The race is held at Green Lakes State park which seemed similar in size and layout (two lakes) as Chenango Valley State Park. This was a 3mi run/20mi bike/3mi run format and there were about 300 racers (and about 275 spots to rack your bike). The race schwagg included a running/poker visor and a couple of gels.

The run was a easy trail run around the lakes and the bike was 2-lap ride in a couple of state highways. I had put on aerobars the night before and they were not not set up exactly right so I was not able to use them that much. I seemed to have a little leg cramping which never happens to me on the bike. The second loop brought us back into the park through the back entrance which included a couple of really steep hills. I did not do great climbing the hills but Tiffany and I were ROCKETING down the hills passing the people that passed me on the way up the hill. I was going so fast in a couple of spots that the bike started fishtailing under me so I had to back off and ride the rear brake just to feel safe. After the transition it was another loop around the lakes and finishing at the boathouse.

I wanted to do the race in 2:15:00 and my time was 2:14:59 so I felt happy about that. The finisher’s medal was a shot glass!!

The weather was perfect and Renee and I got down there about 45 minutes before the race. We saw a lot of club peeps and the other usual faces that we know from the races. There were many more people this year so when we started it was a little too congested in the first mile because the streets are a little too narrow for a mass start. I bet next year they will have a wave start to help spread out the runners.

I had target times for each mile in my head to try to do a 2:00:00 race but my $%@#*& Timex Global Trainer stopped after the first mile and I had no way of knowing what the race time was since they had NO time clocks set up along the course. I think I was doing pretty well but my back started tightening up around mile 6 and I could feel my miles becoming slower and slower and slower.

Along the way I saw my Mom waiting for me at Dunkin Donuts and Renee met me at 4 or 5 places along the run to cheer me on and give me a kiss. They are the best. The race finished up outside of the stadium this year so there were a lot of people the last 300 yards whooping it up for the runners. This years’ medal was a big improvement form last year- sure to draw even more runners next year.

I had about 20 minutes to get a drink, talk with Renee and catch a breath before I had to get in line for the 5k. My pal, Andrew, ran the 5k with me since no one else would. He hasn’t done a 5k in 2 years but plays a lot of tennis. He asked me if we were going to do 8min/miles and I almost choked- here was no way I could do the 5k that fast after just finishing the half! He ran with me for the first mile and took off ahead of me and let me run my nice, leisurely 10min/mile pace. I was really gassed when I crossed the finish line but felt really good that I did something that I had never done before.

The day started with me getting picked up at 4am and returning home 18 hours later- which made for a really long day. In between there was a lot of wild times of running, screaming and seeing of our fellow club peeps. Our van was loaded down with a TON of supplies for our adventure around Seneca Lake; Gatorade, veggies, energy bars, etc. We saw a lot of interesting team uniforms and vehicle decorations as we worked our way around the lake. It still is a complete madhouse of runners and traffic on the East side of the lake and I am surprised that there aren’t cars bashing into each other left and right.

We did really well and finished over an hour faster than last year  (10hrs- 55mins). It would have been nice to hang out for a while at the after-party but we needed to get back on the road to head home. We all got finisher’s medal this year which was a nice surprise.

Next week- the Bridge Run double-raceday!!

The race morning forecast was for pouring rain but when morning came it was dry. The rain would eventually hold off until just after I finished which was a big bonus. The race wound along Rutgers campus- a nice bunch of rolling hills and tree-lines roads. There were about 4000 in the race but things never were crowded. The frats were handing out water and gatorade every couple of miles but it was not hot enough to have to drink at every stop.

I had a very good run and was able to post a very good HM time (for me) of 2:04:06.

T2: 0:42 - Run 2: 9:38

Total: 46:20

The first 5.5 miles are essentially rolling uphill and the last 7.5 are all down hill- which makes the second-half of the race much easier than an all-flat course does. I ran a pretty good pace up the hill staying under 10 min/mile like my ’strategy’ dictated with the hope that I could power it up in the last few miles and make up a large block of time with my target being 2hrs10mins.

The big hills that I climbed before mile 6 rewarded me with 2 miles of downhills that I was able to fly by packs of people that were taking the descents more gingerly. Very few of the people that I passed in this manner ever passed me on the ensuing short uphills. At the 10-mile mark I did the math and if I could turn up the pace a little I was looking at a time a few minutes inside of my target. I popped my finishing gel and used gravity to help me push down the hill and past more people (I heard a lot of ‘nice finish’ and ‘good kick’ from them which made me feel good) in the last mile to finish 1:07:39.

