Champlain Campaign: GMAA Labor Day 15K (8/31/14)

Seth and I on a tandem
photo by Urvi

Event: GMAA Labor Day 15K
Location: South Burlington, VT
Goal Time: 1:02:30
Actual Time: 1:04:49 (PR!)

Off to the race: Me, Deb, CA and Joe
photo by Urvi

Later when discussing the wind, Joe told me that I shouldn't worry about it and just duck in with other groups and hide in the wind.  Unfortunately this is actually a problem when you are reasonably fast for someone who is 6'3", 215 lbs.  Usually there isn't anyone to hide behind.  So, I had to work even in the easy three miles at the beginning of the race...

The GMAA Labor Day 15K was the fifth race in the USATF-NE Grand Prix this year.  Four hours from Boston, it is about the least convenient race for us on the schedule; Of course it must be annoying for Vermonters to have to go to Eastern Mass and Southern NH all the time so, I'm okay with it.  In fact we decided to make a trip of it.  Deb and I reserved 6 campsites the second the reservations were open back in April.  By Saturday there were 20 people and 11 tents filling up the North Beach Campground.

Four of us jogged from the Campground to South Burlington.  The starting line was about 3/4 of a mile from the High School.  We jogged further to get there. Chris Smith had told me that the end of the race was to run up the hill on Dorset Street to the High School. Oh Boy, I thought.  I never do well with hills at the end of a race especially ones that are that steep!

I had good first 3 miles.  Mark and I managed to stay in control and not go out too fast.

Mark and I right after mile 2
photo by Tom Cole

The fourth mile was the selector for everyone.  It was all up hill; so, it was slow.  This put everyone who was racing into three camps: 1) "That was the tough mile and I did okay, so time to get back to racing"; 2) "Crap I ran that mile too slow, now I have to run really fast"; and, 3) "Well, I'm not having a good race; I'll slow down and save my self for another day." Culla, who was taking the race as a tempo run, enjoyed watching each of these groups.  I fell into camp 1.  But the humidity, made me look like I was in camp 3.  It was sneaky humid, since the temperature was lower than 70.

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I spent the next 4 miles running slower than I wanted but still putting in the effort I wanted.  I figured, I couldn't do anymore than I could do.  Briefly I had the idea of catching up with Mariah - very briefly.

Seth - hamming it up for Tom

You crest the last tough hill right before the 8 mile mark.  Then you can charge down to the 9 mile mark - saving some energy for the tough uphill on Dorset street.  The last turn was being manned by the impromptu volunteers of SoRad and Karen who had realized they needed to direct people who were getting confused. I hit the 9 mile mark and realized we weren't doing the Dorset Street hill, but a much easier one - YES!  So, I had the double advantage of being prepared for a tough hill AND not running it!  I had plenty of energy to redline it up the hill and into the parking lot for a 1 minute and a half PR.

With 4th in the race, my math puts SRR Masters team right off the podium with two races (Lone Gull 10K and Manchester City Marathon) left.

Scenes from the Weekend

Deb and I setting up Camp Morrow-Mujumdar

Me and Steve Siracha with Hill Farmstead and Heady Topper
photo by Deb

Neil ready to ride away

Shark Tank, Scott, Neil, CA and Urvi

Around the Campfire

Scott and Julie watch as I try out the kayak
photo by Shark Tank

Criterium in downtown Burlington

Brian and Alex off on their romantic cruise of Lake Champlain

The Tao of Hill Running: Bow Lake Dam (6/15/13)

Race: Bow Lake Dam 15k
Location: Stafford, NH
Goal Time: 1:05:30
Actual Time: 1:09:07

START

The journey of a thousand li
begins with a single step
~ Lao Tzu

So does a race of 15k.  Daunting it may seem to look upon a journey across 9.3 miles of hills in New Hampshire.  Yet, easy is the path once the journey begins.

MILES 1-4

If a man is crossing a river 

And an empty boat collides with his own skiff, 

Even though he be a bad-tempered man 

He will not become very angry. 

But if he sees a man in the boat, 

He will shout at him to steer clear. 

If the shout is not heard, he will shout again, 

And yet again, and begin cursing. 

And all because there is somebody in the boat. 

Yet if the boat were empty. 

He would not be shouting, and not angry.

~ Zhuangzi

To race when not ready to race is like being a full boat.  One is trapped with others racing.  One is thought to be pacing off others when one is not. One puts themselves into the uncomfortable places that one must be ready for.  As Master Sam once said of a hockey game: "Having the puck is like being a magnet for animosity."  If one has not trained for the full boat or the animosity, one cannot be ready.

MILES 5-6

Nature does not hurry
Yet everything is accomplished
~Lao Tzu

Hills are but nature.  One cannot hate hills like one cannot hate water or the Sun or the moon.  Without great hills there are no great valleys.  The greatest hills when you are an empty boat are to be taken without hurry.

MILES 7-9

 I knew not whether the wind was riding on me or I on the wind
~ Lieh Tzu

As nature's hills become heaven's valleys one may be tricked into expansion of effort.  Action through non-action (wu-wei) means not more action through some action.  Gravity is Heaven's pull still no hurry, yet increased action.

MILES 9-9.3

Pounding a blade and sharpening it
Cannot be kept for long
~ Lao Tzu

Indeed the increased effort of ill-trained "sprinting" cannot be held.  What energy is left can be thrown but at the end a last.  Sprints to the end... Sprints to the end.... in the way of the sages.

Boiling in Utica: Boilermaker 15K (7/8/12)

BIG 20

Race: Boilermaker 15K
Location: Utica, NY
Goal Time: 1:02:45
Actual Time: 1:06:07  (PR!!)

This was not my best race.

However, the race is fun!  It's like joining a Pub Series race with the party at the end with a big city race.

14,000 runners with 6,000 volunteers and the people of Utica packed onto the streets to cheer everybody from the world class runners to the next door neighbor.

I'd definitely put this on the bucket list...