2015 colchester half marathon: race photos & results

this morning i ran my fifth colchester half marathon - and it's still one of my favorite events!  i think the last time i ran it was back in 2012.  still the same tough course, great volunteers and awesome post-race food (and rehydration)!  it's one of the best value races for you running buck!

as for my time, 1:43:15, 7:53 came in right in the middle (2 faster, 2 slower) - well off my course best of 1:37 and 3 minutes off  1:46, my slowest colchester.  i was very pleased with that finish - but maybe could have done 1:40 if not for the 3 or so ice covered dirt miles!  i slowed significantly for those - better safe than sorry :D

i also ran with the prospect of doing the boston buildup 25k tomorrow.  let's see if that comes to pass in the morning :O

here are the race results from coolrunning.

 

 

 

 

r.i.p. leonard nimoy

leonard nimoy - a/k/a mr.spock - died today at the age of 83.  i've been a fan of his for decades.  during law school i would literally end my days with the midnight episodes of star trek!  and then there were the big screen versions - one of the best was "the search for spock".  but there was so much more to him than mr. spock (although that was his definitive role). 

another of my favorite classic t.v. programs was columbo.  in season one, only a couple of years after star trek ended, nimoy guest starred as a diabolical heart surgeon who planned to kill his victim with dissolving thread to stitch up patient's heart.  this was a decidedly non-spock character and he immersed himself in the evil of that wicked soul.

to get a sense of the his life beyond acting (and directing) read his obituary in the ny times.

"live long and prosper" in heaven mr. spock :D

2015 boston buildup 20k: race photos & results

the weather held out long enough to get in the boston buildup 20k this morning - and the temperature was above freezing as a bonus :D

as for my performance over the hilly 12.4 miles - i missed my target of a sub 1:40 by a minute (1:40:58, 8:06 pace).  that was a solid 3 minutes slower than my time last year.  but i was still happy with the outcome - especially getting in the miles. 

it capped my third straight 50+ mile week.  since the drop off in weekly mileage last fall, my goal for the first couple of month of 2015 is rebuild my mileage base.  so far so good, with a 220 mile january and february starting strong :D

next up: a double with the van cortlandt track club's valentines day relay and the taconic's freezer 5 miler next weekend.

here are the race results from clubct.

february 2015 race schedule

the february race schedule kicked off yesterday, with the taconic rr freezer 5k at fdr park.  it was actually a double weekend - as saturday ended january with a 3 hour run in valley stream long island.  this month might end in a similar way because the colchester half is on the 28th and the boston buildup 25k is the following day, march 1. haven't done that double in a few years; so should be an interesting weekend :D

this weekend is the 3rd race of the boston buildup winter series - the 20k in fairfield.  even with the start in fairfield for the last few years, mentally i still associate this one with the southport train station - where it tradionally started and finished!

the following weekend is a new race.  the van cortlandt track club is putting on a valentine's day couples relay.  in a break with tradition, will not be heading up to stratford, ct, for the sweetheart run.  just as well because road construction has reconfigured the traditional 4 mile loop.  instead, will run the 2 mile loop at van cortlandt park.  the next day will head back to fdr park for the second freezer 5 race - the 5 miler.

last but not least is the lake waramug polar bear run - a 7.6 mile loop of the the lake.  this one is iffy because it's a long drive and if the weather doesn't assist, may opt for running closer to home. i'll keep my fingers crossed because it's been a long time since i've done this one.

here's how it looks so far:

2/1 - trrc freezer 5k
2/8 - boston buildup 20k
2/14 - vctc valentine's day tough love relay
2/15 - trrc freezer 5m
2/22 - polar bear run, 7.6m
2/28 - colchester half marathon

as always, if you're at any of them - say hello :D

2015 taconic rr freezer 5k: race photos & results

 

what a difference 24 hours made!  compared to the sub-zero wind chills at the b.u.s. 3 hour run yesterday, we had dry, sunny and - relatively - warm weather at fdr park for the freezer 5k this morning! in a twist from shirts, we got wool hats at registration.  coupled with the gloves we got at the 3 hour run, seems like a winter race apparel weekend :O

as for the race itself, it was mostly a recovery run for me.  i ran a 22:54, 7:23 pace, which was a bit faster than i planned to run.  but i'll take it :D

next up is the boston buildup 20k on sunday.

here are the race results from taconic rr.

 

the rest of my photos are up on facebook.

more race photos from taconic road runners.