The hard work has been done. All the miles, all the hills, all the repeats, all the tempos – they are over now. All that’s left to do at this point is stay loose, stay patient and wait for race day. It’s taper time. I’ve run 18 marathons and it just doesn’t seem to get any easier. The only thing that’s changed over the years has been my expectations.
Boston Marathon
When I first started running marathons it was just about completing them. Then once I did that, it was about breaking 4 hours, then 3:30, then 3:15 and then finally 3:10 (to qualify for Boston). Now it’s all about that elusive (and hallowed) 3 hour mark. To me, a sub 3 hour marathon on your resume means you’re serious about running and you know what the heck you are doing. I know it’s not going to get me a shot at the Olympics, or even any prize money, but running a 2:xx marathon would mean for me that (after all these years) I’m a real, good, long-distance runner.
Baystate Marathon
The last time I ran a marathon I came so very close to breaking 3 hours. If it weren’t for an insanely strong head wind in the last 4 miles of the 2008 Baystate Marathon my 3:00:22 might well have been a 2:59:xx and who knows what I’d be doing with myself this coming weekend. But, as it is, I’m preparing for the 33rd Annual Clarence Demar Marathon in Keene, NH with the hopes of having another shot at sub-3.
Clarence Demar
Regardless of what happens on Sunday, I know that I’ve worked really hard this year to get myself back into racing form and that form won’t be disappearing anytime soon. It seems like it's been a very quick 8 months since I started running again - after that 16 week layoff due to my knee injury. The fitness (and confidence) that I’ve gained in that recovery time has been worth every step – sub 3 or no sub 3. And, the new-found appreciation that I now have for running (and the fortunate ability to do so) will stay with me for a long time to come.
My Biggest Fans
So now I sit here (munching on my celery sticks) thinking about what race day will bring and what life will be like after Sunday. And, while there is much that I don’t know, I do know this: When I get home from the race I’ll have a wife that will want to hear all about it, an older son who will text me (from college) that he loves me, an older daughter that will give me a great big hug, a younger daughter that will want to wear my finishers medal and a younger son that will smile and probably poop himself. In other words, life will be pretty good!
Oh, and here’s a fun video clip I ran across recently during all my free time from training. Enjoy!
Humble pie and a fat lip - That’s what I got served at the 77th Annual Cape Ann 25k Road Race this past weekend.
The humble pie was on the menu due in large part to the difficulty of this course. In a word, this 25k is “relentless” - just constantly up or down. And, its only flat parts are highly exposed to the wind and the brutal late-summer sun. The fat lip portion of the day was due to the very untimely demise of a bee in my mouth. More on that later …
The Bridge of Flowers 10k Classic was conceived in 1979 and has remained on approximately the same course ever since that first competition. The one notable exception is that (back in the early days of the race) the runners actually ran across the Bridge of Flowers. However, in the 1980's the Bridge was rehabilitated and the course was slightly altered. What has not changed is the beauty & charm of the village and the warm & friendly people of ShelburneFalls. This year’s race was the sixth race in the New England Grand Prix Series and it was another great day of running and team camaraderie for the GCS-Triad Racing Team.
This past Saturday was the Sandown Old Home Days 5 Miler which served as the 6th of 7 New Hampshire Grand Prix Races. And, with GateCity holding a very slim lead over host Greater Derry, it was important that our club get a good turnout for this “Showdown in Sandown”. Fortunately, we did have a good turnout. Unfortunately, we still got smoked. More on that later …
Fitness University recently wrapped up it's 2010 schedule of clinics with Finals Day on August 1st and I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge what a phenomenally great program it is! Fitness University is a FREE running fitness program for children ages 3 to 14. It was originally developed in 1989 by the Gate City Striders, as a way to help promote the importance of fitness, fun and good health. Through June and into July, running clinics are held in Nashua and surrounding towns. Kids are instructed on how to warm-up, stretch, run and have fun while doing it. They learn about healthy eating habits and staying safe. Then, the fun culminates on Finals Day with games, prizes, and plenty of laughter for all.
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Trevor and Leann Ward (and the gracious help of all their amazing GCS volunteers) this year's Fitness University Program was a huge success! From the 497 kids that showed up for the first clinic at Fairgrounds Junior High, to the 500 plus that came out for Finals Day at Nashua South, it looks as though everyone has caught on to what an awesome experience this program really is!
On a personal note, this was the first year my daughter Emily (3) got a chance to really partake in all the fun of Fitness University and she just had a ball. The volunteers helping out with the activities for her (and all the age groups) were so incredibly patient and energetic. That kind of positive energy really rubbed off on the kids and you could see it in their faces every moment they were out there. Kudos to them and everyone at GCS and Southern New Hampshire Medical Center for making this great event happen!
Below are links to pictures, articles and information about this year's clinics:
The Bill Luti 5m is one of the oldest road races in New England and a fixture on various local road race Series’ including: the NHGP, the CARS and the Summer Swelter Series. Ok, the last one is made up but it’s completely appropriate because, as a mid-July race, this one always seems to be un-bearably hot. And, with temps in the upper 80’s and stifling humidity at the start, this year’s edition was certainly no exception! What made Luti even “hotter” was the competition, as my club (The Gate City Striders) is in a heated battle with the Greater Derry Track Club for supremacy in the 2010 New Hampshire Grand Prix Series. We have held a slim lead over them since the early part of the season and they have been slowly slicing into it ever since. It was for this reason that I chose to do this race as a “warm-up” to Sunday’s NEGP main event. I figured that even at my current low-level of race fitness, I could help out club keep that scrappy GDTC team at bay.
