I had no idea what to expect today. I haven't raced a 5k since October. My fitness has been on again off again. And it is hot!! I had two terrible weeks of training leading up to this. I've just been discouraged. I'll probably post on that later. But last week I had 10 miles for the week. Yep. 10 miles. This week I had 40, so that's a little better. I have to get better and more consistent. Anyway... the race today.
The numbers... 18:58 which was good enough for 8th (of 433) overall and 1st (of 27) in the 35-39 age group. It wasn't a PR, but it was a reasonable performance for July. I'll call it a July PR.
The Start
This event was very well organized and very well supported. It reached the limit of 500 runners and had to turn some away. It has grown since the inaugural event last year. There were so many co-workers from ADTRAN there and I know that several ran their first 5k today. Nice!
I need to get up earlier. I just didn't quite have enough time to get warmed up like I wanted. I got 2.25 miles and just a couple of strides. It had to be enough. After some nice welcome announcements, we were on our way at about 7:04 AM. The early start helped with the heat.
I really had no idea what I had in the tank today. I probably had more than I gave, but I always think that afterwards. But at no time during this race did I feel absolutely horrible, so I didn't run hard enough. I started at about a 6 minute pace and backed only slightly off of that the rest of the way. There were so many who went out WAY too fast today, but the roads were wide so it wasn't a problem.
The first mile is slightly downhill, the very slight breeze was in our face, and the sun was at our backs. So, there was really no excuse for running this mile in 6:04. But, I honestly had no idea what my splits were at any time during the race. I barely looked at my watch and I just didn't know was running. I was going by how it felt. And, the first mile actually surprised me a little. I glanced at my watch and saw 1.11, so I missed it. I had to look at the data post-race to know the split. There was no split caller. That is something this race needs to add. Before the mile marker, we had pretty much settled into our places.
Mile 2
Mile 2 starts back up the slight incline that we descended in the first mile. The small breeze was at our backs, but probably not as fast as I was running. The air was barely moving! And the sun was in our faces. It was a hot second mile. I don't know why I ran it in 6:05 if I could only run the first one in 6:04. I caught and passed one guy before the mile marker, but I didn't know him.
Mile 3
The third mile is just plain flat. Again, the sun was in our face and there was no breeze. I had two guys in my sights. One I passed at about 2.5 miles. The other was Dink Taylor, and I just couldn't gain any ground on him. Really, the passing I did was by just running a steady pace. I didn't speed up. In fact, mile 3 was slower than I wanted and slower than it should have been at 6:11.
The Finish
Near the finish, I heard footsteps. I thought it may have been the guy I passed in the third mile. It was not. I later learned that this was fellow Athenian Ben Greene. It was a realization that I'm still not very competitive with others in running. I didn't really care to chase him down. He could have the next place. But when I saw the clock, that's when I poured it on! I saw 18:49... Can I make it sub-19? That's when I just turned on the jets, and almost caught Ben. But really, I didn't notice how close I was to him because I was just thinking sub-19. I even let up a little when I saw that I was going to make it. I nearly caught Ben and didn't realize it until I looked at the results and saw that we had the same finish time!
Maybe one day, I'll learn to compete with fellow runners. For now, running is purely me against myself and the clock.
Nice race. I'm pleased with sub-19 on a very hot day. It was tons of fun. I had a great time just hanging out with friends and running fast. I ran the course a couple more times for 11 miles total.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Another Summer Week in the Books
It's a typical Alabama summer: hot, humid, and afternoon thunderstorms. I've been moving some runs to the lunch time and afternoon, hoping that my body will make some adaptations to the heat that will result in faster race times in the morning races. Also, I'm hoping that it will result in some really fast times when the temps cool off. We'll see. I'm hopeful and I'm hanging in there.
HTC Weekly XC Runs
On the 4th, I really tried not to overdo the food. I ate some bad stuff, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. I still had a bit of a food hangover on Tuesday when I ran the HTC Cross Country race at the John Hunt running park. It was especially humid. Yuck.
I was undecided about how to approach these. My stomach wasn't right, so I decided not to race and just do a 3 mile and a 2 mile tempo run. For the 3 mile, I tucked in behind Dewayne Satterfield and kept him in sight for most of the run. I had no intentions of passing him, but I also didn't want to let him get a way. He was a pretty good pacer for that 6:40-ish pace. I ran 20:08 or so.
For the 2 mile, I was feeling horrible and ready to just mail it in. I was going to run 8:00 to 8:30 miles. But then I got caught up with Jon Elmore and Timothy Pitt. I decided to just hang on to these guys and see what happened. We were running just under a 7:00 pace. Maybe 6:50 or so. Good enough. I felt like I could hold that, so I did. At the end, I could tell that they were going to make a race of it, so I joined in and out-kicked them down the final stretch to the finish line. It was fun. Maybe those 200m repeats are paying off!
Thursday Track
Thursday's track session was miserable. I planned 5x 1200m intervals. I could not do it. I could only do 4, and the 4th one nearly killed me. I ran 4:24, 4:26, 4:30 and 4:35. I knew that it wasn't my day and it was best to just mail it in and not even attempt the 5th. So, I added a couple extra easy miles to the cool down run. It was just a miserable workout, but I believe I accomplished some good. I got some positive stimulus without destroying my confidence.
Saturday Long
Today was a ho-hum 16 miler. I just wanted to get the miles done in the heat without coming apart. Mission accomplished. It wasn't pleasant. I have a lot of base to recover before marathon training begins. But I am surviving the summer without weight gain and without significant speed loss.
It's weird. I had a week where that I didn't feel good on any single run. But I still consider it a good week for some reason. Oh well, maybe I'm delusional. Definitely I'm delusional. I've always thought I'm faster and fitter than I really am.
HTC Weekly XC Runs
On the 4th, I really tried not to overdo the food. I ate some bad stuff, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. I still had a bit of a food hangover on Tuesday when I ran the HTC Cross Country race at the John Hunt running park. It was especially humid. Yuck.
I was undecided about how to approach these. My stomach wasn't right, so I decided not to race and just do a 3 mile and a 2 mile tempo run. For the 3 mile, I tucked in behind Dewayne Satterfield and kept him in sight for most of the run. I had no intentions of passing him, but I also didn't want to let him get a way. He was a pretty good pacer for that 6:40-ish pace. I ran 20:08 or so.
For the 2 mile, I was feeling horrible and ready to just mail it in. I was going to run 8:00 to 8:30 miles. But then I got caught up with Jon Elmore and Timothy Pitt. I decided to just hang on to these guys and see what happened. We were running just under a 7:00 pace. Maybe 6:50 or so. Good enough. I felt like I could hold that, so I did. At the end, I could tell that they were going to make a race of it, so I joined in and out-kicked them down the final stretch to the finish line. It was fun. Maybe those 200m repeats are paying off!
