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| Who is in for the New Bedford Half Marathon this month? (Read 541 times) |
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posted: 3/14/2008 at 12:45 PM |
| Quote from mikeymike on 3/14/2008 at 12:27 AM: Just start your watch when you cross the starting line.
Looks like rain and snow. Sweet!
Now it just looks like snow - ugh. |
"80% of success is showing up." ~ Woody Allen
"Go that way... really fast. If something gets in your way... turn." ~ Charles DeMar
God doesn't give you what you want. He gives you what you need, the rest is up to you. |
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| view log Blaine Moore |
posted: 3/14/2008 at 2:33 PM |
| Quote from jeffdonahue on 3/14/2008 at 12:45 PM: Now it just looks like snow - ugh.
It's New England. The weather forecast will change 5 times between now and then. I wouldn't even worry about what they are claiming until night before or morning of, or else do as I do and just look out the window as you drive there and have appropriate clothing for different conditions with you. |
Run to Win
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posted: 3/15/2008 at 3:14 AM |
Quote from mikeymike on 3/5/2008 at 12:45 PM:I'll be there. I found a course map on RA and copied it (and reversed it because the owner had drawn it backwards). I ran it last year, there are no big hills. Miles 4-7 are very fast and miles 8-11 can be fast if there's not too much wind along the water. That last hill at mile 12 is not steep but it comes at a difficult time. Overall it's a fast course. MAP.
oops! Thanks mikey mike, time to radically re-work my race strategy  |
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posted: 3/15/2008 at 4:38 PM |
They're now calling for rain, snow and a tsunami to hit buzzards bay around noon. Dress accordingly.
And run fast! |
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sisters who run |
posted: 3/16/2008 at 2:37 AM |
Status quo conditions people (unless you're up from Florida or haven't been out running lately) - typical Sun. run - towel/dry shoes & clothes for a comfy ride home is my focus! Kicking some a%# during the 13.1 = goes without saying!
SAVE ME SOME CHOWDA!!!  |
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sisters who run |
posted: 3/16/2008 at 8:09 PM |
| No snow/rain - so should've been great right? Felt like crap for 11 out of the 13.1 - didn't hit my pace - what's up with that? Bummer. Anyone have a great race? |
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posted: 3/16/2008 at 8:43 PM |
I had a pretty good run. The headwind on 9, 10, and 11 was rough but hey it's New Bedford. And then there's that little bitch of a hill at mile 12. But hey it's New Bedford. All in all a decent run for me.
That's just racing, MissPratt. Some days you're the bug and some days your the windshield. Get 'em next time. |
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| view log Dolly |
posted: 3/16/2008 at 9:43 PM
modified: 3/16/2008 at 9:43 PM |
I enjoyed the race but can't say it was my finest (2) hours. The inclines around mile 2 and 4 slowed me down a bit but enjoyed the long flat section after that. However, the wind through mile 9 and 10 knocked the wind out of my sails. That was where it started to hurt. And yeh, that great little hill at mile 12 was the final kick in the running tights. I think I was only going through the motions of running on that one. When I saw the end though, I got a burst of energy and raced a guy to the finish. Where was the water at the finish though? Liked the tissues they were handing out. Just happy it didn't rain.  |
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| view log Blaine Moore |
posted: 3/16/2008 at 10:31 PM
modified: 3/16/2008 at 10:33 PM |
| Quote from mikeymike on 3/16/2008 at 8:43 PM: I had a pretty good run. The headwind on 9, 10, and 11 was rough but hey it's New Bedford. And then there's that little bitch of a hill at mile 12. But hey it's New Bedford.
Actually, the headwind was pretty light for that race, from what I can tell. It was way better than 2 years ago, and better than most of the stories that were told on the way down (though doubtless exaggerated, the headwind doesn't need to be by much...)
We got there pretty early, so we got off the highway and drove the last 3/4 of the course. Coming around the point at 9, we got to see a lot of flags pointing back without a crease in them, so had the race been at 9:30 it would have been a lot worse I think.
All in all, I was pretty happy with my race. I ran relatively even splits most of the race, and wasn't too set back by the wind after the turn around. The pack I was running in broke up right before then, so I wound up running that stretch alone pretty much. I ran with Molly Taber for most of the race, and she had had a bit of a lead here. I offered to break the wind for her, but went by at about 5:40 pace so she decided not to take advantage of it. She kicked herself at the end, though, because I wound up running the time she was aiming for.
I said before the race I would run between 75-77 minutes, and ran 76:31. The sad part was that I wound up scoring for my team, when I should have been the insurance man. One of our top guys fell apart and I caught him around 10 or 11; he was about 15 seconds behind me at the finish. Had he run what he's capable of, our team would have been second place. Had he run even a bit over 6 minutes faster, we'd have had 3rd place. As such, we were 30 seconds behind 4th place. $100 is better than nothing, so between that and the team paying for me going down at least I saw a small positive return today (I made $25.) Makes me luckier than most I guess.
The race is a bit of a hike to get down to. Took us 3 hours from Portland. A couple of my teammates came from further away. One guy was from Bar Harbor (an additional 2 hours or so) and another from Presque Isle up next to Canada, so he had not only the 3 hours from Portland, and the 2+ hours to Bar Harbor, but also another 2 1/2 hours on top of that. Long drive home...
I'll post a link to my race write up tonight after I've had a chance to actually write it and upload my running info. Between warm ups and the race, I've logged more miles this week than I've run since graduating college. Should be in the 71-72 mile range, and I still feel strong, so hopefully no injuries around the corner. Looking forward to next week's cut back week, though. I'm due.
