Clamdigger 2023

Westerly, RI

Sunday, April 16, 2023

This would be my 12th time running the Clamdigger Road Races:

• Clamdigger 5-Mile:  7 times, fastest time 30:20
• Clamdigger 5K:  4 times, fastest time 17:47

From a club and Race Director perspective, this was the biggest turnout (318 registrants, 280 finishers) since at least the year 2000 when we started tracking full results, but based on what I could find in the archives, most likely the largest field ever (the race started in 1981, but we don't have the full results from the '80s and '90s).  According to a Westerly Sun article, the 1986 Clamdigger was the largest at that time with 176 finishers.  In more modern times, the 2001 Clamdigger had a then record 235 runners cross the finish line.

Besides stepped up marketing this year, we largely attribute this year's record turnout to three new groups:  new lead sponsor Orthopedic Partners who brought in physical therapists and quite a few employees that ran the race, a local "Team Pink" that brought in 30 runners and walkers, and competitive youth team Rumford Runners.

As a side-note, I sometimes get frustrated when I hear the "old timers" WTAC men repeatedly state how the winning times at our races these days are so slow or how if they ran today, they would be winning all these races easily.  So for a fun exercise, I took a look at the winning times from those three aforementioned record field size years, both overall male and my age group:

Yes, this is a small sample of only three years, but it's real data
and not cherry picked.  Sure, we've had some years with "soft"
winning times, but we also have some competitive years with
times comparable or faster than the "good ol' days".

Ending my rant and returning to my own race report:

Temp at start was 55°F.  No wind to speak of at 5.5mph, but humidity was a mild factor at 92%.  I told myself I would be happy with a sub-30 performance (6-flat average pace), but really I would push towards my 5M PR of 29:18 (2022, Hangover Classic, Bristol, RI).

Start to Breachway (Mile 1.5):  Thank you to WPD to temporarily closing a short section of Atlantic Avenue in both directions for a safe start.  Pete from SNERRO started the race for his last time, as he's selling his 50% stake at the end of this year and retiring.  

And we're off.  Most of us behind the Rumford Runners
(red singlets) that blasted out.
---
All pics courtesy of Jana, unless otherwise attributed.

A few young teens from Rumford blasted out, followed by Matthew and his former UNH teammate Andrew, Jonny Eckel, and then Nick.  I followed Nick for almost a mile before passing him.  Mile split at the digital clock (thank you West family for manning this):  5:33

OK, that mile was a little too fast and not sustainable.  One of the Rumford Runners was coming back to us.  Jonny passed him, and then I did as well.  I followed Jonny as far as Breach Drive, where he turned left for the 5K course and I continued on to Weekapaug Breachway and bridge.

Weekapaug Loop (Miles 1.5 to 3.5):  Turning just past the bridge onto Wawaloam, I could see Andrew ahead of me.  The top Rumford Runner was also running the 5K, so it was Andrew 2nd and me 3rd.  Matthew was far ahead nowhere to be seen.  

Shara and family were at the ocean overlook on Spray Rock Road cheering runners on, including myself.  This is always encouraging during a race.  Mile 2 was a more moderate 5:51, but Mile 3 was a much too slow 6:00, and I told myself that a PR was off the table.  Why so slow?  Mile 3 is the only one with "hills", but the hills are just a 35' climb.  Probably just subconsciously slowed with the race only half over and running as an island with no one in sight anymore.

Thanks Shara for this pic of me running
early in Mile 3 on Spray Rock Road,
with ocean in the background.

Felt good running the ever so slight 20' downhill on Fenway, then headed back to Weekapaug Breachway, where I once again saw Shara and family, as well as received some encouragement from Jeff Huckle.

Mile 3.5, at the Weekapaug Bridge.
Form still looks good.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Huckle.

Breachway to finish:  All right, hang in there now for 1 1/2 miles on Atlantic Ave to the finish line.  Ran into back-of-the-pack 5K runners and walkers.  Was surprised to see some still coming at me.  Not really an issue, since they were spread out by now.

Mile 4 split was 5:43.  Well, that's more like it!  Maybe a PR is still in reach?  It feels good to be passing so many runners, but the downside that I often forget is that like triathlons, just passing people doesn't mean that I'm actually running fast.  I turn into the parking lot, past my Mom marshaling the runners, and cross the finish line on the packed sand.  I glance at my watch:  29:17!!  A one second PR?

