The Long Run

Boston Marathon

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Location:

FL,

Member Since:

Mar 20, 2007

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

PR's:

  • 1 mile : 5:43 (3/2017)
  • 5K : 18:34 (12/2011)
  • 5 mile : 32:03 (5/2010)
  • 10K : 39:29 (11/2013)
  • 11K: 46:47 (July 2008)
  • Half Marathon : 1:26:47 (11/2012)
  • Marathon : 3:06:34 (02/2010)
  • 50K Trail: 4:34 (01/2012)
  • 50 Mile: 8:34:48 (4/2012)
  • 100K: 11:06 (2/2012)
  • 100 Mile: 24:19:44 (1/2022)

Marathons:

  • Treasure Coast Marathon (FL) - 3:39:51, Mar 2021
  • Towpath Marathon (OH) - 3:35:26, Oct 2019
  • Jacksonville Marathon - 3:31:10, Dec 2018
  • NYC Marathon - 3:49:12, Nov 2017
  • Marine Corps Marathon - 3:27:00, Oct 2016
  • Utah Valley - Jun 2016
  • Marine Corps Marathon - 3:28:12, Oct 2015
  • Pocatello Marathon (ID) - 3:32:25, Sept 2015
  • Chasing The Unicorn (PA) - 3:31:20, Aug 2015
  • Run for The Red (Poconos) - 3:30:40, May 2015
  • Boston - 3:24:42, Apr 2015
  • Clearwater - 3:27:04, Jan 2015
  • Clearwater - 3:16:17, Jan 2014
  • Boston  - 3:27:00, Apr 2011
  • DesNews - 3:10:57, Jul 2010
  • Gasparilla  - 3:06:34, Feb 2010
  • Space Coast - 3:11:29, Nov 2009
  • Estes Park  (7500' and up) - 3:52:19, Jun 2009
  • Boston - 3:17:22, Apr 2009
  • Niagara Falls - 3:19:21, Oct 2008
  • San Diego RnR  - 3:24:18, Jun 2008
  • Jacksonville Marathon -3:21:24, Dec 2007
  • Chicago Marathon - 3:35:08, Oct 2007
  • Disney Marathon - 3:52:34, Jan 2007

 

 

 

 

Short-Term Running Goals:

 

  • Sub 40:00 10K
  • 2:59 Marathon
  • 1:25 Half Marathon
  • 18:30 5K

 

Long-Term Running Goals:

Maintain my health and continuously seek to improve my fitness. Maybe someday get under 3:00 for marathon. More importantly, I'd like to figure out what my maximum ability is and reach that.

I'd also like to find the right balance in life and use running to enhance and improve myself.

 

Personal:

Dad of  three (welcome Charlotte Dani on 8/10/20) awesome kids and stepdad to three almost as awesome as my own kids.

I have a brown dog named Stella, and three cats - Catty, Tortie, and Esperanza.

  (old lines that were a little out of date but couldn't quite bring myself to removing them completely:) Also, have one wonderful brown dog named Sammy and just added a grey tiger cat (Catty) whose life started out rough but now has a better home.

I've recently started another blog so I can easily add lots of pictures and so other non-FRB users can leave comments:

Forward Progress!

 Also, for 2012 I started a blog to write down each day one thing that I am grateful for

Grateful Blog

 

Love living in Florida but love to travel and see the country and rest of the world.

 

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 1390.02
Brooks T7 Lifetime Miles: 202.78
Brooks ST5 Lifetime Miles: 403.91
GoMeb Speed3 Lifetime Miles: 483.77
Brooks Pure Flow Lifetime Miles: 160.60
Brooks Launch(lobster) Lifetime Miles: 782.98
GoMeb Razor Lifetime Miles: 468.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
98.0743.605.000.000.000.000.00146.67
Glycerin 6 (new) Miles: 67.11Asics Gel Equation (new) Miles: 48.75New Balance 825 Miles: 8.86
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
11.150.000.000.000.000.000.0011.15

I went to the other Y this morning - the Lansbrook YMCA for a change of scenery.  Plans to get an early start were foiled slightly by trying to revive my ipod nano which has not recovered yet from Sunday's 20 miler.  So, finally I gave up and dug out my old reliable Rio Cali from the junk drawer.

