Glen

A2A marathon

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Location:

Idaho Falls,ID,

Member Since:

Mar 16, 2012

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Las Vegas 2010

St. George 2011

California International Marathon 2011 - 3:29:32  BQ

Pocatello Marathon 3:48

Top of Utah  3:28:10 

A2A Marathon 3:25:23 

Boston 2013  PR 3:23:49

To Bone and Back - 40 mi Solo  6:37  9:57/mi

Sawtooth relay (solo) 100K  10:37

Short-Term Running Goals:

RONR 108

Long-Term Running Goals:

Keep running

Personal:

Married with two children, one in high school, one in college, one in grad school on her own out in the real world.  My lovely and gracious wife is a professional body builder (100% natural).  If I trained half as hard as she does, I really would be fast.  I make my living as a self employed geophysicist.

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
417.3099.50516.80
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

6 mi @ mgp on the TM at the gym

Comments
From Curt on Wed, Jan 02, 2013 at 16:22:52 from 69.20.189.206

More temps like this and I'll be tagging along with you when you head south. I'm jealous!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

10 on the tm @ mgp.  too cold outside.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

Too cold out <0.  Went to the gym.  Quit after 5.0 miles.  Felt awful.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Got a two week membership at the American Muscle Gym in Carlsbad, New Mexico.  No equipment at the motel.  6 miles at mgp on the treadmill after a day of field work.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

back on the treadmill for 8 miles at mgp +30 secs.  after a long day in the field

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

10 miles on the Canal bike path in Carlsbad NM after a short day in the field.  Struggled much of the way.  Hope it was just one of those days.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.006.006.00

treadmill at the American Muscle Gym.  6 miles just under mgp.  felt a bit better than yesterday.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.0012.5012.50

12.5 miles under mgp with Corey in Carlsbad.  Good run today after a tough day Wednesday.  Encouraging. 

Comments
From Gama on Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 23:00:29 from 174.126.69.99

way to go!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.006.006.00

6 miles on the treadmill just under mgp

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

4 miles on the treadmill tired sore hips

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Long day again the field.  Kept the pace very slow.  Hips felt ok but not good.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

6 mi on the canal bike path in Carlsbad, NM  ooch!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.500.0010.50

Ran with Pete in Carlsbad.  3.5 mile loop from NMSU parking lot to the top of the hill (+400ft).  3X

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
15.000.0015.00

15 miles on the treadmill. 

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

@ MGP

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

treadmill

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

10 easy miles from SRL with friends

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
20.000.0020.00

20 miles up and down Sunnyside.  Kept the pace even at 30 seconds over goal pace.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.006.006.00

Elko, NV up and down the road in front of the motel at 30 sec. under goal pace.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

8 easy mi on the treadmill. 

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.007.007.00

7 @ mgp around the greenbelt

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
20.300.0020.30

What a good run. About 30 sec. over goal pace.   I was able to handled the last two hills at mile 19 pretty well.

All signed up for the A2A  Bar Nothing Marathon in Ardmore OK on 3/2.  It is about 6 weeks before Boston.  Training is going so well that I'm toying with going for a PR.  Maybe I should wait until after next weeks long training run and see how it goes first.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.008.008.00

Boise Green Belt before work.  Dark and slippery but did at at 30 sec under goal pace.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.000.007.00

None of the group showed at SRL.   Did 7 on my own with no watch.  The pace felt pretty good.

 Reached a big goal this week.  I've gotten the weight under 150.  I'll be running in 2 weeks almost 10 pounds lighter than TOU.  Imagine leaving 10 pounds at the start line.  I'm not sure if the conditioning is where I would like it to be, but dragging 10 fewer pounds 26 miles has to help.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
20.000.0020.00

from the house down sunnyside to the interstate then home.  Pretty good pace.  No GPS.  The bank clock said said I did miles 6-14 at just over goal pace.  The last 4 miles were slippery and into the snow and wind.  Did not finish as strong as last week.  Oh well.  Now we taper.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.000.003.00

well into the taper.  motel (Great Falls, MT)  treadmill at mgp

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

5 miles on a treadmill at mgp.  One day membership at Peak Health club, Great Falls, MT.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

