The last time I ran a race in Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard, it was Thanksgiving Day morning this year.  That race was noteworthy for its lack of course markers (or volunteers on the course to let you know where to go), port-o-potties, and designated time-keepers other than a guy with his Timex watch (my mother-in-law ended up volunteering 2 minutes before the start to note incoming times).  Oh, and no safety pins for the race number.  With that in mind, I was hoping the Memorial Day 5K would be a little closer to what I normally think of for a 5K experience, and I was, mostly, not disappointed.  The race's base of operations was the Wesley Hotel, one of the bigger hotels in Oak Bluffs.  There, I picked up my number and a pretty sweet teal race t-shirt.  The drawback of this hotel was that although it provided readily available bathrooms, there were only a couple, and they were also used by guests for the shower within them, which caused a long line especially right before the start.  This line forced me to jog around town to find the public restrooms, which then led to jogging to the start line about 1 minute before the start, barely having time to pin on my number and pull my flats on.  Oh, and did I mention it was already hot?  When I say "already," I mean at the start time of 11 a.m.  Seriously, who starts a Memorial Day weekend race at 11 a.m.?

The race started at the public park in OB, which is right on the water.  I'm sure it would have made for a nice start if I wasn't so focused on actually getting to start.  Not really having a chance to catch my breath, the siren of the lead police car sounded and the race was off with the course going through the heart of OB and past the Wesley before beginning a long incline.  Here is a picture taken by Mrs. R/Yeti as I passed the Wesley, which you can't see, and the harbor, which you can (note I'm the one in the neon green Brooks outfit):

I had heard before the race that the course was essentially uphill, then downhill and so had it in my head that I would try to take it easy at the beginning.  As usual, I failed at that.  The problem, I think, was that hill wasn't all that tough, but there nonetheless.  There were no mile markers so I had no clue what my pace was, but I have to imagine that based on my later pace I would have gone through the first mile somewhere around 6:40, far too fast for me.

After winding through the back streets of OB, the course turned onto a secondary road which looked, and felt, like it hadn't been paved since 1948.  That road slowly climbed to the high point of the East Chop lighthouse, which really barely came into view when you reached it.  At one point on the road there was a water stop, supposedly at the half-way point.  At this point I was around 11 minutes, having labored up the hill and feeling rather unspectacular in general.  By the time we began the descent, I was thoroughly dragging ass, though I did manage to pass some people on the downhill simply by virtue of knowing how to run it with less effort.  Still, when we reached the flat I just felt like I had no energy left and had resigned myself to a lousy time.  It was at this point that it would have been especially helpful to have mile markers so I at least could have known where I stood and maybe tried harder to find that extra gear.

The race finished on a curve before reaching the final straightaway, meaning that the finish was concealed until there were roughly 100 meters left.  When I finally saw the finish line, and the people ahead of me I might be able to catch, I started a kick, which Mrs. R/Yeti captured nicely (though can’t be shown here in all of its true glory due to bandwidth issues.  If this picture was taken about 3 seconds later it would show me passing the woman in red right before the finish line:

Final time?  21:47, good for 47th place and 7/24 in my age group.  I have to say I was pretty surprised with the time given how I felt at the half-way point (and how I ran after that as well).  With a much hillier course, warmer temperature, and hurried start, I'll take it being 32 seconds slower than my BAA 5K time.  All in all a good race experience and a nice way to spend the morning, after which we went and got some well-deserved ice cream at Mad Martha's in Edgartown.  Reese's Cream, in case you were wondering.

Plus, I got a teal t-shirt with a lighthouse on it, and what beats that?

p.s. Thanks to Mrs. R/Yeti for her support at the race and for the pictures!

Back in February, I thought that the Masters National Championship 10K would be a good race to do. It was an opportunity to race with the top runners in the country in my age group. Knowing the previous race times of the top in my age group, I wasn't so sure I'd be competitive with them, but I was up for the challenge.

This championship race was very different than any other race I've done. It was run as a separate race but hosted by and in conjunction with the Dexter - Ann Arbor 10k.  Registration was through the USATF web site. That was a little intimidating. They wanted my agent information. Hmmmm - don't have one of those. Oh wait, coach information? Got that. 

The course was new this year, changed to an out and back from a point to point for the championship race. There were various descriptions of the course and most of the master runners thought that the course was harder than the descriptions. It had a downhill start and the finish was past the start - hence we got to run more uphill to finish. The description had one hill on the course. Given that it was an out and back course, multiply that hill by two.  The weather that morning went from windy to humid. Normally, runners are not happy with a headwind but in the beginning of the race that was preferable to the humidity. Parts of the course are along the river and scenic. I don’t remember seeing the river. I do remember sections with trees/shade, but couldn’t tell you if it was scenic.

We had a technical meeting the night before the race to review the rules. We were required to wear back tags - bibs with our age group. There was a discussion about wearing the back tag on the back of your shorts. Some women wanted to run in a sports bra and a few men wanted the option of not wearing a shirt.  The USATF officials at the meeting decided that the bib had to be on the back - close to eye level. The guys needed shirts and women could pin the bib to the back of the sports bra. There was a discussion about receiving assistance on the course. That included being paced by another runner who was not part of the race. The master’s championship race was 2 races - female and male. We could not run directly behind another runner who was not part of our race. There was a lengthy discussion on this rule. In many races, runners are directly behind another runner but the runner is not pacing them. We were told to run to the side of the other runner or stay farther back, not directly behind. There would be officials on the course and if they saw any violation, we would get a verbal warning. The finish had three timing systems: a primary D-chip, a back-up timing system and a video of the finish.

