New Haven Road Race 20K

 

New Haven, CT

Monday, September 5, 2022

For this year's fall marathon, I was considering two races as a tune-up:  New Haven 20K and Surftown Half.  It's been a number of years since I've run Surftown, and it's certainly conveniently located to me, but factors that led me to choose New Haven this year over Surftown included:

• I had never run New Haven before, so it would be new and interesting
• New Haven was cheaper at $70* versus $91
• Surftown date conflicted with Newport Tri (which I will be doing), whereas there were no conflicts for me with New Haven
• New Haven 20K is the USATF National Championship, which brings a fun vibe

*Full disclosure:  After I had already decided to run the race, I serendipitously received free entry into the race.  My employer, from whom I recently retired, was sponsoring the race and had a few complimentary sponsor entries to give away.

Arrived New Haven on race morning with what I thought was plenty of time.  Parked at the designated race parking area, which was a commercial parking garage about 1/3 mile away from the start line.  Caught up with a few runners at the Mohegan Striders tent, then picked up my bib and shirt and returned to the car.  Went on a 2-mile easy warm-up in the soupy conditions (73°F and 93% humidity) before returning to the car and changing into race shoes and race singlet, the latter tip being a page out of Matthew's book to at least start the race drier.

Back to the New Haven Green to use the facilities one more day before the race.  Uh-oh.  Long lines and not much time now.  Fortunately there was one construction porta-jon that was not being used.  And for good reason.  Picture one of the most disgusting porta-jons you've even seen.  Add smeared feces all over the seat.  And then make it worse.  Oh, and the door lock is broken off.  Under any other circumstances, I would have avoided it.  But it's mere minutes to race time now.  So I do what I have to do.  And yes, someone does walk in on me while I'm relieving myself.  Life goes on.  My business is done, and I run quickly to the start (the 20K and half share the same start, but that is different than the 5K start for Matthew).  I feel a little disrespectful as I move up through the crowd while the national anthem is playing, and I try to be as unobtrusive as possible.

The anthem finishes and the race starts.  Had I stayed in the long regular porta-jon line, I would have missed the start.  Yes, it's a chip start, but I'd be weaving around many runners.  

First three miles:  At the end of the national anthem, the band moved off the road and the gun went off.  So starts the sweaty slog.  About half mile in as the crowded field thins a bit, I can see a cluster of Mohegan Strider red singlets just ahead.  At the end of the first mile, as we're making a right turn, I catch up to them:  Dave Goodrich, Juan Chacon, Becky Snelson, and a guy I don't know (Michael Stadolnik).  Mile 1 will be my fastest all day at 5:52.

I slowly but surely pull away from the group, and Juan is the only one that goes with me.  He and I ran together the next two miles, but I am already drenched and feeling sub-par.  I ask myself, "Why do you continue to run these hot and humid sufferfest races?"  Miles 2 and 3 were 6:05 and 5:56, respectively, and for the rest of the race all my splits will be slower going forward.

The rest of the race:  After Mile 3, the paces ticked upwards.  I had to let Juan go.  I regretted it, but he was able to maintain close to 6-minute pace and I wasn't.  At least he wasn't in my age group.  I saw Juan in Miles 4 and 5, and then not again until post-race.  I remember lamenting that I felt similar to this about this same point in the Beach to Beacon race, but that was "easy" to gut out, because it's only 10K, not 20K.  This kind of thinking is NOT helping!

By Mile 6, my pace was up to 6:22 pace.  And this was a flat mile!  Ugh.  In Mile 7, the course comes very close to the race start/finish again.  And there I see and hear a few Striders, including President Al and Way cheering me and others on.  And then right in that area I got repassed by a couple of Striders that I passed way back at Mile 1.  This is not good.  I had slowed so much that others were catching and passing me.  Enough of this; I'm not going out without at least a fight.

Mile 7:  Getting passed by a Strider that I had
passed six miles earlier.  What a defeating feeling.
It turns out he's not quite in my age group at age 49,
but I didn't know that at the time.
And what's with the puffer-fish face?  It must
be some advanced race technique for maximizing oxygen intake.
(Pictures by Kim O)

Trying to stay relevant in the race.  Note the
kid in front of me is wearing the exact same
shoe model and color as me:  NB Super Comp Pacer

By Mile 8, I am able to pick the pace back up a little at least in a 6:11, but it is fleeting.  I put my Strider competitors back in the rear-view mirror and saunter on.  In Mile 9, we go through a rough area in sharp contrast to the nice downtown green area.  This is rough both physically and metaphorically.  The street is in rough shape with cracked and uneven pavement, and the rundown neighborhood here leaves a lot to be desired.  There is zero fan support here, and I can't help but notice the person staggering on the sidewalk adjacent to the race course.  I'm fine running here today with police officers at intersections and many runners on the road, but I don't think I'd be comfortable running here on my own.

Mile 10 was a slow uphill, followed by a fast Mile 11 downhill on fresh asphalt from East Rock Park.  The course split for the first and only time, as 20K'ers went left and headed home, while half-marathoners went right and further out.  While they were only adding ~0.7 miles, the fact that they were adding anything at all, not to mention an OAB with a cone turnaround, gave me a small sense of relief.  I resisted yelling out "Suckers!" although I certainly thought it.  A mile and a half on flat non-descript streets and I'm done.

