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Location:

San Antonio,TX,

Member Since:

Dec 13, 2009

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

5K PR - 18:01 - Nov '14

10K PR - 38:37 (workout) - Oct '14

Half-marathon - 1:22:43 - Jan '14

Marathon - 2:58:43 in Boston! - Apr '13

50 mile - 7:49:30 (2nd) - Nov '15

Short-Term Running Goals:

- Balance

- Run more trails, volunteer, more social running, run with a team

- Race a lot more.  learn.

Race results / possible schedule:

Apr 2 - Hells Hills 25k trail - 4th

Apr 9 - Toughest 'n Texas 20-mile Trail - 2nd

May 7 - Paleface - Trail Marathon - 3rd

May 29 - American Hero road 25k - 2nd

Jun 25 - Pedernales Falls 30k nighttime Trail - 5th (sick)

Jul 16 - Muleshoe Bend 30k nighttime Trail - 3rd

Jul 23-24 - Fossil Valley 9-hour nighttime Trail - 2nd

Aug 6 - Colorado Bend 30k nighttime Trail - 4th

Aug 27 - Reveille Peak 30k nighttime Trail (entered)

Sep 10 - Franklin Mountains 50k (entered - not all-out effort...I hope)

Sep 17 - Lighthouse Hill 20-mile trail (entered)

Sep 24 - J&J 50 mile trail

Long-Term Running Goals:

Compete in a few more ultras without going off course (again)

Sub-18 in a 5k

One.  Good.  Marathon.

Personal:

I started running at age 30, in late 2009.  I have 2 daughters (10 and 8 yrs old).

  

 

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Saucony A5 Lifetime Miles: 1054.70
Kinvara 2 - Gray/red Lifetime Miles: 1551.08
Kinvara 3 - Gray/red Lifetime Miles: 1244.23
1160s Lifetime Miles: 888.70
Saucony A5 Red Lifetime Miles: 565.10
Saucony A6 - Yellow Lifetime Miles: 214.00
Saucony A6 - Red/blue Lifetime Miles: 61.50
NB MT101 Trail Lifetime Miles: 302.00
Fastwitch 6 Red #1 Lifetime Miles: 286.50
Fastwitch 6 Red #2 Lifetime Miles: 267.00
Race: Boston Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:02:29, Place overall: 2767, Place in age division: 1820
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.0026.2026.20

51F start, 61F finish.  6:58 AP.  Probably about what I deserved, maybe better than I deserved, given the last 3 months.  I can't complain at all, really.  Basically the same kind of race as last year (6-min positive split), only slower; that's what being heavier and woefully undertrained does.  Happy with the result.

Pre-race - I got an invite from a friend at work to a house in Hopkinton before the race, right on Main St.  The couple that lives there used to live in San Antonio.  They opened their home to 15-20 runners, and provided all kinds of yummy carbs and gatorade.  Soooo much better than the crowds at Athlete's Village, the port-o-potties and the chilly morning!  What a treat that was...

Finally I leave the house and get to my corral, and I see Kylee, the person I ran most of the Houston Half with back in January!  Small world.  She was there with a guy named Tom (also from Houston and seemed wise and knowledgeable) and they were planning to run 6:45-6:50...perfect!  The running gods seemed to be smiling on me.

I turned off auto lap, so these are course marker splits.

Miles 1-5 - 6:46, 6:44, 6:39, 6:45, 6:45.  Ok, so a touch faster than I wanted but I was happy.  These are pretty downhill, anyway.

Miles 6-10 - 6:38, 6:40, 6:41, 6:40, 6:44.  Tom was taking us through these miles a little faster than I wanted, and I considered letting them go several times.  But I was having fun and that's what it's all about!  Even so, Kylee and I started to drift back a little by mile 10.

Miles 11-16 - 6:46, 6:41, 6:51, 6:41, 6:53, 6:32.  The last of the flat/downhill miles.  We let Tom go and stuck together through this section.  Came through the half in 1:28:04, and thought to myself what a perfect split that would be...LAST YEAR.  I think I knew what was coming; you have to actually train for a marathon to run your best.  But, I was still having fun and still feeling good.  I saw my aunt, cousin and dad (who flew up from Houston) at the same spot as last year - the Whole Foods in Wellesley.  Dished out the requisite high-fives, and took off again.

Miles 17-21 - 6:56, 6:59, 6:53, 7:15, 7:35.  The hills.  I think I made it over the first two feeling ok, which is an improvement over last year, but Heartbreak got me again.  I also dropped Kylee on Heartbreak.  I slowed down a few times so she'd catch up (thinking she was probably in better shape than me, and was just being smarter) but she disappeared back there and I plodded ahead.  Turns out she actually started walking.

Miles 22-26.2 - 7:04, 7:37, 7:33, 7:53, 7:44, 1:33 for .23 (6:46 pace).  Right after the 22nd mile, my legs were hit by the Wave of Uselessness.  You know what I'm talking about.  I knew it was going to be another death march at that point.  I kept telling myself even an 8-minute mile is better than walking, and it got me through it.  I made sure to keep my head up, look around, and enjoy it this time.  Unreal crowds.  Managed to conserve some energy in the last couple miles in order to finish strong.

I saw Tom and Kylee shortly after crossing the finish line.  He ran a 3:01:xx and she ran a 3:00:02!  Apparently she walked for a half mile and then started dropping 6:30s.  Tough to miss sub-3 by so little, but wow.

