The Weather is Here - I Wish You Were Beautiful

In the pre-dawn hours on Sunday morning at Proper Course World Headquarters, the temperature fell to almost 40 degrees below freezing. When the sun came up we were treated to this unusual view of "sea smoke" over the bay.

The fleet captain of the Newport Laser fleet cancelled our racing on Sunday because he felt it would be a bit too chilly for racing.

On Monday morning, it was only just below zero degrees Fahrenheit at sunrise and we could see that Mount Hope Bay was covered in ice.

On Wednesday the sailing team from Roger Williams University posted the photo below on their Facebook page, with this comment...

First day of sailing at home last year: March 17.
First day of sailing at home this year: February 17.
And it was awesome!
(Not confirmed, but possibly the earliest start date in the last decade.

Good for them. RWU is on the other side of the bay from us. Proper Course World Headquarters is somewhere on that ridge, a tad to the right of the dinghies.

I went sailing "at home" (i.e. in Rhode Island) on Wednesday too.

I sailed my Laser in Newport along with a friend in his RS Aero.

I was hoping to stage a repeat of this epic photo of the first launch of an RS Aero in New England waters in 2015.

Sadly, although the first splash of the RS Aero in 2016 was almost a month earlier than in 2015, there wasn't enough snow left to re-stage the photo.

So we blasted around Brenton Cove enjoying the balmy 45 degree weather in a chunky 12-17 mph south-westerly.

At least I was blasting around in my Laser. My companion in the RS Aero spent a lot of time doing something more useful like practicing his starts by holding station on buoys and sailing slowly and sailing backwards and other such nonsense that he thinks will help him beat me on the start line at the RS Aero US Nationals in the Gorge this year. Ha!

Life is too short to sail slowly on purpose.

There was another guy out sailing a Laser too. Apparently he likes to come down to Sail Newport one or two afternoons a week for some Laser practice at this time of year, so I may well go sail with him some days over the coming weeks.

It was an exhilarating afternoon. Especially exhilarating when getting splashed in the face by the icy cold water on wild planing reaches. Even more exhilarating when I realized the neck of my drysuit has stretched a bit and the icy cold water was going down my neck. O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

And so to the Coddington Brewery for some French onion soup and a pulled pork sandwich with curly fries washed down with a couple of glasses of IPA.

Gratuitous photo of 

pulled pork sandwich with curly fries 

at Coddington Brewery

stolen without permission from Yelp

purely to keep Baydog happy.

I felt a bit achy when I woke up this morning.

I went for a 6 mile run on the East Bay Bike Path this morning.

I think I'll take a nap now.

Mantras

Athletes in all sorts of sports believe in using mantras. But are mantras any help in sailing?

What is a mantra? An inspirational phrase that helps with your performance. Something to help keep the mind focused on what is important while you are competing.

Many runners use mantras. There is an excellent Runners' World article about it - The Magic of Mantras. It reminds us that a good mantra should be "short, positive, instructive, and full of action words."

But mantras are very personal. Different strokes for different folks. And even in a sport as apparently simple as running, a runner may use different mantras in different stages of the race and for different purposes.

Some examples of mantras from that article I linked…

To remind you to start out easy in a long race - "Pass no one."

To help you stay focused and forget how long a marathon really is - "One mile at a time." I could never have completed my marathons or half marathons without using this one.

To help you focus on good running form  - "Lighter, softer, faster, relaxer." Hey, they don't even have to be real words as long as they work for you.



Some sailors use mantras too. Christine Neville wrote about it in one of her posts about racing at CORK a couple of weeks ago. She felt she had been thinking too much about getting away from other boats to find clear air, so on this day she used mantras like "keep it simple" and "go as fast and direct as you can."

I really need a mantra to help me when I'm sailing a long windy beat to take my mind off my aching quad muscles and keep me focused on hiking hard and keeping good hiking form and sailing fast. I wonder what would work?

"It's meant to hurt." Maybe not. Too negative. A mantra should take your mind off the pain and adversity and keep you in a positive frame of mind.

"Tougher than the rest." Not true - but it would probably work.

"Grind them down. One at a time." Ha! I like this one. Just focus on sailing faster than the boat next to me until I have him in my bad air and he is forced to tack away. Children can be so cruel at my age.

But sailing is such a complex sport. We need different mantras for different wind conditions and different points of sail and different strategic and tactical situations and to avoid different mental traps.

"Keep your head out of the boat." is a very useful mantra of course.

And something like "Keep calm. Forget it. Carry on." is a good one for dealing with the aftermath of all the things that can go bad on the race course including capsizes, collisions with buoys, collisions with other boats, collisions with bridges, falling out of the boat, being pulled out of the boat by another sailor's sheet around your neck, chopping your finger off etc. etc.

What about you?

Do you have some favorite sailing mantras?

Moose on the Loose Half Marathon 2014

I didn't really plan to run the Moose on the Loose Half Marathon in Nashua, NH last Sunday. Well, if I did, I didn't tell anybody about it. That post The Trouble with New England was just a hypothetical list of half marathons in every New England state that someone might run if they were crazy enough.

But somehow I found myself in Nashua at 7:30 am on Sunday morning. The race start was scheduled for 9:00 am. I was early. I am always early for running races and sailing regattas. Probably some personality disorder, I guess.

There were plenty of Porta Potties. It's very important to have to have enough porta potties. So I used the facilities and collected my cool Moose on the Loose shirt and my cool Moose on the Loose pint glass. The pint glasses were really for awards but as I never win awards at running races (well hardly ever) I had paid a bit extra at registration to get a cool Moose on the Loose pint glass. I went back to my car and called my wife and waited for the start.

And then it started to rain. The weather forecast all week had said that Sunday would be a beautiful sunny cool day, perfect for running. But the night before the race the evil weather forecasters changed the plan and said it would be a miserable rainy cold day, awful for running. I dug out my hat and my rain jacket from my bag.

I chatted to some other runners before the start as we sheltered under a tree from the rain. One couple told me some story about how they had been running half marathons all winter including one when it was 6 degrees F. Complete lies of course. Didn't believe a word of it.