Thursday Track
Thursday's track session was miserable. I planned 5x 1200m intervals. I could not do it. I could only do 4, and the 4th one nearly killed me. I ran 4:24, 4:26, 4:30 and 4:35. I knew that it wasn't my day and it was best to just mail it in and not even attempt the 5th. So, I added a couple extra easy miles to the cool down run. It was just a miserable workout, but I believe I accomplished some good. I got some positive stimulus without destroying my confidence.
Saturday Long
Today was a ho-hum 16 miler. I just wanted to get the miles done in the heat without coming apart. Mission accomplished. It wasn't pleasant. I have a lot of base to recover before marathon training begins. But I am surviving the summer without weight gain and without significant speed loss.
It's weird. I had a week where that I didn't feel good on any single run. But I still consider it a good week for some reason. Oh well, maybe I'm delusional. Definitely I'm delusional. I've always thought I'm faster and fitter than I really am.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
I Love the Track
I'm going to try to begin maintaining this blog more regularly. It's relaxing for me. It forces me to think about things I enjoy. Lately, I've only been thinking about heavy stuff, and it's wearing me down to a nub. I love running, and I love it more with almost every run. So I need to spend some time thinking and talking about it to refresh my mind.
Before a month ago, I had never run 200 meter repeats. That first attempt nearly killed me! It was much harder than I expected. Twenty 200m repeats. How hard could that be? Pretty hard! I ran most of them at 37 or 38, which is quick for me.
Today, I was back at the 200m repeats. I did 24 this time. Wow! It felt great! Okay, it hurt and I was tired and grimacing, but it hurt good! My plan was to do 20. I was going to do 2 sets of 10 with an easy mile in between the two sets. But I was feeling good, so I didn't take a break. And I was feeling good after 20, so I did 24! I kinda liked it. Running fast is fun. I ran mostly 37 and 38 seconds. I got lazy and ran two 40s and a few 39s. But I did have a 33 and a 35 after the 40s to punish myself for being lazy!
My mileage is down this summer to 45-50 miles per week. However, I'm not missing my quality workouts. Almost every week since Boston has included track work and a tempo workout. I've also added some races as faster tempo workouts, getting two tempos in several of those weeks. I'll probably start adding a few miles at a time through July to get a solid base for a late fall marathon.
Before a month ago, I had never run 200 meter repeats. That first attempt nearly killed me! It was much harder than I expected. Twenty 200m repeats. How hard could that be? Pretty hard! I ran most of them at 37 or 38, which is quick for me.
Today, I was back at the 200m repeats. I did 24 this time. Wow! It felt great! Okay, it hurt and I was tired and grimacing, but it hurt good! My plan was to do 20. I was going to do 2 sets of 10 with an easy mile in between the two sets. But I was feeling good, so I didn't take a break. And I was feeling good after 20, so I did 24! I kinda liked it. Running fast is fun. I ran mostly 37 and 38 seconds. I got lazy and ran two 40s and a few 39s. But I did have a 33 and a 35 after the 40s to punish myself for being lazy!
My mileage is down this summer to 45-50 miles per week. However, I'm not missing my quality workouts. Almost every week since Boston has included track work and a tempo workout. I've also added some races as faster tempo workouts, getting two tempos in several of those weeks. I'll probably start adding a few miles at a time through July to get a solid base for a late fall marathon.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Helen Keller 5 mile
Perhaps I should update this blog. I really have had good intentions, I just haven't gotten the updates done. Maybe today starts a trend toward more regular updates. Long time readers will remember that I've mentioned some personal struggles. Well I thought I saw light at the end of the tunnel. But, a good friend told me that it wasn't light I was seeing; it was only my eyes adjusting to the darkness. So true!
Anyway... Helen Keller 5 Mile...
I ran 32:55 (with an extra 0.14) which was good enough for 6th overall and 1st in the 35-39 age group. This just isn't an easy course. It's a far drive from Athens, too. But it's part of a series of events in Tuscumbia, AL, the birthplace of Helen Keller. It's really a nice way to make a day out with the family. There's a car show, a foot race, some kind of arts and crafts show, live bands during the day, and an excellent play The Miracle Worker in the evening.
Enough... How about the race?
Pre-Race
This was a last minute show up and run type of event for me. Apparently it was for everyone else, too. The race day registration line was LONG! I wondered if I would get registered in time. I did, barely. I had just enough time to hit the port-a-potty and run a mere 1 mile warmup. YUCK! I wasn't ready for the start, but I had to go when the Race Director said "Go!"
The First Mile
This race starts on a flat section just north of the courthouse. Then, it slopes drastically down to spring park. I started just a bit too fast, but I was surprised by how many were ahead of me. When we hit the downhill, people kept passing. I was in like 20th place. Oh well. The race turns out of Spring Park and goes up the hill we just descended. It's a TOUGH uphill for the first mile! I passed back a few runners here, but I wasn't sure how many and I didn't know how many were ahead. I really wish I had kept track of this. I hit the first mile in 6:25. That wasn't bad given the uphill.
Mile 2
I have no idea what happened here. I just got lazy at the top of the hill and ran a 6:40 second mile. Nobody passed me, and I passed about 2 runners. But still, why was I running so slowly? Why did I just give back 15 seconds? Why did I hit this at 13:05? It gains about 50 feet, but I simply didn't focus. Ashamed. I took water and ran through a hose at the aid station here. It was starting to get warm!
Mile 3
I had a group ahead of me that I wanted to catch. I think they ran about a 6:05 first mile, but I could tell that they were slowing. So, I just kept working and working making sure that the distance was getting less all the while. This is a rolling mile, but doesn't really net that much. 6:28. That's a little better, but I'm not making up that ground that I gave up in mile 2. Just focus on the group ahead and close the distance. One runner fell out of that group, and I blew past him.
Mile 4
This is the good and the bad. That group? Well, another runner fell off the pace and I caught and passed him, but he didn't want to let me go and stayed on my shoulder. I was determined to catch the group ahead. I closed almost all of the distance. There were only 3 runners, and they were less than 5 seconds ahead of us.
Ugh. Why do I do stupid things when I know better? Why do I follow a crowd? I saw green arrows on the street pointing left. The race had been marked with both green and orange, and there was no sentry. Also, Heath White was just ahead of the group I was trying to catch, and he's a Shoals runner. He knows the course, right? He went straight. The group went straight. I said, "Hey guys, I think we should turn!" One guy said, "Heath went straight, that's the right way!" I followed. Ugh. That was an unwise move. I glanced at my watch and noticed the distance was 3.97. I looked over my shoulder, and I caught a glimpse of the 4 mile marker about a block from where we should have turned. I said to the guy on my shoulder, "We've got to turn around! They're going the wrong way!" So, we turned around and went back. He stayed ahead of me because he turned first! I crossed the 4 mile marker at 4.14 on my Garmin. I was MAD!
There were two people working the 4 mile split. I slowed down and told one of them to go to the intersection and that several had gone the wrong way. One said that she would take care of it and was walking that direction. I heard from later finishers that there was still nobody working that turn. Ugh. Race directors, please put sentries on your turns! I've never missed a turn before this year, and I've missed two this year! I suppose I should take the responsibility myself since it has happened twice now.
