So this is wicked late!!!! But I thought I should still be post a quick update about the Seacoast Half Marathon and what I have been up to since then.
I ran the Seacoast Half Marathon on November 8th. This is one of my favorite races in the area. This race is well organized, has great amenities for runners of all levels, has a great scenic course, and gives a very large amount of money (50k+) to charity each year. This is a race every runner should check out at some point.
So this was 3 weeks after the Baystate Marathon. I had considered not running Seacoast with the idea that I should rest up and get healthy. Something I probably should have done since I had been suffering through hamstring issues for months at this point. But I like this race too much and I decided to race anyways and just give it a good effort and see what happens.
I knew that my Whirlaway teammate Dan Princic would be there, and possibly Mark Mayall. So I figured that a top 3 finish would be a good day for me considering my post marathon/injured condition. Before the race I met a very nice guy Bob Wiles who had raced the year before and was looking to run a lot faster this year. So I knew he would be in the mix up front too. Mark Mayall was a no show, as I believe he has been battling injury issues all year.
The race shaped up pretty much as I thought with Dan, Bob, and myself off the front pretty early and separating ourselves from the rest of the field pretty quickly. We stayed together through the few miles with only one little spot of confusion at a rotary. I went left, the short way around, and Dan and Bob went right, the long way around. I am still not sure which way is the right way. But it gave me a quick 10m lead. Once I saw what happened I slowed up to let the other guys catch back up. Considering the confusion it was the right thing to do. At just past 4 miles I was already starting to feel my hamstrings and marathon legs acting up. I decided to put in a small surge to see if i could loosen them up and see what the other guys would do. Dan came right with me, and Bob let us get about a 1om lead or so. By about 5.5 miles we were all back together. This did not last long as Dan started to push the pace and quickly pulled away from me and Bob. The next few miles I was just trying to hang in there with Bob in the hopes he would start to fade. But it was I who started to fade by about 9 miles in. Bob got a lead on me and worked it out to about 50m or so. I managed to keep it there for a couple miles but the race was over for me. I was hurting pretty good, the legs were screaming and I had resigned myself to 3rd place at this point. I ran in the last couple miles just making sure no one was catching up to me. I finished 3rd in 1:14:43, my slowest 1/2 marathon time ever. Yet I still enjoyed yet another year at the Seacoast Marathon.
I do want to congratulate Dan on his first place finish and also Bob for running a great race and getting himself a big PR!
Seacoast 1/2 Marathon Results
Seacoast Online Article
What Have I been up too since then???? Not too much. I tried running a few times but the legs and hamstrings were not having it and the motivation was gone. So I took off a bunch of time to rest up and recover. I also took the time to work on my NH 4000 footers and knocked off a bunch more on my quest to finish all 48. Now I am back at it again....rested and healthy and getting ready for 2010. See you out there!
No comments:
Post a Comment