Racing Bucket List- Rhode Island

I finally got caught up on race reports and weekly logs, and now I get to create a post I've wanted to for a while- a bucket list of races I'd like to run at some point. This list mainly exists because I can't do many races during my school seasons- which takes up a giant portion of the year. As you may have noticed, this edition will only focus on races in the Ocean State. I will be doing a series of follow-up posts to cover other New England races before another follow-up series with a bucket list of Marathons I'd like to run post-college. This is the first of several posts in my Racing Bucket List series.

I will also be ranking these races from least interest to most. I may not give completely accurate or lengthy descriptions on many races, because for many I have only acquired details based off their website and won't really be an expert on the race until I actually run it several times. For Rhode Island, there are six races I really want to run (and a few others that I want to do but not with the same level of interest). This number will likely increase throughout time, which may cause either a future edit of this post or an additional post.

6. OCY Triathlon

Next Edition: September 25, 2016

Despite it being so close to home, I've never gotten the chance to do this local event. While most of the Y events are low key, relatively small and lack elite competition, they're typically run pretty well and you get your money's worth in every category you'd expect. Starting from the town beach, the course looks great: ocean swim, two-loop pond bike, and a fast and flat run. After volunteering at this event for so many years, it'd be nice to finally participate.

5. Ocean Road 10K

Next Edition: October 2, 2016

Some of the best races are held in Narragansett, and this seems like a great one. The course is exactly as it sounds- 10 kilometers on ocean road in Narragansett. Starting at the Point Judith Lighthouse and ending at the Narragansett Town Beach, this course looks scenic and mostly flat- a perfect chance to run a 10K PR, run another race in the great town of Narragansett, and experience a unique one road course.

4. Belleville Pond 10K

Next Edition: (Likely) February 2017

I'm somewhat cheating here because I've already run this race, but that was a while back and in the snow. I'd like another opportunity to run this course again, snow-free, as the course pictures look amazing and I remember very little about it. Trail 5Ks seem too short but the 10-mile was too long for me, so this would be a good distance on trails to race. Also, it seems to have a good variety of terrain to mix things up. My only concern is that this race won't be held by the time I get to run it again.

3. Jamestown Bridge 10K

Next Edition: April 2017

I'm not a huge fan with the way Trimom has been running their events lately, but can't deny that many of them look like a lot of fun (Trinewport nearly made this list). And this one definitely does. I love running over bridges, especially as they typically provide excellent views of whatever they're on top, usually water. I've never gotten the chance to actually run over a big bridge, and this seems like an excellent opportunity to. Obviously, the scenery would be amazing the whole time, but just the opportunity to race primarily race on a bridge seems amazing.

2. Shad Bloom 10K

Next Edition: May 2016

This was a hard decision between this and #1, as both look exceptional. It's always fun to run on an island, and even better to participate in a rare race there. Of Block Island's few races, only one is a trail race. It's 10K, an excellent distance for racing trails, and also has a variety of trails with a steep climb at Mile 4. Many great statements have been made about this race, and it certainly looks like a lot of fun.

1. Pell Bridge Run

Next Edition: October 23, 2016

Once again, another bridge race. Only this one doesn't go over twice, isn't put on by Trimom and goes over a longer and bigger bridge. The course map just looks awesome, and the start time is a fantastic 7:15 AM (in October!). A bigger and better (or at least looks that way) edition of #3.

Stay tuned for the next entry.

Start of XC and Schonning 5K- Weekly Log: August 22 to 28

The summer is coming to a close (school summer), and this week starts cross country. While I enjoy the sport seasons and like to meet some of the new runners, I don't enjoy the massive difference between the start of XC training and my summer training. Typically, in the first weeks my mileage completely dies and unfortunately, that's what happens this week. I really enjoyed running 50-mile weeks, but I guess the speedwork will be helpful as it's certainly something I lost some of this summer.

The final summer racing events are here. The last Westerly fun run on Wednesday, and Schonning 5K on Friday pretty much seal the deal and are the last time I feel like I'm still in summer running mode and not XC mode. Seeing as it's my last summer race, I'm going all-out at Schonning. I originally pondered going just for the win and running somewhat easy, but seeing as my current best 5K is a 16:12, I'm going for a second sub-16 attempt. Going into this race, I have two major goals: Sub-16 (B Goal of PR) and Win (which shouldn't be too difficult, and would give me my first back-to-back win ever). It'll be a big race for me. I know I'm capable of the PR, and I'm pretty if I give it my all, I can dip under 16 minutes.

Monday: 6 Miles.

There were many people there on the first day, but most were girls and the two gender's practices are merged this year, just like track. I was ready for nearly everything today- I could do a hard workout, a normal distance run, a mix of the two. The only thing I was praying we would not run is a timed all-out effort longer than 400 meters. Unfortunately, we were running three miles all-out on the track. It felt unbelievable going on the warm-up. I was so nervous. I've never more than eight laps on a track, I wasn't prepared to give an all-out effort today, and we never do timed distances over a mile, especially not on the first day. It was really hard for me to accept the fact that we were running 12 laps hard. I was really just hoping this was just some kind of joke. It wasn't.

I finally prepared myself to do this, but even then I didn't feel ready. I decided I wanted to make this as comfortable as possible and going out hard would not help me achieve me that. Figuring my best 5K pace is 5:13, I aimed to go out in 5:20 for a while and if I felt pretty comfortable hammer it at the end. We eventually started what looked to be an awful sufferfest. I also realized, as the entire group was starting together, I would have to lap people frequently. To make matters worse, the soccer people were also doing some kind of workout, and even though they were in lane 2, they still got in the way.

I ran out super easy, but certainly not jogging or anything like that. It's nice that with all the fast track races and workouts I've done, 5:20 pace feels pretty easy. For about 50 meters, people were right behind, at 150m they weren't too far behind, but after 300 I was running solo. My first lap was an 81. I ran it very comfortably and conservatively, but I picked it up a little bit since I usually slow down after the first lap (which is usually fast). The next lap was nice, but by lap three I was already lapping people. It was all fine at the time- crossed the mile (1600) in 5:18, which was excellent. Still feeling pretty great. The second mile was a little harder. At this point, I was regularly lapping people, which had become quite annoying. For some, it was not the first time I had lapped them, and I even lapped the second place runner. Occasionally, I would have to go all the way out into lane three because of the soccer players, and then swerve back into one. After about 6 laps, I was getting pretty tired. I knew I could run a few more laps at this pace no problem, but wasn't sure about 6 of them. 2 Miles (3200) in 10:40 (5:22 second mile). Right on 5:20 pace, but pretty tired at this point and starting to wish it would end. At this point, lapping people was awful and I nearly hit some of them because I was unwilling to go even farther out of the way to give extra room. Many of them actually gave me support, but I was far too tired to say anything back. Eventually, the end neared, when I was extremely tired. I picked it up a little at the end, but was once again way too weak to actually have a decent kick. Finished in 16:00 (5:20 final mile). Immediately got water and went looking for shade. I didn't GPS it (not sure if I should've- I would've liked to see the real distance, but didn't want/need to be looking at my watch), but I'm guessing it'd actually be closer to 5K (and that's what Aaron got on his GPS). As a 16:00 three-mile, this was not impressive nor should be an all-out effort for me, but as a 5K, that's something I'd be really happy with. Disappointing and uplifting at the same time.

Tuesday: 8 Miles.

Unable to make practice, so I did the workout on roads. Originally planned an easy eight through Weekapaug, but now had to sacrifice that plan as one of my coaches wanted me to run mile repeats (what they were doing at practice). With the repeats at yesterday's pace (5:20) and only 400m recovery, this seemed hard. I wanted to circle back on a loop, but not have to do many loops, so I planned on using the surftown Weekapaug loop as my course to run hard on. Seeing as I had a big 5K on Friday, I decided it'd be smarter to try and run target 5K pace (5:10). I felt fine on the warm-up, but the first mile was brutal, lung-busting, and seemed too drag on. And it felt like I was sprinting the whole time. I took an extra moment on recovery for water before continuing, but was both dreading the upcoming repeats and wasn't even sure if I'd be able to make those. Whatever the case, I was at least doing one more. I finished out that loop and started another. The second one was equally brutal. I was thinking about doing 2x1000 or 2x800 or 1x1200 instead of continuing this brutal workout. I decided with the 1200. I pulled to the side to catch my breath and took a little extra recovery (600m) before I decided to continue on. I changed the route slightly and ran out and back on noyes neck. Before I got to the end, I decided to push all the way through to the mile. I was slightly off, but at least I finished it. Jog back to water fountain, run back. Splits were: 5:13, 5:16, 5:21. I don't that doesn't represent how my race will go, but doesn't give any confidence either. Difficulty: 5/5.

