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Half at The Hamptons Storm Team Blizzard Watch!

Half at the Hamptons Weather Update

Just trying to keep up with the sensationalism of the local TV stations!

We are on track to have our third significant snow storm in three weekends. Unfortunately this weekend we have The Half at The Hamptons in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.

loco running, Half at the Hamptons

This will be the third year in a row that I have run this race. It is usually cold and there was snow on the ground two years ago. If I recall correctly, last year it was just cold. Even when there was snow two years ago the roads were clear and there wasn’t any precipitation on race day.

Now they are predicting snow starting on Saturday and going into Sunday. Since the race is on the coast, we may just get rain. And being February in New Hampshire it will be the coldest rain you can get without it turning into actual snow! Oh Freakin Joy!

I am praying for snow. It takes snow longer to melt through all of my layers and freeze the hell out of me. Rain eventually seeps though everything and then chills you to the bone. It is possible to keep snow from melting through, if you dress properly and it is cold enough.

The link to The Half at The Hamptons website provides their latest guess at conditions. We will get their final word after 5AM Sunday.

Run well my Friends,

Andy

© anagelin 2013

Fool in the Rain

Last night I went out for a run with my running club, in the rain. Probably not the smartest thing to do since I’m still fighting a cold.

Just a Fool in the Rain

I ran 3.1 miles in the treadmill yesterday because I was not sure that I was going to go and run in the rain. My need to run over ruled common sense and I was out the door after supper. The one good thing about rain is that you know the air temperature is above freezing. The bad thing about rain a few days after snow is that there are puddles and slush everywhere.

It was impossible to avoid getting my feet wet. By the time I finished my 4 mile run I was soaked all the way through, head to toe. My ham string hurt and I was a little concerned that the run did more for my cold than for my fitness. I went home, did some stretching and took some NyQuil.

I woke up this morning and my lungs were no more congested than they were Tuesday morning. As I walked around I realized that my ham string did not feel any worse either. It looks like I managed to get in two runs yesterday with a total mileage of 7.1. Not great but not bad.

A few of us are running The Half at The Hamptons on Sunday. The weather forecast: A high of 38º F and up to a foot of snow! The race is on the coast of New Hampshire so it may be a bit warmer than the 38º F forecast for Boston, which means rain or freezing rain. Or it could mean even more snow that what they forecast for Boston. It’s hard to tell.

I’ll be wearing all of the clothes I mentioned in my last post and applying all of the lessons I have learned over the years. I’m looking forward to the challenge of running in these conditions.

Thanks for stopping by for a quick read. Have a great run today.

Andy

Lake Winnie Weekend

We had a great weekend in New Hampshire running the 24th Annual Fred Brown Lake Winnipesaukee Relay Race. The Melrose Running Club had four teams this year and we all ran pretty strong.

Our fastest team came in 2nd out of 29 teams in their category (MIXED OPEN) and 17th out of 71 total teams. Their time was 8:45:02 or a pace of 8:05. Considering the hills that had to be scaled to complete this race their pace is very impressive. At times the temp was in the mid 80’s and often there was no shade.

We were very creative with our team names ;), they were MRC-4. My team was MRC-1 and we came in 3rd out of 4 teams in our category (MIXED 40+) and 50th out of 71 teams. Our time was 10:04:58, or a pace of 9:18.

My leg of the race

I ran leg 5 which is 10.8 miles. I have never been on this course and had very little idea of what to expect. It is New Hampshire, so I expected hills. I also expected temps in the 80’s and that my lack of preparation to hold me back.

As I ran out the driveway of the school where our baton exchange took place, my legs did not feel particularly great. I often feel this way during the first half-mile of a race, but this time I was also recovering from an injury. As I turned left and headed up my first hill I dug deep and charged. At the top of the hill I felt better. Sweat was dripping off of the baton and I had not even gone a mile yet. I knew I had to be careful.

I had a 500ml bottle of water with me and it was still partially frozen. My black shirt was soaking up the heat and I knew I would have to take it off soon or risk overheating. As I approached the next hill I started to gain on a female runner who looked to be much younger than me. I felt that if I could catch up to her and stay with her for the rest of the race I would do okay.

I was probably within 50 yards of this young lady and I began to hear shoes coming up behind me. They were moving fast and I was wondering who the F is this hot shot? The pace sounded very fast and it was blazing hot. As he shot past me I saw it was a guy who was possibly in his thirties.

I often watch people run and he had great form. Very efficient leg and arm movement, smooth stride and he looked athletic. I remember thinking that he must have been coached at one time or another. He made it look easy and effortless. I later learned that the women in the club had great admiration for this gent’s ass-ets.