Finishing strides

Certainly looks I'm giving it my all,
at least at the finish

Final result:  29:18, 3rd overall of 87, 1st in age group.  Full results here.

I thought I had earned a new PR, but it seems like I ended up tying my previous PR to the exact second.  This is where I usually rant to myself about "I couldn't find a single second out there on the course?!".  But I'm taking a different tact this time and claiming this as my new 5M PR.  Here's my logic:  the previous PR race was not certified (Clamdigger is), my GPS distance in that previous race was 4.99 miles (today's Clamdigger GPS was 5.05M) and of the 8 other runners grouped with me in Strava in last year's Hangover Classic 5M, only one had a distance more than 5M, and several had GPS distances of 4.96M.

So a great day out there all around.  21 kids had fun at the free kids' beach run, a record turnout overall, decent weather, and a PR time for me!

Part of Team WTAC today.

Great to see my Mom out helping at the race today,
marshaling runners into the finish.
One of the many great volunteers.

And of course, the kids' run on the beach is always
popular, but this year we had 21 finishers!
A great day overall.

Westerly Sun article

Weekly Log 17-Apr to 23-Apr-2023: Inaugural Visits to Neutaconkanut and Flat River Reservoir

Monday:  5

Westerly, RI.  Recovery run at Bradford Preserve / Woody Hill with Brady, before coming home to watch the Boston Marathon on TV.

Tuesday:  2 walk, 7 run

AM:  Westerly, RI.  CCC.  Finally blazed new trail at Barlow-2, through a cedar forest and along a peninsula.

PM:   Westerly, RI.  Track workout!  Not really my thing to go around and around and around, but with others there, the time went by quickly.  Justin is running these sessions Tuesdays at 5:30pm at WHS track, and husband/wife team Paul and Kate showed up as well.  Since it's light out in the evenings now and I hadn't gotten a run in yet, I decided to join.  4 x 800 (2:48, 2:53, 2:42, 2:40), followed by 2 x 200 (34, 34).  The 800s were tiring, but the 200s were pure exhausting.

Wednesday:  8

Charlestown, RI.  Vin Gormley loop with Marc Doherty and Brady, followed by a coffee catch-up at sponsor Dave's Coffee.  While this is not a technical course, there are a few short tech sections and I was pleasantly surprised that for the first time in two months, I had no issues.  I think this bodes well for resuming trail running post May 7.  Two months post-injury, the swelling in my right ankle is finally almost gone.

Thursday:  4 run, 5 walk

AM:  Westerly, RI.  Short and easy run at Bradford Preserve.  Also used the opportunity to check out part of the surveyor-proposed alternate trail to resolve the long-standing wetlands violation issue.  I could follow some of it, but really need to come back with the surveyors to be certain.

AM:  Exeter, RI.  I've been leading about one walk per month in the WLT Thursday hike series, with the goal of half the hikes on WLT properties, and the other half in other local preserved properties.  My choice today was Breakheart Pond.  I didn't how many would make the trek "all the way" to Exeter, but we ended up having 9 humans and 2 canines and that all worked out well.  Pretty easy and mostly flat route.  Many expressed how pretty it was at Breakheart Pond and trails along Breakheart Brook; only one in the group (besides myself) had been here.

Leading Brady to a drink at Breakheart Brook,
incidentally one of my swimming holes here.
Don't know why the wood is piled here where
I usually take off my shoes and socks in summer.

North end of Breakheart Pond

Short break at the small stream and
waterfall on southern end of Breakheart Pond

Friday:  5 walk, 5 run

AM:  Providence, RI.  This would make for a long day away from home, but as this is my final scheduled week of mapmaking this coming week, I opted to meet up with author John K on two of the properties to get clarity on his routes.  

This was our first walk.  I had seen this pop up from time on 
my feed of Strava followers, but first time I had been here in person.
2 mile walk, with moderate hills.

Distant views of downtown Providence

At the "peak", open fields and an old platform for
bandstands, 296' elevation.  Highest point in Providence.

AM:  Providence, RI.  Second walk was 3 miles on dirt trails around a series of ponds at Roger Williams Park.  Jana and I used to come here and bring the kids to the zoo when they were younger.  I remember the polar bear exhibit in particular, but don't know if that's still around.

