I arrived at 5:35 a.m. and parked at the Mullen-Hall School which was a
very short walk to the buses. Once I
parked and stretched out in my car to nap, the rain started. It was a very heavy rain. I dug around the back of my car and found
some trash bags figuring if it didn't let up by race time, I would at least
stay dry until the gun went off. I then
took a good nap setting the alarm on my Blackberry for 7:00 a.m.
The alarm went off and I awoke to the continuing sound of rain. It hadn't let up at all. I ripped holes in the trash bag for my head
and arms. I put my IPod in a plastic bag
and stuffed it in my fanny pack and headed out into the rain to walk over to
the buses. As I walked with the rest of
the runners, the rain started to let up.
My makeshift raincoat kept me dry as I walked over to Lawrence Middle School where the buses would
take me over to the starting line area in Woods Hole.
I have to say the buses were run very efficiently and we got to the
starting area quickly. We had a short
walk over to the Woods Hole Community Center near the drawbridge on Water
Street. The rain started to pick up a
bit again. I found a little covered area
that had a couple of people in it trying to stay dry. I went in and sat on the ground and hoped the
rain would subside before race time.
Since, I had two and a half hours before the race, I turned on my IPod
and catnapped in the covered area. It
was very peaceful and I was able to rest thoroughly until the crowds picked up
and it got closer to race time.
Finally at 9:15 the rain stopped.
I was happy about that fact and glad that we would be running under
overcast skies. It was still very humid
and the temperature was over 80 degrees.
But, it was going to be much better than running in a driving rain. I was slotted in Corral 3 and the second wave
of starters. The first wave went off at
10:10 am and we finally got to move up to the starting line. It was crowded since there were over 12,000
runners packed into the little narrow street.
I reminded me of Main Street in Hopkinton where the Boston Marathon
starts.
We started at 10:20 am. I had
heard that you shouldn't shoot for a personal best in this race because of the
narrow streets and large number of racers.
I decided to let the first mile happen at whatever speed I could muster
and then see if I could pick up the pace as the race progressed. I still wanted to try and run an 8:30 per
mile average pace. I knew I was trained
for it. I just wasn't sure if the course
and crowds would allow me to reach that goal.
I told myself to just let the race unfold and enjoy one of the most beautiful
courses in the running world.
The first mile was hilly and narrow and wound through a tree lined neighborhood. Despite the rains, the crowds were out and loud as we ran along Church Street. I was looking forward to seeing the Nobska Lighthouse just past the first mile marker. The Nobska Light was first built in 1828 and later rebuilt in 1876. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Nobska Point Light Station in 1987. It is a very beautiful lighthouse and overlooks the Vineyard Sound. I punched my Garmin as I passed the mile marker and had run the first mile in 9:11.
We only had a short glimpse of the sound as we headed back into a tree
lined neighborhood. The crowds were
still pretty thick. But, I noticed that
the rolling hills were causing problems for some of the runners. I took advantage of my hill training and wove
my way through the slower runners. It
was allowing me to pick up my pace slightly.
I felt absolutely great during the second mile and finished it in
8:22. I thought maybe I would be able to
hit my goal. It was still early though.
Between mile two and three you run by the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institute (WHOI). You can see a few of
the buildings from the road. The Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution was founded in 1930 joining the thriving ocean
science community in the village of Woods Hole that at the time included the
Marine Biological Laboratory and the National Marine Fisheries Service. Eighty-two years later, the WHOI community
numbers over 1,000, including scientific and technical staff, ships’ crew and
officers, and a variety of scientific, service, and administrative support
staff, as well as about 130 Joint Program students. The goal of WHOI is to help advance research
and understanding of the ocean and its role in shaping and sustaining the
planet. I made a mental note to come
back to Woods Hole in the future to take a tour of the Institute. I punched my Garmin as I passed the third
mile marker and had run it at an 8:21 pace.
Things were looking up.
The fourth mile was absolutely beautiful. We were running along Surf Drive with the
Vineyard Sound to our right. Since it
was windy, the sea was choppy. It looked
like a really nice beach to come and hang out on in the summer. I am sure if I had not been focused on the
race, I could have seen Martha's
Vineyard across the sound. I really
enjoyed this portion of the course. It
was 1.5 miles of scenic beauty. When I
passed mile marker number 4, I had run a 7:57 mile. The crowds had started to thin and I was able
to find a comfortable running pace. I
had 3 miles to go with some rolling hills and I was feeling great.
We turned left onto Shore Street at about 4.4 miles and headed up into the neighborhoods again. The crowds were really starting to thicken in this area. They were really great at encouraging the runners. Since the Falmouth Road Race puts your name on your bib number, I heard a few people yell "Go Ted!" which was nice. The runners were definitely thinning out and I was able to keep a very steady pace. I hit mile marker 5 and had clocked an 8:16 mile.
Mile five to mile six runs around Falmouth Harbor. The crowds are really thick here which is
nice. But, the roads are narrower than
Surf Drive. This meant I was having to
dodge around runners more than I had the last 4 miles. It was started to get pretty hot as there was
no breeze. The race provided water stops
which I took advantage of at this point and walked through them to get as much
hydration as possible. I finished the sixth
mile in 9:04. I was mad at myself for
having dropped off the pace. It didn't
matter though, I had 1 mile to go and I was going to kill that last hill before
the finish line.
I passed the 10K mark and was at 54:30. I had a real chance to break 1 hour. The hill that so many people were talking about at the starting line was steep. I took it in stride and pushed myself up and over it. I passed so many people on that hill. It made me thankful for the hills around Westborough. When I crested the hill I could see the finish line. I let it all out and ran as fast as I could passing people along the way. I crossed the finish line in an official time of 59:59 -- an 8:34 pace! I had run the last mile in 7:50. I was really pleased with my effort and results. It just goes to show that if you don't stress yourself out and let the race come to you great results will follow.
According to the race results, 10,612 runners crossed the finish
line. The winner of the race finished in
31:59 which is an average pace of 4:34 per mile. Now that is fast! I finished 2,315th overall which was in the
top 20% of all racers (actually 21.8%).
I finished 1,578th out of the 5,193 men who finished the race which is
the top 30%. I am so proud of myself for
training hard and reaping the rewards. I
will be turning 51 in a couple of weeks and I think I have many more years of
racing ahead. I am training smart,
eating right (mostly) and having a lot of fun out there on the roads.
July 30 – 6.10 miles (54:31, 8:55 pace)
July 31 – 3.20 miles (24:43, 7:43 pace) – Speed WorkAugust 2 – 5.50 miles (47:24, 8:37 pace) – Tempo Run
August 3 – 6.10 miles (55:24, 9:04 pace)
August 4 – 7.20 miles (1:05:26, 9:05 pace)
August 5 – 8.40 miles (1:17:59, 9:17 pace)
August 6 – 5.10 miles (45:56, 9:00 pace)
August 7 – 3.10 miles (28:37, 9:14 pace)
August 9 – 6.20 miles (54:09, 8:44 pace)
August 12 – 7.00 miles (59:59, 8:34 pace)
Total Miles: 57.9 miles
2012 YTD Miles: 937.8 miles
