Run to Win

The L/A Bridge Run was this morning, concluding the 1^st Annual Lewiston/Auburn Triple Crown racing series. Conditions for the race were favorable, with temperatures in the low 60s, overcast skies, and only a very light breeze albeit with a bit of humidity mixed in.

Ethan Hemphill returned again this year to claim the victory, splitting the distance between his performances from the last two years to finish in 15:29, 20 seconds ahead of Nicholas Wheeler. The race was a little closer on the women’s side, where Lauren LaRoche’s 18:40 was only 15 seconds ahead of Tina Meserve.

There were a few guys that went out for the cameras at the beginning of the race but who quickly faded (all but one not even making it to the bridge before falling back,) but a lead pack of 5 runners quickly formed and put a little distance on the field after going through the first kilometer in 3:05.

Towards the end of the second kilometer, I was behind the pack which had whittled down to 3 guys with a few others starting to string themselves out. I ran it in 3:12, slower than I wanted to go but still on pace.

Everything fell apart by 3k, though and I barely managed to hang on for the rest of the race. I got passed by a few guys and finished in 6^th place overall with a time that was at least 45 seconds too slow. Most of the people that I spoke to felt that they had all run slower than they thought they would going into the day, but that is small consolation.

I did secure a 3^rd place finish in the Triple Crown Series, however.

Here were the final standings for the 3 races:

(Full Results - Triple Crown Results - Photo Credit: Erin Moore - Penta Photos: 1, 2, 3 - DCY: Photos & Video)

There are a lot of prizes up for grabs tomorrow morning at the L/A Bridge Run, the 3^rd and final triple crown race for this summer in Auburn. The series began with the L/A YMCA Fit Fest in June and continued with Emily’s Run at the end of July. If you have already run both races, then you should definitely go to tomorrow’s Bridge Run because not only are there prizes for the top 3 overall in the 3 race series, but there are also prizes for the top 2 in each age category. If you did not run in both of the races, there are still all of the normal prizes for the Bridge Run itself.

This list here is not at all official or definitive, just me trying to figure out who the top people are. It is shaping up to be a tight race for 3^rd place in the men’s race, which I can hopefully carry through given that my goal time would have gotten me 3^rd at the Fit Fest and would have won at Emily’s Run.

The race for 3^rd is pretty tight in the women’s race as well, although with fewer runners vying for the spot.

(More Info: Greater L/A Triple Crown)

I felt pretty strong in the last few hundred yards. I waved for the crowd, got them pumped up when my name was announced over the intercom, and hammed it up as I sprinted in. And by sprinting in, I mean picking up the pace a little bit over what I had been running. It is an uphill finish, after all.

The Finish Line

After I passed the bulldog mascot and got into the finisher’s chute, I hung out near the finish line area to congratulate all of the runners that came in after me that I had passed over the last few miles. I was waiting for the marine and for Paul to finish running so that I could chat with them.

A Navy runner finished and had a little trouble after passing over the line, so a couple of marines put his arms over their shoulders and walked him over the medical tent. He was in heaven. “First I run a marathon,” he said, “and then I get escorted around by a couple of lovely ladies.” They just smiled and kept leading him away.
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I was about 4 people away from the starting line when the gun went off.

It took all of about 1 second for me to cross over the line. My goal was to run between 2:40:00 and 2:45:00, and I was hoping to be at 2:45:00 pace halfway through and then run negative splits. Any sort of a PR would make my slowest goal, so I needed to run faster than 2:51:37 at the very worst.

Mile 1: 7:37 / 7:37 (+1:19)
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I am not a big fan of traveling, and getting down to Virginia this past weekend has not made me a fan of it. The only flight that was on time was the one that left Portland for JFK. I’ll leave it at that.

When we arrived in DC, it was raining pretty hard. We met up with my friend, went back to his place, and had a great dinner that him and his wife prepared for us. We did not even bother trying to get to the expo since the plane had been late getting in.

