Wachusett Mountain

Kristen and I rolled into the Wachusett parking lot about 8:40 in the Gti. I had 50 minutes to grab my number, warm up, and make a pit stop. I ran into Tim Mahoney and Todd Callaghan on the warm up. I have not seen Tim in a while and he’s been racing very well recently. Meanwhile, Todd was so far satisfied with a pair of Nike Lunar Racer's that are usually for the roads and was going to give them a test run on this mix of road and trail today. Not before long, we were getting pre-race instruction from former CMS President Kevin Fallon. At this point, Dave Dunham almost tackled me for a greeting. It is great to see Dave lacing the flats up again and getting into races. We ran the D5K (Danvers weekly fun run) on Wednesday. It will not be long before he is whipping us in the mountain races. The start went off and I casually slid into twentieth place or so about 400m into the immediate climb up to the entrance of the auto road. The course was the same as last year, minus the last .10 of a mile around the duck pond. Mile one passed and I glanced at the watch without any effort to see the split. I carried on into the entrance trailing Ryan Aschbrenner from GBTC. Ryan was tuning up along with Ted Breen who are both racing the Mount Washington Road Race next month.

I caught Ryan at the end of the single track trail heading past the lodge. We began a climb into mile two. Bob Jackman pulled along side and I followed. A left hand turn into Old Indian Trail brought about the steepest part of the trail. Bob did a solid job, keeping a steady effort running up and I focused to stay as close as I could. Mile three passed and I was definitely feeling better at this point this year than last year. I know I went out quicker last year, but this just felt right today. We exited the trail, found pavement and knew the rest of the course was pretty much downhill – almost two miles worth. Only two seconds behind Bob, I told him to “let ‘er fly, it’s all downhill from there.” We would not separate more than a stride all the way down. We exchanged the pacing at least twice. We caught a younger gent on the way down and were reeling in Ross Krause with about 800m to go. Our strides seemed to be all out when Bob found another gear with about 100 yards to go. I had nothing left, finishing three ticks behind him for a 33:14 and 15th place in a very competitive field this year.

CMS folks represented very well with Kevin Tilton, Andy McCarron, Jim Johnson, Tim Van Orden, Tim Mahoney all finishing in the top 12. John Kinnee, Sam Wood, Jeff Goupil, and Bryan Johnston were not too far behind me and ran solid races. My Garmin measured 5.08 miles today. Someone said the course was touted to be 5.2 miles on the application. Either way, I would say everyone enjoyed themselves on a fair mountain course. This was the second race of the USATF-New England Mountain series and I am sure there will be at least 100 mountain goats by the time Ascutney (VT) is finished in July. I missed Northfield Mountain last week so it won’t happen to this guy in 2010.

Post race included some a Polar drink, bagel, and a banana. Scott Mason and I caught up on serious training that was done when he was a young stud ripping up the roads. He was heading up the VCM - Vermont City Marathon after the race to take some photos. Here is a plug for Justin Fyffe who is going to surprise some folks tomorrow.

Big thanks to Wachusett for hosting the race, CMS for organizing the race, Polar Beverages, and Kristen for her company and photos. She took over 150 photos. Scott Mason should have a ton set up as well soon. Looking ahead, I will be running the Rhody 5K, Market Square 10K, and the Mount Washington Road Race in the near future. If I feel good on Monday and have nothing going on, I may jump into the Dory Run 5K with Dennis Floyd.

Bedford Rotary Memorial 12K

Last Saturday was the third New England Grand Prix championship race for 2010 with a 12K distance to cover in Bedford, NH. In addition, this was my first race since the Merrimac River Trail Run in April. I had expectations to run a pace close to last year at 5:32 per mile. I ran next to teammate Dan Navaroli for the first two miles with a pair of 5:25's. Those were the first and last splits that I would acknowledge on my Garmin. The long incline through mile four left the group I was running with a bit spent. I faded a bit but was carrying a few guys through which was fine. I could see several master runners ahead but I was starting to feel heavy legs around five miles. Terry McNatt flew by me. I got on his heels but that lasted about a minute. I just wanted to get the race over with. I could not wait to see the left hand turn to enter the high school track. The stretch into mile seven seemed to take forever. I battled a Whirlaway runner, Mark Gibson, all the way into the finish. Thanks to him, he kept me motivated over the last mile and a half of the race.

I finished with a 41:54 (5:38 mile pace) good for 50th out of 536 runners, just barely getting on page one of the results. Meanwhile, the team ran out of their minds. Justin Fyffe won his first New England Gran Prix event and crushed the course record. Bob Wiles continued his incredible racing in 5th, trailed by Andy McCarron (yes he just ran the Boston Marathon) in 9th, Kevin Gorman nailed this course like it was no ones business, and Mike Quintal ripped the course a new one to round out the scoring for CMS. Greg Hammett, Al Bernier, Dan Navaroli, Dave Quintal, and Jeff Goupil all had solid races.

Overall Results

The next month is rather busy. I will be at Wachusett Mountain this Saturday followed by the Rhody 5K one week later.

