Trials, Trails, wrong Turns and Turkeys: Blue Hills Trail Races (4/10/11)

Trials

Its 13 miles to Milton, we have a full tank of gas and full cup of coffee - HIT IT!

I definitely cut this one to the last minute. After hanging with Glenn and watching yesterday's Spurs-Stokke game with him for far too long - I had one hour 15 to get to Milton. I took Ajax Telemon and hurried down Mass Ave. My normal ride out to Milton would be down the Orange Line trail to Forest Hills and then thru Franklin Park. But when I got to Jackson Square I realized that was dumb since I can just ride the mile through Egglston and get to Franklin Park. Sure enough cut off a mile!

Made it in just enough time to get my number and stretch a bit. (better than the National Marathon.)


Trails
Race: Blue Hills Trail Races, Fox Trot 10 Miler
Location: Blue Hills, Milton
Goal Time: 1:30:00
Actual Time: 1:32:something

Last year I ran this exact same race. This year, however, I put this on the C level race. Sandwiched the weekend between the Dighton Rock 200K and the Voluntown 300K, I just wanted to get a workout. I figured 9 minute miles would be cool. They would have been!

Despite not living up to my own half hearted expectations, the race once again did. The Colonial Road Runners and their volunteers make these two races fantastic. (There is a concurrent 3 miler too - the "Bunny Hop"). They manage to make it both well organized AND low key.

I might do this one every year - regardless of fitness.


Wrong turns

En route back from the race, I rode straight up Blue Hill Ave to Franklin Park. I took a right only to ride RIGHT INTO the Doyles 5 mile race. I saw quite a few SRRs who were looking like they were running well - including Sarah who was one of the ones I'd seen yesterday on the Minuteman! (She probably thinks I'm stalking her runs now). Aaron Beer had a PR at Doyle's.



Turkeys

Saw an entire rafter of turkeys (I swear a flock of turkeys is a "rafter" - look it up; I had to).

The 2nd Annual Where the Hell Have You Been All Winter Ride (4/9/11)

Factory at the end of the Blue Heron Trail

Ride: Charles-Minuteman (West) Course
Distance: 53 Miles

It was the first beautiful Spring day of the year: perfect weather and a Saturday.

Thursday, I discovered a new trail. "Discovered" in the Columbian use of the term, that is. There were hundreds of people already using it, but I discovered it. The Great Blue Heron Trail runs from Watertown Square out to the Moody Street Dam in Waltham.

So, this morning when I worried whether I had the energy for the Cape Ann Lighthouse Arrow I planned, I decided to do my Charles Minuteman Ride that passes within 3 miles of my house three times.

From Central I headed all the way to the Moody Street Dam. The trail has boardwalk, asphalt, crushed gravel and dirt. It heads through the wooded Charles River Reservation. It is an absolutely gorgeous course.

Upper Charles East

After a jaunt around Fresh Pond and up and down the Minuteman (where I saw four SRR's on runs), I rode into town on the Boston side of the River. Oh my god, Where have all these people been this winter? I might prefer the river without people. By Mass Ave, I gave up and rode home.

Bloodied Black and Brevet: Dighton Rock 200Km Brevet (4/2/11)

Steve, me and Chuck after 11 hours on the road

Event: Dighton Rock 200km Brevet (124.7 Miles)
Location: Bedford, MA (Western and Southern Exurbs, Borderlands State Park, Dighton Rock State Park)
Goal Time: 11:30:00
Actual Time 11:00:00 (PR for 200km)

Okay, so it’s not an impressive PR: it was not as hilly as New England Randonneur’s usual 200km; and, I have a better bike this year. However, considering I didn’t train for it at all – it was fantastic.

Brevet is basically a timed bike ride. It lays somewhere between an average person doing a half-marathon and a cycling century. And, in order for it to “count” you have to do it in a specified amount of time. The 200Km’s time limit is 13½ hours.

By 5:45, I was on the road from Central Square heading the 14 miles to Hanscom Field. I would guess around 35 or so riders started the ride at 7:00 am.