Finishing strides

Final results:  1:17:46 (chip), 1:17:51 (gun), 91st out of 456, 1st in age group   Full results here

Just after finishing.  Absolutely drenched.
No cool down for me.

Changed out of my disgusting sweat-soaked
running clothes, inside these fancy
changing tents at the Mohegan Striders tent

Hung around for what seemed an inordinate amount of time for awards, only to learn that awards could be picked up at any time at the registration table.  While waiting, drank a copious amount of fluids and also some refreshing frozen custard thing.

Age group winner award:
a glass, a $20 gift certificate to a local
running store, and a champagne split

Won my age group by a mere 22 seconds.  This race had some similarities to Beach to Beacon 10K, in that both are well known popular New England races that attract top competition.  Unfortunately the weather was horrible at both races, but that's always a crap shoot with summer races.  The venue was nicer and prettier at Beach to Beacon, but the race and parking logistics at New Haven were much easier, not to mention only being an hour drive from home.  A year is a long time away, but I would say I am likely repeat at the New Haven 20K next year.  Maybe I can even improve my time ...

Weekly Log 19-Sep to 25-Sep-2022: Running Shoe Woes

Monday:  6

Westerly, RI.  Grills Preserve with Brady.  Very sore today, after some high mileage weeks (for me) and four races in the span of seven days.  I was pleasantly surprised with the condition of trails at Grills.  I do believe the trail maintenance we performed in late June is paying dividends as we will not need to perform as much maintenance on overgrowth as in past years.

Tuesday:  13

Stonington, CT.  After taking care of a couple of errands in Mystic, went for my first run in the Saucony Endorphin 2 that I had bought for the Detroit Marathon.  I was really excited about these carbon-fiber marathon distance shoes, but unfortunately that excitement morphed into pain and discomfort.  Easy to put on, but felt uncomfortably tight in the top of my foot arch area while running.  Stopped twice to loosen and adjust the lacing, and I thought that helped.  The miles rolled off fairly quickly.  In fact, an average pace of 6:29.  But when I stopped upon my return to the car at Mystic Y, I had discomfort, so I immediately took off my shoes and then noticed that the toes in my left foot had gone completely numb.  I then had some residual pain in my left leg for the rest of the day.  Not good.

Spent time researching numb toes while running, and most articles and comments said either poor shoe fit or a lacing issue.  But I had tried on a pair 1/2 size larger and even run a bit in them at the store and found them to be too big and felt a little sloppy.  So a lacing issue then?  One review I read said that the shoe is narrower than most in the midfoot.  Well, that would explain the issue.  I don't want to get ahead of myself because I've only gone for one run, but I'm starting to get a little worried now.

Wednesday:  9

Exeter, RI.  Trails at Arcadia with Brady.  Slow and easy on dirt.  In addition to last night, during most of this run I continued to fret on my shoe and foot/leg issue from yesterday.  I have to move on, so I came up with a 3-tiered approach:

1. Slight modifications to existing shoe:  try expanding the midfoot space by ice expansion [sounds like a bit of snake oil to me, but several on the 'net swore by it], ease up on the lacing tightness, and wear thinner socks.
2. If that fails, order a pair of NB RC Elite V2.  They're very hard to find as they're now discontinued and the V3 becomes available two days AFTER my marathon.  Of course, right?  Reviews indicate they have more room in the midfoot than the Endorphin Pro 2, the stack height is 3mm less, and they're the brand that I typically run in.
3. If that fails, either run in my pair of NB Rebel 2 or order the just this week released NB Rebel 3.  Neither are carbon plated, but I know they fit with no issues and they are super comfortable.

Having made that decision, I could now relax and just enjoy the rest of my run.  Started and finished at the check station on Route 165.  Immediately upon finishing, jumped into the Wood River.  That was COLD water, so I made sure to dive under water quickly before I wimped out.  Oh so refreshing!

South Station, Boston,
upon disembarking from an Amtrak train I boarded
in Westerly.  Was in the city for a dinner reunion with 
eight of my former colleagues at Fidelity.

It was a trip down memory lane for me.  At three o'clock is
South Station, where I just walked out of, to the left of
South Station is where I worked the last few years of my Boston career,
and at nine o'clock is Federal Reserve, Boston.

On my walk to the restaurant, along the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway,
created as a byproduct of the Big Dig pushing the highway underground. 
I don't think I could ever live
in a city, but I do like the vibrancy.

On my way to our restaurant reservation in Long Wharf,
this is the famed Boston Tea Party museum.

Some of the many fabulous "starters" at tonight's dinner.
Crab, oysters, little necks, shrimp cocktail, tuna poke.
I could scarcely touch my dinner when it arrived, which was a shame,
because the seared tuna was wonderful.

Had a great time catching up with my former colleagues.
The three old guys at the far end are now retired.  Enjoyed catching
up on each other's updates, family, kids, travels, etc., and
reminiscing on work times good and bad, people we respected,
people we had loathed, wild late nights on business trips in London,
and everything in between.  I don't miss any of the stress, phone
calls at 2am or on Christmas Day, but I do miss the people.  Well,
at least these seven.

Thursday:  9

Hopkinton, RI.  Trails again with Brady, this time at Yawgoog and Green Falls Pond.  We started in light rain, which progressively increased into a downpour.  Fun trails on a day when they were almost completely deserted.  Just had to slow it down a bit on slippery rocks and slimy wooden bog bridges.  