4 miles on the community bike path.  Lewistown, MT.  Practiced maintaining mgp without staring down the garmin.  Everything feels good.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

8 miles on the path in Lewistown, MT.  Practiced keeping it a goal pace without checking the GPS too often.  Miles 4 and 5 got onto a very soft snowmobile trail.  Pace dropped way off.  Picked it up on miles 6,7 and 8 to finish exactly at pace.  Just a couple of short runs before Ardmore, OK 26.2

Comments
From jtshad on Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 12:59:55 from 141.221.191.225

Good luck at the marathon.

From Glen on Fri, Mar 01, 2013 at 09:21:06 from 67.76.56.72

Thanks Jeff. I am almost afraid to say out load how prepared I feel. Got most of the miles in that I had planned for training and no aches or injuries. The game plan is to run even splits at goal pace (maybe a few seconds under) and try to finish strong. In the past I have always faded badly at the end. I want to know what it feels like to run the last mile or two under mgp.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.003.003.00

On the treadmill, just under goal pace

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.003.003.00

3 miles @ 30 sec under goal pace.  I think I am ready

Comments
From JimmySG on Fri, Mar 01, 2013 at 09:40:09 from 204.113.19.55

Have a great race...

Race: A2A marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:25:23, Place overall: 5, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

PR on a windy day.  very pleased with the results.

Home now, so a full race report.   I had planned to run Cow Town Marathon the previous week, but work got in the way.  We had already told friends we were coming to the area so I decided run the A2A marathon this weekend instead.  The race is a very small race, but I found several favorable comments.

Training over the winter has gone pretty well.  I was able to get most of the miles I had planned in even with a lot of travel and busy work schedule.  The best part was no injuries and no aches or pains.  I wanted to do a race about 6 or 8 weeks before Boston.  A2A fit the bill.

I decided to try for a PR.   I always seem to settle on the same strategy.  Take off at goal pace (7:50).  See how long I can keep it up.  Try to run by feel and don't get too worried if I get ahead of schedule.

The start was quite cool and the wind was already picking up.  The director had trouble getting anyone to move up to the starting line.  Modest group.

First 3 miles was a small climb followed by the only real downhill on the coarse.  The uphill felt just fine @ 7:50.  Went a little quicker on the downhill, miles 3-6.

Miles 6 and 7 headed out onto the long flat straight shot.  Still moved along a little under goal pace.  The wind was blowing but not a real problem.

Miles  8-11 were a flat out and back.  Wind was not a problem.  Continued on a little under goal pace.

We got back to the highway at mile 11.  At this point I was in 10th place.  This is when I really started to notice the wind. From here to mile 20 was a long gradual climb straight into the wind.  I managed to catch 3 or 4 runners on this stretch.  It was hard to tell because we were running with a lot of half marathoners.  Ran a couple of miles alongside a fella that ran the Cow Town 50K the week before.

The climb and the wind made mile 19 tough and the pace was starting to suffer but was still close to goal pace.

At mile 20 we headed out on the second out and back into the regional park while the half marathon coarse took a left for their last mile into the stadium.   The next 5 miles were a series of small rollers that were really getting tough.  I was now just trying to stay comfortable.  I started doing the math in my head to see if I could get in under 3:25.  It was going to be close, but there I didn't have a lot left.

At mile 23 I was now feeling fatigued.  I kind of wanted to push the pace, but couldn't.  Struggled over the last few rollers.  The pace fell off to 8:30.   Made it into the stadium for the last 1/4 mile.

Overall I am very pleased with my performance.  New PR is always good although I feel like I let the 3:25 slip away at the very end.

My final thoughts are that I really enjoyed running in this small race.  I had a good day, a good time, and it felt like a race.  I clearly had no shot and never had any expectation of winning, but to hear encouragement from the volunteers and fans tell you tell you how many runner were ahead of you (single digits, not hundreds or thousands) and how many minutes back from the next guy was fun and motivating.

