NH 10 Miler, Auburn NH 09.03.11 - PR



NH 10 Miler, Auburn

Earlier this year, running friend/NHTI coach Perry Seagroves told me about NH 10 Miler.  Only it's first year, John Mortimer's NH 10 Miler was selected as part of the NH Grand Prix series.  Auburn is located only half-hour drive away, Lake Massabesic an attractive running venue and this fit well into my marathon training.  Two weeks ago, Perry & I "pre-ran" the course with a map and "adventurously" included our own trail portion.

My 10th ever 10 Miler… previous fastest was Yankee Homecoming, Newburyport 2009 (1:14:49). Having an idea of current fitness level, pretty sure this could be a PR day, despite the hills not making it particularly “flat & fast.”   If a really good day, I hoped I could shoot for 1:11


The first few miles, I worked to hang on behind Trevor Ward, Cathy Merra, Ron Abramson and Trish Bourne, but they were stronger than me, so I found my own pace.  In the final few miles, I was able to catch Cathy Merra, who is always strong. I did not take water or Gu during the race, just maintained strong focus.

The last mile was downhill, then heard announcer Andy Schachat’s voice... not much more... the finish area on the lake so welcoming and professional.  As we entered the park area, I passed one kid (34 year old) and I couldn’t believe he wasn’t kicking to challenge me… forget him, the final straight away was like being on the track, I put 11 seconds on him.   Hit my watch at exactly 1:10:00… official time 1:10:01 (7:01 pace)... woooo!!  

How did I improve by 4:48 in 2 years?!?!?  Superb coaching? Advice, support, encouragement from teammates, trackmates?  Hard work? All of it… cherish every bit and every second.  

Grabbed some water, yogurt tube (didn't want to pull an SP @ NB) before a warm-down, made it a 16 mile day.   Put a few pieces of pizza in the car with my new pint glass, swung by Chanel counter at Macy's, then stopped to see Mom... gave her my new long sleeve technical race shirt and she gave me some garden tomatoes, cukes and herbs... nice!!

Full results    1:10:01,  7:01 pace,   PR by 4:48

It was additionally rewarding to contribute 7 points in NH Grand Prix to my secondary team Granite State Racing.