Good Clean Run

Epic Train Trail Run Bradford to Salisbury 20 miles

2012-01-16T21:43:00.001-05:00

20 miles and tired
Top Row L-R: Dan Verrington, Scott Mason, Todd Callaghan, Jim Pawlicki, Joe Shairs, Robert Jackman, Joe O'Leary, Dave Principe
Bottom Row L-R: Dave Dunham, Dave Lapierre, Ken Tripp, Thor Kirleis

Dave Dunham and Dan Verrington planned out a run from Dan's house in Bradford (Haverhill) to Winner's Circle in Salisbury a few weeks ago. The course is a combination of flat roads (6 miles) and trails (14 miles) for a grand total of 20.5 miles. Here is a course map. Joe Shairs and I drove up to Winner's Circle to meet up with seven others to brave the cold morning. It was about eight degrees outside. Ten of us piled into three cars and drove down Rt. 495 to Dan's house to begin the run at 8:13. The oldest runner of our group was Scott Mason (54 years young) while Robert Jackman (29) was the youngest. They and Dave Principe drove up from Rhode Island for the festivities. Also within the pack was Todd Callaghan, Ken Tripp, and Joe O'Leary. We ran southeast along some trails and roads until we picked up the rail trail from Georgetown center. I was familiar with the trail trail that heads northeast toward Newburyport as Dave and I biked it a few years ago. It was fun to run with the group, share stories, and talk about the previous day's United States Olympic Trials Marathon (men and women). We had a water stop at 9.8 miles in Byfield where we met up with a few others such as Dave Lapierre and Thor Kirleis. The cold miles clicked by, eased by the conversation. It took us two hours and forty two minutes to reach the Winner's Circle in Salisbury. It was pretty cold so everyone wasted no time getting into our cars and dispersing. Dave Dunham took several pictures along the way that highlighted some landmarks and icey beards.

Fifth Annual Wicked Frosty Four 2012

2012-01-10T18:30:00.000-05:00

Dan Verrington, Dave Dunham, and I after the race
in Collins Cove, Salem

January 1, 2012 - Salem, MA

I was in the midst of packing boxes for the move to the new home in Lynn. The training all week was light, as in a few days of a mere 30 minutes per day. However, the Wicked Frosty Four mile road race was an option on Sunday morning so I took a break from the move. I ran from the apartment in Beverly to the race in Salem with a bag of racing gear on my back, 2.9 miles away. This was the perfect warm up distance. I registered and chatted with Joe Shairs who was timing the race and entering the "day of" entries into the database. The weather was great for January, low 40's with some wind. Dan Verrington, Dave Dunham, and Ben Strain were representing CMS and on the starting line. Ben got a great start and I settled behind Dan. Dave was right behind me. I missed all mile splits, did not care too much, just raced along. Four guys, including Ben were in the lead for the mile. I was in the next pack behind Dan. I caught Ben and Dan heading into mile two behind the Salem Willows. Dave Dunham came up on us as we exited that neighborhood. Dan, Dave, and I worked together, shared the lead of our pack of through 3 miles. I got a few steps ahead of them with 1000m to go. I felt all right and was ready to battle if anyone pulled aside me into the last 400m. Dave Dunham did just that and as we stepped on the cobblestones on Front Street. I edged him out for the fourth place finish, 21:51, 5:28 per mile pace. I shook hands with the competitors and ran into the race headquarters, Tavern in the Square, to get some dry clothes on, pack my bag and run back to Beverly. In doing so, I caught up on the cool down with Dan and Dave and did some of the course backwards until I found a street that would get me home to continue packing.

I am in the new homestead in Lynn as I write this. I have trails 800m from the front door that Joe and I covered over the weekend. Lynn Woods are two miles away. Another two miles toward the ocean puts me in Swamscott and four miles away is Nahant. Joe and I tore up a long run on Sunday, hitting every hill we could find in Nahant (think of the Nahant 30K in September).

1 Eric Sofen 26 M SEATTLE WA 21:25 21:25 5:22
2 Nick Sousa 28 M Salem MA 21:31 21:31 5:23
3 Michael Nickerson 22 M Salem MA 21:33 21:33 5:24
4 James Pawlicki 37 M Lynn MA 21:51 21:51 5:28
5 Dave Dunham 47 M Bradford MA 21:54 21:54 5:29
6 Dan Verrington 49 M Bradford MA 21:58 21:59 5:30
7 Ben Strain 33 M Beverly MA 22:07 22:08 5:32

2012 Frosty Four full results

Boston University mini meet #1

2011-12-21T14:39:00.000-05:00

This was the first of three mini meets hosted by Boston University. I encourage anyone to run these. There is no pressure. Put down $10 and run your race. That said, I should have stayed home. I seeded myself at 9:20 and ran 9:36, DFL in the heat. No drama, kept last place for all but maybe two laps around the 4:59 mile split. I recall putting in a surge there but to no avail. I had no energy in the last six laps and faded away. I recall 1K splits of 3:07 and 6:15 (yeah the last 1K was ugly). I had a few environmental factors that may have attributed to the dead legs but can’t dwell too much. I still feel like a chump for not meeting my seed time expectation and I looked bad on the oval finishing 10 seconds behind the race. Maybe it’s a good thing the results spelled my last name wrong: Pawlioki.

Boston Universtity mini-meet results #1 December 17, 2011

Epic North Shore Trail Run Gloucester to Beverly

2011-12-13T00:22:00.002-05:00

An idea is born.....

I could not wait to show Todd Callaghan the trails that surrounded Beverly as soon as he moved here a year ago. Since I gave him a tour, he scoured more trails and researched a plan suggesting a run from his house to the Cape Ann Brewery via the trail network that parallels along Rt. 128. A run from Beverly to Gloucester? Why not? Afterall, over 100 mountain bike riders converge every October at the Monserrat Train Station in Beverly to ride the trails commencing at Lobstaland in Gloucester. It is referred to as the Big Kahuna. It is not advertised and is a bit of an underground event that you will not hear about unless you are in the right circles. The vision was to go through the following trail networks: Beverly Commons Trails (Witches Woods), Gordon College Woods in Wenham, Manchester Essex Woods (see Cheever Commons Conservation Area), Red Rocks Conservation in Gloucester, and finally Ravenswood in Gloucester. The "Epic North Shore Trail Run" was founded - a proposed twenty mile run with less than six of them on paved roads. The response to embark on this expedition was solid. Jonathan May, Jeffrey Silveira, Sean McDonough, Matthew Fuhrmeister, and Dan Verrington wasted no time accepting the challenge.

Man's it's cold outside......

It's Sunday morning, maybe 25 degrees outside, and the alarm wakes Krissy up at 5:30. I woke up ten minutes before, gathering inventory for the run. I bagged up two six packs of Gatorade, a few bottles of water, a dozen GU packets, assorted gels, and granola bars that would fuel us just beyond the halfway point in Manchester. I bagged up extra shirts for everyone in case they forgot to bring warm clothes for the finish. Otherwise, I had a Chico bag so that everyone could fill up with whatever they needed at the finish. Krissy followed me to Todd's house just before 6:00. Each of us drove up to Gloucester and dropped off two cars. I left some water in the car and a change of clothes. I took the rest of the inventory and the three of us headed back down Rt. 128 to Todd's with a quick detour dropping off the fluids and fuel in Manchester. It was now 6:45 and we were back at Todd's trying not to wake up his wife and daughter upstairs. Everyone started to arrive along with daylight. Ben Strain ran over from his house. My friend, Patrick Taylor (two time Big Kahuna participant) arrived to bike along. We collected outside for a photo and a few words from Todd on the expectations. We left about ten past seven from the sleepy neighborhood to the Sandy Milligan Woods. 40 minutes later, we navigated through the Beverly Commons where Todd, Dan, and Sean raced in August. While running through the trails, we are reminded how close we are to Rt 128, as we hear cars going about their speed limit to our left. Meanwhile, we respect our pacing knowing we are going to be running for 3.5 to 4 hours. The group exits onto Grapevine Road while seeing two deer. I am in the back of our pack of eight so I don't see them until a minute later crossing the street. Ben had to get home so he took a left down Hull Street and we went right into the Gordon College Campus and toward Manchester's Ancient Line trail which I was looking forward to for the first time.

Getting your money's worth.....

We reached our at the water stop an hour later. I took two GU's and drank a Gatorade. The group was now more than half way through with our sights now toward the Red Rocks Convervation area. We reached Haskell Pond quicker than I expected and now we are running with Rt. 128 on our right and Haskell Pond to our left. The topic of conversation among the group is hiking up north and bagging 4000 ft peaks. We ran into John Gillis who was hoping would run into us. His family dropped him off about 15 minutes earlier. I was pumped to see him as he gave Todd and I a tour of this very area three weeks ago. He took us up to a scenic vista within Red Rocks overlooking the Gloucester Harbor to the right, Annisquam River in the middle, and Cranes Beach to the left. I wished I had a camera. When we climbed down from there, my hips started to tighten up. John had to turn around and head home to Manchester as we reached Rt. 133 where we had a 1.6 mile stretch of road. We took a right into Fernwood Lake for the blue dot trail which got us into Ravenswood. Ravenswood had some tricky footing but it was worth it as we took the Ledge Hill Trail with another scenic vista of Eastern Point and Gloucester Harbor. Soon we left the trails and onto New Salem Road which dumped us out at Stage Fort Park. We ran through there and wrapped up the Epic run at the Cape Ann Brewery. It was awesome to tackle this run with a great bunch of guys. I know several of us never spent that much time on our feet (running) before. After getting into some warm clothing, we heading in for some beverage and food. I was wiped out and was not looking forward to a plane ride with no leg room to Nashville four hours later. Would I do it again? Of course. I am looking forward to this again in the Spring.

Matt downloaded the GPS data here.
Distance: 22.45 miles
Time: 3:41:53

Pace: 9:53 min/mile

Jeffrey Sliveira, Patrick Taylor, Jim Pawlicki, Matt Fuhrmeister, Todd Callaghan, Jonatahan May, Sean McDonough, Ben Strain, Dan Verrington. Photo by Krissy Kozlosky

2011 Mill Cities Relay

2011-12-04T21:40:00.000-05:00

Smiling and asking about the competion ahead

The Mill Cities relay website sums it up best - 27 miles, five legs, two states, and 1 river. The race starts in Nashua and finishes right outside the Claddagh Pub in downtown Lawrence, Massachusetts. Five person teams are compiled with distances that vary from 2.5 to 9.5 miles along the Merrimac River. I was fortunate to get on a coed open team with the Somerville Road Runners. 2011 USATF New England Mountain Series winner, Kath Hardcastle led off the charge at the 8am start in Nashua, traversing 5.4 miles to Hudson, handing off to Andy Schneider. Andy hustled 4.75 miles over the state line and into Tyngsboro handing off to Kevin Guarnotta. Kevin ran 2.5 miles along the Merrimac River into Lowell handing off to me. I covered 9.5 miles through Lowell, Dracut, and into Methuen. I handed off to recent Larissa Park who recently ran a 2:52 marathon in Philadelphia. She wasted no time over the last 4.75 miles, finding her way to Canal Street in Lawrence to help the team finish 1st over in the coed open division.

I went to sleep last night pretty nervous about the relay. I was not too sure how the logistics were going to play out for me. I was worried about getting to the start of my leg, securing warm clothing at the end of my leg, and was uncertain how to get myself to the finish. Fortunately, Todd Callaghan put me at ease this morning in Nashua and let me ride with him as we were running the same leg. Todd and I got to the start of our leg around 8am when the relay started. We were not expecting our teammates to come through our exchange zone until after 9:10. I went out for a warm up with Todd at 8:45. The clouds broke for sun as I put on my yellow SRR singlet. I wore my Nike Lunaracer 2 flats. I walked over to the exchange zone and Kevin came in to hand off the slap band to me. I took off and set my sights on the runners that were about twenty seconds ahead which included Dave Corbett, Jim Rhoades, and Joe O'Leary.

While running through Lowell with the Merrimac River on my right, I recalled memories of my 2010 Bay State Marathon where I had a tough stretch in the last four miles. I ran through the water stop taking Gatorade from Jen Arnott (formerly Jen Lavoie) with whom I went to high school with. It took me a while to catch Chris Spinney who I was tracking down for a bit. I ran beside him for a few strides checking in. He mentioned that he rolled his ankle at 2.5 miles. He hung in there and was seen two hours later icing his ankle. I felt pretty good, still on my toes, with the sun now over my rear right shoulder. The river was flowing in the same direction as the runners. Everything was good.

Larissa Park, Andy Schneider (with the brick), Kath Hardcastle, and I

I peeked at my watch at 40 minutes into my run. Then I saw John Gillis for the third time on my leg - yelling encouragement and offering water. He told me that I was getting closer to Todd Callaghan who was hurting (turned out he had a stitch that haunted him for miles). I was guessing that I had two miles left and tried to close the gap. I passed mile eight and just then realized the leg mile markers where painted in orange all along (duh!). Todd was too far ahead to reel in. I turned left into the industrial park where the exchange point was. I could see someone driving Todd's Subaru Wagon into the parking lot. I came through the exchange to handing off to Larissa. I felt good about the effort (just under 54 minutes - 5:41 / mile pace). Joe O'Leary came in behind me. My relay mates, Kevin and Andy were there so I got an update on how the SRR teams were doing. Our coed open was in 1st place for the division. They offered me a ride to the finish but I passed so that I could find Todd and get my warm clothes and dump my flats for my trainers. I let Todd out of my sights and could not find him for the next 25 minutes. The sun disappeared into the clouds and I started to get cold. I finally found Todd walking with Dave Quintal who ran with Winners Circle. Todd drove us through the last leg and to the finish line where a huge after party awaited at the Claddagh Pub off Canal Street in Lawrence. I sat down to pasta, salad, and bread while catching up with teammates and friends. Our coed team finished first in our division so we got a coveted brick as tribute to the Mill City.

31st Annual Andover Cross Country Club Classic

2011-11-29T15:00:00.002-05:00

Myself, Matt Fuhrmeister, Dave Dunham, Matt Fischetti. Photo by Gianina Lindsey.

Krissy and I headed up to Andover for the Andover Country Club Cross Country 6K race. Most of the course is all over the roller coaster golf course. I tried to warn Krissy and my friend Patrick who was running his first cross country race since High School. They both held their own but admitted this was no flat road race. I had a little back and forth with Dave Dunham early on. Dave Quintal threw in the surge of the race over a mile in, sending me a message that he was going to run Dunham down. I tried to keep them in sight but my legs were toast. Jonathan May went by me with over a mile to go, looking strong up the residential road. I gave one last push but minutes later had me fading again. He finished strong and I had to hustle in to keep a fast charging Joe O’Leary a few steps behind. I finished 8^th overall with a time of 19:16.33 (5:31 / mile pace). Next up is the Mill Cities Relay with the Somerville Road Runners. I have the long leg (9.4 miles) of the day. It will be interesting. This was my first road race ever way back in the 90’s where I had leg number two with the North Shore Strider men's open team. It should be fun.

31st Annual Andover Cross Country Club Classic results

Wild Turkey 5 mile run - Salem, Ma

2011-11-24T12:36:00.004-05:00

I signed Krissy and myself up for the race a few weeks ago. My plantar has been feeling a lot better. I have been wearing orthotics since October 25 and being more diligent with calf stretching recently. Krissy and I had a five minute drive over the bridge and into Salem. I met up with Scott Carrier and his friend Marc Gillaume for a warm up. The Nike Lunaracer2 was the weapon of choice to hit the Salem streets. After exchanging a few words at the starting line with Salem State University stud, Alex Gomes, the race of over 1400 runners bolted. My short lived lead for the first 200m saw Alex and Nick Rennie take command and down Derby Street. I passed the mile about three seconds back of them in 5:15. I was passed by Michael Nickeron leaving the Winter Island loop (2 miles or so). About two minutes later Christopher Chapruet went by me in the neighborhood behind the Salem Willows. Mile 3 provided a time of 16:25.72 about 10 yards behind Christopher. We were running the same pace through mile four (22:05, 5:39 split) after a climb after Dead Horse Beach that exits the Willows. I felt pretty good and thought that I could take a run at him. That surge never came forward aside from picking up my pace in the last 400m to see where my legs were at. I closed within four seconds of him for 5th overall and a respectable 27:30.6. I ran slower (27:43) last year so to run a quicker time a year later is solid.

Wild Turkey 5 Mile Salem, MA, November 24, 2011

1 ALEX GOMES PEABODY MA 22 M * 20-24 26:18.9 5:16/M

2 NICK RENNIE SALEM MA 28 M 1 25-29 26:53.6 5:23/M

3 MICHAEL NICKERSON SALEM MA 22 M 1 20-24 27:15.0 5:27/M

4 CHRISTOPHER CHAPRUET DANVERS MA 19 M 1 15-19 27:26.7 5:29/M

5 JAMES PAWLICKI BEVERLY MA 37 M 1 35-39 27:30.6 5:30/M

Ravenswood Trail Race 4.1 miles

2011-10-19T22:33:00.000-04:00

I called Todd earlier in the week and made sure that he was going to the Ravenswood Trail Race. He was game. Krissy, Roberta, Todd Callaghan and I arrived an hour before the start in Gloucester, just a 20 minute drive up Rt. 127 from our Beverly domain. Todd was anxious to see the course so we hit the trails as soon as we picked up our bib numbers. I ran the course in 2007 and knew the course so navigating along was easy. I had enough time to change into the New Balance 790's and my CMS singlet five minutes before the race went off. Todd jumped right to the front and I followed. After we crossed the first board walk across the Magnolia swamp, it was clear that he was on his "A" game for trail legs. Meanwhile, I felt some rust while he pulled away. I chicken stepped a few spots and lost ground and sight of him after the first mile. I had some foot steps come upon me after mile two. It was not until after the race that I found out that it was SRR and Tuesday night training partner, Sean McDonough. He has been ripping up the trail series this summer on the North Shore. I never let him get by and the presence woke me up so I surged a few times when footing was appropriate. I was dogging it after mile three, completely wasted on any hills to climb which are frequent but not too long. With 800m to go, I was alerted to some sudden heel pain in my good foot (the other has been a mess with plantar fascia related aches for months) with every foot plant. I thought it was a stress fracture as I finished the race.

Todd crushed the course in 26:50 for the win. I was second in 28:00. Sean closed the gap a bit, just thirteen seconds back. My heel was killing me but the stubborn runner in me tried to ignore it through a cool down with the top five finishers of the race. Gloucester resident, Matt Curran (GLRR) and Dan Verrington (CMS) kept the conversation light while we covered over 80% of the course again. I was delighted to come back to the awards and raffle with some cookies and fudge still left for my appetite. Race director, Jennifer Brooks gave away all sorts of fun prizes such a Christmas Ornaments to a eight pack of YooHoo. Todd picked up some cash for the well deserved win. I got a gift certificate for New England Running Company which I hope to apply toward some new trail shoes in the future.

As the day wore on, I could not put any pressure on my heel. I went the doctor on Monday night and got an x-ray on Tuesday night. I got the call today that I have a "large bone spur" and got referred to a Podiatrist with whom I will visit on Friday. So, it appears that I will be on the shelf for a bit as I consult with Dr. Tobin to determine what I need to do in order to break up the spur in my heel. For all I know, I probably have one in the foot that has been thought to have "plantar" issues over the past few months. I will have to take it one day at a time. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with bone spurs.

Timex IronMan Splits minus mile four: 6:16, 7:15, 7:03, 7:24 for the last 1.1 miles

2011 Ravenswood Trail Race Results
October 16, 2011 Gloucester, MA
1 26:50 Todd Callaghan      4049M Beverly MA
2 28:00 James Pawlicki       3039M Beverly MA
3 28:12 Sean McDonough   2029M Somerville MA
4 28:45 Dan Verrington       4049M Bradford MA
5 28:50 Matthew Curran     5059M Gloucester MA

James Earley Invitational 8K XC

2011-10-08T22:32:00.000-04:00

Krissy (KrissyK) and I headed out to Westfield State University this morning for the James Early Invitational where I was competing with the Salem State Alumni team. I raced James "Jim" Earley while I was at Salem State. He lost his life in a motorcycle accident heading into his Senior year. This race is the 16th year in a row with funds from the race going toward scholarships in his honor. As usual practice, Westfield State had a competitive Alumni team. Otherwise, there were 30 or so collegiate teams (mostly Division III) along with the Greater Boston Track Club. My goal was to run under 28 minutes. The weather was perfect, maybe the high sixties and sunny. There was a minute scattering of mud in the wilderness loop but it was not going to be a factor so I wore my New Balance 790's. Our Alumni team took a major blow as Dan Smith was not 100% and did not make the trip from Cambridge. He ran 1:07:50 (missed his PR by three seconds) three weeks ago in the Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. Still, we had Mark Dawson, Alex Derosa, John Bowser, and Brian Beaulieau. John, the jester of the group, had us laughing as usual. While we were in our starting box waiting for the official starter to raise his hand and fire the starting gun, he said "we will be waiting for Chistmas!" He was right, the starter took at least a minute to drop the white flag and raise the gun to get the 300 racers going around the soccer fields in this spectator friendly course. I found myself battling for position and trying to stay out of any bottlenecks that occur on the 90 degree turns. At one point, CMS teammate, Tim Mahoney and I had to jump over a bag of soccer balls as the race ran right by a soccer game's sideline. I saw it coming and yelled over to Tim to watch out! The soccer coaches were not too happy with our race on the edge of their game. I put in several surges to move up and get decent position. I got through the mile in 5:22 still surging past college guys. Mile two split with Mark Dawson along side was 5:35, just under 11:00. I got up to Eric Mendoza from GBTC and bolted into the wilderness loop. I held my own through mile three (5:47 split) hanging onto another GBTC runner, Adrian MacDonald, all the way back up to the fields. It was with about 800m remaining that I encouraged him to go after the single file group of 8 runners a few seconds ahead. I was giving him the advice that I wanted to employ, but I was all out already. We kept our positions into the finish line. I got an official time of 27:37.72 with a placing of 33rd. I was the first Alumni from Salem State. Mark Dawson and Alex rolled in behind me. Brian, who is training for the New York City Marathon, and John Bowser wrapped up the scoring for our team. We finished 16th out of 31 teams. Westfield State Alumni crushed us with a 5th place showing. The awesome news for that day was Alex Gomes, a Senior with Salem State, won the meet outright, improving on his 2nd place showing last year. He was seven seconds quicker this year and his nearest competitor was 17 seconds behind him. He is certainly up for some accolades later this fall if he stays healthy.

5:22
5:35 10:58
5:47 16:45
10:49 (missed mile 4 split) 27:37

16th Annual James Earley Invitational Cross Country Results, Westfield MA, October 8, 2011
Photos taken by KrissyK

Topsfield Cross Country Festival

2011-10-03T22:26:00.000-04:00

It was time to get racing again. Kevin Tilton and I were the only CMS guys to get to this fun cross country race hosted by the Greater Boston Track Club at Bradley Palmer State Park. Pies and cash are awarded to the top teams and individuals. Greater Boston beat out the men's team from HFC - Hurtin' For Certain. No other team had five guys. Thus, pies were given out to the individuals so Kevin and I picked up a pie each which two days later I am proud to say, the Apple Pie (Krissy picked it out) is half gone. As for the race, I went through the mile in 5:32 right where I wanted to be. Over the next three miles of rolling hills, I battled Junyong Pak (GBTC), Mark McDermott (HFC), and Ben Wheatley (GBTC). By the time we got into the last mile, I got spanked on the downhill back to the field that returns the race to the finish line. Mr. Pak and Mr. Wheatly finished very strong. I meanwhile had the form of twisted pretzel (see the photos) in the closing 1000m. I finished 15th overall with a time of 28:27 for the 8K distance. All I have to say is shame on the teams and folks that did not come to support this race. Money and good times were left on the table. Justin Lutz and Nate Jenkins both nearly raced each other to a course record. Justin got the win and missed the record by a few ticks. The rain held off during the race, leaving just a trace of mud returning from Moon Hill to the fields. Only one runner, Lee Danforth - HFC, went down as far as I could tell. My New Balance 790's held up well but admit I hit grass a few times to get out of the mud which we went over twice during the spectator friendly race.

I am off to Westfield State University this coming weekend for the James Early Cross Country Invitational. I am on a rather competitive Salem State Alumni team with the likes of Alex Derosa (Max Potential), Mark Dawson, John Bowser (Max Potential), and Dan Smith (BAA). It should be fun and I aim to break 28 minutes.

