2009 Norwalk Summer Series 7 miler and Utica Boilermaker 15k

2009 Norwalk Summer Series 7 miler and Utica Boilermaker 15k
July 11th and July 12th, 2009

What a wonderful racing weekend! It started off with the Norwalk Summer Series 7 mile race in the Rowayton section of Norwalk. Most of the usual suspects were in attendance as well as a special appearance from George and Kellie.

George and I started out running together for the first few miles and then I pulled ahead. We got to see Gail out on the course twice as the route went by her house. Ikuko, who is nursing a foot injury, was also on the course working at one of the water stations. I caught up to Steve and chatted with him for a little while and also saw John, who had started out up ahead of us.

The temperature was pretty moderate, but I still started to feel pretty hot later in the race. I knew that my pace was close to a best for this race so I really wanted to hang tough. There were quite a few people around me so I made it my goal to keep up with or pass as many as I could in that last mile. I did finish with a course PR.

2009 Summer Series 7 miler race results

Mile 1: 8:08
Mile 2: 8:21
Mile 3: 8:22
Mile 4: 8:09
Mile 5: 8:18
Mile 6: 8:28
Mile 7: 7:47
Total: 57:32
Avg Pace: 8:14

Frank




John and Frank



Sherry and Frank

Roy and Dana

Kellie and Steve R





Kellie



Don



Maria and Petra



Kellie and Erica



Kellie, Kate and Erica

Jeanette and Tony



Kaz



Roy and Frank



Rob and Emmy



Kate, Emmy and Rob



Brian and Lindsey



Steve M



Steve R and Brian



Christine



Kellie



Steve and Lindsey R



LuAnne



Kaz



John



Steve M



Sean and Maria



Jeanette



Emmy, Rob and Roy



Jeanette



Anton



Terry



Lindsey with her first place trophy



Dorrie, Ikuko and Sean



Steve and Lindsey R - with car key that they thought they lost



Sue




2009 Utica Boilermaker 15k

After the 7 miler Tom and I headed up to Utica, NY for the Boilermaker 15k. Jeanette's friend, Joyce, was nice enough to invite us to spend the night at her house that night. The plan was to get to the expo before it closed at 4:30, but they ended up closing shop early due to the threat of a hail storm. Jill and Joe had picked up my race package and Tom and I picked up his for the 5k. I was very disappointed about not having the chance to purchase any souvenirs for this race. After picking up our stuff we headed to Joyce's house in Rome, NY. We pulled in right after Jill and Joe. It was our first time meeting Joyce and her boyfriend, Dan, so we introduced ourselves in the driveway and then they welcomed us into their house. Shortly after that Jeanette and Tony arrived. Joyce was putting on a pre-race party for her Roman Runners Running club so we all got to be special guests at this party. This group of people were so nice and so much fun to hang out with.

Joyce's wall of bibs






Joyce's medals and finishing photos from marathons and ultras



Joe, Jill, Jeanette, Tony, me and Tom



Roman Runners flip flops



Joyce displaying a beautiful strawberry dessert



Jill and Joe posing with their race tattoos



Tom showing off his 'ink' and his 'guns'



My tattoo



Tom, Jill and I


Dave and Gary



There was a big thunder storm with lots of rain overnight, which left the morning a little cooler. Race day morning, Dan and Tony went with Tom to the start of the 5k and the rest of us headed out about half an hour later for the 15k. Joyce led the way to get us close to the finish area and then we took at bus to the start. I was a little nervous about the course because the elevation profile showed several long hills and I was coming off the 7 miler the day before.



The weather was going to be relatively mild for a July day, which was a big relief for me. We met up with some of the Roman Runners briefly and then headed over to the starting area. It was pretty cool to see the thousands of runners all around us. There were almost 12 thousands runners registered for this race.

Once the gun went off we gradually walked towards the start line and then slowly picked it up to a jog. From the very beginning we were treated to lots of cheering spectators and local bands playing for us. I started out with Jill and we went the first few miles weaving around people to get to a comfortable pace. I was a little concerned since my left hip and hamstring felt very tight. We were shooting for a 9 minute pace, but at this point I felt like our mid-9 pace may end up being too much for me. However, I really wanted to stick with Jill as much as possible and figured that my leg would work itself out. As we came up on the golf course with the big hill I wanted to back off a little more to relax before the hill. I hadn't realized that the first few miles had already been uphill. Joyce had told us out the thrill of runninng around the golf course and we weren't disappointed. The runners run up the left hand side of the course uphill while the faster runners are coming down the hill on the other side. Jill and I were still passing many runners on the way up. Once we got to the top of the hill we then got to see all the slower runners on the other side going up the hill. The view of the course overlooking the water was really spectacular. We grabbed for some water and as I started the downhill I looked back and couldn't see Jill anymore. I wanted to continue to run with her, but also knew that this was a great downhill section to really open it up. At this point I had forgotten all about my tight left leg and was just enjoying the moment. I passed by a Roman Runner and said hi and that I knew Joyce and I continued on down that beautiful hill. Further down some spectators were yelling 'no more golf course for a year' as if the golf course was a thing to be dreaded. I loved it and wished we could run through it again.

I slowed up a little on the straight away and still didn't see Jill so I decided to just run my own race. I was so happy that those first few miles of uphill really didn't seem bad at all and the downhills seemed to just keep coming. We had several sections of the race that were nicely shaded and some with some sun. However, the day wasn't too hot or humid and there were tons of water stations.

I couldn't believe how quickly the miles were going by. Before I knew it I was in the last mile. I knew that there was a slight uphill towards the end, but couldn't remember what the last .3 was like. I do remember Joyce saying that it's easy going after you hear the bagpipes. As soon as I saw and heard them I had a huge smile on my face. The last .3 ended up being all downhill so it was a very nice finish. I also heard Tommy on the sidelines in that last stretch yelling "Go Katey!". What a wonderful race this was to run.

Mile 1: 9:27
Mile 2: 9:14
Mile 3: 9:13
Mile 4: 9:29
Mile 5: 7:45
Mile 6: 8:21
Mile 7: 8:44
Mile 8: 7:53
Mile 9: 8:13
Lsst.38: 2:38
Total: 1:20:58
Avg Pace: 8:38

2009 Boilermaker Race Results

Tommy on race day morning



After the race we all met up and hung out at the post-race party for several hours.

