Bay State Triathlon Team Training Weekend

(Strawberry Shortcake 10K and Piggy Trot Race Reports)

This past weekend was the annual Bay State Tri Team training camp.  After having been through the day last year I was fully prepared this year, got myself registered for everything early, had put some thought into my nutrition plan for the day etc. I woke up Saturday morning excited and after a quick breakfast made my way to Ted Williams Camp in Lakeville, the base of operations for the day’s festivities.  After checking in I got a sweet new Bay State towel, water bottle and shirt.  We then split into groups for the short bike ride over to Plympton where some of us were running the Strawberry Shortcake 10K and others were going for a short training run.  

This race is a fun one, fast downhill start, relatively flat 1st half and some good rollers on the 2nd half.  I had a great race last year but I really wanted to throw down a fast time this year.  I started near the front and stayed with the lead group for the 1st mile or so before falling off a bit.  As we rounded a corner during the 2nd mile the sun really came out and things started to get hot; I grabbed a look at my watch and saw the heart rate was at 184 ! As I passed a few people I decided to stick with my friend Brian’s motto of “never look back” and just kept going forward. At the 5K split I had a 30+ second PR and when I passed mile 5 I grabbed a look at my watch and started doing math in my head, “Oh my god” I shouted out when I realized I had a legit chance to crack 40 minutes. As I came down the final straight I watched the race clock and felt a huge wave of excitement when it still said 39 as I crossed the line !

Post-race was a bit of an ordeal, lots of calf cramping, hamstrings tightening up etc.  But I managed to get my post-race bowl of strawberry shortcake. I ended up finishing 9th overall and 3rd in my age-group.  After all the cramping post-race I elected to stay in the medium pace group for the 30 mile bike ride back to Lakeville, I wanted to go with the hammerfest group to see if I could hang with them, but that will have to wait until next year. The ride was pretty fun, I hung at the back for a while, then worked up to the front and pulled for a bit, we did have to stop a couple times for mechanicals, but nothing serious.  

After re-fueling, my friend Gary and I attacked Loon Pond for a nice easy open-water swim.  I’m really happy right now with my swimming, the extra time in the new pool at work is paying off.  I’m eager to see if my swim is at least mid-pack rather than back-of-the-pack this year.  After some raffles we had a BBQ and the training day was a wrap.  Awesome, awesome time ! 

At work I won a raffle for the Piggy Trot 3.7 mile road race.  I cleared the morning with Carol and did a 20 mile bike ride to the race venue. After checking in and changing into my run clothes I hung out with some co-workers and friends before the race.  I went out hard and again stuck with the lead goup for a mile or so. On tired legs I couldn’t push the pace or heart rate as high as the day before but I did hold on to finish 6th overall and grab 1st in my age-group.  I then hammered out a 30 mile ride to my son’s soccer game and a really slow 5 mile ride home after the game.  

On to my first Century Ride this coming weekend !

Race Report(s) - Seagull Six & Falmouth 5000

I really enjoyed these races last year and was bummed when they were scheduled for the same day this year. After thinking it over I decided to turn it into a challenge and run both races. 5.74 miles at 11am and a 5K at noon with a 15-20 minute ride between venues… No problem !

I talked Gary into this adventure but he bailed on me to sit on the beach in Florida. I got in touch with Ray the race director of the Falmouth 5000 to get my bib ahead of time as I would miss the designated pickup time. Race day woke up and my wife had made “Cinnamuffin Cake” ! Awesome !

Things got messed up after that, left the house without a number belt, picked up my Falmouth 5000 bib, back to the house for the belt, then down to Woods Hole to get checked in for the Seagull Six. Scoped out a perfect parking spot to make my post-race escape and downed a caffeinated Honey Stinger gel. Things were back to being good again.

Met up with Dave and Mike at the starting line and with the blast of a cannon we were off ! The seagull is a hilly, intense race and I knew to have any chance of making the start of the 2nd race I would have to PR the course. Around mile 3 there was a water stop and no one was taking water which had the kids working the table looking sad so I grabbed one on my way by and… I have finally mastered the art of grabbing a cup of water during a race without slowing down and without spilling it all over myself !!! (I’m really proud of this, it only took me 3 years )

Suffered through the last 2 miles, watched an old man out-kick me at the end and captured my 1st ever top ten finish with a 2 minute PR !

Grabbed my stuff, headed to the truck (tried to talk other runners into joining me at the 2nd race, they all told me I’m crazy) and headed to the Heights. Downed some water, devoured another Honey Stinger gel and got to the Falmouth 5000 start… 2 minutes late… No problem, walked to the start line, clicked my watch and took off.

Half a mile in I started passing folks and just kept going, I pushed as hard as I could while also conversing with some friends as I went by them on the course. As I came into the finish I crossed the line in an official 23:04 and looked down at my watch, 20:47. About a minute off my best 5K time, not bad given the wind, 1st race, drive etc. 

After hanging out for a while, went home and cracked open a well-earned home-brewed honey amber ale before spending the rest of the day playing with the kids.

Cheers !

Race Report - 2013 Hyannis Marathon

Ran a 6 minute marathon PR in a driving rain yesterday !

Decided to run the full marathon again this year with a goal of getting under 3:20.  Training had been spot on; nailing my speedwork sessions, negative splitting my long runs etc.  And then came Nemo, the Blizzard of 2013.  I missed a 20 mile run after 5 hours of shoveling, a gym session was replaced with splitting wood to keep the house warm over 5 nights without power and my sleep was limited to 1 hour increments to tend the fire.

With my confidence going into the race somewhat shaken my last long run did not go well, I had trouble pushing the pace and just felt tired from the lack of sleep.  Moving into the final week before the race another storm was forecast for race day and the director was sending out emails about the Police Department having final say over whether the race would happen.

In the end the snow was forecast to miss Cape Cod and the 50+ mph winds were downgraded leading to a cool, rainy breezing day.  After getting to the race yesterday I went inside the host hotel to stay warm.  About 15 minutes before the start time I went out and jogged up and down the road a bit to get loose.

I seeded myself in the 8 min/mile group but at the start took off and passed a lot of people until I had some space to run.  Over the 1st half of the race I nailed my nutrition (Honey Stinger - caffeinated Strawberry gels) and found the conditions to be quite tolerable, sort of a light to medium drizzle with some stiff winds.  About a mile into my 2nd lap the rain picked up and the wind gusts increased as well.  Basically from mile 14 to mile 20 was into a headwind and driving rain ! 

As I went into the final miles I stuck to my nutrition strategy and thought of a picture I sent a friend before her 1st marathon last year:

I dug down deep to reach the finish and I have never been so excited to see a finish line ! I felt a huge release after finishing this race and although I didn’t get my 3:20 goal I’m so proud to gut out a PR in some really tough conditions !