Mid-run, we stopped at the Green Falls Pond campground beach to swim.  Was raining pretty hard, but still felt really good.  On the way back, the rain intensified further until it was raining so hard it was getting difficult to see.   But it certainly felt really good with the temperature in the high 60s.

Friday:  11 run, 1 walk

Westerly, RI

AM:  Walk at Bradford Preserve with town Rec Director, assessing walking path construction thus far and impedances to the Run for the Pumpkins course just eight days away.

AM:  10 mile run from the town beach in my Rebel 2s.  

PM:  1 mile test run in my Saucony Endorphin Pro 2s.  Fail.  Did what I could to re-lace the left shoe to avoid the tightness in the midfoot, plus applied the icing/expansion experiment, but it's a no-go.  My toes didn't go numb this time, but I think that's because I only ran a mile.  The leg pain came back right away.  It's too bad.  Great reviews, fast shoe, but just doesn't work for me.

I re-laced to avoid the midfoot section, and left the 
lacing loose.  Now the rest of the shoe felt loose and 
sloppy, while the midfoot area was still just too constricted.
Weird.  And the next half-size up for me was just
too sloppily loose.  What a shame.

Saturday:  1 walk, 7 run

Westerly, RI.

Bradford Preserve.  Met up with Justin, Nick, and Heather.  First order of business was to clear two blowdowns blocking the trail for the upcoming Run for the Pumpkins run.  With everyone pitching in, we cleared that up pretty quickly.  Many hands make light work.

Next Brady joined us as we ran the course itself, reviewing intersections for flag and sign placement.  There are a lot of turns in the new 10K course, largely because there are a lot of trail intersections there.  I led the group completely off-course once when I took a wrong a turn at a 3-way intersection, but fortunately realized and fixed my error pretty quickly.  It just reinforces that we'll have to mark the course so that it is very clear at turns.

Sunday:  20

Richmond, RI.  Lolly-gagged both at home and upon arrival at Arcadia Y (start/finish of my run).  After parking my car, I was "playing" with my phone and one half of my brain was even trying to talk myself out of a long run.  Yeah, you should go for just an 8 or 10-miler.  That would feel much more comfortable.  Fortunately, that side of the brain lost out, and I got my lazy butt out the door and started running.

From that point on, I didn't entertain any thoughts on cutting the run short, although I did entertain thoughts on cutting the planned two 4-mile MP blocks short.  Ugh.  I'm my own worst enemy sometimes.  

MP blocks went better than expected:

• MP block 1 (on dirt):  6:20 (actual target), 6:14, 6:18, 6:09
• MP block 2 (asphalt):  6:19, 5:56 (big downhill), 6:25, 6:09

Felt moderately sore for the rest of the day.

Weekly mileage:  75 run, 3 walk

Weekly synopsis:  Another good running week.  Now it's taper time for the next three weeks.

Weekly highlight:  Getting my last 20-miler in, and hitting my target splits.

Weekly lowlight:  Finding out the hard way, painfully actually, that my planned marathon shoe is not to be.  On to Plan B.

Battle of Stonington 2022

Stonington, CT

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Had run this race a number of times, most recently just last year in a disappointing 18:45, with my fastest time being ten years ago in 2012 in a time of 17:58.  Weather was nearly identical to last year's race, with temp about 80°F and humidity about 90%.  Wonderful.

Having already picked up my bib the day before, I opted to park at the town docks where I knew parking would be more plentiful and the porta-jon would have a shorter line.  In fact, there was no line at all both times I visited, as compared to the one near the starting line was at least 15 deep.  Local knowledge helps!  Went for a warm-up of about 2 miles, before returning to the car to change into my dry singlet and into my race shoes (NB SuperComp Pacer, lightweight flats with a carbon fiber plate).  Jogged to the start and did some light stretching while catching the end of the kids' run.

Mile 1:  Lined up with nearly 200 other runners.  At first, I hung back behind the starting line to let other faster runners fill in.  But there were a few spaces available and looking around and sizing up the competition, I figured I could hold my own in the top ten, so I got right up on the starting line seconds before the gun went off.

Start of the 2022 Battle of Stonington 5K
I am on far right in orange cap and green WTAC singlet.

There is a very small downhill of about 20' drop in elevation at the start of the course.  I feel like running downhill is one of my strengths relative to other runners, but then why are so many runners passing me?  Dave always goes out hard, so I've discounted that, but there are several others that just passed me here.  I don't want to let them all go and it pushes me to stay right on their heels.  We pass the intersection where Kevin Murphy is volunteering (about 1/3 mile in) and after that I start to catch up and reel in some of the runners that went past me so easily.  Passed Dave just before the sharp left turn onto Omega and the end of first mile.  Mile 1 split 5:31.  In retrospect, probably faster than I should have gone, but I just couldn't idly sit by as a number of runners passed me early on.

Mile 2:  Early on in the second mile you make a hard left turn (off Hancock, onto Diving).  Most of us front-pack runners are obviously trying to run the tangents to get the best time.  At this corner, there is a larger walker obstructing that tangent, so both the 16-year old runner ahead of me and I go closely to her right.  We did not hit her or even brush up against her, but she was none too happy as she dropped an F-bomb epithet and also had something to say about Jesus Christ, but I didn't stick around to listen to the sermon.

