| Race Name | Date | Location | Time | Place | Award | Notes | Distance (Miles) | Pace |
| Brookfield Lions Club New Years Race | 1/1/2009 | Brookfield, CT | 0:24:10 | 10 | 2nd in AG - 40-44 | 10°F, windy. Miles 1,2 - 12:22 / Miles 3,4 - 11:48. I started out a few rows back. It took a bit of weaving to get some space to run at my pace. I went with the strategy of not holding anything back - just making sure I could sustain the pace for 4 miles. I was going back and forth with Mark L. for most of the race, before he pulled away for good in the third mile. Peter L. passed me just before entering the parking lot. I had no kick at the end this time to answer. It was all I could do to just run it in. Finishing time was better than last year, but just above 6:00 pace. | 4.00 | 06:02 |
| Norfolk Pub 10 Miler | 1/3/2009 | Norfolk, CT | 1:07:07 | 4 | 1st Master, 1st in AG - 40-44 (overall winner was aged 43, but he was not counted in the Age Group, since he was in top 3.) | 11:00AM, 27°F, windy. Snow and ice on road - especially dirt road portion - hard to get traction. //// 1 - 6:08, 2 - 8:09, 3 - 6:19, 4 - 6:24, 5 - 6:14, 6 - 6:26, 7 - 6:46, 8 - 7:43, 9 - 6:23, 10 - 6:35 | 10.00 | 06:43 |
| Boston Buildup 10K | 1/4/2009 | Norwalk, CT | 0:37:54 | 12 | 10:00AM, 25°F, windy. Clear roads, except for icy parking lot at
start and finish. /// 1 - 5:53, 2 - 5:47, 3 - 6:01, 4 - 6:15, 5 - 6:18, 6.2 - 7:41 (last 1.2 at 6:24 pace) /// This was a race for positive splits - level and downhill for the first half, and a good bit of uphill in the second half. I was able to move up through various mini-packs of racers through the race. One guy did pass me in the second half. I momentarily took a wrong turn within the parking lot 200m from the finish. A person walking by yelled out "Wrong way!" - and I got back on course, losing only a few steps. Peter L. almost caught me here, but finished just after me. |
6.20 | 06:07 | |
| Boston Buildup 15K | 1/25/2009 | Ridgefield, CT | 0:58:34 | 11 | 9:00AM 5°F, not windy, sunny. Some icy spots on dirt road
portion of course, but not bad. Unlike
the 10K, this race has most of the uphill running in the first half, although
we get to climb a nice little hill for the last quarter mile. I was dressed
for the weather - long pants, short sleeve tech tee, long sleeve tech tee,
"weather jacket", ski gloves, hat, ear warmers. So I didn't get cold during the race. I did work up a sweat. I was running about even with Mark L. for the first 5K, and I pulled ahead of him going up the hill after the water station. Pete L. caught up to me before the turn-around (we were in 13th and 14th place at the turn-around). We went back and forth for the second half of the race, with Pete pulling ahead for good in the last half mile. We passed a few on the way, with one of them passing me back on the final hill in the parking lot itself. This was a 15K PR and my first time under 1 hour for 15K. The only other 15K race I've run is the NYRR Pete McArdle XC Classic in Van Cortlandt Park, which is a tougher course. // 1 - 6:10, 2 - 6:18, 3 - 6:26, 4 - 6:37, 5 - 6:47, 6 - 6:00, 7 - 6:07, 8 - 5:56, 9 - 6:03, (9.32) - 2:05 |
9.30 | 06:18 | |
| Boston Buildup 20K | 2/8/2009 | Southport, CT | 1:17:13 | 8 | 9:13AM 45°F, sunny at start, with some gusty wind. It started out a nice day. I was comfortable in shorts and t-shirt
with no hat and no gloves. I started a
few rows back and kept it comfortable for the first few miles. I was able to run freely from the start -
no weaving needed. I needed to work
harder to maintain pace after a few miles, but I gradually moved up and
passed runners through the middle miles.
