Tuesday 6/16/15

Got out for an 11 miler with Matt today. I'm considering a track workout for tomorrow, so I kind of wanted to take it relatively easy. Unfortunately, it didn't really play out that way. I know Matt likes to roll a bit faster, so I prepped myself for a quicker pace by clicking off 6:05s on the way to the Harvard Bridge to meet him. He was already waiting when I got there, and I was able to just continue on along the Charles as he joined in. I think it was subconscious, but he started picking up the pace as he stayed ever so slightly ahead of me as we ran side by side. I figured the run would end up being somewhere between 6:05-6:10 pace which I was fine with, but we split 5:57 for that first mile. I felt like we were pushing it a bit but kept going. The effort was easy enough that we were able to chat, but it wasn't the usual conversational pace. The next couple of miles went on in that fashion until we came up on a runner who was doing a similar pace. At that point, the pace dropped to 5:45 - 5:50 as we went around him. Matt finally asked if we could back off the pace a bit when we got to the Harvard Boathouse. I laughed and said that I thought he was the one pushing the pace. I suppose that can happen when you don't really discuss what pace you're looking to run. After that, we backed off to 6:10 - 6:15 which felt more comfortable. Matt headed back to BU shortly after we crossed back over the Harvard Bridge, and I ran the last 2 miles solo. Solid run but may have been a bit aggressive. It was hot at 80 degrees and really humid since the forecasted rain never came. I felt good afterward though, and I didn't feel any issues leg, heel, stomach or otherwise as I walked downtown to see Jurassic World. 11.25 miles in 68:36

Monday 6/15/15

Standard 11 miler around the Charles. It was a bit wet outside after the constant rain all day, but by the time I got out for my run, the precipitation was little more than a light mist. The weather was actually fairly pleasant for running. I kept the pace honest at 6:15, but I didn't push things. I also tried out some new trainers today. I can't remember the last time I had this much trouble finding a pair of running shoes that would work for me. I had been using the Nike Lunarglide series exclusively since college, so it was always just a matter of picking up a pair of the most recent version. I've determined that while the pair of Saucony Kinvara 5 are a great shoe, the cushioning is a bit too light given my stride and heel issue. With their light weight, I think they will be good for tempos and such once I've worn our my Nike Flyknit One. However, I had switched back to my Nike Pegasus 31 for every day training until today when I came across a pair of Nike Pegasus 30 on sale. It is basically the same shoe as the 31, but the interesting thing about this pair was that they were the wide version. I tried them on and they felt great. My feet have always felt a bit too wide in Nike trainers, but I typically just bought a half size bigger to compensate. When I put on the wide pair, I immediately noticed more comfort in my heel, so I decided to give them a shot. I used them on the run today, and they felt pretty good. It could be a bit misleading because I am also coming off of a day with no running, but I feel like this could be a big step in aiding my heel. Overall, I felt pretty good today. 11.4 miles in 71:17.

Sunday 6/14/15

Off day. I was feeling a bit burnt out in the week before Market Square Day, and my heel had been getting worse. So, I figured it was a good idea to take a day off from running even though I was feeling pretty good considering that I had raced the day before.

Market Square Day 10K - 6/13/15

Coming into the Market Square Day 10K this year was a bit of an odd sensation. I wasn't confident in my own abilities, but I also knew that I had a good chance to place well. With Jim Johnson out due to a stress fracture and Andrew Huebner still recovering from surgery, I figured my competition today would be Jonny Wilson and possibly any new runners to this race. I assumed that Jonny would be back since he finished second here in 2013 and 2014. I knew that if he did show up, I'd be racing for second place. He doesn't seem to have bad races, and with my current fitness, it wouldn't be a close competition. However, I did have a feeling it would be unlikely that we'd see any new faces in the front pack. The Hollis Fast 5K was on Thursday night, and since it was part of the New England Grand Prix, a lot of New England's top runners were there. I thought it was unlikely that many, if any, would want to double up and run this race as well. (Leslie O'Dell proved me wrong on that point as she pulled off the double and ran well at both races)

Alie and I headed over to Portsmouth at 7:30, but a stop for a car wash left us running a bit late. We got into Portsmouth and were parked by 8:20 which would usually be plenty of time to pick up numbers and get ready. However, we had to park about half a mile away from the bib pick up. By the time we had our numbers and had everything ready to go, it was already 8:45.... didn't leave myself nearly enough time. I was slightly more upbeat at this point though. When we had grabbed our numbers, I checked the registration list and saw that Jonny wasn't racing today. That meant I might actually have a shot at a win today. 

