Andover Country Club 3.5 Mile Cross Country Race

I ran this race in 2004 so I was familiar with the terrain and great atmosphere. CMS teammate Al Bernier won the race back then. I ran 18:31 finishing a few strides in front of Greg Putnam who was running unattached. Race director, Dave Labrode, tagged me as a “fast guy” while registering. “Give him one of those numbers” pointing to a stack of low bib numbers. I got bib # 8. Slowly, more and more CMS guys showed up which was awesome. Jim Johnson, Bob Wiles, Mike Quintal, Dave Quintal, and Dave Dunham were present at the time of our warm up so it was evident that we had a solid team. It was nice to catch up with the guys before and after the race.

The race went by pretty quick. Picture several ups and downs along a golf course. I did not rest for a second (well maybe one hill). I had a nice back and forth duel with Dave Dunham. He advised after the race that he planned on keying off me. It certainly helped having him there in the second half of the race. He would pull away on the downs and I would catch back up on the ups. Dave Quintal entered the fray with about 800m to go and took charge. I was barely able to reel him in on the downhill grass finish for 7th place overall, 19:32 for the 3.5 mile course. Someone got 3.53 miles measured on their Garmin.

I stayed for a great post race meal: salad, pasta with meatballs, and some cookies. Life was good. Good race, good competition, good company, good food, good day. Dave Dunham has a nice write up on the race.

Andover Country Club 3.5 Mile Cross Country Race results November 28, 2010 results

Loon Mountain report

I have read and heard that some runners think that Loon Mountain is the toughest race in the mountain series. It may have the steepest section (it is called upper walking boss for a reason) we'll encounter but my judge of the toughest race is how I feel Monday morning. I felt a lot better this Monday than I did last Monday following Cranmore.

I warmed up with the CMS crew and Patrick Ard from Whirlaway who was running his first mountain race. I ran past Ted Breen and Brad Kozel from GBTC as I approached the parking lot. I gave Ted advice earlier in the week on what to wear for footwear as this was his first mountain race too. Aside from that, everyone who ran at Cranmore a week earlier all shared the same sore muscle stories that lasted most of the week. Glad that I was not the only one. I still put in a heavy week of miles. The race got off to a late start but only after Paul Kirsch made sure that all folks who were seeking Mountain Goat Status were members of USATF before the race started.

Abdeltif Faker jumped out to a quick start. He had a long stride and looked like a ringer aside from cutting his running pants into uneven length shorts. I've seen or heard worse. Dennis Floyd told me he got beat by a Greater Lowell Road Runner in cut-offs (jeans cut into shorts) in a local 5K over 10 years ago. I am not fashion expert myself so I will leave it at that.

I rolled with the race in the early going. Todd Callaghan and Dave Dunham passed me early on. I noted how good Dave looked working the ascents. The word chisel came to mind during the race watching Dave motor up the hills. He took off and I just tried to stay close to Todd Callaghan. I was successful at that until the downhill toward "upper walking boss" which is as steep as it will get for us this summer.

This bit seems to go on forever. I looked up and saw the race in front of me (10 guys in total), but they were already at it for minutes. Tivo and Todd were side-stepping in some of their climb. The kid in front of me was walking and pulling away (no news there). I was not comfortable at all walking, but did some. I felt it was easier to run, if you call it that. My steps were so small but I found a rhythm. I ran by Scott Mason (check out his photos) who was taking photos about 2/3 of the way up and he gave words of encouragement. I looked back on a switch back. I saw Kasie Enman not too far. That sighting kept me honest, not to walk anymore and get to the top. In all honesty, this upper walking boss climb did not seem as long as it did two years ago. The young kid in front of m, 17 year old Adam Pachek, was too far ahead for me to catch on the downhill. My form was a mess and I still babied down it, feeling he was unreachable with only a few minutes of race left. I tore into the last uphill and into the finish to cheers from Kristen and then into the finish line where co-race director Paul Kirsch stood. 52:52 for 11th place. It felt so nice to be done with the race.