Well, I auto-lapped at 4 miles even and it was 6:30. Still a disappointing split. Mile 4 is very much a rolling mile.
The Finish
The guy I was running with said, "Weren't you in front of me when we made the wrong turn?" I said, "Don't worry about it, man. If you can take me from here, you should do it." I didn't want to move too early, but I didn't want him to think he could just hang on and out kick me, either. So I moved past him. As we went on, I saw the others who had gone straight joining back up with the course. WE WERE AHEAD OF THEM! Cool! They seemed to be upset that we had passed, but we had been angry and running faster!
Here, Stacey LeMay separated from the group and stayed on my shoulder. He should have known the course and not gone astray. He's a Shoals runner! I asked him if they had run extra. He said that they had a little, but wasn't sure how much. Stacey is known for sprinting at the end and passing, so I dropped the pace with about 0.6 miles to go to get enough separation to weather his kick. I ran the last 1.14 mile in 6:17 and :37.
What I didn't account for was two teenagers or twenty something sprinting at the end. Ugh. Remember that I thought I was in about 12th place? It just wasn't worth going with them for the difference between 12th and 15th place. BUT... This race was for 3rd place! I JUST MISSED a podium finish. Ugh. Disappointing. I had no idea. So... if I hadn't run an extra 0.14 miles, I would have gotten a spot on the podium. If I could have sucked it up at the end, I would have gotten a podium finish. ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!
The good news? The guy who did get 3rd place? He puked. That's what he gets. I hope it tasted bad. Really, I'm just kidding here. We spoke and he was a nice guy and we joked about it. He ran hard and deserved to finish ahead of me.
Overall, I didn't give race effort today, but still won my age group. I'm very much enjoying this twice per month race schedule I'm on. It was a good day and a very good 5 mile tempo workout with 11 miles total. I hope this more laid back approach to racing doesn't soften me up, but I'm liking it so far.
Anyway... Helen Keller 5 Mile...
I ran 32:55 (with an extra 0.14) which was good enough for 6th overall and 1st in the 35-39 age group. This just isn't an easy course. It's a far drive from Athens, too. But it's part of a series of events in Tuscumbia, AL, the birthplace of Helen Keller. It's really a nice way to make a day out with the family. There's a car show, a foot race, some kind of arts and crafts show, live bands during the day, and an excellent play The Miracle Worker in the evening.
Enough... How about the race?
Pre-Race
This was a last minute show up and run type of event for me. Apparently it was for everyone else, too. The race day registration line was LONG! I wondered if I would get registered in time. I did, barely. I had just enough time to hit the port-a-potty and run a mere 1 mile warmup. YUCK! I wasn't ready for the start, but I had to go when the Race Director said "Go!"
The First Mile
This race starts on a flat section just north of the courthouse. Then, it slopes drastically down to spring park. I started just a bit too fast, but I was surprised by how many were ahead of me. When we hit the downhill, people kept passing. I was in like 20th place. Oh well. The race turns out of Spring Park and goes up the hill we just descended. It's a TOUGH uphill for the first mile! I passed back a few runners here, but I wasn't sure how many and I didn't know how many were ahead. I really wish I had kept track of this. I hit the first mile in 6:25. That wasn't bad given the uphill.
Mile 2
I have no idea what happened here. I just got lazy at the top of the hill and ran a 6:40 second mile. Nobody passed me, and I passed about 2 runners. But still, why was I running so slowly? Why did I just give back 15 seconds? Why did I hit this at 13:05? It gains about 50 feet, but I simply didn't focus. Ashamed. I took water and ran through a hose at the aid station here. It was starting to get warm!
Mile 3
I had a group ahead of me that I wanted to catch. I think they ran about a 6:05 first mile, but I could tell that they were slowing. So, I just kept working and working making sure that the distance was getting less all the while. This is a rolling mile, but doesn't really net that much. 6:28. That's a little better, but I'm not making up that ground that I gave up in mile 2. Just focus on the group ahead and close the distance. One runner fell out of that group, and I blew past him.
Mile 4
This is the good and the bad. That group? Well, another runner fell off the pace and I caught and passed him, but he didn't want to let me go and stayed on my shoulder. I was determined to catch the group ahead. I closed almost all of the distance. There were only 3 runners, and they were less than 5 seconds ahead of us.
Ugh. Why do I do stupid things when I know better? Why do I follow a crowd? I saw green arrows on the street pointing left. The race had been marked with both green and orange, and there was no sentry. Also, Heath White was just ahead of the group I was trying to catch, and he's a Shoals runner. He knows the course, right? He went straight. The group went straight. I said, "Hey guys, I think we should turn!" One guy said, "Heath went straight, that's the right way!" I followed. Ugh. That was an unwise move. I glanced at my watch and noticed the distance was 3.97. I looked over my shoulder, and I caught a glimpse of the 4 mile marker about a block from where we should have turned. I said to the guy on my shoulder, "We've got to turn around! They're going the wrong way!" So, we turned around and went back. He stayed ahead of me because he turned first! I crossed the 4 mile marker at 4.14 on my Garmin. I was MAD!
There were two people working the 4 mile split. I slowed down and told one of them to go to the intersection and that several had gone the wrong way. One said that she would take care of it and was walking that direction. I heard from later finishers that there was still nobody working that turn. Ugh. Race directors, please put sentries on your turns! I've never missed a turn before this year, and I've missed two this year! I suppose I should take the responsibility myself since it has happened twice now.
Well, I auto-lapped at 4 miles even and it was 6:30. Still a disappointing split. Mile 4 is very much a rolling mile.
The Finish
The guy I was running with said, "Weren't you in front of me when we made the wrong turn?" I said, "Don't worry about it, man. If you can take me from here, you should do it." I didn't want to move too early, but I didn't want him to think he could just hang on and out kick me, either. So I moved past him. As we went on, I saw the others who had gone straight joining back up with the course. WE WERE AHEAD OF THEM! Cool! They seemed to be upset that we had passed, but we had been angry and running faster!
Here, Stacey LeMay separated from the group and stayed on my shoulder. He should have known the course and not gone astray. He's a Shoals runner! I asked him if they had run extra. He said that they had a little, but wasn't sure how much. Stacey is known for sprinting at the end and passing, so I dropped the pace with about 0.6 miles to go to get enough separation to weather his kick. I ran the last 1.14 mile in 6:17 and :37.
What I didn't account for was two teenagers or twenty something sprinting at the end. Ugh. Remember that I thought I was in about 12th place? It just wasn't worth going with them for the difference between 12th and 15th place. BUT... This race was for 3rd place! I JUST MISSED a podium finish. Ugh. Disappointing. I had no idea. So... if I hadn't run an extra 0.14 miles, I would have gotten a spot on the podium. If I could have sucked it up at the end, I would have gotten a podium finish. ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!
The good news? The guy who did get 3rd place? He puked. That's what he gets. I hope it tasted bad. Really, I'm just kidding here. We spoke and he was a nice guy and we joked about it. He ran hard and deserved to finish ahead of me.