The course was absolutely gorgeous. Well, most of it was. Well, it would have been if it hadn't been for the bloody rain.  It was a two lap course, and about three quarters of each lap was in Mine Falls Park. As it says on the Nashua city website…

The name "Mine Falls" derives from the 1700s, when low quality lead was supposedly mined from the island below the falls. In the early 1800s the potential of the Nashua River to drive the wheels of industry was recognized. Workers used shovels and mules to dig the three-mile long canal, which provides a vertical drop of 36 feet at the mills.

So now there is a linear park in the center of the city with a river and a canal and a millpond and all these paths winding along the water with bridges to cross the canal at various points. Spectacular.

Let's talk about my run. My plan, such as it was, was to run the first 8 miles at an easy relaxed pace, speed up a bit for miles 9-12, and go even faster for the final mile. It didn't quite work out like that. I did run the first 8 miles at what felt like an easy relaxed pace. But then when I stepped up the effort I found I was working harder but actually going slightly slower in miles 9-12, and then I was totally knackered (that's a technical running term) so I went even slower in the final mile. Perhaps there is something wrong with my training program? Oh yeah, I didn't really finish the half marathon training program. That might be it.

But it was fun.  The scenery made it fun. The other runners made it fun. I enjoyed some light banter with another runner (about half my age) as we kept passing and re-passing each other around the course. I made encouraging sounds at other runners whom I passed in the final few miles. Even though I was knackered they looked even more knackered than I felt.

And all too soon we were at the finish line. That's a lie of course. When you are as slow as me, the finish is never "all too soon." And I was lapped by the winner on the first lap. Yes, the winner (some kid about a third my age) was actually running twice as fast as I was and finished the race before I was even half way round. He'll probably blow his knees out by the time he's my age.

I went over to check the results. I was sixth in my age group!!! Woo hoo!!! And I was the second oldest person in the race and I wasn't last!!! Woo hoo!!! It looked as if they had already done the awards ceremony. That's a measure of how slow I really was. But as I was looking at the results the race director came over to talk to me and he asked me how old I was and when he heard he gave me another cool Moose on the Loose pint mug. Woo hoo!!! And I got a finisher's medal of course.

So I may have been slow but I did have some swag. And, after all, that's what why we run, isn't it? It's all about the swag.

Only bad thing was that I never did see the moose.  Why would that be?

The Trouble with New England

The trouble with New England is that it has six states.

And six is just the right (or wrong) number to motivate obsessive compulsive types who like to create artificial challenges for themselves or others. Things like climbing to the highest point in all six states on the same weekend, or skiing in all six states in the same month, or spending a year researching your favorite beer in each of the the six states.

I think I like the sound of that last one the best.



Where was I? Where am I? Oh yes, artificial challenges.

The Rhode Island Runners Club likes those. One of their annual awards, the New England Cup, is for any member who completes a race in all six New England states during the year.

And if you happened to be a member of that club you might get attracted to that challenge.

But if you were one of those aforementioned obsessive compulsive types who likes to create artificial challenges for yourself, you might like to make it a little harder and try and do something nutty like run a half marathon (not just any old race like a 5k or 10k) in each New England state during the year.

God knows there are enough half marathons around these days. Here (as just a hypothetical example you understand) is one way you could run a half marathon in each New England state in 2014.

• April 13 - Moose on the Loose Half Marathon - Nashua, NH
• May 11 - Swamp Meadow Covered Bridge Half Marathon - Foster, RI
• June 8 - Lime Rock Park Half Marathon - Lakeville, CT
• July 6 - Mad Half Marathon, Mad River Valley, VT
• Sep 7 - Freeport Half Marathon - Freeport, ME
• Oct 19 - Fall River Half Marathon - Fall River, MA

Doesn't that look easy? Nicely spaced about a month apart. Missing out August because it's hot and that's a good time to go to the beach or go sailing.



Wait. Did he say "sailing"?

What if our hypothetical obsessive-compulsive runner were also a sailor? A Laser sailor, say. Would he also get the strange idea that it would be fun to sail his Laser in a regatta in every New England state in the same year?

God knows there are enough Laser regattas around these days. Here (as just a hypothetical example you understand) is one way you could sail a Laser in a regatta in each New England state in 2014.

• May 17 - Connecticut River Dinghy Distance Race, CT
• May 31 - New Hampshire Seacoast Regatta - Dover, NH
• June 21/22 - John Bentley Regatta, New Bedford YC - South Dartmouth, MA
• June 29 - Maine State Championship Series #2 -  Portland, ME
• July 12/13 - Newport Regatta, RI
• August 16/17 - Chiott Vermont Laser Open - Colchester, VT

Doesn't that look easy? Nicely spaced through the summer. And, purely by coincidence, none of the regattas are on the same weekend as any of the half marathons on the first list.



And the beauty of (or the trouble with) New England is that there are so many half marathons and Laser regattas in a year that even if our hypothetical running sailor didn't complete one of these events because his grandchildren came to visit him one weekend or it was rainy or cold or too windy or not windy enough one weekend (the wimp)…. then he could always substitute another race or regatta later in the year. Or even do a few more running races or regattas not on the above list just for the hell of it (the wild thing.)



Of course, if he had any sense, our hypothetical obsessive compulsive running sailor wouldn't tell anyone that he was thinking of doing any of the above. Still less would he admit that he had set himself anything weird like a "goal" to do any of the above.

That would be totally bizarre.

Mud Run and Crazy Train

We are babysitting our three eldest grandchildren this glorious early Spring weekend in Massachusetts, because their parents and the baby went off on a trip to Florida where they are sweltering in the tropical heat and humidity somewhere in a hell-hole of a concrete jungle in alligator country. Some kind of "perk" she scored through her blogging activity. I feel sorry for them, poor bastards.

Anyway, always the good old fun-loving grandparents, we decided to take the three kids on Saturday afternoon to a local playground - the North Attleborough World War 1 Memorial Park aka "the one with the big slide."

Unfortunately it was closed, because the whole park had been taken over for a "mud run challenge." Apparently more than 1100 runners were going to be amusing themselves on a 5k mud run obstacle course, with "25-plus obstacles, including monkey bars, walls of different heights, a sandbag carry and rope climbs."

I had heard of these mud runs before.  After taking the kids to a different playground, when we got home I googled about this and other mud runs. Here are a few sample images that I found….

Doesn't that look like fun?

