The Millennium Mile was the only race I could find to start the new year. There weren't many options to race due to the pandemic. I did a short track workout on the Monday before with the hope that'd give me some confidence. I'd seeded myself at 5:15 figuring I was in 5:30 or better shape on a flat course and also assuming the drop would give me 10-15 seconds. I was a bit surprised that when bib numbers came out, I was 53, but was 5th 50+. With the time trial start two runners would (separately) start every 10 seconds. I was happy to get to start with longtime rival Mike Slinskey. I did an easy 4m run early in the morn as the race wasn't until noon. I felt lousy and was very nervous all morning. Fifty minutes before the start I went out for a 3 mile warm-up with teammates Scott Grandfield and Adam Malek. It was nice to have some company.
Malek, Grandfield, and me With Mike Slinskey
We checked out the NEW course. Due to restrictions from the town of Londonderry the course went down the hill to the north rather than the traditional course to the south. It meant a steadier drop but about 10' less of downhill and a somewhat tough last 1/4 mile with 10' of climb. I got over to the start corral as the first runner headed out. With the 10 second gaps it'd be 4+ minutes until I started, so the first guy would already be done! I never saw Mike as he was a bit slower at the start, but I did see the 10 year old girl who started in front of me and set my sights on her. I got her just before the 1/2 mile (2:26). My final split was an 80 second ¼ (with the slight uphill) for a 5:01.7. Wow, way faster than I hoped for! I ended up 3rd in the 55-59 which was very competitive this year.
50+ Results
1 4:49.7 Peter Kashulines M57
2 4:55.3 Scott Grandfield M55
3 4:58.9 Michael McGrane M50
4 5:01.7 Dave Dunham M56
5 5:07.0 Rich Marion M59
6 5:27.8 Kevin Elwood M53
7 5:31.5 Michael Slinskey M51
8 5:38.3 James Miller M59
9 5:41.2 David Audet M55
10 5:45.2 Dave Beliveau M52
Photos from the start and finish respectively
I got together with my CMS teammates and headed back up the course. Mike Slinskey then joined us for a nice 4 mile warm-down. It was a great way to kick off the new year! Thanks to John Mortimer and Millennium running!
I jumped the gun a bit at the start, going between the countdown clock getting to zero and the announcer shouting “go”. That doesn’t matter too much as everything is chip timed and your official results are the time from the start mat to the finish mat. Mark flew by me 100 meters in and I struggled to go with him. Suddenly at ¼ mile he pulled up and stopped on the side of the road. I’d find out after he was lightheaded and dizzy. He was able to jump back in and finish but any chance of tucking in behind him into the wind were gone. I caught Casey Carroll (who’d beaten me by 18 seconds at the Millennium Mile) a little after the 2 mile mark. We worked the 30’ hill together and then I was surprised to lose him on the downhill. I turned onto route 101 and the wind was a gentle push which felt great (my last ½ mile was 2:43). I was worried the entire race that Dan was stalking me, so I gave all I had and was quite pleased with the result (17:38.9). I won the 50+ and beat all 40+ as well. Dan took second in the 50+ running 18:52. The course came out a little short with most getting 3.05 on GPS. That would still get me under 18 (about 17:56) so no complaints.
Pl Time Name Gen Age Place Div Bib#
1 15:05.8 Jarrod Ottman M 22 MOPEN 1 101
2 15:19.2 Evan Thornton M 16 MOPEN 2 102
3 16:05.6 Conor Sleith M 34 MOPEN 3 106
4 16:19.4 Mark Rabasco M 26 M25-29 1 104
5 16:20.8 Thom Paquette M 29 M25-29 2 105
6 16:21.4 Cameron Cook M 26 M25-29 3 103
7 16:49.0 Corey Girard M 38 M35-39 1 107
8 17:11.4 Ian Post M 16 M13-19 1 110
9 17:38.1 Brandn Langdon M 20 M20-24 1 118
10 17:38.9 Dave Dunham M 56 M55-59 1 113
13 18:08.7 Casey Carroll M 49 M45-49 1 112
14 18:12.0 Rachel Hurley F 20 FOPEN 1 132
16 18:21.7 Maddy Pfeifer F 26 FOPEN 2 122
19 18:35.6 Mark Laprade M 48 M45-49 2 114
24 18:42.2 Tyler Brannen M 48 M45-49 3 125
27 18:52.8 Dan Verrington M 58 M55-59 2 123
Start Finish
I signed up for the “Hopkinton NH Winter Series 5k” a three week series of 5k’s over a five week period. Week one had temps were around 15 degrees and the wind was a steady 15 mph with gusts in the 30’s. As with other races this year, this would be a time-trial start based on your predicted time. I had entered at 5:50 pace (18:06 5k) and was surprised to see that I had bib #1. There would be 5 seconds between each starter, so hopefully I’d be running the entire race on my own. With the out/back course I would however get to see my competition at the ½ way point.
Jim Angell had bib #2 and we had some good battles in the 2019 CARS races. I was happy that there would be competition but nervous about being out in front and getting tracked down. I had checked out the course on mapmyrun and knew the turn would be a little before the powerlines. I was a bit surprised when I got there, I found no indication that we’d turn. When I got back, I let the Millennium guys know that there was no turn marker (they were just timing and not really in charge of that, but they knew that there would be someone at the turn, so I was not worried).
