DH Jones 10 miler USATFNE Championship

On Sunday February 28th I headed back to my old stomping grounds of Amherst MA for the DH Jones 10 miler. This race also served as the USATFNE 10 mile Championships and the first race of the USATFNE Grand Prix. I drove out there with Heather and her sister Emily, who was making her big Whirlaway debut! This would be my first time back in Amherst in a very long time and I was really excited to be heading out there again.

We arrived at the starting area and headed over to pick up our numbers and timing chips. There we met the rest of the Whirlaway crew and coach Dave. After running back to the car again to collect some things it was time to head out for a warm up. I checked out the first part of the course and the finish area to be sure I was knew how the race finished. Once back at the school I put on the Lunaracers and headed for the starting line.

I was going into this race without too much confidence in my running. I had run pretty poorly 2 weeks earlier over 5 miles (27:36) and was not too sure how 10 miles would feel. I did get in a decent 5k (15:54) a week ago, but it was only a 5k. I figured that anything under 56 minutes would be really good for me at this point on this very tough course. I did a few strides at the starting line and before I knew it we were off and running.

At the start I tried to settle in and be comfortable, and try not to go out to quick. Which is a hard thing to do in these grand prix races, but I think I did OK. I felt relaxed during the first mile and split it in 5:25. At this point Jim Johnson and Kevin Tilton started to go by me. Of course my inner runner said go with them, you can run with those guys. So I pulled in behind them and went for the ride on the downhill second mile which went by in 5:08. Once I hit the bottom of the hill I felt like crap, so I backed off and let Jim and Kevin go. The pace was just a bit to hot for me at this point. I could hear a large pack of runners behind me and I figured that's where I should be. So as Jim and Kevin pulled away I backed off and just before the three mile mark the large pack of runners caught me. This pack included Josh Gordon, Henery Scollard, Tom Casey, Wayne Levy, and Kevin Gorman and a few others. As I got swallowed up by this pack I tried to latch on and let them pull me along while I recovered a bit. I missed the 3 mile split as I was busy trying to stay with the pack while we moved up a big painful hill and onto the dirt/muddy road section. Over the next mile or so I stayed on the back of the pack, going out the back by a few meters here and there but always getting back in there with them. A motivator for me at this point was Josh Gordon who had beat me 2 weeks earlier and the presence of a few master runners I did not want to lose to. We hit the 4 mile mark in 22:27 for a last 2 mile split of 11:54.........slow, mostly due to the hills and muddy dirt road.

Over the next mile I actually started to feel better, in fact I was starting to feel pretty strong. I went to the front of the group where Tom Casey was and a few minutes later I decided to give it a go and went off the front of the group. Tom Casey came with me and we established a small break from the pack. We hit the 5 mile mark in 28:08 for a 5:41 split. At this point I was not to sure about getting under 56 minutes. I would need a negative split which I though was unlikely with the Strong Street hills in the last mile and not being to confident in my current racing condition. I figured it can't hurt to give it a go and see what happens. So Tom and I continued pushing and trying to get away from the pack behind us. We hit the 6 mile split with a 5:26. The next couple of miles were down hill and I knew I needed to make up some time here. I tried the best I could to hang on to Tom, but he started to pull away a bit. It was at this point that I also noticed a CMS runner ahead walking, it was Kevin Tilton, I asked if he was OK on the way by, he indicated he was alright. He later rejoined the race and ran a killer last three miles. I hit the 7 mile split in 5:16. Now I was thinking I still have a shot at finishing under 56 minutes, I just need to stay strong. During the next mile I had a BAA guy come up from behind me. Which took me out of my race induced haze and help me push on. We battled back and forth till about the 8 mile mark where he dropped out. I have no idea who he was, but thanks for waking me back up and pushing me along. I hit the 8 mile mark with a 5:31 mile. During the next mile I could now see the looming Strong Street hills. As I hit the straight before the first hill I could see a lot of runners ahead of me, but they all were out of reach at this point. I decided I just wanted to hold my position and get up those damn hills.

As the first hill started I just put my head down and grinded the best I could. The 9 mile mark passed in 5:28 (49:49) leaving me 6:10 to get to the finish in under 56 minutes. Sounds easy till you see these hills. I pushed my way up the rest of the hills till I hit the top. I took a quick peek behind me to see a bunch of guys not all that far back, including most of that large group I was running with earlier in the race. So I made for the finish line as quick as I could to make sure I keep those guys behind me. I hit the finish line in 55:41 good for 25th place with a 5:52 very painful last mile. I negative split the race 28:08 / 27:33 (the second half faster than my 5 miler a 2 weeks ago).

Overall I am very satified with the result and the way I fought through the last half of the race and through the early race difficulties. This was a good step in getting back into the swing of things and getting ready for better running and racing in the future. The Whirlaway mens open team finished 4th, masters 2nd, and seniors 1st. The Whirlaway womans open team finished 4th, masters 1st, and seniors 1st. Heather ran a good race also finishing 25th overall (for women), cute I know. We do everything together.

After the race a group of us headed in to Amherst to visit some of my favorite spots. We hit Bueno Y Sano for lunch burritos then headed over to the Amherst Brewing Company for some Brews while we watched the US vs Canada Hockey game, then it was over to Antonios for pizza before heading home. It was a great day for a race and a great day in Amherst with some great friends.

Splits:

1. 5:25

2 5:08

3. ??

4. 11:54 (2 miles)

5. 5:41 (28:08)

6. 5:26

7. 5:16

8. 5:31

9. 5:28

10. 5:52 (27:33 2nd half)

Total 55:41

Full Results