Beavers '16

I usually go on and on in my race reports, but after several failed attempts at creating one, I've lost of a lot of interest in this one and focused on writing on my Blessing report (which is finished, but I still need to edit and add photos). It's almost two weeks late (which is still better than most WTAC runner's race reports), but I finally got it done.

This wasn't a big race for me. Just a fun RI event that I had been wanting to run for a while and a good place to race with fellow WTACers. Couldn't resist not running it and jumped in at the last minute. I ignored the weather forecast because I usually run well regardless of temperature and felt ready to give a hard effort for the ten-miler race, even though I wasn't looking forward to the ten-mile format. The warm-up went a little long and had far too deerflies in our company, but we were soon on the line, awaiting the start.

Trying to get a good starting position next to trail master Steve Brightman.

But then making the mistake of going out too fast right behind him.

Lap 1
I had been given advice to run harder than usual at the start to get a good position going into the singletrack. It was a good idea, but I didn't really think it through. Steve Brightman took it out hard and the pace was around low 6s for the first quarter mile. I tailed right behind him but then realized I had plenty of room behind and that I still had the whole race ahead and backed off a tiny bit. We entered the woods 1 and 2. I was a little surprised how rocky and technical some of the trail was but felt pretty good the first mile. Brightman had about 10-20 meters on me, but eventually that gap disappeared and I was close behind. Shortly after, another gap closed- there were people right behind me and a pack had formed. Before eventually exiting single-track at about 2.5 miles in, I was starting to feel tired and I dropped to fourth but we were all pretty close to each other. At the waterstop, I saw Brightman pour water on his head and I did the same. It was some nice relief but also soaked my shirt. Orange Singlet and Brightman got a little ahead before going on another singletrack, and I took the opportunity to surge ahead and grab third place as yellow singlet was slowing a little. The trails weren't as hard now (if I remember correctly), but I started to feel really awful. It was hot and I was weak. The rest of the lap was awful- we all maintained the same positions except yellow singlet was swapped out by another yellow singlet (I didn't realize it until looking at Scott Mason's photos). My favorite part was the non-technical section by the pond, but that fun was ended with a steep climb. I felt pretty horrible (and was off the pace I should've been running) at the end of lap 1 and starting lap 2 wasn't fun at all.

(Miserably) starting lap 2.

About to slow down on this hill.

Lap 2
Brightman was far ahead now, but the yellow singlet guy wasn't too far behind. I eventually lost sight of Brightman as I was fading in the heat with my lack of strength, so eventually the yellow singlet guy passed me and ran away from me. The entire lap was horrible. I kept slowing down more and more and felt like I was in hell. I couldn't wait to get to the waterstop but it was a grueling mile and a half before that. During that mile, I was able to spot Muddy not too far behind. I finally got to the waterstop, barely even moving at that point. I looked back at the sharp turns and it seemed like Muddy was catching up quickly. I crossed the log bridge slowly and with the caution then looked back at the turn into the woods. Now it looked like Muddy was way behind (and had possibly fallen off the bridge). In the last mile, I was just waiting for him to pass. I felt like I was running 12 minute pace. He finally came up behind me, but much later than I anticipated and he wasn't making much of a move. I was able to pick it up the final quarter mile and hold him off, but that and the first quarter mile were the only times I was actually running somewhat fast.


I don't even remember my time because it was pretty pathetic and not even close to what I originally anticipated. I guess it made sense I'd be a little off when it's this hot but I felt like I completely died out there. I've run many 3Ks that felt terrible, but this was a new experience. The last eight were just completely suffering as I melted and my soul was sucked out of me while it seemed to take ages to finish. After finishing, I took a few moments to catch my breath and not topple over. I enjoyed the shade around me, but it was not fun to see that I had to walk over to a hot spot to get water. It was worth it- ice cold refreshment to the head, mouth and body.

I actually didn't plan on writing this much, but my original idea was to do a brief summary and have a list of pro and cons, so I'll conclude with that.

Pros

• Variety of Terrain
• Extremely Well-Marked
• Easy Bathroom Access
• Cold Refreshments

Cons

• Extremely difficult to keep going
• My Performance
• Two Laps

Considering how painful and unenjoyable this race was, I can't say I want to come back anytime soon. On the other hand, I also have a slight interest in establishing a much better course PR for myself so maybe in a long time, I'll be ready for this one again.

Blessing- Weekly Log: July 25 to 31

Finally, the most important of the race of the summer has come...the 2016 edition of the blessing of the fleet 10 mile road race. I've been thinking about this race the entire summer, ready to not only cross off my long-time goal of sub-60, but feeling ready to run in the 58s.

Monday: 9 Miles.

First run was a track workout. Short warm-ups and cool-downs, workout of 4x800 at 75s each (slightly faster than 5K). Splits: 75/75/74/73/73/72/72/71. Recovery was 45s between each, but 2 mins between the 4th and 5th. Felt comfortable and actually enjoyed it. Difficulty: 2/5

Second run was Chariho fun run. I was thinking about doing this as an extended cool down, but ran a little harder than that. Short warm-up, and then I took it pretty easy in the mile. There was a 20 minute wait before the three mile, and then it finally went off. Many of the top Chariho runners, were running a tempo, meaning my easy pace would put me much further back. I ran out in 6:45 for the first mile. I probably should've stayed at that pace, but for some reason I got an urge to pick it up and pass people. Final pace was 6:24.

