New Bedford Half Marathon

This one stunned me.
Prior to today, my half marathon PR was 1:23:20 (6:22 pace) and that was just a few months back on November 2nd. I've been snowshoe racing all winter and I've been doing indoor winter track for the last 12 weeks so I felt pretty confident about breaking my PR today. Goal for today: 1:22:00.
I lined up with Mike Wade and Joe Rogers at the start. Joe was aiming for a 1:20 so I figured I'd try to keep him in my sights for as long as possible and see if he could drag me along.
I'd consider this a fast course, or at least a course that has the potential for being fast. Wind can play a huge factor in this race as the course heads down by the water around mile 7 and hangs around the shore for the next 3 miles or so. This course is famous for the head winds during this stretch.
The first 2 miles were pretty fast, with a gentle downhill and then plain old flat. I hit 2 miles at 12:05. There are a couple of decent climbs in the 3rd and 4th miles but today I felt great and pushed the hills hard, hitting mile 4 at 24:41. The next few miles are long, mostly straight and either flat or gently downhill. I really thought I could pick up the pace and hold it during this 4 mile stretch and averaged just under 6 min pace for the stretch, hitting mile 8 at 48:35. Joe kept his lead, however.
I didn't really hit the winds until mile 9 and 10 and unfortunately got stuck in no mans land during this stretch, unable to get behind another runner and working way to hard. Mile 9 was easily my slowest mile of the day at 6:29.
By this point I felt pretty good about beating my PR but I wasn't sure by how much. Mile 11 was mostly flat and mile 12 had the last hill on the course. Today the hills did not slow me down and I ended up having one of my fastest miles of the day during mile 12 (5:58) and finally caught Joe as well. Thankfully the course ends with a downhill before flattening out a 1/4 mile before the finish.
It wasn't until I was a few hundred yards out that I spotted the clock, and it was 1:19 something. What the...I had a chance to break 1:20? I ran as hard and fast as I could hoping to break 1:20....crossing the line at 1:19:55 (6:06 pace)! I was stunned. I beat my PR by nearly 3 1/2 minutes.
I feel very satisfied today and grateful I've remained injury free for over a year. Next up, the Eastern States 20 Miler on March 29th.

Photo credit to the much injured Jim Johnson :-)

Race Fees

I was online yesterday looking to sign up for the Great Bay Half Marathon (1st race of the NH Grand Prix) and was amazed how much they charge for the privilege of signing up online. At first I was annoyed the race costs $45. Sure ,you could save a few bucks ($38) if you registered 3 months in advance but who the heck does that? Ok, I don't. To me early registration means I sign up before race day.
Then I was even more annoyed when the online fee was $4.60 or something. Nearly $50 for a half marathon?? When the fee to sign up online is 10% of the cost you have to wonder what's it all for? I would think online registration makes it easier for the race director and timing company. It bugged me bad enough that I printed out a registration and will mail mine instead (for the price of a stamp). Good luck taking the time to open it, hand enter all my information into the computer and cashing my check. Gee, I would have thought you'd price the online stuff to deter this, but what do I know.

To continue on my Andy Rooney rank I wanted to mention the Manchester Half Marathon as well. Although I enjoyed the race last year, I will NOT be running it again. First, their early registration for this November event is the end of May. That's right, to take advantage of the early registration of only $45 you need to sign up 6 months in advance. It then jumps to $55 as long as you register 3 months in advance. Still haven't decided yet? Well if you wait until the last week you'll pay $65, and there's no race day registration. $65 for a half marathon, that's crazy.
At least they recognize the additional work mail in registrations cause. All of the above costs were for online registration so tack on an additional 10% to those numbers. However, tack on an additional $10 if you want to mail it in. That's right, if you wait until September to sign up and you mail in your registration, it'll cost you $75 to run a friggin half marathon. No thanks.

Reach the Beach is SOLD OUT

Sold out on March 11th, now that's got to be a record. If you snoozed you're out of luck for 2009.
Thankfully our team is all signed up (Mine Falls Milers), looking to defend our masters title. This will be my 5th consecutive year running RTB. whoo hoo!

