May was a pretty solid month for me this year, with over 250 miles. June is turning out well so far too, with decent mileage, a few good races, and some solid workouts.
Best workout so far this season -- early June 3x mile at 5:28 5:24 5:23. Best Whitaker Woods time 19:17, a cross country 5k summer series where my PR is 19:00, so it's not the fastest of courses. I ran a 10k (6.4 mile) hilly loop in my second fastest all-time on June 6, and came back on June 13 with a solid 37:48 at Market Square 10k, which was only 18 seconds off my best there.
For some silly reason I decided to run Mt. Washington, 7.6 miles all up... not my specialty, but I ran the whole way and finished in 1:32, which goes down as a PR because it's my first time.
This week, the same concepts so far, 10mile easy runs on the off days, and workout or race twice a week. This week is 6x400 in 72 on the track (my first intervals shorter than 1 mile), and then MECTA track meet this weekend, while Nick goes to the Granite State Games and tries to set a record with his 4x800m squad, which includes several top names from the area. They hope to go under 8:00, and they have a very good shot as all the guys are sub-2 800m runners.
--
Darin
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Back to it
Between finding a new job, injury, and actual running, the time to update my blog has been minimal for the last year or so, but some cool things are happening so I decided to figure out my user name and password and update the old blog.
The most important change since last January is a new master's PR in the Half Marathon, set last October. That was the beginning of the end, at least for the next few months. I finished the race in 1:21:07, then hobbled back to my hotel room, barely able to walk. It was a great race, and I was very happy to bang a series of miles just over 6:10, with one or two under that. I took nearly 2 minutes off my prior best from 2010.
Then I switched game plans and got ready for indoor track, running off the Jack Daniels 800m plan. I was going fast -- following the plan's workouts pretty much to the letter, until the weather turned cold and I was forced to go indoor. A few weeks of sprint type workouts on the treadmill did my knee in, and my entire indoor season was out the window.
Naturally I gained 10 pounds, lost most of my conditioning, despite trying to use the bike or elliptical, and completely lost any chance of running well this spring.
Then I got the flu. I coughed for 4 weeks, and was not feeling well for 6. However, I was so sick that I lost the 10 lbs. I started running with Jim Johnson, who was kind enough to let me run 8:00 pace for the long runs because that was all I could do.
As the weeks went on, the 40-50 mile weeks got easier, and the workouts started. I raced a couple of 5k's, hitting my all time worst times for road races, but persevered. The long easy distance got a little easier, and the mile repeats went from 6:07 pace (still in the snow) to 5:40 pace. The 19:04 5k went to an 18:01 track 5k tempo run, and the 45-55 mile weeks were now supported by 2 hard runs per week, including either a race, a tempo, or a track workout.
And today, I did my first 4 x mile workout of the year, 5:40, 5:43, 5:34, 5:29 with a couple miles WU and WD and 400m jog/walk between each.
So now I feel I am getting somewhere.
It helps that Melissa placed second at the Wilderness League Championship meet with a 5:42.5 mile, a good time for a freshman, and then came back for fourth in the 2 mile. She is competing in the division championship this weekend. Also, Nick won his first Wilderness title in the 2 mile, after running a second place 4:29.8 mile, then throwing down a 54 second 400m in the very next race. He will be racing the 800m at the D2 meet on Saturday, along with the 4x400m relay.
If I can stay healthy, I may start getting some solid times again. Until them, having experienced many injuries and watched others suffer through them, I must remind myself to be thankful that I am at least out there running every day!
Darin
Thursday, January 30, 2014
January update
Training buddy Jim Johnson called me out for letting my blog go stale, right after I had a very good workout worth blogging about, so here I am again with an update.
Last weekend at Providence, my team Mass Velocity won the New England Master's championship title, and I added 30 points to the team's total, with 1st place finishes in the 3000m (10:18.15) 800m (2:20.04) and 4x800m relay. I met David Principe who paced me in the 3k, and teammate Ian Smith and I ran 1-2 in the 800m heat. Shag Makino got a nice photo of that race and posted on Facebook.
Training has been 35-40 miles a week with 2 hard runs and 1-2 days in the weight room per week, and races on the weekends in December and early January. I hit the All-American age division standard at the mile (4:59.01) and 3000m (10:04.04) at the BU mini meets, but no speed work yet, so my 800m times are still very slow. Still working on strength, but the speed work will hopefully come together in February.
Today's workout was either a 3 or 4 x mile workout on the treadmill, similar to my usual hard workouts. Target time is 6:00 pace. I have been alternating with intervals and steady state runs for hard workouts (all on the treadmill, given the road conditions here), and today I wasn't sure which way I would go, so after the warm up I started the first mile at 6:00. By the half I knew I was going to try to steady-state it, and try to hit all three miles at once. I had the tunes playing and I was in the zone, and I made it to 2.75 miles comfortably. I decided to go for 4. I watched 18:36 go by for the 5k, a decent workout in itself, and still felt great. At 3.5 miles, I realized I had it for sure, so I picked it up. I managed a 2:51 for the last 800m, and I could have gone further or faster, but that was, it turns out, a 4 mile time that beat my master's PR. 23:51 for 4 miles, my fastest timed four miles in 17 years! It goes up on the wall to the right; and it was on a treadmill workout.... very exciting!
This does bode well for some more good races to come!!
