This weekend wasn't exactly mine.
Two others within the immediate McGrath clan had stellar performances.
My brother Alex ran 24:04 on the William & Mary home course to win his conference meet in a course record. He ran 25:17 to win there earlier this year, so the improvement curve was huge! Here is a link to the write up, and if you click on the video, after a 30s commercial, you'll see a few race highlights, and a series of short interviews between Alex and his coach: http://www.tribeathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=608329&SPID=83403&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205720894&DB_OEM_ID=25100 Alex ran Saturday and you better believe his run was fuel for the fire for my marathon on Sunday.
Meanwhile, my dad Art McGrath, at the age of 61, ran the Nashua Telegraph 10k. He works nights, so he had about 4 hours sleep before driving to Nashua for the race. He romped over the course in his age group and ran 2 out of his 4 fastest 5ks of the year on this course: http://coolrunning.com/results/12/nh/Oct28_Nashua_set2.shtml
All this to say, we're a running family and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be the guy I am without them!
The daily meanderings of a New England runner
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
CCM 2012
This past Sunday marked my second visit to Falmouth, MA for the Cape Cod Marathon. Unlike last year's trip, which involved a stressful drive through an ice storm down to Falmouth the morning of the race, this year team Whirlaway reserved rooms at the Falmouth Inn. Brandon Newbould, Christin Doneski, Kaz and I rolled into town around 3:30 and picked up our numbers at the expo. We ran into lots of familiar faces and it was cool to be able to relax and catch up for a while. I was feeling pretty tired on the drive down, put all the positivity and excitement surrounding the race had me feeling good and optimistic.
Joe Navas joined us for a trip along the last 13 miles of the course. The second half features a few good hills and it was helpful to remind myself to be conservative early on. My memory from last year's race gets pretty hazy after mile 18 or so. All I can recall of the last 5 miles from 2011 is bloody feet, lots of walking / hopelessly stretching, coastal flooding and soliciting a stranger in a car for their Gatorade. I was determined to have a better finish this year.
Dinner at 6:30 with most of the team at an Italian restaurant attached to the inn. Had lots of bread and olive oil, Veal Parm over spaghetti, and one Long Trail IPA. Sat near Hammond, Spinney and Newbould and had a blast listening to Hammond's stories. They flowed endlessly until it was time to turn in. Read a bit and lights out sometime around 10pm.
I slept better than I could have hoped. Felt great waking up and wandered over to Dunkin' Donuts for my pre-race bacon egg and cheese on a croissant. It has never failed me for a long run. Coffee down the hatch and then it was time to hang out and hydrate.
I warmed up 10 minutes or so with Brandon. Soon after, it was down to 15 minutes before the cannon fired. I took down a Gu and some water, started jogging into town and immediately threw up the water I had just taken. Weird. Left a nasty taste in my mouth for the start. A little scattered getting onto the line and finding teammates. I see Lauren and give her a hug and the next thing I know the cannon has fired and we're off!
The first few miles was the sorting out process. I had mixed feelings about my plan to run 6:10s for a majority of the race. Some people recommended sticking to my pace plan no matter what, while others said to run relaxed and be sure I was feeling in control by halfway. I ended up siding with the latter philosophy, and ran by feel as a pack formed including a couple Western Mass guys, one GBTC, one SRR, at least one team RUN guy, Navas and myself. I'm probably forgetting some people. The pack was moving well and the race was officially on.
I stayed towards the front of the pack as Navas and a RUN guy went ahead for a few miles. By around 13 miles they came back to us and right around that time I made a slight move on a long gradual downhill. Miles 13, 14, 15 were my fastest on the day. I glanced back a few times and saw the pack stringing out but certainly still within striking distance. There was separation and then suddenly Sonny from Western Mass was right beside me. We were clear of the pack and moving on after a GBTC and BAA guy who came into view. In the back of my mind, I knew there were some really strong runners just a few seconds back and I fully expected them to come storming back in the final 10k.
