2009 Boston Marathon Race Recap

I started out the morning getting up at 5:45, taking a quick shower, getting dressed and making breakfast.  Breakfast was the same as usual, an English muffin with peanut butter.  With the race starting at 10:30, I made and packed another English muffin to eat around 9:00.  With all of my belongings and race gear packed, I jumped in the car with 3 other Cambridge Running Club members to drive out to Hopkinton.

We arrived in Hopkinton around 8:30 and proceeded to walk a ½ mile uphill to the elementary school where all the runners can leave their pre-numbered bags on buses to pick up at the end of the race, and to relax after that rigorous walk (just kidding).   I sat around for a little over an hour people/runner watching, since there were about 18,000 other people in this area (yes, I counted), as well as trying to keep warm.  At this point, it was about 40 degrees.   During this time, I finished my thermos full of coffee, the other English muffin, a bottle of vitamin water, and another bottle of water.  It was safe to say I was properly hydrated.   At 10:15, I changed into my race wear, got my running gu’s in my new running belt (yes, a new running belt), and headed down to the start line.  

One of my big concerns about the race was starting in the 22nd corral, which is almost at the back of the second wave.  I was concerned that having so many runners in front of me would slow me down and put me off course.  As I entered my corral, I realized that I was able to walk as far up to the front as possible by forcing myself through the crowds.  The crowds were similar to those in a crowded hallway in high school.  Anyway, as I found myself walking closer to the front, the gun went off and everyone now started moving.  The race had begun!

The first 3 or so miles are pretty much all downhill.  To the tenured Boston marathoner, they would understand and force themselves to take this part of the race slow.   I knew this, but still wound up running the first miles pretty fast.  My first mile came across at 6:42, a little too fast, but I was happy that I was not getting caught behind a lot of people.  I finished the second mile in 6:45.  I remember telling myself to slow down, but I was feeling great, and had a comfortable pace going. Plus, I had just passed Bill Rodgers, the Olympian who had also won the Boston marathon FOUR times.   How awesome is that?  I just ran past an Olympian!  I guess I should also mention that his Boston marathon wins took place between 1975 and 1980.  Ahh details…  Anyway, the crowd was already thinning, and I was still running downhill.  I figured I’d naturally slow down soon since I was 14 minutes into the race, and should have settled down a little bit.  Or so I thought.  I finished the third mile in 6:35.  Sh*t!  I still felt good, but I forced myself to shorten my stride a little.  The third mile had the biggest descent of the first three miles, but still.  My 5k time was 20:40-something, which was 20 seconds slower than the 5k race I ran during this past Thanksgiving in Virginia (a little training can go a long way!)   Mile 4 came in at 6:52, which was good, and mile 5 came in at 7:02, which was fine.  A little over a half hour in the race, I feel fantastic, and for the most part I’m happy with my pace and time.

Miles 6 – 10 were pretty much the same as the first miles.  By mile 6, I was ahead of most people in Wave 2 and had been running by myself for the past two miles.  Then Becky, one of my new friends in the Cambridge Running Club, came running by me drafting off of another guy.  Drafting in running is the equivalent of drafting in NASCAR, where you run behind another runner and shield yourself from the wind, therefore making it easier for you to run.  Well, I decided that was a good idea, so I followed suit and pulled up behind Becky.  The three of us ran together for approximately 5 miles, and we were consistently hitting a 6:45 pace.   Now I started thinking that this pace is getting a little fast for me, however, I was still comfortable, and continued to push forward.  In Natick around mile 10, I saw my friends Matt, Eileen, Matt, and Kathy with their children.  I swooped in to give everyone that wasn’t holding a child a high-five, and I think I startled them a little bit since they didn’t see me.  That was fun.  

At mile 11, I started talking to the guy I was running with by asking him what his goal time was for today.  He said he wasn’t sure, and also added that he swam a mile and biked 50+ miles this morning prior to the race.  Well, that’s just great.  I’m running with Superman.  At this point, I had been drafting off him for the past 2 miles, and he proceeded to pick up the pace a little bit.  He said that he was from this part of town and I guess he wanted to look good for his friends.  I thought this was a good time to let him go.   I was breathing harder, and I had still hit all but one mile in my first 11 under 7:00/mile pace.  