Arrived at the Y, ran into Bob on the way in and chatted with him for about 10 minutes, then did a 10 minute bike warm up, two sets of ball crunches and then 2.1 miles on the treadmill averaging about an 8:30 pace (splits of 9:00 and 8:00).

Went outside next and ran through the neighborhood, over near the lake park and then onto Lansbrook parkway and bake to East Lake Rd, then headed up the bike path there.   Things were going pretty well so far, pace felt good, trying to keep it somewhere between easy and not too fast.  At about 6 miles into the run I developed a mild side stitch which I could not shake.  It didn't stop me, just made the run less fun.  Also less fun was the high humidity and the temp which ended up at 78 degrees.  After 8 miles I took a short walking break to try and shake the side stitch, at which point I noticed that my breathing and heart rate were back up.  I relaxed a little bit and then finished up the last mile.

I got home a little bit late and missed seeing Jenny and the boys before she took them to school.  Somehow I managed to get into work a few minutes earlier than yesterday.

Glycerin 6 (new) Miles: 11.15
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.202.000.000.000.000.000.0010.20

Today's run was great, I loved it.  Not the fastest or the farthest, just an all around good run.  Warmed up on my bike with a loop around the neighborhood, then headed out on my run.  Left from my house and headed towards Starkey Blvd.  Slow at first, then gradually faster.  I caught up with David and ran with him for about a half a mile until I was at my turn around point.  Pace kept on creeping up until the end.  Last two miles at 7:15 and 7:08.

Average pace: 7:43

The morning was foggy, and slightly cool at first.  The cool quickly turned to warm until it was almost hot when I finished, escaped just in time!

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.271.000.000.000.000.000.0010.27

Last night I had been trying to decide which route to run.  This morning the answer seemed clearer as it was unexpectedly raining quite heavily (well, at least unexpected for me since I didn't check the weather report because they have been wrong a lot).  So, I went to the YMCA with the plan to run about 4 miles on the treadmill and then see if the rain stopped.

The rain did stop, so after 4.25 miles on the treadmill at just faster than 8:00 pace, I went outside for another 6.  Ended up with 6.02 @ 7:36 pace.   Having learned something from Sunday, I left my ipod shuffle in the car in case the rain started again.  I did get rained on for about 2 minutes while running which actually felt quite nice.  Temp was just over 70.

Going to spectate again for Jenny at the IronGirl 10K race in Clearwater tomorrow, I'll do my long run on Sunday again like last week, only 12 miles this weekend.

I am grateful to have gotten through another good week of running relatively unscathed.  My slightly sore hip from earlier in the week has completely resolved, feeling pretty good now.

Glycerin 6 (new) Miles: 10.27
Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.003.400.000.000.000.000.0012.40

Had a good solid 12 mile run this morning.  Joe picked me up and we headed over for a new route.  Parked at an office plaza just off of Keystone road.  Started out slowly, headed north up Old East Lake Rd. then onto Highland road which brought us back to Keystone Road but pretty close to the start of the Pinellas Trail.  Took the trail north for a bit where it went under US 19, then on over to downtown Tarpon Springs.    Went through town, and just past town where the trail became surrounded by trees again.  As we got near 6 miles I wanted to see what road was just up ahead.  So we ran up to Klosterman Rd. where there is a 7-11 and a few other stores which would come in handy if running low on something to drink.  So, turned around at 6.2 miles and went back the way we came.  I was tempted to go a little farther so we could run past the primate sanctuary, but not today.

At about 7 miles, we gradually picked up the pace.  Did a couple of miles at about 7:20 pace, then I did the last 1.4 at about a 6:50 pace.  Felt pretty good because it even included a nice little hill at the end.  Weather was great and it was nice to run a new route.

Average pace: 8:02

Asics Gel Equation (new) Miles: 12.40
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.253.000.000.000.000.000.007.25

I always feel better after getting my first weekday run completed.  Today was no exception.  It was much cooler this morning and the wind was blowing pretty strong.  I went inside to run on the treadmill at the YMCA.   Did some warm up on the bike first then did 3.25 at about 8:00 pace, then headed outside.

