After the Run4Kerri, I really didn't do a whole lot until the last week or so. Between the heat, family obligations and my work schedule, I really had my motivation sucked out of me for a bit. I can run in heat or humidity, but the combination of both is really not enjoyable at all. But I really love to run, and where and when I have been able to, it's been memorable. The last week has been better, and I feel like the cooler temps are on their way. I need them to be on their way!
I've vowed to not do any races until the end of September. Gonna try to keep to that?
I'm up to #1 on the Ghost Train waitlist, so it's probable I'll get in, and it looks like ultra-badass runner and friend John Peabody has offered to pace me somewhere after 30 miles (TARC Rule #14), and before 100 miles...so Holy Shit..
8-8 - 3 Miles. Lantern Hill run w/Jim.
8-11 - 4 Miles. High Tide. I thought I could beat the heat after work and suffer through some high tide sand at Misquamicut, and I did, but it was a rough trade. The upside was cooling off in the Ocean after the run, very nice...
8-14 - 3.5 Miles. Heat Index Hill Repeats, Exeter. What do you do when the heat index is 104 degrees? Stupidly find a technical trail section or two and bang out hill repeats until you're borderline heat stroke. I even rolled ice cubes into a Buff to cool my neck, but they melted so fast it made little difference. HOT.
8-18 - 3 Miles. Castle Craig up/down. Just a short, painful climb and descent at Hubbard Park. Tons of people hunting Pokemon, including two thug kids who almost walked into my truck. Tense for a second, then comical as they turned and found the creature, danced around for a bit and left. Zombie apocalypse in Meriden!
8-21 - 12-ish Miles. - Pachaug State Forest. Back on track, in spite of the heat. I did a long loop that included Mt. Misery, returned to the truck to change fluid bottles, and did an up/over 2 more times and back to the truck. Still hot.
8-22 - 3+ Miles. Rocky Neck run w/Adam B. - One of our old friends Adam has gotten into road running the last few years, and is really interested in trails. I was on my way home and hit him up for a short run in East Lyme. Great time there, I even showed him the "Twisty" segment that I'm safeguarding for Chris G. until he gets back from CA (Ha!). Great trails there!
8-23 - 3 Miles. Narragansett Trail maintenance. I really needed to get out to one particular section of the NT, to clear/check the trail for ease of use. A couple of blowdowns, and some trimming back, now I just need to update some blazes and it's all good!
8-24 - 3.5 Miles. Bluff Point loop. I got crap for this (Thanks, Beth!), but I had a small window before I picked up my dog. I did push the pace a bit, and PR'd the loop in spite of the heat. I'm done with this fucking heat, by the way. Not enjoying it at all.
8-26 - 6 Miles. Newport, RI. Short vacation with Lori. I got up early, and ran down Bellevue past the mansions, until I reached the start of the Cliff Walk, which hugs the rocky RI coastline, and consists of dirt path, rocks, and paved footpath. Great run, although still very humid and warm...
8-27 - 8+ Miles. Newport, RI and Groton, CT. Early 5 mile beach/road/cliff walk run in Newport, with a cool NW breeze blowing. Humid but not terrible! Tried my hand at two segments: one, a short uphill which I did really well at until my hotel room key flew out of my handheld. I slowed down to make sure it was ok, finished the segment and then went back to retrieve it; the second, a longer Cliff Walk segment from Narragansett Ave. to the end by the beach, which I started slow and picked up the pace too slow to do really well on. Next time, but still fun!
I also had time for a few miles before I picked up our dog from day care, so I hit the trails at the Copp Park, where the dog park is. Good sweaty 3-mile run.
8-28 - 9+ Miles. Dog Jog, and sunset loop on local roads. Wife's birthday meant tailoring my run around the day's events, and I also wanted to wait for the heat to subside. Ran the dog for a bit, then set out for another 8 miles solo, which included a really nice sunset and quickly darkening roads. Good cruisy run!
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Thursday, August 11, 2016
15th Annual Run4Kerri 4 Mile Road Race
My favorite race. I'm a trail runner whose favorite day of the year is a road race on the first Sunday in August, go figure! The list is long about why that is:
1. My first race ever (I haven't missed one since!), and possibly the day I really started to enjoy running as more than just part of my overall fitness. It's so much more than that now...
