"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail"

(I REALLY ran 6 easy miles at AP 8:12, with the fastest mile being the last one at 7:16. I guess that is believable..eh?)

THIS WAS MY POOR ATTEMPT AT AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE... 

I decided to take a vacation day today and get in one last long run before I totally taper for Boston. There is a 1-mile loop around the parking lot. I parked my car at about 9 AM, while all of my coworkers were just getting to work, and started doing laps. Every couple laps I'd stop off at my car and refuel. The temperature was about 55 degrees, 10 MPH wind. It was great. After about 3 hours, people started leaving for lunch, and the road around the plant got a little crowded...I chugged along for another 3 hours, and decided 40 miles was enough...I weighed myself when I finished. I was down 9 pounds!

AP: 9:09
AHR: 123
OK...so this didn't really happen. But I thought about it...Happy April Fools' Day! (I'll modify the mileage once I do my real run after work :)

I run by feel..and today I didn't feel like it. (50 MPH wind gusts, work, kids, life got in the way)

Finally! The wind was below 10 MPH! I forgot what it was like to not have lean forward so much while running.

Darin and I ran a quick 6 at lunch:

Splits:7:19, 7:20,7:27,7:25,7:36,6:47

HR: ***, 146,146,145,152,161,165

My MP is 7:38/mi (3:20:00)-- I need to get to the point where 7:20-7:30 pace is my normal tempo run pace. The run today felt pretty good. I pushed the HR a little high on the last 2 miles (they were into a 9 MPH headwind).

Not sure what Saturday holds for me. I need a 13.1 mile MP run either Saturday or Sunday (There is a race in Dallas on Sunday - Big-D Half Marathon, but I'm not sure if I feel like spending $70 + gas to go run it....decisions, decisions...that's a couple Boston t-shirts I could be buying :-)
 

Family Day. Went to boys' soccer and baseball games. Then bought some plants for the veggie garden. Gorgeous day for being outside. 81 degrees and sunny.

Saturday was a beautiful day for running, but it was also a great day for my boys' soccer and baseball games. We also planted our garden (about 20 tomato plants, a couple eggplant plants, and about 8 pepper plants. It was about 80 degrees and not too windy). I decided to take a rest day on Saturday, and planned to get up early on Sunday and go for a 13.1 miler at marathon pace.

 Well, that was the plan. I woke up to the sound of the wind through the trees, and my roof creaking a little bit. 25+ MPH wind. I decided to crawl back in bed and try again a little later.

I don't think the wind improved any by 2:00PM, so I had to just go and run. If you watched any of the PGA in Houston, we had similar winds out by me. 25 MPH, w/ gusts to 40MPH. I ended up running 10.5 miles..about 20 seconds shy of my MP goal. It really stinks running into a 25 MPH headwind. I can't remember it being so windy for so many weeks on end around here. Is this El Nino, or La Nina, or what??? Sounds like it is windy out in Utah, too.

Well, I sort of got in my run. It wasn't that long, but I had a few good miles in there, and I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hope this is no headwind at Boston this year.

AP: 7:57

Gorgeous day, today! Only 9 MPH wind, Sunny, 60 degrees. Much better than Sunday's run in gail force winds! :)

Did a quick 8 miles at sub-MP. Lots of long hills, trying to get a feel for the Newton Hills -- just 13 days away!!!!

Splits (out and back): 7:58, 7:52, 7:08,7:21,7:35,8:03, 7:08, 6:37

HR: 150,150,141,144,143,155,148,155

AP: 7:27

Here's my Boston Race Report from 2008 -- I'm definitely reigning in those first 13 mile splits a bit, and taking it much slower from the start, so I don't crash and burn this year! :)

Ran over to the local HS track w/ Eric at lunch (1.5 miles at 7:20/mi). 

We decided that we only had time for 5 x 800s. We planned to do them all around 3:20 (my Yasso pace for Boston). We did the first one in 3:12, then decided that because we were only running 5 of them, that 3:10ish would be a good goal. I decided to push the last one a little harder and go sub 3:00 (we walked 200 M between repeats). We finished our 5 x 800s and jogged back to work. Temp: 65 Wind: 8 MPH, sunny. Great workout!

800 M Splits: 3:12, 3:10, 3:10, 3:09, 2:52

Ran w/ Eric at lunch. A quick 3.85 (our Moto-loop). The winds weren't as bad as yesterday's (which spread wild fires like...er...wild fire, yesterday)

Temp: 65

Wind: N 15 MPH

AP: 7:02

A week from tomorrow, I fly to Boston! So much to do, so little time!!!