Tuesday: 11 Miles

Started with 5 in the morning, no breakfast or snack before, local loop via wicklow, shore road, tom Harvey, and a few side roads (and a grass path). Pace was pretty easy, but legs felt a little trashed. Three days out, it wasn't a worrying sign for Blessing, but notable. Probably from the speedwork yesterday.

6 in the evening at the fun run. Super hot temperatures, in the 90s. 2-Mi warm-up already covered me in sweat. Ran the fun run easy at first, but then regretted it as I was completely boxed in. After a quarter mile, I passed the huge crowd and went for the faster runners. Started a 6:40 pace, and brought it down to the 6:20s, passing everyone but one. Felt great despite the temps, and even went for a cool-down.

Wednesday: 7 Miles. Westerly Fun Run. Ran super easy and somehow still snagged third place overall in a low 21s time. Slow week, I guess. Legs not feeling great and super weird not running it hard. Tacked on some beach miles for CD.

Thursday: 3 Miles. Awful direct sunlight 10AM run. Easy Newbury loop at super slow pace, no fuel for this one. Got attacked by the PM halfway through and it was all really unpleasant after that.

Friday: 11 Miles. After waiting around all day doing nothing, it was finally time for the Blessing of the Fleet. It was a sufferfest, but it could have been worse and I ended up running really well. Separate report coming soon.

Saturday: 6 Miles on heavy and trashed legs through Champlin trails. It was actually somewhat fun. Ran in the evening, which was pretty nice.

Sunday: 9 Miles. Thighs and legs still feeling really crappy, ran a little longer but took pace easy in Woody Hill. Was going to post, but got this message below:

A few other things:

• Signed up for this year's Run 4 Kerri. Even though I usually run it, for some reason I hadn't planned on doing it this year. I changed my mind in Early July, and it looks like it's going a great year for the race.
• Monday I have an unofficial beach race as part of a Lifeguard tournament in Narragansett. It's supposed to be high tide and the distance is just a mere mile, so I'm not really looking forward to it.
• This was my second highest week ever, after the 61 I ran in Iceland. Barely beat out last week's total of 55.

Weekly Total: 56 Miles

YTD Mileage: 1,301 Miles

Beavers- Weekly Log: July 18 to 24

Mid-way through the week, decided to run the beavers trail race. Signed up the last day possible. Light running most of the week, wrapping up Iceland, and a strong performance at Wednesday's fun run.

Monday: 4 Miles, exploring the sights of Reykjavik at 11 PM. Too late and slightly worn out, but enjoyed seeing cool buildings like hallgrimskirkja and harpa. Easy recovery run, but still getting tired at the end.

Harpa

Tuesday: 6 Miles. Steep run up Mount Esja was quite challenging, but getting to the top was completely worth it. 2,800 feet of elevation gain, and then back down. Found a cool forest trail at the bottom, but hard to follow and muddy.

Wednesday: 8 Miles. Planned on usual fun run routine of 3-mile warm-up, fun run at 10K pace (but a little faster than planned), 2-mile cool down. For some reason, the Westerly fun runs seem to feel horrible every single time and never are a fun experience (during the race). I arrived early and waited around, did a few strides. The start was a little different- a whistle instead of the ready, set, go. Only this time we did not receive pre-race instructions, so when the whistle blew it was sudden and unexpected. I was slightly annoyed by the amount of kids sprinting out next to me, so I surged out hard to get away from them before settling into a more comfortable pace. I always feel comfortable on Maplewood, but usually by the time I get to Crandall I'm already not feeling smooth anymore. That was not the case today. I was breathing harder, but felt great on every turn, never running slower than a 5:30 pace. I felt strong finishing the first mile. I had people only 20 or 30 meters back, but they dropped off after the turn onto Maplewood. I still felt strong- and actually picked it up Mile 2. I ran up the hills hard. I felt great on the turn onto Crandall and had completely dropped everyone at this point. I figured since I felt great, I might as well go for a course PR (17:10). I kept picking it up, even sprinting at the end and had dropped average pace down all the way to 5:14 (5:07 last mile, 4:30 pace for last .2). I finished in a surprising 16:46, my watch split a 16:17. Somehow I comfortably ran only a few seconds off my PR, while not going even close to all-out. Very happy with this performance.

Thursday: 13 Miles.

Started out in the morning with an easy woody hill run. Felt like the pace was okay, but somehow ran a 10 minute first mile. Weird. Deerfly free for a while, until they swarmed us at the end. Haven't been in the place for a while. Nice, easy and mostly enjoyable start to the day.

