Miles Over the Moon 4 mile

This is a Friday night, 8pm race hosted in Salem by the Wicked Running Club. Last time I raced it (10 years ago?), the start and finish were at the Salem Common. Since then, the Bentley School is the new digs as it has some parking. I ran close to a 2 mile warm up with Eric Bowden, Jeff Cook and John Ayers (a few others whose names I did not catch). It was a warm night with intimidating rain clouds moving in. A lot of local clubs on tap included: Notch, North Shore Striders, Wicked Running Club, Winner's Circle, Mystic Running Club, Goat Hill, Greater Lowell and more. I wore the heavy Notch (Adidas) singlet that I had since 2018. I wore the New Balance SuperComp Fuel Cell Trainer which has a Carbon Plate. They are very cushy and rarely wear it but for a race/workout, they are flawless. 

I started the race far enough away from the first row, took about 9 seconds to reach the line after the starting gun. A guy on a bike with a boom box playing some toons was ahead for my first half mile. I found my leg cadence matching the beat. Rather helpful I suppose on the way toward Dead Horse beach and Salem Willows. Mile one was around 6:54. Mile two heading to the Salem Common was similar. The run around the Common is where I was tiring out and found my sight at the darkness to be tricky. A few runners would pass on by through Collins Cove. I hung onto Jeff Cook and he would hold the 2 second advantage over the last 3/4 of a mile to the finish. It would start to rain at that point and lightening scattered the sky over the next few hours. Gun time of 28:49 placed me 79th, chip time was 28:39 (7:09/mile). GPS measured out 4:08. Age group-wise, 17 out of 49 in the 40-49 category. 

2023 Miles Over the Moon 4 mile road race results

Wicked Frosty Four

Nakri, Krissy, and I rolled over to Salem for the Wicked Frosty Four mile road race. We headed out for a warm up and hit the starting line for the reasonable 10AM start time. Not that I needed my beauty sleep but much prefer races on the early side of day light. The race started and I yelled over to EJ Hrynowski, “let’s go EJ!” just because it is good to see him and he’s good for the chirp. He promptly smoked the senior field and missed out on a PR by ten ticks of the North Shore Timing in the end.

Speaking of North Shore Timing, it was a family affair with father and owner Mike, in charge of timing command, son - John Page ahead of me by a few seconds at mile 1, and mom, Jill, cheering the race on.  I’ve known the Page family since I got introduced to club running and the North Shore Striders in the early 1990’s. Jill is a sweet heart, always smiling and supporting even in the midst of competition. “John is looking good up there,” I mentioned to her as I ran past mile 1. Without hesitation, “well, you look better” Jill said to me.

I was in fifth place and had that envious desire to move up five seconds and roll with the lead pack that included David Long and John Page. I was thinking that I should be up there mixing it up with them. My envy and legs were at odds a half mile later, confirming that I was not going to make up any gap, just see it get bigger. The highlight of mile two, was a storm trooper (are you reading this Joe Shairs?) pointing us toward the force - force of a little head wind.  The four up front extended the gap through mile 3 with John Page breaking off as he climbed the hill beyond Dead Horse Beach. This gave me hope to shake out of my suck-fest and maybe close in on him. Well......thankfully I did not look at the mile split until after the race.

My legs were junk and so was that last mile (5:57). I closed the gap between John (also missing his PR by 9 seconds set last year) and I to seven ticks at the end (last mile 5:54) good for 2nd master behind David Long (3rd, 22:52 - off by 8 seconds from last year). My time of 23:17 and pace of 5:50 placed me 5th overall. I won’t go all out negative but was disappointed with the effort. I ran 22:45 last year (5:42).

All was forgotten seeing Nakri (3rd 40+) busting down into the finish and a few other familiar faces crossing the first finish line of the New Year. Nakri and I did a short cool down before hanging out at post race festivities within the Tavern in the Square, both of us grabbing age group medals. Krissy, Maryann, Nakri, and I crossed the street and feasted on breakfast at The Ugly Mug Diner wrapping up the journey.

