Ireland!

One of the highlights of many years in the past two decades has been family trips with Jana, Mark, and Matthew.  We learned from trips early on that Disney and cruises aren't really "our thing", so those were both a one and done vacation.  

Fortunately, since those experiments, we've gone on what I believe to be some really fun vacations in cool places in the natural world, including Mount Rainier and Olympic National Park in Washington State, Oregon, various places in California, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Bryce Canyon, Alaska, Everglades, Key West, Hawaii, England, Scotland, Iceland, and others.

With Mark and Matthew busy in schools and jobs in other states the past few years, it's become harder to put these together.  But last December, I was really happy all four of us were able to make a week long trip to Hawaii.  Frankly, I wasn't sure if we would be able to put together another family vacation this year, but with Matthew home for two weeks between summer and fall semesters, and direct flights from Boston to Dublin, Ireland (and northern Ireland) it is!  Unfortunately, Mark wasn't interested in Ireland and declined, but hopefully he'll come on a future family vacation again.

Wednesday, August 14

Arrived Dublin Airport bleary eyed at 8:12am local time (3:12am EDT).   Took a shuttle bus to the rental car pickup, where we picked up our 5-door crossover with left-handed manual transmission!  

Got used to sitting on the right side of the car to the drive,
and driving on the left side of the road much quicker this time
than two years ago in Scotland

It was the left-handed manual transmission shift that
took a little more getting used to, but it quickly became fun!

Of course it does make it easier when you can just follow cars
ahead of you on the left side of the road, and it's when you pull
out with no cars ahead of you that I have to think for a moment

The morning driving was pretty easy, as on the very quiet M4 and other motorways in Ireland.  As this was my second time driving on the left-side of the road, I felt more comfortable this time.  (Not that I didn't make mistakes; more on that later.)  Driving with the manual transmission shift on the left side was very new to me.  It just felt awkward at first, but I got used to it completely by the end of the day.

Day 1:  We drove west across "the entire country", which only amounts to about
120 miles between Dublin on the east coast and Galway on the west.

We would be spending the next few days in SW Ireland, but the highlight of today's trip would be the famous Cliffs of Moher.  

One of the downsides of the Cliffs of Moher
being so famous is that there were a lot of
people here

But we walked 4 miles in total, and were able
to get away from the majority of people who seemed
content not to walk much

It wasn't cold at 64°F, however it was quite windy here
with winds about 20mph

The first evening we spent
in Limerick

The city itself didn't impress me that much, although this
castle on my evening run was really cool

Thursday, August 14

While the city of Limerick was not my favorite, the hotel we stayed in here (Limerick Strand) was one of the best on our visit.  The breakfast buffet did not disappoint either:

A pretty big and extensive buffet

"Kippers"

Meats, cheeses, and smoked fish are quite prevalent in 
European breakfast, with the latter two working quite well for
me.  "Porridge" (oatmeal) and muesli are also common items
that I enjoy, but at least at this breakfast, there were really so many
different items.

Day 2:  Much less driving today, with a total of only 88 miles

After a fulfilling breakfast and the short drive to Killarney area, we parked at "Lisleibane" trail head for Carrauntoohil, the highest point in Ireland.  Just Matthew and I would embark on this run / hike (mostly a run except for steeper and more technical sections) with about 10 miles of total distance and 3,500' of elevation gain.

Start of our ascent.  I was hoping the coffee stand here would
still be open upon our return, but it was not to be.  I asked the
employee how to pronounce "Carrountoohil", but it took him
saying it a few times before I finally got something close to it.

The trail started out very runnable as kind of a rough
dirt / gravel road.

Our first and I think only water crossing.  Going up I jumped from
rock to rock; coming down I just plowed through the river.

You can see me running up at about seven o'clock in photo,
with the dirt double-track long below and behind us.  This is about 2.5 miles in,
and pretty much the end of my continuous running.

Getting really technical here!
Matthew is a ways ahead of me,
but clearly visible in this photo.

The trail got pretty muddy
and rough in spots!

Sheep as we got near the summit

Some stunning views!

And, alas, the summit!

And here we are at the highest point in Ireland.
---
We met some really nice people from Northern Ireland at
the top, and the guy who took this photo joked that it would
cost us €50!

Moving time was 2:11, with elapsed time 2:52.  Matthew's was shorter, both because he didn't off course on the return, and well, he's faster than me!

It was just a short drive to check in to the Parkavon Hotel Killarney, but by then it was after 6pm, so we just opted to eat at the restaurant attached to the hotel, which wasn't bad.  

Friday, August 16

The hotel itself was just OK, but the proximity to running trails and Killarney National Park was superb.  Matthew and I went on a 7 mile run through the park, with almost the entirety of the route on a combination of very quiet roads and paved park pathways.

We had to get off the paved pathway (Matthew ahead in blue),
but it was generally very quiet inside Killarney National Park

Surprised how close we were able to get up to this deer

Day 3:  232 miles back to Dublin, with some stops along the way to 
break up the ride and also sightsee

As with the hotel itself, the breakfast buffet at Parkavon was just OK.  After the run and breakfast, we checked out, with today being an easier day with just a few short sightseeing spots:

1.  Ross Castle, Killarney National Park

Ross Castle, with Lough (Lake) Leane in the background,
was definitely worth the visit.  We took the FREE option to walk around.
I would have gladly paid to access the interior of the castle if only
we were allowed to self-tour and not to have wait over an hour
for a tour to start.

2.  Torc Waterfall, Killarney National Park

Short, easy walk to this natural attraction

3.  Muckross Abbey, Killarney National Park

First glimpses of Muckross Abbey,
a monastery and grounds dating to the mid 1400s,
as we approached on the trail

This was much more enjoyable than Ross Castle,
as we had unfettered access to all passageways
and courtyards

I love these ancient circular stairways!

