Sunday morning we woke up really early to try to leave the house around 5 in the morning. Lowell, was about an hour drive and we needed to get our bib number so we left we some time to spare. Juan drove and we got to Lowell just after 6 in the morning and found a parking garage that was really close to the starting line which was great. We went to get the bib and shirt and had plenty of time before the 8am start. The weather was ideal in the high 40s low 50s and about an 11mph wind. So I knew I could definitely run a good time with the conditions. The town started as a factory town with lots of big factories buildings that had been restored to now be apartments and offices. The architecture was real neat and the town was really picturesque. The course consisted of two 13 mile loops that went around the town. I got ready and job a bit in the parking garage. Plenty of porta potties were available which was great since there was no waiting. At the start I got to the very front and Juan stayed back a bit since he was looking at a slower time. At the beginning the first two miles were around 6 min pace and the third mile I slowed down to about a 6:30. I kept running around that pace until I was sucked in by a group of about 6 runners that were running together. At that point I told myself that I needed to run with these guys because the wind was pretty significant and they would keep me with a consistent pace.
The course was on the side of the road and they had some cones to divide the runners from the cars. I made sure to tuck in with the other runners to try and get a bit of a shield from the wind especially when the wind was coming head on. We passed the 10 mile mark around 1:02:30 which was a good pace. I had four hammer gels in my shorts and was taking them every 5 miles. The group stayed together and I made sure to stay with them as we were finishing up the first loop.
At half way mark one of the runners had a buddy that joined the group and the group started to dwindle. I somehow got a burst of energy and went with the runner and his friend. They were pretty tall guys so they blocked my wind pretty well. We sped up and were running right around 6 on the second loop. I told myself just hang on for as long as you can, at least so they can block the wind. At around mile 19 my legs got real heavy and I had my last hammer gel. This was the point in the race that I just wanted to keep going and knock off one mile at a time. The wind was at my back and I was going a bit downhill which helped with the pace. I was running by myself at this point so I just wanted to be consistent. I believe I past 20 miles at around 2:04 which was still a consistent pace. The last 10 km was painful to say the least. I kept just kept trying to get to the next mile and from mile 23 to 24 it felt like forever. At this point there was a bit of crowd support so that help me push the last bit. I believe I was in 15 place at that point and was passed by the first female which was going really quick. I tried to stay with them by my legs were just trying to stay consistent. The last mile was a right turn on a pretty bridge and long straight away then a left towards the finish line. Once I made the left turn I got a second wind and was able to finish strong.
The race was very well organized, the weather was nearly perfect, and I felt like I put 100% on that day. I knew my training had been interrupted so I was very proud of what I did considering the training. Juan also did well, he mentioned he was looking at 4 hours and he was about 30 minutes faster. I almost missed him at the finish line as he was coming in thinking he was coming in later that day.
After the race we went to Manchester NH and toured the area. Overall excellent race that was relatively cheap 80 bucks and it wasn't too much of a hassle to get too. I enjoyed the smaller towns in Massachusetts. I would definitely like to go back and run some good times. Special thanks to Juan and Cara for their hospitality and driving me around.
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