When my daughter-in-law called in the evening to check on her precious kids I told her all about the mud run. Since giving birth to her fourth child a few months back she has started running again and is now in amazing shape. She has been talking about doing a 5k race so I suggested that we should do this N. Attleborough mud run together next year.

Surprisingly, she didn't sound very enthusiastic.

In fact it sounded as if she thought I was crazy.

12 Races

I kind of went crazy with running races in 2013. I ran 12 races in the year, certainly more races than I have run for many years - perhaps more races in a year than I have ever run before - for a total of over 80 miles of racing.

Part of the motivation was an attempt to qualify in the Grand Prix Series of the Rhode Island Rhode Running Club. This originally involved running in 9 out of 15 designated races around Rhode Island and nearby states, with the distances ranging from 5ks to half marathons. This was changed during the year to 8 out of 14 races due to some canceled race or scheduling conflict. I forget the details.

You know how I am with crazy artificial participation challenges. So I went for it and I did complete the required 8 races to qualify. (I could have done the 9 if I had needed to - so there!) I didn't make the top 5 but I was up there at times. And I did discover some new, different, interesting races as a result.



The year started, as it always seems to lately, on New Year's Day with the Hangover Classic 5 Miler in Bristol, which I wrote about at Celebrating the New Year Tillerman Style. It was frigging cold. There was ice on parts of the course. But I ran a good time (for me) so that was all good.



For reasons that escape me now I ran another race in Little Compton only 4 days later, a 4.8 mile road race. It wasn't even on the grand prix circuit. I must have been crazy.



In February I ran the 15k Run the Reservoir Race in N. Scituate RI, another regular on my schedule these days and took a few photos to use in one of my incredibly annoying Where Am I? quizzes. I thought my shot of the ladies lining up for the Porta Potty before the race was especially well-framed. O Docker was first to answer the quiz correctly. Isn't he always?

In early April I entered another of the grand prix races, the Thomas Giunta 5k in Fall River. Fall River MA is the town immediately to the north of my current home town of Tiverton RI but I hadn't thought of it as much of a running venue before. How wrong I was! The race is in honor of a fallen police officer and the pre-race ceremonies were very moving. I started near the back of the pack and had a lot of trouble in the first mile picking my way past the ladies who like to walk six-abreast with strollers and similar obstacles. But surprisingly in this race I achieved my best age-graded score in the grand prix series of all eight grand prix races I ran. No idea why. Maybe having to go slow in the first half mile ain't such a bad plan after all?

I took the opportunity of the Fall River race to take some urban landscape photos for another Where Am I?  quiz. O Docker was first to get it right. Again. Isn't he always?

The Laser frostbiting season was still going strong on the last weekend in April when I skipped sailing to go and run the Newport 10 Miler. The race started and ended at Fort Adams, the home of the Laser frostbite fleet, and at least one superfit young dude did both the running race and the Laser racing. Not me! I was knackered after the running so I went home and wrote a post about Socks. Sounds like I spent most of the race looking at lady runners' legs. Hey, it takes a long time for me to run 10 miles. I have to find something to pass the time.

At the end of May I went into Boston to run one of my favorite half marathons and wrote about it at A Half to Remember. Memorial Day Weekend. A few weeks after the Boston marathon bombings. A race which is always in honor of fallen Boston police officers, and this year especially in memory of Sean Collier the MIT police officer murdered by the marathon bombers. A very emotional day. Glad I was there to express my thanks to all the police officers attending for their courage and professionalism in dealing with the extraordinary challenge the city faced this Spring. Boston Strong!



On the first weekend of June 1 decided to bag another grand prix race. And I was so glad I did for several reasons. It was way over on the other side of the state, at least 30 minutes driving, a 5k in North Smithfield. It was the hottest day of the year up to then, so I didn't run very fast but discovered afterwards that I had scored two achievements…

• First it seemed that not many of the other Rhode Island Rhode Runner grand prix point baggers had bothered to brave the wilds of far north-western Rhode Island so I ended up in third place among "Rhode Island Rhode Runner men grand prix point baggers who bothered to do the race and also qualify for the full series." That didn't do my series score any harm. Woo hoo! I'll take it.
• Even better I achieved something I had only done once before in my life. I won a running trophy! It was only for second place in the "incredibly old geezers - we are amazed that they can actually stagger round the course in this heat" category. But even so. Only Twice in a Lifetime!  Woo hoo! I'll take it.

I also managed to use a photo of part of my trophy in one of my world famous What is this?  quizzes.

Guesses ranged from a Blogulator 5000 to a roll of carpet, and an armadillo. For once it wasn't O Docker who got it right.



Geeze, this post is dragging on and we are only up to race #7. Time to pick up the pace.



There was a 10 mile race on a Friday evening in July in Narragansett. It was called the Blessing of the Fleet but I never saw any blessed fleet. It was a showery, damp, humid day. The parking was a long way from the start. It rained on me at the end of the race. I couldn't find any free food or drink after the race. The finish was even further from the parking than the start was. But I did see an amazing double rainbow over the bay (through my rain-spattered spectacles)

There was a 5 mile race on a Sunday in August on Common Fence Point in Portsmouth. I ran out of oomph. Probably because I did a 12 mile training run only two days before. Some times I am really dumb.

There was a 5k race on a Sunday in September in Warren. It was called Finish for the Guinness. They gave you a Guinness to drink at the finish. I should have taken a photo of it to use in a What is this? quiz.



And there was a half marathon on a Sunday in October, the UnitedHealthcare Newport Half Marathon.  Best weekend of the year because…

• Spectacular course
• I didn't run out of oomph
• My son ran the race with me
• My son had a son on the day before the race.

And there was a 5k in Barrington on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to Trot Your Turkey Off, and that's all I have to say about that.



Phew.

So there you have it.

12 races. Four 5ks. One 4.8 mile. Two 5 miles. One 15k. Two 10 milers. Two half marathons.

82. 7 miles.

I must be crazy.

UnitedHealthcare Newport Half Marathon 2013

On Sunday I ran in the UnitedHealthCare Half Marathon in Newport, Rhode Island.

I chose to run the race for three reasons.

First of all it must be one of the most spectacular half marathon courses in the world. You start at First Beach in Newport and immediately run past the start of the famous Cliff Walk. Then after a short distance through the back streets of Newport, you emerge on famous Newport Harbor, run past Ida Lewis Yacht Club (famous as the home of Ida Lewis), past New York YC's Harbour Court (famous as the home of the 2013 North American Laser Masters), and through Fort Adams State Park (famous as the home of the Newport Laser Fleet).