Wednesday: 4 Miles

Hill workout, six Narragansett hill repeats. Not bad at all. A little hot and a little heavy on the breathing, but got through them feeling pretty strong. Way off my personal best time on the hills as usual. Difficulty: 3/5. Overall, I would have liked to do a little more mileage for the day, but didn't happen.

Later that evening...I did not run the fun run mile. Picked up my last trophy and signed up for Schonning. It's interesting how these trophies have progressed, and luckily I've been able to collect all six of them.

Thursday: 9 Miles

First distance run of the XC season; I'm probably doing the rest of these solo. Slightly depressing to do similar routes frequently and alone, but not like anyone else can run sub-7 pace for 6-8 miles anyway. 55 minutes to run around Westerly. Got the bathroom break out of the way, and felt better than expected. Went up to the baseball field and back, then tried to run most of the Schonning course to get a feel on what it was like for Friday. I was happy to see both Margin and Clark were both freshly paved- but I couldn't run all the way down Elm because of construction. At that point I had about six miles and was looking for 8, and that's when I stopped feeling good. Running up the hill on granite was tiring and even though my route flattened out after that it was still tough, and I started to feel the heat.

Friday: 6 Miles

Schonning 5K. I was going to do a full write-up, but it just didn't go the way I wanted to at all. I wanted the win and sub-16, and not felt only ready to do so but felt like I had done everything right both race day and race week. I wanted to run about 5:08 pace the whole time, hopefully a little faster mile 3 and try to kick at the end. Mile one was absolutely perfect and while I wasn't feeling great, I felt like I had plenty left. I don't know what happened, but I slowed down quite a bit for the rest of it and ended up with an average pace of 5:14. It was hot and tiring after the turn onto Clark. Super disappointing. They also messed up the turnaround, which everyone ended up completely skipping because of poor course marshals, so it only came out to three miles and I wasn't able to get the course record of 16:21 (I would've been about 16:15). I'll try and put this one behind me and focus on Injury Fund, but what a massive disappointment.

My nine consecutive performances at this race:

 Winners all the way back to 2008 (Adjusted times for 2016 and 2013 short courses are approximately 16:15 and 17:07)

Saturday: 6 Miles

Saturday practices are never fun, and if it's a workout they're usually incredibly challenging. In this aspect, this one did not disappoint. I kinda just wanted to sleep in/die after Schonning disappointment, but I was here instead. Even more disappointing was that I found out the team just played games and did light running on Friday. It sounded really fun, of course one of the few practices I missed. I didn't know what we were doing, just that it was hot and we were on the very open track. Then I got it: 1 Mile, 4x400, 1 Mile. Pace was between 3K and 5K, but not a race pace in any distance for me. I was supposed to run the mile in 4:55, the 400s in 71, and the mile again in 4:55. It sounded really tough especially going back up to the mile. I did the mile. I felt like was running hard, but it wasn't too tiring and I got through it fine. I went 73 for 400, 2:26 for 800 and 3:41 for 1200. 4:55 exactly for the final time. I was surprised that just two minutes later, still catching my breath, I was already starting the 400s. I was definitely happy about the shorter distance, but the recovery was only 45s (although he gave me about two minutes between 3 and 4) and I hit 71 for every single one of them. They were quite tiring and I couldn't imagine doing more than 400 meters at that pace. I got a longer recovery (about six minutes) before the final mile. I was very tired at this point and not at all looking forward to it. He gave me an option: hard 800 in 2:12-2:15 or the mile in 4:55. I didn't really want to do a longer distance, but I figured the faster speed would feel worse than the longer distance. I picked the mile and was finally off. Only about 200 meters into it I was counting down the meters and laps and was getting tired. It would be a long and very brutal final three and half laps. The hardest track workouts we do make me more tired than in most races, feel incredibly weak, start to lose feeling in the thighs/legs, form starts to break down, and even start to stumble and stop running straight. It's usually accompanied by a brutal headache immediately after. I had all of these in the final three laps, and it was incredibly tough. I went through in the same splits: 72/2:16/3:41. It was really hard to finish it, but I did. Apparently my final split was 66 and I finished in 4:47, but that doesn't sound right considering how awful I felt at that point. Perhaps I heard wrong and I ran 76 for the final 400, finishing in 4:57. Difficulty: 5/5. Absolute hell, and super hot with very little shade.

Sunday: 0 Miles

I was actually looking forward to this, but my coach told me to take the day off because of Schonning Friday night and a hard workout the morning after. Oh well. I did something hard every single day except Thursday, and that wasn't exactly easy.

Weekly Total: 39 Miles (a big step down, but got in plenty of quality workouts)
YTD Total: 1,499 Miles

Summer Race Ranking

It was a really fun summer for running, despite some brutally hot temps. Much of that came down to the racing. Sometimes running can be boring or unpleasant, but I typically love racing, especially during the summer, where I pick a variety of races and choose different distances. I raced way too much this summer, but I couldn't resist not running some amazing looking races. I definitely had too high of a number in total, but got a good mix of super hard and fast efforts on the road and some more fun but slower ones on the trail. I ended up doing 11 races total.

The Races

*Notes a PR (6)

June
*Rocky Point 5K

July
Loon Mountain Race
*Sailfest 5K
*Heil Vesturgatan 24K
Run with the Beavers
*Blessing of the Fleet

August
Block Island Triathlon
*Run 4 Kerri
*Bobby Doyle Summer Classic
Rhode Warrior Tri
Schonning 5K

Here's how they broke down in numbers:

Category
Five Fast Road Races
Two Triathlons
Two Long Trail Races
One Long Road Race
One Mountain Race

Distance
Three 5Ks
Two 10-Milers
Two Sprint Triathlons
One 4-Miler
One 5-Miler
One 10K
One 24K

State/Country
Eight in Rhode Island
One in Connecticut
One in New Hampshire
One in Iceland

Finish Place
Two 1st Place Finishes
One 2nd Place Finish
Two 3rd Place Finishes
One 4th Place Finish
One 8th Place Finish
One 12th Place Finish
One 14th Place Finish
One 48th place Finish
One 67th place Finish


Overall, I did pretty well in most of them, but some were clearly better than others. I ran great in a few, but in many I left disappointed. I'll give a brief description on why each performance earns its spot- to see a longer write-up on each check back on previous posts. I will also include a letter grade for the performance and include original goals and final results to compare what I expected and how I did.

11. Bobby Doyle Summer Classic
One of my favorite races. Extremely stacked competition where a 5:40 pace couldn't crack the top 100. Great, mostly flat course through Narragansett. An opportunity to not run only the five-mile distance, but to smash my previous PR by several minutes. Despite all of this, I lacked any and all excitement pre-race and screwed up my pre-race routine. That should've been the first sign that it wasn't going to be my day. And not only was it not my day, but it was one of my worst races: not just during this summer, but ever. I rarely ever fade this badly, and my time barely improved over last year's, being a whole minute and a half off what I wanted to run. The only thing that prevents me from giving it an F and declaring it my worst race of all time is the heat and humidity factor (also making for a brutally difficult race), which isn't a bad excuse and slowed nearly everyone down on that day.

Original Goal: 26:40-26:59
Final Result: 28:10
2015 Rank and Grade: 1st, A+ (From Top to Bottom)

Grade: D

10. Run with the Beavers
Sometimes I love trail racing, and that was enough to get me to sign up for this race. I was certainly excited to do it. I'd give it my best shot, and I thought I could do a 6:30 pace, adjusting for trails. What followed was an 1 hour, 12 minute brutal sufferfest where I genuinely felt like I was barely moving at points. My pace was about 7:15, not only incredibly far off but a huge positive split and a whole six to seven minutes slower than what I expected.

