Newport, RI
Sunday, December 10, 2017
The years roll by. Another Christmas 10K is upon us. Headed out solo this year to the City by the Sea, where I would meet up with a cadre of WTAC runners for the race and post-race lunch. Arrived at 9:15 for a 10am start; a tad later than I would like. After picking up my bib and shirt (can they please vary just a little and not have a white cotton shirt every year?) and performing my daily constitutional, I got in a short warm-up, ran a few strides, and was ready to toe the line.
After cavorting with Dave Schaad and Jonny a bit, the race starter announced "30 seconds to the start". OK, time to chat a bit more, and then all of a sudden the horn went off. It caught most of us off guard, with many saying that was the shortest 30 seconds of their life. Last year, Bronson Venable led out the pack and kept a "slower" pace, so that even I hung on the back of the pack. This year there was none of that. Bronson commanded the lead from the start, and never looked back. There was kind of a loose pack ahead of me of about 10 runners, including many of the usual suspects (Jackman, Brightman, Jonny, etc.).
At a mile in, I checked my watch only to find that I never started it. Doh! How did that happen? Was it because of the botched start announcement, or because I was wearing gloves and didn't depress it enough? This really frustrated me. Since I didn't started my watch until I realized the error, only now can I look back and using some basic math, see that I ran a 5:51 first mile. (Last year, I ran a 5:42 by comparison, but I knew this year's race would be slower with my recent lack of miles and speedwork.)
Shortly thereafter a man twice my height (or so it appeared) easily went past me and another was right on my heels, as I could hear his footsteps. Ugh. I settled in and kept the tall guy in sight and my chaser stayed right on me, as we made our way along the water and the beautiful Brenton Point State Park. My second mile was a slow 6:15, followed my third mile of 5:58, which would be my only other mile sub-6 (last year all were sub-6). The tall guy came back to me and I went right past him.
For the next few miles, I heard footsteps right on me, and [wrongly] assumed it was the tall guy. That is until about Mile 5, when a walker turned around (their shorter course rejoins the 10K course at about Mile 3) and he shouted in succession "Nice job, Westerly" [me], followed by "Let's go, Turtle". Hmm, Tall Guy didn't have a Turtles singlet on. Who is this? Miles 4 and 5 were 6:06 and 6:12, respectively, and then you pull away from the water and have some small climbs and turn back into the slight wind.
Despite it being my slowest mile (6:17), I tried to push in the final mile, and finally the sound of footsteps disappeared. Crossing the 6-mile mark, I remembered this was where Martin Tighe outkicked me a few years back for the age group win, and not knowing who was behind me, I picked up the pace to cross the finish line in 37:40.
Final results: 37:40, 9th overall, 1st in age group. 55 seconds slower than last year, but actually faster than I feared. Full results here.
After the race, Martin came up to me to tell me he was indeed the one in Turtle garb that was on my heels! Awards went by quicker this year. I got some good loot and then met up at The Wharf for lunch with teammates. Thanks Beth for arranging this!
Sunday, December 10, 2017
The years roll by. Another Christmas 10K is upon us. Headed out solo this year to the City by the Sea, where I would meet up with a cadre of WTAC runners for the race and post-race lunch. Arrived at 9:15 for a 10am start; a tad later than I would like. After picking up my bib and shirt (can they please vary just a little and not have a white cotton shirt every year?) and performing my daily constitutional, I got in a short warm-up, ran a few strides, and was ready to toe the line.
After cavorting with Dave Schaad and Jonny a bit, the race starter announced "30 seconds to the start". OK, time to chat a bit more, and then all of a sudden the horn went off. It caught most of us off guard, with many saying that was the shortest 30 seconds of their life. Last year, Bronson Venable led out the pack and kept a "slower" pace, so that even I hung on the back of the pack. This year there was none of that. Bronson commanded the lead from the start, and never looked back. There was kind of a loose pack ahead of me of about 10 runners, including many of the usual suspects (Jackman, Brightman, Jonny, etc.).
At a mile in, I checked my watch only to find that I never started it. Doh! How did that happen? Was it because of the botched start announcement, or because I was wearing gloves and didn't depress it enough? This really frustrated me. Since I didn't started my watch until I realized the error, only now can I look back and using some basic math, see that I ran a 5:51 first mile. (Last year, I ran a 5:42 by comparison, but I knew this year's race would be slower with my recent lack of miles and speedwork.)
Shortly thereafter a man twice my height (or so it appeared) easily went past me and another was right on my heels, as I could hear his footsteps. Ugh. I settled in and kept the tall guy in sight and my chaser stayed right on me, as we made our way along the water and the beautiful Brenton Point State Park. My second mile was a slow 6:15, followed my third mile of 5:58, which would be my only other mile sub-6 (last year all were sub-6). The tall guy came back to me and I went right past him.
For the next few miles, I heard footsteps right on me, and [wrongly] assumed it was the tall guy. That is until about Mile 5, when a walker turned around (their shorter course rejoins the 10K course at about Mile 3) and he shouted in succession "Nice job, Westerly" [me], followed by "Let's go, Turtle". Hmm, Tall Guy didn't have a Turtles singlet on. Who is this? Miles 4 and 5 were 6:06 and 6:12, respectively, and then you pull away from the water and have some small climbs and turn back into the slight wind.
Despite it being my slowest mile (6:17), I tried to push in the final mile, and finally the sound of footsteps disappeared. Crossing the 6-mile mark, I remembered this was where Martin Tighe outkicked me a few years back for the age group win, and not knowing who was behind me, I picked up the pace to cross the finish line in 37:40.
Final results: 37:40, 9th overall, 1st in age group. 55 seconds slower than last year, but actually faster than I feared. Full results here.
After the race, Martin came up to me to tell me he was indeed the one in Turtle garb that was on my heels! Awards went by quicker this year. I got some good loot and then met up at The Wharf for lunch with teammates. Thanks Beth for arranging this!
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| For winning my age group! Yes, I love dark chocolate, although I'm not sure about "chili" flavor. |
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| For WTAC mens' team 2nd place finish |
Congratulations on your wins! And no complaining about being fat (I didn't count but there were close to a billion and thirteen "fat" comments in your last post) (ha ha) after you polish off those chocolate bars! I'm with ya on the chili, a bit dubious.
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