Possibly the most fun to ever be had at a 10 Mile race occurred at the revival of the Chill-Out 10 Miler today. [ race photos ] The revival is the brainchild of RunnersMecca, the brash upstart race production company based in central New Jersey. RunnersMecca is currently led by Dave Hoch and Peter Priolo, both uncompromising, outspoken, and experienced athletes and coaches themselves. Their attention to detail, their concern to make the race "runner-centered", and their desire to have their events be fun and unique contributed to the success of the event.

Running a ten miler in February in New Jersey is not exactly something that can be labeled as "fun". It could be cold, windy, and many runners are still getting in shape for spring races. Spectators and volunteers as well as runners could be hard to come by under such conditions. Seaside Heights in February does not have the resort status it has in the summer, and this is not a plush venue with spectator attractions of other long races in New Jersey, such as the Midland Run. Nonetheless, with only about a month of publicity, the Chill-Out attracted almost 300 runners, and more volunteers than one sees at most 5K's. There weren't any bikini-clad spectators or an afternoon on the beach that a summer date may have furnished, but on the other hand, parking was easy and free and the drive down the shore was bereft of the summertime traffic blues.

The race itself was a flat two loop affair with half the race on the boardwalk. Boardwalk running is great for the feet in such a long race so early in the season. The boards provide shock absorption and a little bounce that definitely contribute to a faster run and faster recovery, considering the seasonal earliness of a race of this length. There were six opportunities to grab water or fluid replacement drink over the 10 miles, which is more than some hot weather races. After the race, a free pasta and salad meal was provided to all runners and volunteers.

And then the party continued. I say, "continued" because the race was really the centerpiece literally and chronologically to a weekend of events meant to center around people who run and like to eat and drink. There were discount deals at local hotels for Friday night, a dinner and entertainment by folk musician Spook Handy on Friday evening, and another dinner with entertainment on Saturday evening. Klee's Bar and Grill provided the race with its headquarters, food, and finally $1- Miller Lites. The pints from the tap were only $2.50 if you wanted to replace carbos with more dense stuff.

The indoor awards ceremony featured commentary by Dave Hoch, keeping it much more informative than most. Hoch has been part of the NJ running community as an outstanding runner himself and as a coach for more than 30 years. He has had many careers in his lifetime and finally seems to have found the one that he has been preparing for all this time. Considering his personal relationship with many of the runners he was handing awards to, as well as his stint as a manager in the restaurant business, there is no doubt why this post-race party was so special. This trend is part of all the RunnersMecca race production plans. I believe a large part of the RunnersMecca business plan is, "A race with food and beer is always a success!" Couple that with the fact that if any of the RunnersMecca races did not serve the runners extraordinarily well, Hoch and Priolo would hear it from all their good friends and acquaintances during their continual interaction with them at workouts and races. Runners in New Jersey should be rejoicing with all these factors in their favor! I know this runner will choose a RunnersMecca race on any free date available to run one!

Today's 10 Mile race was won by a relatively new local performer, Jesus Resendez of Perth Amboy at 55:20 in a sprint finish with the well known Elliott Frieder. Kate Fonshell, an Olympian in the 1996 Atlanta games in the 10,000, won the woman's race in 59:50 and was 6th overall.

My personal performance was not good because I need to train more before running hard for 10 miles, but I ran anyway because this race promised to be so much fun. And it certainly delivered on the fun factor. There are things that inexperienced runners do, that the group I was running with during the first few miles were discussing. One thing is they wear their numbers on their back, as Doug Brown was doing. Brown has been first in his age group in the USATF-NJ Distance Running Grand Prix for the last 5 years! Another thing inexperienced runners do is they wear the race shirt given to them in the race, as Charles Gadol was doing. Gadol is veteran of many marathons and ran 1:05 and was 3rd in his age group. And finally, inexperienced runners go out too fast for the shape they are in, as this 30 year running veteran did. Before the race, I predicted I would run 55:50... and then run the last two miles (OK, you had to be there, the joke was all in the timing and delivery). And that was exactly what I ran, after going out at 6:30/mile pace. Just write a big "DUH" in my training log for the day, followed by "BUT THE PARTY WAS GREAT!"



Kate Fonshell
(photo from http://www.fast-women.com/photos/newhaven03/nh29.jpg)

Day 9 of serious training was the RVRR Wednesday Night Run. Ran the 7 miles in 55 minutes, mostly with Mike Ferinden. Pizza party that followed was a great idea - easier and less expensive than Dolls. Avoided drinking beer after running, which is better for recovery, and didn't have to go home smelling like smoke.

Day 8 of serious training amounted to a half hour, 4 mile run. I still felt physically tired, and almost the bagged the run. Glad that I went out because the run felt strong, even though it was relatively short.

Day 7 of serious training was a day of intense skiing and no running. The weather at Belleayre was dazzling - it was cold but sunny and not a cloud in the sky. Skied a lot of bumps and I have to say my thighs were truly tired by 3 PM.

Day 6 of serious training was spent skiing at Belleayre. Did some really good bump runs. Realized that if I take my time I ski them better. Began to realize that I carve better with my right foot than my left some weeks ago. Figured out why that is. At first I was thinking dominant leg may be the reason - but now I think it is because I ice skated in rinks a lot when I was a kid, where you almost always turn left! Carving with my right foot turns me left! That is it! So I try to equal it out as much as possible now that I have gained that insight...