 

If I could order weather for Boston, today's weather on my run would be it. It was 45 degrees when I started with about a 10MPH wind out of the East. I decided to wear my Boston clothes and do a nice MP run/dress rehearsal. Had on my shorts, singlet, and gloves. I ran on the rail trail, as I didn't want my footsies to get too sore this close to race day (nice and cushy). The few people I passed (walkers, bike riders, people on horseback, and 1 runner were all dressed for winter. I'm sure they were thinking i was nuts to be out there in shorts and singlet :).

Everything felt great  from the start. I was surprised that my first split was so fast (the first 4 miles are gradually uphill, and I usually take it pretty easy to warm up the tight muscles). I ran out to the 7 mile mark and back. I carried 2 small bottles of Gatorade on my fuel belt, and only ate one Jolly Rancher (watermelon). It'll be nice to run without that fuel belt in Boston. I tried to keep the HR between 140 and 150 for the first 13 miles, and then gave it a good kick for the last mile. It's such a confidence booster for me to have something left for that last mile!

I believe this is my fastest non-race 13+ mile training run ever. I hope this indicates that I'm ready to PR at Boston! 

Splits: 7:22,7:18,7:33,7:31,7:07,7:13,7:52,7:15,7:56,7:53,7:10,7:26,7:19,6:47

HR: 146,146,144,147,144,137,144,139,143,147,138,143,144,151

AP: 7:25

AHR: 145

I hope all my running buddies have a wonderful Easter - no matter how you celebrate!

Ran 5 at lunch with Darin, Eric, and Sergio. (This is the largest lunchtime group I can remember running with). Weather was excellent! 60, sunny, 7 MPH wind.

We wanted to run about an 8:00/mi pace..after warming up with a 7:49, it got faster from there. The bad thing about taper time for me is, that I feel too good whenever I finally get out and run, it is hard to slow down! Long story short--finished strong with a 7:19/mi AP.

Splits: 7:49, 7:23, 7:29, 7:21, 6:33

HR: 129,144,145,153, 161

AP: 7:19

I still need to finish preparing my tax return!!! Tonight...for sure, I'll finish...it's not that hard, it's that I'm such a procrastinator..

 

Rest day.

Did a little pre-race Boston shopping. Went to the local Dollar Store and bought a few essentials; Nutri-Grain bars, salted pretzels, large trash bags (to stay warm and dry before the start). I looked for some blow up air mattresses, but couldn't find any.

I'm getting a little nervous about the weather. Every report is different. I'm guessing it will rain sometime during the weekend, and probably some on Monday. The 19 MPH headwind they're predicting is something I'm used to now, but would prefer it to diminish. I'll just hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and take whatever the day brings. :)

Time to start packing!

One last post before I head to the airport in the morning...

Didn't get a chance to run today (too rainy/lazy).

Yesterday, it was too windy..and my dog started following me, so I just turned around and went home.

I'll be thinking about all of you while I'm running this weekend! I hope to have some great pictures to post when I return.

Talk to you next week!

-Marc

What an awesome day!

My ecstatic goal for Boston 2009 was to set a PR, which has been 3:20:02 since I ran St George in October 2007. That was my one and only BQ to date. I really wanted to BQ at Boston -- that was my goal last year, and I fell short, but I learned some valuable lessons about pre-race preparation and how to pace myself for a better shot this year.

I was worried about the weather all week. The wind forecasts were scaring me. It was shaping up to be weather like St George 2008. But, on race day, the temperatures were idea, about 42 at the start warming up to maybe a little over 50 at the finish. We did have a fairly strong headwind -- some reports said 20-30 MPH. It didn't seem that bad...maybe in a few places. But, with all the wind running I've been doing this Spring, it felt like home :-)

Race Day (Long version skip to the bottom for splits/results)

5:00 - Lloyd (aka Tom Slick, my roommate for the weekend) and I woke up. Rhett came to our room and dropped off his stuff. Another buddy, Ronnie (aka HillbillyRunner for the forumflyers) also came to our room. At about 6:00 we went and got Smooth and her bro-in-law (FastGary) at their room then went to the lobby, where we met Marcie (aka Canyon). Then we walked to the buses, and got shuttled to Hopkinton.

We got to Athlete's Village with about 2 hours until race time. I blew up my air mattress, slipped into my garbage bag and chilled for a while. It was great watching all the runners streaming in. We hit the POPs a couple times, dropped off our stuff at the Bag Drop buses, then headed to the starting line.

The temperature was about 40 degrees, so even though I was chilly I decided to go with the singlet, shorts, and gloves, and headband. After the National Anthem, and F16 flyover, and a little after 10:00AM we were off.

My goal was to break 3:20 this year, and not do a repeat of last year. I knew I couldn't go out too fast or I would pay for it. I had a pace band that allowed for about a 3 minute fade in the 2nd half. I was going to stick to it as closely as I could. My paceband to the elevation into account, but I also needed to account for the strong winds once we got closer to Boston..so I added a little extra padding to the first half.

