Race #33 - Pine Beach 5K - 20:30

I initially had 2 races scheduled for this weekend, Save the Bay 8K on Saturday and today's Pine Beach 5K. My son Michael had a doubleheader yesterday which started at 8Am so that made me abort Saturday's race. We also had a graduation party for my older son Bobby as well.

Dale was in town so I was hoping he would join me today but he had a long ride back so he declined. Dale plays lots of hockey and runs regularly so he opted to get home to play hockey in Pittsburgh. I did have the company of The Senator, Kenny V to accompany me to the race. I thought I was tired after my long day yesterday but Ken did the annual 10 miles, 10 bar run on Saturday.

I picked up Ken at 7Am for the ride to Pine Beach. I had heard so much about this race I knew I had to add it to my list this year. I am still a little sore after Mt Washington race but took my training down a notch this week to get rested. Sally Mustang is the race director of this very popular race and did a wonderful job which broke its record by registering over 1,500 runners.

I was hoping to run a sub 21 minute 5K today and with the low humidity, I knew it would be possible. My lack of sleep would be my only undoing. The staging area was a big park adjacent to the Toms River. It was a perfect weather day and I took advantage of the free 10 minute massage before the race. Off to the start line after some stretching.

I got off to a good start, passing the 1st mile marker at 6:28 but it was getting a bit warm and I was feeling a bit dehydrated, partly because I exceeded my two beer limit the day before. I passed the second mile at 13:11 so I slowed a bit but that was okay. I liked the pace and my heart rate was hitting 158 which is normal for the pace I was running. I hit mile 3 at 19:58 and pushed it to the finish with a time of 20:30. My heart rate at the end was 164. I gave the race a good effort and was happy with my time.

I took advantage of a second massage which was much better than the first one and got some fluids in me. I also enjoyed the chicken sandwich by ironically, Outback Steakhouse.

I also met up with Vin Laudati who Jet-skied from his house in Toms River. We caught up on things and he offer a ride on his ride. There wasn't a second life jacket so no ride for us but that was fine. Vin got to be in the Banner pic. I need Vin to run a race with me.

Sally Mustang who organized the whole race hosted a party at her house afterwards. She had a goofy raffle at her house and I won a pair of tie-dyed bike shorts, which I modeled for the 50 plus guests. I had a few beers there then headed home for a well deserved nap.

My next race is the Milltown July 4th race then the Belmar race on July 11th. Let's get out there people. Stop putting off exercising.

RIP - ED, Farrah, Michael & Billy.

Race #32 - Mt Washington Road Race

The race I have been waiting to run all year is now over. 7.6 miles of uphill running at an average of a 12% incline was a lot tougher than I imagined. I ran all the whole way except for 10 steps at the very top which was at a 22% incline. I finished in 1:43:21 which was what I was expecting although there was a chance I might be able to go in the 1:30's. I just wanted to keep moving and try not to stop. John Liptak finished in 1:42:36, Chris Kelly in 1:44:03 and Taugh finished in 1:49:48. Ken White was also with us but he skied Tuckerman's Ravine which included hiking to where the snow was. I think he had it tougher than the runners. We dropped him off at Pinkham's Notch and then headed to the auto road. More on that later.

We arrived 2 1/2 hours before the 10am start to make sure we got my van to the top with time to spare. We met up with Chris Kelly & his wife Debbie at the start area. Debbie was our official driver to the top. I met Chris on the Mt Washington website a few weeks before the race after we lost our official driver Tommy Ryan. Chris lives in Somerset and runs through South Brunswick on his longer traing runs.

Debbie did a great job as the drive up the mountain was a white knuckler because of the narrow road and the fog. After Debbie left us at 8:30 for the top we waited around nervously not really knowing what we would encounter on this run. None of us had ever really done a race like this so we had no point of reference. The Mt Washington website says that you can expect to run a time similar to your 1/2 marathon time. I ran a 1:32 in Virginia early but I knew that wasn't going to happen at this mountain. I had run 4.5 miles on a treadmill at the 12 incline and really couldn't go faster than 13:45 per mile.

