Yankee Homecoming 10 Miler (Read 942 times)

The race was on August 2, at Newburyport, MA. It was a week ago, but I didn't have much time to write until now. Just like last year, it was hot. I don't see how it can be any other way since it is August. On the bright side, it didn't just rain for five minutes and turned the entire course into one long steam room. Just like last year, I lined up late, and inserted myself a third of the way from the starting line. Instead of a gun, or a horn, the man on the loud speaker just shouted "Go!" and off we went. The starting line wasn't clearly marked, merely a long strip of duct tape on the side of the road. There were some 1400 people and traffic was slow moving for the first mile. The impatient ones would dart around trying to speed up while I went along with the speed of the crowd. Granted my first mile was a minute slower than my overall pace, I figure that I have plenty of time to make it up. After about a mile, the crowd thinned out a little and I increased my tempo. I missed the mile 2 marker and discovered that I was going way too fast by the time I got to mile 3. I checked my watch and I ran an average of 7:13 for miles 2 and 3! I wasn't worried though because much of that was downhill. By mile 4, the heat got to me and I started feeling lousy. I saw someone from my club 50 yards ahead. Since it was still relatively early in the race, I knew that I will catch up to him eventually. About a mile or so later, I caught up to him at a water break. I usually carry my own water and don't stop at water stations for races under 10 miles. The nausea got worse. I was dehydrated but didn't want to drink, so I forced myself to drink about 6 ounces of water. That made me feel like crap but half a mile later, I started feeling better. The residents of Newburyport came out to cheer us on. Many of them turned on their sprinklers to help cool off the runners. Ever since last year's hot Boston Marathon, when I went through all the sprinklers and open hydrants on the course, I avoided them like the plague. I went to the other side of the road just not to get wet. Last year, the last several miles felt like they went on forever, probably because my quads were on the verge of cramping. This time around, the miles just flew by. With the sun setting, the temperature cooled just slightly, but that was all I needed. When I got to the mile 9 marker, there was a noticeable tension in the air, as everyone quickened their pace ever so slightly. As we wind through the neighborhood close to the finish line, everyone fell silent. I knew there was a right hand turn before the finish line, but I didn't know where. I couldn't use my watch to estimate the remaining distance because I picked up the pace for the last mile. When I came to that turn, I was behind someone in a blue t-shirt. The finish line was about 300 meters from the turn, and I passed him on the outside as he hugged the curve. I picked up my pace a little to get ready for the final sprint when out of nowhere, this guy in the blue t-shirt came flying past me, and gave me a stare as he went by. Before I knew it, he was some 10 yards ahead of me. "Oh great" I said to myself, wondering if I should catch up to him. I sped up a little to match his pace and suddenly, I got a surge of energy and I gained grounds on him. It also helped that he slowed down after his sprint. He either thought I could no longer catch up, or ran out of gas. Either way, I blew past him, and then went into a full sprint. The wall of people lining the street turned into a blur. Someone shouted out "Go Eric!" as I went by, but I was too focused on that finish line banner to look. I did recognize that voice as someone from my club. When I reached the timing mat, I almost collided with someone because he slowed to a walk right at the mat, and started walking diagonally in front of me! I tend to run across the line and couldn't slow down fast enough to avoid him. Swerving around him didn't work too well since he was walking into me. Why do people stop right at the line and not through it? My official time was 1:15:43, which was 2:10 faster than last year, so I'm happy with that. I was hoping that I would break 1:15:00, which would give me a 7:30 pace, but I'll take what I can get. race stats

Hi Eric... thanks for taking the time to write your race report. I enjoyed reading it. Just what was the temperature on race day? Regards, Johnny

As I said...well done I haven't been close to that time for 10 miles for many years... I moved to France from the UK and have struggled to come to terms with the heat this summer. It has been hot but not humid. Mind you, I suddenly feel a little chilly in the evenings if it drops below 25 C (77 F); perhaps I'm acclimatising. What is your goal? When's your next race? All the best, Johnny

I plan to do Monpellier's 20k in November followed by its marathon in May/June 2006. There's a series of trail runs through the winter near my village; the closest being based around my village and being 14k. That's about it..although long term I still hold a candle for an ultra; either official or on my own - (there's a large lagoon about 10k from my house; I've worked out that it's about 50k in circumference My goal is a sub 4 marathon. All the best..