2. It's put on by a great family, who lost a great kid, but turned a tragedy into a celebration of her life and a way to help others achieve their dreams. Kerri would be proud!
3. It's local! 30 minutes away, around the corner from one of my favorite surf breaks, and I have lots of friends who run the race!
4. One of the most popular races in Rhode Island, the Run4Kerri draws hundreds of runners, including some world-class elite runners (Hey! They're just like us! Just way faster!!!)
5. My rivalry with friend and TNT troublemaker George Ross, who talks as much shit as me and backs it up just a bit better...but more on that later;
6. It's an odd distance. Not 5k, not 10k, but 4 miles. And always hot!
7. It's also a good midsummer gauge of my fitness, before the weather starts to turn cooler (I hope!) and the long distance stuff of Fall begins to loom...
8. Probably more, but you get the idea! It's my favorite race. They know my name at packet pickup, and I'm still hoping for a bib one year that says "CRUTCH" (Ha!)
But I digress. Sunday morning I woke up, quietly gathered my things, made coffee, got ready to go, and...couldn't find my wallet. Shit. All my prep was shot, and I scrambled around the house looking for it, even waking Lori to see if maybe she hid it as a joke (she didn't). After 20 minutes of upturning everything, I finally found it under a pillow in the bedroom. Blaming the cats.
As with every year, I drive to Matunuck and there's a cool, refreshing breeze blowing, and I think "Wow, this is gonna be a great run! Nice and cool!" (And I'm always wrong.)
In the 45 minutes I had to spare, I managed to say hello to 50+ people, pick up my race bib, and run a warmup with "frenemy" George and a few of his peeps. Good stuff checking out the back end of the course as the temps suddenly rocketed upwards. Gonna be another hot one. There is, I will say, very little shade on the 4-mile course. It gets hot, and we all suffer together.
It's pretty cool seeing hundreds of runners squeeze into a small country side street for a race like this. I chatted briefly with a few folks, wished George luck, and we were off! George went out ahead of me and I fell in about 50 yards behind him. His pace basically mirrored what I was feeling for effort, and I stayed close but didn't close the gap. Or couldn't. We're damn close as far as road pace, and I just couldn't get closer...until the water stop at mile 3, top of the one small hill on the course. Caught him. Should have skipped the stop but I was dying at that point. So was George. We both stopped to get water, and I remarked "I think you've got me on this one..."
The finish was about what I expected: slightly slower than my course PR, and I gained on George right to the end, but he had me by three seconds! Close! The NET time was 0.08 seconds difference, holy crap! This was the "race within the race" that we were hoping for, and it didn't disappoint...
So my results were 29:36 for 4 miles, and I was 75th of nearly 400 runners? WTAC did really well, and Matthew cruised to 8th place overall in a stacked field. Jeff W. won his age group and Jeff V. came in 2nd.
Spent a bunch of time after the race chatting with friends, frenemies and total strangers, some really fast people and some first-time racers. I even won an award at the raffle! Three really nice technical t-shirts. Oh, and a finishers' medal? Why not!
After the awards, a bunch of us (mostly Turtles, myself, an NRA person or two, and NH 603 runner Leslie) headed over to the Mews Tavern for lunch and beers (they have 69 on tap), and post-race nonsense. I bought George a beer for his well-earned win. What a great time!!! I also finally got to try Tendril IPA from the Proclamation Ale Company out of West Kingston, RI - another great beer being brewed right here in Southern New England!
As always, I can't say enough about the Bessette family and the race they've put together. It's a great time in a pretty cool little beach town, and draws some great runners from all over. 8 years in a row for me! I'll call this one my "legacy" race, as it was a given from the first one that I'd never miss it. Until next year!
1. My first race ever (I haven't missed one since!), and possibly the day I really started to enjoy running as more than just part of my overall fitness. It's so much more than that now...
2. It's put on by a great family, who lost a great kid, but turned a tragedy into a celebration of her life and a way to help others achieve their dreams. Kerri would be proud!
3. It's local! 30 minutes away, around the corner from one of my favorite surf breaks, and I have lots of friends who run the race!
4. One of the most popular races in Rhode Island, the Run4Kerri draws hundreds of runners, including some world-class elite runners (Hey! They're just like us! Just way faster!!!)