The weather which has been causing havoc in the NY/NJ area was expected for this race earlier in the week but cleared out on Saturday. It turned out to be a perfect day to run, although we had some clouds to run through and visibility was limited at the top but it was a whole lot better than what was happening at the US Open. In fact it was hot at the start and we didn't need all our change of clothes at the top since in was in the mid 50's.

The start was at the beginning of the toll road and ran slightly downhill for a 100 yards and then flatten out for another 200 yards and then the fun began. John, Taugh and I all started together and ran that way for the first mile. We thought we would hang together for the first 3 miles and let our fitness levels sought it out from there. I pulled back a bit to run with Taugh so John ran ahead of us. Just before we approached mile 2 Taugh began to walk a bit so I moved ahead of him. We were not competing against each other but against the mountain. Once I realized that Taugh was not going to be able to catch up, I just focused on my run. I really didn't start feeling good until mile 3 and felt like at the pace I was running it would be no problem. I passed the halfway point in 48:56 and felt strong and it was nice psychological boost to pass that marker. A runner who was walking told me the 2nd half was easier than the first 3.8 miles, but he was very wrong. It never really got easier except for about 200 yards of relatively flat ground which I am sure was a 5% incline but it just felt flat.

Once I passed mile 5 I knew I was going to finish without stopping although it wasn't getting any easier. I was still running in the clouds at this point and was waiting for the clearing that the race director promised us at the top. He was right but it was at mile 6.5 and the incline seemed to be getting steeper. I passed Chris at mile 6 as he looked a bit fatigued and was walking at this point. John was getting closer to me as he was also walking. Funny thing about the walkers, some of them were walking faster than I was running which was slightly upsetting. I was not going to stop except to take an occasional picture.

The last 1.6 miles was very pretty and the views spectacular although when you looked to where you had to go, it was not encouraging. I kept my head down and forged ahead. As I got near the top, you can hear the spectators cheering which was great but I knew I had that 22% incline section to deal with ahead. The sun was out at this point and it felt good. As I approached the toughest section I tried to keep running but I had to walk for about 10 steps and then just pushed it from there. The finish was about 70 yards of flat which was welcomed.

My splits were 10:34, 12:34, 13:29, 13:40, 14:43, 14:42, 14:35 & 9:03 for the .6. My heart rate averaged 149 and peaked at 162. My heart & lungs would have let me run faster but my legs would not. I need more hill running to get better at mountain running. I might do other races but probably shorter climbs.

This was one of the races that was on my bucket list so now I can cross off. Once again I met many friendly runners who are all trying to keep it together through life.

Now just a bit on Ken White the skiing maniac. He skied Tuckerman while we ran, in looking back, probably had it worse. He had to hike 2.5 miles to the snow with his skis strapped on his backpack and also carrying his ski boots and other gear. Once to the top of the snow area, he would ski down about 700 vertical feet and then climb back up. That was one thing that was on his bucket list so now he can cross that off.

We all had a great time and look forward to the next weekend adventure.

Just a footnote to the weekend. On Friday night I met Kimi Puntillo who is the author of a new book called Great Races - Incredible Places, 100 great races around the world. I am always interested in ordinary people doing extraordinary feats. Kimi describes some of the races she has run over the years and it is an excellent book for inspiration and adventure.

Race #31 - New Hyde Park 8K

I am sitting on my deck, shoes off, enjoying a well deserved beer after a weekend of running. Today's race was in New Hyde Park, Long Island. It was my second race on the Island, but unfortunately none of my LI friends could join me. No worries, I think I will get out here for one or two more, so if you are reading LI friends, get running.

I ran this race instead of the Princeton 10K (5 miles from my house) on the recommendation from Eve Volonakis(NHP runners' club member) who I met at the Long Beach 10 miler. It also happens to be the town where my cousin Joe and his family resides. Just some quick background on my cuz. I grew up in Brooklyn and Joe grew up in Deer Park. His dad and my mom are brother/sister. I always looked forward to visiting with them because he had a nice size yard and we would play ball the whole weekend I was there. His dad, my Uncle, was a fabulous athlete and as a kid I marveled how this old man (Early 40's) couldh still play baseball. I remember thinking I wanted to be just like that. My cousin would gather all his friends and we would play baseball all day at the local school and come back to home made pizza. I attribute all my baseball knowledge to my visits out there.