Overall, I didn't give race effort today, but still won my age group. I'm very much enjoying this twice per month race schedule I'm on. It was a good day and a very good 5 mile tempo workout with 11 miles total. I hope this more laid back approach to racing doesn't soften me up, but I'm liking it so far.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Final Thoughts on Boston
Those who don't like it when I'm hard on myself for not meeting my own expectations may want to skip this post. I was completely unprepared to race a marathon on April 18, and Boston revealed that. A lot went wrong, and this post is about that. I am severely disappointed with my finishing time. Please don't interpret this post as detracting from the Boston experience. I had the time of my life. I was able to do something very special and I'm thankful for that. This post is about what went wrong in my training and in my race to prevent me from being in marathon PR shape on April 18.
Early Training
Ugh. I was battling a hamstring injury through November and December. I pretended that it didn't hurt, but it did. I wanted everything to come together for Boston, but it just wasn't meant to be. Then, I got the flu during the holidays. That forced me to take some time off, but I was too stubborn to take enough time off to allow my hamstring to heal, too. Remember, I was pretending that it didn't hurt.
I recovered from the flu, but because of the hamstring, I took two weeks off prior to Mountain Mist. With the flu and a two week layoff just prior, I opted to treat Mountain Mist much more like a jog/hike than a race. I ran a 6:30. That meant that I wouldn't need any recovery time before resuming training.
I was 6 weeks into my training and had gone backwards. So, I opted to punt the whole program and try for a 12 week training program instead of 18. But I wasn't at a good starting point. I had gained weight and lost speed. I had hardly done any quality work in 4 months. I was out of shape.
Restarting
So I reset my expectations and restarted with a 12 week schedule. That started OK, but it wasn't long before I was struggling and inconsistent. I let some personal struggles get the better of me during this training cycle. I gutted out some tough workouts, but had more days of sleeping in and laziness. I'm hoping I'm past those personal struggles, but they really had me down. Boston certainly lifted my spirits to the point that I'm simply determined. I will run! I will run fast!
In addition to the mental struggles that were defeating me, I had more physical sickness this spring than I've ever had. (I'm not sure the mental stress and physical illness are unrelated.) I caught a stomach bug that weakened me for a week. Then, I had a case of bronchitis that had me out for another week.
Ugh.I was out of shape and not getting better. So, restarting with a 12 week program was a miserable failure. I averaged less than 50 miles per week and I was woefully inconsistent. I don't think it's possible for me to get in marathon PR shape on mileage that low, especially when the miles weren't really quality miles.
So, that's what went wrong in training. I was injured some, sick some, stressed, lazy, and for some reason unmotivated.
Race Day
So, I did take advantage of the opportunity to taper before the marathon. Why not?!? Fewer miles and more carbs? I'm in! That also meant that I was probably as heavy as I've ever been for a marathon at about 172 or so. That's pretty inexcusable, but I'm on my way down already.
Likewise, I had no goal or plan for the race. How about this for a goal... I'll just run however I feel like and hope for the best. It's not totally true that I had no goal, I had the typical 3 goals. The "A" goal was 3:05. The "B" goal was 3:15. And the avoid disaster goal was 3:30. I really thought I was in about 3:10 to 3:15 shape. It turns out that maybe I've learned a little bit about my body in the past 3 years because I ran 3:13:05. I was close to 3:10 before the come apart I had at the end.
I also used a lot of energy interacting with the crowd. I sure wouldn't change that, though.
So what went wrong on race day? I was fat, out of shape, had no plan for the race, and ran an inconsistent pace by getting excited and running fast sometimes and losing focus and running slow at other times.
Early Training
Ugh. I was battling a hamstring injury through November and December. I pretended that it didn't hurt, but it did. I wanted everything to come together for Boston, but it just wasn't meant to be. Then, I got the flu during the holidays. That forced me to take some time off, but I was too stubborn to take enough time off to allow my hamstring to heal, too. Remember, I was pretending that it didn't hurt.
I recovered from the flu, but because of the hamstring, I took two weeks off prior to Mountain Mist. With the flu and a two week layoff just prior, I opted to treat Mountain Mist much more like a jog/hike than a race. I ran a 6:30. That meant that I wouldn't need any recovery time before resuming training.
I was 6 weeks into my training and had gone backwards. So, I opted to punt the whole program and try for a 12 week training program instead of 18. But I wasn't at a good starting point. I had gained weight and lost speed. I had hardly done any quality work in 4 months. I was out of shape.
Restarting
So I reset my expectations and restarted with a 12 week schedule. That started OK, but it wasn't long before I was struggling and inconsistent. I let some personal struggles get the better of me during this training cycle. I gutted out some tough workouts, but had more days of sleeping in and laziness. I'm hoping I'm past those personal struggles, but they really had me down. Boston certainly lifted my spirits to the point that I'm simply determined. I will run! I will run fast!
In addition to the mental struggles that were defeating me, I had more physical sickness this spring than I've ever had. (I'm not sure the mental stress and physical illness are unrelated.) I caught a stomach bug that weakened me for a week. Then, I had a case of bronchitis that had me out for another week.
Ugh.I was out of shape and not getting better. So, restarting with a 12 week program was a miserable failure. I averaged less than 50 miles per week and I was woefully inconsistent. I don't think it's possible for me to get in marathon PR shape on mileage that low, especially when the miles weren't really quality miles.
So, that's what went wrong in training. I was injured some, sick some, stressed, lazy, and for some reason unmotivated.
Race Day
So, I did take advantage of the opportunity to taper before the marathon. Why not?!? Fewer miles and more carbs? I'm in! That also meant that I was probably as heavy as I've ever been for a marathon at about 172 or so. That's pretty inexcusable, but I'm on my way down already.
Likewise, I had no goal or plan for the race. How about this for a goal... I'll just run however I feel like and hope for the best. It's not totally true that I had no goal, I had the typical 3 goals. The "A" goal was 3:05. The "B" goal was 3:15. And the avoid disaster goal was 3:30. I really thought I was in about 3:10 to 3:15 shape. It turns out that maybe I've learned a little bit about my body in the past 3 years because I ran 3:13:05. I was close to 3:10 before the come apart I had at the end.
I also used a lot of energy interacting with the crowd. I sure wouldn't change that, though.
So what went wrong on race day? I was fat, out of shape, had no plan for the race, and ran an inconsistent pace by getting excited and running fast sometimes and losing focus and running slow at other times.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Boston! - Part 2
Racing purists who think that one has to be serious and focused any time he pins on a number may not like this post. I considered running an 8:00 pace and treating Boston as a victory lap for qualifying. I'm glad that I didn't get that lax about it, but I'm glad I didn't put a lot of pressure on myself to perform either.
I really soaked in the moment. I relished every minute of the experience of running the oldest foot race in America. I'm glad I pushed enough to suffer, because suffering is part of racing. But I'm also glad that I did some things that I know hindered my finishing time. Running Boston is an experience that not everyone is blessed enough to have. I wanted to enjoy the sights, sounds, and people while respecting the race. I hope I gave the race enough respect. I sure enjoyed the experience enough!
