Sunday, March 30, 2008

Eastern States 20

Big thanks to Mindy and Stephen for making this one very fun day! All of us had the goal not to "race" this race, but get in the miles and just have a really good time out there. Mission accomplished. Stephen's good friend Brian decided last minute not to run because of a foot injury, so Stephen ended up running with us instead. We had a blast.

The Eastern States 20 is pretty neat because it goes through three states. It starts in Kittery, Maine, runs along the coast of New Hampshire, and ends just after the Massachusetts border. I'm not gonna lie, I thought it would be pretty nifty to run the Eastern States and the Western States in the same year.

Nice to run into Mark before the race, who was there to support his wife who was running. His toddler son looks just like him.

Somewhat fortunately, the race started at 11am, allowing things to warm up a bit. I'm guessing it was in the mid-30s when we were off. First mile was wicked slow with the crowds, but we didn't really care. After that, things thinned out. Our slower pace throughout allowed the conversation to flow like wine, and flow it did. Stephen will be my pacer at the Western States 100, so we went over some tentative game plans for that. Mindy and Stephen both have triathalon experience, so it was fun to listen in on the goings on in that world. Politics also came into play. Normally a dangerous area, but Stephen and I are on the same page with many of our views.

As we ran, we noted how beautiful the course was and it was nice to be able to gaze out at the ocean while we ran. Reminded me of the MDI Marathon somewhat in that aspect.

Around 15 miles in, Stephen's nose started bleeding. At first, a little, but it kind of got worse. I asked Stephen repeatedly if he was fine and suggested that we slow down, but he wouldn't have any part of that. So, I just kept checking up on him to make sure he was fine, and he was. Eventually, he got it somewhat under control, and he appeared no worse for the wear.

Worried about his nose and knowing that we just wanted to finish the race at this point, we picked up the pace the last few miles, hitting the last mile split in under seven minutes. Felt good doing it, which was nice after a pretty high mileage week for me. Afterwards, went out for drinks and grub at a pub in Portsmouth. Good times!

Stats according to the Garmin, and obviously unofficial:
Ran 20.2 miles @ 8:17/mile pace
AHR/MHR - 139/167
Paved roads.
Mostly flat.
Mid 30s, rising to around 40. Sunny.
Shorts, short sleeved shirt, Moeben sleeves, beanie.



Weekly recap:
Mon - 14.4
Tue - 0
Wed - 16.0
Thu - 11.1
Fri - 0
Sat - 11.8
Sun - 20.0

Weekly total = 73.3

Monthly recap (doubt I'll run tomorrow because of the weather):
274.6 miles running.
19.6 miles elliptical.

11 comments:

mucklechumps said...

Great week Jamie! I'm glad Stephens nose bleed wasn't bad enough for him to stop running.
I cant wait to run in Ipswich next week.

James

MB said...

Good to see you out there at the race.

Grellan said...

Look like a fantastic run. Well done on keeping to plan and not racing.

Speed Racer said...

Wow, you guys run so fast you give people nosebleeds! Now that's something to brag about.

It was good to see you again. Maybe someday I'll be able to keep up and learn from someone wiser and stronger than myself. At the paces you were running though, I can't even imagine being able to breathe let alone chit-chat!

Eastern and Western States in one year? There should be a special t-shirt. A cool-looking one this time.

zanne said...

oh. i was THIS close to flying back east for this one! found out about it on Mindy's blog. my family has a summer house in rye beach - right off cable road, smack on the ocean. this race went right by it. maybe next year. sounds like you had a great time!

mindy said...

Thanks for the awesome company, Jamie. Made for a great day! I still think you should consider the belt buckle tattoo...

GetBackJoJo said...

I'm a little scared that 8:17 pace was just conversational fare and not close to race pace! Awesome. I plan to run that race one of these years. Glad it was a great day!

Love2Run said...

Great non-race Jamie! It's a very difficult trick to run and not race. You seem to be ramping up nicely for WS.

Runner NYC said...

Great recap, Jamie! I love that you're running both Eastern and Western States!

I don't think I'll ever be as fast as you are, but I love reading about your running!!

Morrissey said...

Great Race and congrats!

PS: May I snatch that pic of the race route and place it on my blog?

Jamie Anderson said...

Morissey, totally cool with me. Hope you had a great race!