On our way back to Dublin, we noticed that the Blarney Castle (with its famed Blarney Stone) was relatively on the way, but unfortunately, we just didn’t have enough time see both the Blarney Castle and Rock of Cashel, so we stuck with the latter, which we already had timed tickets for.

4.  Rock of Cashel, Cashel, Ireland

Nice stop about halfway back to Dublin.

Jana in front of one of the surviving buildings
from the 12th and 13th centuries

Matthew (right) and I checking out writing
on one of the many tombs

While we didn't have the unfettered access
the way we did at Muckross Abbey,
you were still able to access many of the 
building's courtyards and grounds

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We stayed in an Airbnb in the
quiet "East Wall" neighborhood
on the north side of Dublin

The Airbnb was functional if not expensive (~US$350/night),
but had to be the most cluttered Airbnb we've ever stayed in

On the other hand, the Airbnb host was extremely gracious
and helpful, and she called to make a dinner reservation for
us at this pub

Irish pub style food at Elephant & Castle
in the Mayson Hotel

Walking back from dinner along the River Diffey in Dublin

Saturday, August 17

A long day today chock full of events,
but one of our shortest in terms of driving at just 82 miles

Run the Ridge 10K.  We were up and out the door by 7:30am for the one hour drive south to the race in the Wicklow Mountains, with a 9:45am start.  After my first of two driving errors where I drove into the wrong lane (actually a pedestrian lane), the rest of the drive on the wrong side of the road went fine.  Checked in, got our bibs (old school chipless) and went for a 2-mile OAB run on the course, which gave us a feel for the starting and ending mile.

The course started out with a lap around the "pitch" (grass field),
before going out on a CCW lollipop

Essentially a 900' climb to start, and then two long
downhills punctuated by a short 150' climb

With Matthew pre-race.
Bibs on and ready to go.

The 20K started at 9:30am and gave me an opportunity to see how the race start and field lap would go.  In a race with only 140 finishers and having previously checked out the prior results, I opted to line up pretty close to the start.

I started out pretty far up, with Matthew ahead of me
on the front line.

Race:  The race started, and my position kept slipping further and further back as so many runners passed me on the lap around the "pitch".  I am not sure if I'm just not good at running on grass or if I went out too conservatively.

Finishing my lap around the field before heading out into the
woods

Once we were out of the park and started climbing, the hordes passing me came to a swift conclusion.  There were still a handful of runners that passed me on the uphill, but the ratio of me passing vs me being passed swung in my favor.

I didn't actually realize we were going to go above treeline, so that was an added bonus!  We had nice panoramic views and it was amazing how many huge patches of purple loosestrife there were.  Very attractive.

At three miles in, we hit our high point, and started the descent back towards the finish.  This is where the fun really started for me!  I recall just one person passing me on the downhill sections, but the number that I passed was more than a dozen.  Just such a blast bombing downhill.  I really could go as fast as my body allowed, as these were non-technical trails.

Passing a group of runners on a slight downhill section,
with less than a mile to go.  None retook me.
(Photo from race photographer)

Doing my best to sprint it in
(Photo by Jana)

Finish line!

Race photographer photo, crossing the 
finish line

Final result:  45:34, 7th overall of 140, 1st in M60 age group.  Full results here.

Nice write-up on race website!

Fun race and fun lowkey trail race vibes!

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Post race we had lunch in the village, and then walked through the Glendalough Upper Lake and Glendalough Historical Monastic Site:

Since Matthew won a gift certificate to a running store in Wicklow village, we headed there on our way back to Dublin and also enjoyed some bakery products and coffee.

---

AC/DC concert. The evening's highlight and one of the unique highlights of the trip was seeing AC/DC live in concert on the very last stop of their European tour, at Dublin's Croke Park.

 In high school, I had listened to and enjoyed AC/DC’s music, especially when the megahit Back in Black was released in 1980.  This was followed by a period of more than a decade when I didn’t really listen to AC/DC at all.  I think I had had too much of a good thing and got my fill of it, if that’s possible.  Until one day many years later on the radio the catchy beat of Thunderstruck was playing,  What is that song?  I’ve never heard of it.  Well, that’s because it didn’t come out until 1991, much later than most classic rock hits.  This ushered in a new era of AC/DC appreciation for me, and I’ve been an even bigger fan since.

When AC/DC stopped touring in 2016 after Brian Johnson’s hearing loss issued, I figured they were done for good.  Then with advances in hearing technology, they recorded a brand new album, Power Up, in 2020, and I watched a podcast with Brian and Angus where Brian said they would be back on tour again.  Well, a life disruption called COVID-19 came along that year, but alas four years later they were back on tour!

And now it just so happened that we were going to be in Ireland the very date of their final stop of their European Power Up tour!  Matthew and I both checked concert seat availability, and unfortunately they were sold out.  Darn.  About a week later I just happened to be checking the Ticketmaster Ireland site again, and somehow there were 13 sets of two tickets available.  (I guess that would be from ticketholders selling their tickets back to Ticketmaster?)  Anyway, I tried twice to book tickets only for the screen to pop up that those tickets were now no longer available.  About to give up, but the third try was the charm!  

Not the cheapest, but not bad prices,
right?

Yes, in for AC/DC!!!

On our way walking to Croke Park.  Saw all kinds here.
Roads around the stadium were shut down.

Wow, the inside of Croke Stadium is really nice!

A sold-out crowd of 82,000 fans
waiting for the main feature.

Angus himself!  Fantastic!

Awesome to see Brian out there belting out hit after hit!
(Note:  The acoustics were a bit of an issue with some distortion,
especially where we were under a metal canopy,
but we were still watching AC/DC live in concert!  In Dublin!)

The bell dropped at the start of Hell's Bells.  It was 
pretty awesome!

Closing out the night with cannons fired towards the
end of "For Those About to Rock".
---
So glad I got to see this awesome band perform live!