Darin
Last weekend at Providence, my team Mass Velocity won the New England Master's championship title, and I added 30 points to the team's total, with 1st place finishes in the 3000m (10:18.15) 800m (2:20.04) and 4x800m relay. I met David Principe who paced me in the 3k, and teammate Ian Smith and I ran 1-2 in the 800m heat. Shag Makino got a nice photo of that race and posted on Facebook.
Training has been 35-40 miles a week with 2 hard runs and 1-2 days in the weight room per week, and races on the weekends in December and early January. I hit the All-American age division standard at the mile (4:59.01) and 3000m (10:04.04) at the BU mini meets, but no speed work yet, so my 800m times are still very slow. Still working on strength, but the speed work will hopefully come together in February.
Today's workout was either a 3 or 4 x mile workout on the treadmill, similar to my usual hard workouts. Target time is 6:00 pace. I have been alternating with intervals and steady state runs for hard workouts (all on the treadmill, given the road conditions here), and today I wasn't sure which way I would go, so after the warm up I started the first mile at 6:00. By the half I knew I was going to try to steady-state it, and try to hit all three miles at once. I had the tunes playing and I was in the zone, and I made it to 2.75 miles comfortably. I decided to go for 4. I watched 18:36 go by for the 5k, a decent workout in itself, and still felt great. At 3.5 miles, I realized I had it for sure, so I picked it up. I managed a 2:51 for the last 800m, and I could have gone further or faster, but that was, it turns out, a 4 mile time that beat my master's PR. 23:51 for 4 miles, my fastest timed four miles in 17 years! It goes up on the wall to the right; and it was on a treadmill workout.... very exciting!
This does bode well for some more good races to come!!
Darin
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Fall Races
The last weeks of summer and the early part of fall are the best time for long distance races. For me, I get the summer to work off the few extra pounds that I inevitably gain back in the winter, and I have a little extra daylight to run longer distance runs, so I am often in better condition.
Since the last update, I have competed in several races, two of which are in the Seacoast Series, which is a lot of fun. The first was Saunders at Rye Harbor, a 10k race named after a place that no longer exists. I had a big training week, and when the race started, I avoided a mistake I frequently make (starting out too fast) by simple exhaustion. Instead, I ran very nearly even splits, right at 6:00 pace for the first 4-5 miles, and I ended up with a solid 37:46, which was 8 seconds off my course PR set 2 years ago. For my efforts, which landed me a second place in my age division, I won a singlet and shorts, a novel, and $25 in cash. Add it to the T-shirt and that was a pretty nice haul for one night!
Nick and I ran a race called the "You and Me" (ME being a play on the state of Maine). This was the first race of its kind that I have seen -- it was a true relay. The first runner races a 5k, then hands a baton to the second runner, who does virtually the same course. The most difficult part of the event was finding the starting line, as my GPS magically disappeared from my vehicle and did not return (oldest son driving now... hmm). We drove around lost for about 45 minutes before my uncle, who lives right near there, saved us by giving us very good directions. Because I didn't have enough time to warm up, we swapped order and Nick ran first, hitting a solid 18:17. I finished up in 18:25, and we placed 3rd in the 40-59 (combined) age division.
The Kennett Challenge marked the start of the cross country season, and the Kennett high school team and the local White Mt. Milers club raced against the Fryeburg Academy XC squad. Usually the milers run away with the team score, but this year we missed Jim Johnson, Kevin Tilton, and Leslie Beckwith (who ran with her young son), and we were defeated by FA. Silas Eastman won the race with a time that tied his own course record (10:07), and our own Tim Livingston, ran a very solid race for second. Tim Even, USM all-star and former FA runner and now coach, backed off a bit at the finish and came in 3rd. Nick was fourth, squeaking past a FA runner at the finish, in a PR of 11:17. I held off a FA runner for 6th (11:41). Alex had a decent run at 13:36, and Melissa was the number three scholastic runner behind Sarah Hernandez (KHS) and one FA runner with 14:16. She counted for the milers, though, because she is only in 7th grade and not on the HS team.
The next race was the Millen Mile, a one mile track race in honor of a great community member, Gary Millen. This was an evening event, and some of the big guns came out to race. Tim Even won the overall race in 4:29, Tim Livingston would have broken the race record with a 4:36, and Kevin Tilton, last years winner, ran the same time as last year for third. I managed a fourth place finish with 5:00.3, a fairly good time for me in a race like this. Steve Piotrow hit 5:14, and Gabe Flanders, after eating French Fries, decided at the last minute to join the field and ran a very strong 5:22. Allan Whitley completed the men's field with a 6:07. The women's field only had three runners, but they were all very strong, led by repeating champion Leslie Beckwith, in 5:44. Meredith Piotrow broke 6:00, and Cathy Livingston managed a 6:06, a very solid race.
The latest Seacoast race was the Fox Point Sunset 5 miler, my favorite race of the year. It's not about the course, the distance, or the level of competition. It's about the FOOD! They have a cookout with burgers and dogs, pizza, cookies, brownies, bagels, etc. It's the best spread of any race I have been to. Having just raced the mile the night before, I was not expecting much. Again, I avoided going out to hard because I simply couldn't go out hard. However, I was quite surprised that I ran 5:51, 6:00, and 6:05 for the first three miles. I was 18:31 at 5k, which made me smile because Nick's X-C time from earlier in the day (on a hilly terrain course) was 18:33. Around the fourth mile, the runner who was in 4th place stopped by the side of the road to throw up. I felt a moment of sympathy before thinking... well, that moves us up a place! I chased a fellow named Tyler Doyle for the last mile (which turned out to be uphill, and explains the solid start) and ended up at 30:28, which was about 30 seconds off my best. That made sense given the way I felt after the night before's full out effort, plus the running around at Alex and Nick's X-C race in the AM. I think at full speed I might have been able to take 3rd place, but I was still happy with 5th. Chris Ritchie took the win, and we all enjoyed a nice cookout (once the nausea from racing full out abated).
