Boston University mini meet #2, 3000m

Joe Shairs and I headed into the 2^nd of three BU mini meets to run the 3000m. My seed time of 10:10 placed me in heat # 5. The heats start with the fastest heat so that gave me plenty of time to run a few laps inside to warm up.  I picked the 10:10 seed time based off the two 3K’s I raced in February: 10:11.51 in Providence and the 10:05.47 at Harvard.  

The race was just about split between men and women. I raced toward the mid-back of the race after the gun despite having the 2nd fastest seed time for the heat. My focus was to not trip up in traffic and keep my pace as far away from aggressive. I felt like I was in the middle of the competitors after 1K in the 3:24 range. The mile went by around 5:27. 

I felt I had one surge in the legs to move up and waited for a spot with six laps remaining. I carefully made my way up to 2^nd with 400m to go. I tried to drop the pace in with 200m to go (I was about 2 seconds back from the leader) and I tied up, even felt a slight buckle from the resisting legs. The lack of mechanical demand in the legs was unfortunate but real. I finished in 3^rd place with a time of 10:03.99. Meet results

I was pretty happy with the effort and execution. I had the mid-race bargaining between the head and the legs. I positioned myself well at the end but had to respect the speed that I was requesting to go for it. It reminded me of what someone recently wrote in response to training for the mile (speed), "use it or lose it" - Derrick Jones. I did have fun and it was the greatest takeaway I have had in a track race in several years. It lit a fire that I can break 10 minutes (my unmet goal earlier in 2016) and buried the reluctance about racing indoors. I will shoot for a sub 10 minute 3000m next time. 

Mixed Mile GBTC Invite

I signed up for the 3000 meter race at the Greater Boston Invitational hosted at Harvard University. I car pooled in with Regina Loiacano, Jennifer Brooks, Nick Taormina, and Katie Misuraca. It was nice to catch up and talk about training, racing, et cetera. We got to the meet early, settled in, and I checked in for the 3K which was going to start two hours later. I watched the gals run the 3000m Invitational race. Katie went on to win and Jennifer and Regina had solid races. I ended up missing the start of my heat as I mis-judged how much time I had to warm up and get down to the track. My heat was #3 (heats ran fast to slowest) so it was totally my fault. By the time I got to my bag to grab my singlet and racing flats, my heat was lining up. I ran down to cheer on Dan Verrington and Nick Taormina who both ran 9:51 and 10:10 respectively.

I found the race director, Dave Callum, who allowed me to enter into the masters mile which was fine with me. I had a banana and Powerade that Regina was nice enough to give me as I had another two hours until my event. I carefully timed my warm up and got down to the check in area while all of the heats of the mile were going on. I waited through 3 heats before my mixed masters mile went off. I jumped into the middle of the pack at the gun and saw the first two laps go by in 37, 75 and then a 2:31 800m split. I was behind Chris Lawrence only for those laps and he began to move up a place. I caught up to 52 year old Adam Harder from GBTC and I ran in his pocket for the last 400m to finish 6^th out of the 11 in the heat with a time of 5:04.86. I was wiped out in those last three laps but glad Adam was there to help me out and he agreed. This event was totally out of my comfort zone but glad I got a race in for the day after missing my heat. Krissy picked me up and we headed out for pizza and unfortunately watched the Patriots run into a solid Broncos defense and lose.