I hope everyone who reads this gets to experience Boston as least once in your life. The crowds of people lining the route are amazing. People of all ages are out cheering, handing out orange slices, water, offering encouragement -- especially if you have "MARC" on the front or your singlet.

After the first few miles, I was ahead of schedule. I needed to slow down or risk cramping by the time I got to the Newton hills at mile 16. Last year I was 1:35:35 at the half -- this year I was 1:37:44. I was in a much better position to finish strong. I was still going for 3:20 -- and it was going to be close.

I hit the Newton hills right about where I wanted to be. Last year I was around the 17 mile mark when I first started feeling my legs start to cramp. Not this year. I ran up the first..then the second...third...and then faced Heartbreak Hill. I remember how I walked up most of it last year...not this year. I chugged up the entire thing, and when I got to the top, I punched the air! I was thrilled. I had less than 6 miles to go, and it was mostly downhill for there..and I still had my legs under me. I ran the next few miles cautiously. I was still not 100% sure that I wouldn't cramp up..and if I had to walk a mile, I could easily blow my chances of BQing.

The cushion I had built up earlier in the race was just about gone with 2 miles to go. I just needed to run my planned splits and the PR was mine..even if I lost 30 seconds per file for the last 2 miles, I knew I would BQ. But, I wanted to PR. I trained harder than I ever had for this marathon, and I knew I had it in me. I remember hitting the "1 MILE TO GO" sign, at right about 3:12:00. At this point I had no concept of what speed I was running. It felt kind of fast, and I was passing lots of people. I felt good. When I rounded the corner onto Boylston, and first saw the finish line, I was at 3:17:30. It looked like it was more than 1/4 mile away..but I wasn't sure. I just went for it. The crowds on both sides of the street were amazing, and carried me. I passed a few others along this stretch, and as I approached the finish line, I looked at my watch one last time, and I knew I was under 3:20. I raised my hands high -- not because I'm awesome, but because I set a goal, did the work, and met it. The conditions weren't ideal, and I had to work a little harder, but I DID IT!!!!

Monday night we celebrated by going out to Durgin Park for some seafood, and then we went over the the Post-race party. Watched some of the replay of the elites, and watch a few brave souls on the dance floor.

I've secured my spot in the 2010 Boston Marathon. I'm already planning my trip back next year, and see if I can't shave a few more minutes off that time.

What made Boston truly fun for me was company of good friends. Smooth, Mr. Smooth, Jeffers, Gary, Marcie, Rhett, and Lloyd made the entire weekend such a fun event! Boston is best experienced with a few great friends.

I'm sure this blog has helped in more ways than one in preparing me for my best ever marathon to-date. Thanks, Y'all!

Official Splits:

5K	10K	15K	20K	Half	25K	30K	35K	40K
0:23:00	0:45:55	1:09:07	1:32:37	1:37:44	1:56:09	2:20:21	2:45:19	3:09:11

 26.2 miles - 3:19:47

AP: 7:38

Jogged a fairly painful 3 miles with Tom. AP: 9:45 (plenty fast for 2 days after a marathon!)

Oh..it was also 95 degrees out. Where did Spring go?

I'm redefining Slow and Fast Miles -- I used to consider Fast Miles as anything under 8:00. Now I'm going to define it as anything faster than MP (7:38).

Today marked the 1 week anniversary of my BQ / PR at Boston. It was also this second time I've run since. My calves felt a little tight, but other than that, it felt pretty good.

Ran 5.66 miles (Sorry Kathie for the weird number, it's a long story) with Eric.

Splits: 7:37, 7:53, 8:04, 7:56, 7:37 (.29 mi), 6:57, 6:47 (.37 mi)

AP: 7:38

ET: 43:10

I've been eating like a horse for the past week. Time to get back to some healthy eating, and see if I can't knock off about 5 pounds in the next month or so.

I'm thinking about running a local 10K this Saturday. We'll see what the kids' game schedule looks like.

Happy Birthday to ME!!! I'm 44, and darn proud of it...just one more year and I'm in a new AG!!! Woohoo!

Did my 10-miler at lunch (it is now a yearly tradition...that I started last year). It was about 80 degrees out there and humid!!!! It wasn't easy, but I did it..I hope to keep it a yearly tradition for as long as I can. Briefly, I thought about doing 44 laps around the track..1 for each year on earth that I've been in existence...which would have been doable..but I'd hate to start that tradition, and someday not be able to "do my age". (though 10 miles is still far, as long as I keep running, I should be able to manage that..it just might take longer as I get older)

My darling wife is grilling some steaks, and a few friends are coming over. It should be a nice evening.