Wearing just singlet and shorts, I was a little chilly with the wind.  There were some others out running who were more bundled up.  But it wasn't bad since I started the outside portion already warmed up.  1st mile and part of the second mile was mostly against the wind before getting inside a protected neighborhood.  It was good in a way to have the wind to run into, it was sort of like having hills to run on all of the sudden.  After turning around, and eventually running with the wind the running felt very easy.  I did a few pickups and wished I could alsways run that fast (briefly running in the mid 5:xx's).  Last 3 miles were 7:22, 6:49, and 7:02, so I'll average that out as 3 at (a little bit faster than) marathon pace miles.

Glycerin 6 (new) Miles: 7.25
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.782.000.000.000.000.000.007.78

A little chillier than yesterday but not nearly as windy.  Dressed a little warmer, temps in the mid-40's during the run, might have been perfect marathon weather if I was running a marathon today.

Ran from home to the old road, to Trinity Blvd, then a loop through Trinity Oaks before heading back.  Meant to do a total of 7 miles, but ended up with a little bit more.   First couple of miles were slower (8:30's), followed by a gradual increase in speed (7:15~7:45).

Didn't feel much like running at the start of the run but felt great about the run aftewards.  Good habits can lead to good things.

Average pace: 7:48

Asics Gel Equation (new) Miles: 7.78
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.860.005.000.000.000.000.008.86

Good tempo run this morning.  I was tempted to not do it and instead just put in 7 easy miles, but decided to just go and do it.   Also, last night I was invited out to eat with work for a customer.  Not always the best thing to do before a tempo run but I also thought it would be good in a way to run when conditions were less than ideal.

 Fortunately the weather was ideal.  High 40's at the start , no wind, decent humidity.  Did my usual tempo route going from my house to the start of Starkey Blvd for my warm up.

Got going, hit the first mile a little bit too fast then settled into an even pace.  Goal was 5 miles at 6:39 pace.

Splits were: 6:19, 6:31, 6:28, 6:31, 6:28

This is about a 6:28 pace, if I could hold it for another 1.2 miles I would be pretty close to that 39:59 10K, I'll have to find out sometime.

Cooled down after the tempo portion with an easy paced run back home.

Average pace: 7:18

 


New Balance 825 Miles: 8.86
Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.130.000.000.000.000.000.007.13

I drove over to the YMCA this morning, warmed up on the bike.  Then even more warm up on the treadmill, 1.53 miles at about 8:15 pace average.  Headed outside for another 5.6 miles, another beautiful morning for running.

Left knee was bothering me a little bit.  I had noticed it on the cool down after yesterday's tempo run.  Nothing too serious.  Something always starts hurting one week before a marathon (ok, maybe not everyone time really but it kind of seems that way).

Asics Gel Equation (new) Miles: 7.13
Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.142.000.000.000.000.000.008.14

Ran in Starkey park this morning with the Striders.  It had been a number of weeks now since running with the group.  It was fun to catch back up with everyone.  Weather was great.   Started out slowly but picked things up on the way back with last two miles at  a pretty good pace (7:12, 6:58).  Knee was doing about the same today as yesterday.  A little bit sore at first but ok once warmed up.  Certainly not any worse.

Average pace: 7:48

There was one larget horse fly buzzing around us for some of the run.  Hadn't seen those around for a while but I guess with the warmer weather I'm going to start seeing more of those.  Hope I can keep from getting bit.

Getting excited for Boston, with just a little over a week to go now.

Glycerin 6 (new) Miles: 8.14
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.100.000.000.000.000.000.005.10

Knee was a lot better this morning.  Hopefully back to 100% by Monday.  Went to the YMCA and warmed up on the bike, then did a couple sets of crunches on the ball as usual.  Some more warm up of 1 mile at about 8:30 pace on the treadmill.   Rain and thunder was starting to threaten outside but it looked like it would hold of for 4 miles.

Ran 4.1 miles right at 8:00 pace.  Rain held off.  It looked like it was going to get pretty nasty out and I later heard that a tornado may have touched down in the area.

Asics Gel Equation (new) Miles: 5.10
Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.100.000.000.000.000.000.004.10

Last minute travel for work to Fort Worth.  Good thing this is taper week.  Did 4.1 miles on the hotel treadmill.  Felt a little bit sluggish, knee was ok.  It was good to get something in.  