The rain had not let up the next morning when we went into town, but we got to the Armory just after they opened the doors so we did not have to wait out in the rain for very long. The whole packet pickup situation left a bit to be desired though. “There’s a right way, there’s a wrong way, and there’s the marine corps way,” to bastardize the popular saying.
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Photo by David Colby Young
Photo #68 of 124The Elliot Festival Day 5k was this morning in Elliot, Maine. There were 683 finishers this year, including Kay West (pictured right) who finished below the USATF age group guidelines time in 1:28:53; she was the oldest finisher at 97 years of age!

The weather conditions were near perfect for running, with clear skies and cool temperatures in the mid-60s. The course is slightly aided with about 5 feet of total elevation loss.

Ethan Hemphill did not face the stiff competition that he had last year, but bettered his time to win the race in 15:08. There were 20 finishers under 17 minutes, when Mariko Holbrook came in to win the women’s race by a healthy 26 seconds.

Team results for this race are based upon an age and sex graded time, so despite winning the race Ethan did not even score to help Dirigo in their almost 2 minute win over Whirlaway Racing. The age graded times of Tom Ryan, Mike Payson, and Pete Bottomley were all faster than Whirlaway’s first runner.

Dirigo had a good showing at the race; my time was not even fast enough to make it into the team results. I failed to meet my goal of running under 16 minutes. I was right on pace through 2 kilometers (6:24) but wound up running at about the same pace as I have for most of this season. My 16:37 was a 1 second season PR.

In a reversal of last year specifically, and just about any race with a downhill finish generally, I managed to out sprint TJ Hesler by about 4 seconds coming into the finish line. I did not manage to keep up with Chris Gatchell, who ran a personal best 16:16 (congratulations!)

(Full Results - Team Results - Race Photos: Set 1 - Set 2 - Set 3)

This week last year was pretty busy, with a lot of racing notes and sports news. More interestingly:

• I made the front page of the local newspaper with a tiny picture pointing to an article inside the paper. The article itself gave me a huge picture, even though the article really had nothing to do with me and only included a few quotes. I will take what I can get, though; it was a great picture!
• I related a story that pointed out how easy it is to make new friends while you are running. Introducing yourself and running a few miles with someone won’t hurt, and you could end up with a new training partner or at least some company for a short while. This was how I met my wife.
• A training schedule is a very important piece of the puzzle that will help you reach your goals. A flexible training schedule is even more important. Recognizing your limitations and working around them can keep you on schedule fitness wise even when the official schedule calls for something else. My strategy worked, and I ran exactly what I wanted in New York City.
• I tend not to take drugs when I can avoid it. I do not trust doctors and except for migraines I usually choose to just wait things out. One of the reasons that I avoid drugs is because it can be easy to overdose on painkillers by accident, especially if you mix drugs and are not aware of how they will interact.
• I ran the Eliot 5k for the first time; this year’s race is in a few hours and this year team competition has returned! Here’s to going under 16 minutes and winning some money this year!
• This week two years ago, I discussed DNA tests that determine what sports you may have better success at than others. I also discussed running through illnesses and a good swiss ball routine.

This week last year was a busy one, with various news related posts and race results.

• The Back Cove 5k Race Series finished up, with Mike Caiazzo and Lindsey Davis taking the series honors. I won the last race, and placed 3^rd overall. This year, I bettered my average time by about a half of a minute, but none of the other top 5 ran this year other than Mark Goettel and he only ran a few of the races.
• The Portland Trails 10k was this weekend last year and was won by Mike Slinsky in 32:38, almost four minutes ahead of me. I got caught in the one place on the course that traffic could stop you by a guy with a moving trailer that wouldn’t get out of the way fast enough. Christin Doneski won the women’s race. The race this year is tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m., although I am not sure how they are going to handle trail closures.
• I added on to my icing series from a few months earlier by explaining how to ice sensitive areas on your body such as your eyes or testicles.
• I reviewed Breaking Away, a movie about cyclist in the 70s.
• This week two years ago, I pointed to some resources about deadlifting, namely a video on how not to deadlift and one on proper deadlift form.
• On the news front, New Jersey began testing kids for steroids in an attempt to catch them young. I also discussed it was worth paying for your baby to be admitted to a stadium or not.