A short hill up to the library and start/finish line, where we start the 2nd lap.  Ugh.  On the short downhill to Mathew Park, I pass the kid.  I know it won't last, but faster downhill is just how I roll.  As predicted, the kid re-passes me as the course flattens back out.  Mile 2 split 5:46.

Mile 3:  We are soon running into back-of-the-pack runners on their first lap, but they're spread out now and it's not an issue.  What is an issue is the humidity.  It's not just that my clothes are drenched, but as they're beyond the saturation point, as I'm running, sweat is just dripping off my hands, my face, etc.  I feel like I'm inadvertently flinging sweat in every direction as I race through the streets.  Normally in a 5K, my Mile 2 is the slowest as the anticipation of finishing in Mile 3 allows me to pick it back up.  Not this time.  I re-pass the kid again on the downhill on Omega, and when the course flattens again, he not only re-passes me for the final time but takes off and puts a good gap on me.  This should be my signal to chase him, but I've got nothing.  I hang on the best I can and finish Mile 3 in a much slower split of 5:56.

Final results:  17:40, average 5:42 pace, 6th overall of 190, 1st in age group.  Full results here.

My fastest time on this course, and just eight seconds off my PR!  Pretty happy with that, even though the method to get there of slower and slower pace was obviously not the best.  I ran a 1-lap cooldown with a mix of WTAC'ers and Striders, grabbed some pizza from the pizza truck and by that time, the event was pretty much over, especially as awards distribution was deferred due to a glitch.

Triathlon Season 2022

 

East Lyme, CT

Sunday, August 14, 2022

For years, I had participated in triathlons annually, sometimes 4-5 per year.  Mostly sprints, but up to Half Ironman distance.  But that was a few years ago.  In fact, it had been just over five years since my last triathlon, the Block Island Tri back in early August 2017.

To me triathlons, as with pure running races, are more fun when you know other people in the race.  And while we had had as many as ten WTAC participants in the Block Island Tri in past years, by 2017, I was the sole WTAC'er there.  So when Tommy expressed interest in the Niantic Bay Tri this year, I was all in!  It was time.  It was past time.  In 2020, tris in southern New England were cancelled due to the COVID thing.  In 2021, I couldn't participate for health reasons as I couldn't get my open head wounds from the cancer surgeries wet.  I was overdue, and I registered.

Met up with Tommy upon arrival

Swim (1/2 mile):  17:00, 172nd out of 304

I was in the fifth and final wave, based on my age and gender (males age 55 and over).  That was just fine with me.  As a back-of-the-pack swimmer, I sure don't want to be in the first wave.  Each wave was three minutes apart.  As I made my way to the beach, another random triathlete saw me struggling to zip up my wetsuit and came over to help.  That was really nice.  Wished good luck to the others I knew (Tommy 5K, Bob Kerwin, Carol Ann, and Lisa) and watched their waves take off.

The water was pretty smooth but it was weird swimming through eel grass until we got into deeper waters.  I got into my rhythm and after going past two buoys, I noticed I was actually passing a few swimmers from earlier waves, as each wave has different colored swim caps.   I had no issues with sighting and felt good with my swim, slow as it is.

T1:  2:17, 99th out of 304

For the first time ever, I went sockless into my bike shoes (T1) and then again into my running shoes (T2).  No issues at all.

My transition spot.  You don't
exactly get much space.

Bike (11.4 miles):  36:11, 47th out of 304

Average 19.0 mph, which I was really happy with especially considering the undulating hills.  The first half was reasonably flat, and then there were a lot of hills.  Nothing terrible, but just a lot of ups and downs that made it hard to get into any constant rhythm.  I was passing many cyclists, but then went back and forth with one that similar to my running, passed me on uphills and I'd pass him on the downhills.  He wanted to talk to me during the race, and was asking me how many tris I had done, and was explaining it was his first one.  That might explain his choice of attire, as he was wearing long pants in 70°F weather.

Midway through the bike course, it was scary to see emergency vehicles in the road, a bike lying in the road, and a cyclist lying down with first aid responders over him.  But I heard someone say something to the effect that at least he's OK.  Carry on!

T2:  1:34, 228th out of 304

This was a rare time that I thought a transition went well, but stats don't lie.  Clean change into my running shoes, refitted with lock laces.  No idea what went wrong.

Run:  19:01, 9th out of 304

Splits 6:25, 6:13, 5:53.  Good.  Not great.

Picture of finish line early in the morning.
This is going to be fun!

Approaching the finish.
Photo courtesy of Tommy 5K

Overall:  1:16:03, 38th out of 304, 2nd in age group  Full results here

With Bob Kerwin at finish

And with Tom.  What a beautiful
and fun day out there!

-------------------------------------------------------------

Middletown, RI

Sunday, September 11, 2022

This race is held entirely within the town of Middletown.  Not an inch of it goes into Newport.  So why is it called the Newport Tri?  Unless it's referring to the county of Newport?  Or does Newport just have a better cachet than Middletown?  At any rate ...

This race had three divisions:  Sprint (146 participants), Olympic (99 participants), Aquabike (7 participants)

Sprint is what Tommy and I participated in.  