 

 

 

Comments
From SlowJoe on Sun, Mar 03, 2013 at 14:06:20 from 69.131.141.92

Congratulations - to PR on a day like that is amazing! (I ran the half)

From Glen on Sun, Mar 03, 2013 at 14:12:29 from 70.196.37.93

Thanks. The worst of the wind was on the highway. The out and backs were better. Kind of wondering what i might have done sans wind though.

From SlowJoe on Sun, Mar 03, 2013 at 14:18:59 from 69.131.141.92

I'm glad you guys got a few wind breaks, at least. My thoughts were, "at least I'm not doing the full." Anyway, I'm sure you'd be sub-3:20, if not faster.

From Curt on Sun, Mar 03, 2013 at 14:48:12 from 174.232.194.90

Congrats Glen, that's awesome!

From jtshad on Sun, Mar 03, 2013 at 16:06:14 from 69.20.183.178

Congrats on the PR and great time (and 5th place finish). I am looking forward to the full report!

From seeaprilrun on Sun, Mar 03, 2013 at 19:35:02 from 68.102.189.33

Wow! impressive day for a PR! I,too, felt sorry for the full marathoners today!!

From Glen on Sun, Mar 03, 2013 at 19:46:49 from 70.196.31.43

I held up petty well until mile 23/24 then i too began to feel sorry for the marathoners.

Ps the nearest windmill of over 100 is only a couple of miles from my home. Guess all that training in the wind came in handy.

Thanks for the words of encourament.

From shellberns on Thu, Mar 07, 2013 at 12:55:06 from 174.126.52.90

Nice job, Glen and in less than ideal conditions! You are going to ROCK Boston!! Good to see you today!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.003.003.00

First run after the race.  Nothing seems broken.  Ran at 30 seconds under mgp although I am considering a new goal pace for Boston.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.500.003.50

3.5 slow miles with the fella that talked me into running a marathon a couple of years ago.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

10 miles from the house.  no gps or watch.  pace felt good.  still feeling the calves a bit from the race Sunday.  Looking forward to 3 or 4 good training weeks before boston.  Flights are set.  car is rented.  we are staying with a friend on Cape Cod then moving to an apartment she keeps in marlborough right near the start.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

5 w/ Jeff

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

6 miles from the house.  It was supposed to be an easy day, but I kept catching myself pushing the pace a little.  No GPS.  No watch.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.006.006.00

Just under mgp on the treadmill.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

5 very slow miles w/ jeff at SRL.  everything feels good

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

5 w/ Tami, Diana and Jack @ SRL then continued on for 3 more w/ Tami.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
16.000.0016.00

On Jeff's recommendation, I parked at the top of Sunnyside and did 8 out towards Bone then back on a beautiful morning.  about 1 min over MGP although I ended up working pretty hard on the last couple of miles back up a pretty steep grade.  Overall an excellent outing.  Legs are a bit tired but nothing hurts or is broken.

Comments
From jtshad on Sat, Mar 16, 2013 at 11:38:24 from 69.20.183.178

Great workout, it will pay off come Boston! It was a very nice morning for a run...Gray and I were on the other side of the foothills running up and back on Crowley Road through Iron Rim...another good hill training.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Windy out so I headed for the treadmill.  5 @ 45 sec over goal pace.  1 @ goal pace.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.008.008.00

8 mi @ 40 sec under MPG. Good hard run

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.250.007.25

Went to SRL to meet friends for an easy 7.  Mixed rain and snow so everyone else was a no show.  I had put my garmin on top of the car.   Forgot it was there and drove off to knock on Jeff's door to get him out.  Found the Garmin a couple hours later smashed to pieces in the middle of broadway.  It never had a chance. Sad day.  It was my first.  It logged a lot of good miles.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.0010.0010.00

10 @ goal pace on the treadmill.  Seemed easy and everything is feeling good.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

6 miles from the house @ MGP +30 sec.  worked pretty hard on the hills to keep the pace even

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

6 easy miles on the Paradise Path in between Moscow, ID and Pullman, WA after field work.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
18.000.0018.00

East of Moscow Idaho 90 sec at over goal pace.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

6 easy miles on the TM at the gym.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.0010.0010.00

10 miles from the house @ MPG -20 sec. 