Remembering my races from the two year’s past, mile 12 is a fun mile.  This is where the runners race through Wellesley, past Wellesley college, and through the throngs of the crazed student body cheering as loud as they possibly can.  Not exactly the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, but close.  Where they get the energy to cheer this loud or obnoxiously for 2 + hours, I don’t know.  Regardless, the last thing you think about when running through here is the fact that you’re running.   It’s like they’ve been allowed to go outside and have fun for the first time in 6 months, and they’re not quite sure how to act.   This was my second mile over a 7:00 pace (7:05) and, unknown to me at the time, my last mile close to a 6:52 pace.

I hit the halfway point at approximately 1:30:00 (an hour and a half); with some concern about the last half of the race.  I was feeling a little more tired that I wanted to at this point in the race, and was getting the feeling that my previous pace is starting to get the better of me.  At this point, I’d like to think that I forced to myself to slow down, but I think my legs were not giving me any choice.  I knew (and expected) the race to begin to get difficult, but I didn’t think it would happen this soon.  Miles 14 – 16 I completed between 7:20 and 7:40.  Knowing that miles 16 – 21 were the toughest part of the race from the perspective of overall course elevation, I was fine with continuing this pace.  I’d keep it here (or at least under 8:00/mile) going through the hills, and then I’d attempt to race the last 5 miles.  Easier thought than done.

Each mile from 16 – 21 grew progressively harder.  By mile 17, I thought I felt a slight twinge in my left hamstring.  At mile 18, I passed my friends Naoko and Dan.  Naoko ran the first 18 miles as a tune-up, and look like she probably finished her run 15 minutes earlier.  Lauren and I ate dinner with them on Saturday night, and Dan and I were joking that we would have to age-adjust his marathon if I got close to running a 3:00:00 marathon.  As I passed them, I think Dan and I both knew any age adjustments would not be necessary.  The first two big hills I ran with the goal of not stopping to walk, which I succeeded.  However, my legs and lower back were starting to get tight, and I now had a chest cramp (oh the war stories!)  After completing the second hill, I knew I had a little less than a mile to prepare for Heartbreak Hill.  I knew that this was not going to be fun, and I had a feeling I was going to have some trouble with leg cramps.  As soon as I turned the corner, I look up to see a street that drives straight to the sky.  

With the same goal of not stopping, I put my head down and marched upwards to knock out the last of the hills, listening to Boston College students cheer and slur, watching them hand out beer to the naïve runners, and all the while thinking how crappy of a college football team they root for (I needed some motivation!)  Halfway up the hill, I chuckled to the thought of running this at a 7:00 pace, or for that manner, a 9:00 pace.  As I get closer to the top, I see my fellow drafter Becky walking.  As I’m catching up to her, I tell her “Let’s go”.   She turns around, looks at me, and just takes off and after 30 seconds I don’t even see her anymore.  So much for running with someone else….  Anyway, I got to the top without walking, mission accomplished.  I then begin to run downhill towards mile marker 21, and as I’m getting close, my good friends Erin and Brandon who were on the island in the middle of the road start cheering for me.  I turn to my left to figure out who was cheering, and as soon as I see them, my right hamstring cramps like no other and I had to stop moving.  I don’t know how to describe the pain other than feeling like you’ve just been shot in the leg.  I attempted to walk, but that didn’t work.  So, I sat there and rubbed my hamstring until it loosened up.  A minute or so later, I started walking again.  I turned to see Erin and Brandon looking over at me, wondering what happened.  I shake my head, and continue forward finally being able to SLOWLY jog.  I pass mile marker 21 in just under 13 minutes.  And there went my respectable finish!  

I continued forward averaging about 9:00 pace.  At this point in the race, I noticed that the temperature dropped, and it had become windy.  I don’t know how or why this happened, but when I got hit with my first strong headwind at mile 22, my left hamstring experienced the same cramp as my right hamstring did one mile back.  Ouch.  By mile 23, I had stopped again, but only for 20 seconds or so.  My legs were toast, and I was now just trying to finish.  I saw Matt and Nora, some more good friends, cheering on and came over to give them high fives.  At least they looked like they were having fun!

The last three miles were pretty much the same.  Jog at a 9:00, speed up, cramp, stop.  By mile 25, I finally succumbed to the pace, and hoped that I’d finish under 3 ½ hours.   During the last mile, I saw Lauren, her mom, Marie and heard her brother Kevin cheering.  As per tradition, I ran over and gave Lauren a kiss, which was all the motivation I needed to finish the race.  I picked up the pace for the last half mile, and crossed the finish line in 3:26:25, and just completed my third Boston marathon!