Arrived about an hour early.  Tom must have just gotten there before me, as he texted me that start was delayed from 7am to 7:30am.  Got my stuff and got in line for packet pickup.  Loooong line.  While waiting in line, on the loud speaker they explained the delay was due to so many athletes picking up their packet on race morning.  Well, I didn't really want to drive two hours round-trip the day before to pick up earlier.  When I got to the front, it seemed they were quite short on volunteers, as it was just a woman and perhaps her young children helping her.  And then there was no one passing out shirts; you just went to a messy pile of shirts and helped yourself.  I get that sometimes it's hard to get volunteers, but let's call it what it is.

 

Lined up outside of transition, just before sunrise.
Note the lights on the rim of one bicycle

I asked where body marking was, and was told there would be no body marking.  That's too bad, as I like to check out the age / age group of fellow athletes that I am passing or getting passed by on the bike and run.  I wonder if that was scrapped due to volunteer issues as well?

After setting up transition, I went to use the bathrooms at the beach pavilions.  They're locked!  What?  Waited in line for a porta-jon, and when I opened the door and looked inside, I promptly walked right back out and waited for the next one.  I'm no prude with porta-jons but this was absolutely disgusting.

Swim (1/2 mile):  21:09, 103rd out of 146

The swim start was reminiscent of the race starts of the few races that actually happened at the height of the pandemic:  two athletes at a time, spaced by 5-10 seconds.  The sprint triathletes would start first, and then I believe Olympic and finally aquabike.  Totally fine with that, but since everyone was issued the same color swim cap, I couldn't tell anyone apart.

The swim was an OAB.  I don't care for that format, as more than once on the way back I noticed I was drifting towards the oncoming (outbound) swimmers.  I think I lost some time correcting course.  And once I saw one triathlete was actually on our incoming side of the buoys and a lifeguard was trying to get his/her attention.

T1:  2:02, 31st out of 146

I thought my T1 was absolutely horrible, so I'm shocked to be in first quartile.  I had so much trouble getting my wetsuit off, especially as it was bunched up around my left ankle caught on the timing device.  I tried to just tug it off, but the device dug into my ankle and left red marks on it.

Bike (10.6 miles):  32:22, 19.6 mph, 13th out of 146

I got on the bike, went to turn on my bike computer, and noticed right away that IT'S GONE!  What?!  The bike and bike computer are new.  I'm frustrated and angry, and somehow convince myself to let it go, focus on the tri, and come back to it later.

In that spirit:  I liked this course!  Gradual incline on the way up to the half-way mark, then downhill back to transition!  Felt very smooth.

T2:  1:28, 100th out of 146

I know I lost time because this time I didn't use lock laces, but didn't want to go through the effort to re-lace my shoes the night before, and then again after the tri.

Run (5K):  18:25, 5:56 pace, 3rd out of 146

Third behind Tommy (2nd overall) and overall winner.  Splits 6:37, 6:18, 5:34.  I saw a few older looking guys in the 3rd mile an didn't want to leave anything to change, so I hammered that final mile.

Very close to the finish, in
chase mode.
Photo courtesy of Robin Kerwin

Overall:  1:15:28, 19th out of 146, 2nd in age group  Full results here

OK, now back to the missing bike computer.  I showed Tom, and he suggested I notify a race official.  I did that, told the official it was stolen from transition, and the official asked if it simply fell off.  It's actually a fair question, except that it was on my bike this morning, it doesn't fall off even on jarring bumps as you have to twist it off and on, and I had retraced my steps from the car to the transition area.  He took down my bib number, so I figured either he or the RD would reach out to me post-race, even if just to say sorry that it happened but they hadn't turned up anything.  No communication.

Tom and I did notice there were a lot of bikes in transition that had bike computer mounts, but no bike computers.  Hoping that someone didn't steal that many bike computers, I asked around on best practices, including at the bike shop where I eventually ordered and paid for a replacement.  It may be obvious, but I learned that a number of others regularly remove their bike computers if their bike will be out of their sight.  Lesson learned.  Frustrating.  More than being out the money and hassle to replace the computer, I felt violated and that my blind trust in fellow triathletes has been broken.  I guess every group has their bad apples.  Moving on ...

Post-race, I asked an official when awards would be, and he explained sprint awards ceremony would be first and probably a half hour away (about 9:15).  OK, time for a good cool-down, and if I missed the ceremony, people will still likely be around for me to collect my award.  Went for a long cool-down (6 miles) post-run, as this was my peak marathon mileage week and that's more important.  Ran with Tommy for the first 1.5 miles as I was happy to show him part of the Sachuest Wildlife Refuge.

On my way back, saw Bob Kerwin out on his second run lap (Olympic distance) so ran with him for a little bit, and then Mel asked me to help pace her to get her closer to a competitor, so I happily did that as well.  When I finally got back to transition, I learned the awards ceremony would be combined and not until 11:00am!  Not sure if I got bad information earlier, or if plans changed.  Decided to stick around and watch others come in and wait for the awards.  Took my time and had a sandwich from the help-yourself arrangement of Subway sandwiches.

And thus endeth my short tri season of 2022.  I had considered finding a third tri in Massachusetts in late September, but I really have too many races on my calendar already.  Will hang up the wetsuit until 2023, and while I still may get out for a casual bike or two, my bike season is basically over for the year as well.  I need to keep my eye on the prize (Detroit Marathon) and I find it hard to train for so many different things with the demands of marathon training.