This was essentially the route that we followed.

Sri Chinmoy.
Spiritual leader and active runner.

Temple to Music
Fun Fact:  each marble piece was quarried in Vermont
and shipped by train to RI

PM:  Coventry, RI.  Washington Secondary Bike Path.  Last month, I ran part of this path in West Warwick.  Someone commented on my Strava post that the bike path is better with less road crossings to the west, so that's what I tried today.  I parked at Coventry Town Hall, although in retrospect, an even better parking location exists just 3/4 mile to the east with grass fields and more importantly, a porta-jon.  

Very pretty area along the Flat River Reservoir in Coventry.

Saturday:  9

Exeter, RI.  With Brady.  Usual Arcadia dirt road loop, with the exception of where I zoned out on Mt Tom Trail and missed my turn onto Blitzkrieg.

Sunday:  7

East Lyme, CT.  Rocky Neck Relay in the rain.  Separate post to follow.

Weekly mileage:  45 run, 12 walk

Weekly synopsis:  Low mileage week.  In retrospect, I probably should have skipped today's relay, and gotten in a MLR this weekend.  It's too easy to overload on the races as there are so many now every weekend.

Weekly highlight:  Probably the short run on the bike path in Coventry.  Don't think I had ever run on this stretch before, and my Strava heat map seems to confirm that.   So nice to have so few road crossings, and the few I crossed were very minor dead end roads at that.  Surprisingly pretty area.

Weekly lowlight:  Again, no mileage and no MLR.

Weekly Log 10-Apr to 16-Apr-2023: Pine Top & The Old Fogey's Stogie

Miscellaneous rambling:

• Received a nice reply from Hartford Marathon Foundation regarding my constructive criticism on the Middletown 10K USATF-CT championships running into the back of large groups of walkers and subsequently being unable to run tangents.  The response was that they heard similar criticism from other runners and will indeed be addressing this in next year's race.
• Received my passport in the mail this week.  So it turns out I could've run the marathon in Ontario after all (it's on the 30th).  Oh well; at least we're all set for Quebec Mega Trail 50K.  
• I have to give a lot of credit to the US Department of State on their process improvements.  Remember the days of going to CVS or a professional photographer to pay for passport photos, then filling out paper passport application forms, then waiting in line at the Post Office for them to process and mail it in?  This time I downloaded a free passport photo app, Jana took the pic, I logged on to the State Department's website to renew my passport online, uploaded the photo, gave my credit card info, hit submit, and voila!  I received e-mail updates on changes of status.  I'm not one to take a lot of online surveys, but when I got an e-mail requesting feedback via a federal survey, I made sure to complete that one, as I never want to go back to inefficient paper processing again.

Monday:  6

Exeter, RI.  Easy 4.5 mile run with Brady at Arcadia.  Mostly flat and easy but a little nervous on the short tech sections of JB Hudson Trail.

West Greenwich, RI.  Checked out Pine Top Ski Area remains.  This was part of my mapping assignment, and I had enough info to complete the map, but I thought it interesting to check out the ski area.  There was no one there, and it was fun to explore.  Pine Top opened in the mid-1960s and closed in the early 1980s.

I've been through this area several times on the North-South Trail,
but never had any idea that this was the ski area parking lot!

Brady standing on cement blocks, which anchored the top of
the T-bar lift at the ski area summit

Remains of a ski shack

Looking up two ski slopes,
the "Pine Topper" ski trail to the right.

Looking down a former ski slope and vista beyond

$3.50 weekday tickets!

On the walk back, I decided to be kind to Mother Nature
and pick up my fellow humans' refuse and recycle them.
BTW, who the heck drinks Grand Marnier out of a nip bottle?!

Tuesday:  10

East Lyme, CT.  Was asked to run the upcoming Rocky Neck relays as part of the Mohegan Striders masters men team.  The format is a 3-person team that alternates between a 5K road course and a 5K trail course.  My only concern is that the trail portion was billed on the race site as "technical trails" and my ankle isn't ready for that, so I figured I'd go check it out myself.  Ran the road course twice and the trail course once.  It really isn't technical to me, save for two very short rocky sections.  Signed up.