Now back to today's race. It was rather warm for a 9:15 start and I planned on taking it easy since my legs were tired from yesterday's trail run. I checked in and met two very nice women, Tania & Leslie, who were selling raffle tickets and were very interested in my 50@50. One of the women gave me $5 towards my goal of $10,000 which was extremely nice of her. When I checked in, I was greeted by "I know you" from Eve, who remembered my shirt from the other LI race. She wasn't running today, but was helping out with the race.

I hit absolutely no traffic going out so I had 90 minutes to kill before the race so I stretched, hoping to get loose for the race. I chatted with some other friendly Long Islanders and then got to the start line. I was just hoping it was a flat course. This is my last race before Mt Washington so I just wanted to make it without pulling anything.

My first mile was 7:15 which I thought might be too fast so I pulled back to a 7:25 pace for mile two. Something then happen to me during mile 3 which was run along a straightaway which was in the shade along the LIE (I think), I started passing people. My mile 3 split was 7:10 and mile four split was 6:45. My legs felt great and my HR was only at 150. I was hoping to go sub 36:00 after the first mile, but now realized I could get closer to 35:00 with a good last mile. I continued to pass runners and as I approached the finish the clock read 34:40, but the finish was on grass so I just couldn't kick it to break 35. I finished with a 35:03 which was still faster than I thought I would go today.

My cousin Joe met me after the race and then we went back to his house for breakfast. It was a great visit and was made better because there was no traffic on the way home. They just got a puppy which was absolutely adorable.I actually went straight to my son's baseball practice where I ended up throwing batting practice. My legs hate batting practice.

I have no races scheduled for next week and will try to get ready and rested for Mt Washington in two weeks.

Race #30 - Wissahickon Trail Classic

Today's race was my first trail race of the year and it was a great one. John Liptak and I agreed to run this race about 4 weeks ago after reading about it in Running Times. It ranked it as one of the best trail races in the area. Since it was taking place in Philly, I thought it would be a great chance to try a different type of race and not have to travel far. I want my 50@50 to be very diverse and this race was very different the normal New Jersey 5K.

The race took place in Wissahickon Valley Park. I wasn't sure if it would be a flat trail race or one with hills. John and I saw a few hills near the sign up table so we knew it would just be flat. We met a very nice girl who told us she ran with her club every Thursday night in the park and we would love it.

After a flat start on soft gravel we made a turn into the woods and quickly up a steep hill that lasted for at least 1/2 mile. My thoughts immediately went to our Mt Washington race in 2 weeks so I knew not to complain. The only trouble was I think this hill was steeper than what Mt Washing would bring. I was running on my toes just to keep moving.

Once we got to the top it was a gradual downhill but over rock, logs and tree roots. Since I didn't have trail shoes, I was careful of my footing. I would pass people on the way up but they were flying by me on the way down. I was being very cautious as not to slip and get hurt. Young and old would bound their way down and 3 young girls who had to be cross country runners flew by me on the way up one hill.

We never repeated any part of the course and the hills seem always be there. There were no mile markers so I didn't know how far I ran, and where the finish was. I knew it had to be close as I checked my watch and it read 4o minutes. The second water stop was on a flat section and I started cruising by runners thinking we were almost to the finish only to hear a volunteer to say less than one mile to go.

We crossed a park road and started up a hill again and this one was the steepest yet. At one point everyone in front of me was walking and there was no room to pass. Once it leveled out, we all picked it up and then the downhill was frantic. I could sense that the experienced runners knew the finish was around the corner.

A quick hairpin turn and a sprint to the finish. John ran a 50:12 and for much of the race was about 3 minutes ahead of me, as I lost him at one of the hills and since much of the race was single track there was no catching him. John loves the trails and is much faster on those courses. I think I want to run a few more and longer ones. I like the pace and the solitude. I finished up in 53:25 which I thought was okay since I really don't have anything to compare it to.

The race committee did a great job and it will be a race I put on my yearly schedule. John and I took a detour for some Philly Cheesesteaks at Dallesandros which hit the spot.

Legs are a bit tired but I am looking forward to my 5 miler tomorrow in New Hyde park.