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Boston Marathon

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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
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
147.5544.45192.00
Kinvara 3 - Gray/red Miles: 24.001160s Miles: 21.00Kinvara 2 - Gray/red Miles: 20.00Kinvara 1 - Blk/orange Miles: 38.60Saucony A5 - Blue Miles: 34.00Fastwich Miles: 12.50Saucony A5 Red Miles: 41.90
Weight: 147.34
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.001.0012.00

67F, 88%.  7:35 AP.  Sticky, shirtless run, but feeling better and better.  Last mile 6:36.

Kinvara 3 - Gray/red Miles: 12.00
Weight: 147.60
Comments(1)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

70F, 95%.  8:36 AP.  Hot...on it's way up to 91 degrees today and hotter tomorrow.

My wussy legs needed some recovery so that's what I did today.

1160s Miles: 6.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

73F, 85%.  7:36 AP.  I'd call it mid-June morning temps...crazy.  Fortunately it should cool off a bit by this weekend.

Kinvara 2 - Gray/red Miles: 8.00
Weight: 146.80
Comments(3)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.001.0012.00

68F, N 20-29 mph.  7:24 AP.  Ran as the cold front relief was arriving.  Tough start, but rode the tailwind back to the car for the last 6, mostly 7:00-7:15 pace, and finished with a 6:24.  Felt good - I don't think I'm quite back to normal, but a fast finish LR on Sunday should give me an idea.

Kinvara 1 - Blk/orange Miles: 12.00
Weight: 145.80
Comments(6)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

56F, 8:06 AP.  Cool morning, short run.  18 w/ 5 tomorrow.

1160s Miles: 4.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.009.0018.00

57F, raining the second half.  6:59 AP.  My 18 w/5 turned into an 18 w/9.  My last couple of outbound warmup miles were around 7:00 pace, and I knew at that point I was probably going to turn this into a longer tempo, because I was feeling like my old self again.

Last 9 miles - 6:31 AP  (6:37, 6:36, 6:35, 6:34, 6:36, 6:29, 6:27, 6:26, 6:22)

Great run.  It was quite an effort at the end though - I'm a little worried that I worked too hard for 2 weeks out, especially since my last 3 weekly mileages are 13, 6, and 68 this week, but I think it'll be ok.  This does not mean I'm back in 2:55 shape though; the fact that it went from feeling very easy to very hard at the end is evidence of the low mileage base.  If I want a good, even Boston Marathon, I have to make sure there is nothing under 6:40 on the watch until after Heartbreak.  The good news is that I have not completely given up on the idea of a PR, crazy as it sounds....on 46 miles a week for this cycle.  Milk it.

Saucony A5 - Blue Miles: 18.00
Weight: 147.80
Comments(6)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

46F, 8:44 AP.

1160s Miles: 6.00
Weight: 149.80
Comments(1)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

52F, 7:49 AP.  What should I do for my last workout on Thursday?  I was going to do 8-9 @ MP, but I accidentally just did that on Sunday.  Does it make sense to do it again, or should I run some LT, since I haven't hit that pace in weeks?  Maybe a combo?

Fastwich Miles: 8.00
Weight: 145.50
Comments(11)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

48F, 7:38 AP.  Another filler run, workout tomorrow.

Here's what I think I'll do: a 4-2-2.  The 4 will mostly be MP, with a couple half-miles @ LT mixed in.  The 2 mile segments will be 1 @ LT, 1 @ MP.  That way I'm getting in a little of each, and having to recover from my LT stuff at MP.  

Kinvara 1 - Blk/orange Miles: 8.00
Weight: 146.20
Comments(3)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.252.7516.00

57F, 7:28 AP.  Workout fail - I'm 99% sure my body is actively fighting off a virus that's been going around.  I could tell on the warmup this was going to hurt, but stupidly, I still ran the long outbound warmup and gave it a go.  Made it to the second LT segment and had to quit.  It was going to be a tough workout but definitely should've been doable if I was feeling ok.  The last 5 or so miles back to my car felt like the last 5 in a marathon.  I would've given anything to just snap my fingers and be back at the car.  Oh well, better this is happening now than next week..

