Better late than never I guess, I was hoping for a much better run than what I got but some days you just don’t have it and this was one of them for me right from the start. My pre-race goal was to at least run a course PR (42:44) or better and maybe even a 10K PR (41:03). However I was realistic enough to know that this is a very tough course and a 10K PR was probably not in the cards and as I lined up I was thinking that a course PR was probably unlikely today as well. My legs just felt very heavy and tired today and I ended up not eating breakfast which is not normal for me and I just didn't quite feel right. I met up with a bunch of my running buddies and we went down and got our race packets which also included a free pair of New Balance 1062 running shoes for the first 4 or 5 hundred pre-registered runners and a short sleeve tech shirt. We went back to our cars and unloaded our stuff and then took off on a pre-race warm up of 1.18 miles. It was quite warm and humid out and after the warm up I decided I would wear a singlet instead of a short sleeve shirt for the race. Fashion report: NYPD racing singlet, black adidas running shorts, asics DS Trainers, Boston Red Sox running hat and my Garmin. We lined up for the start about 3 or 4 minutes ahead of time and didn’t have to wait long for the singing of the national anthem and then we were off. The first mile is always the quickest here as it is mostly downhill, I was a little fast at 6:08 but not overly concerned. My main concern was that I just felt like crap and had to work my way through the mental games as I trudged along. Somewhere in this second mile a friend of mine (Jerry) who is actually running injured passed me (yeah that made me feel real good…not) we talked briefly and he commented that he wasn’t sure he would be able to hold it together much past 4 miles. Mile two came in at 12:57 for a 6:49 mile…yeah this sucks I muttered to myself. I kept trudging along and as I passed the area where I was tripped last year I thought to myself (at least you had an excuse for last year’s time), oh well no accidents this year! Mile three comes in at 19:51 for a 6:54 mile. The next two miles are the steepest and normally the slowest so I was prepared for that, but I really hadn’t wanted to be running seven minute miles here…so much for that plan. Mile four comes in at 26:54 for a 7:03 mile, shortly after mile four I met up with Jerry again and passed him a short while later. At least now I was really beginning to pick off some runners and just kept setting my sites on one after another as they quite a few struggled with the hills. Mile five came in at 33:58 for a 7:04 mile (my slowest for the day) and we rounded the turn onto Lower Main Street for the final stretch. At least now I knew the end was near and realized I still had a bit of a chance at setting a course PR so I pushed myself as hard as I could and “surged” … well maybe not… to the sixth mile at 40:45 for a 6:47 mile and crossed the finish line 1:49 later for a course PR of 42:36 (6:52) 9/70 AG - 117/918 OA. Although I was quite disappointed with myself at first after a little time passed I was pretty pleased overall, considering how poorly I felt at the start of the race I guess I did OK after all. A nice 1.34 mile cool down with my friends then I hopped on over to LL Beans and got myself cleaned up and my wife and I sat back and enjoyed the parade through downtown Freeport did a little shopping and then went for a nice lunch at “Pedro’s” compliments of a 1st place LEO finish I had back in May in a 5K. We ended up going to the Fireworks in Portland and met up with our oldest son, his wife & their two boys and had a great time except that I noticed my wife wasn't looking too good. Turns out she got pretty sick and was out of it all the next day...hmmm I wonder if I had a slight touch of this? Oh well the Beach to Beacon 10K is on August 2nd we'll see if I can get under 41:00 there?

Hi Bob, I wonder if you did have a bit of what your wife had? Regardless, a course PR on a day when felt like you just didn't have it is pretty good! You obviously did a good job of playing those mental games so that your physical issues didn't get in the way of you having a pretty good race. Nice haul, just for signing up early, with a pair of shoes and a tech shirt! Congrats on a great effort on an off day! Jay

Good job with the course PR, and nice report! Nice to get shoes and a tech tee! I keep getting cotton race tees. I agree with Kevin that I dream of being that subpar someday!

You ran a good one under any conditions, let alone when you weren't 100%. Congrats on the course PR. TomS

Bob, if you compare your previous course PR with your PR for the tenK, that is 1:41, which is huge. This must be some very tough course! So for you to run the time you did on a day you weren't 100% means that you are very fit right now and running well. I wouldn't have been at all disappointed if I were you running a great race like that. Good for you! Your archenemy, Spareribs

hey bob - nice job running a course PR despite not feeling your best!! beach to beacon 10K sounds so cool - i'll be at OOB then and wish the race wasn't closed - maybe i'll come and spectate!! i'm going to register for that breakaway 5K at OOB - hopefully i'll spot you there!!