Sonny and I exchanged leads over the next 5 miles. He finally got the better of me somewhere around mile 22-23. He moved strong up one of the biggest hills on the course. I encouraged him to get after the GBTC guy ahead and that was the last I saw of Sonny! I ended up catching GBTC after going through Woods Hole and crossing the wooden bridge there. Finally we're moving along the ocean and I'm feeling relieved to be beyond the point where last years race blew up for me.
I had very little power left to my stride by mile 22. My pace gradually slipped each mile after that one. Miles 24 and 25 were the toughest for me. There was a nasty constant headwind on the beach. I tried to fight through the wind but just as I passed the mile 24 marker I felt the first signs of cramping in my calves. Within seconds both calves were jumping. Just before the 25th marker my right hamstring seized. It was similar to last year, but I was so close to the finish I stretched it hard and shuffled back into an ugly stride. Exactly at the point I stopped to stretch, the SRR guy from long ago blows by me! I'm pissed that I had no idea he was near me (not that it would have made any difference!) and now he's 40 meters ahead. I maintain the gap and start to close it as we both pass a team RUN guy who was hurting badly.
Finally, I'm in sight of main street and both hamstrings cramp HARD and I'm stuck at a standstill. I had run my 26th mile in 6:24 and now I'm stranded in the last quarter mile. Dudes from Level Renner are yelling at me that the race is literally going to be over in 2 minutes if I could just get moving. It takes maybe a full minute to get going at a weak jog but finally I'm moving again. I was really psyched to be finishing and under 2:40 for the first time. It was redeeming to come back and run strong on this course and erase the doubts that plagued me during the taper period. I finished 9th overall, 8th in the Open division. Whirlaway scored high in a lot of areas, and I was proud that the Men's Open team won the team competition for the last GP event of the year.
Here are my splits:
1 - 5:48
2 - 6:02
3 - 5:57
4 - 5:52
5 - 5:53
6 - 6:05
7 - 6:01
8 - 5:55
9 - 6:00
10 - 5:51 (59:24)
11 - 5:59
12 - 5:57
13 - 5:48
13.1 - 1:18:0x
14 - 5:49
15 - 5:49
16 - 6:07
17 - 5:56
18 - 5:55
19 - 6:05
20 - 5:59 (1:58:48, 5:56 pace) (second 10 mi 59:24)
21 - 6:04
22 - 6:07
23 - 6:12
24 - 6:17
25 - 6:41
26 - 6:24
.2 - 2:40
Total: 2:39:12, 6:04.x per mile.
Joe Navas joined us for a trip along the last 13 miles of the course. The second half features a few good hills and it was helpful to remind myself to be conservative early on. My memory from last year's race gets pretty hazy after mile 18 or so. All I can recall of the last 5 miles from 2011 is bloody feet, lots of walking / hopelessly stretching, coastal flooding and soliciting a stranger in a car for their Gatorade. I was determined to have a better finish this year.
Dinner at 6:30 with most of the team at an Italian restaurant attached to the inn. Had lots of bread and olive oil, Veal Parm over spaghetti, and one Long Trail IPA. Sat near Hammond, Spinney and Newbould and had a blast listening to Hammond's stories. They flowed endlessly until it was time to turn in. Read a bit and lights out sometime around 10pm.
I slept better than I could have hoped. Felt great waking up and wandered over to Dunkin' Donuts for my pre-race bacon egg and cheese on a croissant. It has never failed me for a long run. Coffee down the hatch and then it was time to hang out and hydrate.
I warmed up 10 minutes or so with Brandon. Soon after, it was down to 15 minutes before the cannon fired. I took down a Gu and some water, started jogging into town and immediately threw up the water I had just taken. Weird. Left a nasty taste in my mouth for the start. A little scattered getting onto the line and finding teammates. I see Lauren and give her a hug and the next thing I know the cannon has fired and we're off!
