Archive for the ‘Fall 2008’ Category

Week 7 – I’m halfway home and I’m on my own

Sunday, August 24th, 2008

Week 7, if you’re running a marathon in mid-October you’re halfway there. Halfway in weeks that is, from here the mileage ramps up quickly and stays up until its taper time.

This morning’s weather was perfect for running. Considering its August, you can’t complain about low 70s and breezy. Altogether we had 24 runners participate in the long run, not all started at the same place, not all ended at the same place, but as far as I can tell nobody got lost this week. Peter and Erin took care of leaving a car full of refreshments in the parking lot of Horn Pond in Woburn while Walt left his car at its usual perch by I93 in Winchester.

The route took us down Main St to W Wyoming and out to Spot Pond for a bit. Kaj and I ended up in the front of the pack and wondered time and time again why nobody was passing us. We pushed the pace as 12 more runners stretched out behind us, past the zoo where we spotted a pack of wolves getting in their morning jog, past Friendly’s where we picked up our pack of 6 half marathoner trainers, and past a sign alerting us to the location of Joey’s 2nd birthday, and over to Walt’s car. After Kaj and I pulled in and began pouring drinks, waves of runners came in handfuls at a time behind us. Walt, who had run from his car and arrived at Brueggers after we had left, was the last runner into the stop as he had planned. Usually one of the rabbits in the group and always quick to leave a water stop, Walt enjoyed the party atmosphere of 27 runners huddled around his car in a Gatorade feeding frenzy. This week our new system of cup reuse was put into full effect as each runner put their name on a plastic cup with a Sharpie so they could use it on the way back. That is everyone but Sue, who was looking at Erin as she was writing and found that she had marked her cup ‘ERIN’. That would break the system, so added a (Sue) notation next to it to avoid confusion. With the back of Walt’s car lined with cups the group headed out.

Jen, Denyce, Julie, Jocelyn and Kevin were the first to leave the stop, having run less than a mile to get there they didn’t need as much rehydration. Walt was next out since he’s never one to dawdle at a water stop. Brian and I headed out after him, in an attempt to keep Walt on course I decided to do my best to keep pace with him to the pond. Behind us the rest of the runners began their charge down Forest St to Washington St where Joanne jumped in and alerted us that Nancy had called ahead to her to let us know she had dropped out. Nancy’s battling a nasty Achilles tendon issue, heal up Nanc! We turned on to Cross St and passed the lead group, Walt encouraging them not to let us pull ahead too easily. At that point I was in the lead again, under the railroad tracks, past the “Welcome Back, Alicia” sign welcoming Olympic gymnast Alicia Sacramone back from Beijing, over to Rte 38 in Woburn. With a right onto Main St and a quick left onto Lake St we were on our way to Horn Pond where Peter’s car awaited us with water stop 2. Also awaiting us was a hot dog vending cart which couldn’t tempt any of us to partake. Unlike the public bathrooms which I hear had lots of partakers, so many that some women spilled into the men’s room!

Walt bolted out of the water stop as if he was Usain Bolt, owner of the world record for the 100m dash set at this year’s Olympics. Brian, Julie and I headed out behind him with no intention of keeping up with him. The loop around the pond is littered with left and right turns that lead to places I’ve never been. We weighed the odds of Walt getting lost, and wondered who behind us may wander off track. Some took more scenic routes, some took less hilly routes, but we all made it around the pond. Passing the wood carving of a Native American Indian girl holding a fish, past the shirtless guy with the ginormous pecs and muscular arms that don’t swing when he runs (Lois and Sue’s “friend” from when we ran this route back in late April), over the causeway that cuts across the far side of the pond, past a reported flying fish jumping out of the water, over the hill if you so chose to take it or the path that hugs the pond, ultimately ending up back at Lake Ave. Here Julie decided to cut back over to the water stop for a sip before continuing on (or was she just trying to lose Brian and I?) Brian and I followed a runner off Lake Ave to Main St and Cross St, finally passing him as we approached the railroad bridge underpass. I kept asking myself “is that one of our guys?” but it wasn’t. Heading back up Forest St Brian pulled ahead as the pace on the way out was starting to show on my tired legs. After we got a drink and headed out we spied Kevin coming into the water stop, and shortly after him runners began trickling in. Sue, who had planned to finish with Joanne by the Gingerbread Construction Company convinced herself that running up the hill back to Walt’s car was something she shouldn’t pass up. Love the hills, they’ll love you back. Way to go Sue!!!

As people sipped their water at the last stop Walt finished up his run and took some pictures. If you want to see what we look like on a hot day about 10 miles into a long run or 7 miles into an almost-as-long run, here you go (note the smiles):

Kaj-BethBrian-Demi

Ginny-PeterDave

MikeDenyce-Jen-Catherine

LoisGinny-Sue-Joannesue

The last 4 miles of the run cuts through Stoneham over to Franklin St. Near Weiss Farm Sue Worrall passed by on her bike and called out to Brian and I. She looked a lot happier than we did. The sun along Franklin St got hot and the temperatures were rising.  Brian pulled ahead finishing the run strong while I trailed back and found a noticeably slower pace for the last mile. Heading down Main St into downtown Melrose I passed Betty Kandler pushing Annika in a jogging stroller, both looking a lot happier than I did. But minutes later I was done, and shortly after that runners began streaming into the finish of the 14.1 mile route. Kaj, Mike, Dave, Ginny, Slater, Demi, Erin, Peter, and Lois all completed the full route.