The guy at the 10K point said I was in 8th place at that point. I was a few seconds behind the 7th place
runner. I caught up to him soon after
and battled for miles 7, 8 and maybe 9, before he took off and opened a big
gap, which he held until the end. I
held on to 8th place. I finished
fairly strong with some good, fast downhill miles towards the end. For the last 2-3 miles, it seemed we ran
into a localized rain storm. It was
raining hard and very windy - generally miserable, especially standing around
after finishing. But by the time I got
back to my car, it was warm and sunny again.
1 - 6:22, 2 - 6:25, 3 - 6:09, 4 - 6:43, 5 - 5:58, 6 - 6:31, 7 - 6:02, 8 - 5:44, 9 - 6:07, 10 - 5:52, 11 - 6:42, 12 - 6:03, (12.41) - 2:30 |
12.40 | 06:14 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Up Chalybes | 2/21/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:14:15 | 2 | Cold day - in the 20's. I went out pretty fast at the
start. But Mike H. blew by as if I was
standing still - followed by another runner - all within 50 yards of the
start. Jeff S. passed me around one third of a mile at a saner pace, as I was
able to re-pass him around 1 mile. At
the bottom of Chalybes, I caught up to the second place runner. I just tried to keep moving up the hill. At the top of the hill, I recovered enough
to be able to run fast again, so I maintained second place. 1 - 5:51, 2 - 6:20, (2.38) - 2:02 (0.38 at 5:21 pace) I think this was my first time going under 6:00 min/mile pace on this course. |
2.38 | 05:59 | |
| Polar Bear Run | 2/22/2009 | New Preston, CT | 0:45:37 | 7 | 3rd in 40-49 AG | Just above freezing - Rain at the start, turning to a wet, heavy
snow that stuck to the road. Usually
snow is preferable to rain, but today it made footing slippery and clothes
heavy. Felt good running under 6:00
min/mile… for the first few miles, struggled to maintain the pace for the
middle miles. After 6 miles, it was like a switch being thrown, and I slowed
down drastically. // 1 - 5:44, 2 - 5:54, 3 - 5:53, 4 - 5:57, 5 - 5:56, 6 - 5:55, 7 - 6:17, (7.6) - 4:01 |
7.58 | 06:01 |
| Roxbury Race Series - Down Chalybes | 2/28/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:14:22 | 4 | Cold and windy. I wasn't quite as fast as I was last week. I was in 5th for the first quarter mile then 4th the rest of the way. | 2.39 | 06:01 | |
| Boston Buildup 25K | 3/8/2009 | Norwalk, CT | 1:38:40 | 12 | 60°F, overcast, some wind in spots - overall excellent weather
for racing. Went out at start at a
relaxed pace that was still not too slow.
Middle miles: working harder to maintain pace. Later miles: trying to quicken pace to take
advantage of down hills. There was
quite a lot of passing back and forth in this race, especially in the early
miles, but continuing through mile 13 or 14.
// 1 - 6:27, 2 - 6:26, 3 - 6:15, 4 - 6:21, 5 - 6:23, 6 - 6:41, 7 - 6:45, 8 - 10 - 19:07 (6:22 Avg), 11 - 6:04, 12 - 6:17, 13 - 14 - 12:23 (6:12 Avg), 15 - 15.5 - 9:31 (6:21 Avg) |
15.50 | 06:22 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Up Hemlock | 3/14/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:21:10 | 2 | 21°F, sunny, not much wind.
I went out fast and tried to hang on.
Going up the hill on Hemlock was about 1 minute slower pace-wise than
the rest of the race. // 1 - 5:40, 2 - 5:46, 3 - 6:43, (3.52) - 3:01 |
3.52 | 06:01 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Hemlock out & back (5K) | 3/21/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:18:45 | 3 | 25°F, sunny, no
wind. The race starts at the front of
the track, goes counter-clockwise out to the back of the park onto Rocky
Mountain Rd, down to the end of Hemlock, then all the way back to Apple Lane
and up Apple Lane to the traditional finish line. I arrived only 15 minutes before the race, so I didn't get as long of a warm-up as I usually take. I was able to start out at a fair - not great pace. I moved into the lead while on the track. Jeff S. passed me soon after turning onto the road. Mark D. was just behind or next to me for most of the race. I was able to gather some speed going down Hemlock, but it was predictably a struggle going back up. Turning back onto the final short hill on Apple Lane, Mark put on a final sprint that I couldn't match. So I ended up in 3rd place. |
3.10 | 06:03 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Ranney Hill (3.7 miles) | 3/28/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:21:48 | 3 | 25°F, overcast. No
wind. I had a good warm-up run of 3.5
miles, and I was ready for a fast overall race. I was in the lead briefly, and Jeff S. took
over the lead pretty quickly. Soon
after the 1 mile point, Mark D. passed me, and he would eventually win. I remained several seconds back in third
place the rest of the race. Ranney
Hill felt as tough as it always does, but I don't think I slowed down quite
as much as I usually do on that hill.