The first few miles was the sorting out process. I had mixed feelings about my plan to run 6:10s for a majority of the race. Some people recommended sticking to my pace plan no matter what, while others said to run relaxed and be sure I was feeling in control by halfway. I ended up siding with the latter philosophy, and ran by feel as a pack formed including a couple Western Mass guys, one GBTC, one SRR, at least one team RUN guy, Navas and myself. I'm probably forgetting some people. The pack was moving well and the race was officially on.
I stayed towards the front of the pack as Navas and a RUN guy went ahead for a few miles. By around 13 miles they came back to us and right around that time I made a slight move on a long gradual downhill. Miles 13, 14, 15 were my fastest on the day. I glanced back a few times and saw the pack stringing out but certainly still within striking distance. There was separation and then suddenly Sonny from Western Mass was right beside me. We were clear of the pack and moving on after a GBTC and BAA guy who came into view. In the back of my mind, I knew there were some really strong runners just a few seconds back and I fully expected them to come storming back in the final 10k.
Sonny and I exchanged leads over the next 5 miles. He finally got the better of me somewhere around mile 22-23. He moved strong up one of the biggest hills on the course. I encouraged him to get after the GBTC guy ahead and that was the last I saw of Sonny! I ended up catching GBTC after going through Woods Hole and crossing the wooden bridge there. Finally we're moving along the ocean and I'm feeling relieved to be beyond the point where last years race blew up for me.
I had very little power left to my stride by mile 22. My pace gradually slipped each mile after that one. Miles 24 and 25 were the toughest for me. There was a nasty constant headwind on the beach. I tried to fight through the wind but just as I passed the mile 24 marker I felt the first signs of cramping in my calves. Within seconds both calves were jumping. Just before the 25th marker my right hamstring seized. It was similar to last year, but I was so close to the finish I stretched it hard and shuffled back into an ugly stride. Exactly at the point I stopped to stretch, the SRR guy from long ago blows by me! I'm pissed that I had no idea he was near me (not that it would have made any difference!) and now he's 40 meters ahead. I maintain the gap and start to close it as we both pass a team RUN guy who was hurting badly.
Finally, I'm in sight of main street and both hamstrings cramp HARD and I'm stuck at a standstill. I had run my 26th mile in 6:24 and now I'm stranded in the last quarter mile. Dudes from Level Renner are yelling at me that the race is literally going to be over in 2 minutes if I could just get moving. It takes maybe a full minute to get going at a weak jog but finally I'm moving again. I was really psyched to be finishing and under 2:40 for the first time. It was redeeming to come back and run strong on this course and erase the doubts that plagued me during the taper period. I finished 9th overall, 8th in the Open division. Whirlaway scored high in a lot of areas, and I was proud that the Men's Open team won the team competition for the last GP event of the year.
Here are my splits:
1 - 5:48
2 - 6:02
3 - 5:57
4 - 5:52
5 - 5:53
6 - 6:05
7 - 6:01
8 - 5:55
9 - 6:00
10 - 5:51 (59:24)
11 - 5:59
12 - 5:57
13 - 5:48
13.1 - 1:18:0x
14 - 5:49
15 - 5:49
16 - 6:07
17 - 5:56
18 - 5:55
19 - 6:05
20 - 5:59 (1:58:48, 5:56 pace) (second 10 mi 59:24)
21 - 6:04
22 - 6:07
23 - 6:12
24 - 6:17
25 - 6:41
26 - 6:24
.2 - 2:40
Total: 2:39:12, 6:04.x per mile.
Monday, October 15, 2012
last long run!
This past Thursday's long run went well, but I was tired. I took the following day (Friday) very easy (58 min) on trails from home. On Saturday I still felt a little sore but headed out for an awesome 10 miler, finishing up with a few miles in the low 6's.