Complete results
Photos by KrissyK

Oxford Dam Trail race

2011-08-19T10:35:00.002-04:00

I spent Friday night (8/5) in Auburn with Krissy as she was getting ready for her PMC (Pan Mass Challenge) ride which started at 5am on Saturday. Thus I had a chance sneak over to Oxford for a CMS race, Dam Trail Run. It was only 8 miles away from the hotel and the race was early (9am) so I could still support and cheer Krissy at the end of her Sturbridge to Bourne (110 miles) ride.

A step ahead of Ross Krause in Oxford

The trail race is listed as a 10 miler but is suggested that it is more like 10.5 or 11 miles depending on how the course has been laid out in the past. Most of the race is on single track with about 10% on fire roads. I ran a warm up with CMS folks such as John Pajer, Mary Ellowitz, and Jim Johnson. Ross Krause was also in attendance. All the CMS folks had the new singlet on, despite the heat and humidity, standing on the starting line. Race director, John Grenier took note – impressed with the fresh white singlets. We took off from the start. Jim took the command of the lead as expected and took no prisoners. I hung back in 2nd with Ross and Rob Hult on my heels. They went by after a mile and I stayed real close to Rob, making sure Ross did not get too far. I made a surge past Rob a few minutes later and chased Ross down and kept company through 4 miles as we got out of the single track and onto a fire road. Ross admitted he was worn down a bit so I lead us through the next few miles, focusing on the flags to keep us on course. I had a good thing going and did not mind the company trying to push the pace but keep aware that there was some distance to cover. The legs tired after 55 minutes and Ross pulled ahead.

I was trying to anticipate how much race we had left. It was hard to gauge from my experience at this race a few years ago as the finish line was in a different spot. I was not too familiar how and where the race was finishing. Finally, I saw the parking lot up ahead. I threw everything I had left to close the gap on Ross in the last 200m. I just got past him before the finish line for 2nd place overall, with a time of 1:08:31. Jim finished four minutes ahead of us as it took him 1:04:31 on the strong solo effort. Rob was fourth in 1:12:53 as the first master (40+). I picked up a bottle of wine at the awards table an hour after the race. I had to hustle back and check out of the hotel. My planar fascia was screaming so limped around for the rest of the day. I caught up with Krissy at the last water stop that she had in her ride with the camera ready for her smiling face. She was 90+ miles into the ride with more energy than me. She was really inspiring. All of the riders (5500+), volunteers, and spectators made her ride for cancer research emotional. What a great event to support.

Complete results

Photos taken by a spectator

The 2011 Dam Trail Race, 10-Mile

Hodges Village Dam, Oxford MA

August 6, 2011

PLACE TIME    NAME    CATEGORY   TOWN         CLUB

1 1:04:31 Jim Johnson      M20-39 Salem, NH               CMS

2 1:08:31 James Pawlicki  M20-39 Beverly, MA          CMS

3 1:08:32 Ross Krause     M20-39 Easthampton, MA CMS

4 1:12:53 Rob Hult M40-49 Harvard, MA Puma

Beverly Homecoming 5K

2011-08-05T12:49:00.004-04:00

L to R: Todd Callaghan, James Pawlicki, Ben Strain, & Jonathan May with 600m to go. Photo by Krissy K

Where: Beverly
What: Beverly Homecoming 5K Road Race
Result: 16:19, 4th overall
Full results
Photos by Krissy K

This is what racing is all about: going into the last mile with Jonathan May (SRR), Ben Strain (CMS), and Todd Callaghan (GCS). I threw everything I could at these guys in the last mile and they wouldn't break. One thing is for sure, if Ben Strain is around toward the end of the race, watch your wallet and your back. Jonathan and Ben got a stride on me with 400m to go and I couldn't get past them. Jonathan ran a PR, Ben ran his quickest 5K this year, and Todd ran his quickest 5K in a while. I too, ran my fastest 5K in a number of years.

Splits: 5:09, 5:25 (10:34), missed mile 3, 5:43 (16:18.94)

44th Annual Beverly Homecoming Road Race
Thursday, August 4, 2011 6:30 PM
Place Name       Time    Pace  City           St 
===== =================== ======= ===== ======== 
1 Andrew Ryan    15:30  5:00  Gloucester      MA 
2 Ben Strain     16:17  5:15  Beverly         MA 
3 Jonathan May   16:18  5:16  Charlestown     MA

4 James Pawlicki 16:19  5:16  Beverly         MA

5 Todd Callaghan 16:26  5:18  Beverly         MA

Carver Cranberry 5 mile road race

2011-08-03T10:41:00.001-04:00

Fighting for the finish. Photo by Ted Tyler

This race was race number six of the USATF New England Road Race Grand Prix series. I have never been to Carver before so I was looking forward to it. I picked up Joe Shairs and Pete Mallett on the way to Carver which took almost 90 minutes. The CMS team registration was all over the place. Some guys were signed up while some like Kevin Gorman and Jim Johnson were not. Jim took the lead and got it straightened out with a key member of the registration team. I ran a warm up with the team and got to the starting line about 10 minutes early to stretch out. It was warm, maybe low 80’s with humidity. I settled in about three rows deep and we were off. I went through the first mile in 5:25 and the race soon took our first right hand turn. This was a simple race to navigate, only three right hand turns through the country like neighborhood off Rt. 58. I passed a few runners heading into mile two (10:55) and mile three (16:31) keeping Kevin Gorman just a few steps ahead. This stretch had plenty of shade and a few water showers set up by the residents which was helpful. Mile three to four put me around several master and senior runners who were jockeying for position to lay the gauntlet down. The likes of Doug Martyn (Whirlaway), John Barbour (GLRR), Terry McNatt (CSU), Joe Donnelly (Whirlaway) and Robert Cipriano (SRR) were ready to battle. Meanwhile, Chris Mahoney was ailing a bit from plantar issues, however, did his best to get Kevin Gorman, Matt Clark, and I fired up for the last mile or so as I went through mile four in 22:16 and knew the only hill on the course was just ahead. I faded on the hill and my pack pulled away into the shady darkness ahead. Once on top of the rise, I could see the finish line clock come into focus. I hustled to stay in the 27’s with a 27:53 (5:35 per mile pace), good for 52^nd place overall and 14^th on the CMS roster. CMS won the men’s open team event while the masters team finished 2^nd. I cooled down with Tim Pipp, Patrick Rich, and Greg Hammett. My post race grub included some Freeze Pops, water, and a banana to refuel for the traffic filled ride north of Boston on the Expressway. Going forward, I am looking forward to running the Beverly Homecoming 5K this week and the Oxford Dam Trail race on Saturday.

Complete results

Photos courtesy of Ted and Mary Tyler

Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5 miler

2011-07-25T09:45:00.001-04:00

I was leaving work and still not sure if I was willing to shell out the cash for a 95 degree 5 miles road race just a few exits north on the expressway. I don't think I have ever let the weather dictate my lack of arrival at a road race. Make adjustments for the mother nature, yes. It was hot, but it's not like it was 95 degrees and humid for just me in the race. WHDH, Channel 7 news was on site at BC High where the race started and finished. I paid no attention to it until Joe Shairs told me about it on Friday. I guess they were there to show how people were dealing with the heat. Here is the segment for what I am assuming was on the 10:00pm news last night. I am the shirtless goof on the far left on the starting line (far right if you are looking at the photo or news clip).

Closing in on the finish line for 11th place

I went out cautiously, putting myself in the top 16 or so with a 5:40 mile. We had the wind at our back which was negligent for any cooling but I'd offer helped push me out toward the turn-around a few blocks away from L-Street. Now the running got tough with the head wind heading back toward the UMass Boston Campus. Louis Raffetto (BAA) was about 15 seconds ahead and adding distance between us as we headed toward the whole race coming at us for their turn-around point. I ran past the three mile clock in 17:51 lining me up for sub 30 minute finish time. My ass was dragging into the wind and the sun bearing down on us as we took a left at Carson Beach onto a bike path toward the JFK Library. I wasn't catching anyone and it did not appear anyone was close to me as I went through the four mile mark just under 24 minutes. This stretch has some shade which was welcomed. The last mile took us passed the UMass Boston Campus and back onto the BC High grounds with the finish in the parking lot behind the school. I finished up with time of 29:54 (5:59 / mile pace) and 11th overall (1st in the 35-39 age group). I reached for a bottle of water, several cups of Gatorade at the finish. No cool down run for me. I proceeded to replenish with a few bananas, half a bagel, and a few samples of coconut water with various fruit flavors. I am sure I got a potassium overdose by the end of the night. I was glad the run was over but no regrets with my participation. I caught up with a clean shaven Tim Pipp who was selling his shirts (Beeze Tees) at the race. I won a shirt with the screen print of "I've got more miles than your car" in the race raffle. I guess that is true.

Photo credit to Ted Tyler

Jim Kane Sugar Bowl results Thursday July 21, 2011

Stowe 8 miler

2011-07-18T23:44:00.002-04:00

The legs have been feeling better so I signed up for Stowe a few days before the race. Krissy and I had the room in Stowe booked anyhow and there was no way that I was going to miss the event. Krissy and I brought the road bikes up with us. Thus we enjoyed a nice bike ride following a shake out run on Saturday morning. She is getting ready for her Pan Mass Challenge (192 miles in two days) bike ride from Sturbridge, MA to Provincetown in August to raise money for Cancer research. Sunday morning brought more sun and warm temperatures. CMS brought the facial hair and fast legs as the team finished second overall behind the BAA. I deliberately settled for "just under" six minute miles through six miles where I got a bit wiped out by the heat. Most of the runners that I talked to after the race were feeling the heat in the last few miles. I kept my game face on and battled as much as I could over the last mile but it was not easy. I finished up with a 6:01 per mile pace average and just over 48 minutes. That bottle of water handed to me after the finish line never tasted so good. Overall, I feel good about the race and surviving the event mentally and physically. The hamstring has passed the test. My left quad was sore today but that will pass. I had a great weekend as the whole vibe - surrounded by great scenery, people, and community making the Stowe 8 miler so easy to attend to year after year.

More photos by KrissyK

Krissy Kozlosky PMC ride and donation info

Stowe 8 miler results

SRR Marathon Relay

2011-06-30T22:47:00.000-04:00

The Somerville Road Runners hosted the Marathon Relay Club Challenge event at Tufts University. Twenty six runners make up a team and each run four laps (just about a mile) on the track. Each team was required to have ten women. I was on the SRR-Fire team that was trying to break 2:22:26 which was the new record set last year. Alex White kicked off the race to make up for the .2 and the race was under way as he got our team into the lead that I don’t think was relinquished despite a competitive Cambridge Running Club squad. Robert Cipriano handed the baton off to me as I was the 23^rd leg of the race. I took off, felt great for the first lap, coming through around 71 seconds. There was a huge crowd of runners hovering around the finish line cheering everyone on. During the second lap, I felt my hamstring tighten up and tried to ignore it. As I approached 800m, my hamstring let go. I jumped up and heard the crowd sigh in my agony. I thought I heard a split of 2:23. I changed my stride to relieve the pain for the rest of the race (2 laps). It reminded me of trying to finish a marathon when the muscles are cramping. You do anything in your power to keep moving forward. Meanwhile, I never thought about dropping out. If I did, our team would not have finished. I gutted it out and was so glad to hand the baton off to Greg Pickelsimer. I managed to smile in my appreciation for the crowd support and photos. I walked over to my running gear 30 ft away. I couldn’t bend over to get my spikes off or pick up my gear. I was a mess. I stayed there and cheered on the teams. Less than fifteen minutes later, Joe O’Leary, anchored the team for the win with a new record time of 2:19:29. Cambridge Running Club beat last year's record setting time of 2:22:26 by laying down a 2:21:04.

As I finish writing, I am happy to report that the hamstring is getting better each day. I've done a few miles on the bike this week and expect to run a few steps this weekend.

Photo credit to CambridgeDavid http://www.flickr.com/photos/cambridgedavid/

USATF New England Track & Field Championships 10K

2011-06-12T23:11:00.003-04:00

Ben pulling Joe and I early in the race

Today was a rare outdoor track event for me in the USATF New England Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Regis College in Weston, MA. I have not run too many 10,000 meter races on the track. I can recall, maybe, three in college and one post college where I set a personal record at the Northeastern Husky Twilight Track & Field # 2 meet in Dedham on May 26, 2001 with a 33:32.5. That was the last time I raced the event on the track. Ten years later and an opportunity came up last month when Dave Dunham was interested in a 10K on the track. The event was not on the schedule for this meet. Dave contacted Steve Viatones from the USATF New England office and he agreed to add the event to the meet schedule. Meanwhile, CMS recruited eight runners for the event that took to the starting line this morning: Chris Mahoney, Ben Strain, Kevin Tilton, Dave Dunham, Dave Quintal, Joe Shairs, Greg Putnam, and I. I figured I could run with Ben, Joe, and Dave Dunham with a goal of a sub 34 minute race. I got out and settled in behind Ben and Joe. The first lap was just under 80 seconds (5:20 mile pace). We were going out a bit faster than I wanted but I also wanted company in the 25 lap event. We went through the first mile in 5:21 with Ben towing Joe and I. This continued aside from the pace slowing down a bit per mile (see my splits below). The stretch between 3 and 4 miles brought about a 5:37 mile and it felt like it. I had just enough energy to yell to Ben and Joe to let them know that we were on the wrong side of 5:30 pace. Joe picked it up and pushed. I hung on for another four laps and started to drag, fade, and lose them. I went through five miles in 27:29 (5:30 mile pace) but knew I was in trouble. Mile 5 through 6 was miserable in 5:38. I had no energy to close the gap between myself and Ben who was closing in on Joe with 300m to go. Ben caught Joe in the final 100m. I followed about 10 seconds behind Joe with an unofficial time of 34:27 at the finish line. I missed my goal with a tired second half and never had the energy to contribute or push the pace. I felt my form disintegrate in the last two miles. Ben and Joe ran solid races. I know they too were looking for a sub 34.

Ben still taking charge

I want to thank Lou Ristaino who called out splits and kept track of laps while our group got lapped late in the race. Meanwhile, thanks are appropriate to Joe Fischetti who had words of encouragement for each of my 25 laps. The team went out for a long cool down around Weston. My right hamstring was completely messed up but got better after two miles. I was beat when we returned to the Regis campus 37 minutes later. Krissy and I hung out at the meet for another hour and watched several events in the meet. The afternoon was capped off with lunch at Sorrento's in Concord. Krissy took several photos showing the 10K event. She was all over the place and certainly captured the physical demands of the 10,000 meter event in June.

Late in the race breaking down......

10,000 meter splits

5:21

5:28 10:49

5:30 16:20

5:37 21:58

5:31 27:29

5:38 33:08

1:19 34:27

Rhody 5K

2011-06-06T23:28:00.000-04:00

Joe Shairs navigated Ben, Krissy, and I down to Lincoln, RI for the USATF-New England 5K road race championship. I went through the mile in 5:14 and among a solid group: George Adams, Ethan Crain, Ben Strain, and Joe Shairs. George pulled away up the hill and I tried to stay consistent as I crested through mile 2 in 10:34 (5:20). It was gut check time in the last mile with Joe and Ben a stride or two ahead in the single file line for as far as the eye could see. Ben pulled away with 400m and I was trying my best to keep Joe close passing mile 3 in 15:53 (5:18). Once the race took the last right hand turn, I looked at the clock, watched it cut over to sixteen minutes, and bolted for the line passing Joe a few feet before the finish. I stopped my watch a stride after the second mat with a 16:24. Granite State Timing gave me an official time of 16:25 (booooooooo) and placed me behind Joe in 58th overall. Joe and Ben got the same time of 16:24. I was pumped for the team who just edged out Team Run and BAA for the win. I got a 5K time under 16:30 which was the goal and was my positive takeaway.

Full Results

KrissyK photos

Trav's Trail Run

2011-05-23T21:43:00.001-04:00

I've always had a race conflict which never allowed me to run this race. I finally got a fresh opportunity and headed up to Newburyport with Ben Strain. This race is billed as three miles on the wonderful trails of Maudsley State Park. The start bolts down a hill followed by a roller coaster set of hills into mile one. I trailed CMS teammates Greg Putnam, Mike Quintal, and Ben Strain. I was able to catch up to Ben shortly after the mile. I maintained my position back to the big hill into the finish. Greg Krathwohl who has run much faster on this course, blew by me on the final ascent. I finished 11th overall with a time of 16:11 (5:24/mile pace). I picked up an age group award: New Balance Mug, New Balance socks, and got a New England Runner subscription in the post race raffle. In all, this was a great event put on by Winner's Circle. Results here.

Mystic River Herring Run 5K

2011-05-15T23:49:00.000-04:00

I threw on the black and yellow Somerville Road Runner singlet for the Mystic River Herring Run 5K today in Somerville. Todd Callaghan mentioned this event to me last month and said he was game. He has won the race several times. Todd, Brendan Kearney, Sean Mclain and I headed jumped out from the start together trailing a younger runner (highschooler?). Todd and I passed that runner, taking the lead after we hit the course mile marker in 5:15. I kept on Todd's shoulder or heels through several turns and at least one small hill within the Mystic River Reservation. We passed through the mile 2 course marker in 10:40 (5:25) on Rt. 16. As we ran over the Wellington Bridge some folks were yelling for Todd from the police boat in the Mystic River. We turned right onto Shore Drive and were neck and neck into mile three where I made a move for the finish line and held on for a 1 second edge in 16:30. The time was my fastest road time since the Beverly Homecoming in 2009. I think Todd and I helped push each other all the way today. We ran the course again for a cool down with a few other guys and then hung out at the post race festivities. All of the age group winners got to pick a prize from a table. There were a ton of envelopes for gift certificates of which I was overwhelmed with as I don't know the local establishments. Thankfully, Brendan tipped me off on the Red Bones gift certificate so I owe him a pint. Todd scored a restaurant gift certificate and his wife Laurie got a wine gift certificate.

Keeping to our plan, Todd and I drove up a few exits on Rt. 93 to run in the Middlesex Fells for some trails. We used to train there once in a while a few years back. I have not been there since last summer and he has not been there since November. I put on the New Balance 100's. We did most of the Reservoir (orange marker) loop and some extra miles for a nice 68 minute run to make the day complete.

Learn more about the Mystic River by watching the video "Meet The Mystic".

Medical Center 6K

2011-05-08T23:16:00.003-04:00

I drove up to Nashua today with Krissy, Ben, and Joe for the Medical Center 6K which was the 6K Championship for New England. I got a good start (not too fast but not too casual) and rolled along with some masters in front of me such as Mark Reeder, Dave Dunham, and Dan Verrington. I held my own on the hills, making a few surges here and there during the climbing among many turns. Mark dropped me at mile two and most of the significant hills were behind us. Jason Porter pulled me through mile three and then I let him go. I lost my focus and gave into the "let's back off for a second, I'm tired and not catching the guys in front of me." One can't let up for a second in a race this short but I did. Ben caught me going up the hill into the finish. I tried to put in a surge but was not interested while managing to catch back up to Rod Viens. I got to the line with in 20:32, 5:31 pace - the same pace as my 10K last Sunday. I ran 5:23 pace in 2008 so I am sour on my time today. I just sucked in the last mile today. I did not get any splits but recall passing mile three just under 16:30 which set me up for a low 17 minute 5K. The good news was the performance of my teammates all over the race. CMS won the men's open and the masters team was just ten seconds away from winning that team category.

Complete Results
Photos by KrissyK

James Joyce Ramble 10K, Dedham

2011-05-01T21:48:00.003-04:00

I had to research the 'net to figure out when I ran this race in the past so I could plan out my race. My GBTC coach Tom Derderian captured the details here which brought back memories that I had forgotten. The year was 2002 and I was coming off of a fractured patella (kneecap) suffered in January. I went on to run 34:27 and was likely my first race from that injury. Meanwhile, teammate, Dennis Floyd set a PR that day with a 32:25. He went on the run several PR's over a few months while he was in the best shape of his life. I am glad Tom documented this for the newsletter back then as my running logs are buried with those lost memories.

I was concerned about the race today in that I have uncharacteristically not raced in a while, since the New Bedford Half Marathon. In addition, I have not done any interval work in three weeks. I got to the starting line in my fresh new Asics threads behind CMS teammates about five rows back from the starting line. The weather was great but a wind was going to fight us along the looped course. I eased into the race with a 5:24 mile next to Jeff Goupil, Ben Jenkins, and George Adams. Mile two was passed in 10:55 so I was closing in on my 5:30 pace goal for the day. I saw Krissy camped out on a narrow road taking photos. She actually got stuck there with the massive crowd of racers. She had to wait for most of the race to go by before she could sprint on the bike back to the finish.

There were hills in the Noble and Greenough campus as I caught up with Tom Brown. Dave Dunham, Dan Verrington, and Todd Callaghan were not too far ahead. I caught up with Dave on our way back to downtown Dedham wheeling past 5 miles in 27:37. We caught Todd with about 1000m to go and I kept pressing forward through mile six. The clock there confused me with a time in the low 32's which was off by over a minute (just like mile 1). I caught Dan before the line and stopped the timing on my watch with a 34:16. Official results had me 50th overall and a time of 34:17, 10 seconds quicker than in 2002.

Splits
524
531 1055
529 1625
535 2200
537 2737
531 3310
106 3416

The team beat Whirlaway by a mere four seconds, again proving that every second counts. Meanwhile, I ran a cool down with the team and crashed on the Endicott Estate lawn for food, beverage, music and conversation. Krissy was catching up with folks and my dad was chillin' out. It was nice to catch up with everyone. We'll be back at it for the 6K next weekend in Nashua which should be fun. Before closing, I have to give Kevin Gorman credit for supporting the team all over the course. His words of encouragement were awesome. Get well man!

Photos by KrissyK

New Bedford Half Marathon

2011-03-20T21:17:00.013-04:00

The New Bedford Half Marathon played host to the USATF New England Championship. The weather was great, mid 40's, partly sunny, and a breeze that was fair when we needed at our backs (last three miles). I did not pin a goal out there but thought 5:40 pace was obtainable which I raced for 10 miles last month in Foxboro. After rolling out with an opening 5:30 mile, I settled into a group that including Jonathan May (Somerville Road Runners) and Mark Reeder (Greater Lowell Road Runners) around 3.5 miles. I've had the luxury of running track intervals with Jonathan this winter with SRR at Tufts. Mark and I have had plenty of battles over the years as we were teammates at GBTC in the late 90's. I just finished ahead of him in a 5K last week. Thus I was in good, responsible company for the miles ahead. I had a stretch of miles around 5:30 pace that put me through 28:15 at five miles while dumping my gloves and hat off with Kristen who was taking photos. My group slowly reeled in the 2nd female, Diana Bowser from the BAA. Our group got as big as eight runners slicing the wind along the water. I was hanging on the back of this group. Then I saw a 5:54 split from 8 to 9 miles and was shocked. I picked up the pace at mile 10, passed in 56:30, as I could see two flags ahead that showed the wind coming off the ocean and eventually into our backs. I figured that I could break the pack up a bit and try to reel some guys in ahead. Mark Reeder followed and pulled ahead of me staying about 15 feet ahead. I kept Mark in my sights and I felt pretty strong heading into the last climb around 11.5 miles. I caught Mark and put a few strides on him at the top of the hill and was ready to roll into the last 1000 meters. Jonathan May pulled along side a turn later (see photo) on a downgrade. I recall passing Krissy here taking more action shots. I made the last right hand turn and put in my best effort toward the finish line. I was racing the clock hoping to keep it in the 1:13:XX range but crossed the line at 1:14:01. I ran 5:39 pace for an official 1:14:00.5 chip time, 1:14:01.7 gun time, and 61st overall. The race had 2358 finishers.

Photos taken by KrissyK

Scott Mason Photography

34th Annual New Bedford Half Marathon New Bedford, MA, March 20, 2011 results

Splits
530 530
540 1111
545 1656

546 2243

531 2815 5 miles

530 3345

534 3920

530 4451

554 5045

544 5630 10 miles

534 1:02:04

missed mile 12 and 13, 11:56 for the last 2.1 miles,

1:14:01 overall

An Ras Mor 5K

2011-03-16T20:19:00.014-04:00

The An Ras Mor 5K is organized by the Somerville Road Runners and hosted at the Asgard Irish Pub and Restaurant in Cambridge. The race was the first of the New England Runner magazine Pub Series. Brett Rickenbach drove Allison Rourke, Scott Carrier, and I down from the North Shore into Cambridge. It was a familar drive as I used to work near Kendall Square and was a regular at MIT for hundreds of track workouts in the late 90's. We registered inside the Asgard and I ran into teammate Mike Quintal who's been on a recent tear - winning two races in recent weeks. Scott, Brett, and I warmed up for a few miles while Allison went out for a run along the Charles River.