Next up in the Seacoast Series is Great Island, and then Great Bay, both 5k's. Meanwhile, I am changing my training to get ready for indoor track, under the guidance of Roger Pierce, a many time American and World Champion Master's runner, who has agreed to coach me. The goal is a fast 400m time; from that, all else will come!
==
Darin
Since the last update, I have competed in several races, two of which are in the Seacoast Series, which is a lot of fun. The first was Saunders at Rye Harbor, a 10k race named after a place that no longer exists. I had a big training week, and when the race started, I avoided a mistake I frequently make (starting out too fast) by simple exhaustion. Instead, I ran very nearly even splits, right at 6:00 pace for the first 4-5 miles, and I ended up with a solid 37:46, which was 8 seconds off my course PR set 2 years ago. For my efforts, which landed me a second place in my age division, I won a singlet and shorts, a novel, and $25 in cash. Add it to the T-shirt and that was a pretty nice haul for one night!
Nick and I ran a race called the "You and Me" (ME being a play on the state of Maine). This was the first race of its kind that I have seen -- it was a true relay. The first runner races a 5k, then hands a baton to the second runner, who does virtually the same course. The most difficult part of the event was finding the starting line, as my GPS magically disappeared from my vehicle and did not return (oldest son driving now... hmm). We drove around lost for about 45 minutes before my uncle, who lives right near there, saved us by giving us very good directions. Because I didn't have enough time to warm up, we swapped order and Nick ran first, hitting a solid 18:17. I finished up in 18:25, and we placed 3rd in the 40-59 (combined) age division.
The Kennett Challenge marked the start of the cross country season, and the Kennett high school team and the local White Mt. Milers club raced against the Fryeburg Academy XC squad. Usually the milers run away with the team score, but this year we missed Jim Johnson, Kevin Tilton, and Leslie Beckwith (who ran with her young son), and we were defeated by FA. Silas Eastman won the race with a time that tied his own course record (10:07), and our own Tim Livingston, ran a very solid race for second. Tim Even, USM all-star and former FA runner and now coach, backed off a bit at the finish and came in 3rd. Nick was fourth, squeaking past a FA runner at the finish, in a PR of 11:17. I held off a FA runner for 6th (11:41). Alex had a decent run at 13:36, and Melissa was the number three scholastic runner behind Sarah Hernandez (KHS) and one FA runner with 14:16. She counted for the milers, though, because she is only in 7th grade and not on the HS team.
The next race was the Millen Mile, a one mile track race in honor of a great community member, Gary Millen. This was an evening event, and some of the big guns came out to race. Tim Even won the overall race in 4:29, Tim Livingston would have broken the race record with a 4:36, and Kevin Tilton, last years winner, ran the same time as last year for third. I managed a fourth place finish with 5:00.3, a fairly good time for me in a race like this. Steve Piotrow hit 5:14, and Gabe Flanders, after eating French Fries, decided at the last minute to join the field and ran a very strong 5:22. Allan Whitley completed the men's field with a 6:07. The women's field only had three runners, but they were all very strong, led by repeating champion Leslie Beckwith, in 5:44. Meredith Piotrow broke 6:00, and Cathy Livingston managed a 6:06, a very solid race.
The latest Seacoast race was the Fox Point Sunset 5 miler, my favorite race of the year. It's not about the course, the distance, or the level of competition. It's about the FOOD! They have a cookout with burgers and dogs, pizza, cookies, brownies, bagels, etc. It's the best spread of any race I have been to. Having just raced the mile the night before, I was not expecting much. Again, I avoided going out to hard because I simply couldn't go out hard. However, I was quite surprised that I ran 5:51, 6:00, and 6:05 for the first three miles. I was 18:31 at 5k, which made me smile because Nick's X-C time from earlier in the day (on a hilly terrain course) was 18:33. Around the fourth mile, the runner who was in 4th place stopped by the side of the road to throw up. I felt a moment of sympathy before thinking... well, that moves us up a place! I chased a fellow named Tyler Doyle for the last mile (which turned out to be uphill, and explains the solid start) and ended up at 30:28, which was about 30 seconds off my best. That made sense given the way I felt after the night before's full out effort, plus the running around at Alex and Nick's X-C race in the AM. I think at full speed I might have been able to take 3rd place, but I was still happy with 5th. Chris Ritchie took the win, and we all enjoyed a nice cookout (once the nausea from racing full out abated).
Next up in the Seacoast Series is Great Island, and then Great Bay, both 5k's. Meanwhile, I am changing my training to get ready for indoor track, under the guidance of Roger Pierce, a many time American and World Champion Master's runner, who has agreed to coach me. The goal is a fast 400m time; from that, all else will come!
==
Darin
Friday, August 10, 2012
Nationals and Cigna
I competed in the USATF Master's National Track and Field meet last weekend. My goal was to get to the finals at the 800m, and hopefully acheive All-American status. I had a good race in the 800m trials, and moved up substantially from my seed, running very even splits and hitting 2:11.93, for the 6th fastest time and qualifying me for the finals. At the final, it was 94 degrees and humid, and except for the two guys who won the sections (Landen Summay and Kevin Forde) the rest of the group all ran slower in the finals. I ended up 7th at 2:12.98, and I missed A-A status by 0.93 seconds.