Finished with five in the evening, first time I was able to attend one of my coach's track workouts. I was hoping it would be super easy, but I was not looking forward to returning to the track. It didn't end up being easy- 4x800 at 2:23 goal pace. Haven't run on the track, worn spikes, or run anything faster than 5K pace since track season- so this was tough. Not brutal like some other track workouts I've done, but pretty hard. 90 seconds recovery. First one was kinda comfortable, but after that they were tough. The last one was changed to a 2:30, but only 60 seconds recovery. Splits were- 2:21/2:17/2:19/2:29. Easy warm-ups and cool-downs with Aaron T. Difficulty: 4/5. Not looking forward to the next one, but bringing speedwork back into my training (right now it's more endurance) will definitely help going into the XC season.

Friday: 3 Miles. Shorter than a typical shakeout, but the race will likely be challenging. Plus, my legs were a little fatigued from the workout yesterday. It was a morning run with Tom, Dad, and Aaron. The pace was easy but didn't feel great.

Saturday: 13 Miles, Run with the Beavers. Felt horrible the whole time, and despite being resistant to heat in other hot runs/races, the 90+ temps sucked out my energy. I was way off on time, and never felt strong. I'll do a separate write-up.

Sunday: 8 Miles. Wasn't sure what I wanted to do after Beavers. I wanted to take most of next week easy, but wasn't feeling worn out from the race so decided to do a moderate effort. I was actually thinking of doing 3-5 miles at tempo pace, but that would be a little too aggressive and harder than wanted. I did a around the pond loop at a moderate pace, but felt pretty comfortable throughout. Hated the first four, comfortable with pace but constantly running next to cars. When I got away from the busy section, it was more relaxing. I ended up running 6:20 average pace, with mostly progressive splits. Instead of doing strides at the end, I just closed hard instead. I typically don't care for running from home (bored of running the same routes all the time), but this was actually pretty nice.

Weekly Total: 55 Miles (2nd Highest week ever (after last week's 61), 6th or 7th time over 50)
YTD Total: 1,245 Miles

Iceland- Weekly Log: July 11 to 17

Missing the fun runs is never fun, but it's definitely worth it when you get to try out an all new and excellent running location. This week not only gave me some insane runs, but other kinds of notable achievements. The Wednesday-Tuesday format is kinda strange, as this week and next week's log will include both local runs and Iceland runs, instead of having one location only for one week, and the other for the next.

Monday: 4 Miles. Was planning to go to my coach's track workout, but it didn't go as planned and ended up not happened. On the bright side, my calves were dead after Sailfest, so perhaps it was better not to do a workout. I got home and didn't have much interest in running, not even sure if I'd even do a run. After all, I had taken the last couple of Mondays off. It seemed strange not running after planning to, so I went out for an easy recovery jog. Usually, running from home (at least solo) is a tiring and unpleasant experience (just bored of the same old roads), but the easy pace, quiet roads, and evening temperature actually made it fun. One of the best recovery runs I've done.

Tuesday: 8 Miles. I figured making the transition from a 5K to 10K would be hard, and perhaps a longer workout at 10K pace could help. Planned it out, and ran it on the Avondale loop (1K circuit). 7x1K at 10K pace, 400m jog recovery. Absolutely brutal and a little worrying for Friday night's 10K. Splits: 3:23/3:24/3:21/3:20/3:21/3:18/3:20. Felt terrible after a bathroom break early on, and was exhausted after only three repeats. I was able to stay on pace for all, but none were very fun. Difficulty: 5/5.

Wednesday: 13 Miles. First runs in Iceland. Terrible plane flight over, where I couldn't rest, partly because my back pain was equal to back pain on Upper Walking Boss. Got to the hotel, slept another hour. I wanted to keep sleeping (I only had 3-4 hours of sleep that night), but this was the only opportunity to run in the morning, so I couldn't let it pass. Felt absolutely horrible going out. Running at 9 minute pace for half a mile felt like I was racing and could barely keep up. But just two miles in, I felt much better, and a mile after that I felt great. We explored roads in Keflavik, my favorite being a bike/run path along the ocean where I cruised comfortably in the 6s for a couple miles. By the time we got back, I felt much better than I had prior to the run.

In the evening, we ran again. I kinda ran alone on this one. We started from the Blue Lagoon parking lot. I was attempting to run a 10K loop posted on the site running in iceland, but got confused and just went out on the main path instead of the road. I ended up doing a different route (out and back instead of a loop), but still got the 6 miles I wanted. I felt awesome and pushed the pace on the way back. There was a mix of paths- a rolling hills path with loose rocks that was rough to run on, and an easy flat paved path for faster running with an excellent view of the mountain. I much preferred the latter. Was actually planning LSD in the morning, but this was equally good.

Thursday: 5 Miles. One of the best runs of the year. We ran on this amazing path along the cliffs of the southern Snæfellsnes Peninsula. It was extremely rocky and constantly rolling, and it was extremely cool. The view was excellent the whole way, but the terrain was the most interesting part. Much slower with the difficult path, but much more fun. The only downside was that Arctic Terns kept attacking me at the very beginning and end.