Sunday, August 18

Matthew mapped out today's 8-mile run on the Howth Peninsula, just east of Dublin, and the scenery far exceeded my expectations.  

View of Howth Lighthouse from along the trail

Stunning views of the Irish Sea

Despite the above views and nice trail, the majority of runners we saw during our drive and run were NOT on this trail, but rather running on cement paths!!!  Go figure.  I don't get it.

Today's drive into Northern Ireland would be our longest drive of 248 miles,
but it was broken up with a number of stops

Northern Ireland, UK

Checked out of our Dublin Airbnb and headed north for the UK constituent country of Northern Ireland.  We had our passports out and ready for inspection, but there was no border control at all.  We were not only leaving the country of the Republic of Ireland, but in this post-Brexit era we were leaving the EU as well, which I thought mandated hard border controls.  Evidently this must have been something negotiated as part of Brexit.

The only differences we noted upon entering Northern Ireland were that distances on signs changed from kilometers and meters to the silly Imperial measurements of miles and yards, and that prices were in pounds instead of Euros.

Today we would be visiting two UK National Trust sites, both in close proximity on the northern shore of the island:

Carrick-a-Rede:  The planned highlight today was Giants Causeway.  I had actually never heard of Carrick-a-Rede, but after looking into this attraction and seeing how close it was to Giants Causeway, we booked tickets, and were glad we did.

Dramatic cliffside views

One-way rope suspension
bridge to the small island
of Carrick-a-Rede

The views were spectacular and crossing the suspension bridge was really fun.  The only downside to this visit was Sean’s wife, a dour looking mom, who yelled at her husband for purportedly not watching the kids close enough.  She yelled loud enough for everyone present to hear, including their two young kids:  “Sean, you’re a fu%#!ng idiot!”.  Real classy.

Finishing up our visit, we got lunch and before sitting down to eat, made sure to stay far away from Sean’s wife.  She still did not look happy at all.  Seemed like one of those people that is perpetually miserable.

Giants Causeway:  

These stones look like they're part of a jigsaw puzzle. 60 million years in the making,
through volcanic eruptions, erosion, cooling cracked lava, and glacial activity.

I also learned that this was the filming site of Led Zeppelin's
"Houses of the Holy" album

We finished up our stay with having dinner at the onsite restaurant, including fish and chips cooked fresh to order.  Not bad at all.

Yes, we're in the UK!
London style taxicab at our hotel,
Crowne Plaza Belfast.

Monday, August 19

The penultimate day of our trip was the only day of rain.  The rain held off long enough for us to visit the botanical garden in Belfast, but not long enough for our mountain run.  Today's three highlights:

Belfast Botanical Garden:

Slieve Donard:  Through online research, I had read recommendations not to ascend Northern Ireland’s high point on busy weekends, but rather to visit on weekdays.  Between being a Monday and less than optimal weather, while there were more people on the mountain than Carrountoohil, there still weren’t many.  We started out at sea level in cloudy weather, 60°F, 13mph wind.  But the weather would soon turn worse.  Much worse...

Picturesque little waterfall along
the trail early on

We quickly got above treeline.  Slieve Donard is in upper
right corner of this photo, ensconced in fog

Well, hello there!  No one was around here, but this guy
was out on the trail.

With 1/2 mile to go, we reached the Mourne Wall,
which fortunately protected us from some of the windiest
conditions I've ever experienced.  I was glad to have a quarter-zip
(which I had bought in Limerick on the first day of the trip) and
gloves in my pack, and I quickly put those on just as it started to pour.

The final half mile ascent was incredibly windy with buffeting rains, but fortunately completely protected by the Mourne Wall.  I assumed (wrongly) that the 5' high wall was built for these wind protection reasons, but afterwards learned that the wall was built between 1904 and 1922 with the sole purpose of keeping livestock from entering and contaminating a newly built water reservoir to serve drinking needs for the city of Belfast.  Interesting.

Just completely socked in as we approached in summit
in wind and driving rain.  There won't be any views from
the summit today!

I had trouble even standing up at the very summit,
as the wind was just insane.

We didn't stick around long, as we were wet from the 
driving rain and would get cold easily if we stopped.

Brú na Bóinne:  Tickets were selling out quickly for the pre-historical attraction, and we arranged our schedule around what little was remaining two months out, which was to visit Knowth, a series of passage tombs that were built around 5,000 years ago.

Irish passage tombs dating to 3200BC. These are the largest passage tombs ever discovered in Europe. More than 200 people from the Neolithic era are buried here. The tombs are solar aligned with sunrise and sunset of the equinoxes.

Tuesday, August 20

Our Ireland vacation was coming to an end, as we were flying back to the US this morning.  This was our last chance to get a run in, and we headed to Phoenix Park at sunrise for a planned out 10-mile run.  Our choice of parking lots was closed at that hour, but we were able to reroute to a different parking lot along the route.

Arrived Phoenix Park at sunrise,
where many deer awaited us

Excellent paved paths within Phoenix Park
(The few roads we ran on outside of the park and coming into
the park were borderline dangerous for running due to being
narrow, busy, and zero shoulder)

Fortunately Matthew (above) had mapped out a route involving
a minimum of roads.  The route also included this neat small
section of the 130km "Royal Canal Way"

Ireland is one of two countries outside of North America, the other being Qatar, where US customs has pre-clearance facilities.  It sounded great and made for smooth sailing upon arriving in the US later in the day, where we simply landed and departed the airport as we would for a domestic flight.    But in the meantime, it took an inordinate amount of time to get through US customs and additional security checks in Dublin airport and I think we all worried we would miss our flight.  Certainly not an efficient process, with duplicate redundant processes and security checks that could seemingly be streamlined.  It didn’t help that two of the US Customs officers we dealt with were not only unfriendly, but rather rude to us.  I think they needed a reminder that the same people they were treating poorly were US taxpayers footing their salary.