There is more daylight now. It helps in running every day. For the first time in two winters I ran after a ski day. It was for 20 minutes, but it was something. Did ankle flexibility stuff too. I am tierd.

Day 5 of serious training was spent in a comedy of errors, somewhat.

I was supposed to go to the junkyard to pickup the parts I ordered there for the old caravan. I planned to remove the middle and back seats, then to put all the parts in there. Then I could drive it over to the Vo-Tech ACRT shop so they could fix the vehicle. When I went to start her up, the battery was apparantly dead. It had been threatening that since the deer incident.

I went to the local Strauss Auto store, and they were out of the cheaper batteries for the caravan. So I went to K-Mart,and they had it. Got home to install it. First one of the terminals refused to come off - I used a crowbar. Then the bolt that held the old battery in was so rusted and stuck that it took about a half hour to get it out with my ratchet that had about one click of ratchet room in the space in front of the battery...

Anyway, it became too late to pick up the parts. Had to get ready to go skiing. Had to leave the house by 2:15 to get Sherri and Caitlin at the JCC.

So I took a rest day. I needed it anyway!

Day 4 of serious training. Had an elevated HR this morning, legs felt sore last night, only slept about 6 hours per night this week. Needed an easy day, so I jogged easy for about 24 minutes, to the post office in Dunnellen and back - about 3 miles. Did all the supplementary stuff. Tomorrow will be a challenge because we are heading up to Belleayre. I will have to do an early AM run if I am going to run at all. After that I am taking Sherri to work and Caitlin to school. Jeffrey is off. We will have to go to the junkyard to get the parts for the Caravan. Then it will be back here to pack up the car and go back to pick up Sherri and Caitlin. Hopefully, for once, we can beat the traffic up there and have a relaxing dinner out.

The weekend is supposed to be really cold. Saturday better than Sunday. Sunday's high is supposed to be 6 degrees F, with wind. I have to go count the handwarmers and get more if there are less than 8 pairs.

Day 3 of serious training. Ran with the RVRR group run. Ran the first 4 miles mostly with Bill P. Talked a lot about skiing and Belleayre and other stuff like kids, school, education. Bill is just learning to ski in his 50's. He also has a house near New Paltz. He brought his step-grandchildren skiing at Belleayre and was describing his ordeals with Kids' Camp... He had asked me about it before he brought them and I did warn him. I also did a lot of complaining about the current state of NCLB, and how it impacts my own son - that grade 4 has been mostly "teach to the test".

Bill left the run and I bridged up to Dave H. and John N. Dave joined the run for the last 4 miles. Talked a lot about racing and running. Dave is so psyched about running right now. I complimented him on how his attitude in life really changed a lot over the past couple months. Chill-Out sounds like it is going to be a really fun time. He also talked about his "OO-La-La" 4 Mile race that might happen in May. Combine an all male race and a go-go bar, with MeccaBucks for the dancers and servers... wow, what a concept! I hope it is not one of the weekends I may be teaching WSI!

Did the 7 miles in 1:02. My thighs hurt a little. Probably from running too much too soon after just skiing and jogging for the last 6 weeks. Did ankle flexibility stuff, but missed the core and ankle stregthing today. Need some sleep.

Day 2 of serious training. Beautiful day. "False Spring" outside. Ran 7, did all the ankle and core strength stuff.

Roger Price gave me a photo at the RVRR banquet of me running in the USATF 5K X-C Championships in November 2003 at Holmdel Park. It is right after coming up from "The Bowl".



Here is a detail from that photo:



OK, so I can't help with comparing it with this photo, taken November of 1976 in Holmdel Park! - scanned from a collage in my high school yearbook. I really think it was also taken in the vicinity of "The Bowl". Note the eyes and the hand position!

Serious training started today. Before today it was all just skiing and jogging in 2004. Ran a big 4 miles this afternoon. Did my sit-ups, ankle flexibility and strengthening, and push-ups. I still have some pain in my left ankle from the November 2003 injury. I noticed i had a lot less flexibility in my ankles than when i last did ankle flexibility exercises. That was about 4 years ago....

Ran a loop through Green Brook Park. The brige on Clinton Avenue has been out for about 9 months. I noticed that it looked complete enough to walk across, even thought the barriers are still up to prevent cars from crossing. There is still a lot of construction equipment there, and the job is not finished yet. I guess it is on hold because of the snow.

As I ran through the park, I realized how much I missed doing loops that include that park. I hate having to repeat the same road out and back when running east from here. The park makes most of my easterly runs more loopy, and adds the peacefulness of the park, of course, to the course.

Can you tell by that last sentence that I have been reading Lemony Snickett?

Hey, here is something cool i just learned at PCMag.com: By entering the following JavaScript into the address line of Internet Explorer, you will get a pop up dialog box with the true URL of the site you're on.

javascript: alert(location.hostname)

Had a beautiful weekend skiing at Belleayre. Took some really nice photos, too. Check them out here!

This one makes a nice wallpaper for you computer:

I just had some more bounces with the blogger URL embedded as HTML. I changed my signaure to plain text, finally. That works!