Wicked Frosty Four mile results

top three masters Nakri Dao, I, and David Long

Wicked Frosty Four Salem

Arrived early with Krissy to score primo parking and a table inside the Tavern in the Sqaure. Headed out for a 2 mile warm up with Dennis Floyd, Joe Shairs, and Martin Tighe as late as possible so as to not sit around for fifteen minutes before the ten o'clock start. The wind was going to be in the grill for the 2nd half of the race. Noted. Cold only if you were not moving. The sun felt good. New Balance flats and CMS singlet ready for battle with eight minutes to spare. Jordan Williamsz was in the house chasing the lead police vehicle from the word go. Dan Chruniak was in second with Joe hunting him down after a mile. He got close at mile two. I found a partner in David Long. Matched strides from start to finish. Not even separated by two seconds, ever. Tough as nails as mentioned in the past. Surged as if I was coaching him. I followed and matched where applicable. Tried to help at mile three. Lasted thirty seconds while the wind resisted any forward motion. Settled in like a vet, waiting to open up at an opportune time. However, Dave got a good jump down the stretch into the finish besting me by a tick. The crowd was into it but my legs were tap city. 22:45 (5:42/mile), 5th place, third 40+ behind Joe and David. I got some warm clothes on and ran the course in the opposite direction with the guys. I will get back on the horse for eight laps of oxygen debt at BU in a few days. Is a sub 4:50 possible? 4:52 seed time is in.

Today's mile splits per Garmin
5:29
5:37
5:52
5:44

Wicked Frosty Four results - January 1, 2015
Last three years at Frosty
2015: 5th 22:45 (5:42)
2014: 7th 21:46 (5:27)
2013: 1st 22:22 (5:36)

Wicked Frosty Four

The Wicked Frosty Four mile race was the objective today to bring in the new year. I warmed up with Christopher Klucznik, Jordan Kinley, and Megan Nedlo. It was in the mid 20's with a westerly wind. That relates to having it at our back for two miles and in our grill for the last two or so. The start and finish moved from the usual Front Street to Charter Street - just 250m away - keeping runners off the Cobblestone. Otherwise, the rest of the course remained the same. Nate Jenkins and another guy took right off (turned out to be a Villanova stud and Australian, Jordan Williamsz). They proceeded to hit the mile in 4:39. I found myself in 7th place behind Christopher Chapruet from Danvers. My first mile was 5:08 and it felt OK. I got a stride closer in the second mile to him. My split was 10:32 (5:24). As we exited the neighborhood behind the Salem Willows we got the wind in our face and then it was full on beyond Dead Horse Beach. I tried to get onto his shoulder over the next 400m after the tough hill. That never materialized so I settled in behind and lost him a bit. He pulled away after mile three (16:11 - 5:39  mile split). I tried to hang tough knowing the race would be over in a few minutes. He held me off by four seconds while I crossed the finish line in 7th place overall and a time of 21:46 (5:27 / mile average). It was my worst placing in the race but quickest time (see below). I was pleased with running almost thirty seconds quicker than last year. I thanked my dad for cheering me on and changed my flats for my trainers while catching up with Alex Gomes who is headed off to serve in the Army. I collected Nate, Jordan, Megan, Geoff Nelson, and Christopher Kluckznik for a four mile loop into and around Winter Island which was hosting a polar plunge. Ouch!