Then it just gets better. After Castle Hill, you run alongside the Eastern Passage of Narragansett Bay with fabulous views across to Conanicut Island and to Point Judith, you round Brenton Point and head east along Ocean Drive with the best views in Rhode Island of the ocean and the amazing luxury homes along the coast. Eventually you leave the ocean and run along Bellevue Avenue seeing many of the Newport mansions (one of which is owned by the famous Larry Ellison.) Then, best of all, part of the final mile is downhill, back to the beach where you started.

Phew!



The second reason I wanted to do this half marathon this year was that when I first attempted it a few years ago I hadn't trained properly and I ran out of oomph after about 9 miles and walked most of the last 3 or 4 miles. I needed to prove myself that I could really do this course and maintain a good pace all the way round.



And the third reason was that many months ago I had foolishly challenged my 35-year-old son to run this race with me... and he had amazed me by accepting the challenge. So then I had to do it. My son was on the track and cross-country teams in high school but hasn't done much running since. So, when I showed him the Jeff Galloway half marathon training schedule and pointed out that (a) you only need to run 3 days a week for the whole 17 week program and (b) if you can run 3 miles you can start the program, he decided he would do it.



There was a slight complication about this plan: my son's wife was due to give birth 7 days after the day of the race. But his wife was very supportive and encouraged him to complete the training and do the race.

Then there was a much bigger complication about this plan: my son's wife actually gave birth (to a son) on the day BEFORE the race. So my son had to get up in the early hours of Saturday to drive his wife to the hospital after her contractions started, and then support her through the birth and in the first few hours afterwards; and Tillerwoman and I spent Saturday looking after their other three kids and taking those kids to the hospital to see their new brother. I wouldn't have blamed him if my son had decided to skip the race, but amazingly he decided to go ahead and his wonderful wife supported his decision.



So my son and I met up at the start at some ungodly hour on Sunday, and ran the race. Based on our training times I expected that my son would be slower than me but I had offered to run all the way with him. However, he would have none of it, and encouraged me to run my own race even if that meant leaving him behind. I stayed with him the first few hundred yards but he soon told me to go ahead. We did see each other briefly as I was heading out of Fort Adams as he was heading in. I phoned him when I reached the 5 mile mark and he assured me he was OK.

I stuck to my plan to run the first 7 miles at an easy, conversational pace, and then to pick up the pace a bit. I did run faster for miles 8, 9 and 10, but then I had another slight oomph deficit and returned to my easier pace for the final 3 miles. At the finish they called my name out on the PA system and I waved deliriously at the crowd and the cameramen. I expect there will be some photos online soon of me looking like some crazy old geezer about to collapse in a puddle of sweat. I might share them here if they are funny enough.

After the finish I called my son again and confirmed he was still going well. I had time to grab some Gatorade and a banana and then to find a good spot to cheer him on as he sprinted to the finish. He was looking very pleased with himself as well he should. It's not every weekend you welcome your fourth child into the world AND run your first half marathon.



I could show you some picture of the views.

I could show you some pictures of the runners in front of me (which would probably appeal to dirty old men who like seeing photos of fat-bottomed girls.)

But I think the best picture to sum up the weekend is this one.

The Beer Runner

I'm one of those people who likes to set themselves ridiculous and pointless personal challenges...

Sail my Laser 100 times in a year.

Run a marathon.

Write a blog post every day for a month on the subject of STRANGE.

Etc.

Etc.

I am almost embarrased to own up to some of the things I have attempted (and usually failed to achieve) because of this obsessive side of my personality.




But I stand in awe of Tim Cigelske, the Beer Runner, who has just completed a streak of running at least one mile and drinking at least one beer every day for three years.

Now THAT is a challenge I could get excited about.

Ham String

Apparently we have a tendon or muscle or something in the back of each leg that's called a ham string.

Or maybe a hamstring.



I've never given it much thought before.

But I have read that runners can injure their hamstrings.

And I have read that Laser sailors can injure their hamstrings.



I've never had a problem with my hamstrings.

Through running or sailing or too much sitting at a desk or pulling up a little weed or putting my socks on or some other similar dangerous activities, I have at times hurt my ankles and my knees and my lower back. About once every year or two I do something stupid like that and end up having to lay off sailing and running for a while.

But I've never had a problem with my hamstring.

At least not until this week.



I went for a run on Thursday. Not a particularly strenuous run. Some half mile intervals on the East Bay Bike Path. I've done this workout many times before.

But this time I started getting a pain in the back of my left leg. And every interval I did it was getting worse. So I eventually gave up and walked slowly back to the car.

I guess I had done something bad to my hamstring.  The left one was very tight and sore.



So I looked up on the Interwebs what to do about a hamstring strain, as one does.

Apparently there are lots of causes for a hamstring strain.

For some of the causes, some gentle stretching is recommended.

For other causes, then stretching is apparently the worst possible thing you can do.

Thank you Interwebs.



So I decided to treat myself with some rest and some gentle stretching.

And rum.

Mainly rum.



I'm not sure why I've messed up my hamstring after so many years.

Maybe I overdid it in the 10 mile road race I ran last Friday evening. It was hard going in the heat and humidity.

Maybe it was from trying to modify my Laser hiking style from type 1 to type 2 as I discussed in my post, Paul Goodison on Hiking Style. I did go out and practice this a bit on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Damn you Paul Goodison.

Or maybe it was from sitting around doing too much blogging? Damn you Fred A. Mabbett.



In the latest North American Laser Class newsletter, Ari Barshi from the Laser Training Centre in Cabarete wrote an article about feedback he received from some ISAF coaches. Apparently they told him to work harder upwind. (Although Ari is already so fast upwind and downwind I really wish he would ease off a bit so the rest of us have a chance of staying anywhere near him.)

Ari also learned from the coaches that the way to avoid injury is to warm up before sailing, stretch on the water between races and drills, and most importantly stretch after derigging the boat.

Ah ah! I have been neglecting my stretching routines lately.

Maybe I should have stretched my hamstrings after that road race.

And maybe I should have stretched my hamstrings after trying to hike differently on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.



