I hit the trails the last two days hoping to give my legs a break with some softer surfaces to run on. So far so good, with 6.5 pain free miles in Horse Hill yesterday and nearly 7 more today in Mine Falls. My only real complaint is I still feel a little rundown, not quite tired and not quite fatigued.
So my solution to get out of this rut? Run another race of course! My plan is to head over to Andover,MA in the morning for the Merrimack River 10 Mile Trail Race. I'm not expecting much and may even take it a little easier than normal (no, I can't imagine not running all out 100% but maybe I'll give it a try).
After this weekend I'll have a couple of weeks with no racing so I'll have plenty of time to rest up.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Ouch!
I woke up Monday morning with a little, tiny sore spot about 2-3" below my right knee. At first I wasn't too concerned. I had planned to take Monday off anyways. I took some Advil, iced the heck out of it and didn't worry about it.On Tuesday it was still there. Another day off.
On Wednesday it was still there. Yet another day off.
I can't even remember the last time I took 3 days off in a row from running. The thing is it doesn't seem to be getting any better. It doesn't bother me walking around but I notice it going up and down stairs. I almost went for a run today to test it out but figured I'd wait one more day.
Thanks to Dr. Internet, my guess is I've aggravated my Tibialis Anterior muscle, right where it attaches (origin) on the front of my lower leg. Going into the Great Bay Half Marathon I'd been having some minor issues with my right ankle. During the race my calves were tight and sore. Finally to top it off there were several steep downhills on the course. If you toss all these factors into any injury generator you're bound to come up with a sore Tibialis Anterior muscle. I guess I shouldn't be surprised it's sore. Not quite full blown shin splints though.
So in addition to rest and ice I've also been tenderizing my lower leg with a foam roller, the Stick, a broom handle and a tennis ball. Like I said.....ouch!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Great Bay Half Marathon
It's been a rough training week following last weekend's 20-mile adventure on the seacoast. I guess I didn't realize how taxing that race really was. My legs weren't sore, just constantly fatigued and every run has been a struggle since. So with that in mind I decided to run a half marathon yesterday. Logic and common sense did not report to work this past week apparently.
I met up with Mark Wimmer and headed over to Newmarket for the 3rd annual (and my second) Great Bay Half Marathon, which happens to be the 1st New Hampshire Grand Prix race. I met up with my fellow Gate City Strider (and acidotic RACING) teammates in the gym and prepped for the race. It was a beautiful day, sunny and near 50 but a nasty wind was whipping in from the west. I had done my research and knew the headwinds would be along the 2nd half of Bay Rd (miles 7-9) and for most of the last 3 miles. Unfortunately, that did not mean we had tailwinds the rest of the way.
Mike Wade, Justin Soucy and myself headed out for a roughly 2 mile warm up on the course, changed and then headed over to the start. Did I mention it was windy?
They added a 5k to the venue this year which started at the same time as the half. About a 1/2 mile into the race the 5k'ers took a left and the rest continued straight. For such a large race (nearly 1500 runners) I was pretty surprised how well people seated themselves at the start, so other than a fast start the race started off pretty smooth.
Right from the start I found myself in a pack of familiar faces and most were teammates (a very good thing when you're running a club race). Mike Wade, Danny Ferreria and myself with Mike Wright leading the way. We would stay together nearly the entire race, occasionally swapping positions except for Mike Wright, he held a 30-50yd lead on all of us most of the way.
I learned a couple of things during the race. One, my legs were not yet recovered from last week. Most of the race was a struggle, with the effort far greater than it should have been for a half. Two, this course was harder than I remembered from last year (with more hills than I recalled). Part of the difficulty was the wind, with gusts that had to be in the 20-30mph range. To add to the carnage, the winds seemed to smack you on the flatter sections of the course. Just like my pre-race research had shown, miles 7-9 and the last 3 were tough and the field had stretched out a bit, leaving me exposed (so to speak) for most of the last 5 miles.
By mile 8 or 9 I had lost track of Mike Wade, Danny was in front by a few yds and Mike Wright was still holding at least a 50yd lead. I slowly gained on Danny and passed him at the belly dancers around mile 10. Coincidence? I think not. I think he was distracted...
I now had my sights on Mike Wright with 5k to go. I attempted to pick up the pace but the head winds on mile 11 were the toughest all day. It felt like one big hill. In fact, the winds were generally in our faces for the remainder of the race and only a few turns in town gave us some relief. Jerry Fitzgibbon hooked up with me on his bike just after mile 11 and provided some much needed encouragement over the last 1 1/2 miles which helped me pick off a few more runners and get close to Mike Wright but not close enough to pass, finishing in 1:25:11, roughly 6 seconds behind Mike. Not my best performance but considering the short rest and less than ideal conditions I guess I'll take it.