In the 1500m, I was dead legged, and the race was early in the AM after racing the afternoon before. I went out perfectly at 2:25, but then I couldn't hold the pace and fell off, finishing at a rather disappointing 4:42. However, my final race of the meet, the 4x800m relay, was a bright spot. I anchored the Mass Velocity team, and I got the baton in second place in the race, but the racers in front and right behind me both were submaster teams (they had 30 year olds on them) and therefore we were not technically racing them. I gave chase to the leader and ran a quick first lap, but made up no ground on the younger runner and cruised in for a 2:19, locking in the gold medal!
After a couple of days of easy running, Nick and I raced Cigna, the largest 5k race in NH. We planned to run together, and I talked Nick into starting out "easy" around 5:40. We passed the race clock at 1 mile at 5:37 (although my GPS watch clocked the mile at 5:47) and I came through the second mile at 5:50, which was perfect for me. Nick and I finished 18:03 and 18:04, which was my best time for the season. Nick was 3rd in his age division and I was 7th; in a race with 5000 runners, this is a pretty solid accomplishment!
Next up, Fox Point 5 miler, and then X-C season starts.
--
Darin
In the 1500m, I was dead legged, and the race was early in the AM after racing the afternoon before. I went out perfectly at 2:25, but then I couldn't hold the pace and fell off, finishing at a rather disappointing 4:42. However, my final race of the meet, the 4x800m relay, was a bright spot. I anchored the Mass Velocity team, and I got the baton in second place in the race, but the racers in front and right behind me both were submaster teams (they had 30 year olds on them) and therefore we were not technically racing them. I gave chase to the leader and ran a quick first lap, but made up no ground on the younger runner and cruised in for a 2:19, locking in the gold medal!
After a couple of days of easy running, Nick and I raced Cigna, the largest 5k race in NH. We planned to run together, and I talked Nick into starting out "easy" around 5:40. We passed the race clock at 1 mile at 5:37 (although my GPS watch clocked the mile at 5:47) and I came through the second mile at 5:50, which was perfect for me. Nick and I finished 18:03 and 18:04, which was my best time for the season. Nick was 3rd in his age division and I was 7th; in a race with 5000 runners, this is a pretty solid accomplishment!
Next up, Fox Point 5 miler, and then X-C season starts.
--
Darin
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Nationals coming up; achilles battle
After nearly three weeks of backing off training (mostly to heal up the achilles injury from July 4th) I gave another shot at a 5k race today at Lancaster, to make sure the PT has taken and my achilles is up to speed.
Much like Lovell last weekend, I felt terrible right from the start, and my time was a very similar 18:22. The only things I can say that are positive are that I wasn't tired after the race, and I don't have a lot of pain. I took 5th overall, and managed a mug for the age division award.
Nick had a terrible race, finishing slightly behind me after taking off to the lead and then feeling like his arms were made of lead. He still won his age division by over six minutes, and he gets a week off now before X-C season training starts for real.
Melissa ran OK with a 24:17 time and an age division victory (by a few seconds). Her training is "run a few miles every other day" as she is still too young in my opinion to start serious training. She will have plenty of time for that later!
I leave for nationals next week, and hopefully I can make it out of the trials at 800m, but my focus is to just do the best that I can, given the injury which has hampered my last 3 weeks of training. I had high hopes going into the season, but after missing all three of the practice meets due to injury, I have resigned myself to looking forward to next season to set my personal bests.
==
Darin
Much like Lovell last weekend, I felt terrible right from the start, and my time was a very similar 18:22. The only things I can say that are positive are that I wasn't tired after the race, and I don't have a lot of pain. I took 5th overall, and managed a mug for the age division award.
Nick had a terrible race, finishing slightly behind me after taking off to the lead and then feeling like his arms were made of lead. He still won his age division by over six minutes, and he gets a week off now before X-C season training starts for real.
Melissa ran OK with a 24:17 time and an age division victory (by a few seconds). Her training is "run a few miles every other day" as she is still too young in my opinion to start serious training. She will have plenty of time for that later!
I leave for nationals next week, and hopefully I can make it out of the trials at 800m, but my focus is to just do the best that I can, given the injury which has hampered my last 3 weeks of training. I had high hopes going into the season, but after missing all three of the practice meets due to injury, I have resigned myself to looking forward to next season to set my personal bests.
==
Darin
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Races!
After another weak performance at the Tuesday Whitaker Woods races (probably because it was so hot and muggy) Nick, Melissa and I took to the track Thursday for a 200m interval workout. Nick and I hit 29-31 and Melissa was solid in the high 30-low 40 range.
We started July with the MIT track meet, where Nick hit 4:43, I ran 4:44, and Melissa 6:08 for 1500m. Nick jogged the 3k to a victory with 11:18, and Melissa and I ran a very hot and windy 800m in 2:17 and 3:18, respectively. The times for most everyone were poor because of the heat.
July 3rd was my big race of the week; the Manchester Mile. I ran 4:34.8 with Nick closing at the finish at 4:39.9. Sure it was downhill, but those are good times regardless. I thought the finish was slightly more downhill, but it was rather flat, so I didn't have quite enough left for a strong finish. I was hoping to break 4:30, but maybe next year! We both won our respective age divisions, and we were both in the top 10 overall (although not even close to the top 4, 3 of whom ran sub 4!)