6th overall in the mixed 40+ mile event

GBTC Invitational masters mile

Todd Callaghan (CMS) picked Brett Rickenbach and I up at the house for a quick drive into Harvard at noon. This gave me a chance to sleep in late and have a big breakfast. We got bent for $10 to park which I knew was coming. We stashed our gear next to Joe OLeary and the SRR guys inside. A big group of us headed outside for a 2.3 mile warm up in mud, slush, and ice around the athletic fields. We warmed up early enough to check in a second time to get our hip and chest numbers. We had a long wait. There were five heats of the mile to wait through before our masters race (2 heats) lined up. I got into heat 1. It was going to be competitive between Al Bernier (CMS) and Ethan Nedeau (aR) for the win. Todd and Dan Verrington (CMS) were in the heat as well so I was familiar with half the field. Brett was track-side yelling splits at me. I heard the 36's turn to 38's after a few laps. The race thinned out quickly and I hung back. I was cooked with the 2:27 at 800m running behind Mark Capparella (Mass Velocity). I could see Al and Ethan battling at the end of the straight away that I was on. Todd was going at it as well with a pair of guys. I went around Mark with 400m to go to finish a distant 6th and a time of 5:03.1 - 9 seconds slower than my effort at BU earlier this month. In summary, pretty much a shit-show for me but the effort put on by peers and t'mates kept the overall spirit up. It was nice to see Al win the race as the man has wheels. Todd as well kicked some ass showing he is no rookie to the indoor oval. The CMS masters headed out with Jesse Morrow (SRR) for an out and back on the Charles River on the ice and slush. In the end, I was grateful for the opportunity to race in the masters mile at the track meet today. The mile event is also race #1 in the All Terrain Runner series so I am all in and should be able to run some if not all of the races this year. I am undecided about a race next weekend (Super5 or a track event in Providence). The week after will be the Great Stew Chase 15K in Lynn which will provide for a good tune up for 10 miles in Amherst next month. I think I am done with the indoor track racing but will keep an eye out for maybe one more that I hear is a masters event in Providence.

1 mile BU mini meet

I picked up Martin and drove to the last of the three mini-meets at Boston University. I got there in time to catch CMS teammate Scott Leslie take his heat of the 3K. There were several heats of the 3K and 400m before the mile event came up. My seed time of 4:52 put me into heat nine. My heat had seed times on the sheet two seconds quicker to three seconds slower. This gave me an idea where I sat among the competitors. I encouraged David Long to come to the meet at the Frosty Four and was excited to see him there in my heat. I warmed up inside the facility with laps outside the banked track with Rod Hemingway and Caleb Evanter from GBTC after watching the 1st heat of the mile.

The plan was to push a lap after 800m and see what happens. The race went out hard and I cautiously latched into the back of the race. Lap one was quick and noted a split of 35 after lap one. I was right behind Kevin Delaney, David, and Rod for the first four laps - seeing a 2:26 as I approached the clock (unsure of actual 800m split). I waited one more lap and wound up for a move into lane two passing the previously mentioned guys over that lap. I ran scared into the last 200m and just held them off where I could feel myself losing form. I got a time of 4:54.03 in a distant 5th place (4:45 won the heat). Check out the video of the race. My legs were pretty week as soon as I finished.

My goal was to break 4:50 but had a feeling based on recent workouts that such would be a challenge. I had some fun cheering on anyone I knew in the races and had to leave before the mile races ended. Looking ahead, I intend to run the Lazy Dog 3 mile road race in Lynn and enter into the GBTC Invitational with another mile. That mile event will get me started with the USATF All Terrain Race series.

Boston University Mini Meet #3 race results

BU mini meet 1 mile

BU - known as Boston University - hosted the last of three mini meets today. Dennis Floyd, Larissa Park and I arrived while the 3K was going on so we had plenty of time to get our numbers, relax, and then warm up for the mile. The three of us were signed up with seed times pretty close to each other. I seeded myself at 4:56. We had to wait for all heats of the 3K and 400m to finish before we were called over to check in for the 1 mile. We got into heat 7. I grabbed hip and chest #2 and warmed up with Dennis and Larissa inside.

