Last Saturday afternoon I participated in my first competition for the newly formed NSDA-RI Road Racing Team, the St. Mary’s Feast 5.5-Miler. Under gray skies and breezy conditions my aide/guide Nathan and I took to the streets of the Knightsville section of Cranston to mark the beginning of this new inclusive (able-bodied and disabled) athletic program
Because this program is fairly new I was the sole representative of the group. Being in the midst of training for two marathons coming up this fall my sprinting speed is not what I’d like it to be, but I went out there to run the best time I could.
As I started 35 minutes before all of the other runners I felt a little tight but very strong. Having rained before the race my footing was kind of slick but I’ve been training on all surfaces recently so this didn’t hamper me much. I passed the mile-1 mark in just under 17 minutes. This was slower than my average mile but faster than I usually start a race. It takes me a while to get warmed-up and find my rhythm, but the longer I go the stronger I seem to get. This is great in a long race such as a marathon, but in shorter distances I tend to press myself to get into this rhythm much sooner.
As the race went on I continued to feel strong and slowly picked up my pace. I passed the 3-mile mark in slightly over 49 minutes. Right there I was four minutes behind my target pace and with the hilliest portion of the race yet to come I just hoped I could keep that pace and not lose anymore valuable minutes.
As we were approaching the 4-mile mark the top runners passed us. As the leader blew by me on a short uphill, he shouted a word of encouragement and gave me a quick wave. A few minutes later the main pack caught us. Almost every runner, jogger or walker, no matter how tired they were or how much they were struggling, took a second to clap for me or pat me on the back.
I ended up finishing the race in 1 hour, 26 minutes, and 41 seconds. This wasn’t my best time on this course but it was not my worst either. All in all I feel this was a perfect tune-up for the Blessing of the Fleet 10-mile Road Race that I’ll be doing later today in Narragansett.
Racing has done so much for me over the years. I also feel that I have had an inspiring impact on so many runners, joggers, walkers and wheelers over the past 12 years. By assisting in getting this road race team up and running I hope to further raise awareness of what people with disabilities are capable of.
People looking to join the NDSA-RI Road Race Team can get more information by emailing me at jprunr@aol.com or call NDSA Executive Director, Jerry McCole at 792-7130. Information can also be obtained at: http://teampisano.blogspot.com/
Sunday, July 30, 2006
High tempts, pouring rain, and streaks of lightning couldn't stop me
Last Friday evening, I competed in the 35 Annual Narragansett Lions Blessing of the Fleet 10-mile Road Race, held in Narragansett. This has become one of my favorite races to do each year. This 10-mile foot race is one of the oldest and most popular races in Rhode Island. People come from near and far to run this oceanfront course.
This was my tenth consecutive years competing in this race. Usually I like to use this race to mark the beginning of my marathon training, but because this year I’m doing back-to-back marathons in October I forwent the track & field season and started my marathon training about a month earlier than normal. Because I’m going need to be in the best shape of my life to be able to accomplish my goal in October, my coach decided to design a program to build my strength and endurance slowly. This was a great idea but really limited the number of miles I could do in preparing for the Blessing. This had me a little bit nervous but I still knew I’d have no problem with the 10-mile distance.
Along with short runs on the West Warwick High School grounds and inside the West Warwick Athletic Complex, I also tested myself the St. Mary’s 5.5-Miler, in Cranston. This race has a slightly hilly course and really let me test my endurance. I finished this race a few minutes slower than last year, but still was happy with my performance. I felt strong at the St. Mary’s Race but I still thought I needed to train more in the heat, so for the next week, my aide Nathan and I made sure we trained in the hottest part of the day. This wasn’t very pleasant but we knew it would pay off on Friday during the race.
It was very warm and humid on the day of the race and thunder storms were forecast for later that day. This made me rethink my strategy. I planned to go out slow for the first five miles, but with the threat of lightening and downpours, I decided to go out hard right from the start. As I was warming up I had a good feeling about how I was going to perform.
I rolled up to the starting line about 5 minutes before the gun sounding. We went off with the walkers so the first mile was kind of crowded but faster than usual. It took us a while to get some breathing room and pick up the pace. We passed the three-mile mark in just over 45 minutes. This was a great pace for me and I just wanted to keep it going. Between the fifth and sixth-mile point I sort of lost my rhythm and fell way off pace. I passed the 6-mile mark in about an hour and 41 minutes, this was about 13 minutes the pace that I hoped to keep. I had wanted to finish this 10-mile race in less than 2 hour and 30 minutes. At this pace, there was no way that I would finish close to that time. And if things weren’t worse enough, at this point the skies decided to open up and thunder and lightning were with us for the remainder of thee race.