As much as I wanted to finish the race less than 3 hours, I was happy that I ran and that I finished.  I guess this just wasn’t my day.  Not only did I get to run and complete another marathon, but I was able to promote and raise money for a great charity.  I’ve also learned how to start and the time investment required to run a blog.  Finally, if I motivated anyone to go for a run when they normally would not have, I’ll also consider that a success.  

Thanks again to all that donated and to all who followed me along my journey.  Once I figure out what my next race is, I’ll be sure to let you know.  And if you’ve ever had the smallest thought of running a marathon, please completely disregard everything you read about miles 21 – 26 and sign up!  It is an AWESOME experience!

Tom

Thank you!

After training for the past three and a half months, I can say that I am finally ready for the Boston Marathon tomorrow.  In this time, I've run approximately 550 miles, burned approximately 77,000 calories, and ran in temperatures as low as - 2F degrees.  I've come up with my running strategy in the past two weeks, and now all that's left is to execute it.  I have three obstacles to overcome tomorrow, and if I can do so, I'll have a successful run.  My first obstacle will be trying not to waste energy while running past the 22,000 people ahead of me. Second, I'll need my legs to cooperate with me for the entire race. I've always had problems with my leg muscles cramping up in my past marathons, making me slow down significantly in the last 6 miles.  If I can keep from cramping up (specifically my right hamstring), I should not have a problem keeping pace aerobically.  Finally, my last obstacle will be dealing with the unexpected events.  My shoes coming untied, getting a blister on my toe, chaffing, tripping and falling, catching other peoples elbows, and the weather could all have an impact (either good or bad) on the race.  The less number of times any of these happen, or the less severe they are, the better my chances are of running a good race.

 
I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who has donated to the Respite Center.  This year 42 runners have pledged to raise money for the Respite Center, and their contributions alone have raised almost $100,000!  So far, I've reached 91% of my fundraising goal.  For those of you who were still planning to donate, there is still time.  You can go to:

 
www.tom-running-blog.com.

 
Click on the donations tab, and instructions to donate will follow. Any and all donation amounts are really appreciated, and it would be great to be able to line up tomorrow with my goal of $3,000 raised.

 
Finally, if anyone is interested in following my progress during the race, please follow these instructions.

1.  Go to: http://www.baa.org/BostonMarathon/Att-Athlete-Alert.asp

2.  Click on the registration page link in the second bulleted paragraph.

3.  Follow the instructions to receive either text messages or email alerts.  To do so, you'll need the following information:

    a.  Bib number - 22684

    b.  My birth date - 03/21/1977

4.  For people who sign up for text message alerts, you will have to confirm the message by sending a reply.  Instructions will be included in the original text message.

 
Thank you again for following along in my journey to complete another Boston marathon, and helping the Michael Carter Lisnow Respite Center.  I'll be sending out an update after the race to let you know how it went.  Until then!

 
Tom

 
P.S.  If you are in the area and are watching the marathon, I'll be starting the race at approximately 10:37 AM.  I'll be running each mile at approximately a 7 minute mile pace.  You can figure out what time you expect to see me based on where you are on the course. Otherwise, I'll be wearing a solid dark blue, sleeveless running shirt and black running shorts.  If you keep an eye out for a pair of blinding white legs, you should have no problem finding me!

Almost there

With only one week left until the big day, I’m ready for this party to start.  Being out of town for the last week has made it easy to immerse myself in work and not think about the marathon every waking hour.  But with only seven days to go, I’ll need to start physically and mentally preparing for this race.

 

My runs during this last week should be fairly easy - 3 to 5 miles at race pace (6 minutes and 52 seconds/mile) and I’ll focus on my form and staying relaxed.  I’ll also spend an additional 15-20 minutes stretching, focusing specifically on my hamstrings.  I vividly remember running my first marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon, and right after running 17 miles and past The Awakening at Hains Point, my right hamstring locked up.  I hopped over to the side of the road to stretch it out, and as soon as I got there, my left hamstring locked up and I couldn’t walk.  Literally.  I stood there for 3 minutes, rubbing my hamstrings to loosen them up.  I learned my lesson, and stretching for an extra 15 minutes after each run will be a tiny price to pay if it alleviates hamstring issues like that during the race.