Dennis asked me today while we were warming up "when was the last time we toed the line together on a track?" I was not ready for the question but I surprised us both that I did know what race it was (the year was fuzzy so I had to look it up tonight). We finished 19th (16:22.67) and 20th (16:24.56) in the USATF New England Indoor Track and Field 5000 meter championship race at Harvard in February of 2008. I was DFL (dead freaking last) and Dennis was bothered by an achilles issue. [meet results]

I was pretty nervous before the start as expected. It has been a few years since I raced on the indoor oval. I got sorted with my flats taking a few strides with one foot having an Inov8 and the other a Saucony A4. I went with Saucony. They called for heat seven as soon as heat six finished. I saw former CMS 'mate Jeff Goupil finish his mile in 4:57. I lined up in between seed #1 (a female) and seed #3 - Larissa. Dennis was a few runners down, maybe the 6th person to my right. The starting gun got us off in a hurry. I jumped toward the back and waited for those on the stagger fill in after the 1st turn. I planned on taking the first few laps cautiously to not worry about place but pay attention to the splits - staying in the hunt of 37 or 38 seconds per lap. Lap one and two were around just that. Three laps down and I was around 1:52 just behind Larissa and Dennis. I felt good and noted a good bounce to the track. I wanted to get aggressive and move up - get competitive with the 10 or so in front of me. I had to wait though and use patience. I passed half way (half mile or 800m) in 2:30 and moved out and put in a hard lap. This is risky. I could put in that surge and it could cost me a few laps later. I carried the momentum and found myself closing in on the two leading the race so I went after them keeping my aggressive move now for three laps. I passed them at the bell lap taking the lead. My inexperienced legs wobbled on the back straight, form started to break down, and I heard steps coming back on me. The guy blew by (he would win with 4:50.95) and then one more on the final straight into the finish line (he finished with 4:52.4). I finished 3rd with a time of 4:53.2. Dennis ran quicker than last week dropping his time down to 5:02.26 and Larissa was the 3rd fastest female in the mile (5:12.92).

BU mini meet #3 results - January 4, 2014

I was good with the time and beat my seeded expectation of 4:56. I had so much fun ripping through the 2nd half of the race. I had a negative split by comparing the 1st 800m (2:30) and 2nd 800m (2:23). Moving up through the race after 800 meters reminded me of my younger and fitter days when my mile times were under 4:40. I had the fitness to make the aggressive surges, back it up, and have the kick in the last lap. Today, it was all there in terms of instinct and execution minus the follow through (and slower pace) to the finish line. I had fun today and did not expect that. I expected the hurt box for 7 out of 8 laps and a physical break down in the 2nd half of the race. The race exceeded all expectations but I was purposely careful on the approach by keeping the first four laps within myself and staying out of traffic. The experience has me wanting more of this indoor track racing: what can I do if I ran another mile but ran the 1st 800m in 2:23? 

Boston University mini meet #1

This was the first of three mini meets hosted by Boston University. I encourage anyone to run these. There is no pressure. Put down $10 and run your race. That said, I should have stayed home. I seeded myself at 9:20 and ran 9:36, DFL in the heat. No drama, kept last place for all but maybe two laps around the 4:59 mile split. I recall putting in a surge there but to no avail. I had no energy in the last six laps and faded away. I recall 1K splits of 3:07 and 6:15 (yeah the last 1K was ugly). I had a few environmental factors that may have attributed to the dead legs but can’t dwell too much. I still feel like a chump for not meeting my seed time expectation and I looked bad on the oval finishing 10 seconds behind the race. Maybe it’s a good thing the results spelled my last name wrong: Pawlioki.

Boston Universtity mini-meet results #1 December 17, 2011

Boston University Mini Meet #2

I signed up in advance for another 3K at Boston University. Like last week, my seed time of 9:18 put me into heat two. It had a wide range of abilities from a low nine to a ten minute seed. I got out with only a few folks behind me and ran each lap pretty even. I went through the first kilometer in 3:06 and then the mile around 4:58, a few seconds quicker than last week. I kept up the pace for the next two kilometers for a 9:18.20, good for fourth in the heat. The last kilometer was tough as I was alone other than lapping a few runners. My ‘ol college teammate from Salem State, John Bowser, ran around 10 minutes to run in his first indoor track meet in 14 years. It was great to see him racing. He holds PR’s of sub 8:30 for 3K and sub 15 for the 5K. Kristen patiently captured the race on video below.

