Post race festivities with Les, Angel, and some poor girl unfortunate enough to be in our vicinity when the camera came out.
These are for Jonny, because he disses running so much.
No cross for me this weekend. Three reasons: I had stuff to do, I needed a break, and I'm not a muddah. And it was time for the Boston Firefighters 10k on Sunday. Last year my mate Les, an almost-retired firefighter from Chelmsford turned me on to this race and the magnificent after party. Florian Hall, headquarters of the BFD Local 718 is home to many great running races, but this one is the best of the best. Lots of races give you a free "beer" afterward (usually a cup of Coors Light...) but how many have you two-fisting Sam's Octoberfest for three hours after crossing the line? This one does. And we did. As you can see, the band has gone home, the parking lot is emptying, and we're...
Oh yeah, the race. This is a super flat and super fast 10k out and back, straight up Morrisey Boulevard, around UMass, and back. Around 800 runners turned out, many of them firefighters, but with both the pub series final and the Bay State marathon going on the same day, not a ton of serious club runners come out for this one. Which is fine with me. I've been running at least twice a week, but my fitness has been in a steep decline of late, for various reasons. Darkness, burnout, non-athletic activities... you know how it is. And nearly all my running has been on the steep, rocky trails of the Blue Hills this year, not exactly speedwork. I've only run one race this fall, the Walpole 10k where I opened the season with a 41:05. Now last year, on zero training, I put in a 42 something at Walpole yet roared back for a 38:49 at the BFD10k, in the pouring rain. So I really had no idea how this would turn out. My plan was to go out at 6:25-6:30 and see what happens.
I did not get in a great warmup, and my second PB&J of the morning was probably one too many. Not only that, but since it was 38 degrees when I got up, I expected chilly weather and only brought a long sleeve jersey to run it. Well it warmed up a lot by 10, but at least the wind was coming off the water pretty good. After meeting Les, I cued up near the front and off we went. I had almost twenty runners in front of me, and it felt pretty easy, but then I noticed Brendan Lynch (HFC) was leading, but really not very far ahead. This indicated I may be running too fast, so I slowed a little. After a half mile things opened up, but my HR was still only 140, so I held my pace. The first mile came up in around six flat. Hmmm. maybe too fast. Feeling OK, I did not slow down much, and before long my HR was 150. Then 154 as mile two passed in 6:14. Now I was worried. If my HR got to 157, I slowed a bit. Some of the other runners had faded and now things were spread out. Entering the UMass campus, I found myself in a three way battle with the lead woman and the lone wheelchair racer.
On one side of the school there was no wind and it got warm. The loop is totally flat. The third mile was 6:22 and now we were going straight into the wind. The wheelchair dude was bumming at this point. I drafted off anyone I could, but back on the boulevard mile four had taken 6:28. This was still keeping the HR at 157 or less, but now with two miles to go I figured I could run it up a bit more. Mile five was 6:21. It's all flat, so not much to talk about here. One dude did come from behind and pass me. By staying on him a bit I dropped the wheelchair and the lead woman. But then I got dropped. Too bad, as he reeled in at least one more guy. My HR was 160+ now, and I was doing my best to find some turnover. I've had a nasty blister on one foot all season too, and now it was hurting. They had a mile six marker and that came in 6:22 as well, then I think I fell apart a bit in the final .217. Crossed the line with an official time of 39:14, so 25 seconds slower than last year, 11th overall. I think this works out to a 6:20 pace.
I was not as wrecked as normal post-race, so maybe I didn't try hard enough, or maybe I just metered my energy better and did not have to die a thousands deaths the entire second half like I usually do. Les came in at 46 something I think; he only got beat by one woman with a baby jogger. She was no match for him at he beer truck though. His buddy Angel from the New Bedford FD (kneeling in front, top pic) kicked my ass with a 38:30 but since the firefighters get their own awards, I still got 3rd in the 40-49. Thanks for reading.
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