Pre-Pre Race

The nerves hadn't kicked in yet.

I spent the morning of Boston Marathon eve doing a nice and easy jog around Lake Q in Wakefield with Jenn. Afterwards I decided to stop by the BSC pool in Woburn, since I hadn't been there in over two weeks, to try to relax the legs some more.

I could only manage 10 minutes in the pool since they were about to do swim lessons. So much for that idea. Went into the sauna for another 10 minutes to try to achieve the same goal.

I was basically just trying to kill time to get through the longest day of the year. It was only 10AM when I finally got back home...

(as boring as it looks)

By 1PM I was completely out of ideas. Even Teddy was tired of playing fetch!

(a mutt's life)

Then I came up with the brilliant idea to head back down to the marathon expo, but this time with my parents who have never had the awesome privilege of squirming their way through hot, crowded aisles looking for travel size freebies.

Unfortunately, by the time we got down there at 3PM the only thing left were the hot, crowded aisles and not much else. I couldn't even find an overpriced marathon jacket! I think they were being shipped over to Marshalls for the 50% off sale by that point.

Do you know how they always warn you to take it easy and don't do too much walking around the day before a marathon? Well, they're right and I should heed that warning in the future.

It was such a beautiful day out that my mom decided that we should walk back to where we parked our car...2+ miles away in China...town...

We did, however, get to walk down a closed off Boylston St for most of it, so that was very cool.

What wasn't cool was the fact that my lower back began to stiffen up by the time we got back to the car. I wasn't even in the mood to drive the 26.2 miles back home, never mind running 26.2 in less than 24 hrs.

Tried taking a nap back at the estate, but that was pointless with the Celts and Sox games on. On a side note, this has got to be one of the best sports weekends in the Boston area. Now if only we can get the Pats to play on Partiots Day...

I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening trying to figure out how to stay out of trouble. Believe me, it was difficult.

Checked out what the rest of my Facebook running buddies were up to. Looked like the usual:

(alrighty then)

I downed my last bowl of pasta and finally started packing for the next day before I went to bed at 10PM.

- GLRR issued running gear

- Garmin

- Running shades

- GU

- Kinvaras

- Injinji Tetra Socks

- Zensah compression sleeves (calves)

- North Face compression sleeve (arms)

- Post race clothes/food/entertainment/bail money

Like I said, I went to bed at 10, but you don't even wanna know what time I finally fell asleep. Let's just say that I never did.

The nerves were kicking in.

Time To Spare

Well, I'm currently still trying to digest the experience of nearly hitting my exact target time of 2:49:59. I'll need to work on my pacing for next year, but for now, I'll just begin to work on my write-up(s) for this run...

(Phew!!)

THANKS!!

Not that I need any further motivation to run my butt off at Boston in less than 24 hours, here's another kick in the ass from my fellow comrades. I AM HONORED, but I also plan on defending this title in 2011 ;)

(Come and get it, boys!)

Get The Juices Flowing

Not that we need it, but here's one of my favorite clips from the Boston Marathon:

Tale of the Taper - Episode IV

April 12th, 2011 - Like the swallows to Capistrano and these cliches to my blog, spring has once again officially returned to the city of Lowell with the start of the Good Times 5K series.

You can't have a good Boston taper without a good final, final, final tune-up race for Boston.

This was only my third road race of the year vs 20 at this point last year. The timing for this race couldn't have been better, and was perfect for those looking for a fast 5K to tune-up for Boston, and that's what I used it for.

According to my online friend, Greg McMillan, he told me that I could run close to a 17 minute 5K based on my performance at the New Bedford Half back in March. My 5K PR up until now was 17:34, which was set on the same GT5K course last summa'.

I didn't believe Mark Blaisdell when he told me late last summer that I should be running closer to 17:10, than 17:30's. I tried and tried, but never could achieve it. I ended the GT5K 2010 summer series with a couple of duds over 18, and I never broke 18 during Fudge this year. It looked as though I had peaked at my least favorite distance, but of course, that was all before I started piling on the mileage for Boston.

This Boston training cycle seems to have done wonders for my overall running. From pounding hills, to track workouts, to long tempo runs, and putting up with Fil, I survived it all and tonight's race is what I am hoping is just the first by-product of all that training.

My A goal going into tonight's race was to break 17. I figured that even if I blew up going after my A goal that I I'd still have a good shot at achieving my B goal, which was to set a new 5K PR right before Boston.