So by Sunday I was ready to go long again in my "crash course to the 'thon". Met up with some friends from the Sisu project, plus a couple others for a run on the rail trail from Newfields. Vassallo and I ran together the whole way. Germain joined for most of the return portion. It was muddy and wet but the run still felt pretty smooth. I felt far better than I did on Thursday. Here are the stats: http://connect.garmin.com/splits/233482590.
21 miles at 6:30 average on trail. Having done this run, I'm confident 6:30/mile for the marathon is possible. The real question is can I run 6:00 - 6:10? This Thursday I will probably go 4x2m at 5:40. I'll probably throw in some longer repeats at 5:20 pace on Sunday and 5xmile repeats at 5:45 on Wednesday. I'll do just about everything I can to tune up before the big dance. Heck, I might even do a sit-up or two. 13 days to go!
Friday, October 12, 2012
A Longer Run
Well....! The running has not been very good or consistent since I started teaching in early September. I think I came into the school year training to the max because my work life had low-stress. Starting a new job and still trying to hammer miles just had me totally run down. I am just getting over a 3 week long cold that included everything from bronchitis to a sinus infection. I've had about 1 week of good running under my belt out of the last 5 and here is my run from yesterday: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/232432485 (10/11). Good run for the first time in a while and I'm hoping it's a sign that I can still move my body for 26.2 on the 28th!! I'm amazed at an avg HR of 171 but I'll blame the hills for that one...
So, this one was 15.5 hilly miles. I'm aiming for 20 on Sunday or Monday with 8 miles at goal MP and 18-20 the following Thursday. Those runs should hopefully remind my body that it needs to store up some fuel and help smooth out the stride into the low-6s. If it sounds like I'm taking a crash course to the marathon, that's because I am!
Good luck to the runners at Hartford this weekend!
Monday, September 3, 2012
Monday
A good start to the week with a solid 1:37 with none other than Sam Wood in Newburyport. We ran the Yankee 10 miler course in 65 minutes and jumped into Maudslay for another 32 minutes of running. 14.5 on the day. Recovered with an awesome pizza at Flat Bread's in Amesbury. Good news... the Hynes bridge connecting Amesbury and Newburyport has reopened!
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Sunday Long(er) Run
7am: 1:42:40 / 15 miles Matt Germain and I met up for a casual semi-long run on the Haggett's Pond - Golf Course route in Andover. Matt's coming off an achilles flare up and since I raced yesterday, each of us thought better of going farther. I worked out the kinks the first few uphill miles and then we basically cruised easy around 6:40 for a majority of the run.
This week: 83 miles with one race, one solid workout, and a decently long run. This is probably right where I'll keep it and not really reach much higher unless I have good indicators that I'm ready. Made steady progress over the past month. The race yesterday was a lot of fun. Happy to be sub 16 again for the first time in a while! For this coming week I'll be working out at Andover on Tuesday and probably something tempo-ish on Friday and long again Sunday. Although, it could be an unpredictable week with school starting!!
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Thursday, Friday, Saturday Race!
Thursday: 65 minutes of trail awesomeness! 9.5 miles
Friday am: 7+ miles with 4x120m strides, feeling good!
Friday pm: 4 miles before dinner with Brent.
Saturday: UNH Friends/Alumni 5k. 3 up, 5k race, 2 down, 4 extended cool down. 15:45ish (official results not yet posted...) 2nd place behind UNH alum Dan Hocking. Ran even, felt strong through to the end. Made a move to pass Alex Beaulieu around 2 miles. The course was in excellent shape. Cross was a little unfamiliar with the changes from dirt to grass to gravel and back, but I stayed focused and kept it in a good gear. It was really nice to see my old coaches and catch up with some UNH buds!
Friday am: 7+ miles with 4x120m strides, feeling good!
Friday pm: 4 miles before dinner with Brent.