I settled into the second row at the start next to Mark Reeder. The gun went off and I got position just outside of the top ten after a few left hand turns. Mike Quintal had the lead as the race was heading toward Harvard Square. I rolled past the mile in 5:11 with the lead pack pulling away. They must have been just under 5:00. I kept my position through mile two (10:42, 5:30 split) as we were now running away from Harvard Square and back to the Asgard. A BAA singlet zipped (Aaron Price) by me with about 600m to go. I had no response and was looking for the home stretch. I turned right off Mass Ave into the home stretch. Mark Reeder pulled aside and it got my attention. I looked ahead and could make out the finish line clock with a 16:07 and counting with 150m to go. My poor excuse for a sprint gave me some room but I got caught at the finish by Timmy Wood. The chip timing gave me a 16:34, 5:20 mile pace, good for 7th place overall.

Mike finished in the money, 3rd overall, with a 15:47. Brett and Scott ran 17:50 and 18:25 respectively for their first races of 2011.

I ran a long cool down out across the Charles River, past the Museum of Science, through the Cambridge Side Galleria Mall and back to the Asgard via Kendall Square. A lot of buildings that did not exist ten years ago now tower and employ thousands of folks including Scott. Any open space back then was prime real estate. I chilled out at the beer tent for about fifteen minutes with Brett, Scott, Mike, and Chris Simpson before departing for an Irish Breakfast at Tommy Doyles Irish Pub and Restaurant in Kendall Square. Next race on the agenda is the New Bedford Half Marathon. Photos by Scott Carrier.

An Ras Mor 5K results Sunday March 13, 2011

Foxboro Old Fashioned Ten Miler

2011-02-21T18:42:00.005-05:00

The Wampanoag Road Runners host this one every February in Foxboro. Joe Shairs and I came down to this one in 2006 prepping for the New Bedford Half Marathon. He ripped the course in 5:32 per mile pace. I ran 5:45 pace. I recalled a lot of rolling hills and a tough one around 7.5 miles that broke me. I thought it was an overpass over Rt. 95 or Rt. 1. Sorry Dan Verrington. The poor guy was looking for that "killah hill" in the race yesterday - I warned him about it on the drive down with Joe navigating behind the wheel. I warmed up with CMS mates Dan Verrington, Joe Shairs, Kevin Gorman, Greg Ward and TNT ageless wonder Martin Tighe.

The starting line had a ton of yellow and blue informs of the BAA including Justin Fyffe. I teased Justin that the new colors make him look 10lbs heavier. Meanwhile, the "who's who" in masters and senior runners were there. Check out the results and you'll see what I mean. I got out behind the sea of BAA runners and eventually found Kevin Gorman and ran with him. We were in a secondary pack that got thinned out by 2 miles. I ran on the aggressive side early on to stay in touch with this group that was cutting into the wind, rolling hills, and cold temps that I'd guess was around 30 degrees. I felt pretty good and was targeting Eric Mendoza from GBTC and another BAA runner beyond him. I went through 5 miles in 28:04 and got up to and passed Eric. However, a few more hills had my legs feeling burnt a bit. He buried me after the last hill and over the last two miles. Antony Keller passed me with 800m to go. I had nothing left approaching the finish line in 14th place, 56:38 official (5:40 pace). I don't know when the last time I was in the 56 minute time frame for 10 miles so I'll take it. I did not leave anything out there. My last five miles were run in 28:34. Splits are below.

542
522 1105
537 1642
553 2235
528 2804 5 miles
549 3353
543 3936
545 4522
538 5101
537 5638 14th place overall, 4th 30-39 age category, 5:40 per mile average

Old-Fashioned 10 Mile results

Greg ran a solid race almost breaking 55 minutes. Kevin was tracking me down in the last few miles sneaking under 57 minutes. Dan and Joe followed to finish as 2nd and 3rd place masters of the day. Jason Dunklee had a solid effort. I cooled down with the guys for a few extra easy miles.

Sidehiller Snowshoe

2011-01-31T19:00:00.004-05:00

Kristen and I headed up to Center Sandwich, NH for the Sidehiller 4 mile snowshoe race. The race is part of the race series: Western Mass Athletic Club / Dion Snowshoe and the Granite State Snowshoe Series. In addition, it was a qualifying race for the USSSA Nationals race to be held in Wisconsin later this winter. My intentions were to connect with Bob Dion from Dion Snowshoes to upgrade to a new pair snowshoes (racing model 121), replacing the pair that I had since 2004. They are a touch lighter and have a few other small upgrades including a reinforced cleat and quick binding system. The race also gave me a chance to break them in.

This race is always competitive and knew I would have my work cut out for me. This course reverted back to the layout from two years ago. It contained a quick loop around the fairgrounds and across the street through wide open fields that is mostly single track. The snow was a light sugary consistency underneath a light top crust which made the track slow for my 157 lb frame. I felt like a slug through most of the course and did not have to fight too much with anything but the snow under foot. I owned 11th place after 600m and throughout the race. I had a single file pack of guys about 10 – 30 seconds throughout for me to stare down but never close on. It took me 35:41 to track what might be a shade more than four miles. I am curious if anyone wore a GPS through this one.

The team did very well. Kevin Tilton took the win with Jim Johnson right behind him. Dave Dunham ran a very smart race making his way up into sixth place and Scott McGrath who I heard joined the CMS ranks was right in front of me. Kristen was all over the place taking photos. Meanwhile, NH Chronicle was on site taping footage and interviewing several folks like Kevin and Jim. I look forward to the segment in the future. I ran a cool down with Dave Dunham a few minutes after the race. Kristen and I soon hit the road for lunch at about twenty minutes away at Walter’s Basin on Little Squam Lake in Holderness. I had an awesome Tuna Melt and Fries. I wish I had the chance to spend more time and even a night or two in the area. It is a shame to “hit and run” the north country.

Sidehiller 4 Mile Snowshoe Race Overall Results

Pictures by Krissy

A moderately challenging Derry Prep 16

2011-01-24T14:29:00.002-05:00

The Derry Prep 16 miler is as advertised: moderately challenging. This is one of those races that proudly displays the course elevation profile on the technical shirt given to all pre-entrants. My goal was to run a pace close to a marathon goal pace if the road conditions were decent. I have run this race twice before. My foray in 2001 was a learning experience. Don’t bother driving in a snow storm to attend a road race unless you are allowed to wear snowshoes in the race. Joe Shairs and I ran 6:22 pace in 2006 during a string of long runs that winter to get us ready for the New Bedford Half Marathon.

I warmed up with Andie Colon, Mike Quintal, and Jim Johnson over the first .75 miles of the course hoping to see an indication of the road conditions. There was plenty of bare pavement. As it turned out, the shaded sections of the course still had a hard packed snow but you could run over the tracks left behind by vehicles over the last 36 hours since the last snow fall on Friday afternoon. I got out into the top ten immediately after the start. I ran the first few miles with Mike Quintal. I never looked at the watch so I was just running against the course but wanted to stay close if possible to those that could pull me along the first half. Then I had some company in the middle miles with Tim Catoggio who runs for Marx Running. He was already running well under his advised pace. He planned on taking off after 13.1 miles and he certainly did, making his way up to 4th place in the end. I was crawling up the hills after mile 10 and the splits prove it. Still I could see a few guys about a minute ahead and plugged away. I rolled up on Mike Quintal who was hurting pretty bad with 2 miles to go. I went onto hit my quickest split of the day 2 miles away from the finish chasing down Humberto Rodriguez in a downhill stretch.

I finished with the 16 miler in 1:37.46, a 6:07 per mile average. My pace for the first five miles was 5:58, 6:00 through 10, and 6:08’s through 13.1 miles (Half Marathon). I promptly did a cooldown walk into some dry clothes and broke bread (Pizza, Soup, Hot Chocolate) with Kristen and the CMS gents: Mike, Jim, and Jason Dunklee. The Nike Lunarcrap that I wore provided a heel blister on each foot were stinging pretty good. That is my fault as I should have left them home. The legs are a bit sore today. I certainly got their attention in this tough course.

Splits
608
556 1205
532 1738
545 2323
623 2946 5 miles
535 3522
558 4121
557 4719
555 5315
638 5953 10 miles
641 1:06:35
630 1:13:06
629 1:19:35 (low 1:20 Half Marathon)
624 1:26:10
526 1:31:26
620 1:37:46

Derry Prep 16 mile results

KrissyK photos

Beverly Citizen Snowshoe interview

2011-01-13T20:01:00.005-05:00

I got a nice call from Christopher Hurley from the Beverly Citizen earlier this week for an interview about the Olde Salem Greens Snowshoe Classic.

Beverly’s James Pawlicki keeps pace in the Olde Salem Greens Snowshoe Classic posted January 12, 2010

Olde Salem Greens Snowshoe Classic

2011-01-08T17:50:00.009-05:00

If nothing else, I emailed Ben Nephew (CMS - Inov8) as soon as I registered for the Olde Salem Greens Snowshoe Classic on Thursday night. I asked him to come back up here and consider this race that he won last year. He was considering a three hour drive to hit up a snowshoe race in Pittsfield, MA. I woke up this morning, coughing and hacking up flem which has been the norm since Wednesday. Colds suck, period. I looked outside, disappointed. There was a lack of fresh white stuff on the ground - at least 2-4 inches promised by the weather folks yesterday. I packed up the gym bag and two pairs of snowshoes and hit the door one hour before the race was to start. Kristen and I drove over to Salem in an easy 15 minute drive. I got a pair of cool socks with the Olde Salem Greens Snowshoe logo made by the sockguy for pre-registering. I took a quick peek at the course map with Ben Nephew and course co-designer, Patrick Smith. Patrick Smith, Jay Curry, and others were on the greens during the week shoveling snow onto clear grass to prepare for the race and finalize a course. The course was different than last year in that it did not have the single track woods loop. I went back to my car to swap out for the smaller cleat as I had the large cleat installed from the last snowshoe race last year.

I warmed up on the course minus the snowshoes with Brett Rickenbach (Winners Circle Running Club) with whom I suggested during the week that he try this race out. This was his first snowshoe race. I brought him my extra pair of snowshoes but he ended up renting a pair from Dion Snowshoes which I've been rocking since 2004. Bob and Denise Dion were on hand offering their wares and renting them for $5. There were bare spots scattered on the golf course so it was going to be interesting to see what the backside of the course was going to look like. The race bolted out and I settled into third after a few minutes. Ben was out in the front with Steve Dowsett (UMass Dartmouth). There were plenty of rolling hills to slow the pace. I kicked it down each hill. Ben began to pull away from Steve before a mile when I started to focus on reeling Steve in. I caught Steve around 1.75 miles. I was pretty much exhausted after 20 minutes so I quelled any thoughts to go after Ben who seemed to tire and was not pulling away. I rolled into the finish line in 25:23. Ben ran 24:49. Steve was right behind me with a 25:49. Brett ran a solid 26:56 just ahead of Acidotic Racing's Chirs Dunn. I headed out for an easy an easy cooldown with the guys before the top twenty finished.

Some thoughts came to mind after the race. The Dungeon Rock racing crew of Patrick Smith, Jay Curry, and others put in a lot of time in during the week to spread snow on the bare spots to give us a manageable course. Whatever frozen grass we ran over today, I hardly noticed. I'd say we were on snow for 98% of the 3.1 0r 3.2 miles that they measured out on google earth. We dealt with what was given to us which is a common theme in New England racing. The second thought was the time and effort that the Dion's put in to come to races and make it affordable to get folks without snowshoes fitted to take part in the races. They drive all over New England and New York from their headquarters in Vermont. In addition, kudos to Doug Bollen who is behind the series of races in Salem all year 'round. Lastly, with the snow that began to fall toward the end of the race made me wonder just how many snowshoe races that I have raced while it was snowing. Of all the snowshoe races I have done (at least 25), I couldn't recall one. Thus today was the first. Dave Dunham may correct me on that.

The best part was chilling out after the race with plenty of hot cocoa, chili, powerade, water, peanuts, bananas, and bagels. I won a raffle prize - gift certificate to the New England Running Company and won a cool hat for second place overall.

Olde Salem Greens Snowshoe Classic full results
Photos taken by KrissyK

Finally, I want to plug a lecture in which Chris Dunn is the lead speaker in Salem this Tuesday on winter endurance training. Here is a boston.com story.

Event Details:
What: Lecture and Social Gathering for Endurance Sport Athletes.
When: Tuesday, January 11, 7:00 pm.
Where: Salem Mass YMCA, 1 Sewall St., Salem, MA 01970
Cost: Free and open to the public.

Jim Pawlicki, Brett Rickenbach, Ben Nephew, and Steve Dowsett emarking on the cooldown.

Boston University Mini Meet #2

2010-12-28T10:19:00.001-05:00

I signed up in advance for another 3K at Boston University. Like last week, my seed time of 9:18 put me into heat two. It had a wide range of abilities from a low nine to a ten minute seed. I got out with only a few folks behind me and ran each lap pretty even. I went through the first kilometer in 3:06 and then the mile around 4:58, a few seconds quicker than last week. I kept up the pace for the next two kilometers for a 9:18.20, good for fourth in the heat. The last kilometer was tough as I was alone other than lapping a few runners. My ‘ol college teammate from Salem State, John Bowser, ran around 10 minutes to run in his first indoor track meet in 14 years. It was great to see him racing. He holds PR’s of sub 8:30 for 3K and sub 15 for the 5K. Kristen patiently captured the race on video below.

Boston University Mini Meet #1

2010-12-18T19:18:00.004-05:00

This was mini meet number one in a series of three hosted at Boston University. I signed up for the 3K with a seed time of 9:22. I warmed up inside with CMS teammates Chris Mahoney, Justin Fyffe, Patrick Rich, Jeff Goupil, Kevin Tilton, and Kevin Gorman all of which were racing the 3K as well. Justin and Patrick ran 8:38 and 8:47 respectively in heat one which is the fastest of the heat line up. The rest of the guys including myself got into heat two based on our seed time. In typical fashion, I bolted out into the back of the pack. The race seemed to go out very fast yet my first lap was reasonable at 38 seconds. I went through the half mile in 2:30 behind Jeff Goupil, Stephanie Reilly, and Kevin Gorman who was leading our "second" pack of the heat. My 1K split was 3:07 which if multiplied by three had me on pace for a 9:21 which was reasonable. Mile one passed in 5:00. Jeff Goupil made a move up and away from our pack putting some ground on us over the next few laps. I stayed behind Kevin until two laps to go and then surged around Bruce Davie and his GBTC teammate with a lap to go. Kevin caught me with 100m remaining and he beat me to the finish line by less than 3/10's of a second. My official time was 9:18.59 for 12th place in the heat of 17. Full results are here. I feel pretty good about the time as it is my first indoor track race since a year ago (similar time on the same track). Below is my last 250 meters of the race that Kristen caught on her iPhone.

Andover Country Club 3.5 Mile Cross Country Race

2010-12-01T12:39:00.003-05:00

I ran this race in 2004 so I was familiar with the terrain and great atmosphere. CMS teammate Al Bernier won the race back then. I ran 18:31 finishing a few strides in front of Greg Putnam who was running unattached. Race director, Dave Labrode, tagged me as a “fast guy” while registering. “Give him one of those numbers” pointing to a stack of low bib numbers. I got bib # 8. Slowly, more and more CMS guys showed up which was awesome. Jim Johnson, Bob Wiles, Mike Quintal, Dave Quintal, and Dave Dunham were present at the time of our warm up so it was evident that we had a solid team. It was nice to catch up with the guys before and after the race.

The race went by pretty quick. Picture several ups and downs along a golf course. I did not rest for a second (well maybe one hill). I had a nice back and forth duel with Dave Dunham. He advised after the race that he planned on keying off me. It certainly helped having him there in the second half of the race. He would pull away on the downs and I would catch back up on the ups. Dave Quintal entered the fray with about 800m to go and took charge. I was barely able to reel him in on the downhill grass finish for 7th place overall, 19:32 for the 3.5 mile course. Someone got 3.53 miles measured on their Garmin.

I stayed for a great post race meal: salad, pasta with meatballs, and some cookies. Life was good. Good race, good competition, good company, good food, good day. Dave Dunham has a nice write up on the race.

Andover Country Club 3.5 Mile Cross Country Race results November 28, 2010 results

Wikd Turkey 5 mile run Salem, MA

2010-11-26T09:18:00.012-05:00

Talk about a last minute, casual approach to a Thanksgiving Day race. I woke up without the alarm just before 7am. It was too late to zip up to Newburyport for a 5K cross country race. Thus, a five minute ride to Salem for the Wild Turkey 5 mile road race (8am start) made sense. I ran the idea past Kristen who was in no mood to wake up but she was supportive as long as it promised a trip to Dunkin Donuts for a coffee. I was able to dash into the registration area at 7:25 and plunk down a check for $25 to freeze my ass off in slightly altered but USATF certified course with more ocean view than in the past. I warmed up over in Pickering Wharf in the racing gear which allowed me to rock a pair of brand new racing flats courtesy of a Marathon Sports gift certificate redemption in Melrose last Sunday. The Saucony Grid Type A4 features a very thin sole and weighs in at 7oz. I noticed a pronounced wind on my return back to the Salem Common which was going to be a factor in the race which I heard featured a round trip ticket in the domestic United States from Air Tran for the male and female winner.

As I got to the starting line of over 1K runners, I was pleased to see Salem State University athletes Alex DeRosa and Alex Gomes. They were coming off strong cross country seasons under the guidance of Dennis Floyd. Furthermore, Ben Strain was rocking the CMS Polar Singlet and admitted his last minute approach to the race was much like mine (in the last 60 minutes). The race went off and I was buried behind 25 runners in no time. I caught up to Alex DeRosa and went through the first mile in 5:25. Ben was ahead of us by ten seconds and I told Alex that I need to catch Ben by mile three. I whipped around Winter Island and was closing in on Ben and Alex Gomes who seemed to be struggling. I caught Ben before three miles and then we hit that nasty head wind in Salem Willows. I got a few strides ahead of Ben at Dead Horse Beach exiting the Salem Willows and was hoping to reel in Gomes but I did not have any surges left to give. I was pretty flat in the next five minutes gaining nothing but seemed to loose nothing. With about 1000m to go, Alex DeRosa came up on me and passed me strong. I encouraged him to catch up to his teammate, Gomes, who did not seem to far ahead. I tried to keep pace with DeRosa but I began to fade and take a nap. About 300m remained and the foot steps of Ben Strain aggressively approached and passed me like I was standing. I was not in the mood for searching for "that" gear. I went after Ben and Alex at the last left hand turn with 100m to go and they held on and kept position. Alex ran 27:41, Ben ran 27:43, and I one second back with a 27:44 which placed me at 8th overall.

Alex asked me what I was looking to run before the race and I thought 28 minutes was in store based on the 5K effort a few weeks ago. Deep inside, however, 5:30 pace or 27:30 is my 5 mile standard for decency. I went off for a cool down with Alex, Ben, and 52 year old phenom, Rich Tabutt. I bailed on the post race food and awards due to my lack of warm clothing and I was freezing my ass off. Kristen, as well, was all over the course snapping photos and needed to exit the cold and get her cup of coffee at Dunkins.

Wild Turkey 5 Mile Run November 25, 2010 results

Wild Turkey 5 Mile photos by KrissyK

Splits:

525

530 1056

533 1630

543 2213

531 27:44

East Boston Savings Bank 5K

2010-11-08T22:12:00.009-05:00

This is Kristen's race as she is the race director of the third running of the East Boston Savings Bank Fall Back Challenge. The race takes place on the first day of day light savings. The race was consolidated down to a 5K and new course this year. I heard several local runners were disappointed to not have the 11K that was part of the dual race theme last year and the year before. I had no allegiances to the longer race despite having a good race in the 11K last year. Keeping with tradition, I volunteered my services to help out and if possible, would jump into the race as a participant if possible.

Kristen and I got to the bank two hours before the race started to pick up coworker and assistant race director, Nicole Diano. We drove the course to put out mile markers 1 and 2. This gave me a chance to see the course although I saw a map and knew the neighborhood well. The first mile has a tough hill 200m from the start leading into Brooksby Farm for a turn-around. As you exit the property, mile one is passed. Shortly thereafter, you take a right up a slight grade passing the water stop at 1.4 miles which is followed by generous decent to Lowell Street which contains mile 2 and then into the bike path return to Lahey Clinic. About 800m remains back to the East Boston Savings Bank parking lot where Granite State Race Services set up shop for the finish. The course is more or less flat in the second half. I set up the cones for the home stretch through the parking lot so that cars would not park there. I still had 90 minutes to wait before the start of the race so I waited in the lobby of the bank while bank employees arrived to volunteer their services as course marshalls and set up registration.

I warmed up with teamate Joe Shairs and Bill Jackson from the Wicked Running Club who is a regular Danvers 5K participant. We ran the course backwards so that they got a feel for the last mile of the course. Bill and I then ran up the first mile so that he knew what the hill looked like. I got back to the car with 8 minutes before the race start time. There were plenty of Peabody police on motorcycles to navigate the race and block traffic at Lowell Street. The bank's Chairman and CEO, Dick Gavegnano got the race of almost 100 started. Joe and I jumped right out front and charged the hill that followed less than 40 seconds in. I got a few strides ahead of Joe at the top of the hill and took my awkward stride (felt that I needed a hip/back alignment) through mile 1 in 5:35 with Joe about eight seconds back. I stretched out the legs down to Lowell Street passing mile 2 in 10:53. I hit a headwind exiting the bike path while just trying to maintain form and pace. The last 400m had a slight incline but not enough to whine about. As I began to make out the time on the running clock, I saw that it was going to be close to break 17. I crossed the line in 17:02 with Joe coming in second in 17:28. This was Joe's first race since February and it was great to see him back in action. Meanwhile, it was nice to stretch the racing legs again since the marathon. Official results

BayState Marathon

2010-10-18T12:31:00.023-04:00

The plan was to run 6:00 mile pace for as long as possible and finish under 2:40. Based on recent race activity, I felt I was in 2:38-2:39 shape. I wound up in a in a pack of several that included Chris Spinney, Dan Verrington, George Adams, and Jon Chesto in the early miles. The pack broke up and left Chris and I behind as that group began clicking off 5:52's about 5 miles miles into the 26.2 mile trek. Chris fell back a bit as I went over the Rourke Bridge approaching my dad and mile 13. There were some solo miles back to the Tyngsboro bridge where I did manage to pass a few including Martin Tighe who was out pretty quick early on. I also started to run into the back of the marathon runners. Everything was going pretty good up through this stretch and liked the fact that the George Adams group was only 45 seconds up running past Greater Lowell Regional High School. I thought that I could slowly reel them in. Mile 20 passed and I laughed at the painted words on the pavement regarding "hitting the wall."

Going through 21 miles, the legs got heavy, and began to slap my Nike Lunarracer2's to the ground. Joe Donnelley zipped past me and gave me words of encouragement. He looked so good and effortless while my pace was tiring. I tossed my hat and gloves to the side of the road. Shortly thereafter, Dave Kanzajian from Whirlaway offered me water at 22.5 miles. I refused and thanked him. Ten seconds later, I got a sharp cramp in my left hamstring. Uh oh. Actually is was like #@*&?!

I've had such muscle cramps before in marathons. There is no way to come back, recover, from the dehydration and glycogen depletion. I carried forward hoping no more muscle cramps would return. Then I got a calf cramp in the same leg. Now I was playing hop scotch over the last 5K and not having fun. I got desperate over the last 2.2 miles looking for any spectator with liquids, food, or a loaded gun. The 24 mile clock had 2:25:25 with 2.2 miles to go and it was going to be close to break 2:40. I forgot about the .2 and thought to myself that I just needed to run two sub 7:00 miles to get under 2:40. No problem. I finally found someone with water and offered her $100 bucks for it. She gladly gave it up laughing. I took a sip and placed it carefully down 20ft past the hand off. I had no energy to thank her and barely enough to bend over and place it carefully on the curb without spilling it. I recall a water stop around the corner but it was all too late. One more runner passed me and I could not do anything about it while on the Aiken Street Bridge cursing and praying for no more cramps. The hop scotch running routine was getting old. Dave Quintal was on the bike yelling for me. I apologize here as I recall swearing under my breath that I hate this marathon crap. I am positive he saw my unfortunate grimace. A few careful turns here and there put my carcase into the baseball park looking at my watch to gauge what was required to stay under 2:40. I saw something like 2:38:50. I stumbled into some shuffle to restrain any reminder of a cramp. My dad was in the stands yelling with 50 meters to go. I tried to change my stride into a sprint here and there while keeping Martin off my heels along the warning track. I fought the clock and staggered through the finish on the other side of 2:40. I was so pissed not getting under 2:40. Photos show me laughing in disgust before the second finish mat was crossed. How dare I forget how humbing this marathon stuff is. I have so much respect for it, I rarely jump into them. I walked over to Kristen beyond the finish line and had to strech my legs while leaning against the infield wall. I laughed with humble pie. I placed 26th overall with a net time of 2:40:01.1.

