I know I haven’t been posting much of late and figured it wasn’t fair for me to post my quickest times and my upcoming races if I don’t at least try to post something once in a while so here are two brief reports on my latest races: First up Doc’s Tiger 3 Miler – this is the first race I ever ran back in June of 2003 in a time of 26:01…boy have I come a long way since then! This year I am trying to get as close to sub 19:00 in a 5K and sub 40 in a 10K as possible so I have just started some more speed work in earnest and I am actually feeling much better…finally…oh yeah I have also started a weekly “Power Yoga” class which was started specifically for our running group…I love it! For Doc’s this year I was dressed in my favorite Red Sox running attire: Black Adida’s Running Shorts with red trim, Gray and Red Nike Dri-Fit Boston Red Sox Shirt, Nike Boston Red Sox running hat, Asics DS Trainers & my trusty Garmin 350. I lined up hoping to at least PR in this one and maybe just maybe drop in under 19:00 minutes…right off I run into one of my neighbor’s brother-in-laws who I beat last year and I overheard him say that he was going to beat me this year…NOT if I had anything to say about it he wasn’t (probably my downfall). The race was off and I concentrated hard on maintaining a nice even pace for that first mile and came in at 6:21 OK that’s just one second off pace and I’m feeling fine and I have my target in sight and kept just a couple of yards off his shoulder for the next mile. Every time I would speed up a bit he would too and I just held back (in hind sight this was where I made my mistake…I let him dictate this mile) I should have simply gone out at my pace…mile two came in at 6:33 crap that’s 13 seconds off pace. During the next mile I took it out a bit and passed my target and then just picked it up as we headed towards the finish. I was never passed except by one guy after the first mile and this guy passed me with about 3 or 4 hundred yards to go and I could hear a woman scream to him to go I was right behind him and I told him I was spent and he had me….then with about 50 yards to go I turned on the burners and went by him and he couldn’t catch me try as he might…at least that felt good. Final mile 6:15 with a PR of 19:09…felt good about that but knew I had left a little out there today. Oh yeah I forgot to say that Tom Ryan (Nationally ranked in my age group was there as were a couple other speedsters). I have consistently taken 2nd place in this race the last few years and this year placed 4th. Oh well 3rd might have been mine as I was just 2 seconds behind him and with what I left on the course…oh well … coulda, woulda, shoulda right! Tom took 1st place (5th OA) 15:54, 2nd (23rd OA) was 18:34, 3rd (31st OA) was 19:07, I was 4th (32nd OA) and 5th (33rd OA) was 19:10…not bad for us old folks!! Still a great race with a finish at Doc’s for a couple of nice cold beers, a great tradition that I hope to enjoy for years to come: Doc's Tiger 3 Miler - 06/13/08 - #78 - 19:09 (6:23) 4/17 AG 32/211 OA Next came The Mount Washington Road Race…yeah yeah yeah it’s just one hill right! My outfit was once again my favorite Red Sox running attire: Black Adida’s Running Shorts with red trim, Gray and Red Nike Dri-Fit Boston Red Sox Shirt, Nike Boston Red Sox running hat, Asics 2120’s & my trusty Garmin 350. I got roped into this one by some of my fellow law enforcement friends and besides it seemed like a great challenge. To say I was a bit nervous and or apprehensive about this one would have been an understatement to say the least! My primary goal was of course to finish, and second was to finish in 1:45 or better. I started a few rows back and immediately let the rabbits go, I kept a nice easy pace for the first half mile or so but after that it really begins to climb and you feel it immediately so I backed it off and mile one came at 10:19 wow that’s slow I thought, but I looked around and figured OK I still feel good so I just kept on trucking. It was warm and these early miles felt good with a bit of shade along the road from the trees down here on the lower elevelations….mile two came in at 12:03…OK even slower but to be expected. Somewhere along here I took the water that was offered and even doused my head to help cool off…that helped. Ok now it is getting even steeper and I can feel myself slowing down but I keep on running not wanting to stop at least not yet. Mile three comes in at 13:04 and from this point on I am pretty much running among a group and we all pretty much stay together so to speak…someone will run a bit and then maybe walk a bit it was then that I realized that you really didn’t lose much if you “power walked”. Now the mind games start, boy this is freaking tough…but of course I keep on truckin and mile four comes in at 13:14…the miles are definitely getting tougher and steeper! Somewhere around mile 4.5 I decided to give the old power walking a try and found some relief in doing so. I also looked once somewhere in or around here towards the summit…big mistake… didn’t do that again! The road is dirt along this stretch for about a mile and then turns to pavement again, mile five comes in at 14:56…well now that is a little slower than I wanted to see so I figured I wouldn’t walk quite so much for the final couple of miles…or maybe pick up my pace during the running portion…easier said than done! Mile 6 comes in at 14:36 a little better than that last one but I still want to pick it up even though I am pretty confident that I will come in under 1:45 now. The final water stop is at or around mile 6 too so I make sure to take a couple of good drinks here and I am sure that helped. It has also started to get a little cooler and you can see snow along the way here as well, but the cooler temps are welcomed at this point as I am pretty warm from the effort being put forth. Mile 7 comes in at 14:16 and now I am all but certain that I will come in well under 1:45 unless the wheels fall off, and shortly after a spectator says only .4 tenths left and I ask “really” and he shout oh yeah that’s it. Ok now I dig down deep and actually start to push it a little and we even come across what feels like a little flat (if you can call it that) stretch just before the finish. Now I have heard a lot about the finish and as I approach it and turn to make the climb … holy crap… I stop ever so briefly … hear someone shouting my name “Go Bob Go” and took down and reach as far into myself as I can to make the final push and really push it as I see the official clock ticking towards 1:40 as I cross the finish line in an official time of 1:40:01 my Garmin read 1:39:55…I like that better!! This was quite an experience and something I may even do again…holy carp what am I thinking? Who knows maybe a PR or a sub 1:35 or something like that….yeah I know I’m crazy…but what the hay we only live once right?!? By the way the recovery is unbelievable compared to a marathon…I ran with my running group the next day with no issues what so ever. Mt. Washington - 06/21/08 - # 152 - 1:39:55 - (13:09) - 39/115 AG - 333/854 OA Next the list LL BEan's 10K on July 4th - hoping for at least a PR (41:03) or better...we'll see this is a tough hilly course, good runs all and thanks for reading.