I was able to run strong the whole race, without fading at the
end. I think this may have been my
fastest time on this course. 1 - 5:52, 2 - 6:18, 3 - 5:55, (3.64) - 3:43 (0.64 at 5:49 pace) |
3.64 | 05:59 | |
| Danbury Half Marathon | 4/5/2009 | Danbury, CT | 1:21:06 | 15 | 3rd in 40-49 AG | Good
weather. In the 40's, somewhat
windy. // 1 - 6:04, 2 - 6:11, 3,4 - 12:26, 5 - 6:10, 6 - 6:25, 7 - 5:58, 8 - 6:18, 9 - 6:23, 10 - 6:37, 11 - 6:07, 12 - 5:48, 13 + .1 - 6:46 // New PR! I was basically running alone for most of the race after the first couple miles, but I was always in sight of somebody to chase. |
13.10 | 06:11 |
| Roxbury Race Series - Ranney Hill to South St (3.7 miles) | 4/11/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:21:20 | 1 | Overall Win | Traded lead a couple times in the first couple of miles with
Jeff S, who took a big lead up to the top of Ranney Hill. I chased all the way back to Apple Lane and
took the final lead just around the last turn before the finish line. I believe this "reverse"
direction of the South St / Ranney Hill course is the quicker direction. The back side (intersecting with Painter
Hill) hill on Ranney Hill is not as steep or as long as the front side
(intersecting with Route 67). //
1 - 5:54, 2 - 6:05, 3 - 5:48, (3.7) - 3:33 |
3.70 | 05:46 |
| Roxbury Race Series - Up Chalybes | 4/18/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:14:43 | 2 | Went out relaxed, settled into 3rd place for a while. I passed Chuck R. at 0.4 just before
turning onto South St. I passed the
runner who was in 2nd place going up the big hill. Jeff S. was leading by a big margin, so I
finished by trying to run fast and smooth and relaxed, with a little kick on
the last little hill up Apple Lane.
/// 1 - 6:01, 2 - 6:31, (2.4) - 2:11 |
2.40 | 06:08 | |
| Potomac River Run Marathon | 5/3/2009 | Alexandria, VA | 3:12:08 | ? | Rainy - "open starting line" - time trial - like race
1st mile - 6:20. / 1st quarter - 43:09 (6:35 pace) / 2nd quarter - 45:51 (7:00 pace) / 3rd quarter - 49:00 (7:29 pace) / 4th quarter - 54:08 (8:16 pace) / last 1.2 mile - 9:35 (7:59 pace) /// |
26.20 | 07:20 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Down Hemlock, Up Ranney | 5/9/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:26:08 | 2 | 1 - 6:15, 2 - 6:13, 3 - 6:41, 4 - 5:49, (4.2) - 1:13 | 4.20 | 06:13 | |
| Soapstone Mountain Trail Race | 5/17/2009 | Somers, CT | 2:09:08 | 28 | This course kills me. After last year's troubles here, I decided to start out more slowly. It helped a little, but not much. The first super steep hill still just about wiped me out. I seemed to regain a bit of pace around 10 miles when I went through a puddle that turned out to be pretty deep. It stopped me dead in my tracks, and I skinned my left knee and right shin and jammed my left thumb. I couldn't really get going after that. Finishing time was a bit better than last year, but still well over 2 hours. | 14.50 | 08:54 | |
