Wild Turkey 5 mile road race

Thanksgiving Day brought on an opportunity to jump into the Wild Turkey 5 mile road race in Salem. I warmed up with Joe Shairs, showing him the first mile and the last mile of the race course. I warmed up another mile or so around the Salem Common with Nakri Dao. The race went out pretty fast putting me in the top 20 by the time we reached Derby Street. I made my way past a few guys into the mile (5:41) and holding tangents into Winter Island. 

I got passed by a runner in there as mile two went by. Joe was about 20 seconds ahead. I was flat through the turns behind the Willows. The slowest mile was leaving Salem Willows and through mile 4 with a 6:04 mile. We seemed to have a little head wind. The kid everyone was yelling for, “Billy” passed me before the last turn to the finish. I finished up behind him, good for 10^th overall. My time was 29:26 and first in my age group. Mile splits were as follows: 5:41, 5:50, 5:54, 6:04, 5:52 for the 5 miles. I rounded up Joe (6th - 28:32), Nakri (31st - 31:18), and David Corbett (12th - 29:33) and we went out for a cool down which brought me over 10 miles for the day.

Joe Shairs, Nakri Dao, and I

Frost on the Fairways 2.5 mile & Gannon Golf Course 18 Hole Par 70 5K

In the mood to give a “new to me” race a try, I went to Gannon Golf Course next to Lynn Woods for the 18 Hole Par 70 5K. The venue is a stone’s throw from me and I was curious about running through all 18 holes. 

Boston is just at the end of the fairway

Dave Dunham (CMS) and Shawn Conway (GLRR) were in the clubhouse after getting their numbers. We went out for a warm up on the course. We did not run the exact course but we got the picture. Hills are plenty. It was going to be fun – like the Mt. Hood Cross Country race in Melrose every December.

I changed into the racing gear. Joe Abilon came in from outside and gave news that due to frost on the course, the race would be delayed for at least an hour. Dave asked Shawn and I if we would care to race the 2.5 mile Lynn Woods Relay course instead of waiting around for the delay. I was warmed up and ready to rock and roll. Shawn did not hesitate. We got on the start line of the old relay course – start and finish at the gate – the course from about a decade ago. We headed off with the read set go, pressing our GPS watches for the self timing. I took the lead, taking us through the mile. It felt like a weekly summer Wednesday night Lynn Woods race. Dave and Shawn were right behind me through the goat path.

I was gassed a bit at the end of the path but looking forward to the downhill. Dave went by me as we headed down the hill. He looked really smooth. I had to press to keep with him. This was good, I was racing. I was in the moment because the stretch back to the pavement went by so fast. I was so focused on keeping with Dave for as long as possible. I thought I might have a chance to have a push toward the end. I did just that getting to the line .5 seconds ahead of Dave. Shawn rolled in right behind us. I leaned on my knees for a few seconds. The effort hurt but in a good way. Despite the win,  I finished 3^rd in the age graded results. Dave gave Shawn and I ATR fleece blankets. Awesome!

Gannon Club House in the background. Taken a few minutes after our 3 man race.

We ran back up to the club house and ran over to Lynn Woods via the golf course for some more miles on the trails. On our return to the club house, I heard that 5K was going to start in 15 minutes. I decided to hang out and give it a run. I knew it was going to hurt but the plan was to ease into it because I had no choice. A guy jumped out into the lead and I had to let him go. Up and down the race went. Joe was in a golf cart as the lead vehicle for Rich Lally (leading). I picked up the pace a bit in the second mile and worked to reduce the lead I had given which looked like 20 seconds.

In my pursuit, Rich went off course – up and over a hill instead of following Joe who took a left at the marker and down the hill. I paused and looked at Joe who stopped and looked back at us. I yelled for Rich but he did not hear me. I took the left and ran after the golf cart. Rich popped out back onto the course 30 seconds later. I said “no problem, we are 1 and 2.” I kept the lead and opened up a touch in the last mile to average a hard 7:04 pace for the win. Rich finished 25 seconds behind me.