---

Epilogue

Ireland is a safe and very clean country with many interesting historical and natural attractions to visit.  I feel we hit many of the highlights on this trip, but there are certainly others we missed that are undoubtedly worth visiting.

I loved the varied car choices on the island.  It is my opinion that as Americans we tend to oversize so many facets of life, from our obesity rates, our portion sizes, and our massive SUVs such as Cadillac Escapades and Chevy Suburbans.  And as a lifelong manual transmission driver, I just love that the vast majority of cars in Ireland (including rental cars!) are manual, allowing more engagement with the vehicle, giving the driver more control, and let's face it, they're a lot more fun to drive!

On the other hand, the roads in Ireland (excepting perhaps the highways) are quite narrow, especially in remote areas where they often lack shoulders, guardrails, and in some cases require you to pull over to allow oncoming traffic to get by.

My personal trip favorites:

Event: AC/DC concert

Run: Carrauntoohil

Natural attraction: Giants Causeway

Historical attraction: Muckross Abbey

Hotel: Limerick Strand

The lowlights to me were really very few, and just came down to narrow roads with no shoulder (so not great for running - stick to trails and paved paths) and a handful of people, including Sean's wife and the US Customs officials we had to deal with in Dublin Airport, so hopefully those people were just unique to our trip.  The hotels and Airbnb were not cheap, but we knew that in advance.

Great country overall.  Would I come back?  Absolutely!

Run 4 Kerri 2024

South Kingstown, RI

Sunday, August 4, 2024

This would be my second race in my 60s.  As with last week’s attempt at breaking the M60+ course record at the Blessing of the Fleet (successful by the way!), today I would be taking a stab at taking down the M60+ CR at Run 4 Kerri.  This wasn’t of the same cachet for me, as 1) this was a race of a few hundred versus Blessing a race of a few thousand, and 2) this should be an easier attempt for me as the record is 23:57 (5:59 pace) and last year here I ran a 23:27.

Still, I certainly didn’t take breaking the record for granted.  My approach would be very different from that which I employed at Blessing, and today it was just simply go out fast and hang on, as it’s “only” four miles.

Arrived my usual about an hour early to the race, and went to pick up my shirt.  Even though I had picked up my bib yesterday, I completely forgot to pick up my shirt then, as I was busy running my mouth talking to Kerri’s brother and parents.  (Her father Bill is a retired Amtrak police officer, and I rode the train for 13 years into Boston, see him very often on the train.)  Truly such a nice family.  I can’t imagine the tragedy they went through with their daughter (and sister) Kerri dying at such a young age.

I have to admit a tinge of jealousy for the athletes with elite bibs being able to use real bathrooms inside the school while I waited in line for the porta-jons outside.  I know I run faster than some of them as well, but I just let it go, and after using the porta-jon, I went for a 2-mile warm-up run with Tom and Shara and was ready to go.

I was back at the car changing into my race shoes, when I noticed New England Runner owner Bob Fitzgerald parked next to me and looking through last year’s Run 4 Kerri results and course records.  I struck up a conversation with him, and he said, “You’re Jeff Walker, subscriber!”.  He told me breaking the M60+ course record today should be a “piece of cake” for me, and to remember to smile for the camera as I was finishing.

I would be going after the M60 ("Veterans") course record today

Nice pic with Tommy and Shara,
shortly after arriving
(Pics by Jana)

Humidity would be a factor today, as last year's start was 73°F/62% humidity, and today's start was 76°F/89% humidity.  After a warm-up with friends Tommy and Shara, at the starting line, Tommy was remarking that it was a veritable who's who of regional fast runners.  Indeed, I caught up briefly on the starting line with DJ Principe, Dave Principe, Andrew McCann, Sam Alexander, Will Sanders, Keith McAteer, and others.

Pre-race, at the start line,
with fellow Westerly-ite Keith, and friends Shara & Tommy

Mile 1:   After a short uphill from the fire station, the rest of the mile was basically a slight downhill.  There are a number of curves on this section, and I did my best to run the tangents while also staying in a pack pretty much the whole first mile.  Mile 1 split 5:32.

Start of the 2024 race.  I'm just to the right shoulder of the guy in
light blue singlet, two places to the left of Dave Principe.

Mile 2:  OK, that Mile 1 split was much too fast.  Yes, I was in a pack and never checked my watch, and yes, it was a net downhill, but obviously not sustainable for me.  We made the left hand turn onto Moonstone Beach Road, and a few in my pack went ahead of me.  I hadn’t noticed until now, but one of the people I had been running with was Matt Bouthillette, former Lasalle HS star.  At first I’m thinking I am way out of my league running with him until it dawned on me that he’s taking it easy today, which by the way is still too fast for me.

The turn onto Cards Pond Road comes up fast, and I’m feeling good as we go past the Theatre by the Sea and come up on end of Mile 2.  There is a water stop but it’s on the right-hand side of the road, I’m on the left, and I just ignore it and keep trucking on.  Mile 2 split 5:40.

Mile 3:  In years past in this race, I remember baking in the sun in this section and wondering where the heck is that left turn off of this road.  But one benefit of running this race so many times is I eventually learned a lot more familiarity of the details of the course, and I know after running past Roy Carpenter’s Beach that I still have several fields to run past before we get to the left turn-off.  As we turn off of Cards Pond Road into the neighborhood, my friend Tommy 5K goes past me, and I offer him props.  The mile ends as we start our hill climb.  Mile 3 split 5:58.

Mile 4:  Somewhere around the start of this mile something felt really wrong with my body.  By the time I got to the top of the hill and was about to exit the neighborhood, I felt extremely weak and was breathing really hard.  (Well, sure you say, I should be breathing hard running uphill in a race, but this was more like hyperventilating.)