We all did Bridgton's Four on the Fourth. Nick and I had dead legs, after the mile race the night before. Nick still pulled off a 23:25; his age division was stacked, with race winner Silas Eastman, and another younster in the top 5 in the mid 22's (which Nick could probably do with a day of rest in between races). Melissa ran a PR 31:34 for 3rd in her division (she got heavily boxed in at the start, but still did well), and Alex ran a PR at 34:04, after 6 weeks of not running. My time was 24:50, but somehow I managed to win my age division anyway. Unfortunately, I may have tweaked my achilles, which started bothering me after a 10.6 mile run over this weekend. That will be inconvenient, as I was hoping to bump up the mileage and do more track work to get ready for Masters Nationals in August; instead I will be babying the injury and trying to maintain fitness.
==
Darin
We started July with the MIT track meet, where Nick hit 4:43, I ran 4:44, and Melissa 6:08 for 1500m. Nick jogged the 3k to a victory with 11:18, and Melissa and I ran a very hot and windy 800m in 2:17 and 3:18, respectively. The times for most everyone were poor because of the heat.
July 3rd was my big race of the week; the Manchester Mile. I ran 4:34.8 with Nick closing at the finish at 4:39.9. Sure it was downhill, but those are good times regardless. I thought the finish was slightly more downhill, but it was rather flat, so I didn't have quite enough left for a strong finish. I was hoping to break 4:30, but maybe next year! We both won our respective age divisions, and we were both in the top 10 overall (although not even close to the top 4, 3 of whom ran sub 4!)
We all did Bridgton's Four on the Fourth. Nick and I had dead legs, after the mile race the night before. Nick still pulled off a 23:25; his age division was stacked, with race winner Silas Eastman, and another younster in the top 5 in the mid 22's (which Nick could probably do with a day of rest in between races). Melissa ran a PR 31:34 for 3rd in her division (she got heavily boxed in at the start, but still did well), and Alex ran a PR at 34:04, after 6 weeks of not running. My time was 24:50, but somehow I managed to win my age division anyway. Unfortunately, I may have tweaked my achilles, which started bothering me after a 10.6 mile run over this weekend. That will be inconvenient, as I was hoping to bump up the mileage and do more track work to get ready for Masters Nationals in August; instead I will be babying the injury and trying to maintain fitness.
==
Darin
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Thursday Track work
We ran into Roger Marcoux, Tim Livingston, and Tim's family tonight on the track, where Nick, Melissa and I ran 12x400 in the searing heat. Nick and I ran 79/78/76/75 for set 1, then 74/73/73/73 for set 2, and for set 3, 69/70/72 and then Nick took off with a 64 while I staggered in for 75. Melissa hit 1:47 for most of them; her target pace was 1:45 but that was a serious challenge running by herself. It was a great workout under the circumstances!!
Fudgesicles and a gallon of lemonade afterwards... let's hope tomorrow is slightly cooler than the 95 degrees we ran in today!
==
Darin
Fudgesicles and a gallon of lemonade afterwards... let's hope tomorrow is slightly cooler than the 95 degrees we ran in today!
==
Darin
Monday, June 18, 2012
Downhill and Uphill
I raced the Hollis fast 5k on Thursday, capturing my age division with a 17:16, a somewhat disappointing time. I was a bit sore from Tuesday's Whitaker Woods effort, which was a very strong one for me at 19:22. My hamstring was bothering me enough to scratch Sunday's Father's day 5k.
Meanwhile, Nick had a fantastic race up Mt. Washington, coming in 83rd overall and 2nd in the 19 and under age division with 1:22:56. Congrats to Kevin Tilton for winning the first NH finisher award, and the hometown crew including Jim Johnson, Paul Kirsch, Marc Ohlson, Nick and Josh Brustin, Rich Laracy, Shauna Ross, Leslie Beckwith, Kevin Callahan, and everyone else I missed!
Next up, Tuesday's Whitaker Woods race series. Hopefully my hamstring cooperates for that.
==
Darin
Meanwhile, Nick had a fantastic race up Mt. Washington, coming in 83rd overall and 2nd in the 19 and under age division with 1:22:56. Congrats to Kevin Tilton for winning the first NH finisher award, and the hometown crew including Jim Johnson, Paul Kirsch, Marc Ohlson, Nick and Josh Brustin, Rich Laracy, Shauna Ross, Leslie Beckwith, Kevin Callahan, and everyone else I missed!
Next up, Tuesday's Whitaker Woods race series. Hopefully my hamstring cooperates for that.
==
Darin
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Good week so far
Saturday Nick and I competed at the Market Square 10k, with Nick setting a 10k PR at 38:10, for 15th overall, and me coming only 21 seconds off my course best, at 37:52, for 13th overall. I hit the top spot for Masters runners, and Nick was 2nd to former MS state XC champion Cameron Barth in the under 19 age division.
Sunday Nick and I did 10.7 around Silver lake, yesterday was an easy 4, and today Nick rocked at the first Whitaker Woods 5k, with a huge course PR of 18:36, taking 4th overall. Jim Johnson, Tim Livingston, and Peter Haine were the leaders tonight, and I managed a strong 19:22 for 5th. Melissa hit a PR for the course at 23:38, as she continues to get stronger. For comparison, when Nick was 12 he was running 22:50 for this course, so Melissa is doing extremely well.
Thursday is Hollis for me, Saturday Mt. Washington for Nick, and Sunday is the Father's Day 5k for me in Portland. Should be a high mileage total week for me as well, and lots of quality runs.