So, as it turns out, it's a good job I didn't register for the Buzzards Bay Regatta this weekend. I wouldn't have been able to sail anyway.

I just did some gentle stretches. Now I think I will do some gentle exercise. Perhaps mow the lawn.

Or go to the store and buy some more rum.

Why is the rum always gone?

Twice in a Lifetime!

On Saturday I achieved something that I have only ever achieved once before in my life. And the previous time was in 1992. Some of my readers weren't even born then.



I had been planning to do the Laser regatta at Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire, but I wasn't able to get my boat trailer ready in time to feel comfortable doing such a relatively long journey. (More on the trials and tribulations of trailer maintenance in a future post perhaps.)

So I looked around at what else I could do on Saturday and I noticed that my running club, the Road Island Road Runners, had one of their Grand Prix events on Saturday, the Northmen/Navigant 5k road race in North Smithfield, Rhode Island.

The RIRR Grand Prix is one of those ridiculous artificial challenges that, for some weird reason, appeal to me. (Like sailing a Laser 100 times in a year.) There are 15 races around the area, spread through the year, that are part of the Grand Prix. You have to finish 9 of them to qualify. Your score is calculated on some mysterious formula based on finishing positions relative to other club runners with some even more mysterious adjustment for age. I have no hope of winning it but I would like to complete 9 of the races, and what with sailing commitments and travel plans and general laziness and wimpiness it will be touch and go whether I achieve even that modest objective. So the chance to bag another race was appealing.

So I headed over to the far distant reaches of north-western Rhode Island on Saturday morning, somehow stumbled across North Smithfield, and signed up for the 5k.



It was the hottest day of the year so far. Well in the 80s by race time at 10am.

It seemed like a very friendly, very local event. It looked like about 90% of the runners were from North Smithfield itself. The run is in aid of the association that supports athletics at the Middle School and High School, so it wasn't surprising to see that many of the participants were kids from those schools - and their parents and teachers.

We started off running downhill and I deliberately kept to a very steady pace in the heat, about a minute a mile slower than my last 5k when it was about 30 degrees cooler. A lot of the younger runners went off way too fast and by the end of the first mile they were walking, and I overtook a bunch of them. Old geezers can be so cruel.

I kept to my target pace and pulled ahead of a couple of guys about my age who faded in the heat. As we approached the turn-around point and I saw the faster runners approaching me, it struck me that I couldn't see any runners anywhere near my age. That's strange. I usually see a number of incredibly fit old geezers who run these races at speeds that I can only dream of. But some of the runners who claim to be over 60 don't look a day over 40 so I didn't think too much of it.

I speeded up a bit in the last mile and gave it my all on the final quarter mile which was around the high school track. My finish time was slow, even for me, but that was expected in the heat.



I staggered over to the refreshments and grabbed a banana and a bottle of water and found a spot in the shade to sit down and sweat profusely. A few minutes later another old geezer runner came and sat by me and sweated profusely too, and we commiserated with each other about the heat and getting slower as we got older and blah, blah, blah.

I was about ready to go home when I noticed that the results were posted. So I ambled across to check the results and pushed all the young folks aside so I could see the results with my myopic old eyes. I found my name and confirmed that the time in the results matched what I had recorded on my watch, so that was OK. Then, just for kicks, I started scanning the ages of all the runners ahead of me.

Wait. There was only one other runner in the 60-69 age group ahead of me. Some kid of 62. I double-checked. Yes, it was true. Apparently I was the second finisher in my age group. Oh shit. Now I would have to wait around to receive my trophy.

But really I was tremendously excited. You see, I have been entering running races for about 30 years and I never, ever, ever won a trophy. Well, that is not exactly true. There was one race back in 1992 when I won third place in my age group (40-49 back then) at some obscure small town 5k race in New Jersey. I never imagined I would ever win another.

So I waited for the award ceremony and when they called my name out I went forward and collected my trophy, my little chest puffed out with pride, and I shook hands with the lady handing out the trophies, and thanked her for my award.

She seemed very pleased to see me. Maybe I looked so wasted that she was surprised I was actually standing up? Maybe she was so amazed that someone had actually come to their small town run from way, way across on the whole other side of the state? Not many Rhode Islanders ever even think of attempting such a journey.



Then I went home and lay around in the AC and napped a bit and groaned a lot.

On Sunday morning I took a picture of part of my trophy and posted it as a quiz on my blog,  What is this?

Guesses at what my trophy was ranged from a roll of carpet to a wedding band, from a pogo stick to a mincing machine, from a Blogulator 5000 to an armadillo.

After 5 extra clues and about 50 wild guesses, someone called Lance A. guessed the photo was of part of a trophy, and then R. correctly worked out that it was for a 5k running race. Thanks to everyone who participated in the quiz.

Here is a picture of the whole trophy...

I think I'll go for a run now.

A Half to Remember

On Sunday morning I ran in the Run to Remember Half Marathon in Boston.

There was a lot to remember this year.

On Memorial Day weekend of course we remember the men and women who have died serving in the United States Armed Services.

But Boston's Run To Remember is organized by the Boston Police Department and Boston Police Runner's Club and is specifically meant to honor Massachusetts law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

And coming only six weeks after the horrific bombings at the Boston Marathon which killed 3 people and injured 264, this year was very special and very different.

That act of terrorism and the violent events that followed in the next few days reminded us that, in the war with terrorists, the men and women in the armed forces and those in our police forces are all on the front line and are all putting their lives at risk to protect us in that war.

And we can not forget that, a few days after the bombing, the two brothers who had planted the bombs did murder a Massachusetts law enforcement officer, 27 year old Sean Collier, an MIT police officer. Apparently Officer Collier was planning to run in the Run to Remember this year.

So we remembered Sean Collier. Many runners wore his name and number on the backs of their shirts as they ran.

And we remembered the victims of the marathon bombings, especially the three who were killed, Krystle Campbell, Lü Lingzi, and Martin Richard, only 8 years old.

And we ran in honor of other fallen officers, and with supreme gratitude to the Massachusetts law enforcement officers who tracked down the bombers so effectively and who continue to protect us.