Joe and Jill

Tom



Jill, Joe, Kate, Tom and Jeanette



Joyce and Dan and Roman runners





Kate and Jill







Dan and Joyce



Tom being Tom



Dan and Joyce



More of the Roman Runners gang



Joe, Jill and Kate posing for the Roman Runnerrs Calendar shot



Kate and Tom



Jeanette and Tony

After the post-race party we headed over to Mickey and Luke's place for a pool party. We met more members of the Roman Runners club and had a great time. What wonderful people!

Jeanette, Jill and Kate



Tony massaging Tom, while he takes a nap

Kate Jeanette and Tom

Norwalk Summer Series 5 miler and Fairfield Half - June 27th and 28th, 2009

I'm a little behind on my race reports here. This was another 2 race weekend with the Norwalk Summer Series 5 miler on the Saturday and the Fairfield half on Sunday. I always dread the Fairfield half because I don't deal well with long distances in hot and humid conditions. I decided that I would race the 5 miler and then take it easy in Fairfield. I ended up with a course PR for the 5 miler, which might be partly because it wasn't as hot as in prior years. As usual I started out at a decent pace and got to see Roy pass me by early on. Some time around the 2 mile mark Anton passed me and I made it my goal to try to stick with him. I was close to letting him get out of reach a few times, but late in the race I was able to pick up my pace and pass him. Since I'm writing this a few weeks later I can tell you that he's beaten me in the races since then.

Mile 1: 8:04
Mile 2: 7:35
Mile 3: 8:13
Mile 4: 8:19
Mile 5: 7:52
Total: 39:51
Avg. Pace: 8:01

Anton and Kate

Kate, Sean and Ikuko

Christine

John

Maria

Sean

Jeanette

Don

Amy and Sherry

Amy, Sherry and Brian

Alicia

Petra

Roy, Frank, Rob, Emmy, John, Jeanette and I

John

Steve and Lindsey

Alicia

Joe

John

Lindsey

Don (and Kaz)

Brian

Maria

Frank

Amy

Christine

Joe and Roy

John

The Fairfield half marathon was also a great race for me. I got a course PR due to the much cooler conditions. I started out towards the back of the pack and had no expectations. Cindy and Jan were with me for the first mile and we ran it slowly and gradually moved up as we went along. Shortly after that they went on ahead and I decided to take it easy. I found the first few miles to be tough with the sun, but after about 3 miles we hit some nice shady parts with a light cool breeze and got some nice downhills. I focused on powering up most of the uphills and recovering on the downs. I had fun catching up to and passing many of my friends on the course. I got to see Karl, LuAnne, Kaz, Sean, Kellie (and her sister), barefoot Rick, Don and Christine. The last 3 miles were a struggle since we had lost the shade and there were still many little hills to deal with. I thought that I might have overdone it with the hills earlier in the race, but was able to hang in there. I beat my prior best Fairfield half time by about 11 minutes.

I had a great time hanging out with my brother, Jan, Cindy, Jeanette and others before and after the race. I was also thrilled to meet Eliot and Ilana for the first time. I got to see many people that I know, but was also disappointed that I didn't get to see everyone that I wanted to.

Mile 1: 9:25

Mile 2: 8:53

Mile 3: 9:18

Mile 4: 8:46

Mile 5: 9:46

Mile 6: 9:14

Mile 7: 9:14

Mile 8: 8:20

Mile 9: 8:25

Mile 10: 8:30

Mile 11: 8:58

Mile 12: 8:42

Mile 13: 8:28

.17 : 1:17 (7:20 pace)

Total: 1:57:17

Avg Pace: 8:54

Eliot, Ilana and I

Torpedo and Brian

Margaret, Jan and Cindy

John running off into the distance

Don

Pete

Pete, Kate, Jan and Cindy

Pete and Barefoot Rick

Barefoot Rick's missing shoe!

Bob, Tammy and Karen

Jan with her trophy!

Larry and Kaz

Branford Road Race 5 Miler - June 21, 2009

I have mixed feelings about the Branford road race. I love the town of Branford and love to run the race with my brother, but most years I tend to struggle with it. I think it's because it's one of the first races in the season that is over 3.1 miles that is run in hot and muggy conditions. I thought that I would have an easy time of it this year since it wasn't too hot and there was some rain in the forecast. However, it was more muggy than I expected and my hamstrings were still really tight from a Thursday night weight lifting class. You would think I would have recovered by Sunday morning, but no such luck. It didn't help that my hamstrings tightened up right at the beginning of class which resulted in me lifting weights for almost an hour with my muscles all tensed up.

I ran the first mile of the race pretty fast with Cindy and Pete by my side. Shortly after that the hamstring tightened up and I had to back off. Cindy went off ahead and Pete stuck with me. I'm not quite sure why he subjects himself to my whining every year, but he always does. I took the hill in the beginning of mile 3 pretty well, but couldn't maintain that intensity. I also started to get hot spots on the pads of my feet at the base of my toes, which didn't help matters. My muscles loosened up a little and I managed to pick up the pace in the last half mile. Usually Pete lets me beat him, but his time I told him to take off so I could chase him in. He took off and flew around the corner to the finish. This was a great motivation for me to charge after him. Granted, I had no chance of getting anywhere close to catching him, but it did make me finish very strong.

I finished 478 out of 1,593 and 14th out of 133 in my division.

Congrats to Andrea who placed 2nd in her divison and to Kristen on her PR.

My GPS watch splits:
Mile One: 7:35
Mile Two: 8:13
Mile Three: 8:31
Mile Four: 8:43
Mile Five: 8:08
.03 of a mile: :10
Total: 41:20
5:03 Miles at a 8:14 pace

My regular watch:
Mile One: 7:42
Mile Two: 8:15
Mile Three: 8:33
Mile Four: 8:45
Mile Five: 8:07
Total: 41:21

In 2005 my pace was 8:03, then 8:32 in 2006, 9:04 in 2007 and 8:47 in 2008. At least I'm now going back in the right direction.

The Fairfield half is coming up next Sunday and I am totally dreading that one. Every year I swear that I don't ever want to run it again, but I always end up coming back for more. I guess I must either like to torture myself or just strive on the challenge. I also have the Norwalk Summer Series 5 miler to run the day before that and the forecast is for the temperatures to be in the 80s both days! Pete is planning to run some of Fairfield with me again this year, but might go off ahead after a few miles. Maybe I can hold off on my whining until after he has gone ahead. ;o) I hope that some of my other friends will tell him that I don't always whine when I run - only on hot days and coming off injuries.


