Race #20 - Rye Derby 5 Mile Run

I left my house at 10:30 for a 1:45 race in Rye, NY. I was meeting up with Brad Hunt and Scott Mosenthal, aka Dr. Mo, to run the Rye Derby. I got to the Rye YMCA at 1:30 as there was loads of traffic in the Bronx. Good thing I gave myself plenty of time. Not a big fan of afternoon races but It gave me time to sleep in a bit. I knew the heat was going to be a factor today so I planned on taking it easy. I don't run well in heat so it wasn't going to make sense for me to try to break 34 minutes.

I ran with Brad and his friend Dave for most of the race. This is the second race Brad has run with me during the 50@50 and the temp extremes have been, well extreme. We ran the Midnight Run in zero degrees and now this race in 90+. The heat was starting to become a factor for many of the runners. Brad and I saw at least 5 people down on the side of the road. I have run over 450 races and never saw that in person. These people were in serious condition and as of this writing, I don't know what happened to them. Hopefully, they received some fluids then were better. Dr. Mo ran 33:15, Brad and I ran 45:10. It was a good race in a beautiful town but the heat took something away from the day. Dr. Mo said he ran this same race in the snow one year.

The highlight of the day besides hanging with the Hunt family was meeting a guy who said he was Eamon Coghlan, the Chairman of the Boards because he won so many indoor mile races. His best time was 3:49 outdoors.

Afterward the race I headed up to Armonk to meet up with Tim O'Malley. Tim and I went to St Francis College together. It was a long day but well worth it. I will be up in that area for another race before the year is out but probably in he fall.

Race #19 - Country Roads 5K - Cream Ridge, NJ

Ran a great race today. Finished in 19:30 which was good for 5th overall and 1st in my age group. Splits of 6:16, 6:18 & 6:13. Fastest 5K in a very long time. Ro (my wife) and our friend Katie Brady joined me for race #19. After getting slightly lost we found the winery in plenty of time. We were pre-registered which always helps with picking up the numbers and shirts. This was the 4th annual race and from what the race director said, it has grown every year. This race has lots of potential because the winery is a gracious host and the course runs arounds the local farms. They gave out generous goodie bags stocked with all kinds of stuff. After taking the banner pic we visited with the many vendors who set up shop near the start. Nothing special so I left the ladies to warm up. Ro and Katie were going to walk the 5K course so that left me to go all out. I didn't think it was a hilly course so I was planning on trying to break 20 again. I did run every day this past week so I wasn't sure if my legs would be tired and respond. I think there were about 180 runners today. I positioned myself near the front and promised myself not to go out too fast. I felt like I was going easy but when I heard 6:16 for the first split I thought I was going to fade in mile two like I do at all my 5K's. Unlike the previous few 5K's, mile two was relatively flat at first so I just kept pushing. My heart rate was hitting 158 so I knew I still had a little to give. There was a long slight hill at the end of mile 2 which some guy tried to pass me on, but I was not having any of that. Mt Wash is only 2 months away and if I can't hold a little sissy hill what am I going to do in New Hampshire. When I crested the hill, the guy was not to be heard from again so I just concentrated on the 3 runners in front of me, 2 guys and 1 girl (the lead female). I started my push just at the end of mile 2 and was surprised to hear a 6:18 split but my heart rate was now 163. Hills will do that to your ticker. After passing the first guy, I was trying to encourage the second guy in front of me to push it in with me to the finish. He was running strong but seem to have no kick left. (more on that later). Just the woman in front of me which I passed with about 300 yards from the finish. All three of those runners gave me motivation to keep my pace and was surprised to hear an 18 handle at mile split 3. I think it was 18:56 which at that point made me realize I was going to be right around 19:30. My legs were spent and I was breathing pretty hard as my HR hit 169 towards the end. After drinking some water, I slowly jogged back to where Katie and Ro were in the race and walked the last mile with them. Good job by them as they went faster than the last time they walked a race with me. After cooling down we hit the wine tasting which was a nice change from other races. Bob's 50@50 is all about diversity. Like I stated earlier, the owner was a gracious host was more than happy for us to taste all the wines they produce. If you like local wines, make a stop at Cream Ridge Winery on route 539. I was surprised to see I was 5th overall which translated to first in my age group. While tasting the wines one of the guys I passed at the end came up to me to congratulate me on my finish. I was feeling good about it but when I discovered he and a bunch of other runners had biked 35 miles from Mendham to get to the race, my accomplishment of passing him at the end didn't seem so terrific. I passed a guy with 400 meters to go who biked 35 miles to the start which was much of an accomplishment. Each week it seems I meet folks who in their own right are doing great physical challenges regularly. His name was Joe Z and he has inspired me to bike to the start of at least two of my future races. I think I will start with a Princeton and North Brunswick race since they are relatively close. Anyway, time for me to prepare for race #20 tomorrow in Rye, NY. Not sure what my legs will be like but I am sure I will run hard at some point. looking forward to see Brad Hunt and Tim O'Malley.