My anger and frustration wore off soon enough. Just behind me, Ken Tripp set an 18 minute PR. 12-13 minutes ahead off me our top four CMS guys Andy McCarron, Jim Johnson, Scott Leslie, and Greg Hammett all set PR's. George Adams ran a masters PR. It appeared that CMS won the men's open division. I soaked it the atmosphere and caught up with several relfecting on thier splits and races in the previous hours. I soon got some food while hanging out with Kristen who took several photos (mostly CMS folks). We watched several finishers cross the line in the 3:30-3:50 range. I reflected on my race thinking that it could have been a lot worse. Worse like the guy Kristen and I watched hit the ground 20 feet before the finish line whithering in pain (leg cramps). He needed attention from a group of volunteers to get up and walk across the line a minute later. He had a stretcher waiting for him. The moment got a huge cheer from the crowd and myself. It made me feel better to not sweat the two seconds I did not want on my time for the marathon. I got pretty cold so I shuffled back to the car to change and found a home in the Brewery Exchange with Kristen and my dad. I got my Iron Runner jacket for completing the USATF-New England Grand Prix Road Race series. I got one that I still have from 1997. The marathon was typically the race that I did not partake in each year since then.

I signed up for the Boston Marathon this morning by default (was there a choice?) to jump into it next April. I will research the avoidance of muscle cramps which got me real good in the last five miles at Boston in 1998 and 2000 en route to 2:44 marathons. Reflecting back on the effort from BayState yesterday, I would not change a thing during the race. I will reconsider better opportunities to stay hydrated, perhaps consider salt tablets to set some sodium in the 2nd half of the race.

Overall BayState Marathon Results 2010

Photo credits to Scott Mason (two above more here) and Kristen for the photos.

How I got to 2:40:01.1
5:50
12:06 17:46
6:01 23:48
6:02 29:51 5 miles
5:54 35:46
6:01 41:47
5:58 47:46
12:06 59:52 10 miles
6:02 1:05:55
5:59 1:11:55
1:18:38 Half Marathon Split
1:24:00 at 14 miles
6:04 1:30:05 15 miles
6:00 1:36:06
6:02 1:42:09
6:00 1:48:09
12:21 2:00:31 20 miles
6:11 2:06:43
6:15 2:12:58
6:08 2:19:07
6:18 2:25:25
6:20 2:31:46 25 miles
8:19 (last 1.2 miles) 2:40:06 on my Ironman

Facial expressions tell a lot and speak louder than words......

James Early Cross Country Invitational Westfield, Ma

2010-10-09T17:25:00.018-04:00

I laced up the cross country flats today to take part in the James Early Cross Country Invitational race in Westfield, MA at high noon. The Salem State Alumni men had a team that included folks from my era like Brian Beaulieu, John Bowser, Dennis Floyd, Mike Gilmore, and coach Tom Derderian. We could not have asked for a better day for weather; about 60 degrees, dry, sunny, and dry throughout what I think is billed as an 8k course. Brian's Garmin dialed his distance race in 4.98 miles. I was not sure what to expect today for an expected time with the recent marathon training which has been void of interval and oxygen debt running. I warmed up with local CMS teamate Tim Mahoney and John Bowser about a half hour before the race. The first mile of this race consists of jockeying for position around Stanley Park - soccer fields surrounded by a tree-lined boundary. This means a steady diet of carefully envoked surges to pass runners while there is plenty of visibility to look ahead and see the front pack develop. I survived mile one in 5:19 and was OK knowing that I'd settle into 5:30's soon enough.

I passed miles two and three in good shape with a controlled 5:35 average pace and ready to throw in a few more battles ahead. I passed a few college guys heading into mile four and up a few rolling hills back onto the soccer fields for the final 800 meters. The hills hurt and found myself watching my steps through the roots to ensure I would not fall or trip. I held my own and a quick glance of the watch indicated that a sub-28 minute effort was a given with 200m remaining. I clocked in with a 27:39 good for 35th overall and 2nd alumni behind Mark Dawson who ran an awesome 26:47 barefoot! Brian, John, and Dennis finished up to complete the team scoring which placed us one spot ahead of Salem State University younsters which is coached by Dennis. Dennis is coaching a talented All-American Senior, Alex Gomes, who finished 2nd overall with a 25:52. Another athlete, Alex Derosa, set a personal best on the course with a 27:10.

Finally, I was surprised by Kristen after the race among friends and the Salem State folks with a huge birthday cake to celebrate my 36th. We manged to demolish more than 3/4 of the cake in five minutes. It was great catching up with alumni, student athletes, coaches, and friends. Special thanks to the team duo of Debra and Brian pulling the alumni team and clothing together. High fives to all the folks who ran the race and hugs and kisses to Kristen for her thoughtfulness and talented photos within.

Before and after photos of the cake.

James Early Cross Country Invitational Results Westfield, MA October 9, 2010

James Early Cross Country Invitational photos Westfield, MA October 9, 2010

Wicked Half Marathon

2010-09-25T18:03:00.014-04:00

I have averaged a half marathon per year since my debut in 1997 in the Bay State Half Marathon in Lowell, MA. Oddly enough, I have never run in a half marathon that was not a USATF New England Championship event. I ran in them to support my team that was competing against other teams from New England. Other than that, I never had the half marathon distance on my agenda. With the Bay State Marathon on my radar next month, I thought it would be a good idea to test out the legs in Salem today for the Wicked Half Marathon. This would be my second half marathon this year as I ran in the New Bedford Half Marathon (New England Championship) in March. Today's weather was a bit humid as I am certain the dew point was higher than the air temperature for the 7am start. I settled into 5th place immediately. The four gents in front, Tim Cataggio (Stonehill), Dan Princic (WRT), Mark Hudson (WRT), and CMS t'mate Scott Leslie were sub-5:20 pace from the gun and I wanted to fluctuate around 6:00 mile pace for 13.1 miles. I went through the first mile in 5:38 which was the quickest of the day. Soon after I began to feel a hot spot on my Achilles from the Lunaracer2 that I just began wear testing yesterday. They felt fine yesterday but were messing with me too early in the race today, especially going up hills. I almost dropped out of the race a few times in the first four miles for fear of making hamburger of my Achilles. All I could think of was raw skin, blood, and doom for the training leading into Bay State.I wanted to do a 180 and walk back to the start. That would have resulted in embarrassment running into 900 plus half marathoners, throw my pride in the dumpster, and leave Kristen wondering where I was as she was out on the course snapping photos.

I managed to make it to Marblehead after a decent hill and the hot spot burned. I kept going as it was not too bad when it was flat and if I changed the stride a bit here and there. Meanwhile, I was familiar with the route out to Marblehead Neck. It was a daily training route from my Salem State College days. Soon, I felt another burning sensation around my ankle from the velcro strapped timing chip to match the hot spot on the Achilles a few inches below. Good times. The only good thing was that the mile splits were fluctuating around the goal pace of six minutes. I saw Kristen several times as she was on the bike and doing her thing with the Nikon D60. Brett Rickenbach was on the bike and provided words of encouragement while exiting Marblehead Neck and heading back toward the finish seven miles away. I cheered several hundred runners now coming at me on the opposite side of the road on the causeway. Giving them support took my mind of my issues. The miles, intersections, police detail, and Kristen went by pretty effortless and without

dwell on the burning ankle from mile 7-12. My ten mile split was 59:37 and from there on in, just wanted to hold the pace. I got into the finish with a time of 1:18:28. It is a personal worst

in terms of

time by at least three minutes.

I owned fifth place the whole race and seemed isolated from those in front and those in back of me. Aside from a healthy blister, the Achilles was not as bad as I expected. I have a nice tattooed cut circling around the ankle from the Velcro timing chip.

Aside from the drama of considering bailing out early in the race and my Achilles burning up from the racing flats, I found that the initial posted had errors such as an erroneous finish time of 1:19:39 for myself. I quickly brought it to the attention of the timing table right at the finish line. Doug Bollen (pictured below with my finish line crossing) actually

had written down the place, bib number, and time that he saw on the clock for the top five men and women so I saw a quick resolution in the making so I walked away with his assurance that it would be corrected. Several other runners complained of mistakes so I am sure there was a bigger issue, even with the chip timing. The young lady in the timing tent said that she'd have a look at it. 30 minutes later, the posted results were updated with a 1:18:39, eleven seconds slower than the photo, Doug's recorded notation, and my watch. I brought it up again with the timing tent on my way out. Thankfully it was corrected when I looked up results tonight.

I am looking forward to running with some teammates tomorrow morning on the trails of Bradley Palmer State Park and Appleton Farms.

Wicked Half Marathon Results September 25, 2010

Wicked Half Marathon Photos by Krissy K hosted by Smug Mug

Nahant 30K

2010-09-12T21:05:00.009-04:00

For a coastal town surrounded by the Atlantic ocean, this is not your easy sea-level endeavor hosted by the North Shore Striders. However, if you take a few moments and glance around, you can't beat the scenery in Nahant. The goal for the day was to engage in a marathon paced effort for the 18.6 miles (30 kilometers). After running 6:01 pace on this course in 2008, it was easy to yearn for the same pace. I also nailed that same pace this past Monday at the tough - Cape Ann 25K. It turned out, today, that I was a bit aggressive with the anticipated pace and did not want to go overboard too early. One mile passed in 6:08 with Tomoaki Uchiki (GBTC) and Dan Verrington, master ace from CMS. When asked, Tomoaki agreed that 6:00 per mile pace was his goal so that validated that I was in good company for the outset for Dan and I. However, our pace was averaging 6:08 pace through the first few miles. I did not feel particularly light footed and was reminded of the Cape Ann effort early and often. Dan dropped back and Tomoaki and I kept company through ten miles (60:35) up and down the hills. He began to pull away and chase down Rich Smith (GCS) and Joe Donnelley (GCS) who were less than 30 seconds ahead out around the Northeastern owned campus. I got as close as 15 seconds to Rich but he held his own reeling in Joe as we were out on the bike path of the causeway (16 miles). I started to feel the day's pace as I passed by what was going to be the finish in two miles with a quick loop around red rock and back. My pace slowed in this stretch with mile 17 clocked in with my slowest mile of the day (6:30). As I approached the finish line, Kristen was taking photos with her Nikon D60. To my surprise, my dad was standing there with her and cheering me on (he got there five minutes before my arrival). I gave him a high five while the finish line 40 yards away and around the left hand turn awaiting my tired legs.

My official time was 1:53:30 (6:06 per mile pace), 2nd in my age division (excluding the overall winner) and 7th overall. I did not bother with a cool down, instead opting for a banana and a can of Sprite. I gave Tomoaki, Rich Smith, and Joe Donnelley credit for hanging tough through the wind over the last five miles. These guys, as well as I, hope to toe the starting line at the Bay State Marathon on October 17. I went to the car, traded my flats in for my crocks and a warm long sleeve shirt. Then I headed back onto the course about 200m from the finish and directed runner traffic for the last 1/3 of the race who had about 2 miles left.

Not all is good news. I most certainly flared up my left Achilles which was hinting to me on Wednesday that something may be brewing. This miserable issue kept me out of racing the Bay State Marathon in 2008. I will keep close tabs on this one. Unfortunately, 55K of road racing in six days may put a damper on the running and racing in the near future. Stay tuned.

2010 Nahant 30K race results September 12

2010 Nahant 30K photos (625 overall) by Krissy K

Around Cape Ann 25k

2010-09-06T20:33:00.007-04:00

I agreed to run 6:00 pace for this famous Cape Ann race 24 hours earlier with John Ayers. I had my doubts I could hold it but would give it a shot. CMS mates Greg Ward and Neel Tarneja showed up this morning feeling a six minute pace was in store as well. I started out with another CMS mate, Patrick Rich, who moved up into the correct chase pack behind Patrick Moulton after 800m. John Ayers was to my right, sizing up the field ahead. He moved ahead after the 5:58 mile to run with Greg and Neel. GBTC's Jon Chesto and Tomoaki Uchiki caught me and kept me company through 7 miles. Tomoaki felt good and moved ahead to chase down the Ayers pack that seemed to have a 55 second lead on us. I managed to hang with Jon Chesto until we passed Ayers at 13 miles. Pressing the pace a bit, I put a small gap on Jon and finished 9th overall, 1:33:13, 6:01 pace per mile. Hitting the goal pace throughout and for the race felt good. I will see how the legs recover this week. I am sore now (my back and shoulders are beat from three days of Kayaking) but want to heal up for a potential run in the Nahant 30K road race next Sunday.

CMS got the team title with Patrick, Greg, and Neel. Thanks to Krissy for biking the course and snapping some photos.

Krissy K photos

Around Cape Ann 25K results September 6, 2010

Run Gloucester 7 mile road race

2010-08-22T20:48:00.009-04:00

I was looking for a race to do this weekend and Run Gloucester seemed to hit me from a few directions so I plunked down the heavy registration fee. I really appreciate Cape Ann races. In fact, I plan on hitting up the Magnolia 5K next month. I was up at 6am and out the door at 6:45 for a 20 minute ride up Rt. 128 to Patrick and Roberta’s place who live next to Gloucester High School. I got my number, exchanged a few words with Steve Viatones (Gloucester High Graduate ’73) before heading out for a casual warm up on Western Ave. The announcer at the eloborate start and finish line advised of a ten minute delay as runners were running late and parking a bit to close to the official 8am start time. I ran on the other side of the draw bridge, away from the start line and wouldn’t you know that the bridge went up to let some boats through into Gloucester Harbor. I had twenty minutes to get back to the start line which was 400m away so I was not worried but it would have made for an interesting story had it caused me to miss the start.

I lined up in the front of the race a few rows back and stretched out to stay loose during a ceremony introducing the mayor of Gloucester, Dave McGillivary from DMSE, and our national anthem. There was plenty of room as the 6:00 pace crowd gave a lot of realestate to the elite who were in town for the race. Some of them could have very well raced at Beach to Beacon or Falmouth in the past few weeks. They were here for one thing: finish in the money. Cash prizes for male and female brokedown to $1500 for first, $750 for second, and $250 for third. I wondered where I was going to fit in and who I was going to run with today as the gun went off. Three Saucony sponsored athletes including Nate Jenkins ripped up the first hill. They were not wasting any time waiting for a tactical race to cash in. John Ayers and John Gillis were spectating and yelled some encouragement my way. I eased by Tony Darocha and Matt Curran after 800m and set my target on female, Salome Kosgei (Iona College, Westchester Track Club, Kenya), who was trailing fellow Kenyan leader, Lineth Chepkarui (Beach to Beacon 2010 female record holder 30:59), by about ten seconds. I caught her shortly before the mile and we clocked in at 5:34.

I felt pretty good and quickly noticed a lack of competitors at our pacing at this point. The top ten men were already out of sight and Lineth (female leader was solo) in a sea of pavement with only a lead vehicle to keep her company. I did not look back but I knew by mile two (5:37, 11:11 overall) that it was just Salome Kosgei and I. I felt like I was helping her, not really pacing her, but leading the way to protect her second place finish in the money. We went up and down a few hills trading the pace through mile three (5:42, 16:54). It was in these hills, passing Eastern Point, that I ran by Kristen, Roberta, and Patrick who biked out earlier. They laid in some encouragement and Kristen snapped photos. The gap widened between us and our competition as I recognized the course from the Lone Gull 10K that I ran last September. Suddenly around 3.5 miles, Salome slowed down and moved to the side of the road as if she were having some trouble. I was rather concerned as if she was a teammate in battle that needed assistance. I turned back and she bounced back into form as if nothing occurred. She promptly put in a surge into a left hand turn ahead of us.

The course flattened out for the next mile and a half and we traded leads, pace, all while running past the water stops like they did not exist. Mile four was passed in 22:31 (5:37 split) and we climbed a few hills through mile five in 28:09 (5:37 split). She put a few seconds on me on the 2nd half of the hill but I regained it on the backside. This took us onto the Cape Ann 25K course that I know well and begin to ponder – taking an inventory of how I am feeling and how this is going to go down with Salome over the last two miles. There were a few times already that I thought she was going to take off from some dude who has crazy fans on Cape Ann. Yet, she seemed content with my company and I was not hurting her “cash in” position of second overall female. Another thing that I noticed is that she was rather tentative at most intersections which gave me a chance to pull aside or away by a stride - taking the tangent into the turn. Mile six went by with a 5:35 split (33:45 overall). I thought for sure she was going to smoke me going up Main Street on the hill but she was steady and I stayed with her. We were coming up on John Ayers and John Gillis on the backside where I began to open my tired stride. Ayers was yelling and screaming at me to pick it up. I am certain that Salome was laughing inside or felt threatened for her life. Shortly thereafter, she exchanged the first words in our company during the race, “not much longer.” I agreed and let her know that there is only one more hill ahead. Brett Rickenbach was waiting on the side of the road as we exited Main Street and up the last hill throwing me a few words of motivation. I pushed it as Salome and I approached the top and held the two second gap over the last 300m to the finish line on Western Ave where this race began (Joe Shairs said he saw me on a NESN highlight while he was at the Red Sox game). I turned to Salome to greet her with a well deserved hand shake. If it were not for her competitiveness and company, I would have fared a totally different race and slower time.

The last mile with the hills and weary legs clocked in at 5:38t. My official time was 39:24 good for a 5:38 pace, 12th overall, and first in my 30-39 age group. My mile splits were very close on this certified seven mile course with a :08 delta between the quickest (mile 1) and slowest mile (3rd). I picked up a Saucony gift certificate to redeem for a pair of shoes. I have my eyes on a pair of road flats.

5:34
5:37 11:11
5:42 16:54
5:37 22:31
5:37 28:09
5:35 33:45
5:38 39:24 12th overall, 5:38 average pace

Run Gloucester 2010 results

Some race photos by Kristen

Kristen, myself, Patrick, and Roberta at the post race festivities

Bridge of Flowers Shelburne Falls 10K recap

2010-08-17T09:27:00.002-04:00

Kristen piloted us out to Shelburne Falls which was hosting the 10K road race Championship of New England. I’ve raced this one a few times in the past so knew the logistics of parking, registration, et cetera. Thus I did not panic too much when our commute hit a detour in Greenfield adding an extra twenty minutes to our expected two hour drive. I prefer to arrive at a race at least one hour before the start time. We arrived in Shelburne Falls at 8:19 for a 9:00 start. We were held up on the access road to downtown as the 3K was to start at 8:20. No problem. I jumped out of the car, put my racing flats and singlet on and ran down to the registration area about ¾ of a mile away only to run into another traffic jamb of runners in the pre-registration line that was out the door sprawling into the side walk. I got my number about fifteen minutes later. Good thing I did not have to wait for a porta-john.

The race start had one side of the road dedicated to the women to give them some rare real-estate on the narrow downtown road. The race went off at 9am sharp. The first mile has a few sneaky hills that I always forget about as emphasis or concern is for Crittenden Hill just after mile two. I passed several runners up the hill. This was a slow mile split for me, over seven minutes but was ready to tear it up on the backside. I had my quickest mile into mile four with a 5:10. My legs were beat minutes later where a 5:40 mile got me through mile five. This was one of those races where I wished this was a five mile race. I sucked it up and got a few down hills reeling in Tim Mahoney and ran side by side to the bridge where we raced to the end. He got the best of me but pulled me along for the last 400m. I finished 49th overall with a 35:43 where I was looking for a low 35 minute race. I can’t complain. The splits were honest and I would say this course runs about a minute slow with the hill to make this one of the tougher 10K’s in New England.

Bridge of Flowers 10K results

Photos by Kristen

Looking ahead, I just signed up for RunGloucester, a new 7 mile race in Gloucester for this Sunday. It is marketed to be the last of the Trilogy of Cape races trailing the third consecutive weekend that featured the Beach to Beacon 10K (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and the Falmouth Road Race (Cape Cod). The entry fee was steep but curious on the event so I am going. I know the terrain and expect the hills to slow the pace for all but I am sure to see some elites show up for the cash prizes. I will muck it up and shoot for sub 5:45’s.

Beverly Homecoming 5K August 5, 2010

2010-08-05T22:17:00.009-04:00

The rain cleared about an hour before the 6:30 start. I ran over to the race from the house to get a 21 minute warm up. Kristen picked up my bib number. No shirt tonight due to the high humidity. The race went out and off as expected with CMS t'mate Patrick Rich and Tim Richard (Holy Cross grad heading into the Air Force in two weeks) taking no prisoners. I passed John Ayers into third place 400m after the start. Mile 1 passed in 5:08. John passed me and I hung with him, trading places few times until the end where there is downhill once we entered Lynch Park. I had a little extra but John was not giving much finishing three seconds back. My watch had 16:33 but official time seems to be 16:34 (5:21 mile pace) for third place. Patrick fought hard to the finish and got a PR just behind Tim. My dad was in attendance and picked up my 3rd place plaque for while I was running the course again with Brett Rickenbach (bandit), Heather (ran a PR too), and Patrick Rich. I also picked up first Beverly resident. I thanked John after the race for a great race, keeping the pace honest, and giving me a hard time. He was very supportive in the last 800m - encouraging us to pick it up or telling me to get going into home stretch. We help each other sometimes when we feel like backing off the throttle. All in all, it was a good race, over 30 seconds quicker than a 5K last Thursday and bettered my best time this year by four seconds.

Photos by Kristen

Full Results

Camp Harbor View Island 5k

2010-07-29T23:08:00.004-04:00

Kristen met me at work tonight and we drove a mile to Marina Bay for a 5:15 ferry full of runners heading to Long Island about two miles away. It is one of 34 islands in the Boston Harbor. The race is almost an out and back on the island. I caught up with Mike Digennaro - 2004 Olympic Trialist in the Steeple Chase on a warm up while finding the course rather hilly for the two mile warm up. I expected a flat course. I slid into 2nd place after 1200m, through the turn around until just before two miles in 10:50. Mike blew by me and the leader who had a stride on me and enroute to the course record, 16:38. I got passed the early leader, Christopher Kantos with about 1k remaining and finished in 2nd overall with a 17:06. A huge BBQ followed. I feasted on two Buffalo Chicken Burritos from Boloco while checking on my coworkers who ran the race. A total of ten Boston Scientific team members ran tonight. DMSE directed a fine race. I had a chance to talk to Dave McGillivray to see what he may have in store for future races like Mount Washington. I picked up a Dunkin Donuts Gift Card and Water Bottle for the effort then caught a 9:30 ferry back to Marina Bay.

Splits: 5:21 mile, 10:50 2 mile, mile 3 was ugly!
Full results
2nd ANNUAL CAMP HARBOR VIEW HARBORTHON 5K
July 29, 2010 Event Direction: DMSE SPORTS Long Island, Boston Harbor, MA
Place Divpl Tot Div Nettime Pace Guntime Name Ag S Race# City/state
=========================================================
1 1/ 99 M3039 16:38 5:21 16:38 Michael Digennaro 32 M 686 Wilmington DE
New record. Old record 16:41 by Scott Munro in 2009
2 2/ 99 M3039 17:06 5:30 17:06 James Pawlicki 35 M 523 Beverly MA
3 1/105 M2029 17:18 5:34 17:18 Christopher Kantos 24 M 530 Boston MA
4 3/ 99 M3039 17:31 5:39 17:31 Murray McCutcheon 35 M 180 Boston MA
5 1/ 35 M4049 17:49 5:44 17:49 Jim Dina 48 M 573 Boston MA

Stowe 8 miler

2010-07-22T13:03:00.004-04:00

Stowe, VT was the next stop in the USATF New England Grand Prix series. An odd distance of 8 miles is rare, however, not to the Grand Prix series as this race has hosted the championship in the past. The trip to Vermont allows me to visit some family so this weekend is a pleasure each time. Kristen booked us at the Old England Inn which turned out to be the race headquarters. In addition, the start and finish line were steps away from the property as well. I was able to get my bib number and shirt on Saturday just before a race reception was held out on the deck at the Inn. Following the reception, Kristen and I grabbed some dinner at the Pie in the Sky for a BBQ Chicken Pizza.

