Wheeler Farm Loops

AM - 20 miles. Long run on the Boston Marathon course. Started at my hotel (near Boston Common) and ran the course backwards until I was about a half-mile past the Newton firehouse, then turned around and did it the proper way. The hill right after the fire station is the toughest of them all (in my opinion). Glad I was able to do this today, as I'm guessing most of my runs over the next couple mornings will be along the river.

Skipped the PM run in favor of a long nap.

I'm in Boston for Saucony's sales meeting (aka "Saucony General Conference"). Tonight was the opening presentations and there were 3 fantastic talks by Richie Woodworth, Pat O'Malley, and Chris Linder. I feel very lucky to know these guys (and so many other people at the company). The Saucony team just exudes passion for the sport. Lots of exciting stuff on the way... I'm looking forward to the next couple days here.

AM - 10 miles. First 6 w/ a big group along the river and then 4 more solo in the commonz. Had a couple Irishmen in the group, thought for a second Bam had moved here instead of England.

PM - 7.5 miles along the river w/ one of the Saucony reps. Pouring rain... Fun!

AM - 10 miles. Started with the big group, similar to yesterday. Ran along the river.

PM - 7.5 miles. River run.

I'm so excited about Saucony's product line for 2014. I can't divulge too much, but the level of innovation is through the roof. I'll post some more info about it tomorrow, but in the coming days/weeks I'm going to start building a database of Utah runners who want to participate in wear/fit testing for new products in development. Stay tuned - there will be some good opportunities, and it's going to start with this blog.

Mile Erizione (captain of the 1980 USA "miracle on ice" hockey team) gave a surprise speech at our dinner banquet this evening. Really motivating stuff.

AM - 10 miles along the Charles River. Went earlier than the main group because I'm flying back to SLC this morning.

PM - 4 miles.

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm going to be assisting Saucony with their field testing of new products - primarily footwear in the short term, but also apparent at some point in the future as well. That doesn't necessarily mean "free shoes for FRB" but there are going to be some great opportunities. I have assured Saucony that we can build a strong testing program in Utah, and I truly believe that. We have a ton of dedicated, passionate, smart runners in the area - and Saucony really values that feedback as they develop new products. You'll have the opportunity to have a real voice in the process, as I'll be a direct liaison to their performance lab engineers, designers, and developers. Step 1 is to start building my database of runners who are interested in participating on some level.

Fill out this form to get in my database: Saucony Product Testing Application 

AM - 13 miles. 4 mile AT Tempo in 21:12 (5:18/mi) - 5:19, 5:21, 5:18, 5:14. 6 up, 3 down. Tempo loop. It's a start! Gotta drop about a stone of weight, but keeping the efforts shorter for the time being is better as I try to rebuild my hamstring strength anyways.

PM - 8 miles w/ 8 x 200m in ~35s 

Here's the form I need y'all to fill out to get in my tester database: Saucony Product Testing Application. I can't guarantee that everyone will qualify for every initial test, but the bigger and more diverse the pool of people I have to work with, the more options Saucony will have in terms of what shoes they send out this way.

Or you could just wear New Balance. Your call...

AM - 14 miles. Ten laps around Liberty Park on the woodchips/grass. Not really as boring as you would think. James and Kevin were there for the first 5 laps, so that made the time fly by.

PM - 6 miles. 

AM - 14 miles. First 6 easy and then into a 6 mile AT progression - 5:40, 5:36, 5:30, 5:24, 5:18, 5:13. Tempo Loop. Cooled down 2 more.

PM - 5 miles along the water in Hood River, OR. We spent the day sightseeing (ie. WATERFALLS!) along the Columbia River gorge. It was a wonderful sunny day in Oregon... hope that holds for the wedding tomorrow.