:18 Todd Brown M 646 NMC
118 70/122 M2039 1:03:04 6:19 Max White 25 M 616 Jamaica Plain MA GBTC
119 8/86 F2039 1:03:07 6:19 Lara Johnson 27 F 21 Boston MA BAA
120 71/122 M2039 1:03:09 6:19 Andy Brown 26 M 709 Belchertown MA
121 72/122 M2039 1:03:15 6:20 William Wheeler 29 M 402 Belchertown MA
122 73/122 M2039 1:03:27 6:21 Brian Walsh 34 M 699 Ludlow MA GSH
123 9/86 F2039 1:03:37 6:22 Tammie Robie 34 F 357 Milford NH WHIRL
124 74/122 M2039 1:03:37 6:22 Will Paulding 30 M 741 Deerfield MA SMAC
125 10/86 F2039 1:03:38 6:22 Jennifer Campbell 25 F 726 Newmarket NH CRC
126 1/42 M6099 1:03:41* 6:23 Bill Dixon 61 M 170 Brattleboro VT GLRR
127 1/59 F4049 1:03:44* 6:23 Simonetta Piergentili 44 F 353 Wilmington MA WHIRL
128 11/86 F2039 1:03:54 6:24 Tara Vance 25 F 129 Jamaica Plain MA GBTC
129 36/131 M4049 1:03:57 6:24 Brian Reeves 45 M 485 Shirley MA
130 75/122 M2039 1:04:03 6:25 Frank Pilhofer 35 M 154 Nashua NH GCS
131 12/86 F2039 1:04:08 6:25 Michelle McCreary 25 F 80 Cambridge MA CRC
132 37/131 M4049 1:04:11 6:26 Peter Fratini 43 M 217 Westfield MA GSH
133 38/131 M4049 1:04:12 6:26 Jonathan Wyner 48 M 96 Arlington MA CSU
134 76/122 M2039 1:04:14 6:26 Marco Iannello 28 M 443 Springfield MA
135 77/122 M2039 1:04:19 6:26 Brian Tinger 31 M 700 Somerville MA SRR
136 39/131 M4049 1:04:25 6:27 Michael Wade 40 M 163 Nashua NH GCS
Now as a running club, we did ok considering we're competing against some incredibly strong teams from all over New England.

Gate City Striders Team Results
Mens Open - 7th (14 teams)
Mens Masters - 7th (13 teams)
Mens Veterans - 5th (12 teams)
Mens Seniors - 2nd (5 teams)
Female Open - 6th (9 teams)
Female Masters - 5th (10 teams)

Now, what to do next....

4 comments:

DoubleJ said...

'Now, what to do next....'

I'll tell you exactly what to do... run the same pace you did today, at New Bedford (easier course) in 3 weeks and you'll be able to tack on the extra 3.1 no problem ;).

Good double Steve. Solid.

Jedi Dadi said...

Is THAT all I have to do???
Well that's simple.
thanks!

Scotty "PHAT" Graham said...

Steve, you are a machine! I'm still limping around from Saturday night. Super effort. To bad boston is closed down. But I'm sure we can find a way to get you in.

Dan said...

Nice running Steve. Hey, if Double J said you can do it, then you can do it. I'm just happy he's not telling ME what to do next!

Good luck in whatever comes next!