 

In addition to running a few easy miles, I’ll also spend the week mentally preparing to run the race.  Weird?  Yes.  But effective?  Yes.  Let me explain.  If you haven’t heard of the “wall” before, it’s the point during the race where your body gets too tired to keep up the pace you’ve been running and you just want to quit.  At this point, it’s all too easy to slow down your pace and lose sight of your goal.  The more I can think about having this moment during the race (which will happen at least once), and practice reminding myself that the discomfort is only temporary and I’ll get through it, the more prepared I’ll be when it happens.  I’ll be able to bust through that wall at mile 18, 21, or whenever it happens.  Now if only I could apply this same methodology to my discussions with Comcast’s customer service personnel...

 

So, stretching and thinking.  If only my whole training program was that easy!

Music on the run

Best artists to run to:

 

State Radio

Weezer

The Strokes

Cake

Eminem

Tom Petty

Red Hot Chili Peppers

311

Kings of Leon

Dispatch

Led Zeppelin

 

Any recommendations?

Sub 3

Hello Spring!  I can now say I’ve made it through my first New England winter, and what a way to celebrate other than getting in a 70 mile training week!  I know, who isn’t, right?  With temperatures in the 40s and 50s all week, it was easy to get 6 workouts in.  What I was most surprised (and excited) about was today’s long run on the course.  With close to 50 miles already logged for the week, I ran the first 23 miles of the marathon course in approximately 2 hours and 38 minutes (yes, approximately).  That’s a 6:52/mile pace, and more importantly, the pace I need to run a 3 hour marathon.  It is finally starting to appear as though some of this training in paying off.  

 

During the next three weeks, I’ll have to figure out what pace to run this thing.   Originally, I just wanted to be able to qualify for Boston again next year, but now I’m thinking that a shot at sub 3 is not unreasonable.  It also doesn’t help that my good friend and old running buddy Dan Simonds just ran his first sub 3 hour marathon last week in VA Beach.  You know what they say about peer pressure...

 

This week, I’ve got a few more runs from home, a track workout, and my final long run.  The long run will be about 18 or so miles, and not nearly as fast as this week.   All in all, another 70 mile week would be great.  Now let’s see if my legs agree.

Last Sunday, Lauren and I, along with our friends Erin and Brandon, participated in the Ras na hEireann 5k in Somerville.  The run was fun and easy, considering half of the course was on the same streets and paths that I run on most days.  It was a good run to loosen up the calf muscle and the first time I participated in a race that I chose not to “race,” but just enjoy the run and camaraderie of the other race participants.

 

During the week, I had the opportunity to enjoy the nice weather in Indiana, and also found a track to get in a couple of interval workouts.  I didn’t have a lot of extra time during my trip, so when I did get out for a run, I made sure to run hard.

 

On Saturday morning, Lauren and I went out to Holyoke, MA to partake in the St. Patrick’s Day Road Race 10k.  What a fun race!  I ran negative splits (my second 5k was quicker than the first one), mainly due to the fact that the first 5k was mostly uphill and the remaining 5k was downhill.   3,000 strong of my Irish brethren racing and partying also made for a great atmosphere.  It was a fun race, and I’m looking forward to running it again next year.

 

SO, only one more month to go.  Two weeks of running hard, and then two weeks of tapering.  For the past two years when training for Boston, I was always dealing with a nagging injury at this point of my training program.  This year, I’m not dealing with any major injuries and I’ve run the course a few times.  Overall, my weekly mileage totals are not as high as I’d like them, but I’m feeling strong and my confidence is starting to pick up as well.  I’m looking forward to next month’s training schedule, and staying injury free.

There’s no place like Mishawaka

This week's been an interesting running week so far.  I'm trying to keep my mileage up during the week, and prior to my long run this weekend.  However, my calf muscle is being a little stubborn.  I tweaked my right calf halfway through my tempo run on Monday night.  I believe it was from a combination of running on concrete (again) and running in older shoes.  As far as the concrete is concerned, I had no choice this time.  Not only are the sidewalks made of concrete, but the roads were as well (opposed to the much softer asphalt).  The only chance I had to avoid these hard pavements is to run on the strip of grass on the sidewalk.  However, it appeared every dog in Indiana walked down this sidewalk and so I decided to take my chances with choice A.

