| Race Name | Date | Location | Time | Place | Award | Notes | Distance (Miles) | Pace |
| Roxbury Race Series - Falls Rd (6.4 miles) | 7/14/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:42:14 | 1 | 1st place overall | M1 - 6:14, M2 -
6:04, M3 - 6:18, M4 - 6:34, M5 - 6:49, M6 - 7:24, M6.4 - 2:51 |
6.40 | 06:36 |
| Roxbury Race Series - Down Hemlock (3.52 miles) | 7/21/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:22:17 | 7 | M1 - 6:17, M2 -
6:07, M3 - 6:17, M3.52 - 3:36 |
3.52 | 06:20 | |
| New Milford 8 Mile Road Race | 7/28/2007 | New Milford, CT | 0:51:24 | 38 | M1 - 6:15, M2 -
6:39, M3 - 6:48, M4 - 6:32, M5 - 6:09, M6 - 6:20, M7 - 7:28, M7.8 - 5:13 Warm and humid for the race - a few rain showers during the race, there were big thunder showers a few hours before the race. Plenty of water available. People had hoses and were spraying runners. I almost stopped on Canterbury Hill, but I kept trying to catch up to the runner ahead of me. I never caught up, but I wasn't passed on the hill. I was passed by one runner in the last 100-200m before the finish line. |
7.80 | 06:35 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Ranney Hill / Painter Ridge (6.7 miles) | 8/4/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:44:29 | 5 | M1 - 5:57, M2 -
6:35, M3 - 7:45, M4 - 6:47, M5,M6 - 12:53, M6.7 - 4:29 There are big hills in miles 2 and 3, so the slower splits there are unavoidable, but the slower splits in miles 4 - 6.7 show room for improvement. These are mostly downhill or flat, except for the last half mile up Apple Lane. Next time on this course, I should try for 6:10 or 6:15 in the first mile. |
6.70 | 06:38 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Up Hemlock (3.52 miles) | 8/11/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:21:34 | 3 | M1 - 5:48, M2 -
5:45, M3 - 6:52, M3.52 - 3:09 I treated this as a 5K - the first two miles are down hill and level. Going up Hemlock, a dirt road, is not very steep, but it's enough of an incline and long enough to make you pay for a fast start. Next time on this course, maybe 12:00 for the first two miles would be better. |
3.52 | 06:08 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Judds Bridge (8.2 miles) | 8/18/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:53:00 | 3 | M1 - 6:22, M2 -
6:18, M3 - 6:33, M4 - 6:22, M5 - 6:44, M6 - 7:03, M7 - 6:31, M8 - 5:53, M8.2 - 1:16 Weather was cool - a bit windy in spots along Route 67 and going up Apple Lane at the end. I felt pretty good about my pacing - my overall pace for this race was 7 seconds per minute better than the New Milford 8 miler. For miles 3 and 7, maybe I should have gone a bit faster. I was in the lead for most of the race. At the 7 mile mark, the winner blew by me, and on the final approach up Apple Lane, the second place finisher passed me. I wasn't slowing down either. These guys just had great finishing speed. |
8.20 | 06:28 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Jeep Trail (3.95 miles) | 8/25/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:24:29 | 3 | M1 - 5:42, M2 -
5:58, M3 - 6:19, M3.95 - 6:32 First place was out of reach, so the race was for second place. I stayed back several seconds for the first couple of miles down South St. I started moving up just before 2 miles. There were a few people bunched up going up the trail, I passed Mark Losacco here, but he came back even with me on Rocky Mountain Road, and out kicked me up the short hill on Apple lane up to the finish. I was taking short, quick steps, and it seemed like I was going nowhere. |
3.95 | 06:12 | |
| Roxbury Race Series (1 Mile) | 9/1/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:05:23 | 2 | 1st half - 2:30 (down-hill) 2nd half - 2:53 | 1.00 | 05:23 | |
| New Haven Road Race 20K | 20K PR by almost 3 minutes!