Friday: 9 Miles. Missing the coastal road 10K in Westfjords was really disappointing, but I got over it quickly. On the bright side, I would be able to rest up for Sunday's much longer race. I wanted to go for a longer run, so 9 was pretty good for the day. Easy pace, but the only run here where I didn't feel great. Route was okay- way too isolated, but some cool views and the company of sheep.

Saturday: 6 Miles. Easy run/shakeout for Vesturgatan. Planned 3, but was feeling pretty good and kept going. My knee had a random and awkward pain that made running difficult, but fortunately went away after a couple of miles. Ran out to a beach with great views of the water and mountains nearby, then explored the small town a little more.

Sunday: 16 Miles. Vesturgatan 24K. New longest run PR at 15 miles. New race experience. It was a good end to the week, at least running-wise.  See separate write-up.

I was happy with Sunday's effort, as I didn't need to go all out, but still got in a hard long run. It took way too much time in total, but I ended up breaking two distance PRs of my own. First was longest run, this one was 15 miles and previous was mid-13. Second one was weekly, this was 61 and my previous best was 53. Solid week of running and training, especially exploring a new location. See next week's log for the wrap-up of running on the trip.

My highest week ever by 8 miles (and made top three in both Distance and Elevation on the leaderboard)

Sorry about the lack of pictures. As amazing as the views were, I took very few pictures, as I don't care to run with my phone.

Weekly Total: 61 Miles
YTD Total: 1,190 Miles

Heil Vesturgatan 24K

Before making the trip to the country of Iceland, there was a search to find a race to run there. Aided by a website, there were three possible options for racing. Considering one was an ultramarathon (although it did look cool), the options were down to two, both part of a weekend event. The event was Runner's Festival Westfjords- a three day event (July 15 to 17), with many events, including two road races, three trail races, swimming, biking, a fun run. Despite the amount of events, I ended up doing one- Sunday's Vesturgatan trail ("wilderness") race. There were three distance options- the half vesturgatan 10K, the heil vesturgatan 24K, and the tvofold vesturgatan 45K. 45K was way too long, but considering the next race was Blessing, the 24K may be a good tune up into racing longer distances. Signed up, barely made the packet pick-up, and was ready to run on Sunday (kinda).

I originally planned on putting this on my weekly log, but after the amount I wrote on, it seemed to deserve a separate post.

Wake up was about 7 AM, where I had a bad race-day breakfast. I ate just some cereal, some skyr (Icelandic Yogurt), and a bar. I should be eating much more, especially for a hilly 15-mile race, but there weren't a lot of options, especially without usable microwaves and ovens in the hotel.

My knee had some random pain yesterday. It went away overnight, but now felt numb, stiff and like it may seriously affect my race. Running made it feel better, so I was hoping I would feel good on the warm-up. It was an hour bus ride over, where we went over a mountain. It was a scary road, right on the edge the whole time. The 45K runners had to run up it- 2000 feet of elevation gain in just a couple of miles! Good thing I wasn't doing that race. We still had a good amount of hills however, with just under 2000 ft total elevation gain in the race. However, it was split up well and there were only a couple of climbs that might be extremely difficult. We finally got off the bus, and I felt a little cold. I was wearing my Asics running jacket I bought in NH (at the Merrimack premium outlets on the way back from loon), but it didn't keep me warm just standing around. There was no bathroom near the start- it was just find your own area and hope no one sees you. I was worried I might have a bathroom problem during race. About 25 minutes before the start, we went on our warm-up. Just a mile easy on the main dirt path. We didn't get to preview much of the race course. The awkward feeling in my knee went down, but not away.

There were three buses. The first two were full and departed, then this one showed up.

It was much larger and looked much cozier than the first two, so I was happy to take it.

It was time to line up. Last few sips of powerade, strip down to race gear, tie my shoes (in which I seriously thought about what I was going to wear- was it a hard packed dirt road that my road trainers (Saucony Kinvara) would handle fine on, or was it a rockier path that I'd need my trail shoes (Saucony Peregrine)? On the way over, I was just about set on road shoes, but when we got to the start, that wasn't going to work. The path became different, with a two-lane softer dirt road with many rocks. There were also stream crossings, a cool feature, but one that would require heavier and more water resistant shoes. I put on my Peregrines tightly and headed over. The start was right after a stream crossing (if the field was bigger, people would be starting in the stream). I hopped over on the rocks to avoid getting wet pre-race, but others just walked across, not minding the wetness. I jogged out a little on the course then headed back. The announcer acknowledged that some of us speak only English, but then went on to give a long list of Icelandic instructions. Not helpful. Fortunately, counting down to the start was much clearer and we were off.

