Into The Off-Season

It was a fun November, but now it's time to go down for a few weeks. I'll recap the last month since it's been a while since my last post.

BAA Master's men - 2nd at New England Cross Country Championships
The last time I had run at Franklin Park was 22 years ago, when I was an undergrad student at Northeastern University. It was fun, although I had already lost some fitness. The team was put together by my team mate Mark http://runfastermaster.blogspot.com/ and we had a strong lineup. My team mate Andrew and I helped displace the competition and keep us in second. I want to come back next year in shape and take this race seriously.

Palmer Cyclocross Place?

I wan't last, but this was a brutal course with steep run ups, which by the last lap was killing my back. My tank mountain bike just wasn't cutting it and I was at a huge disadvantage. This was my first cyclocross ever, so my MRC team mates were congratulating me anyway.

MRC Wrentham Cyclocross Cat 4 36th

Boy - a completely different course! I actually felt great on the bike and will take a mid-pack finish any day. My triathlete team mates were actually surprised I did as well as I did. I actually passed a number of guys (boy, that must have been embarrassing) and finished strong. The down side was the 20 degree temperature made the day just brutal and I barely survived. My mountain bike has just had it and loosened up again, where the crank was hitting the chain stay - I didn't care, just keep cranking those pedals. The day was a blast - drinking frosty John Harvard's brew in the freezing cold. I look back at last year at this time and I hadn't been on the bike for a month and a half, so this cyclocross thing is good motivation to keep going after my race season and something I can do for just fun and not take serious!

Anyway, I have run very little the last week and it is time to go off-season. It's very important for the serious athlete to do this part of periodization ever year. I think it's also helped me keep going all these years without any serious problems. I have checked the blogs and the pro triathletes are also on down time, so now is the right time. The only real training I will be doing is drinking beer and watching the Patriots. I'll continue to swim and go to the gym though, so things don't get too out of control.

Everyone else should be taking some time off too! Boston Marathon training starts in three weeks!!

Cheers!

-Kyle

Season Finally Comes To An End

Well, it has been a long multi-sport year and certainly a bumpy fall, but now I can start looking towards next year. The duathlon in Lowell yesterday turned out to be a big race, with a lot of big competitors, but I'm not surprised, considering the ideal conditions this late in the season. And yes, everyone was saying it was their last race of 07. I'm pleased with my race, eventhough I've lost some fitness and didn't have much power on the bike. I still ran really well considering how little I've been training, due to this foot (yes, it's Plantar Fasciitus - I was wrong again). Eventhough I was 11th yesterday, I would have been 2nd last year, but I will come back and give it another go - that was just my second duathlon. My first 5K (5:59 pace) was almost the same pace as my 5K race in West Acton a few weeks ago and I still manged to run 6:23 pace the last 5K. So on to next year: Ironman Fance in Nice June 22, 2008. I have already spent about 600 Euros so far and it's not going to be a cheap trip to the French Riviera. Also, I will be running my 12th consecutive Boston Marathon this coming April. I will continue to bike as long as this New England fall weather will permit and continue to run short distance. I'll also probably run a couple of 5Ks and see if I can actually get some speed going, but come Jan 1, it will be all training for Nice via Boston. Anyway, this foot thing is a lot better, the house is almost painted and I can enjoy some cool fall running and riding, maybe even try one of those cyclocross races. I hope everyone is healthy and fit.
Cheers, -Kyle

Press Release: BAA Masters Team Wins Winnipesaukee Relay

Straight from the BAA website:

In other racing action over the weekend, on Saturday, September 22nd, the Men's Masters team won the 2007 Fred Brown Relay Around Lake Winnipesaukee (NH) outright, finishing more than 24 minutes ahead of second place. The team completed the 65.1 mile event in a time of 6:44:20 (6:13 pace). Team members included: Bernie O'Reilly, Kyle Bowers, Andy MacDonald, Andrew Gordon, Bob Collins, Chris Smith, Bob Gerrity, and Pat Stumbras. For complete results, Visit the Event Website.