| Wachusett Mountain | 5/23/2009 | Princeton, MA | 0:37:30 | 26 | The race started on a paved road, with a long, steady climb, greater than 1 mile. I took it easy at the start and there were too many runners ahead of me to count. I gradually passed several runners on the road. Then we turn onto a hiking trail going generally down. It's narrow and I have to duck under several branches. A couple people passed me, and I passed a couple. Then there's some dirt road going across the mountain and a couple steep climbs on hiking trails. There's less passing going on here. We start heading down the mountain. One guy goes flying past me. At a water station, I ask what the mileage is. They say it's 3.6 miles. With only about 1 1/2 miles to go, I pick up the pace, and chase the guy who just passed. I catch him when it levels out and goes up a bit. For the final down hill section, I nearly collide with someone coming up the trail in the opposite direction, but I'm going all-out, and it's a blast. I pass a few more runners. But at the very end, the guy that passed me at the start of the down hill edged past me just before the finish line. | 5.25 | 07:09 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - The Roxbury Mile - Part 1 | 5/30/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:05:25 | 8 | I felt slow coming off the start line going up hill. Other than that, I didn't feel bad. I built up some speed going down the hill on Apple Lane and hit the half mile mark in 2:33. I passed a guy on South St with maybe a quarter mile to go, and he passed me back in the last 100 yards. He stayed ahead to the finish, but I didn't give up at that point. I kept driving hard, accelerating to the finish. | 1.00 | 05:25 | |
| Pack Monadnock 10 Miler | 5/31/2009 | Wilton, NH | 1:15:28 | 23 | This course is scenic and hilly for the first 8.7 miles. In this first part of the race, there are a
variety of hills - big, small, rolling, and there are some level areas
too. I'd guess about 75% on paved road
and 25% on dirt road. This would be a
moderately tough course on its own.
But then you get to the second part of the race - the last 1.3 miles. At the end of the sane part of the course, you have just finished a mile long steady climb along the shoulder of Route 101. You turn into Miller State Park and begin 1.3 miles of the steepest road I've ever tried to run. I had to walk the steepest sections of this stretch, including the last straight hill to the last switch-back. There was a good group of people cheering at the top. A guy said "50 yards to go - just around the corner". My first reaction was to not believe him, but I started running again and turned the corner, and sure enough, there's the finishing chute - finally! I was able to pass a few runners in the second half of the race. One guy passed me on Route 101 on the long steady hill, but nobody passed me after that - even when walking up the steepest sections - though it was close at the end. |
10.00 | 07:33 | |
| Mile splits for Pack Monadnock: M1, M2 - 13:54 (6:27 Avg) M3 - 6:09 M4 - 7:01 M5 - 6:29 M6 - 7:13 M7 - 6:39 M8 - 7:47 M9 - 8:40 M10 - 11:36 |
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| Moonlight Run | 6/5/2009 | New Milford, CT | 0:17:57 | 24 | 55°F, med to light rain.