Right after the first turn were rocks. It was a cool path, one of the lowest points in elevation of the entire race, but extremely hard to run. We were running on rocks, not dirt. It was uneven, hard, and out of balance. The two top runners, some of the few in singlets, took it out ahead and put 30-40 meters on the rest of the field. I ran close to Dad and some fast-looking woman for half a mile, before breaking away a little and running in third place. I was surprised my pace was about 6:30, because I planned to go out really slowly and see how I felt. My knee feeling had gone away and I felt pretty comfortable. The entire first mile had a really weird surface, with awkward running over the hard and unbalanced rocks, but since it was so early on and the pace didn't feel aggressive, I didn't mind too much. Mile one split was a 6:28, and I'm about 50 meters back from the top two guys. Shortly after the end of the first mile, we switched to a wide dirt road. We came up to the first major hill, and I was very surprised at what I saw ahead of me- both of the leaders were walking. They must've underestimated their lead, because by the top of the hill, I was only five meters back and pretty much part of the lead pack. Once they saw I had close I had gotten, they started running again. I ran pretty close to them for the next few miles, happy with the pace. Splits- 7:00, 6:37. My 5K split was a high 20s, and I was feeling great. The path had been on the main dirt road at the edge of the fjord the whole race, most of it a two lane path with rocks on top. This was the first time we would go away from the edge. We ran inland for a quarter mile, and it looked like the path continued inland. I was close behind the leaders, ready to continue on the path, but they suddenly turned left on a grass single track. I had enough distance to make the turn, but wasn't expecting it. The single track ended shortly, we crossed a bridge, and quickly made our way back out alongside the ocean cliffs. Mile 4- 6:56.

Rocky Path at the Beginning

But this double-lane (with grass in the middle) dirt path was what most of the course was like.

It looked like our pack had a good lead on the next runners, which Dad was among. The next two miles were pretty uneventful. I stuck behind the top guys, occasionally enjoying the amazing view, and thinking about race strategy. I started to think about going for the lead, as I seemed more comfortable than the other two guys, but kept thinking about the grass turn, and how they weren't any course markings. Based on the winner from last year's Strava post, it looked like you stayed on the main road the whole time- but there may be upcoming sections where I can't tell where that is. I stuck with them for a while longer, and noticed their strange waterstop habits of actually stopping and walking when drinking the water. I did as well, only because I didn't want to get a lead and be confused on where to go. Mile 5 was 7:07, Mile 6 was 6:55.

Soon enough, the race got a little more exciting. The younger of the two guys in our group (excluding me) dropped back and now it was just us. At first, he stayed 5-10 meters behind, but eventually dropped 30-40 meters back. I was still extremely comfortable, but a little frustrated about my worries about be unable to take the lead because I don't know the course. I was just sitting on the top guy now, ready to make a move at any point. He seemed surprised I had stayed with him this long, and asked me where I'm from. Sometimes I would run by his side in the other lane, while sometimes I would linger just behind him. It was easy, but I wasn't happy that the pace was gradually slowing, and was slightly annoyed with the way he was running. He got aggressive on the uphills, and I would fall a meter or two back, but when we got to the downhills and flats, it seemed like he would slow down quite a bit, making it really hard for me not to pass. He'd also randomly surge on some flats and not others, which made me excited that he was picking it up, until he decided to slow down again. The pattern continued for the next two miles, and I stayed comfortable, having exerted little fatigue so far. 7 and 8 splits were 6:50 and 6:30.

Every once in a while, I take a look back. The third guy became out of reach and was eventually passed by Dad. Dad kept getting closer and closer, especially as we slowed down, and eventually joined our pack at about 8 and a half miles in. He asked me how I felt, and I told him I was running easy. Dad and the other leader (his name was Gisli), swapped positions frequently while I sat behind, running easy. Mile 9 was actually the last mile I would run easy, that split was 7:06. Suddenly it went from easy to hard, my thighs got tired and my feet felt worn out. Over the next mile, it started to actually feel like I had just run 9 miles at sub-7 pace. I still felt strong and could easily pick up the pace, but my lower body started to take on fatigue. Mile 10 was 6:36.

Somewhere around Mile 9

At this point, I went from sitting on them and thinking about making a move to wondering if I could still stay with them. I was pretty tired now, but still running the same pace. We hung as a pack for another mile, run in 6:36. At one point, we went down a good size downhill, and I naturally picked it up. I felt like both of them were running too slow and cruised by, leading for the first time in the race, and opening 10 meters. I didn't feel like I had made a major move and was waiting for us to become a pack again, but the lead only increased. By the end of the mile, it was about 30 meters. Mile 12 was my fastest of the race- 6:13. The road made a turn away from the water and into the lava fields. I passed a few roads that went right, not sure on whether to take them, but decided not to. My lead opened up to 100 meters. There was a steep climb to the left, and I was hoping that wasn't on the main road. Eventually, we got out of the lava fields sections and took a left on soft sand, crossed a bridge and started climbing. I had a pretty big lead and started to think this race was mine. Mile 13 was 6:48. The climb was slow, felt long, and didn't help my aching legs. The trail became really cool, with insanely steep drops off the side. I wanted to get water at the final stop, which was to my right, but a car came between me and the waterstop, and I was unable to quench my thirst. The climb eventually leveled off and the hills became rolling again. I looked back a few times, and couldn't even see anyone. Mile 14 was understandably slow- 7:13. My legs were pretty fried now, and I just needed to finish strong. I knew I had the win. It was relieving to see the 1K to go sign, and when I passed a slower runner in the 45K who was finishing up, he gave me words of encouragement, first in English, then in Icelandic. It was only a short time after that I finally could see the finish- and it was a steep downhill until then. About .4 to go, and now the pace was blazing. I ran sub-6 for the entire section, with the last 0.1 at 4:30 pace. It looked like a finish chute, but for some reason I wasn't completely convinced it was the finish because the words were in Icelandic. When I stopped and the mat beeped when I crossed the line, I knew I was done. They gave me a blanket and a medal, as well as asking if I was okay. My finish time was 1:41:20, Dad was exactly one minute behind in 1:42:20, and Gisli was slightly behind him.