Jersey Shore Relay Marathon

Race #18 was a blast. Perfect weather, great friends, new friends and first place in the master's divison for team Bob's 50@50. Taugh Lynch, Ken White, John Liptak and Dale Hoth joined me as we ran 26.2 miles up the Jersey shoreline as a team, on an absolutely perfect day for running. We just missed breaking 3 hours, finishing in a very respectable 3:03:15, 26th overall, out of 450 teams. This was my first relay and won't be my last. Taugh ran the first leg (5.75M), John the 2nd (6.75M), Dale was our middle guy (4.25m), I ran the fourth leg (6.2M) and Ken was our anchor guy (4M).

Our day started with pick ups of Ken White, John Liptak and the Senator, Ken Vercammen. The Senator wasn't on our team but he needed a ride becuase he knew he was going to partake in the festivities afterwards. After checking in at 8:30, we headed over to the 7-ll for some prerace food but we quickly became aware of the barking ice. Some dog was barking in a yard that sounded like it was coming from the outside ice container. Our start time was 9:45 which was the fastest group. The goal of race director Bob Both was to have all the teams finish up at about the same time. My van was acting as the official race vehicle for the relay so we got Taugh over to the start with plenty of time to take photos and meet people. Once Taugh was on his way, we headed over to the 1st transition area to get Liptak set up. Taugh arrived in 40:30 which was very fast for the distance on the instructions. We later found out that it was about 1/2 mile shorter than original stated. His time was still excellent and gave John a perfect hand off. John took off for his 6+ miles not knowing that his leg was 1/2 mile longer. He ran a great leg and gave Dale another perfect hand off with the baton. Dale was all pumped up about the race and was determined to run his best time for he 4 miles. Now here is where it got just a bit sloppy. Dale ran great, but I was having a Flomax moment at transition #3 and was in the john when Dale showed up with the baton. I came out of the bathroom to my teammates screaming that Dale had run past me and I needed to catch up. I take full responsibility for that screw up. Once I caught up to the baton, I was running with guilt trying to make up for any lost time. My heart rate was nearing 160, partly because I had messed up and also because I had kicked it into gear to catch the baton. I finally settled in, but it took until I was 18 minutes into the run. I was passing people, but I really started my catching up about halfway into my run. I passed the Super Sophs (HS girls dressed like crime fighters), and another team that was in our age group (Spirit of Essex) although I think they started 15 minutes ahead of us. My leg was mostly on the boardwalk of Sea Girt, Spring Lake, & Belmar which needless to say was crowded because of the spectacular weather. On your left, Bob's 50 @ 50 coming through, and good job was what I was saying as I passed people. Ken got my hand off without a hitch and he took off like a shot determined to finish strong. The finish was on the Asbury Park boardwalk which was crowded with runners and other people out enjoying the day.

The post race party was in the convention hall where free beer and pasta was handed out. Unfortunately they ran out of beer rather quickly. We waited around for the happy results then headed over to the Wonder Bar for a few more drinks. We made friends with other runners and they wanted to know about Bob's 50@50. They all liked the concept and although they said they were approaching 5o, they looked more like they were a lot younger. They were serious runners and enjoyed the day and the fact that the Senator was still shirtless. We hung around until about 4:30 then called it a day. Our faces red from sun and legs tired from run and another great day for Bob's 50@50.



Two races next weekend. Less talking and more running please.

The Bunny Run 5K - Jamestown, RI

My son and I left Boston at 10am for Jamestown, Rhode Island to run the Bunny Run which was to be race #17. We were in Boston visiting BU as my son narrows his choice for his home for the next 4 years. Next week he is off to GW in DC. Boston is a great running city and they were preparing for the Boston Marathon next week. As we were leaving Boston, it was raining lightly, but as we driving south it was coming down a lot harder. We arrived in Jamestown about 1 hour before the race and realized it was going to be a wet one. I noticed the race tent which was threatening to blow away so I headed over to pick up my race number and t-shirts. The tent was also doubling as the post race food table which consisted of 6 bananas & a box of clementines. The woman under the tent told me they weren't using numbers because there were only about 40 runners and they knew everyone in the race. She also said that if they needed to use numbers, they would write in on our hands which they did. I was number 8. I am not sure there were 40 runners in the race. The rain was still coming down at the start and continued throughout the race and with the wind and cold (40 degrees) it wasn't going to be pleasant run. My son was not happy with me, but he is a trooper. I was planning on running the race at his pace and started that way, but when I noticed we were in 2nd & 3rd after 1/4 mile, I told him I would try to catch the guy in front of us. I never did. He was too strong on the hills on a surprisingly hilly course. The finish was along the water into to wind with the rain pelting your face. My second place finish was good for $50 which is the first time I actually won money at a race. It was also my highest finish in a race, but it was no where near my best time for a 5K. Bobby finished in 6th in a time of 25:20. My splits were 6:31 (HR 145), 7:19 (HR 155) & 6:45 (HR 152) finishing in 21:10. We headed back to the car to change and then to the Narragansett Cafe for some post race chili. We didn't stick around too long because we were planning to stop in New Haven for Frank Pepe's pizza. It was still raining and the line at Frank's was 25 deep. I was not waiting so we headed to another place in New Haven which wasn't to far away, Modern Apizza. I can't believe that Frank's could be better because the white clam pie at Modern's was excellent.