There were signs at the start showing where you should line up
according to pace. People paid
attention to them, as far as I could tell. Good! I went out hard and just kept pushing. For
the second half of the race, my lungs felt like they were burning. The rain on my glasses had blurred my
vision and it was pretty dark. There was nobody running right in front of me,
so I couldn't see where to turn in to the field. I started to make a couple wrong turns to
go onto the field for the finish, but people yelled and I got back on course. I was able to pass a few people in the second half. One guy passed me back just before the finish, seeming to take a generous cut of the last corner across a basketball or tennis court? But it was dark and I had gone off course a few seconds earlier, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. M1 - 5:38, M2 - 5:50, (M3.1) - 6:29 (last 1.1 miles at 5:54 pace) |
3.10 | 05:47 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Up Chalybes, Down Hemlock | 6/6/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:26:53 | 1 | First Place Overall! | I led wire to wire. Jeff
S. wasn't running hard - only 2 weeks past his marathon. This was my 2nd race in 13 hours. It didn't feel that bad except for the hills up Chalybes and finishing up Apple Lane. I was able to keep pushing to get close to a 6 minute pace. (GPS reported a total distance a bit shorter than 4.5 miles) |
4.50 | 05:58 |
| Northfield Mountain | 6/13/2009 | Northfield, MA | 0:44:51 | 31 | good low key race. I
started just a few rows back, but everyone funnelled in from the wide
starting line to the narrow trail, so within seconds, I was near the back of
the field, it seemed. But I started
conservatively. I started gradually
moving up. There were big hills, but
they weren't too steep, and they weren't extremely long. There were several sections where the trail
would level off or go down a bit. So
there were windows of respite. From
the top, I just about went as fast as I could, and I wasn't gaining on
anyone. One guy passed me on the way
down. There were several short up hill
sections on the way down to balance things out. This was a fun race. The trail is mostly grass with minimal obstacles such as rocks or roots. M1 - 6:55, M2 - 7:13, M3 - 8:45, M4 - 7:49, M5 - 6:14, M6 - 5:34, (M6.4) - 2:20 |
6.40 | 07:00 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Down Hemlock, Up Ranney | 6/20/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:25:44 | 2 | I felt like I didn't have any speed in my legs except for the
down hills. Jeff S. took off right away and there was no chance of catching
up. M1 - 6:15, M2 - 5:58, M3 - 6:27, M4 - 6:15, (M4.2) - 0:47 |
4.20 | 06:08 | |
| Cranmore Hill Climb | 6/28/2009 | North Conway, NH | 1:07:30 | 62 | Race Notes & Splits |
7.12 | 09:29 | |
| Frye Island Road Race | 7/5/2009 | Frye Island, ME | 0:30:31 | 2 | This is a small race on rolling dirt roads. It's pretty much limited to people staying on the island, because of the cost to take the ferry out to the island. I won this race last year, and there was no competition for the lead. This year would be different. I started out leading. The eventual winner of the race took the lead about a quarter mile into the race and never relinquished it. It turned out my first two miles were too fast. Around 3.5 miles, I tripped on a big rock in the road and came down hard on my right side. My right hand and right arm just above the elbow took most of the impact. It felt like the wind was knocked out of me as I rolled around and got back up. It took a while but I was able to get back some of my speed - but I didn't get back to 6 min/ mile pace. When I fell, the leader was still within sight, but I don't think I was going to catch up to him even if I didn't fall. I did catch glimpses - but he was at least 200m ahead from then on. The last mile, I felt like I was running in molasses. I just couldn't get my legs to move any faster. I missed my goal time of 30:00 by my slow 5th mile (and by my first mile and the fall...) M1 - 5:33 M2 - 5:48 M3 - 6:05 M4 - 6:25 M5 - 6:40 |
5.00 | 06:06 | |
| Ascutney Mountain Challenge | 7/12/2009 | Mt. Ascutney State Park, VT | 0:47:20 | 22 | This race starts off on a paved road. For 40 or 50 yards, it's level. After that it's steep uphill switchbacks
for 2.3 miles. The course then veers
off into the woods on single-track trail.
Here it is level for a while before beginning the steep climb
again. The trail is very narrow, with
steep drop-offs and places you have to climb over and around rocks - in other
words, not runnable. So a good time
was had by all. I hope the race director changes the course back to be entirely on the paved road next year. Even without the trail portion, nobody could say it isn't a tough course. There's lots of steep climbing! I started out about 10 rows back, not being concerned at all about starting near the front for this. The almost immediate uphill start meant I could compensate for any delay at the start with saved strength for maintaining pace further up the hill. So I steadily passed people going up the paved road, and I didn't have to walk at all on this section. Turning onto the trail portion, I went into survival mode, and I did have to walk many sections of the trail, and a few people passed me here. |
4.00 | 11:50 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Squire Rd (5 miles) | 7/18/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:30:53 | 4 | I went out with a pack of 6 or 8 runners, which broke up pretty
quickly - before we reached the half mile point. I couldn't keep up with the first three
runners, so I stayed back - running hard but comfortable down the South
Street hills. I was running with Mark
D. the whole way. He started pulling
ahead on the steep hill on Squire Rd, but I caught up when he stopped
momentarily for water at the beginning of Apple Lane, and I did not stop for
water. The hills were a struggle, but
I just kept moving as fast as I could manage.