Wicked Frosty Four mile history

Date        Place   Time    Pace  Age

1/1/2014   7       21:46  5:27    39

1/1/2013   1       22:22  5:36    38

1/1/2012   4       21:51  5:28    37

Wicked Frosty Four results - January 1, 2014 - Salem, MA

Wicked Frosty Four mile start in Salem
Place Name             Ag S City       St Nettime Pace  Guntime Pace
1 Jordan Williamsz     21 M Lynn       MA   19:14  4:49   19:14  4:49 
2 Nate Jenkins         33 M N.Andover  MA   19:28  4:52   19:28  4:52 
3 Geoff Nelson         28 M Providence RI   20:40  5:10   20:41  5:11 
4 Jordan Kinley        29 M Salem      MA   20:48  5:12   20:48  5:12 
5 Christopher Klucznik 31 M Somerville MA   21:15  5:19   21:16  5:19 
6 Christopher Chapruet 21 M Danvers    MA   21:42  5:26   21:42  5:26 
7 James Pawlicki       39 M Lynn       MA   21:46  5:27   21:46  5:27 
8 Erich O'Neil         22 M Beverly    MA   22:22  5:36   22:22  5:36 
9 Alex Gomes           25 M Peabody    MA   22:37  5:40   22:38  5:40 

Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5 miler

I was leaving work and still not sure if I was willing to shell out the cash for a 95 degree 5 miles road race just a few exits north on the expressway. I don't think I have ever let the weather dictate my lack of arrival at a road race. Make adjustments for the mother nature, yes. It was hot, but it's not like it was 95 degrees and humid for just me in the race. WHDH, Channel 7 news was on site at BC High where the race started and finished. I paid no attention to it until Joe Shairs told me about it on Friday. I guess they were there to show how people were dealing with the heat. Here is the segment for what I am assuming was on the 10:00pm news last night. I am the shirtless goof on the far left on the starting line (far right if you are looking at the photo or news clip).



Closing in on the finish line for 11th place



I went out cautiously, putting myself in the top 16 or so with a 5:40 mile. We had the wind at our back which was negligent for any cooling but I'd offer helped push me out toward the turn-around a few blocks away from L-Street. Now the running got tough with the head wind heading back toward the UMass Boston Campus. Louis Raffetto (BAA) was about 15 seconds ahead and adding distance between us as we headed toward the whole race coming at us for their turn-around point. I ran past the three mile clock in 17:51 lining me up for sub 30 minute finish time. My ass was dragging into the wind and the sun bearing down on us as we took a left at Carson Beach onto a bike path toward the JFK Library. I wasn't catching anyone and it did not appear anyone was close to me as I went through the four mile mark just under 24 minutes. This stretch has some shade which was welcomed. The last mile took us passed the UMass Boston Campus and back onto the BC High grounds with the finish in the parking lot behind the school. I finished up with time of 29:54 (5:59 / mile pace) and 11th overall (1st in the 35-39 age group). I reached for a bottle of water, several cups of Gatorade at the finish. No cool down run for me. I proceeded to replenish with a few bananas, half a bagel, and a few samples of coconut water with various fruit flavors. I am sure I got a potassium overdose by the end of the night. I was glad the run was over but no regrets with my participation. I caught up with a clean shaven Tim Pipp who was selling his shirts (Beeze Tees) at the race. I won a shirt with the screen print of "I've got more miles than your car" in the race raffle. I guess that is true.

Photo credit to Ted Tyler

Jim Kane Sugar Bowl results Thursday July 21, 2011

Around Cape Ann 25k

I agreed to run 6:00 pace for this famous Cape Ann race 24 hours earlier with John Ayers. I had my doubts I could hold it but would give it a shot. CMS mates Greg Ward and Neel Tarneja showed up this morning feeling a six minute pace was in store as well. I started out with another CMS mate, Patrick Rich, who moved up into the correct chase pack behind Patrick Moulton after 800m. John Ayers was to my right, sizing up the field ahead. He moved ahead after the 5:58 mile to run with Greg and Neel. GBTC's Jon Chesto and Tomoaki Uchiki caught me and kept me company through 7 miles. Tomoaki felt good and moved ahead to chase down the Ayers pack that seemed to have a 55 second lead on us. I managed to hang with Jon Chesto until we passed Ayers at 13 miles. Pressing the pace a bit, I put a small gap on Jon and finished 9th overall, 1:33:13, 6:01 pace per mile. Hitting the goal pace throughout and for the race felt good. I will see how the legs recover this week. I am sore now (my back and shoulders are beat from three days of Kayaking) but want to heal up for a potential run in the Nahant 30K road race next Sunday.