==
Darin
Sunday Nick and I did 10.7 around Silver lake, yesterday was an easy 4, and today Nick rocked at the first Whitaker Woods 5k, with a huge course PR of 18:36, taking 4th overall. Jim Johnson, Tim Livingston, and Peter Haine were the leaders tonight, and I managed a strong 19:22 for 5th. Melissa hit a PR for the course at 23:38, as she continues to get stronger. For comparison, when Nick was 12 he was running 22:50 for this course, so Melissa is doing extremely well.
Thursday is Hollis for me, Saturday Mt. Washington for Nick, and Sunday is the Father's Day 5k for me in Portland. Should be a high mileage total week for me as well, and lots of quality runs.
==
Darin
Friday, May 25, 2012
State meet champion
Nick won the mile at the Middle School State Meet in a dramatic fashion. After two laps of very slow paced tactical maneuvering (82/78), Nick's rival, Marc, took the lead and picked up the pace (75). With 400m to go, Nick put on a surge and gapped Marc, and ran a 67 final lap to win 5:02 to 5:04. Marc ran a 2:16 (71/65) to win the 800m, where Nick took second at 2:21. Nick had really wanted to break 5:00 for the mile, but he realized he needed to race tactically to have the best chance to win.
Melissa came from 7th place in the last lap of the mile to finish 4th, almost catching the 3rd place runner, in a time of 6:23. The leader ran an amazing 5:37, and was 50 meters in front. Melissa came back in the 800m with a PR time of 2:56, 3rd in the section, and probably 7th overall.
My best training day was a 10 miler that was supposed to be a 10 mile steady state, but I ran out of gas at 8 miles and jogged the rest. I am hoping to continue to pick up the mileage going into the summer racing season. If I can get to 50 miles a week to develop a better base, with a race each weekend for speed training, I should get back to my best level of fitness, which is the only true goal any runner can have!!
==
Darin
Melissa came from 7th place in the last lap of the mile to finish 4th, almost catching the 3rd place runner, in a time of 6:23. The leader ran an amazing 5:37, and was 50 meters in front. Melissa came back in the 800m with a PR time of 2:56, 3rd in the section, and probably 7th overall.
My best training day was a 10 miler that was supposed to be a 10 mile steady state, but I ran out of gas at 8 miles and jogged the rest. I am hoping to continue to pick up the mileage going into the summer racing season. If I can get to 50 miles a week to develop a better base, with a race each weekend for speed training, I should get back to my best level of fitness, which is the only true goal any runner can have!!
==
Darin
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Solid results
Melissa, Nick and I competed in the Mother's Day 5k on Sunday. Nick took 16th overall with a PR 17:34 (winning his age division). I managed a season best 18:14 (2nd in age group) and Melissa cramped up but still finished with a respectable 22:37 for 2nd in her age division, and her second best time.
On the track, Nick set a PR with a 5:02.9 mile, running 75/79/77/71 completely by himself. His primary competition for the state meet skipped the mile and ran the 800m, which was too bad, because this youngster ran 4:56 recently and Nick was hoping to get under 5:00. Nick came back in the 400m and set a season best 62.7, and then 10 minutes later ran a 2:28, taking 2nd to the Interlakes youth who ran low 2:20's.
Melissa cramped up in the last 2 laps of the mile and fell off pace, but still managed a 6:23, which ties her season best. She broke 3:00 (barely) in the 800m for a PR at 2:59.9, and then ran the next event, the 200m, at 33.2 for her first race ever at that distance. She wanted to go back and try the next heat of the 200 as well; I guess she is ready to start interval training on the track!
State meets are next for the kids, and Red Hook 5k for me.
===
Darin
On the track, Nick set a PR with a 5:02.9 mile, running 75/79/77/71 completely by himself. His primary competition for the state meet skipped the mile and ran the 800m, which was too bad, because this youngster ran 4:56 recently and Nick was hoping to get under 5:00. Nick came back in the 400m and set a season best 62.7, and then 10 minutes later ran a 2:28, taking 2nd to the Interlakes youth who ran low 2:20's.
Melissa cramped up in the last 2 laps of the mile and fell off pace, but still managed a 6:23, which ties her season best. She broke 3:00 (barely) in the 800m for a PR at 2:59.9, and then ran the next event, the 200m, at 33.2 for her first race ever at that distance. She wanted to go back and try the next heat of the 200 as well; I guess she is ready to start interval training on the track!
State meets are next for the kids, and Red Hook 5k for me.
===
Darin
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Catching up
Time to catch up; I have missed a couple of months of posting. The short story is my indoor season ended badly at nationals with disappointing races in the 3000m and the 800m, and I was feeling so bad that I scratched out of the mile (a good decision). Although I hit the All-American standard at the 3000m, my time was 20 seconds off my PR earlier in the season. If I had raced the 800m like I had before I tore my calf, I would have been in position to win, and I would have certainly medalled, but I ended up in 7th.
Since then, I have been simply trying to maintain fitness, and get Nick to break 5:00 in the mile. I have a couple of 18:30's for 5k this year (including a top Master's finish at the Children's Museum 5k last weekend), but I am nowhere near where I should be. I need to pick up the mileage -- hopefully I can get out with Jim and Kevin once the kids' track season winds down and I have more time!
Nick has been progessing nicely. His mile PR of 5:07 could get tested on Wednesday, the last meet before states. Melissa won her first track race (mile) a few weeks back with a solid 6:35, and last week set a PR at 6:23. Both Nick and Melissa won the respective races (Nick overall, Melissa the top female finisher) at the small Spring into Spring 5k last weekend (18:05 and 22:14, respectively). They both hope to PR for 5k tomorrow -- all three of us will compete in the Mother's Day 5k.
