New Bedford Half Marathon

I headed down to New Bedford for the New Bedford Half Marathon with Dennis Floyd, Nick Taormina, and Katie Misuraca. As we discussed expectations for the first Grand Prix Road Race of the year, I could not come to terms that I was banged up and should not get on the starting line. The medial side of my right knee has me heading to physical therapy soon. I had not run all week. I was bummed out. 

Still, I pinned the number on and jogged (my warmup) over to the starting line and hid behind 50 rows of runners waiting for the start. The plan was to feel out each mile as it went along. I could always turn back if the leg was going to be trouble in the opening miles or bail out a little later. I really never got into trouble but keeping 8:00 miles felt OK until the last 5K where I slowed to 8:15’s. The New Bedford wind was not there as in past years. Several CMS guys like Kevin Hankens, Arthur Besse, Bryan Trinque, Nick Taormina all ran PR’s.

Photo by Leslie Whiting Poitras

The official results are yet to come out but looks like as of now, I ran 1:46:28 (net time), 805^th place. I ran a few miles with CMS runner Jay Morrissey in the closing miles which I felt good about as he ran a 3 minute PR. Below are the results from Nick, Katie, Dennis, and I. Nick shows up as Scott Leslie on iresultslive, but we transferred the number at registration so that should be fixed. Lastly, it looks like the CMS open team will get bumped to 5^th, masters placed 1^st, and seniors broke a tie to take 2^nd. We will wait for the official results to get posted to coolrunning.

1765 Nick Taormina  46 37:30 1:20:00 6:07 1:20:08 CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS Gloucester MA

2042 Katie Misuraca 38  40:09 1:25:47 6:33 1:25:53 BAA Gloucester MA

1759 Dennis Floyd   42 M 40:48 1:27:57 6:43 1:28:05 CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS Georgetown MA

1760 James Pawlicki 44 M 49:28 1:46:28 8:08 1:46:51 CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS Lynn MA

Malden 5 mile

Snowblind by Black Sabbath

Krissy and I signed up the Malden 5 mile which also had a Half Marathon a few months ago. I was looking forward to a new event and new city to race in (I never raced in Malden). This race was a first time event and appeared to be organized by the folks who put on the Cambridge Half Marathon in the past. Krissy, Liz, Lisa, Maryann, and I grabbed our race numbers, jackets, and brunch the day before the race. Sunday rolled in fast along with the time change, ahead an hour. We got to the Stop and Shop parking lot in Malden just as the Half Marathon started at 7AM. We parked next to Dave Dunham. We had a front row seat to the race which was about a half mile into the 2.4 mile loop that would be toured multiple times for 13.1 miles. The 5 mile race would be just two loops, starting at 8:30.

We had VIP access to the bathrooms at Stop & Shop so that was useful before heading out on the course for a warmup with Dave while the half marathon was going on. I saw several Wicked, Notch, and SRR runners out there. Dave and I ran the 2.4 mile loop  and a little extra for 3 miles. Once last pit stop at Stop & Shop before getting to the cars to put on a dry shirt and get the race groove on.

Photo courtesy Malden Rotary Road Race

Dave and I headed over to the start line and got right up front like a pro. A classy guy in a C5K winter hat who may have been part of the Malden Rotary walked up to the front row of the race looked me in the eye, welcomed us for the first time race, and calmly said we are shooting right into the half marathon race so be careful. He said it in a way that showed appreciation for us and the event.  

Gun went off and we had a gradual decent into the 2.4 mile loop for a seamless start with a few turns putting us within the half marathoners who were 91 minutes into their race. I was on the back of the lead pack feeling amped up for the opening mile before falling back into my race pace. I figured I was in 10^th place or so. I lost one spot within the first loop and one more about half way. I was not taking inventory of splits but felt that I was keeping a good cadence despite weaving around a few half marathoners along the way and being super cautious on the turns. It started to snow about 3 miles into our race. It was pretty funny. One more guy passed by with 1.5 miles to go. 

I caught the guy who passed me half way through the race with a bit more than a mile to go. I was ready for the battle. We went around a crowd on one of the last left turns. I took the inside and he took the outside. His gamble paid off as I got squeezed out by a few half marathoners to chicken step slush on the street corner. My legs we starting to tie up as I hustled into the finish. I was happy to break 30 minutes (29:52 gun time, 29:50 chip time). Looks like I was 14^th overall and first master. I waited for Dave to come in just over 31 minutes (18th). We both beat our race goals.

Photo courtesy Malden Rotary Road Race

I grabbed a medal, water, and boogied back to the car as fast as I could walk. I bailed on the cool down with Dave to ice my knee which was feeling pretty shitty. I got in the car and started it to warm up and change into warm clothes. I hung out there until the girls came back and we were leaving as the race was breaking down the course under a light flurry.

Malden Half + 5 results

With Dave Dunham post race