Flashes of Panic

I broke a streak today, but it was one of those “get it over with” streak-breaks.

In 2002, my last good racing season, I ran the Fresh Pond race twice, and won it both times. The Fresh Pond race is something like the Northampton Tuesday Night cross-country races: it’s low-key and happens weekly over the same course. The Fresh Pond race is different in that (a) it’s free, and (b) it happens all year, every Saturday morning. Also, the Fresh Pond course allows for two races in one: 2.5 miles (one lap of the pond) or 5 miles (two laps.) The winning times vary greatly according to who shows up (as they do at many races,) and sometimes you’ll see some impressive names there for a workout.

In January ‘02, I showed up because A was taking photos at the Terrier Classic, and Fresh Pond was nearly the only race in Massachusetts that weekend that wasn’t a 5k. I wanted to run a steady effort, but I got excited and ran too hard in the first mile, found myself in the lead, and found myself in a duel that actually lasted into the last mile of the race. I ran in the low 28s, faster than I’d been for many years; the runner-up and I agreed that neither of us had planned on running so hard. Marie Davenport, who’s now a 31-minute 10k runner but was struggling then, was third. A week later I won the Greenfield Winter Carnival 4-miler in a PR for the distance (something of a story itself); two weeks after that I crashed and burned at the USATF XC winter nationals.

In December of ‘02, I was in town for a Friday night dinner with friends. I spent the night with Joe and Julia, then Joe and I ran Fresh Pond. It was a much easier race—I think Joe was second or third—but I had struggled in my PR marathon in October and hadn’t really bounced back. I was feeling the first twinges of the ITBS that would hamper my training early in 2003. But I ran, and won, and bookended the year with wins at Fresh Pond.

Today A and I ran down, about a 23-minute run from our house in Medford, and signed up about five minutes before the race. (Entry is free, but you still have to sign the waiver. “If I’d known it was free,” said A, “I would’ve done it sooner!”) I thought I was being unnecessarily restrained in the first mile, but by the end of the second I knew I was going to have a hard time holding on to the pace. I told myself it was a tempo run, and steady pace from beginning to end was the key. I think it was steady—I even ran the second lap a touch faster than the first—but it was tough. I clocked 35:33, notably faster than the 4th of July on a flatter course. I’d love to credit the shadow of a hill workout I did on Thursday, but I don’t think I’d see the benefits that fast. I took the #7 popsicle stick; A had #6. She was the first woman, so by tradition she’ll be in the Boston Globe tomorrow. (The top three in each race are invariably in the Globe’s agate on Sunday, through a deal the race’s founder wrangled with a long-departed sports editor.)

I should still be able to handle a minute (or more) per mile faster, but I’ll take this for now. A hill workout, even an abbreviated one, and a hard pace run in a week. If I keep this up for a few more weeks, I might get into good enough shape to actually train.

Now Playing: Girl In The War from The Animal Years by Josh Ritter