Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

I know, if it does snow at all it's probably going to be closer to the lower number than the upper number but...
I feel like a kid waiting for the first snowstorm of the season! Time to get the shoes out.

Happiness is:

November Wrap Up

STATS for the month of November:

total miles - 181.9
# of runs - 26 (a couple two a days)
# of rest days  - 9
# of road runs - 9
# of trail runs - 17
# of races - 2

Generally I had a really good month or running. I ran my first trail marathon (successfully) and also managed to run a race on Thanksgiving for the first time ever. I spent way more time on the trails than ever before, probably close to 70% of my miles. The only downside is most of this was done at night and my feet have taken a beating, with numerous ankle turns, jammed toes and the like (not to mention tree rash). I had to take 3 days off in the last week of November just to rest my feet. All better now!

2000 miles for the year is not looking promising at this point. I'd have to average 9.2 miles/day to achieve that arbitrary milestone. I can tell you right now that ain't gonna happen :-)

No snow in sight......bummer.

Great Gobbler 5k Trail Race

I've been nursing a sore foot/ankle this week (one too many ankle turns on the trails), so I went into rest mode...mostly. By Thanksgiving Day I only had 5 miles for the week. Until this year I've never run on Thanksgiving Day. No particular reason why, I'm not against it or anything, it just never really interested me.

I'm not a very good rester. Running takes up a lot of my time so when I don't do it I get antsy. On Thanksgiving morning I got up early and headed down to Nashua to run in my very first Turkey Day race. Whoohoo! Lots of things made this attractive:

• 8am start
• $10 entry fee
• trail race
• run mostly in Mine Falls in Nashua

I've never seen so many folks at a Mine Falls race (results), and this one had nearly 600 finishers. There were a few familiar faces from GCS, bunches of high school xc runners and a ton of regular joes.The start was one of the strangest I've seen in a while, starting on the track for the first 250m or so. I was one of the tallest on the line (if you can believe that), mostly because there were a boatload of little kids all crammed up front. As far as I could tell, no gun went off, people (kids) just started running. I followed suit and immediately got jammed in behind a herd of  little kids and they were moving, at least for about 200m. It was a pain, it was dangerous (for them and us tall folks) and the RD should have said something at the start. 200m in and they were spent and most settled in somewhere back in the pack.
I had seen the Nashua xc coach out marking the course before the race and he had one of those wheel measurement thingies so I assumed the mile markers were correct.  At the first mile (5:31) it was Bill Newsham, Steve Pickett and myself (all masters) running pretty close together. I was probably in the top 15 at this point. We stayed in this order all the way through mile 2 (5:41), but as we headed up the slight hill near the power lines Steve passed Bill. We may have picked off a few high school runners as well. As we ran along the canal in the final mile we passed Kevin McIntrye (out for a training run), who yelled out my position (11th), egging me to get a top 10 finish. Of course I'd have to pass Bill (which doesn't happen often)  to do it. Right before the bridge I passed Bill, trying to separate from him as much as possible. As we headed back onto the track for the last 300m I thought for sure Bill was going to catch me. I didn't look back and focused on trying to stay with Steve in front of me. In the end Steve finished in 18:48, I was 5 seconds back in 18:53 and Bill 1 second behind in 18:54.
Oh, and it wasn't really a 5k. The published distance in the results was actually 5.25k so I averaged 5:47's for the race. I managed to finish 10th overall, 3rd masters. Brian Ruhm (2:43 at Baystate) was the first masters in 18:31, followed by Steve Pickett and myself. It felt good and I didn't hurt my foot or ankle. Not a bad way to start the day!

Place Div/Tot  Name                 Ag S No.  City            St Time    Pace  
===== ======== ==================== == = ==== =============== == ======= ===== 
    1   1/54   JOHN SCHROEDER       22 M    1 NASHUA          NH   17:00  5:14 
    2   1/32   JOHN CONLIN          16 M  313 MERRIMACK       NH   18:07  5:35 
    3   2/54   RYAN MCCARTY         21 M  167 NASHUA          NH   18:15  5:37 
    4   3/54   SETH TUCKER          23 M  354 NASHUA          NH   18:22  5:39 
    5   2/32   CHRISTOPHER BUSBY    15 M   31 MERRIMACK       NH   18:24  5:40 
    6   1/70   BRIAN RUHM           44 M  397 NASHUA          NH   18:31  5:42 
    7   4/54   JOSHUA GRANT         19 M  549 NASHUA          NH   18:35  5:43 
    8   5/54   SETH HAFFERCAMP      20 M  109 MERRIMACK       NH   18:41  5:45 
    9   2/70   STEPHEN PICKETT      45 M  208 MERRIMACK       NH   18:48  5:48 
   10   3/70   STEVE WOLFE          45 M  350 MERRIMACK       NH   18:53  5:49 
   11   4/70   BILL NEWSHAM         44 M  513 BROOKLINE       NH   18:54  5:49 
   12   3/32   RYAN HAGGERTY        18 M  111 MERRIMACK       NH   18:55  5:50 
   13   6/54   ADRIAN WONG          21 M  531 MERRIMACK       NH   18:58  5:51 
   14   5/70   RANDY MACNEILL       48 M  501 EPPING          NH   19:06  5:53 
   15   7/54   BRANDYN NARO         22 M  558 MERRIMACK       NH   19:09  5:54 

2010 NEGP Series - Results are in (and they stink)

Ok, my opinion, but I think they picked the absolute worst possible slate of races.
Slate C was selected, along with the Baystate Marathon. Conflicts with other races and loads of traveling are the highlights. Apparently that's attractive to a large group of runners.

Although I don't agree with the choices, I do like the new voting process (even though we end up with most of the same races). The runners of New England have spoken.

