Used this morning for some early morning cross training. Headed out on the bike for a 21 mile ride through Bridgewater, Middleborough and Halifax. Always good to take some time off of the pounding the knees can take with running and the bike ride was a great way to get a good sweat in nice and early. Pretty humid out there this morning, so getting 21 miles in before 8AM was perfect!

In August I will be taking part in Harpoon Brewery’s Point to Point ride which is a 115 mile ride through Vermont which raises funds for The Vermont Foodbank. If you are interested in supporting me, here is a link for information on how that can be done! Click the make a donation link.

Donation Page for Harpoon Point to Point

Running ventures took me to Norwood, Massachusetts today for the 9th Annual Joseph & Rose Gilio Memorial 5k. Prior to race time it was about 78 degrees and overcast but of course lining up to the start the sun broke free and post-race it was up to 84 degrees in the sun.

The course is an out and back loop that begins and ends at St. Timothy’s Church in Norwood and runs through a quiet suburban neighborhood. Between miles 1 and 2 are pretty flat but from the start to 1 and from 2 to the finish you are going up and down some pretty good rolling hills the entire time.

The race raises funds for the St. Timothy’s Social Outreach Program and today’s race had about 160 runners and walkers taking part. Nice tee-shirts and New Balance running socks were given to those pre-registered and there was plenty of post-race hydration available.

Finished the race today in 23:54 or 7:43/mile. A little slower than last week’s running but coming off a terrible headache on Friday so I will take it.

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After yesterday’s 10k in Plympton, today took me to Boston, Massachusetts for the Harpoon 5 Miler. The race starts and finishes at the Harpoon Brewery and there are few places better to finish a 5 mile race.

The course takes you through South Boston and is a pretty flat 5 mile course. There are a few small rollers mixed in between miles 2 and 3 but for the most part the course is a course you can pick up some pretty good speed on. The race makes its way past Murphy’s Law, which is a Southie landmark bar famous in part because of its role in the film Gone Baby Gone.

Coming into the finish line, the crowd grew pretty large and the enthusiasm along the course was pretty good. Two water stops were on the course and each mile was marked with a large poster complete with a Harpoon bottle noting the mile. Of course, at each mile you could hear the folks cheering you on with a “…keep running, beer is at the finish line.”

The post-race was quite expansive and each runner received a plastic pint glass and beer tickets. Just about the freshest Harpoon beers you can find were served and I opted for their Belgian Pale Ale, and though it was before 11AM, I figured with running two races in one weekend I had earned it. Though I only stuck around for one and a bite to eat, it looks like the after party was going to be blast.

I completed the Harpoon 5 Miler in 36:23 or 7:15/miles. This is one of my fastest 5 mile races ever!

This morning my racing travels took me to Plympton, MA for the 24th Annual Strawberry Shortcake Road Race. This is a 10k course through Plympton where you run past cranberry bogs, horse farms, older farmhouses and through residential neighborhoods. The race is a pretty challenging course with a couple of good hills mixed in between miles 3 and 5 coupled with another pretty decent uphill right past the mile 5 marker. The weather today was a bit humid and the mosquitoes were certainly out in full force but since we haven’t seen the sun around here in what seems to be weeks, the race weather was perfect.

The course is quite well done in terms of organization and youth clubs (Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, etc.) man the water stations along the course. There is not much in terms of any fan support out on the course but coming back into the finish some cheering crowds greeted runners.

After the race, the name of the race is abundantly clear since strawberry shortcake is the food of choice. The shortcake is done right with biscuits and not the sponge discs, added bonus!

I felt really good out on the course and the hills did not slow me down too much. I had a pretty good burst of energy left in the tank at the mile 5 marker, so I )wanted to kick it in for the last 1.2 miles. (Actually, another runner with a GPS watch said the race was really 6.32 miles but who’s counting?) I had just enough left to keep up a pretty steady pace coming into the finish and had a really strong 10k finish.

Finished the 24th Annual Strawberry Shortcake Road Race in 49:13 or 7:55/mile.