Top three in the 24K.

Waited an hour for awards, but refreshments were nice- didn't care for the Icelandic Gatorade but there was some lemon-lime sports mix that was good. I had a few chocolate energy bars as well. Awards ceremony was so weird- done completely in Icelandic and I had no idea when to go up. A runner from Iceland told me they called me, and I stood up on the podium. I feel like my name was called 6 or 7 times and ended up going up three times. I got a running jacket, and loads of other stuff I couldn't really use. I was supposed to get another jacket at some local store, but we didn't have enough time as it was a long ride to Reykjavik. I also ended up getting gift certificates and discounts to local restaurants and hotels, but we were unable to redeem them.

Legs hurt the rest of the day. I was pretty happy with the performance. I mainly wanted to get in a long run (it ended up being the longest run of my life) at a hard, but not quite all-out effort, and that's what I ended up doing. The only negative feelings I have towards the race are the lack of course markings, but nearly everything else was done well. Very surprised on how great I felt for most of it. It'll be quite some before I do another Icelandic race recap- hopefully Reykjavik Marathon in the 2020s.

The Stonington Strava Segment Holders

In case you didn't read the post I did a month back on runners on strava who have CRs in Westerly, this will follow the same format, only this time in the town of Stonington. See the segment holders in this town below, ordered from ones with the most CRs to the ones with the least.

Matthew Walker (Dog Watch Finish, Robinson Street, Escape From Ender's Island, Mason's Island Bridge, Mason's Island Bridge to Beach, Stillman Ave South, Vine Sprint, Pawcatuck River Bumps, River Road (Clark to Mary Hall), Jerry Browne Sprint, Mistuxet Ave, Mistuxet Ave Hill, Wequetequock Cove Return, East Main Spur, Kelley's Finish, Coogan West, Arch Sprint, SM Cemetery Climb, Northern Barn Loop, Penguins Finish, Asher Long Climb, Pawcatuck Lions 5K, Field Street Climb)
23 Total: 20 Road, 3 Trail
101 Segments Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 24%

Matthew Ridley (Prentice Williams Rd Climb, Montauk Rd. south bound, Rose Ln. east bound, Along the shipyard, Bradford Rd. Climb, East Side Mystic River North, Mistuxet Ave. East, Whitford Road Climb, Hewitt North, Mystic Main St Loop Reverse, Mystic Main St Loop)

11 Total: 11 Road, 0 Trail
97 Segment CRs Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 11%

John Fox (Montauk Ave Climb, Prentice Williams Rd Climb, Lords Hill Rd west bound, Montauk Rd. north bound, Noyes Ave. north bound, Flanders Rd. mid north bound, Cove Road, Mistuxet to Aquarium, Old Deans Mill)

9 Total: 8 Road, 1 Trail
Segment CRs Total: ?
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: ?

Jeff Walker (Mechanic, West Main Spur, Stone Fort Loop)
3 Total: 1 Road, 2 Trail
46 Segment CRs Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 6%

Dirk Vlieks (Boulder Ave. north bound, Al Harvey Rd Climb, Mistuxet Ave. upper west bound)
3 Total: 3 Road, 0 Trail
8 Segment CRs Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 38%

Jonny Hammett (New London Turnpike Climb, Deer Ridge Hill)

2 Total: 2 Road, 0 Trail
100 Segment CRs Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 2%

Stanley Mickus (Deans Mill Rd. lower north bound, Cove Rd. south bound)

2 Total: 2 Road, 0 Trail
5 Segment CRs Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 40%

Jeff Campbell (Gallup Hill Rd Climb, hill to camp)
2 Total: 0 Road, 2 Trail
2 Segment CRs Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 100%

Paul Gray (Pine Street, Borough School〜Salt Acres RT)
2 Total: 2 Road, 0 Trail
2 Segment CRs Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 100%

Michael Crutchley (Palmer Street Climb)
1 Total: 1 Road, 0 Trail
43 Segment CRs Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 2%

Christopher Keener (Elihu Island Rd〜St Cemetery/NE)
1 Total: 1 Road, 0 Trail
1 Segment CR Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 100%

Chris Garvin (Dog Watch 5km)
1 Total: 1 Road, 0 Trail
158 Segment CRs Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 1%

Chris Chevalier (Borough School〜Velvet Mill/SE corner

1 Total: 1 Road, 0 Trail
1 Segment CR Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 100%

Connor Montgomery (Stonington Cemetery〜Fire House)
1 Total: 1 Road, 0 Trail
31 Segment CRs Total:
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 3%

Kier Huehnergarth (Collins Rd. north bound)
1 Total: 1 Road, 0 Trail
6 Segment CRs Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 16%

Alexander Duncan (Bumpy Wilcox Detour)
1 Total: 1 Road, 0 Trail
3 Segment CRs Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 33%

Ben Folsom (Vladimir's Loop)
1 Total: 1 Road, 0 Trail
5 Segment CRs Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 20%

Daniel Christianson (North Stonington Road Climb)

1 Total: 1 Road, 0 Trail
1 Segment CR Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 100%

Mystic Runner (Ballet)

1 Total: 1 Road, 0 Trail
1 Segment CR Total
Percent of Segment CRs in Stonington: 100%

I might make one of these posts for Hopkinton, Richmond, Charlestown and Groton sometime in the future.

