This morning was grey and foggy, about 45 degrees, perfect for running.  Jen picked up Feaster Five packets earlier so it was less hassle.  The biggest pre-race issue for me was figuring out how to attach the ChronoTrack D-Tag system, a timing system that replaces the chips previously used.  It wasn’t that hard -- but different.

After an early morning walk with the dog, we headed out towards Andover with a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee stop.  As you merge into I-495, you start picking up lots of other racers heading toward the Andover start.  I parked near the highway, since the dog was to wait in the truck (and I wanted few distractions -- it seems that every tenth family brings a dog), and walked to the track where the kids runs were held.

For the first year, our grandson Mac was running the fun run.  It’s a great environment -- with individual races for each two year age group, with longer distances up to a quarter mile for the 11-12 year-olds.  An Andover motorcycle cop, lights flashing, leads each heat out at the start and every kid gets a prize and lots of fan support.

Jen and I went off to stand in line with thousands of others for the Porta-Potties and then wedged into the big starting crowd.  9,000 people take up a lot of space and everyone ignores the signs listing paces.  Walkers end up with the 7:00 minute mile folks -- but no one get too freaked out.

Short speeches by local heros, and this year, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Bill Rogers, and then the singing of God Bless America by a nine-year-old boy, and the national anthem by a woman, and we were off -- shuffling toward to start line.

The first mile is always slow -- with walkers walking five abreast, and faster runners darting back and forth.  One guy said later, “ I think I ran laterally longer than I did straight ahead.”  Hey, it’s a Turkey Trot -- know one is looking for a PR.

There’s a pretty serious uphill just before the first mile which is always tough, especially if you’ve gone out too fast.  This year, I chugged up it, albeit slowly, and felt like I had some energy left as we turned the corner and started a shallow downhill.  Shortly afterward, the five mile runners merge with our 5K and two guys came by, at a 5 minute pace, racing neck and neck.  Soon, I saw Joan Benoit Samuelson come by in the right lane as we chugged along.  She ended up winning the woman’s five-miler -- still remarkable at age 52.

As you near the finish, you can hear the announcer but you also know that there is one more climb -- sort of an insult -- up to the line.  It pays to save just a bit so that you can finish strong. 

The post-race is a lot easier without having to stop, untie and undo timing chips (at least for 69 year-olds it is) so the timing strip, which stays with you, allows you to walk over to the tables of goodies in the parking lot.  Each finisher gets an apple pie as well so it’s always a balancing act of bagels, water, bananas, and pies as you head to the car.

In addition to justifying a turkey meal later on, there’s a good feeling to a race like this.  Not only do thousands of dollars go to the Y, the hospice, and other beneficiaries, there’s a nice family-friend atmosphere that is uplifting.  It’s also very special to be able to run with my daughter and grandson -- I feel very blessed.  Happy Thanksgiving.

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"It's often said that the race is won or lost in the last few miles.

Although the natural instinct is to run faster early in the race for insurance, that strategy can leave you fatigued and unable to push when it counts.

A strong finish is the outcome of a wise start. Learn how to plot your strategy to push through the final few miles..." so notes coach Jenny Hadfield in active.com.

She goes on to say:

"...Whether you're running your first 5K or your fifth marathon, the key to finishing strong is in controlling your effort level early in the race. Line up according to your realistic planned pace at the start area to avoid getting caught up with faster runners.

Cut the race in half and aim to run the second half slightly faster than the first half (negative split). Conserving your energy early on will leave you with enough gas to push through the most demanding part of the race--the end..."

(Read complete article)

image from Falmouth road race by ClaraS

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Some dreams actually hurt. For example, there’s the recurring one where I’m running on the beach. It’s a beach from my childhood summers in Gloucester, Massachusetts; a beach that, in my memory, shines as an image of alluring mystery; of joy and discovery: Good Harbor Beach. There’s a long, gently curving stretch of pale sand; a scatter of rocky islands that seem to float on an incoming tide; the twin lighthouses of Thacher’s reef rising from the waves to the northeast.