The route started on the South Boston Waterfront, wound through downtown Boston, and then over the Longfellow Bridge and along Memorial Drive in Cambridge, past MIT only a short distance from where Sean Collier was killed. Outside MIT there were dozens of police vehicles from towns all over the state lined up with police officers standing in front of them giving high fives to the runners. There were police officers at every junction and on bridges over the course. They cheered us on. We shouted out our thanks for their service to them.



But most of us were not only running to remember.

Or only to give thanks.

Important as both of those are.



We were running in a spirit of defiance.

How dare these terrorists attack something so harmless and innocent as a running race!

We were running to show that we are not afraid of the terrorists.

We were running to take back the streets.

It was a day I will never forget.

A half to remember.

Running in the Rain?

If you are out for a walk and it starts to rain, should you run or walk home if you want to be hit by the fewest number of raindrops?

Does it matter which way the wind is blowing? Is the answer different for thin people and fat people? If the answer is running, would there be an optimum speed to run or should you just run as fast as you can? What if the rain is coming down sideways? Does it make a difference if it's large raindrops or just a light drizzle?

Compression Socks

I'm a bit slow in noticing new trends.

Probably it's been going on for years but I noticed for the first time at the Newport 10 Miler running race today that a fair number of the runners were wearing knee high socks.

I've seen ladies wearing long socks to run before but I always assumed that they were some kind of fashion statement because they were usually pink or covered in polka dots or little flowers or hearts.

But these socks today were worn by men and women, and they looked "technical" in the way that products look "technical" when they are supposed to do something "technical" that will help you in your sport and the designer wants to make sure that you and everyone else sees how "technical" their product is.

I think they are called compression socks.

Apparently they are supposed to do something to make you run faster or hurt less when you are running or hurt less after you have been running.

There's an article about compression socks on the Science of Running blog. It's about 2,500 words long so let me summarize it for you...

• they might help blood flow
• they might stop your leg vibrating (seriously!)
• they might improve performance
• they might improve recovery
• various experiments have been conducted and results are mixed
• the author tried them out and got the best results by wearing them on the day before the race (go figure!)

I noticed that one lady running near me for most of the race was wearing a fetching pair of lime green calf sleeves. (Hey, what else am I going to look at for 10 miles?)  I guess these are supposed to work in the same way as compression socks.

Why hasn't this technological marvel been adopted in dinghy sailing yet?

You could wear those lime green sleeves on your arms as well as your legs.

Or does a tight wetsuit or tight rashguard have a similar effect?

Further research is indicated.

Newport 10 Miler

If my alarm clock goes off, I will be there tomorrow morning.

What a course!

Choices

I like Laser sailing.

I also like running.

On Sunday there is the first Laser regatta of the season at Fort Adams in Newport.

Also on Sunday there is a new 10 mile running race in Newport, starting from Fort Adams.

The run is earlier in the day than the regatta, but I don't think I am fit enough to do the run and the regatta back to back on the same day. I have to choose one or the other.



I haven't sailed any races in April so far. Done a few solo practice sessions but the regatta on Sunday would be the first opportunity to race this month.

I want to try and do one longer running race - 15k, 10 miles, half marathon - every month if I can. The race on Sunday is my last chance to do that in April.



Running the 10 miler would be good preparation for the half marathon I have registered for at the end of May.

Sailing the regatta would be good preparation for our Laser District Championship on the third weekend of May.



The running race is on a spectacular course along Ocean Drive and past the Newport mansions.

The sailing regatta is in the magnificent natural aquatic amphitheater of Newport harbor and off the iconic Newport waterfront.



The weather will be cool on Sunday morning - perfect for running.

The weather will be sunny with about 10 knots of breeze on Sunday afternoon - perfect for sailing.



There might be beer at the Laser regatta.

Hmmm.

What should I do?

8 Reasons Why Running is Better than Laser Sailing and Other Random Thoughts on the Same Theme

The other day I was looking at the Facebook page of world famous Laser Master sailor John Dawson-Edwards.

Apparently in October last year he celebrated his 66th birthday and after thanking all his friends for their birthday greetings he commented, "My first year as a Great Grandmaster is over and I never went sailing!"

What?

Another Laser sailor bites the dust?

Apparently cycling is John's passion these days.

Actually I seem to remember he was always a keen cyclist.

Except now he races his bike but not his Laser.



Hmmmm.



I'm not a bike racer but I am a runner.

And I've been thinking lately about why running is so much better than Laser sailing...

1. Running is a lot simpler and cheaper than Laser sailing. To run all you need is a pair of sneakers and some season-appropriate clothing. To go Laser racing you need a boat and a new sail and lots of fancy rigging and a drysuit or a wetsuit and hiking pants and hiking boots and a compass and a starting watch and a wind indicators.... there's no end to the stuff you need. 


2. You can run anywhere any time. No wind - you can run. Blowing 30 knots - you can run. Stuck in some motel in some godforsaken state in the middle of the continent with no water in sight - you can run. 


3. In running races you can measure your performance against the clock, against your own previous times. In sailing it's all relative. You might be going fast for you, but if there are 20 other guys going faster, all you know is that you didn't even make the top 20. 


4. It's a lot easier to fit running into a busy schedule. I can step outside my front door, go for a 45 minute run, come home and shower, and be sitting in front of the TV drinking a glass of whiskey 60 minutes after I started. Laser sailing at best consumes a half day, and sometimes a whole week. Who has that sort of free time these days? 


5. Girls. A lot of girls run. I think I read somewhere that these days 60% of the participants in half-marathons are girls (of all ages.) That's a lot more girls than you meet at Laser regattas. Of course I'm happily married, but if I weren't then running would be the ideal sport to meet lots of girls. 





6. You don't get wet when running (unless it's raining.) 


7. You don't capsize when running. 


8. Runner's high. 

I woke up in the middle of last night.

I started thinking about my plans for the month.

There are four weeks left in the frostbiting season.

One Sunday I'm down to do RC.

One Sunday is our wedding anniversary. Actually not just any anniversary. One that ends in a Nought. The family are all coming to help us celebrate. No sailing that Sunday.

Another Sunday there is a 5k running race I would really like to do.

Another Sunday there is a 10 mile running race I would really like to do.




Oh shit.

I think I might be going the way of John Dawson-Edwards.

Anybody want to follow a running blog called Proper Course?

Where am I?

Where am I? 

 And what am I doing?

Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind

Last week was the coldest week of the winter (so far) here in Rhode Island.

