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

New Bedford Half Marathon

The New Bedford Half Marathon kicked off the first road race in the USATF New England Grand Prix. CMS teammates Nakri Dao, Joe Shairs, and Dennis Floyd waited what seemed forever to gain entry into the Elm Street Garage. I have never seen such a delay getting in. Maybe it was the automated ticket generation which is supposed to “lean out” the process? Anyhow, I got my race number and shirt with no issues. I have to thank the registration crew and New Bedford race management team that allowed me to transfer two CMS numbers to other CMS runners. Our team had four runners registered weeks ago that were unable to attend. I had two entries go unused.

I warmed up with Dennis and Nakri with a little out and back. The wind was in our face moving away from the start and at our backs heading back. Noted. After a quick change into the racing flats and shedding a layer, I was on the starting line with 8 minutes to spare. I started about 10 rows back.

The race got going and I started my watch as I crossed the start line. It was crowded but thinned out to single file after two miles. I kept an awareness of who I was race around and who was ahead within striking distance. My goal at this race is to get to 3.5 miles without too much effort (no surges that will cost me later). Once at 3.5 miles, I picked up the speed a bit running with both Martin Tighe and Arthur Besse for periods through 7 miles.

Dave Dunham was in the mix and I was excited to be running with him. That was short lived as he and Arthur smartly surged to a group ahead into 8 miles. I held back. Miles 7 though the start of 12 are flat which helps but the ensuing and expected head wind was heavy into mile 10. My pace per mile reflected this as I was dipping into the 6:30’s instead of the low sixes previously. My legs were heavy but charged the hill at mile 12 with steady authority trying to shake two ladies. On the other side of the hill, I lost the battle to one but stayed clear of anyone one else charging from behind.

After 12 miles
Photo by Rodney Hemingway

Another one by Rodney Hemingway

I finished in 199th place with a net time of 1:22:12 (6:17 pace per mile) or 1:22:18 (gun time). I was 28th out of 290 in my 40-49 age group. I had six CMS teammates in front of me, it would have been more if not for injuries to a few of them. The CMS teams did great with the open getting 2nd, masters 3rd , and seniors taking the team win.

2018 New Bedford Half Marathon Results

My 5:55 mile split from 6 to 7 was my quickest of the day. I was with Dave Dunham and Arthur Besse. Mile 10 to 11 my slowest with a 6:36.

New Bedford Half Marathon

I ran another edition of the New Bedford Half Marathon today. The race served as the 2^nd race of the USATF New England Grand Prix Series. I car pooled with Nakri and Greg. My results summary was 176^th place, chip time 1:23:15 (6:22 pace per mile), and gun time of 1:23:24. It might be a personal worst for the half marathon distance when I was considered healthy.  I ran 1:19:21 last year with similar weekly mileage.

The head wind at 9.5 miles was comical. I do not think the tail wind and head wind offset each other today but I have no excuses. Everyone had to deal with it. I expected to see some early mile splits close to six flat but I was giving 6:20’s from the get go. In the hills through 4, I just got through them to get through them. The stretch after four miles, my legs just could not get going but managed my quicker miles from 4 to 8 as expected. My head was down into the wind for miles 10 and 11. I was surprised that I managed to pass a few people from there and in the closing miles. I felt that I finished strong, lost a spot or two in the last 600m but I competed to the line.

Looking at the splits for the day, I noticed that I did not break out of the 6 minute range per mile. The splits ranged from 6:03 (mile 5) to 6:40 (last mile). The CMS teams ran very well placing 4^th, 2^nd, and 1^st in the open, masters, and seniors divisions respectively. I closed out the day with the chowder, fish sandwich, and plenty of Polar Beverages. I caught up with competitors and CMS teammates regarding their races, results, and upcoming plans. 

New Bedford Half Marathon

- Race # 2 for the USATF New England Road Race Grand Prix - 

Gregory Putnam drove Krissy, Joe, and I down to New Bedford for the Half Marathon. It was Greg’s first crack at the distance since 1999 in Melrose at the Law Enforcement Half Marathon. We hit up registration, got our numbers, caught up with CMS teammates and competitors. That was followed by a 22 minute warm up. It was cool and breezy. Ready for the race with the flats and racing gear, I filtered into the start corral further back than usual camping out a good 14 rows back. Gun off, I am off once I can move and crossed the start about 8 seconds later.  My goal was to run under 6:00 pace for a 4^th consecutive year of a 1:17 and change here at New Bedford.