There was nothing I did during the race that I would change if I did it over again. A quick check of my prior result here in 2007 showed that I ran 52:28 or 24 seconds quicker then. However, I know I busted the downhills harder there and walked more up the walking boss section in 2007. After getting my new CMS threads on (it was windy and a bit chilly for July), drinking some Heed, I flagged Todd down and into the Gondola ride down to the base. Mats Lemberger (formerly of Dartmouth) who finished two spots in front of me joined us for the ride down. We had a nice view. I looked down a few times and could see some flagging on the course that Dave, Tivo, and company patiently set up in 2 hours and 59 minutes the day before.

I was shocked to see Joe Shairs and family at the ski lodge who were passing through. Joe looked cold in short sleeves (it was windy at the base as well) so I sent him off with a CMS jacket that I had in the Gti. The family was heading off to the Flume Gorge only a few miles away. I proceeded cool down for a couple easy miles. I bonked hard about 10 minutes from the parking lot. I walked it in and had a granola bar that must have been in my running bag for six months. It tasted so good. I just needed some nourishment and fluids. I walked into the post race gathering ready to kill for food. It could of gotten ugly but fortunately there were plenty of bagels and crunchy peanut butter for everyone. An hour later, Kristen and I broke bread with Ted and Brad in Lincoln for sandwiches before sitting in some nasty traffic on Rt. 93. Good times for sure.

Cheers to DoubleJ for his first Mountain Race win. He earned it. Dave Dunham, 1st master, ran a solid race. Tivo and Todd Callaghan held his own as well, admitting a light week of training after the race. Tim Mahoney was right behind me and is sure to race well at Ascutney Mountain in Windsor, VT this Sunday. The check is in the mail so I will be there. I am looking forward to the change in the course which will have some trail in the 2nd half and we race to the summit.

Oh and will someone please elaborate on "there is no safeword at Loon Mountain?"

Northfield Mountain recap

I was torn on which race to go to on Saturday, June 13. I wanted to race the Market Square 10K in Portsmouth, NH where I set my 10K PR set 10 years ago (33:03) and had a decent race last June getting under 34 minutes. On the other hand, I have run the first two races of the USATF New England Mountain series and the Northfield Mountain is race number three. It is also the New England Trail Championship. Dave Dunham has been the race director and puts on a solid event. Who else can set up the course the day before, direct the race, and race it - very well mind you.


Kristen and I got up at 4:30 and were out the door with the GPS set up at 5:35 in the VW Gti. We got to Northfield at 7:30 after a stop for gas in Fitchburg as the Gti got thirsty for 93 Octane. Kristen was volunteering to help out at the water stop with and take some photos. She got to ride up the auto road with Al Bernier in the Subaru.


I did a warm up with a small CMS crew that was made up of Eric Morse (good to see him racing again), Dave Dunham, and Tim & Abbey Mahoney. Before I got to the starting line, I was greeted by Mark Asaro who was thanking me for being a gentleman; offering encouraging words to his son, Peter, during the last 300m of Pack Monadnock. He thanked me for not outdueling his son. I told him that I had no energy to pass him on what felt like a 30% grade and gave every effort just to catch up to the guy. Peter finished two seconds ahead of me at Pack.


At 9:00am sharp Dave gave the race of over 200 the final instructions and gave the first row on the starting line his traditional high five as we were off with two commands. I settled in with Tim Mahoney after the first minute. Justin Fyffe, Josh Ferenc, and Eric Morse were dueling it out for the 1st mile. I had a split of 5:39 which is moving pretty good. The climbing soon began and I shuffled up the hills. Todd Callaghan and Tim Mahoney got around me between 2 and 3 miles. My effort was hard enough so I just wanted to keep them close until the outlook point. The course is practically all down hill after that. I managed to surge pass Tim a half mile before the water stop and set my cruise control to match Todd's stride who had his sights on Greg Hammett in front of him.


The next 3K is runable downhill for most but causes some pain for the next day. Paul Low has seen a low four minute mile in this stretch in the past. I couldn't gain any ground on Todd and Greg was keeping his distance on him. I heard the occasional foot steps behind me but never checked to see who it was, assuming it was Tim (it was). At one point on the down hill, my left foot started to burn up in the heel. This is typical here due to the speed at which I am running and occasional breaking - putting much force on the feet. The New Balance 790 held up pretty good but I was expecting my toes to rip through the toe box toward the end of the descent.