Original Goal: 65-68 Minutes
Final Result: 1:12:45
2015 Rank and Grade: N/A

Grade: C-

9. Schonning 5K
I was both excited, feeling ready and really wanted to try and break 16. I knew it would be hard but felt that I was in shape to do it. Went out perfectly through the mile, but really just didn't have it after that. 5:08 planned splits became 5:18s and threw me way off track. I still got the win like I wanted, but very disappointing time wise. On top of that, the course marshals screwed up and it ended up being 3 miles, so I wouldn't even know what my real time was. Not a awful race, but incredibly disappointing and not fun to fade that badly.

Original Goal: Sub 16 and Win
Final Result: Win, but 15:42 for 3 Miles (About 16:15 for 5K)
2015 Rank and Grade: 3rd, A-

Grade: B-

8. Rhode Warrior Triathlon
This was really just another opportunity for a fun, low-pressure event, but I actually ended up performing well overall. The sprint competition wasn't exactly stellar (many of the top guys were in Half Iron/Olympic), so my third place finish didn't mean anything, but I was pleased overall with my time. My transitions were horrendous, and my bike was quite slow, but I did fine in the parts I enjoy. I thought my swim was great, and even though I originally wanted 5:40s pace for run, I was still happy with the 5:55 pace, especially as it felt pretty good.

Original Goal: N/A
Final Result: N/A
2015 Rank and Grade: N/A

Grade: B

7. Block Island Triathlon
Despite my increasing lack of interest in biking, I still enjoy the triathlons and take them seriously, just not as seriously as running races. However, after giving up Fat Clam/Crabman and Goddard, this was now the only tri I had history with and naturally I wanted to beat some of my times. Considering my complete lack of training, this actually went pretty well, at least much better than expected. I was really happy with my swim, and even though I though it'd be awful my bike wasn't bad and a Course PR. Unfortunately, the worst part was my run. 6:15 pace seemed very doable, but I came nowhere near that. I can give a few seconds to high tide, but running 6:45 seemed ridiculously slow for a four miler, given that it was a race. Overall a good performance, but nothing like the one I had last year.

Original Goal: Improvement in Each Category
Final Result: Significantly Improved Each Time in everything but the run
2015 Rank and Grade: 5th, A-

Grade: B

6. Sailfest 5K
My first sub-16 attempt and my first fail at doing so. Not quite as disappointing as the above entry, but still somewhat disappointing and not exactly a smart race. Went out in a 4:59 and then started clocking in splits in the 5:20s. Faded really badly. My final time was actually pretty good- and still a big PR, but it was disappointing having a good race instead of a great one. My pacing wasn't great either- and incredibly inconsistent for 5K.

Original Goal: Sub-16
Final Result: 16:12
2015 Rank and Grade: 8th, B+

Grade: B+

5. Heil Vesturgatan 24K
I was really using this for an opportunity to get used to racing longer distance as well as jumping into a fun event where I wouldn't have to worry about going out hard. I never planned on going on all-out, but ran faster than anticipated, felt strong and also won. For a hard but not all-out effort, success.

Original Goal: N/A
Final Result: N/A
2015 Rank and Grade: N/A

Grade: B+

4. Rocky Point 5K
I was looking to see what I could do in the 5K coming off my track season, so I picked this event because the course looked pretty good. I wanted to run about 16:20, and wasn't far off. Also placed well and ran the race exactly how I wanted to. My GPS split actually got me at 16:10, so that was definitely encouraging for future races.

Original Goal: 16:20
Final Result: 16:27
2015 Rank and Grade: N/A

Grade: B+

3. Loon Mountain Race
I came in with little expectations, but found myself not only enjoying most of it, but constantly feeling strong and moving up as others faded...except for Upper Walking Boss, which wasn't exactly my strong suit, dropping about 10 places, and two places in my age group. Overall, I was very pleased with both my time and place and had so much fun out there.

Original Goal: N/A
Final Result: N/A
2015 Rank and Grade: N/A

Grade: A-

2. Run 4 Kerri
I doubted I would break 21, but I thought if I ran well I could come close. I felt like I was fading a little bit after only a mile, but actually broke away from the pack I was with and maintained a sub-5:20 for the rest of it. I didn't quite have the kick I had last year, but happy with my splits and time.

Original Goal: 21:00-21:15
Final Result: 21:10
2015 Rank and Grade: 4th, A-

Grade: A

1. Blessing of the Fleet
I was very happy with my 2015 performance, but one year later I knew I was capable of much more. I had set a goal of 5:50 pace a while back, and felt ready to run it. I had some concerns, but they weren't major. I felt much worse than expected out there but went out a little hard and never had a problem with consistently running sub-5:50 splits. It was definitely tough at the end, but I never gave up or slowed down and as a result, I not only broke 59, but 58 as well. The best performances are when you not only live up to your expectations, but smash them. One of the best...ever.

Original Goal: 58:20-58:59
Final Result: 57:42
2015 Rank and Grade: 2nd, A

Grade: A+

Before I press the publish button, I want to set a few things out there for 2017 summer racing. I'm already thinking about it, but here are a few things I want to put down now before I forget them.

• Amount- It's nice to be able to analyze many race results than just a few, but 11 is way too much, considering it's not even one of major seasons. I want to drop the number the back at least to 8 the next summer.
• Triathlon- I don't really care for biking and have no desire to do any training, but I'm certainly not ready to give up the tri yet, especially as I really enjoy the swim. I want to do at least two next year- probably including a return to Block Island. Also worth considering is returning to the Olympic distance and training a little more for the swim.
• Mountain Racing- Definitely the best and most fun addition to the racing calendar, so I either want to return to loon and/or try out a new mountain race. Absolute must for 2017.
• 10K- It's been a year, and I'll have to wait another to update my very slow 10K PR of 38:32 (which I broke several times, in both hard runs and blessing). I need to run this distance in 2017.
• The Definite Races- Kerri, Bobby Doyle, Blessing, Schonning
• Sailfest- not sure right now, but perhaps it's better just to lay off the 5K and focus on longer races as the summer training focuses on endurance anyway. On the other hand, it's a pretty good race, with an excellent course and great refreshments that I could maybe even win. 50/50 on whether I'll do it in 2017.
• June/July- of course this could completely change, but I'm thinking about waiting until July to start my summer racing. This would reduce the number of races and give me more recovery from the end of track. Of course, there a few races that look great. If I'm feeling confident about my mile fitness, I may try the Bottone. There are also a few other great looking opportunities in June, but some are farther away.

It's sad to see the summer racing go. Overall, it was actually pretty disappointing. I had some of the worst performances I've ever run and really lacked in the great performance department. Overall, I'm still running well but this summer just wasn't as great as last one. Hopefully the cross country season will go well.

Next up...the Injury Fund XC Carnival on September 3rd. There's supposed a very fast and certified new course at East Greenwich HS, so hopefully I can beat some good runners and beat my current best 5K of 16:12, perhaps even dip under 16?

Despite the end of summer and start of XC, I have one more to be excited about before completely converting to both school mode and cross country mode. Stavros Beach Race on September 6th. Despite the small feel of it, this is a truly fantastic event that is one of WTAC's finest races (I probably only like Rhody more). I had so much fun here last and can't wait to be back for this year's edition. Low tide, and a course record to break. It's coming up soon.

From Schonning 2015 to 2016, 13 Races in the Green Singlet

Florida and Rhode Warrior (w/Race Recap) - Weekly Log: August 15 to 21

Very different week of training this week: no specific workouts and instead just trying to get in the miles. Trip down to florida for a few days then return for Rhode Warrior sprint triathlon, a short, easy and possibly fun local event. Meanwhile, the real athletes battle it out for the final week of the 2016 rio Olympics (which unfortunately I missed a lot of). This week I will be putting up each of my strava activities to show the different routes I did this week.

