Take My Breath Away

It's no secret: I love spectating races.

Don't get me wrong, I love racing, too. But there are some weekends where the racing action is so intense, so exciting, that they have the ability to light a fire under everyone. When one person does well, it's cool. When dozens of people do well, it's a movement.

And that's precisely what this past weekend is. While I wouldn't rank it ahead of weekends like Boston, Baltimore, Rockville or Club Challenge, the Shamrock 5k is in the upper echelon of event weekends. This year we had people scattered all over, from the land of the pilgrims to the shores of Virginia.

Saturday was the race formerly known as the National Marathon and Half Marathon. The event organizer, who shall remain nameless, is fortunate that this race was established before they inherited it. The half is a fun race; you take a nice little trip throughout DC while experiencing a challenging hill in the middle. Then you get to take in one of my absolute favorite views: running head-on towards the Capitol. Max Hacker ran an incredible race, setting a personal best of 1:13:44. I'd say he's squarely on track for a grand performance at Boston. Chrissie Ramsey was in 2nd place at mile 11 before she came roaring back to win the race for the 2nd time in 3 years. Her time of 1:19:27 was a little slower than her time last year (1:18:45ish) which got her 3rd. A win is a win! Megan DiGregorio ran 1:23:26, which was about 23 seconds faster than she ran there last year. There were also big performances from Alley Firey, whose 1:48 was faster than she ended the 2013 season, and Stephanie Granlund, who ran an 11 minute PR and nearly broke 2 hours (2:00:14).

The marathon was highlighted by Curt Forst's 2:53:40. Ryan Dietrich finished at 3:06:43, and Dave Ploskonka guided his 3:10 group into a 3:09:44 finish. Dave Alianiello ran 3:48, and the milestone of the day went to Pete Mulligan, who ran his 50th marathon!

Sunday morning was a big one for Cory Donovan. He'd been targeting the Virginia Beach Shamrock Marathon since shortly after Chicago last fall. We all know Cory is a pretty enthusiastic guy to say the least, and his excitement was boundless throughout this miserable winter as he churned out week after week at 80+ mpw, recording a high week of over 90 miles. He was fit and ready to take on the race. He came through the half in 1:31, and ran well through 22, when the winds picked up and impeded his progress. He held onto finish at 3:11 and a two minute PR.

A couple of the guys headed up to Massachusetts for the New Bedford Half Marathon. To quote the locals, this is one wicked pissa of a race. Nate Brigham had an off day, running 1:13:30, but that was only good enough for 67th! And it's not like it's a cake course on a perfect day. No, it's hilly, and it was cold and windy. Nick Klastava has been In the Zone after kicking his season off with that GW 10k. He ran a 1:17:45 for a PR himself, and finished right with former Falls Road employee and now MA resident, Rory Jenkins.

And then it was time for the fastest 5k around, the Shamrock 5k. The race keeps getting bigger and bigger and the field gets clownier and clownier. But hey, it's still better than a Color Run, am I right? With a couple of the favorites out of commissions, due either to illness/injury or failure to register, it was anyone's race...or so we thought. From the gun Erik Anderson had the lead, and built it up to a comfortable margin as he cruised to the win in 14:46. But, giving chase behind was Dustin Meeker, who ran an incredible 15:05. This knocked out his old personal best of 15:17 set at last year's BAA 5k. 2nd place earned him some ducats and provided some confidence that his training is working!

Ed Aramayo was next up in 15:49 (6th) and Dan Miranda was 7th in 16:04. That's a 9 second PR for him, and it came on the heels of a 20 mile run the day prior. Jason Farber came in at 16:40, and I was really glad to see Arjun Majumdar have a strong run at 16:55. Kris Simms, another year older now, ran 17:04, and big Tom Stack finished at 17:25. Joel Brusewitz crossed the line about 10 pounds heavier than normal but managed a respectable 18:04 (hey, he and his wife just had a kid, I'd say it's okay). Jon Miller came through at 18:17 and Tom Stott, who hasn't raced in a year and a half after breaking the same bone in his foot twice last year, put forth a great effort to get under 19 minutes.

The ladies race was one for the ages. A year ago it was Melissa Majumdar taking the win in a new PR of 17:40, ahead of Meg D at 17:48. This year Meg wanted to regain her title, but she had her work cut out for her. With 1200m to go it was a pack of 4 women and looked like it could come down to a kick. Meg mitigated that circumstance and took the win in a new PR of 17:34 (the day after her 1:23 half!) and Melissa Tanner ran the fastest 5k for her in a few years, taking 2nd in 17:42. Amy Horst (running as Christa Wagner) hasn't been running a ton lately, so her 19:01 was somewhat of a surprise - but an awesome one! And Sara Damiano's 20:29 was a minute PR.

Incredible performances make me excited to get out and race. I will continue to patiently bide my time until my season kicks off, and in the meantime I'll just watch all of you!

We awarded this week's Purple Drink Athlete of the Week to Dusty. Then it got cold, and snowed again.

I Ain't Got No Worries

Preliminary Results from today's National Half Marathon (and Marathon) a.k.a. the Rock n Roll USA Half Marathon:

Working their way up through the field to finish in 7th and 9th were Nate Brigham (1:10:06) and Dustin Meeker (1:10:46). Great effort for both, particularly Nate, who earlier this week had to cut his workout short on Tuesday and was not confident that he'd go under 1:12. Andy Sovonick had some...er...umm...stomach issues that prevented him from making it to his corral's start on time. But perhaps starting in the back helped him out, because he blazed through the pack to finish in 1:15:49.