The next two-mile were on back road and were mostly shaded by trees, so we had a little reprieve from the torrential rain. This helped me get back on stride.
Although I was soaked to the bone and slipping in the countless deep puddles, all in all I was really feeling good. We passed the eight-mile maker in 2 hour and 12 minutes, we were still 10 minutes off of my goal pace but by now time wasn’t the main thing, finishing was. The final two miles of this 10-mi.le trek were my best and we crossed the finish line in 2 hours 40 minutes, and 42 seconds. This wasn’t my personal best time for this course but I was very happy I hung in there and overcame all the obstacles that U faced that day.
There’s an old saying that like, it is “Whatever doesn’t kill you will make you stronger”. If this saying is true I’m a much stronger person than a week ago at this time!
This was my tenth consecutive years competing in this race. Usually I like to use this race to mark the beginning of my marathon training, but because this year I’m doing back-to-back marathons in October I forwent the track & field season and started my marathon training about a month earlier than normal. Because I’m going need to be in the best shape of my life to be able to accomplish my goal in October, my coach decided to design a program to build my strength and endurance slowly. This was a great idea but really limited the number of miles I could do in preparing for the Blessing. This had me a little bit nervous but I still knew I’d have no problem with the 10-mile distance.
Along with short runs on the West Warwick High School grounds and inside the West Warwick Athletic Complex, I also tested myself the St. Mary’s 5.5-Miler, in Cranston. This race has a slightly hilly course and really let me test my endurance. I finished this race a few minutes slower than last year, but still was happy with my performance. I felt strong at the St. Mary’s Race but I still thought I needed to train more in the heat, so for the next week, my aide Nathan and I made sure we trained in the hottest part of the day. This wasn’t very pleasant but we knew it would pay off on Friday during the race.
It was very warm and humid on the day of the race and thunder storms were forecast for later that day. This made me rethink my strategy. I planned to go out slow for the first five miles, but with the threat of lightening and downpours, I decided to go out hard right from the start. As I was warming up I had a good feeling about how I was going to perform.
I rolled up to the starting line about 5 minutes before the gun sounding. We went off with the walkers so the first mile was kind of crowded but faster than usual. It took us a while to get some breathing room and pick up the pace. We passed the three-mile mark in just over 45 minutes. This was a great pace for me and I just wanted to keep it going. Between the fifth and sixth-mile point I sort of lost my rhythm and fell way off pace. I passed the 6-mile mark in about an hour and 41 minutes, this was about 13 minutes the pace that I hoped to keep. I had wanted to finish this 10-mile race in less than 2 hour and 30 minutes. At this pace, there was no way that I would finish close to that time. And if things weren’t worse enough, at this point the skies decided to open up and thunder and lightning were with us for the remainder of thee race.
The next two-mile were on back road and were mostly shaded by trees, so we had a little reprieve from the torrential rain. This helped me get back on stride.
Although I was soaked to the bone and slipping in the countless deep puddles, all in all I was really feeling good. We passed the eight-mile maker in 2 hour and 12 minutes, we were still 10 minutes off of my goal pace but by now time wasn’t the main thing, finishing was. The final two miles of this 10-mi.le trek were my best and we crossed the finish line in 2 hours 40 minutes, and 42 seconds. This wasn’t my personal best time for this course but I was very happy I hung in there and overcame all the obstacles that U faced that day.
There’s an old saying that like, it is “Whatever doesn’t kill you will make you stronger”. If this saying is true I’m a much stronger person than a week ago at this time!
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
People asked How can I Support the Team?
Friends have recently asked me how they can help support Jasons training and racing. Jason does have a travel and training fund set up through the NDSA (National Disability Sports Alliance) in Kingston Rhode Island. It is a 501C(3) non-profit organization. You can donate specifically to individual athletes. To do this make checks payable to
NDSA Travel and Training Fund (Jason Pisano)
Mail Checks to:
Jerry McCole
National Disability Sports Alliance
25 West Independence Way
South Kingston, RI 02881
If you have questions contact Jerry McCole 401 792-7130
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