Treated myself afterwards to a lox bagel
and iced latte at Cafe Sol, Niantic.
Good stuff!

Wednesday:  5 run, 1 walk

AM:  Westerly, RI.  Clamdigger course.  Warm in the mid-60s, with warmer weather to come.

PM:  Westerly, RI.  Avondale walk with Brady and Jana.

Thursday:  14 run, 2 walk

AM:  Hopkinton, RI.  8-mile dirt road loop at Arcadia, with Brady.  Start of a 2-day mini heat wave.  Mid-60s to start, mid-70s to finish.

PM:  Westerly, RI.  Walked part of the Grills Trails that some were proposing as new additions, in order to map them for discussion.  As part of walking the flagged routes, I was startled by this rattling sound.  Looked over and saw what I believe to be a 5' black rat snake.  (It was later suggested to me that it might have been a black racer instead, but searching online for the difference between the two, I'm standing my ground based on the thickness of the snake and also the rapid rattling of the tail similar to rattlesnakes.)  Continued on a ways and then once again I heard the rattling sound.  This time I knew what it was right away and wasn't as startled.  I saw a slightly smaller black snake slither away.

Evening:  Westerly, RI.  6-mile run with Justin and Matt pre-Clamdigger planning meeting.  Easy dirt roads in Woody Hill.

Friday:  6

Charlestown, RI.  Brutal 78°F.  Unreal for late April in coastal Rhode Island.  I had meetings in the morning, and didn't get started until high Noon.  I had planned a 10-miler, and cut that back to a 6-miler and reduced the pace, but in retrospect, I should've just bailed as I went home and had what I'd describe as heat sickness.

Highlight of this run was the beautiful ocean view on Surfside Ave.  Lowlight (besides the heat that I'm not ready for) was sucking in the fumes from some old fogey's stogie (remember that catchy TV ad from the '70s?) on West Beach Road.

Found it!  And there he is!  That's the old fogey with his stogie.  
Turns out the ad was from 1979 and was for Airwick Carpet Fresh
deodorizer.  That old fogey has got to be dead by now, right,
if not by smoking then by old age.

Saturday:  8

Charlestown, RI.  Easy run with Matthew and Brady at Ninigret.  Temps had dropped into the high 50s, but with humidity over 90% it was pretty uncomfortable.  Took it easy, especially with the Clamdigger 5-Miler on tap for tomorrow.

Sunday:  6

Clamdigger!  Separate write-up to follow.

Weekly mileage:  55 run, 3 walk

Weekly synopsis:  Not an impressive week, but not bad either.  My mileage and training has not been anywhere near the quantity pre-Detroit Marathon, so my expectations are not high for Providence in three weeks.  I did get in three 20-milers at least, so I don't think it will be terrible.

Weekly highlight:  Clamdigger 5-Miler!

Weekly lowlight:  Running in near 80° weather on Friday.  In April.  Ugh.

Weekly Log 3-Apr to 9-Apr-2023: Poor Planning Week

Miscellaneous rambling:

• Pretty psyched that we have over 200 runners signed up for Clamdigger.  If this holds, we could have the largest turnout in 22 years, when 235 finished the race in 2001.
• Four weeks to Providence Marathon.  I'm no where near in shape the way I was at Detroit Marathon last fall, with my mileage much less and my weight about 5 pounds heavier.  I'd like to get one easy 20ish, then taper and see what happens.
• Post-Providence I plan (hope?) to get back onto the trails, as I'll be eight weeks out to my ultra.
• Also time to get back to swimming and biking before my insanity in September (Ironman).
• I was initially psyched to learn that AC/DC will be having its first concert this fall since 2015, until I saw this "Power Trip" concert in CA is a 3-day show with multiple bands and ticket prices alone starting at $600 (exclusive of airfare and pricey hotel options, most at $3k and up packages).
• Reminds to buy tickets for the Foreigner Farewell Tour, coming to New England late summer.
• Speaking of things going away, we're down to 2 tris left in RI now, and it looks like On Your Left racing is down from about 5 tris total to just one.  Looks like I'll need to look to neighboring states this summer, perhaps including the Thursday night biweekly Terramuggus series.
• Finally, what is with the huge bibs that some races are giving out know?  