I had plenty of company tonight as a record crowd of 281 runners gathered for the first rites of spring, including all of my wonderful running friends (in no particular order):

AIMS CONEY

ALEXANDER FANOUS

ALEXEI LOMAKIN

ALICIA LEEMAN

AMANDA BENOIT

AMY MORRIS

AMY PAQUETTE

ANDREW HOUDE

ANDY BOURGUE

ANGELA KOTSIFAS

ANGIE DODGE

ANTONYO FEBO

APRIL COFFIN

BARBARA SCOLLAN

BARRY NEILL

BARRY PEARSON

BASH ZAGANJORI

BEN O'MEARA

BETH HOGAN

BILL MCCARTHY

BOB GANNON

BOBBY THERIAULT

BONNIE KINNAL

BRADLEY MIKESELL

BRENDA MACDONALD

BRENDAN GURRY

BRIAN DEMLEIN

BRIAN RISTUCCIA

BRIDGET DRISCOLL

BRYON MACSWEENEY

CHARLES WOODS

CHERYL VAREY

CHRISTINA RISTUCCI

CHRISTINE BRUNELLE

CHRISTINE MCPARTLA

CHRISTINE SULLIVAN

CHRISTOPHER SCHAFF

CHUCK MCALLISTER

CINDY CAMPBELL

CLINT OBRIEN

CRAIG ANDERSON

CRAIG LEMIRE

CRAIG MACKENZIE

CRAIG ROWE

DAN BEAULIEU

DANIEL HOUSTON

DANIELLE BANGS

DANIELLE MCPARTLAN

DANNY RIO

DAVE LABRODE

DAVE TYLER

DAVID ALLEN

DAVID HARDY

DAWN WILSON

DEBBIE DOHERTY

DEBORAH WHITE

DENA BROWN

DENISE UNDERWOOD

DON GATTON

DON KARDONG

DON PATCH

DONALD MILLER

DONNA NIVEN

DOUG ROBINSON

DOUGLAS KINNALL

ED BARTER

ED MORRISON

EDWARD BURNS

EJ HRYNOWSKI

ERYN GALLAGHER

FESTUS MBUVA

FIL FARIA

FRANK GEORGES

FRANK GORMAN JR

FRANK GORMAN SR

FRED HEBERT

FREDA RYDER

GARRETT THURSTON

GEORGE BISSON

GRETCHEN DESMOND

HEATHER SHEA

HELEN SULLIVAN

JAMES HALL

JAMES SHELTON

JASON BUI

JAY SHORT

JEFF ONEIL

JENNIE FROMENT

JENNIFER GOUVEIA

JENNIFER HALL

JENNIFER MAYNARD

JENNIFER PORTER

JESSICA COSTA

JESSICA LEEDBERG

JILL LOHMEIER

JIM GRANT

JIM PACHECO

JIM TROWSRIDGE

JOANNE DONOVAN

JOANNE ROY

JOE DONNELLY

JOEL CLABEAUX

JOHANNA RILEY

JOHN DUCHARME

JOHN JOHNSON

JOHN MELIA

JOHN OGGENFUSS

JOHN PERREAULT

JOHN SINGLETON

JONATHAN MACKENZIE

JONATHAN MORRIS

JONATHAN MUOLLO

JONATHAN SHEEHAN

JONATHAN WILK

JORDAN CLABEAUX

JOSEPH FORSTER

JUDY CHASE

JUDY GALLAGHER

JUDY MURPHY

JULIANE ST GEORGE

JULIE BUCHANAN

JULIE PINARD

JUSTIN QUINLAN

KAITLYN COX

KARA HAAS

KAREN COLANTUONIO

KAREN GRONDINE

KAREN HANNAN

KAREN LACHAPELLE

KAREN MIRANDA

KATE PACHECO

KATEY SULLIVAN

KATHRYN GOUVEIA

KATIE CREEGAN

KATIE MORIARTY

KELLY YONAKER

KERRI DESCHAINE

KERRI WILK

KERRY FENLON

KERRY HALL

KEVIN FALLON

KEVIN KALISH

KEVIN KUPSKI

KEVIN MOULTON

KEVIN MURPHY

KEVIN REYNOLDS

KEVIN SULLIVAN

KIM BUDRYK

KIM COLLINS

KIMBERLEE NUTTER

KRISTEN MCKENNEY

KRISTIN FOX

LAURA BROWN

LAURA CARPENTER

LAURA INGALLS

LAURA OGONOWSKI

LAUREN FRAZEE

LAURIE CALLAHAN

LEAH FITZPATRICK

LEE GITSCHIER

LEO DEMERS

LEO TOMETICH

LINDA MCCARTHY

LINDA MILOT

LINDA TACCINI

LINDSAY STUDRT

LIS GABIN

LISA BURKE

LISA DRISCOLL

LISA GOVONI

LOUIS FISH

LUIS ESCOBAR

LYLE REED

MARGE MCLAUGHLIN

MARIANNE LUCEY

MARIANNE SULLIVAN

MARIE YEAGER

MARK CODDAIRE

MARK CORBETT

MARK GALLAGHER

MARK ROBERTS

MARK SULLIVAN

MARY CASEY

MATTHEW MARTIN

MATTHEW SHAPIRO

MAYA JOHNSON

MCLEAN ROZEN

MEG XENAKIS

MICHAEL BALLERINI

MICHAEL CASSIDY

MICHAEL FAUVEL