----
Darin
Since then, I have been simply trying to maintain fitness, and get Nick to break 5:00 in the mile. I have a couple of 18:30's for 5k this year (including a top Master's finish at the Children's Museum 5k last weekend), but I am nowhere near where I should be. I need to pick up the mileage -- hopefully I can get out with Jim and Kevin once the kids' track season winds down and I have more time!
Nick has been progessing nicely. His mile PR of 5:07 could get tested on Wednesday, the last meet before states. Melissa won her first track race (mile) a few weeks back with a solid 6:35, and last week set a PR at 6:23. Both Nick and Melissa won the respective races (Nick overall, Melissa the top female finisher) at the small Spring into Spring 5k last weekend (18:05 and 22:14, respectively). They both hope to PR for 5k tomorrow -- all three of us will compete in the Mother's Day 5k.
----
Darin
Sunday, January 1, 2012
All American!
After 30+ years of competitive racing, I finally acheived the milestone of "All-American" status. I raced the 3k at Boston University's "mini meet" and managed a PR time of 9:56.93, which was under the 10:00 age division standard for AA. I had Brendan Dagan helping me out with splits, which was very useful, because I drifted off pace after the first 800m. I went through the mile in 5:21 (slightly better than last week's 5:22, but off the 10:00 pace), but came back the last 800m in 2:34, passing many of the other runners in the race (I had been hanging out in last place!) in the process, and taking 5th overall in the heat.
Nick had a great race in the mile, hitting a PR 5:11.13. He is looking to break 5:00 this season, which, given that performance, is a likelihood.
Happy New Year and hopefully this will be a good year of racing!
===
Darin
Nick had a great race in the mile, hitting a PR 5:11.13. He is looking to break 5:00 this season, which, given that performance, is a likelihood.
Happy New Year and hopefully this will be a good year of racing!
===
Darin
Sunday, December 25, 2011
First try at 3000m
Nick and I went to Boston Saturday to run in the BU Mini meet. Nick is changing gears after a long X-C season, in which he won the NH State Championships, and competed in the USATF Junior Olympics, placing 175th in the National meet (getting caught up in a clog of fallen runners near the start).
I have not run a serious race since January's injury, and this was a true test, racing 3000m on the track. I prepared by staying up all night (OK, so I planned on NOT racing so deliberately scheduled myself to work) and we left at 6:30AM for the 9AM start time. They postponed the start until 10am, so we were very, um, early.
After plenty of warmup, I took off at the back of the section (I was the last seed anyway) and hung there for the first mile (5:22). I passed one person shortly after, and basically just tried to hang onto the pack (we were all seeded very close, within a 15 second window). This worked well for me, and in the last 400m I tried to pick it up, passing one more person and hitting what seemed like negative splits, but turned out to be pretty much another 5:22 pace split. The time counts as a PR since I have never raced it before, and under the circumstances I was very happy. I came back to run the mile with Nick, seeded at 5:10, and ran a 5:12.
Nick ran 2:35 for the first 800m, and I passed him there and tried to drag him along to a 5:10 or so finish, but he started breathing in the track dust and was unable to come back in the last 800m, instead hitting 5:20. This is technically his mile PR, but he ran that as a split in a 2.1 mile race, so obviously he can go faster. His goal is sub-5 by the state meet, and of course a victory there would be nice too.
I am planning on taking a little time to recover but racing again in 2 weeks, probably another 3000m, rather than trying to test the calf and hamstring too much with speed. Hopefully I can log a strong mile at one of the later races this season as well.
====
Darin
I have not run a serious race since January's injury, and this was a true test, racing 3000m on the track. I prepared by staying up all night (OK, so I planned on NOT racing so deliberately scheduled myself to work) and we left at 6:30AM for the 9AM start time. They postponed the start until 10am, so we were very, um, early.
After plenty of warmup, I took off at the back of the section (I was the last seed anyway) and hung there for the first mile (5:22). I passed one person shortly after, and basically just tried to hang onto the pack (we were all seeded very close, within a 15 second window). This worked well for me, and in the last 400m I tried to pick it up, passing one more person and hitting what seemed like negative splits, but turned out to be pretty much another 5:22 pace split. The time counts as a PR since I have never raced it before, and under the circumstances I was very happy. I came back to run the mile with Nick, seeded at 5:10, and ran a 5:12.
Nick ran 2:35 for the first 800m, and I passed him there and tried to drag him along to a 5:10 or so finish, but he started breathing in the track dust and was unable to come back in the last 800m, instead hitting 5:20. This is technically his mile PR, but he ran that as a split in a 2.1 mile race, so obviously he can go faster. His goal is sub-5 by the state meet, and of course a victory there would be nice too.
I am planning on taking a little time to recover but racing again in 2 weeks, probably another 3000m, rather than trying to test the calf and hamstring too much with speed. Hopefully I can log a strong mile at one of the later races this season as well.
====
Darin
Monday, October 24, 2011
Training
I did 4x 800m at 2:28-2:31 today on the track with Peter Haine and the Kennett X-C team, who have the Division meet this weekend. Yesterday I did 10 miles in the woods with Frank Holmes, who is planning on joining me for the Key West Half Marathon again this year. That event is a great excuse to eat ice cream in the middle of winter. Most body parts seem to be holding together for a change!
The White Mountain Milers half marathon is this weekend; I think I would have rather race the 5k on Saturday but that conflicts with the team's XC meet, and Nick wants to run the half again this year and see what he can do, so I will give the half a shot.