Also an unofficial 10K PR
(38:29 for the first 10K of the 20K race) M1 - 6:10, M2 - 6:02, M3 - 6:20, M4 - 6:08, M5 - 6:25, M6 - 6:03, M7 - 6:05, M8 - 6:33, M9 - 6:22, M10 - 6:24, M11 - 6:19, M12 - 6:11, M12.4 - 2:29 My split times were all over the place, and not because of terrain. It's basically flat with a few rises and drops here and there. And the time variations didn't really correspond with the hills. I would see I was going too fast, and I would adjust - but too much. Or I would get behind some people and choose to stay behind them, because it looks like they're going pretty fast, but it turns out they're not, and it was a 6:30 mile. Even so, my goal was a 6:14 pace, and that was my overall pace, so it turned out well. |
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| 9/3/2007 | New Haven, CT | 1:17:19 | 122 | I started out pretty close to the front, so it only took 8 seconds from the gun to get to the starting line. There seemed to be a lot of passing back and forth after getting out of the crowd for the first few miles. I saw a circling hawk in the sky above Ella T. Grasso Blvd. I took it as a good sign. I had a slow 5th mile, so I turned it up a notch for 6 and 7. For 8, 9, and 10, they were slow, but I felt I couldn't sustain anything faster. By mile 11, I'm starting to regain some speed, and for the last mile or so, I raced with a guy who caught up to me. It seemed like we passed a dozen people, blowing by a few runners near the end who were struggling to finish. But in the end, he had more of a kick to the finish than I had, and he beat me to the line by a few seconds. It was great, though. | 12.40 | 06:14 | ||
| Roxbury Race Series - Jeep Trail / Hemlock (7.3 miles) | 9/8/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:48:24 | 2 | 1 - 5:47, 2 - 6:13, 3 - 6:25, 4 - 7:12, 5 - 6:57, 6 - 6:55, 7 - 6:57, 7.3 - 1:58 | 7.30 | 06:38 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Judds Bridge Rd (4.8 miles) | 9/15/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:34:01 | 6 | Resting for Southbury 10K tomorrow | 4.80 | 07:05 | |
| Southbury Classic 10K Road Race | 9/16/2007 | Southbury, CT | 0:38:45 | 5 | 1st in 40-49 Age Group | 1 - 6:06, 2,3 - 13:03, 4 - 6:17, 5 - 6:19, 6 - 5:51, (6.2) - 1:09 (last 0.2 at 5:45 pace) This is a moderately hilly course. I was hoping for a sub 6:00 pace, but after the first mile, I could see that wasn't going to happen. I felt like I was going faster than 6:06. I didn't see the 2 mile mark. It was a lot of effort keeping even the 6:30 pace in miles 2 and 3. I gradually moved up from 7th place into 5th. By mile 4 or 5, I think, everyone else ahead was already 2 minutes ahead of me, so I was running alone. Except I did hear footsteps behind me for a good portion, so that kept me motivated. | 6.20 | 06:15 |
| The end of the race brought some excitement... that unfortuneately had nothing to do with the race. Just around the corner from the finish line, half a dozen kids in football uniforms jumped onto the course just ahead of me, laughing it up, waving their arms around. Being deep in race mode, I decided I had to beat them to the finish. So I put on a final sprint and run through these kids, who seemed surprised that a runner would actually speed up at the end of a race. I did make it past all but one of them. The one at the front of their pack came to a complete stop right in front of the finish mat inside the narrow chute, and he turns around with this deer-in-the headlights look. I yell at him, "GET OUT OF THE WAY!". Somehow I got around him without anyone getting knocked over. | ||||||||
| Looking back, I should have just continued at the pace I was going - there was nobody to catch and nobody going to catch up from behind. And what's another 5 seconds or so? nothing. | ||||||||
