Seeking a better country...

What a perfect night.  It's crisp, it's clear, there are blooms everywhere.  Dinosaur park, 2 laps and back.  Is it too early to start checking weather forecasts?  haha

Baby run.  My youngest sister had a little girl today, so I jogged over to the hospital to meet her.  She's perfect, but thus far remains nameless.  She came 2.5 weeks early, although the midwife had her arrival pegged.  Jack seems huge by comparison.  After holding baby girl for 20 minutes and eating a huge bakery chocolate chip cookie, I came home.  It's so tempting to go all out when you only have to run five; no need to save anything for 7-10.

Ample moon shadow
blossom's aroma wafting
what a perfect night 

For the first time this week I managed to run slowly. All I had to do was take 3 little girls on bikes, and one small boy in a jogging stroller.

No run tomorrow, as I complete my taper into the half-marathon. It's unfortunate how this race occurs 9 days before the main event. Part of me wants to skip it entirely.

Family run, including the stroller, 2 scooters, one bike, and even Tami came.  We all went just over 2, then dropped the crowd, and Jack and I went for 3 more.

5 miles on the hotel treadmill in Rochester. Knicks v bulls. I love traveling to cities with major sports teams and seeing the community identities. It is cold and a bit rainy here. We definitely traded down on the weather. Maid of the mist opens on thursday, so we are revising the itinerary to take a very brief, cold boat ride

Warmup, then 3x1 @ 6:30 pace with .5 miles in between.  It was sweaty.  That's a pretty hard effort, and I didn't notice much sea level bump.  Good to know.  Other than a couple 4 milers, that's the end.  I'm blogging this run on Friday morning before we head to the baseball hall of fame.  3 days more...

4 miles on a tm in Auburn, MA.  We drove in from Cooperstown, after a full day at the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Awesome.

I'm not very happy to see a forecast high of 86 for Monday.  Oh well.  I can't worry about things out of my control.  Water stops are every mile so it shouldn't be a problem, right?  Plus with all the community support, people passing out oranges and popsicles, this should be a breeze.  A breeze...would that be too much to hope for? 

After an eventful week of sight-seeing, it was finally time to get to work.  I've been watching the weather with consternation for a week; there was no relief when I checked it yesterday.  Resolved to the hot conditions, I decided to dial things back at the start and set my A goal to finish safely.  My dad dropped me and my Mom off at Hopkinton, and we caught the bus up to the start.  At 9:30 they were announcing temps of 80.  We didn't go to the athlete village, since we didn't have any extra clothes to drop.  Andy dropped back 4 corrals and met me in #7.  5 minutes after the elites left, we passed the start line.

Whatever it takes, participating in a Boston Marathon is worth the sacrifice.  Running is generally a pretty lonely pursuit, lacking in glamour, but at Boston, you are a ROCKSTAR!!!  This year I didn't even wear an iPod, after learning last year you can't hear your own music over the yelling of the spectators.   Scattered over the entire course, there's less than a mile of solitary running without legions of screaming spectators, kids gingerly holding out their hands for high-fives, passing out oranges, water, otter pops, ice, wet towels, sponges, etc.  

5k:  22:50  Andy and I ran together, easy, holding back.  I was very confused by the 1km marker; I didn't notice the km part and wondered how the course markers could be off by that much.  These miles were pretty effortless.

10k:  23:01  More of the same.  At mile 5 I had a curry flavored orange.  It was pretty gross.  Andy and I stayed together.  It's pretty hot.  I look at Andy's soaked shirt, and realize I look the same.  I am dumping 2 cups of water on my head every mile, and taking on extra water wherever possible at impromptu water stops.  (thanks, little kids)

15k:  22:59  At this point, I'm past the 6 mile warmup point, and feeling pretty good.  The sea level running is very nice.  At mile 7 I lost Andy at a water stop.  I thought he went ahead, so I tried to pick things up a little bit to catch him.  I never saw him again.  

20k:  23:15   Things are holding up nicely, but I'm not even halfway done.  I dug into my new utility belt (just like Batman, but with less compartments) and ate some Smarties.  Yum.  I've been pounding oranges, and taking otter pops as well.  I am not feeling waterlogged, and have no struggles with gu-gut, because I'm not eating any gu.