Brian, AKA Unknown Sweetheart

Emmy, Sue, Alice and Pete

Emma, Sue, Alice and I



Cindy and I

Cindy and George

Me and George

Alice, Pete, Sue and Emma

Alice, Pete, Me, Sue and Emma

June 12th-14th, 2009 - 3 Races in one Weekend again!

Another 3 race weekend! It started with the Friday evening Cook Your Buns 3 mile +/- race at Tod's Point in Greenwich. It was a rainy and dreary day, but by race time the sun had come out and it was a little muggy. I got to hang out with some good friends before and after the race. John and I also ran a small part of the course as a warm-up. The course is run on grass, trails, asphalt and a small beach section.

Once the race started I ran with George until we were able to catch up to John G. The three of us ran together for a while and then I went ahead for the final part of the course.

My splits:
Mile 1: 8:17
Mile 2: 8:19
Final .86: 7:03 (8:11 pace)
Total: 23:39
Pace: 8:16
2.86 miles

Cook Your Buns Race Results


Tony T (massage therapist) and Me



Emmy and I

Tommy and Katey

Kate and Frank

Frank and Emmy

Luis M

John and Emmy

Frank, John and Emmy

George

Emmy and Sean

Tom, Frank and John

Luis

Luis and his family

Mickey

Me coming in towards the beach section

George and John

Wow! It looks like I'm running really fast!

Frank'n burger

John


John and I

John

Kevin, Annette and Tommy

Frank

The next race of the weekend was the Norwalk Summer Series 3 miler. It was a little warm and muggy, but not too bad. As usual I got to hang out with many of my friends before the race. It was nice to see my former boss, Steve, and his daughter, Lindsey. Lindsey, who is 16 years old, has been running well in high school and her dad was expecting her to run strong in the race. The days of him running slowly to run with his daughter are long gone. He now has no chance of keeping up with her. It was also nice to see Frank's daughter, Katie.

It was Emmy's birthday so I spent much of the time being goofy with her by constantly wishing her a happy birthday.

I was disappointed the John had not showed up for the race, but at last minute as we are lining up at the start he made his entrance - pulling an 'Emmy'!

The beginning of the race started out pretty fast due to the slight downhill section coming out of the school. Luis was just ahead of me so I was hoping to keep up with him. However, even as we started to go uphill our pace was much faster that I am used to. We were just coming out of the high 6s into the low 7s! At this point my legs felt a little tired and I was struggling with the humidity. I backed off and let Luis go around the 1 mile mark and at that time Roy came up from behind. I asked him to trip Luis for me, but all he did was encourage me to try to catch him on the hills. ;o) Sherry passed me after about a mile and a half and then Rob, who missed the start, passed me in the last half mile. Those last two miles felt like a struggle, but I was still able to get a PR for that course.

Upon finishing the race I went over to see how Lindsey had done and found out that she had won the race for the women!! I was so happy for her. She had to sprint to pass and beat the second place woman on the finishing stretch.

We all hung around for a while after the race to chat and check out the standings. Don didn't have the trophies with him, but he still went through the process of announcing the division placements. I placed 3rd in my division.

My splits:
Mile 1: 7:16
Mile 2: 7:59
Final .99: 7:41 (7:48 pace)
Total: 22:57
Pace: 7:41
2.99 miles

Norwalk Summer Series 3 miler race results

Katie and Katey

Frank and Dawn

Roy and Frank

Sherry and Emmy

Brian, Steve and Lindsey

Lindsey, Kate and Brian

Sherry and Don

City of Norwalk Proclamation for Mother's Day 10k Race

Monica

Katie, Frank and Dawn

Birthday Girl - Emmy

Jeanette

Evan, Frank and Katie

John, Sean, Ikuko and Evan

John, Sean, Ikuko and Evan

John, Sean, Ikuko, Kaz and Evan

Jeanette

Rob and Roy

Steve, Steve and Lindsey

George B, Emmy and LuAnne

Luis

Frank

Jeanette, Kate and John - Showing off our Vermont marathon shirts

Emmy and Rob

Rob, Emmy, Frank and Katie

Frank

Rob and Emmy

Sean and John

Roy

Brian

Don

The 3rd race of the weekend was Run for the Rock 5k in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport. I was happy that it was a cool morning.

I met up with Kellie, Cindy, George and Brian and later saw Cathy, who I hadn't seen since last October.

We started out the race a little too fast as usual, but in telling George that he still didn't seem to want to slow down. We were running at less than a 7 minute pace at the time. We did manage to bring it back down to the mid 7s later on in mile 1. Cathy passed up and pointed up ahead to Cindy and Jan and told us that we should try to keep up with Jan who is pretty fast. She zipped up ahead of us and was running close behind them, but I wasn't able to pick up the pace. My legs felt a little tired, but my breathing was pretty good. I wanted to play it safe and save myself for the hill that everyone was talking about at the beginning of mile 3. We were running along side the water for a while until the end of mile 2 and then turn away from it to head up that dreaded hill. At this point George was along side me and Kellie was a little behind, but George told me to go for it. I tried to take the hill strong to see if I could make up any distance between Cindy, Jan and Cathy. Once at the top of the hill I knew that the only one I might be able to catch was Cathy, but I wasn't sure of that either. At the last turn for the homestretch Marty was there with some kids cheering for us. He specifically told them to cheer for Kate and that I'm the local race photographer when I'm out with injuries. I looked up ahead to see two young boys and then Cathy. I pushed the pace to get to the kids and told them not to let me beat them and sure enough they sprinted like a crazy and blew by me and Cathy. I know had one last chance to see if I could catch her too. I pushed it as hard as I could and passed her with about 3 strides to go for the finish. I did apologize, but she seemed to be happy for me. George and Kellie finished pretty close behind me.

We all hung out and chatted for a while afterwards. Upon checking the results I saw that Cindy and I were going to place in our division and thought that Cathy would too. I would have felt bad if my sprint at the end would knock her out. Luckily, it worked out so that all three of us placed and got trophies. Jan also placed first in her division.