--
Darin
The White Mountain Milers half marathon is this weekend; I think I would have rather race the 5k on Saturday but that conflicts with the team's XC meet, and Nick wants to run the half again this year and see what he can do, so I will give the half a shot.
--
Darin
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Proud Dad
Nick won the NH X-C Middle School State Meet today with a blistering 11:46 for 2.1 miles. He was around 5:30 for the first mile, behind the Tri-County champion who was looking very strong. However, Carlos tried a couple of surges to break Nick which appeared to backfire, and Nick kicked in the last 300 meters to the cries of "look at that kid go" in the audience around the finish line. A youngster from Oyster River came in strong for second. Justin Carbone took the Large School race in 11:52 (Nick's Granite State Flash Teammate).
Melissa ended up a bit disappointed with her finish (17th place?) at 15:34. She wasn't feeling great and this was only her third ever middle school race (she was 7th at Plymouth and 11th at Belmont earlier this year). She has two more years to move up...
Darin
Melissa ended up a bit disappointed with her finish (17th place?) at 15:34. She wasn't feeling great and this was only her third ever middle school race (she was 7th at Plymouth and 11th at Belmont earlier this year). She has two more years to move up...
Darin
Friday, October 7, 2011
getting back into shape
Todays workout was highly encouraging. I ran a loop I cleverly call "Around the Lake" as it goes, well, around a lake. A lot of it is on the road but some is on dirt, including the last mile which is virtually all uphill. My prior personal best (set 2 years ago) was 73:07 for 10.65 miles. Today I managed a very nice 72:44, although I cut the last bit so the net was only 10.46 miles. I was dying miserably at the end, running 7:44 for the last mile (up the big hill) after averaging 6:40's for most of the rest.
I am encouraged enough by this that I may sign up for another race. Although watching Nick win races and go for course records is fun, too. His latest victory was the Kennett Invitational, where he hit 11:38 running alone and against a 30 MPH wind. This was only 3 seconds from the course record that was set during a two man battle between world ranked biathlete Sean Dougherty and Fryeburg Academy standout Silas Eastman (who just broke his course record at FA with a 15:57 last weekend).
That's some good company!
==
Darin
I am encouraged enough by this that I may sign up for another race. Although watching Nick win races and go for course records is fun, too. His latest victory was the Kennett Invitational, where he hit 11:38 running alone and against a 30 MPH wind. This was only 3 seconds from the course record that was set during a two man battle between world ranked biathlete Sean Dougherty and Fryeburg Academy standout Silas Eastman (who just broke his course record at FA with a 15:57 last weekend).
That's some good company!
==
Darin
Sunday, October 2, 2011
First 5k road race this season
I took Nick and Melissa to the 3rd annual Gary Millen memorial 5k today. After running around yesterday at Coe-Brown's Black Bear Invitational with the high school team, giving splits and cheering on the Kennett kids, I was a bit fatigued. I planned to try to run with Nick, maybe picking it up if I was feeling good in the last mile. The pouring rain didn't encourage fast times, either.
We started out at 5:51, which was a bit quick for Nick (who was going for 6:00 per mile pace) and a bit slow for me to stay with the leaders, but overall a good split. I went 6:13 for the second mile. I never understand why on this course, where the second mile is down hill, that this is the slowest mile, but it seems to be the case every year. I left Nick in mile 3 and ran 5:41, but it was not enough to catch the leaders, including race winner Steve Piotrow (17:55) and long time racing companion Jasmin Lepir (18:13). I finished in 18:18, which is my season's best (naturally, as it's my first race), and Nick finished next at 18:54, which is his PR (prior best was this race last year, at 19:41). Melissa hit her best too at 24:21. The three of us won age division awards.
There is another 5k coming up in two weeks at Whitaker Woods, and the kids have their home X-C invitationals this week, so much more to come!
--
Darin
We started out at 5:51, which was a bit quick for Nick (who was going for 6:00 per mile pace) and a bit slow for me to stay with the leaders, but overall a good split. I went 6:13 for the second mile. I never understand why on this course, where the second mile is down hill, that this is the slowest mile, but it seems to be the case every year. I left Nick in mile 3 and ran 5:41, but it was not enough to catch the leaders, including race winner Steve Piotrow (17:55) and long time racing companion Jasmin Lepir (18:13). I finished in 18:18, which is my season's best (naturally, as it's my first race), and Nick finished next at 18:54, which is his PR (prior best was this race last year, at 19:41). Melissa hit her best too at 24:21. The three of us won age division awards.
There is another 5k coming up in two weeks at Whitaker Woods, and the kids have their home X-C invitationals this week, so much more to come!
--
Darin
Friday, September 16, 2011
Nick wins his first X-C race of 2011
Nick ran a 12:10 for the win in his debut race for 2011 Cross country season. He ran evenly (6:01, 6:09, the second part a slightly harder mile) and put about a minute between himself and second place. The team captured first with a perfect 15-50 score over Berlin. Kingswood apparently had some type of trouble getting to the meet and missed the race. The next race is Thursday 9/22/11.
Training for me this week was 800m repeats, distance run, uphill repeats, and easy run with a game or two all with the HS team. I am ready to race a 5k somewhere... just need the time and a race to run!
---
Darin
Training for me this week was 800m repeats, distance run, uphill repeats, and easy run with a game or two all with the HS team. I am ready to race a 5k somewhere... just need the time and a race to run!
---
Darin
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