| King of the Hill 5K | 9/20/2007 | Danbury, CT | 0:18:05 | 5 | 1 - 5:46, 2 - 5:42, 3.1 - 6:37 (last 1.1 @ 6:01 pace) Similar to last year's race - the first 2 miles at a good, fast pace, and the last 1.1 at a bit slower pace. Still the slow third mile is surprising, since it's mostly downhill or flat. The fast uphills took a lot out of me. The downhill finish is a lot of fun here. It feels like I'm flying to the line. The guy who finished 4th was the same guy who finished the place ahead of me at the New Haven 20K. The margin was bigger here. I was running alone by the 1st mile mark. | 3.10 | 05:50 | |
| Roxbury Road Race Series - Down Hemlock - 3.5 miles | 9/22/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:22:11 | 2 | 1 - 6:14, 2 - 6:02, 3 - 6:21, 3.5 - 3:34 | 3.50 | 06:20 | |
| Roxbury Road Race Series - High Bridge Rd - 4.3 miles | 10/6/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:27:13 | 1 | First Place overall | 1 - 5:49, 2 - 5:56, 3 - 6:24,
4 - 7:05, (4.3) - 1:59
I led from the start, and I was running alone for the whole race. The first two (downhill) miles were faster than I intended. I was trying for an even 6:00 pace down the hills. Starting back up the hills, mile 3 was not too bad at 6:24. If I had saved more energy at the start, maybe I could have kept the pace around 6:30 - 6:40 for the 4th mile, but as it was, I couldn't keep it under 7:00. |
4.30 | 06:20 |
| Roxbury Road Race Series - Chalybes / Ranney - 3.7 miles | 10/13/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:23:56 | 1 | First Place overall | Miles 1 - 3: 19:40, last 0.7mi in 4:17 | 3.70 | 06:28 |
| Sprint For Sales | 10/14/2007 | Tarrywile Park - Danbury, CT | 0:20:37 | 1 | First Place overall | Cross Country race - 5K. I was unfamiliar with the course, although I jogged part of it before the race. I took the lead within the first quarter mile and just tried to keep a hard, sustainable pace. It was a fun course - ups and downs - around fields and ponds - one steep down hill. There were a lot of turns and looping back on the course, but the volunteers did a good job of directing runners. The 1st place prize was 2 big gift certificates from New Balance and Kilometers running stores. | 3.10 | 06:39 |
| Roxbury Road Race Series - 4.2 miles - Hemlock / Ranney | 10/20/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:26:33 | 3 | M1 - 6:16, M2 - 6:16, M3 - 6:48, M4 - 6:10, M4.2 - 1:03 //
I think I paced this one pretty well, given the big hill in mile 3. |
4.20 | 06:19 | |
| Roxbury Road Race Series - 3.95 miles - Jeep Trail | 10/27/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:25:35 | 1 | First Place overall | M1 - 6:05, M2 - 6:10, M3
- 6:24, M3.95 - 6:56 The rain was heavy, and it made the trail portion slippery. I fell at the bottom of the trail and strained a muscle in my chest. I tried to win with the least effort possible, saving some effort for tomorrow's race. |
3.95 | 06:29 |
| Kent Pumpkin Run | 10/28/2007 | Kent, CT | 0:30:21 | 6 | First in AG | M1 - 6:08, M2 -
6:06, M3 - 6:31, M4 - 5:46,
M5 - 5:51 Just like last year, Mile 3 was deceptively slow. It has a long, gradual up hill, where it's easy to lose a lot of time. I felt good on the down hill in mile 4, passing (for the moment) the 5th place finisher, who had passed me at the bottom of the big hill in mile 1. In mile 5, I was trying to catch the 5th place finisher again - finished 2 seconds behind him. Yesterday's slight injury bothered me before and after the race, but strangely enough, I didn't feel it during the race. |
5.00 | 06:04 |
| Roxbury Road Race Series - 3.95 miles - Jeep Trail | 11/3/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:24:39 | 1 | First Place overall | M1 - 5:44, M2 - 5:46, M3 - 6:16, M3.95 - 6:54 ///
This was good, because I was able to push the pace in the first two
miles, still have a faster third mile compared to last week, and hang on for
