Carver Cranberry 5 mile

400m to go in Carver

Krissy and I connected with Joe Shairs and Greg Putnam in Stoneham for the ride down to Carver. Hilarious conversation took place over Zoos and questionable AM radio audio. We got to the land of Cranberry bogs early, just a few cars away from Dave Dunham. The bib number pick up was too easy (need to give positive feedback to the race director). Tents were set up outside the school and sorted by team name. This was a huge improvement over last year. I met up with the CMS women’s team and saw their new Saucony threads. I also got a chance to introduce new CMS President, Stephen Laska to some of the masters team. I warmed up with the CMS crew of Dave Dunham, Martin Tighe, Joe Shairs, Greg Putnam, and the real Dan Vassallo. We collected Jason Porter and Adam Malek on the way back to the school. The temperature was warm in the sun, bearable in the shade. It was humid. I got in about four rows back at the starting line and took off with the race. The pace was quick but was a matter of just keeping up with traffic. Mile one passed by in 5:19 for which I had to repeat the split for Stephanie Rielly who was on my left. I ran a bit with Alex Gomes through mile 2 as I put a step on Stephanie. He was breathing hard and quick. My forward progress of passing runners began to slow down as did my pace. I ran through each hose on the side of the road. It felt good each time to dash under them to beat the heat and humidity for a few seconds. A big thanks to the Carver residents and the trees along the course that provided some honest shade. Stephanie Rielly passed by after three miles before I came upon a walking Adam Malek. I yelled for him to get back in and hustling (he went through three miles in 14:56). He did. I told him to just look ahead and finish up the race. He was the 2^nd scoring member for CMS last year. I kept plugging away and came upon Jason Porter. I passed through 4 miles and noted the mile split of 5:35. I was ready for the finish line and happy to reach crest the last of the few hills on the course into the shaded straight away finish. I got under 28 minutes, barely, with a 27:58 (5:36 / mile). Not too shabby. I wanted to run closer to 27:30 but that is where my fitness is. The CMS open team finished 6^th overall while the masters finished 4^th overall. It was the usual super competitive USATF New England.

Photos by KrissyK

Photos by Scott Mason

Photos by Ted Tyler

Carver Cranberry 5 mile Race Results via Coolrunning

Kudos to Racewire for up to the date notifications of registration, result, and finish line photo. 

Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5K

Just not enough sack at the end of this barn-burner. 17:06, 8th overall with the bib mat to mat tracking. My wheels came off in the last mile and lost two placings in the last 100 yards. 90 degree hot? Yeah but we all know the potential for a July event. We had a slight head wind until the the turn around cone 1.55 miles on Day Blvd. I wish I had that on the way back to the finish for a cooling effect. Two splits: 5:11, 10:57 show a serious positive split mess. I ran a cool down with Joe Lauer (17:05, just joined SRR) and Kieran Condon (18 flat, SRR) and came back to the longest lines ever for the burger that I should have gotten before cooling down. Argh! Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5K results

Greenbelt’s Run for the Hills 10K

Muddy and beaten to the finish
Photos by KrissyK

Progress. I managed to keep my shoes on this year. I lost a shoe in the mud last year, finished 5^th with a time of 40:09. I managed 38:14 (6:10) on Saturday, good for 2^nd place and stayed in front of Dave Long which has been a challenge (he dusted me at Kupenda and the Firecracker Four). This was race number three of the North Shore Trail Series. I trailed a group that included Matt Curran, Chris Smith, and David Long early in the 1^st of two loops that start and finish on the Pingree school athletic fields. I passed Matt half way through and got past Chris and David 200 yards before entering the 2^nd loop. They were hammering the down hills pretty hard. Me, not so much, kept it under control and would catch up any lost ground on the flat sections. The mud was manageable, however, nearly stopped me in my stride once. The deer flies were not bad at all – rare for this time of the year. I caught second place, John Dudley, shortly after the 2^nd loop began. We chatted briefly and made him aware of the potential stalking behind me. I kept the pace and put a few seconds on the gap to the finish line. I never saw the winner, Zack Schwartz, after 2 miles. He killed it despite losing a shoe at some point. It looks like will be joining the ranks of SRR after I talked to him during the cool down. Photos by KrissyK.

I am going to run some mile repeats tonight with the SRR crew, run easy tomorrow, and give the Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5K a test this week.

Greenbelt's Run For The Hills 5K/10K

Hamilton, MA, July 13, 2013

Place No.  Name                Time    Pace  Div/Tot  Div   City            St

===== ==== =================== ======= ===== ========

1  227 Zack Schwartz      37:13  6:00   1/11   M2029 Medford     MA

2  186 James Pawlicki     38:14  6:10   1/19   M3039 Lynn            MA

3  249 John Dudley          38:42  6:14   2/19   M3039 JamaicaPlain MA

4  163 David Long            38:57  6:17   3/19   M3039 Beverly         MA

Finish line came almost two minutes quicker this year

Firecracker 4 mile Swampscott

I printed two applications the night before the 4th: John Carson 2 mile in Chelmsford and Firecracker 4 in Swampscott. The later won the coin flip based on a short commute of three miles. My dad came over as it has been tradition for him to walk while I run. He was not too bummed out about not going to Chelmsford. It was warm out, but not out of reach for July. My back has been feeling better. Thus, feeling better about racing. A race broke out with Alex Gomes and Jordan Kinley side by side after the siren. Not messing with that. I took a back seat to Dave Long from Beverly. His gap on me in terms of seconds doubled as each mile went by. 11 second gap on me to the end and I really had no balls to surge anywhere. The hill up Rt 1A was rude, period. I gathered the top three for a cool down on the roads. Jordan is looking to kick ass at the Beverly Homecoming. I will see Dave Long next weekend at Pingree on the trails and Alex is putting some training in to kill it at Carver. Firecracker results.

Place No. Name Div/Tot Div Ag S City St Nettime Pace Guntime Pace
===== ==== =================== ======== ===== == = =======
1 3209 Jordan Kinley 1/33 M2029 29 M Salem MA 20:56 5:14 20:58 5:15
2 3273 Alex Gomes 2/33 M2029 24 M Peabody MA 21:31 5:23 21:33 5:24
3 3265 David Long 1/55 M3039 39 M Beverly MA 22:08 5:32 22:10 5:33
4 3215 James Pawlicki 2/55 M3039 38 M Lynn MA 22:19 5:35 22:21 5:36