It was a fun and tough course. No 5K records will be set on this one. A nice breakfast buffet awaited the runners and volunteers inside. French toast, sausage, and bacon was my cool down after 12 miles some quicker than others. I had a time hanging out with Stephen Martin (race director of the Lazy Dog 3 mile every January) and Joe Abilon. Joe does a lot for the sport so it was nice to talk some history for a bit.

Frost on the fairways - Lynn Woods 2.5m

Lynn Woods, MA, November 18, 2017

Gannon race delayed so impromptu race on the CLASSIC Lynn Woods 2.5 mile course

  

Place	Time	Name		Age	Team	Age Graded
1	14:52	Jim	Pawlicki	43	CMS	75.68
2	14:53	Dave	Dunham	53	CMS	81.62
3	15:08	Shawn	Conway	47	GLRR	76.89

Gannon Golf Course 18 Hole-Par 70 5K

Lynn-Gannon Golf Course, MA, November 18, 2017

                            18 Hole-Par 70 - 5K

           Lynn,MA  Gannon Golf Course November 18,2017 8:30 am

     Results by AB-MAC Finish Systems 781-593-6562  jsa777@verizon.net

Place Name                No.  S Div Ag City       St Team         Time    Pace 

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

    1 JAMES PAWLICKI        90 M   1 43 LYNN       MA CENTRAL MASS 21:57  7:04

    2 RICH LALLY           106 M   1 34 LYNN       MA              22:22  7:12

    3 PATRICK FAY           29 M   1 58 WINCHESTER MA              26:14  8:27

    4 PAUL QUINN           142 M   2 58 LYNN       MA              26:38  8:35

    5 JAMES LAMOTHE         40 M   3 59 LYNN       MA              27:39  8:54

Gannon Club House

Golfers waiting

Views from the club

More views

Off the dining area

Awards

Hungry?

Post race

USATF New England Cross Country Championships

I got a chance to lace up for the USATF New England Cross Country Championships. The weather was about perfect for a cross country race – a cloudy mid 50’s, dry, and no wind to whine about. I got there early with Joe Shairs. Dave Dunham and Dan Verrington pulled up as I backed into the parking spot. We set up the CMS tent behind the starting. One by one, CMS runners arrived and huddled at the tent. It is nice to have a new club tent to promote the club and allow a centralized area for the team. Thanks to Kim Gordon and the board to make that happen.

I warmed up and got back to the tent about 20 minutes before the 10am start to prepare into my Adidas road flats (no waffle racers or spikes needed) and singlet. I got on the line with six other masters (age 40-49), seven seniors (50-59), and one 60+ runner.  There was no pressure but was a bit concerned how the legs would feel after some time off in September and no races since August.

A few minutes in, I got the taste of racing right back. 

Mile 1 went by in 5:51. I did not want to go out too fast and that was just about right. I slowed down but was passing a few people during mile two (6:13) which includes the up and over Bear Cage hill. Mile 3 was a trip through the Wilderness loop bringing me out to the 5K. Mile 3 was passed in 6:09 (5K around 19:19). I could make out two CMS singlets ahead:  Tim Van Orden and Martin Tighe. The chase was on. 

I gave Tivo some encouragement as I went by. He too was toughing out his first race in a while. Martin was hanging tough too when I snuck by just before 4 miles. In the last mile, I recognized Shawn Conway from GLRR. Good guy who puts the kudos out to the CMS dudes on Strava. I caught up while cresting Bear Cage Hill. We flew down the backside. He put a little gap on me in the roots in front of the team tents holding that second lead on me all the way to the finish line. I finished in 52^nd place, right about in the middle of the race with 106 finishers. My time was 30:27 on the day. 2017Results.  I ran 29:07 last year.

Not only was it good to be racing, I had fun and walked away feeling that competitive juice. I ran a smart race and slowly passed some runners in the field throughout. No one passed me and beat me to the finish after 800m into the race. The masters and senior teams finished in 2^nd place having a pretty good day among the teams. The open team was short for a scoring team. 

Martin and I at mile 4
Photo by Rodney Hemingway