the last mile. The weather was better
this week than last week - cool but dry - the footing was better on the
trail. |
3.95 | 06:14 |
| Roxbury Road Race Series - 5 miles - Squire Rd Reverse | 11/10/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:32:52 | 2 | M1 - 6:25 M2 - 6:49 M3 - 5:47
M4 - 6:38 M5 - 7:13 ////
... have to work on keeping that last mile below 7:00... |
5.00 | 06:34 | |
| Roxbury Road Race Series - 11.2 miles - Bottsford Hill | 11/17/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 1:16:29 | 2 | M1 - 5:57 M2 - 6:21 M3 - 6:42
M4 - 6:21 M5 - 7:59 M6,M7 - 14:07 M8 - 6:23
M9 - 6:38 M10 - 6:59 M11 - 7:30
(M11.2) - 1:33 This year's time was slower than last year's time on the same course. The first mile was much too fast. I should have been closer to marathon pace in the early miles - no faster than half marathon pace, even though it's down hill for the first two miles. Bottsford hill on the fifth mile is both steep and long, and it makes you pay for starting out too fast. I recovered somewhat along the top of the hill and going down, but I couldn't get back to full race speed. The winner was nowhere in sight since the first mile (he ran about 5:30 in the first mile). The #3 finisher nearly caught up to me on Minors Bridge Road by the bridge, but I was able to pull away going up South Street, although these steady hills were tougher than usual today. |
11.20 | 06:50 | |
| Roxbury Road Race Series - 2.4 miles - Down Chalybes | 11/24/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:15:05 | 3 | M1, M2 - 12:29, M2.4 - 2:36 | 2.40 | 06:17 | |
| Pete McCardle Cross Country Classic | 11/25/2007 | Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, NY | 1:01:12 | 29 | 5K - 20:03, 10K - 20:22, 15K - 20:47 | 9.30 | 06:35 | |
| Roxbury Road Race Series - 2.4 miles - Up Chalybes | 12/1/2007 | Roxbury, CT | 0:15:07 | 3 | 1st place in season Roxbury Points Race | First mile - 5:57. The uphill was tough, as usual. | 2.40 | 06:18 |
| Christopher Martins Christmas Run For Children | 12/9/2007 | New Haven, CT | 0:17:40 | 21 | As much as I like the challenge of a good, hilly race, a flat
5K, where I can just go out and run fast, is a lot of fun. There were around 1200 runners in this
race. I started the race a few rows back from the start line, which turned
out to be good - there was relatively little dodging and weaving around
slower runners at the start. I never looked back. I knew that a dozen guys would pass me if I
slowed or stumbled. Towards the end,
the course goes through a series of quick turns to get back on the street
where the finish is. This was a blast,
as was the finish. There were six guys
who finished between 17:39 and 17:41.
And I noticed similar groupings throughout the results. M1 - 5:29, M2 - 5:49, M3.1 - 6:22 (last 1.1 at 5:47 pace) |
3.10 | 05:42 | |
| Norfolk Pub 10 Miler | 12/15/2007 | Norfolk, CT | 1:08:19 | 7 | 1st place in 40-44 AG | Packed snow on much of the course made for difficult
traction. The hills were tough, as
expected, especially miles 2 and 8. Within the first mile, the first 5
runners separated themselves, and I was in the 6,7,8 group, where there was a
bit of passing back and forth going down and up minor hills. After the first
mile, the field spread out, and I was running alone for the rest of the
race. Still, it was a good final race
for the year. And it was great to sit back with a couple beers and some lunch
for the awards ceremony in the Speckled Hen Pub. I tried the Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale,
which was actually very good! Here are the (ugly) splits: M1 - 6:15, M2 - 7:54, M3 - 6:33, M4 - 6:32, M5 - 6:35, M6 - 6:43, M7 - 6:49, M8 - 7:50, M9 - 6:26, M10 - 6:45 ///// Next up - 2 weeks of rest, then the 4 miler on New Year's Day in Brookfield. |
10.00 | 06:50 |