Again, I have to say that Boston does this EXACTLY right. It's a total celebration. And the town pulls it off without a hitch. The city, the people, the transportation, the expo, the swag, the start, the support, the course, the race, the finish, the post-race organization. Everything is perfect.
The First 15k
As I mentioned earlier, there is no way to describe the electricity that surrounds this event. Because of this, a mistake that many runners make is to go out WAY too fast. It's very difficult not to just fly past the start and run 5k pace for a couple of miles.
This is where the crowds of runners came in. The start is on a two lane street, so there is no way to sufficiently spread out 27,000+ runners. So, as a strategy, I purposely stepped into the coral behind my assigned starting corral thinking that surrounding myself with runners with slower qualifying times would rein me in. It worked. I ran a 7:21 opening mile and I could not believe how easy that felt. It felt like a 9:30 mile. Really. During the last quarter it thinned out and I picked up the pace a bit.
The crowd support at the start was nearly deafening! I could not believe what I was seeing, and it stayed that intense for most of the race.
Just past the 2 mile mark, I heard a spectator shout, "You're almost there!" I got a little kick out of that. In what sense were we almost there? We weren't even almost to the 5k mark! I was like, "Don't tell me that the 'almost there' cheers have already started!" I don't think I heard another one until mile 17, so that's ok. Even so, someone who says "almost there" at mile 17, 20, or even 25, has obviously never run a marathon. You're never "almost there."
The next several miles were fairly typical miles at Boston. I cannot count how many high fives I gave. Most every kid that I saw with his/her hand out, I gave a high five to. They seemed so excited to be getting the fives from the runners! It made my day to be part of their day. I saw several teenagers and young adults sticking their hands out and then pulling them back when a runner would attempt a high five. Ha ha very funny. So I pretty much kept it to the kids except at Wellesley and BC.
I hit 5k a little behind at 23:01. The 10k and 15k splits were about where I expected at 45:20 and 1:07:50. And I felt great. I was absorbing the energy around me.
On To The Wellesley College
Just after the 15k split, I joked with another runner, saying, "Is it bad that I just set a 15k PR?" Of course I didn't come close to a 15k PR, but the miles felt so easy! Have I mentioned the energy at this race? :)
As we entered Natick, I kept hearing people shout, "Go Molly!" I couldn't believe the support for Molly! I thought maybe Molly was from Natick or something. I'm so gullible. I found Molly, and she had her name in big letters on the front of her shirt! I'm dumb! I told Molly that I was going to run next to her for a while and pretend that my name was Molly. She was laughing and truly enjoying the Boston experience. It was her first Boston and she was having a great time. I ended up leaving Molly after a couple of miles, but that was pretty fun.
Before mile 12, I could hear this loud screaming up ahead. I mean, the town of Natick was great, but this was LOUD! Could it be the infamous "scream tunnel" at Wellesley already? Why yes, it can! From nearly a mile away, I could hear the girls of Wellesley College screaming! It's all they say it is and more! No, I didn't stop for a kiss, but I did soak in what was going on! I just kept my hand out for the entire time I was passing the girls at Wellesley getting the fives! I could not believe the volume of the screams! And there were several variations of the "Kiss Me" signs. Quite entertaining! I think I ran a sub 6:30 mile here!
I hit the halfway mark at 1:35:11. I believed that I still had a chance to qualify (per 2013 standards, 3:10), but I knew it would require a special set of circumstances in the second half to get that done. Those circumstances didn't come together for me.
To The Newton Hills
Between the halfway mark and the beginning of the Newton Hills is the only portion of the race that I spaced out a bit. I didn't really notice much about what was going on around me. I wish I had been more aware of this portion of the course. I wasn't soaking it in for this 3 or 4 miles.
A couple of things I do remember from here is that there was a guy named Eric. So I hung with him for about a half mile, similar to how I did with Molly during earlier. This time, I didn't have to pretend. But he was fading, so I left him. Then, there was a section of people who were cheering and ringing cowbells. The cowbells faded as I was about 200 yards from them, so I shouted, "I gotta have more cowbell!" ala Christopher Walken. Then the cowbells got nearly deafening! That was awesome!!!
After the halfway mark, the course rolls up and down, but mostly up to near the 15 mile mark. At 15 or 15.5, there begins a nearly 200 feet drop over about a mile with 150 of it in the last half of that mile. I'm guessing this is the steepest downhill on the course, but I'm not sure. It sure seemed that way, and my quads screamed at me as I ran quite briskly down this hill, a 6:50-ish mile. That wasn't very smart, but I don't know how I could have avoided it.
I don't know if this next hill is considered part of the Newton Hills or not, but it is in my opinion the second worst of the uphills on the course. It's the climb up from the Newton Lower Falls to I-95. The course makes you climb back up that 150 feet that you just descended in about three quarters of a mile. Ouch. I tried to keep a steady pace here and was passing folks like mad. Unbelievable carnage! This hill ate people alive.
Then comes the famed Newton Hills. The first one is noticeable. Again, unbelievable carnage. I was passing people all over the place by trying to keep a steady pace. Was this Heartbreak? Couldn't be, because I've only climbed one hill before this one. But it was tough. It's followed by a sharp descent that invites you to run fast. It's not a good idea to do so.
The second of the Newton Hills is really nothing, nothing at all. Fifty feet in a little over a quarter of a mile. I mean, you'll notice that you're climbing, but it's short and you can see the crest from the start, so it didn't discourage me at all. Again, I was passing and passing. Again, I asked, "Is this Heartbreak Hill? I sure hope so for my sake, but I hope not for the reputation of the hill."
Then came Heartbreak Hill. I knew it because of all the chalk on the street advertising it as such! And the crowd here! AMAZING! How could this hill slow you down with all these people cheering you on like this? WOW! The cheers were crazy! This is a perfect place to watch the race!
I knew that I shouldn't be running 7:10s up those hills, so I backed off to 7:25s for those miles. Backing off was wise, but I didn't back off enough. I will say, though, that I could not believe how good I felt at the top of Heartbreak Hill.
Brookline
All right, 2:33 at mile 21. Let me see... that gives me 40, no, 37, no 27, no, 35, no 37 minutes to run the last 5.2 miles and still qualify (2013 standards). That's slower than 7 minutes per mile if you don't count the .2. But the .2 counts. But isn't it downhill from here? Do-able. Or is it? I have no idea. Do I need to run sub-7 or not? If so, I may as well give up. If not, then I have a chance. Ugh! I can't do this math! How about this... I'll just go as fast as I can from here to the finish. Yeah, that's what I'll do. As fast as my legs will go. But wait... that's a cramp. Ok, not that fast. How fast can I go without cramping? Ok, I'll do that. It turns out that speed wasn't very fast.