Photo credit to Ted Tyler.

Merrimack River Trail Run

Where do I begin? Dave Dunham and Steve Peterson put on a solid event at the Merrimack River Trail Race. The post race raffle is kept light with "Petey's" enthusiasm and sense of humor. I think half the race went home with a raffle. There were cameras every where during the race. All races should have this type of coverage. I think I saw some highlights on ESPN and NESN later that day. They showed yours truly, clearly out of breath on the first power line climb, cursing Mike Quintal's choice of a Montreal Canadians shirt. Rumor has it that his cousin is Stephane Quintal, a Boston Bruins 1st round draft pick from 1987. Don't watch his movie clip with little kids around.

I traded in the CMS Polar Bear singlet in favor of the Polish Eagle Singlet. Poland was mourning the loss of the Polish President - Lech Kaczynski, and other significant military leaders and politicians who died earlier in the day in a horrific plane crash in Russia. After a three mile warm up with Tom Brown and Dan Scotina, the race of 200 were off for race. I got out quickly, pounced through some mud and settled into third behind Ben and Kevin Tilton about 600 meters into the race. I encouraged Tom Brown to go get after them reminding him that the tough part of the race is the middle four miles. Now in fourth place and hitting some hills, I could not keep Geoff Cunningham off my shoulder. He was relentless on the hills and I tried to offset it with surges on the flats. I stayed in 5th place for the remainder of the race after he passed me sometime before the power lines on the way out. On my way back to the finish beyond the power lines, I peeked back and saw Dave Quintal closing in and Scott Clark not too far back. So much for backing off and trotting back to the finish. I hustled on the flats and stayed honest on the ups and downs. A quick look at the watch with about 200m to go forced me to hustle to the finish line through the mud to secure a sub 1:03 for my second fastest (I need to confirm this) time on the course. I got a 1:02:57 for 5th place.

I did not take any splits other than seeing a 5:00 first mile split. I regret not seeing my turn around time for the day. I was exhausted by four miles in the race but had no choice to hang in there with DQ and SC chasing me in the second half of the course. As I write this on Monday night, I can confirm my legs are more sore today than yesterday. My IT bands and lower hamstrings are screaming. And to think I was going to go race a 5K in Salem on Sunday morning. It is a good thing that Dennis Floyd called me an hour before the race yesterday and talked me into a training run at Lynn Woods instead. I limped through a 6.9 mile run with him and Brett Rickenbach.

Rest and recovery is in order for a few days. I will lick my wounds and seek a race before now and the next New England Grand Prix Road Race Championship, Bedford Rotary 12K in May. The above photo credits go to KrissyK and Scott Mason who caught me hurting even holding back descending the power line hill.

Results CMS runners packed in 8 out of the top 10 spots
KrissyK photos
Scott Mason Photos
More photos, race footage from Mike Quintal, stats, and details. Merrimack River Trail Race Blog

New Bedford Half Marathon

New Bedford was the site of the New England Half Marathon Championships. CMS was sending a solid team and this was on my calendar since last November. The course is fast and the only question is what direction the wind is blowing. It was straight in our faces from 3.5 miles all the way to the ocean which is where I like to roll. Despite the head wind, I experienced my fastest mile splits at mile 5 and 6 with a 5:28 and 5:29 respectively. I had a tough mile heading into mile 9 with a 5:54 which was the slowest. Yet, I went through 10 miles 30 seconds quicker than the Amherst 10 miler three weeks ago with a 56:44 split. I focused on CMS mates Jeff Goupil and Kevin Gorman who I barely caught at mile 13. I finished 63rd overall out of 2308 runners with a net time of 1:14:15.9 or 1:14:19 gun time as I started about six rows back from the starting line.

Results

In summary, the plan was to run a pace quicker than the Amherst 10 miler and get under a time of 1:14 overall. I just missed the second objective but the 5:41 mile pace is respectable for the training that I have under my belt. CMS finished 3rd overall with Jim Johnson, Bob Wiles, and Greg Hammett running PR's. Justin Fyffe hung tough despite being under the weather and Al Bernier closed out the scoring for CMS. Kevin Tilton was right behind Al. Minutes ticked before I rolled in with Kevin Gorman in tow. I plan on some easy training over the next few days and making sure the Achilles stays happy.

The first photo above was taken by Scott Mason. Please see his awesome photos. Kristen got some footage of the race on video which can be seen on the CMS racing blog or Jim Johnson's blog. Otherwise, she got a few photos at the finish line from a distance beyond the finish line chute.

Training continues at Gunstock

Sorry, not running related. 0 miles running traded in on Sunday in favor of Volkswagen appreciation day at Gunstock Mountain. The first 250 VW's to show up got two free lift passes for the day. I headed up with Krissy in the Gti as we followed friends, Patrick and Roberta in his Jetta TDI to Gilford, NH. It was my first time on the snowboard and it showed with a few face plants here and there.