Report:
What a day! I have never done an event with guys from the BAA and we had an absolute blast! The report is short; Bernie was 5th, handed to me and I moved us to 4th and then Andy smashed the field and put us 1 minute ahead with more strong runners coming up. The problem with the other teams is they front loaded their runners and with me running 2nd leg, I would say that we did the opposite, but the truth is ... this powerhouse team just had so much depth that we continued to move ahead on every leg after mine. I believe it was 4 minutes after Andrew and was just building with these guys because they are so fast. I figured it out during the 6th leg that Chris was running and called my wife to tell her that we were going to win this thing all out. I had heard Bob had a fantastic leg and we would have the opportunity to join with the 6 finished runners to cheer on the last two - Bob and Pat; who both were smooth and strong on intense hills. We knew we had it in the bag and stopped every mile or so to cheer them on. All of the legs were extremely hard, not just mine. I did have one mile up hill to start my leg (6:45 pace) and then have steep pounding downhills, which unfortunately has made my foot sore, but I'll get over it. I ran 100% hard and I can still feel all those hills in my legs. I haven't run that hilly of an 11 mile course ever and did no hills in preparation, so trust me - I was glad to hand that baton to Andy!

The only down thing of the day is that when we finished, no one was around!! Not even one other team car. We even waited for 15 minutes and could see nobody for a mile down the road! We would have had to wait four hours for the award ceremony. I had already driven home and had at least three beers by then!

Well done guys! The pleasure was mine!

-Kyle

Off To The Winni Relay

I'll be racing up at Winnipesaukee this weekend with the BAA masters guys. I'll be doing the second leg - 11 miles and hilly, should be fun. This team has been organized by my team mate and is pretty stacked. I would say I'm one of the least fastest guys on the team, but certainly not the slowest. This event has helped me refocus on my running and I'm starting to get back into form. My expectation is we will win the masters men category and probably be in the top three overall. I would really like to see us win this thing overall, but I guess it depends on the competition. Last weekend was the small 5K in Lancaster. Could not keep up with the 20 year-old, but I left it all on the course. I ran 18:13 (5:52's) to finish second, which is one of my faster, certainly my fastest 5K in 2007. This picture is from the Hale off-road tri, probably my last tri of the year :-( , but I'm getting back into the swing here for fall and want to do a fair amount of racing. I still have not decided on a marathon, but I will see how things go and maybe run the inaugural Manchester marathon on Nov. 4. It at least gives me time to prepare and have some fun doing some fall races. See you on the road (or trail), -Kyle

Hale Triathlon Race Report

Once again, looking for a little action last weekend, I went looking for a race. I've been riding my mountain bike quite a lot lately, so I figured I'd give an off-road triathlon a go. Also, most of the other races had been closed for several weeks. This is small tri that benefits kids going to camp at the reservation, which is huge. I have done the TT course, which goes around this resevation and Caryl park, I don't know how many times during IMLP training, so it was interesting to see the area. Anyway, the race; off to a fast start on the swim, but trying to not make the same mistake at Gardner, where my head was spinning, off balance, trying to put on my bike shoes. I was relaxed and concentrated on my stroke; long and quick. I was second all the way from the first buoy and swimming down the leader at the last turn. The last couple of swims was no-wetsuit and I felt like I was going very fast with it on. Right out onto the bike - I think first, because at the bike mount nonbody new what I was talking about when I said "how far behind?". I was confident this might finally be a tri win, but on with the bike. I had ridden out about a mile on the course and it was dirt roads. I figured this would be a lot like the duathlon last year. The race director anounced that they had been "practicing" the course since July and I was confused why that was necessary or it must be for first timers. I knew I had to let the bike fly. As I got out about 1.25 mile, I was flying down around a corner and oh boy, a mine field of large rocks. I was definitely out of control. The trail got worse, small-single track with wet roots and rocks. Pedaling fast and mountain bike hadling skills are two different things. It was a bummer to be leading the race and then give it up big-time, but I was definitely over my head here and it was the difference in the race. I had a real good run where I picked-up a number of guys, but followed someone the wrong way (again), which only cost me about 30 seconds. Got passed from the Colorado Springs transplant (Chris), but managed to stay pretty close to him and passed one more guy at the end. Run was good enough for second fastest (Chris was first), even with the screw-up. Anyway, good race and lots of fun. I have definitely got a long way to go if I want to be a mountain biker. I could also use one of those $4000 bikes that whipped by me - if anyone was unsure about what the want to buy me for Xmas this year. Results:

