I am all signed up for the Series!!!!

Last year i was only able to make the 5 Miler!!!

Vegas still working out the odds..... but giving that the resluts are not age graded the youngester might have the edge!!!!...lol

 

LOL.... the "youngster" (aka Jason or Speedster)...... RESULTS or RESLUTS... LMAO..... THATS WRITTEN IN "PORTLISH"

THATS WRITTEN IN "PORTLISH"

I like Portlish, it's easier to spell than Engluguese.  Hard to believe it's time for the series to begin, kick some ass boys.

Hard to believe it's time for the series to begin, kick some ass boys.

Mission accomplished, the top 20 23 is full of Good Times runners.

 

 

 

All photos by Jim Rhoades of Coolrunning (as always, LOTS more at http://www.jimrhoades.com/ )

Da basterds sprinted too!!!!!  There is NO respect for the elders around here!

 

I'm not surprised Tom, it's time for us to lodge a formal complaint with AARP.

Nice writeup Jason, as always.  And I shouldn't forget to mention that was a damned fine run.  Your running dad must be very proud.

 

And it looks like that damned youngster Jonathan Morris will soon be kicking my ass too, I think it's time we got him into an ugly a nice new green singlet.

 

 

and that damn sprint almost did me in...you almost got me at the end  and JM went flying by me right at the mile marker..I really hope this cold will be gone by Sunday..it's hard to run fast when you can't breath and are blowing snots all over the course ...I better start doing some speed work

 

Actually, I wasn't even close...I'm in the same boat as you.  I couldn't breathe and was getting passed by everyone, just barely holding on.  Sunday may turn into a non race for me depending on what I have - off ot the Dr's office.

 

Good race everyone!  Lots of fun.  You guys need to hang around longer at the post race party!  Plan on it Sunday - lots of room at the Claddaugh.

 

 

Firewalls suck!  All blogs are blocked so I can't even read this good stuff at work anymore!

 

I am sure hope Jason wouldn't mind...

 

Day 59 - What a day of racing on the final day of February!

Fil and I found ourselves out in Haverhill for the first race in the Wild Rover series (3 Miler), Glenn S. was down south in the Big Easy for a rare below sea level marathon, and pretty much every other running club member was "snow shoeing" out in Amherst, MA for the 1st grand prix race of the season at the Jones 10 Miler.

I was a little disappointed about not being able to make it out to Amherst to represent GLRR in my nifty new singlet, but I knew that there was still a good time to be had at the 3 miler. Going with the shorter race today was probably the smarter move considering all of the races that I've already competed in so far this year.

 

My goals going into this race was to finish in the top 5 and run at least a 17:30. The goals were based on last year's race results, and also how I felt going into this race. Sandbagger Fil wanted to run a sub 20 (way to set the bar high, Fil!).

The start of the Haverhill race was at the unusual hour of 1PM, so it was tricky preparing for a race this late in the day. I slept in and woke up at 9AM, and had a light breakfast with expectations to refuel with a light snack about an hour before the race. Rachel decided to hit the gym (news flash!) so I went with her, but I just did some free-weights for the upper body and, best of all, sit in the pool and jacuzzi to relax the muscles.

I left the gym and waited for Fil to pick me up at the apartment (again). It was already past 12PM when we left Lowell to drive the 30 minutes to Haverhill. It was going to be another last minute arrival. My heart can't take much more of these!

We knew race parking was going to be a pain as the start area is in downtown Haverhill. Simple equation to remember: Downtown + popular road race + last minute = NO PARKING! Fortunately, we came across our first familiar face of the day (John Burke of Baystate Race Services), and he directed us towards a parking area 2 minutes from the bar.

Fil and I quickly got our race gear on, and there was no need to warm up as our heart rate was already sky high! We arrived at the starting line as The Star-Spangled Banner was wrapping up. I removed my warm-up jacket and gave it to John for safe keeping (Thanks, John!). That was when I finally unveiled the new GLRR racing singlet and shorts, but I did hear one "ewwwwww" from the peanut gallery. I found out it was due to my pale, white thighs and not because of the new GLRR colors. Phew!

There was hardly any time to size up my competition before the starting gun went off, but I did see Tom O., Bob R., Eric M, Matt S., Cullen M., and Jimmy C. This was going to be a blast!!!

I took off with the lead pack, but quickly backed off just a tad as I've learned that lesson all too well. Half mile into the race and it was just me and five others, with Jimmy directly in front of me by about five seconds. Jimmy and I were in this order heading into the first and only major hill 3/4th's of a mile into the race. I managed to keep my pace on target  as I crossed mile 1, at the crest of the hill, in 5:48.

After the hill, the course began to unwind downwards, but I was unable to get the leg turnover that I wanted. Did I go out too fast? Am I burning out already, halfway through the race?! Jimmy began to make his move and pulled away from me, leaving me adrift in sixth place, and still one position from my goal. Jimmy ended up in 3rd with an impressively well-paced run.

Mile #2 came and went for me in 11:35, giving me a 5:47 second mile! This also gave me a huge psychological boost as I was doing better than I felt. I typically lose a little time in my pace at this point in most 5K's, so to see a negative split (albeit 1 second) at this point was a huge bonus.

It even got a little hairy crossing over the final bridge shortly after mile 2. This short stretch of bridge was covered in small, square (about 4x4x4 inch) grooves that wreaked havoc on my Newtons. I lost a little bit of time here, but fortunately, the final stretches of the 3rd mile consisted of two long, flat stretches of straight road. I knew that I had a good shot at the 5th place runner, but would have to make up about a five second gap, and then continue to keep it in overdrive to keep that position. Timing my final surge was going to be key.

I so desperately wanted to make my move, but I just couldn't muster the energy to do so...until I saw another familiar face at the 2.85 mile mark! It was Jim S., GLRR track coach extraordinaire! He was out on the course directing traffic and cheering on the runners. All I needed to hear from Jim was, "Jason, pump your arms faster, just like in track!"

Man, what a bleeping difference!

I pumped the arms and easily blew past 6th place and right into 5th place! I could finally see the orange road cones leading into the finish area, and kept the pedal to metal (thank you track workouts!). I took the hard right turn and crossed the awkwardly placed finish line in 17:12! The 6th place runner finished 1 second behind me! That's shorter than the time that it took you to read this sentence!

I was completely drained, but the exhilaration of meeting and surpassing my goals easily overcame my total exertion. Phew!

John quickly greeted me with my jacket and a congratulations. RD and timer, Dave Camire, greeted me with a great line, "Come see me after you're done puking". After regaining my composure, John and I walked back to the finish line to cheer on the rest of the runners.

Fil finished in 18:52, but even with a 1 minute penalty for sandbagging, he still finished under his goal time of 20 minutes! Nice job, dad!

Wild Rover #1 Results - Great job by all 806 finishers!

That makes it three big races in-a-row where I have finished in the top 10 and 1st in my age group. This is one streak that I'd love to continue!

Next up is the Wild Rover #2 (4 Miler) at the Claddagh Pub in Lawrence and the EVIL HILL FROM HELL!