Marathon Trainers

Race Reports (Read 688 times)


Oh Mighty Wing

    Yep. srlopez would be proud. Big grin
    phew! oh and a guy ran with a kola teddy strapped to his back - it was his first thon - he beat me through mile 22 - and then I kicked his ass.
    evanflein


      Good for you, Shan. Now THAT's what we're talking about! And brave of you to tackle such a tough course for your first trail race. But, maybe if you didn't know a lot about the course then ignorance was bliss... Personally, I think any course that you have to repeat loops on is a drag. But you did it well and had a kick at the end. Thanks!
      Kimmie


        Thank you. You are excused now. Big grin
          Beaten in Boston by Wonder Woman (cross posted from the masters forum) This is long, sorry. Just hit page down and say "well done" or something. Big grin Summary: 3:30:38 PR BQ Fashion: Blue Race Ready Shorts over compression shorts, salmon "will run for Beer" T shirt Nutrition: I ate 3/4 of a bagel and a banana at 5:30, and 1/3 of a bagel and a banana at 8-8:30. I was having trouble choking the bagels down due to nerves, I guess. I was ready for this and ate a crank (like gu, but 150 cal and with electrolytes) and a couple of ecaps about 10 minutes before the start. During the race, I had a crank and 2 ecaps every 6 miles. Prior to this race, I had run six marathons. My PR was still my second race, in Chicago (3:31:15), and I was wondering if I could come close to that time again. In the four more recent races, intellectually I knew I was going out too fast, but I had been unable to correct that. In Boston, I believe going out too fast -- i.e., "taking advantage" of the early downhills -- is sure to come back and haunt when you get to the Newton hills. So this year, I made a concerted effort to run even splits the whole race. My goal was to break 3:30, so I needed 8's every mile. Since I figured the number was easy to multiply and compare at the mile markers I opted to forego a pace band. This worked for the most part, but I have to tell you that multiplying by 8 when you get up to 17 and beyond gets more and more difficult. I started out even slower, as planned, at about 8:10 for the 1st two miles. In the second mile, I found myself a bit uncomfortable and decided to take a short break in the woods. I figured I could make it up and a little extra effort to get back on track wouldn't use up too much of my strength. Last year I had that even effort pace band which does take advantage of the early hills, and by mile 10 I decided to dial it back and just enjoy the race. That was fine (I ran 3:38 last year), but this year when I got to 10 I started thinking about it. I decided to keep up the pace; I was feeling pretty good, and made it through Wellesley, high fiving as many of those energetic undergrads I could (didn't stop for any kisses though Smile ). The miles were disappearing behind me, and by 16 I was still on track, maybe a minute ahead. But the Newton hills were to come. I knew there were four hills, each with some downhill after, so I started counting them down. While I did lose a bit on each hill, for the first three I recovered to be on pace with the ensuing downhill. I was still on track at mile 20, the base of Heartbreak. Heartbreak finishes at the 21 mile marker, so that mile was about 30 seconds slow. I should say that at the base of Heartbreak, mile marker 20, were the boomer/master crowd. I saw perchcreek, The Pro From Dover, abelaisle as I passed by -- there may have been more there but I didn't see them. Craig (TPFD) shouted, "how's it going?" and I gave a big thumbs up. Last year, you may remember, he was kind enough to run me in from 20. I wasn't nearly as strong then as I was this year, that's for sure. The thumbs up was genuine and I don't think I have ever felt that good that late in a race. perchcreek took a picture there (thanks, Steve!) So the key to this race is to crest Heartbreak with enough energy to take advantage of the final five miles into Boston. I found most of those miles pretty easy and did a couple around 7:50-8:00. I did have some slower miles - 24 and 26 were about 8:15. I am not sure what that was all about -- maybe they were flatter and I was running out of gas. At the Citgo sign, just after mile 25, I looked for dawndaughter1 and PDR's cousins, but was unable to find them. They said they saw me pass with a determined look on my face. Smile You can see all my miles, of course, in the log -- here. (Note the logged miles are from the garmin so I added a few seconds to those paces in the paragraph above). When I turned from Hereford to Boyleston, man that finish line looked far away. I looked at my garmin and wondered how far it really was. I think the total elapsed said 3:27 something, and breaking 3:30 was going to be close if the distance was short enough. But afterwards I found it's about 650 meters, and the sub-3:30 goal wasn't possible at that point. But I didn't know this at the time and surged a bit, finishing with the 3:30:38 I mentioned above. The wind I was worried about all week turned out not to be much of an issue to people coming in around my time and later. I think it was stronger earlier and affected those with times under around 3:15 worse. Also we had a crowd around us when we were running which made a good wind break. Why the title? For much of the race I was running by a young lady dressed as wonder woman. I saw her at the finish and asked her time -- she ran 3:29 something. A little embarrassing, but I guess it's ok to be slower than a super-hero. I did beat Bill Rogers, though Tongue Before and after the race were boomer / masters get-togethers which were really fun. rtravers (from KR), had a party and a whole bunch of people showed up, and after the race about 15 of us met at a Cambridge brew-pub. Mmm, grease and protein -- really needed that. Later a few people were free and came over to our place to pound some more beers. If you're still here you have almost as much stamina as I did during the race Smile Thanks for reading!

          Lou, (aka Mr. predawnrunner), MD, USA | Lou's Brews | lking@pobox.com

          Kimmie


            Wow, Lou, you ran such a strong race. I love this report... always love all the details. and you were so strong at the end, that's awesome. So glad you guys had a good time. I look forward to reading PDR's report as well. This makes me really excited to run it next year. Again, good job, hope you're feeling recovered.
            theyapper


            On the road again...