After the run, I spent probably too much time trying to stretch out and rub down the muscle, and I woke up the next morning with more soreness (insert joke here).  Took the day off on Tuesday and felt good enough to give it a go on Wednesday.  After finding out they lock the gates to the track at the middle school I was planning on running at, I wound up having to do it again.  I ran through the streets of Mishawaka, Indiana, and I came back with the same injury, this time only worse.  So much for running through the pain.  So, I took today off and I plan on doing the same tomorrow.  

Also now that the springtime is arriving, here's a little hint. Anyone planning on going for a run for the first time since the fall should make sure their shoes are in good running shape.  If you've had your running shoes for longer than six months, they are still good to loaf around in, but are past time prime for running in them.  The shelf life of a running shoes is anywhere from 200 - 300 miles, depending upon your weight.  So, if you're like me, and run with a few extra pounds on,  make sure you're running in good shoes.  Without them, you'll be prone to calf injuries and/or shin splints, either of which are not fun.

It’s not always the thought that counts...

I’m beginning to learn that sometimes it’s not always the thought that counts, especially when you’re trying to train for a marathon and keep a blog.  I had the best intentions of getting out there and knocking out another 50 miles this week, but it just wasn’t in the cards.  I battled through a cold at the beginning of the week, and life got a little busy at the end of the week, but I did manage to get a couple of runs in AND I also got a chance to hang out at the Respite Center (as you hopefully just read).  

 

Thursday was my first day of running this week and it was fun.  I went up to the MIT indoor track to meet with the Cambridge Running Club.  Our track workout was a little different than the usual track workout that most people think of.  Instead of doing intervals based on distance, we did intervals based on time, and replaced the interval jogging breaks with running drills.  10 minutes at 10k pace followed by 5 minutes of running drills (walking on the top of your toes, on your heels, and then on the side of your feet).  Then 4 minutes at our 5k pace, or in this case an all-out sprint.  Afterwards, we did some ab exercises.  After 4X1 minute intervals with 30 seconds rest, we concluded our workout with a mile at marathon pace.  Overall, I can say the workout was fun and a good change of pace, but probably not the best workout to perform while training for a marathon.  BUT, it sure beat not running at all.

 

Last night, for my second and final run of the week, I did a 9 mile tempo run that I knocked out in 1 hour and 3 minutes.  It’s a fantastic feeling to push yourself when you have fresh legs.  I hope to feel this good at the beginning of the marathon.  Now, my goal is to run myself into the ground for the next 5 weeks.  Afterwards, I’ll have two weeks to recover by significantly reducing my miles, and then I should be ready to go come April 20th.  As I’ve said once or twice before, “here’s to hoping.”

My Visit to the Respite Center

I had the opportunity to sneak out of work for lunch on Wednesday and I went down to the Respite Center.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was excited to see first hand where the proceeds of our donations are going to.  As I was greeted into the house, there were over 40 people in the main room, just hanging out and having a good time.  I was shocked to see so many people there.  After speaking with Brandon, the scholarship coordinator, I went on a walk-about (for all of you Lost-ies out there) through the facility.  We walked into the kitchen, and there were at least another 20 people there.  There were 7 or so employees coordinating lunch, and the rest of the people staying at the center were chowing down or helping clean-up.

After meeting with a few more employees, we went upstairs to the pre-kindergarten day-care, but couldn’t stay too long because it was nap time.  Finally, we went downstairs and had the opportunity to observe exercise time in the big room and then a homemade music video in the Media room.  The video was unbelievable and everyone was having a blast.  The picture below was taken during the middle of exercise class, however, as you can see, no one had a problem taking a second to pose for the camera!

I’m glad I had the opportunity to get out and visit the center.  Now I’m even more motivated to achieve my goal.  I’m looking forward to visiting again soon and seeing everybody on race day.

A New Track Workout

Tonight, I just finished a really good track workout (outside!!!!) with the Cambridge Running Club.  After warming up for 2 miles, we ran 4X2000 (4 intervals of 2000 meters or 5 laps around an outdoor track).  Normally, the track workouts I’ve run mostly consist of distances between 800 - 1200 meters, with rare instances of running mile repeats.  Anything longer than this seems to take the fun out of the speed workouts because the intervals last more than 5 minutes.  And if your intervals are longer than 5 minutes, you might as well get out on the road or trails.