L:  Hugely tall bib that barely fits on my torso
Center:  (Newport half) Normal size bib
R:  (Laugavegur) Small bib is plenty big enough

Monday:  1

Westerly, RI.  

Sick.  Leaving the race yesterday, I was having sniffles on the way home.  By late afternoon and evening, I was sick with just common cold symptoms.  Thought I felt much better this morning, so after the one errand I needed to I went to Avondale Preserve, but just felt out of it with body aches and that medicine-head feeling.

Tuesday:  1 walk, 5 run

AM:  Westerly, RI.   CCC.  Finished clearing at historic Larkin foundation.  For this season anyway.  Also positioned a small bog bridge into place in a perennially muddy and wet location.

On a muddy spot on the yellow trail.
It looks narrow, but should be fine to run
over.  The mud was ankle deep.

PM:  Charlestown, RI.  Very warm day, likely the warmest thus far in 2023.  62°F at start of run.  I feared late afternoon would be a very busy time for people out walking, running, and biking, and tried to think of somewhere on roads that might be quiet.  Settled on dirt roads of Burlingame North and lucked out with only one other person encountered.  Stopped thrice to let Brady drink from streams.

Wednesday:  4

Woke up for my planned long run.  Had oatmeal and a bagel, and got some work done while waiting for digestion and a mid-morning run start.  Checked my calendar and noticed that I completely forgot that I had a Finance Committee meeting at 11am.  Ugh.  Thought about wrangling my way out, but that's not fair, especially on a last minute notice.  It turns out there were already two committee members absent, and my presence determined whether or not we had a quorum to meet with the accounting firm.

No long run today.  Due only to my own poor planning.

Stonington, CT

By late afternoon, as usual, I had lost all motivation.  Went to Barn Island and ran dirt roads with Brady in drizzle and wind.  Blah.

Thursday:  5 run, 4 walk

Charlestown, RI.  Ran with Brady on Burlingame campground roads.  As I'm currently confined to roads with my injured ankle, I've enjoyed running this loop during the past couple of months, as the roads are gated and closed.  For one more week, that is.  Sigh.

Exeter, RI.  Thursday WLT hike series.  Mount Tom.  I was pretty surprised to see this on the list, as the trail is quite technical and would definitely turn some of the regulars away.  But not the seven that showed up (eight if you count Brady).  Fortunately, none of today's attendees had any issue at all with going up the wet rocks and keeping up the pace, and one was in his early 80s.

Friday:  20

Hopkinton, RI.  Had two morning meetings.  I thought I retired?  Anyway, the second meeting was in Richmond, I knew I wanted to get in a long run and the weather would be conducive, so the night before I mapped out a 20-miler that started/finished kind of on the way back home (Black Farm).  I just love the Strava route creation feature.  That alone is well worth the subscription cost, never mind the heat maps and other cool features.

Started at Black Farm, where I was surprised to see the small parking lot almost full.  Thought about going somewhere else, but I already had the route downloaded and ready to go, so I maneuvered my car around to fit one more in and still give people room to get their cars out.

Almost immediately on the run, the PM attacked.  Fortunately, I was running in a very rural area and I had brought supplies.  'Nuff said.  Although it did make me wonder what do city slickers do in the same situation when nature calls, and, well, there's no natural places around and not exactly a lot of public restrooms either?

Ran 4 easy, and then started my MP block, with target miles 6:20ish.  First mile was 5:48, which sounds ridiculous until you factor in that there was a 140' drop.  Next 6 successive miles were much closer to target:  6:13, 6:18, 6:21, 6:12, 6:09, 6:20.  In hindsight, I should've broken up my blocks better, but I was kind of making it up as I went along (the MP miles, not the course).  Ran 3 easy, but the rollers were wearing me down.  Followed by two more at "MP", but by now I was hitting more 60' hills, was 15 miles in, and didn't have it.  6:31 and 6:34.  Four "easy" to finish, but that included a 180' climb.  Had never run on Nichols Lane before, but that is a short but steep hill with sections over 20% grade.

Saturday:  8

Exeter, RI.  Went to Arcadia check station to run my new "usual" route while my ankle heals.  Had no idea why the parking lot was overflowing with cars parked along Route 165 as well.  (It was the first day of fishing season, but I didn't realize it until later.)  Getting out of the car to find a bunch of smokers and drinkers early in the morning pushed me to quickly get out of lot and onto Mount Tom Trail, and away from the people and smoke.  