Monday: 5 Miles

Hot but not too challenging track workout. 2x(800/400/200/200). 6 minute recovery between sets, about 2 mins/1 min/30s between each distance. Target paces of 2:28/73/36, went really fast on each. Difficulty: 2/5. Felt a little tougher in the heat/humidity and was getting difficult to breathe towards the end. (No strava for my track workouts).

Tuesday: 5 Miles

Left for the trip Monday night, drive down to Virginia, train to Orlando. Split it up a little with a night in New Jersey, and found some trails not far from the hotel. It looked like a huge system of trails with many different possible routes. It felt fine at first, but only half a mile in we started a steep climb (which was fine, and it ended in an overlook) and the trail would be both technical and hilly for the most the run, slowing the pace quite a bit. I enjoyed the climb up, but absolutely hated the steep and extremely rocky downhill sections. Also got lost frequently as the trails made no sense and were nothing like the map suggested. Didn't like this run at all and got less miles in because of the difficulty and confusion. The only positive was it didn't seem nearly as hot as it usually is.

Wednesday: 7 Miles

Arrival in Clearwater beach, Florida. I wanted to a do beach run at some point, but also was eager to explore a park which had two strava segments and was just across the bridge. The park was nice but I became worn out quickly by heat and humidity. Then it started thundering and lightning and soon pouring hard. Run was okay overall: tiring but I enjoyed the new scenery and liked the park even though I missed getting on either segment. Pace-wise, it was really good as I maintained a sub-7 pace (not usually impressive, but much better than other runs on the trip).

Bridge I ran across (Gulf Boulevard)

Thursday: 14 Miles

Morning run was a little late, but got to explore Clearwater beach. Decided to run barefoot, which was quite nice. The beach went out a whole six miles and went past a park after 4 that had running trails (or at least it looked like it), but had to turn back after a while as the heat and soft sand (only at the turnaround) were tiring me. The beach was really nice and smooth, except for a few shelled sections and the water was also quite nice and I took several refreshing dips mid-run (but was getting thirsty). Also many cool bird species I've never seen before. I started to tire out after turning around at 4, and was pretty tired most of the way back. The last few were very difficult as my feet started to blister after the constant exposure to sand. No more bare feet runs for the rest of the trip.

Got back a little late, but if I didn't double my weekly mileage would be terrible (I usually double Tuesday back in RI, and barely got anything this Tuesday). I needed to do some run, and there was another route I was looking forward to- a run over a two mile bridge with possible extension on biking/running paved path. It was inevitable that it would get dark sometime during this run, so I wasn't completely sure if I'd get the 7 I wanted. I got to the end of the bridge (which was a really nice path) and the extension was both unclear and going through dark neighborhoods, so I turned around.  Got back at six miles and didn't feeling like getting the extra mile in since it was so dark.

Friday: 8 Miles

I wasn't looking forward to this one the same way I was for the others. I slept in, and realized I had no idea where I wanted to run, plus I'd have to go solo. I decided to try running the other beach across the bridge (which spanned a long 15 miles, I'd only be running a small portion of it). My feet hadn't completely healed yet so since I was wearing road shoes anyway I thought about running out on road and coming back on beach, but couldn't find a clear entry point to the beach that far out. I finally forced myself to get out there and instantly wished for it be over. I went back through sand key park, and was discouraged some more after a PM attack two miles in. The beach section felt long and brutally hot but finally ended and I was ready to turn around. This beach was not half as attractive as yesterday and had ten times the amount of birds- but these ones were somewhat annoying as they squawked at me frequently and looked like they would attack. When it was time to turnaround, I took a long break in the shade, taking off my shoes to jump in the gulf before resuming. It was unpleasant and tiring for another two miles back to the park, where I was once again doused myself in water before finally heading back.

The two beaches of the trip (I liked Clearwater beach much more)

Saturday: 6 Miles

Found a cool park in Delaware which had an awesome trail map. A little hard to follow, but there were some really cool forest trails that were perfect- not insanely technically but a good amount of roots and rocks over single-track with rolling hills. Return and final miles (especially final mile) were not nearly as fun as they were hot and open and the trail was overgrown, exposing me to some plant that felt like it burnt my body. Last half mile was absolutely brutal with direct sunlight in 90 degree temperatures. Cooling off in the creek (Brandywine creek) was refreshing, but the river itself was actually a little gross and I would've preferred the previous day's gulf dip to this one.

Sunday: 5 Miles

Rhode Warrior Sprint Triathlon. I had never done the rhode warrior triathlon before- simply because the long and hilly bike never interesting me. But this year when I heard a sprint option was being put in where the bike was less than 8 miles and uses the round the pond loop I run so frequently, I became interested in the event. With a bike that short and this late into the season, I could just use it as a fun, low effort race with absolutely no pressure on my performance. Considering our extremely late arrival back home (11:30 PM), waking up at 5:30 was quite awful and I really wanted to DNS. I didn't, but felt horrible and completely unprepared until we were finally ready to go off. Did a short beach warm-up, and we were soon off.
Swim 7:54 (0.25 Mi)

Had the usual pre-race goggle problems.

I love swimming, at least in the open water so the cool water here was quite refreshing. Ran into the water starting slightly to the left as RD Kathy Robbins had advised (current was moving right) but then ran right anyway, so that ended up being useless. After moving, I realized my mistake and now many people were getting in the way. I passed about five and then got into the right spot...until the first buoy, where other people got in the way as well. It was hard to go around them, but when I finally did I was able to swim fine for the rest of it. Happy with this (fun) portion of the tri.

Buoy Chaos

T1 2:36
I'm always awful at transition, and this was one of the worst ever as I slowly struggled to get everything on and get going.

Bike 26:20 (7.7 Mi)

I was really happy the bike was only around the pond, but only a mile in my thighs started to get really exhausted and I was slowing down. The first mile had felt good, but it no longer felt smooth. Made the turn onto Weekapaug eventually. I was passing people but was being passed by plenty as well. It felt slightly better on Weekapaug, but it was awkward turning on shore as many others were going straight and there were plenty of cars in the intersection. I mostly disliked the rest of it, tiring out but occasionally feeling decent. I was definitely tempted to take a right into my neighborhood, get home, and watch the Olympic marathon, but I continued. Maplewood was nice but Atlantic Ave was absolutely awful. I didn't push there as there were frequent annoying bumps and wind in the face. Overall, I probably could've pushed a little more but was trying to leave a little for the run.

You can see how unhappy I am to be on the bike portion.

T2 1:14
T2 typically goes smoother than T1, but I didn't care here. I almost had an amazing time, but then decided to tighten my shoes to make my run as good as possible. Then I ran out.

Run 21:25 (3.6 Mi)
I picked it up as I headed out towards the road, feeling pretty good. I looked down at my watch and saw pace in the 5:20s. It felt okay for a quarter mile, but then I realized that my thighs were still really heavy and tired, so naturally I slowed down. Going out didn't feel good at all, but I regained some speed on the way and was able to keep the pace sub-6. I got into a good rhythm before picking it up at the finish.

Overall I did what I wanted- enjoy another easy tri opportunity (except for the bike) without pushing myself too hard. Up next- Schonning 5K on 8/26.

Weekly Total: 50 Miles (just a tiny bit less than I wanted)
YTD Total: 1,460 Miles

Bobby Doyle- Weekly Log: August 8 to 14

I figured I'd do something different this week and post my weekly log before the race. Tomorrow marks the Bobby Doyle Summer Classic, my second time at this race. While it's one of my favorite races, I'm strangely not looking forward to it. The last few road races have just been hot and suffering...and it's supposed to be in the 80s tomorrow with over 80% percent humidity. While it's once again a super competitive race, as part of the USATF-NE road grand prix, that runs over a fantastic course and has clocks at every mile, I doubt the actual race itself is going to be half as enjoyable as last year's edition. Hopefully I can keep the streak of performing well in the heat going (except at Beavers), but 5:20 pace is going to be pretty tough. If that doesn't work out, a pace faster than 5:24 will still break 27 minutes, which would still be a great race for me. And of course it was hot and humid all week to make running even more unpleasant.