Alie made her way back to the starting line while I tried to salvage a quick warm up. This is the closest I have ever cut a race. I did a mile at 6:45 pace then stopped at the car quickly to change into my racing flats before jogging to the start. I made it to the start line at 8:58 just as they were making the last announcements. I barely had time to tie my shoes before Andy said "30 seconds until the start of the race". No stretching or strides. Not a great pre-race. 

My plan was to try to run a more even race this year. In 2013, the front pack sat back at a painfully slow pace for the first 4 miles before Jonny and I finally started racing over the last two miles. In 2014, I went out ridiculously fast while chasing Andrew and Jonny which resulted in me falling apart over the last 3 miles. I was hoping that I might be able to hold a more consistent pace this year, and even though I am no where near as fit as the previous 2 years, I thought I may be able to pull out a similar time, hopefully 32:00 - 32:30. So, my goal was to run the first mile in 5:10,  see how things developed, and try to maintain 5:10 - 5:15.  

I got a good start and fell into 5:10 pace easily. No one tried to pull away which was a good sign, but I was a bit surprised by the crowd around me. I wasn't familiar with one of the runners (turned out to be Jason Dedonato), and it looked like he meant business. The female leader was also going stride for stride with me. I assumed she would fall back after an initial sprint, but she was still right next to me about half a mile into the race when Derrick Hamel joined the group our little group that Jason was leading. I greeted Derrick which sparked up a bit of a conversation. The female leader asked want times people were shooting for. I replied and asked what she was looking to run. When she replied "I'd like to be under 34", I knew it had to be Erica Jesseman which she laughed at and confirmed. Honestly, in that first mile, I thought I might be running with her the whole way. She made it look pretty easy out there despite the heat. 

A minute or two later, we ran by Andy Schachat, and I believe he said "Eric you got this". But with an Eric, an Erica, and a Derrick in the group, it was difficult to tell which one of us he was actually talking about. We joked about it for a second then ended the conversation and got into some racing. Just before the mile, I noticed the pace was fading to 5:15, so I took over the lead and started to spread things out. Hit the first mile mark right at 5:10. 

Lead pack just before the 1 mile mark. Thanks to my sister Jen for the photos

Shortly after the first mile mark, Derrick pulled up along side me with Jason and Erica a few seconds behind us. That was when I started to really notice how hot and humid it was. The temperature was only in the mid 70s, but the sun was beating down with no cloud cover. On my jog to the start line, I noticed that I felt a bit dehydrated, but there wasn't much I could do about it at that point. By the time we hit the first water stop, I realized I would need to grab some water at a couple of these stops which I can't remember ever doing in a 5K or 10K. I didn't go for that first one because Derrick was in between myself and the volunteers, but I knew I'd be in trouble if I didn't grab something from the next one. We split 5:15 for the second mile, and Derrick took over the lead. He was holding 5:15 pace, so I tucked in behind him.

For the next half a mile, I drifted between being just off his shoulder to being a stride or two back. I made sure not to let the gap grow though. Derrick made a similar move in the Redhook Brewery 5K before falling back, and I was hoping today would be the same. However, a shadow of a doubt did cross my mind. After beating him in the Children's Museum 5K and Redhook Brewery 5K, I thought I had the mental edge on him, and I hadn't been all that focused on racing him coming into Market Square Day. He was putting up a good fight though. About 2 and half miles into the race, we came up on a small hill, and I was able to retake the lead without too much extra effort. I focused on trying to create some separation, and by the time I crested the hill, I couldn't hear foot steps anymore. I knew he was still looming though.

As I came down a hill just before the 3rd mile mark, I chanced a glance back as I made my way around a turn. In the early going, I had been going up the small rolling hills that cover this course a bit faster than Derrick was, but he had consistently taken the downhills faster than I had. After looking back and seeing I still had a 30 meter lead after the biggest downhill on the course, I started to gain some confidence. However, that isn't to say I felt great. The heat was getting to me, and the pace had slowed as I split 5:25 for the 3rd mile. Thankfully, there was a water stop right around mile three, and I grabbed a cup to splash over myself.

At that point, I started to reconsider my strategy slightly. A decent time began to feel less and less likely, and it seemed like it may be smart to start worrying more about the win. Derrick was slill hanging tight 30 meters back, but I thought I could hold on to first place if I was able to keep my pace consistent throughout the rest of the way. I wanted to avoid falling apart and make sure I had a bit left in case Derrick made a late move. So, for the forth mile, I focused I holding 5:25 pace and trying to stay relaxed. I split the forth mile in 5:26 and grabbed more water. I drank half and poured the rest over myself. I'm actually not used to drinking while running, and I didn't feel great for a minute or two afterwards. It wasn't a major issue though and passed quickly. For the last two miles, I put all my effort into holding a steady pace, and I felt like I probably didn't have much left in the tank beyond 5:25 pace. 

