This weekend had me returning to the USATF New England Grand Prix. Over the years I’ve competed in 141 of the GP races. Each of the races is designated as the New England championships at that distance. This would be the first time that USATF New England had a 1 mile road championship! There was no way I was going to miss this historic opportunity. Unfortunately, my knee has kept me from being in the kind of shape I’d like to be (fast). I did throw in a little (very little) workout a few days prior to get a bit of leg turnover. Racing a mile was going to be a major shock. The day before the race an email went out that due to the number of entrants the men’s 40+ race would be broken out to a 40-59 race and a 60+ race. That really changed the dynamic for me. I was a bit worried about how packed the course would be with 150 of us all sprinting out. Now I figured I’d be competing for an overall win! As if the pressure wasn’t already on with racing a distance that was way out of my comfort zone. They also moved our start time to 11 a.m. which isn’t exactly ideal for me (8 or 9 a.m. at the latest). At least weather wouldn’t be a major issue since it was only a mile.
Race morning was already quite warm when I headed out at 5:30 a.m. to loosen up with a few miles. Then it was a matter of killing time until I picked up teammate Dave Lapierre at 8:30. That got us to Hopkinton very early for our start time but with some time to check out the course, catch up with friends/competitors, and even cheer on some in the earlier races. We got in an easy 3 mile run part on the course and part on the nice ¾ mile long “Center Trail” which was a nice shaded path with a smooth surface. After a quick change into race gear there was just enough time to put in another mile with some strides to really get the heart pumping. Our heat had 48 runners from age 60-90 and everyone had a number on their back corresponding to their 5-year-age-group. That is always helpful in masters competition, although I want to beat EVERYONE I’m definitely more focused on guys in my age group. My goal today was to stick with Charlie Bemis for as long as possible, I figured he and Constantino Rago (BAA) would be the main competition. I was also hoping to run under 5:40. I got off the start line well and was in the lead for the first 100 or so, then Charlie pulled alongside and we ran together through the first ¼ mile. Constantino was right there and as Charlie put a step or two on me he moved up and we were in a line going through the ½ mile turn. It was quick (2:45) but that could be credited to the steady downhill. It was only 36’ of difference but enough to boost that first half-mile time and really slow the second half! I felt like I was going all out as Charlie began to pull away and with ¼ to go Constantino was also pulling away. The crowd on the side of the road was fantastic shouting encouragement and although I didn’t look I heard Emer, Leslie P, and even college teammate Jason C giving me a shout. I ended up missing my goal by 4 seconds with a time of 5:43.9 but can’t complain about a “podium finish”. Dave La narrowly missed breaking 6 minutes taking 7th place and Gary Cattarin took 11th to round out our team scoring. We ended up with a win, six seconds ahead of Whirlaway!
Pl Time Name City St Team
1 5:32 Charlie Bemis M61 Derry, NH Whirlaway Racing Team
2 5:38 Constantino Rago M62 Boxford, MA Boston Athletic Association
3 5:44 Dave Dunham M60 Bradford, MA Central Mass Striders
4 5:50 Norm Larson M68 Burlington, VT Green Mountain Athletic Assoc
5 5:58 Peter Cannon M60 E Greenwich, RI Tracksmith Boston Hares
6 5:59 Kaz Naganuma M61 Cambridge, MA Somerville Road Runners
7 6:01 David Lapierre M60 Chelmsford, MA Central Mass Striders
8 6:03 Stephen Yankum M71 Lincoln, MA Cambridge Sports Union
9 6:04 Richard Jordan M61 Marblehead, MA Notch Run Club
10 6:04 Tom Amend M68 Gloucester, MA New England 65+Runners Club
11 6:09 Gary Cattarin M61 Marlborough, MA Central Mass Striders
12 6:09 Paul McGovern M64 Methuen, MA Whirlaway Racing Team
No comments:
Post a Comment