Half:  1:37:02  This is just a number.  

25k:  24:10  A bit of slowing, but I'm passing people fairly regularly.  The heat is taking it's toll, with more and more people walking.  I'm locked in with a guy from Canada, hearing lots of shouts "Go, Canada!"  The scream wall at Wellesley was awesome.  I didn't kiss a single girl.  In this leg, I spotted Andrea.  She gave me a great boost when I really needed something.  Thanks!

30k:  24:40  A bit more slowing.  The hills are looming, and did I mention it's pretty hot?  It's getting late enough to start counting down miles.  Under 10...9....

35k:  26:31  Ugh.  I slowed to down a 5 hour energy, and walked some.  The crowd is fantastic, and it's demoralizing how many people are passing me when I'm walking, so I run some more.  I'm not going to stop any more.

40k:  24:25  I guess the caffeine kicked in, or I was able to make something of the downhills.  I'm stunned to see 6's on my garmin when I look down once in a while.  My quads are crampy, and my hands are tingling.  I'm skipping drinks, but still dumping water over my head.  The fire hydrants, hoses, and water from spectators are cold while the water stops are lukewarm.  The crowd noise and encouragement are a huge boost.  It hurts more to walk than run, so I run.  It's pretty hot.

42.16k:  10:25   On to the finish.  I cross the line at 3:22:13.  I'm dizzy, my hands are numb.  I like to lay down after a race, but they tell me to keep walking.  People are staggering all over the place.  I get caught up in that, and go to the med-tent.  The best thing about it is being out of the sun, and getting some gatorade without disgusting protein.  My quads are really jacked up, but I feel fine considering.  My kids spot me, and we wait for a couple hours for my Mom to finish.  She made it under 5 hours, taking 10th in her age group.  

It was a tough, tough day.  I slowed, but that's okay.  I found a groove again after losing a groove, which is encouraging.  I moved up 4400 places from my seed, which is better than last year.   

Tonight I'm not too beat up.  No blisters, a tiny bit of sunburn, tired legs, but nothing a few days off won't solve.  Maybe I can make a run at 3 hrs @ UVM.   

Under the category of FRB sightings,  I ran into Walter coming back from the expo on a school bus on Saturday.  Also, in Detroit, Matt Mackey re-introduced himself to me.  We served in the same mission, and ended up on the same flight into Salt Lake.  Maybe if I try really hard, I can meet half as many bloggers in person as Burt.

I took the three little ones for a shakeout.  The stroller and 2 bikes tend to enforce going slow.  We went to the Ricks creek waterfall, then the girls wanted to play at the park.  Jack was asleep by then, so I sat on the bench and watched them for a while.  Before coming back, Anna walked into the unlocked bathroom to take care of business.  She saw it was a robot toilet and decided she could wait till she got home.  It's funny how kids hate auto-flush.  She also complained it smelled like dead bugs in there.  I thought it smelled like poop, but that's just me.

I know the run was helpful to me mentally.  I'm not sure about physical benefits.  My rt ankle really tightened up since, and it wasn't bothering me before.  My legs feel pretty normal, but the left calf is still a bit tight.  I might have to pay for a massage.

Boston was fantastic.  I'm so pleased with how the trip went.  The kids all claim they had a great time; I know I did.  Of course it would be nice to have run a faster marathon, but given the conditions, I'm satisfied with that outcome as well.  

a.m. 10k  Jack woke up at 6.  Tami said he woke her at 2.  That made it my turn.  When I got him out of his crib, lo and behold Ashlei was sitting on the couch playing a draw game on the iPad.  I had some oatmeal, fed Jack and bribed Ash to join us on a run with a donut.  We went to Farmington and back, stopping at Fresh Market for her donut.  Jack fell asleep before the turnaround.  Temps were perfect.

 p.m. 6m  Just after sunset, Tami and I ran on BST almost to Ricks Creek, before coming down Oakridge.  We ran into a night running woman who was happy to join us; it was pretty dark and she was pretty nervous.   (She spoke of a 3:18 marathon at Desnews.  I'll have to get her on the blog.)  We ran her home, then dropped Tami home and ran the uphill mile to pick up the car.  It was a bit warm.  I need to talk her into running in the morning.

