I hoping for sub-3 in the fall. For Boston, I still have no clue maybe sub-3:10..

Nice race, DVC! I'd say 3:07 at Boston is definitely within your reach.

Wonderful report DVC! You nearly had flames coming out from the soles of your shoes.

Nice tune-up, DCV. You definitely have your poo-poo together. Many words of advice: "Let--go--of--the--gel--once--it--leaves--your--hand--it's--gone--man--gone-- grieve--a--moment--then--get--on--with--life--there--will--be--other--gels-- they--might--not--taste--the--same--they--might--feel--different--when--you-- squeeze--them--but--the--boost--will--be--the--same--the--sticky--hands--will--be-- the--same--once--you--have--loved--a--gel--truly--loved--a--gel--then--you--will-- be--able--to--love--all--gels--so--let--it--go--if--it--comes--back--to--you-- then--you--are--probably--having--a--shamanistic--experience." Have a great marathon. I hope it's fun for you. --Jimmy

If I was racing, the gel would have gone bye-bye, but since it was still in the training part of the run, I got it. Hey it cost me all of $0.85! and I didn't even use until after I was done with the race....

Bull Run Run 50 miles - 08 I last ran this race in 06, following several days of heavy rains. The course, mostly all dirt trails, was completely covered with mud and standing water that year and with all of the out and back segments, much of it was hardly runnable. This year would be the year to see what it's like under "normal" conditions and I should be able to beat my "miserable conditions" time of 8:55 for this course. Of course in the days leading up, there would be a considerable amount of rain, but not as much as in 06. However, the real problem this year would be that temps would get into the 70s. The 70s is fine, but not when all of my runs since the end of January have been in 40s and below. On the Friday before the race, it was already getting warm and, in fact, I never switched to air conditioning, so I just rolled around in bed, not able to sleep well, being overly hot and too tired to get up and turn on the A/C. I ended up sleeping about 2 1/2 hrs before the alarm at 3:30. Since there were still several hours before the race I was able to pop in an English Muffin, and get in the usual pre-race ritual, with extra body glide today to handle the mud and predicted rains. At the race start, I noticed what a comfortable temperature it was outside, which is always a bad sign before a long race because that means that later, it will be hot. I knew at this point, that I would have to constantly stay in tune with my body and be prepared to cut back as the temperature dictated. I'd say it was about 5 miles in until I started feeling the effects of the warm temperatures and high humidity. After 10 miles, I was already starting to feel miserable. Mind you, 70 degrees is a great temperature, but only when I've been running in 70+ for a number of weeks. In this case, I've had one run over 50 degrees since the end of January and I remember how much I hated that. How would I tolerate 40 more miles and what are the chances that the peak temperature for the day would occur at 9 am? The heat was affecting me in many ways and I knew that hydration and electrolytes would be a challenge. When training has not included warm weather for a while, the right balance of fluids, electrolytes and food becomes a guessing game. But not only that, the accumulation of running in the warm weather tends to "age" me in the race much quicker (e.g., 10 miles feels like 30 or 40 miles, etc.) and my footing gets sloppier, I kick a lot more rocks and roots, and I start to fall frequently. My first fall occurred in about in mile 8 or so, and it was so hard it through me into shock. I ended up with a golf ball sized welt on my forearm and large bruises on both legs. It took me a couple of minutes to really get moving again. This was a sign to me to cut back and that my body did not want me to push the boundary anymore, so I just slowed it down into a comfortable pace. Shortly after a friend, John, caught up with me and I ran with him for at least 10 miles or so. It was really good having some company. He appeared to sound a lot better than I did and I felt like I was holding him back, so after I while I would try to run up ahead at certain points, knowing that he would catch up. Around mile 20 or so, we approach the Bull Run soccer fields. I was following a few in front and there was a pack behind me and somehow I think we missed the streamers and took a different zigzag path around the fields because there were runners coming from other directions that we eventually met back up with. I knew we would come back upon this section of the race later, so I would sort it out then. A couple of miles later on the trail, I spotted a long black object about 15 feet ahead, sprawled across the trail, I slowed my approach and noted that it was a 4 ft black snake. I kept my distance and slowly approached; fortunately he was making his way across. He gave me a peak and a "keep your distance" kind of look, so I obliged and ran off the trail for a moment when I passed. I then called out a notification to a number of folks behind that they should miss the view of the snake coming up. I kept my process of running up ahead at various points, but I noticed that this time John had not caught up. I was certain I would see him at my next low point. At each aid station it was an adventure to figure out what to do. The heat really made me lose my appetite, but I knew I had to get in food and electrolytes. I could feel that my hydration and electrolyte balance was marginally stable. I drank Coke, orange soda, and would take in as much in the of potato chips, fritos, PB&J, and pretzels as I could but it wasn't as much as I would normally. Fortunately, chicken noodle soup started to appear along with olives, and they really started to help a lot. I was offered S-caps several times, but I passed because I don't train with them and they can really have a significant effect. In retrospect, I probably should have taken one or two since I really didn't want to eat. Without the chicken soup, I don't think I would have had a choice. Around mile 28 or 30, it started to rain hard. It really felt great - a tremendous relief. I felt alive again, but also I was feeling my bumps and bruises. It didn't take long after the rain stopped until the sun came out and my misery returned. Around mile 34 I hit an extremely steep climb, which I started to hike. All of a sudden both of my inner thighs cramped up with intense pain and I could barely move. I've never experienced this one. I hobbled my way to the top of the climb and once the terrain leveled off, the muscles relaxed. Fortunately, I wouldn't experience this one for the rest of the race. I'd been pretty lucky with the mud so far with some minor slips and falls, but nothing tremendous ... until now.. I ran through an unavoidable mud pit at around mile 36 that pulled off my shoe and sucked it down. It took me a few minutes to get it out and get my self resituated. Putting my shoe on was painful and my calf muscle tightened up like a rock. It took about 5 minutes of recovery for me to regain my bearings after this one. I had become as fragile as a fancy wine glass. At about mile 38 as I was crossing a stream, I wondered to myself why I wasn't taking advantage of the streams! I stomped right into it and showered myself off and it just felt great. I would do this for the remaining stream crossings, without regard to other runners passing me when I'm doing it. Mile 40 is always a good point in a 50 mile race, because I can taste the end and just count down the miles. Around mile 47 is a return over a rocky section by the river which is very hard to traverse, but a great excuse to walk very slowly and carefully. Finally with about a mile to go there's very steep climb, mostly of steps before the last 1/3 mile stretch to the finish. I heard someone behind me, noted that my current heart rate was about 150, and decided to take these steps hard. By the time my HR hit 168, I was completely out of breath, barely able to move! Clearly after 50 exhausting miles, I no longer have the ability to get my HR over 200! Nonetheless, the little surge was enough to ward off the approaching runner. I kicked it in for the home stretch for a miserably disappointing, but tremendously relieving, finish of 9:36! What a pummeling.