              Great report, Lou. You sure do look relaxed at mile 20! Training pays off.

              I write. I read. I run. One time, I ran a lot on my 50th birthday.

              Paul


              Happy Camper

                Awesome race Lou! Congrats.

                Determination: The feeling you get right before you try something incredibly stupid.

                Cashmason


                  What did you do differently that made the last miles easier this year? Usually past 20 is a struggle for me.
                    Thanks, everyone!
                    What did you do differently that made the last miles easier this year? Usually past 20 is a struggle for me.
                    The things I did differently this cycle were 1) increase the volume slightly -- most rest days I ran 3 recovery miles instead of a full rest -- gave my 50-55 mpw instead of (about) 45-50 mpw, and, 2) did core exercises about twice a week for the last 8-10 weeks. I suspect it was the increased volume helped more than the core exercises. But also holding back at the beginning saved my energy. I think this was key.

                    Lou, (aka Mr. predawnrunner), MD, USA | Lou's Brews | lking@pobox.com


                    Dave

                      Full race report for Glass City posted out in the main forum here: http://www.runningahead.com/forums/post/7e5edb3baad343a0ba43fd365b70e9a8

                      I ran a mile and I liked it, liked it, liked it.

                      dgb2n@yahoo.com

                      AmoresPerros


                      Options,Account, Forums

                        ... I suspect it was the increased volume helped more than the core exercises. ...
                        I hope so, because I've done much better with keeping up volume than with keeping up core exercises -- and now that it's getting hotter, I think I'll be even more likely to feel too tired after running and not want to do core exercises - and I've already been slacking off on them for quite a while...

                        It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.

                        AmoresPerros


                        Options,Account, Forums

                          It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.

                            Out of all my races this one probably means the most to me. Not because I BQ’D but because I was able to show my 7 year old daughter that if you believe in yourself you can accomplish what you set your mind out to do. I think self doubt is probably my biggest issue. Always second guessing myself, always unsure. Afraid to go outside my comfort zone (not that I did that much today, that will come in time ) Anyways the day started out perfect. Alarm went off and I had no problem getting out of bed despite feeling exhausted. Both Katie and Frankie got up without anyone having to wake them up, which at 5:30 am surprised me. Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Got to the start a little after 7 and had no problem finding Willa and her friend Matt . It was really windy and chilly so I ended up getting a trashbag from Willa (thank you btw) so that going out into the headwind I wouldn’t be too cold. I really don’t race with headphones but with hearing how lonely the course can be I figured better safe to have them, though I ended turning them off after a few miles. My plan for the marathon was to go out on the conservative side, speed up a bit on the downhills but not too much so that I didn’t crash and burn on the hills at the end. For most of the run I was pretty much by myself though I did spend some time every so often with someone, even Deb the girl who got 2rd place in my age group the last 5k/10k series that I did over the winter. The first 8 miles or so was rolling hills. Had one cliff shot block around mile 6. Ken, Katie, Frankie and our dog Kallie were out cheering for me at mile 8. It was nice seing them. I ran over to say hi, tell them this race is for them and how much I love them. Photobucket Not sure which mile it was when I ended up going into the forrest to pee (damn did I have to go bad lol) Think it was around mile 11 or so cause it wasn’t long before I was surprised by the hill at mile 12 not that I didn’t mind it. Got through the half with a time around 1:53 30. Saw the family at mile 16. Ken being very supportive asking me if I was warm enough (it was 41 with a windchill of 31) and if I needed anything. I was feeling nice and strong told him no but thanks for being there and supporting me. Photobucket Photobucket The miles just kind of clicked away. There wasn’t TONS of support however I enjoyed those who were out! Did a lot of thanking the volunteers something I always try to do but don’t always succeed in. I have to say it was a little hard holding back on the down hills, however I knew that if I didn’t that there would be a chance of blowing up and I was NOT going to let that happen. This race was for Katie and running it smart was my choice (yes in a way I chickened out with the racing, however it was more important to prove something to Katie then running faster for a more impressive time and taking the chance of exploding) Saw the family again at mile 20 which was a surprise. Seeing them and knowing that I was going to accomplish my goal put a huge smile on my face. Gave them the thumbs up and kept running. Photobucket Wasn’t long after I saw them that I felt the burning of a blister popping on my left forefoot. I had been waiting for my ankle to start speaking but hadn’t thought about blisters forming. I really need to file down the callous that has formed on that foot. My stride did change a bit but that was about it. Got through the hills and before I knew it I was running through Stroudsburg and by the highschool. Now who do you think I saw as I entered the track? Yep Ken , the twins and Kallie. Guess they had barely got there just in time to see me coming and get some shots of me finishing. Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket I finished with a gun time of 1:37:38 not quite an even split but damn close. I’ve gotta couple ultra’s coming up (two weeks and one in Aug) and if all goes well I’m looking to NOT enjoy Steamtown in Oct!

                            Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson


                            Oh Mighty Wing

                              Awesome report Pam!!! Again I'm sorry I didn't see you at the finish to congratulate you!!! Guys please forgive me for copy and pasting this... http://www.runningahead.com/groups/2000/Forum/Post/f9b325b667574258ba8bde0374d0299e#focus i'm exhausted and need to go to bed!! Thank you all for your unending support in my journey... it has been one hell of a ride!
                              Kimmie


                                thanks for the report Shan! what an awesome race you had... it's crazy to me that you don't wear a watch.... When I ran Myrtle Beach, I had to pay such close attention to my time.... you did such a great job!!! I can totally identify with the foggy head thing and the emotion afterwards. Hope you're feeling recovered today --- enjoy knowing you accomplished a major goal.