I felt like I should just pull over and quit or at least walk a bit, but I'm stubborn and still going after the record.  By the time we turn back onto Matunuck Schoolhouse Road for the final "sprint" to the finish, there is left than 1/2 mile so I tell myself to just hold on.  In the driveway of the school with the finish in sight, I feel just awful and am actually having trouble staying upright.  This is normally a fast mile for me, and I ran 5:54 last year, but I close in a really slow 6:13 mile split.

Looking like death

Final result:  23:29, 15th overall of 456, 1st in M60-69 age group.  Full results here.

Finished, but looks like I'm about to keel over and fall into the finishing line barrier

I crossed the finish line, and was really out of it.  Pretty much collapsed on the grass on the side, and was thankful to Jana, Tommy, and Shara for looking out for me.  I was very dizzy as fire officials attended to me and put me into a chair until I recovered enough to get up on my own.

It was nice of Will Sanders and his wife Sybil to check up on me as well.  Much later, Dan Hawkins would tell me that he passed me with about 1/2 mile to go (I don't even remember that) and since his finish time was 30 seconds ahead of mine, I must've really slowed down and had trouble that final mile.  Yup!

Usually at this race I enjoy a cool down and catch up with folks I don't see that often.  There would be no cool down for me today!

When I recovered enough, I spend a long time in the refreshing fire truck hose.
So glad this made a come back!

I still really don't know what to attribute my horrendous finish to.  Sure I went out to fast in the first mile, but that could cause me to fade but not get weak and dizzy.  Did I not eat enough before the race?  Did I not hydrate enough in the humidity?  Were the planets not aligned properly for my astrological sign?  Not worth over-analyzing this one.  I'm really happy that I got the age group win and age group course record.  Moving on ...

Post-race with age group award
of a custom race mug

Post-awards with Shara & Tom

July 2024: New Blessing M60+ Course Record!

Running stats:

Miles run:  277.5

Elevation gain:  15,635'

Weekly miles (for weeks ended in month):  55, 60, 61, 50

Consistent mileage and elevation for July

Primary running surfaces:  Roads (163), trails (96 miles)

Primary running locations:  Westerly (90 miles), then Charlestown (70) 

Other disciplines:

• Walk / hike:  9 miles
• Swimming:  2.5 miles

Quick synopsis:

• Four long runs.
• Two races:  both went exceeding well!

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Interesting runs:

• Green Hill 16, South Kingstown, July 6.  16 miles.  Flat route, but very humid (93%).  Surprised myself (in a good way!) with running a 6:46 average pace.
• Woody & the Flies, Westerly, July 7.  10 miles.  79 DFKs!  Sucked the joy out of the run, and the one part I enjoyed was a dive into the cold Wahaneeta pond, but they were waiting for me when I got out.  Horrible, miserable blood-sucking creatures.
• Water Hose Run, Westerly, July 14.  14 miles.  Another oppressive one (95% humidity), but nice to have T5K along on the run as we took advantage of various garden hoses, water fountains, etc.
• Sixty & Still Kicking, Westerly, July 19.  20 miles.  60th birthday run, first 14 miles with Tom, last six solo.  Started at age 59, finished at age 60.  6:55 average pace.
• Camden Hills, Camden, Maine, July 21.  8 miles, 2,200' elevation gain.  First of two mountain runs, with Brady, in one of my favorite places in New England.

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Races:

Arnold Mills 4M (July 4):

Cumberland, RI

Final run in my 50s, and it went very well!  Ran my fastest 4M* race ever at 23:17.  If only it were certified, or at least if I got over 4 miles on GPS, instead of 3.99.

Fast finish

Good day for team WTAC, coming in 2nd overall in
first race of nascent RI Grand Prix

Race report here

Blessing of the Fleet 10M (July 26):

Narragansett, RI

Just ecstatic to break the M60+ course record, which had stood for 31 years!  Something I had planned for almost a year, went after, and took it down.  1:01:28

Towards the end of Mile 1, on my
way to an age group course record!
And just ahead of frenemy Dave Principe,
two behind me in light green TNT singlet.

Previous M60 record was 1:01:55
My actual chip time was 1:01:28!
Success!

Race report here

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Miscellaneous:

July 1:  visiting the Ninigret trolls with
Brady and Jana

July 14:  directing the very successful Sailfest 5K
in downtown New London

July 21:  Mt Megunticook, Camden, Maine
a fun short trip camping in one of my favorite places
in New England, with many childhood memories

July 21:  along the docks in Camden, after a mountain run
and a breakfast of blueberry pancakes!

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Looking ahead to August:

Three races on the docket:

• Run 4 Kerri 4M Road Race, South Kingstown, RI, August 4.  Fun race put on by a great family.  Another opportunity for an age group CR.
• Bottone Mile, Charlestown, RI, August 7.  Not personally a goal race, but will be fun to see how this race turns out in its new format and venue (Ninigret Park).
• Run the Ridge 10K, Laragh, County Wicklow, Ireland, August 17.  Also not a goal race, but destination races are always fun!

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Monthly highlight: 

This is an easy one:  breaking the 31-year-old M60+ course record in my 22nd annual Blessing of the Fleet 10-Mile race!

Monthly lowlight: 

Woody Hill / Wahaneeta run on July 7, with a disgusting new record of 79 DFKs.  Such vile creatures.  

Blessing of the Fleet #22

Narragansett, RI

Friday, July 26, 2024

My 22nd consecutive Blessing of the Fleet 10-Mile Race!  Having turned 60 exactly one week prior to the race, I had but one single goal for the race, which I have had in my sights for almost one year:

Blessing of the Fleet course records as of end of last year's race.
---
It was the M60+ ("Veterans") course record that I would be going after.

I took it easy with my runs in the three days prior to the race, all while fretting about the weather and getting increasingly nervous about the race, especially in the final 24 hours.