Running together probably wasn't part of the plan, but the next couple of folks came in pretty close to each other. Chrissie Ramsey, a former winner of this event, ran a very smart race. Her first few miles were well over 6 minute pace, and she just worked them down, finishing in 3rd at 1:18:46. Just behind was Brennan Feldhausen, who was running through this one. He finished at 1:18:52.

Race of the day went to Joel Gladfelter, hands down. Joel sometimes looks like he's tapped early on in the race, and usually empties the tank to get to the line. But this time the aggressive tactic paid off, as he PR'd - BIG - running 1:19:09. Joel thought he could run under 1:20, and this blew it out of the water. I can't remember the exact time but this has to be a 3 minute PR.

Not having their best days, Dan Miranda and Matt Franco gave it what they had, and got across the line. I guess that's all I have to say about that.

Terence Baptiste was there, and it was great to see him smiling and having fun on course. He ran 1:23:00. Megan DiGregorio, who got a last minute bib, decided to run, and kept a controlled effort in her 1:23:49 run. This would have been a PR prior to New Orleans, and she said she felt good about the run. Great race for Sara Damiano, who narrowly missed breaking 1:40 (1:40:10). Pete Mulligan finished up at 1:43:01, and Jen Koshy was there and came through at 1:47:47.

In the awful, foolish Marathon, Dave Ploskonka had a good run, crossing the line at 3:08:12, and Cory Donovan, just a few weeks removed from his New Orleans Marathon, ran 3:30:36.

Oh and Lil Wayne - get better buddy.

Posting Videos to Facebook

Do you guys know how to do this?  Anyone?

Consider this weekend recap part deux, the non-Forget Towson edition.  Early Saturday morning up in Hampstead, the multisport season kicked off with the St. Patrick's Day Duathlon.  Alyssa Godesky finished 2nd here a year ago, just as she was beginning her year-long assault on triathlon.  This year she was the clear favorite, armed with a significantly faster run and strong bike.  But "green"horn Christa Wagner was going to give her a run for her money, on the runs, at least.  Alyssa and Christa ran together for most of the opening 5k, before Christa took off down a steep hill and entered T1 with a few second lead.  Alyssa breezed through transition and out onto the bike course, and her split had her up by 7 minutes as she entered T2.  Christa, meanwhile, rode a great race in her first racing effort on a bike, and maintained her position.  While Alyssa cruised to the win, Christa blitzed the 2nd run (2.5 miles) and finished 2nd in her first ever duathlon.  Christa had the fastest runs of the day.

Out in Fredneck, PJ Anderer doubled down on racing action, running the Francie's Family 5k in the morning, placing 7th in 20:51, and later in the day running the Forest of Needwood (twss) 5 Miler, where he finished 17th in 37:11. 

Down in Florida, it was Becky Parks vs the Snowbirds at the Lehigh 4 Miler.  Following Lehigh's miraculous win over Duke on Friday night, Becky validated the race's namesake by snatching the W in 25:13.

DC was overrun by Rock n Rollers on Saturday morning, but at least a handful of people were out there to race.  Unlike years past, when the event has typically been contested in temps in the mid 30s to low 40s, conditions were downright mild, as morning temperatures were already in the upper 50s.  Terrific if you're out for a stroll along the Mall, checking out Cherry Blossoms, but potentially tough for a hard run.  Dan Miranda never found his rhythm, and ended up disappointed with his 1:22:17.  The good news: he's got time to figure things out ahead of Boston, but always tough to not have the performance you expected to have.  And somehow the mystical powers of going into races undertained led Sara Spears to a new half PR of 1:51:33 - way to go S.!

Sunday was a day of big races: the NYC Half and Shamrock Marathon in VA Beach.  Up in New York, Sam Wollner gave chase to the big boys for as long as he could - but after about a quarter mile they were out of sight and he just focused on his race (psyche - he just ran his race the whole time!).  Sam's winter of running was rewarded with a minute PR, 1:31:48.  Sara Damiano also PR'd, but just a couple of seconds, but took it nonetheless.  She ran 1:41:01. 

Down in Virginia Beach it was the Race That Almost Wasn't.  When I saw Conrad Laskowski at UMBC on Saturday morning I thought "hmm, interesting, doesn't Conrad have a race in Virginia Beach tomorrow?" and sure enough, he did.  His plan was to drive down at night, and have his packet delivered to his hotel.  Only that option closed two days prior, and his hotel was not eligible for drop-off.  Thanks to Dave Ploskonka, indirectly, the potential race-ending-before-it-started crisis was avoided, and C-rad made it down in time to toe the line.  He was rewarded with a 7th place finish and a new PR of 2:36:58.  Dave, pacing the marathon, ran 3:14:55.  Denise Knickman was 9th among women in 3:09:02.

Great racing all around, and a great weekend of basketball too!  I would like to commend myself for being spot on with some of my picks.  Unfortunately, Sunday was a rough day, but the good news for me is that I get to stay up really late watching heart-gnawing games from tomorrow through Sunday again this week!

Our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week was awarded to Sam Wollner.  Sam has been working very hard and it shows - he's keeping up with a speedier group on Mondays, and has been having some amazing Tuesday track workouts.  Sam has fins for feet, but, like Ariel, is starting to find his legs.  And he didn't even have to give up his Voice.  Mondays, on NBC.

And we gave our NOS Award this week to Christa, who seriously hit that button hidden in her ashtray on Saturday!

Track last night - good workout, but surprised by the small turnout.  With 70 degrees and daylight, you'd have thought more people would have showed!  We did, however, see the return of Rodney "Stick" Timpson (now 47 years old), Jordan Orr, and JOEL BRUSEWITZ.