I admired his smooth stride as he kept moving further away. On the next hill I caught up to the young lady and tucked in behind her. I prefer to run behind someone and push them up the hills rather than have them push me. I feel it gives me more control over my pace and puts less pressure on me.

As we came down the other side of the hill I was just off of her right shoulder and she asked if I wanted to pass. I could see my crew on the right side of the road and thought about stopping, so I told her no. I ended up not stopping as my water bottle was still unopened and I did not want to break my momentum.

At mile four I knew I was going to run this thing: no walking today. I was getting into a good groove and felt in control. I was managing my hydration well and had taken off my shirt. At mile six I grabbed a pretzel rod and another half-frozen water bottle from my crew. Exhaling pretzel crumbs, I managed to get the whole thing in my mouth and wash it down with a few swigs of water. As the simple carbs turned into sugars and hit my blood stream I could feel the turbo kicking in.

On the next downhill I stretched my legs and took off; passing my young lady friend. Over the next few hills I kept pushing and passed two more runners. All systems were GO and I was under 9 minute miles. After a mile or two my running mate passed me and we passed a few more runners over the next mile or so. We were passing people and I was in one of my favorite positions.

As we came around the last corner, up the hill I saw two or three runners in front of us and within striking distance. All systems go I thought. The race is on. We over took two people but one guy was harder to catch. We took a left onto our last road and finally caught up with this guy. He was older than us but was in fantastic shape. He later told me that he was 62. Wow.

The three of us took turns in the lead and kept pushing or pulling each other along. We came around a corner and there was a hill. We all laughed; like you’ve got to be kidding me! On the other side of the hill it was all downhill to the exchange. I stretched my legs as much as I felt safe to do but could not keep up with my running mates.

We all finished within a few seconds of each other and hung out for a few minutes talking. We were all happy with our race and enjoyed the pushing and pulling up the hills and the camaraderie. I think the young lady said she was 34 and the guy we caught up to was 62! I was right in the middle at 48.It was a fun way to end my leg of the relay.

We ran in the last 0.60 miles at a 7:55 pace. It was all downhill and we ran it hard. My overall pace was 8:53. I sat on the grass to stretch and ended up walking about a mile to get a ride with another friend. Everyone else had taken off. My friend’s car was loaded so someone else offered me a ride and we were off.

Eventually I had the best ham sandwich of my life and drank some ice cold beers. As we drove to the finish line the heavens opened up. In the parking lot we stood under the hatch of someone’s car to get out of the rain and had some more beers. Under umbrellas we clung together and walked to the event tent to watch the finish.

When we got back to the camp ground it was still raining and everything was wet. We hastily packed and headed south. I rolled my tent around my arm and stuffed it in the back seat of my car. What a mess.

Thus ended my Lake Winnie Weekend.

Winnipesaukee Relay

Winnipesaukee Relay Race weekend

This was a nice short week. I had Monday off for Labor Day and I took today off to head to New Hampshire for the Fred Brown Lake Winnipesaukee Relay Race. The race is this Saturday and is a sixty-six mile course around the entire lake. I’ve never run it before but many of my friends have and tell me it is a lot of fun.

This is the 24th annual running of this race and it is sponsored and managed by the North Medford Club. The race starts at 8AM at FUNSPOT, Weirs Beach, NH. I have no idea what FUNSPOT is but it sounds like one of those summer arcade places where whiney kids hang out playing pin ball.

The North Medford Club is the second oldest running club in America, Founded in 1933 by the legendary Fred Brown. This, right off of their website. They sponsor a summer and winter series of races, so I am going to have to find out more about them.

I am running leg 5 of this relay which is listed as a 10.8 mile course with “Some small gentle Hills”. We’ll see. I once saw a race in Breakheart Reservation in Saugus where the course was described as flat and fast. Anyone who knows Breakheart can LOL now.

The Melrose Running Club will have four teams this year. I’m told that we do the run for fun and there is no pressure. Some people work the race into their schedule as their speed work or maybe even a long run if they are training for a half marathon.

Something happens to me on race day. I become very focused and when the starting gun goes off so does a little switch in my head which lights up my competitive circuits. I will run my 10.8 miles as hard as I can and I will eat up those gentle hills. We probably won’t win any medals or anything, but I’m going to stretch my legs a bit and leave it out there on the road.

As Runner 2.0 I have a pretty good idea of what I’m getting myself into. I know how to pay attention to my body and how to eat and hydrate. By paying attention to my heart rate and exertion levels I’ll be able to push hard but save enough juice to finish strong. Since I’ve been running in the heat all summer, even a warm day should not be much of a problem.

I’ve recently signed up with Twitter. If I can figure out how to send tweets from my 3G phone I will try to post some updates over the weekend. Otherwise, I’m off the air until some time on Sunday.

Enjoy your weekend, and thanks for stopping by.

© Andrew nagelin 2012