Derrick seemed to be stalking me for the entire race. It wasn't until the last mile that the gap started to grow to a comfortable distance. When I hit the 6 mile mark, I finally let myself believe that I had secured the win as I started my kick up the last hill towards Strawberry Banke. 

Credit to Ryan O'Leary of Seacoast Online for this photo. He did a great write up on the race here

Interview over the microphone with Andy Schachat after the race. I always feel a bit awkward during these. 

After my interview with Andy, I headed back out on the course to find Alie who was running her first 10K. I found her with about a mile to go and ran with her until the 6 mile mark. She was a bit mad at me because I told her the course was flat when it does indeed have some rollers. She still ended up crushing it though despite having a severely swollen right foot coming into the race!

My good luck charms cheering the runners on. 

Results below. Full results here

Friday 6/12/15

Off Day. I considered running an easy 7 in the morning before work, but my legs felt stiff. Since I didn't want to run the night before the race, I decided to take a full day off before Market Square Day.

Thursday 6/11/15 - JP Morgan Corporate Challenge

The 2015 Boston edition of the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge was today, and while I wasn't running in it, I did head over to the Boston Common to watch the race. When registration came around in mid-April, I decided not to run because the race date is too close to this year's Market Square Day 10K which is higher in the priority list for me because it is part of the Seacoast Road Race Series. 

Instead of running, I opted to help organize US Bank's team this year. In 2014, I organized the event as well, but that primarily consisted of me signing up US Bank, registering myself, and letting a co-worker know that he could sign up as well. When registration closed in 2014, we only had 2 members on the US Bank team. JPM later called me and gave us an additional 2 spots because a team requires 4 members haha. This year, I actually worked with our Development Network to drum up some interest in the race. It also helped that US Bank was willing to pay the $50 registration fee up front this year. 

In the hour that the 2015 registration was open, we were able to get 9 members signed up for the US Bank team which meant that we would have two full teams for scoring. It's a far cry from the massive teams that companies like Fidelity are able to put together, but I was happy with our increased participation. 

After work, the team hung out in a conference room and "strategized". Most of the team members aren't serious runners, so we really just sat around talking and enjoyed some yogurt, granola bars, bananas etc. I did go over some tips for the start though. Last year, the other members of the team started too far back because they were worried they would get in the way of other runners. However, with 9,000 people in today's race, starting anywhere in the second half of the massive crowd results in very slow going for anyone looking to run 7:00 - 8:30 pace. 

At 6:30, we started to make our way over to the Boston Common for the 7:15 start. We got to the park just in time to hear the announcer say that my time from last year was the time to beat, and my group did a fair bit of whooping and cheering. At 6:50, I parted ways with the team as they headed towards the starting gates while Alie and I headed over to Comm Ave for a good spectating position. We stayed fairly close to the Boston Public Garden so we would be able to see the runners go passed half a mile into the race and with half a mile to go on the out and back course. In addition to supporting the US Bank team, I was also cheering on Vasilis who would be in the running for the overall win. 

A half mile into the race, there was still a big pack up front, but Vasilis was leading the charge. 

When they came back down the other side of Comm Ave with half a mile to go, you could tell the heat was doing some damage on the runners. There wasn't quite a pack anymore as they were strung out, but the top five were still fairly close together in a single file line with 2 - 3 second gaps. Matthew Hillard looked solid as he went by me though, and based on the results, he must have put in a decent kick over the last half mile for a convincing win. Returning from last year and finishing in the top ten this year were Jason Ayr, Jordan Donnelly, Joe Mcgovern, Ryan Carrara, and Timothy Catoggio. Finishing well in this race two years in a row is no small feat. Vasilis had a tough race and ended up in 11th. He described it as "brutal" haha but seemed to be in good spirits. 

On the women's side, Sara Donahue took the win for the third straight year. She was cruising when she ran by me with half a mile to go, and she actually over took Taryn for the lead just as they both went by me. Taryn managed a "great job" for the passing Sara, but it looked like the heat was getting to her. 

Results below. Full results here. 

Men

Women

For my own run, I got out for a late 7 miler. Darkness had fallen and the bugs were out, but at least the heat had died down a bit. Kept the pace nice and relaxed as I try to get my legs and heel ready for Market Square Day on Saturday morning. 7 miles in 46:27.

Wednesday 6/10/15

Got out for an easy 10 mile loop around the Charles today after work. I really tried to hold back on the pace, and I was able to keep it to 6:25 pace. My legs and heel never felt great though. 10 miles in 64:16.