Pretty happy about this week, may have turned around from the post-migraine. Got in a little workout, a race, and my third longest ride of the year. Also, got an MRI for my foot/ankle and hope to get results soon...
Week - 88
Month - 229
Year - 2,283
Life - 169,283
July 2011 (15 years ago): I was recovering from injury and only raced once. I went to Carver MA for the USATF NE 5m championships. It was very hot and humid (mid-80s) and breezy. The race had very little in the way of water-stops and the ones they had were poorly managed. My goal was 5:40 pace in deference to the weather and my lack of racing. I met my goal and scored for the team (4th man) as we placed second in the 40+.
33rd Annual Carver Cranberry 5 Miler Road Race
1 24:42 4:56 1 16-29 Kevin Johnson Ludlow,MA GSH
2 25:03 5:01 1 30-39 Justin Freeman New Hampton,NH RUN
3 25:15 5:03 2 16-29 Dan Vassallo Reading,MA Addidas
Some CMS and the CMS 40+ team
7 25:36 5:07 4 30-39 Jim Johnson Salem,MA CMS
32 27:07 5:25 4 40-49 Greg Putnam Wakefield,MA CMS 40+
34 27:14 5:27 5 40-49 Joe Shairs Peabody,MA CMS 40+
38 27:31 5:30 7 40-49 Dan Verrington Bradford,MA CMS 40+
52 27:53 5:35 19 30-39 Jim Pawlicki Beverly,MA CMS
57 28:20 5:40 13 40-49 Dave Dunham Bradford,MA CMS 40+
60 28:32 5:42 14 40-49 David Quintal Salem,MA CMS 40+
68 29:01 5:48 16 40-49 John Pajer Leicester,MA CMS 40+
July of 2006 (20 years ago): I raced nine times over the month of July while also covering 380 miles in training and finished off the month with a running of the “Pemi-Loop” bagging 11 Four thousand foot peaks in a fell swoop. I started the month running the Finger Lake Fifties, but I did the 15km (not the 50k or 50m). I got plenty of running! The race was kind of unusual as you went through a bunch of gates that had to be closed to keep the cows from wandering! In the early going the pack would come to a gate and Dan Verrington would open the gate and let everyone through then lock it up. He ended up pulling away around 4 miles and I ran alone from that point on taking 3rd place in 1:54:17, Dan won in 1:51:30.
1 David Hunt 48:15 Fryeburg ME WMM M 20 M19-39
2 Tim Livingston 50:07 Conway NH WMM M 31 M19-39
3 Dan Verrington 50:11 Bradford MA CMS M 44 M40-49
4 Dave Dunham 50:23 Bradford MA CMS M 42 M40-49
5 Patrick Rich 53:39 S Hamilton MA CMS M 29 M19-39
6 Todd Callaghan 53:56 Somerville MA PR Mse M 36 M19-39
7 Donald Pacher 55:31 Bennington VT M 34 M19-39
8 Jeremy Huckins 56:24 Loudon NH CMS M 23 M19-39
Five days later (07-13) Dan and I were back out there racing again, this time in Haverhill on a Friday night. Dan took the overall win in the YMCA 5k road race (16:39) and I took 5th nearly a minute back (17:33). Two days later I was race directing the Mt Ascutney road race in Windsor VT. Although I wasn’t an official entrant, I ran the 2nd fastest time of the day (33:42) behind Paul Low’s winning time of 29:39. I ran at 7am then put the race on at 9am.
The following Friday it was another night race in Haverhill. This time Dan and I ran the Sapienza race which had moved dates and changed distance (to 4 miles). It was hot and humid after a downpour during my warm-up. I ran 22:20 to take 6th, again nearly a minute behind Dan.