There you are mainerunnah! I have been wondering where you went after Boston. Nice racing in two great and storied events. It's wonderful to race to a PR and know that there is gas in the tank for another one. Good stuff and Congrats! Thanks for the report and all the details and I hope we see you here all the time. You are devoted or perhaps mad to go for Mt. Washington again. Hats off to ya. CNYrunner/Karin

Bob, great racing! I enjoyed reading your race reports. It is inspiring to see how much your times have improved over the last 5 years from where you started. Shows what consistent running and some speedwork can do. I do have one problem however, but keep in mind this is my own OCD quirk...Nike and Adidas should NEVER be worn together under any circumstances. I had a student teacher make that mistake once, I wonder how she is doing in the food service industry.

Great job in both races, maine. That's an impressive 5K with nice PR. Having ridden up Mt. Washington, and thinking it was terrible in a vehicle, I can't imagine those of you who run up it. Congratulations. TomS

Two strong races Bob,well done...Pretty tough competition in both of them I'd say...

I really enjoyed reading about those two very different races. Excellent job on both!

Great reports! I've hiked up Mt Washington in the winter (snowshoes at the bottom, crampons and ice axe at the top) and I thought it was tough, but I think running up would be tougher! In Colorado, I've hiked up Pikes Peak and Mt. Evans (both over 14,000 ft) and the air is thin up there, even for hiking. There are races up both mountains - if Mt Washington wasn't enough for you, you should come give them a try!

Yowza - you are fast!