I pulled ahead just a bit turning onto Apple Lane for the last half mile. Mark closed the gap towards the end, but I was able to finish fast and just edge him for fourth place. |
5.00 | 06:11 | |
| New Milfort 8 Mile Road Race | 7/25/2009 | New Milford, CT | 0:48:41 | 25 | 1st in AG M 40-49 | This was a satisfying race for me. I put a lot of hard effort into it, and it
hurt for a while, but I was rewarded with cutting off a minute from my course
PR from last year, breaking under 49 minutes, and winning the 40-49 AG for
the second year in a row! I tend to think so much about the last big up hill (Canterbury Hill) leading up to the mile 7 mark that I forget about the other hills on the course. And they are significant. After the fast down hill first mile was out of the way, I was trading places with a few runners back and forth. They would pass me going up a hill, and I would pass them back on the level. This seemed to happen a few times. |
7.80 | 06:14 |
Miles 5 and 6, I kept up the pressure to maintain a good overall pace. Going up Canterbury Hill, I just kept moving. I did not have the oxygen or energy to charge up it, so it was just small steps all the way up. Mile 7 was actually slower for me this year than last year! I didn't pass anyone here, and nobody passed me going up this final hill. Going along the flat area by Canterbury School, I built up speed again, and then comes the reward for all the hard work: the final charge, flying down the steep hill to the green and the flat to the finish. One guy did pass me about half-way down the hill. I almost caught him back at the finish, but his final kick was enough to keep me behind him. |
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| Mile splits for New Milford 8 Miler (7.8 miles): M1 - 5:42 M2 - 6:17 M3 - 6:27 M4 - 6:09 M5 - 5:44 M6 - 6:05 M7 - 7:23 (M7.8) - 4:54 (6:08 pace for last 0.8mi) |
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| Beach To Beacon 10K | 8/1/2009 | Cape Elizabeth, ME | 0:37:07 | 147 | This race was a lot of fun.
If I do it again, I should try to get there 2 hours ahead of time
instead of the standard 1 hour.
Traffic across the Casco Bay Bridge was backed up. By the time I got to the parking lot and
walked a mile to the start, it was only 15 minutes before the start. I lined up half-way between the 6:00 and 7:00 pace signs. At the start gun, I got to the start in under 30 seconds. The road was wide enough to get some clear running room within a couple of minutes. On the other hand, there was always someone to run with or catch. I was glad that I passed the guys dressed as the Mario Brothers and a fairy princess after a mile... My leg started hurting around the knee area at some point during the race, I don't remember where. Mile 5 was key, though. It was good to get a good mile in before the final climbs in the last mile. M1 - 5:57 M2 - 6:07 M3 - 5:53 M4 - 5:58 M5 - 5:47 M6 - 6:18 (M26.2) - 1:07 |
6.20 | 05:59 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Squire Road (clockwise) - 5 miles | 8/8/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:31:31 | 2 | This direction should have been faster than the opposite
direction on 7/18 - but my first mile was probably too fast. The first up hill in the second mile is
pretty steep. M1 - 5:26, M2 - 7:07, M3 - 5:39, M4 - 6:23, M5 - 6:56 |
5.00 | 06:18 | |
| Nutmeg State Games (1 Mile) | 8/9/2009 | Danbury, CT (DHS) | 0:05:17 | 5 | 1st in AG M 40-44 | I was third in my
heat. Q1 - 1:18, Q2 - 1:18, Q3 - 1:21, Q4 - 1:21 |
1.00 | 05:17 |
| Roxbury Race Series - Judds Bridge (8.2 miles) | 8/15/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:53:05 | 4 | M1,M2 - 12:41, M3 - 6:07, M4 - 6:12, M5 - 6:06, M6 - 7:11,
M7 - 6:38, M8 - 6:39, (M8.2) - 1:33 |
