Now nearly 2 years later, I have come to miss writing in my blog (as much as I hate "writing") and sharing my running stories with fellow runners, family, and friends. For this upcoming year (2013), I have decided I would post at least twice a month and share my running stories with everyone. Now, I know that not everyone is interested in my stories and that is quite alright. This is more for me than it is for them, just as my running is!
Now for my first post:
2012 has come and gone and with it came some pretty amazing memories! Here are some of my favorites:
The year began as many have with the annual Lowell 1st Run 5k/10k followed by Millennium Running's Millennium Mile. These are staples in my running calendar and are never to be missed. The Lowell 1st Run is a family reunion for my Greater Lowell Road Runner family and I where the angry chickens come out of the woodwork to run this fantastic road race. I historically have run the 5K and did so in 2012 as well. After the race, I quickly "rehydrated" before flying up to Londonderry High School for the Millennium Mile.
What many people don't know is this is the race that I credit for getting this crazy running thing started for me in 2010. Sure, there were races before this one that I had run but this is the race where a fellow referee and friend, Fil Faria, told me: "You're a referee, you can run. I know you can run distance with all the refereeing you do. Come join us in a couple weeks when we run the Boston Prep 16 Miler." I told him I would think about it and would talk to him after I finished my second race for the day (a downhill mile).
Fast forward back to 2012, I made my way back north to the Millennium Mile where I find a bunch of old high school friends, fellow referees, and many familiar faces from Lowell. I had pretty high expectations as I knew that last year when I ran this race, I ran the mile in 5:35 minute/mile. That was that time I was looking to beat. If I hit 5:30, I would be happy. The race went by in the blink of an eye and I crossed the finish the race at a 5:20.6 minute/mile pace! I was so happy with this result as it was a 15 second PR!
After the Millennium Mile, I had a couple memorable races on a beautiful island called Bermuda. That's right, I went to Bermuda in January with a handful of Greater Lowell Road Runners (GLRR) and ran what is called the Bermuda Triangle Challenge. This "challenge" consisted of 3 races, over 3 days, at 3 different distances. The first race was the KPMG Bermuda Invitational Mile, the second race was the Bermuda 10K, and the third and final race was the Bermuda Marathon. Participants who completed these three races were able to say that they had completed the Bermuda Triangle Challenge.
The KPMG Bermuda Invitational Mile is much different than the Millennium Mile. For one, it is NOT downhill (not a deal breaker). Second, this may be the only race I have ever run that crosses the Start/Finish line 3 times (see below).
The third, this race is run at night! This provides a unique and exciting atmosphere as the buildings are lit up and the streets are lined with spectators around the entire course.
Fourth and probably most important difference, the "storm". Now this was no normal "storm". This is an island storm! We were standing in the corrals waiting for this 10+ wave race to start and low and behold, the sky starts to flash full of light, winds begin to gust, and the rain begins. The rain starts coming down hard, and harder, and harder. It is now raining so hard I can't see more than 50 feet in front of me and then the wind gust causes the rain to start going sideways.
OK, now that you know the setting we can now start the race.... That's right, the race didn't start until AFTER the Mid-Atlantic Island Monsoon. As the gun goes off and the first wave goes off with all of the elite runners and it was like the wind and rain didn't slow them down one second! About five minutes later they let the next wave go, then five minutes more, the next wave. So on, and so forth. By the time I began running, I was soaked, cold, and pumped full of adrenaline because even though it was pouring buckets, the spectators were still out there in droves cheering on every runner as if they represented their country in the Olympics. It was an incredible experience! I finished the race at a 5:48 minute/mile pace which I was happy with considering I couldn't see and it felt like swimming. After all is said and done (even with as much whining as I did about the damn rain) it was an enjoyable race!
The next day was the Bermuda 10K. All I can remember about this race was the rolling hills. I remember that I told myself that I was going to take it easy for this race as I knew I had a marathon the next day. The problem is, and if you know me as a runner you will already know this, that I am too damn competitive for my own good. The race started and I was off . . . WAY TOO FAST! I finished the 10K in 47 minutes. Below is the map and elevation profile:
The final race of this silly challenge was the beautiful Bermuda Marathon. This has to be, without a doubt one of the most beautiful races I have ever run. This double-loop course ran some of the most beautiful parts of the "happy island". The people of the island were once again out in droves on the course for what turned out to be one of the most beautiful days we had during our time in Bermuda. The only downfall to this beautiful course is the fact that is was a double loop on a rolling hills course. This "Happy Island" is not a flat island. I fought through this race as best I could and managed to run a 3:56:58 marathon without really training. I was happy with the performance but even happier with those Bermuda Rum Swizzle Recovery Drinks!
My next favorite memorable race of 2012 would probably have to be Stu's 30K. This race is held annually on the first Sunday of March and is run around the Wachusett Reservoir. This is always a tough race. It is a very hill challenge that brings you to your breaking point. The race starts you at one of the highest points of the race and then after you start, you immediately start to head down hill before you hit the rolling hills of Clinton. This was a great race for me as I had my pacer Kali and she kept me under control with my pace. We finished this race in 2:23:09 at a 7:39 minute/mile pace. After you finish, you get to go into the race HQ and have delicious soup and year old Twinkies! This is a great race and if you get the chance to challenge yourself here, DO IT!