Scott Graham and Mark Wimmer somehow convinced me to go for a 2 mile cool down run after the race and several painful blisters did not make this a pleasant experience. Mark and I waited a bit for results to be posted but finally gave up and headed home around 2pm.
Splits for the day:
Mile 1 6:05
Mile 2 6:23
Mile 3 6:31
Mile 4 6:31
Mile 5 6:23 (31:54)
Mile 6 6:42
Mile 7 6:24
Mile 8 6:55
Mile 9 6:39
Mile 10 6:31 (1:05:06)
Mile 11 6:35
Mile 12 6:35
Mile 13 6:20
FINISH 1:25:11 (6:31 avg)
24th overall (1243 total)
6/93 in my age group
Complete results can be found here.
As far as the New Hampshire Grand Prix series, my club (Gate City Striders) kicked butt. As some of you know (and others continue to 'remind' me), I predicted early on in the season that Greater Derry would win the NHGP series this year. Apparently my evil plan is working, with huge numbers of Striders showing up just to prove me wrong! Keep up the good work.
Gate City Striders 147 points
Greater Derry Track Club 109 points
Granite State Racing Team 71 points
Rochester Runners 44 points
Monadnock Milers 20 points
I met up with Mark Wimmer and headed over to Newmarket for the 3rd annual (and my second) Great Bay Half Marathon, which happens to be the 1st New Hampshire Grand Prix race. I met up with my fellow Gate City Strider (and acidotic RACING) teammates in the gym and prepped for the race. It was a beautiful day, sunny and near 50 but a nasty wind was whipping in from the west. I had done my research and knew the headwinds would be along the 2nd half of Bay Rd (miles 7-9) and for most of the last 3 miles. Unfortunately, that did not mean we had tailwinds the rest of the way.
Mike Wade, Justin Soucy and myself headed out for a roughly 2 mile warm up on the course, changed and then headed over to the start. Did I mention it was windy?
They added a 5k to the venue this year which started at the same time as the half. About a 1/2 mile into the race the 5k'ers took a left and the rest continued straight. For such a large race (nearly 1500 runners) I was pretty surprised how well people seated themselves at the start, so other than a fast start the race started off pretty smooth.
Right from the start I found myself in a pack of familiar faces and most were teammates (a very good thing when you're running a club race). Mike Wade, Danny Ferreria and myself with Mike Wright leading the way. We would stay together nearly the entire race, occasionally swapping positions except for Mike Wright, he held a 30-50yd lead on all of us most of the way.
I learned a couple of things during the race. One, my legs were not yet recovered from last week. Most of the race was a struggle, with the effort far greater than it should have been for a half. Two, this course was harder than I remembered from last year (with more hills than I recalled). Part of the difficulty was the wind, with gusts that had to be in the 20-30mph range. To add to the carnage, the winds seemed to smack you on the flatter sections of the course. Just like my pre-race research had shown, miles 7-9 and the last 3 were tough and the field had stretched out a bit, leaving me exposed (so to speak) for most of the last 5 miles.
By mile 8 or 9 I had lost track of Mike Wade, Danny was in front by a few yds and Mike Wright was still holding at least a 50yd lead. I slowly gained on Danny and passed him at the belly dancers around mile 10. Coincidence? I think not. I think he was distracted...
I now had my sights on Mike Wright with 5k to go. I attempted to pick up the pace but the head winds on mile 11 were the toughest all day. It felt like one big hill. In fact, the winds were generally in our faces for the remainder of the race and only a few turns in town gave us some relief. Jerry Fitzgibbon hooked up with me on his bike just after mile 11 and provided some much needed encouragement over the last 1 1/2 miles which helped me pick off a few more runners and get close to Mike Wright but not close enough to pass, finishing in 1:25:11, roughly 6 seconds behind Mike. Not my best performance but considering the short rest and less than ideal conditions I guess I'll take it.
Scott Graham and Mark Wimmer somehow convinced me to go for a 2 mile cool down run after the race and several painful blisters did not make this a pleasant experience. Mark and I waited a bit for results to be posted but finally gave up and headed home around 2pm.
Splits for the day:
Mile 1 6:05
Mile 2 6:23
Mile 3 6:31
Mile 4 6:31
Mile 5 6:23 (31:54)
Mile 6 6:42
Mile 7 6:24
Mile 8 6:55
Mile 9 6:39
Mile 10 6:31 (1:05:06)
Mile 11 6:35
Mile 12 6:35
Mile 13 6:20
FINISH 1:25:11 (6:31 avg)
24th overall (1243 total)
6/93 in my age group
Complete results can be found here.
As far as the New Hampshire Grand Prix series, my club (Gate City Striders) kicked butt. As some of you know (and others continue to 'remind' me), I predicted early on in the season that Greater Derry would win the NHGP series this year. Apparently my evil plan is working, with huge numbers of Striders showing up just to prove me wrong! Keep up the good work.