Race day preparations:  I had picked up my bib the Saturday morning prior, right after swimming in the Waterman Eco-Challenge 1-Mile swim.  Because of a major blunder several years back where I left my bib at home and had to run around and start the race late (Yikes!), I had pinned my bib to my singlet days ago.  It's hard to forget your bib when it's pinned to your chest!

All day I ate healthy, drank lots of water, and avoided coffee, the sun, and spending much time at all on my feet.  "The waiting is the hardest part" comes to mind in marathons, and of course this was "only" 10 miles, but I felt Friday was a long day sitting around and counting down the hours and frequently re-visiting my race strategy. (more on that later)

At long last, it was 4:30pm, time to leave for Narragansett.  My routine for the final 90 minutes pre-race pretty much follows the same script every year, which is roughly:

• Jana drives me to the race start, getting as close as she can, when I get out of the car on South Pier Road.
• I catch up with a few runners I recognize near the start (this year it was my sister-in-law Caroline and niece Lucy, and fellow 60+ runner (7-continent marathoner!) Peter Barbera who asked why I couldn't be born two weeks later!).
• Off for an easy-warmup down to my secret* bathroom with flush toilets and running water.  I'll take a pass on the long, long lines for the porta-jon.  At the bathroom (*actually very public, just an advantage of local knowledge) there are ZERO people in front of me!
• I take my final sustenance, which today is a Honey Stinger waffle and a few sips of cold water.
• Finish off my warmup with a run back to the start, finishing off with a few short strides.
• Get to the starting line about ten minutes early, lining up in about fourth row.

Race strategy:  My plan was to front load (or "bank") some time in the first three miles with faster paces, from 5:50 to 6:00.  Then I naturally slow on Miles 4 and 6 especially, and after that I should have enough cushion to be able run the remaining miles 6:10 - 6:15, but can evaluate and adjust as needed.  Is this a recommended approach?  Absolutely not.  But I'm basing it off knowing me, the course, and having the run the Blessing 21 years in a row, looking at my splits and where they consistently slow down and pick up.

Mile 1:  I was lined up next to WTAC teammate Jared Dybas, with Tommy and Shara two rows directly behind us.  There was a clueless woman on the very front row who was wearing a heavy pack with water and let's just say didn't appear that she would be finishing anywhere near the front runners.  We moved to the right so she wouldn't be in our way once the gun went off, and then with little fanfare or notice, we were off.  One minute early, just like last year.

The first tenth of a mile or so can sometimes be downright dangerous with passing slower runners and being passed by runners sprinting out.  This year wasn't bad, as I passed two women quickly who didn't belong on the starting line, but no near collisions as I've sometimes had in the past, and that was it!

Best guess is this is on South Pier

Caught up to friendly rival Dave Principe (Sr) about 1/4 mile in, and said hello, and told him I'm NOT in his age group this year.  He replied, "Thank God!", and I said I was thinking the same.  I think he was just being humble, as he almost always beats me, especially in road races versus trails.  Then he asked me the "awkward" question:  "What are you looking to run today?".  I told him anything sub-62 I would be really happy with.  That was true, although I didn't explain I was really looking to run sub-61:55 as that would have required too much explaining.  He said he was looking to run about the same.

Pic by Jana, at about 0.5 miles in.  Dave Principe is just ahead
of me, and 1st woman just behind me.

Early on in the race, towards the end of Mile 1. 
You can see Dave P two runners behind me now, in light green singlet.

Just around the turn off South Pier and onto Ocean Road, I went every so slightly ahead of Dave.

Mile 1 split 5:46.  A little faster than planned, but it is net downhill.

Mile 2:  Mostly flat on Ocean Road.  I am very surprised to catch and pass Jared.  (I would later find out he ran into some issues during this race.)

Took my first water and feeling smooth.  Mile 2 split 5:55.

Mile 3:  Final full mile on Ocean Road, and final planned sub-6 mile.  All went accordingly to plan in a 5:51.  Feeling good!

Mile 4:  A slight amount of pressure is off, as I hit my first three miles all at a planned sub-6.  I can start to ease up just slightly, although the reality is my Mile 4 splits naturally slow.  As I ease up a bit, the lead woman goes past me.  Let her go; run your own race.

Happy to turn off of Ocean Road.  On the short uphill on Knowlesway, I see Chris Garvin on the left side of the road cheering me on.  In my peripheral vision, I can see at least one of his kids is with him, but when Jana later asked me which one(s), I really had no idea as I was focused straight ahead.  Mile 4 split 6:10.  OK, that's on pace for the plan!

Mile 4, on Knowlesway.
(Pic courtesy of Chris Garvin)

Mile 5:  We turn onto the dreaded Route 108, in full sun and 80°F.  Sure, the humidity is much less than last year, but it's still hot.  I really dislike this section of the course, for the open sun (on years when it's sunny obviously), the proximity to traffic (we have one lane plus the breakdown lane) and walkers clogging up sections (walkers start one hour early and historically this is where I catch them).  I surprise myself in Mile 5 with a split of 6:04.  Good stuff!

Mile 6:  The only full mile on Route 108, and it ends right as we turn off of Route 108.  Walkers are staying to the right, so I have no issue passing them, but as with last year's race they're clogging up the water stops on the right side, so I don't even try.  I know there's a water station at the start of Mile 7 that is more accessible, so I'll just wait for that.  Did I mention it's open sun here?  I am really feeling it, and I know I'll naturally slow here, but I'm disappointed to find my split is a slow 6:27.  Yes, this is the most uphill and most difficult mile for me always, but I thought maybe 6:15 - 6:20.  I'm worried I might not make it.