Mile 1 was just under 6:00 but the hills that would follow put me a touch slower than that. I rolled with Arthur Besse after 3 miles. After mile 4 is my wheel-house area but today was not the day for that or any risks. I played nice and even keeled through the 10K (36:38). I could not resist not tossing in a surge so I threw in a few after six miles but it was short lived. Dave Dunham and Mike Paulin pulled up with a healthy pack of wolves and I tagged along after mile 7.

The wind was all over the place while single file was the rule.  I struggled a bit but hung in with Dave getting ahead after taking on a Carb-Boom and two Endurolyte caps in the next few miles. The wind broke a bit for the last 2.5 miles which was helpful. My legs were tired but surprisingly just a few guys went by from there to the finish line. I finished in 135^th place with a gun time of 1:19:21, chip time was 1:19:13 (6:03 pace per mile). I was lucky to be the 4^th scorer on the masters team. The CMS teams did well: open was 2^nd, masters 2^nd, and Seniors were 5^th.

My GPS splits are off as they were beeping after the course mile markers. 

New Bedford Half Marathon

I navigated from the backseat with KrissyK, Joe Shairs at the wheel, and Dan Vassallo riding shotgun. It was a quick ride along the unplanned caravan of vehicles full of race distance stickers to the Elm Street garage for the USATF New England Half Marathon Championship. The New Bedford Half Marathon has been hosting the championship for what seems like more than a decade now. Race director Dan McCarthy and the city want to host each year and it shows. We got our numbers in the YMCA and I greeted any and all runners I knew before heading out for a 2.25 mile warm up with CMS teammate Dave Lapierre. I got into my race gear and was at the starting coral ten minutes before 11:00. Memorable was the runners picking up the National Anthem lyrics as the young lady at the microphone broke into a hum a quarter in. No problem. We are a cohesive community of runners. I was off at the siren, staying clear of trouble, and looking for a group to rock and roll with. I was looking for just under sixes per mile for the race. I eyed a few BAA jerseys and soon ran next to Arthur Besse.

Trailing Arthur Besse and Joe Fois after 5 miles
Photo by KrissyK

Then, up ahead, I saw former teammate Jason Dunklee. We were in touch earlier in the week discussing racing. Joe Fois, who ran at Westfield State while I was at Salem was soon in the mix. He just turned 40 and we exchanged encouragement as master runners before the race. My first mile was 5:50. My second mile was about 6:02. I hit the early hills with caution and lost ground to the BAA singlets and Jason. Once I got a little downhill, I opened up the stride and started to race. I closed in on Joe Fois and Jason. Arthur came back in and we rolled. It was fun. I passed Krissy after five miles tossing a strike with my hat over to her. I was excited to have Arthur next to me. He has been improving his race efforts, setting PR's, and training very hard. At one point, I looked over to Arthur, and told him that he was going to catch some of the guys in front of us late in the race. That was the PG13 version. I passed mile seven and started to fade from Arthur, Jason, and Joe. I managed to get back to them and started to take some water at the upcoming water stops. I passed the 10 mile clock around 58:30 - a minute faster than the 10 mile race in Amherst. I was gaining on Jason Porter from the BAA and kept Jason Dunklee close as we were now into a head wind. I caught Jason around 11 but fell back before the big hill. I charged up the best I could on weary legs and managed to get by as I saw Dave Dunham taking pictures and supporting us. I reached the top and collected myself noticing a few guys that could pass for my age group (40+).

The final push with 300 meters to the finish
Photo by KrissyK

I was all in and throwing myself down the hill before the last 300m of the race into the finish. It was crowded but managed to pass a few and lost a step to a few crossing the line with a gun time of 1:17:29 (chip time of 1:17:25). 103rd overall and 12th dude in the 40-49 age group. I'll take it. The Central Mass Striders masters team was down a few guys on the day allowing me to be the 3rd scorer on the day behind Joe Shairs and Alan Bernier. Arthur followed me by 200 meters and Dan Verrington capped off the scoring to place us as the 3rd masters team. The men's open team placed 3rd overall and the Senior team placed 6th. I jogged a half mile with Dan Vassallo for a cool down attempt before bailing out at the YMCA only to have to walk back to the parking garage to get my bib number. No bib number, no chowder!