I was still waking up when I had the drama of the ride. Under pressure going up a hill in Lincoln – TWANG!!! – my chain fell off. Crap! It’s not there. Unnngh, my chain BROKE!

Fortunately for me, the two people I was riding near – Steve and Chuck – were prepared. They had tools pieces and know-how. It was great to get rid of the drama that early!

After we had gone through Natick and Sherborne, we rode down a small bumpy road near the Easton, Sharon Town Line. As I swerved to avoid an archipelago of potholes, I tipped a bit of mud that made Ajax Telmon feel like it was on ice and WHAM! I was down on the ground!

My leg got trapped in the frame as I went down and there was a punch to my calf muscle. I got up stumbling around and trying to walk it out as my left hand bled through its road rash. Fortunately again Steve and Chuck were there to assist.

We were only 3 miles or so until the next controle (checkpoint) at Borderlands State Park. So, I figured I might as well at least ride to there. The problem was the 30-degree angle that my handlebars were at. I had to face toward the curb in order to keep the bike going straight!

My hand the next day

My leg a few days later

Controle 1 - Borderlands State Park

Within 10 minutes we were at the first control. Almost instantly I had some small tools and I had fixed both the handlebars and the break/shifters. In fact, it was so fast – I forgot to take a picture of Ajax Telemon broken.

We had a brief respite at Borderlands before the short jaunt to controle #2 – Dighton Rock State Park.

The course was almost an out and back. So after Dighton Rock, it was a turn-around. We stopped at Pizza Market in Taunton where I had a meatball sub for lunch.

The remainder of the ride was uneventful. By mile 100, I was pretty shot and got back to Hanscome on desire alone.

We pulled in right at 18:00 – making it exactly 11 hours. This beat my last year’s best by one hour and eight minutes.


After a rest at the finish, I was able to pull myself together to ride home over the Minuteman Trail and pull into Central Square and a chicken shawarma platter - 153 Miles on the day!

Peachtree Lottery: Update (3/28/11)

Email hot off the presses from the ATL:

Dear Jesse Morrow,

Congratulations! Your lottery entry was selected for the 2011 AJC Peachtree Road Race on July 4, 2011.

Hottime in Hotlanta!

National Marathon, Part II: “Shock and Awe” or Wow and Oww! (3/26/11)

Race: National Marathon
Location: Washington DC
Goal Time: 3:30:00
Finish Time: 3:53:12


If you’re interested in getting to the starting line see National Marathon, Part I. I just in no way wanted the crappiness of the Metro to contaminate the amazing work done by the planners, organizers and volunteers of the event itself!

Course

It’s tough to find a cooler course for a marathon (especially the first half). After the first mile down C and North Carolina, you spend the next mile run on closed to traffic East Capitol – straight at the Capitol building!

Just to list a few of the monuments in the first 17 miles:

US Capitol
National Archives
National Gallery
National History Museum
Washington Monument
World War II Memorial
Old Executive Office Building
DuPont Circle
Columbia Heights
Howard University
US Capital again
RFK
(The Half finishes)
US Capital again again
Smithsonian

While the next 9 are not near as exciting in views, the enthusiasm of the volunteers made up for it.


Volunteers & Spectators

Except for the guy who questioned why we were running because the only reason to run was to get away from the cops – the spectators and volunteers were wonderful.

The volunteers who manned the water stops were constantly full of energy cheering on people by number (either their bib number or mostly in my case “Number 21” for my Primetime jersey).

On the lonelier stretches of the second half at least two police officers were clapping for the marathoners.

The large group at Howard playing Boogie Down Productions out of the station wagon kept me light on my feet for another mile or so.

My cousin volunteered at the 13-mile water stop.

And I give a special thanks to the Friendship Charter School Drum Line who played at mile 23! They kept a lot of us going at that moment when we didn’t want to.

My Race

Maybe it was my negativity toward running a marathon in general (For a few weeks I’ve been saying this will be my last marathon for a while); maybe it was my misconception of my own ability; maybe it was not being able to stretch since I was trapped in the Metro station; maybe it was all three. But something kept me from running my best.