Logistics getting to the start was as easy. I rolled down the hill and was at the start with a four minute walk. CMS had over twenty five runners combined representing the racing team. Our open team got box four in a cross country style start on a field. Thus everyone but the leaders ate dust for the first 300m. I went through the first mile around 5:37 per Jeff Goupil who planned on starting the race with me. I failed to wear a watch so the rest of the splits are unknown and a good thing as I could tell that my pace began to crawl in second half of this rolling and scenic course. Most of the race was uneventful and I never really got into the race. Dave Dunham ran past me at mile seven and I had to get involved to keep up with him. Soon we were closing in on the finish where I kept a step in front of Dave. I finished in 55th place out of 885 runners. My official time of 46:28.2 was good for a 5:49 pace per mile. I was shooting for 5:40 pace. Thus missed it and not terribly down about the slower pacing.

Complete results with photos by Ted Tyler

Photo credit and portfolio by Kristin Wainwright

Race photos by Krissy K

Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5 Miler

2010-07-15T22:34:00.006-04:00

The 23rd annual Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5 miler is hosted by the L Street Running Club. I began running this race due to the proximity near my work (2 miles away by ocean, 3 by car) a few years ago. The race moved from the Bay Side Expo to Boston College High School this year without issue. There was plenty of parking and the race expo with several shoe, sports, medical, and food vendors continued. My first mile was 5:20 and very comfortable in a lead pack of seven guys including Beverly neighbor, John Ayers. A tall lanky fellow was cheering the race on as we approached him, holding to ice cold bottles of water. He looked familiar but was not sure. It was Peter Brook (Sommerville Road Runners) who I have not seen in years (running or spectating). I tossed him a “nice to see you Peter, where the $#@!* have you been hiding?” I have not seen him in years. He was always a friendly face when I was kicking around at races a long time ago. I guess it was nice of me to break out conversation with Peter as if I owned the race during the 5:20 pace. It must have pissed off my competitors. The pace got spicy shortly there after when Andreas Heilmann picked it up and the pack went immediately into a single file.

We did a 180 and headed back to the school (start/finish area) shortly after the 2nd mile marker on Day Blvd. I fell one spot into fourth place by a few strides and passed mile three just under 16:00. This stretch was hot and the sun was in our eyes going toward Carson Beach before breaking left for some shade along the Dorchester Harbor Walk. I was right behind 3rd place heading past the 4 mile clock, 21:55, and already thinking about “what if this comes down to a kick or am I going to suck this up and take this guy down now.” Such a thought process is hilarious but I am sure we’ve all been there. To have some fire in the belly as the races closes into the last mile is good. It was as if I was running for a 3rd place pay off or something. I was pleased that the overall pace was still under 5:30 pace but we both were slowing as I took an inventory - soaking all of this in. There was less than 400m left and I knew exactly where the finish line was – it was hiding about 50 yards from the corner of the school and driveway we just entered. I dropped in a surge to pass him and wound up 3rd with a 27:30 in the last 60 yards.

I turned in the finish line shute to thank him for staying tough and having a great race. He complained of tightening up with cramps at the end. It happens. I was happy to be back in the 27’s for a 5 miler. I felt like I accomplished a lot with the effort and having a race within the race toward the end. Kristen and I are off for the Stowe 8 miler. It should be a hot one.

23rd Annual Sugar Bowl 5 Miler
Boston, MA, July 15, 2010

PLC Time Pace PLC/Group Name Town, State
1 26:40 5:20 1 25-29 Andreas Heilmann Boston,MA
2 27:05 5:25 1 20-24 Luke Dodge Brookline,MA
3 27:30 5:30 1 35-39 James Pawlicki Beverly,MA
4 27:32 5:30 1 16-19 Brendan Adams
5 27:49 5:34 2 25-29 Mike Brown Dowling Boston,MA
6 28:04 5:37 1 40-44 John Ayers Beverly,MA

Photo credits to Ted Tyler. You can see the rest of his photos here.

Complete results

John Carson 2 mile road race

2010-07-05T22:18:00.006-04:00

I should have known something was wrong when the pre-reg table gals gave me bib #5. I got out pretty good at the start, careful not to rush out too fast. I was surprised how many people came back during the 1 mile. Mile 1 went by in 5:07 and felt pretty chipper. A surge or two later caught up with me as Andy Wedlake began to pull away. I heard cheers for "1st woman" over the last 800m. Steve Peterson "Petey" yelled at me to get going. My hammy screamed in pain but I hustled up the hill seeing the "monument" finish waiting. Andy finished just ahead of me at the line. The young lady, Andrea Walkonen, was right on me with a 10:16. She mentioned that she was trying to break her coaches, wifes, course record (she missed it). My dad walked over to shake my hand before he headed for a walk back to the start. I mused earlier in the morning that I was not sure I wanted to go to the race with the sore hamstring. He headed back for the 2 mile walk back to the car. I chatted with Andy Wedlake and Joe Doherty who spanked me at Washington a few weeks ago and then headed back with Dave Menard for a slow and sore 2 mile run back to the car. 10:12 in the books, four seconds slower than two years ago. I just saw coolrunning results six hours ago. The results have a Stephen Gendron where I was supposed to be, 10:12 for 12th place. Upon closer look at my bib, his name is scribbled on it. I was given the wrong bib.

**Granite State updated the results**
JOHN CARSON 2 MILE ROAD RACE July 5, 2010 2 Miles Chelmsford, Mass.
Place Div/Tot Div Time Pace Name Ag S Race# City/State
1 1/116 M1929 8:49.85 4:25 Louie Luchini 29 M 1521 Ellsworth ME
2 2/116 M1929 9:16.90 4:39 Jeffrey Veiga 19 M 158 Lowell MA
3 3/116 M1929 9:37.64 4:49 Brian Gagnon 22 M 25 Dracut MA
4 1/141 M3039 9:46.19 4:54 James St Pierre 39 M 1037 Dracut MA
5 4/116 M1929 9:49.62 4:55 Christopher Estrella 19 M 527 Lowell MA
6 5/116 M1929 9:52.80 4:57 David Metzger 24 M 1725 Medford MA
7 6/116 M1929 9:56.07 4:59 Jon Healey 27 M 1700 Chelmsford MA
8 1/225 M4049 10:03.22 5:02 Mike Cooney 48 M 1268 Chelmsford MA
9 7/116 M1929 10:05.83 5:03 Chris Brown 20 M 20 Chelmsford MA
10 2/141 M3039 10:08.51 5:05 Scott Ouellet 31 M 1560 Lowell MA
11 3/141 M3039 10:11.45 5:06 Andrew Wedlake 38 M 852 Westford MA
12 4/141 M3039 10:11.99 5:06 James Pawlicki 35 M 5 Beverly MA
13 1/102 F1929 10:15.54 5:08 Andrea Walkonen 23 F 1548 Boston MA
14 8/116 M1929 10:19.69 5:10 John Doherty 21 M 856 Chelmsford MA
15 1/40 M1718 10:20.86 5:11 Billy Warren 18 M 957 Chelmsford MA
16 2/225 M4049 10:22.39 5:12 Joe Donnelly 42 M 338 Dracut MA

Squantum 5 miler

2010-06-25T15:39:00.001-04:00

This is a cool race in terms of scenery, atmosphere, and the location to my work, Boston Scientific. The Squantum 5 mile race course starts and finishes less than a mile from where I spend 40 hours a week. Throughout the course there are glimpses of waterfront views with half the race spent out in the rather hilly neighborhood of Squantum. I would be remiss if I did not thank race director, JJ Larner, here (already thanked him several times last night). He awarded me a complimentary entry as he was seeking to carry a theme – race of champions – if one had won a race recently. I appreciated the fact that JJ wanted to bring in the competition for this race as it had last year. It was part of the New England Runner Pub Series, however, not this year. I got buried in 8th place with a 27:29, my fastest time, yet worst place finish last year.

I could only recognize one runner at the starting line, Andew Holmes from the HFC Striders who spanked me by 13 seconds last year on this course. His teammate, Justin Renz, was on my heels from the start. Andrew was a step or two back as I lead us out of Marina Bay and into Squantum where the view of Boston was about five miles away to our left. I tossed a surge in at the top of the longest hill, maybe 1.5 miles to open a gap on Justin and fought as hard as I could to leave the sound of foot steps. It worked to give me a few second lead into mile two. I recorded no other mile splits aside from mile two (11:13) and never looked at my watch during the race so I ran it blind but on feel. I could feel my pace slow shortly after 3.5 miles heading back into Marina Bay. I looked across and saw Elliot Columb in 2nd trailed by Justin less than 30 seconds back with a half mile to go. I pulled in with a 28:39 for the win.

I scored a Marathon Sports Gift Certificate for win. Harpoon beer, hot dogs, and pasta were available after the race with a live band jamming in the background within the Marina Bay Beach Club. Some co-workers braved threatening thunderstorms and tackled the course themselves. They agreed to come back again. I will too.

10th Annual Squantum 5 Mile Road Race
PLC Time Pace PLC/Group PLC/Sex Bib# Name Town, State
1 28:39 5:44 1 01-39 1 M 553 James Pawlicki Beverly,MA
2 29:03 5:49 2 01-39 2 M 554 Justin Renz Milton,MA
3 29:06 5:49 3 01-39 3 M 422 Elliott Columb Quincy,MA
4 29:42 5:56 4 01-39 4 M 552 Andrew Holmes Quincy,MA

Patriot Ledger story & pictures: Runners head to Marina Bay in Quincy to support Dana Farber Hospital

Mt. Washington 50th Anniversary Road Race

2010-06-21T20:04:00.011-04:00

Kristen drove us up to Attitash in the Gti where a large contingent of CMS runners were staying and running a few miles at 1pm on Friday. I got there late so I missed the run but got some quality time shooting the breeze. It was said that there was a bear sighting that interrupted a simple whiffle ball game. I am certain someone will have photos or a movie clip on their blog. Later on, we checked in at the condo that Ken Tripp allowed Kristen and I to crash at. Then Ken drove us to the Eagle Mountain House to get my bib number, 574. I got to catch up with Scott Mason and his new Gti. Shortly thereafter, we headed to the hall adjacent to the EMH for the first four runners to be inducted into the newly formed Hall of Fame. Dave Dunham introduced the first inductee, Bob Hodge, which he was thrilled about. Not too long after that, a team dinner was planned at the Spaghetti Shed where Beth's Lasagna sat before me. Arguments over the plate sizes "2 car garage" vs "shed" ensued. Everyone seemed satisfied with the exception of the meatballs which did not fare well at my table.

Onto the race.....some would say that it was so hot, the soles of their shoes melted before mile 3 was reached. So how hot was it? Ask around. I was already freaking out on my warm up and hit the first 800m of the course. The auto road was roasting and radiating heat, end of story. I lined up several rows back at the line and greeted friends that I have not seen in a while....Peter Maskimow, Patrick Rich & Derek Sawyer to name a few. The cannon went off and I had to keep form to not run over a female elite who was pin-balling around a few steps into the race. I eased in and quickly noticed a pack surrounding Dave Dunham who I knew was going to ace the run (he went on to run 1:12!). I would have loved to join but had to hang back and hold my end of the bargain (what ever that means).

I saw runners walking in the early miles - Chris Mahoney, Mike Quintal, and Henry Scollard. I asked the latter two to keep me company to get them trotting again. They obliged for as long as they could. I trotted on, hunched over, fighting gravity, while my singlet - soaked - hung far away from my chest. I was honestly not in the mood to do this in the heat but I charged on barely lifting my legs up and ahead. My half way split was 35:39. It did not mean much to me but recall being quicker in the past at this point. Teammates Tim Van Orden, Tim Mahoney, and Dave Quintal were not too far ahead. When ever the grade let up just a bit, I would open my stride and make some ground with anyone who I was following. Above the tree line, the air cooled a bit and the light breeze felt so good. It was welcomed.

I had some back and forth with a few gents but most of the race was a blur. One thing that was constant in the 2nd half was Scott Rowe sprinting by only to have me pass him a minute later while he fell back to a walk. He went on to run a good time too and over a minute ahead of me. Bruce Davie was there in the last mile and was holding form. I tried to keep a step on him knowing only a few minutes remained. Bruce and I were not letting up as we began to approach the steepest part of the race, about 40 yards from the finish. Man did that hurt. All I remember is everyone around yelling for him. I must have looked pretty funny staggering into the finish line. We wound up with the same time of 1:15:14. It was his first Mt. Washington. He mentioned that he would like to come back when I interviewed him hours later. That is what I wanted to hear, that the first timers would be back. I also respect those that said this effort was enough for them. If they were sour on their result, I told them to give it some time before deciding if they want to embark on this in 2011.

In summary, I felt privileged to run up in the 50th anniversary of the race with my team who takes this event pretty serious - evident by 26 open men and masters that were registered. The race must turn away almost 1,000 runners so I was pretty lucky to get in even if relying on my mountain goat status (had to run each of the mountain races in 2009) lottery bypass. I finished 49th overall and 4th in my 35-39 age grouping. My time was in between my quickest (1:13:23 in 2004) and slowest (1:16:03 in 2007). Later Saturday night, I went through Kristen's photos and looked at each person she captured. Heads were down, heads were up. Shirts were soaked. Most had smiles and or gave an acknowledgement of their appreciation while they trotted up the mountain. Getting up this mountain is hard.

Finally, I was able to appreciate something in what was my first in three visits to this race - a 360 degree view from the top of Mount Washington. I wish I had my camera. It was certainly worth those few moments to reflect on what I just done and accomplished. As I said before, this is hard stuff.

The first photo above by Kristen shows why my lower back was sore yesterday. I was barely moving where she was set up beyond 3 miles. She took the photo at an angle so it looks like I am going down hill. The 2nd and 3rd photos taken by Scott Mason give some perspective of the climb as I approached 7.4 miles.

2010 Mount Washington Road Race Results June 19, 2010

Photos by Kristen

Photos by Scott Mason

Market Square 10K

2010-06-13T22:16:00.006-04:00

This is a great event with the Market Square section of Portsmouth, NH closed down for an arts festival. They kick it off with a 10k road race on a fair and honest course. A plethora of Polar singlets came out to represent CMS with aggression led by Kevin Tilton who finished in the money (3rd) with a PR. Bob Wiles came over the bridge from Kittery, Maine to better his time from last year (PR?). Jim Johnson raced very close to his time from last year. Tim Mahoney and I ran in lock step from 400m after the gun keeping each of us honest for over 33 minutes. Tim unleashed a kick that put the finish line spectators in awe. Tim and I faded a bit after 3 miles thus losing ground to Rich Smith who nailed the 5:30 pace we all sought to the tape. I finished up right behind Tim with a 34:18 net time (5:32/mile pace) for 12th place overall. CMS finished as a team in 1st place overall. Abby Mahoney set a 10K PR and Tim Van Orden was 3rd master overall.

However, the bonus of the day was chilling out in Market Square after the race listening to live music and sampling Starbucks under the awning to stay dry while drizzle fell from the overcast sky. Finally the troops to gathered into JJ's XTerra for lunch at Margaritas one exit away off Rt. 95. Chille Rellenos and a few Coronas made the day with great company. Next up is the Mt. Washington Road Race which should be fun.

My splits....
5:16
5:26 10:43
5:32 16:16
5:46 22:02
5:29 27:32 5 miles
5:37 33:10
1:09 34:19, 34:18 official, 12th place overall

Photos by Kristen
Complete results

Rhody 5K

2010-06-06T19:43:00.010-04:00

Twin River Casino in Lincoln Rhode Island was host of the New England Grand Prix Road Race Championship. A hazy sun bled through a rather high dew point. I ran two easy miles for a warm up with my CMS teamates. Soon enough the gun went off and I took off from about five rows back in the crowd. After a slight hill up to the rotary and down hill to mile 1, I clicked off a 5:17 split and passed Kristen who was taking some photos. I passed new CMS t'mate Sam Wood who was off to a great start. I pushed on and reeled in a few gents en route through a 10:43 2 mile (5:26 mile split). I maintained the pacing but hit the wall a bit as I was starting to tire a few minutes later. Jeff Goupil and Tim Van Orden from CMS were not too far up but I had no chance to catch them. I went through mile three in 16:05 (5:21 mile) and hustled into the finish line for 16:38, 5:22. Current results have me in 40th place but I think a few bib tags did not trigger results for a few. This happened to CMS team manager Al Bernier and New Balance Boston harrier, Ryan Carrera who as of this write up is not in the results.

I feel very good about the effort today and hit my goal of 16:3X and ten seconds quicker than the Dory Run on Memorial Day. My next race will be the Market Square 10K in Portsmouth, NH where I own my fastest 10K times (PR of 33:03 in 1999). I had a solid race there two years ago with a 33:54. I would throw out a Chuck Norris round-house if I broke 34 minutes in 2010.

Photo credits to Kristen who caught me heading to the finish line in the shot above and Scott Mason who captured me getting a step on Robert Jackman of the Tuesday Night Turtles at 2.85 miles.

Photos by Scott Mason & Photos by Kristen

Complete results 2010 Rhody 5K Lincoln, RI

North Shore Trail Series

2010-06-02T22:39:00.003-04:00

New England Running Company and Montrail are introducing a trail series to the North Shore which kicks off this Saturday at Gordon College. The North Shore Trail Series showcases some of the best trails in the area. I have either run some of these races in the past or frequent the trails that these resources offer. Get out there and support these if you can.

June 5: Kupenda 5K Trail Race
July 17: ECG's Run For The Hills
August 28: ECG's Beverly Commons 8 Mile Trail Run
September 18: ECTA 10 Mile Trail Run
October 17: Ravenswood 4.1 Mile Trail Race
November 6: Stonecat 26.2 Mile Trail Run

Swampscott Dory Run 5K

2010-05-31T14:04:00.004-04:00

I won this race in 2007, a few days after running Mt. Wachusett, with a 16:33 effort. Thus, after a two year absence, I wanted to get in a 5K race prior to the Rhody 5K and had this tentative on my radar over the past week. Not feeling 100% did not stop my initiative so I picked up my dad who had some free time and we headed over to Swampscott which is only 15 minutes away. The Dory Run which was once a 5 miler, changed to a 5K in 2000, where Joe Shairs was the 1st winner on the new course. The race has been managed and directed by the North Shore Striders for several years. Gary Freedman is the race director and does a great job. The race pulls in 150-200 runners each year without aggressive marketing. This is a rolling course for the first 1.75 miles and levels out and finishes on a cinder track. The scenery can't be beat over 2nd half of this seacoast event. At one point, you can look out on your left and see Nahant with the sun flickering off the Atlantic Ocean.

I ran the course for a warm up, knocked down a few strides, made a pit stop, and stretched out. I caught up with Brian & Deb Bealieau (teammates at Salem Stage College), Tom Derderian (my coach at Salem State and GBTC), Brian Crane who is coming back from a broken leg, and Doug Chick who was spectating in the minutes leading up to the 10am start. I jumped out with John Ayers immediately for the lead. We both pressed the pace over the rolling hills passing mile one in 5:26. We went back and forth and came upon the longest hill of the course around 1.5 miles. He faded slightly as his breathing and foot steps faded. Another 500 meters down the road, I was passing mile two in 10:49 and did not hear John behind me. The last mile as mentioned before has the best scenery but I was focused on the police car - lead vehicle ahead, and keeping John behind me. I entered the cinder track and opened the stride kicking into the finish line with a 16:48. I drank a cup Gatorade which tasted so good then got one for John who came in right behind me with a 17:15.

I cooled down by doing the course again. I came back to the field just in time to have my name called to pick up a plaque and gift certificate for New Balance sneakers at Athletes Corner in Swampscott. By winning, I will also have my name engraved on a trophy-cup that contains all of the male and female winners over the history of the race. There are some solid names on that list like Craig Fram, W.F. Newhall, Lou Ristaino, and Joe Shairs. In all, I am happy with the effort considering that the legs were not 100%. I am aiming for the 16:30's at Rhody next weekend.

2010 Swamscott Dory Run Results by North Shore Timing Co.

Wachusett Mountain

2010-05-29T22:17:00.004-04:00

Kristen and I rolled into the Wachusett parking lot about 8:40 in the Gti. I had 50 minutes to grab my number, warm up, and make a pit stop. I ran into Tim Mahoney and Todd Callaghan on the warm up. I have not seen Tim in a while and he’s been racing very well recently. Meanwhile, Todd was so far satisfied with a pair of Nike Lunar Racer's that are usually for the roads and was going to give them a test run on this mix of road and trail today. Not before long, we were getting pre-race instruction from former CMS President Kevin Fallon. At this point, Dave Dunham almost tackled me for a greeting. It is great to see Dave lacing the flats up again and getting into races. We ran the D5K (Danvers weekly fun run) on Wednesday. It will not be long before he is whipping us in the mountain races. The start went off and I casually slid into twentieth place or so about 400m into the immediate climb up to the entrance of the auto road. The course was the same as last year, minus the last .10 of a mile around the duck pond. Mile one passed and I glanced at the watch without any effort to see the split. I carried on into the entrance trailing Ryan Aschbrenner from GBTC. Ryan was tuning up along with Ted Breen who are both racing the Mount Washington Road Race next month.

I caught Ryan at the end of the single track trail heading past the lodge. We began a climb into mile two. Bob Jackman pulled along side and I followed. A left hand turn into Old Indian Trail brought about the steepest part of the trail. Bob did a solid job, keeping a steady effort running up and I focused to stay as close as I could. Mile three passed and I was definitely feeling better at this point this year than last year. I know I went out quicker last year, but this just felt right today. We exited the trail, found pavement and knew the rest of the course was pretty much downhill – almost two miles worth. Only two seconds behind Bob, I told him to “let ‘er fly, it’s all downhill from there.” We would not separate more than a stride all the way down. We exchanged the pacing at least twice. We caught a younger gent on the way down and were reeling in Ross Krause with about 800m to go. Our strides seemed to be all out when Bob found another gear with about 100 yards to go. I had nothing left, finishing three ticks behind him for a 33:14 and 15th place in a very competitive field this year.

CMS folks represented very well with Kevin Tilton, Andy McCarron, Jim Johnson, Tim Van Orden, Tim Mahoney all finishing in the top 12. John Kinnee, Sam Wood, Jeff Goupil, and Bryan Johnston were not too far behind me and ran solid races. My Garmin measured 5.08 miles today. Someone said the course was touted to be 5.2 miles on the application. Either way, I would say everyone enjoyed themselves on a fair mountain course. This was the second race of the USATF-New England Mountain series and I am sure there will be at least 100 mountain goats by the time Ascutney (VT) is finished in July. I missed Northfield Mountain last week so it won’t happen to this guy in 2010.

Post race included some a Polar drink, bagel, and a banana. Scott Mason and I caught up on serious training that was done when he was a young stud ripping up the roads. He was heading up the VCM - Vermont City Marathon after the race to take some photos. Here is a plug for Justin Fyffe who is going to surprise some folks tomorrow.

Big thanks to Wachusett for hosting the race, CMS for organizing the race, Polar Beverages, and Kristen for her company and photos. She took over 150 photos. Scott Mason should have a ton set up as well soon. Looking ahead, I will be running the Rhody 5K, Market Square 10K, and the Mount Washington Road Race in the near future. If I feel good on Monday and have nothing going on, I may jump into the Dory Run 5K with Dennis Floyd.

Bedford Rotary Memorial 12K

2010-05-25T19:56:00.006-04:00

Last Saturday was the third New England Grand Prix championship race for 2010 with a 12K distance to cover in Bedford, NH. In addition, this was my first race since the Merrimac River Trail Run in April. I had expectations to run a pace close to last year at 5:32 per mile. I ran next to teammate Dan Navaroli for the first two miles with a pair of 5:25's. Those were the first and last splits that I would acknowledge on my Garmin. The long incline through mile four left the group I was running with a bit spent. I faded a bit but was carrying a few guys through which was fine. I could see several master runners ahead but I was starting to feel heavy legs around five miles. Terry McNatt flew by me. I got on his heels but that lasted about a minute. I just wanted to get the race over with. I could not wait to see the left hand turn to enter the high school track. The stretch into mile seven seemed to take forever. I battled a Whirlaway runner, Mark Gibson, all the way into the finish. Thanks to him, he kept me motivated over the last mile and a half of the race.

I finished with a 41:54 (5:38 mile pace) good for 50th out of 536 runners, just barely getting on page one of the results. Meanwhile, the team ran out of their minds. Justin Fyffe won his first New England Gran Prix event and crushed the course record. Bob Wiles continued his incredible racing in 5th, trailed by Andy McCarron (yes he just ran the Boston Marathon) in 9th, Kevin Gorman nailed this course like it was no ones business, and Mike Quintal ripped the course a new one to round out the scoring for CMS. Greg Hammett, Al Bernier, Dan Navaroli, Dave Quintal, and Jeff Goupil all had solid races.

Overall Results

The next month is rather busy. I will be at Wachusett Mountain this Saturday followed by the Rhody 5K one week later.

Photo credit to Ted Tyler.