Let me tell you a secret. It's not all downhill from Heartbreak. Sure it's net downhill and mostly downhill, but there are some NASTY hills left. Heartbreak is the second or third worst hill on the course. The worst, for me, was the climb to the overpass where Beacon St. crosses over I-90. OUCH. It's not much of a hill, but it ate me alive.
Oh yeah, Brookline. Here's a picture of someone who's focused on racing and competing at 23.7 miles. That's Ryan Hall for those of you who don't know. Thanks to my wife for this awesome shot!
This is what someone who is just soaking up the experience looks like at 23.7 miles. Yeah, that's me. I have no idea what suffering lies ahead.
This was right in front of our hotel. I had no idea when I booked the hotel how great a spot for watching that it was. I had no idea what suffering was ahead for me. I was feeling pretty good here, obviously. The hugs and kisses from Leigh and the girls really picked me up. I motored toward 24 and 25. And by the way, I beat everyone in the picture (I cropped, there were several more than shown here) whose bib I could read. :)
 |
| After the finish with my girls. Joy, joy! |
Again, I have to say that Boston does this EXACTLY right. It's a total celebration. And the town pulls it off without a hitch. The city, the people, the transportation, the expo, the swag, the start, the support, the course, the race, the finish, the post-race organization. Everything is perfect.
The First 15k
As I mentioned earlier, there is no way to describe the electricity that surrounds this event. Because of this, a mistake that many runners make is to go out WAY too fast. It's very difficult not to just fly past the start and run 5k pace for a couple of miles.
This is where the crowds of runners came in. The start is on a two lane street, so there is no way to sufficiently spread out 27,000+ runners. So, as a strategy, I purposely stepped into the coral behind my assigned starting corral thinking that surrounding myself with runners with slower qualifying times would rein me in. It worked. I ran a 7:21 opening mile and I could not believe how easy that felt. It felt like a 9:30 mile. Really. During the last quarter it thinned out and I picked up the pace a bit.
The crowd support at the start was nearly deafening! I could not believe what I was seeing, and it stayed that intense for most of the race.
Just past the 2 mile mark, I heard a spectator shout, "You're almost there!" I got a little kick out of that. In what sense were we almost there? We weren't even almost to the 5k mark! I was like, "Don't tell me that the 'almost there' cheers have already started!" I don't think I heard another one until mile 17, so that's ok. Even so, someone who says "almost there" at mile 17, 20, or even 25, has obviously never run a marathon. You're never "almost there."
The next several miles were fairly typical miles at Boston. I cannot count how many high fives I gave. Most every kid that I saw with his/her hand out, I gave a high five to. They seemed so excited to be getting the fives from the runners! It made my day to be part of their day. I saw several teenagers and young adults sticking their hands out and then pulling them back when a runner would attempt a high five. Ha ha very funny. So I pretty much kept it to the kids except at Wellesley and BC.
I hit 5k a little behind at 23:01. The 10k and 15k splits were about where I expected at 45:20 and 1:07:50. And I felt great. I was absorbing the energy around me.
On To The Wellesley College
Just after the 15k split, I joked with another runner, saying, "Is it bad that I just set a 15k PR?" Of course I didn't come close to a 15k PR, but the miles felt so easy! Have I mentioned the energy at this race? :)
As we entered Natick, I kept hearing people shout, "Go Molly!" I couldn't believe the support for Molly! I thought maybe Molly was from Natick or something. I'm so gullible. I found Molly, and she had her name in big letters on the front of her shirt! I'm dumb! I told Molly that I was going to run next to her for a while and pretend that my name was Molly. She was laughing and truly enjoying the Boston experience. It was her first Boston and she was having a great time. I ended up leaving Molly after a couple of miles, but that was pretty fun.
Before mile 12, I could hear this loud screaming up ahead. I mean, the town of Natick was great, but this was LOUD! Could it be the infamous "scream tunnel" at Wellesley already? Why yes, it can! From nearly a mile away, I could hear the girls of Wellesley College screaming! It's all they say it is and more! No, I didn't stop for a kiss, but I did soak in what was going on! I just kept my hand out for the entire time I was passing the girls at Wellesley getting the fives! I could not believe the volume of the screams! And there were several variations of the "Kiss Me" signs. Quite entertaining! I think I ran a sub 6:30 mile here!
I hit the halfway mark at 1:35:11. I believed that I still had a chance to qualify (per 2013 standards, 3:10), but I knew it would require a special set of circumstances in the second half to get that done. Those circumstances didn't come together for me.
To The Newton Hills
Between the halfway mark and the beginning of the Newton Hills is the only portion of the race that I spaced out a bit. I didn't really notice much about what was going on around me. I wish I had been more aware of this portion of the course. I wasn't soaking it in for this 3 or 4 miles.
A couple of things I do remember from here is that there was a guy named Eric. So I hung with him for about a half mile, similar to how I did with Molly during earlier. This time, I didn't have to pretend. But he was fading, so I left him. Then, there was a section of people who were cheering and ringing cowbells. The cowbells faded as I was about 200 yards from them, so I shouted, "I gotta have more cowbell!" ala Christopher Walken. Then the cowbells got nearly deafening! That was awesome!!!
After the halfway mark, the course rolls up and down, but mostly up to near the 15 mile mark. At 15 or 15.5, there begins a nearly 200 feet drop over about a mile with 150 of it in the last half of that mile. I'm guessing this is the steepest downhill on the course, but I'm not sure. It sure seemed that way, and my quads screamed at me as I ran quite briskly down this hill, a 6:50-ish mile. That wasn't very smart, but I don't know how I could have avoided it.
I don't know if this next hill is considered part of the Newton Hills or not, but it is in my opinion the second worst of the uphills on the course. It's the climb up from the Newton Lower Falls to I-95. The course makes you climb back up that 150 feet that you just descended in about three quarters of a mile. Ouch. I tried to keep a steady pace here and was passing folks like mad. Unbelievable carnage! This hill ate people alive.
Then comes the famed Newton Hills. The first one is noticeable. Again, unbelievable carnage. I was passing people all over the place by trying to keep a steady pace. Was this Heartbreak? Couldn't be, because I've only climbed one hill before this one. But it was tough. It's followed by a sharp descent that invites you to run fast. It's not a good idea to do so.
The second of the Newton Hills is really nothing, nothing at all. Fifty feet in a little over a quarter of a mile. I mean, you'll notice that you're climbing, but it's short and you can see the crest from the start, so it didn't discourage me at all. Again, I was passing and passing. Again, I asked, "Is this Heartbreak Hill? I sure hope so for my sake, but I hope not for the reputation of the hill."
Then came Heartbreak Hill. I knew it because of all the chalk on the street advertising it as such! And the crowd here! AMAZING! How could this hill slow you down with all these people cheering you on like this? WOW! The cheers were crazy! This is a perfect place to watch the race!
I knew that I shouldn't be running 7:10s up those hills, so I backed off to 7:25s for those miles. Backing off was wise, but I didn't back off enough. I will say, though, that I could not believe how good I felt at the top of Heartbreak Hill.