Monday: 7 Miles.
Practice was postponed to Tuesday, which I was not in attendance for, so I had to run local. That wasn't going to be fun, so barefoot beach at low tide sounded better, even though it was late. Town beach to watch hill and back. Fun at first, but then the slope near watch hill was not fun and my feet started to hurt.

Tuesday: 12 Miles
Morning workout w/Tom and Dad in Weekapaug. Similar to last week's, but also got in some Bobby Doyle pace, although a little fast and didn't feel comfortable. 1xMile @5mi (5:12), .7 recovery, 4x400 w/400 recovery @5K (73/72/71/72), 4x200 w/200 recovery @Mile (31/32/34/33). Target splits were 5:20, 75, and 34. Not feeling great on any of them. Don't care for hell field at all. Difficulty: 3/5.

Fun Run. Super easy pace but pretty hot out there. No ride for me this week.  A good recovery run before Wednesday's fun run.

Wednesday: 8 Miles
1 Mile at race pace was slightly helpful as it got a feel for how the pace felt but it didn't simulate how long I would have to hold that. Did 5-mile race pace at the fun run to get a better simulation of how it would feel during race. Looking forward to a fun run in the rain- unfortunately got none of the rain but all of the puddles and humidity. Terrible pacing here- went out super hard at 5:08, then ran high 5:20s for the rest of it. Ended up getting a good pace overall but felt awful and very inconsistent. Cooldown was really nice- lowtide barefoot beach run and a jump in the ocean with Jonny Eckel.

Thursday: 7 Miles
Was supposed to do a track workout, but the coach didn't have us do that because it was so hot. I used the opportunity to get in a hill workout- 6xNarraganett w/2 of my teammates. I ran them slightly easier than usual because of the heat but was still feeling it just as much at the end. Difficulty: 4/5. Did a cool-down to get 7, but was swarmed by bugs on the track.

Friday: 10 Miles
Planned out another long run route in one of my favorite running places-Mystic. Explored Lords point and Wamphassuc Neck. Really humid at first and felt pretty awful running a fairly easy pace. After six miles of tired running, I finally started to feel good and pushed the last two. Wading into the Mystic River was nice but water was a little warmer and saltier than I would have liked. Overall, a fun run. Always fun running in Mystic.

Saturday: 3 Miles
A little pathetic, but absolutely brutal running out there. High 80s, super humid, and without any fuel, I felt terrible from start to finish and scrapped the original plan of five down to three. Felt like I was having serious breathing problems.

Sunday: 7 Miles. Bobby Doyle Summer Race. Still a great race, but not a great day for racing. Fell apart in the sufferfest, performing quite terribly. So brutally hot out there. Still PR'd (28:10), but about 90 seconds slower than what I wanted to run. Nearly everyone was off, even many of the elite runners. This meant my place was pretty good for a grand prix event (48th), and I think only one high-school runner (non-graduate) beat me.

It's interesting to look at the results, as it's hard to find many people who didn't fall apart after the 5K mark. I'm not sure if I want to want to write a separate post, so I'll put down some of my race thoughts and feelings here.

• Race was once again very well organized
• Ran target pace for mile one but didn't continue to push it (as hard) because I wasn't feeling great
• Felt crappy after a mile, awful after 2.5 miles
• Seriously considered walking/DNF in the back half
• Waited for 30 minutes to use bathroom, missing a quality warm-up/strides
• Not much confidence going in/excitement
• Form fell apart as well in final miles
• Took a while to cool down after race
• As hard as this was, I don't think it was as brutal as beavers (although it comes very close: while this felt more painful, the beavers pain lasted much longer)

I think three major factors killed my race today:

1. Weather conditions- the most obvious factor- everyone died out there because of humidity, heat and frequent direct sunlight.

2. Lack of confidence- was just thinking negative thoughts all weekend, dreading this race.

3. Bad pre-race: waiting around was awful, but missing the warm-up and strides was not good and I was not feeling loose before.

Weekly Total: 54 Miles

YTD Total: 1,410 Miles

Block Island Triathlon

I skipped out on some earlier tri opportunities this year, but there was no way I was missing out on some fun at Block Island. It was pretty late in the season for my first tri this year, which meant I had done practically no training for it. I did a few bikes, a swim, and two hard high tide beach runs for preparation, but that wasn't enough. I wanted to improve in all three categories, and had plenty of confidence in my swim and my run, but didn't really see anything happening on the bike. I had a great tri here in 2015, but really didn't think I was going to be able to repeat that success with the lack of training I've doing.

Pre-Race
I had some horrible stomach distress the night before and I only ended up getting 4 hours of sleep. Unfortunately, the stomach distress was back in the morning. I had a good breakfast and got some more sleep on the ferry. Next we rode over to the beach, checked in and set up our transition. We also walked out to the water. The rest of the WTAC group wanted to wait a little for a warm-up but my stomach still hurt and I didn't feel like waiting around so I started my warm-up. They joined in 10 minutes later. It was high tide again, which we had known a few days ago, but none of us were looking forward to it. It wasn't bad on the warm-up, but the tide was still coming in. After the warm-up, I got in a final bathroom break, before heading over to the start. Of course, I was only heading over for pre-race instructions as I was the last wave at 9:19 AM. I waded in the water, swam around a little, and watched other waves go off. I wasn't really nervous, as I enjoy swimming, but wasn't looking forward to the bike. The waves went by quickly and soon it was my time. There were three groups in my waves: 60+, 14 and under, and 15-19 (something like that). I recognized Mark Burbelo, but no one else in my group. There were plenty of guys in my cap color (purple) and the 60+ color (not sure) but only one under 15 (white cap, I think). I awaited the start, hoping my goggles wouldn't fog up.

Swim
I ran out not super hard but wasn't going easy either. In this tri, you run 100 meters out to a flag before turning into the water. It's unique- and maybe the running before helps spread it out before getting into the ocean. The running portion felt awful on the super soft sand and I couldn't wait to make the turn. Fortunately, it was brief and soon I was jumping into the water. It was still pretty crowded and I found myself surrounded by other purple caps. There were guys around me for a minute when I started swimming but eventually it cleared up and I had a good path in front of me. It was going really smooth up to the buoy. I felt that I was taking the shortest possible path and swimming strong. When I got to the buoy, it changed a little. There were suddenly older and less experienced/slow guys in front of me completely blocking my path. I actually stopping swimming for a moment because I wasn't sure on what to do. I saw a small gap between two guys and took it, but was punched and kicked in the process. When I finally got around them, there were many more and still in my way. I had to go really wide here, especially as some were swimming diagonally towards me. I finally got away from them and swam diagonally back towards the next buoy. I was a little afraid this had cost me some time but kept focusing on getting to the next buoy. It came, and I made the turn. There were plenty around me, but no one was in my way. I swam as long as I could, while others got up not even that close to the beach. I finally got out, started running fast, and took off my cap and goggles preparing for T1.

Time: 8:29 (-1:34 from 2015)
Rank: 56th

Transition 1
I always have a horrible transition time, and this was no different. The rocky run over wasn't fun. Next was putting stuff on. I felt like I started out smooth, and then everything took forever to put on. I made it there before Dad, but he was moving at faster rate than I was. I finally finished and was ready to go, wheeling my bike out. Then I realized my shoes weren't tied. It was best to tie them now when still in the transition area, so I tried to rest my bike at the end of the rack before tying my shoes. My bike fell down anyway and Dad got out before I finished tying my shoes. I must have looked like an idiot to him and anyone else who saw me. I finished and headed out.

