Black Cat 20 mile

The Black Cat 20 mile road race was a change of pace and temperature. In came the cold and wind on Saturday. Single digits with the wind chill? Nick Taormina and I talked about the approach and expectations. He was going to take 6:30 pace out for the first 10 mile and pick it up. I was looking for anything south of seven minute pace and some confidence. We had a few 20 mile runs so far in the past month at 7:24 and 7:21 pace. I would not say those gave me any confidence other than I can cover 20 miles.

As last year, I broke it down into quarters. The first quarter was feeling out the legs without concern for pace as I ran to Devereaux Beach in Marblehead and turned around to hit a head wind. Splits were 6:42, 6:40, 6:47, 6:34, 6:44. I got on the heels of a decent pack of six that included Brian Tinger and Mike Paulin into the wind. This contingent had a mission but it did not include Tinger and I as the pace quickened down Derby Street in Salem. I took my first gel from my pocket and got a bottle of water from the water stop after 8 miles. I would carry that bottle through 11 miles.

It looks like I ran 1:07:34 as I passed the half way point and headed out for the second 10 mile loop. The second quarter of the race had mile splits of 6:38, 6:43, 6:38, 6:57, 6:52. Brian Tinger and I were still keeping company. I took my two Hammer Endurolytes capsules before 11 miles with the water bottle I kept from 8 miles. A few minutes later, I tossed the water to the opposite side of the road next to Salem State. The bottle cap popped off on impact but the bottle settled nicely on the sidewalk in case I needed it on the way back before mile 16.

Back into Marblehead, I got a chance to see the front of the race coming at us on the approach of Devereaux Beach. Nick was running very well in 4^th place. Tinger and I took turns fighting the wind going back into Salem as we passed mile 15. The splits for the third quarter of the race were 7:05, 6:52, 6:54, 6:45, 7:06. Mile 16 took us past Salem State.  I did not want to reach for the water on the sidewalk for fear of cramping up. It was a mile later on Lafeyette Street last year where I started to have leg cramps. 

So far all was good for me with Tinger and another runner headed toward the Salem Willows on Derby Street. I could sense that they wanted to pick it up and they did at 18 miles. Then we turned toward Dead Horse Beach. I faced a few gusts of wind that pushed me back. No wonder why the volunteers at the water stop were hunkering down in the SUV. I do not blame them. It was a tough day.

The last two miles had me slowing down and losing pace to Tinger and the other runner. Then the inevitable, calf cramps just before 19 miles. First the left and then the right triggered. I crossed the finish line in 16^th place with a time of 2:17:28 (about five full minutes slower than last year, 6:39 pace vs 6:52 pace this year). 

The last five mile splits were 7:01, 7:10, 6:53, 7:12, 7:13. I grabbed the medal and ran back to see if I could find Nick who was yelling for me 400m before the finish. I could not find him so I jogged slowly back to the car and got out of dodge. The run did not fill me with much confidence with the calves blowing up. It was reminiscent of how my last three marathons have gone; calf cramps coming at some point, then shuffle to the finish. Thankfully, today was not a day that required another 10K after 20 miles. Looking forward to Boston…….

Black Cat 20 miler

I had an opportunity to run the Black Cat 20 mile race in Salem so I signed up during the week. I needed a long run (at least 2 hours) with the impending Patriots Day circus. The justification concept was to run the race between 6:35 and 6:55 per mile pace overall. I also planned on trying Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes for electrolyte replenishment. I have severe muscle cramps targeting me in long races like the marathon (Boston, Manchester City, & Vermont City). The Hammer product is similar to the Salt Stick product that I have tried in the last two marathons but still cramped after 15 and 18 miles respectively.  I took two caps 90 minutes before the race. For breakfast, I had oatmeal with Peanut Butter Granola, a cup of coffee and 30 oz of water. I drained a RedBull ten minutes before the start of the race. I got to the starting line with two minutes to spare after a 2 mile warm up with Dan Chruniak and Bradley Gates.

The weather was perfect;  sunny and temperature in the high 40’s with a warm up into the 50’s by late morning. I wore the Level Renner singlet as there was no critical mass from SRR or CMS for team competition (3 coed score).

The course is a 10 mile loop from the Hawthorn Hotel down Lafayette Street, past Salem State (Rt 114) into Marblehead for a turnaround at Devereaux Beach. The course runs back to Salem via 114 and a 2.75 mile loop to the Salem Willows and back to the Hotel. The 10 mile folks stop right there and the 20 mile folks go out for another loop. The B&S Fitness site, host event management, bills the race as flat and fast. I knew better but the ones to whine about is the one at the Salem and Marblehead line (heading into Marblehead) and the hill rising to Salem State University heading into Salem.

To recap, I will break the race into 5 mile segments. The first five contained quickest mile (6:24 for mile 2) feeling out my legs and determining who was in the race, who was doing 10 vs 20, and who is a master. I backed off the pace after two opening sub 6:30’s and ran solo for the most part. It was hard to watch the front runners move away but I had to stick to my plan which was really not to run too fast and be a mess beyond my fitness.

The 2^nd five miles was more solo isolation with a few guys going by me. I took a PowerGel and two Endurolyte Caps before mile 8 near the entrance of Winter Island. I had trouble getting the caps out of my sandwich bag so I stopped at the water stop to finger them out and drink water. I added at least 15 seconds there creating  my slowest mile of the day (7:04). Dan Chruniak went by after 8 miles, asked how I was feeling, and proceeded to pick up the pace. He looked way too comfortable. I went through 10 miles right around 1:06.

The 3^rd quarter of the race felt lonely and the legs were tired. I backed off the pace a bit, now running some 6:40’s. A BAA runner passed me before reaching Marblehead. Letting him go by and not racing him frustrated me but I stuck to my plan, having no choice. The leaders did their turn around and were coming at me, giving me a chance to count places and monitor who was behind me once I did the turnaround.  The Wicked tandem of Michael Paulin and Bradley Gates were about 20 seconds behind me. I yelled over “uh oh” joking but aware they were likely going to catch me. I was tired but looking forward to the last quarter of the race. 

Now heading back into Salem for the last five miles, I took my last PowerGel and last two Endurolytes caps. Michael caught me on the hill up to Salem State. I hung with him down Lafayette street to bounce back with a low 6:30 mile and feel my first muscle cramp – my right calf. I had four miles to go and was really concerned how many more times that was going to trigger. I told Michael about it and he told me what I knew – back off. I did and in turn, Bradley Gates caught up. He shared that he was hurting, as did I. Like two wounded birds, we stumbled along, supporting each other with company and a few words all the way to the finish. It was nice to see Krissy at Pickering Wharf and at the finish. My time was 2:12:44. I was not sure of the place, but Michael was a good minute and a half in front of me and Bradley was about five seconds behind me. I had to leave the race in a hurry.

To the finish line

The race is put on and managed by B&S Fitness. They hired Racewire for the timing. I checked the results yesterday and today and found several runners missing in the 20 mile results, including myself. Dan Chruniak, Jason Bui, Brandon Ring, and Bradley Gates are missing. I sent Racewire a message yesterday evening.  They have not returned a response, per their 24 hour policy. Too bad, but we’ll assume they have been working around the clock to fix the results. Meanwhile, B&S Fitness responded to my email inquiry about the issue today. They felt bad but deferred to Racewire to clean up the results. Let's hope they resolve the issue.

A few photos by KrissyK

Fist bumps
Myself, Michael Paulin, and Bradley Gates

Myself, Michael Paulin, and Bradley Gates