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
1.153.000.000.000.000.000.004.15

Ran at the YMCA on the treadmill.  Was going to just take it easy, but thought a good compromise might be an easy mile and then some time at marathon pace.  Did some paces between 7:19 and 7:35, felt good throughout.  The very last bit (about .25 miles) at 7:00 pace.  Felt much better about my chances for Monday.  Didn't have any knee issues, no pain at all after warm up and no pain later in the day.  Keeping fingers crossed....

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
2.001.000.000.000.000.000.003.00

Easy run to get the legs loosened up for Monday's marathon.  First two were about 8:30ish pace, and last mile was about 7:15.  Ran with Joe near his brother's house in Wellesley Hills.

Knee was pretty good finally.  Took one alleve, so hoping I'm just not covering up the knee problem.

Asics Gel Equation (new) Miles: 3.00
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Race: Boston Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:17:22, Place overall: 4087, Place in age division: 703
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.0026.200.000.000.000.000.0026.20

Short version (see longer version after splits):
 
Best marathon of my life - "So far..."
 
Before the race, worried about the wind and cold, worried about my left knee, worried about the rolling hills followed by heart break hill.  Worried that I lost all my speed during a week of taper.
 
Stopped worrying once the race started and felt great.   Wind wasn't so bad, knee was fine.  Heartbreak hill wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I took a few pieces of advice that really helped.  I was almost caught off guard by the cramps which got moderately bad and threatened to get really bad at times.
 
Half Splits:
========
First Half - 1:37:15
Second Half - 1:40:07
 
5K Splits:
=======
5k   - 23:46      23:46
10k - 22:52      46:38
15k - 22:54    1:09:32
20k - 22:48    1:32:20
25k - 22:58    1:55:18
30k - 23:44    2:19:02
35k - 24:14    2:43:16
40k - 23:48    3:07:04
 
Overall 4087
Gender 3724
Division 703
 
I worked hard to get here, I had a lot of help to get here.  I have lots of people to thank and lots of things to be thankful for.

 

Mile Splits:

Mile
Garmin Time
Extra to marker

 1 8:20  Pit stop
 2 7:25  
 3 7:20  
 4 7:16  
 5 7:25  
 6 7:20  
 7 7:17  
 8 7:21  
 9 7:30  
 10 7:24  
 11 7:23  
 12 7:11  
 13 7:11 :08 Wellesley
 14 7:22  
 15 7:28  Cramps start
 16 7:23  
 17 7:36  
 18 7:32  
 19 7:34 :20 
 20 7:35 :11 
 21 7:56 :08 Heartbreak Hill
 22 7:26 :10 
 23 7:37  
 24 7:39 :07 
 25 7:38  
26
7:34


26.2
0.25@6:45



Longer version:
 
I don't usually do this, but here goes a longer than usual report.
 
 
Shortly before the Disney Marathon in January 2007, I was reading over the race information and it mentioned that the chip times could be used for Boston Qualification times.  I thought to myself then if maybe someday I could qualify?? Hmmmm.   A couple of months after the Disney Marathon I was searching the web one day on a quest for information.  I wanted to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  How could I go from a 3:52 to a 3:20?  After some searching I came across the Fast Running blog and Sasha's advice on how to qualify.  Step 1 was to start a blog - easy enough!
 
So, I called my blog Boston Quest (even though it sounds a little corny - I had to pick something).
 
I started training for the Chicago Marathon.  I trained hard, blogged, improved.  Ran with friends - faster friends and slower friends.  I read and listened.  I ran with my wife some times, sometimes I ran with my kids.  Lots of times  I ran alone.  I made more friends and met more people.  Running was very very good to me.
 
I ran Chicago with the idea that maybe I had a chance to qualify there, at least an outside chance.  It was hot that year, and after hitting 1:40 at the half with much effort I slowed down and finished with a respectable 3:35 for my second marathon.
 
To see how much was the heat and how much was my fitness, I ran the Jacksonville marathon just a couple months later.  This time with a couple of other guys trying to BQ. The run felt miserable from the start until about 13 miles, got better for a while until the late 20's when it got hard again.   I missed that one by a 24 seconds!  I was happy with coming so close in under a year.   Jenny told me that coming close and missing would make it that much more special when I finally did qualify.
 
After a few months more of training I was feeling faster.  Getting ready for the San Diego marathon, I got careless and ignored a small ache which turned into something more serious - but fortunately not too serious.  One month of missed running, but still a decent run at San Diego of 3:24.   More importantly, it felt a lot easier than it had ever felt.  Due to my injury, I had started getting massages, and it made a big difference to my running.
 
