So it's again shaping up to be a hot, humid and sweaty week...and of course, what kind of 4th of July would it be without 90+ degree weather? This week's festival of suffering will include the Camire's Firecracker 4 Miler in Wakefield, Rhode Island. I did this race last year at the encouragement of one Mike B., who subsequently pulled a no-show...checked my results, came in 179th out of 315 runners at 33:41 total, 8:26 pace. This year's goal, if I'm feeling good Thursday morning, is to go sub-30 minutes, very do-able...just have to be smart about my running this week (which hardly ever happens)!
Monday, 7-1 - 0 Miles
Tuesday, 7-2 - 3.5 Miles (Road) - Short warmup and Dogwatch 5K Fun Run, Stonington Borough. Showed up with plenty of time and saw some familiar faces immediately, including Don, Rosann, Way, Colburn (already on the course), and Jeff Vuono biking in...but not the people who have been giving me a hard time for not being at the fun runs?!? Dude! And hey, who's this at the fun runs, getting a shout out from Mrs. Bessette and having a drink after the run? Amby Burfoot, '68 Boston Marathon winner...how cool is that! I lined up near the front, with the intention of going easy at an 8-minute pace, which didn't quite happen...the Sun was out and it was really humid, but the pack mentality got the better of me and I finished in 23:15, faster than I wanted but I felt pretty good, so why not? And gives me the pace I want for the Camire's race...sub 30? Could happen. I'm carpooling with Colburn on Thursday, so I can pick his brain about local running history :)
Beers and running talk on the back deck afterward. Great night. Love the Borough! See you all next week!
Wednesday, 7-3 - 5.5 Miles (Road) Westerly recovery run with Jim H. Dropped the wife's car off for an oil change, then ran over to Jim's place. Back into town and through the park, then back out to Jim's to drop him off, then back into town to get the car. Hot and humid! Definitely took it slow today, in advance of the Camire's race tomorrow...
Thursday, 7-4 - 5 Miles (Road) - Warmup/Camire's Firecracker 4 Mile Suffer-Fest, Wakefield, RI. 160th place out of 400+ runners, 32:33 @ 8:09 pace unofficially? Picked up Colburn and made the drive to Wakefield for what will appropriately be described as a hot, sticky race. Did a short warmup with the WTAC crew and met new members Mark and Ryan, saw BLS and a few other familiar faces in the crowd and then the race was on. Mercifully, we had a good cloud cover and the Sun only peeked out once during the race. I was definitely lined up too far back for this race, but I knew right away that I didn't have that sub-30 minute run in me today...still, I did beat my time from last year by over a minute. I think perhaps on a cooler day, with a bit more rest leading up to the race, I'd have been able to pull it off? The learning process is a long one. I'll keep at it. That heat definitely beat the will out of me, though. I had a much faster pace at the Niantic 10K! Come on!!!
Friday, 7-5 - 2.5 Miles (Trails) - Champlin trails with Ryan W. 86 degrees at 9 a.m., what the? Met up with Ryan, and showed him the Champlin Glacier Park trails about a mile from his place. Legs still pretty dead from the race yesterday, combined with the heat and incessant deerflies pecking at the back of my head, equalled a short 2.5 mile jaunt for me. Ryan stayed to do another loop, but really liked the trails there and the easy access. Picked up some new membership applications from Jeff (Still hoping to see Beth and Don's in there one day...), and went for a quick dip in the ocean. Water cooled me right down :)...wife's shopping and daughter's at the zoo, so I might head back to the beach for a round 2...
Saturday, 7-6 - 0 Miles
Sunday, 7-7 - 3 Miles (Beach) - Misquamicut Beach Run with Mike B. Hot out, but not as bad as inland where it's just unbearable. Mike decided he wanted to run from the breachway to Watch Hill and back, so I joined him until we got to State Beach, and turned around and headed back to my beach chair and umbrella. Negative splits all the way, and I felt good despite the heat. Jumping in the ocean afterward was a treat. Mike, on the other hand, made the full 10 mile round trip, very impressive given that it was all on the sand. Good job, Hasselhoff!
So cool that you saw Amby Burfoot!
ReplyDeleteGood luck at Camire's - this is the last year they're doing the race, so you should definitely go all out. I'm sure you can break 30 mins, especially since you've been training pretty fast in all this hot and humid weather. And if I learned anything from racing this past year, its best to hold back the adrenaline at the start, go out a little bit slower, get a solid first mile in, and then pick it up as you start to pass people who are feeling much worse than you.
Ah, perspective, faster than the Niantic 10K! Thanks for the tip on going out slow!
ReplyDeleteSo great to meet you too! Yes, tough race but you did fantastic.
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