Last night was Somerville Road Runners big year end bash. I was awarded the club's much coveted "Steve Burton Most Improved Runner Award." So that will officially wrap up 2012 and my great season. My top achievements (pictured) are:
Race: Run Your Hangover Off 5 Miler
Location: Woburn, MA
Goal Time: 32:30
Actual Time: 33:32
It's a tradition in Japan to write poetry for New Years'. So I present:
5 Tough Miles: a Haibun
The cold stings like ice knives upon my naked legs. Breathing like a walrus in a flack jacket I attempt to pretend to follow the conversation Neil is holding. And with a little first mile group I go toward the inevitable failure of the race.
Oh, it's downhill and
I run like Hermes; but, it
cannot last this way.
Rollers Neil promised begin as mile two commences. But a hill too steep for such a nomenclature awaits. My first mile group - Andy, Megan and Neil fly away like eagles late for appointments on a mountainside aerie. (Greg only steadily opens up his gap on me).
Hills are not rollers;
Indeed, like Everestt or Fuji
they appear to me.
Third mile is but a desperate heave. Through the suburban streets I weave. Each lawn is a mini-treeless tundra sleeping below a New Year's blanket of snow.
Momentarily I forgot, the hills of travail the want of trails. Here upon Horne Pond I once rode, lost among the memories and streets of long ago. There's a beautiful trail that wraps the pond in easy jaunt. But to the shores we do not go - another hill instead.
Here at mile four
Many feet above the shore;
don't want to run no more -
800 meters before the end, I was promised but one hill left to tend. I tried to save myself on the rise so that down I could surprise Aharon and pass him just in time to cross that finish line.
I didn't.
Finally that is done
New Years' race and nothing done
Now, I'll get a beer.
"Even though time keeps a changing, I'm a bring it all back home" ~ Chuck D.
In the
turn with about 150 yards to go, I opened it up to full throttle. I
knew the two guys behind me had really good kicks and it would be all
it took to beat them. The slow building sprint that I had started was
all out now. Every step in my life had led to this moment. This was
the culmination. I held on as Hector and I each opened on Chucky and
the previous 10 minutes of lead were not wasted as I just out ran
Hector the whole way. Immediately the Herald reporter was asking me questions and I was handed a first place medal (and a fifth place medal for the shotput)...
That was of
course the last time I was on this track: 20 years ago at the Boston
City High School Championships. Instead this was the BAA Half Marathon in October. My club was in charge of handing out
finisher medals. So as I came across the line, Urvi emerged from
the pack. She gave me my finisher medal and a kiss. And there I got
to unite another place with another shared memory with her.
"We came a long way baby, you know its amazing." ~ Chuck D
As 2012 began I had my biggest hope for a season since 1992. A good Mill Cities in 2011, really created the feeling of victory after 20 years of sloughing through and not making my running a big deal.
I didn't have long to wait for 2012 as the Hangover Classic was January 1st. An eight minute PR in the 10K and jump into the ocean through me into what was going to be a great year.
But, this had only been the training for my big goal - Providence Marathon. January and February saw four races with two Personal Records (and two distances I'd never run.) With a 18:45 at the Super 5k and a 1:29:30 at the Hyannis Half Marathon, I felt for the first time I was racing near the caliber I had been in 1992. March was a fast 5k, fast half marathon and a victory in the Black Cat Relay ("Take that Salem Fire," ~ St. Anthony of Jersey).
Leading up to Providence, I prepped with yet another PR in the Half Marathon in a return to Great Bay. Then hurt my chances at reaching my goals with an hour of trampoline dodgeball one week before. Yet, Providence was still a 31 minute PR in the Marathon and put me at the verge of qualifying for Boston.
"Consciousness went from platinum and shrunk down to gold." ~ Chuck D.
Indeed, in 1992, I had been ready to continue my athletic career. But, of course, took the easy way out with club Rugby, rejecting the work of Varsity Football or track. It wasn't until 2004 that I even tried to run a race again. And it still took 5 years of spits and starts to even make that. The 2009 Maine Half Marathon will be the race I remember as the watershed. From there on there was no returning to the old days. Providence, however, will be the culmination of that. 2 and a half years of work finally placed me back in the ranks of "athlete."
I kept using my rank as athlete to over-race May and June. While July and August were preparation for the too-soon but still rewarding Climb to the Clouds bike Century and Reykjavik Marathon.
"Twenty years, it's been a long and whining road." ~ Chuck D.
So, while the rest of the year was witness to a slow down in training and at a level slightly below the first half of the year with the smattering of challenges - e.g., Halftoberfest - it still was at a level of achievement higher than I had since that fateful year of 1992. And, I'm ready to never again: take time for granted.
"Tomorrow's a long time... and still we rock on." ~ Chuck D.
Obligatory list of highlights below (feel free to ignore):
Personal Records (and time faster than pre-2012):
Adult 1 mile - Mass Ave Mile, 5:33 - 1 second PR
3 Mile - Paddy's Road Race, 18:43 - 4:34 PR
5k - Super 5K, 18:46 - 2:33 PR
4 Mile - Gobble^3, 25:56 - 5:28 PR
Casey's - 25:44 - 2:08 PR
Khoury's - 28:13 - 35 second PR
7k - Run the Goose, 29:37 - 3:39 PR
5 Mile - Doyle's, 31:19 - 6:06 PR
10K - Hangover Classic, 39:29 - 8:17 PR
15K - Boilermaker, 1:06:07 - 7:05 PR
10 Mile - Yankee Homecoming, 1:08:38 - 17:36 PR
Half Marathon - Great Bay Half Marathon, 1:27:21 - 10:21 PR
Race: Jingle Bell Run
Location: Somerville, MA
Goal Time: 19:00
Actual Time: 19:54 (2nd Open Clydesdales)
Well, 2012 ends, In the words of TS Eliot: "Not with a bang but a whimper."
I had put so much into this race, targeting it as the big race of the end of the year. Finishing 54 seconds behind my goal and 9 seconds behind where I was this time last year has just really called into question my ability for the coming year...
It was our second year running as the Kings of Beer. Last year each of us had hit the cusp of great training seasons and were using this as the first race of a great 2012 season. This year, it came on a low point in training. Marc and Dan just finished Philly two weeks before and Aaron, Seth and I were just coming off the layoff from long training seasons. We still had fun.
SRR Shoutouts -
Mens: Open (That Escalated Quickly), 1st; Masters (Master Blasters), 3rd
Women's: Open (En Fuego), 1st
Coed: Open (Nuke to a Gun Fight) 3rd; Masters (Masters of the Universe), 3rd; Seniors (Cooney's Flying Circus) 2nd.
