Feb 16- Feb 22 (USATF NE 10 Mile Champs)

Mon- OFF
Tue- 3 x mile hill repeats with Josh Ferenc and Greg Hammett in Acworth NH (Josh's)
1st 6:27
2nd 6:19
3rd 6:37
The max grade on this hill is 19% and this workout was very difficult! Total mileage for the day is 10.7
Wed- Josh and Greg met me at my house and we put in a Putney 12.5 with an average pace of 6:37
Thu-13 miles solo at 6:20 pace
Fri- I went to Greg Hammett's and we did 12 miles at Pisgah with 6 striders.
Sat- I did 5 miles easy with my dog Bailey. Ready For Sunday!
Sun- I got to Amherst for the USATF NE 10 Mile Championships about an hour and a half early. It makes me feel more comfortable to have extra time. I put in a very easy 4 miles to get loose, the standard striders to get the blood flowing and at 11:00 we were off. After talking to Greg I decided to ditch my watch this time and just shoot from the hip. I was nervous about doing this but find myself always looking at my splits. I wanted to just run by feel. At the gun about 20 guys quickly formed an initial lead pack. This broke up early on into two distinctive packs about 1.5 miles in. I found myself in the front of the chase pack at this point and in about 16th place. At mile two I realized I was in "no man's land" (in between the lead pack and the chase pack). I felt fairly strong and decided if I was going to survive I needed to make a decision. Either man up and close the gap ahead or back off and give away a top ten finish. I decided to try it out and go. At the base of the hill section (mile 3) I heard my split (15:10) which I was trying to avoid and knew I was in deep. I felt surprisingly strong and fresh and maintained my effort. I picked off a few guys on the climb and found myself in 9th place at mile 5. I think this is where the reservoir was and the only technical part of the race. It was very slick for about 200 yards and I had a hard time accelerating. I was relieved to see pavement and could now see a group of three within striking distance. It took me another mile and a half to catch up. When I did only Casey Moulton hung on and we battled back and forth for a few. I surged on a short hill at about mile 7 and was now in 5th place. I spent the next three miles trying to catch Mark Miller (BAA) and Brendan Callahan (BAA) with no success. The closer we got to the finish line the faster those guys went. I am extremely pleased with my performance and effort and feel that this past winter has not been in vane. I finished 5th with a time of 51:47 (5:11 pace) far exceeding my goal. I am very glad I dropped the watch because I would have backed off. The Central Mass Striders finished very well. As a team we placed 2nd to BAA and think that we are going to have a great year of competition. Now I just have to sling back a few Otter Creek Mud Bocks (I have depleted my homebrew supply), keep it simple this week, and rock a 50K. Top CMS finishers are below:
Place Div/Tot Div Time Pace Name Ag S Race# City/state Team
05 05/122 M2039 51:47 5:11 Justin Fyffe 28 M 49 East Dummerston VT CMS
16 16/122 M2039 53:54 5:24 Kevin Tilton 27 M 69 North Conway NH CMS
18 18/122 M2039 54:20 5:26 Andy McCarron 26 M 61 Lunenberg MA CMS
19 19/122 M2039 54:35 5:28 Matt Clark 26 M 44 Amherst MA CMS
22 22/122 M2039 55:08 5:31 Jim Johnson 31 M 55 Salem NH CMS
25 2/131 M4049 55:23* 5:33 Joe Shairs 40 M 67 Peabody MA CMS
27 3/131 M4049 55:30* 5:33 Dan Verrington 46 M 71 Bradford MA CMS
51 43/122 M2039 57:37 5:46 Jim Pawlicki 34 M 65 Beverly MA CMS
53 45/122 M2039 57:54 5:48 Ben Strain 30 M 68 Beverly MA CMS
54 9/131 M4049 58:17* 5:50 David Quintal 45 M 668 Salem NH CMS