Way to persevere, Jesse. Too bad they didn't run the race today. It was 68 at 6am yesterday! I ran at 3:30 and it felt terrible -- 74 degrees, dp of 56. This morning, it was a perfect 55 degrees. Springtime in DC.

No doubt - today would have been perfect! Too bad I can't even run to take advantage of it! This is about the most beat up I've been after about any race. Hopefully I didn't screw up my chances for a decent Boston (but I think I did).

Just wanted to wish you well after your self inflicted beating Heal up, I want to read a good Boston report! Greg

Jesse, Great report. Some gems in this one. "I had become as fragile as a fancy wine glass" Yup, no cheap, run of the mill wine glass fragility for you. "I ended up with a golf ball sized welt on my forearm and large bruises on both legs. It took me a couple of minutes to really get moving again. This was a sign to me to cut back and that my body did not want me to push the boundary anymore..." Almost a full ultra-stigmata--I think it was a sign from God! Keep going, Jesse. Still a inspiration. --Jimmy

Although my wife does not post here, she has been heart rate training for Boston and I wanted to give a small snippet of a race report to note her progress. She uses some Jimmy advice and predictors I pass along to her, and she has traded emails with Jesse/formationflier and he has helped push her to run easier to stay healthy and develop more aerobic fitness. Anyway, her Boston time was 3:21 (7:40 pace). That's a PR of over 13 minutes since her last PR at the end of Sept '07. She ran even splits and had a strong finish. She was not plagued by slowing down the last 10k or any stomach issues that she has had in past marathons. She did not seemed very fatigued after the race, and really did not have much soreness. We walked around downtown for a few miles the evening after the race and she was having no problem walking or going up/down stairs. She was a tad stiff last night, though, after a 14 hour car ride home. Although she is taking a few days off, she said she would not have had any issues running yesterday (day after race) and keeping good form. My kids & I had a good time as spectators at miles 6 and 25. We were able to meet up with Jesse in Boston, and I showed him the best technique for reheating leftover cheseburgers & fries. I'm looking forward to reading all the other Boston reports. I'm off to work to catch up after missing 4 days.