MICHAEL MCHALE

MICHAEL MONTMINY

MICHAEL MURPHY

MICHAEL SHEEHAN

MICHEAL HAAS

MICHELE ROBBINS

MICHELLE ROCHE

MICHELLE SANTOS

MIKE GOVONI

MIKE SOHA

MOLLY LEARY

MYRA ROBINSON

NANCY PATCH

NAOMI MUNSAI

NATALIE REID

NATHAN TAYLOR

NEIL GOUVEIA

NICHOLAS BRUNELLE

NICOLE THURSTON

OLIVER MCMAHON

OWEY PEREIRA

PAMELA BECKWITH

PAMELA OGONOWSKI

PAUL ALCORN

PAUL HAGGERTY

PAUL RILEY

PAULA ACCOMAZZO

PAULA CULLEN

PAULA GREATOREX

PEG GIOLOSO

PENNI HART

PETER GOLDEN

PHILIP COLAMETA

PHILIP HUNT

RANDALL SHEAD

RENEE MOLINARI

RICH MILLER

RICHARD BRESLIN

RICHARD BROWN

RICHARD CHANEY

RICHARD DOYLE

RICHARD FAIAS

RICHARD MOLLOY

ROBERT FRIMANSON

ROBERT MCCOLLUM

ROBERT SMITH

ROBERT TIVEY

ROSA TEJADA

ROSE WASHAK

SARA KIRWIN

SARAH FANOUS

SARAH HARDY

SARAH MAHOWEY

SCOTT CASPER

SCOTT OBRIEN

SEAN DONNELLY

SEAN SILVA

SHAELAGH FLORENCE

SHANA HALL

SHERYL LABRECQUE

SLATER BARTLETT

SONIA RUAS

STACEY LEIGH

STACY TILNEY

STEPH RIDDLE

STEPHANIE SCHAFFER

STEVE MAHONEY

STEVEN GUERTIN

SUSAN BARTLETT

SUSAN BOURGUE

SUZANNE HARRING

TANYA HUGHES

TARA ALCORN

TERENCE MCCARTHY

TIFFANY PERRY

TIM CAMPBELL

TIM SULLIVAN

TITUS MUTINDA

TOBEY HARTMAN

TODD AMES

TOM AMIRO

TOM LUCEY

TRACIE BRENNAN

TRENTON HOYT

TRINA SHEEHAN

WENDY BERGIN

WENDY HAWKINS

WENDY STANICK

ZACHARY CASPER

ZONA SHARFMAN  (Photo Courtesy of Mike Stanwyk)

My race strategy was to run fast and see if I could get under 17. It was that simple. Well, not that simple.

I knew I would need to average 5:27's for the entire race to get under 17, so I logically broke the course down into three 1 mile sections and focused my strategy that way.

On a side note, I had done extensive speed work on the treadmill and track coming into this race to acclimate myself  to that pace, so it wasn't completely uncharted territory for me, but throw in some literal twists and turns and it's a different story.

Speaking of which, there are plenty of those on this course, which makes it a much more technical 5k course than most. You really have to know how to manuever (i.e. cut) around the corners to take advantage. I don't care what the Water Buffalo says, those corners are there to be cut!

I knew the first mile was going to be fast (it always is) due to the adrenaline and the slight downhill start, and hitting 5:27 through this stretch wasn't going to be difficult.

Joe, Titus, and Festus passed me at around .75 and never looked back.

I got through Mile 1 in 5:29. Oh well, what's two seconds going to matter...

Mile 2 is always rough for me and it's typically my slowest mile on this course. Even though I consciously made an effort to not fall asleep down the VFW stretch tonight, I still ended up logging my slowest mile on the night with a 5:40 second mile. Part of it has to do with the "hills" at the start of the Mile 2 and also the crown in the road near the end of it.

I was actually gaining ground on Titus and Festus through parts of Mile 2, and thought I had a chance to at least catch Festus going into Mile 3.

