Winding down for the winter

Well, time to update things. I've been going through a cycle where weekends have been burdened with commitments that have prevented me from getting out to any of the few remaining races this season. I missed the "Ghost Train" race on an abandoned railbed in Brookline, N.H., and also the Manchester Marathon (half marathon for me) last weekend, and this weekend I'll be out of town for an odd annual race in Grantham. (Next year for sure!)

But I'm still running -- more than usual, in fact. Lately, as the days have been growing shorter, I've been fitting in hour-long runs with two of our dogs through the streets and woods of Bedford, N.H., our hometown. We have a heckuva time, first running fairly aggressively on trails through a nearby patch of woods, and then, when the initial excitement dies down, in formation along the sides of roads. Abby and Inca have turned into a good and responsive team, at least after they've calmed down a bit.

Partly, these runs are self-preservation. If the dogs didn't get the exercise, they'd go crazy. (Come to think of it, so would I.) But it's also a reflexive response, I think, to the shortening days at this time of year, and the desire to get in as much outdoor activity before the weather really turns and you have to start thinking of what to wear to not freeze to death or be hit by a car when the roads are narrowed and lined by snowbanks.

So as we enter the home stretch of 2011, I feel I'm in pretty good shape overall. Started by bagging Antrim as Town #113 this past April, and got as far as Lempster as Town #129 last month, passing the half-way point (to #234) along the way somewhere. I may still be able to notch a coupla three races around Thanksgiving, although one of them involves a slog all the way up to Whitefield, N.H., something like two hours one-way. We'll see.

And before you know it, we'll be planning out races for 2012. There's still a sizable number of towns with races that I haven't yet run, but we're getting to the point where I'm going to have to start doing "freelance" races (making them up myself) in some towns to keep the momentum going. After, all it's not likely that the town of Odell (population: 0) is about to hold a 5K anytime soon.

Geez, though. More than half-way there. I might actually finish this quest one of these days...

Rindge (#124) on Saturday, Aug. 6

A belated post on the Rindge "Tour De Common" -- sorry, but it's been than kind of a week.

Nice weather, a little warm but overcast building in, for a 5K race in this town on the Massachusetts line, about an hour's drive from where I live. Not too much prior experience with Rindge, though technically the Jaffrey-Rindge School District was part of my beat when I was education writer for the Keene (N.H.) Sentinel, the local paper, two decades ago.

The only other thing I can think of is that I bought some coins at an auction house here many years ago, too. Another distinction of Rindge is that it's one of only a handful of New Hampshire communities with a one-syllable name. Offhand, the only others I can think of are Lee, Bath, Troy, and Hill. Oh, and Weare. (Where?)

Anyway! Very organized race with a really well laid-out course, too. Starting just above the town common at the police station; first mile drifted steadily downward, then bottomed out. Before Mile 2, we hit a series of upgrades, none of which were soul-destroying, but just enough to keep you focused. (It helped that a woman was continually coming up behind me, then walking, then catching up again, then walking, which kept me from slacking off.) Then, for maybe the last half-mile, it's a long downhill back to the town center, and razor straight and open so you can see who's in front of you and all that.

The net effect of all of this was to just pull me along at a quicker rate than usual, even though the sun was breaking through and starting to heat things up. Finished in 29:07, my fastest time in years! Pace of 9:24, vs. the usual 10-minute mile. I came in 41 out of 73 runners, or just five places out of placing in the top half, a rare occurrence for me.

One weird thing about this one was that after going to my car to change into a non-soaked shirt, I returned to the town common to find a group of woman line dancing as part of the awards ceremony. Hey, whatever. Also, I had a few moments to study the town's veterans memorial, which reads like a language lesson. Class, what tenses are in use here? Pay attention!

As for Canaan on Sunday, Aug. 7, I'm embarrassed to say I overslept and would not have made it up there in time. Let's hope the Canaan Police Department decides to make their "Run From The Law" an annual event so I get another shot.