Competitive struggles

Dave Dunham reminded me that I am approaching my 20th anniversary with the Central Mass Striders Men's Racing Team. That made me look up the CMS Bio from 2008 on the racing team blog written when just 34 years old. I don't climb into the archives too much but if I don't document it or look it up once in a while, let's face it, I will forget the years, times, and sweat equity spent. It is sad that runners almost lost their results from the late 90's to about 2019 on Coolrunning. (go check out the link on my blog to find them on the web-archive)

Racing with the team brought me so many memories. I represented CMS around the region and country on the roads, trails, mountains, track and cross country. My first national team race was in Squaw Valley California for the 2004 Snowshoe Championships. I am proud to share the singlet, start and finish lines with some awesome athletes and friends. I had the pleasure of managing the men's racing team for almost half of those decades. I witnessed open runners move to masters and then into seniors. I will be a senior late next year. 

The last few years have been tough competitively with a decline in keeping up with the miles, workouts and races. You get exactly what you put into it. Injuries can set one back and the road to recovery can be slow and arduous. I have seen many come and go from the sport - seen a few transition to other sports with no impact such as cycling. I will continue to pound the pavement, enough to satisfy mileage commitments to which ever wear test brand is on my feet. 

Looking forward into 2024, I am holding myself accountable to set some goals and step out of the comfort zone. I will try some workout sessions with Notch Run Club in Salem. I hope it pays off and can improve the 5K times and see if I can sustain some miles for a road half marathon!

Fred Warren 5.5 mile road race

Krissy and I headed out to Holden and the home of Stephen Laska who was hosting a post-race BBQ. He lives .3 miles away from the Fred Warren road race which is listed as 5.5 miles. 54 years have gone by with the race on the calendar. I have seen it on the Central Mass Striders list of races for years as they host, run, and time it. Both Stephen Laska and Kim Gordon have done a solid job on the social media to promote the race. When I asked Krissy if she would consider the race, given that it is on a Sunday evening, she was game.

We parked at Stephen’s house and walked down to the race. CMS just started to set up the registration tent. I helped (or got in the way) Jorge Landeo set up the club banner on the tent. The race is an ol’ fashion throwback to offer a scant $15 for a challenging course, a t-shirt, official results (still waiting for them to be posted), et cetera. I did not do any research on the course and profile so I got filled in from the CMS locals. In short, hills, plenty of them, period. Enough said. Maybe 75 runners lined up for the 6:30 start.

I went out hard, taking the race out with a generous downhill, in 5:41. No other takers so it was me chasing the patient police car up and down the rolling hills. The foot steps behind me went silent before mile 2. There was a volunteer at each mile marker, calling out the time. There was also a volunteer at each of the (maybe five turns overall on the course). It would be hard to get lost. Mile two slowed down to a 6:09 because of, some hills. 

The rolling hills and evening shade reminded me of the roads in Hamilton and Wenham (Weiner Run) out of Asbury Grove and through Bradley Palmer. Mile 3 rolled off the road and onto a paved trail leading past the Holden Reservoir. As I exited the path, a sharp right hand turn and hill slapped me in the chops. I was warned about this hill so I joked with the volunteer if this is where I start cursing?  

I crawled up the hill and through mile four with a, might as well retire, 6:39 split. The reward was a view of Wachusett Mountain at 4.5 miles. I did not expect that so it was nice. 

After the sight-seeing finished, it was time to roll down the hill. I did so in 5:31. The problem though was two shadows gaining on me. I was not in the mood to mix it up and kick to the line. I was a hurtin’ puppy and the two Wachusett Regional kiddos took no mercy, passing me before the last right hand turn as the course leveled out for a fast finish. I threw in a surge to pull even with them and make it a race. One of them broke down but the other (Isaac) was up for the battle to the line. I showed my cards and put them on the table. I had a losing hand and threw in. 

The Wachusett lads crossed the line holding hands. Four seconds later, I crossed the line for 3rd. Hey, 1^st master right? It was all good. I congratulated the kids. Isaac turned out to be Tom Steele’s son. Tom and I warmed up before the race and I talked him into racing for CMS earlier this year. We went off for a cool down and he got me up to speed on his son’s talents – a 10:02 2 miler this past winter for Wachusett Regional. Good stuff. Let’s hope we see these lads in CMS uniforms in the future!

After the cooldown, I found Krissy who ran awesome, nearly breaking 10 minute pace over the hills. We spent the next few hours at the post race party BBQ at Stephen’s house. I caught up with come CMS folks while having plenty to eat and drink before the long ride home. I am glad I went and hope to take on the race again. Oh, and for the record, the GPS measured out 5.28 miles.