Saturday: UNH Friends/Alumni 5k. 3 up, 5k race, 2 down, 4 extended cool down. 15:45ish (official results not yet posted...) 2nd place behind UNH alum Dan Hocking. Ran even, felt strong through to the end. Made a move to pass Alex Beaulieu around 2 miles. The course was in excellent shape. Cross was a little unfamiliar with the changes from dirt to grass to gravel and back, but I stayed focused and kept it in a good gear. It was really nice to see my old coaches and catch up with some UNH buds!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Workout Wednesday
Solo mid-week workout: 3.5 up / 25 minutes to Spring Grove Cemetery. Looking for inspiration for a workout and found it in DD and Verrington; Dan told me the wide perimeter of the loop was about 100' short of a mile, and I was feeling like something longer.
So I did 4 loops on 2 minutes recovery. I measured the loop on the pedometer and it came out to .95. Worked gradually into the first one. Splits were: 4:59 (5:14), 4:45 (5:00), 4:43 (4:57), 4:40 (4:54); Actual (Pace Conversion).
2 minutes standing rest had me pretty much ready to roll for the next one. There was a single longish hill right around 800m in, but the gradual downhill towards the finish was awesome. I'll have to do more work there this Fall. Great workout!
3.5 / 25 minutes down. 11 miles on the day!
So I did 4 loops on 2 minutes recovery. I measured the loop on the pedometer and it came out to .95. Worked gradually into the first one. Splits were: 4:59 (5:14), 4:45 (5:00), 4:43 (4:57), 4:40 (4:54); Actual (Pace Conversion).
2 minutes standing rest had me pretty much ready to roll for the next one. There was a single longish hill right around 800m in, but the gradual downhill towards the finish was awesome. I'll have to do more work there this Fall. Great workout!
3.5 / 25 minutes down. 11 miles on the day!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Monday and Tuesday
Monday: 8 miles / 58 minutes at Winnekenni after school. Starving by 20 minutes in so I turned it around early and called it a day! Good recovery run.
Tuesday: 14 miles / 95 minutes around Andover. Tired from work but felt better as the run went on. Hills or something fun like that tomorrow!
Tuesday: 14 miles / 95 minutes around Andover. Tired from work but felt better as the run went on. Hills or something fun like that tomorrow!
Monday, August 27, 2012
Sunday-funday: Marathon workout #1!
Alarm was set for 5:15 to run in Raymond, NH for 6:45. But the train goes by, blowing it's horn at 4:30 and I'm up and getting an early breakfast!
Arrive at Pat Ard's place around 6:20. Brandon rolls in at 6:30, and by 6:45 we're on the road. I basically followed Brandon's lead since he has a lot more experience at the Marathon. The recipe called for 2 miles up, 10 at "general aerobic pace" and then 8 miles at sub-goal Marathon pace.
Ard warmed up with us, but with some tightness going on with his Achilles, he made a good call and worked more gradually into his long run of 14+.
The 10 mile segment was smooth, as we traveled west on the old dirt railroad bed right off Main St, Raymond. Our first split was around 6:20 and then down pretty quickly to sub 6:10. Hit 10 miles around 61 minutes, grabbed the water we stashed and jogged another half mile to avoid a low culvert we needed to pass. The pace was solid but I felt really smooth and it was good to catch up with B, so the miles ticked by pretty effortlessly.
Then straight into the important portion of the workout. Mile 1 right at 5:30, most of it on dirt. Mile 2 again right on 5:30 but moving uphill, now on roads and following a really hilly loop. Mile 3 climbed a bit and then began to roll. we hit 3 miles around 5:25 followed by a really steep uphill that just absolutely crushed me. It hadn't occurred to me that the challenge to this run was not bonking!
I didn't want to bag the workout or mess with Brandon's rhythm so I ducked out for a 20 second pitty party/attempt to recover from the hill and the miles. Slammed a gel and then back into it. Kept Brandon in sight, but I knew 5:30 or faster was no longer in the cards. I tried to relax my upper body, work the hills with consistent small strides and then open up on the longer, gradual downhills. This worked relatively well and I kept the effort sub 5:50 although I swear I was seeing stars if I allowed myself to lose focus at all. At 7 miles of total of hard running I called it a day and listened to my body by slowing to about 8 minutes pace and began my cooldown. Met Brandon about a mile down the road, jogged to where we threw our bottles and headed back to Pat's place.