After Stu's 30K, I would have to say my next favorite race would have to be the Sugarloaf Marathon. This race made the list not because of my performance but because of the experience I had during the race. My performance was pretty poor as I was having a bad day and the long down hill course did a number on my muscles. Even with the poor performance, you still get the opportunity to meet some pretty awesome people. During this race, I met Joyce Craig who happens to be the Ward 1 Alderman (or is it Alderwoman?) of Manchester, NH. During our run together, we spoke a lot about the city and the state of the schools. Being a teacher and an Alumnus of Manchester Memorial, the city schools mean a lot to me and at the time, there were a lot of talks about teacher and support staff layoffs. The other saving grace was Joyce's husband who kept getting us ice to put in our hats in order to keep us cool as the temperature kept rising. As a runner, a lot of the time it is not the running that makes you want to keep going, it the people. Joyce made my poor performance manageable and kept my mind off of the actual running. To top that off, once I finished I was met by Kali and another running friend Courtney Marshall who ran the 15K as well as EJ who complete the Marathon much faster than I did. They congratulated me on my finish and we shared stories about what happened to them during the race.
My next favorite running memory in 2012 was when I was introduced to the Millennium Running Social Club. This is no ordinary club. This is a drinking club with a running problem (isn't every running club)! The reason I joined this club was because a friend of mine, Tom Rogers, told me I should join him on Thursday nights in Downtown Manchester for a run and then have a free beer. It sounded like a good time so I joined him. That night we happened to be running from Murry's Tavern on Elm Street. We left the bar on our run and headed down to the river where we ran along the River's Edge Bike Path (the one that has the bridge that goes over the Merrimack River). We came back to the bar and "rehydrated" and then Tom began introducing me to what would soon become my second running family. That evening I joined the club and since then, I have met 150+ fun loving runners who are not afraid to have a good time. If you would like to join the club of get more information click on the link below.
My next two favorite races once again come from Millennium Running. The first of which is the Ribfest 5 Miler. The second is the NH 10 Miler. The Ribfest 5 Miler is run from Anheuser Bush - InBev Brewery in Merrimack, NH. This race starts you racing up a 400 yard hill to get to Route 3A where we ran towards King Kone (my FAVORITE ice cream place) into a small loop across the street from the ice cream stand and then back to the brewery where you then get to race down the same 400 yard hill followed by a 200 yard sprint to the finish. This race has a great course, great organization (parking shuttles), and great amenities like free entry into Ribfest! I think I ate about 5 pounds of BBQ after this race. I LOVE BBQ! I think this race will be staying on my calendar for years to come.
My second to last favorite running memory in 2012 is the NH 10 Miler. This race make my list for multiple reasons. The first reason is I loved the course. The start of this race is only about 2.5 miles from my house and it is run around Lake Massabesic which is absolutely beautiful during the first weekend of September. The second reason I love this race is because it was the last race I got the chance to run my good friend Courtney Marshall. I met Courtney at the beginning of the year and he and I would converse online and at races about our running goals, future races, and just about life. Never have I met a nicer human being. He was a true inspiration! Courtney ran that day and managed to place 2nd in his age group with a time 1:35:49.77. After the race, he congratulated the 1st place winner in his age group for his impressive performance as he only beat Courtney by 11 SECONDS! This really did show Courtney's character. He was a competitor and loved the sport. I will truly miss having him at races with me as he not only made me smile every time we spoke but he made EVERYONE smile with his encouragement. May you rest in peace Courtney Allen Marshall!
My final favorite running memory in 2012 (and probably #1 favorite racing memory) was completing the Philadelphia Marathon. Let me start this by telling you how I got myself into this mess of running my 3rd marathon in a year. During the summer months, I was attending the Millennium Running Social Club group runs and was talking about running a fall marathon. Nothing more than that. . . Talking! During this conversation, a fellow running friend made the comment that he was thinking about running "Philadelphia". I told him that if he did it, I would as well (I didn't think he would go through with it at the time). Fast forward a couple months, I get this challenge on my Facebook wall:
Needless to say, that made it official. I was going to be running the Philadelphia Marathon. I registered for the race and come race weekend Dana, Dave (Dana's Dad), and I made our way down to Philly. We did the normal big city marathon things, go there, went to the expo, got our number, got our shirts, walked around, try simple protein bars, walked some more, bought some useless stuff, walked some more, and then we did some more walking. After we were walked out, we went across the street to Reading Terminal Market where we ate at Molly Malloy's. It was some delicious pub food.
After lunch we headed to our residence where we were stay to unpack our race gear and organize it so that at 4:30 AM we didn't have to look for anything. Here is what it looked like:
The next morning we got up and headed to the start of the race. This was the second largest marathon that I had run so getting close to the start was out of the question. We ended up walking only about 1/2 mile to the corrals where the race starts but not before the most important stop of a race: the Porto-potty!
After we took care of business, we were about to really take care of business. Dana was in the green corral (one corral ahead of me) as I was in the gray corral. We wished each other luck and made our way to our respective corrals. Once there, the National Anthem played and the Mayor fired the starting pistol! We were off! Shuffling as quickly as the crowd would let us (it is proven fact that races can be determined by how well you shuffle to get to the start!). It only took me 11 minutes to get to the starting line.
Once I was actually out on the course, I was having the "Best Time of My Life" (their tag line). The course was a lot of fun to run. It went past a lot of beautiful sites such as: Friendship Gate, Delaware River, Liberty Bell, City Hall, University City, Philadelphia Zoo, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, The Please Touch Museum, Fairmount Park, Laurel Hill Cemetery, Falls Bridge, and Main Street Manayunk.
I finished the race in 3 hours 56 minutes! It was a great time! I would recommend this race to anyone looking for a fun LARGE marathon. Here is a photo of Dana and I before we rewarded ourselves with Pat's Philadelphia Cheese Steaks!
It truly has been an incredible year! I cannot wait to see what 2013 will bring. I wish all of you the best in your miles and I hope you will come back to my blog to see what I will be doing in 2013!
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