Ironically, Gunstock was the first time that I got onto a pair of snowshoes. Ben Nephew took me up there to hit the trails (we paid for a pass) in December of 2003, the same month that I joined CMS to get right after some snowshoe racing. Months later, I found myself out at Snowshoe Nationals in Lake Tahoe, CA. I do not foresee any attempts to make a career out of snowboarding but glad that I tried it. I will give it another shot but may have to wait another year as I need to focus on some running over the next few weeks. By then, snow related activities will be over up in the mountains.

USATF-NE 10 mile championship Amherst MA

Like last year, the USATF-New England Road Race Grand Prix series kicked off in Amherst, MA today. Kristen and I picked up Joe Shairs at 7:45 on the way for the two hour drive to Amherst. A warm up with the team followed at 10:15 and I brought some of the CMS crew through the finish line area so everyone knows what it is all about just in case. Not before long, I was on the starting line in the midst of a sea of navy blue CMS runners about three rows back from the starting line. I eased into the race with no panic. The goal for the day was 5:45 pace. The course always provides a challenge so splits were going to be all over in terms of pace according to a grade up or down. Mile one passed in 5:46. Mile two passed in 5:18 for the quickest of the day and the most generous dropping nearly 200 feet in that mile. The sun poked out temporarily for a bit at this point.

The next two miles drag with some climbing and I spotted a 5:51 and 6:12 here getting into the dirt road and dodging puddles of water and mud. At least it was not icy like last year. Another 5:51 mile passed as we approached pavement and I started to reel in Joe Shairs and then Matt Clark. Rich Smith was wheeling and dealing along side and looked good on the down hills which I appreciate. I eased up a bit to get an inventory from Joe who was not feeling too good. Keiron Tumbleton wheeled passed and I tagged onto him for the next few miles giving him about four strides into the lowest part of the course for the second time of the day. I was not looking forward to the climb back to the finish which starts shortly after eight miles. Then again, I know that not too many around me were relishing it either. I just tried to maintain up the hills. I heard Dave Dunham yelling for me with about 1200m to go. It sounded like Dan Verrington was closing in on me. I got to the base of the parking parking lot and set my sights on Keiron Tumbleton and another runner with whom I battled with during the race. I just got past them before the finish line passing the clock at 57:16 good for 48th overall. I was pretty happy with the effort as it is barely under 5:45 pace and was quicker than last year. Overall, it is my second quickest effort going back 11 years to 1999.

Results

Photos by Kristen

My Amherst 10 mile history

Year Time Pace Note

2009 57:37 5:46 USATF-NE Grand Prix Championship

2005 57:27 5:45 tune up for New Bedford Half Marathon

1999 56:24 5:39 USATF-NE Grand Prix Championship

The CMS teams did very well. The open team scored a second place showing with Justin Fyffe finishing second overall. The masters team took the team win behind a solid effort from guys who were not 100% on their game today. Kristen and I hung out with the team for some laughs over the pizza and soup offered by the volunteers. Kristen, Joe, and I hit the road back home to watch Team USA lose to Team Canada, 3-2 in overtime, in the men's Olympic gold medal game. Next up for me will be the New Bedford Half Marathon in March.

CMS men's open and masters team photo taken shortly after everyone finished today.

Top row: Kevin Gorman, Dan Verrington, Jim Pawlicki, Joe Shairs, Jim Johnson, Kevin Tilton, Christian Muentener, Mike Quintal, Dave Harper, John Pajer Botton Row: Jeff Goupil, Justin Fyffe, Dave Quintal, Scott Clark, Ernie Brake, Greg Hammett Missing: Matt Clark

The Great Stew Chase 15K

A chase it was. CMS mates Mike Quintal, Joe Shairs, Dan Verrington and I battled over the 15K (9.3 miles) course this morning. Looking at our finishing paces for the day, some would argue that we were just out for another Sunday, long run. The weather gods brought plenty of sun today, but also brought some wind that did not help us on our way out to Dearborn Road where the turn around at 4.9 miles awaited. The four of us were never separated more than five seconds on the way out. Each took turns fighting the wind and or tucking in for wind protection. Meanwhile, Eric Narcisi and Marc Leblanc were about 10 seconds ahead leading the race. Tomoaki Uchiki from GBTC trailed them by a few yards.

Dan took charge on the way back. Joe pulled away from Mike and I once we had the wind at our backs heading into mile 8. I kept talking to Mike over the last mile encouraging him to place any surges that he was dropping earlier in the race. A few last hills remained to get to mile nine. I dropped Mike a bit and was trying to reel in Joe. The best I could do was get within three seconds as we approached the finish line. Mike was right behind me. My Garmin advised that I ran 5:42 pace so I was pumped because that is close to what I ran last year. Technology does not always work right but the pace was according to covering a distance of 9.5 miles, not 9.3 miles. Chalk it up to GPS tracking error. I wound up in 6th place with a time of 54:12. CMS had four runners in a row as Tomoaki passed Dan right at the line. Kristen took a ton of photos. Results.

My dad Leo and I after the race.