The gels that I have been using seem to help- I have learned that any gel or sport bean that I consume ‘now’ is not going to help for another 1.5 miles (10-15mins) so I have to get used to fueling before I ‘feel’ like I need to fuel. I put in a big order for the few different gels that I will be using this summer so I have them and don’t have to worry about buying any the day before a race. Now, my cupboard is full of tantalizing flavors: chocolate outrage, espresso love and blueberry pomegranate!

Sunday afternoon was the Forks XV. This is the first race that I did last year after my surgery so I was quite sure that I would be able to do better this year since I have done several events already. There were a lot of runners as usual and it was a nice day and warm enough to wear shorts. It was a nice change from having to be bundled up when I run and getting overheated like in DC. I did a nice pace for the first 5 miles- around 9:30 or so, staying about 100 yards behind the BCTC Peep Group. Renee and my Mom were in our driveway ringing the cowbells for me as I went by. I kissed them and grabbed my 2nd-half drink bottle and gels and began the hard part of the race. I did pretty well through the hills but the big one near the end still kicked me a little more than it should. I was shooting for 1:25 and got 1:26ish so I am pretty happy with that.

We rolled into DC on Friday (this was an ‘unusual’ Saturday race) and hit the expo first to get that out-of-the-way before we check-in to the hotel in Arlington. The DC Armory was the site of the expo (also the site of the first place that the Beatles in the US) and it was set up in true RnR style- BIG. Unfortunately- because we have been to so many of these expos they starting to lose the ‘electricity’ that we have felt before. We still go up and down each aisle and look at the vendors and usually buy some gels or something else but it drags on after a while. We made our way down to Crystal City to the ultra-swank Hyatt Regency with the mandatory $28/day valet parking and the $5 bottles of water in our room and settled in for the night.

Race morning. No sleep the night before as usual. We hopped a cap down to the start thanks to the ultra-swank Concierge service and the Doorman having to tell the cab driver how to get to RFK Stadium. The cab was a Prius and much roomier than I expected them to be considering they look smaller from the outside. The cab driver had only a rudimentary grasp of the English language as evidenced by his sentence structure that utilized only nouns and pronouns. We let him drop us about a quarter-mile from te start since the roads were starting to be closed and there were more detours as we got closer. We walked together through a semi-affluent neighborhood that probably had no idea that there were going to be thousands of people running down their street in about an hour- disrupting their Saturday morning peace and routines.

We had the option to take the Metro in from Arlington as there was a station a few blocks from the hotel and we could ride right to DC Armory station. We remembered that for the MCMarathon that the trains were jam-packed with people so we thought that the cab would be the safer bet and we could sleep another hour and not feel as rushed. We were right. There were thousands of people streaming out of the Metro station at the start from the time we got there until 30 minutes after the start!

Waiting in my corral (#8 of 37) I started talking to a girl next to me and it turned out she was from Vestal. A little while later I met some people from Harpursville and a couple of girls from Binghamton that were running the marathon. I guess my ‘Broome County Triathlon Club’ jersey does a good job of broadcasting where I am from.

The race worked its’ way through the residential neighborhoods of DC and along the streets of the National Mall. We ran past the Capitol, The Washington Monument and past the front of the White House. After that we worked our way (up hills) into Georgetown and some other nicer areas that I had never been through before. Most of the houses were brick brownstone/rowhouses that were probably not reasonably priced. All that money and there is no front yard and probably not much of a back yard- they live like animals…

I finished up strong and found Renee under the big ‘D’ and she gave me a big kiss. We worked our way down to the Metro (which everybody thinks is the greatest subway system known-to-man) and made it back to the hotel for a quick change and then it was off to the Art Museum. Next weekend is the McKenna/Forks Double Race Weekend.

Lots of good friends and club peeps always makes for a great time. Zach was along with me this time and we started a few seconds after everyone else while we dealt with a race equipment problem at the line. Once again I was starting behind everyone else and I was able to find a runner to catch and pass for most of the first mile and seemed to help me develop into a faster pace as I went along. I was hoping for a 9:30 pace but ended up with doing it in under 36 minutes (8:50/mi).

I seem to be starting out with a slower pace and winding up to a faster pace in the second half of the runs. I can tell this because there are some people that I always seem to ‘catch’ at the end of the race but did not see in the beginning of the race. I think that is better that starting out too fast and progressively slowing down each mile so I shouldn’t complain. I wish that my GPS watch could tell me my current pace AND my pace over the last 5 minutes so I can tell if I am keeping a steady pace or if I am speeding up and slowing down too much.

This week- DC and the Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon with Renee. I promised her we would go to some art museum that she wants to see and hopefully stop at a restaurant featured in “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”.