Race Results

Date	Race	Distance	Time
09/12/2009	Project Alex 5k	5K	28:17
10/17/2009	West Brookfield Five Miler	5M	46:50
11/24/2009	Slattery's Turkey Trot	5M	43:34
11/27/2009	Holden Turkey Trot	5K	25:52
12/05/2009	Hot Chocolate 5k	5K	26:36
01/01/2010	Freezer Five	5M	53:07
02/21/2010	Half at Hampton	13.1	1:55:52
03/07/2010	Stu's 30k	18.65	3:16:52
04/11/2010	Dunleavy 5k	5k	24:21
05/23/2010	Run to Home Base 9k	9k	46:05
06/04/2010	Vermont Covered Bridges 1/2	13.1	1:51:04
07/04/2010	Harvard Pilgrim 10k	10k	52:48
08/04/2010	Dare Classic Police 5k	5k	25:47
09/12/2010	Lex's Run	5k	24:28
10/03/2010	Smuttynose Half marathon	13.1	2:15:14
10/17/2010	Bay State Marathon	26.2	4:24:39
10/24/2010	Groton Town Forest Trail Race	9.5	1:32:48
11/21/2010	Slattery's Turkey Trot	5M	40:56
11/25/2010	Holden Turkey Trot	5K	25:30
12/05/2010	Hot Chocolate 5k	5K	23:49
01/01/2011	Freezer Five	5M	39:50
03/06/2011	Stu's 30k	18.65	3:07:12
04/30/2011	Jog for Judy 5k	3.1	24:58
05/26/2011	No Frills 10k	6.2	56:07
05/29/2011	Pineland Farms 25k	15.5	3:04:08
06/19/2011	Mount Greylock Trail Half-Marathon	13.1	3:06:36
11/20/2011	Slattery's Turkey Trot	5M	42:46
01/01/2012	Freezer Five	5M	42:35

Half Marathon on the Trail

This morning I ran a full half-marathon distance (13.1 miles) on the Wachusett Rail Trail. My prayers from yesterday for no rain were answered, and the weather was around 40 degrees, with 20+ mph gusts of wind. But perhaps most importantly, no cold, wet precipitation being hurled at me by mother nature, in some sort of man-vs-nature battle for ultimate supremacy; also known as "a typical New England rain storm".

The route I chose to run is the segment of the rail trail that runs from River Rd. to the West Boylston entrance. This path runs by the historic Springdale Mill site, along the Quinapoxet river. This particular leg of the trail measures 2.75 miles. So my planned half-marathon route was: two out-and-back runs (11miles) plus an additional out-and-back to a little beyond the one mile marker. In preparation for the run, I packed light, but had some essentials: a pint of water, some tunes & some podcasts, and a couple Gu packets that I received as part of early registration for the Holden 5-K race I ran on Thanksgiving.

In an effort to have a progression run, I started out slowly. I probably ran the first 2-3 miles at about a 10:30-10:45 pace, knowing that eventually I'd like to settle on around a 10 min mile. I had the first Gu pack about 55 minutes in, and felt like the second leg of the run was pretty smooth. My pace improved and I felt like I was in a pretty good rhythm.

Around 9.5 miles, I started to feel a little tired, but was still on top of my breathing and didn't feel like I was really straining at all. I had the second Gu at about 1:50 or so and plugged along, listening to some really great pod casts, including Run Run Live and Running Adventures. I threw on the new Blakroc album, which I highly recommend if you like the Black Keys & hip-hop. The music drove me through some of the tougher stretches around mile 11.

The last two miles, however, were great. As I crossed over the 11 mile point, a distance I hadn't yet toppled this year, I felt a sense of accomplishment, relief, and excitement. My breathing was still normal and I didn't feel like my heart rate was out of control. The wind on that side of the trail was a bit less, and the sun starting shining through the pine trees. People were starting to get out for their own walks, runs, and hikes, and I was really charged by seeing others getting outside, enjoying nature, being active and happy on a Saturday morning.

I finished the distance in 2:09:30. Just about the 10 minute mile pace I had hoped to achieve.

All in all, a beautiful run. Can't wait until next time!

Run, run, run...

Holden Turkey Trot 5K

This Thanksgiving I signed up to run in the 6th Annual Wachusett Fitness Turkey Trot 5-K in Holden, MA. Having recently gotten back into running road races, I'd been browsing Cool Running for some local races, and happened to stumble across this race, in our hometown!

The race was scheduled to start at 8am. I arrived about 25 mins early, stretched and talked with a couple of the other runners. Eventually, we were ushered toward the start line for some pre-race announcements (Advice for the organizers: Get a louder speaker system! It was nearly impossible to hear over the drone of 500+ runners waiting to go :)).

And we were off! The out and back course ran down Main St. Holden. The turnaround point was just past the state police barracks. This route features some small rolling hills. I think I ran pretty fast out of the gate, and was feeling fairly strong at the mid-point.



The way back was a bit hillier than I thought it would be heading out, and I started to feel weaker during the 3rd mile. However, I was pretty excited to see my official finishing line:

189 286 Monty, Adam M32 Jefferson, MA 25:52

This averages out to about an 8:25 mile. This is a much faster time than anything I have previously been able to maintain, and has really helped keep this running bug alive!

Looking forward to my next road race, the Hot Chocolate 5-K in Northampton, MA, on Dec. 5th.

Also looking forward to another adventure tomorrow. If it is not raining terribly, I am targeting a 1/2 marathon distance for my Saturday long run.

I'll keep you posted.

Run, run, run...