In my dream, I head out for a run from my home in the Vermont mountains; a run through woods or meadow or brick-built downtown. Then I turn a corner and my heart takes a leap of joy inside me: I’m all of a sudden on Good Harbor beach. The sense of happiness, of being truly “home”, is vivid, even through the filter of dreaming.

And that sense still lingers when I awaken to realize that it was only a dream, that Good Harbor Beach is nearly two-hundred miles away; that in reality I won’t turn a corner and find myself there when I head out for a run today.
So maybe it’s not exactly the dream that hurts. It’s the waking up.

I began running for fitness at the age of fifteen. That was over thirty years ago, and, as might be expected, my running has changed, just as I have, over the years. From fitness training, through road racing, to long endurance and exploration runs on wooded trails, my running has evolved into a moving meditation, a way to connect with my deeper self, and with the history and geography of the world I run through. Often when I run, my head and heart and energy systems seem to work together better than they do at any other time in my day.

A few years ago, after a four-month period of particularly intense effort in my life, I decided to give myself the gift of a return--to run-- to Gloucester. I had no agenda other than to run on the beach, to look at the Atlantic, maybe take some time to peruse the canvases of New England marine painter Fitz Henry Lane on display at the Cape Ann Historical Museum. Knowing full well of Gloucester’s fabled past as America’s premier fishing port, I had a pretty good idea that by running in Gloucester I would once again be running through history and geography.

What caught me by surprise, though, was that, for the first time, the geography and history I ran through and into would be my own .... (more)

This is a guest post by Kevin Macneil Brown  (read the whole article)

(This piece appeared, in slightly different form, in NEW ENGLAND RUNNER magazine.)

 image homage to Fitz Henry Lane, painting by Kevin Macneil Brown, acrylic on canvas, 2009

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"It's been 27 years since an American man or woman has won the New York City marathon, and the streak is unlikely to be broken this Sunday. (Read the NYT article by Cameron Stracher.) Indeed, since Alberto Salazar’s victories in 1981 and 1982, only one American-born man, Ryan Hall, has managed to run faster than Salazar’s 1981 finish of 2:08:13. While Salazar’s time was a world record when he ran it, Hall’s time (set in 2008 on a faster course at London, where he finished fifth) places him 36th on the list of top marathoners.

Some have blamed performance-enhancing drugs for the loss of American dominance on the roads; others have criticized United States training methods; still others see a shifting of interest to other sports, like lacrosse and soccer. But the real reason for the decline is a failure of narrative.From the mid-’70s to the early ’80s the United States was blessed with three great runners: Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers and Alberto Salazar. Each held the No. 1 ranking at the marathon distance during that period. Their duels were legendary not only for their frequency and intensity, but also for the ink spilled about them..."  (read whole article)

 photo by totalAldo  

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Often I have proselytized about treating  yourself to running shoes and also suggested ways to donate your old ones to charity.  However, after months of running on tired old Asics in the woods, I realized that I had not been practicing what I preached -- and so I went online and ordered a new pair which came yesterday.

(I believe in buying locally but given my very large feet, can not find shoes at any nearby running stores.  I have had excellent experience with Road Runner Sports and like that I can look over my past orders and keep track of when I really did buy that tired pair I strapped on this morning.)

So my new "boats" came yesterday and I took them for a run with the Vizsla this afternoon on a local out and back route on dirt roads.  What a difference!  Even with these aged legs, I took over a minute per mile off my recent training paces and even the dog, who was running beside me (or wherever she chose), enjoyed the slightly brisker pace.

It was just a nice morale booster as we lose the leaves and head into "stick season."  Again, I learned the benefits of investing in good fitness gear. It's great to be well-heeled again.  Now to decide which of the loyal, albeit muddy crew shown above, will get the axe.   Who do you vote for?

shoe photo by author

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