 

Our track coach came up with a way to solve this problem.  Instead of running the 2000s at half marathon pace, we broke up the 2000s and ran the first 800 at a 10k pace, the next 400 at our goal marathon pace, and the last 800 back at the 10k pace.  Even though it was still a 2000, we got a little bit a little bit of a break in between the 800s and also got some time in running at our goal marathon pace which is important.  I’ve always been fond (relatively speaking) of doing 800s during our track workouts, so maybe this is the reason I’m such a fan.  In between each interval, you can jog either a 400 or 800.  If you’re training for a marathon and have done track workouts in the past, I highly recommend this workout.  And for those of you that have run with me in the past, I kept the 800s between 3:00 and 3:10.  

 

Now that I think about it, the other part of this workout that made it more enjoyable was the fact that we actually ran the intervals at our 10k or half marathon paces (when prescribed).  You see, when I ran with the Washington Running Club, I feel as though we had a habit of racing every tempo run and track workout we did together.   I feel as though we always raced every interval, and I was spent after every workout with them.  I guess that’s the effort that was required I were to keep pace with the likes of Fast Will, Dan, Naoko and Lance.  They all should be looking to, and probably will, break 3 hours this year in Boston.

 

On another note, I’ve scheduled sometime next week to go out to the Respite Center to meet some of the people there.  I’ll be going around lunch time next Wednesday, and am looking forward to the stories I’ll have to report.  I can’t wait!

The Quabbin

Since I have a dentist appointment tomorrow morning in Amherst, MA, Lauren and I left a day early to hang out with her parents.  Besides their great company and great food (every meal they serve deserves a blog of its own), one of the good things about going out to western mass is running around Quabbin.  The Quabbin Reservoir is one of the largest man-made public water supplies in the United States, and it’s right in Lauren’s backyard.  It has plenty of service roads and hiking trails and the scenery is exhilarating.  For running purposes, it great for training because of the steep rolling hills and clean air.

 

My thought after yesterday’s run was to just get a few miles in to recover from yesterday’s long run. However, the Quabbin and Mother Nature both had different plans.  As I had decided to get ready for my run, it started snowing (again...) pretty hard.  Undeterred, I laced up the running shoes and left for the Quabbin.

 

My run started out over flat stretch overlooking the reservoir from on both sides of the service road.  If it was a nice day, you would be able to see nothing but water for at least a half mile both directions before your gaze moved upwards to consume the panoramic view of the mountains.  Today, it was completely overcast and everything seemed drab.  After the first 3/4’s of a mile, the path turned to a 2 mile climb that seems as steep as Heartbreak Hill (we’ll be discussing this as we get closer to race day).  I don’t know exactly how steep it is, but if I’m working hard to keep a 9 1/2 minute/mile pace within the first 10 minutes of my run, well, it is definitely not flat.  After close to 3 miles and 25 tough minutes, the next 2.5 miles were steep rolling hills.  By now, the snow had already accumulated more than an inch, and had provided a challenge of not slipping or sliding on a slick patch of the road.  After completing the next 2.5 miles, I decided this was far enough and turned around to run back to my car.

 

The run back was much easier, especially the last 2.5 miles where I got to enjoy the fruits of my labor and run downhill  A lot of experienced runners will say to take it easy running downhill because it’s tough on your legs and it’s an easy way to get injured.  I happen to think that it’s always better to finish a workout sooner rather than later, so the faster I can go, the better.  Plus, it’s a good way to work on your turnover and get a little speed work in.  But that’s just me.  On my way down the hill, I had an audience of deer watch me run by.  They, as probably most other people, wonder why the hell I was running in 25 degree weather while it was snowing.   Sometimes, I wonder that myself.  But until someone convinces me otherwise, I think I’ll continue to do it.

 

I finished my run in 1 hour and 23 minutes, and covered 10 miles.  The Quabbin didn’t exactly prove to be an easy recovery run, but it was fun.   Now I’m looking forward to a good dinner, a beer, and maybe even making some catty comments while watching the Oscars....

Long Runs and Michael Carter Lisnow

SO, I just finished my third 20 + miler, and my first one on the Boston marathon course.  I’m pretty lucky to be able to leave one great running club in DC (the Washington Running Club) and happen to join another great running club here in Boston.  The Cambridge Running Club had volunteers out on the course today to give club members drinks and goos (think food in the form of toothpaste) at three different points on the course.  All I can say is giddy up!  Not having to worry about putting our own gatorade/water out on the stop, or wearing a running belt to carry your drinks is always a plus (which was known by my old roommates as wearing my “bat belt”).   There’s also about 30 people training for the Boston marathon, which is good because, as they say, misery loves company.