My splits:
Mile 1: 7:37
Mile 2: 7:54
Mile 3: 7:47

Final .11: :35 (5:27 pace)
Total: 23:53
Pace: 7:41
3.11 miles

Run for the Rock Race Results

Brian

Kellie, George and Cindy

Bruce

George

Cindy and Maria

Dawn, Brian and Brian's dad (Richard)

Jan, Cindy and I

Cathy

Monica and Jan

Cathy

Me

Cindy

Cindy, Jan, me and Cathy

MMRF 5k Race in New Canaan - June 7, 2009

I was not familiar with this race, but once John told me about it I decided that it would be a great race to run to support a great cause.



The day started out to be quiet warm and sunny - not exactly perfect weather for running. I met up with John and he introduced me to his friend, Meg, and her son Charlie. We chatted for a while and took some pictures. I looked about to see if I could see Kristine Lilly so I could get a picture with her, but I wasn't able to find her. She did speak briefly before the race started, but at the point I'd put my camera back in the car.


John warned me of the long run back along route 124 and the lack of shade later in the race, but I forgot to ask him about any hills on the course. John started out fast and I hung back a little knowing that he'd slow down soon enough. ;o) We saw Bob G on his bike at two points along the course. The first mile or so seemed to be mostly downhill so I was wondering if we were going to have to pay the price on some uphills later, but I'm somewhat familiar with the area and couldn't remember any hills. Luckily, there were no major uphills to speak of. I enjoyed running the last mile or so right behind a 14 year old and tried to encourage him. He ended up taking off at the end and finished very strong. He was also nice enough to acknowledge my support and shake my hand after the race.

This was a great race and would recommend it to others in the future.

Charlie B

Meg and Charlie B

John G, Meg B and Charlie

John G and Kate

John G and Meg B

Kate and John G with medals.

Four Races in Five Days - May 21-25th, 2009

RFR Corporate Challenge - May 21st
Weston Memorial Day Weekend 5K - May 23rd



May 24th


I have run 3 races in a weekend a few times in the past, but I'm not sure that I've ever taken on 4 races in 5 days. My left leg (ITB and calf) were still a little tight since my marathon, but all blisters have healed and nothing hurt. I didn't expect to race all the races, but hadn't decided which ones to take easy yet.

RFR 5K Walk/Run

The first race was the RFR Corporate Challenge 5k on Thursday evening. There some pressure to run well in this race since some of my co-workers had a spreadsheet setup with every one's expected finish time. I was listed to be the 2nd female to finish behind Amanda who is in her early 20s! Allison was also expected to run close to my pace and I knew that our order could go either way. I can accept being beaten, especially by a friend or co-worker, but always want to push myself to run the best that I can.

We all gathered at the town center by the registration area. I have been working with / coaching a co-worker, Charles, who was not used to running on the roads. I was looking forward to seeing how he would do in the race. I had been going on lunch time training runs with him on hilly routes to get him used to running hills. I was also wondering how Tom would do since he had been struggling with side stitches in his training runs.

It was a hot and muggy night and I had forgotten to bring my water bottle. However, I didn't think much of it since it was only a 5k race. We all lined up for the start and the gun went off. I immediately see Allison take off and pass a lot of people to take a quick lead for our women. She was also ahead of Steve, which surprised me. I tried to catch up to her, but got stuck in a crowd. After a few minutes I had lost the crowd, but still wasn't able to join her. She was way up ahead of me and I saw that I was running a 7:10 pace at the time. At this point I realized that I was really thirsty and wished that I had my water bottle. I ended up spending the entire race dealing with dry mouth and difficulty swallowing due to bad allergies. However, on a positive note, my legs felt good and the first mile seemed to fly by. At the end of mile one I could see Allison, Steve and Jim a little ahead of me. My goal for now was to keep them all in my sights.

I was able to close the gap a little on the large hill that was in the beginning of the second mile. Amanda caught up to me at that point, but then backed off a little. I finally caught up to Jim, but he then surged ahead and caught up to Allison. I gained some more ground on the downhill, but was still quite a bit back from Allison. On the last turn before the finish I caught up to Jim who encouraged me to go for it. I turned it on and sprinted out the final stretch to finish about one second behind Allison. Jim then finished shortly behind me and Amamda shortly behind him. Amanda had also struggled with bad allergies, especially on 5th street in mile 2.

Despite still feeling very thirsty I decided to go back out to see how Charles and Tom were doing. I was happy to see Charles coming into sight before I got to the corner of the home stretch. I told him in was doing really well and that he could now sprint it out to the end. I was amazed at how fast he went. He flew by and passed a bunch of people and finished very strong. I was so proud! I then went back and cheered for Vivian and pretty soon saw Tom coming down that stretch. He also looked good and strong and finished with a kick. I went out a few more times to encourage a few others and then went to meet the group.

For our men's group Brian came in first followed by Tom L and then Steve.

Some of the group headed to Bobby Valentine's while Vivian, Charles, Tom and I stuck around for the awards. We didn't expect to get an award since we were told that the only category was best 3 finishers overall and some of our fastest guys weren't available for this race. However, they started calling out winners in the female divisions. We were the first place team for masters (over 40) women - myself, Christine and Claudia. We then received second place team for open women - Allison, Amanda and Vivian. I also took first place individual for masters women. Vivian and I was very happily surprised to have done so well. We were now dying to get to Bobby V's to show off all our awards to the guys in the group. My friend, Jeanette, and her husband, Tony, also joined us for dinner.

My GPS splits:

Mile 1: 7:24
Mile 2: 8:09
Mile 3: 7:18
Final .08: :31 (6:32 pace)
Finish time: 23:23
Average Pace: 7:36
Listed race pace based on 5k distance: 7:33

Results

Commonfund group photo:



Jim and Tiffany



Allison, Jim, Tiffany and Keith



Brian and Ethan



Tom and Charles



Vivian with Women's Open award bag



Me with my individual masters award bag



Me and Vivian with all 3 awards bags



Vivian, Tom and Charles



Weston Memorial Day 5K Road Race



Race number two was the Weston Memorial Day run on Saturday morning. My heart wasn't into this race because I didn't know of anyone who was going to be running it. The race is also somewhat hilly and it was a warm and muggy morning. However, it didn't take me long to see George. I also saw Dawn beforehand and she asked me about wearing an ipod. I had not seen anything stating that ipods were not allowed so we both opted to use ours. Shortly after that I saw a sign on the door of the school that had the no-ipod symbol on it. I went back to my car to return mine and passed Dawn who had just put hers back in her car also. I lined up at the start line with George and they announced that ipods were not allowed on the course and that they would hold them for the runners until they finished. At this time some people turned theirs in and others tucked them away - to use later. A woman next to me put her headphones in her fanny pack and indicated that she would still wear them despite the rules.