Having run two triathlons this year, both for the first time, I find the urge to make some notes with my own subjective comparisons:

• Swim course:  far preferred the L-shape course of Niantic over Newport
• Bike course:  Newport over Niantic; smoother and more gradual inclines, less intersections
• Run course:  Newport over Niantic; both had cone-turnarounds which isn't great, but Newport had less turns and amazing ocean scenery
• Communication:  Niantic over Newport.  Far better website, and more frequent e-mail communications, including a follow-up e-mail with a thank you and links to results and photos.
• Organization:  Niantic over Newport.  Lots of volunteers, clear signage, body marking, many food selections, just professionally done.

Both fun events.  But now time to refocus on running.  Return to triathlon next year.

Weekly Log 12-Sep to 18-Sep-2022: Stavros Beach Run

Monday:  10 run, 2 walk

Westerly, RI.

AM:  With two others, plus Brady, walked and planned out a potential connector trail through Town Forest property linking Whitely Preserve to the nascent Cottrell Preserve.

Hundreds (thousands?) of aphids on a branch.  Weird.

AM:  3 mile run.  After leaving Cottrell Preserve, Brady and I went to Wahaneeta for a pre-race recon and to give me an idea of what work is needed in advance of Saturday.

PM:  7 mile run.  Together with Justin P, setup, watch, and break down the course for the first WHS XC meet of the season.

Tuesday:  10

Charlestown, RI.  Ran in an absolute downpour.  Parked at East Beach, Charlestown, which was a challenge just to get there.  The roads were flooded in multiple places.  Route 1 Charlestown southbound lanes were closed completely.  I would later learn that Charlestown received 3.1" of rain in just one hour!  This was the highest rainfall in the state today.  I was the only car in the East Beach parking lot, and I had to drive through a pretty flooded section to get there.

The run was an absolute blast!  By the time I had run the couple of miles to Route 1, there were now several RI DOT trucks in the closed southbound lanes, and I ran past two workers who were up to their waists in water working on the flood issue.  Unreal.  About Mile 5 the skies started to lighten up, and much to my dismay, the rain almost stopped.  Then it got dark again, the thunder rumbled, and the skies opened.  At West Beach boat launch, a fisherman dressed in outdoor gear was working on getting his boat out of the water.  He looked at me as he laughed and said, "You must really love running!".  Yes, I do!

The last couple of miles the rain came down so hard that it was difficult to see clearly.  But it was so much fun!  At the state beach at East Beach, I take off my shoes, socks, and singlet, and ran back barefoot along the beach.  The surf was pounding.  Put my soaked stripped clothes up high and dove into the ocean.  Didn't stay along as the surf was rough.  Had to wait for a strong incoming wave to swim my way back to shore.

Wednesday:  8

AM:  Charlestown, RI.  Shake-out with Brady from Kettle Pond.  End of run jump into Watchaug Pond.

PM:  Westerly, RI.  Charlie Stavros Memorial On the Beach Run

One of my favorite races.  So simplistic and easy to host with an unmarked course OAB along the beach, yet unique amongst races.  I am not aware of a single other race in the area that is completely on the beach.  The closest I can think of is the 4-mile run portion of the Block Island Tri, but as the name portends, it's not entirely a running race.

Just before race start.
The "50" is designating the 50th anniversary of the Mohegan Striders.

And we're off.
We'll be chasing the high school runner at left for over a mile.

The group making its way towards Weekapaug

Shortly after the gun, there was a group of about five of us, with the WHS runner at the front.  After a very fast first mile of 5:43, there were three of us:  the WHS runner, Nick, and me.  The pace continued at sub-5:50 to the turn around cone at Weekapaug Breachway, at which point it was down to Nick and me.

After rounding the cone, the pace slowed slightly.  Looking back now at Strava, it was so pronounced and continued for the rest of the run that I'd now attribute it to the 9mph wind out of west.  In other words, we had a slight tailwind down and were running into a slight headwind on return.  My mile 2 split was 5:54, which was a blend of 1/2 mile with the wind and 1/2 against.

About this point, Nick started to pull away and put some distance on me.  I tried several times to surge ahead and close the gap, but the only success I had was not dropping further behind.  I was in a near sprint with the finish line in sight and stayed at the harder-packed sand at the water's edge as long as possible until finally heading up through the softer sand to the finishing chute.

Trying (unsuccessfully) to chase down Nick

Final strides

Pic from Jim Hirst

Final results:  17:43, average 5:53 pace, 2nd out of 54.  Four seconds behind Nick.  Full results here.

After finishing my 20th consecutive Stavros Beach Run, I continued my tradition of immediately jumping into the ocean.  The water is still quite warm this time of year, but it still felt refreshing.

Beach Race finishing chute

All WTAC equipment.  We time many of our own events now
and I'm proud of all the WTAC volunteers that make this happen.

Some of the Team WTAC runners at the Beach Run

Fun post-race socializing with pizza and snacks.

Thursday:  16 run, 2 walk

Westerly, RI

AM:  Wahaneeta CCC clean-up before Saturday's race.  Deferred from Tuesday due to thunderstorms, was happy to see ten people show up.  Made for quick work snipping overhanging briars on trails, mowing the parking area and cabin area, and cleaning debris off the start/finish field.

