Kupenda 5 mile trail race - Wenham

I hit up the Kupenda 5 mile trail at Gordon College in Wenham on Saturday. It was race number two of the North Shore Trail Series. I jumped into the lead in the first mile shortly after we hit dirt. Dmitry Drozdov, Jonathan May, and Sean McDonough were in the mix. The lead felt comfortable through mile 1 and 2. My legs were light, quick, and hitting the terrain and hills with authority. Dmitry went by and I trailed him onto the quad (half way mark). It was just a matter of time before he took command. I stayed on his heels until my wheels fell off in the second trail loop around 3.5 miles. He floated to the finish for the win (28:06) and I held 2^nd place (28:31). Jonathan followed with 28:57. Full results. I picked up a gift certificate for New England Running Company. Rumor has it that they have Inov8 on the shelf now and I could use some new treads. Roger Perham took over 300 photos. 

After a nice workout last night with SRR, the plan is to rest up and hit the track for a mile leg in the 26 X 1 mile relay at Tufts on Saturday. I am not looking to repeat any episodes of hamstring issues. 

Newton 10K

Today was nice to venture over to a new race that I have never done before. The Newton 10K played host to the USATF New England Championship of which was race number four of seven. I warmed up with the CMS masters team over the first and last miles. They drove the course earlier so I got clued in on what to expect - rolling hills, generous descent in the later miles, and more shade than sun exposure. I set up shop four rows from the starting line behind the ladies. The weather was warm and recalled a very light wind on the warm up. The starting line announcer puzzled the actual take off as some runners stumbled out while others bolted off the line with confidence. Either way, I followed the ladies off the line and had a clear line up the left hand side of the road until the race exited the park and onto the residential roads. I used the opening miles to reel in some women and the CMS teammates. I encouraged each while I went by (Dave Quintal, Martin Tighe, and Sam Wood). Then I set my sights on the women's leader, Brett Ely from the BAA. I passed her after 3 miles. From that point on, I put effort into opening the stride down each hill. Each time I was really feeling like crap, I would hit another downhill and fly down. Sean McDonough (SRR) and I worked together into 5 miles, 28:36, about ten seconds quicker than my 5 mile split at the Bedford 12K three weeks ago. I took a cup of water there and dumped it over my head. The last mile was a matter of survival. I wanted to make sure to hold my distance from the top woman (which I did). I was trying to chase down two guys in front of me with 400m to go but they held the same pace I had right to the finish line. I was exhausted, knew that I gave everything I had today for the 35:22.3 chip time (5:42 mile pace) and 57th place on page two of the results.

My splits while missing mile 6:

5:37
5:47 11:24.94
5:48 17:12.99
5:47 23:00.46
5:36 28:36.83
6:48 35:25.57
Official Chip Time: 35:22.3

Closing in past mile 6 at the Newton 10K. Photo by KrissyK

Newton 10K results - June 10, 2012

Kristen took some great photos. I wish I had more room to display them here. The photos show how the last 400m were to shake out for some. It proved that there was some jockeying all the way to the finish line. I ran a short cool down with the CMS teammates and caught up with their races. That followed with some vendor offerings at the post race swag like Coconut Water to refresh before the ride home. 

Kennebunk Beach Classic 5K

Joe Shairs and I invaded the Villange of Kennebunk, ME for an advertised "blazing fast 5K course" on the ocean." It was pretty wet (pelting drizzle) and windy which consumed our 80 minute drive north. There must have been over two dozen appreciative surfers catching 20 footers. There were plenty of fast guys on the starting line due to cash prizes for the top three. My money was on Robet Gomez for the win (which he nailed). A crowd of eight hammered the slightly downhill opening 400m. I trailed Joe by six strides through the first mile in 5:19. I was breathing pretty hard and must have sounded like a chump who went out too fast but this is a race. The race had a generous tail wind once we hit the beach (1.2 miles?). I got passed by one runner (Aaron Chelate) along this area who ended up passing Joe in the last .10 of the race. I missed the 2nd mile split but found myself in a battle with Jenna Boren - who caught me around 1.75 miles. Jenna is a 2008 / 2012 US Olympic Marathon trials qualifier from MN.

This next mile was the toughest with gently rolling hills. I was determined to not let Jenna get away so I kept on her heels coupled with some back and forth over the next few minutes. I got ahead of her on a up and down and kept that distance over the last 800m into the finish for 9th place and a time of 17:11 (a few seconds quicker than my 5K last week). The goal of sub-17 eluded me again. Joe finished in 8th place with a time of 16:57, 1st master (40+). A quick peek at the "rare" age graded results showed that Joe Shairs nailed 1st place (excluding the top three overall males). His age graded effort is the equivalent of a 15:32. Take that Kennebunk!

Kennebunk Classic 5K race results June 3, 2012

It was great to see Cathy Dunham and family (Dave Dunham was taking on Pack Monadnock) before the start. Joe and I cooled down on the course and replayed our battles. We made our way down the road for French Toast (can't say I would recommend it) at All Day Breakfast on Rt 9. At least the coffee was decent. Overall, it was a good morning despite the weather and tight race headquarters at the Senior Center which were not inviting for indoor housing for pre or post race.