Time: 2:51 (-0:09 from 2015)
Rank: 168th

Bike
Now my least favorite part- the ride. I started biking, getting my feet in the pedals. I started to go but my shoelace got caught on part of the bike and I remembered this is a problem I've had before. I slowed down a lot to tuck my shoelace in, before resuming. I then started the bike. I started going out hard, but as people were passing me and I felt like I wasn't pushing hard enough. The airport hill, the worst of the course, came and I tried to go up strong but failed. My thighs felt burnt out after that and it wasn't easy either when biking against the wind. It was weird looking at my watch during the bike because it's a run watch and was displaying pace. I felt like the first few miles were tough and I slow, but I started to come back in the back half of the loop. I felt really strong on some of the downhills, pushing the pace as much as I could. Eventually, people stopped passing me, but people that I was passing were getting in the way and I constantly had to go on the left side of the road and risk death by car to pass them. This happened often and made me really upset on the extra effort I was taking instead of them just going on the right side of the road like they were supposed to. I told myself I would push it on the airport hill then slow down, take my GU and catch my breath. I was too worn out to push the hill, but still gave it a decent effort. I didn't slow down at first but was then felt how tough it was with the wind and took it easy for a little bit, consuming my chocolate outrage GU (which was actually quite good, although it left a nasty aftertaste) and getting it down with some of my sports drink. Getting some fuel and refreshment felt good, but now I had to ride hard again. Like the first loop, I felt slow and the miles were tough at the beginning of the loop. I was aware my time was 43 mins and change last year and after seeing my halfway split, I wasn't sure if I could get it. I pushed the back half again, and then pushed the last mile back to the beach super hard. I passed Mike B at the end. He started to pass me back, but I didn't want to get passed and pushed it as hard as I could. I felt like I gave it a good effort, but now I had to run.

Time: 42:07 (-1:18 from 2015)
Rank: 74th

Transition 2
My transition 2 is usually much better, and this one was fine. Hung my bike up, threw off my shoes, took off my helmet, and took off my singlet so I could run shirtless. Not a problem anywhere and I started jogging out to the beach.

Time: 0:57 (-0:07 from 2015)
Rank: 46th

Run
I was looking to run low 6s for pace here, but expected mile 1 to be a little slower since there was a rock crossing. I wasn't going very fast at first, as my thighs felt super heavy. There was huge jam at the rock section and I was forced to slow down and see my pace drop into the 7s. I passed a few more after that, grabbed a water and poured it on me, before slowing down again on the super soft sand around the flag. It was the same coming back, I ran decently until the rock section where I slowed down quite a bit and average pace wasn't great. As soon as I got past the rocks, I surged out a little before getting into the pace I wanted to. I started seeing average pace go down and this was more what I looking for. Mile 1 ended, a 7:02 split, slow, but I was actually fine with it because it I couldn't have run the rock section much faster and it gave me some recovery. I was now running low 6s like I wanted to and the surface was hard. Mile 2 was great- I cruised at a very comfortable rate, forgot about my fatigue from coming off the bike and ran exactly the pace I wanted to, thinking it would be this way for all three remaining miles. Mile 2 split of 6:15. It felt good for a little longer, but then I started to notice how soft the sand was getting. I looked at footprints ahead, and nearly the entire foot had made a mark down. I felt my feet were sinking every time. It was getting really tiring, and it looked like I still had a long way to go. There was no difference in hardness near the water than up a few feet- it was all soft and brutal running. When I got closer to the flag, I was able to spot Tom and Dad coming back. I finally made the turn myself. I had to run in a little, getting on soft sand again, but it was nice to get some water. I used most of it to cool down my head, which was relieving but hard to wipe away because I had sand on my hand. Now it was a long, long way back to the finish. Unfortunately, I could see exactly how far it was. It looked like it was three miles away and I knew the sand would be soft for a while. Mile 3 was a disappointing 6:38- way off pace and I knew mile 4 wouldn't be any better. This was absolutely awful now. I felt like I was barely moving. I might be able to go faster, but this suffering was enough. It was also pretty hot and I could feel sweat all over my body. As usual, the course ran long. I got to 4 miles, but the pavilion still felt far away. Mile 4 was 6:50, and at this point I was just ready to jog it in and finish. I pushed the last section as it started to get harder, but wasn't running anything impressive. The soft sand at the end wasn't fun but crossing the finish line was nice.

Time: 28:31 (+3:11 from 2015 but 0.5 longer)
Rank: 1st

Overall Time: 1:22:55 (+0:03 from 2015)
Rank: 14th

This year's Block Island Tri was over. Overall, it had gone pretty well and better than I expected. I was really happy with my swim, happy with my bike, but my run wasn't very good (not awful either, just way off I was expecting). My overall time was actually pretty good- not too far off of some of the faster times of the day. Like I thought, my 2016 performance didn't match my 2015 one but was still pretty good. I ended up taking 14th overall and my age group, which I only got a medal for. Post-race wasn't as enjoyable as last year either- with lots of waiting in the sun. Ice Cream, a free singlet from Jim Ortel, and lunch was nice but I also really wanted to go home and sleep. I will likely be back in next year's edition and hopefully it won't be high tide so I ran the way I want to. It'll be hard to beat my swim and bike this year, but it's also more than 350 days away. Until next year, Block Island.

Run 4 Kerri

Last week I ran a giant race in Southern Rhode Island with stacked competition. There aren't many times I can say this, but I was once again in this situation. Run 4 Kerri was a much smaller race than Blessing but still a great one and I was looking forward to it again. I was unsure whether to run it or not as the summer was already packed with races and I had Block Triathlon the day before, but I really wanted to update my 4-mile PR. Eventually I made the decision to sign up for this great race, and it was definitely the right one. Saturday evening and Sunday morning weren't as pleasant as a usual race-morning is, but after warming up I was ready to race.

Previous Four Mile PRs
Last year, after taking two years off from the distance and gaining plenty of speed, I ran a massive PR of 22:42, a pretty good race when many others suffered and were way off in the heat. I felt that I was faster than that in March, and gave it another shot at lowering that time at the Ocean's Run, hopefully by quite a bit. This was a fast and all-out effort for me, so I was hoping it would go well. The course was a flat misquamicut loop, nearly perfect for seizing PRs. The 2016 Ocean's Run was a complete disaster: I was yelled at by a course official and the course ran 0.3 miles long, resulting in a much slower time than I actually ran, which was a huge disappointment because I had crushed it at this race. I ran a 21:38 GPS split for the 4-mile distance, but officially ran over 23 minutes for the long course. This was another reason to run Kerri- to put this awful race in the past with a new PR I can be certain about.

Race Plan
I love many race distances, and while the 4-mile distance is a little different, it's still a great one. However, strategizing for it was a little different. While I had planned out what pace I wanted to run in Blessing months in advance, it wasn't until the days before the race that I figured this one out. I didn't know which distance to base my pace off of, and how close my pace should be. Considering my 16:12 effort at Sailfest on July 10th, I figured I'd shoot to be just a few seconds off that pace. I ran a 5:13 pace there, so I figured a 5:15 pace would be ideal, but I didn't really envision myself breaking 21. The main goal was not to break 21, but to run as close to 21 flat as possible. Seeing how the first mile is shaded and slightly downhill, it wouldn't hurt here to go out fast. I wanted my first mile to be between 5:05-5:10, then try to run mid 5:10s for the rest of it. I'd likely lose some time on the neighborhood hill but could hopefully make up for it on the downhill with 0.4 to go with a strong kick.

Pre-Race
Ate breakfast a little closer to race start, but still with plenty of time to digest. Also ate a little lighter. We got there, short warm-up on the back of the course, final bathroom stops and it was pretty hot. Wasn't brutal like last year's heat, but wasn't going to be fun. At least the first mile was mostly shaded. We got up to the line, and I did a few strides. Eventually, we were about to go off. I lined up in the second row, which was a big mistake and probably cost me a few seconds.

The Race
We were off, and I had lined up too far back. I quickly weaved through 3-4 people and found my place. I wanted to be 5:10 or just under for the mile and kept thinking about that. The first quarter mile was okay but then I already felt a little tired. The first mile wasn't feeling great like I expected. Will Sanders led far in the front, followed by a big pack, then our group was next. I went back and forth with the top female. I was running about 5:08 pace for most of it, which was great but didn't feel quite as easy as expected. I passed the first mile in 5:07 with a group of five or six. Not feeling strong, but certainly not dead just yet.

We soon made the first turn. I started to feel fatigue in my thighs and calves and also noticed my feet were really warm. I moved to the front of our pack and saw the leaders way up ahead. I noticed a general tick down in average pace, but it was going as planned, except for how I felt. I felt like I was going to be retaken by the pack again, but I was actually pulling away from them a little bit. By the next turn, I wasn't really part of the pack anymore. Now was the brutal open sunlight section that dragged on before the turn into the neighborhood. I had broken off so far away that I was running solo now. I was happy with that- I didn't really like running with any of them and didn't know anyone in the group. I hit mile 2 in 5:17, just before Scott Mason and others passed by in a blue car (the third of five photo locations he would be in during the race).