George usually runs at a mid-eight minute mile pace and I considered running this pace with him to have this be an easier race for me. However, we both ended up running at about a 7:40 pace for the first mile. Right after we passed the mile mark the women with the fanny pack had her driver's license and a credit card fly out of the pack. Several of us tried to let her know that, but her music was too loud so she didn't hear us. More than a quarter of a mile later when we were running along side her we let her know. She was concerned at first, but when we told her that a lady in her driveway at mile one might have picked them up for her she continued running. Then at the halfway point Jim was taking bib numbers of those with headphones to disqualify them, but at this point the lady's fanny pack was moved to the front and was blocking her bib number.

George opted to back off shortly after we passed Jim and I continued to try to keep up the same pace. The course was tough with some hills and I knew that there was a hill towards the end heading back into the school. However, the hills weren't especially steep and my legs felt really good. I was able to maintain a steady pace and finished strong.

My GPS splits:

Mile 1: 7:42
Mile 2: 7:34
Mile 3: 7:46
Final .11: :56 (6:37 pace)
Finish time: 23:58
Average Pace: 7:38
Listed race pace based on 5k distance: 7:45

Results:

George and his friend



Andie, Paul, Ronnie and their friends



Andie, Paul and I



Marty



Bridgeport Hospital Home Run5K Run, Walk & Wheelchair Race and a Children's Fun Run

Race number 3 was the Bridgeport Home Run 5k. I was really looking forward to this race. This would be Tom' second race of the season and I knew that Kellie, Jeanette, George and many other friends would be there. The race is run on a flat and scenic course that runs through Seaside Park in Bridgeport and ends on the warning track of Harbor Yard baseball stadium. The weather was nice and cool with a gentle breeze.

Kellie was hoping to get her average pace down below an 8 minute mile so I was planning to run most of the race with her. I was thinking that the pace would be just a little easier than all out, but pretty close to it. Marty had written 2 races in 2 days on my bib, which I thought was a nice personal touch.

I also saw Sue, who is a new running friend that I met at the April Fool's race in Easton recently. Kellie's friend, Heather, was also there with her husband and kids. Her husband was signed up for the 5k race and the kids were signed up for their first kids race. Brian F was also there and I gave him a hard time for not being in touch with me since I ran in the NJ marathon last month.

We lined up near the front of the pack and were shortly on our way. Kellie and I ran side by side at about a 7:40 pace in the beginning. This was faster than I expected, but Kellie seemed to be comfortable with it so we stuck to it. At one point George ran up to us and joked around about whether or not we were aware that it was actually a "race"! He then backed off and let us go. Jim G was along side us for much of the first mile and then he started to pull ahead a little. At about 1 and a half miles in I saw Sue up ahead and was thinking about whether or not I would be able to catch her later in the race, but she looked very comfortable in her pace and didn't seem like she was going to slow down. I mentioned her to Kellie and she encouraged me to go for it after the 2 mile mark. However, Jim was behind her and I knew I'd have to catch him first. I wasn't totally confident about how much I could push it and didn't want to crash and burn at the end so I just picked up the pace a little without trying to go all out. I knew at this point that Kellie easily had her sub 8-minute mile pace accomplished.

Once I got to the turn to enter into the ballpark Marty was there to encourage me. He told me this was great training for the last .2 of a mile in my upcoming Steamtown marathon that would help me to qualify for Boston. That made me smile and gave me an extra kick for the end. I picked up the pace and sprinted the last stretch. I was not able to catch Jim or Sue, but did finish very close behind them. Kellie then finished shortly after that. George, Jeanette and Tom came in shortly behind us.

We hung out on the bleachers for a while after the race. Kellie got a massage from Tony and we just sat around and chatted. I looked around for Sue, but she had left already. We stuck around for the awards ceremony and Sue had won a trophy for 3rd place in our division. I picked up the trophy for her and wrote to her later that evening to tell her that I had it.

My GPS splits:

Mile 1: 7:43
Mile 2: 7:46
Mile 3: 7:31
Final .11: :42 (6:17 pace)
Finish time: 23:43
Average Pace: 7:37
Listed race pace based on 5k distance: 7:40

Results:

Tom, Me, George, Kellie and Jeanette



George



Start - Photo by Heather



Me in the pink (Boston Buildup) shirt - Photo by Heather



Kellie posing for the camera - photo by Heather



Jeanette in the pink (Boston Buildup) shirt - Photo by Heather
Her husband is in the grey shirt crossing the line.



Tony giving Kellie a massage



Jeanette and Tom after the race



Jeanette, George and Tom



Tom, Brian and Larry



Maria and Petra (they ran 3 races in 3 days)

45th ANNUAL JIM FIXX GREENWICH MEMORIAL DAY RUN

Race number 4 was the Jim Fixx 5 Miler in Greenwich. I was dreading this race because it is a tough hilly race to run in the heat and especially as the last race of a 4 race weekend. However, I was looking forward to it because of the challenge of it and I knew that I would see some other friends here. I also have great respect for the late Jim Fixx.

When I got to the race I saw Roy, Mike T, John G, Luis, Bob G and Maria and Petra. I made sure to tell Luis that the race was 5 miles since in most races he tells me afterwards that he gets confused as to the distance and that messes up his pacing. It was nice and cool early in the morning, but it was rapidly warming up. I lined up with John G, who had run in the Vermont marathon relay the day before. His team came in second in his division behind some younger men. They did improve on their time significantly from the prior year and were happy with their performance. I wasn't sure how John and I would run after running hard the day before.

The beginning of the race is a short downhill section and John G went out ahead of me. I was amazed that he was running a pace in the low 7s. I kept close to him and shortly after the hill I caught up to him. I wore my ipod for this race since I didn't see anything saying that they were banned. I always take great pride in keeping the volume very low so that I can be safe and hear what is going on around me. I passed the test with flying colors - I was able to hear John's nice soothing breathing sounds as I ran along side him.