Easy recovery run with Brady.  Time passed quickly.

Sunday:  11

Voluntown, CT.   Easter morning dirt road run with Matthew and Brady at Pachaug State Forest.  Oddly my first run of the year in Voluntown.  Nice morning for a run with temps in the 30s, sunny, and no wind.

Weekly mileage:  55 run, 5 walk

Weekly synopsis:  Not well executed when 15 of this week's miles were in the first four days of the week and 40 in the last three.  Got it done, but just didn't plan this out well at well.

Weekly highlight:  Getting in a hard 20-miler.

Weekly lowlight:  Poor planning on my part.  This coming week is supposed to be very warm, so I'll need to make a better effort to get out there and run in the morning before I lose my window or motivation.

Middletown 10K

 

Middletown, CT

Sunday, April 2, 2023

USATF-CT 10K Championships.  This was the second of eight races in the CT Road Grand Prix.  Each race is a different distance, just like the USATF-NE Road Grand Prix.  I don't know most of the Striders, but I certainly know more than I would in any other USATF racing club.  

What kind of a course is this?  At the first corner after the start, we will go through
this thrice, the first time southbound, and the next two northbound.
---
Besides not being a fan of multi-loop courses, especially for road races, this also means that
given the 5K runners/walkers start en masse with us and share the first 2.5 miles and
last 0.6 miles with us, we will run into them starting about Mile 4.  More on that later.

Arrived a full eighty minutes prior to race start, which was good since the finish line / check-in point (Union Green) was about 1/3 mile away from parking and the start line almost a mile.  The check-in was fast, especially for those who had downloaded a QR code to be scanned:

Then it was a return to the car to drop my shirt (and temporarily my bib) and off for a warm-up on part of the course.

Quite a few rolling hills.
But look at Mile 6!  That will be fun.

Warm up:  I tried to follow the course, but they seemed to be in the process of setting it up, and I couldn't follow it.  I know - it's the runner's responsibility to know the course and I could've downloaded or even carried a phone for the warm-up, but I didn't.  I did at least get a feel for some of the many hills on the course.  This was no Mt Washington Road Race of course, but it wasn't a flat course either with over 300' in elevation gain.  After a 3-mile warm-up, I returned to the car, changed into my racing shoes and singlet, one last bathroom stop, and headed to the start.  42°F with a 15mph headwind.

First half:  Looked around the starting line while waiting for the race to start.  There were clearly some fast runners here, but it also quickly became obvious to me that this didn't have the same depth of competition as the 5K championships had last month.  I lined up in the 3rd row.  After the national anthem, 411 10K runners and 451 5K runners/walkers cross the line.  We had a short and deceptive downhill before we banked right for a 60' climb up through Wesleyan University.  People were literally passing me left and right on the uphill climb.

Pre-race national anthem

Here are the fast guys taking it out at race start.

And here I am in the middle of pic crossing the start line.
I've put on a few winter pounds.
---
Seriously, kudos to these folks out for a walk and
some exercise, but they will be in our way soon enough.

Fortunately, what goes up must come down, and I re-caught quite a few them on the ensuing downhill.  Mile 1 split 6:01.  Not a good start, but the hill was a factor and I built this and the wind into consideration when thinking that I'd like a sub-37 but will be happy with a sub-38.

Not much excitement or action in the next two miles (Miles 2 and 3).  I think I passed two other runners, including another runner clad in a Strider singlet and less than half my age.  Mile 2 and 3 splits, 5:59 and 5:58, respectively.

Back half:  Just at the 3-mile split, I was running in a group of 4 for a little ways, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile.  Two of them I had caught up to, with one of the two being a 49-year old Strider that often wins his age group.  I haven't met him formally, but his name is Michael (not sure if he goes by "Mike" or "Michael"); I'll have to make the effort to introduce myself.  The other caught up to all of us, is wearing a really nice green NB singlet running for Manchester, and looks familiar but I can't place him.

We rounded a corner, headed towards Mile 4, and the quartet broke up.  The Manchester runner pulled ahead, I stayed just behind him, and the other two dropped off, with my Strider teammate Michael encouraging me to go after him.  I looked at the Manchester runner ahead of me, noticed no white hair, and decided [incorrectly] that he was not in my age group.  