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posted: 3/17/2008 at 12:56 AM |
hey Miss Pratt - thanks for the ride down!! the wind and for me that hill at mile 12 was a killer but overall i'm satisfied with my race - gun time of 2:01:11 a PR for me but really aiming for under 2 hours!! maybe next one!!
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| denise |
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Tremont view log |
posted: 3/17/2008 at 1:54 AM |
| Great race. I was a little apprehensive about the hills, especially the one at mile 12, since I train on pancake flat terrain, and the weather after the ominous forecasts on Saturday, but neither was a problem for me. I really liked the atmosphere: it had a kind of small-town vibe with lots of community support but was also very well-organized and conducted. I'm glad I made the trip and I'd definitely do it again. |
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posted: 3/17/2008 at 1:06 PM
modified: 3/17/2008 at 1:08 PM |
Actually the race went really well for me - finished in 1:39:25 by watch (1:39:45 by the gun time).
I met up with some people from my running club when I got there. It was about an hour and a half drive by myself so it was nice to have someone to talk to at that point. Got there early, got my number and relaxed for a while. Around 9:15 we all headed out for a little warm up jog. I got a few strides in and then back to the gymnasium to wait for the start.
As we walked out to the start, one guy (the faster of our group) went ahead and we lost him in the crowd but me and two others lined up together a bit back in the crowd. As the gun went off it was packed for a while. I decided not to try to fight it as I find that you just waste more energy dodging through people. I had planned on about a 7:40 pace for teh first mile anyway - wanted to hold back since it was downhill and I didnt want to tash myself right away.
Second and third mile things thinned out quite a bit and I held a 7:35 pace, even on the hill during mile 3. The big hill came right after that - and it was pretty big. What made it even worse I thought was the anticipation because you could see it coming for about a quarter mile before you actually hit it. Took that mile in 7:42 so not too slow and I was happy.
I did get caught up in the next mile when the slight (very slight) downhill started in mile five and ran that one in 7:17. When I realized I did that I was able to back off a bit and hold a 7:30 or slightly better through mile 7 after that. I ran the first 5 miles with one of the guys from my group but started to edge ahead after that. He stayed pretty much right behind me most of the race, finishing about a minute after me in the end.
During mile 8 there was a little water and a little wind and I thought "wow, this wind isnt as bad as everyone said" adn I was still able to hold my pace. Then I hit mile 9 and the wind started and never stopped. I drafted off people when I could and for a half mile or so section got caught up in a peleton of people and couldnt pass them so I settled in and used them to block the wind. There was also one woman right after that - a petite little thing that kept bumping into me as she tried to cut her tangents as much as possible. A bit annoying but the wind got her in the end and I lost her.
What really surprised me was that after mile 11 when you left the water, the headwind didnt stop right away. My pace had dropped to 7:42-7:45 for miles 9, 10, and 11 and stayed there for part of mile 12. I held back a bit when the wind stopped, knowing that there was a hill coming in the last mile. and ran a 7:43 for mile 12 as well. headwinds just have a way of sapping me mentally and I lost my focus for a while towards teh end of this stretch and missed the last water station because of it.
And then the hill, which was about as steep as I had expected, but it wasnt nearly as long as I had expected it to be. I took it kind of easy on the hill as well probably holding just over an 8:00mpm pace. When I reached the top, I had finally mentally recovered from the headwinds and I kicked it back up to a 7:30 pace for the long flat stretch. We made a right hand turn and there was a pretty nice downhill and I knew we were close to the end. I kicked it up again to probably close to 7:00mpm pace to the finish, passing quite a few people.
As I got close to the finish I could see the clock and it read 1:39:34. I knew I was a few seconds under that due to the time it took me to reach the starting line, but I really poured it on there to make sure I broke that 1:40 mark. All in all a great run, and teh weather (other than the wind) was just perfect for a race.
I finished grabbed some water and walked back to the finish to see my friends cross. I missed teh one that was right behind me but was able to see our other friend finish in just under 1:45. And I must say the chowdah and fish sandwich at the end were pretty darn good.
So I finished breaking my previous PR of 2:01 by a good 21 minutes. Granted, I ran that 5 years ago, but even still I was really happy with the day and my performance. The worst part was that my family wasnt there to see it.
Hope everyone else's day went well.
Jeff |
"80% of success is showing up." ~ Woody Allen
"Go that way... really fast. If something gets in your way... turn." ~ Charles DeMar
God doesn't give you what you want. He gives you what you need, the rest is up to you. |
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| view log Blaine Moore |
posted: 3/17/2008 at 1:31 PM |
| Quote from jeffdonahue on 3/17/2008 at 1:06 PM: During mile 8 there was a little water and a little wind and I thought "wow, this wind isnt as bad as everyone said" adn I was still able to hold my pace. Then I hit mile 9 and the wind started and never stopped.
It isn't that the wind started at mile 9, because you had it at mile 8 as well. It was just at your back there helping you along. Heheh.
Quote from jeffdonahue on 3/17/2008 at 1:06 PM:And I must say the chowdah and fish sandwich at the end were pretty darn good.
I skipped the chowder and fish sandwiches this year. We opted to take off and avoid the crowds.
Quote from jeffdonahue on 3/17/2008 at 1:06 PM:So I finished breaking my previous PR of 2:01 by a good 21 minutes.
Nice work! |
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pokey52 view log |
posted: 3/17/2008 at 3:32 PM |
All of he RA runners out there who ran New Bedford on Sunday. NICE JOB!
Glad you got to enjoy our corner of the State.
Looks like I was the mop up man this time. Came across the line in 2:16:04, slow as it seems it was sure
better than my last run in Hynnis where I tanked. I guess that what makes us keep coming back. |
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