Brookline
All right, 2:33 at mile 21. Let me see... that gives me 40, no, 37, no 27, no, 35, no 37 minutes to run the last 5.2 miles and still qualify (2013 standards). That's slower than 7 minutes per mile if you don't count the .2. But the .2 counts. But isn't it downhill from here? Do-able. Or is it? I have no idea. Do I need to run sub-7 or not? If so, I may as well give up. If not, then I have a chance. Ugh! I can't do this math! How about this... I'll just go as fast as I can from here to the finish. Yeah, that's what I'll do. As fast as my legs will go. But wait... that's a cramp. Ok, not that fast. How fast can I go without cramping? Ok, I'll do that. It turns out that speed wasn't very fast.
Let me tell you a secret. It's not all downhill from Heartbreak. Sure it's net downhill and mostly downhill, but there are some NASTY hills left. Heartbreak is the second or third worst hill on the course. The worst, for me, was the climb to the overpass where Beacon St. crosses over I-90. OUCH. It's not much of a hill, but it ate me alive.
Oh yeah, Brookline. Here's a picture of someone who's focused on racing and competing at 23.7 miles. That's Ryan Hall for those of you who don't know. Thanks to my wife for this awesome shot!
 |
| Ryan Hall 23.7 miles into his 2:04:58 at the 115th Boston Marathon |
 |
| Joyful to see my girls! |
The Last Mile
Ugh. I have never suffered as much as I suffered in this last mile. The crowds are deafening. After the incline to I-90, I was zapped. Then the right on Hereford and left on Boylston to the finish! I wanted so much to summon some energy for the finish. The crowds were cheering so loudly! "You've got this!" "Go Fleet Feet!" "Yay!!!" Screaming, cheering, cowbells, whistles, deafening noise! I had nothing. The hill up Hereford killed me. I've never been in that much pain in all of my life. I had a horrible side stitch. My left calf was tied in a knot. My right quad would not move. My lower abs cramped. Seriously, all of this happened at once on Hereford. I knew that I only had the left on Boylston to the finish. But when I made the left, the finish looked like it was miles away. I could not get there at all!
I seriously thought right now about quitting... Quitting running altogether. I walked. I could not run. The screaming the cheers. I was crying. Seriously, I cried like a little girl. I cried right there in front of thousands and thousands of people. I was overwhelmed with emotion and physical pain, and I couldn't make myself not cry. I hope nobody has a picture of this. I wanted so badly to get to the finish, but I had no idea how I was going to get there. I walked some more. Then, I put one foot in front of the other and started some sort of humped over limp-jog to the finish. It hurt, but I could run now. I thought I may be one of those who pass out this close to the finish line. I've never experienced this much physical suffering in my life. I dropped a 9 minute last mile. Ouch.
After crossing the finish, I just looked for somewhere to sit. But the red cross guys would not let me sit. "Are you OK?" "Yes, I'm fine, I just need to sit for a while." "You can't sit, you have to keep moving. It's better for your body to keep moving." "No, I don't want to move, I just want to sit here." "You have to move." Ugh. I got up and walked out of his sight and sat down again. This time, I lay flat on my back. "You OK?" "Yes, I'm just tired." "I can't have people laying on the sidewalk." "Ok, can I sit here?" "I'll let you sit here for 2 minutes, but then you have to move." So, I got up and got out of his sight and sat down again. What is it with these people? I don't need medical attention. I'm just tired because I just ran 26.2 miles. Can you not understand that? I just want to sit down. Please let me. One thing, to be sure, for every one of the Red Cross people who made me move, I thanked them for doing what they were doing. I was trying to be polite, but I was also trying to convince them that allowing me to sit down was the right thing to do!
Post Race
When I finished, I heard an announcer say that the winner had run a world record 2:03:01! And then I heard that Ryan Hall had broken 2:05! I waxed emotional again because I was blessed enough to be part of something as special as this race on this day.
I was overjoyed to meet Leigh and the girls. It was much easier to find them than I expected. Boston does a perfect job of organizing this race!
We took the train back to our hotel in Brookline. When I walked in wearing my finisher's medal, the whole crowd in the lobby and the employees and everyone cheered! It was awesome! So many people congratulated me on the ride back and walking on the street. This continued until we left Tuesday night. Nearly everyone congratulated me and many cheered as I walked by. I felt like a celebrity!
Work as hard as necessary and qualify and run this race. I mean it. Do it. Start now.
Ugh. I have never suffered as much as I suffered in this last mile. The crowds are deafening. After the incline to I-90, I was zapped. Then the right on Hereford and left on Boylston to the finish! I wanted so much to summon some energy for the finish. The crowds were cheering so loudly! "You've got this!" "Go Fleet Feet!" "Yay!!!" Screaming, cheering, cowbells, whistles, deafening noise! I had nothing. The hill up Hereford killed me. I've never been in that much pain in all of my life. I had a horrible side stitch. My left calf was tied in a knot. My right quad would not move. My lower abs cramped. Seriously, all of this happened at once on Hereford. I knew that I only had the left on Boylston to the finish. But when I made the left, the finish looked like it was miles away. I could not get there at all!
I seriously thought right now about quitting... Quitting running altogether. I walked. I could not run. The screaming the cheers. I was crying. Seriously, I cried like a little girl. I cried right there in front of thousands and thousands of people. I was overwhelmed with emotion and physical pain, and I couldn't make myself not cry. I hope nobody has a picture of this. I wanted so badly to get to the finish, but I had no idea how I was going to get there. I walked some more. Then, I put one foot in front of the other and started some sort of humped over limp-jog to the finish. It hurt, but I could run now. I thought I may be one of those who pass out this close to the finish line. I've never experienced this much physical suffering in my life. I dropped a 9 minute last mile. Ouch.
After crossing the finish, I just looked for somewhere to sit. But the red cross guys would not let me sit. "Are you OK?" "Yes, I'm fine, I just need to sit for a while." "You can't sit, you have to keep moving. It's better for your body to keep moving." "No, I don't want to move, I just want to sit here." "You have to move." Ugh. I got up and walked out of his sight and sat down again. This time, I lay flat on my back. "You OK?" "Yes, I'm just tired." "I can't have people laying on the sidewalk." "Ok, can I sit here?" "I'll let you sit here for 2 minutes, but then you have to move." So, I got up and got out of his sight and sat down again. What is it with these people? I don't need medical attention. I'm just tired because I just ran 26.2 miles. Can you not understand that? I just want to sit down. Please let me. One thing, to be sure, for every one of the Red Cross people who made me move, I thanked them for doing what they were doing. I was trying to be polite, but I was also trying to convince them that allowing me to sit down was the right thing to do!
Post Race
When I finished, I heard an announcer say that the winner had run a world record 2:03:01! And then I heard that Ryan Hall had broken 2:05! I waxed emotional again because I was blessed enough to be part of something as special as this race on this day.
I was overjoyed to meet Leigh and the girls. It was much easier to find them than I expected. Boston does a perfect job of organizing this race!
