Sunday Run

This week’s training run will be held on Saturday, at 8AM, from Brueggers. We do this so people don’t use the excuse of the Sunday run to miss the MRC Summer Party Saturday Night or to use the excuse of the Summer Party to miss the Sunday Run. We’ll run Saturday morning, party Saturday night, and recover (from either the run, the party, or both) on Sunday morning.

The route this week will be our first of many training runs to follow part of the old Melrose Half Marathon route. Take a peek at the map (see the link on the sidebar on the right of the blog for the maps) and know where you’re going. We’ll hit some hills on the way out the Fellsway East, circle Spot Pond clockwise, and return along the LynnFells. Half Marathon trainers will cut along the front side of the pond to Pond St.

This loop is challenging and it will be a warm morning so I’m planning to have two water stops instead of the usual one. The first/third stop will be near the Mobil Station on Highland Ave, the second will be in the parking lot on the other side of Spot Pond near the other Mobil Station. Volunteers to help with the water stop. Peter mentioned not running but helping with the water stop. If he can meet us at Brueggers and handle the stop on Highland Ave, then I just need someone to pick me up in the morning on the South St side of the pond.

 So who’s in for the run? Please post here.

(For those who can’t make the Saturday Run, Walt has plans to go on a Sunday Run early, watch the MRC forum for more information)

This morning we started training for fall marathons and half marathons galore. Be it through the vineyards of Brodeaux, France, or the shores of the Cape or Maine, or the mills of Lowell or Manchester today was the first step towards reaching the goal of running a marathon or half marathon.

Eleven of us met up to begin our training. Walt, sweaty from his pre-run 6 miles took the lead with Barry, who didn’t plan on sweating due to a lack of fluid in his body caused by tipping back a few the night before. These two pulled away from the rest of us as we headed up Main St to the LynnFells. With a wind at our back so we couldn’t feel it, a hot morning sun beating down on us, and humidity in the air we made our way to Main St in Saugus. Work related talk filled the air as everyone caught up with the current events of what we all do when we aren’t running. Ginny, Molly, Evan chatted ahead of Lois and I, while Kaj and Beth Ford talked behind us, and Matt and Steve Hamilton behind them. Evan and Beth took Howard St back to Melrose for a 4.2 mile run while the rest followed through the hills to Farm St… all except Barry who went straight on to Breakheart and looped around to get a few extra miles in and still catch back up with the group. As we approached the water stop Liz beeped and waived on her way to meet us for the final 4 miles.

Walt was the first one to hit the water stop at Wakefield HS. In his fervor to get at the much needed Gatorade and water in my trunk, Walt opened the front door and feverishly pulled every lever he could find: hood, gas tank, maybe even reclined a seat or two and pulled on the emergency brake before finally finding the trunk release…  this is when he discovered that the latch for my hood is rusty and the hood, once open, doesn’t close completely without the help of a screwdriver. With many apologies Walt headed out as the rest of us replenished our fluids. While I drank I stuck my head under the hood to try to fix it and by the time I was done the rest of the crew had snuck away with a head start to Water St.

The second half of the run felt much different than the first with a strong headwind cooling us down. As we made our way over to Main St in Wakefield and back towards Melrose there were some MRC sightings along the way.  Brian Gilroy was spotted in a car near the Omlette place in Wakefield, Rick Collette was seen at an ATM taking out his entry fee money for the Khoury’s Summer Steamer held this morning, and Dan Slattery was found getting in a run of his own along Main St.

The cool breeze kept the pace strong past Greenwood and Franklin, by the LynnFells and Ell Pond, and back to Brueggers. All the runners streamed into the finish one by one in good form, each looking ready for the voyage to our autumn goals.

(Note: Next week we’ll be running on Saturday morning to allow MRC long runners to participate in the MRC Summer Party Saturday night without worrying about getting up to run in the morning. Plan accordingly)

Ok, I guess Walt, Ginny, and I are the only ones willing to commit to a specific race for the fall.

This week we’re heading out to Farm St with a water stop for the long runners at Wakefield HS. I’ll provide the water stop but will need a ride to get me back in to Brueggers. From there we’ll loop back along Main St for 8.8 miles. For half marathon trainers the route takes you out the LynnFells and back Howard St  for 4.2 miles with no planned water stop. If you want we can work something out for you waterwise though, just let me know.

OK, so far we have Walt, Mike, Ginny, and myself running Sunday. Here’s where I ask you to reply so I know roughly how many people are going to be there to ensure plenty of Gatorade, water, and Snickers bars… also when people see all the fun and exciting long runners listed they won’t be able to resist joining us. So who’s in?!

The focus of the Sunday Long Run program is to prepare MRC runners (and anyone else that wants to join us) for upcoming marathons and half marathons. You can learn more about how our program works by clicking the “about” link on the sidebar to the right. Beneath that you’ll see the training plan for the upcoming session. This plan is geared toward preparing for the Baystate Marathon/The Sun 1/2 Marathon in mid October. If you aren’t running either of those, or you have your own plan you wish to follow, feel free to join us and tailor the distances as needed.

I’ve added links to fall races in the sidebar. If you haven’t picked something to train for yet this’ll give you some ideas of marathons and half marathons in the Northeast this fall. If you have picked something already please post here who you are and what you’re training for, it helps to train as a group if we know what everyone is training for.

If you have any questions/comments/suggestions about the Sunday Long Run and the training schedule you can either post them here or e-mail me at JimCarson@MelroseRunningClub.com.

See you Sunday at 8AM at Brueggers!
Jim