Great job everyone! Strong runs on an enjoyable route.
(Ok, those of you who started at Friendly’s, who got something when you finished up?)

Week 7 – Something Different – Roll Call

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

Each session of the Sunday Run I detect that the back side of Spot Pond and the Fellsway East grows somewhat tiresome after about 10 trips so in the interest of keeping things interesting, this week we’re heading someplace new: Horn Pond in Woburn. Unfortunately for the shorter distance runners this means you’ll be running the same roads you ran last week, except backwards. Well the route is reversed, you don’t have to run backwards, although that would really make it interesting.

The route maps were posted this morning. If you printed them out earlier this week to commit them to memory in an attempt to avoid what happened last week… rip it up and forget all you learned. This week we’ll head up to Spot Pond, past the Zoo over to our water stop off Forest St by Rte 93. From there the shorter distance runners will head backthrough Stoneham to Franklin St to Main to finish up. The longer runners, if they so choose, will follow Forest St to Washington, cut across Cross St to Woburn. Main St in Woburn will take them to Lake Ave which won’t take them to a lake at all but will take them to Horn Pond and our second Water Stop. A loop around Horn Pond (listen for the sounds of Native American Indians, the pond is rumored to be haunted)  and back the way we came to Water Stop 3, right where we left it as Water Stop 1. From there we cut through Stoneham just like the shorter distance runners before us, to make our way back to Brueggers.

For those running shorter, here’s an alternate option: Meet us at Brueggers and carpool to somewhere along the full route to jump in, either at Friendly’s for a 8.5 mile run or the first water stop for a 7 mile run.

Although we learned last week we don’t always run what we planned, I still want to know who’s in and what do you plan on running.

Week 6 – And Rocky collapsed in the Corner

Sunday, August 17th, 2008

Does everyone know where they’re going? Each week as we assemble on the sidewalk outside of Brueggers the run is kicked off with those words. Each week there is an iffy answer in the affirmative. This week was the kind of week that makes me ask this as this recap will illustrate.

At 8:00 I rushed over to Brueggers, running a bit late since I didn’t notice the 8 mile route map as page 2 on the map link and quickly remade one so people running shorter would know where they were going. These were not the people I should have been worried about. As Walt came in from his pre-run miles, and Linda and her MVS friend came in from their pre-run and pre-fall, and the rest of the crowd streamed out of Brueggers, I reviewed the water stop location with Jean, our water stop volunteer for the day, and went over the routes quickly so people would know where we were going. Walt asked if he could take the map with him but I decided I wanted to give it to Jean so she would know where to go and Walt could take it from her as he went by. Off went Jean, off went Walt, and off went the rest of the big crowd of 28 runners heading out to Winchester.

Up Main St to Franklin the chatter in the crowd focused on the Women’s Olympic Marathon, held on Sunday Morning in China and televised Saturday Night on the East Coast. Inspired by the 38 year old gold medal run by Romania’s Constantina Tomescu our running goals all seemed more achievable this morning. The stream of runners flowed along Franklin St into Stoneham and over to Winchester and our first water stop. At this point in the run everything was going fine. The shorter route returned to Melrose by heading over to Spot Pond, down to Grimsby’s, and along the LynnFells to Main St. As far as I know this was an uneventful 8 miles in comfortable weather along a winding route… unless I missed something.

The longer route headed out Forest St to Highland Ave. If the sight of blood on Linda before the run even started wasn’t foretelling an odd run the sights of an older man ambling up the hill towards us with two turkeys by his side definitely was a signal that this would not be a typical run. As we passed him we asked if those turkeys were with him, he said no, he thought they were with us. As our pack of Nicole, Eve, Mike, and myself passed by we noticed yet another larger turkey running off down a side street. As Lois and Sue passed the man the turkeys decided they liked the ladies better and turned around and ran down the hill with them for a while before the turkeys pulled ahead. After that sight the route turned onto Highland Ave with a pleasant, yet hilly side trip along Reservoir Rd. This is one of my favorite streets to run on. With the Fells on one side you catch a glimpse of the sun sparkling of one of the Winchester Reservoirs through the trees. On the other side of the antique street light lined road is a row of large beautiful houses. In the middle of the road is a long steep hill. (Love the hills, they’ll love you back). Nicole and I charged through the hill while Mike and Eve shook theirs heads at us. At this point I pulled ahead and ran along back on Highland Ave towards water stop 2.