As a rule, I typically don’t post much (if any) of my training schedule or running log on-line. This is partly because there’s really no magic in it. I run practically every day at a variety of distances and at a variety of paces. Big deal, right? And, it’s not like I’m ever going to be an Olympian, or anything. So what’s the point, really? That being said, I'm making an exception this week to discuss an unusual kind of training that I’ve been doing these past 7 days.
Twice a year, my family and I go up to New Brunswick (Canada) to visit my wife’s relatives. They live in the Capital City of Fredericton which is about 450 miles northeast of Nashua and a whole world away. In fact, it’s a full length of Maine (plus a good bit on either end) away. Usually we head up there once in the middle of the summer and once during the week between Christmas and New Years. So, basically, we're in Canada during the hottest and coldest times of the year. Therefore, long runs during our Winter Trips (at subzero temps plus windchill) are always a challenge in this "Great White North". And, speed work during the Summer Trips is generally an exercise in sweat managment. So this summer, with the record heat wave, more than lived up to it's advanced billing.
After recently doing both a Run and a Hike up Mount Washington, I thought I’d do a little side by side comparison of each to see which one was better. See if you can guess which one of the two I liked more …
Based upon the results from my Mount Washington Run, I decided that maybe what I really needed to do was go a little further back and get a nice running start. So that’s what I did - three days later. I started way back at Franconia Notch, 21 miles (as the crow flies) west-southwest of the Washington summit. But this time, I brought reinforcements (my 18 year old son Casey) to keep me company during the trip. Plus, I figured this would be a great opportunity to spend some time with him before he heads off to college in the fall.
The plan was for us to start a Franconia Notch and loosely follow the Appalachian Trail over to Crawford Notch and then on to Pinkham Notch with a little stop a Washington (again) before we headed back down. We’d stay overnight at the Galehead, Mizpah & Madison Huts while stopping at the others along the way for lunch. And, as with the run, I went into this hike with 6 levels of goals. #1 - start, #2 - finish, #3 - hike the whole way, #4 – enjoy the scenery, #5 – enjoy my son’s company, #6 – Not kill us both. I figured that this time, despite carrying a 50 lb pack, there was a real good chance I’d be able to accomplish all 6.
Let me just start by saying this, from here on out I’m going to refer to the 50th Mount Washington Road Race as a “run”, not a “race” because it simply bears no resemblance to any race you could ever hope to imagine. In fact, referring to it as a run is being extremely generous since what you end up doing most of the time is flail around wildly, as you slowly creep up the very steep and very hot auto road. But, out of respect to the folks who actually know what they are doing up there, I’ll just call it a run and leave it at that.
I went into this year’s run with 6 levels of goals. #1 - start, #2 - finish, #3 - run the whole way, #4 – set a PR, #5 - Beat Chris Dunn & #6 – Beat Steve Wolfe. My rationale behind setting so many goals is that I’ve invested way too much time in this endeavor to leave completely empty handed at the end of the day if things don’t work out as planned. I figured goals 1 & 2 would be easy since I ran this twice before and knew what to expect. Goals 3 & 4 would be a bit tougher to obtain since the temperature at the start was in the mid-eighties. But, all things being equal, these both were certainly do-able. Finally, if it was a really, really good day I might be able to achieve goals 5 & 6. I’ve been back and forth with Chris at various races over the years and usually end up seeing the back side of Steve at most events. However, at Washington, Steve and I have gone head to head 2 times and I’ve won both. So, maybe I own him at this one? Only time would tell.
My 2010 Pack Race was many things. But, a Good Clean Run it was not. The day started well enough. The newborn & toddler both decided to give Mom & Dad a break by nearly sleeping through the night (5:30 am) - a very rare occurrence in the Wade household. That enabled me to get up mostly rested and out the door early. On my way up to the parking area at Temple Mountain, I swung by the course to drop a Hammer Gel right where I thought I’d need it (just before the hills really took hold) at about the 7 mile mark. Then I proceeded up to park and hang the GCS-Triad banner on the food tent, and hopped into Mary Minami’s car for the quick ride down to the start just as the early drops of rain began to fall.
However, once I got in and got settled at the school I realized I had only one racing flat. Doh! Meaning I could either: run in my trainers, run with one racer, or quickly find a ride back up to Temple to find my missing shoe which I figured was in the back of my car. I chose option 3 and thankfully Rich Mello & Stacey Ascone we’re heading back up there for one last shuttle run so I hitched a ride with them. The only problem was when I got to the car there was no shoe. So, back down to the school with Rich and Stacey I went with 20 minutes to the start, no potty break, no racing flat and more importantly, no warm up.
After taking the last three months of 2009 off from running completely (due to injury) I’ve slowly been working my way back into shape. I built my mileage up gradually starting in January, then added some short tempo runs in March & April and finally mixed in some track workouts with my running club The Gate City Striders beginning in May. I also tried out some early-season races to help me gauge my fitness level in adverse conditions and see just how far I’d come. Well, based on my mixed (at best) Race Results, it turns out I still have a long way to go just to get back to where I was even late last year.
Nevertheless, I signed myself up for the Pineland Farms 25k Trail Race in New Gloucester, Maine. This race would not onlybe twice as long as any race I’d done so far this year it would be just short of my longest run of the season to date. However, the motivating factor for me to run this race was not for the individual results but rather for the potential for team glory. Because, as luck would have it, the PF25k had a team race component and the gauntlet had been thrown by my friend Steve Wolfe and his buddies over at Acidotic Racing. They were headed up to Maine en-masse to dethrone the host (and defending team champion) Trail Monsters Running and take home their pine trophy title.