SLATE C

• Jones Group Realtors 10 Mile, Amherst MA, Sunday Feb. 28
• New Bedford Half Marathon, New Bedford MA, Sunday Mar 21
• Bedford Rotary Memorial 12K, Bedford NH, Saturday May 22
• Rhody 5K (MEN ONLY) , Lincoln RI , Sunday June 6
• Stowe 8 Miler, Stowe VT, Sunday July 18
• Bridge of Flowers 10K , Shelburne Falls MA, Saturday August 14
• PRMH Women's Classic 5K (WOMEN ONLY), Providence RI, Sunday Oct. 3
• Baystate Marathon, Lowell MA, Sunday Oct 17

Update (with some positive comments)
Maybe I was too harsh, definitely too negative. So I'll try to say something positive about the selections.

1. Jones Group 10 Miler - I ran this one in 2009 and actually liked the race. The course is tough (lots of hills, some dirt roads) but fair. I kind of like having a race in February. Not much else going on (except the snowshoe series, of course). The finish is kind of hokey, with a 200m run around a parking lot that kills all momentum.
   
2. New Bedford Half Marathon - Potential for being a very fast course. PR'd in 2009. However, fish sandwiches are not the post-race food of choice for me.
   
3. Bedford Rotary 12k - Right in my own backyard (9 miles away), and I've only run this race once (but not on the new course). Looking forward to it.
4. Rhody 5k - I ran this one in 2009. I'm one of the few runners that didn't mind the course. I think it technically does run around the parking lot of Lincoln Park but it never seemed like it to me. Another crappy finish though. Run through a little gate opening, make a 90 degree turn and run 100yds on the dirt dog track. Again, talk about taking all the momentum out of your run. BUT, this race has the hands-down best food of any race I've ever run. There is more food, more selection, more everything than any other race out there. I may go for just the food next year.
5. Stowe 8 miler - Beautiful area, nice course. I made a weekend out of it with Deb back in 2006. Good thing we did cuz my race was awful. Definitely top 5 worst performances of all time, maybe even #1. My notes from that day said "hot, humid and hard". Oh yeah, I was supposed to be positive. Ok, as bad as my race was, it could have been worse (like Mike Wade's) :-)
6. Bridge of Flowers 10k - Not sure if I have anything positive to say. I've never run this one, never heard anyone say anything but it's the hardest friggin 10k ever. It has a pretty name.
7. No comment on the women's only race. It doesn't involve me.
8. Baystate Marathon - Ran it in 2008 (PR). I liked the course, flat and setup perfectly for running at a consistent pace. Plus, it's 20 minutes from home. Very easy to get in and out of.
   

There's my attempt at putting a positive spin on next years NEGP series!

Random Thoughts

That's my way of saying I can't focus on anything in particular. I really don't have anything to say but decided to post anyways.

• I ran into a tree while trail running at night on Tuesday. Actually, I tripped on a rock/root on a narrow single track and could not react quick enough. I stopped my forward progress with my forearm, creating a new term (for me): Tree Rash - sort of like bark induced road rash. For the record, just as painful.
• I ran the same trail loop last night...in reverse. That tree has scarred me, emotionally and physically :-)
  
• It's hunting season. I dress appropriately. I see hunters, I hear gunshots. Last night I heard at least 15-20 shots in succession. All I could think of was a hunter seeing a deer (briefly) and then firing randomly in the hopes of getting lucky.
• I swear I heard what sounded like an injured coyote while running at night, on the trails, alone. I wasn't scared but it was a little unnerving. Of course it didn't help that I recently read an article on a coyote attack. Running scared at night through the woods would not have been a good plan and most likely would have got me injured. I stayed calm and finished my run. I even ran the same route last night (although the hunter with the itchy trigger finger probably scared away any living creature for miles).
  
• I've averaged 8.2 miles per run since Stonecat, running 5 days a week. >60% have been on trails. I think I got the message at Stonecat: trails are your training friend.
  
• I don't know what possessed me to sign up for the Boston Marathon. I'm glad I did. It sold out the week after I signed up.
  
• I've never run a race on Thanksgiving Day. That streak may end this year.
  
• Mill Cities Relay will be my last race of the 2009 season on December 6th. This will be my first time running on a Coed Masters team.
  
• Indoor track starts at the Hampshire Dome on December 8th. I love this track!
  
• I Love Woodford will be my 1st race of the 2010 (snowshoe) season on December 27. Boy, that was a short off season :-)
  
• The first snowshoe run of last year was December 17th. It can't snow soon enough this year. I can't wait to snowshoe!
• I ran four 10-mile races and zero 10k races in 2009. When did the 10-miler become so popular?
• Just once I'd like to have an "*" next to my time in a race. The "*" means you've exceeded the Time Standards for National Rankings in your age-group. It ain't easy. I'd have to run 1:00:00 for 10 miles, 1:19:00 for a half marathon or a 2:45:00 for the marathon, for instance.
  

Boston Marathon Registration has Closed

From their website:

11/13/2009 - REGISTRATION FOR THE 2010 BOSTON MARATHON HAS CLOSED. Registration for the 2010 Boston Marathon has closed. Registration began on September 9, and the Boston Athletic Association is unable to accept additional entries.



I decided to take advantage of my BQ from last year (Baystate Marathon) and run Boston one more time. It's always bugged me that I had such a bad experience in my one and only Boston back in 2003. Good news is it won't take much to top it. Yes, it sucked that bad.

So Boston 2010 here I come! Thankfully I registered just in time.

New Marathon in New Hampshire for 2010

When: Sunday, October 3rd 2010
Where: Hampton, NH
Cost: $65 (after December 31st)

Right now it's being billed as the flattest marathon in New England. It will be certified and a Boston Qualifier as well. Click on the icon above for a link to the website.