Comments
From jtshad on Thu, Mar 28, 2013 at 15:00:18 from 141.221.191.225

Great run!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

6 miles from the house @ MGP +30 sec.  Easy day.  Tried to keep the pace even.  Had to work a bit on the last couple of miles back up to the house.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

8 miles by feel from the house.  Always a little hill work on the last two miles back up the hill.

Decided on a full 3 week taper for Boston.  Everything feels great.  Figure I can only mess things up at this point if I keep the miles up too long. 

Comments
From Curt on Sat, Mar 30, 2013 at 07:57:18 from 69.20.189.206

Sounds like all is well for you for Boston. Can't wait to hear how it goes.

From Glen on Sat, Mar 30, 2013 at 08:03:44 from 75.174.58.148

Things are going so well I am almost afraid to say it out loud for fear of jinxing my run. If I can keep my emotions under control I think will have a good day.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.000.0012.00

12 by feel from the house.  They felt good, very good.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

Taper run.  practiced pace for most of the run and effort on the hills.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.250.005.25

Very slow through the hilly neighborhoods.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

4 miles without the GPS.   Felt like I was completely guessing at the pace.  Taper mind tricks.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.003.003.00

Very windy today so off to the gym.  3 @ MGP.  I hate tapers.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.008.008.00

8 miles at mgp in the wind.  Thought hard about pace and effort.

Race: Boston Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:23:49, Place overall: 6775, Place in age division: 520
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

got out of the area safe before the trouble.  oh, i got a pr.  more later when i am at a real keyboard. 

Made it back to Idaho safe and sound.  My niece also ran the race.  Her first marathon.  Ran as a charity runner for Tufts University.  She was put on a bus at mile 25. I am more disappointed in her lost opportunity than any impact the events had on me.  Her husband was in the finish area and heard and felt the blast but was not hurt.

Flew into Hartford CT on Wednesday and spent most of the week at my wife's college roommates home on Cape Cod.  Her roommate keeps an apartment 10 minutes from the start for work during the week.  We did the packet pickup on Sunday, then went to the apartment Sunday night.

Used the runner drop off near Hopkinton.  Easy Easy.  No crowds or lines. 

Best race I have ever run.  New PR.  Last thing my wife said to me at the runner drop-off was "run smart".  I distinctly remember her saying "don't be stupid".   Either way, I finally ran a marathon with even/negative splits.

Summary

Training went so well over the winter, against the advice of many, I decided I wanted to go for a PR.  The plan was to take off at the goal pace, but not fight the crowd, just go with the flow.

I started in corral 4 of the second wave.  Again, very well organized.  I was worried about a crowded start, but it was not as bad as I had feared.  Turns out the crowd was a good thing keeping me right at goal pace.  I cruised along almost exactly at the pace I needed.  Everything stayed right on pace all the way to Newton.  Felt great and was right on pace.  I tried not to push on the hills and keep the effort even.  Made it to the top of heart break hill just ahead of schedule.

Legs felt good.  Wind felt good.  Figured I would pick up the pace and see how long I could hold on.  According the the GPS I was going a little quicker, but I felt like I was flying.  The only trouble the entire race was I felt the first sign of a cramp in the left calf at mile 24.  At that point I was pretty sure I would make the PR if I could keep the cramp from setting in.  I eased up a little, but that only made it dicier. I decided to just go.

3:23:49  Took about 1:30 off my previous best.

Met up with the wife and friend and decided to head back to the apartment.  We were already on the train with the trouble started.  For reasons good and bad I will remember the day for a very long time 

Comments
From Britta on Tue, Apr 16, 2013 at 10:03:42 from 99.107.166.81

Glad you are ok!