At the one mile mark he realized that he was going faster than he expccted so he slowed it down a little. I haven't run the course for a few years so I couldn't remember where the hills were, but knew there were quite a few of them. The run through Bruce Park and nice and had some shade, but shortly after that we started to hit some of the hills and lost the shade. At one point I was struggling going up a hill and was considering walking up it. I figured that I'd run hard in every race this weekend and deserved a break, but then I looked down and saw the number 68 spray painted on a drain cover. I looked down at my bib and saw that my bib number was 68. That was all the motivation I needed - I decided that this was my hill and instead of walking it I would take it strong and get it over with quickly. As I charged up the hill a guy turned to me as I was about to pass him (and several others) and he made a comment that I was running the hill very well. I told him that it was my hill and I continued on at that pace. Shortly after that we had a nice little downhill section, followed by another hill. Another guy said that I was running well and I asked him if the hills were over yet. He chuckled and said that he didn't want to answer that question and then said that it's because there were more hills to come before we made it to the top of Greenwich Avenue for the downhill section. I felt better knowing what I was up against and continue on happily.

When I finally got towards the top of the last hill I saw Luis up ahead. Again, I knew it was him because of his calves. I said hi as I came up alongside him and he said he wondered where I was. He thought that I had been ahead of him the whole time. I thought that catching him here was a good sign that I was going to beat him, but as soon as we turned onto Greenwich Ave he took off down the hill. I felt very tired and was struggling to keep close to him. I wanted to go a little faster, but was afraid that I wouldn't have anything left for the last part leading to the track and then the lap around the track. The piece leading to the track was shorter than I thought and the finish line was much earlier on the track than I rememebered. As soon as I saw where the finish line was I took off on an all out sprint and passed by a few people and managed to finish one second behind Luis. I congratulated Luis and introduced myself to his wife who was waiting for him at the finish. I was very happy with my performance in this race and greatly improved my time over the other two years that I ran it.

This turned out to be a really good weekend of racing. I ran consistently in every race and was always close to running by best times. I had so much fun and am very glad that I took on this challenge. I have also looked at the calendar and see that I have another 4 race weekend coming up along with a few other weekends with 2 races.

My GPS splits:
Mile 1: 7:34
Mile 2: 8:08
Mile 3: 7:54
Mile 4: 8:34
Mile 5: 7:21
Finish time: 39:31
Average Pace: 7:54

Results:

Roy and John



Mike, Bob G, Doug G and Jenn G (plus one to be named later!)



Bob, Mike, Doug, Jenn and Kate



John G



John G



Maria and Petra



Me, John and Ikuko after the race



John G, me and Bob ( I wore my ultrabrit shirt especially for John G)



Me and Ikuko wearing our New Jersey marathon hats



Roy, John and Ikuko



Roy and Rob


Me and my bib hanging over the cover that was spray painted with my number on it on 'my hill'.

Accelerate Your Life 5K - May 17th, 2009

I woke up on Sunday morning to the sound of the rain. The forecast had said that it would be cool with some showers. By the time I got to the race the rain had stopped and it was just a little chilly and windy. I chatted with John and Bob while we waited for others to arrive. Karen and Jim thanked me for promoting the race on facebook, not that it did much good since we was still only had 39 runners. A little later Kellie arrived so we took some pictures and then went out for a quick jog to warm-up. When we got back Jeanette joined us and we dropped off our top layers and headed to the start line.

The first mile was mostly downhill, the middle was mostly flat with a few small hills and then there was a hill before the last turn for the finish. My left leg was still tight from the marathon, especially my hamstring, but the easy downhill start allowed me to relax and let it stretch out a little. John was by my side briefly in the beginning and then I could hear the soothing sound of his breathing behind me for the next half mile or so. After that I pushed ahead a little and saw who I thought to be Luis up ahead (see my Spring Equinox race report). I was eventually able to catch up to him and he said he thought it was me coming up behind him. I told him that I thought I recognized him by his calves! We ran side by side for a little while and I was wondering if I could keep up with him until the end, but I ended up being able to pull ahead. For such a short race I was surprised that I was struggling and constantly looking for that final hill so that I could get to the home stretch. I did pass several guys in the last mile or so and ran pretty hard on that hill. Once the hill was over I knew that I could keep pushing to the end. I managed to finish strong and was very happy with my time.

Also see Luis' race report

Mile One: 7:30
Mile Two: 7:42
Mile Three: 7:52
Last .10: :40 (6:42)
= 23:45
7:40 average pace

Once I finished I cheered for Luis, Kellie, Bob, John, Dawn and Jeanette. We then all had drinks, bagels and chatted until it was time for the awards. I chatted with Luis for a while who told me that he thought is was a 5 mile race! Kellie placed first in her age group and won a gift certificate to Runner Roost. Way to go Kellie!

http://www.clubct.org/Results/09Results/09AYLRes.html

Bob and John

Karen

Kate and Kellie

Kellie and Kate

To be used for next year's t-shirt design! ;o)

Bag 'O Bagels from LizSue Bagels

Jeanette, Kellie and John

Jim being reflective!

Luis (in the middle)

Kellie claiming her prize 'money'

Kellie

New Jersey Marathon - May 3, 2009 - Another PR!

New Jersey marathon weekend
May 1st thru May 3rd , 2009

Tom and I took Friday off work in order to get to New Jersey early enough to miss the rush hour traffic. We arrived in the early afternoon and checked into the Ocean Place Resort and Spa. Shortly after checking in we went for a walk along the boardwalk. It was a little chilly and there was intermittent drizzle. However, it was still a beautiful sight. We then headed to the Expo to pick up my bib, chip and shirt. The Expo was pretty small and setup in a tent at Pier Village. I did not buy much at the expo, but did manage to get suckered into buying a pair of $60 'Aline' insoles.

View from hotel on Friday afternoon

Tom and I on the boardwalk Friday afternoon



While in the Pier Village area we saw a restaurant that had Hibachi tables so we made a reservation for dinner. The dinner there was excellent. Afterwards we walked back down the boardwalk to go back to the hotel and saw that the finish line was setup. We took a few photos there and of some people who had a bonfire setup on the beach.

Posing at the finish line on Friday evening













Bonfire on the beach



The next morning we got up pretty early and headed to Amy's Restaurant for breakfast. I couldn't believe that they had two menu pages just for omelets! Again, we made a good choice and enjoyed a great meal.

