I Run

Last weekend (5/1/2011) I ran the Seven Sisters Trail Race in Amherst, MA. Or rather, I walked it briskly. It's pretty tough to find a stretch of trail here where you can open it up to actually run. Plus, 200 plus runners on a single track trail means that you're going at the pace of the person in front of you for much of the way. Since I'd never done this race before, I was content to just follow the crowd. It's a good thing I did because if I'd gone out any faster, I would have had a much tougher time finishing. I was happy enough until the turnaround at mile 6 and for a couple of miles after that, but then my legs started cramping. The downhill sections were sort of excruciating, with the sharp rocks and all just waiting for my legs to buckle. Still, I managed to get to the end without falling, which on this course is no easy thing. Next year maybe I won't be so conservative.

Results

I've been running in two pairs of Asics Speedstar 3s for well over a year, so it was about time to get another pair of shoes. I totally missed the Speedstar 4 because I really like the 3s and kept running in them until the soles were threatening to expose my socks. I got the 5s a couple of days ago and used them literally for the first time at a 4 mile race. At first, they felt a bit tight but so did the 3s when I first got them. When my daughters saw them they immediately said they looked like Spiderman's shoes. Actually, Spiderman wears boots, so nyah! But I could see the resemblance to the web crawler's attire. The 5s feel a little narrower in the toe box, but the fit is quite nice, like a glove or slipper. In the race they performed just like I would have expected the 3s to do, maybe even better. I took them out for a 20 miler today and had no problems except that the roads were really wet and slushy, and when I got home my feet were drenched. That was a little unexpected since I would have thought some of the moisture would have escaped through the upper. I'll have to keep an eye on that to see if that's an issue when warmer weather arrives.

This is a low-key 4 mile race. I've run it twice, and both times it's been pretty chilly. So be prepared. First part is a hill up to the Highland Park area; second part is back down the hill.

Details (from SMAC):

8:45 – 9:30AM at the Greenfield Public Library, LeVanway Meeting Room, 402 Main Street. Enter at the back of the Library.

PARKING Public Lot - Main St, or behind YMCA & Franklin County Courthouse (Hope St.)

ENTRY FEE $15.00 if pre-registered by 3:00PM Friday, January 21, 2011 $20.00 on race day. Youth under the age of 18 are half price.

COURSE Starts & ends on Hope St.-Scenic course through Highland Park Area

AMENITIES Winter Carnival T-shirts (and sleigh bell bracelet!) for the first 75 entrants.

Age-group awards & post–race refreshments at the LeVanway Meeting Room. Dress up to show your Winter Carnival Spirit! Prize for best outfit!

Time to trot off your turkey. Or rather, trot before your turkey..or tofu, if you're not of the carnivorous persuasion. Sign up here!

http://www.redcloverrovers.com/

It's raining, and it's hot. Not so ideal for road running, but great fun out on the trails. It's the kind of run who have to immerse yourself into, damn the discomforts. Run like a savage. I took the longer trail around Sweet Pond State Park. It didn't take long for the deer flies to find me, so had to take off my shirt to use it as a swatter. It was soaked anyway. In weather like this you don't run so much as plod, head down against the rain so it streams off the visor of your cap and not onto your face. Toward the far end of the pond I took a breather. The rain had let up, but I was saturated with the fluids of clouds, sweat glands, and whatever drips and oozes in a humid forest. I heard a commotion ahead of me, just over a knoll. My civilized thought processes were numbed and in my Neanderthal state of mind I saw something zoom up the hill just twenty feet from where I stood. "Ooh, antelope. Yum!", my caveman brain said. It was really a small white tailed deer. There was another commotion, another blur of fur. "Ooh, wolf. Not so yum." It was really a coyote. I think. Then the civilized brain kicked in. That deer was moving pretty fast. That coyote was moving pretty fast too. But that deer was probably twice as fast as that coyote. I, on the other hand, am three times as slow as the coyote, at my fastest. It's not going to catch that deer, but it's probably already caught my scent. Time to go. I ran the last part of the trail to the road a tad faster than I usually do. I picked up a stick with a pointy end and held on to it. Not that I'm paranoid - coyotes are pretty shy - but just in case. Anyway, not something you see every day.

• Web site: http://www.crowleyroadrace.com/
• Results: http://www.coolrunning.com/results/10/vt/Jun13_Crowle_set4.shtml
• Rutland Herald article: http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100614/SPORTS/6140322

I've wanted to do this race for a couple of years, but never had a chance to get up to Rutland before now. Since I wasn't staying overnight nearby, I had to get up at 4:00 AM to make my coffee, have something to eat, and take a shower. It was raining here in Guilford, but as I made my way north, the rain stopped and it was just cloudy (but a bit humid). I got to Rutland a few minutes before 7:00 and was able to find a place to park very easily, within site of the finish line. Since Crowley is a point-to-point course from Proctor to Rutland, you either have to get somebody to drop you off in Proctor or take one of the school buses that shuttle runners to the 5K and 10K starting lines. Or, if you're training for a marathon and want to make Crowley part of a medium long run, I suppose you could just park in Rutland and run up to Proctor. Maybe next year. I took the bus (just like Boston!). I didn't bring anything with me so I wasn't really paying attention as to whether you could bring a bag and have it bussed back down to the finish. After getting off the bus in Proctor, I got my bib at the gazebo in the park, then ran across the street to the OMYA building to use the restroom. Proctor is a gorgeous village with lots of stonework, particularly marble, so I took the opportunity to do a short warmup run. As I ran easily up a side street to a short trail that led to a quarry, Bill Rodgers (yes, that Bill Rodgers!) passed me going the other way. Bill has been participating in this race for the past few years, and last year he even got Joan Benoit Samuelson to join him. The race started a few minutes late as one more bus hadn't arrived on time, but then we were off up a short hill and over the stone bridge to Route 3. I really wasn't sure what pace to keep since I was just two weeks away from having done the Vermont City Marathon, so I just went with how I felt. The course uses at least three side roads that run parallel to Route 3, so you're not on a state highway for the whole time. There are some smallish hills (for Vermont), but the course is what I would consider almost flat. The stretch down into downtown Rutland has some gentle downhill parts where you could really open it up if you have anything left. I came in at 43:54 (or thereabouts), which is a 10K record for me. At the finish there was plenty of water, bananas, and bagels for replenishment. In addition to the plaques awarded to the top finishers, there was a raffle with lots of items up for grabs if you were lucky enough to get your number called. I was lucky and got a pair of marble salt and pepper shakers. This is an honest, well organized race that I'm sure I'll do again (but maybe next time I'll stay in Rutland the night before). And apparently, Crowley will be adding a half marathon next year, which should be great fun!

What a great marathon this is! The spectators at the Vermont City Marathon are really motivating. Since the course is like a figure eight (or a four leaf clover), you get to cross the starting point four times where most of the spectators are located. But even out on the course (even way out on the bike path) there are folks cheering you on. What a fun race, even though my legs really took a beating with cramps during the final 6 miles.

So...Boston 2011? Maybe.

Girls on the Run sponsored a port-a-potty!