Good Times 5K of Lowell MA

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Mistake at the lake II (Read 180 times)

lostinthenet3


MM#1869

    Race report for the 24 hour around the lake race aka Mistake at the Lake 2

     

    The day did not go as I had planned for many reasons. The first of which was, that even though I had planned to take Friday off from work, so I could rest and get ready for the race, I ended up having to work until 4:30. This wouldn’t have been that bad, but I had been working until 11pm for the past 3 nights so not much sleep for me.

    My wife, Melissa, ended up meeting me in Woburn, so we could grab a bite to eat and get snacks, drinks and beers for my pacers, EJ (BadDawg) Jessica and Lynda. Once that was done, we headed over to the race and got a good parking space, not that far from where the Shamrock running club relay teams had set up “Camp Shamrock”. You could tell that this was not their first time at this race.

    On the way to pick up my packet , we bumped into Fireman Bob (of Good Times fame) and he invited us to join him at Camp Shamrock.

    This was great as it gave us a chance to meet the rest of the Shamrocks there and gave my wife a place to watch the race from.

    This race is unique, not only for it’s 7pm start, but also for the fact that the marathon is run at the same time as a 12 hour Ultra, 24 hour Ultra and a 24 hour relay, all around Lake Quanapowitt in Wakefield. The marathon ends up being 8 laps around the lake , plus a little added distance at the start to make the full distance.

    At this point, it was about a half hour from the start, so I headed back to the car to get ready for the race. Heading back from the car, I heard a woman call out to me about my Swamp singlet (hard to miss the GDDMN GRN ) As it turns out, it was Shannon (Jellyfish). She introduced me to Chuck (Marathon Junkie) who was also running the marathon tonight. They were both nice and very supportive out on the course when they lapped me later in the race. After I posed for a photo with Jellyfish, my pace Lynda showed up. Mel then took photos of Bob and I and then one of Lynda and I.

    Me and Bob.

     

    Lyndia and I

    We headed over to where the marathon start was going to be, but it ended up moving back a bit. Then it was time for the pre-race announcements and the command to go was issued. Because of the specific distance we needed to cover, we had to run to the end of the road we started on, circle around the building at the end, run back to the end of the street and then out around the lake. 1st mile was 8:11 and Lynda tells me I need to slow down. We slowed down to a 9:11 pace for the next mile , still too fast per Lynda so we slow down further.

    We finished the 1st lap and pass by Camp Shamrock.  Mel takes a picture.

     

    The cheers of “Looking good Doug” gave me quite a boost and we start out on lap 2 feeling great! The pace is now 9:50 which is still faster than the 10:30 we had planned and much faster than my 11:40 training runs. Toward the end of this lap, another pacer , Jessica , shows up.

    I have not had a GU yet or my usual electrolytes, so I told jess that I am going to stop at the end of this lap, so Mel can get them out of the car. I usually carry these with me on training runs but since this is a loop course and I’ll pass my wife every time, I felt I did not need to carry nutrition with me. I could not have been more wrong! In training, every 45 minutes I take a GU, here I did not take my first until 90 minutes into the run. We finished lap 2 and Jess got my supplies from Mel while Lynda and I started the next lap. Jess caught us on the back half of lap 3. We continued on pace , still too fast but I felt fine. Jess warned me that I was going too fast, but I joked that Lynda was pulling me along with an invisible tow rope.

    Started lap 4 and that’s when the calf cramps started. Maybe Jess is right ? At the next water stop, the cramps were getting worse so I took in more fluids and slowed my pace to 11 min and was on best pace ever. I finished lap 4 just under 2:05 which would have been a half marathon PR.

    We headed out for lap 5 and were joined by EJ. About ¼ way through this lap, my left hamstring decided to cramp up along with my calves. EJ and Jess walked with me and I sent Lynda ahead to finish the lap so she could head home and get ready for her shift at the hospital. Matt and Eric passed by and they were really moving. I told EJ how impressed I was with how fast Matt was running. EJ thought that Matt was running a relay leg and was surprised he was running the marathon. I checked my watch and Matt was at 3:09- his goal was 3:18 and it looked like he would beat it since he was on his last lap.