AM:  Post-CCC, parked at Westerly Town Beach and made up the route as I went along.  Humidity 50%!  How refreshing!  Felt good, but took it easy with trail race double-header weekend coming up.  Ended the run on the beach and jumped in the ocean.  

Friday:  9

Charlestown, RI.  Reverse Rhody with Brady, and a jump off the docks into Watchaug Pond.  The water level is deeper due to recent rains.  Went into up to about my shoulders, so that's great.

Saturday:  6

Westerly, RI.  Wahaneeta Trail Race.  Separate race report to follow.

Sunday:  10

Chester, CT.  Trails to a Cure.  Separate race report to follow.

Weekly mileage:  70 run, 4 walk

Weekly synopsis:  Great week, despite racing a bit too much.  It's funny that 70 miles is kind of a down mileage week for me, given last week's 90 and average past 4 weeks of 75.  With marathon day just four weeks from today, it's time to reduce the races for a while.  Between now and marathon day, I'll only be running one race, Run for the Pumpkins, and that's 15 days out before the marathon.

Weekly highlight:  Trails to a Cure race!  More to follow.

Weekly lowlight:  Nothing really.  Just a great week with a lot of fun activities.

Weekly Log 5-Sep to 11-Sep-2022: Big Mileage Week

Monday:  15

New Haven, CT.  New Haven Road Race 20K.  Separate write-up to follow.

Tuesday:  8

Groton, CT.  After a meeting in Groton, Bluff Point seemed a good place to go, especially as the crowds would be really light there in the steady rain.  Parked at Poquonnock River Walkway, and other than the wooden walkway and paved bike path back from Haley, ran almost all single-track trail.  Saw but one other "crazy" out in the rain:  A guy on his bike who laughed as he saw me out in the rain as well.  The rain actually felt really good!

Wednesday:  22!

Newport, RI.  Longest run before Detroit Marathon in less than six weeks.  From Easton's Beach, out to Sachuest and back, and then CCW around lower Newport, including Fort Adams and Brenton Point.  Six easy, 10 at MP (target 6:20), and final six easy was the plan.  My miles splits during the MP block were all over the place, from 6:01 to 6:40.  At first, I was pretty disappointed by this inconsistency, but I chalked it up to the wind and the hills.  I remember running slightly downhill at Fort Adams down to the water, and ironically, that was my slowest mile of the block, BUT there was a strong headwind I was running into.  When I take the average of my ten MP block splits, it comes to exactly 6:20!  Well, OK then, pretty good after all.  Coffee stop afterwards at Custom House in Middletown.

Thursday:  12

AM:  Charlestown, RI.  Run with Brady on Sammy C's, Lenny Lane, and Vin Gormley.  Was concerned Sammy's would be overgrown, but I happened to run into Rhody Seth as he was finishing up his trail run and he said it wasn't.  He was right!  Post-run jump off the docks into the pond.

PM:  Westerly, RI.  After a summer hiatus from WTAC board meetings, they resumed tonight at Barlow Preserve, and with them the optional pre-meeting group run.  With several folks being away, it ended up being just Justin P and me running.  This was fine, and he asked to tour the new Pumpkins 10K course, or at least the new sections of the course, and we did.

Friday:  12 run, 1 walk, 2 hike

AM:  Westerly, RI.  With Brady.  2.4 miles.  Run and flag this evening's WLT Full Moon Fitness Hike "long course" at Riverwood Preserve.

PM:  Westerly, RI.  1 mile walk with town officials reviewing impending excavation project at Bradford Preserve for the paved ADA-compliant path.  Particularly focused on impact to WHS XC meets and Run for the Pumpkins.

PM:  Charlestown, RI.  10-mile solo CCW loop around the pond using the VG Trail, plus Wildlife Loop/Burlingame Trail.  Dunk in Watchaug Pond post-run.

PM:  Westerly, RI.  Back at Riverwood for the hike itself, with Jana.  I was asked to lead the "long course" group of 18, with the overall organizer sweeping.  The group's pace was quicker than I expected, especially the first ten or so.  Some said the label of "Fitness" in the event helped in that regard.  Great food and drink spread at the end!

Saturday:  10 run, 1 walk

AM:  Groton, CT.  Run from Eastern Point Beach Park to Bluff Point State Park.  Mostly an OAB, with differing short loops at beginning and end only.  Glad I got out there before temps went up into the 80s.  Jump in the water afterwards, followed by using outdoor showers before getting ready for the race.

Start and finish of today's run

AM:  Groton, CT.  Assisted Jeff A in race directing the Groton City Brew Run.

Start of the 2nd annual Groton City Brew Run.  11am.
It was hot and sunny.  I was happy to be on the sidelines for
this one.

Sunday:  10 run, 11 bike, 0.5 swim

Middletown, RI.  Newport Tri.  Separate write-up to follow.

Weekly mileage:  90 run, 11 bike, 4 walk/hike, 0.5 swim

Weekly synopsis:  Great week, with a lot of big accomplishments.  Biggest mileage week in eight years.  (I ran a 102.7 mile week back in September 2014).  22-miler mid-week with successfully hitting target PR.  And a tri just for fun.  Now time to dial it back.  Detroit five weeks from today.