So, then I became more careful.  More warm up, more stretching after the run, more cross training.  I did more miles, got a little bit faster and BQ'd in Niagara Falls finally this past October.  I had done it.  I thought about changing my blog name but decided against it.  I had to actually go there and finish it.  Cross the finish line and complete the quest.
 
One of my good friends who I met from running is Joe.  Joe is a great guy and a very solid runner, sometimes making it look too easy.  He offered to let me stay with him at his brother's house in Wellesly.   This was above and beyond for both Joe and his brother Tony and his family.  Tony picked us up from the airport, took us to the expo to get our stuff, then, after lunch, drove us through the Newton hills so we could see what they looked like.  It was great to see the sights along the way, to see what we would be seeing as we ran through the streets on race day.
 
On Sunday afternoon, I spent some time with my brother Jim who drove out from Rochester, NY to come and cheer me on with his family.  As an added bonus, my cousin Rob and his family drove over from where they live a couple hours away to visit for the day.  We all hit the expo again and especially loved watching the 30 minute video tour of the course.  The things that stuck in my mind were: 1) don't go too fast the first mile, 2) don't get carried away with the screaming Wellesly coeds, 3) and don't get over confident after cresting heartbreak hill.
 
Gave Jeff (jtshad) a call to wish him luck on his super fast race and was given some nice encouragement back from him.  I need to do a better job of trying to meet up with more FRBers at these big races as it is always great to put the people together with their blogs.   Sunday night, had a fairly early dinner back at Tony's house - pasta with just a little bit of sauce, grilled chicken, a little salad and strawberries for dessert.  Talked to Jenny on the phone for a while who gave me lots of encouragement as she always does.  I am extremely fortunate in many ways especially how supportive she is of me.  She is a runner, too, so knows what I was going through.  Got to sleep fairly early and slept not too badly for the night before a marathon.
 
Monday morning, Tony drove us to Hopkinton State Park (I can't keep going on about Tony without mentioning his wife Carrie who also drove us to the train station and worked very hard hosting us!!!)  to catch the bus to the Athlete's Village.  Got there at 20 minutes to 8:00.
 
It was cold.  It didn't feel bad at first, but once I realized I'd be outside for the next two hours before the race would start I became a little bit worried.  I had on shorts, a long sleeve shirt and a hat as well as an oversized shirt that Tony gave me for a "throw-away" item.  Still cold.  Fortunately, I had a pair of jeans and a sweatjacket in my bag for after the race.   As unathletic as they might have looked I put on those extra clothing and kept from freezing.  Had a little bit of coffee just to keep warm.  I was entertained by the announcer and the music.  Maybe some people were annoyed by him, but it kept my mind off of worrying.  I laughed when he said (after making many such similar announcements about so-and-so looking for so-and-so and to meet them at the big Poland Springs water bottle) - "Stewie Griffin, Peter is looking for you".  And also, "...there will be an F-15 flyover at the start of the race, so if you see figher jets ..... don't panic!"
 
Joe and I ran into one of our friends Bob.  We were also looking for David but could not find him.  Had some pictures taken by the "It All Starts Here" sign.  With what seemed like a long time to go I got into the porta potty line.  It was a long line.  The time soon was dwindling, but made it in time, dropped off my bag on the bus and headed toward the starting line.
 
Ok, now it was getting late.  Walked faster, jogged a little.  Here was my warm up.  Dropped off my "throw-away" in a bin for Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization.  Finished up my Gatorade and washed down a salt packet and made it into the corral with only minutes to spare.  Chatted with a couple of guys, one of whom had BQ'd at SGM.
 
So, finally the race starts.  We "accordion" our way to the starting line, spread out, bunch up, spread out bunch up..  Finally, we cross the starting line.  Here it is, I am finally doing it.  I want to enjoy this race, savor it.  I decide I will start by taking one piece of advice, slow first mile.  In fact, it turned out to be an 8:20 (including a very quick pit stop).  I thought this way I could pick which mile would be the slowest mile.
 