Merrimack River Trail Run

2010-04-12T20:51:00.010-04:00

Where do I begin? Dave Dunham and Steve Peterson put on a solid event at the Merrimack River Trail Race. The post race raffle is kept light with "Petey's" enthusiasm and sense of humor. I think half the race went home with a raffle. There were cameras every where during the race. All races should have this type of coverage. I think I saw some highlights on ESPN and NESN later that day. They showed yours truly, clearly out of breath on the first power line climb, cursing Mike Quintal's choice of a Montreal Canadians shirt. Rumor has it that his cousin is Stephane Quintal, a Boston Bruins 1st round draft pick from 1987. Don't watch his movie clip with little kids around.

I traded in the CMS Polar Bear singlet in favor of the Polish Eagle Singlet. Poland was mourning the loss of the Polish President - Lech Kaczynski, and other significant military leaders and politicians who died earlier in the day in a horrific plane crash in Russia. After a three mile warm up with Tom Brown and Dan Scotina, the race of 200 were off for race. I got out quickly, pounced through some mud and settled into third behind Ben and Kevin Tilton about 600 meters into the race. I encouraged Tom Brown to go get after them reminding him that the tough part of the race is the middle four miles. Now in fourth place and hitting some hills, I could not keep Geoff Cunningham off my shoulder. He was relentless on the hills and I tried to offset it with surges on the flats. I stayed in 5th place for the remainder of the race after he passed me sometime before the power lines on the way out. On my way back to the finish beyond the power lines, I peeked back and saw Dave Quintal closing in and Scott Clark not too far back. So much for backing off and trotting back to the finish. I hustled on the flats and stayed honest on the ups and downs. A quick look at the watch with about 200m to go forced me to hustle to the finish line through the mud to secure a sub 1:03 for my second fastest (I need to confirm this) time on the course. I got a 1:02:57 for 5th place.

I did not take any splits other than seeing a 5:00 first mile split. I regret not seeing my turn around time for the day. I was exhausted by four miles in the race but had no choice to hang in there with DQ and SC chasing me in the second half of the course. As I write this on Monday night, I can confirm my legs are more sore today than yesterday. My IT bands and lower hamstrings are screaming. And to think I was going to go race a 5K in Salem on Sunday morning. It is a good thing that Dennis Floyd called me an hour before the race yesterday and talked me into a training run at Lynn Woods instead. I limped through a 6.9 mile run with him and Brett Rickenbach.

Rest and recovery is in order for a few days. I will lick my wounds and seek a race before now and the next New England Grand Prix Road Race Championship, Bedford Rotary 12K in May. The above photo credits go to KrissyK and Scott Mason who caught me hurting even holding back descending the power line hill.

Results CMS runners packed in 8 out of the top 10 spots
KrissyK photos
Scott Mason Photos
More photos, race footage from Mike Quintal, stats, and details. Merrimack River Trail Race Blog

New Bedford Half Marathon

2010-03-22T20:54:00.008-04:00

New Bedford was the site of the New England Half Marathon Championships. CMS was sending a solid team and this was on my calendar since last November. The course is fast and the only question is what direction the wind is blowing. It was straight in our faces from 3.5 miles all the way to the ocean which is where I like to roll. Despite the head wind, I experienced my fastest mile splits at mile 5 and 6 with a 5:28 and 5:29 respectively. I had a tough mile heading into mile 9 with a 5:54 which was the slowest. Yet, I went through 10 miles 30 seconds quicker than the Amherst 10 miler three weeks ago with a 56:44 split. I focused on CMS mates Jeff Goupil and Kevin Gorman who I barely caught at mile 13. I finished 63rd overall out of 2308 runners with a net time of 1:14:15.9 or 1:14:19 gun time as I started about six rows back from the starting line.

Results

In summary, the plan was to run a pace quicker than the Amherst 10 miler and get under a time of 1:14 overall. I just missed the second objective but the 5:41 mile pace is respectable for the training that I have under my belt. CMS finished 3rd overall with Jim Johnson, Bob Wiles, and Greg Hammett running PR's. Justin Fyffe hung tough despite being under the weather and Al Bernier closed out the scoring for CMS. Kevin Tilton was right behind Al. Minutes ticked before I rolled in with Kevin Gorman in tow. I plan on some easy training over the next few days and making sure the Achilles stays happy.

The first photo above was taken by Scott Mason. Please see his awesome photos. Kristen got some footage of the race on video which can be seen on the CMS racing blog or Jim Johnson's blog. Otherwise, she got a few photos at the finish line from a distance beyond the finish line chute.

Training continues at Gunstock

2010-03-08T19:09:00.011-05:00

Sorry, not running related. 0 miles running traded in on Sunday in favor of Volkswagen appreciation day at Gunstock Mountain. The first 250 VW's to show up got two free lift passes for the day. I headed up with Krissy in the Gti as we followed friends, Patrick and Roberta in his Jetta TDI to Gilford, NH. It was my first time on the snowboard and it showed with a few face plants here and there.

Ironically, Gunstock was the first time that I got onto a pair of snowshoes. Ben Nephew took me up there to hit the trails (we paid for a pass) in December of 2003, the same month that I joined CMS to get right after some snowshoe racing. Months later, I found myself out at Snowshoe Nationals in Lake Tahoe, CA. I do not foresee any attempts to make a career out of snowboarding but glad that I tried it. I will give it another shot but may have to wait another year as I need to focus on some running over the next few weeks. By then, snow related activities will be over up in the mountains.

USATF-NE 10 mile championship Amherst MA

2010-02-28T19:24:00.016-05:00

Like last year, the USATF-New England Road Race Grand Prix series kicked off in Amherst, MA today. Kristen and I picked up Joe Shairs at 7:45 on the way for the two hour drive to Amherst. A warm up with the team followed at 10:15 and I brought some of the CMS crew through the finish line area so everyone knows what it is all about just in case. Not before long, I was on the starting line in the midst of a sea of navy blue CMS runners about three rows back from the starting line. I eased into the race with no panic. The goal for the day was 5:45 pace. The course always provides a challenge so splits were going to be all over in terms of pace according to a grade up or down. Mile one passed in 5:46. Mile two passed in 5:18 for the quickest of the day and the most generous dropping nearly 200 feet in that mile. The sun poked out temporarily for a bit at this point.

The next two miles drag with some climbing and I spotted a 5:51 and 6:12 here getting into the dirt road and dodging puddles of water and mud. At least it was not icy like last year. Another 5:51 mile passed as we approached pavement and I started to reel in Joe Shairs and then Matt Clark. Rich Smith was wheeling and dealing along side and looked good on the down hills which I appreciate. I eased up a bit to get an inventory from Joe who was not feeling too good. Keiron Tumbleton wheeled passed and I tagged onto him for the next few miles giving him about four strides into the lowest part of the course for the second time of the day. I was not looking forward to the climb back to the finish which starts shortly after eight miles. Then again, I know that not too many around me were relishing it either. I just tried to maintain up the hills. I heard Dave Dunham yelling for me with about 1200m to go. It sounded like Dan Verrington was closing in on me. I got to the base of the parking parking lot and set my sights on Keiron Tumbleton and another runner with whom I battled with during the race. I just got past them before the finish line passing the clock at 57:16 good for 48th overall. I was pretty happy with the effort as it is barely under 5:45 pace and was quicker than last year. Overall, it is my second quickest effort going back 11 years to 1999.

Results

Photos by Kristen

My Amherst 10 mile history

Year Time Pace Note

2009 57:37 5:46 USATF-NE Grand Prix Championship

2005 57:27 5:45 tune up for New Bedford Half Marathon

1999 56:24 5:39 USATF-NE Grand Prix Championship

The CMS teams did very well. The open team scored a second place showing with Justin Fyffe finishing second overall. The masters team took the team win behind a solid effort from guys who were not 100% on their game today. Kristen and I hung out with the team for some laughs over the pizza and soup offered by the volunteers. Kristen, Joe, and I hit the road back home to watch Team USA lose to Team Canada, 3-2 in overtime, in the men's Olympic gold medal game. Next up for me will be the New Bedford Half Marathon in March.

CMS men's open and masters team photo taken shortly after everyone finished today.

Top row: Kevin Gorman, Dan Verrington, Jim Pawlicki, Joe Shairs, Jim Johnson, Kevin Tilton, Christian Muentener, Mike Quintal, Dave Harper, John Pajer Botton Row: Jeff Goupil, Justin Fyffe, Dave Quintal, Scott Clark, Ernie Brake, Greg Hammett Missing: Matt Clark

The Great Stew Chase 15K

2010-02-07T17:33:00.014-05:00

A chase it was. CMS mates Mike Quintal, Joe Shairs, Dan Verrington and I battled over the 15K (9.3 miles) course this morning. Looking at our finishing paces for the day, some would argue that we were just out for another Sunday, long run. The weather gods brought plenty of sun today, but also brought some wind that did not help us on our way out to Dearborn Road where the turn around at 4.9 miles awaited. The four of us were never separated more than five seconds on the way out. Each took turns fighting the wind and or tucking in for wind protection. Meanwhile, Eric Narcisi and Marc Leblanc were about 10 seconds ahead leading the race. Tomoaki Uchiki from GBTC trailed them by a few yards.

Dan took charge on the way back. Joe pulled away from Mike and I once we had the wind at our backs heading into mile 8. I kept talking to Mike over the last mile encouraging him to place any surges that he was dropping earlier in the race. A few last hills remained to get to mile nine. I dropped Mike a bit and was trying to reel in Joe. The best I could do was get within three seconds as we approached the finish line. Mike was right behind me. My Garmin advised that I ran 5:42 pace so I was pumped because that is close to what I ran last year. Technology does not always work right but the pace was according to covering a distance of 9.5 miles, not 9.3 miles. Chalk it up to GPS tracking error. I wound up in 6th place with a time of 54:12. CMS had four runners in a row as Tomoaki passed Dan right at the line. Kristen took a ton of photos. Results.

My dad Leo and I after the race.

Sidehiller snowshoe race

2010-01-31T21:30:00.008-05:00

It was so cold four hours before the race that my two co-pilots for the 2.25 hour trip north to Center Sandwich, NH had other thoughts. I talked my friend Brett Rickenbach into the race a few days before. It would have been his first snowshoe race. Kristen on the other hand, had to be talked out of it, after learning that I would be driving alone. Standing in bitter cold temps taking photos would be torture. Alas, I rolled out of the driveway in the VW GTI with the ambient temperature guage reading 5 degrees solo with two stations on Sirius Satellite Radio, Metal station 27, and Faction station 28 keeping me company. I arrived at 10am to register with Paul Kirsch and do a warmup with CMS and TNT folks. I had too many layers on and was pretty hot upon return to the car to get my gear for the 11am race. I went with three light layers up top, two pairs of running pants, and two pairs of gloves. I'd say the temperature was close to ten degrees but thankfully not as windy as the previous two days.

This race was a regional qualifier for snowshoe Nationals in New York State in March. The level of competition was stacked. A few new faces were upon us from CMS like Peter Mallett and Eric Morse. The usual suspects who have been in the top five all winter were there. The course was going to be a quick one with three loops around the fairgrounds which Paul felt was about 1.7 miles for each loop. There were a few hills to remind you that they exist but overall a fair course with some single track in the woods to get your attention. The race went out like a bullet which was no surprise. Some of the course was on ice and the Dion's held up fine if perhaps loosening the rivets on the front of the cleats.

I got through the first loop under 11 minutes feeling tired and dreaded two more loops. Dave Dunham was just ahead mixing it up with a small pack. Steve Wolfe went by me minutes later and I had no response. My second loop was more than a minute slower. I seem to recall close to 23 minutes on the clock. I focused on Eric Morse on the last lap and wanted to get this race over with. He hung in there to finish seven seconds in front of me. I was wiped out. I finished in 13th place with a time of 34:51. Kevin Tilton took the win with Josh Ferenc taking the silver and Jim Johnson settling for bronze. My Garmin calculated that I covered 4.86 miles and averaged 7:11 pace along the way.

I changed into some dry clothes and was the first to redeem my bib number ticket for Tomato Basil soup and a slice of bread at Mocha Rizing. I went back to the finish line to chat with the competitors on their races and the rest of the season. Reeder Fahnestock talked about shoveling snow to get a rail in order to get Exeter ready for next Saturday. We need some snow. Dave Dunham mentioned that Northfield is all ice at the moment. He'll get an update on Wednesday. Dave gave me his bib as he was leaving for home. Thus I caught up with Robert Jackman, Dave Quintal, and Ben Nephew for another cup of soup and bread.

Results
Jamie Gemmiti Photos

Pooh Hill Snowshoe Scramble

2010-01-25T13:13:00.010-05:00

I was looking forward to this race for a few reasons: to race on some groomed terrain and to check out an Acidotic, Chris Dunn, event that I have been hearing about. All one had to do was hang out for the awards and you'll know what I am talking about. There were plenty of prizes and raffles. Scott Mason scored a new pair of snowshoes. Kristen scored a bottle of Hammer Gel, squeeze bottle before the race and then won a Kona Brewing Company hat after the race. I saw some Red Hook six packs handed out (must be over 21 of course). Kristen was concerned about being out on the course too long during the race so she turned around after twenty minutes in the race and came back to grab the camera to get a ton of photos. I finished up in fifth right behind Kevin Tilton. I held that spot from about 50 yards into the race and trailed Kevin 10-20 seconds the whole race. He'd be the last to make an excuse but his Dion's have seen better days. He should be in a fresh pair this Saturday at Sidehiller. Results. My Garmin GPS advised that I covered 4.69 miles in 36:59 which converts to a 7:53/mile clip. The high point on the course was 558ft at 2.5 miles and the lowest part was 440ft at 1 mile. The race started at 488ft and finished at 466ft.

I was chatting with some of the Acidotic crew after the race. We noted how each of us show our strengths and weaknesses depending on the type of course. This modified Pooh Hill course (Pooh Hill was excluded this year) was my style of course where there was no long grind up an ascent, just rolling hills and some groomed track. I was a bit sloppy even on the groomed stuff in areas for this 155 lb slug. At any rate, the folks in front of me made short order with DoubleJ remaining unbeaten this winter with another win. Ben Nephew hung tough for second and Robert Jackman came up from Rhode Island to finish 3rd.

Feel Good Farm Snowshoe

2010-01-16T18:56:00.015-05:00

I got bit by the snowshoe bug at the Olde Salem Greens Snowshoe Classic last Saturday (results). I went home that day and searched for upcoming races and found the Granite State Snowshoe Series. The next race was held today in Lyndeborough, NH, only 90 minutes away from Beverly. What I did not account for was a ball-buster of a course hosted by Feel Good Farm and race director, Michael Amarello of 3crace productions. I read that we had to do Moose Mountain four times, and I certainly did, slowly. Feel Good Farm has 540 acres of land. There was plenty of animals milling about.

After helping a few first time snowshoers with advice and snowshoe adjustments at the starting line, I headed out and got buried in sixteenth place about 100m in as the single track hit us and the climb ensued. I got a chance to pass a few on the first climb between stepping around and or from an offer in front of me to step aside. I was then in tenth place at the top with a hardcore descent into the backside of the mountain where the lowest part of the course awaited. Then another climb back up was there at 1.6 miles to insult us again. I passed three more guys as all four of us mixed a slow crawl of walk - trot - run to the top where Scott Mason awaited to capture drool, snot, and sweat with his Nikon camera. See photos.

I got down the bottom approaching the half way mark. Tim Cox (Acidotic - CMS), who was spectating, had words of encouragement. I failed to check on the half way split but heard I was in sixth place. I couldn't see anyone in front of me so I had no way to judge spacing but Chris Dunn was on my heels soon enough as we approached the ascent again up Moose Mountain. It was here that I trotted up and he was walking but keeping pace at my heels. I got some distance at the top and into the descent over the next mile but not much as I would peek back and see company about twenty seconds back.

I pulled into the finish line just under 43 minutes for a distant sixth place (results). It was clear the five guys in front of me finished minutes ahead of me. Kevin Tilton and Ben Nephew were already cooling down. They finished 1st and 3rd respectively. Just behind me was Reeder Fahnestock, Chris Dunn, and Chris Mahoney who ran his first snowshoe race. I told Chris that this was a tough introduction to snowshoe racing. The rest, unless going through two feet of snow, should be easier. I cooled down with new CMS teamate Christain Muentener and then caught up with CMS 'mates Kevin and Ben for a few minutes. I picked up a Feel Good Farm Pint Glass for 3rd place in the age group and a raffle prize which will be a gift for a friend. In all, this was a great event and as always, great people.

Kristen (photos) and Scott Mason (photos) were everywhere on the course taking photos. My Garmin measured 4.03 miles today. How does 10:40 pace per mile on snowshoes sound? The high point on the course was 878ft and just about touched that four times today. The low point was 499ft while the race started at 648ft.

The Pooh Hill Showshoe Scramble in East Madison, New Hampshire is the next race. Perhaps I can convince Kristen and the GTI for another day trip.

3K BU Development Meet #1

2009-12-21T20:18:00.008-05:00

I lined up for a 3K at the first of three development mini meets at BU on Saturday. I got into the second of four heats with my 9:24 seed time. I drove in with Kristen and Brett Rickenbach who was aiming to get under 9:50. I got a decent warm up with Brett outside a half hour before the first heat was scheduled to start. We came upon a Mercedes SUV parked along Commonwealth Avenue with the passenger side glass broken and door wide open. That ranks right up there with the Honda Fit lying on it's brakes right outside the track at BU back in 2007.

Much like the 5K two weeks ago, I managed to bolt right out and settle into last place for a few laps. The race had over twenty athletes and it was pretty tight for the first lap or two. Anyhow, I went through 1K around 3:08. With a surge or two, I settled in behind Craig Fram, Terry McNatt, and Bruce Davie taking us through the mile around 5:01. Several folks like Joe Fischetti and Al Bernier were yelling at me which helped keep me motivated. I heard a 2K split of 6:18 which was heading to a 9:28 3K if I kept the pace. I got anxious with four laps to go but was not too confident with a big move or surge so I waited until one of the three masters was going to make a move. It was just about at the last lap when Craig Fram moved out and I followed. We got around Terry and Bruce and had a mad dash for the finish. I just got to the line before him. I stopped my watch a few steps later, bent on knees, and saw a 9:21 on my Ironman. I shook Craig's hand and thanked him for pushing at the end of the race. Al ran over and mentioned a time of 9:18. I was pretty happy with the effort. I had the race within the race for the 2nd half of the 3K. The official time was 9:18.37.

Brett ran a great race and exceeded expectations with a 9:37 3K in the next heat. Andy McCarron ran 8:44 followed by Al Bernier, 8:57, in the fast heat of the 3K. Tim Cox was leading my heat at one point and finished with a solid 9:09. I had to hustle out for an appointment in Gloucester but was very pleased to see Greg Hammett run a solid mile in 4:30 and 800m in 2:04 to prove he's not messing around this winter. Jeff Goupil was leading the mile when I left the building. He finished with a solid 4:44 and 2:15 in the 800m. CMS represented well in a very early track race for the winter. I recommend to anyone who is looking for a low key track event on a quality track to make it to these BU development meets. They now offer preregistration to ease the registration lines a bit so please take advantage of that and help the event run smooth. I hope to get to one of the next two meets which happen to fall on the day after Christmas and New Years. My right Achilles is a bit grumpy so I will keep an eye on that.

Indoor track racing begins

2009-12-06T20:22:00.008-05:00

I ran 16:27.49 (5:17 min pace per mile) for 7th in the slowest of three heats of the 5,000 meter race at the Jay Carisella Track & Field Invitational hosted at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. I had about five minutes to warm up for the race as officials decided to run the slowest heat 1st. They ran the slowest heat last all day. Go figure. No time to panic, just sign in, get my heat number, lace 'em up, and race. I bolted out into last place of about 16 runners as I was in no mood to run aggressive nor stupid. Teammate, Tom Brown settled in up front and ended up running 16:12 for third place. My plan was to run just under 5:20 for the 1st mile. I went through in 5:15.47 and was moving up in the race. Not too much excitement in this one, just kept reeling in the college kids who went out to quick. Mile two passed by in 10:32.23 for a mile split of 5:16.72. Not too bad, close splits, and wanted to hold it. Hold it I did slowing a few seconds off the pace and finished up passing another on the last straight. This was a decent cruise control for 25 laps and I beat my seed time and expectation of 16:29.

Jay Carisella Track & Field Invitational results.

Looking ahead, I will jump into the BU mini-meets. There is another open meet at Harvard on December 12 but feel that I should take a weekend off and get some miles in.

Gabe's Run 5K x/c race

2009-11-30T14:08:00.004-05:00

Gabe's Run was a good ol' cross country race on the day after Thanksgiving. Add in rain, wind, and a tough hill after two miles and the table is set. Plenty of puddles, mud, and competition at Patton Park where I played a few High School baseball games against Hamilton-Wenham. I settled into fifth place after 800m. Peter Asaro (former Gloucester HS) hammered out into the lead and nobody was going to catch him once we got out to Rt. 1A. My Adidas spikes were not thrilled about running on the sidewalk during that stretch. I got passed by a few runners up a killer hill beyond 2.25 miles. We were met with ankle deep mud at the top and the worst footing on the whole course. It is amazing that none of us went down or lost a shoe. Coming down the hill was tricky. I almost spilled a few times. I caught a two runners in the last 800m. Official results had me at 9th place in 17:50. My Garmin measured 3.09 miles. Dennis Floyd was not too far back to finish 2nd in his age group. Kristen braved the elements and raced in the women's race earlier. It was her first cross country race ever and 1st race for 2009. My dad was in attendance spectating and got soaking wet even under the umbrella. The bummer for the day was leaving my LaSportiva trail shoes behind at the school. Oh well.

Next up is an indoor 5K event at Jay Carisella Track & Field Invitational at Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center this Saturday. It should be fun.

Essex Turkey Trot

2009-11-22T22:30:00.006-05:00

The Essex Turkey Trot race was once an annual race in my racing schedule. My first exposure to the race was no doubt influenced by Salem State College teamate Jason Euzikonis in the mid 1990's. I'd have to research my archives to see how long it took me to run the course then. I recall the course being a bit shorter but the hills were still as demanding. This is a tough New England course, one of which I respect and appreciate. My last effort on the course was a second place effort of 27:35 in 2003. I was not too far removed from a 2:37:59 Chicago Marathon effort (my last 26.2 mile effort) and Nathan Huppe beat me to the finish by :18 seconds that year. I joined CMS a month later and focused on Snowshoe racing all winter with Dave Dunham.

Elevation per Garmin Forerunner 205 as measured during the race

I warmed up with CMS teamate, Patrick Rich. It is always a treat to see him racing. The gun went off at 1:03 and after a 100 yards passing the race host facility, Woodman's of Essex, Patrick bolted out of the reluctant lead pack of ten and took a lead he would not relenquish. I jumped out after him but to no avail. I watched him hammer out the course chasing the lead vehicle, thankfully not the diesel powered Fire Truck from the past and lost sight of him after Prospect Street or 3.25 miles. This course is all about rolling hills. At 3.5 miles I heard applauce pressure from thrid place so I tried to maintain focus. Shortly thereafter I saw John and Patty Gillis cheering for a second time in about five minutes heading up toward mile four. My mile four mile split was 22:10 so I was on the longer side of 5:30's. I had to hustle to get under goal time of 27:30. I caught a side stitch soon after. I could not recall the last time I felt one of those.

A few more turns put me back out to the home stretch with a dedicated coned section over the last 800m. My last peek at the watch showed 26:23 and I could see the finish line in the distance. Patrick was probably already enjoying the clam chowder from Woodman's. I marched ahead with my goal in mind. The Garmin went of signaling five miles a few feet from the finish line. 27:26 displayed with 5.02 traveled. 27:27 is the official time per the results. The course is USATF certified as an 8k. Patrick ran the same time and place as he did last year with the 26:03 clocking. Kristen took a ton of photos. While warming down, I noted how beautiful the backroads of Essex is. I ran by several horse farms, a yard with three huge rabbits chilling out, and plenty of vocal roosters. One of them yelled out my mile one split which I couldn't comprehend......

10:49 at 2 miles
5:36 for mile 3
5:45 for mile 4
5:15 last mile.
Splits taken per physical race markers which were all within a few feet of GPS tracking

The 2nd place, 1st age group placing, granted me a 12lb Butterball Turkey which will be feasted upon on Thanksgiving Day. As if the race were not enough physical activity, I drove over and finished the day off with a mountain bike ride with Bret Rickenbach and Patrick Taylor at Ravenswood Park in Gloucester. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving Day and a four day weekend. I am leaning toward racing Gabe's Run in Hamilton on Friday. They have over 500 runners preregistered already for what will be a 5k cross country run with a separate men's start from the women.