We took the train back to our hotel in Brookline. When I walked in wearing my finisher's medal, the whole crowd in the lobby and the employees and everyone cheered! It was awesome! So many people congratulated me on the ride back and walking on the street. This continued until we left Tuesday night. Nearly everyone congratulated me and many cheered as I walked by. I felt like a celebrity!
Work as hard as necessary and qualify and run this race. I mean it. Do it. Start now.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Boston!
There is no way to put words to what I experienced today. My friend Lance shared a video with me that helps, but still doesn't quite capture it. You have to imagine the intensity of that video for 6 or 7 hours!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpwZujYTwNM&feature=player_embedded
One thing I have to say up front... Boston knows what they are doing. They know how to handle this event and this many people. The Rock and Roll marathons need to come take lessons from these guys. The experience, everything, transportation, aid, support, logistics, the finish line, the results, EVERYTHING was perfect. I didn't notice a single glitch. I cannot wrap my mind around what it takes to pull that off. I don't know if I'll ever do another mega race except for this one. They'll all fail by this standard.
Also, kudos to the city of Boston. The people were incredibly hospitable to us tens of thousands of people who descended on their city for this race. The city is abuzz all weekend. There is so much energy in this town surrounding this event. I really cannot describe how the locals embrace and get behind this event.
A Picture of the End
Not much matters less than my finishing time in this race. Boston is about the experience. I'll post soon about my performance, but this post is about the Boston experience. I got the idea for the picture below from my friend Eric Charette and I've seen others do the same. I like it.
The Trip
I was blessed enough to be able to bring my family with me for the entire trip. Spring break fell the week before, so we made a mini-vacation out of it. I was a little concerned that would wear me out, but it was so much fun that if it added 10 minutes to my time, it was worth it. We did a quick tour of coastal Maine up to Portland on Friday. Beautiful! We explored downtown Boston on foot with Shane O'Neill and Linda and Beth Scavarda on Saturday. Sunday, we went to church in Tyngsborough, MA and stayed all day with the Christians there. That was a wonderful experience!
The Expo
Shane joined me for the expo. Ugh! It was so crowded that you could barely move! I wanted to spend more time there, but it was just too miserable. I didn't get to see nearly as much as I wanted. If I ever do Boston again, I'll spend more time at the expo. The highlight was the ability to try on the Nike GPS sportband. I don't know if I'll replace my Garmin with it or not, but I really liked it, $299 MSRP.
The Bus Ride
Part of the Boston experience is the bus ride from Boston Common to Hopkinton. You never know who you'll meet or what you'll end up talking about for the nearly 1 hour ride to the start! I had planned to meet a friend here, but with the sea of people, it was just impossible! I hoped I'd catch up with him at Athlete's Village in Hopkinton, but no luck there, either. So, from the time I left my hotel until Mile 24, I saw NOBODY that I knew! But I was far from alone.
Athlete's Village
Shivering! 40 degrees and a 10-20 mph wind made this not so great. Oh, I know it could have been much worse. I really have no complaints about the weather. But I could not get warm pre-race. I felt like I was wasting too much energy shivering.
I staked out a spot in the sun to get some warmth. I felt like I needed a flag or something to claim my ground! People everywhere! I bought a $10 fold up camping chair to take with me based on the advice of Dink Taylor. Nice. I was happy to have a place to sit! Others were jealous! I had a nice dry place to sit comfortable for nearly 2 hours. Some charity now can enjoy that chair.
The Start
Wow. I was struggling with disbelief that I was actually there. I even got emotional a couple of times near the start. I don't know why, but I fought back some tears. It is an overwhelming experience! The energy of the crowds at the start is incredible. The noise. The knowledge that the elites are just ahead. The anticipation of Wellesley and Newton and Boylston. Indescribable. This is why I trained and suffered to qualify to be part of this.
To be continued...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpwZujYTwNM&feature=player_embedded
One thing I have to say up front... Boston knows what they are doing. They know how to handle this event and this many people. The Rock and Roll marathons need to come take lessons from these guys. The experience, everything, transportation, aid, support, logistics, the finish line, the results, EVERYTHING was perfect. I didn't notice a single glitch. I cannot wrap my mind around what it takes to pull that off. I don't know if I'll ever do another mega race except for this one. They'll all fail by this standard.
Also, kudos to the city of Boston. The people were incredibly hospitable to us tens of thousands of people who descended on their city for this race. The city is abuzz all weekend. There is so much energy in this town surrounding this event. I really cannot describe how the locals embrace and get behind this event.
A Picture of the End
Not much matters less than my finishing time in this race. Boston is about the experience. I'll post soon about my performance, but this post is about the Boston experience. I got the idea for the picture below from my friend Eric Charette and I've seen others do the same. I like it.
 |
| Race shoes, shirt, bib, Garmin, and finisher's medal |
I was blessed enough to be able to bring my family with me for the entire trip. Spring break fell the week before, so we made a mini-vacation out of it. I was a little concerned that would wear me out, but it was so much fun that if it added 10 minutes to my time, it was worth it. We did a quick tour of coastal Maine up to Portland on Friday. Beautiful! We explored downtown Boston on foot with Shane O'Neill and Linda and Beth Scavarda on Saturday. Sunday, we went to church in Tyngsborough, MA and stayed all day with the Christians there. That was a wonderful experience!
The Expo
Shane joined me for the expo. Ugh! It was so crowded that you could barely move! I wanted to spend more time there, but it was just too miserable. I didn't get to see nearly as much as I wanted. If I ever do Boston again, I'll spend more time at the expo. The highlight was the ability to try on the Nike GPS sportband. I don't know if I'll replace my Garmin with it or not, but I really liked it, $299 MSRP.
The Bus Ride
Part of the Boston experience is the bus ride from Boston Common to Hopkinton. You never know who you'll meet or what you'll end up talking about for the nearly 1 hour ride to the start! I had planned to meet a friend here, but with the sea of people, it was just impossible! I hoped I'd catch up with him at Athlete's Village in Hopkinton, but no luck there, either. So, from the time I left my hotel until Mile 24, I saw NOBODY that I knew! But I was far from alone.
Athlete's Village
Shivering! 40 degrees and a 10-20 mph wind made this not so great. Oh, I know it could have been much worse. I really have no complaints about the weather. But I could not get warm pre-race. I felt like I was wasting too much energy shivering.
I staked out a spot in the sun to get some warmth. I felt like I needed a flag or something to claim my ground! People everywhere! I bought a $10 fold up camping chair to take with me based on the advice of Dink Taylor. Nice. I was happy to have a place to sit! Others were jealous! I had a nice dry place to sit comfortable for nearly 2 hours. Some charity now can enjoy that chair.
The Start
Wow. I was struggling with disbelief that I was actually there. I even got emotional a couple of times near the start. I don't know why, but I fought back some tears. It is an overwhelming experience! The energy of the crowds at the start is incredible. The noise. The knowledge that the elites are just ahead. The anticipation of Wellesley and Newton and Boylston. Indescribable. This is why I trained and suffered to qualify to be part of this.
To be continued...
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