Run For the Hills

Who: The Great Barrington Land Conservancy
What: The 3rd Annual Run For the Hills
When: Sunday, Oct 6, 2013
Where: Simon's Rock College in Great Barrington MA
Why: It's Becoming Something of a tradition now

The course was back to the loop from two years ago. Last years out and back course is out and my PR with it.
I enjoy being able to pick my own race in a run like this. After half a mile there were four guys spread out in front of me. Everyone else had disappeared from sight. Blue shirt, red shirt, white shirt, grey shirt. Four guys and a pretty wide age range, I thought.
The first mile nothing changed, there were some hills. The course takes a right turn onto a dirt road. The four guys were still there in the same order, maybe a little more spread out. I closed a little on an uphill. On the way down I heard two sets of feet right behind me. At the end of the dirt road the course takes another right turn and starts up a beastly hill. This is also the 2 mile mark.
By this time blue shirt had pulled away. The two sets of feet behind me turned out to be two women. One of them pulled ahead.
But then we came to the aforementioned beastly hill. I ran down white shirt and red shirt and I caught up to the woman who had just pulled ahead of me. (I can't remember her shirt color. It was light maybe pink?)
We raced for the next half a mile or more. Eventually I pulled away. By then the finish was almost in sight. I never lost track of grey shirt. He finished right ahead of me.
After the race we had a second breakfast before I got ready to head over to sunday masters swimming.

WAMDA 5k

Who: Western Area Massachusetts Dietetic Association
What: The 20th annual W.A.M.D.A. 5k walk/run
When: Saturday March 2nd 2013
Where: Look Park, Northampton, MA
Why: Because winter was almost over (not really)

I hadn't really been running because winter. But Wifey and I signed up for this race just the same. It was nice course. Pretty flat, two loops and then a little bit more. I didn't know how it would go since the only running I had done all winter was in occasional 15 minute sessions on the treadmill at the Y. I might have done some 30 minute sessions but I'm not sure.
On the course I couldn't keep up with wifey but I kept her in sight the whole time. I finished feeling great in 24:21 which is right in line with the races I ran this past summer and fall.
The next day I was running a fever. I spent the day on the couch barely able to move. This was not fun.

Running for the Hills

The day of the race was perfect. Perfect for a run any way. Gray and rainy a light, misty, cold rain. One that keeps you wet but doesn't completely soak you. Wifey and I arrived and picked up our numbers. We found out the course had changed since last year because of flood damage on one of the roads. I didn't know if the new course would be easier or harder. We got to the start and lined up with the rest of the runners. The course would be an out and back.
They gave us the airhorn and we were off. Wifey managed to start much faster than me. I got caught  up in the starting jumble. As the jumble sorted out I settled into my pace. I spotted wifey ahead of me and slowly caught up to her. I was trying very hard to hold my own pace and not get caught trying to race my wife. She has always been much faster than me.
Around the time wifey left me behind I caught up with our yoga instructor. I guess I should say one of our yoga instructors but he was the only one running this 5k. He stuck with me for a little while before falling in a few step s behind.
Considering the name of the race the course is not that bad. There is a noticeable hill around the one mile mark and the turnaround is at the top of another hill. I kept wifey in sight all the way to the turnaround. On the downhill after the turnaround a young girl just flew past me. She was barely more than half my height and I'm pretty sure she was taking longer strides on the way down the hill. I saw her catch up with wifey before disappearing from sight.
Sometimes I am amazed that the same stretch of road looks completely different in opposite directions. When I got to the 2 mile mark I had no idea what landmarks I should be looking for on the way to the finish. I only passed one person on the second half of the race. It was a younger guy. I figured he had gone out too fast. I still had wifey in sight ahead of me and my yoga teacher a little ways back. A few minutes after the 2 mile mark I came to the top of a hill where I could see the road stretched out in front of me. I could see about half a mile ahead at that spot. The finish was nowhere in sight. If I could have seen it from there I might have tried to pick up my pace. I don't know how that would have worked out but not seeing it was a little discouraging. It made me think I was misjudging the distance I had covered since the 2 mile mark.
So I just thought about my form. Let your knees pump, I thought, and keep your breathing easy. I felt pretty good. I just didn't know how much longer I could hold my pace. I ran through the whole stretch of road I had seen from that hill and just at the end of this long open bit there a was a little sign that said 3 miles. It's a good thing that little sign was there because the finish was hiding around the corner and I still couldn't see it.
I came around the corner running all out. Wifey was still just ahead of me. Sweat and the misty rain was in my eyes; I couldn't read the clock. Was it saying 28 something? That would be a disappointment. Slowly it came into focus. It wasn't reading 28 it was reading 23.
I caught up with wifey just a little ways past the finish line. I just ran a new 5k PR by nearly 3 minutes. I was delighted.
We stayed for the awards. Wifey got a Run for the Hills mug for winning her age group. Then we went for second breakfast.

Run for the Hills

So the open water swimming season is over. At least it is over in New England. I've probably finished my last outdoor swim until May.

But around here the fun never stops. So wifey and I signed up for a local 5k run.

Who: The Great Barrington Land Conservancy
What: 2nd Annual Run For the Hills
When: September 30 2012
Where: Simon's Rock in Great Barrington MA
Why: Because the fun never stops

I ran this race last year and set a PR at 26:25. This was a pretty big deal because my previous best was nearly ten years old.

Canaan Road Race

They claimed that this is a relatively flat course with one challenging hill. I think it would be fair to say that there are two. They are obviously talking about The Hill right after the 2 mile mark. And it is a serious hill. No messing around. But it only shows up at the very beginning of mile three. There is another hill. One that just pops up during mile 4. A hill that under other circumstances wouldn't be such a big deal. But I was trying not to fall off pace too much during mile 4 and so I really felt it. I was impressed with the pacing of my fellow runners. Pretty much everyone around me 1.5 miles into the race was still right around at the finish. I followed one couple for most of the race. They passed me just around the one mile mark and I didn't lose sight of them until they turned into the finish chute some 50 seconds ahead of me.
I finished with the palindromic time of 43:34. Which means a per mile pace of 8:43. I had this same per mile on the second fastest 5K I have ever run. I'm pretty pleased with my run and I'm hoping to build on this for a few more races late this summer and into fall.

5 mile Road race

Who: Northwest CT YMCA
What: Canaan Road Race
When: Sunday July 22nd
Where: Canaan CT
Why: To see

Even though there is still plenty of time for more swims this summer I decided to mix it up with a run. How can I resist? It's just down the road. This was a very fun race. Hopefully I can do it again.