KrissyK smugmug photos of the New Bedford Half Marathon
2015 New Bedford Half Marathon results

550 mile 1
603 mile 2
611 mile 3
606 mile 4
543 mile 5
542 mile 6
539 mile 7
541 mile 8
555 mile 9
551 mile 10
603 mile 11
559 mile 12
605 last full mile

New Bedford Half Marathon

KrissyK photography - 445 photos from the 2014 New Bedford Half Marthon

New Bedford Half Marathon Results March 16, 2014 results

130  49/410  M3039 JAMES PAWLICKI  1:17:43  5:56   18:24   36:39   54:26 1:17:46 CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS         

Krissy got Joe Shairs and I down to the New Bedford Half Marathon in record time. The race was the New England Half Marathon Championship again. The race and the city do a good job to bring the championship back year after year. I checked in with several Central Mass Striders in the pre-registration area of the YMCA gym which was under plenty of security (bag screening) and endless volunteers. I did an easy warm up with Joe and Dave Dunham (8 minutes out and then back). It was sunny and temperatures felt like low 40’s, however, there was some bite to the northwesterly wind in our faces heading out for the first 3 miles. I was rocking my new Nike Lunaracer version 3 which Matt Germain hooked me up with at Whirlaway yesterday. There was plenty of cushion there ready to rock 13.1 miles. I was next to Joe for the opening mile. Dave was there too while Martin Tighe and Arthur Besse were ahead. I heard a 5:45 1^st mile split from someone next to me. It was a little aggressive and Joe reminded us that there were plenty of miles ahead. Joe and I passed Arthur and Martin in the early hills. After 3.5 miles, we turned left and Joe took off down Rockdale Avenue. I took my hat and gloves off right away as the wind was at our backs and I started to get warm. I wheeled along and folks were passing by slowly over the next mile settling into their rhythm. Mile 5 passed in 29 something and I tossed my hat and gloves to Krissy who set up shop for photos after running 6.9 miles before the race started.

Approaching mile 13 in New Bedford
Photo by KrissyK

Katie Edwards (5th female overall and 1:17:26) from CT pulled beside and I stuck with her for a few miles even pulling when I could. Soon we hit some head wind and I struggled. She sauntered forward and gapped me. I took in a Power Gel before the water stop. I got a sticky hand from it and tried to wipe it clean. I was bothered but chugged along as it took my mind off the tiring legs. I am guessing my 10 mile split was around 59:30. My race goal was to be 6:00 pace per mile or better so I was just under that pace. I had some work to do still as the head wind continued. A group of five went by and were showing some good initiative and a spunky pace. Joe Lauer from SRR was one of them and recall he pulled this move at the end of the Jones 10 mile in February. I was game for about a minute and could not sustain any longer. However, it woke me up a bit and I was rolling good and battled a GMAA runner (Jason Baer ?) through 11 miles. He went right to my heels as if to draft as I was pulling along anticipating the last climb of the day before 12 miles. He started clipping my heels and apologizing each time. I took it in stride and kept the far left hand side of the road. Then I swung over to the right and started the climb. I saw my college coach, Tom Derderian, there and he gave me some support. I gained on a group and seemed to recover better and quicker than them at the top. Jason passed by and then I set sights on Justin Renz from HFC who was up at least 8 seconds. A few right hand turns and it was home stretch. I opened up the stride and got right next to Justin before the line but he got me by a second. It was a good finish for me and I finished five seconds slower than last year: 1:17:43. My overall place was 130^th. 

The new shoes treated the feet pretty well so I will be wearing them in the Boston Marathon. I caught up with SRR and CMS folks beyond the finish. Several PR’s were had. I was so happy for Jon Longo, Chris Klucznik, Colby Chrusciel, Arthur Besse, Morgan Kennedy, and Chris Mahoney was with 14 seconds of his best. I have to give it to the race for the great amount of volunteers ready at the finish with tissues and water. I accepted the finishers medal like I earned it. These races get harder and harder so I don't take them for granted anymore. I did a very slow cool down with Joe right away. Krissy came running out of the parking garage to give us our jackets and my hat and gloves. She was awesome. And then she went back onto the course to continue taking more photos. 15 minutes later, I got some warm layers on and hung out with CMS mates over the food (chowder, fish sandwiches, and plenty of Polar Beverages) back at the YMCA. I checked in with Lisa Doucette to check on the team results and they looked good except for missing Arthur over a bib number snafu. They should get fixed in the next day or so. Looking ahead, rest is in order. I may hit up a local 5K this weekend, but if not, I am all in for An Ras Mor. I am thinking about the Great Bay Half Marathon in April a few weeks before Boston. 

From lyme to the finish line

Kristen and I caught four dear in this photo taken at Bradley Palmer State Park one week ago.

What a week. I found a tick entrenched in my leg on Tuesday evening. I pulled it out and imediately researched these freak'n things. There was so much information on ticks and Lyme disease. My head filled with the worst case scenarios. I was very concerned as I think that I picked up the little bugger on a nature walk with Kristen on Sunday evening at Bradley Palmer State Park along the Ipswich River. That would equate to 48 hours with the nasty critter in my blood stream.



