Training 10/25 to 10/31

10/25 Monday AM: 8.3 miles in 61 minutes PM: 5 miles in 37 minutes

AM: Early run out to Crystal Lake and back.

PM: Easy running after work.

10/26 Tuesday: 10.5 miles in 69 minutes

Ran the Rattlesnake Hill loop. After an easy 4 miles I picked it up into a 5 mile progression run. Splits went 6:23, 6:09, 6:14 (big hill), 5:31, 5:20. Felt nice and strong.

10/27 Wednesday: AM: 11 miles in 81 minutes PM: 5 miles in 40 minutes

AM: Easy running up to Andover center.

PM: Very easy treadmill running.

10/28 Thursday: AM: 5.2 miles in 39 minutes PM: 7 miles in 53 minutes

AM: Easy running on the Shawsheen River trails

PM: Night run with Heather.

10/29 Friday: 10.1 miles in 70 minutes

Run from Cedarland. Ran over to and did a lap around the Braford Valentine 5 mile course.

10/30 Saturday: 10.5 miles in 73 minutes

Run out to Crystal Lake area and back. Did 6 x 20 second strides during the end of the run.

10/31 Sunday: 12.2 miles in 78 minutes

Ran the Canton Classic 10k. warmed up 2 miles, then ran 10k in 32:37 for first place, warmed down 4 miles. race report coming soon.

Total Miles: 84.8

Great week of running and a nice race to top it off! Feeling good and hope to keep up the good training.

Great Bay 5k

On Saturday October 23rd Heather and I went up to the Seacoast area of New Hampshire for the Great Bay 5k. This race was the last race in the Seacoast Series and was sure to attract some fast guys as it pays cash to the top three ($150, $100, $75) and has a very fast course. Upon arrival we met up with Jim Johnson, who of course was sandbagging with all kinds of talk about how he was sick, and couldn't breathe. He was saying he was just there to finish up the series and get his series jacket. Yeah right! We took a look at the entry list for the race to see if we noticed any fast guys. We didn't recognize any names and thoughts of a first and second place finish for Jim and I started to enter our heads. Another thing to consider was the Mackenzie Mile, which is a cash prize for the first person through the mile. In the end, it turns out we didn't need to worry about it.

After a warm up with Heather and Jim on the course we headed over to the starting area and soon we were off and running. Right away a guy decked out in a Navy racing kit (Nick Crowell) went right to the front followed by another guy in a white shirt (Jeffery Sprague). I did not recognize either of them and thought they may be just after the first mile bonus and I was not interested in going out fast and blowing up. I was more interested in a top 3 finish. Jim and I were right together as Nick and Jeff pulled away a bit. Nick hit the first mile in about 4:50 with Jim and I going through in about 5:01. At this point I felt Jim starting to fall off my pace and I was making up ground on Jeff who was in second place. This second mile has some small rolling hills and I caught up to and passed Jeff at about 1.5 miles. I was also now making up ground on Nick. I hit the second mile in 9:55 (4:54 mile) and was now only about 5 seconds behind Nick. Thoughts of both a fast time and a victory started creeping into my head. Soon after two miles we turned into a neighborhood and started up the biggest hill on the course. At this point I think Nick noticed me getting closer and picked it up. I could not match his move after pressing the second mile and he put some distance on me. At this point I was sure I was good for second place and still a fast time, I was still running quick, but not making up any ground on Nick. As I started getting close to the third mile I started hearing the footfall of someone coming up behind me. I never looked back to see who it was, I didn't know if it was Jim, Jeff, or someone else. All I knew was I needed to get a move on and hold off who ever it was. Its was all downhill from this point on and I just let it roll as fast as my legs would let me. I went through 3 miles in 14:58 (5:03 mile) and put in the best kick I could to secure second place. I covered the last 0.1 in 30 seconds finishing in 15:28 (A new 5k PR) holding off Jim and finishing second.

Heather also ran a great race finishing first in 17:44, beating the competition by more than a minute! In addition to the $150 first place prize she also won the $50 Mackenzie Mile bonus! Just awesome!

Article

Top 10 plus CMS in Blue

Place	Name	Age	City/State	Net Time	Pace
1	Nick Crowell	23	PORTSMOUTH NH	15:21	4:57
2	Chris Mahoney	32	HAVERHILL MA	15:28	4:59
3	Jim Johnson	33	SALEM NH	15:31	5:00
4	Jeffrey Sprague	27	PORTLAND ME	15:38	5:02
5	Erik Travis	26	LEE NH	16:23	5:17
6	Chris Ritchie	27	HAMPTON NH	16:29	5:19
7	Scott Clark	44	GILMANTON NH	16:54	5:27
8	Peter McNeil	26	BARRINGTON NH	17:11	5:32
9	David Harrow	26	GREENLAND NH	17:24	5:37
10	Jasmin Lepir	34	PORTSMOUTH NH	17:34	5:40

821 Total Finishers.

Training 10/18 to 10/24

10/18 Monday: 9 miles in 67 minutes

Easy running along the Shawsheen river trails. Legs were heavy today, feeling the race and long run from the weekend.