The course levels off after 5.3 miles or so and you can see the race in front of you as it is a long stretch (3/4 of a mile?). I could make out Justin's yellow, Lasportiva shirt about two mintues ahead. I heard he had a good battle with Andy McCarron over the past two miles. I was trying to stay focused on Todd who still had 10 seconds or so on me and I did not want to get caught by Tim or anyone else in the last mile and a half. I hustled into the home stretch for 8th place with a time of 38:59, my second quickest time on the this course. I ran 38:32 last year on a hot day and a dog fight battle with Todd Callaghan and Tim Van Orden over the last two miles.


I was happy with the effort. CMS did very well, placing nine runners in the top twelve. See the overall results and the awesome photos by Scott Mason. I ran the course again after the race with a big crew that included Todd Callaghan, Tim Mahoney, Tim Van Orden, and a few others to pick up the flagging and mile markers. A big thanks to everyone. The company was great and it offered another 45 minutes of hilarious conversation.


I am looking foward to the Cranmore Hill Climb where I DNF'd two years ago. That race will be followed by Loon Mountain and Ascutney Mountain Challenge in July. These are tough races but I am up for the challenge. Meanwhile, I am going to run the Squantum 5 mile road race this Thursday which is minutes from work in Marina Bay (Quincy). It is part of the New England Runner Pub Series so it should be competitive. I am looking to better the 28:43 that I ran in 2007.


LATE ENTRY.....


I slacked on writing about my blazing 16:35 (chip time) at the Rhody 5K last Sunday, June 7th, in Lincoln, RI. I averaged 5:21 pace per mile and did not crash as bad as I felt with 800m to go. My splits were 5:15, 5:23, 5:21, and :36. I am not sure I trust the mile three marker. I don't have much to say about my effort other than my legs were exposed for the lack of interval training. I had zero turn over and that is the number one requirement for a 5K, period. CMS as a team did well, finishing 5th, with the top five guys getting under 15:58. Full results.

Wellness Fair 5K at Salem State College

I got a chance to lace up the racing flats in a rare 5K road race yesterday at Salem State College. I was looking for a race before the upcoming Bedford Memorial 12K road race and this was also an an opportunity to do a Salem State College Alumni event. Several former SSC alumni have won this race which was being held for the 13th year. Dan Smith who ran sub 15's in college and Fabian Meija, sub 4:15 miler come to mind. The new course for at least the last five years is a certified 5K. It was previously 3 miles long. I checked out the winners plaque before the race that has the male and female winner of each year before the race. I know most of the previous men's winners and noted that none were there to race this one. Fabian was in attendance, however, recovering from surgery a few months ago.

I got a short warm up through Forrest River Park with Scott Carrier from Beverly and Dennis Floyd. Dennis who is the Salem State College Track & Field coach was running his 2nd race in consecutive weeks, looking to run 6 minute pace. He and I have been teammates in college and two running clubs. His last competitive race was a 16:22 for CMS in the USATF-NE Indoor Championships in 2008. It is awesome to see him healthy as he has been battling Achilles issues over the past few years.

I jumped out into 2nd place about 200m into the race. David Long, Beverly resident, was in front and I caught him before 800m on Canal Street. I went through a 5:00 1st mile which was way off and inched away from David. I'd say it was a 5:25 mile. I just kept rolling along and having fun with the Salem Police Car holding up traffic as I cruised by Kristen and Jeff Rockwood, assistant Salem State Track Coach after mile 2. A few more turns and I bolted in for the finish, staring the clock down from when I began to make out the time around 16:20. It was a long straight away to the finish line and just got under 17 minutes with a 16:55. David Long finished in 2nd at 17:50 and Dennis ran 18:06 for 3rd far exceeding what he wanted to run for the day.

13th Annual North Shore Wellness 5K
Salem, MA, May 3, 2009
1 James Pawlicki 16:55 5:27 SSC Alumni
2 David Long 17:50 5:45
3 Dennis Floyd 18:06 5:50 SSC Alumni

All in all, it was a good day. We got a nice photo of some alumni athletes from the old days after the race. Note the hardware that Marissa and I got.

From left to right: Marissa Petrillo, Jim Pawlicki, Dennis Floyd, Shawn McCannon, Jeff Rockwood, Fabian Meija, Brian Beaulieu, Deb Bealieu. Gunnar and Annie Bealieau seated in the stroller will be running in no time. Photo credit to Kristen Kozlosky.