Congrats to everyone who ran SL marathon events today.  Bloggers made some cash, baby.

I was thinking about mile 24 of the marathon today.  At that stage, I was feeling pretty done; my quads were really tight, my hands numb and my head was getting a bit dizzy.  Just on this side of walking, I noticed a guy ahead with Phillipians 4:13 on the back of his singlet.  That verse is pretty popular with several fellow bloggers.    I read it, and ran the rest of the way in.  This is the only marathon with no walking spikes on my pace graph after mile 23.  

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." 

BST to Freedom Hills.  I ran pretty hard the whole time.  I left a bit too late for the light remaining, and got off the trails just before visibility was very sketchy.

It's hard to comprehend these temperatures in April.  Last night it didn't even drop below 70.  Who traded April for July?

I spent the whole run thinking about transcending pain.  I don't spend enough time in pain to learn how to compartmentalize it, or embrace it and run along with it. I think good runners are able to shut it out or work with it somehow, like a woman in labor.  

At Boston, I spent a mile behind a guy with a tank that said "Trained on speed and LSD."  I'm embarrassed that it took me around 10 minutes to figure out what it meant.   I need a shirt that says "Smack me hard if I'm walking."  I looked at my garmin for the first time, and my race report isn't strictly accurate, it appears.  The lowlight includes a 9:42 mile.  I should have checked it out sooner when correlating stages and places were fresh in my mind.  A week later, the entire marathon is just a sweaty, pleasant smear in my mind.

After dropping the van off for some work, I unloaded the stroller and Jack and we went for our longest run ever.  I need to cut down the straps, because they are too loose, and the little wiggle-worm was thrashing all around, flipping over, and standing up backwards looking at me while I'm running down Legacy.  He's so cute.  Between that and him throwing toys out, we had a pretty slow go until he fell asleep 5 miles in.  But then it was time to head south into the wind with the stroller that acts like a sail.  Dinner wasn't sitting very well either, so the miles were pretty slow.  That's all right, I need to get in lots of  LSD.

I think the omnis are bothering my rt ankle.  It was stiff last night and this morning.  I wonder what has changed.  I've been running in that model shoe for 2+ years without any ill effects, but the last two times...  I don't mind getting out of that shoe, except the miles are still low.  It's a good thing I got them on clearance, or my price per mile would be unreasonably high.  I imagine they'll be fine for lawns or hiking. 

treadmill miles with Big Bang Theory.  Ha ha ha ha.

I was not primed and ready for this race.  Sleep has been horrible, allergies problematic, and a cold struck Friday afternoon.  The only thing I did properly was eat a ton on Friday.  The company provided Rumbi for lunch and my niece's 4th birthday party featured spaghetti.  

Spencer and I drove up, arriving 10 minutes before the start.  It was 30 degrees, so I had on too many clothes.  I needlessly gave away my age group placement running a slow half the week before Boston, but I wanted to see what I could make up.  My legs are still sluggish, so instead of going all out from the start, I started off easy, planning to pick things up for the last 5 or 6 miles.

Mile 1:  I ran with Amber, a blog newbie.  8:02

Mile 2-12 I ran with Spencer, and a bunch of other guys.  We had a group of 6 or 7 guys all clumped together bsing about marathons, OV50, and other race plans.  The miles ticked off pretty easy, but by mile 9 it was starting to feel like work.  Most of these miles were in the neighborhood of 7:40.

At this point, I had a 5 hour energy and started the tempo portion.  I didn't wear a garmin, but my effort was pretty steady.  I ended up finishing right at 2:19, so the pace was just under 7:00 for the last 6.7 miles.  

Like last year, this was plenty.  I was very wiped out after finishing, and couldn't even accompany Tara and Mark for a full cooldown.  Racing 30k  12 days post marathon is not something I am in shape for.  But it was a good workout.  

I did manage to climb back into third place in the age group for the series.   

Striders does a fantastic job with these races.  The courses are well supported, organized, scenic, and start on time.  The finisher prize this year was a wicking hat, besides medals for the half and series.   5 races for  $100 (if you sign up early) is tough to beat, and it's a nice way to stay motivated through the winter's dark days. 

Congrats to Ben VanBeekum and Mark P for 1st and 2nd overall, and Tara for 3rd overall in the women.