Now it was really tough. I was on a solid pace but felt like I was slowing a little bit. I could see the top pack, still pretty much intact, way off in the distance and much closer was Sanders, running on the far right side of the road. I was definitely gaining on him but wasn't that close to catching him. I also wasn't running tangents. The open sunlight and the fast pace made me tired and I was slightly out of it, crossing the center line a few times. After what seemed to be a long time, I finally made the turn into the neighborhood, happy to get off this sunlight section but the frequent turns that led up to the hill weren't exactly a huge improvement. I was now closer to Sanders than the pack behind me was, but not super close to either. After a few turns, I eventually reached the hill I was dreading- a short climb, but one that slows your momentum. It wasn't actually that bad, and I wasn't extremely tired (at least compared to before) after it. Mile 3 was 5:19, still close to 21 pace. Just had to hang in there for another (tough) mile.

I could see sanders before each of the turns in the neighborhood, but he was still a good 20 seconds ahead. I had completely lost sight of the top pack, and wasn't checking behind for the next people. I had dropped a few seconds in pace at the top of the hill, but tried to pick it up a little. The neighborhood section was awful and dragged on. Finally I got to the last turn, anticipating the downhill. Last I kicked hard and had a great finish, but I felt weak and crappy at this point. Like Blessing, I didn't push it extremely hard at the end but picked it up and coasted in a fast pace. I saw Sanders finish just under 21, and I was next in 21:10 (21:12 gun). 8th Overall, because many of the elites didn't show.

I was really happy with this effort. Rarely every do I run almost exactly what I planned, and that's what I did here. I was way under my ocean run's split and last year's time, so this was a pretty big PR. I took second in my age group and got my second milesplit interview. Onto Bobby Doyle.

Triathlon Time- Weekly Log: August 1 to 7

I waited a little too long to do my first triathlon of the year, choosing rest over Goddard and choosing Beavers over Fat Clam. Now there was no conflict with other racing/running priorities for the Block Island triathlon and I signed up. The back-to-back racing is tiring, but after many months of being unsure, I also signed up for the 2016 edition of Run 4 Kerri. I couldn't miss not only a great race but an opportunity to update my 4-mile PR, getting rid of the disaster of race that was the Ocean's Run.

Training-wise, I focused more on getting in preparation for Block, but Kerri was just as important to me.

Monday: 8 Miles
Unofficial beach race as part of a Lifeguard competition. One mile at high tide. My boss had told me that me and the other Westerly lifeguard (Nick Celico) should try to take spots two and three because a sub-4 minute miler was in the competition. When I got there, I quickly learned that we were now trying to go 3-4 and Nick was somewhat injured, having to drop out of Friday night's Blessing of the Fleet and expecting me to be ahead of him. There was also another elite runner in the field- a 1:04 half-marathoner and runner in February's Olympic marathon trials (finished in 2:30). I did a mile and a half warmup to the end of the beach and back, learning that the course was only about a kilometer (super short) and the high tide was awful to run on and only getting worse. When I got back I learned that they adjusted the course back to a mile and the mile run was the last event, meaning we wouldn't run for at least an hour. I did some strides and stayed hydrated. Eventually, the race rolled around. Many seemed to be considering wearing shoes, but I instantly decided not to as I always run barefoot on the beach. I also ran shirtless, another thing I'm used to on the beach.

We were finally ready to go. Men's heat was first. We were mostly under 20, with a few 20-somethings, and one older guy. They lined us up by beach, and I was surprised that we got the last spot. It was actually better this way- I was planning on running as close to the water as possible. Nick took the spot on the front line, and I lined up behind him. The race was started. I instantly ran out hard, quickly getting a spot in the front. After just a minute, it was the two elite guys, me, and nick. Nick started to drop off and it was us three. There were small water flows through the sand that really slowed me down. I was able to stay with them for nearly the first half until my thighs started to get really tired and they pulled away a little bit. I was a few seconds behind after the flag turn. I felt like I was slowing quite a bit on the way back as they pulled far away from me. On the other hand, no one was even close to me in the 4th position. I was able to spectate their race as I came in, but couldn't see them clearly after a while. It seemed they were really sprinting hard. I came in third, pretty happy with my result, but my time was in the 5:40s with the brutal high tide. I was going to do a cool-down, not wanting to waste the opportunity to run in Narragansett, and was surprised to run with the top guys in our race which was really cool and probably the fastest people I have ever cooled down with.

Tuesday: 12 Miles
Morning workout with Tom, Dad and Jonny Hammett. Not too challenging, did it because I wanted to get in my Tuesday double. 3x(600/400/200), recovery of 3x(400/400/200). Splits- 1:53/74/36/1:55/76/36/1:56/77/32. First time at hell field, and felt tired on the uneven grass sections. Difficulty: 2/5. 7 miles for the run.

Five at the fun run. Easyish 6:10 pace, felt pretty good. Got in my first bike of the year.

Wednesday: 8 Miles, usual fun run routine. I ran somewhat hard for a warm-up in the low 6 range for pace because I was running a little late. I wasn't feeling great and didn't feel like running my usual sub-5:30 pace but didn't want to jog it either. I decided to run low 6s, but went out a little fast. I dropped back to ask Tom about Kerri and just ran the rest of it with him because the pace was pretty good.

Also got in a swim at Narragansett as part of a lifeguard surf test.

Thursday: 7 Miles
Beach brick (15 ride+3 run), also getting in some high tide mileage. Ran one mile hard, then ran in easier. Didn't feel like high tide. Later did a track workout: 12x200 (36 target pace, did most in 34) before 3x400 (target was 74, did most in 70), recoveries were about 40s and 60s. Difficulty: 2/5. Felt great.

Friday: 5 Miles. Easy local shakeout. Struggled in get in five without doing lots of out and backs and loops.

Saturday: 7 Miles. Block Island Triathlon. Went better than expected in the bike, run was really crappy in the high tide. A few seconds slower than last year, but that's due to a shorter run. Separate write-up.

Sunday: 8 Miles, Run 4 Kerri. Went really great and not feeling too much fatigue from Block. Write-up by the end of the week.

Weekly Total: 55 Miles
YTD Mileage: 1,356 Miles

Blessing of the Fleet 2016

It’s amazing how quickly a long period of time can seem to pass. This summer, so far, has blown by. Overall, I’ve done very little with my time, but specifically in running it’s been a lot of fun training and racing. Despite racing every single week of the summer there was really only one race that actually mattered. The 45th edition of Blessing of the Fleet. This race was everything. I had upped the mileage the weeks before to the mid-50s, done some of the fun runs at target pace, got used to the longer distance through long runs and long races, and taken most of the week pretty easy. I had no doubt that I would be able to break 60, so of course I wanted to be much faster. Based off other races and runs, I figured a 5:50 pace for the ten mile race would be right around an all-out effort for me. Despite the fact that I’ve done this race three times, I remembered very little about it. Each time, I felt like a first timer to the race, including Friday night’s edition.

The first blessing I ran was in 2012. Back then, it was one of my longest runs ever. I came back the next year and ran 10 minutes faster. I apparently didn’t like the race and didn’t run it in 2014, but returned in 2015 and ran a six-minute PR of 1:01:42. A big PR was pretty inevitable, but I’d have to break 59 to be satisfied. I partially thought I would crush my expectations and run high 57s, but part of me thought I’d completely fade in the last few and barely be under 60. I wouldn’t know until Friday night, and the 29th eventually rolled around.

I didn’t do much race day, despite not being extremely nervous like last year. In fact, I wasn’t nervous at all. Around 4, Mikey and The Tallardys (separate car, they followed us) arrived and we began the trek to Gansett. I had carefully laid out my race gear, making sure I had everything I needed.