Boston University Mini Meet #1

This was mini meet number one in a series of three hosted at Boston University. I signed up for the 3K with a seed time of 9:22. I warmed up inside with CMS teammates Chris Mahoney, Justin Fyffe, Patrick Rich, Jeff Goupil, Kevin Tilton, and Kevin Gorman all of which were racing the 3K as well. Justin and Patrick ran 8:38 and 8:47 respectively in heat one which is the fastest of the heat line up. The rest of the guys including myself got into heat two based on our seed time. In typical fashion, I bolted out into the back of the pack. The race seemed to go out very fast yet my first lap was reasonable at 38 seconds. I went through the half mile in 2:30 behind Jeff Goupil, Stephanie Reilly, and Kevin Gorman who was leading our "second" pack of the heat. My 1K split was 3:07 which if multiplied by three had me on pace for a 9:21 which was reasonable. Mile one passed in 5:00. Jeff Goupil made a move up and away from our pack putting some ground on us over the next few laps. I stayed behind Kevin until two laps to go and then surged around Bruce Davie and his GBTC teammate with a lap to go. Kevin caught me with 100m remaining and he beat me to the finish line by less than 3/10's of a second. My official time was 9:18.59 for 12th place in the heat of 17. Full results are here. I feel pretty good about the time as it is my first indoor track race since a year ago (similar time on the same track). Below is my last 250 meters of the race that Kristen caught on her iPhone.

3K BU Development Meet #1

I lined up for a 3K at the first of three development mini meets at BU on Saturday. I got into the second of four heats with my 9:24 seed time. I drove in with Kristen and Brett Rickenbach who was aiming to get under 9:50. I got a decent warm up with Brett outside a half hour before the first heat was scheduled to start. We came upon a Mercedes SUV parked along Commonwealth Avenue with the passenger side glass broken and door wide open. That ranks right up there with the Honda Fit lying on it's brakes right outside the track at BU back in 2007.

Much like the 5K two weeks ago, I managed to bolt right out and settle into last place for a few laps. The race had over twenty athletes and it was pretty tight for the first lap or two. Anyhow, I went through 1K around 3:08. With a surge or two, I settled in behind Craig Fram, Terry McNatt, and Bruce Davie taking us through the mile around 5:01. Several folks like Joe Fischetti and Al Bernier were yelling at me which helped keep me motivated. I heard a 2K split of 6:18 which was heading to a 9:28 3K if I kept the pace. I got anxious with four laps to go but was not too confident with a big move or surge so I waited until one of the three masters was going to make a move. It was just about at the last lap when Craig Fram moved out and I followed. We got around Terry and Bruce and had a mad dash for the finish. I just got to the line before him. I stopped my watch a few steps later, bent on knees, and saw a 9:21 on my Ironman. I shook Craig's hand and thanked him for pushing at the end of the race. Al ran over and mentioned a time of 9:18. I was pretty happy with the effort. I had the race within the race for the 2nd half of the 3K. The official time was 9:18.37.

Brett ran a great race and exceeded expectations with a 9:37 3K in the next heat. Andy McCarron ran 8:44 followed by Al Bernier, 8:57, in the fast heat of the 3K. Tim Cox was leading my heat at one point and finished with a solid 9:09. I had to hustle out for an appointment in Gloucester but was very pleased to see Greg Hammett run a solid mile in 4:30 and 800m in 2:04 to prove he's not messing around this winter. Jeff Goupil was leading the mile when I left the building. He finished with a solid 4:44 and 2:15 in the 800m. CMS represented well in a very early track race for the winter. I recommend to anyone who is looking for a low key track event on a quality track to make it to these BU development meets. They now offer preregistration to ease the registration lines a bit so please take advantage of that and help the event run smooth. I hope to get to one of the next two meets which happen to fall on the day after Christmas and New Years. My right Achilles is a bit grumpy so I will keep an eye on that.