5. My rivalry with friend and TNT troublemaker George Ross, who talks as much shit as me and backs it up just a bit better...but more on that later;
6. It's an odd distance. Not 5k, not 10k, but 4 miles. And always hot!
7. It's also a good midsummer gauge of my fitness, before the weather starts to turn cooler (I hope!) and the long distance stuff of Fall begins to loom...
8. Probably more, but you get the idea! It's my favorite race. They know my name at packet pickup, and I'm still hoping for a bib one year that says "CRUTCH" (Ha!)
But I digress. Sunday morning I woke up, quietly gathered my things, made coffee, got ready to go, and...couldn't find my wallet. Shit. All my prep was shot, and I scrambled around the house looking for it, even waking Lori to see if maybe she hid it as a joke (she didn't). After 20 minutes of upturning everything, I finally found it under a pillow in the bedroom. Blaming the cats.
As with every year, I drive to Matunuck and there's a cool, refreshing breeze blowing, and I think "Wow, this is gonna be a great run! Nice and cool!" (And I'm always wrong.)
In the 45 minutes I had to spare, I managed to say hello to 50+ people, pick up my race bib, and run a warmup with "frenemy" George and a few of his peeps. Good stuff checking out the back end of the course as the temps suddenly rocketed upwards. Gonna be another hot one. There is, I will say, very little shade on the 4-mile course. It gets hot, and we all suffer together.
It's pretty cool seeing hundreds of runners squeeze into a small country side street for a race like this. I chatted briefly with a few folks, wished George luck, and we were off! George went out ahead of me and I fell in about 50 yards behind him. His pace basically mirrored what I was feeling for effort, and I stayed close but didn't close the gap. Or couldn't. We're damn close as far as road pace, and I just couldn't get closer...until the water stop at mile 3, top of the one small hill on the course. Caught him. Should have skipped the stop but I was dying at that point. So was George. We both stopped to get water, and I remarked "I think you've got me on this one..."
The finish was about what I expected: slightly slower than my course PR, and I gained on George right to the end, but he had me by three seconds! Close! The NET time was 0.08 seconds difference, holy crap! This was the "race within the race" that we were hoping for, and it didn't disappoint...
Close, but not quite...3 second difference! Photo by Scott Mason.
So my results were 29:36 for 4 miles, and I was 75th of nearly 400 runners? WTAC did really well, and Matthew cruised to 8th place overall in a stacked field. Jeff W. won his age group and Jeff V. came in 2nd.
Spent a bunch of time after the race chatting with friends, frenemies and total strangers, some really fast people and some first-time racers. I even won an award at the raffle! Three really nice technical t-shirts. Oh, and a finishers' medal? Why not!
Post-race wings!
After the awards, a bunch of us (mostly Turtles, myself, an NRA person or two, and NH 603 runner Leslie) headed over to the Mews Tavern for lunch and beers (they have 69 on tap), and post-race nonsense. I bought George a beer for his well-earned win. What a great time!!! I also finally got to try Tendril IPA from the Proclamation Ale Company out of West Kingston, RI - another great beer being brewed right here in Southern New England!
As always, I can't say enough about the Bessette family and the race they've put together. It's a great time in a pretty cool little beach town, and draws some great runners from all over. 8 years in a row for me! I'll call this one my "legacy" race, as it was a given from the first one that I'd never miss it. Until next year!
Sunday, August 7, 2016
On deer flies, humidity, and total lack of a proper schedule: July 25-31 and August 1-7
Couple of good runs, and mostly work, has led to a slow couple of weeks on the running front. No excuses, no regrets, I dialed it back but I'm getting my workout carrying heavy equipment and jobsite waste during the day. On the race front, the Run 4 Kerri is on 8-7. My first race ever in 2009, and 8th in a row this year! Looking forward to it...
7-26 - 2.5 Miles. Green Falls run with an old friend. My friend from college, Mike Duffy, who I haven't seen in 20+ years, calls me to say he's on the East Coast and wants to meet up. This dude is super fit, and has been traveling the world with Cirque du Soleil as a performer. We had a great visit, during which he wanted to go for a trail run. Took him to Green Falls, where it was hot, humid and he got a taste of some New England terrain...I may have sold him on trail running! Or maybe not, jury is still out...
