Boston Prep 16 Miler

After much deliberation, I finally realized I had no choice but to return to Derry and try to defend my title from last year. I've been feeling really good in workouts and I was pretty confident I could handle the distance well despite only a couple "long" runs since the new year. Got an e-mail Saturday night just before going to bed from the race director. Among other things, he insisted that nobody get arrested for peeing in public, that everybody wear pants during the race, and that we all consider a 2-degree windchill factor as we prepare to race a hilly 16 miles. Sounded like good advice overall.

The next morning I dug through the older running gear (you know, the stuff from 2003 with the holes and brittle elastic that you just can't seem to throw away or donate) and luckily found my wind blocking briefs. Good thing too, because it was NECESSARY. Arrived at the race and it was in the high teens but the wind was whipping. I hung around in the gym and waited for my dad to show up. Chatted with Mahoney about who else might be in it up front, but didn't see anyone. Warmed up with 4 easy laps around the school, testing out my racing gear. It was wicked cold whenever the wind gusted, but otherwise I was comfortable in a single layer upper with a singlet. Inside and downed a gel with about 15 minutes minutes to go. Right as I was getting ready to leave, I saw a team RUN guy, Chris Andrews heading out. At that point I mentally prepared for a battle, since I'm pretty sure Andrews has finished ahead of me in the last 3 or 4 times we've met.

I was uncharacteristically calm though. I jogged to the start, did a few easy strides and prepared to ease into the race as the first mile gradually climbs. A guy in a red jacket took it out and I followed suit. Each time I tried to get onto his shoulder and share the lead, he would surge slightly and make sure I was out of sight behind him. Fine... I could hang back a few seconds and relax. I didn't look back, but I sensed it was quickly becoming a 2 man race and I was a little apprehensive to chase this guy because we were taking it out much faster than last year. Garmin was off the mark as we passed the first mile around 5:44. Next mile was around 5:30 and mile 3 was 5:12 for me and I was getting dropped. Runner in red (I'll call him Jordan now, since I learned his name after the race) had maybe a 7 to 10 second gap on me and now I'm just trying to keep him in sight. Mile 4 was flat and I held the gap (21:58), mile 5 hurt like hell as it climbs a long steady hill. Through 5 miles 1:20 faster than last year.

From this point on I knew it would be a real grind. I tried to relax and let the miles tic by with as little resistance as possible. Through 8 miles in 44:05, 9 miles around 49:35 and the hills began immediately after. I was reeling at this point, and the GU I tried to take was frozen in my hand. I decided to swallow the gel whole since chewing and choking on its congealed form seemed like a negative strategy during an uphill mile. It worked, but my stomach wasn't happy. After a steep section, I made substantial ground on Jordan and just before the 10 mile mark I made the pass. 10 miles in 55:46! Yiiikes. My PR for 10 miles is 55:05 and that's on a net-even course, though not a flat one (Jones 10).

Moving on, I tried to stay composed but I was really hurting through the hills of miles 11 and 12. By the half-marathon (1:14:3x) I was pretty convinced I wouldn't match last year's race time. Mile 14 made me want to quit, as I told a few guys after the race. The wind whipping off the open field to the left froze my face. I couldn't feel my lips or my ears and my body felt like it was shutting down. I knew that as I descended there would be less wind and it was all I could do but count the minutes down.

I never looked back, but I felt like I was crawling. Anybody who ran conservative early on might even steal it. To my relief, there would be no last-minute contenders. I hit the final uphill and took the hard right into the parking lot to see 1:30:38 on the clock as I finished. Pretty sweet finishing time, but more than anything I was just happy to be done. My body was rocked. I couldn't even jog for several minutes without calf cramps. Anyway, I jogged back up the hill to the corner about 2/3 of a mile away to cheer my dad in. He ran great! 2:07 and change for second in his age group overall. He has amazed me with his improvements these past couple years.

Alex called and congratulated me, and I was reminded that his 8:10 3k on Saturday was a whole lot faster than my measly 5:39 pace. Makes me want to run a 3k and see if I can break 8:40! Probably not. I have to be honest and admit I am really excited for the strength I have developed over the past couple months. My training has been anything than glorious, but I've realized that I don't have to log huge miles as long as I'm putting in consistent quality work. I've gone on (and on) about this in past blogs, but I truly believe the core work and lifting makes a substantial difference in my strength. If you're not doing regular core work, maybe try it out.

Next up will be the Jones 10 miler where I'll target 53:xx. That would be a huge PR for me on a challenging course. Thanks to everybody on facebook who has already given me a shout out and motivated me to recover quickly and get back to workouts. The next two days, however, will be mighty slow...

Garmin data here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/266973989 **Garmin was way off relative to the markers on the course. It shows me stopping a few times, too, which definitely didn't happen.**