FLASHBACK:  When I won my age group in Vermont City Half Marathon (Fall 2021), one comment that was posted that was posted on the person I passed that got 2nd in age group:  "You missed being the first old man by 30 secs…..gotta throw down when you see gray hair up the road".  I recalled this comment at this juncture in today's race, and decided I was in the clear.  [I wasn't.]

I let the Manchester runner go, and at Mile 4, we hit the back-of-the-packers walking.  Time to weave around them.  So much for running tangents.  One walker yelled out, "This is Mile 1.  I don't know what these people [running] are doing."  Um, we're running the 10K race which unfortunately doubles back here for a second loop.  I guess you didn't check out the course maps?  This is a long, long line of walkers blocking the entire left lane.  We have two 90-degree left turns coming up and we're not able to run the tangents there either.  Another walker is clearly unhappy that the 10K runners are coming so close to them and yells out that we have the whole right lane; why don't we run on the opposite side?  Um, have you heard of tangents?  

About a full mile later, we've at least caught up to the 5K runners, and those are obviously easier to weave around than the 5K walkers.  Mile 4 and 5 are a slow 6:01 and 6:07 respectively.  In Mile 6, we make a right turn with a long downhill to the finish with about a 100' drop.  I can see the Manchester runner again, but he is far ahead of me now.  I pass a bunch more 5K finishers en route to the finish line.  This is my fastest mile at 5:42.

Final result:  37:09, average 5:59 pace.  20th overall of 410, 2nd in age group.  

I immediately went up to the Manchester runner and asked his age.  56.  Ugh.  His name is Brett, and we had a great conversation.  Now I'll know my competition for successive USATF-CT races!  He recognized my name, as I was two seconds ahead of him at Shamrock PLR 5K champs last month, and he mentioned I was just ahead of him at New Haven 20K champs last summer.

Today I finished behind Brett by 18 seconds.  Looking back at both of our splits on Strava, I see exactly how it unfolded, as we were together after 3 miles, and he averaged about 5 seconds faster than me on each of the last three splits.  Could I have sped up by 5 seconds per mile to keep up with him?  Probably.  I'm not saying I would've beaten him, but I could've narrowed the gap for sure.  I'm fine with how I placed, but lesson learned.

Weekly Log 27-Mar to 2-Apr-2023: Rickety Bridge & Richmond Switch

Monday:  1 walk, 4 run

Westerly, RI.  Walked the perimeter of a potential WLT acquisition.  I believe it's confidential, but I'll just say it wasn't one that I was impressed with and my vote will be a no.

Stonington, CT.  New Balance Demo Night at Kelley's Pace.  Prior to this, the only time I've ever been to a running shoe demo was last July at the USATF Mountain Series Championships at Whiteface Mountain.  There were several vendors there, and I visited the VJ booth and tried two different shoes, including running up and down scree.

Tonight's demo was coordinated with the regular Monday night Kelley's Pace / Jealous Monk run, held during the summer months on trails and rest of the year on roads.  I've tried several brands, but New Balance is the one that works best for me.  The New Balance rep was engaging but not overbearing and had many pairs of 1080, 880, and one other model I can't remember, in many sizes and ready for demo.  While I would have loved to demo some of the more high end racing shoes, like the SC Elite v3, that wasn't in the offerings.  Since I currently have the 1080v11 in my rotation as a training shoe, I tried the 1080v12 and it did seem to resolve the heel lock-down issue that I have with the v11.  The rep asked me how I liked the Rebel V3 I was wearing (I love them!) and we had a good discussion on a number of other NB shoes, including the ones that Emily Sisson wore recently when breaking the American record in the half this January.

Tuesday:  5 run, 2 walk

Westerly, RI.  After today's CCC session (which was the first ever Safety Day, and I was humbled to be asked to lead operation and safety of trimmers session), it was raining steadily.  I checked the hourly weather forecast hoping for a later drier window, but every hour of daylight showed high probability of rain.  Rain in the summer is fine with me, but rain when it's 42° not so much.  Decided to abbreviate the run and ran Clamdigger 5M course in the rain.

