Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground

Even though November contains both my birthday (the 17^th) and one of the year’s best holidays (Thanksgiving) I still think it has to be just about the dreariest month on our calendar. The fun and frolic of Halloween has given way to the somberness of All Souls Day. The October explosion of leafy color has long since passed and all that remains is the gathering of their decaying carcasses. A return to standard time leaves us wandering around in the dark and the cold. But, the snow has not yet come to brighten our spirits and start us thinking about fun winter-time activities. 

A Slight Tactical Error

This past Sunday I headed up north for the 25th Annual White Mountain Milers Half Marathon. Despite the word mountain in its name, it’s actually a pretty flat race. In fact, the state record for the fastest NH half marathon (1:05:42) was run on this course by Dave Dunham back in 1989 when it was called the Joe Jones Half Marathon. I personally hadn’t a run a half marathon in nearly a year and a half. So, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. But, I did know that this race might be the perfect opportunity to lay down a fast time.

Despite my still being in marathon recovery mode since Clarence, I’d run a couple good workouts recently. I’d done a speedy 10 mile progression run (started in 7:15 & finished in 6:00) in 1:07 flat (6:42 pace) and a 4 mile trail run (in XC spikes) in 25:08 (6:17 pace). So, I knew there was some speed to be had now that my overall mileage was down. The question was, would my sore knee & tight hamstring hold up for the full 13.1 miles.