How Long Does it Take??

Maybe we're spoiled here in the Northeast but just how long does it take to post race results on the West Coast?? The US National Snowshoe Championships took place yesterday at Mt Hood, Oregon and I dare you to find any mention of it, ANYWHERE (except from the folks from the Northeast who have posted limited info on their blogs).

That includes the USSSA (United States Snowshoe Association), the organization sponsoring and promoting the event. No results, no story, no nothing. What's the point of the website? Isn't their charter to 'promote' snowshoeing? IMHO they're doing a lousy job at it. Posting results for any race is pretty standard stuff. Really, how hard can this be?

Makes me want to go out and join and support the USSSA.....or not.
Come on folks, get with the program!

New Bedford Half Marathon

The second race of the New England Grand Prix Series take place this weekend in, you guessed it, New Bedford, MA. I ran this race once (2006) and recall it has the potential for being a fast course. I think I remember it starting out flat, climbing around mile 3 or 4 and then about 4 or 5 miles of gentle downhill. I don't remember much of the course after that, except I think it was down near the water and it was WINDY (aka head wind), with another hill around mile 12.

With the snowshoes packed up for the season, I've been able to focus just on running the last couple of weeks. Although I've maintained a good solid base through the winter and had plenty of speed work (with track and snowshoe racing), my distance running has been a little weak (at least in my eyes).

New Bedford should be a good test of fitness since I'll be well rested and hopefully healthy. Goals are always a tricky thing but I feel like I can improve upon my 1/2 marathon PR from the fall so I'll try for 1:22:00, weather permitting. Plenty of competition in the NEGP races so I won't be running alone. If I don't hit it, no big deal.....it's only March!

Stimulating Shoes!

Well at least I'm doing my part to stimulate the economy. In the past week or so I've gone on a mini spending spree (apparently I can print money just as well as the government), upgrading my running arsenal. Both my trainers and racing flats were in need of replacement plus I've been looking at some new trail shoes.



Mizuno Wave Rider 12 - I've been running in Wave Riders since 2002 so obviously they're one of my favorite training shoes. I've gone as high as 400 miles and as low as 200 miles before retiring previous pairs, although 300 miles is pretty standard for most nowadays. Shoes really don't 'wear out' that quick, they 'break down' and I start to feel it in my shins. Thankfully Mizuno hasn't changed the shoe too much in the last 7 years (I hate change). I still have my Brooks Defyance but they are also nearing end of life.



Asics Hyperspeed 3 - Until last year I trained and raced in the same shoe (see above). Last year I picked up a pair of racing flats (Asics Hyperspeed 2) after getting a gift certificate from my running club. I wore them at every track workout and in every race up to 16 miles and ended up putting just over 200 miles on them. I figure that's a lot of miles for a racing flat so I bought this years model, the Hyperspeed 3. I'm not sure if racing flats make you any faster but psychologically they make me 'feel' faster.



Inov-8 Roclite 295 - These were an impulse buy. I currently have 2 pair of Salomon trail shoes that suit me just fine. I've heard a lot and read a lot about Inov-8's and all the cool kids seem to be wearing them so I decided to see what all the fuss was about. From my limited time trail racing (less than a year) I've decided a good trail shoe needs two things, good drainage and a sole that grips on all surfaces, especially rocks. The 295's should meet those requirements.

Indoor Track is Done

We finished up the 12 week coached indoor track session at the Hampshire Dome last night. When it started back on 12/9 I felt I was running pretty well, having a fairly successful fall racing season. Our first workout back in December consisted of 10 x 400m repeats with 200m rest and I averaged 1:23 per lap (5:34 pace). 10 weeks later we did the same workout (10 x 400's) but this time I averaged 1:19 per lap (5:17 pace). So am I a believer in speed work? I am now. When you see the results from the hard work how can you not see the value?

7 weeks until outdoor track!