Sailfest

There's always some goal to be achieved in a race, and in a fast road 5K it's usually about time. Time was what I was basing my goal on at my most recent race, the Sailfest 5K. I've come a long way in the distance, and when I started to get serious about my training, I started to set goals. The best goals were those that were under a certain whole minute (ex: sub-25, sub-24, sub-23, sub-22, etc.). The most satisfying goal that was a specific minute was sub-9 in the 3K, but now it's back to 5K season. I don't remember a time where I specifically wanted to run sub-18, 19 or 20. I do remember that sub-17 was a big deal. I had weird scenario where I thought I smashed the goal (16:26), only to find out a few months later after my times weren't improving that the course was short. I managed to run a 16:29 on a certified course at the state meet, but as I only ran three 5Ks between then and the end of track I was unable to beat that time. I finally beat it at Rocky Point 5K with a 16:27 effort, and Sailfest was the next opportunity to PR.

Surprisingly, it might be the last one before cross country. I don't really want to have to run Schonning hard, just for the win. If you look at my log from last week, you can see I did a workout at target pace. I thought I did pretty well at it, and based both off my training and my 16:10 GPS split at Rocky Point, this was the race I wanted to run sub-16. I knew the hills at the beginning of Mile 2 would slow me down, so I was hoping to go out hard (but not too hard) similar to my split at Rocky Point (5:05), don't fade on mile 2, and try to kick hard the last half mile, with a boost from the downhill. Based off previous years, I figured there would be at least one person ahead of me, likely in the mid-15 range, but I didn't know if there would be more than that. The most likely contender would be Nick Migani, simply because (looking back at the results), he runs it every year. I checked out his Strava a few days before the race, and he was running much less than usual, so I wasn't sure.

The week of training went by, and race weekend came. I probably would have preferred to race Saturday, but Sailfest was a great race and it was worth it. Saturday was pretty uneventful, not nervous for the race, but not much happened. I did an easy shakeout of 4 miles, not sure if I should've done more. After all, I was only running 5K, which is pretty short compared to marathon+. I usually don't have trouble getting 7-10 hours of sleep the night before. The wakeup wasn't super early, so I should be fine. I had one of the worst night's sleep ever, unable to get comfortable. I only got about 4 hours of sleep that night. It didn't matter that much, but I would preferred to get more.

I did my typical race morning routine. Big breakfast about 3 hours before, more eating about 2 hours to go, drinking water frequently (but not as frequently as I should). We arrived in New London around 8:05-8:10, race start at 9. Dad wasn't feeling it right away, so I did a short jog over to the check-in area solo. Half-mile easy. I went to use the bathroom, as there were 5 or 6 port-a-potties in a line. I usually don't mind the port-a-potty set-up as long as there's plenty of them. There were, but there was another problem. I went in one, noticed the seat was wet and more importantly, there was no toilet paper. I went in and out of others, not one had toilet paper and many also had wet seats. Out of the few complaints I have towards this excellent race, this was by far the biggest and most unacceptable one. After that, Dad and I did a short warm-up and found a shaded area to stay in pre-race. The warm-up felt okay; not bad, but not great either. I changed in to my racing flats and had a little more water. Nick Bottone announced the race start is at 9:15, not 9 like I had though. We sat around with Jeff Vuono for a few minutes before heading over to the start.

The Race

Long pre-race description? Yes, but this was a big race. And that fact that this was a big race really started to set in the 15 minutes before. This was the first time I got nervous. I had spotted a fast looking runner I had seen at the Stonington Fun Runs several times, and now he was in a Williams Jersey doing strides. He also had a fast looking teammate (same jersey). I did 3 strides, all felt pretty good. I was ready to run, but I felt like they kept us on the starting line for a while. I kept scoping out the competition, and I felt like I would come in third behind those two, but there were a couple others with potential. No sight of Migani, which was a little disappointing, as it was fun to race behind him last year, and I was interested to see what he would run this year. He's one of the few people that I could care less if I lost to. And finally, after some words from race officials/directors, we were off.

Impatiently waiting around, staring at the top guys.

The mad dash for position at the beginning.