Weekly highlight:  22-mile mid-week run in Newport and Middletown.  I hit the pace I wanted, the scenery was beautiful, and unlike at New Haven Road Race on Monday, I felt good while running it.

Weekly lowlight:  Awful humidity at New Haven Road Race.

Weekly Log 29-Aug to 4-Sep-2022: Consistency

I have pretty much locked down my fall race schedule, at least as far as mid-November.  I'll certainly consider a Thanksgiving run as well as something around Christmas.  There are so many fall races I would like to run, but it's tough to run those AND a fall marathon and most of my dates are full now:  2022 Remaining Races .  Next year I need to do a better job of planning well in advance.  Maybe that should be a goal of mine?

Monday:  9 run, 2 walk

Westerly, RI.  Tired and slept in a bit after a couple of vigorous mountain runs in Maine the previous two days.  Ran the typical 'Round the Pond run with a bit of added mileage.  Started off in the mid-7s for pace, but the last few miles I felt pretty good and subconsciously picked it up into the mid-6s.

Sense of accomplishment:  while I was disappointed to have our
short Maine camping trip end so early and to put away the camping
equipment likely for the year, I took the long overdue task of organizing our
camping equipment in the cellar.  I should have taken a before picture
as well, but it was a jumbled mess of stuff piled on top of each
other on the basement floor in no particular order.  Went to Home Depot
and bought shelving, cleared and swept the "camping equipment area"
of the basement, set up the shelving and only saved the camping stuff
we've actually used in the past few years.  So easy to do, but it's much easier
to just be a status quo packrat.  Now that I'm retired, if I spend even 
a couple of hours per week on tackling other unkempt areas, I'll 
make some real progress!

The two miles was walking a neighbor's dog (with Brady), as they were away.

Tuesday:  8

Groton, CT.  Run from Eastern Point Beach with Jeff Anderson.  My first time ever here.  Run included the course of the upcoming Groton City Brew Run (I'm not running it, but helping Jeff A) and some other scenic local roads.  Finished up the run with a dip at the beach.  Refreshing, but unfortunately a lot of eel grass similar to Niantic Bay.

Wednesday:  6

South Kingstown, RI.  A very humid run at DuVal with Brady.  Thought I was running decently, until I saw my pace post-run was 10:14.  Yes, I know it's hilly, but that is unusually slow.  Chalk it up to the humidity?  Went for a post-run dip at Watchaug Pond with Brady.

Thursday:  12

West Greenwich, RI.  A mix of trails, dirt roads, and asphalt roads.  Mid-day with Matthew.  Humidity was low at 49%, but being sunny and close to 80°, I just felt weak and dehydrated.  The route was fine except for a long washed out double-track section labeled on maps as "Plain Road", but that moniker seems overused in multiple locations.

Friday:  16

Westerly, RI.  Typical coastal route from the house, including Weekapaug, Misquamicut, and Watch Hill.  Ran first five with Matthew, then solo as he continued into a workout.  Had to remind myself to back off the pace a few times, as I have New Haven 20K in three days.  Had a few sub-7 miles, and averaged 7:06.  Still faster than I was looking to go.

Saturday:  10

Westerly, RI.  Start of Labor Day weekend.  Still a few weeks left of summer officially, before the Fall Equinox on September 22.  With summer waning, I will not miss the tourists, the deer flies, the heat, or the humidity.  What I will miss is open water swims and dunks in local waters and wearing singlets on all my runs.

Today's WTAC group run was six (seven, including Brady), and we ran the beach at low tide from Weekapaug Breachway.  Nick, Matthew, Brady, and I split off early and ran the ten together.  Nick set a fast pace and pushed the last mile hard; otherwise it was a good conversational run.  Obligatory post-run dip in the ocean followed by a nice get-together at the Innlet, where we ran into the Bousquet family.

Group selfies is not a skill I possess.  Fortunately,
Heather stepped in with my own phone and made it look easy.

Post-run, I noticed I had a new blister on my left foot.  I ran ten miles barefoot just two weeks prior and had no issues, so I'm not sure what exactly was the irritant this time, but nonetheless I did have a blister.  And a painful one.  Right on the ball of my left foot.  Hurt every time I walked on it or put any kind of pressure.  Read several different recommendations on the web, almost all of them advising to leave the blister alone to heal.  But it hurts!  And my race is less than 48 hours away.  Just before bed, I read an article on the respected WedMD site that advised if any pain, you can "drain" the blister.  I followed these instructions and instantly felt relief.  Which beyond the physical relief also gave me mental relief.

Sunday:  5

Charlestown, RI.  Easy run with Brady on Burlingame North loop, and then down to North Camp Beach, where we played in the water for a bit.  Since I had one of Brady's balls in the car, upon finishing I took him to the nearby boat launch to play some more.  I tired out from throwing the ball before he tired from retrieving it.  

Weekly mileage:  66 run, 2 walk

Weekly synopsis:  A good week overall, as it checks all the boxes:  mileage ✅, long run ✅.  Even got in a group run and a number of post-run swims (dunks really).  I have a lot of races upcoming, but primary focus needs to be on the marathon that's six weeks away.  Accordingly, both next week and two weeks thereafter I'll have 20+ runs, each with a MP block.

Weekly highlight:  Saturday beach group run, despite the resulting blister.

Weekly lowlight:  I'm sure I could find something, but nothing substantive.