From jtshad on Tue, Apr 16, 2013 at 13:57:46 from 141.221.191.225

Congrats on the PR. Glad you are safe.

From Curt on Tue, Apr 16, 2013 at 20:16:38 from 69.20.189.206

First of all I'm glad you guys are Ok. Second of all, great race. I was watching your splits and you ran a very solid race. You didn't fall off your pace at all the entire race. Great job and congrats on the PR!

From allie on Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 20:19:39 from 97.117.80.97

congrats on the PR. happy to hear you are okay.

From crhudman on Fri, Apr 19, 2013 at 12:27:56 from 174.239.97.4

Great race. Glad you got out ahead of time.

From jtshad on Fri, Apr 19, 2013 at 13:12:43 from 64.134.235.101

congrats on the pr and smartly run race.

From shellberns on Fri, Apr 19, 2013 at 16:49:42 from 174.126.52.90

I'm so happy for you, Glen! Great race and PR. Glad you and your family are okay.

From Glen on Fri, Apr 19, 2013 at 20:19:57 from 75.174.49.234

Curt, Craig, Shell, Jeff, et. al. Thanks for the concern and congratulations. What a day. What a week.

Looks like #2 is in custody,

I think I'll go for a run tomorrow.

Race: To Bone and Back (40 Miles) 06:37:40, Place overall: 6
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
40.000.0040.00

I haven't been posting miles for weeks but thought I would post this race.

Ran the Bone to Back 40 mile relay race solo.  I must admit I enjoyed it.  My son and one of his buddies drove support.  I'll remember that for ever.

The course is an out and back with 3,700 feet of cumulative climb, the vast majority of it on leg 2, miles 5-10.

Leg 1.  Flat 5 miles.  Ran the first couple of miles with my friend Marlin, a very strong runner so I made my mind up early to just let him go.  Tried to keep the pace between 8:30 and 9:00.   No walking.  Started fueling early.

Leg 2.  1,200 feet of climb.  I ran (slowly), until I felt the hart rate pick up then started to mix in 50/50 walking.  Got to the top and felt OK.  Continued to fuel and hydrate according to plan.

Leg 3  Rolling hills.  Tried to  hold myself back and keep the pace down.  Continued to fuel and hydrate according to plan.

Leg 4  More rolling hills with a good climb at the end.  Mixed in the walking 50/50 on the uphills.  Turn around at the Bone Store.  Started to feel my stomach so decided to back off on the fuel and changed to 100% water.

Leg 5  Felt good, only 20 miles to go.  Probably worked a little too hard with not enough walking.  More mild stomach complaints so started to skip fuel and stayed with 100% water.

Leg 6  This leg has a lot of climb.  I mixed in a lot of walking, but probably worked too hard.  The end of leg 6 takes you back to the high spot of the race.  I figured if I could get there without overdoing it I was home free for the last 10 miles.  No fuel, 100% water.

Leg 7 This leg is a steep long down hill.  Felt the first cramps as soon as I started down the hill.   Managed to work my way through the calf cramps and worked a pretty good 5 miles down the hill.

Leg 8 The last leg was tough.  Legs, calves, and thighs shot.  Calves keep cramping, but was able to walk them out.  At mile 38 I was feeling bad.  Chugged a 12 oz coke.  Mile 38 I could not walk off the calf cramps.  Stopped and massaged them.  A nice young man on an 8 man team patted me on the back and encouraged me.  It was either the Coke or the encouragement but I was able to run the last 1.5 miles in pretty good fashion.

Made my goal of < 7 hrs,  < 10 min miles.

The legs were spent, but I have felt worse at the end of marathons.  Had a lot of fun.  I enjoyed the challenge and the doubts and fears of a DNF.  I will be doing the ulta thing again.


Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Easy from the house.  Roads were pretty good.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
17.500.0017.50

Had 16 planned, but detoured to the folks house for a couple of minutes around mile 7 to see how mom was doing.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
417.3099.50516.80
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