8.20 | 06:28 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Roxbury Mile II | 8/29/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:05:30 | 4 | I was feeling sleepy driving to this race. 3.5 miles warm-up in the rain woke me up, at least. But I wasn't able to maintain a good pace. (2:36, 2:54). | 1.00 | 05:30 | |
| New Haven Road Race - 20 Kilometers | 9/7/2009 | New Haven, CT | 1:16:24 | 110 | great weather - 60°F, 20K Race, 12.4mi in 1:16:24 (Net) / 6:10 avg. From the start, I was working hard to try to get / to a 6:05 pace, but it wasn't happening. I had too many slow / miles to make that target. Mile 10, up the hill, was especially / slow. But some of the flat miles where I hoped to make up / time were 6:10 or 6:15, too. I started a dozen rows back, / somewhat relaxed pace. I could get some open running early / by going over into the left lane. By about 1 mile, I was out of / heavy traffic. The rest of the race, I spent finding someone to / catch up to, then passing them. Two runners, as I remember / passed me: one around mile 9 and one in the last 400 meters. / I never matched pace with anyone for any real amount of time. / 1:16:34 (gun time) 110th place, 9th in M40-44 AG / m1- 6:13, m2- 6:11, m3- 6:05, m4- 6:02, m5-6:13, m6- 6:05, / m7- 6:11, m8- 6:15, m9- 6:08, m10- 6:23, m11- 6:08, / m12 - 5:59, (m12.4) - 2:35 (last 0.4 mi at 6:28 min/mile pace) |
12.40 | 06:10 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - 5K | 9/12/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:18:39 | 2 | light rain 60s, went out
fast and hoped for the best… M1 - 5:38, M2 - 5:58, M3 - 6:24, (3.1) - 0:39 // There's a moderate up hill in the first mile, before the down hill starts around 0.75 mile or so. It continues down hill to the turnaround at about 1.55 miles. So conversely, part of the second mile and part of the third mile are up hill. We continue down the moderate hill a bit further on the way back, so there's a short up hill at the 3 mile mark, leading to the finish. Wet roads made for slightly slippery footing, but nothing too bad. |
3.10 | 06:01 | |
| King Of The Hill | 9/17/2009 | Bethel, CT | 0:17:31 | 5 | 1st in M 40-49 AG | It was a crisp, clear day in the 60s at race time. It had rained earlier in the day, around
lunch time. I did a somewhat long
warm-up jog - from home to the race, where I registered and picked up my race give-aways - then back home to drop them off - then back to the race start. I started on the line all the way to the left side - because just after the start, there's a left turn in the road, and I wanted to be on the inside of the curve, which was a bit of a mistake. The course is a sort-of lollipop out and back so we pass by the finish line only 50 yards or so into the race - just around the first turn. So the finish area with the timing equipment is coned off on the left side of the road. I thought I would be out in the clear to easily cut back over to the right side, but there were a lot of kids starting out fast, and there wasn't much room to maneuver. I just barely made it inside the cones - probably cutting some people off - sorry! |
3.10 | 05:39 |
| I worked hard going up the first quarter-mile hill, settling
into 7th place. Around the top of the
hill, it felt like I was about to be passed by a few more people. I focused my effort a bit more and ran
through the crest of the hill to maintain 7th place. Not long after, I passed
one more guy and there was a young runner in the 11-13 age group who was
running a gutsy race, matching my pace.
I managed to pull away from him a bit before the first mile. I would remain in 5th place for the rest of
the race. The first 4 were fairly
close to eachother, going in single-file.