Gate City Striders 147 points
Greater Derry Track Club 109 points
Granite State Racing Team 71 points
Rochester Runners 44 points
Monadnock Milers 20 points
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Milestones
March is in the books and it turns out it was one of my most productive running months ever. My training continues to go well although I'm not really training for anything specific. Training is more of a lifestyle. I don't follow a plan and I have very few goals. I do mix it up, both with terrain and distance so I don't get bored. I rarely run the same loop more than once or twice a week and never back to back.
I was able to venture off into the woods a few times at Horse Hill in Merrimack (very wet), Joe English in Amherst (even wetter than Horse Hill and I didn't think that was possible) and finally Mine Falls in Nashua which was in really good shape.
March Milestones:
I was able to venture off into the woods a few times at Horse Hill in Merrimack (very wet), Joe English in Amherst (even wetter than Horse Hill and I didn't think that was possible) and finally Mine Falls in Nashua which was in really good shape.
March Milestones:
- 229 miles for the month, my highest total since 2003 and second highest ever.
- 4 consecutive 50+ mile weeks, running 6 days a week. I don't expect my mileage to increase much above 50 mpw anytime soon.
- Half marathon PR at New Bedford - 1:19:55
- 20-mile PR at Eastern States - 2:07:52
- Continue to be injury free (thankfully)
Monday, March 30, 2009
Eastern States 20 Miler
A fine day for a 20 mile race from Kittery, Me to Salisbury, Ma on Sunday....except for the 38 degree temps, constant rain and 10-15 mph winds. At least the winds were mostly at our backs.
Roughly 600 folks lined up in Kittery for this unique 3-state, 7-town race, mostly along New Hampshire's vast 18 mile coastline. It was a cold one out there for sure, but the push of a tailwind was a welcomed relief and kept us moving south.
I met up with Jim Johnson prior to the race to coordinate rides, leaving my car about 100yds from the finish and riding with Jim to the start. We hung out in the gym at Traip Academy for a bit, fueling up and debating what to wear and of course Jim went through his pre-race routine of what injury would knock him out of the race (barking hammy, cramped calf, hang nail). He decided to dress down the part of elite racer and go with a good old cotton t-shirt, hoping to blend in with the regular folk, not fooling a soul since it was still a CMS shirt. About 1/2hr before the start we headed out for a 2+ mile warm up run, not because we needed it but because it would put Jim over 70 miles for the week and me over 50. All about priorities! We cut it a little close, getting back with about 2 minutes before the start.
At 11am we were off. I settled into what seemed like a comfortable pace and was pleased to have a few folks to run with by the time we hit 2 miles. I ended up running miles 2-17 with Jonathan May, (the eventual 2nd place masters in 2:07:15). We both were hoping to run in the 6:20 to 6:30 range but held it closer to 6:20's for a good part of the race. Without his help pulling me along I would not have held this pace as long as I did.
Our 5 mile split was 31:34 and our 10 mile split was 1:03:22, exactly 6:20 pace. Paul Young (the masters winner in 2:04:55) ran with us early on but eventually picked up the pace around 6 miles and took off, never to be seen again. I was feeling pretty good up to mile 13, and hit the 1/2 marathon mark right around 1:23:00, which would be my 2nd fastest half time ever. Neither of us thought we could hold this pace for 20 so we decided to scale it back a little, running closer to 6:24 pace for the next few miles.
Right after passing the 15 mile mark at 1:35:20, Keith Schmitt (eventual 3rd place masters in 2:07:30) passed us and held a 10yd lead for the next few miles. By the time we hit Hampton Beach at the 17 mile mark I was hurting. I had totally run out of gas. I tried to stay with Jonathan and Keith but I just couldn't do it as they kept up the pace and I slowed to 6:30's. As we crossed over the drawbridge heading into Seabrook at mile 18 I was passed yet again by another masters runner and the 1st female runner. This race couldn't end soon enough at this point. I at least held my position for the last mile and finished 16th overall and 5th masters in 2:07:52 (6:24 avg.) Although initially a little disappointed I couldn't hang on at the end, I really am very pleased with my time. This distance was definitely outside my comfort zone but I'm glad I ran this weekend.
After what was a rough month for Jim Johnson due to injuries and sickness, in the end he recovered nicely and placed 6th overall with a time of 1:56:31 (5:50 pace). See Jim, all that training didn't go to waste afterall! Congrat's to Casey Moulton as well, breaking his own course record with a time of 1:45:40 (5:17 pace). Nicely done.
Complete results can be found here.