This race has a lot of potential to be a great race. It is set a beautiful location and race director Pamela Rodgers did a great job despite the horrible weather. I hope this race is on the New England schedule next year.

Mt Washington training

Today I started to train again for the 7.6 mile run up Mt Washington in June. I took a break from the training until I knew I was officially accepted to the race. Taugh and I were meeting weekly at the NYSC on Wall Street in January and February to train, but I stopped when I took the job at Jersey Mortgage in NJ was no longer traveling into NYC. We would warm up for a mile then crank up the treadmill to an incline of 11.5 and run at a 13:30 pace building up to 4 miles. Sweat just pours off you when you are on that treadmill plodding along. He hasn't missed a week so I have a lot of catching up to do.

Today I warmed up for 1 mile at a 10:30 pace then moved the incline to 5 and kept the pace the same for the next mile. I did mile three at a 7 incline and mile 4 at a 9 incline all at 10:30 pace. I did the next 1/2 mile at 11.5 incline but had to move the speed to a 13:30 pace. I wore my heart rate monitor with interesting results.

Mile 1 - avg HR 92

Mile 2 - avg HR 118

Mile 3 - avg HR 129

Mile 4 - avg HR 137

Mile 4.5 - avg 125

last 1/2 avg 116

To put it perspective, when I ran the the 1/2 marathon in Virginia 2 weeks ago and set a personal best, my average HR was about 148 at a consistent 7 minute pace. When I went sub 2o in a 5k last week, my average HR was 157 and I was running a pace of 6:25. It's too early to say but it looks like my HR won't be the issue at Mt Washington, but my legs. I will be doing a hill workout once a week now, hopefully building back up to at least 4 miles at 11.5 incline. I figure if I can do 4 miles, I should be able to do 7.6 miles. If I am wrong, it will be a very painful June 20th.

New Hope-Solebury Spirit 5K

I write this entry as I sit as a passenger in my daughter's Honda Civic as she drives herself back to UDel. I wanted to drive but she insisted, saying it was her car, plus I had to listen to her music. Oh, well, now I can blog about today's race while she drives.

I usually get up three hours before a race, one hour at home to eat, have a cup of coffee and get my stuff together. The next hour is usually for traveling, and I like to get to a race 1 hour before the start time. I spent the first hour making scones for the family. I like to leave them something while I am running although most times I am back before they are up. They all said thumbs up on the scones although I was told they looked more like cookies. I try.

It was too bad that I couldn't get anyone to run with me today because it was a great day for a run, a nice course, and the organizers did a great job with the post race refreshments. I will try to make this race again next year. This race is the second of 7 races in a the Bucks 5K Series, sponsored by Panera's. All the races are held in the Bucks County area (different towns) so I will try to run at least one more in the series.

The race organizers had two physical therapists from Hall Family Chiropractic stretching out runners before and after the race. I took advantage and had the guy work on might right leg which was bothering me after throwing batting practice to my boys' baseball team. I felt good afterwards, but still felt a little sluggish during my warm up before the race. I ran 7 miles yesterday with the RVRR so I knew I wasn't going to be totally fresh and knew it would be a long shot to break 20 minutes again. I also knew the course was hilly which was another factor. I know, excuses excuses. Although I didn't think I was running fast I hit the 1st mile in 6:27 (HR 142) which was great but as soon as I hit that mile marker, the rolling hills began and would continue to the finish (see chart). My second mile split was 6:42 (HR 156) and my third was 6:50 (HR 158) finishing with a 20:45. It was another finish on the track which I am not sure I like but it does make it easier for the organizers. Post race was held in the school's cafeteria which had a nice assortment of goodies. The Planet Smoothie girls were there (Shannon & Melanie) handing out banana/strawberry drinks. Shannon told me she had a website grumpymoms.com which cater to moms that are stressed. Check it out. It looks good.

I ran into Gerry Fennelly who was there handing out race apps for a race he organizes on May 16th which benefits CASA kids. Gerry does a great job with races so that is one I would check out.

So I have 16 races in the books and next up is a run in Rhode Island as I travel back from Boston with my son. He is in the process of finalizing his plans for a college. It's down to Boston U and George Washington. Of course I found a race to run which takes place on Saturday.

Remember, less talking, more running.