I was maybe 50 yards behind them. Around 1.75 miles, the course goes up a couple short, steep hills through a parking lot before turning and coming back down a more gradual incline. I lost some ground here, but I was still running pretty hard. The most difficult hill for me on this day was the slight up hill around 2.5 miles. It was just at that point, where I didn't have much left, but I knew once I got to the top of this little hill, it would be all down hill to the finish. |
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| The finish felt fast, and I didn't see anyone around me. Several minutes after the race, I was still
feeling that cold-weather burn in my throat, even though it wasn't that
cold. It was worth it, though…I had a
new PR, which I didn't expect on this course. The race time was 17:31! (by my watch, I had 17:34 - maybe I took a few seconds to stop my watch at the end?) M1 - 5:38, M2 - 5:32, M3.1 - 6:25 (last 1.1 at 5:50min/mile pace) King Of The Hill progression : 2005: 20:33, 19th place 2006: 18:20, 5th place, 2nd in 30-39 M AG 2007: 18:05, 5th place 2008: - did not run - 2009: 17:31, 5th place, 1st in 40-49 M AG (PR) My previous 5K PR was 4/1/2007 - Greater Danbury Road Races in Rogers Park (the 5K race that goes along with the Danbury Half Marathon) (17:38) |
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| Roxbury Race Series - Judds Bridge Rd - 5miles | 9/19/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:29:30 | 2 | 50°F sunny, M1 - 6:09, M2 - 5:56, M3 - 6:14, M4 - 6:19, (M4.8) - (4:53) | 4.80 | 06:09 | |
| Roxbury Race Series - Up Chalybes - 2.4 miles | 9/26/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:14:23 | 3 | 45°F sunny, M1 - 5:48, M2 - 6:12, (M2.4) - 2:23 | 2.40 | 06:00 | |
| Paine To Pain Half Marathon | 10/4/2009 | New Rochelle, NY | 1:31:28 | 10 | 3rd in 40-49 AG | Race starts uphill on a paved suburban road near the Thomas
Paine Cottage. The musket misfired, then fired a few seconds later, and we
were off. I tagged along with the lead
pack of about a dozen up the hill. At
0.7 mile, we turn onto the grass.
Several runners passed me very soon after entering the trails. I passed one back within a couple miles and two more around miles 7 - 9. I did start catching up to the next runner in the last couple of miles, but he picked up the pace towards the end, and I finished well behind him. Around mile 4.5, there's a major intersection - turn left or turn right? I saw no flags and had no idea which way to go. I found out after the race, there was a single flag there, but I just couldn't see it. I went a few feet to the left and came back to the intersection and waited for the next runner. He guessed right and I followed him. Still no flags for a long time. After a few minutes, we came upon a couple walking their dogs. I asked them if a bunch of runners passed them. They said "Yes", so then we finally knew we were on course. M1 - 6:34, M2 - 7:05, M3 - 6:57, M4 - 7:29, M5 - 7:25, M6 - 6:55, M7 - 7:27, M8 - 6:52, M9 - 7:06, M10 - 6:39, M11 - 6:56, M12 - 6:44, M13 - 6:33, (M13.12) - 0:41 (last 0.12 at 5:29 pace) |
13.12 | 06:58 |
| Roxbury 5K | 10/17/2009 | Roxbury, CT | 0:19:11 | 2 | 41°F, running the race as a threshold / tempo run, maybe 90% of
full effort? / M1 - 5:58, M2 - 6:10, M3 - 6:23, (M3.1 - 0:41) |
3.10 | 06:11 | |
| New York City Marathon | 11/1/2009 | New York, NY | 2:51:55 | 440 | 50°F, overcast. I started in wave 1 - Orange Start - Corral B. It was very crowded at the start. It took about 1 minute to reach the start line after the cannon. It remained congested for the first mile. I got a bit impatient and started weaving, finding openings. The second mile was down the bridge, and it felt like the easiest 6 minute mile ever. I settled down after that, except for mile 6 - I don't know why that mile was so fast. It was easy through 8 miles. Miles 9 through 19 were difficult, but I was able to stay roughly on pace for my goal of 2:50. Even going up 1st Ave. it was a struggle to keep the pace quick enough. Mile 20 through the end, I was just in survival mode - just finding somebody ahead and trying to stay with them. M1 - 7:24, M2 - 6:01, M3 - 6:28, M4 - 6:16, M5 - 6:19, M6 - 6:06, M7 - 6:26, M8 - 6:31, M9 - 6:30, M10 - 6:19, M11 - 6:41, M12 - 6:24, M13 - 6:31, M14 - 6:32, M15 - 6:36, M16 - 6:33, M17 - 6:26, M18 - 6:20, M19 - 6:35, M20 - 6:44, M21 - 6:41, M22 - 6:38, M23 - 6:40, M24 - 7:02, M25 - 6:46, M26 - 6:57, (M26.2) - 1:40 |
26.20 | 06:34 |