CMS got the team title with Patrick, Greg, and Neel. Thanks to Krissy for biking the course and snapping some photos.

Krissy K photos

Around Cape Ann 25K results September 6, 2010

Lone Gull 10K, USATF-New England Championship, Gloucester, MA

It was nice to wake up to sunny skies on a crisp morning. Kristen, my dad, and I headed up to Gloucester for the Lone Gull 10K. Gloucester is only ten miles away from Beverly so this was a quick ride up Rt. 128 to Good Harbor Beach. This was a rare opportunity for me to see a new race course. We got there an hour before the race and the lot was filling up fast. I warmed up with solo until I ran into t’mates Dan Verrington and Mike Quintal.

After a fifteen minute delay and ten minutes standing in the third row in the masses, the race went off into a downhill with the Atlantic Ocean to the left. The weather was perfect. I hit 5:32 at the mile. Todd Callaghan, fellow mountain runner from Gate City Striders pulled up shortly thereafter and Terry McNatt kept good company. We got over the 1st significant hill on the course and down into mile two. I trailed Todd by a few steps. We got into welcomed shade leading out to Eastern Point which has a nice lighthouse that was not visible from the course. This section was also home to the loop where I saw the leader heading back from where we came from. I went through three miles and the 5K (17:12) just behind Todd as we passed Jose Ortiz from Whirlaway. I put in a surge to pull along side with Todd a few seconds later.

We are now on our way back to the finish. Todd and I did not separate more than a second for the remainder of the race. We reeled in a few guys until we caught Todd's teammate Rich Smith. The three of us ran together until about 800m to go when Rich put in a surge leading into the last hill where mile six waited. It was a very smart move. I trailed Todd by a step. Kristen stood on the hill for some photography to prove our existence on this fine day. As I crested the hill, I let loose to get around Todd and see if I could get Rich. Rich got to the line first but we got the same chip time. Todd was right behind me. I finished 61st for a time of 34:30 (5:34). I was shooting for something between 34:00 and 34:30. Official results.

Splits were as follows.

5:32
5:41 11:14
5:29 16:43 (5K 17:12)
5:36 22:20
5:28 27:48
5:38 33:27
1:03 34:30

I am looking forward to some cross country races coming up in the next several weeks and into November.

USATF-New England 5 mile championship

Better late than never. Quick update from September 12....

Ollie 5 Mile Road Race, USATF-New England Championship, South Boston

The last two years at Ollie, I have run mid 28 minute range. I ran a 27:30 in at the Squantum 5 miler in June so I wanted to match or better that time. However, my approach toward the goal would be to ease into this 5 mile race with a focus on the last three miles and coming back to the finish on what is close to an out an back type of course. The splits were all over the place which later revealed that the course turn around spot was not where it should have been. I finished strong where no one passed me after 800m into the race.

My splits were as follows.

5:51
5:56
4:12
5:52
5:35 (stopped watch 2 seconds after finish line) 27:27

My official time was 27:24 and placed 75th in a very competitive field. It is speculated that everyone ran 4.9 miles for what was declared the New England 5 mile championship last year. I did not pick up on this until the next day, Sunday, when the results were edited for the pace and distance. So many runners ran outstanding races with several CMS folks running PR’s. It is unfortunate that the course was short, but the strong efforts by everyone should not be diminished. Here are some photos that Kristen took with her Nikon D60 in one hand and an umbrella in the other. Also, it was nice to also have my dad, Leo, on hand who picked a ominous day with the rain to watch us race.