    Finished lap 5 and let EJ and Jess go ahead without me, since I was feeling ill and needed to visit the porta-potty. Now that I stopped, I had gotten chilly, so I grabbed a jacket out of the car.

    Realizing that my goal of 5:30 would be out of the question, I convinced Mel to walk lap 6 with me. About 1/3 of the way through, we found Jellyfish . She was not having the race she wanted either, so she walked and talked with us until she got her 2nd wind and started running again. I might have tried to run with her, but I also had a triathlon that I was participating in on Sunday morning, so I did not push it. We finished the lap and Mel went back to Camp Shamrock and I started out on lap 7.

    I started lap 7 and by now my left foot was bleeding and I had some blisters on my feet. For some reason, every time I run more than 20 miles ,my foot bleeds along the last toe. I limped, walked, jogged my way though the lap to find that EJ stayed to run the bell lap with me . But first I needed to stop again at the porta potty.

    We started lap 8 , feeling pretty good and then the cramps came back . I knew I was going to be able to finish, but I was mad at myself that I quit at lap 6 and did not run thru the push through the pain. One year ago, EJ was here helping me on lap 5 at this point. We both knew that it was going to be a better night than last year. I felt better physically but worse mentally. Last year I gave it my all on every lap and this time only the first 5. I finished the last mile running and then spent some time recovering at Camp Shamrock, where I got to chat with ,to quote EJ, “the great and powerful Eric”.

    Next year will be better!

    As I told EJ on the last lap, I can see how I have improved in a year as last time I as still struggling to finish but I was in agony. This year, I shut it down when it got hard, as I had my triathlon on Sunday that meant more to me. Sunday’s race was the first one my parents were able to see me participate in since I was a kid, since the course went right by their house.

    I may finally call myself a runner now. As I have learned, that running is part mental and part physical. I still need to work on the physical and do more training so that Baystate and the Monkey are not painful life lessons. But to quote the shirt my wife bought me, I am loving every painful awful minute of this.

    Special thanks to all of the Shamrocks who offered me their support and encouragement and kept my wife company and made sure she did not need any thing because with out her none of this would be possible.

    Thanks to everyone that made this marathon so much better than my first marathon last year.

     

     

    "If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run."

      Nice run, nice pics, and nice report Doug.  If you ever really figure out the marathon and it stops being scary, it will be time to move on to ultras.  As long as you are loving every painful awful minute of it, you're doing something right.

       

      You've literally come a long way.  If you can stick to a training plan, get a handle on pacing (which ain't easy) and figure out how to keep your feet in one piece, I don't see any reason that your improvement won't continue.

       

      Well done, congrats!

      E.J.
      Greater Lowell Road Runners
      Cry havoc and let slip the dawgs of war!

      May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your SPF30, may the rains fall soft upon your sweat-wicking hat, and until you hit the finish line may The Flying Spaghetti Monster hold you in the hollow of His Noodly Appendage.

        Well written Doug.  Congrats!

          <rant>

           

          Even accounting for re-reads, 33 views and 2 replies?  Stop sucking peeps.  It doesn't cost anything to type "nice job".

           

          </rant>

          E.J.
          Greater Lowell Road Runners
          Cry havoc and let slip the dawgs of war!

          May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your SPF30, may the rains fall soft upon your sweat-wicking hat, and until you hit the finish line may The Flying Spaghetti Monster hold you in the hollow of His Noodly Appendage.

          purpleprincess


            I just wanted to see what it looked like with the pictures added in   

             

              Great job Doug...keep up the good work

               

              evtish


                Nice marathon Doug!  Enjoyed reading your race report, sounded like it was mostly fun.

                 

                See you at GT.

                 

                Tom


                Food, Folks, Fun, Beer

                  I just read this.  I dont think Doug has learned pacing entirely yet.  8:11 and 9:11 for the first couple miles is not good but that's not the point. 

                   

                  The point is you are a warrior!  Nice job on your succesful mistakes on the lake.  Will see you soon at Good Times I hope.  (Tonight is doubtful but maybe next week. Smile)