Stride Along the Tide 5K - Nahant

Many things to love about this YMCA race. 

• Free Entry thanks to East Boston Savings Bank who sponsored the race
  
• Nahant offers the best scenery and least vehicle traffic
• Early Saturday start at 8:30, enjoy the rest of the day and weekend
• Event was 15 minutes from home

Dave Dunham and I ran the course as a warm-up. He had a map to guide us and I had a very rough idea of the course but not the terrain on Wharf Road. Key take-aways: know where the hills are and recognize the fast to flat finish. I told Dave that I was going to dog the race a bit; save some muscle for a 15K 25.5 hours later with in a USATF New England Grand Prix Road Race. 

Not going to lie, it was ok to chill in the opening miles with a 7:21 and 7:20. I pushed down to a 7:09 for the final mile to make room for a "do not make me sprint" to the finish. My watch captured 3.07 miles, 7:16 pace and a time of 22:18. Officially: 22:16 for 13th place, that is 7:11 mile pace based on a 5K. Good enough for 1st in the 40-49 age group.

Dave picked up 2nd place and a wicked decent time even with the hills around 17:41. We got 3 miles in after the race heading toward Lynn. We the ran into Nakri who we convinced to run back with us. He agreed but turned down a rare cotton baby blue race t-shirt. 

Stride Along the Tide 5K results, Nahant, MA 2021

13th overall

Photo by Kristen Pawlicki

S.E.A. 5K

Last race of CARS, #8 in Concord, NH. This course was flat and fast running the perimeter and a few loops around some state buildings and various parking lots. Basically zero traffic and a few cones. The course had plenty of volunteers at key turns. After the course warmup with my Duct Tape and Spit teammates of Dave Dunham and Doug Deangelis, I stood in the narrow start about 6 rows back in the sub 7 minute mile group, maybe 25 runners.

Mile 1 was quick with a 6:26. I managed to cheer the guys up front on when they exited a parking lot and I entered. Dave and Doug were about 8 seconds apart. I got through mile 2 with a 6:40 and was getting gapplebees from the 2 guys ahead of me. Last mile, 6:54. Overall, watch time was 20:50 for 3.13 miles or 6:39 pace. 

Pictures above are led with a rare sight: Dave on a Pay Phone complete with a phone book, calling back to fast times from the 1980's. 2nd photo is my prize, Maple Syrup which looks bigger than it was, 3rd photo in an old CMS non-official singlet with syrup, 4th is team Duct Tape and Spit: Doug, Dave and I. Photos by Kristen Pawlicki who attended at least half of these races. Bless her patience.

James Pawlicki FINISH TIME: 20:47 OVERALL PLACE: 16 DIVISION 

PLACE: M4549 :  2 TOTAL IN DIVISION

S.E.A. 5K results

I ran a 3 mile cool down. Then the next 30 minutes were handed over to the race awards and the CARS awards. I picked up a small bottle of maple syrup for the age group placing. As for the series, I placed first in the 40-49 age group for the best of 4 races. The team placed 2nd in the series. Dave was generous to toss me a few pesos of the team prize money. We had a fun group all year with injuries, smiles, hills, trails, roads and miles all within 10 miles of Concord, NH since May. 

GBTC XC Invite 5K

Finally got a CMS team race under the belt nine months into the calendar year with some cross country racing at the Great Brook State Park trails in Carlisle, MA. The course is a fair mix of grass, single track, corn field scenery along with back woods hills to break any momentum. This was race numero uno in the USATF XC Grand Prix.

The masters race was small (32 runners) but competitive. It was nice to see the fellow teams like HFC, Greater Lowell Road Runners and GBTC. I have not seen the new course which changed a few years ago. I ran the course during the warm up with the CMS guys. It was awesome to see guys I have not seen since last year: Tim Van Orden, Steve Brightman and Arthur Besse. 

I put on my New Balance waffle racers and got on a wide start line with the team. I was giddy to be back racing with other master runners (age 40 and older). Loop 1 paraded around the corn field and out into a bigger loop for the 2nd loop. I got through the mile behind Chris Kelly and Jimmy Fallon from HFC around 6:30 in. Former Salem State Viking and teammate, Brian Beaulieu running with GBTC was right behind me. So good, again, to be rubbing elbows. Photo of Brian and heading to loop two. Photo by our then SSC coach, Tom Derderian - now coach of GBTC.

The last loop, the largest of three on the day, was the toughest with rolling hills that were short and steep (for my legs). Those slowed me down a lot. I managed to rally over the last 500m around the corn field to just outstretch the guys mentioned above into the finish line. I placed 20th overall with a time of 20:14. 7th CMS runner. Had a blast. It meant a lot to be back for a cross country race with some peers. It is my favorite season and racing discipline. I hope to run a few more races in the XC Grand Prix.

Results

I ran a nice slow cool down with the CMS gang: Steve Brightman, Dan Verrington, TiVo, new to CMS but not the group - Doug Deangelis and Dave Dunham - both mates I have been racing with in the CARS (Concord Area Race Series) this Spring and Summer. I have my last series race this Saturday in Concord NH, SEA 5K, which is supposed to be a fast one. Can I break 20:30? 

Dave Dunham's locker room, er, Honda Civic with over 250K miles.

Hollis Fast 5K

The Hollis Fast 5K is a point to point race that drops down to the finish gradually. Dave Dunham picked me up and we car pooled into the school near the start. Plenty of time for the 3 mile warm-up and photo opportunity with CEO of NH Delta Dental and competitor, Tom Raffio who has donated a lot to the sport and races. 

Got on the starting line. Someone asked me what I was looking to run. 20 minutes I said with a straight face. That was the 2021 goal. I jumped out actually holding back on the quick drop in the first 100 yards. The early morning sun on this fine Labor Day broke onto the street off and on. Mile 1 passed by in 6:19. The folks around me pressed forward and soon felt I had to ease up. I found mile 2 with a 6:31. Bill Newsham pulled up as I got that 3rd mile in 6:54 and ready to wrap it up. Finished with a chip time of 20:36.7. Short of the goal but had fun trying.

Dave waited for me as I downed 3 cups of water. We headed back to the start line which was now a 3 mile climb. Overall, a good day, over 9 miles combined with the warmup, race and cool down.

NHTI Delta Dental 5K

The second to last C.A.R.S. race was back in Concord, at NHTI for a fast 5K. I was worried about the traffic on 93 North on a Friday evening so Krissy took the wheel and got us up there very early around 3:45 for the 6pm start. Perry Seagroves, head xc coach at NHTI, let me hunker down in the athletic building to wrap up some work stuff. Once wrapped up, I found Dave Dunham wandering the halls scaring coeds. I convinced him to find a shirt and do a course warm up with Darin Brown. It was going to be a fast course over two flat loops. 

Mother nature added a challenge of the heat and humidity. There were three heats going off at 6pm and I got into the back of heat one running with John Tuttle in the first mile. We traded back and forth before I tailed off about 1.5 miles in. We talked before the race and both agreed to help each other. I faded a bit more in the last mile only finding energy to convince Heather Searles (21:02) to jump back into the race and help me out. John finished with a 20:51 to my 21:11. I placed 24th overall and first in the 40-49 age group. I was still sweating while getting back into my street clothes heading off for another hour or two of work. 

Splits: 6:31, 6:50, 6:54 (6:13) with an average heart rate of 176bpm