It's time to start catching up again, as a full slate of fall races threaten to get me even further behind on these posts. Let's jump right in.
First up, back in early August, was the Bobby Doyle Summer Classic - a big, local 5-miler with great competition, thanks to its role as the USATF-NE 5M road championship. After bumping into an old colleague from my Cambridge days (it took him a solid minute to subtract 10 years and a gray beard from my face to recognize me), I headed to the start where I was able to give Shara a quick hello before the race started.
I set myself up many rows back from the starting line, which was appropriate, given the large quantities of fast-looking guys ahead of me. And I do mean guys -- the women lined up on the other side of the road, which I thought was a nice touch, though it did give me a bit less room to navigate the crowded start. I settled in quickly and reminded myself of my newfound strategy: 2/3 pace, 1/3 race. In this case, I'd planned to stay comfortable for 3 miles and then push the final two. I also wanted to try to track down as many Masters runners as I could in those final miles, as I knew there would be many ahead of me based on how many older looking dudes I saw in the front part of the corral.
The course is essentially half of the Blessing course, mercifully omitting the worst parts (sunny open stretches on Ocean Road and 108). The first three miles, which include a gradual uphill alongside the golf course, were uneventful. I remember passing Matt P and several of the elite women but not much else of note happened. The mile splits were 5:28, 5:36, 5:41. I wasn't thrilled that I'd dropped so far off 5:30 pace, even with the hill in the third mile, but I knew I still had a bunch in the tank for the finish.
I moved into race mode on Kinney Ave. (in a similar spot to the Blessing, actually) and spotted Mike D and other Masters guys ahead. I was catching people with some regularity along this part of the course and split 5:16 for the 4th mile. The final mile was more of the same, though my legs were really feeling it at that point. I caught a few more people near the end (never getting passed by anyone during the entire race, which probably means I was a bit too conservative in my pacing), hitting 5:15 for the final mile, and 27:21 for the race (results here). I ended up as the 4th masters runner, not terribly far behind the others, but far enough that I didn't know they were there. I was pleased with this race, glad to have had a strong final two miles, and feeling more and more confident in my improving fitness. [You can watch the full race video here, if you're so inclined.]
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| Rounding a turn late in the race. (Pic by Tommy) |
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| The finish line shot (from Racewire) |
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| No smiling for this camera (another from Racewire). |
Next, just a few days later, was the Bottone road mile in Westerly. I've only done this race twice before (and only once on its current course) but I've consistently found it to be among the most fun races I've done. There's just something liberating about running nearly all-out on the roads, without the stress of watching splits as I might every 200 meters on the track. (This isn't exactly an original thought, even for me. It turns out I wrote something similar the last time I'd done this race in 2018.) I saw a bunch of other familiar faces and the usual gaggle of fast youngsters as I warmed up and knew there would be plenty of people to both push and pull me to a good time.
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| Pre-race. Not exactly the most flattering picture of me, but I can't just cherry-pick the good ones to put here. (Pic from Jana.) |
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| Great action shot at the start. Looks like some people anticipated the 'go' command better than others. (Pic from Jana.) |
Having done no speedwork in a couple of years, I wasn't quite sure what to expect of myself, and arbitrarily aimed for 4:45, with a secret hope of getting under 4:40. The race went out fast, and I went with it, which was an error in judgment. After 30 seconds or so, I realized my mistake and tapped the breaks, allowing a big gap to open between the first four guys and me. I mostly maintained the gap and then gradually closed in on the fourth runner but knew the top three were well out of reach as we made the final turn with one long straightaway to the finish. I started to kick and discovered that I had another gear that I probably should have found earlier. It was too little, too late, as I crossed the line in 4:40. (I have to admit I got a little confused about the actual location of the finish line, as the chute made a quick, hard right turn immediately after the finish line, which I thought was an additional section of the course. I pretty much sprinted directly in the back of the runner in front of me before the situation dawned on me.) I ended up 4th overall, just missing my secret goal but still happy with the race and on a high from the joy of racing a mile on the road. (Fun note: The oldest of the three guys ahead of me - Matthew - was born when I was in college. That note would be more fun if I were able to run as fast as they can, but I'll take the ego boosts where I can.) Full results here.
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| The surest sign of a too-big gap to the next runner: spectators crossing in front of you. (Pic from Jana.) |
Now let's fast-forward to October. In the weeks in between, I tweaked my Achilles, had my usual sore knee flare-up, and even had a heart-related scare that turned out not to be very scary, thankfully. I definitely lost some fitness in there but had been feeling much better heading into the Wahaneeta trail 5K in Westerly. This would be my first time doing this race at its new time of year (it was previously run in the humidity and bugs of August). It's a fun, challenging course with a few technical sections and the requisite Jeff Walker-designed stream crossings.
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| The opening field (Pic from Jana). |
From previous years, I knew that starting too conservatively could mean getting stuck behind faster starters on the single track. Despite this, I just couldn't bring myself to match the super aggressive starts of two other WTAC clubmates. I went into the narrow trails in third and immediately regretted it. I tried to be patient and looked for opportunities to pass without having to ask the runner ahead to move aside. Every time I thought I found a spot to do it, I'd encounter some unexpected obstacle. Once, I almost ran directly into a large tree trunk, and another time I nearly fell flat on my face. I heard footsteps of another runner coming from behind, and a quick glance revealed it to be none other than Jeff, gazelling down the trail toward me. I tried to pass a few more times, and, finally, the runner in second (Dave) had enough of my shenanigans and let me go by.
It took only a minute or so to catch up to the first runner (Nick). After the experience I'd just had with Dave, I changed my tact and went with a polite request ("Could I squeeze by on the left?") that was accepted without argument. I was feeling really good at this point and surged as much as I could to try to make up for lost time. Even with this surge, my 'loop 1' clocking was much slower than the other two times I'd done this race (11:41 this year vs. 11:26 and 11:33 in 2018 and 2019, respectively).
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| End of loop 1, passing by a single empty chair. (Pic from Shara.) |
With nothing but clear trail ahead, I pushed on into the second (shorter) loop. Here I made up time on my 2018 self but was still a couple of seconds back from 2019 me (6:44 vs. 6:49/6:42). In the final even shorter out-and-back section, I finally "PR'd" with a 1:23 (compared to 1:24/1:31 in the prior years). My finishing time was within 9 seconds of the other two years, which is remarkable considering the completely different strategies taken in each of the years. Full results here.
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| Smiling all the way up the hill, about to head into the last section of the course. (Pic from Shara.) |
It was great catching up with WTAC teammates, including warming up/cooling down with Tommy in his return to racing. My ankles were sore afterward, thanks to two near-sprains saved by my braces, but the injuries fared better than expected. I even took home Kevin Murphy's homemade honey as a special prize. Now onto more fall racing!
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| Evidence that Tommy was indeed seen running on the trails, at least during the cooldown. (Pic from Shara.) |
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| The honey prize was my kids' favorite of all the things I've brought home from races over the years. (Pic from Shara.) |
