Running stats:
Miles run: 251.0
Elevation gain: 14,242'
Weekly miles (for weeks ended in month): 64, 59, 51, 55
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| Reduced mileage and elevation leading up to and through marathon taper and race |
Primary running surfaces: Roads (130 miles), trails (101)
Primary running locations: Charlestown (74 miles), then Exeter (35)
Other disciplines:
- Walk / hike: 12 miles
Quick synopsis:
- Mileage lower as expected, due to marathon taper.
- Three races this month. Goal race was the St Lawrence Marathon. Too many races; more on this facet later in post.
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Interesting runs:
- Workout Wednesday, Charlestown, April 17. 16 miles with 8 in the middle at MP. Trouble is it was too little, too late. I kept deferring this intended workout (originally 22 miles with 12 at MP) because of other races, group runs, weather excuses, etc.
- Potter Woods, Queensbury, NY, April 28. Short and easy post-marathon recovery run, with Brady, in a fun area.
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Races:
Middletown 10K (Apr 7):
Middletown, CT
USATF-CT 10K Championship. 36:45, 2nd in 55-59 age group. My fastest certified 10K ever! Every single mile was sub-6. And our Grandmasters male team came in 1st place! Really happy with this one!
Rocky Neck Trail 5K (Apr 21):
East Lyme, CT
USATF-CT MUT Series. 21:40, 5th overall. In retrospect, I really shouldn't have run this, given that it was six days before my spring marathon. I wanted to help out the team, but we ended up coming in 3rd place (out of 3 male teams), so I didn't do the team or myself any favors, and it just wasn't worth the risk. I did take it easier on the race, but even if it didn't directly hurt my marathon chances, it came at the opportunity cost of not being able to do a quality training run that day or even weekend. For the next marathon, I simply need to get better at weeding out races that aren't helping me.
St Lawrence Marathon (Apr 27):
Cornwall, ON
2:57:48, 13th overall, 1st in age group. I was initially really disappointed with this. Not the time I was looking for, and I had some issues with progressively slowing down, but it wasn't a disaster either. The marathon was very well organized and quite scenic for most of the course.
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| Towards the end of the race. Form is looking better than I felt. |
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| Well, seeing this observation about the weather from the local newspaper in Cornwall, ON, I feel a little better about my slowing down more than expected. |
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Miscellaneous:
- For the second consecutive month, I had to cancel the WLT Thursday series hike I was scheduled to lead. Yet another rainy day on flooded trails.
- Congrats to Foreigner for finally and deservedly making it into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But how ridiculous is it that it took a classic rock band like Foreigner years to get in, while this year also saw the entry of Kool and the Gang and some rap / hip-hop band named "A Tribe Called Quest". Is this a rock and roll hall of fame, or just a free-for-all any kind of music hall of fame?
- Disappointed that the Mad Fox Trail Fest (Waterville Valley, NH) has been cancelled. Supposedly due to low registrations, but since it was cancelled a full two months before race date, seems suspect and premature. This would've been the 2nd canicross race with Brady; I'll have to look for something else.
- On our trip into Canada, the Canadian customs officer pointed to Brady in the back seat, and asked, "Do you have any documentation for him?" We had stopped presenting Brady's papers at border crossings, because we just weren't being asked for them. Of course, we complied, and the customs officer spent the most time examining Brady's documentation in detail before finally letting us enter.
- On the return into the US, when I was asked the purpose of my trip, I explained I ran the St Lawrence Marathon. The US customs officer seemed very interested in the marathon, and he spent the next few minutes asking me many detailed questions on the marathon and its route, asked us no other questions at all, and let us in.
- We had a fantastic [mostly] healthy lunch in Cornwall, Ontario, the day before the marathon:
Not so healthy choices on the New York side:- For the past 2-3 years, I had been putting off a landscaping project in the front of the house. Meanwhile the bushes continued getting out of control, taking over our driveway, sidewalk, and front steps. This project took longer than I expected (of course, right?), but it's done:
I liked our "dwarf" Alberta spruces, but
they were taking over our steps,
driveway, and sidewalk.
The trunk was much larger than I expected. 
A chainsaw was necessitated.
And yes, this is how I dress in the sun now
after cancer excision surgeries on the head.
Digging out the root clusters was the biggest and hardest chore. 
This time I smartened up and bought not only
bushes that were small, but ones that are projected
to grow no higher than 2' high.
(Identifications below:)
Also added in two hydrangeas that Jana picked out. 
These should be much more manageable,
with plenty of room to grow.
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| What the heck is a "tornado" anyway? And do you really want to be eating "River Rat" cheese curds? |
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Looking ahead to May:
Two races on the docket:
- Vermont Overland, West Windsor, VT, May 11. 15M race on a mix of hilly gravel roads and trails. Nick A has run this the past two years and running it again this year; that's how I learned about it.
- Ottawa 10K, Ottawa, ON, May 25. It's odd that this is a Saturday evening run. Not sure how that will go, but it'll be fun as part of a mini family get-away, including Matthew this time.
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Monthly highlight:
Middletown 10K. For a race that I contemplating not running at all this year, it exceeded my expectations. And it's rare that I can get a PR in any distance.
Monthly lowlight:
While I wasn't happy with how much I slowed down in the St Lawrence Marathon, that seems a stretch to call it the lowlight of the month. Maybe the Rocky Neck Trail 5K for the combined reasons of 1) I really shouldn't have run this six days prior to a goal marathon, and 2) about one-third of the "trail" race is on pavement!
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