The next two miles were faster, 7:25 and 7:20.  It didn't take long to get a feel for the course.  Up, down, up , down, more down than up for most of it.  At this point I was feeling really good.  I have had races where I feel terrible for the first few miles until I loosen up, but not today.  A lot of this was thanks to the massage that I had on Friday afternoon, they really can do wonders, and I have been fortunate to find the best massage therapist in the world.  Actually, the next 14 miles or so were for the most part almost effortless (at least that is how I remember it now).
 
I made a few small mistakes at the beginning such as weaving over to the right to get water when I could have stayed on the left since there were pretty much water/gatorade stops on both sides.
 
Before coming to Boston, part of me thought that the race itself would be a let down, that it was a lot of hype and was just being "exclusive".  This turned out to be completely false, it IS a great race, a great course, awesome crowds with a lot of electricity in the air.
 

Along the lines of "is it hype or reality?" was about mile 12.  I could start to hear a noise, it was screaming, it got louder.  It was the wall of Wellesly college girls.  It was not hype.  I was wondering what the decibel level was and if I could have sustained permanent hearing loss.  I did a few high fives but mostly tried to keep running down the middle.  I saw that my pace was picking up too much at one point and decided to back it down.  Garmin pace came in at 7:11 but it was off from the mile marker so it was really a 7:19 pace.  I had set a wide range for a goal 3:12 - 3:20.   I did this so I would have a pace to not go faster than during the first 20 miles.  So, 3:12 would be a 7:19 so I tried not to go faster than that  (although I did end up with 3 miles slightly faster than that).

So, I did my best to not get too swept up in the Wellesley fun, because there were still a lot of miles to cover.

Crossing past the halfway point was great, getting to mile 14 was even better.

Then, sometime after mile 16 my pace slowed a little bit, I had to work harder just to keep a slightly slower pace.  Determined to not slow down out of the 7:30's.  I also knew that the hills were starting.  I was going to allow myself to go a little bit slower so I would have something left after cresting heartbreak hill.

I kept telling myself at this point, just get myself to mile 20 and then see what happens.

I had one cramp which covered the entire backside of my left leg, from the glute to hamstrings to calf.  Smaller ones were hitting my right calf.  None in my right arm like I often get.  But these would pass.  I would say out loud "work it out", and somehow my body listened and I kept on going.

Finally I was on heartbreak hill, but I didn't really know it.  I was on a hill, and I was approaching mile 21 marker.  I kept on thinking something else worse was coming.  But, once I was over the top and going down the other side, I knew I was done.  It felt like a breath of fresh air.  8:04 for miles 21 (thought I was on pace for 7:56 according to the garmin, but was 8 more seconds to get to the mile marker).

So, last piece of advice that I followed, don't over do it after going over heartbreak hill.  I did pick it up but did not go all out.

The nice thing about heartbreak hill was that once I was over it, there was just a little over 5 miles to go and a lot of it was downhill.

The remaining miles were tough but exciting.  I did have one side stitch about mile 22 or 23, I seem to often get one here at about this point but I was able to work through this one.   I held on and finally rounded the corner onto Boylston Street where I could see the finish line.  I gave it all I had left and before I knew it, the race was finished.

The volunteer that removed my chip gave me a hug and congratulated me, then I moved on down the assembly line until I was onto the family reunion area.

The weather that was so perfect for running was now very cold.  I put on my jacket and made my way to the "G" area and waited for Joe.  Joe showed up in a little bit and had a smile on his face, he had also PR'd by one minute with a 3:28.  We moved onto the "P" area and found my brother.  I was calling my wife on Joe's phone (since mine was not getting through) and my arm was shaking from the cold.  Jim gave me his coat, then we headed to his hotel room where he had some cold beers waiting for us as well as a place for a shower since Joe and I both stunk pretty bad.

Later, on our way back to the train to go back to Joe's brother's house, we finally ran into David and his wife.  Spent about 10 minutes rehashing over the race and had a chance to take some pictures before finally heading back.


Glycerin 6 (new) Miles: 26.20
Comments(11)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
2.000.000.000.000.000.000.002.00

Had to do this sooner or later :)  Ran around my neighborhood loop and just a little more to make it 2 whole miles.  Felt pretty good.  Calves are still a little tight, but seem to be getting better.

Going to pace my kids for a 5K tomorrow.  Actually, my older boy will probably run ahead like he has done for the last few 5K's.   Jenny is going to try and chip away some more time off of her 5K PR.  This will also probably help me get back into the swing of things by running 5 easy K's.