We got there, walked to the start, emptied our bladders, and scanned the crowd (or at least I did). I saw plenty of high school and college athletes, as well as a few I knew. Our warm-up was brief and relaxed, with a final bathroom stop at the intersection of Boon and Continental street. Looking back at last year’s warm-up, I noticed that the two were nearly identical (with the same bathroom stop, too). We got back, and the final pre-race moments were here. Now, many runners were gathered near the start. I saw many doing strides, including Blessing champion Matt Pelletier. I did one- not because I felt I needed it, but because I wanted to check if my shoes were tight enough. They felt slightly loose, so I tightened them, but a little worried I had put them on too tight. Next, we went to the start. I was actually very nervous at the time, but for the wrong reasons. I was worried I’d be uncomfortable because my shoes were on too tight and also worried I might have to use the bathroom mid-race. I was able to dismiss my thoughts and get to the top 100 corral, but wasn’t really psyched to run this race. Another worrying factor was the weather- it was low 80s and humid. I wasn’t as worried as others, but it’s never fun to run in the heat. I talked a little to some of the other WTAC runners at the start, especially Jonny Eckel. I thought we had more time than we did, but suddenly the race was started.

I'm tucked in a few rows back towards the right.

Blessing 2016- The Race

First Mile (To the Ocean)

I had lined up in the third row so I wouldn’t sucked into going out faster than I needed to, but it was perhaps too far back. The pace felt so easy. At the very beginning, I was right behind Jonny Hammett and Justin Bentley, but felt a little too close to them and went around. The first mile was so easy, it might as well have been part of the warm-up. In some ways, it was like one. I had planned to go out slightly faster than my 5:50 goal on this mile, because of the downhill. I saw 5:50 pace a quarter mile into the race. I picked it up and went around people, talked a little to Nik Reygadas (mid-distance high school runner) who said he was shooting for about 60-flat, and Alex Campagna (distance runner who graduated from LaSalle in June) who said he was running easy. I was trying to run my plan of a faster first mile, and went by them. At one point, Tom was right behind me, but then dropped off. After that, I felt alone. There were still people all around me, but the ones I knew were behind me and I wasn’t intentionally running with anyone. The only people I could recognize ahead were Mike Kiernan and Jake Cardello (two recent graduates from Hendricken who ran distance), running in a big pack with others. I had beat both of them before, but wasn’t sure if I could catch either because they excelled in long distance. I was cruising comfortably most of the mile, but had underestimated how easy it would feel and went a little too fast at a first split of 5:37.

Running easy a quarter mile in

Starting the long ocean road section

To the Highway (Miles 2-4)

This was the part of the course I didn’t remember. I remembered running several miles on Ocean Road, but didn’t remember that you couldn’t really see the ocean for most of it. I tried to slow down to my target pace of 5:50 during Mile 2, and was somewhat successful, producing a split of 5:48. I was solo running, but after being passed by a blue-singlet runner, I tried to stay with him. I’m not sure why- maybe I felt like I was slowing down and needed a boost back up. Either way, it ended up in a very fast third mile of 5:37. Just three miles in, I was starting to feel crappy. I noticed that my shoes were tight and hot, I didn’t feel very strong, and my thighs felt a little worn out. It wasn’t difficult to run my splits, but I was worried I may have gone out too fast and have made the back half really hard for myself. After seeing such a fast third mile, I backed off the blue singlet runner a little and started running solo again. Mile 4 was awful- I still knew I had plenty to go, grew more and more weak and really, really wished I was at mile 8+. I took water from about every other station, but never saw the bags of ice that are usually handed out. Before the end of mile 4, we turned off Ocean Road and there was a man calling out places. I think I was about 25th place, a little surprised to be up so high, but I knew it was also still pretty early in the race. There was a slight hill at the end. Mile 4- 5:48.

The Awful Highway Miles (Mile 5 and 6)

I was at about a 5:42 average pace, and I knew if I ran decent splits on the highway I'd probably go under 59. Unfortunately, I had to get through two awful miles before then. It wasn’t just two miles where I felt weak and tired, but two miles where I could see a long road ahead, had a view of cars passing by, and melted in the sun. Despite this, I kept the pace going strong when others didn’t. Mile 5 didn’t feel too bad, and I somehow clocked a 5:41 split. I passed the blue singlet runner and saw ahead that the Bishop Hendricken pack had fallen apart. Mile 6 was brutal. The highway just dragged on with a full view of how much I still had to run. The sunlight was direct, because most of it was pretty open despite a few moments of shaded relief. Before making my exit off the highway, I passed Bishop Hendricken graduate Jake Cardello, who looked like he was struggling. Mile 6 was 5:56, my slowest so far.

Some Shade (Mile 7 and 8)

It was nice to get out of the sun, but I still felt worse than ever. I was still able to run quality splits, but was really tired. I was also presented with another problem- I might seriously have to go. I caught up to Mike Kiernan and ran with him for a quarter mile. He told me that he ran out in 5:20s pace. I passed him, he passed me back, I passed him back. I saw the portapotty up ahead and was very tempted to use it, but wasn’t willing to slow down, stop, get in there, go, get back out and then try to continue 5:45 pace. Mile 7 ended (5:43), and I no longer had bathroom opportunities. I was surprised to hear Sean McDonald cheer for me at the end of the mile, one of the many cheers I heard, but one of the few times I was able to recognize the face. We eventually got off the super shaded road. I was passing people and no one was passing me. I splashed water over myself, resulting in temporary relief but a heavy and wet singlet. Don’t know if it was worth it. Mile 8 was finishing up on South Pier Road and even though repassing the school was a good sign because I was almost done and had nearly secured a sub-59 finish, every step I took was with weakness, fatigue, pain, and unhappiness. Mile 8-5:47.

Last Two (Mile 9 and 10)

Last year the last two miles were the hardest for me, and it was the same this year. I was so tired, so weak, and so ready to just quit. I kept going, but it was very unpleasant. Nothing provided any relief anymore- everything felt the same in my weak state. Not even the rain would have helped me here. My south pier road experience was a little strange. Running by Scott Mason was normal, but seeing Eric Lonergan and Sam Alexander was unexpected. For a second, I thought Lonergan had dropped out but then I realized he was here to watch- and he yelled something out to a Rhode Runner near me who I had been going back and forth with. Eventually, the race went up the final hill, and final section of South Pier Road. Despite the hill being very small in size, it still made me tired and I saw my watch tick up a few seconds in average pace. Mile 9 was another 5:47. I was trying to figure out my pace, and was wondering if sub-58 was possible. We made the turn onto 1A. Even though I had less than a mile to go, the horrible feeling I had lingered and I still felt really unpleasant. I couldn’t wait to get off this road, but the turn didn’t feel like it was coming. Fortunately, I was able to cruise on the downhill, which kept me going. I made the final turn of the race- and I wasn’t ready to kick. I didn’t kick. I certainly picked it up but the weakness I still felt kept me from putting everything out there. I wanted to finish, but didn’t want to feel any worse than I did at that time. I still gave it a decent effort at the end. It looked far away but I picked it up some more and crossed the line somewhere in the 57:40s. Big success, unpleasant experience.

Post-Race

Part of me wanted to wait to watch everyone I knew finish, but I had an extreme desire to get away from the finish and head for refreshments. I walked around weakly and was given a massive lemonade-flavored Gatorade by the Ponagansett coach which was really nice. I walked further down and saw the milesplit website official photographer/writer/interviewer Steve Mazzone, who was talking to Pelletier (overall winner for the third straight year and seventh time) in a video interview. I continued walking around, got some cold water and removed the contents on my head, which was very relieving. It was disappointing to see many runners I knew be off their goal times, but it made sense with the heat. There were still some very solid performances out there. I ended up snagging 12th overall, 2nd in age group. A long wait for awards- filled with conversation, a unique sports drink, fruit, and extreme tiredness. I picked up a $50 certificate for Wakefield Running Company, which was pretty nice to get. The rest of the evening consisted of happiness, stomach distress, a quality dinner, and weakness. Even though I suffered for about 45 minutes, it was completely worth it. The 10 mile is a really great distance and even though I like to run 5Ks this seemed so much better. I’m already excited for next year’s edition (I don’t plan races this early, but I think I can confirm my presence at this one for years to come), with no time goals in my mind just yet.