On Thursday morning when we drove over to my son's house to babysit our grandsons, it was 4°F.

I went for a run later that day when the temperature was 19°F with the wind chill making it "feel like" 4°F.

I used to have a rule that I wouldn't run when it was less than 20°F. After that run on Thursday I still think that's a good rule. Brrrrr!

But it's surprising how quickly you acclimatize to the cold weather. When it "warmed up" at the weekend to the high 20's it really did feel warm. Well, comparatively warm.

So I started thinking back to January and February in 2010 when, for reasons I can't explain, I really got hooked on Laser sailing in the middle of a New England winter and wrote posts like Brain Freeze and  I Love Winter (which got me into a lot of trouble with CUSOSPUSSTAG but that's a whole other story.)

The forecast for Sunday was for around 10 knots maybe gusting to 20 knots, and for temps in the high 20's maybe even 30. So on Sunday morning I woke up all excited about going frostbiting again. I hitched up the Laser trailer to my trusty Subaru and headed down to Newport.

It was a gloriously sunny day with a puffy shifty north-westerly. (Is there any other kind of north-westerly.)

It was very reminiscent of that I Love Winter day. Similar conditions. Similar feelings.

When I'm frostbiting on days like this and I am doubtful if I will be able to hang in there for all the races, I always get this feeling of a (small) victory as soon as I have launched. Hey, I went sailing today! If I only sail one race I can count it on the journey to 100 days sailing this year. I am already a winner.

I did get a little pain in my fingertips after the first race. But I soon shook it out.

And I did get a mild attack of the dreaded thumb cramps at the end of the third race. I was going to sail in if I couldn't get rid of them. But after a bit of hand stretching I was fine, and I completed all six races.

The air temperature was 31°F. The water temperature was 35.6°F. I never felt cold all day. But there was ice all over the deck when I sailed back to the beach with a big smile on my face.

I have written before how one bad experience can almost put me off Laser sailing for months. The reverse is also true. Sailing on a spectacular day like Sunday has awoken my enthusiasm for sailing in the coldest months of the year again. There's something very special about dragging your boat across a snow-covered beach to launch and then sailing in sub-freezing temperatures. As I said, I can't explain it. It's one of those things that you just have to experience to understand.

And I didn't feel cold at all.

I love winter!

Ice on foredeck after sailing

How to Write about Running Races

I ran in another running race today. The second one this week. This may be the start of a trend.

I feel like I should write a blog post about it, and perhaps an article for my running club's newsletter.

But I really don't how to write about running races.

It's easy to write about my sailing races. Weird stuff always happens. Stuff breaking. Collisions with other sailors and buoys. Bad decisions. (Very occasionally) good decisions. Capsizes. Crazy weather. Crazy waves. Crazy other sailors. It's a laugh a minute.

But in a running race, not much happens. You start. You put one foot in front of the other for a certain distance (4.8 miles today.) You finish. How can you write an interesting article about that?

So I decided to do some research. I looked back through some running blogs and newsletter articles to find out what runners write about, which is presumably the same things that other runners are interested in reading about. And I now present for your education (and as a guide for myself)....

Tillerman's 7 Essential Topics in a Running Race Blog Post

1. Why did you run this race?
Tell us in your opening paragraph why you are running this race. I needed a marathon in Alabama to complete all 50 states. It sounded like a good idea at the time to run an obstacle course. I ran the same course in summer when it was 40 degrees warmer. We were going to run the ABC half-marathon but a tornado destroyed the start pavilion and the race was cancelled but we had a hotel booking so we ran the nearest race we could find.

Whatever. Make it interesting. Spice it up. If in doubt, make it up.

2. The course.
If you want you can describe the magnificent scenery, the amazing views, the historical architecture blah blah blah. But that's optional. What you absolutely must do is describe in excruciating detail the running surfaces - asphalt, concrete, dirt, mud etc. - and the hills or lack of them. Runners really need to know this stuff.

Note: It's perfectly acceptable to exaggerate the hilliness of the course in order to make yourself sound like an even more superfit runner than you really are. Use a thesaurus to find lots of synonyms for words like "mountainous" and "gruelling." If you are lucky, the organizers will use some of your choicest phrases like "gut-busting knee-trembling incredibly steep hills for 15 miles of the course" in their pre-race publicity next year.

3. The weather.
If someone else runs the same race next year the weather will, of course, be totally different. But you were out running in this shit for 5 hours so you have to tell others all about it. Make it sound as extreme as you can.

I like, "And the rain fell, and fell, and fell and fell and fell. And then came the wind," which is from the Rhode Hazard's blog. And I also like, "It was the hottest London marathon ever... 5032 runners were treated by the ambulance service on the course and 73 were taken to hospital," because I wrote it and it is true.

4. The food and the drink.
As Dire Straits sang, "If you wanna run cool, you got to run on heavy, heavy fuel." Food and drink are fuel for runners. Tell your readers in ultimate detail about what the organizers provided in the way of pre-race food and drink, and post-race food and drink, and all the refreshments available at every stop around the course. Focus on major issues like whether the bananas were cut in half or not, and what the temperature of the Gatorade was. (Cold or icy cold?) Feel free to be hyper-critical of the organizers if the food ran out, or if it was not as advertised, or if you just didn't like it. If you don't embarrass them publicly, how will they get any better next year?

5. The trinkets.
It's a well known fact that most runners only run races so they can collect more race T-shirts to add to the 874 they already have in their closet. Or maybe it's because of the coffee cups, bags, tape measures, trivets, casino credit coupons, gus, gels, sun-screen, tubes of nipple lube etc. etc. that are always given away at every major run. Compare the value of goodies amassed to the entry fee. Make a big deal about the medals. Runners love to collect medals.

6. Your injuries.
What's the point of doing a running race if you don't have a few injuries to talk about afterwards? Everyone is always interested to hear about your blisters, chafed ankles, frostbitten nose, sunburn, crotch itch, sore nipples (you didn't use the Nipple Lube that they gave you at the previous race did you?) The more embarrassing the injury the better.

If your injury needs the services of a chiropractor or even better an orthopedic surgeon you have hit the jackpot. And people always love to read about how you threw up at the finish line or had to answer the call of nature at the side of the road. (See section 7.)

