Run Your Age - Year 43 Edition

A few weeks ago, I took on "run my age" for the 9th consecutive year. This year I turned 43 and decided to run out to the end of Winthrop / Deer Island and then up Revere Beach.  Like last year, Becca joined me for the whole run.  

We started the run off at the Belmont track at 4:30am where Karalyn joined us for the first 15 miles.  It was in the low 60s, but with fairly high humidity. Most of the first 5 miles were uneventful as we cut through Harvard and Union Square.  Our first stop (unintended) came at the Chelsea Street bridge 10 miles in.  We had to wait about 10 minutes as the bridge was up to let an oil tanker through.  

From there the route got a lot prettier as we made our way out to and around Winthrop and then Deer Island.  It probably has been over 30 years since I last went to Winthrop.  It really is a beautiful area, but as for Boston traffic goes, nearly impossible to get to.  

At the southern most point of Winthrop, you enter an area called Point Shirley and a nice beach before you reach Deer Island.  We were now 15 miles in and this is where Karalyn dropped so she could get back in time for her 8am meeting.  I'm sure the Uber driver was excited to see a runner soaked in sweat get in the back of their car.  

Whenever I go on these long adventures that start at some absurd time, Amy always says, "It isn't the fact that you do this that impresses me, it is that you find others to do it with you." For this, I think both Becca and Karalyn need an extra shout out for starting so early with me.  

Deer Island is another interesting location.  It was once a true island, but became attached to Winthrop in 1938 as the result of a deadly hurricane and cyclone.  Today it has a lovely paved bike path that encircles it with a waste water treatment plant in the middle.  When you are at the southern most point, it is really cool, as you truly feel like you are in the middle the Boston Harbor. 

Next up, we worked our way North, first through the Winthrop Highlands and then along Revere Beach.  We eventually turned off at Sullivan Park and found a 7/11 to gets some snacks and refresh our liquids.  We had reached the half way point of our day.  

The next 7-8 miles were fairly nondescript as we worked our way across Malden and into Melrose.  It was getting warm and now that we had crossed the marathon we were starting to feel it a bit (or at least I was, Becca seems immune to heat and fatigue).  Soon we would meet up with Shawn and we were looking forward to some additional company. 

Right after my watched beeped for the 32nd time, I managed to catch the lip of a raised cement curb and went down hard my left knee.  After immediately pausing my Garmin, I wallowed in pain for about 5 minutes before finally getting up. I had hit it pretty hard and had a good size scrape on it.  Becca, already prepared with band-aids, tried to help out, but with the amount of sweat, they just wouldn't stick.  I also commend Becca here as she didn't even asked if we needed to stop knowing I would have to be near fatally injured before I would have aborted the run. 

After this, I slowed a bit (all previous miles were below 9 min), but was able to just keep chugging on.  Less than a mile later we picked up Shawn, complete with his birthday hat as we worked out way into Stoneham.  

We had some rolling hills here and I kept falling back from the two of them and then catching back up at the next light.  The heat was taking its toll.  I just kept telling myself, you've had worse, and just focus on moving forward.  A few miles later we got to Winchester Center and Duane joined in.  It was really nice to catch up with Duane after not seeing him much since he moved out of Belmont a few years ago.  

The last 5 miles or so were a bit of a death march.  I got it back together for the final mile on the Belmont track to finish the run in a time of 6:16:31 (8:45 / mile).  All and all a pretty good run and really happy with my pace and effort (13 minutes / 27 seconds per mile faster than last year).  

As with previous years, I ran a NF Northeast fundraiser on Facebook in conjunction with the run and was able to raise $1760 ($358 more than last year).  A special thank you to all those that ran with me and supported us again.  

Thank you

- Scot