Cummaquid & Race Report

Cummaquid...my home town, nestled on the north side of Cape Cod facing Cape Cod Bay and surrounded by fields and swamps that are fortunately owned by the Audubon Society. It is here I do most of my running while home on holiday.

A cold rain pelted me relentlessly this morning as soon as I took my first strides down my driveway. I shivered as I ran and tucked my entire body under the brim of my hat. Puddles stretched across the road and were ankle deep. A cold stiff wind blew off the Atlantic and sent the rain down in sheets. Within seconds my wind breaker and shorts were soaked. I shivered and crawled further into my hat. The trails around my home were squishy with water and muck, but it was better than running on the windy beach roads. The goats huddled inside their only shelter and watched as I silently sloshed by. My calves felt sore from the race, but it was a "good sore". I had hoped to keep the pace easy, but it's awfully hard to do when you're running in a cold rain. I ended my run early (after 6.5 miles) knowing I would need to run at least another 3 in the afternoon while marking my high school alumni course with lime and wooden arrows. My HS cross country alumni race is tomorrow. After racing yesterday, I am not in the position to race again tomorrow.

TURKEY TROT RACE REPORT

I got out fairly hard and was trailed closely by someone I had never met and whose name I still do not know since the race results aren't out. I ran by feel, but wanted to go harder vice easier in my first mile to fully throw myself into the mix and into the pain of racing. We made a left and ran along a picturesque herring pond. A giant white swan glanced casually at the 1500+ runners storming past, then nonchalantly turned away and continued to preen. I hit the first mile in 5:12. This felt slow and the marker, in retrospect, was likely off. After glancing down at my watch, I shook my head then stormed up the hill just ahead. This move separated me from runner #2 but sprinting the hill left me gasping for air. I curved through an ancient graveyard then down a long decline. I told myself to get going and it seemed to have worked. I no longer heard the pitty-pat of wet shoes on wet pavement behind me so I eyed the town police car just ahead. I made a hard right hand turn and splashed through a small puddle then saw mile number 2; 10:19. Either I was negative splitting (something I simply don't do in 5ks) or the miles were off. I began to get a minor side stitch but knew I had only 5 minutes left to run. Soon I began to feel the ambiance of the finish line so I drove ahead. I hit mile 3 in 15:02 (wow, a 4:43 last mile he says sarcastically) and then ran the last .1 mile (a minute!?) to the finish line. The emcee announced my name and noted how the sun had just broken through the clouds. He continued this tale as others filed across the finish line: "Jake Klim a 1998 Barnstable High School graduate won the race and as he crossed the tape the sun came out". I shrugged off my new Christ-like status and headed out for a slow cooldown. I ran 15:59, but I think the course was a little long...not a lot, but a little.