Am I coming back?

Well, I recommended the HMF Glastonbury River Run 5K in my last post and told you all the reasons that I like that race, but I have one more to add to that list:  It was my comeback race.  

Now that I raced there, I am willing to admit that I wasn't sure it was possible.  Yes, I knew I could make up for the time/miles lost to my broken shoulder recovery.  Yes, I knew I could "run through the (residual) pain."  Yes, I knew I could probably still do well in my new age group, but would this break in training be the start of my slow slide into non-racing?  That I didn't know.

I'm here to say it wasn't.  I knew the course like the back of my hand and I ran it slowly as a warm up just to refresh my memory.  I knew I couldn't pound down that first steep down hill because the pavement was pocked and bumpy and I'm even more afraid of falling than previously.  I'm a lousy downhill runner, but I knew that the moment we hit the right hand turn and the flats, I could start pushing, and I did.  I was 1st woman overall at that turn and feeling pretty good.  The first F to catch me went by around 1200M in.  She was young and very strong and I knew that the best I could do was 2nd.  I was not reeling her back in.  The next two F's went by just before the one mile mark.  They went by much more slowly and didn't seem as strong.  I was really disappointed to now be in 4th and out of the overall standings.  

I love that out and back.  I watched the 3 women as they went by after the turn around.  The first woman (33 years old) still looked unstoppable, but I started wondering about the other two (16 and 24).  I hit the turn and watched for who might be catching me from behind.  There were some women close so I notched it up just slightly higher.  At the 2 mile, I realized I was gaining on the two girls ahead. I knew they were really young and decided that when my GPS said 2.6 I would go for it.  I figured I could suffer for an 800M and with that final uphill right at the finish if I was lucky it would be a question of who could suffer more.  I already knew the answer to that question.  I took off as planned with 800M to go.

As I went by each of them, I tried to make it decisive.  I listened for them to follow, but didn't hear them.  That didn't mean anything.  Most runners are not doing that asthmatic cough that I do when I race.  It's such a kindness to my competition to constantly let them know where I am.  As I turned left and started up the hill, I could hear Ned.  He had ridden his bike down from Bolton to see the race and was cheering for me.  He said, "Keep it up.  You can do it!"  That's Kennedy-speak for, "She's right there!  Don't slow down!"  I pushed all the way and took 2nd place.  

My time was 20 seconds off my PR for the course (from 2010), but it was my first 5k this year where the pace was under 7 minutes, so I'm happy to be moving in the right direction.  It was my first race this year where I felt like I was actually racing and not just enduring, and it was the first race this year where I felt confident again.

Do I have bad races coming up?  Of course.  Do I feel like the broken shoulder is still a factor? Yes.  Am I coming back?  No.  I'm already here.

Glastonbury River Run

This HMF race used to be one of my favorite Spring races.  Ned and I have a collection of the wooden paddles they gave out as prizes, but one year Easter fell on the same weekend and they moved the race to Saturday and kept it there.  I can't race on Saturdays during Outdoor Track and/or XC season.  I am either at morning practice or at a meet.

This year, lo and behold!  When the HMF calendar of events came out the Glastonbury River Run was back on Sunday!  It's THIS Sunday: 4/27/14, and I will once again be racing it.

Here are the reasons I like it (keeping in mind the "to each her own" message of my last blog post) :

• I like the April date.  I am just getting back to racing after my long Winter hiatus (Thanksgiving morning until St Patrick's Day).
• I like the easier terrain given my lack of racing this early in the season (see above).
• I like the out and back which lets me see where my competition is and always let me see where Ned was (he's not racing it this year).
• I love the downhill at the start since I like to go out fast.
• Remember the out and back?  I love the uphill finish - you can't have a downhill start without an uphill finish on an out and back.  I get passed by fewer people  in an uphill finish.
• I usually see some people whom I know at this one.
• I know the course.