While I stayed in control over the first half of the race, but 16 I knew it was not my day and I just packed it in, trying to match my previous 3:45. Unfortunately not even that was to be and the last 10K, I slid out of contention for any of my goals as even the packing it in slowed me down.

Well, I have said it the past few weeks, this is my last marathon for a while. Maybe, I’ll try a fall one next year; we’ll see.

National Marathon, Part I : Oh, I hope I can make it to the Start line on Time (3/26/11)

6:00 – Columbia Heights Metro Station

I couldn’t get into the station via the door nearest my cousin’s house. I glanced across 14th Street and saw a large group of runners surrounding the Station entrance on that side. So, I jogged over. Almost immediately a T worker comes and opens the gates and about 20 of us in running gear with our numbers already on are running down the broken escalator. (Well, it’s not actually broken – the escalator is just temporarily stairs.)

The Metro came almost immediately and we all ran into the train to find yet more people in running garb.

At each stop, another 10-20 people in running garb get aboard the train.

6:15 – L’Efont Plaza Metro Station

Its off the Green Line and downstairs to the Blue/Orange Line. The next train sign, however, is ominous! 19 minutes. 19 minutes? That would put us into Stadium at 6:45 with only 15 minutes to find our place at the starting line and stretch! Aaaagh!

6:34 – L’Efont Plaza Metro Station

The station has been filling up with more and more runners as each Yellow or Green Line train disgorges its Compliment of Marathoners, Half Marathoners and Marathon relayers.
I have been talking to a trio from NYC who had lost the lottery for the NYC Half and were running the National instead.

The first Orange or Blue Line train rolls in. It is stuffed to the gills with runners; there is no way all of us can get on.

After 25-30% of the runners on the platform get aboard the train leaves.

6:35 – L’Efont Plaza Metro Station

The remainder of us get aboard a nearly completely empty second train – 1 minute later!

6:46 – Stadium-Armory Metro Station

Uh oh!

As we detrain one can see the ENTIRE PLATFORM filled side to side and halfway down with runners, trying to get out of the station!

DC’s Metro has a stupid system where you pay different prices for different trips. This requires that you put your fare card through the machine to get out. This means laving requires each person to wait to get permission from the computer before sliding through one of the eight turnstyles – assuming they all work.

6:50 – Stadium-Armory Metro Station

I am now within reaching distance of the stairs.

6:55 – Stadium Armory Metro Station

I am now at the top of the stairs; and of course, not all the turnstyles are working.

7:00 – Stadium Armory Metro Station

I am now outside, and I hear the national Anthem. I start hustling. I get around the corner and I hear the start. Now I am sprinting to get to the start line! AHHHHH!

7:03 – RFK Stadium

Got to my corral as it was leaving now en route to the starting line. (surely, the fact I have no time to stretch won’t hurt me later in the marathon.



I have no clue how the Metro possibly thought that getting about ¼ of the runners to the starting line could happen in the time they gave before it opened. I had timed it the day before – 25 minutes. I, however, didn’t account for the fact that I’d have to wait for the first Blue/Orange so long (my fault) or that it would take so long to leave the station (WMATA’s fault). I suggest to the Metro

a) Open at 5:30, Not 6:00;
b) Leave the gates at Stadium Metro open for those two hours; or,
c) BOTH.

Lottery for the Peachtree

For Bostonians not familiar with the Peachtree Road Race, it’s Atlanta’s Marathon. Yes, Atlanta does have a 26.2 mile race (it’s this coming weekend I think). But, “the Peachtree” is THE Race.

It’s the Fourth of July and everybody gets up early and starts getting drunk lining Peachtree Street.

When somebody starts running in Atlanta, their goal is the Peachtree.

It’s been the US 10K Championship several times and always attracts the Elite level runners.

The Peachtree Road Race T-Shirt actually carries a bit of cache in Atlanta.

I have run the race twice. Both times I finished in around an hour. My 1986 time (I was 12) of around 58 minutes was my PR for the 10K until last year’s Bridge of Flowers race.

Last year I looked into running it for the third time, only to find out I missed the date. This year they started a lottery for entry and well, I've entered the lottery for lottery.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/peachtree-road-race/