Ice covered trails at Bradley Palmer State Park. Photo taken along the Ipswich River with the foot bridge to the far left beyond the trees.

The following morning, I shared my story with co-workers who thought it would be in my best interest to see the doctor. My anxiety grew throughout the day as I waited for my afternoon apointment with the nurse practioner. I was prescribed 2 IC Doxycycline pills (anti-biotic) and a blood test to search for any sign of Lyme. I was also advised to report any flu like symptoms over the next few weeks symptoms usually being to present themselves 5-7 days following the bite.

I received the anxiously awaited call from the nurse practitioner on Friday night that the blood test for Lyme was negative. I was relieved. I have another blood test in six months. The tick incident was a learning experience. Now you and I know that they can latch on to you at any time of the year and that they will find you even if your skin is protected with clothing from head to toe.



Look at this creep. Is he tick hunting?

As a result, I did not drive down to the New Bedford Half Marathon, USATF New England Championship, with a lot of confidence or any grand expectations this morning. I missed a few days of running and my legs were sore from yesterday. Kristen and I led the Bevery boy caravan, Ben Strain and Junyong Pak, down to New Bedford in good time. I had decided to take my own car as I had a VW Scirocco fender that I needed to drop off at Greyhound Express Shipping in Boston on my return trip from New Bedford. Ben kept pace with the Gti.

I toed the starting line four rows deep, right next to Mark Reeder and Joe O'Leary. I leaned over to Ben Strain and asked him what he was thinking - in terms of his approach for his race. He wanted to hit 5:40 pace for the day. My frame of mind was to race slower since I ran 5:46 pace at the Amherst 10 miler three weeks ago. In addition, the McMillan running calculator told me that I would be lucky to run 5:50's for the half marathon. At any rate, I was going to committ to no worse than 5:40 pace for the first three miles and see where that took me.

I rolled out to a 5:29 first mile with no anticipation of holding the pace for a 1:12 half marathon. I just kept moving along and the miles rolled and splits of low 5:30's followed until a 5:48 (turned out to be the slowest of the day) for the fourth mile which has a decent hill. The next three miles feel like they are down hill. I ran four consecutive sub 5:30's while at the end, middle, and sometimes in front of a pack that included Mark Reeder, Rich Smith, Mike Cooney, Jason Cakorous, and a few others. I used self control and patience to hang with the group.



Bombing down around mile 5 looking for a pack to run with.

When racing within a pack, it feels like a race within the race and that our pack really IS the lead pack of the entire race. I had to keep my emtions in check and remember that this was a half marathon or 13.1 miles for which I was slated to race no better than 5:50 pace according to my recent 10 mile result and the running calculator. I feared that my honest and quicker than expected race pace was going to haunt me as it has over the past few years after eight miles on this course. Regardless, I ran through 10 miles in 55:32, nearly 2 minutes quicker than my 10 mile time at Amherst (57:37). Still, my pack pulled ahead and lost me in this stretch along the water.

Over the next few miles and in reality, since mile seven, I fully expected a muscle to cramp up. I woke up on Saturday morning with a calf cramp in the right leg and I woke up Sunday morning to a cramp in the other calf. That coupled with not racing or training at 5:30 pace put me in a running scared mentality - something was going to go wrong and I would pull up lame in the heat of the battle. Thankfully, it never came to that.

I found myself in a unique three way battle with the other Beverly gents mentioned above as Junyong Pak and Ben Strain caught up to me in the last mile of the race. We had at least a half mile left and the last hill of mile 12 behind us when Junyong started wheeling for the downhill and toward the finish line. Ben was behind me and I was just trying not cramp up, fall down, and save some dignity into the home stretch. I was pleased to see 1:12:XX as I approached the finish line, guarenteeing a 1:13:XX which I was pumped for and exceeded my expectations by almost three minutes. Ben nipped me at the line. He ran a gutsy race by coming back after some tough middle miles and PR'd by 90 seconds.



Closing on the finish line. Those legs are going to feel it tomorrow.

To close, I am more than pumped with the 1:13:11 (5:35 per mile pace) today. The effort was my quickest half marathon in years since my 1:13:01 behind Joe Shairs and Sergio Ribeiro in 2005 at New Bedford. The weather for the day was perfect and the usual wind was not an issue today. I am not looking forward to the next few days. The muscle soreness is already settling in. I will benefit from a deep tissue massage set up with John Gillis next Saturday though.