Splits for the day:
Mile 1 6:14
Mile 2 6:00
Mile 3 6:38
Mile 4 6:22
Mile 5 6:20 (31:34)
Mile 6 6:19
Mile 7 6:20
Mile 8 6:23
Mile 9 6:23
Mile 10 6:23 (1:03:22)
Mile 11 6:18
Mile 12 6:22
Mile 13 6:25
Mile 14 6:21
Mile 15 6:32 (1:35:20)
Mile 16 6:24
Mile 17 6:30
Mile 18 6:50
Mile 19 6:09
Mile 20 6:39 (2:07:52)
Roughly 600 folks lined up in Kittery for this unique 3-state, 7-town race, mostly along New Hampshire's vast 18 mile coastline. It was a cold one out there for sure, but the push of a tailwind was a welcomed relief and kept us moving south.
I met up with Jim Johnson prior to the race to coordinate rides, leaving my car about 100yds from the finish and riding with Jim to the start. We hung out in the gym at Traip Academy for a bit, fueling up and debating what to wear and of course Jim went through his pre-race routine of what injury would knock him out of the race (barking hammy, cramped calf, hang nail). He decided to dress down the part of elite racer and go with a good old cotton t-shirt, hoping to blend in with the regular folk, not fooling a soul since it was still a CMS shirt. About 1/2hr before the start we headed out for a 2+ mile warm up run, not because we needed it but because it would put Jim over 70 miles for the week and me over 50. All about priorities! We cut it a little close, getting back with about 2 minutes before the start.
At 11am we were off. I settled into what seemed like a comfortable pace and was pleased to have a few folks to run with by the time we hit 2 miles. I ended up running miles 2-17 with Jonathan May, (the eventual 2nd place masters in 2:07:15). We both were hoping to run in the 6:20 to 6:30 range but held it closer to 6:20's for a good part of the race. Without his help pulling me along I would not have held this pace as long as I did.
Our 5 mile split was 31:34 and our 10 mile split was 1:03:22, exactly 6:20 pace. Paul Young (the masters winner in 2:04:55) ran with us early on but eventually picked up the pace around 6 miles and took off, never to be seen again. I was feeling pretty good up to mile 13, and hit the 1/2 marathon mark right around 1:23:00, which would be my 2nd fastest half time ever. Neither of us thought we could hold this pace for 20 so we decided to scale it back a little, running closer to 6:24 pace for the next few miles.
Right after passing the 15 mile mark at 1:35:20, Keith Schmitt (eventual 3rd place masters in 2:07:30) passed us and held a 10yd lead for the next few miles. By the time we hit Hampton Beach at the 17 mile mark I was hurting. I had totally run out of gas. I tried to stay with Jonathan and Keith but I just couldn't do it as they kept up the pace and I slowed to 6:30's. As we crossed over the drawbridge heading into Seabrook at mile 18 I was passed yet again by another masters runner and the 1st female runner. This race couldn't end soon enough at this point. I at least held my position for the last mile and finished 16th overall and 5th masters in 2:07:52 (6:24 avg.) Although initially a little disappointed I couldn't hang on at the end, I really am very pleased with my time. This distance was definitely outside my comfort zone but I'm glad I ran this weekend.
After what was a rough month for Jim Johnson due to injuries and sickness, in the end he recovered nicely and placed 6th overall with a time of 1:56:31 (5:50 pace). See Jim, all that training didn't go to waste afterall! Congrat's to Casey Moulton as well, breaking his own course record with a time of 1:45:40 (5:17 pace). Nicely done.
Complete results can be found here.
Splits for the day:
Mile 1 6:14
Mile 2 6:00
Mile 3 6:38
Mile 4 6:22
Mile 5 6:20 (31:34)
Mile 6 6:19
Mile 7 6:20
Mile 8 6:23
Mile 9 6:23
Mile 10 6:23 (1:03:22)
Mile 11 6:18
Mile 12 6:22
Mile 13 6:25
Mile 14 6:21
Mile 15 6:32 (1:35:20)
Mile 16 6:24
Mile 17 6:30
Mile 18 6:50
Mile 19 6:09
Mile 20 6:39 (2:07:52)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Mt Washington - Good News/Bad News?
The 49th Annual Mt Washington Road Race posted the 'lottery' winners this afternoon and for the 5th time in 6 years (if I remember correctly) I didn't make the lottery list on the first pass.Thankfully I have other options since my running club (Gate City Striders) gets a number of bypass numbers each year in exchange for volunteers. I've already inquired about a bypass number.
I'm just not sure if it's good news I didn't get picked in the lottery or bad news that I did get a bypass or the other way around. I have a love/hate relationship with this race.
Actually, I'm not all negative about this race. I've enjoyed it 4 out of 5 years. Unfortunately last year was the 1 out of 5 that I didn't. Think positive!
The picture above is from the 2005 race.
Monday, March 23, 2009
That Was Not Fun
27 degrees with 15+mph winds at dusk just didn't do it for me today. Has anyone seen spring and is it due back anytime soon? This is getting ridiculous. My mistake, I should have taken my rest day today. Live and learn.
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