We then went out to meet Pam and her family. We saw Pam running towards us on the boardwalk and quickly introduced ourselves as she ran to catch up with her daughter, Meagan, who was running an out and back 1.2 mile race. We proceeded on to the finish line and met up with her husband, Alex, and their other daughter, Jerilyn. We stayed with them for a while as we watched all the kids races. Again the weather was a little chilly with some drizzle here and there.

Me and Pam on Saturday morning

Pam's daughter, Jerilyn, running in a race on Saturday morning



Pam's daughter, Meagan, running in a race on Saturday morning



After that Tom and I decided to take a tour of the course. I really couldn't remember much of it, but there were certain parts that looked familiar. I remembered the small 'hill' (about 32 ft incline) over the water right after mile 3/16, the lake at mile 8/21, the windmill on Ocean Ave, and the tiny loop at mile 10/23. However, the part I remember most is the train station with the candy aid station - Yummy!



Lowest course elevation: 11 ft /3.4 m
Highest course elevation: 39 ft / 11.9 m
Net course elevation gain / loss: 0 ft / 0 m

After the tour of the course Tom went out for a run and I went for a walk along the boardwalk.

Photos from my Saturday afternoon walk down the boardwalk





Tommy going for a run on Saturday afternoon







We then went back to the hotel and took a dip in the jacuzzi and a quick swim in the pool. We went back out along the boardwalk and saw that they had added banners to the start/finish line so we took some photos there and then headed out for dinner.

View of the start/finish line setup on Saturday afternoon









View from the restaurant on Saturday evening



This was to be my second time running the New Jersey Marathon. I ran it last in 2006 in a time of 4:21. In the few months leading up to that race and during the race I was experiencing blister problems on the arch of my right foot, which cost me a few minutes. I have not had that problem since then until about a month ago. I have been putting a moleskin patch on this area the last few times that I ran a long run so I opted to do this again for the marathon.

Tom, Pam and I went to the start area together and lined up with the 4 hour pacing group, which should have us running a 9:09 pace. The race was supposed to start at 7:30am, but as we were waiting to start they announced a 15 minute delay due to a traffic accident on the course. Pam and I decided to take this time to hit the loo one more time. When we got back to the starting area word had it that it would be more of a wait. It was just about 8am when we finally got started. Due to the mass of runners, which also included all the half marathon and relay runners the first mile was very congested. We were running slower than a 10 minute pace. I was getting a little frustrated trying to stick with the group so I decided to make my own way through the crowd and let the pace group come back to me later. This worked well and the group came back up to me as I reached for water at about one and a half miles into the race. However, shortly after that the pacers started to go much faster. I kept looking at my watch and saw that the overall pace was down to under a 8:50. I decided to back off and let them go ahead so that I didn't crash later. A few miles later someone had mentioned that one of our pacers had gone to use the facilities and that he was still behind us, which made me feel better. In these first 5 miles the temperature actually felt a little warm and muggy, but certainly nothing to complain about.

Tom was cheering for me shortly after mile 5. I told him that I was on target for my goal and that the pacers were running too fast. Some where around mile 6 our pacer at the front had slowed down and the one at the back had caught up. At this point I felt like the whole group was now on target. We ran by the lake at about mile 8 and had a slight hill after that. I welcomed the incline and it provided some additional motivation and energy for some reason. I also knew that the gummy bears were not too far away. Pam and I continued to run close to that group until about mile 10. By this time the temperatures had cooled down to a very comfortable level for running, but there was constant drizzle and a strong head wind at times.

After the mini loop at mile 10 we took a turn to go back up Ocean Boulevard and the thought of heading towards the boardwalk made me pick up my pace and feel really good. I knew that there would be lots of spectators there and that Tommy would be cheering for me near the 13 mile mark. I saw Tommy, switched water bottles with him and told him that my time was 1:55 at that point.

I was extremely pumped up and felt very good and strong. I decided to pick up the pace a little more and see if I could get closer to the 3:50 mark than the 4 hour mark. I ran between an 8:30 and 8:50 pace for the next four miles. I saw Tom again shortly after mile 18 and told him that I had hit mile 18 in 2:38. I kept looking at my watch for my average pace, but knew that it was off since my watch splits weren't exactly the same as the mile markers on the course. In hindsight I wish I'd worn pace bands - one for 4 hours and one for 3:50, but I've never looked at them when I've worn them in past races.

At mile 19 my legs started to feel very weak, the headwinds were discouraging me and I was starting to losing my motivation . I was thinking I'd made a big mistake in running faster miles from 13 to 17. I was due to take another gel at mile 22, but wondered if I should take it earlier. I lucked out and came across a station with gel - it was my brand, but not my usual flavor of GU so I decided to take just a little of it and then take my usual one at mile 22. That still didn't help with my energy levels or with the weak feeling in my legs. I kept telling myself to slow down a little and relax, but I couldn't seem to do so. Instead, I continued to run fast, but had to pay the price by taking a few quick walk breaks over the course of about 3 miles. I was mad at myself for giving into walking, but found it hard not to. I thought that I might feel better if I took a few electrolyte strips, but couldn't seem to find them in my skirt pocket. I didn't want to keep trying so I decide to wait until I'd taken my gel and then search for them again. At mile 21 as I was about to head back to the lake and I saw the mile 24 marker across the street on the Ocean Blvd and made my goal to hang on until I looped back to that marker with the thought that once I got there I'd be pumped up to hit the boardwalk again. I took my gel shortly thereafter, but still needed one more brief walk break and I even skipped the gummy bears this time around. Shortly after that I took some of my electrolyte strips and completed the mini loop to head back towards the beach. I hit the 24 mile marker, smiled for the camera and then started to pick up the pace again. There was a girl in front of me who had some wonderful friends join her at that point and they were nice enough to encourage me at the same time they were helping her. We blew by a girl wearing a very sexy leopard print skirt and that made us feel good too.

At some point over those later miles I was starting to notice some blistering on my feet. Since it was drizzling throughout the entire race there were a few spots with puddles that were unavoidable. I also have the tendency to wiggle my feet a little when my toes get tight and in doing so I moved the moleskin patch out of place, which now allowed a blister on my arch to form. However, these things were all tolerable and did not cause me much concern. I also noticed that my neck was very tight and sore, which could have been from not being used to wearing a hat or could have just been from being tense.

