Sunday Morning Coffee and Chat

Sunday, February 22, 2015 · Mike Davis

Good morning! With this being the final week of February despite the view from our windows, we are headed to spring. In fact pitchers and catchers have all reported to either Florida or Arizona for Spring Training and that is always a wonderful sign that spring itself is nearly here! While it is difficult to imagine the snow here in New Hampshire be gone any time soon, it surely will depart (hopefully safely) over the next couple of months and we will all feel a sense of relief as well as renewed. New Englanders tend to treat harsh conditions with a sense of pride and toughness that enables us to put the memories of not multiple inches but many, many feet of snow behind us. I have no doubt that this winter has been (and still is) a challenge for a good majority of us but hope springs eternal and while we may yet get buried further, we all know that March brings longer days and often glimpses of spring followed by April which brings even more of both! For us runners here in New Hampshire and Maine, March and April also brings the beginning of the race season. Not the beginning of the running season because running is now a year round sport but many use winter primarily for training for the various races that start up in March and continue through November. Here on the Seacoast the weekend of March 14 and 15 you can get rolling with a couple favorites that combine running with another popular sport drinking. Celebrate St. Patrick ’s Day beginning with the “Dover Main Streets Run Before You Crawl 5K Race and Pub Crawl” and the next day if you are not to incapacitated you can go out to the Pease Tradeport and run the very popular “St. Pattie’s 5 Miler.” Both races have become very popular on the Seacoast and are awesome events that bring out a lot of people eager to party and put winter behind them. Unfortunately “The Half at the Hamptons” has been rescheduled for March 15th and that is a huge conflict for many local runners. Hopefully the conflict is not a costly one for some of you but no doubt there were limited options for rescheduling the Hampton race so hopefully it was unavoidable. Moving through March into April things really get busy with annual races now filling each weekend with one of my local favorites “Reds Race For a Better Community” 5 miler on April 11th in Dover. Again this great tradition will be going head to head with another LOCCO race in the popular “Great Bay Half Marathon” over in Newmarket. I have run both and while the Great Bay half is a great early season 13.1, “Reds” is definitely a wonderful early season local race. Pretty much after that both the “Seacoast Series” and the “Dover Series” get rolling with one or the other having a race nearly every weekend. So while we are mired in huge snowbanks and some freezing temperatures, those will soon give way to road races and other popular events like some of the great triathlons around the seacoast. “No Finish Line Running” at its core is about running for the benefits and pure joy, but races are awesome for many reasons and the training that proceeds them is all part of what makes each one special. Personally I enter races these days that tend to have meaning for me, such as the charitable cause, the scenic value, the local flavor or perhaps the unique challenge. I certainly do not run a lot of races because of my coaching schedule so I choose selectively. I really enjoy being out at a race and seeing so many of the great running community as well as people we have worked with. The running community is truly a very special and ever growing group. Quick notes: Monday and Wednesday at 6:30 there is a free strength & conditioning class at “The Center”, but please email us to hold your spot as the class size is limited to 4 people. This is the final week of this offer, but the regular drop in fee of $6.00 is pretty cheap for this awesome class! We are adding another Pilates class on Wednesday mornings at 6:30. Currently we have our Thursday evening class at 5:30 which has been very popular so much that we are adding this second class. I plan on attending both and I believe that there is enough break in between for recovery so I can get 2 classes in a week. We are going to begin a circuit running conditioning class on Friday nights starting at 5:30. This class is an excellent way to get conditioned for running or just in general. No worries if you can’t make it by 5:30, you can come anytime between 5:30 and 6:15 and we will work you right in to the circuit. Next Sunday don’t forget the Beer Running movie out at Red Hook which will be proceeded by a 10am run. Come on out and support a great cause! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/portsmouth-beer-week-movie-beer-run-tickets-15685763541 If you have any questions about a class please contact us at: info@nofinishlinerunning.com Now I am going to go out to “The Center” and go for a run. Perfect morning, coffee, some chat, church, back to finish my coffee and chat and now off for a run! Hope you have a great week! God Bless! Mike