10/19 Tuesday: AM: 10 miles in 72 minutes PM: 5 miles in 40 minutes

AM: Rattlesnake Hill loop, felt a bit better today.

PM: Treadmill run, just didn't feel like going out in the dark.

10/20 Wednesday: 10 miles in 72 minutes

Running the Merrimack trails with Jim Johnson.

10/21 Thursday: AM: 10 miles in 74 minutes PM: 5 miles in 38 minutes

AM: Easy running in Andover. Did 6 x 20 second strides towards end of the run

PM: Easy running from Cedarland in Haverhill

10/22 Friday: 7 miles in 52 minutes

Easy running, it was chilly out there this afternoon!

10/23 Saturday: 10.5 miles in 73 minutes

Great Bay 5k. Warmed up with Heather and Jim Johnson 3.2 miles, raced 5k in 15:28 good for 2nd place and a new road 5k PR!, and warmed down for 4.2 miles. Race report coming soon!

10/24 Sunday: 15 miles in 113 minutes

Long run at Franklin Park in Boston. Heather and I went down to get in a run and catch the Mayors Cup XC races. It was nice to get in some running on some soft surfaces and then catch some great XC action!

Total Miles: 81.5

Topsfield Cross Country Festival

On a very windy and cool Saturday October 15th I headed over to Bradley Palmer State Park for the Topsfield Cross Country Festival. The was my first team race as a CMS member and I was looking forward to running and racing with the guys. After some confusion on how to get to the race starting area we finally pulled in about an hour before race time. I was actually the first CMS guy there and picked up the race numbers for the rest of the team. We had a very strong team there with Peter Mallett, Kevin Tilton, Ben Strain, Rich Patrick, Greg Putnam and myself representing CMS. This race is part of the USATFNE XC Grand Prix and I knew the field of runners would be strong. Among others in the field was Nate Jenkins and Matt Ely, two of the best runners in New England. My goals going into this race were to first score for CMS (top 5 on team) and second to place in the top 10 and win a pie! After meeting up with the guys we did a warm-up around the course and then it was time to race!

As the race went off Nate Jenkins went right to the front and was off on his own as expected. The rest of us kind of stayed bunched together in the strong wind. The group was led by Matt Ely and Colman Hatton from BAA followed by a bunch of CMS blue with Peter, Rich, Greg and myself right behind and many more right with us. We made our way around the first little loop and soon we were headed out for a loop up and over Moon Hill. I was feeling OK at this point, but I was not sure I had made a wise decision by going out so hard. As we made our way out towards the hill I was following Rich and just trying to stay comfortable. We hit Moon Hill and made our way up the single track trail. Soon we hit the field up top (around 2 miles in) and were on our way back down to the woods. Just a bit after hitting the woods and continuing our way downhill I moved past Rich and tried to press my way forward. Heading out again for a second loop up and over Moon Hill I could see Peter ahead and I could hear someone gaining on me. At this point I was just trying to keep things together and try to hold off who ever was behind me. I hit the bottom of Moon Hill and Ryan Place from GBTC had caught me and soon he went by me. I tried to go with him, but he was moving well and pulled away. I also noticed that Peter was coming back to me a little bit. Soon we were back in the woods and I made a hard charge on the down hills towards the finish area. Once back on the fields I was right behind Peter and making my way towards the finish. With about 200m left I pushed past Peter and made a strong charge for the finish line.......getting there in 27:02, good for 5th place over all and first CMS runner. CMS took the next two places with Peter Mallett and Rich Patrick finishing close behind me. CMS sealed the team win with strong finishes by our next two runners Kevin Tilton and Greg Putnam in 11th and 13th place respectively.

I was very happy with the results today. I not only accomplished, but exceeded my goals by finishing 5th overall and 1st CMS runner. I felt strong for most of the race and mixed it up with some very good runners. This was a confidence builder for sure. It was also great to win the team race with CMS winning over GBTC. I enjoyed running with the guys and look forward to more team racing in the future.

Results

Training 10/11 to 10/17

10/11 Monday: 9 miles in 65 minutes

Easy running to Andover center. Did 8 x 20 second strides at end of run.

10/12 Tuesday: 10 miles in 73 minutes

Easy running on the Rattlesnake Hill loop. Felt a bit sluggish today.