Mile 7:  As I turn off Route 108 onto the short section of Old Point Judith Road, a woman calls out to me that the shaded section starts here and that I'll be able to pick it back up again.  Fortunately, she's not wrong.  I'm still feeling hot from the open Route 108 section, but it does get better, especially turning onto Kinney next, which is under a canopy of trees.  By going just slightly left onto one of the adjacent lawns, you can run under this cool looking rainbow arch with water coming down from it.  Tempting, real tempting, but it's slightly out of the way of my straight path and I bypass it.  Mile 7 split 6:19.  OK, pace is back in the right direction.  At this and the next two mile splits, I look at my watch time and recalculate the pace I need to beat 61:55 and give me a little cushion.  6:20 pace should do it; I'm feeling cautiously optimistic again!

Here you can see the rainbow watering arch.
(From Chad Rainbows' Blessing video recap)

Mile 8:  Mile 8 is a really exciting mile.  You can sense and draw from the energy of the crowd as you come down Gibson to South Pier.  I see Molly and Sam Alexander on my left, and they're cheering me on, which is always helpful to have crowd support and hear your name called.  I'm real excited to see the Mile 8 marker, and even more excited when I perform the mental math calculation and realize a 6:30 pace will comfortably do it for me.  It is at this point that I know I'm going to break the record!  Mile 8 split 6:14.

Mile 9:  A net downhill mile with a 30' drop after the high school, and then a very slight uphill to Avice Street, which is really party central with parties offering shots and beers to runners, and even free rides down their inflatable water slides!  Despite the attraction of least the third feature, I totally ignore even looking at any of these distractions, and just focus on looking and moving straight ahead.  Turning onto Kingstown Road, my mile split is 6:17.  I just need to run about a 6:40 final mile to break the record!  And this is a downhill mile!  I don't need to "sprint".

Mile 10:  The mile goes by really quickly.  Making the final turn just after Sprague Park, there are a bunch of youngsters holding their hands out for a high-5 slap.  Some years I indulge, but sorry kids, I'm just laser focused today.  I know I have time to spare even, but on that final half-mile stretch I just naturally pick it up a bit.  Mile split 6:08.

Final mile on Kingstown Road;
looking a bit like death.  Just hold on!

Half mile to go!

Final result:  Gun time 61:30, chip time 61:28.  Broke the M60+ course record!  48th overall out of 2,936.

Professional race photo, at finish line.

I did it!!!  That's the smile on my face.
Immediately after finish.
Photo (and cold Powerade) from Jana.

Writing this post six days after the event, someone at this week's Fun Run asked me if my post-race excitement was gone now?  No!  I am still just ecstatic about this one!  Definitely one of my racing highlights of my life!  

Previous record holder:  Post-race, I was wondering, who is this Joe Fernandez who last broke the record in 1993?  Could I possibly reach out to him and congratulate him on holding it for 31 years?  Realizing the math was not in his favor (he would be in his 90s now), I started doing some research.  Unfortunately, I quickly learned that he had passed away a few years back at age 90.  But I also did learn a bit more about him:

• He was from Fairhaven, MA, and ran for the Greater New Bedford Track Club.
• According to his obituary, he started running at age 43 and ran until age 86.  (similarity to me starting at age 39; we'll have to wait [hopefully a long time] to learn my end game)
• He was named the No. 1 runner in the country in his age division in both 1993 and 1994 by Running Times magazine.
• He ran the New Bedford Half Marathon from 1980-2008, the Fairhaven Father's Race for over 40 years in a row, and Bermuda half-marathon and 10K, run on subsequent days, for 16 years in a row.
• He set a 65-plus record in the Providence 5k in 1993 with an 18:00 flat at age 65.  (I struggle to barely get under 18-flat now; can't imagine five years from now).
• He was inducted into USATF Masters Hall of Fame in 2016.

Joe Fernandez, at age 68.
(Sources:  Hathaway Funeral Home obituary,
South Coast Today article)

What went well:

• Let's start with the obvious:  I broke the 31-year old M60+ course record!!!  I seriously did not know if that would be possible, and even had my doubts as I made my way along the race course.
• 1st in age group (M60-69).
• 1st 50+.
• 1st 40+ (1st master).  (To be fair, the 40-49 male field was let's say not the strongest that day.  But as Muddy Puddin' would say, you race who shows up!)
• 3rd overall age-graded, at 87.4%
• I beat David Principe (Sr).  This was not a goal of mine, but my long time frenemy has a much stronger record on beating me in road races we're both in, so this was just the "cherry on top" for my race experience.
• Great race logistics out there, from registration, informative and frequent e-mails, packet pickup, road closures, police presence, and live results shortly after finishing.
• My wife, Jana, for constant support and being there at the finish with ice cold water, cold Powerade, and ice cold wet sports towel.
• My Mom at the finish line to support me (and my sister-in-law and niece).
• Lots of WTAC teammates out there, many taking home their own age group wins.  Special shout-out to Shara for killing it out there with a 63:26, 6th overall female, and 1st in F30-39.

  

  Just a few of my WTAC teammates out there today.
  Left to right:  Matt, me, Jared, Shara, Tom

  
  
• Fun race environment, with so many runners and seafood festival, which Jana and I stayed for.
• Great crowd support along the route.

What could have gone better:

• My race strategy was unconventional, and not one I would either recommend or likely repeat.  But it got me there!
• Route 108:  open sun and 80°F on Route 108.  I knew it was coming, but just hoped the temps would drop by then.  (Again, to be fair, it was about 5 degrees hotter last year and much more humid.)
• No fruit this year.  This was a big one for me, that I will write in to the race committee, in a balanced feedback message.  We have always had sliced oranges and grapes there for as long as I can remember.  After a hot race, I had zero interest in either a hot dog or a dry granola bar.
• Whiners who didn't register in time before sell out.  The race sold out at 4,000 (combined runners and walkers) one week prior to race.  There were multiple e-mails and notices on their website and social media about this in advance.  Numerous runners waited until the last minute and then complained about not getting in, and they're just poor sports in my opinion.  Sign up early!

The 2024 Blessing of the Fleet 10-Mile Race may be over, but it's one that I will remember likely forever.