Bedford Memorial 12K

It has been a few days since the race. I was not too sure what to expect as I have had very few races and no speed work other than a hard effort at the Danvers 5K races here and there. I rolled through the 1st mile around 5:14 and two miles in 10:37. From there I had some consistent, albeit slower, mile splits averaging 5:33 until 6-7 where I ran the slowest (5:41) for the day. I had a nice battle with former teammate at GBTC several years ago, Ethan Crain (former All American at MIT). However, I was wiped out by the time I reached the last uphill leading to the track and he rolled on. I told him to use his mile speed from his MIT days. He did. But so did Scott Anderson and Ted Breen. You can see their arms in the photo (taken by Kristen Wainwright) above, bookending me. It was on this track where the race finished, that I got called out and the weakness was apparent that I lacked speed sessions. I wound up in 36th place with a 40:13 (5:32 pace/mile).

On that note, I was thankful for the downhills where I could stretch my stride and recover from the hills. Overall, this is a fair course and look forward to getting back here next year if it is in for the Grand Prix. Next up for me is the Mt. Wachusett race and then the Rhody 5K which is race number four in the USATF-NE Grand Prix Road Race series.

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.

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.

Rolling in Amherst

Finishing up 10 miles in Amherst, MA. Photo by Kristin Wainright.

Ben Strain arrived 7:40am to car pool a crew from the North Shore. Junyong Pak (Beverly) and Brett Rickenbach (Danvers) arrived about five minutes later and we zipped down Rt. 2 to Rt. 202 into Amherst following a caravan of would be racers. Our objective was to survive a rolling course that was designed by my college coach (Salem State College) and current Greater Boston Track Club coach, Tom Derderian way back in the early 1970's.

I ran on the course for the 1st time back in 1999 when it was the USATF-New England 10 mile championship. I managed to run 56:24 that year. My second run on the course was in 2005 when Joe Shairs and I went out there for a tune up to get ready for the New Bedford Half Marathon. I ran a bit slower in 57:27 and seemed to be running alone for much of the race. I recall the hills seemed very long and tough.

As for this past Sunday, Amherst again was the host of the USATF-New England 10 mile championship. I really did not set a goal for the race. I ran 5:43 pace in the Great Stew Chase 15K several weeks ago in Lynn, MA on a fair course so figured no worse than that in Amherst, even with a tough hill in the closing miles.

I went out for a 5:38 mile and noted how strung out the race was before mile 2 where there was a healthy down hill. I just did my thing as I caught up to Ben Strain. Dave Quintal, one of our top masters, hung tight before I ran a few six minute miles on some hilly sections. Then I ran over a stretch of ice that seemed to last 1.5 miles along the reservoir. The footing was not too bad but I did some slipping where the trees have not allowed much sun over the previous week. The next few miles had plenty of downhill as I ran with Mike Cooney for 2 miles into mile 8 where I began to fade a bit dreading the last few climbs into the finish. I was spent so I just tried to keep pace with a few dudes who passed me with one mile to go. I finished with a 57:37 chip time.

Splits per my watch:
5:38
5:23
6:00
6:05
5:44 (28:53)
5:43
5:32
5:45
5:46
5:58 (57:39) 57:37 chip time

I'll take it. It was a good effort. The one takeaway from today's race was that the hills did not seem as long or as tough as they did in 2005. I imagine that being a Grand Prix race with plenty of competition and runners around at all times helped out.

The CMS men's open team ran a great race for 2nd place overall behind BAA and a few seconds in front of GBTC. Justin Fyffe came in 5th overall, Kevin Tilton ran solid, Matt Clark & Andy McCarron tore up their old training grounds, and Jim Johnson closed out the scoring for the top five. Meanwhile, the CMS masters team took charge with 3rd place behind Whirlaway and Greater Springfield. Joe Shairs and Dan Verrington placed 2nd and 3rd overall in the masters category, only seconds from the 1st master. Dave Quintal was 7th master and Dave Dunham cleared his goal to break 60 minutes. These guys are going to have a solid year ahead of them.

Next up for me is the New Bedford Half Marathon. I am going to bust my tail and see how long I can run 5:40-5:45 pace. It might get ugly out there.