Race Report: New Bedford 1/2 Marathon

Three weeks ago I ran the Jones 10 Miler out in Amherst, MA. I was optimistic about my chances at a PR, but the winds of fortune left me stranded and searching for a port-a-potty from mile 4 all the way to the finish line. I decided not to report on that race out of desire to avoid a big, public, pity party. Even though I could rationally say that a 57 minute 10 miler was not my best effort when intestinal distress is a non-factor, the disappointing race shook my confidence.  I knew that it would be pretty difficult to gain significant fitness in the 3 weeks leading up to this past Sunday's half marathon, so I opted to run and enjoy the miles as they came.

I had basically one very quality effort since Jones. Last Saturday, Tim Mallard and I ventured onto the Boston Marathon course for a planned 17 miler which became 20. We had an amazing run, clipping off 6:30s for the first 10 and dropping a 60:32 for the back 10. I knew I would feel tired after that effort, so I took Sunday off and then began a really hectic work week, resulting in four days off in a row. To be expected, my legs were tight and achy and with a half marathon on the horizon I was pretty anxious about getting my body ready to go. I spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday returning to status quo, running 3, 8, and 5 miles at easy paces.

Then Sunday's 1/2 marathon arrived and just about everything worked out for me.

My approach was to run relaxed through 4 miles, no matter what that meant in terms of pace. I guessed that 5:30-5:40 would be a safe place to start and friends like Louie Saviano, Tim Mallard, Richie Spitsburg (and many others) appeared to have a similar idea. We formed a massive pack of at least 20 following a pack of probably 20+ going 5-10 seconds per mile faster. I was towards the head of our chase pack but the wind was becoming a nuisance so I welcomed a few guys looking to press a bit and I drafted well as we hit the early hills in miles 2-4. I hit 4 miles averaging a hair over 5:30 and it occurred to me that I was at a similar pace last year and feeling far worse. This year I was relaxed, mostly avoiding the headwind, and in a position to attack.

I moved in the 5th mile as the welcomed downhill miles began. I found a great rhythm and broke away from the pack that had protected me through the windier sections. I began leapfrogging from one small group to the next, pausing in each slip-stream to evaluate whether it was time to settle in or continue rolling. By mile 6-7 I found allies in guys like Francis Cuscik, Chris Mahoney and Adam Goode and we rolled together for quite a while, running down victims of the fast early pace of the large lead pack. Miles 5-10 for me were awesome, going 5:09, 5:12, 5:05, 5:15, 5:12, 5:17. Garmin told me later that I ran 32:12 for the middle 10k of this race. I also split 10 miles in a PR of 53:13. Sweet!

As I hit 10 miles I caught eventual winner of the women's race, Kim Smith. Unfortunately, catching her coincided with the worst headwind of the race. It was as bad as last year, and drafting the tiny runner just in front of me was useless, so I begrudgingly pushed on as Smith jumped into my slip stream. I wasn't sure if there were rules about lead women drafting men, so I was conscious of trying to get away from her. I caught several more victims of the fast early paces set by the front pack, but a few of them hung on and we formed a fragile group charging into the viscous headwind. Soon, a couple stronger guys came flying by despite the wind and some members of my group clung onto them and got away from me. It was back to just me and Kim trudging away and into the final mile.

We hit the hill and someone I couldn't recognize was shouting that Whirlaway had the top 2 spots and that "every single second" counted for the team battle. It was at this moment I stopped feeling sorry for myself and the slow miles 11 and 12 and charged up the remainder of the hill. I would hold my position to the finish line with a huge PR of 10:46 (net time). I was pumped! In fact, everyone around me seemed thrilled with their races. I'm sure there were exceptions but it was such a cool celebration as everyone was hugging and congratulating one another. There were tons of PRs. Smith finished in just a hair over 1:11 and I was surprised that she found me and thanked me for pacing duties during miles 10-12. She asked me about my racing goals; I made something up as I have nothing concrete at the moment, but anyway, it was cool to see her excitement at her win and to chat with her for a minute.

In sum, I was really thrilled with my race despite the nasty wind over the final 5k. I executed my plan and was confident in my ability despite an odd week leading up to the race. The open team had a good performance and if Dan Princic hadn't had the misfortune of starting the race 4 minutes late, we would have placed 2nd instead of 3rd. With some guys on the mend and returning to form, the future looks exciting. As always, it was a blast seeing so many faces in the running community and catching up with old friends.

Next up, a 5k in Cambridge on March 30th. I'll do a few speedier sessions in preparation while I begin thinking about a more significant race like a marathon for later this Spring...

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