Asics Gel Equation (new) Miles: 2.00
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Race: Innisbrook Earth Day 5K (3.1 Miles) 00:31:22
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.500.000.000.000.000.000.003.50

This race was a lot of fun and the course was different. I was running with the boys while Jenny was going up ahead to shave some more time off of her PR.  This was held at the Innisbrook resort in Palm Harbor.  A beautiful place with 2 golf courses and several restaurants and lots of other stuff.


Before the race started we chatted with a guy that had just recently completed running at least one marathon in all 50 states - with the most recent marathon in Boston this past monday.  He also had run the Estes Park Marathon in Colorado, said the altitude made it difficult.  He was about 20 minutes slower than his typical marathon time which I thought didn't sound too bad at all.   Wanted to talk to him some more afterward but must have just missed him.

The course started out in a parking lot, crossed over some sand to a golf cart path and then onto the golf course for a while.  For flat Florida, there were a surprising number of hills.  At the start of the race, Andy had run into a branch which poked him in the side, so after a quick start, Noah and I caught up to him.  Noah was out in front for a while but he kept on worrying about his older brother and slowing down.   Eventually, Andy caught back up.  Noah was complaining about side stitches all over his body so we took a couple of breaks to try and get him going.  Everyone on the course was very encouraging.

Noah and I finished at 31:22, Andy had finished a little bit earlier, about 30:42 I think.  I saw Jenny and asked her how she did, 23:10!!!!  a new PR!!

We stuck around for a bit and enjoyed some of the festivities.  The only drawback was there was no free food for the runners, just some for purchase.  Overall it was pretty well done for an inaugural 5K.  We also were given free passes to come back and spend a day at the resort.


Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.00

No running today.  Just some mixed cardio (bike and elliptical) and a few sets of weights and a couple sets of crunches on the ball.

 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.540.000.000.000.000.000.004.54

Ran on the treadmill at the YMCA this morning.  First warmed up on the bike and did some stretching and core.  Knee did not give me any problems. On Sunday it was bothering me a little bit after not bothering me on Saturday. Averaged about an 8:15 pace.  Feel like I'm getting back to normal, but taking it slow.

I think I realized my mistake.  On Saturday afternoon I was climbing the tree in the backyard with my kids.  Probably not such a good idea but was fun at the time.

Asics Gel Equation (new) Miles: 4.54
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.100.000.000.000.000.000.004.10

Back to the YMCA this morning.  Bike warm up, stretching and core and then onto the treadmill for just 1 mile (about 8:40 pace average).

Was going to do another 4 outside but decided to cut it slightly short.  Knee was feeling a little irritated so I just did 3.1 outside, 7:50 pace average.  Other than the knee I was feeling pretty good.  Weather was nice but I can feel the warm weather approaching.  Also, a slight smokey smell in the air from some fires in the souther part of the state.

 After the run I had time for a quick weight routine.

Glycerin 6 (new) Miles: 4.10
Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.800.000.000.000.000.000.006.80

I decided I would at least try and go a little bit farther than the last few runs.  Not sure how the knee would do, but decided to try and run through it within reason.  Run started out pretty good.  No pain at all after the first mile.  A little bit after that but stayed at a pretty low level.  Just enough to let me know it was there.

Weather was pretty decent, cool weather is hanging on a little bit longer.  I stopped at a water fountain after 1.5 miles, got some water and then ran the rest of the way for a total of 6.8 miles.

Average pace: 7:54

After the run, there was no more knee pain at all.  On other days there had been some lingering, but not today.  Hopefully this means it is getting better.  Felt great to get in a decent run finally.

Later in the day, I went to a running store to drop off a race entry form for the I Love Mother's Day 5K.   They had a clearance shelf with assorted shoes.  Various brands and various sizes and styles.  All $35 each.  There was only one box of Brooks shoes, which happened to be Glycerin 6 and just happened to be size 10.5 - just my size!! My lucky day.

Asics Gel Equation (new) Miles: 6.80
Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
98.0743.605.000.000.000.000.00146.67
Glycerin 6 (new) Miles: 67.11Asics Gel Equation (new) Miles: 48.75New Balance 825 Miles: 8.86
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