My family had driven to Boston from Wellesley to greet me at the meet-up area - worked out great!  They had a little adventure too - apparently got stuck on the wrong side of the course back in Wellesley and had to cross through the runners, like a game of Frogger.

I probably had no business trying to run a full marathon.  It's nice to know I can pretty much roll out of bed on any given day and run a 3:02, but I need to get into shape this summer.  More racing, more PM treadmill runs at work when there's a break in the schedule, more TM workouts when it's too hot outside.  Hit 60 miles a week and stay there until the fall, then run a little more.

Saucony A5 Red Miles: 26.20
Weight: 0.00
Comments
From Tracy on Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 18:21:37 from 172.56.12.217

So proud of you! Congrats on a solid race. Looking forward to the full report.

From Jake K on Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 20:24:10 from 98.202.128.218

Good run Joe. I think this probably actually exceeds expectations given the cards you were dealt leading up to this race. You were still on PR pace pretty late in the race... I was on the edge of my seat!

From Matt Schreiber on Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 21:03:16 from 66.17.102.185

That makes two of us that were on the edge of their seat! Nice job Joe. Very impressive given the blip of downtime.

From BDase on Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 05:07:50 from 67.214.231.170

How about Fastjoe :). Congrats!

From jtshad on Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 05:44:34 from 64.134.67.42

Congrats on the strong race!

From Neil on Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 09:05:03 from 164.165.24.5

Congrats Joe! I enjoyed following you on the tracker. Another great accomplishment.

From SlowJoe on Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 15:44:19 from 66.69.93.8

Thanks everyone - full report is up now.

From Derunzo on Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 15:59:45 from 24.218.179.128

Hey Joe.... I saw you running at mile 19 and screamed "Yeah Slow Joe". I didn't even register a blip on your radar. You were literally 5 feet away from me. Ha ha! You were in the zone.... great race!

From ACorn on Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 16:06:11 from 71.213.41.74

Great race even with the hiccup in your training! I enjoy checking your blog, your consistency and positive attitude are inspiring. Congrats slowjoe and good look with the next one!

From SlowJoe on Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 18:48:45 from 66.69.93.8

Derunzo - that's pretty funny! You know, there was a "Joe" running nearby me for much of the race and he must have had his name on his shirt or something because people were yelling for him all along the course. That might explain why it didn't catch my attention. That and I was transitioning to zombie mode around there! Thanks though!!

Acorn - hey, thanks for the kind words!

From Jason D on Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 19:14:43 from 166.137.244.33

As I said before, it took you a lot of training in the past to run that kind of time. I like the plan going forward. Good stuff.

From flatlander on Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 19:45:00 from 76.31.9.237

Very nice run, and lots of heart at the end, that is so hard to do under those circumstances. Being able to do what you did is the sign of an experienced runner.

From Josh E on Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 22:50:02 from 75.162.189.103

Congrats Joe! You had great pacing until the wheels came off. If you can manage heavier mileage, you clearly have more progress ahead.

From Rob Murphy on Wed, Apr 23, 2014 at 06:14:08 from 24.10.249.34

Nice job Joe.

That might be my new runner's dream - to buy a house in Hopkinton.

From Tom Slick on Wed, Apr 23, 2014 at 08:05:36 from 174.236.0.177

Great race Joe, way to getter done !

From allie on Wed, Apr 23, 2014 at 09:41:44 from 174.27.221.249

nice job, joe. that's a great result. i think your new blog title should be 'the guy who rolls out of bed on any given day and runs a 3:02'

i love froggerâ„¢

From Matt Schreiber on Wed, Apr 23, 2014 at 09:53:37 from 66.17.107.219

Great report Joe. Oh the Frogger days.. The last time I remember playing that was 14 years ago. How's that for feeling old.

From SlowJoe on Wed, Apr 23, 2014 at 17:52:00 from 66.69.93.8

Jason - thanks; still milking the old mileage base, but the teats are starting to run dry!

Flat - thanks. The irony is I'm always so glad the suffering is over, then you wish you could go back and re-live it.

Josh - I think the body can handle it, just gotta find the dedication now!

Rob - That would really work out great, once a year. Be sure to invite me.

Thanks Tom - looking forward to your report.

allie - thanks for the blog title suggestion, and keeping me from getting sued due to my unauthorized use of the word Froggerâ„¢.

Matt - I should invent Human Frogger (patent pending). I'm sure it was fun until they got yelled at.

From Burt on Thu, Apr 24, 2014 at 12:51:58 from 71.223.35.157

I was getting live text messages for you, Rattletrap, and AmberG. I literally stayed up all night and went to bed after you finished. Great job.

From I Just Run on Thu, Apr 24, 2014 at 15:25:38 from 67.79.11.242

I would say nice job Joe! Now let's get back out there and put some miles down this summer! :-)

From SlowJoe on Sat, Apr 26, 2014 at 07:04:24 from 66.69.93.8

Burt - Sorry it took me so long to finish - maybe it's the time difference...were you in Hong Kong?

IJR - deal. Gotta put in those DASS miles.

From Tom Slick on Sat, Apr 26, 2014 at 09:38:45 from 69.171.160.181

3:02:xx, way to go man.You know your lucky I didn't pass you out there! Just think what you could do if you would really get out there and train for this race!!! (-:

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