6th Overall, 1st AG
Overall Time: 0:51:56
Swim: 06:41 (2nd)
T1: 00:46
Bike: 0:29:01 (12th)
T2: 00:39
Run: 0:14:49 (2nd)

I'll post a picture from the race next week - they claim they will post them online. Back to run focalized training. Unfortunately, this may be my last tri of the year :-( I have got to prepare for the Winni Relay which is on 9/22. I'll be running with a stacked BAA masters team. These guys are good runners and there is pressure for me to sharpen my running, as I will be doing an 11 mile leg that features some tough hills. I will concentrate on this for the next two weeks and then evaluate what I'll to do next.

Cheers,

-Kyle

Wapack Trail Race Report

What a day in the mountains! Absolutely clear as a bell. You could see as far south as Boston and as far north as the white mountains. I decided to do this race last minute, having not put in a run longer than 11 miles in the month of August, I knew this would be a challenge. Since there was no trip anywhere this Labor day weekend, I really needed to get out of the house. It has been 3 years, since I had run the Wapack. It is back to being a well run race, with lots of talented, young guys blazing the trail. I am really glad did it. I needed it.
I think there was around 50 runners? A pack of about ten took off real fast. I went in the back. For those that have not done this race and don't know the course; this is an 18 mile extremely challenging trail that is an out and back, over four mountains twice with some long, steep climbs. The pack was eventually gone when we got to the steep climbs and I found myself getting passed by a few guys that looked like they hadn't done this race and were going too fast. I got passed again on the first long downhill by a group - they were all bombing down the hill like crazy. I don't do the psycho-downhill thing. My balance isn't great and I don't have many steep hills around to practice on. It works against me, because there is so much of this in the race and it's a great way to save time. Also, the speed-hiking thing; I'm not great, but I think I did pretty well. Run when you can and where it's too steep, speed-hike. When we got to the flat stretch headed toward Wattatic (actual running!), I began to pick up people again. Going up Wattatic I kept passing one after another. When I got to the turnaround, I think I was 19th. The way back, oh boy this is a tough race - especially when you hit Pratt Mountain - straight up. You've got to pace yourself in this race or pay, and on the way back, I could see a lot of the guys were paying their dues bigtime. Everyone I could see on the trail I eventually passed and ran alone the last two mountains to finish 9th or 10th? I'm not sure because they haven't posted the results on cool-running yet. Anyway, here are the stats:

Finish Time: 3:16 PR by about 15min
Overall place: 9th?
AG place: don't know
Number of falls: 2 pretty good diggers, no blood, nothing broken or falling off
Times off the trail: 1 (also a PR), followed others who ran the wrong way, cost about 2+min.

This race is a must do for any serious trail runner. You should try "running" it before racing it. You need to also carry water, as this year was very warm and bring nutrition as the aid stations only have water/gatorade. It is extremely challenging and you will be payed back by the beauty of these southern NH mountains and actually cross back into Massachusetts for a bit.

Anyway, I am pleased the race went well and I have nothing that hurts, besides the tight quads from all the pounding downhills. I'm ready to get seious about running for the fall and pick some races. I also want to finish up the tri-season with a couple more races. I will post a schedule when I figure things out.

Happy training,

-Kyle

Why Train? Just Race!

