Sunday, June 10th, 2012

9 miles. Newton 10k. USATF-NE Grand Prix race #4.
Felt all sorts of weird from the moment I awoke to @ mile 2.
I got 3 hours of shaky sleep the night before due to a late night at work and just plain nerves.
Got to the race site early enough, but the parking was a bit tight, so that took a while. Then I discovered that the bathroom situation was grossly underestimated, as they had all of 7 portajohns available for the 1000 runners. Found one at a nearby construction site, though I wasn't alone and had to wait there for 15 minutes. By the time all was said and done, I had 7 minutes to warm up.
Thing was, I realized I had that awful, pre-race, no-sleep feeling like I had at Bedford 3 years ago, where I was already all warmed up, since my body hadn't actually rested at any point in the last 24 hours.
Got to the line and the race started and I just tried to get my bearings. I was behind a few of the top women, which normally would freak me out (unless it was CVS or something) but I was glad they were there to keep me grounded. Thing was, I wasn't even that impeded by them. I just couldn't get going.
Still, after a 1/4, it opened up and I found myself with the usual suspects either close behind or ahead. Went through 1 in 5:18. A little slow for a flat course, but no biggie. I felt OK, but I wasn't getting any quicker and things felt desperate in the lung area. I had Todd Callaghan 30 feet ahead and Kent Lemme 20 feet ahead of him. By 2 at 5:30, the gap was the same. Joseph Koech had gone out with Ruben, Kevin and Nate, so my only hope with him was that he might come back.
The thing that freaked me out was that Todd made the downhills look so easy. Whenever we got to one, any meager gains I made were erased and more space was added. I knew the course went up for the first 3 and than had a lot of down for the last 3, so I figured if I was going to make a move, it better be before the 4 mile mark.
By 3, I'd caught up to him. I finally felt awake and I could tell he was a struggling just a little (I found out after that he's been tearing up the mountain races and competing with the likes of Brandon at them, so who can blame him for being a little spent.) I figured if I was going to go by him, I'd better commit to it and make it look good, so I really lengthened my stride out and went flying and not only did it get me by him and create a gap, it woke me up and I felt freaking great.
Mile 4 ended up being a 5:24 and now I was catching up to Kent. I thought I'd better take the same tack with him and I went by hard at @ 4.5. Still, I didn't have the energy to keep it up in the same way and I just really went hard from there on, desperate with fear and really wanting to stay ahead of both those guys and see if helped the team.
It's funny, I talked with Joseph afterwards and again was reminded of what an extraordinarily nice person he is, but also how much of a philosopher and technician he is.
He said that to race with people as targets in mind is not the way to go, but rather to run your best race at your pace, your way. I must say, I can not disagree with him, but I find it difficult for my mind to not draw motivation in a tough race from knowing these runners, what they're capable of and trying to do my best to get and stay ahead of them. Still, I do believe it will be better for my racing and healthier for my head to take his advice (as well as that of the equally admirable Mike Platt who advocates losing the watch.)
It should be noted that Joseph, who I am fortunate to say has become a good friend in this last year, bested me by a good chunk again, but I at least could see him up there.
He and I both know that when he's really on, it's going to be tough for me to get him, but it keeps us both motivated to run and train hard.
I did get him twice last year in races where I really did have my best stuff (the JJ Ramble and Stowe) but the ones where he won, which were most of them, saw greater lengths between us.
Anyway, mile 5 had a lot of flying downhill, a little uphill and a good amount of flat and subsequently I ran that in 5:11, which is the first time I've seen something that quick late in a race in a while.
I caught up with teammate Jose Ortiz (love that guy) and came in at 33:19. It was good for 2nd Master and 20th overall.
Most importantly, we beat Somerville (who are just awesome this year and have all their 40+ and 50+ guys just rolling) and finally grabbed a Masters team title (by less than a minute cumulatively.)
Went to Ephraim's afterwards for a bit and had a great time with this kooky team I so love being a part of.
Great day and ends a tiring week well (also, my most miles yet, which at a mere 65 isn't something I'm even that psyched about, but I ain't hurt and feel ready for the next step up with some doubles and a long run.)
Tomorrow, I could go slow, but I think I'll just take one off.

M- 10
T- 11 (7/4)
W- 10
Th- 10
F- 9
Sa- 6
Su- 9

week- 65 miles