Yesterday, I did my pre-race prep by going to a kayak safety clinic at the local Y. We spent 3 hours dumping out of our kayaks and trying to get back in. Good stuff, but hard work!

 

Today, I got up early for the 2.5 hour drive to Westerly, RI for this USATF-NE Grand Prix race. The course is pancake-flat, and just yards away from the ocean. There was a fair amount of rain on the drive down, but in Westerly, the sun appeared between the clouds, and there was a breeze from the south. I decided on compression shorts, a s/s shirt, a cap and my Mizuno Musha - no earrings, lip gloss or perfume.. It was nice to know most of the entrants, so we all spent a little time chatting before the race.

 

The course was 4 laps along the beach road, and was pancake flat. The gun went off at 10:30, and we were off.  Mark, who beat me in the half marathon in February, was right on my shoulder at the start. We made the first turn, and both of us got "cautions" from a judge for having a bent knee. That means that our lead leg appeared to be bent at some point from when it hit the ground to when it passed under our bodies, which is an infraction of the rules. Usually, 3 'cautions' and you risk disqualification. Mark got another caution along the way, but escaped a DQ.

 

I hung in front of Mark till a little way through the second of 4 laps. Then he crept up and got in front of me. I hung behind him, anywhere from a few feet to about 10 yards, for a few more laps. About half way through the race, I questioned if I would be able to maintain our pace for the rest of the race. But I was also reluctant to let Mark go, so I didn't. We finally made the last turn, and I expected a kick from Mark that wasn't there. I had been trying to lengthen my stride a bit while maintaining my turnover rate, and it was working. I pulled up even with Mark and kept going. I got to about 5 yards in front of him, but didn't have anything left to keep pulling away. But, fortunately, the finish came, and I was still ahead. We crossed, and I shook his hand, and complained (with a smile on my face) because he made me work so hard! My splits ranged from 10:18 for the first mile to 10:34 in the middle, and 10:29 at the end for a 52:21 finish (10:26 pace). Good enough for a medal as the first finisher over age 60. Hard work, but a good race with good friends.

 

Jay

Jay that's just great!   WTG beating Mark .   I'd be happy with that pace for running 8 miles, walking it would be so much harder!   Esp. after the warm up you had the day before.  congratulations!

Congrats Jay. Good description of the race,and of your fashion statement, We spent the day at the boomer brunch and had a wonderful time with everyone, Made me feel like I wanted to run tomorrow, but tomorrow I'll be glad I didn't.

Jay, your last comment, "good race with good friends", says it all.  Congrats on a speedy race, a good time, and beating Mark.

 

TomS