10/13 Wednesday: AM: 5.1 in 40 minutes PM: 11 miles in 77 minutes

AM: Easy running on the Shawsheen River trails

PM: Warmed up from Philips Andover's track 3.5 miles by running over to the Ward Reservation to the top of Holt hill and back, then I hit the track for 2 x 2 miles in 10:51 and 10:50 with 400m rest. Warmed down 3.25 miles on the roads around campus.

10/14 Thursday: 10.2 in 75 minutes

Run in the dark with Heather. Felt OK till Heather tried to drop me in the last mile!

10/15 Friday: 8.2 miles in 64 minutes

Treadmill running in the morning.

10/16 Saturday: 10.5 miles in 68 minutes

Today I wen over to the Topsfield Cross Country Festival. Warmed up 2.5 miles, raced 5 miles in 27:02 good for 5th place overall, warmed down 3 miles. Race went well as CMS took first place! Race report coming soon!

10/17 Sunday: 14.4 miles in 100 minutes

Ran out past Crystal Lake after watching the Patriots game. Felt pretty good and held a solid pace even after racing yesturday.

Total Miles: 78.4

A very nice week and a solid race. Just need to keep doing work!

Training 10/4 to 10/10

10/4 Monday: 9 miles in 67 minutes

Easy running. The legs actually felt pretty good, just a bit tight in a couple spots.

10/5 Tuesday: AM: 10 miles in 72 minutes PM: 6.2 miles in 45 minutes

AM: Rattlesnake Hill Road loop. Felt a little sluggish, but the time was quicker than I expected.

PM: Run with Jim Johnson in Haverhill. Did the Parsonage Hill loop. Felt good.

10/6 Wednesday: 10.5 miles in 75 minutes

Andover center run in the rain. Did 6 x 20 second strides. Felt OK. Almost got killed by a falling tree branch.

10/7 Thursday: AM: 13.2 miles in 90 minutes PM: 4.1 miles in 33 minutes

AM: 4 miles of warm up then 2 x 2.5 miles in 13:32 and 13:32 which is 5:26 pace. I did 400m easy in between. I then warmed down 4 miles.

PM: Very easy treadmill running

10/8 Friday: AM: 7.2 miles in 56 minutes PM: 6.2 in 48 minutes

AM: Very easy running along the Shawsheen River trails. Legs a bit heavy. Saw way too many snakes out there today. I hate those things.

PM: Easy running with Heather. We did the Parsonage Hill Loop. Great night for a run!

10/9 Saturday: 15 miles in 107 minutes

Ran around Kenoza and some of the back roads nearby.

10/10 Sunday: OFF (Hiking)

We took advantage of the beautiful day and went hiking in NH. We hiked 10+ miles up Mt Carrigan, my 41st 4000 footer. It was a good day!

Total Miles: 81.4 Running, 10 Hiking

Training 9/27 to 10/3

9/27 Monday: 8.5 miles in 61 minutes

Treadmill run after work. Felt OK and the pace was solid at the end, but I still dislike the treadmill.

9/28 Tuesday: AM: 5 miles in 38 minutes PM: 10.1 miles in 71 minutes

AM: Easy running in Andover.

PM: Run from the Whirlaway with Jim Johnson.

9/29 Wednesday: AM: 5.1 miles in 39 minutes PM: 11 miles in 71 minutes

AM: Easy 5.1 miles on the Shawsheen river trails

PM: Workout with Jim Johnson at Haverhill High track. Warmed up 4.2 miles and did a few strides on the track right into 2 x 2 mile (goal 5:20 pace) with 400m rest. Went 10:40 and 10:39. Jim did he first one with me and did the second a bit quicker, maybe 10:15-20. Warmed down 2.7 miles. All continuous running.

9/30 Thursday: AM: 5 miles in 40 minutes PM: 9.3 miles in 70 minutes

AM: Very easy running, legs feeling OK after workout.

PM: Running the trails around Winnekinni. Legs felt pretty good!

10/1 Friday: AM: 4.3 miles in 35 minutes PM: 7 miles in 53 minutes

AM: Early morning treadmill run at home.

PM: Evening cemetery run, the legs felt a bit tired.

10/2 Saturday: 7.1 miles easy in 54 minutes

Easy morning run. Feeling a bit heavy and slow, but I kind of expected it after four double days in a row.

10/3 Sunday: 11.4 miles in in 79 minutes

Ran the Mike Donohue 5k in Georgetown MA. I did 3.3 miles of warm up, 5k in 15:46 good for 5th place, and 5 miles of cool down. I was pretty happy with this after a pretty big week of miles.

Total Miles: 83.8