7. The Porta-Potties
Last, but definitely not least, you need to report on the Porta-Potty situation. Runners will decide whether or not to run, or not to run, any given race purely on what they have heard about the Porta-Potty situation. How many Porta-Potties were available at the start and around the race course? How long were the lines to use them? How disgusting were they by the time you got to the front of the line? Be scatologically graphic.

OK. That's all I can think of for now. What did I miss?

Celebrating the New Year Tillerman Style

Sunday

I didn't expect to go sailing on Sunday. But I did expect to be on the water.

Encouraged by a friend I had signed up a few weeks ago to be part of the race committee team for the Newport Laser frostbite fleet on Sunday. As I recall it, his logic was that we should do race committee together "before the weather gets really cold." I was all for that. I always find it colder doing RC in the winter than actually sailing. At least when you are sailing a Laser you can usually work up a nice fuggy sweat inside your drysuit.

I kept checking the weather forecast for the weekend all week. It didn't look good. Snow was coming. It was going to be cold. It was going to be windy.

The snowstorm hit on Saturday afternoon dumping several inches of snow. The forecast for Sunday was for 40 mph gusts and mid-teens windchill. Early in the evening an email arrived from the fleet captains...

Weather forecasts are calling for up to 6 inches of snow tonight and then windy and cold tomorrow. If we can safely sail, we will.

Yikes. These guys are serious. Further updates were promised for 9am and 11am on Sunday morning. But they clearly wanted to postpone a decision not to sail to as late as possible, because in the last few weeks the wind forecasts for our sailing areas have not been all that reliable.

I got up on Sunday morning around 7am to make a cup of coffee. I checked the weather forecast. There was a Wind Advisory out for Newport threatening 50 mph gusts. Wind chill was still forecast to be in the mid-teens.

Surely they will cancel sailing, I thought. Certainly if I weren't committed to doing RC I would have decided to skip sailing myself. The wind was already a solid 20 gusting to 30 and forecast to get windier as the day progressed. But I had made a commitment to do RC, so if they sailed I would have to go.

I kept checking my email and Facebook. Nothing by 9am. Nothing by 9:15, 9:30, 9:45... Just before 10 the email arrived...

No sailing today. It might technically be sailable right now, but the breeze is expected to pick up, and the temperature isn't expected to get above freezing. With gusts into the 30s, we're going to err on the side of caution. See you in 2013. Go Pats!

I loved that bit about being "technically" sailable "right now."

With a sense of relief I settled in for a lazy day by the fireside...

---

Monday

I didn't expect to go skiing on New Year's Eve.

I haven't skied since about 2004.

I thought that I was done with skiing.

But my son and his wife had been talking about getting their 7-year-old daughter, Emily, on skis sometime soon. So as I looked out at all the fresh snow on Sunday afternoon and had a glass or two of wine with dinner, or perhaps it was a bottle or two, and perhaps there was something a little stronger too... on an impulse I called my son and asked, "How about we take Emily skiing tomorrow?"

He was way ahead of me.  Not only was he already planning to take Emily skiing, her little brother Aidan (4) also wanted to come. Tillerwoman and I said we would join them.

I then started rummaging around in the back of my closet, looking to see if I had any skiing clothes that still fit me. (I might be a few pounds heavier than I was in 2004.) I found some gear that, while not exactly the height of fashion at St.Moritz for the 2013 season, didn't make me look totally ridiculous.

And on Monday morning we all headed off for Wachusett Mountain in Massachusetts.

We checked the children into the "Polar Kids" program which was excellent. The instructors took care of fitting the children out with boots and skis and helmets, looked after them for three hours, gave them skiing lessons in a safe area fenced off from all the other skiers, and gave them a break in the middle of the session with hot chocolate and snacks, all the time making it fun for them.

As for me, I felt totally strange being on skis for the first time in almost nine years. I just walked around on the skis for a while to get the feel for it all again. Then I braved the chair lift and managed to fall off at the end of the ride. I somehow forgot to stand up!

I slid tentatively down the nursery slope doing some ugly turns. But I did get down in one piece.

Then I went over to where my grandkids were and watched them for a while. They seemed to be doing better than me already.

Emily

I think she is smiling? 

It's not really a look of terror. 

And no she doesn't actually have three arms.

Aidan

Actually he wasn't smiling most of the time.

He looked really glum when he was doing the lessons.

But he always looks that way when he is concentrating.

So do I. 

I usually look totally miserable when photographed sailing my Laser.

But I'm not.

Neither was Aidan.

I then went and skied a bit more. Actually started going faster and making not quite so ugly turns. It all started coming back to me. I think I could get back into skiing again. Maybe I should take a refresher lesson?

The kids had a ball. Couldn't stop talking about all the fun they had had and how they definitely wanted to come again. Until they both fell asleep in the car on the way home.

So that was quite an appropriate way to celebrate the last day of 2012 - the year in which we had also taken Emily and Aidan Laser sailing for the first time.

---

Tuesday

I did expect to go for a run on New Year's Day.

And I did.

Once again I entered for the aptly named Hangover Classic 5 mile road race in Bristol.

I wrote about the 2011 run at The Older I Get The Faster I Was and the 2010 event at Crazy Run Grandad.

As in the previous two times I ran the race, there was snow on the ground making it all the more spectacular.

But it was a lot colder this year. Either that or I am getting older and it felt colder. Whatever the reason I didn't run the race in shorts and T-shirt this year. No sir. Long pants, sweatshirt, hat, gloves, the whole caboodle.

Hurricane Sandy damaged one of the roads on which we normally run, so the course was different this year. The bad news was that this meant that the first and last half mile or so were on a very icy stretch of the East Bay Bike Path. The good news was that the middle three miles or so of the race were on roads in Colt State Park which had been plowed clear of snow this year because they were being used as diversions for the road damaged by the hurricane.

I ran very carefully and slowly on the icy stretches. Didn't want to start the new year by breaking a leg.

But I kept up a pretty good pace (for me) on the middle three miles.

When I checked back in my notes in my running diary (did someone say"anal-retentive"?) I discovered that, in spite of my slow pace on the icy stretches, I actually ran the 5 miles faster than any other 5 miles I ran in 2012, and the middle 3 miles were faster than any other 3 miles I ran in 2012.

So that was quite an appropriate way to start 2013.

Happy New Year!