New England Cross Country Championships

2009-11-08T22:03:00.005-05:00

Kristen and I arrived at Franklin Park 15 minutes before the start of the masters race. She brought her Nikon D60 and was ready to take photos for the day. It was great to see CMS have a full masters team. They were led by Eric Morse, Scott Clark, Dave Quintal, Dave Harper, and Ernie Brake. Francis Burdett, who races for CMS at Mt. Washington finished 2nd overall to teammate Kent Lemme. It was clear that it was a fast day for racing as several masters ran quick on the dry course. The men's open team and I headed out for a 20 minute warmup before the women started their race. We finished as the women crested the first hill. Before I knew it, Kristen took a team photo a few minutes before our race went off at 11:32am. We had eight guys toe the line among two starting boxes. I was the only one to start in the 2nd row.

I went through mile one to the sound of a 5:14 split. The GPS went off a few steps beyond to signal mile one but I marked off each split according to the course markings today except for mile 6. I was in good shape leading into mile two under 11:00 and headed through the 5K around 17:05. My goal was to run quicker than my 8K time at Mayors Cup going through 8K. I was right on plan. I passed runners throughout and heard cheers from several all over the course which was helpful. I remained focused through Bear Cage Hill and zipped through 8K, pulling up a bit on the throttle, through a 27:20 or so which is 39 seconds quicker than Mayor's Cup two weeks ago. I was very happy with this but knew the hard effort would catch up as I was starting to tire a bit but still managed to reel in a few folks in over the last 2K. I caught the last runner I was battling with into the finish as the clock turned over into 34 minutes (sub 34 was my goal). I had 34:08 on the Garmin and 6.21 for distance traveled. The results posted had me at 34:10.

The team ran very well and the consensus was that everyone did go through 8K quicker than two weeks ago through the muddy Mayor's Cup. It was good to see the team almost double in participants today. We ran a short cool down and everyone was talking about plans for the upcoming season which includes indoor track, snowshoe racing, and at least one more x/c or road race around Thanksgiving. Sounds good to me.

Kristen took over 800 photos of each of the three races.

East Boston Savings Bank Challenge 11K

2009-11-01T20:09:00.005-05:00

Kristen is the race director for this 2nd annual race in which also includes a 5K . I volunteers my services just I as I did last year. We drove the course yesterday to confirm mile markers with my Garmin 250 and marked the spots with chalk. Wouldn't you know it would rain last night so we had to go over the course again at 6:30am today. As of last week, my volunteer role was to co-pilot her in the lead vehicle throughout the 11k. As the morning progressed, all volunteers had everything under control. Granite State Timing Services was setting up. Mile markers, water stop equipment, water, cups, and course Marshall's headed out for their duties at 8:10am. Then I worried about having time to run today as I made a commitment to help my friend Patrick move up to Gloucester after the race.

With this in mind, I asked Kristen if she needed me for any other volunteer duties before the race and or if she'd clear me for running the race. I did pack a bag with my running equipment, flats, and CMS uniform just in case. I was cleared to race it so I handed over $20 at the registration table in exchange for bib 67, yellow EBSB race t-shirt, and a chip. At 8:22, I was off for a warm up with Doug Chick who was doing the 5K. We ran the 5K course for the warm up I went over the course with him and explained my role in marking the course twice over the past 14 hours. I gave final instructions to the volunteer at 1.5 mile water stop and where to place the 5K turn around marker.

As I was not mentally and physically prepared to race, I did appreciate the opportunity and wondered what sort of effort the legs felt like putting in. The 11K is a tough course with plenty of hills. I headed out behind Doug Chick, Wes Lassen, and John Ayers. By the time Doug turned around at 1.54 miles and headed back for the 5K finish, I pulled even with John Ayers into the lead, going through my favorite part of the course, uphill, splitting the golf course. We ran together, occasionally chatting it up, through 5.3 miles. Meanwhile, Kristen was in the EBSB lead vehicle as the pace car the whole time. I pulled away from John after going over Rt. 128, leaving Centennial Drive. I hustled to the finish line with a time of 38:55 for the win. My GPS advised that I ran 6.77 miles, 38:54, and 5:44/mile pace. John followed with a solid race in 39:20.

More importantly, Kristen had 100 runners overall with 66 in the 11K and 34 in the 5K which was an increase over last year. The event was smooth and the volunteers did a great job. I ended the event picking up following the race awards packing everything back in the bank. Kristen and I drove the course to pick up all mile markers. I will be at the New England X/C Championships next Sunday, spikes on, ready to race.

Mayors Cup cross country race report

2009-10-25T21:24:00.019-04:00

This is a tough time of the year for CMS to get a full team (five runners to score) at team competition races. Cross Country scoring is calculated by the placing of your top five runners against the top five runners of your competition. If there is a tie, displacement occurs by the sixth runner. Today, we were very fortunate to get five men to the starting line. CMS has been busy at the races over the past month. Three New England Road Race Championship races took place in September and October. The finale was last Sunday at the Bay State Marathon in Lowell, MA where CMS won with the duo of Justin Fyffe (2nd), Andy McCarron (3rd), and Scott Leslie (7th) scoring out with cumulative time of 7:30:25, almost two minutes ahead of the Whirlaway Racing Team. The 1st place finish for the team put us into a tie for 1st overall in the Grand Prix series with the Greater Boston Track Club. It was an exciting conclusion to finish the series for the team. Thus, some of the guys needed to rest their marathon legs this week or were going at it at other races this weekend.

I love cross country. It is my favorite running discipline. Fall foliage is in a particular cycle depending on your locale in New England. The temperature is usually decent at this time of the year. Today was a favorable day for racing in Franklin Park with clear skies and temps in the low 60's. The weather, something that mother nature has control over, dropped plenty of rain yesterday. I knew the course was going to be a challenge. However, that's what I like about cross country. I have run in snow, mud, rain, nor' easters, and witnessed hurricane type winds for this sport.

I did a warm up with the team and Peter Mallet (elite triathlete and UNH grad) to check out the course. It was a bit soggy in places. Al Bernier, Dan Navaroli, Tom Brown, Dave Harper, and I toed the line and represented CMS against eleven other teams today at noon. Five club teams were from New York State. Four club teams were from Massachusetts. Finally, two college teams, Dartmouth and Tufts had full squads on hand. My goal today was to have a time that began with 27. Those minutes had surges, mud, and elbows thrown around. I hit the lap button on my Garmin 250 (which measured my effort for 5.0 miles) for all splits except mile three. I passed mile one in 5:21 feeling pretty good and right on what I planned. I backed off a touch through the first tour of bear cage hill and went through mile two at 11:07. There was a fun stretch of mud leading into the wilderness loop. Kristen who was taking photos was up on the wall screaming words of encouragement. Exiting the loop, Greg Putnam and wife were yelling for the team.

I passed Doug Chick from GBTC heading around the field, passing mile three (neglecting the split) and through 5K around 17:20 or so. Another slippery battle with mud for the finale wilderness loop trying to stay in touch with the competition which had a few GBTC singlets, one of which being Brad Kozel. Mile four passed in 22:40 with a dive into the soggy grass leading to the left hand turn toward White Stadium and Bear Cage hill. I was focused on keeping pace on the folks a few strides ahead. I was looking forward to cresting Bear Cage to let loose on the last .4 miles. I let'er rip, bolted down the Bear Cage and carried the momentum to the backstop, 90 degree right-turn into the home stretch which was met for the third time of the day with soggy footing. I shortened the stride into the finish line fighting the clock to stay in the 27 range but let the chip timing provide relief in the results later to give me the 27:59. If that time was 28, I'd be burnt over that for the rest of the day and into tomorrow's training run.

Dave Harper (3rd 40+ today & took the individual master X/C GP lead) was not too far back from me to finish off the scoring for us. I am thankful that he did the 8K instead of the 5K today. Dan (2nd overall x/c Grand Prix Scoring), Al, and Tom (1st race for CMS) had solid efforts. We figured that the soggy footing slowed things down out there 30+ seconds. The results are posted here. The team placed 9th out of the 11 teams. I am looking forward to New Englands on November 8th. Despite the distance jumping to 10K, I will get through the 8K mark quicker than today if weather cooperates. We'll see.

Scott Mason took a ton of photos yesterday of each race so check them out.

James Early Invitational and Bradley Palmer X/C Challenge

2009-10-11T22:01:00.006-04:00

From most recent (10/10) to last Sunday(10/4), I put in a pair of cross country races on both ends of Massachusetts. Yesterday, I headed out to the James Early Invitational to run for the Salem State Alumni team. Kristen and I carpooled out to Westfield with Jason Euzikonis and John Bowser. I had the luxury of being teammates with Jay for four years while only three with Bowser as he was a year ahead of me. It was like old times traveling out to a race. We arrived at Stanley Park about 15 minutes before the women's race went off. There were 24 collegiate teams with SSC Alumni making it 25. Kristen was all over the place taking photos of the ladies in the race. Before I knew it, they were finishing their race and I did a warm up with Fabian Meija who now runs for New Balance Boston since his days at Salem State. With Dan Smith having a work commitment, Fabian was no doubt going to be the fastest Alumni.

Much like the women's race, there were 23 men's collegiate teams plus the SSC Alumni. Westfield State usually has an Alumni team but they were a few runners short of a scoring team. The gun went off and allowed the mass of 250 plus aiming for the flag at the other end of the field. I went out controlled in a manner to ensure I did not trip up nor get run over. The race runs around the field several times during the race to the delight of spectators. By two miles, I moved up quietly into the top 40 runners or so and settled in. While running around the soccer fields, I could see Fabian was up ahead in the top 15 having fun.

The spikes came in handy after 3 miles where there was some thick mud from the rain the day before. It soaked up so much energy to get through a few patches. I was still with the Gordon College guy I caught after two miles. I hit some rolling hills and started to fade around mile four. A few runners got by me but I got my second wind getting out to the soccer fields for a 3/4 lap into the finish. I got back on the heels of the Gordon College guy and finished right behind him. All in all, I was very happy to get under 28 minutes with a 27:44.46. I wound up 32nd overall. I think my best time in college was 27:20's and post collegiately, I recall running 27:17 in 2004 ago as an alum. Overall, the alumni team finished 12th out of 23 teams. The Salem State Alumni, SSC teams, friends, coaches, and family then got together for a pot-luck BBQ in the picnic area shortly after the race. It was great to catch up with folks that I have not seen in a while and also chat with the athletes competing for Salem State College. Kristen has a ton of photos here.

Last weekend kicked off my cross country season at the Bradly Palmer, GBTC, X/C Challenge. Again, with rain the day before the race, I expected a muddy corse and invested in some fresh Addidas XCS spikes at the New England Running Company as I have not owned a pair in several years. I signed up a team of ten CMS runners six days before the race. By the end of the week, two open guys had to bail. Thus, we had four masters and four open guys toe the line up against five other teams. Five of the six teams were fighting for prize money. I got out into the top 25 or so for the 1st mile with a 5:30. I slowed into the 2nd mile with a climb up to Moon Hill. I think everyone slowed down for that next lap around and into Moon Hill again. Dan Verrington caught me and gave some words of encouragement on the way to Moon Hill. I hung onto him for the return trip to the field where the race began. With some generous downhill, I passed Dan and chased down a New Balance Boston and GBTC runner into the last 600m. I never did catch them but I finished strong with a 28:35, good for 20th. The time was about 30 seconds slower than my 2008 and 2007 efforts. The team finished 3rd overall behind BAA (1st) and host, GBTC. Kudos to GBTC for putting on a great event at Bradley Palmer State Park, which is a perfect venue for a cross country race. Krissy has a ton of photos from the race here.

I'm looking forward to the Mayor's Cup X/C race and the New England 10K X/C Championships to be held at Franklin Park in the next several weeks. I hope that CMS can find enough runners to score a team at each race. It will be a huge challenge as several of our top guys will be racing the Bay State Marathon next weekend and they will need to rest those marathon legs.

Lone Gull 10K, USATF-New England Championship, Gloucester, MA

2009-09-21T20:27:00.006-04:00

It was nice to wake up to sunny skies on a crisp morning. Kristen, my dad, and I headed up to Gloucester for the Lone Gull 10K. Gloucester is only ten miles away from Beverly so this was a quick ride up Rt. 128 to Good Harbor Beach. This was a rare opportunity for me to see a new race course. We got there an hour before the race and the lot was filling up fast. I warmed up with solo until I ran into t’mates Dan Verrington and Mike Quintal.

After a fifteen minute delay and ten minutes standing in the third row in the masses, the race went off into a downhill with the Atlantic Ocean to the left. The weather was perfect. I hit 5:32 at the mile. Todd Callaghan, fellow mountain runner from Gate City Striders pulled up shortly thereafter and Terry McNatt kept good company. We got over the 1st significant hill on the course and down into mile two. I trailed Todd by a few steps. We got into welcomed shade leading out to Eastern Point which has a nice lighthouse that was not visible from the course. This section was also home to the loop where I saw the leader heading back from where we came from. I went through three miles and the 5K (17:12) just behind Todd as we passed Jose Ortiz from Whirlaway. I put in a surge to pull along side with Todd a few seconds later.

We are now on our way back to the finish. Todd and I did not separate more than a second for the remainder of the race. We reeled in a few guys until we caught Todd's teammate Rich Smith. The three of us ran together until about 800m to go when Rich put in a surge leading into the last hill where mile six waited. It was a very smart move. I trailed Todd by a step. Kristen stood on the hill for some photography to prove our existence on this fine day. As I crested the hill, I let loose to get around Todd and see if I could get Rich. Rich got to the line first but we got the same chip time. Todd was right behind me. I finished 61st for a time of 34:30 (5:34). I was shooting for something between 34:00 and 34:30. Official results.

Splits were as follows.

5:32
5:41 11:14
5:29 16:43 (5K 17:12)
5:36 22:20
5:28 27:48
5:38 33:27
1:03 34:30

I am looking forward to some cross country races coming up in the next several weeks and into November.

USATF-New England 5 mile championship

2009-09-21T20:11:00.005-04:00

Better late than never. Quick update from September 12....

Ollie 5 Mile Road Race, USATF-New England Championship, South Boston

The last two years at Ollie, I have run mid 28 minute range. I ran a 27:30 in at the Squantum 5 miler in June so I wanted to match or better that time. However, my approach toward the goal would be to ease into this 5 mile race with a focus on the last three miles and coming back to the finish on what is close to an out an back type of course. The splits were all over the place which later revealed that the course turn around spot was not where it should have been. I finished strong where no one passed me after 800m into the race.

My splits were as follows.

5:51
5:56
4:12
5:52
5:35 (stopped watch 2 seconds after finish line) 27:27

My official time was 27:24 and placed 75th in a very competitive field. It is speculated that everyone ran 4.9 miles for what was declared the New England 5 mile championship last year. I did not pick up on this until the next day, Sunday, when the results were edited for the pace and distance. So many runners ran outstanding races with several CMS folks running PR’s. It is unfortunate that the course was short, but the strong efforts by everyone should not be diminished. Here are some photos that Kristen took with her Nikon D60 in one hand and an umbrella in the other. Also, it was nice to also have my dad, Leo, on hand who picked a ominous day with the rain to watch us race.

Mountain Goat status article

2009-08-11T22:11:00.007-04:00

This article came out in The Salem News, Monday, 8/10/09. Photo credit in the print article goes to Scott Mason. Check out his photos.

http://www.salemnews.com/pusports/local_story_222004503.html/resources_printstory

Pawlicki reaches Mountain Goat status

By Jean DePlacido
correspondent
August 10, 2009 12:45 am
—

Jim Pawlicki is officially a Mountain Goat, and that is a hard-earned title 100 New England runners achieved over a six-week period this summer.

Pawlicki, a Beverly resident, successfully completed all six races in the 2009 USA Track and Field New England Mountain Circuit to achieve his Mountain Goat status, and he finished fifth in the point standings.

The courses are extremely demanding, full of all types of challenges and very different from what the average runner encounters on road courses. Some are part road racing courses and rugged trails close to ski resorts, while others are primarily run on narrow dirt paths that require a great deal of agility. The race distances range from just under four miles to 10 miles.

At Ascutney Mountain in Vermont, the last stop on the circuit, runners from last year's race voted to change the course to make it even more challenging by extending all the way to the summit instead of following the auto access road to the parking lot roughly a half mile from the top of the mountain. The new path added a mile and a half of treacherous conditions.

Two years ago Pawlicki was fourth on the old course with a time of 33:01. This summer he finished 11th in 43:56 on the longer, rougher course. Runners had to deal with slippery footing, thick fern undergrowth, boulders and streams, as well as narrow, hilly paths that made the going slow. There were a few sections where Pawlicki, who works for Boston Scientific in Quincy as an e-commerce specialist, had to pick his steps by walking cautiously in the roughest patches where falling was a distinct possibility. His main focus there had nothing to do with making good time; it was staying on his feet.

"After leaving the parking lot you were on really technical trails, and there was at least a minute of walking," Pawlicki said. "I had a sense of relief after doing all six; I can now look back with a feeling of accomplishment. Two years ago I didn't finish all of them; I did five but had to drop out of the Cranmore race."

Pawlicki is a full-time runner, who is a member of the Central Mass Striders men's racing team which is sponsored by Polar Racing. He figures he has been running 335 days each year since graduating from Salem State in 1998, varying his events according to the calendar. He has run six or seven marathons, the last in 2003 in Chicago where he finished in 2:37.59 for his second fastest time.

"During the winter I do indoor track events and jump on snow shoes to race," said Pawlicki. "I do 15-20 road races throughout the year, but during the early summer concentrate on the mountain races. In the fall I like to do four or five cross country races; it brings a little diversity and each season is different. I don't do any special training for the mountain, just do what I would do for a 10-mile road race and then apply it with some concessions for the conditions.

"The mountain racing circuit goes all over New England, and each course is so different. The first one was Memorial Day weekend at Wachussett Mountain in Princeton, and then we did Pack Monadnock in New Hampshire for a 10-mile race that was nine miles on road and one on dirt. We also were at Northfield (MA.) for the New England Trail Championship. The Cranmore Mountain Hill Climb was also the USA National Mountain Championship, which was fun.

"The most demanding was the Loon Mountain Race in Lincoln, New Hampshire where there was a half-mile stretch of a pretty steep 30 degree climb. There you had to walk for the majority of the race."

Before the final Ascutney Mountain Challenge, a big group picture was taken of all the mountain goats, and after finishing they received tee-shirts with the words "Mountain Goat" on them.

"After completing the first two races I had to commit to the rest," said Pawlicki. "I felt the pressure, and wanted to gain that notoriety among my peers. It was really a lot of fun. After the last race one of the guys knew of a great spot to cool off in a mountain stream. The river was icy cold even though it was mid-July, but we had a great time. People brought food, and we all hung out together for a couple of hours."

Through all his ventures across New England Pawlicki's girlfriend Kirsten Kozlosky of Beverly has been at his side offering support, sharing the driving, and taking photos.

"She's my copilot," said Pawlicki. "I put quite a few miles on my Volkswagen Rabbit, and Kristen has been great about helping with the driving. She volunteered for a couple of races, and gave me so much support.

"One of the big perks of mountain goat status is being able to bypass the 2010 Mount Washington Road Race Lottery; we just have to register to guarantee a place in the field. I ran Mount Washington a couple of years ago, and I might look into that again. I went into the lottery then and didn't have a problem, but I guess it is a big deal because they limit the number of entries to 2,000 and it has become such a popular event.

"Finishing all six and receiving this status is a very rewarding feeling," said Pawlicki. "Now I've put the demons to rest, and I plan to be back again next year to try to do it all over again."

Beverly Homecoming 5k August 6

2009-08-07T08:04:00.012-04:00

It was time to get back into a race. A home town 5K race on a weeknight in Beverly was appealing even though I would have to leave work early for a 70 minute commute ride home from Quincy. I ran an ugly 28:35 5 miler at the Jim Kane Sugar Bowl four days after Ascutney last month. Thus, my legs were ready for a race despite, again, not doing any interval work or tempo runs.

I ran into some old competitors from many moons ago at the race last night. Sean Dunleavy who coaches Beverly High School boys cross country and Danvers High School girls track was in attendance with a baby jogger. I recall that he finished under 21 minutes. Dave Gagnon, teammate at Salem State College for two years before transferring to rival Westfield State College also made a rare appearance in a race. After a 2 mile warmup with fellow Beverly resident and training partner, Junyong Pak, the siren went off for the start of the race.

CMS teammate, Patrick Rich jumped out and stood alone with a pack of six gents including myself following about 15 feet back. I wanted to yell into my group (not even 60 seconds old) "will someone get out and help that guy in the front?" My fear was that someone in my group was going to hang back, sit, and jump on the lead with 400m to go. Fortunately, Tim Richards (Holy Cross Junior) gave Patrick company and they pranced through a 4:58 first mile. I was 5:10 at the mile in the trail pack getting impatient but lacked fitness to surge at any point. I passed a few runners then and got passed before the hill leading into 2 miles. Greg K. (4:26 miler at Ipswich High School & coached by Patrick Rich) opened up his stride on the downhill putting five seconds on me. I caught him about 400m later but he surged again and built a nine second margin to the tape. I hustled through, twisting my upper body with a tired gait with a 16:23 on the clock for 5th place. The official results revealed 16:25, my quickest of three 5K's this year. I find it interesting that races add two seconds to your time.

I am considering races that are short in distance through the fall. I have no intention to fool myself into a fall marathon or beat myself up down at the New Haven 20K (US Championships) on Labor Day. I am being realistic and will race distances that my training will support for the short term. I like the idea of the Anthony Chamberas x/c 6K and Magnolia 5K in the next month.

Kudos to Patrick Rich to tie a PR of 15:27 set a few years ago on this same Beverly race and course. He is in amazing shape. Meanwhile, Junyong who has not paid an entry fee and toed a starting line since the Boston Marathon in April made short work of the Beverly course in sixteen flat. He's been running with the less is more theme and I can appreciate that.

Junyong Pak, myself, and Patrick Rich with awards.

Ascutney Mountain Challenge

2009-07-12T21:21:00.006-04:00

Race six, the finale, of the mountain series was completed today in Mt. Ascutney State Park. The runners from last year's race spoke up and voted in a race course change to extend to the summit this year. The race previously followed the automobile access road to the parking lot about a half mile from the summit. I ran the course two years ago placing 4th with a time of 33:01.

Today, I placed 11th with a time of 43:56. The last 1.7 miles were different with the race leaving the road and onto the Futures Trail and to the summit. The footing was standard technical New England trail: mud, thick ground fern, boulders, streams, and stone steps along a single track. I am sure that this is the typical fare for the trail runners so they must have eaten it up. I on the other hand tip-toed through some sections. However, the trail was a blast and in usual fashion reduced me to a few walking sessions in the tougher portions of the trail. I gave up some time in the tough spots but just focused on staying on my feet as it would have been easy to trip up. I can't wait to see some photos of the runners. When Raina, the race director, officially solicits feedback, I will suggest the all road course back in and or see if a trail section could be worked into the course from the parking lot, previously mentioned about a half mile from the summit.

I'd like to congratulate the 100 or so runners who achieved Mountain Goat status by completing each of the six races in the Inov-8 USATF-NE Mountain Circuit 2009 Schedule. This allows the runners to bypass the 2010 Mt. Washington Road Race Lottery (they still need to register). I think it is a great program and has been a boon for each of the mountain races which have been close to or exceeded record entrants in 2009. In addition, I'd like to acknowledge the fine performances of my CMS teamates who no doubt, fared well in the individual point system.

Good times were had by several folks (too many names to remember) taking in a soak at the stream under Rt. 91 leading into the Mill Pond. Tim Van Orden advised that it was the place to go. Over twenty race folk managed to bring suds, food, and spirit as we hung out underneath a cloudless sky. Thanks to Todd and Laurie for the organic fruit salad, Tim Mahoney for the Harpoon offerings, and to Tim Van Orden for the "fresh out of the garden" greens. All I know is that for the next mountain race (next May), it will definitely be about where to hang out after the race.

Finally, I would be remiss without thanking Kristen for her company and support at each of the races in the series that came without complaint with early morning, multiple hour drives around New England. She volunteered at races, took photos, took the wheel, and brought some sanity to each turn on the road.

Lastly, as much as I need a break from the racing (I don't mind but am glad that the mountain series is over), I am signed up for the Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5 miler on Thursday evening in South Boston. This is an out an back, flat and fast 5 miler put on by the L-Street Running club. I have been running a lot along the bay from UMass Boston to Castle Island so it will be another routine run except at goal, 5:30 per mile pace.

