Boston Bound! (Read 556 times)

I ran the Athens, OH marathon (www.athensmarathon.org) yesterday and qualified for Boston. Needless to say, I’m ecstatic and would be doing cartwheels if my quads weren’t stiff as boards and I knew how to do a cartwheel (maybe I could manage a somersault). Since I’m 50, my official qualifying time to beat was 3:35:00, but with the extra 0:59 the BAA gives, I had to be under 3:36. I ran 3:34:12 (unofficial time). I had just missed qualifying by 39 seconds last October in the Detroit Marathon and was very determined to run a good race this time. The Athens marathon is a pretty nice course, and a good one for running a PR. The start is at the corner of the Ohio University campus, and the first two miles are a gentle downhill. After that, the course follows the Hockhocking Adena bikepath that follows the Hocking River valley past farmland and through state forest. The bikepath is a former railroad bed, paved, very smooth (no cracks or potholes the whole way), and flat. After 13.1 miles out, runners turnaround, and finish with 1.5 laps on the track of OU’s Pruitt Field. It's a small field - only about 150 marathoners and maybe 250 running the half. I started out faster than I should have due to the downhill and going with the flow of the half-marathoners. My average pace to run a 3:35:00 marathon needed to be 8:12, but the first seven miles were under 8:00, and I didn’t back off too much until mile 18. My splits were 7:44, 7:40, 7:48, 7:48, 7:55, 7:58, 7:58, 8:06, 8:01, 8:01, 7:59, 7:57, 8:03, 8:03, 8:02, 8:07, 8:09, 8:20 (mile 18 - things were getting dicey here), 8:25, 8:28, 8:32, 8:26, 8:26, 8:36, 8:53 (mile 24 and I began doing the death march shuffle), and 10:51 (final 1.2 miles). The weather was a mixed blessing. The first three-four miles were run in a steady hard rain that soaked everything and fried my iPod. Then things let up and it was nice and cool with an occasional drizzle, but a second downpour kicked in around mile 18, soaked everybody again, and added a few ounces to the shoes. The race organization and support were great with plenty of water/food-stops. The miles were well marked, post-race food was very good (damn, no beer though), and the race only cost $30 ($27 if you registered through active.com) that included a nice long-sleeve shirt, medal, and coffee mug. I strongly recommend the race to anyone looking for a well organized, small marathon, on a good PR course.

Congratulations, Buckshot. I'm more impressed than words could convey. I'm curious: how long did it take you? How many years, how many marathons?

congrats!!! that's SO exciting, especially after *just* missing it at your previous marathon! Hats off to you! Do any other girls feel a bit like a cheater looking at those qualifying times? I mean, I'm only 37 and my BQ time is 3:45:59. I don't know if I'd ever hit a 3:35 time!

WTG Buckshot! Great Run

GREAT JOB! Man, talk about inspiring... and fast! I would be doing stiff-legged cartwheels all day long if I ran sub-4:30! Thanks for sharing your efforts!

Awesome! BQBQBQBQBQBQBQBQBQBQBQ Awesome! Congrats, Lynn B

Congratulations, Buckshot. I'm more impressed than words could convey. I'm curious: how long did it take you? How many years, how many marathons?

JK - this was my third marathon. I ran the first in October, '05, and the second last October. I started running consistently in June, '04, but was a "jogger" in college and up to my late 30's. Then the left knee got real painful, and the ortho doc told me I had a torn ACL (probably from a stupid college stunt I did one fuzzy night), severe cartilage loss, needed an operation to fix the ACL, and shouldn't run. That didn't sit well, especially after watching my wife run her first marathon and my son and daughters run high school cross country. So I started taking glucosamine/chondroitin sulfate which helped alot with the pain, gently eased back into running to where I could got up to 4-5 miles (on dirt trails as much as possible), and started fantasizing that I could run a marathon. I kept at it, the legs got stronger, and I quit the glucosamine (I think the leg strength helped stabilize the knee which reduced the banging and inflammation, although I still feel it in the knee and need the occasional advil or two). As time went on, I got faster and was running more miles. When I was running about 25-30 miles a week, I decided to run a marathon "one time", at least that's what I promised my wife. I read Hal Higdon's book and followed his novice plan, and barely made it to the finish in my first attempt, but was hooked and knew I would do another. So I increased the mileage, went into the second one quite a bit stronger and a little smarter, and did much better, but just missed qualifying. But third time's a charm, and I increased the mileage to where I was running 50+ miles a week, plus lots of hard tempos and 10 milers. SoI guess the bottom line cliche is that hard work pays off. I feel really lucky too because anything can happen in a marathon, even after all the hard work. At mile 14, in this last race, I developed a major side stitch that I have never gotten before. It hurt enough that I had to run half doubled over. But I rubbed it out and felt better by 15. Then at 20, I could feel my calves starting to cramp up, and I said lots of prayers, tried to run smoothly, and managed to dodge that race killer. I know you've been busting your hump for the CMM, and know how badly you want it. Best advice I can give is that you've done the mleage, so try to stay calm and focused during the race, get plenty of fuel and fluids in you before and during the race, and be positive/don't let those negative thoughts in during the hard part of the race - you'll make it. To the rest of you - thanks for all the kind words and congratulations. Boston will be yours one day too.

Thanks for the info, Buckshot. What was your time in your first, if you don't mind me asking. I was really curious after reading an article in this month's RW about who qualifies for Boston. It was kind of depressing, because it was clear that the vast majority qualify in the first few marathons they run. I don't think I have a serious shot until I hit 45 and the qualifyer time bounces up to 3:30. The current 3:15, or the 3:20 for 40 year olds, just seems unrealistic. Maybe not, we'll see. But I think it'll be more like my 30th try instead of my 3rd. So when are you running it? (I know that some qualifyers get you in for 2 years, but I don't know where the cutoffs are on that - I'm assuming you're doing '08?) Pretty awesome. By the way - you need to change your signature line.

My first marathon was 3:48+change. I think you've got a good shot at making it this year - if not, certainly a PR. Be positive. One thing I didn't write in the report was that at 25 miles, I COULD NOT RUN ANYMORE! I was dizzy, almost doing the drunken sailor shuffle. And I could see the OU track where the finish was, but thinking I can't believe I'm going to lose it now. But I couldn't keep running, my legs were dead, and I started to walk. Then about 15 seconds later, a guy who I passed at around 20 miles caught me and said some words of encouragement that got me running again and I managed to finish. What that taught me is that we always have a little bit more even when we think we're done. Keep that in mind when the going gets tough. I plan to run '08, and thanks for the tip about my signature.