I was now close to the turn back towards Ocean Avenue and the boardwalk. My feet and neck were a little sore, but other than that I felt good. I knew I didn't have a killer sprint in me that I had for the final mile when I ran it in 2006, but I also knew I could finish up strong. My sub-4 hour finish had been accomplished easily, but I didn't have enough distance left to make up the time to hit 3:50. I pushed the pace as much as I could and passed quite a number of runners in that final stretch knowing that my finish time was going to blow away my prior PR of 4:05:48, which I set in New York last fall.

I crossed the line and got my medal and hat and then I paced back and forth in hopes of seeing Pam cross the line also. However, the wind and rain were making me cold and I knew that Tom was expecting me at the family reunion area. I also didn't know if I'd missed her already. I met up with Tom and went right back to the finish line, but I think we had missed her by then. We hung out in the tent for a little while hoping to see Pam's family, but to no avail. I ate a bagel, made a few phone calls and then headed back to the hotel to take a quick shower and put on some dry clothes. Alex called us back and let us know that Pam had finished in 4:12. I was so proud of her. What a great first marathon for her and run in difficult conditions.

My Garmin splits:

9:33, 8:51, 8:29, 8:44, 8:37, 8:36, 8:51, 9:01, 8:57, 9:01, 8:43, 8:41, 8:32, 8:31, 8:33, 8:38, 8:47, 8:52, 8:50, 8:55, 9:14, 9:19, 9:25, 8:45, 8:49, 8:33, 2:51 (7:42) = 3:52:39 26.37 miles 8:49 pace

Regular watch splits: (I missed many markers)

9:38, 17:26 (avg 8:43), 8:42, 8:37, 17:41 (avg 8:50), 9:13, 26:45 (avg 8:55), 8:43, 8:34, 8:28, 8:40, 8:36, 8:46, 8:52, 8:58, 9:00, 9:19, 9:23, 18:16 (avg 9:08), 8:48, 8:30, 1:42 = 3:52:39

Race Results:

http://www.compuscore.com/cs2009/may/njmara1.htm

Splits and Chip Times:

http://www.compuscore.com/cs2009/may/njmsplit.htm

I was thrilled to see the race results.

539 out of 1,726 Runners overall

16 out of 96 Women in my age group (40-44)

112 out of 692 Women overall

First half: 1:56:16 / Second half: 1:56:21 - Can't get much closer than that! ;o)

My official finish time was: 3:52:37 chip time and 3:53:41 clock time with an 8:55 average pace.

Pam's results: 865/1,726 overall, 249/692 women, 38/96 age group


Pam and I before the start of the race on Sunday morning

Pam shortly after mile 5



Me shortly after mile 5



Me shortly after mile 18








Pam and Eliot



Me heading for the finish



Back at home with my finishers hat and medal

Donnelly Dash - 3.5 Mile - April 19, 2009

Donnelly Dash - 3.5 Mile
Fairfield, CT
April 19, 2009

Race Results:
http://www.hitekracing.com/results09/fair0419.htm

It turned out to be a very pleasant morning for the 5th annual running of the Donnelly Dash. The temperature about about 10 degrees warmer than expected and the sun was out.

I met up with John and Kellie before the race. I also had a chance to chat with Petra and Maria who I hadn't seen for several weeks. I briefly saw Brian, Torpedo and Dawn. Tony was also there to provide post-race massage.

Right before the race started Kellie, John and I saw Rob so we all chatted until it was time to start. I couldn't really remember the course, but knew that the beginning was uphill. I was happily surprised that the hill wasn't too steep or long. I started out pretty fast and was concerned about fading out, but I set my sights on two women ahead of me that I would try to keep up with. I was able to pass one of them and I kept the other one in sight until the last turn for the finish. Towards the end of mile 2 and beginning of mile 3 there was another hill that wasn't too steep, but seemed to be pretty long. I was determined to stay strong knowing that the end of the race was a downhill.

After the race I got a massage from Tony and then hung out with Kellie, John and Rob while we waited for the awards presentations. I was the 6th female to finish and won a trophy for finishing 2nd in my division. John also won a trophy for finishing 3rd in his division.

My manual splits: 7:33, 7:45, 7:36, 3:28 = 26:21
Official Average Pace: 7:33
My GPS splits: 7:17, 7:43, 7:26, 3:54 (7:11 pace) = 26:21
Average GPS Pace: 7:26
GPS distance 3.54 miles

John and Kellie



Kate and Kellie

Brian

Marty and Rick

Kayla, four year old finisher!

Torpedo and Tony

John and Rob

Kate

John, Kate and Rob

Tony and Kellie

John

John

John and Kate

Janis, Monica, Larry, ?, Patty, Kate and John

Bunny Boogie - 3 Miler - April 11, 2009

http://www.clubct.org/Results/09Results/09BunnyBoogieRes.html

We had a pretty cold and wet morning for the Bunny Boogie 3 miler. Luckily, the rain held off until close to the start of the race and even then it remained pretty light throughout the race. There were a few puddles close to the finish line, but other than that the conditions were good. The rain picked up during the chocolate bunny awards presentations, but at that point we were all under the shelter of the gazebo.

This race has a 2:30 head start for women to try to get the winning man and woman to come in very close to each other at the end. For the first time in history of this race the winning woman beat the winning guy to the line. I enjoy this setup for the start as it gives me an opportunity to see the top men run by me part way through the race. At the start line I was talking with Frank, Emmy, Rob and Jeanette.

Emmy, who broke her age group record for the Umstead 100 miler the previous weekend and Frank, who missed the 100 miler due to being diagnosed with pneumonia were both concerned about not feeling well enough to have a strong race. However, Emmy passed by me within the first quarter mile and then Frank passed me in the last half mile. I tried to keep up with Frank at the end, but he was running really fast. Emmy ended up placing first in her division.

My splits were: 7:21, 7:55, 7:11 = 22:27 Average Pace: 7:29

This is a net downhill course and my time was 13 seconds slower than my best time in this race.

Photos:

Jeanette

Jeanette

Jeanette and John

Frank

John, Jeanette and Frank

Emmy, Rob, Kate, John and Frank

Rob and John

Rob

Chocolate Bunnies

Jim

Bob

Emmy with her Bunny age group award