Absolutely thrilled with this one!

Arnold Mills 4-Miler

 

Cumberland, RI

Thursday, July 4, 2024

I had heard of this race, but never ran it nor really expressed any great interest in it.  My motive this year was solely that it was one of four races in the new RI Grand Prix.

We did hear from several of our members that Cumberland was "too far" to travel for a race.  Seriously.  But fortunately, eight of us WTAC'ers made the approximately 1-hour trek "all the way" to Cumberland.  I was fortunate enough that my support team of Jana and Brady accompanied me.

Bib pickup was the old style at Blessing, where you first went up to one table to look up your name and get your bib number, and then you went to a second table to tell them your bib number and they got it for you.  Except that it really wasn't clear and the folks in line in front of me at the second table didn't know their bib number and had to be sent to the first table.

I went on a warm-up with Justin and Brady, handed Brady over to Jana, and was ready to go.  I saw Scott Grandfield briefly, and he encouraged me to go for an age group win (Note:  this would be my final race in my 50s), but cautioned that I'd need to watch out for "Magill".  I've heard of Chris Magill, but don't know personally know him.

Race start and Loop 1:

I lined up just a few rows back with Nick A.  We would start with a short 30' climb which Nick called a "sissy hill"!  Indeed it was barely perceptible and not an issue.  Despite a starting field of 716 and no seeding, the start was on a pretty wide closed road (Nate Whipple Highway"), so I didn't have any issues with getting boxed in and as to the few noticeably slower runners ahead of me, I was able to easily pass them on the left and continue my way up the "sissy hill".

Loop 1:  the upper loop - 1.2 miles
Loop 2:  the full outer loop - 2.3 miles
(plus .25 miles from the start,
. 25 miles to the finish)

Start of the race.  Really wide road for first 1/4 mile.
All pics by Jana, unless otherwise noted.

After 1/4 mile, the short hill ends and we make about a 135° sharp turn.  I recognized Chris Magill, but only because he's a local favorite (and past winner) and spectators were calling his name.  I caught and passed him and saw Scott on the sidelines cheering me on.  The rest of Loop 1 is flat, and was uneventful.  There was a clock at Mile 1, but the time seemed off, which confused me so I just focused on my own watch split (5:56) and continued on to finish out the loop.

Loop 2 and finish:

As we start the second loop, we quickly come up on the back-of-the-pack walkers.  There are cones dividing the closed road, and the walkers are staying to the left, so they're really not an issue.  EXCEPT for the woman walking a dog that's in the middle of the road.  The dog is a seemingly friendly golden retriever and is leashed, but in this case it actually makes matters worse as the dog is several feet away from her and there's the potential to get caught in the leash.  As folks know, I love running with my dog, but dogs don't belong in a 700+ person road race, especially where runners have to overtake walkers!  I have to go pretty wide and am glad to be past this potential obstacle.  At Mile 2, I am glad to see the walkers turn off (as they're still on the shorter Loop 1).

Mile 2 split 6-flat.  Slower than I would like.  

Mile 3 is a net downhill, only by 30' but it's gradual and fast.  Towards the end of Mile 3, I am very surprised to catch and pass Dan Hawkins.  It's almost always the other way around.  Dan is in his 30s, so my race is not against him, and I remind myself to run my own race, even if he retakes me (he doesn't).  Mile 3 split is a 5:38.  Faster than I planned for sure, but there's only one mile to go now so it's fine.

In the final mile, there are several sprinklers that I run through and appreciate.  Temps are in the mid-70s and it's open sun on this stretch through a neighborhood.  There is a slight hill taking us up to where we parked at a school, and I'm feeling pretty good with a 1/2 mile to go and familiar with the finish now.  A final sharp turn and then I kick as best I can on the short downhill to the finish at the fire station, three seconds ahead of Dan.

Coming into the finish line.

(From race video)
You can see Jana (in white cap) and Brady on far left.

Finish line photo from race website.

Final result:  23:17 (5:49 average pace), 1st in age group (of 48), 35th overall of 716.  Full results here.

I looked at the clock, and it showed high 22s!  Wow!  I am shocked.  UNTIL I look at my own watch results and see 23:16.  What?  Another clock that is wrong.  Ugh.

Look at the clock time, as I cross the finish line.
Wow!  Except it's wrong.  By about 30 seconds.

What went well:

• PR*!  
• 2nd overall age-graded (second only to overall winner Ben Drezek at 87.7%).
• 1st in age group.  By almost a minute.  That's a good note to finish off on with my final race in my 50s!
  
  

  

  Collecting my race winnings:
  $25 to Marathon Sports
  (to add the $25 Marathon Sports gift card
  I won at Branford)

  
  
• Not sure what happened with Mile 2 being slow (could that have been due to the interaction with and running wide around walkers and dog?), but the rest of the miles were very consistent, especially when comparing using GAP (grade-adjusted pace).
• Great showing by WTAC!  And we took 2nd place in the RI Grand Prix, so far.

  

  Team WTAC today (plus Brady!)
  Left to right:  Dave, Heather, Meriden, Nick, Justin, me, Brady,
  Bob S, Josh

  
  

What could've gone better:

• Race turned off ability to see other participants ahead of time.
• Race check-in process was inefficient and confusing.
• No chip timing mats at start.  (Gun start, chip finish).  
• Clocks at both Mile 1 and finish were off by about 30 seconds.  Race officials realized the issue and adjusted the finish time clock, but long after I finished.
• I don't love the 2-loop format, if only for the reason that runners need to navigate around the walkers.  It wasn't terrible; just could've gone better.
• *And of my biggest gripes that I only learned post-race:  the course is NOT certified.  My GPS showed 3.99 and random sampling I did of other Strava posts showed many were less than 4.00, some were exactly 4.00, and very few were longer than 4.00 miles, which is really what I would expect to find on an accurately measured course.  So is this really a legit PR?