After injuring my back/SI joint on Friday, I was a little bit nervous heading into Doyle's. Thankfully, a few ibuprofen had me feeling like I would get through the race, but there was still a distinct twinge every now and then.
That first mile I was running right in the middle of the lead pack. It wasn't particularly windy or cold, but as we went off the line I reacted slowly and ended up surrounded. We were moving at a perfectly reasonable clip, but I was a little uncomfortable as I'm not the greatest pack runner. Going through mile two was more of the same and Steven Curley was just off the front of the lead pack, but not extending his gap - so the pack was content at the moment. I was feeling extremely comfortable at this point. With TJ, Wallace, and Klucznik all right there I was looking to stay relaxed for as long as possible.
Right after the turnaround point a small gap had opened up between me and the lead pack. Curley had been overtaken, and I was closing in on him - but I was frustrated to see the pack breakaway and not be a part of it. I was working hard at this point trying to stay within striking distance, but as we crossed the bridge on the way back I could tell that though TJ and a WMDP guy were trading blows - neither would come back to me. I was still ahead of Klucznik though, and I've never beaten him - so I continued to press knowing he was likely right on my tail.
Going under the bridge and passing by Scott Mason, I was well aware that if I had any gap on Chris, it was minimal at this point. I passed Sue McNatt and she gave me a big cheer and some key information that amounted to...don't slow down or you'll get passed.
On the final straight I started to turn the screws just a little bit. I was hoping the gap was large enough that Chris would need to do at least a mini-kick to get to my shoulder. With about 30 meters to the line, I finally saw him just off my right shoulder. With that kick-to-the-gut feeling getting ever stronger, I knew I had a 30 meter sprint in me so I sucked it up and went to whatever gear I had left and maintained my 6th position.
I'm thankful for that Pub Series competition, as without Chris I'm not sure if I would've pushed as hard that last mile and I ended up finishing in 26:42, which is a ~10 second PR. And as per usual, it was a great time at the post race party in the parking lot.
Scott Mason Photos
Results
The Taper: It isn't going well:
| 2-Apr | Hilly Run | 1:03:19 | 8.14 | AM: 8+ with a weird section of Watertown that I did 5 times or so to get in elevation change. Average 7:47/mile. | ||||
| Easy | 0:39:04 | 5.09 | PM: 5m at 7:41/mile. | |||||
| 3-Apr | Easy | 0:49:31 | 6.22 | AM: 6+ at 7:58/mile. | ||||
| Harvard Indoor | 1:11:00 | 11.37 | PM: Run home and to the track.800/1000x5. Everything ended up in the 8k-10k range. That's fine. I was very tight and cold from the pouring rain. | |||||
| 4-Apr | Easy | 0:30:41 | 4 | AM: 5m at 7:56/mile. | ||||
| Easy | 0:41:14 | 5.2 | PM: 4m easy at 7:40/mile. Ended up getting bonkish though w/.5m to go. Oof. | |||||
| 5-Apr | Off | 0:00:00 | 0 | AM: Off, a 7:30 meeting in Worcester. | ||||
| Easy | 0:49:08 | 7 | PM: 5m steady + 2m with Raleigh. | |||||
| 6-Apr | Off | 0:00:00 | 0 | AM: Another early meeting in Worcester. | ||||
| Easy | 0:45:42 | 6.38 | PM: 6+ at 7:10/mile. | |||||
| 7-Apr | Moderate | 0:48:48 | 7.01 | AM: Tweaked my back last night, so didn't look at the watch for this as I was just trying to stay relaxed. Ended up a bit quicker at 6:58/mile. | ||||
| Off | 0:00:00 | 0 | PM: Off. | |||||
| 8-Apr | Doyle's 5 Miler PS | 0:26:42 | 5 | Doyle's! Pub Series! 6th place! 26:42! PR! | ||||
| Warm up Cool down | 0:35:00 | 4.6 | Warm up and cool down. | |||||
| 9-Apr | Easy | 0:48:40 | 6.09 | AM: 6m easy at 7:59/mile. | ||||
| Easy | 0:50:35 | 6.36 | PM: 6m easy at 7:57/mile. Back or SI joint is an issue. | |||||
| 10-Apr | Easy | 0:47:48 | 6.04 | AM: 6m at 7:55/mile. | ||||
| Harvard Outdoor | 1:37:52 | 12.28 | PM: Commute home and to track. 800x6. Back was a little tight. Probably should've skipped this. | |||||
| 11-Apr | Easy | 0:40:39 | 5.19 | AM: 5m at 7:50/mile. MEH! | ||||
| Off | 0:00:00 | 0 | PM: Off. | |||||
| 12-Apr | Easy | 0:42:41 | 5.4 | AM: 5m at 7:54/mile. MEH!!! | ||||
| Off | 0:00:00 | 0 | PM: Off. | |||||
| 13-Apr | Off | 0:00:00 | 0 | AM: Off. | ||||
| Easy | 0:36:00 | 4.06 | PM: 4m easy with Raleigh. Back not good. | |||||
| 14-Apr | Easy | 0:36:00 | 4.1 | AM: 4m easy with Elizabeth & Raleigh. | ||||
| Off | 0:00:00 | 0 | PM: CSU Carbo Load Party. | |||||
| 15-Apr | Easy | 0:30:33 | 4.1 | AM: 4m on feel. Back is going to be an issue tomorrow. The question is, how big of an issue? | ||||
| Off | 0:00:00 | 0 | PM: Rest. |
Totals: 70 & 53.6
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