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.
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| 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.
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Running easy a quarter mile in
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| 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.
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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
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