Many of the competitors knew each other from previous master races and I wasn't so sure I belonged. I wanted to run well enough to look like I was competitive. There were three in my age group and I didn't want to be a distant third. By race weekend, I knew I would be third. I didn't think I could possibly run well enough to get second. My goal was to go for the PR and be competitive. It was an honor being able to compete at this level.

It was exciting at the start. Many of us had done the warmup on the course so we'd know what the finish would be like. In the first mile the group quickly spread out. I could see the second place runner in my age group. I thought if I can stay this close until the finish, I'll be very happy. The first place runner in my age group was with the leaders, well out of sight. Around mile 4, the course had more S curves and I lost sight of the second place runner. I had a guy directly in front of me and we were running the same pace. I made sure I was not directly behind him. Unfortunately we were on a curve at the time so I had to run a little farther out. Shortly before the end of mile 5, I could see the second place runner again! At the mile 5 split, I was about 10 seconds slower than my 5 mile PR. Things were looking good – a possible PR and I'd be competitive. I also remembered that the last half mile of the race is uphill but thought I could do it. I kept closing the gap. I didn't move into second place until after the mile 6 clock. I didn't know if I made my move too soon - there was more than enough time for me to get passed. I kept focused on the finish line and didn't get passed. I not only had a PR but finished second! I couldn't believe it. I did belong in this race!

Most of the award money is given by age graded results. Age grading theoretically corrects for differences in age and sex. So, there is only one set of results. I was the 13th age graded finisher out of over 50 runners. I was second in the 55-59 age group and had a 28 second PR. Many thanks to PRof!

After the race, there was a lunch and awards at the hotel. It was nice to sit and talk with the runners again. Many told me that I should go to the Masters National Championship 5k in October. They had gone last year and were planning on going again this year. We’ll see...

Trumpets sound!!!  Goon Founders are honored to announce the newest member of illustrious Goon Nation... let's preface by telling you:
 
* he's been doing the running for 46 years
* he's been selling the running stuff for 30 years (Yankee Runner, http://www.northshoreonline.com/prog03/story19.htm  where Judge & Warrior get their fluorescent Brooks shorts, Doc's mom gets her running shoes)
* he's run a 2:20:56  (see article in Hockomock Swamp Rat, April-May 2010, total Goon material)
* had a Grand Pricks series named after him, "The Bayko" (Hockomock Swamp Rat) toughest races in NE, first place was determined by racing NAKED!
* he is a legend in New England running 
 
You may already know him as "Polish Rifle" or "Yankee Runner", but his official Goon name is hereby bestowed as "Renegade" 
 
Join us in welcoming our newest Goon, the legendary RENEGADE Rick Bayko!!!

Back in February my wife asked me if we wanted to travel to upstate NY (West Point), visit with my sister/brother-in-law and run in a local 5K taking place on the West Point campus.

Fast forward to last Friday – my wife and I piled our 2.5 year old son and 8 month old daughter into the family truckster and headed north west to upstate NY. I ran my mouth for the entire 3 hour trip talking out race strategy, etc with my wife…I can imagine it was a bit rough for her.

 

Saturday morning was a unique race day wake up… Usually I’m all about myself on the morning of a race. When do I need to leave, what do I need to eat, how long of a warm-up am I going to need, etc…this race day morning was different cause I needed to get my son up, get my daughter fed, pack the car, get directions to campus, etc…running a race was the last thing on my mind. All those chores out of the way and a quick 10 minute ride to West Point and it was race time.

 

I toed the starting line with lots of lingering questions in my head…am I able to follow PRofs guidance (take my head out of the game and just race), will my heel be a factor (I’ve been fighting plantar fasciitis for over a year), how will the wind affect me, what about this “hill” everyone has been talking about that I’m casually ignoring, etc. A round of TAPS were played by the military academy band and the gun went off. Within the first 1/3 of a mile the 200+ runner field had already thinned out to a single file line and we hit the hills of the West Point campus. Following the beautiful and hilly terrain of the Hudson river we hit the fist mile marker (6:26 mile 1) and I was running in 10^th position. A slight dip down in the road at mile 1.5m mark and then a 90 degree hard left turn up “Storm King Mountain Road”. For the next 3+ minutes I aerobically felt like I was back on the Mt Washington auto road race I ran last June - Storm King Mountain Road has a 19% grade climb for slightly more than .5 miles. As we crested the hill I picked off the guy in front of me I had be eyeing up and watch fall to pieces the further up the hill we climbed. At the 2 mile pillion (6:55 mile 2 and with that hill behind me I’m happy to be sub 7 minutes) the course took us back down the other side of the mountain past the infamous Army football stadium (where the Army/Navy football game is played every other year). I crossed the finish line in 9^th place overall with a time of 20:43 (a 6:40 average pace) and 1^st place overall in the 30-39 age division.