Hopkinton, RI.  The weather forecast was wrong, as the rain was done by 3pm, and the sun came out about 4pm.  I was home working on my next trail map assignment of Black Farm State Management Area, and realizing I knew very little about it, I decided to take Brady and go walk it.  (It's one thing for me to not be familiar with Tiverton preserves, as that's a logistical nightmare for a native Rhode Islander to get to in the same day [sarcasm], but no excuse for me not to be familiar with preserves in my adjacent town.)

It's a pretty neat place, with rickety bridges over fast flowing streams, and neat history including the remains of the Wood River Branch Railroad from the late 1800s, which used to extend from Hope Valley to Richmond Switch (modern day Wood River Junction).  The railroad opened in 1874, one year after the infamous "Wreck at Richmond Switch" deadly disaster.

And here's that rickety bridge.  Brady normally just runs
over stream bridges, but was extra cautious on this one!

Wednesday:  19

Charlestown, RI.  Had a 7:30am physical therapy appointment with John Ward.  Note he is selling his business as of next week to Tier One PT, but remaining on as an active employee.  I was pretty annoyed that now six full weeks after my bad ankle sprain, the darned thing is still partially swollen and unstable.  He reviewed my "high ankle sprain" and the notes from my doctor and x-ray results, and after some poking and prodding, had a pretty optimistic assessment.  He said this would typically heal on its own, but went through some exercises to accelerate that by working on my proprioception and strengthening.  I had no idea what proprioception was (a sense that allows us to perceive the location, movement, and actions of parts of our body), but mine was impaired due to the injury and I am likely favoring my opposite foot subconsciously.

Oh yeah, about today's run.  Since I was already in Charlestown for PT, I opted to drive to the nearby town beach and run from there.  I picked out a route that I thought was about 18 miles, and ended up being 19.  East as far as Matunuck (SK), and west as far as Arnolda (Charlestown).  Kind of a double OAB, but with no "cone" turnarounds.  Today's temp was high 30s when I started, but since it was sunny, it just felt so much warmer than yesterday's rain.  I shouldn't have worn the quarter-zip and gloves, or at least could have ditched them halfway through.  I thought about dropping them, but since I'm such a scatterbrain I also realized there was a high probability that I would completely forget about them post-run and just drive home.

Average pace today 6:53.  No workout since I have a race Sunday, but happy with the pace at least.  Corrected my error from last week's 20-miler by taking in protein right away.  Had a turkey, egg, and cheese on a bagel from Beach Rose Cafe, the same shop that donated coffee and muffins to our Li'l Rhody race last fall.

Thursday:  8

Exeter, RI.  Dirt road loop with Brady, from Arcadia check station.

Friday:  1 walk, 5 run

AM:  Smithfield, RI.  Walked the Ken Weber Conservation Area with John K.  Needed to visit this in order to map the trails.  It's a nice, small (27 acre) preserve with some interesting features (photos below), but it's not well cared for and there are too many side trails, likely unauthorized.

Ledges

And a small waterfall

PM:  Charlestown, RI.  Ninigret Park with Brady, late afternoon.  Really lost interest to run by now.  It's pretty clear I'm not an early morning person, but late afternoon and early evening hold even less appeal for me to run.  I need to get out mornings, and when I do have a conflict like this morning, just get up a little earlier.

Saturday:  8

Groton, CT.  WTAC monthly group run.  Dirt roads and a few trails in Bluff Point and Haley Farm State Parks.  Six guys, including Brady.  Toughest part was getting out of the car in heavy rain, but after that was just fine, as temp was about 55°F.  One trail we went on was more technical than I'm comfortable with given my swollen ankle, but I just dropped to the back and took it slow and cautious.  

Fortunately I brought a towel and a change of dry clothes, as all of us went to nearby Social Cafe for coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and running talk.

Rainy day, but good times with a good group.

Sunday:  11

Middletown, CT.  Middletown 10K.  Separate write-up to follow.

Weekly mileage:  60 run, 4 walk

Weekly synopsis:  A good week overall.  I'm getting a little frustrated limiting my runs to only roads (and dirt roads), but keeping the faith that I'm moving in the right direction and reminding myself that at least I'm able to run roads without issues.

Weekly highlight:  The 19-miler went well and without issues.

Weekly lowlight:  Just my frustration with the ankle issues taking so long.  Partially assuaged by John Ward's optimistic assessment.