As you can see, it doesn't take much to please me.  ;-)

Race Report - HMF Legend's 4 Miler

I know it's a week late, but I do have a few things to say about the new HMF Legend's 4 Miler.  Yes HMF had a race called that last year, and I ran it, but that race was in June and while it, too, was in Middletown, it was a different course.  This was my first time racing this course, albeit, not my first time on any of these roads.

The good (keeping in mind that one person's good could be another person's evil):

• Closing down Main Street in Middletown and using the park as a staging area is brilliant.  It's Americana at its best.
• The food at the post race party was outstanding - great pizza, delicious cup cakes and I heard the pulled pork sliders were terrific.
• The weather provided the first nice running conditions we have had ALL YEAR.  I don't know how HMF pulled that off, but it was appreciated.
• A spectacular finish down main Street with spectators and music and a PA system to call out the finishers' names.
• Well placed water stops (not that I ever avail myself).
• Closed roads.

Now (for me) the bad:

• Narrow starting chute - I always worry about being jostled.  I know.  I know.  That's what elbows are for, but the guy next to me might weigh 100 lbs more than I do.  He's going to win.
• That quick left turn (see above about the guy next to me).
• The hill in the first 100M.
• The downhill finish (I know there seems to be no pleasing me).

Here's my blog-clusion:  To each her own.  I know most people love a downhill finish, but my age and size play against me doing as well on a downhill as others.  I got passed by 10-15 people there on the final downhill.  I have been thinking about this a lot and if I am going to a race just to have fun, this was a great race for that.  If I want to run well, I need to do a better job of picking my course.  I KNOW I don't do well with a downhill finish, so why choose this one?  I KNOW I race best when I allow myself to run hog-wild in the first mile, so why choose one with a hill so steep I can't do that?

Is it a bad choice for everyone?  No.  Most people run more evenly and love to finish downhill.  

Runner know thyself.

Happy New Age Group to me!

There are a lot of gifts that running has given me.  Thanks to running. . . . .  

• I am fitter and healthier than I was at 25.
• I have even more in common with my wonderful husband than I did when we were first married.
• I have a job that I love (even if the stipend barely covers my running clothes habit).
• I have a fun and rewarding way to give back to my town and the community at large.
• I have friends and running buddies all over the state of CT
• I have an outlet for my ridiculous competitiveness.
• I have a group of kids who enrich my life, in so many ways.
• I have a way to keep my dogs well behaved and fit.
• I have even more of a "can do" attitude than the one with which I was born (which was already pretty serious!).

BUT . . . . the #1 gift that running has given me is that unlike most women "of a certain age," I love telling people my age, and I really love aging up!

I'm 55 today, and I'm so happy to be here!

Look out F5559; I'm coming for you!

Welcome

My name is Dani and I run in Bolton, CT.

I don't know how many of you will be interested in reading about my running, but I was recently named to the 2014 Team HMF (Hartford Marathon Foundation) and they seem to think people will care.  Let's hope they are not being overly optimistic!

I won't bore you with a ton of details yet.  That can be revealed in the coming posts, but I wear a lot of running hats.  I am a high school cross country and track coach.  I am a race director and I am a runner.  I love road racing and racing the mile on the track.  I am old enough that I did not compete while in school.  There were few to no athletic opportunities for girls during my school years, but I am making up for it now.  My races of choice are the mile or 5K.  My longest race of the year is usually the venerable Manchester Road Race, but I have raced all distances up through the marathon.  I just prefer not to.  I train on trails, but rarely race on them.  That's mostly because I tend to trip a lot.

In the months ahead, I expect I will post race reports, thoughts on running, and updates on recovery.  I broke my shoulder in late January (yes, on a run, and, yes, by tripping over something) and for the first time maybe ever need to stage a comeback.  I age up in two more days, and I intend to take full advantage of my new age group, so I here I come!  I need to be running the mile FAST by July.  

Thanks for reading!  I'll sign off with my race director hat on:  See you on the hill!

You can also follow me on twitter @DaniKennedy3, or on FB at Bolton Road Race or Bolton Summer XC Series.