I felt uncomfortable and my form was all over the place, weird, I was telling my legs what to do by they weren’t listening. I hit the mile in 5:54 which was a little slower than I’d hoped. At 1.25 the road turned to dirt (and we had a tough couple of little hills), the road was slick with icy spots. My watch beeped at 1.5 miles and I focused ahead looking for the person at the turn. I got to the spot I’d turned during my warm-up (1.55 miles) and no one was in sight. Hmmmm, maybe my watch is off a bit or maybe it’ll be a slightly long 5k was my thought. I figured I’d go another .1 and see what was what. I ended up going to 1.75 miles (10:28) and knew I was well beyond the correct turn (and I still didn’t see anyone up ahead). I decided to head back. Soon after Jim came into sight and I let him know that we were past the turn and he should turn. I told the next 4 or 5 guys the same thing then just worked on saving my breath. My hope was that others would spread the work. I pushed on through a 6:01 second mile which was okay considering the hills and the less than ideal footing. My third mile was 5:51 and I could imagine that Jim was closing on me, so I did not let up. My last half-mile was my quickest at 2:46 (plus a few seconds that I was over being exactly 3.5). I crossed the line in 20:39.8 which was 5:52 pace for 3.52 miles. Jim cruised in 45 seconds later and third place was an additional 57 seconds back. I’d gotten my first win of the year! In all 42 finished the race with people running anywhere from 3.1 miles to 4 miles.
Place Time Name Gen Age City, St Div Div Pl Bib #
1 20:40 Dave Dunham M 56 Bradford, MA MOPEN 1 1
2 21:25 Jim Angell M 56 Hopkinton, NH MOPEN 2 2
3 22:22 Eli Lemire M 14 Weare, NH MOPEN 3 3
4 23:44 Scott Lemire M 43 Weare, NH M40-49 1 5
5 23:47 Michael Popham M 39 Bedford, NH M30-39 1 8
6 24:15 David Audet M 55 Concord, NH M50-59 1 4
7 24:16 Sarah Galligan F 34 Concord, NH FOPEN 1 13
8 24:25 Katy Magoon-Fredett F 35 Hopkinton, NH FOPEN 2 9
9 25:13 Ellen Raffio F 52 Bow, NH FOPEN 3 10
10 25:19 Beth Connolly F 38 Manchstr, NH F30-39 1 12
I hadn’t done a snowshoe race in a few years as my arthritic ankles just don’t like the unsteady footing and additional strain. I decided to give it a go anyway when I heard about the Delta Dental Snowshoe series. I signed up for the three race series that would be held “snow or no – we go!”. The first race at Broken Ground trail in Concord would be a non-snowshoe race. Most would do two loops but you could opt for the one loop race. The course was definitely tough with 130’ of climb in the first mile then mostly down or flat the second mile (and .25 or so to the finish). There was a mix of dirt trail, snow, and about ½ mile (per loop) of very icy footing. I wore kahtoolahs and felt pretty comfortable except on the sharp turns with ice and some of the icy downhill parts.
I jogged over to the line and was surprised to see CMS teammate Steve Brightman and then Jim Boule (acidotic racing). Both are super-fast and also in the 50+ age group. This was going to be tough. We were joined at the ‘fast’ starters line by Kevin Crowley, another fast guy who usually beats me by about a minute in a 5k. The capped field of 50 runners shot off in a flash. Steve was out of sight by ¼ mile into the race. Kevin went by about a minute into the race and headed off after Steve. I wouldn’t see either of them again. Footsteps right behind me let me know that Jim was on my tail. He would stay right there for the first loop. I hit the end of the first lap in 15:20 and it took me another 55 seconds to get to the point we’d started at. I upped the tempo as best I could and slowly heard the footsteps behind me fade. I was a bit surprised afterward to find I’d run a negative split (second loop faster than the first) with a 15:04 for my second lap. I held on for third place and even closed a little on Kevin as Jim kept it close coming in 29 seconds after me
Delta Dental Snowshoe Series Race #1 Concord, NH - January 30, 2021 4.56 Miles
28 finishers (plus 12 in the one lap).
Place Time Pace Name Team Age Sex Bib City St
1 29:03 6:37 Steve Brightman CMS 52 M 7 Providence RI
2 30:35 6:58 Kevin Crowley ST 35 M 16 Concord NH
3 31:15 7:07 Dave Dunham GSRT 56 M 20 Bradford MA
4 31:44 7:13 Jim Boule aR 53 M 6 Campton NH
5 33:29 7:37 Amanda Quinlan 32 F 46 Manchester NH
6 34:02 7:45 Daniel Keller WMM 45 M 27 Concord NH
7 37:13 8:28 Ryleigh Lorimer 25 F 30 Northwood NH
8 37:18 8:29 Brian Rossignol 57 M 50 Hopkinton NH
9 38:18 8:43 Jeff Litchfield 61 M 56 Concord NH
10 39:19 8:57 Ellen Raffio 52 F 47 Bow NH
No comments:
Post a Comment