I'm thinking of changing the name of this blog to "addicted to racing". It seems to fit lately. I seem to have lost my desire to do any real training, although I continue to work-out, it doesn't seemed to be focused in any particular area. Instead, I've just decided to race. 3 races in 4 days, 4 races in one week. I've come to the reality that I have a problem and probably need therapy. After the race Sunday I realized I was exhausted and needed to cool it for a couple of days, so just did some light running Monday and got lots of sleep the last few nights (i.e. 9-10 hours/night). Anyway, I'm trying to figure out what to with myself post tri-season. If I'm going to do a fall marathon, I need to start serious training next week. I'm also considering not doing a fall marathon and focusing more on bike specific races or maybe duathlon. The other possibility is to trail race - I would love to go back up to Vermont 50K and finally bag that race. That's an appealing option. Or ... not train for anything and just pick races!! Enough said here are the race reports:

Wildcat Triathlon
3rd Elite 7th overall
Swim: 6:57 Bike: 29:38 Run: 12:00 Total: 48:36

I thought I had a dynamite swim. I was right in the mix. Unfortunately, the swim is in the Merrimac, which is gross and I took a couple of mouthfulls. Got out and started hammering on the bike, worked hard with 2 our guys, passing and being passed, everyone kept pushing. I had a 16 year old pass me on the run, which I absolutely wasn't going to let him get away with that. Unfortunately, he was turning over so fast and I eventually broke. Anyway, three weeks of doing absolutely nothing and right back to racing! Good race, well organized and close, but swimming in the Merrimac - yuck. I would still do this race again though.

Clinton 5K
20:06 2nd in 40-44 and 7th overall 7:20 somethingish pace

This is a memorial race for Officer Chuck Martin. Mostly a cross country race up around the reservoir in Clinton, with uneven single track and hills. Race was put on by Central Mass Striders and was pack with runners and a big group of walkers. Fast pace of about 20 runners, many wearing CMS singlets, so I knew it was going to be a good race. Started picking off the pack which strung out as soon as we got to the trails. Finished strong holding off the former 2:30 marathoner in my AG. Great post-race banquet at the club with a huge spread (even cheesecake), beautiful trophies and a lot of fun. I befriended a bunch of law enforcement guys who would not let me buy a round after the lieuntenent (their boss) threw money on the table and told us to have fun. Great raffle afterward where I won a $200 membership to a fitness club - all on a $10 entry. A great race! Must do again next year! Thanks to our friendly local police officers.

Crane's Beach Triathlon
2nd Overall (all though I am listed as 8th - this is wrong and I think my time was 55:09, exactly 3min off - no chip=no splits).

Triathlete beware of any race that does not have a chip. I am glad I did this race because of the ocean swim. This is a local's race, which is in the 20th something year. Very disorganized (hence my place), without transition setup and has dangerous bike leg on busy roads. It was interesting to swim in the ocean, run on the beach and then finish on the bike. I had a really good race, but I'll pass on doing this one again (Oh, by the way, the awards are six packs of soda). They will eventually have someone get killed if they don't restrict the traffic on that road. Good luck.

Gardner Triathlon
Swim: 7:11 Bike:36:29 Run: 23:35 Total: 1:09:22
2nd Overall, 1st Elite

The call this Gilligan's triathlon because the swim goes around this nicknamed island in Dunn's Pond. It's good to see Max Performance adding competition to FIRM and the others. Overall a well organized race. I went out hard on this one and may have swum too hard, had trouble getting into my bike shoes and felt tired on the bike. On the run at the 2 mile marker I put on a huge charge with the opportunity to pick up a couple of places with a 2:20-25 half mile, only to find out there was a second 1 mile loop that went around the pond - oops! (that's called 3 races in 4 days). I thought I was going to die. I actually ran pretty well even though I had gone anaerobic and finished strong. This was a fun race that will appeal to small timers on the same weekend as Timberman.

Trying to figure out what I want to do the next few weeks. Maybe Chicopee and/or Hopkinton and maybe Sherborn/Dover. Any suggestions?

Cheers!

-Kyle