I hit the 2.5 mile mark in about 14 minutes, so I knew it was going to be close if I were to get under 17. I figure that it usually takes me about 2 mins and 40 seconds to cover my last 800 meters at track when I'm going top speed.

I also started to think about the 3-minute drills that I've been using during my treadmill workouts. I always end my treadmill runs with a 3-minute all-out sprint in order to simulate the end of a race. It was now time to implement it for real.

I quickly glanced at my Garmin and saw that I was hitting low 5's over the final quarter mile. When I looked back up I could finally see the finish line clock.

Festus was still out in front and not coming back to me any further, so I wasn't catching him this week. So much for an easy 18, Festus!

I hit the 3rd mile in 16:47 (another 5:40 mile) with .10 to go.

I completed the final .10 stretch in 16 seconds in what normally would have taken me about 20-25 seconds to cover previously.

The clock read 17:02 as I slapped Glenn a high-five at the finish. So, I guess those two seconds really did matter!

Oh well, at least now I have something to shoot for this spring and summer.

On a positive note, with this new PR I did, however, finally managed to break into the Top 50 (43rd) on the GT5K All-Time PR list. YAY for useless stats!

Congrats to all of the runners and those that set PR's tonight! 1 down 15 to go!

Well, this concludes the taper portion of the blog and, barring an injury at track tonight (I love tempting fate), most likely my last entry before the Big Day!

Thanks for reading and I'll see you on this side or the other...of the Boston finish line!

Tale of the Taper - Episode III

After the unfortunate events from Tale of the Taper - Episode II (that post was subsequently removed due to its offensive nature to some of my more sensitive readers), I continued on with my 14 day taper as suggested by Coach.

I woke up early on Saturday morning to head over to my final swim lesson at UML. It was another intense lesson with a couple of eureka moments.

Everything finally clicked by the end of the final session and I was swimming more like a sponge than a rock. The instructor said that I should spend the rest of the spring and summer working on not clinging to the wall before I consider coming back in the fall when she's not teaching.

(Lolz Cat to the Rescue!)

The sun was shining and the birds were singing by the time I got out of the pool at 9AM. Everybody else was already done, or putting in their run, at this time, so I was left to fend for myself.

Reno had mentioned something called a depletion run the night before, so I researched it and decided that it sounded like a fun thing to do on my own. It's always a good idea to be alone when you pass out during a depletion workout in order to avoid embarrassment and resuscitation.

So, I decided to go to the one place that I always enjoy running on a nice spring day when all of the other runners flake out on me: Boston. Specifically, around the Charles River where there were plenty of VDOTS out this morning.

I felt really great 8 miles into the run and it looked like the depletion part wasn't happening as planned, even though I was going close to marathon pace for most of it. I went to my bag of tricks and pulled out a hill workout to help me burn off the rest of the fumes in the hopes of passing out in front of the Capitol Building like a drunk state senator.

I headed over to Beacon Hill and did a 6x hill workout. I wasn't alone. It looked like everyone running the marathon was out here with the same idea. It was actually quite a cool sight, and feeling, to be doing a hill workout with 100 other runners. The poor out-of-town tourists probably thought that the local asylum was closed for the day.

Beacon Hill is insanely perfect for an intense hill workout. It's a straight, gradual climb over 400 meters, and not too steep at any one point. I was able to maintain my marathon pace through the uphills and just recovered on the downhills, which is the opposite of my Catamount Hill workout where I pound the downhills and rest on the uphills.

My legs were burning and my stomach was growling for carbs by the 6th repeat, so I called it a day with 11.5 miles in the bag. I jogged back to my car on the outskirts of Chinatown (great free parking near the Herald building if you ever want free parking on the weekends in Boston) to get in 13.1.

Now to find that Boston Duck Tour bus that hit me....

Tale of the Taper - Episode I

This is the period that all runners dread, the taper.

After going all out for the past 3+ months we now have to figure out what we're going to do with this thing called free time. And who's that in my bed? Rachel?

I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to get yelled at by Reno!

And that's how my 14 day taper period started.

I've since gone on and not posted any of my subsequent runs for fear of further pissing off the running god(s).

I'm currently in stealth taper mode where I try not to go stale by only going to Sonic, Burger King, and IHOP only once per day...each.

My freezer is curently stocked with 14 days (coincidence) worth of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Definitely can't let that go to waste.

Here's one more "taper" run that is seeing the light of the Internet for the first time right now:

(I swear it was an easy run, Reno!)

So what else do runners do during the taper period? How about posting marathon day weather reports to piss off other runners:

(The gods are not laughing)

8 days to go. Who else can I piss off?