Here’s where things got interesting. At Highland Ave and Mystic Valley Parkway Walt took a left turn instead of going straight, not having a map to help him out. The pack behind him followed along thinking he knew what he was doing (Note: Never follow Walt). Nicole and I continued on to water stop 2… or the empty spot where it was supposed to be, maybe that map wouldn’t have helped Walt because it didn’t help Jean. We continued on with that “maybe it’s just around this corner” feeling for a little while but unfortunately Jean was waiting on a street corner somewhere we wouldn’t be passing by… those of us that were actually in the right place. As we headed down Main St over to Washington St near Winchester Center two people in white tank tops passed in the opposite direction. Mike and Eve noticed them heading to the left on Main St and, mistaking them for me and Nicole, followed them… off course where they would coincidentally run into Walt. With some guidance from Sue and Lois correcting wrong turns from behind, last week’s two lost runners Kelly and Catherine stayed on course throughout the run. If you’re keeping score, only 6 of the long runners were in the right place, heading down Washington St at this point in the run. Along this stretch Sue and Lois were on a mission to track down water. They passed on the idea of stopping at a church and stealing a sip of Holy Water, and instead found fountain to drink from, unfortunately it was filled with dirty water that they had to scoop out to make room for the heads so they could reach the tiny trickle that came out of the spout. From there we passed a dead raccoon on the side of the road which I named Rocky after Rocky Racoon in the Beatles song, a tune that stuck in my head as I climbed back up Forest St to Walt’s car and what was now the second water stop of the day. Nancy was waiting there having cut her run short due to a sore achilles and informed me that I was the first one to make it back to the stop. Yikes! Where is everyone!

From the water stop we headed over to Park St, past the man that was walking turkeys earlier in the day and over to Spot pond. Along the back side of the pond Nicole and I took turns passing each other as she pushed the pace up hills and I did the same on the downhills. This route, a very hilly one, even challenged Nicole’s passion for the hills as we made the last long climb up Elm St. At the rotary by the hockey rink we ran into Jean who pulled into the parking lot and supplied us with a bonus cup of Gatorade to get us through the last few miles. Not knowing who was where I guessed that Lois would be by but I had no idea who else would make it there. While I was saying this Lois was making her way back to Brueggers, either by foot or by car, the details are getting fuzzy on me now.

Leaving the water stop we followed the pond to Pond St where I ran into Mike coming from the other direction. As we headed down to Grimsby’s we passed Matt making his way back from wherever he had been. Back down Wyoming we went, onto Main and back to Brueggers to end an adventurous day.

In the end Nicole, Catherine, Kelly and I were the only four to run the full 16.2 mile route as it was intended. I can only speak for myself, as everyone else was wandering around Winchester and Medford I was having myself a darn good run. Thanks to Walt and Jean for volunteering to help this week, and thanks to all that ran today I hope you enjoyed the adventure.

Next week we’re trying a new route, out to Horn Pond in Woburn. I’ll post a map some time this week, I suggest people print it out and bring it with them so everyone will know where they’re going. 🙂

Week 6 – The Sacramone Run – Roll Call

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

In honor of the closest Olympic athlete to Melrose, gymnast Alicia Sacramone of Winchester, MA, this week we’ll run through her hometown. Ok, yeah we were gonna run there anyway regardless of the Olympics, I’m just trying to make things more interesting. So its out to Winchester for 16+ miles for the long runners, 8+ for those training for a half. Take a look at the maps and familiarize yourself with the route.

There will be two water stops needed this week. Walt will take care of the first one and I’ll need a volunteer to pick me up at the second one at the corner of Highland Ave and Main St in Winchester. (I’ll be away from the computer until Saturday so I’ll get back to the first person to volunteer then)

Ok, time for the roll call…. who’s in? Plus name any current or former Olympian from your hometown if you can.

I’m in for the full route… and the most recent Olympian from my hometown of Brookline, MA: Jonathon Riley competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics in the 5K.

Week 5 – Breakheart Roll Call

Friday, August 8th, 2008

This week we’re heading to Breakheart for some hills. If you like the hills last week, you’ll love the hills this week. (Love the hills, they’ll love you back!). We’ll be heading out the LynnFells and turning down Main St in Saugus to Farm St in Wakefield, popping in for a loop around Breakheart and then over to Main St in Wakefield, following Main St back into Melrose for 12+ miles.

 The shorter route, we have planned a run out the LynnFells returning along Howard St to Main St and then following the LynnFells over to Grimsby’s and back Wyoming. This is 6+ miles.

Want more than 6 but less than 12, here’s an option. Meet us at 8 at Brueggers but shuttle yourselves over to the J Pace parking lot to cut of the first 2 miles. Join us as we run by. Heading up to the waterstop, looping Breakheart back to the water stop, then returning to the parking lot is about 7 1/2 miles.

Walt will be setting up the water stop for us once again, this week its at the Wakefield High School parking lot. We’ll pass through twice, roughly at mile 4 and mile 8… there’s also a water fountain halfway around Breakheart if you get extra thirsty.

So who’s in? Let me know so I have the right amount of water/gatorade and cups. Also let us know what you plan on running so others can plan their company along the way.

See you at 8AM, Brueggers. I’m in for the 12.5 miles.
Jim