7-29 - 3 Miles. Pouring rain, and my boss calls to say he's running late...so I hit up Champlin Preserve for a few muddy miles, changed up and got back to the jobsite. Nice!
7-30 - 15 Miles. North/South trail bite with Claire and Ron. To say it was humid would be an understatement. I was able to wring the sweat out of my shirt twice, and lost several pounds, and drained my 50+ ounces of Tailwind, along with several other beverages coming and going from the run. We did a sizeable chunk of the N/S trail, and had a great conversation! Claire is a machine, too - I was feeling the weather sap my energy by the mile, and she showed no signs of slowing. Ron was not used to the distance, but was so fit he didn't seem fazed by it. Deer fly kill count of 25+ on my patch. You're welcome!
8-6 - 14 Miles. Groton X-Town trail (+extra mile). This patchwork of trails is comprised of 6 different nature preserves in the town of Groton, and with only one short road section. Very cool. I decided, after 5 days off, that I'd do the full out/back. The initial couple of miles are not marked at all, and as per my usual, I got turned around in Haley Farm, which is a spiderweb of awesome yet unmarked trails. Once I realized my mistake, I backtracked and decided to motor on. Got back on track and made the journey to Beebe Cove in Noank. Much of the first three and last three miles of the total out/back are very easy and runnable, with the exception being the Merritt Forest and Beebe Cove sections, which are quite technical in places. Cooler in the shade of the woods, but I still managed to drain 60 oz. of Tailwind in the 14 mile out/back. I think this trail, were it properly marked from end to end, would make for a great long run trainer, as it has a bit of everything...
8-7 - 15th Annual Run 4 Kerri road race. 29:36, #77 of ??? runners. My 8th installment of this race, separate writeup to follow.
On a side note, I've moved up to 32nd from 65th on the waitlist for the Ghost Train 100m...so...yikes!
7-26 - 2.5 Miles. Green Falls run with an old friend. My friend from college, Mike Duffy, who I haven't seen in 20+ years, calls me to say he's on the East Coast and wants to meet up. This dude is super fit, and has been traveling the world with Cirque du Soleil as a performer. We had a great visit, during which he wanted to go for a trail run. Took him to Green Falls, where it was hot, humid and he got a taste of some New England terrain...I may have sold him on trail running! Or maybe not, jury is still out...
7-29 - 3 Miles. Pouring rain, and my boss calls to say he's running late...so I hit up Champlin Preserve for a few muddy miles, changed up and got back to the jobsite. Nice!
7-30 - 15 Miles. North/South trail bite with Claire and Ron. To say it was humid would be an understatement. I was able to wring the sweat out of my shirt twice, and lost several pounds, and drained my 50+ ounces of Tailwind, along with several other beverages coming and going from the run. We did a sizeable chunk of the N/S trail, and had a great conversation! Claire is a machine, too - I was feeling the weather sap my energy by the mile, and she showed no signs of slowing. Ron was not used to the distance, but was so fit he didn't seem fazed by it. Deer fly kill count of 25+ on my patch. You're welcome!
8-6 - 14 Miles. Groton X-Town trail (+extra mile). This patchwork of trails is comprised of 6 different nature preserves in the town of Groton, and with only one short road section. Very cool. I decided, after 5 days off, that I'd do the full out/back. The initial couple of miles are not marked at all, and as per my usual, I got turned around in Haley Farm, which is a spiderweb of awesome yet unmarked trails. Once I realized my mistake, I backtracked and decided to motor on. Got back on track and made the journey to Beebe Cove in Noank. Much of the first three and last three miles of the total out/back are very easy and runnable, with the exception being the Merritt Forest and Beebe Cove sections, which are quite technical in places. Cooler in the shade of the woods, but I still managed to drain 60 oz. of Tailwind in the 14 mile out/back. I think this trail, were it properly marked from end to end, would make for a great long run trainer, as it has a bit of everything...
8-7 - 15th Annual Run 4 Kerri road race. 29:36, #77 of ??? runners. My 8th installment of this race, separate writeup to follow.
On a side note, I've moved up to 32nd from 65th on the waitlist for the Ghost Train 100m...so...yikes!
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