Indoor track racing begins

I ran 16:27.49 (5:17 min pace per mile) for 7th in the slowest of three heats of the 5,000 meter race at the Jay Carisella Track & Field Invitational hosted at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. I had about five minutes to warm up for the race as officials decided to run the slowest heat 1st. They ran the slowest heat last all day. Go figure. No time to panic, just sign in, get my heat number, lace 'em up, and race. I bolted out into last place of about 16 runners as I was in no mood to run aggressive nor stupid. Teammate, Tom Brown settled in up front and ended up running 16:12 for third place. My plan was to run just under 5:20 for the 1st mile. I went through in 5:15.47 and was moving up in the race. Not too much excitement in this one, just kept reeling in the college kids who went out to quick. Mile two passed by in 10:32.23 for a mile split of 5:16.72. Not too bad, close splits, and wanted to hold it. Hold it I did slowing a few seconds off the pace and finished up passing another on the last straight. This was a decent cruise control for 25 laps and I beat my seed time and expectation of 16:29.

Jay Carisella Track & Field Invitational results.

Looking ahead, I will jump into the BU mini-meets. There is another open meet at Harvard on December 12 but feel that I should take a weekend off and get some miles in.

Profit centering at a local track meet

I headed down to Harvard University in Cambridge today as my former running club, Greater Boston Track Club was hosting their annual GBTC Relays indoor track meet. It is a decent mix of open and collegiate competition. I ran 9:22 in the 3K last year. Kristen came with me today which was nice as she has not accompanied me to any races lately as the car is usually full with other CMS dudes from the North Shore. Ben Strain was signed up but bailed for a last minute appointment. After getting raped for $10 to park behind the track and another $5 for Kristen to gain spectator entry I soon found myself warming up outside in the falling snow around the campus. There was no charge to run around the campus.

My training this winter is different in that I am not busting my ass in intervals every Wednesday at the Reggie Lewis Track. As a result, I did not look to consume myself with an indoor track season and I am coming off an Achilles issue where I took almost six weeks off in the fall. However, I have been pretty healthy, love to compete, and there are few indoor track opportunities for the rest of the season for me. Thus, I signed up earlier this week with a 9:24 seed time of which I have not run this season but was my goal for this race after securing a 9:39 and 9:30 at two BU development meets. My other goal for the 3K today was to hustle (for me anyway) out under a 5:00 mile.

I settled in 2nd to last after one full lap. I noticed that I felt pretty good during some laps and strides on the track about 10 minutes before my race. This caught me off guard and wondered if this would parlay into the race. The seed times in my heat were around 9:00 down to me around 9:24 so I knew my role.

Joe Fischetti, CSU and Coast Guard reservist, came up big from the sidelines with verbal support while I ran by each lap. I met Joe back in 2000 when I worked in Lexington. He worked down the road with Jim Garcia at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory. I got in many a lunch run over an eight month contract. Joe is still racing but is investing ample time coaching younger runners in a club setting. He fired me up every time I went by Joe staying cognisant about my position and who was around me (front and back). I went through the 1K at 3:10, through the mile at about 5:00 (Joe had me at 5:01), and through the 2K at 6:16. I had some back and forth with a guy from Northeastern over the next few laps to keep me honest. Plus, Joe would remind me to "GET AROUND THAT GUY." It was awesome. I sprinted in and saw the clock was just ticking to 9:20 as I was a few feet from the line. My watch had a 9:24 but the official results had me at 9:20.74. I will take it and it felt like a 9:20 effort.

I hung out for a few more hours around the track after getting in a slow four miles in the falling snow again outside. I caught up with friends, Kit Wells and John Blouin who is planning his annual Mt. Washington hike in a few weeks. I also got a chance to catch up with teamate and team manager, Al Bernier who was going to rip it up in the mile. Meanwhile, I ran into Doug Chick who ran with my Alma Mater, Salem State College. His uncle and I watched him run a beautiful 2:03 800m race. Doug went from last place at the gun lap and took the lead about 10 yards from the finish line for the win. It was awesome. Meanwhile, I got an invite to meet up with the Wicked Running Club who are working out at Reggie Lewis on Tuesdays with Jen and Mike Toomey.