1 Roberto Santoro M2029 QUINCY MA 20:41 5:11
2 Ryan Miller M2029 HAVERHILL MA 20:45 5:12
3 Matt Germain M2029 HAVERHILL MA 20:52 5:13
4 Dan Verrington M4049 BRADFORD MA 21:22 5:21
5 Chris Apkarian M0119 NEW DURHAM NH 22:05 5:32
6 Dave Dunham M4049 BRADFORD MA 22:20 5:35
Two days later (07/23/06) it was off to Portsmouth (with Dan) for the Loco road miles. They had multiple heats, so of course we signed up for multiple races! First up was the master’s mile which Dan destroyed with a 7 second win in 4:39. I took fourth place. We had just enough time to jog back up the course to the start and then were off again in the Open mile. We were surprisingly consistent with Dan slowing only 2 seconds (4:41) and I slowed 4 seconds to a 4:57. We definitely surprised some by racing twice.
Masters Mile
1 4:39 Dan Verrington 44 M CMS
2 4:46 Eric McKenna 40 M
3 4:51 Don Tuttle 49 M
4 4:53 Dave Dunham 42 M CMS Splits: 70/73/77/73
Open Mile
1 4:19 Cory Thorne 19 M
2 4:29 Rich Marion 44 M BAA
3 4:32 Aaron Binkley 29 M
6 4:41 Dan Verrington 44 M CMS
10 4:57 Dave Dunham 42 M CMS Splits: 72/74/77/74
I wrapped up the month taking a shot at a win at the Lynn woods summer series (07/26/06). I thought I’d have a good shot in the “short” race as most of the CMS guys ran the 5.5 mile race. When we split off from the longer course Al Bernier was in the lead and took the win 13 seconds ahead of me.
2.5 Miles
1. Alan Bernier 14:40 CMS
2. Dave Dunham 14:53 CMS
3. John Davis 15:17
5.5 Miles
1. Dan Verrington 32:07 CMS
2. Joe Shairs 32:40 CMS
3. Jim Pawlicki 34:38 CMS
I closed out the month with a visit to the Pemigewasset wilderness in the White Mountains. Eleven hours in the wilderness bagging Bondcliffs (4265), West Bond (4520), Mount Garfield (4480), Mount Lafayette (5240), Mount Lincoln (5089), Mount Guyot (4560), Little Haystack (4760), Mount Liberty (4459), Mount Flume (4328), South Twin (4902), Galehead Mtn (4024).
July of 2001 (25 years ago): I only raced twice but had a total of 58 miles of racing! I took 10th place at the USATF NE 8 mile road race championships at Stowe VT in 41:12. I was disappointed with the time and place and noted in my training log "felt lousy, Dan almost got me".
1 39:47 Paul Mwangi 34 OSSINING NY WESTC
2 40:21 David Hinga 25 LOWELL MA MVS
3 40:29 Greg Wenneborg 33 TUCSON AZ
4 40:35 Chris Magill 28 ALBION RI BAA
5 40:36 Craig Fram 42 PLAISTOW NH WHIRL
6 40:39 Eric Morse 36 BERLIN VT CMS
8 40:44 Byrne Decker 34 YARMOUTH ME CMS
9 40:48 Larry Sayers 41 BELLOWS FLS VT CMS
10 41:12 Dave Dunham 37 BRADFORD MA CMS
11 41:16 Dan Verrington 39 BRADFORD MA CMS
12 41:25 Alan Bernier 26 EXETER NH CMS
15 41:39 Mike Payson 38 FALMOUTH ME CMS
21 42:17 Rod Viens 33 SUNAPEE NH CMS
25 42:33 Scott Clark 35 GILMANTON NH CMS
27 42:53 Kevin Beck 31 CONCORD NH CMS
Two weeks later (07-28-01) I headed out to Crystal Mountain WA for the 50 mile trail championships. I ended up finishing second to Bill Emerson who power-walked away from me on the big climb from 30-36 miles. I kept him in sight (as close as 30 seconds at 46 miles) but was never able to pull him back in. I ended up taking 2nd place in 6:59:15. From Racewire: The men's competition could hardly have been deeper or more exciting. Seven men, including the finest trail ultrarunners from around the country (and Canada) remained within a minute for the first half of the race. Only near the end of the second long climb, after 38 miles, did local hope William Emerson and pre-race favorite Dave Dunham pull away, both scorching the following 5 mile gravel road downhill (the only non-trail section of the course) at under 6 minutes per mile. Emerson had led the way, exhibiting one of the most unexpected phenomena in the sport. Specializing in fast-packing and long-range power-walking, Emerson was actually able to WALK away from a running Dunham (one of the world's top-ranked mountain runners), on the steepest uphills. The two were never more than two minutes apart, and at 44 miles Dunham had closed to within 30 seconds. But this was Emerson's turf and he was not to be denied, responding by pulling away to a close but secure victory over the last 6 miles of gnarly, rocky trail along the raging White River.
