Nahant 30k Road Race

Over the past few weeks I've watched the clock tic closer to Cape Cod but I wasn't making any progress in terms of improving my endurance. Yeah, I've been getting faster, but I was basically untested at distances beyond 15 miles at any pace. So, despite less than good decision-making leading up to Sunday, I was determined to get a long hard run in. I have been preoccupied with moving, organizing the new place, job searching and really hadn't prepared for a long run how I normally would. Still, on Saturday evening I was hunting for a good marathon prep course and found a gem in the Nahant 30k Road Race. I think this is one of the races Jim Pawlicki recommended to me a few weeks ago too.

When I was running at UNH, I would head out for a hard 16 miler affectionately known as Bay Road. When running with the team we would pretty often keep the pace around 6:30 pace, only dropping it down close to 6:00 in the last few miles. But sometimes I would run the loop by myself and just hit it at 6:00 from the beginning, and I've always been really confident with my ability to run hard for a good distance.  That's just the thing about memories of your past self, though. You recall the glorious long runs, workouts and races when you couldn't have been slowed down by anything. But you don't recall the regimented sleep schedule, hydrating constantly, eating well, and the overall total focus that consumes successful running. Well, I had a tough wake-up call on Sunday, to say the least.

I woke early since Lauren was getting up for work and spent a few minutes with her before she took off. Driving towards the coast I was fantasizing of 55 degrees, zero humidity and a light coastal breeze. After I registered and warmed up 10 minutes, I realized the weather could become a bigger factor. I forgot my water bottle at home, but had remembered two GUs and luckily brought them to the starting line. My watch strap got chewed by my stepbrother's dog and I didn't want to deal with carrying GU and my watch, so I left the watch at the car, thinking that running by feel would make the most sense anyway. 

My plan had been to run roughly 6:20-6:30s for the first 12 miles and then get aggressive and see how fast I could close out the 18.7 mile run. At the same time, I was really hoping to find at least one person running my pace early on. I began chatting with Paul Ryan who's plan was to run 6:30s for 6, 6:00s for 6, and 5:40's for the final 6. Perfect! I thought as we chatted through the first 6 miles. It was only at mile 7 he revealed to me that we had run just under 42 for the first 7. I was struggling with taking down water and was feeling weaker than I have in several days. It was humid and the coastal breeze I'd dreamed about was nowhere in sight once we were over the bridge. I'll give the course organizers credit, too, because it was as hilly as advertised. 

I let Paul go at 7.5 and decided it was time to salvage my race plan and back off for the next 5 miles or so. By 10 miles I had lost sight of Paul and was running completely alone. I didn't have a great sense of my pace, but I knew that the steep rollers were playing a number on my quads and I couldn't shake the feeling that I was more fatigued than I should be. By roughly 12 miles, I was running scared. My quads were really wrecked, but my hamstrings started to cramp on the downhills. I shortened my stride for a half mile to the next aid station. There I threw off my jersey, walked for about 30 seconds to the station, and chatted with a volunteer for a few minutes. He gave me a bottle of Gatorade and I downed it. Then I drank down 4 or 5 dixie cups of water. Having felt totally defeated, I decided I must be dehydrated and that stopping at all the water stops would be a solution to get me to the finish line.

I couldn't believe no one caught me when I stopped. Of course I didn't have my watch, but someone seriously should have caught me. I was pissed that I didn't have my watch too because now I wouldn't know my moving average, although I could generalize later. The rest of the race played out with me stopping at every water stop, running relaxed, and getting to about mile 16 before the cramps returned, this time with a fury. By 17 I was really wishing the race was over and I stopped one last time to stretch at 18 miles. Finishing, well, you can tell by the photo how I was feeling. At least I had the smarts to throw my singlet back on. It actually felt chilly compared to my body temperature. 

After the race I wasn't really disappointed. It was really only a wake-up call that to run long and hard you have to prepare not just by running the miles and getting fit, but by living running as a lifestyle. That's something my high school coach always hammered home and it's good to be reminded now. It was also good to realize how important the long run efforts are. Overall, I really enjoyed this event. The course was challenging and the competition up front was really solid. The food post-race seemed like the best food ever, but that could be the 20 miles run talking. 

Top 10:

Place Name                No.  S Ag Div   Div City       St S Time    Pace  
===== =================== ==== = == ===== === ========== == = ======= ===== 
    1 DAN VASSALLO         262 M 26 M2029   1 PEABODY    MA   1:42:23  5:30 
    2 CHRIS BRUNNQUELL     280 M 22 M2029   2 MEDFORD    MA   1:45:41  5:41 
    3 JOSH ANDREWS          73 M 22 M2029   3 CHELMSFORD MA   1:49:34  5:53 
    4 PAUL RYAN            217 M 31 M3039   1 BOSTON     MA   1:50:44  5:57 
    5 RYAN MURDOCH         269 M 23 M2029   4 ROSLINDALE MA   1:52:44  6:03 
    6 BEN SCHERSTEN        164 M 32 M3039   2 SOMERVILLE MA   1:54:16  6:08 
    7 SCOTT MCGRATH        266 M 24 M2029   5 ANDOVER    MA   2:00:25  6:28 
    8 EMILY KROSHUS        168 F 28 F2029   1 BOSTON     MA   2:03:10  6:37 
    9 LAURA BRUSTOLON      104 F 23 F2029   2 MYSTIC     CT   2:03:42  6:39 
   10 KATIE MISURACA       277 F 30 F3039   1 GLOUCESTER MA   2:07:06  6:50