Pat was already enjoying his Sunday, showered up and hanging on the couch. He had a great run, moving pretty darn quick overall and just shy of 15. I was satisfied with the effort, but pretty darn zapped. An hour later I was just plain HURTING. My stomach was a mess. Despite pounding fluids, my eyes were so glossy it hurt to move them around. I devoured a turkey sandwich, about $5 bucks worth of grapes graciously offered by Pat, some awesome OJ (extra pulp!) and got to the store in time to veg out in the car for about 20 minutes before my final regular shift. 6 hours on my feet and then home to relax. I'm really glad the guys at the store cancelled the store bball tourney scheduled for the evening!!
It's good to have this effort in the books as I hope it will build my strength and toughness for the marathon distance. It occurred to me for the second time this year that I was only a few miles shy of the full distance at a much quicker pace than my debut last year. Cape Cod is finally feeling more like a reality than just a far-off goal. 9 weeks to go!
Arrive at Pat Ard's place around 6:20. Brandon rolls in at 6:30, and by 6:45 we're on the road. I basically followed Brandon's lead since he has a lot more experience at the Marathon. The recipe called for 2 miles up, 10 at "general aerobic pace" and then 8 miles at sub-goal Marathon pace.
Ard warmed up with us, but with some tightness going on with his Achilles, he made a good call and worked more gradually into his long run of 14+.
The 10 mile segment was smooth, as we traveled west on the old dirt railroad bed right off Main St, Raymond. Our first split was around 6:20 and then down pretty quickly to sub 6:10. Hit 10 miles around 61 minutes, grabbed the water we stashed and jogged another half mile to avoid a low culvert we needed to pass. The pace was solid but I felt really smooth and it was good to catch up with B, so the miles ticked by pretty effortlessly.
Then straight into the important portion of the workout. Mile 1 right at 5:30, most of it on dirt. Mile 2 again right on 5:30 but moving uphill, now on roads and following a really hilly loop. Mile 3 climbed a bit and then began to roll. we hit 3 miles around 5:25 followed by a really steep uphill that just absolutely crushed me. It hadn't occurred to me that the challenge to this run was not bonking!
I didn't want to bag the workout or mess with Brandon's rhythm so I ducked out for a 20 second pitty party/attempt to recover from the hill and the miles. Slammed a gel and then back into it. Kept Brandon in sight, but I knew 5:30 or faster was no longer in the cards. I tried to relax my upper body, work the hills with consistent small strides and then open up on the longer, gradual downhills. This worked relatively well and I kept the effort sub 5:50 although I swear I was seeing stars if I allowed myself to lose focus at all. At 7 miles of total of hard running I called it a day and listened to my body by slowing to about 8 minutes pace and began my cooldown. Met Brandon about a mile down the road, jogged to where we threw our bottles and headed back to Pat's place.
Pat was already enjoying his Sunday, showered up and hanging on the couch. He had a great run, moving pretty darn quick overall and just shy of 15. I was satisfied with the effort, but pretty darn zapped. An hour later I was just plain HURTING. My stomach was a mess. Despite pounding fluids, my eyes were so glossy it hurt to move them around. I devoured a turkey sandwich, about $5 bucks worth of grapes graciously offered by Pat, some awesome OJ (extra pulp!) and got to the store in time to veg out in the car for about 20 minutes before my final regular shift. 6 hours on my feet and then home to relax. I'm really glad the guys at the store cancelled the store bball tourney scheduled for the evening!!
It's good to have this effort in the books as I hope it will build my strength and toughness for the marathon distance. It occurred to me for the second time this year that I was only a few miles shy of the full distance at a much quicker pace than my debut last year. Cape Cod is finally feeling more like a reality than just a far-off goal. 9 weeks to go!
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