Mile 1
I wanted to go out hard, and that's exactly what I did. It was faster than expected. The fast runner from the fun run, unsurprisingly, went out fast. A younger kid sprinted out ahead early, only to fall back a short time into the race. Someone around my age was slightly ahead of me. Early in, I pulled right behind the fast runner. A quarter mile, my watch showed a blazing (for my 5K) 4:32 average pace. I naturally slowed down, and the first runner opened up a small gap. After half a mile, we had turned on bank street and I made the move into second. The first place guy already about 5-seconds on us and his lead was only increasing. We made another major turn onto Howard Street, one of my favorite roads (flat) on the whole course. The first guy got further and further ahead, and the runner my age lingered right behind me. I kept monitoring my pace, and even though it was still in the 4:50s, I didn't like how much it was dropping and I picked it up a little bit. The runner behind me stayed right with me, and despite it being fairly early into the race, I wasn't comfortable anymore. We went by the mile marker, which was about 15 seconds early. They called out a low 4:40s split, my real split a tiny bit later, was 4:59. 4:59! I wanted to run out hard, but this was faster than I expected and the fastest mile split I've ever run in a 5K. It was clear I wasn't going to be consistent today, but if I stayed strong on the hills, I could run still a big time PR.

Mile 2
We hit the first hill, and it was tough. I felt weak and slow as I climbed, and kept checking the pace, which maybe didn't help in this case. The guy right behind came around to pass, and it looked like he was going to get ahead here. He couldn't complete his move into second and went back into his position right behind me. Even though the hill wasn't that long, it tired me and brought the average pace down much further than I wanted to. It was already down to a 5:10 average pace, which would be an acceptable pace in another race, but it was dropping so frequently. That hill seemed long, probably because it broke me. I was all the way down to a 5:13 pace and not feeling good at all at the top, indicating a mid 5:30 second mile, which would be terrible and give me no chance to break 16, which was already a slim chance after I faded on the hill. We had a slight downhill for a while after the hill (on the next turn), and I was able to cruise down the hill at a decent rate, lowering the pace a little and not completing destroying my race. I still had a chance, depending on mile 3. I guess I picked up the pace a good amount. The top guy was now a whole 20 seconds ahead, but this is where third place fell back and my second place finish was nearly confirmed. The downhill stretch was nice, but it ended and turned into another flat back on the turn to Bank street. I grew tired without the boost of running downhill, and pace started to lower again. Mile 2- 5:22.

Mile 3
The bank street portion was not fun. I was weak, and struggled to keep running the slower pace I was already doing. Bank street seemed to go on and on, until we finally made the turn. I had no chance of catching the top guy, and the guy behind me was now so far behind that he (probably) wasn't going to catch me. My time depended on this mile, but I still didn't have much in me and now came the next hill. I was running up the road, dreading the view of the rest of the hill that awaited. But it wasn't there. I got halfway up, and that was pretty much it. This hill was that steep, and the incline wasn't bad at all. Unfortunately, my pace was still dying off and downhill was the only thing that seemed to help me. When I saw 5:19 average pace on my watch, I knew this wasn't the race I was hoping for. Sub-16 wasn't happening or coming close. However, PR pace was 5:18, and this was a very accurate course. It was possible to still PR. I kept saying that to myself, over and over again in my mind: "PR pace is 5:18". I rounded the turn, ready for the downhill. I was too tired to sprint this steep downhill the way I did last year, but I still picked it up quite a bit. It was a big boost for sure, and pace went down to 5:18. The top guy was so far ahead I could only see him at the beginning of the turn, and I had no idea where the next guy was, but I was no longer worrying about place. This race had become PR or bust, and I still had a good chance of making that happen. It got tough again, pushing it without the downhill boost on the next turn, but I tried to stay strong. I spotted the final turn up ahead, made the turn and ran hard down the final stretch. The clock was ticking- I saw it go over 16, and I was almost there. 16:10, 16:11, finish.

I was dead after. It took me a while to catch my breath. The top guy ran 15:41, his name is Lee Cattanach. I had seen him many times this year, and seen his name in many results, especially Sailfest, but had never linked the two to each other. He was just ahead of me at one of the fun runs, at since he was running 6:00 pace easy, I figured he was fast. His dominant performance here certainly convinces me of that, and he looked comfortable like he was running easy the whole time. I came in second place, in a new PR of 16:12. It was a little disappointing that I was that far off, but I forgot how tiring hills can be when you're trying to run a fast pace. I wish it had been faster, but I'll take the PR. I'm not sure if going out that hard was either a stupid move or a smart one. Go out hard to put time in the bank because I'll die on the hills or go out easier so I won't die on the hills? I only chose the first one because I'm more comfortable going hard, and it would've been tough for me to sit back the first mile, especially as others were going out fast. 3rd place finished in 16:44, which means he actually fell off quite a bit. Apparently, he's a cross country runner who is on vacation from Wisconsin, along with some family members that also did the race. Dad came in 6th, and Vuono wasn't far behind in 9th.

I wanted to get 50 for the week, so I went for a cool-down. I had no idea where to run, but eventually got the two miles I needed. Awards were okay, but I liked the bib and shirt, which is just as important to me. Looks like I won't go into the Cross Country season with a sub-16 time, but at least I left off better than last year. Sailfest really is a great race, and I'll be back in the next few years, hoping to continue the trend of PRs.