Saucony A5 - Blue Miles: 16.00
Weight: 145.60
Comments(6)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Slept in and got a good 8 hours...no run.  It was the right decision - I'm definitely under the weather.  I'm actually a little relieved because it means yesterday's abomination didn't necessarily happen because I suck at running.

Weight: 0.00
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

66F, 90%.  7:58 AP.  Didn't feel wonderful, but I was able to break away from a shuffle into to a semi-run in the last couple miles.  I think the fact that I was pounding the immune boosters even before I got sick was a big help.  On the mend now...

Kinvara 1 - Blk/orange Miles: 6.00
Weight: 149.20
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.500.004.50

69F, 86%.  Plodded around the neighborhood, checking out the new developments.  Got in a little trail running where they'd cleared the trees for new streets but haven't paved yet.  Saw lots of deer and some kind of coyote-looking animal.

Fastwich Miles: 4.50
Weight: 0.00
Comments(4)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.000.0012.00

72F, 90%.  7:46 AP.  I'm not used to the miserable humidity yet, but I slogged through it.  The cold front arrived an hour after I finished and now it's 49 degrees.  Stupid weather.

Kinvara 3 - Gray/red Miles: 12.00
Weight: 150.40
Comments(1)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

43F, 8:26 AP.  Weather.gov is my favorite Boston forecast so far - 49 to start, 55 to finish, no wind.

1160s Miles: 5.00
Weight: 148.00
Comments(10)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.001.006.00

42F, 7:15 AP.  Legs had some pop today.  I might've timed my 12-week taper just right.

Kinvara 2 - Gray/red Miles: 6.00
Weight: 148.00
Comments(6)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.003.008.00

58F, 7:05 AP.  Good simulation run, even down the the temperature, probably.  On the way back I did a 3-mile MP block (6:43, 6:46, 6:44).  By the 3rd mile it was feeling very smooth, efficient and easy.  I even wore the shiny red shoes I'll wear for the race.  It should go well with my burnt orange shirt and blue shorts.  Fashion is very important to me so let me know if anyone needs advice in that area.

Saucony A5 Red Miles: 8.00
Weight: 147.60
Comments(6)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.600.004.60

PM - 77F.  Nice slow plod around the neighborhood...still felt hard (a D-A.S.S. run, for sure).  I usually take the day off 2 days before the race (which is tomorrow).  But it usually makes me feel weird/inefficient during my shakeout run the day before the race.  So this time I did a PM run before my day off, so it would only be 36 hours between runs instead of 48.

All of this precision is, of course, ridiculous given I took a whopping 264 hours between runs a few weeks ago.  But the bonus from this run was getting in a warm one; Boston won't be this hot but there's a good chance it'll climb into the 60s before I hit the finish line, so I'll call this a mini-acclimation run.

I fly into Providence tomorrow to stay with my aunt again....can't wait.

Kinvara 1 - Blk/orange Miles: 4.60
Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.700.002.70

Easy in providence.  My bib is 3926, good luck all!

Saucony A5 Red Miles: 2.70
Weight: 0.00
Comments(3)
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(22)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

76F, 30%.  8:25 AP.  Warm, but uncharacteristicly dry air this morning.

My first run back since Boston - it's been a week, so I figure it's time to go...  Good solid plod - I am all in one piece, just had heavy legs.

Saucony A5 Red Miles: 5.00
Weight: 145.80
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

63F, 7:40 AP.  Easy, but I had to throw in a couple faster miles up front, because a guy with a headlamp was catching up.  Everyone knows Rule #1 of running is you don't let people with unnecessary headlamps pass you on the trail.  Legs were much more responsive today than yesterday, but still a ways to go with recovery.

Kinvara 2 - Gray/red Miles: 6.00
Weight: 147.20
Add Comment
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.500.508.00

56F, 7:31 AP.  Feeling better and better.  I even did 3 x 1-minute @ 3k-5k, with lots of recovery.

Kinvara 1 - Blk/orange Miles: 8.00
Weight: 146.20
Comments(4)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
147.5544.45192.00
Kinvara 3 - Gray/red Miles: 24.001160s Miles: 21.00Kinvara 2 - Gray/red Miles: 20.00Kinvara 1 - Blk/orange Miles: 38.60Saucony A5 - Blue Miles: 34.00Fastwich Miles: 12.50Saucony A5 Red Miles: 41.90
Weight: 147.34
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