Loon Mountain report

2009-07-06T21:11:00.013-04:00

I have read and heard that some runners think that Loon Mountain is the toughest race in the mountain series. It may have the steepest section (it is called upper walking boss for a reason) we'll encounter but my judge of the toughest race is how I feel Monday morning. I felt a lot better this Monday than I did last Monday following Cranmore.

I warmed up with the CMS crew and Patrick Ard from Whirlaway who was running his first mountain race. I ran past Ted Breen and Brad Kozel from GBTC as I approached the parking lot. I gave Ted advice earlier in the week on what to wear for footwear as this was his first mountain race too. Aside from that, everyone who ran at Cranmore a week earlier all shared the same sore muscle stories that lasted most of the week. Glad that I was not the only one. I still put in a heavy week of miles. The race got off to a late start but only after Paul Kirsch made sure that all folks who were seeking Mountain Goat Status were members of USATF before the race started.

Abdeltif Faker jumped out to a quick start. He had a long stride and looked like a ringer aside from cutting his running pants into uneven length shorts. I've seen or heard worse. Dennis Floyd told me he got beat by a Greater Lowell Road Runner in cut-offs (jeans cut into shorts) in a local 5K over 10 years ago. I am not fashion expert myself so I will leave it at that.

I rolled with the race in the early going. Todd Callaghan and Dave Dunham passed me early on. I noted how good Dave looked working the ascents. The word chisel came to mind during the race watching Dave motor up the hills. He took off and I just tried to stay close to Todd Callaghan. I was successful at that until the downhill toward "upper walking boss" which is as steep as it will get for us this summer.

This bit seems to go on forever. I looked up and saw the race in front of me (10 guys in total), but they were already at it for minutes. Tivo and Todd were side-stepping in some of their climb. The kid in front of me was walking and pulling away (no news there). I was not comfortable at all walking, but did some. I felt it was easier to run, if you call it that. My steps were so small but I found a rhythm. I ran by Scott Mason (check out his photos) who was taking photos about 2/3 of the way up and he gave words of encouragement. I looked back on a switch back. I saw Kasie Enman not too far. That sighting kept me honest, not to walk anymore and get to the top. In all honesty, this upper walking boss climb did not seem as long as it did two years ago. The young kid in front of m, 17 year old Adam Pachek, was too far ahead for me to catch on the downhill. My form was a mess and I still babied down it, feeling he was unreachable with only a few minutes of race left. I tore into the last uphill and into the finish to cheers from Kristen and then into the finish line where co-race director Paul Kirsch stood. 52:52 for 11th place. It felt so nice to be done with the race.

There was nothing I did during the race that I would change if I did it over again. A quick check of my prior result here in 2007 showed that I ran 52:28 or 24 seconds quicker then. However, I know I busted the downhills harder there and walked more up the walking boss section in 2007. After getting my new CMS threads on (it was windy and a bit chilly for July), drinking some Heed, I flagged Todd down and into the Gondola ride down to the base. Mats Lemberger (formerly of Dartmouth) who finished two spots in front of me joined us for the ride down. We had a nice view. I looked down a few times and could see some flagging on the course that Dave, Tivo, and company patiently set up in 2 hours and 59 minutes the day before.

I was shocked to see Joe Shairs and family at the ski lodge who were passing through. Joe looked cold in short sleeves (it was windy at the base as well) so I sent him off with a CMS jacket that I had in the Gti. The family was heading off to the Flume Gorge only a few miles away. I proceeded cool down for a couple easy miles. I bonked hard about 10 minutes from the parking lot. I walked it in and had a granola bar that must have been in my running bag for six months. It tasted so good. I just needed some nourishment and fluids. I walked into the post race gathering ready to kill for food. It could of gotten ugly but fortunately there were plenty of bagels and crunchy peanut butter for everyone. An hour later, Kristen and I broke bread with Ted and Brad in Lincoln for sandwiches before sitting in some nasty traffic on Rt. 93. Good times for sure.

Cheers to DoubleJ for his first Mountain Race win. He earned it. Dave Dunham, 1st master, ran a solid race. Tivo and Todd Callaghan held his own as well, admitting a light week of training after the race. Tim Mahoney was right behind me and is sure to race well at Ascutney Mountain in Windsor, VT this Sunday. The check is in the mail so I will be there. I am looking forward to the change in the course which will have some trail in the 2nd half and we race to the summit.

Oh and will someone please elaborate on "there is no safeword at Loon Mountain?"

Kissing Cranmore Mountain

2009-06-29T22:30:00.014-04:00

As the bottom of my heels burned up sprinting down Cranmore Mountain, I was wishing for something flat to give my quads rest. I fought gravity up and down the mountain yesterday. I just wanted to let the heels cool down. I expected a bloody mess when I pulled the footware off minutes after finishing the race and cooling off in the cool stream 100 yards from the finish line. Todd Callaghan praised the benefits of the cold water. I washed the Cranmore earth off my legs, proud to have survived the event. I was reticent before the race but I had an objective of putting a demon to rest.

One hour of punishment. Punishment that I neglected to tolerate three years ago at Cranmore for three fun loops up and down. Yesterday was only two loops that Paul Kirsch put up for the National Championship where the top three men and women would be selected for the US team to compete at the World Championship.

I gave some honest advice to a runner on my way into the 2nd lap yesterday heading into the second loop as he was dropping out and walking toward me and back to end his journey prematurely. I yelled at him and told him not to drop out, he'll regret it. I turned back to look at him and made sure he followed back onto the course. I told him to walk it out, just finish it up. The guy in front of me looked back at me thinking I was crazy for yelling at a competitor to get his ass back in the race. The beaten runner got back in the race.

I looked forward, following my advice to just finish and did not care how many steps running, walking or crawling it took. I just looked forward to getting the race over with. I was not so much a competitor as I was a participant making the best of a situation of gravity and a ass kicking contest against Cranmore Mountain. Cranmore Mountain got the best of me. I will get back there next year. Yeah, I am getting fitted for a straight jacket too. No surprise there.

Learned a few things yesterday or at least it caught my attention I had time to think during the race....

1. Walking up steep sections is acceptable. Elite runners of both sexes around me were walking or maybe it is called power-hiking? Damn, some folks were pulling away from me as I got no where trying to run or slip on lichen covered rock. It looks silly kissing the ground, leaning on the knees, but power hiking seems to work.

2. Small, petite, woman kick ass at this mountain stuff. They just shuffle up the steep sections with tiny strides. I feel like a heavy ape with a dumb stride. The 'running form police' tried to pull me off the course at the top but they wanted me to burn up my heels running down the mountain. I appreciate that.

3. These mountain runners are incredible. I don't know how they can tolerate the pain of climbing, straining the lower back, calves, and quads. I can tolerate it for short periods of time, but I relent.

4. Running up against gravity is one thing. Running down at break-neck speed is another and quite hard on the legs and body as I was reminded this morning. Glad that I still have the skin intact on my heels (for now).

5. My attitude changed while going up in the second lap. I chatted it up with Kristen and Joe as I stumbled past them in a climb. There was some funny dialogue, R-rated comments and questioning of my sanity. It helped me cope. I'll have to get the clip up here. In summary, I was trying to use humor to get through the next twenty minutes.

6. I usually like to race down-hill with the best of them. But my burning heels were telling me otherwise. It is humbling to step aside and run in the tall grass to try to slow down and let people pass without much care. I tried to alter my stride or run on my toes flying down the hill to ease the slippage in the New Balance 790's.

7. The transition game of a burning ascent onto something flat is comical. I was reminded of the duathlon event from getting off a bike and into a run. The lactic acid build up and release makes jello of one's legs for a bit.

It's not all piss and vinegar though. I had a great weekend. Joe Shairs and family let Kristen and I crash at their condo in Bartlett the night before the race, sparing me a 2.5 hour drive on Sunday morning. We had a great dinner on Saturday and capped it off with a 2 hour documentary and history on the Boston Bruins. Milt Schmidt, Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, and Cam Neely!

Here is a picture of me walking or something past Kristen. No doubt cursing, mumbling, and thinking about another hobby.

Lap 1 took me 29:10 and Lap 2 took me 31:04. Unofficial time which was stopped in the finish line chute was 1:00:14. Kristen's movie clip of my hobbling finish into the time clock was 1:00:12. Here is Joe and Kristen yelling at me on the 2nd lap. Finally, please take a look at Scott Mason's photos. He took a lot of nice shots and captured the moments of the race.

Loon Mountain is next Sunday folks. It's a cool race that has a famous section of calf and quad burn depending on the stride. Better yet, it has some down hill in there to mix it up a bit and provide relief from ascending.

Squantum 5 Mile Road Race, Pub Series # 4

2009-06-18T22:29:00.007-04:00

I ran my first New England Runner Pub Series race tonight in Quincy (Marina Bay). The start of the race is at Marina Bay Beach Club, formerly Water Works, which is half a mile from work. I won the race two years ago and have done plenty of training on the course by means of being minutes from work. The rain was coming down pretty steady but it let up about twenty minutes before the race. I ran into some ol' competitors and friends: Chris Spinney, Solomon Tsegai , Don Fay, Deon Barrett, Chris Simpson, and Bryan Doldt. Bryan, Deon, and Chris were my teamates with the Greater Boston Track Club several years ago.

I was pretty tired this week, coming off Northfield Mountain and an upbeat 14 miler over the weekend. In addition, I got in plenty of hills in Breakheart Reservation over the last two nights after work. The race was no doubt going to be competitive as there are plenty of talented runners who have been racing the pub series this year. Tonight was no exception. Kevin Gray took it out hard with Joe Navas in tow. I settled in and next to Terry McNatt for the 1st mile. I did not get my 1st or 2nd mile split but was keeping pace with Terry.

Andrew Holmes (2nd place in the last two years at this race) from HFC passed us and he pulled Lee Danforth with him shortly after two miles. I was fading a bit going through mile three in 16:19. I knew it was going to be a battle to the end with Terry. Sure enough, we passed through mile three and four together. I was cutting tangents like a veteran trying to shake Terry over the last two miles. I held him off by one second into the finish. I turned to him in the chute and thanked him for keeping me honest during the race. Eight place in a competitive field and a course PR with a 27:29.

The Achilles was barking a bit in the easy 2 mile cool down with Don Fay. The rest of the night was low key at the Beach Club with one ticket for food (Hot Dogs and Hamburgers) and the other for a beer. I caught up with some folks and touched base with some co-workers. Time to rest up and maybe a day off tomorrow.

Looking forward....

Good luck to CMS and friends at the Mt. Washington Road Race this weekend. I also want to welcome Scott Leslie to the men's open team. He ran 2:32:56 at Boston this year. He will be at Mt. Washington racing for CMS and is looking forward to the Ollie Road Race and the Bay State Marathon. Lastly, I want to wish Mark Kimball a speedy recovery after being struck by a truck while running with his wife last week. I hear he is getting better each day.

Northfield Mountain recap

2009-06-14T21:26:00.008-04:00

I was torn on which race to go to on Saturday, June 13. I wanted to race the Market Square 10K in Portsmouth, NH where I set my 10K PR set 10 years ago (33:03) and had a decent race last June getting under 34 minutes. On the other hand, I have run the first two races of the USATF New England Mountain series and the Northfield Mountain is race number three. It is also the New England Trail Championship. Dave Dunham has been the race director and puts on a solid event. Who else can set up the course the day before, direct the race, and race it - very well mind you.

Kristen and I got up at 4:30 and were out the door with the GPS set up at 5:35 in the VW Gti. We got to Northfield at 7:30 after a stop for gas in Fitchburg as the Gti got thirsty for 93 Octane. Kristen was volunteering to help out at the water stop with and take some photos. She got to ride up the auto road with Al Bernier in the Subaru.

I did a warm up with a small CMS crew that was made up of Eric Morse (good to see him racing again), Dave Dunham, and Tim & Abbey Mahoney. Before I got to the starting line, I was greeted by Mark Asaro who was thanking me for being a gentleman; offering encouraging words to his son, Peter, during the last 300m of Pack Monadnock. He thanked me for not outdueling his son. I told him that I had no energy to pass him on what felt like a 30% grade and gave every effort just to catch up to the guy. Peter finished two seconds ahead of me at Pack.

At 9:00am sharp Dave gave the race of over 200 the final instructions and gave the first row on the starting line his traditional high five as we were off with two commands. I settled in with Tim Mahoney after the first minute. Justin Fyffe, Josh Ferenc, and Eric Morse were dueling it out for the 1st mile. I had a split of 5:39 which is moving pretty good. The climbing soon began and I shuffled up the hills. Todd Callaghan and Tim Mahoney got around me between 2 and 3 miles. My effort was hard enough so I just wanted to keep them close until the outlook point. The course is practically all down hill after that. I managed to surge pass Tim a half mile before the water stop and set my cruise control to match Todd's stride who had his sights on Greg Hammett in front of him.

The next 3K is runable downhill for most but causes some pain for the next day. Paul Low has seen a low four minute mile in this stretch in the past. I couldn't gain any ground on Todd and Greg was keeping his distance on him. I heard the occasional foot steps behind me but never checked to see who it was, assuming it was Tim (it was). At one point on the down hill, my left foot started to burn up in the heel. This is typical here due to the speed at which I am running and occasional breaking - putting much force on the feet. The New Balance 790 held up pretty good but I was expecting my toes to rip through the toe box toward the end of the descent.

The course levels off after 5.3 miles or so and you can see the race in front of you as it is a long stretch (3/4 of a mile?). I could make out Justin's yellow, Lasportiva shirt about two mintues ahead. I heard he had a good battle with Andy McCarron over the past two miles. I was trying to stay focused on Todd who still had 10 seconds or so on me and I did not want to get caught by Tim or anyone else in the last mile and a half. I hustled into the home stretch for 8th place with a time of 38:59, my second quickest time on the this course. I ran 38:32 last year on a hot day and a dog fight battle with Todd Callaghan and Tim Van Orden over the last two miles.

I was happy with the effort. CMS did very well, placing nine runners in the top twelve. See the overall results and the awesome photos by Scott Mason. I ran the course again after the race with a big crew that included Todd Callaghan, Tim Mahoney, Tim Van Orden, and a few others to pick up the flagging and mile markers. A big thanks to everyone. The company was great and it offered another 45 minutes of hilarious conversation.

I am looking foward to the Cranmore Hill Climb where I DNF'd two years ago. That race will be followed by Loon Mountain and Ascutney Mountain Challenge in July. These are tough races but I am up for the challenge. Meanwhile, I am going to run the Squantum 5 mile road race this Thursday which is minutes from work in Marina Bay (Quincy). It is part of the New England Runner Pub Series so it should be competitive. I am looking to better the 28:43 that I ran in 2007.

LATE ENTRY.....

I slacked on writing about my blazing 16:35 (chip time) at the Rhody 5K last Sunday, June 7th, in Lincoln, RI. I averaged 5:21 pace per mile and did not crash as bad as I felt with 800m to go. My splits were 5:15, 5:23, 5:21, and :36. I am not sure I trust the mile three marker. I don't have much to say about my effort other than my legs were exposed for the lack of interval training. I had zero turn over and that is the number one requirement for a 5K, period. CMS as a team did well, finishing 5th, with the top five guys getting under 15:58. Full results.

Pack Monadnock

2009-05-31T17:19:00.016-04:00

This was a tough race today. I ran this 10 mile in 2007 clocking in at 1:06:25 where the first half was cautious with a 30:48 five mile split. Today, I went through 5 miles about a minute quicker (29:51). Peter Asaro from Gloucester and of William & Mary had just caught up to me before 5 miles after I passed Ben Nephew before the 4 mile mark.

I was spent after a climb in the 5th mile. I was crawling up each of the hills that followed. Peter must have had 30 seconds on me when I got out to Rt. 101 (7.5 miles). I could see Andy McCarron ahead of him by another 40 seconds and barely see Jim Johnson ahead of Andy. As spent as I was, I managed to catch Peter about 100 yards from the finish in Miller State Park (not an easy task in the last mile here unless someone is walking). However, I was drained and couldn't find any energy to pass him. I settled for 7th place in a very competitive field in the trek from Wilton, NH to Pack Monadnock in Temple, NH. My unofficial 1:06:44 is about :20 behind my previous effort in 2007. The delta today was going out harder and crashing harder in the 2nd half. I will chalk this up to a learning experience and solid effort on a day that I knew four miles from the finish line that it was going to get ugly.

The CMS held serious court in the race today. Without seeing the results yet, it looked like Justin Fyffe (3rd), Jim Johnson (4th), Andy McCarron (5th), myself (7th), Ben Nephew (8th), Dave Dunham (9th), Dave Quintal (12th), Tim Mahoney (13th), and Tim Van Orden (14th) all had solid races.

Bottom row (3): Andy McCarron, Todd Callaghan, Tim Mahoney

Top row: Dave Dunham, Justin Fyffe, Jim Johnson, Dave Quintal, Jim Pawlicki, & Ben Nephew

Photos by Kristen

Wachusett Mountain road race report

2009-05-25T22:40:00.018-04:00

The 2009 USATF New England Mountain series kicked off with the Wachusett Mountain Road Race. Due to construction of the access road up the mountain, the race course had to be changed and diverted into the beautiful trails. Runners were warned or at least advised with plenty of signage in and around the registration area. I even recall a refund was offered in advance if the course change was beyond expectations. Mountain runners are hardy souls and did not seem to mind. I welcomed the change of scenery and like the idea of having some generous downhill in the 2nd half of the race.

I went out pretty hard for the 1st mile, settling in behind Andy McCarron and Craig Fram. I did not get a mile split but the effort was quicker than I usually put forth. Kevin Tilton and Ryan Carrera took command after the mile and took off as we approached the entrance to the park. I opened the stride as we then got off the road and into single track trail. It was in this part of the race (1.5) miles that Craig Fram stepped aside to let me by as he was very cautious with the tricky footing, descending beside the 1st mile along Mountain Road. I ran past Kristen who was taking photos shortly before mile 2. I could see Andy way ahead. Meanwhile, I think Tim Van Orden was a few seconds behind me.

Then the grind began up Old Indian Head Trail. This was a steep half mile section that was pretty tough. Tim passed me about half way up. He looked pretty strong and I felt that I could hang on with him through the top . Seconds later, Middlesex Fells training partner, Todd Callaghan, passed by chasing Tim before we got to the top of the trail. I was suffering a bit but was counting on the down hill that awaited a bit after 3 miles.

I looked at my watch at the top of Indian Head and saw 21 minutes or so and wondered how long it would take to see the finish line. Tim and Todd had a 8-10 second lead at the water stop somewhere beyond 3 miles. I opened my stride and tried to reel them in. I made slow progress of that as we were all flying at the same pace. This was a controlled down hill section and thought that it was far from the reckless free-fall that I encounter at Northfield Mountain. I was closing the gap a bit as we ran past the Indian Head Trail that we ran up earlier. I caught Tim on the last uphill climb for the day and a few seconds later got around Todd.

Meanwhile, I looked left and down toward the ski lodge where the finish line awaited. I was not too sure how much longer it would take before we would arrive and what the course was like approaching the finish line area. I did not research the last mile so it was a big unknown. Todd checked out the course on Thursday so he had an advantage. My college coach at Salem State, Tom Derderian, always reinforced to me that you must know the course before the finish line. At any rate, I was in the midst of a battle.

We turned left off the fire road and down toward the duck pond beside the ski lodge. I took the inside turn and surged down the hill. I still had no idea how much race was left and how to get there besides the course flagging. I was trying the shake Tim and Todd. I remember taking the inside lane around the duck pond, even dropping my left arm, pointing to claim the lane as we approached a boulder about 20 yards from an upcoming narrow footbridge. Tim and Todd were hot on my tail as I navigated, carefully around a tree and onto the asphalt, taking a sharp left turn toward the finish chute 10 feet away. It was like the last 100m of a mile race on the track with three hungry wolves fighting for the kill. I crossed the line just ahead of Tim and Todd. I turned to see Tim in the chute right behind me and then Todd followed. I was exhausted.

Todd quickly pointed to his leg and mentioned a wipe out. I did not recall seeing him go down in the last two miles of the course and asked him where he dumped. He took a fall in the heat of the battle with Tim and I on the tough corner just before the parking lot. Kristen happened to get it on video and did not even know he went down because she lost us behind the tree and she stopped recording as we bolted into the finish line. You'll notice how Todd was making ground before we approached the bridge and then the three of us approach the tree and two make it out.

We ran a nice relaxing cool down over the last few miles of the course and certainly shared some good laughs over the battle for the finish. I hope to have many more with these guys in the future.

Wachusett Mountain (5.2? miles) road race

May 23, 2009

1. Ryan Carrera 30:44

2. Kevin Tilton 30:48

3. Andy McCarron 31:46

4. Jim Pawlicki 32:44

5. Tim Van Orden 32:45

6. Todd Callaghan 32:48

7. Tim Mahoney 33:26

8. Allen Spencer(?) 33:31

9. Dave Dunham 33:35

Course profile

Cooling down while Todd points to the scene on the corner before the finish line straight. Dave Dunham, myself, Todd Callaghan, Francis Burdett, and Tim Mahoney. Photos by Kristen Kozlosky.

Bedford Memorial 12K

2009-05-20T20:58:00.010-04:00

It has been a few days since the race. I was not too sure what to expect as I have had very few races and no speed work other than a hard effort at the Danvers 5K races here and there. I rolled through the 1st mile around 5:14 and two miles in 10:37. From there I had some consistent, albeit slower, mile splits averaging 5:33 until 6-7 where I ran the slowest (5:41) for the day. I had a nice battle with former teammate at GBTC several years ago, Ethan Crain (former All American at MIT). However, I was wiped out by the time I reached the last uphill leading to the track and he rolled on. I told him to use his mile speed from his MIT days. He did. But so did Scott Anderson and Ted Breen. You can see their arms in the photo (taken by Kristen Wainwright) above, bookending me. It was on this track where the race finished, that I got called out and the weakness was apparent that I lacked speed sessions. I wound up in 36th place with a 40:13 (5:32 pace/mile).

On that note, I was thankful for the downhills where I could stretch my stride and recover from the hills. Overall, this is a fair course and look forward to getting back here next year if it is in for the Grand Prix. Next up for me is the Mt. Wachusett race and then the Rhody 5K which is race number four in the USATF-NE Grand Prix Road Race series.

Wellness Fair 5K at Salem State College

2009-05-04T20:52:00.024-04:00

I got a chance to lace up the racing flats in a rare 5K road race yesterday at Salem State College. I was looking for a race before the upcoming Bedford Memorial 12K road race and this was also an an opportunity to do a Salem State College Alumni event. Several former SSC alumni have won this race which was being held for the 13th year. Dan Smith who ran sub 15's in college and Fabian Meija, sub 4:15 miler come to mind. The new course for at least the last five years is a certified 5K. It was previously 3 miles long. I checked out the winners plaque before the race that has the male and female winner of each year before the race. I know most of the previous men's winners and noted that none were there to race this one. Fabian was in attendance, however, recovering from surgery a few months ago.

I got a short warm up through Forrest River Park with Scott Carrier from Beverly and Dennis Floyd. Dennis who is the Salem State College Track & Field coach was running his 2nd race in consecutive weeks, looking to run 6 minute pace. He and I have been teammates in college and two running clubs. His last competitive race was a 16:22 for CMS in the USATF-NE Indoor Championships in 2008. It is awesome to see him healthy as he has been battling Achilles issues over the past few years.

I jumped out into 2nd place about 200m into the race. David Long, Beverly resident, was in front and I caught him before 800m on Canal Street. I went through a 5:00 1st mile which was way off and inched away from David. I'd say it was a 5:25 mile. I just kept rolling along and having fun with the Salem Police Car holding up traffic as I cruised by Kristen and Jeff Rockwood, assistant Salem State Track Coach after mile 2. A few more turns and I bolted in for the finish, staring the clock down from when I began to make out the time around 16:20. It was a long straight away to the finish line and just got under 17 minutes with a 16:55. David Long finished in 2nd at 17:50 and Dennis ran 18:06 for 3rd far exceeding what he wanted to run for the day.

13th Annual North Shore Wellness 5K
Salem, MA, May 3, 2009
1 James Pawlicki 16:55 5:27 SSC Alumni
2 David Long 17:50 5:45
3 Dennis Floyd 18:06 5:50 SSC Alumni

All in all, it was a good day. We got a nice photo of some alumni athletes from the old days after the race. Note the hardware that Marissa and I got.

From left to right: Marissa Petrillo, Jim Pawlicki, Dennis Floyd, Shawn McCannon, Jeff Rockwood, Fabian Meija, Brian Beaulieu, Deb Bealieu. Gunnar and Annie Bealieau seated in the stroller will be running in no time. Photo credit to Kristen Kozlosky.