This weekend was the By Hook or By Crook 12k in Sandy Hook.
It was both a USATF-NJ team race and a USATF National Masters Championship. Plus, it was a good opportunity – four weeks out from Chicago – to test my fitness.
This race has been marked on my calendar, and I’ve been looking forward to it. Given the way training has been going, I had some high hopes for this race.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t so cooperative. I started strong, and I faded strong.
But in the end, it was still a good race for me – and for the team.
Pre-Race and Warm Up
It’s about an hour drive down to Sandy Hook from my house, so I had to get up just before 6AM. Drank my coffee, hit the road, and picked up another cup of coffee at Dunkin on the way.
I drove across the bridge out onto the island, and I took in the view. I haven’t been here in a couple years, and I always forget just how beautiful it is. I pulled into the parking lot just after 8AM.
The weather was not what I expected. The forecast had called for 70+ and sun. It was still a little cool, and there were storm clouds across the sky. The wind was kicking up fairly strongly, as well. It was a little reminiscent of the last time I raced here.
Checked in and found my teammates. Since this race is a USATF National Masters Championship, we got a second bib to wear on our back. I asked one of my teammates to pin it on for me, and then we ran over to get our uniforms inspected.
With those formalities out of the way, I jogged past my car to drop off my race t-shirt, and I left for a quick warm up. Jogged about a mile and turned around. Ran into Jackson, who joined me for the end of the warm up. We stopped at the bathrooms – one of the nice things about this race is that there are real bathrooms – and headed back towards the parking lot.
Jackson went off to change his shoes before the race, and I finished up my warm up with some strides and about two minutes at race pace. Everything felt good.
I spotted Donny in the parking lot finishing up his warm up, so I waited for him and we walked over to start. Those clouds were now disappearing, and the sun was peaking out. Looks like it would be hot and sunny after all. Lined up with five minutes to go.
The First Half – Starting Off Strong
My plan was to go out conservatively – around 6:20/mi – and then pick it up. The course goes north for a couple miles, loops around, and then returns to the start. So I figured I’d try to keep things reigned in until that loop and then kick it up a notch.
As usual, the gun went off and the plan went out the window. I was boxed in behind some slower runners at first, but we quickly hit a wide stretch of road that I could use to go around them.
At first, I didn’t think I was going too fast. I could see Donny up ahead in one pack and Jackson further up. I knew I’d be slightly slower than them, so if I paced myself behind them, I should be good.
I also spotted a couple of women that I’d raced against a few times this summer. I usually finish just ahead of them, so I moved to the front of the pack they were in and settled in.
Then the first mile marker came – and I split 6:05. Oops. Way too fast.
I eased up a little and I let the pack pull ahead of me. I latched on to the back, and I focused on keeping my breathing easy and relaxed. That 6:05 hadn’t felt that bad – but I didn’t think maintaining that pace was a good idea.
Mile 2 was fairly uneventful. Split 6:14. Closer to my goal. Much better.
Over the course of the third mile, the pack I was with started to pull ahead a bit and break apart. It didn’t bother me though, because I was still a little bit fast. I could afford to back off a few seconds further.
The sun had been peaking in and out of the clouds, but around this point, the clouds seemed to disappear completely. The wind also eased up.
I split the third mile in 6:18. Perfect. Right on plan.
We were approaching the halfway point, and mentally I was preparing to push onwards towards the finish. Things were going great so far. What could go wrong?
The Second Half – The Sun Beats Me Down
We passed by a water stop just after the 3 mile mark. Given the heat, I decided to pull over and take some. I took a big gulp, swished it around, spit out about half, and swallowed the rest.
At this point, the course started to loop around and take a few turns. I saw Jackson up ahead on a loop heading back towards us. Donny was still just ahead of me.
I could tell I was slowing down a bit, and I thought it was the water stop combined with all of the turns. I figured once we got back to the straightaway, I could get back on pace.
Sure enough, mile 4 came and the split was 6:45. Eugh. Way too slow.
One of the women from the early pack, Cassie, was ahead of me by ten or twenty meters. I focused on reeling her in to try and get back on track. My legs were feeling heavy, and I was starting to notice the heat.
I managed to pull ahead of her for a bit. We’d trade places once or twice over the next mile. A guy passed me and pulled ahead. I think it was the same guy who had passed me at the XC Championship 5k a couple weeks back.
Mile 5 was a little better, but not much. 6:36.
At this point, I knew things were way off plan. My legs were toast. I was just trying to pick them up and keep them moving – but I didn’t have the pop I did in the early miles. Only 2.5 miles to go. I can make it.
A couple of guys passed me here. I remember looking at their backs to see if any of them were in my age group – they weren’t. So I just focused on my race. Finished that mile in a dismal 6:50 something. Yikes. I was hot and sweaty and tired. And ready to be done.
That slow mile – and knowing that there was only 1.5 miles to go – was the motivation I needed. Cassie must have been thinking the same thing. I could hear her footsteps behind me, and she decidedly picked up the pace at the mile marker. I did the same.
The mile seemed to go on forever. Halfway through, I looked up and saw a guy ahead of me. I was getting closer. I wasn’t sure if I had enough left to catch him, but it gave me a goal. I slowly moved closer throughout that mile, and I lapped 6:40. Getting (slightly) faster.
Half a mile to go, and I gave it everything I could. My legs were really moving, and my pace was back down near 6:00. I could see the finish line in the distance, and I thought just maybe I could catch the guy.
With a couple hundred meters to go, I let it all go. I was gaining, but I realized I wasn’t going to catch him before the finish. So I let up a little bit in the last 50 meters or so. Crossed the line in 48:34.
Post-Race and Reflections
I crossed the finish line, and I grabbed two cups of water from the volunteers. I saw Jackson, and walked over to chat for a few.
I went back for a bottle of water, and I started to cool off finally as I drank it. Walked over to tell Cassy good race, and then saw one of my other teammates come across the finish a minute or two behind me. He was doubled over trying to catch his breath.
Back in the parking lot, I spotted Donny. Went over to chat with him and a couple other runners for a few. The consensus seemed to be about the same. Everything was good, until it wasn’t. That heat in the second half was brutal.
I jogged two miles for a cooldown. The first was extra slow, but my legs started to come back to life by the second. Then I hopped in the car and headed for home.
I’m disappointed with the time. I was hoping for a resounding, confidence boosting success.
In the first three miles, I thought I had it. If I could start out at 6:05/mi, and finish in 46-47 minutes, that would have been awesome.
But it wasn’t meant to be. The heat definitely got the better of me, and I probably should have started off much more conservatively. Like I planned.
It also didn’t help that the weather has been pretty nice the last couple of weeks, so I’m not used to running in the heat anymore. I’m sure all the miles in my legs didn’t help either, and things will improve over the next couple weeks as I start to taper down.
On a positive note, our men’s team came in second place. First place (Garden State Track Club) had some speed demons, and they ran away with first. But we eked out second place by about ten seconds over the next team. So pushing it in that final mile had been worth it.
I’m still pleased enough with the results. After a taper, and hopefully with some better weather, I’m in great shape for Chicago. And I’ll be poised to lay down some great times later in the fall, as well.