 

For me, there are a number of things that I’ve done to make these long runs a little bit easier.  Focusing on my running form during all of my runs helps me conserve energy.  Keeping my wrists loose, not leaning over or looking down while running, and not over-striding (which used to be a big problem for me) are all ways to save energy and putting off “hitting the wall” during long runs.  Second, having completed 3 20+ mile runs and a few more runs over 16 miles, my body is starting to adapt to running 2 + hours (which is a good thing). The more you do something, the better you get. This definitely rings true for these types of runs.  Finally, finding ways to stay motivated during the run helps you concentrate on your end goal.  For a lot of marathoners, typical goals are to finish the marathon, set a new personal record, and/or to achieve a specific finishing time.  However, this year, my motivation comes from a charity I’ve decided to raise money for by running the 2009 Boston marathon.

 

I learned about the Michael Carter Lisnow Respite Center through the Boston Athletic Association as I was signing up for this year’s marathon.  The Michael Carter Lisnow Respite Center provides a “home away from home” for children and adults with disabilities, as well as offering parents a break from the emotional and physical demands needed by their children.  The home away from home includes day and after school care as well as overnight stays and community outreach programs.  After learning more about it, the Respite Center really serves all parties.  They have create a warm and fun atmosphere for the children and adults with disabilities and let the parents relax knowing that their children will be taken care of appropriately.

 

All of the proceeds from the charity will go to a scholarship fund that provide money to families who would not normally be able to afford these types of services.  For example, a $75 donation to the Respite Center scholarship fund would cover the cost of an overnight visit.  It’s easy to get excited about the Respite Center because a relatively small amount of money can really go a really far way.  

 

Please take a moment to check out the Michael Carter Lisnow Respite Center website.  It will be well worth your time.  After I decided that I wanted to help this charity, my motivation to train just went through the roof.  I’ve found it easy to add a few extra miles to my runs, as well as runs to my week, when you think about the time, patience, and diligence necessary to take care of children and adults with disabilities.  And if I can raise awareness (AND MONEY!!!) for this charity by sharing my experiences (er, pain and soreness) of training for the Boston Marathon, then so be it.  And if I can also squeeze in the opportunity to motivate others to train for marathon or other athletic event, than that would be just as fantastic.

 

THANKS FOR VISITING!!!

On the Surface of Things

Last night, I ran my first medium long run of the week, and it may also be my last one of the week.  Beginning from my hotel in Astoria, I ran to Northern Boulevard then down to the 59th Street bridge, which goes into Manhattan.  I stopped just short of crossing the bridge, took a moment to let the NY skyline sink in, then turned around to head back to the hotel.

The run itself went well, however, I feel very sore today.  Most people wouldn’t think it is a big deal, but there is a noticeable difference between running on asphalt (the street) and running on concrete (the sidewalk).  Running on concrete taxes the body much more than running on asphalt because it is harder.  The best surfaces to run on (10 being the best and 1 being the worst) are:

• Grass 9.5
• Wood chips 9
• Dirt 8
• Cinder track 7.5
• Track 7
• Treadmill 6.5
• Asphalt 6
• Sand 4
• Snow 2.5
• Concrete 1

At home, I’m used to running on streets or bike paths (also made of asphalt).  1.5 hours of pounding the concrete has led to a great deal of soreness in my hip today.  Since I am trying to build up my mileage from week to week, I'll be taking today off to recover.

I completed last night's run in 1 hour and 32 minutes, and covered just over 12 miles.

New York, New York

I am working in New York this week, so I am tasked with finding/creating new running routes for myself.  I'll also have to get used to not running on bike baths or empty roads, which are few and far between in New York.  Tonight I ran mostly up and down the blocks of Northern Boulevard.  For those of you not familiar with Northern Blvd., it's easy to describe - full of chinese food restaurants, laundromats, and car dealerships.  That was good for me because the route was pretty well lit.

I finished my run at 7 miles in about 55 minutes.  Tonight's run was just to get out and get some easy mileage in, and that's exactly what it was, easy.  After the run, I did a little ab work at the hotel, some stretching, and called it a night.