1 William Emerson M37 Redmond WA 6:58:14 8:22
2 Dave Dunham M37 Bradford MA 6:59:19 8:23
3 Clark Zeland M28 Lynchburg VA 7:07:56 8:34
4 Dennis Poolheco M40 Glendale AZ 7:17:17 8:45
5 Eric Clifton M43 Albuquerque NM 7:17:51 8:45
July of 1996 (30 years ago): Five races over this month, mixing it up on the roads and trails from 5k to 10 miles. I started with the Bridgton 4 on the Fourth - I led through a slow opening mile (4:52) then Rusty Snow took the lead for the climb to 2m (10:00/5:08). Rob Pierce, Dan Verrington, and I were a step or two behind. I took the lead on the downhill into 3 miles (14:54/4:54) with Rusty right on me. I tried to drop him on the final little uphill but couldn’t shake him loose. He flew by with 200 to go and won by 2 seconds (4:37 to 4:39 for our last miles).
1 M1934 Rusty Snow 26 M Watertown, MA 19:32 4:53
2 M1934 Dave Dunham 32 M Bradford, MA 19:34 4:54
3 M3539 Robert Pierce 35 M Alfred, ME 19:55 4:59
4 M1934 Sean Livingston 27 M Pawtucket, RI 19:59 5:00
5 M1934 Dan Verrington 34 M Bradford, MA 20:01 5:01
Four days later (July 8, 1996) Dan Verrington and I took on the Cranmore hill climb. This was one tough course with ¾ mile of flat running then 1,200’ of climb in the next 2.25 with four distinct tough climbs. Back then it was all run on the cat track with little (to no) downhill. Dan went with me for the first 1.5 then fell off the pace. I went on to set a new CR and took home a pair of snowshoes for the win. Those snowshoes are what got me interested in snowshoe racing, and I wore them when I won the first ever USA snowshoe national championships!
1 Dave Dunham 20:15 2 Dan Verrington 21:15
1 Craig Fram M3039 Plaistow, NH 25:05 5:01
2 Dave Dunham M3039 Bradford, MA 25:19 5:04
3 Richard Bolt M2029 Lunenburg, MA 26:39 5:20
On the 28th I headed up to Manchester Vermont for the Race for the Cure. I’m not sure why I did this race, but I was shooting for Eric Morse’s course record (1995-15:03). I took it out in 4:46 and was all alone from ½ mile in the field of over 4,000 (mostly walkers). I missed the CR by 3 seconds with a win in 15:06.
Two days later (07/30/96) I ran in the USATF NE 10 mile championships at Newburyport (Yankee Homecoming). It was only 65 degrees but very humid. I went with the second pack as Jerry Lawson, Art Smith and Abidi Bouazzo took off at the start. Craig Fram and I fronted the pack with CMS teammates Gary Gardner and Dan Verrington. We dropped some of the guys at 5 and Craig dropped me at 5.5, but I still thought I had a shot at sub-50 even as late as 8 miles…but wasn’t even close at the end as I ran out of gas.
1 48:45 Jerry Lawson 30 M3034 San Francisco, CA NIKE
2 48:59 Art Smith 28 M2529 Cambridge, MA
3 49:20 Abidi Bouazzo 25 M2529 New Paltz, NY
4 49:57 Craig Fram 37 M3539 Plaistow, NH CMS
5 50:23 Dave Dunham 32 M3034 Bradford, MA CMS
6 50:47 Gary Gardner 25 M2529 Keene, NH CMS
8 50:56 Eric Beauchesne 26 M2529 Chelmsford, MA BAA
12 51:41 Dan Verrington 34 M3034 Bradford, MA CMS 39 Bradford, MA
