A Noble Race

This weekend’s run was a 5K in Westfield for Noble Hospital. This was the 28^th Annual Run for a Noble Cause.  The course starts & ends at Stanley Park, and it’s very flat.  With the exception of one hairpin turn, this is a course for a personal best.

Being that it’s only two weeks after Boston, I chose to run but not to race.  This was only my second time out in the last two weeks, and I’ve had either a head cold, of allergies for the last few days, so I thought it best not to push too hard.

This year the Air Guard decided to support a team.  Being that I wasn’t racing, I opted to run independently, but it was great having a few friends running.  Jeff, Glenda, Tony, Kyle, Rob & Billy made up the team, and did well (second team).  This was Glenda’s first race, and she took second female overall.  The results are available at coolrunning.com

As I said before, I chose to not push too hard, and I was happy with an 8:02 pace (24:58). 

Boston Marathon

I had to wait a few days before posting this, so that I could let the “moment” sink in.

I DID IT!  I ran the Boston Marathon!

Well, I use the term “ran” very loosely, but I did it.  5 hours, 21 minutes, 46 seconds in 87 degree heat.  With temperatures that hot, I did a lot of walking.

The experience was overwhelming right from the start.  I’ve been in big races, but this was unbelievable.  From the “Runners’ Village” to the starting corrals was about three quarters of a mile.  A nice walk to warm up, then at 10:00 AM the gun went off.  The elite runners and wave 1 went first, followed by wave 2 at 10:20, and finally they called for those of us in wave 3.  Gradually the corrals started moving, and I was in the last wave, and last corral.  I crossed the start line around 10:50 AM, and away we went!

The crowds were amazing.  Almost every step of the way there were people cheering.  For as many people as there were running, there wasn’t that much bumping into others.  The first couple of water stops were congested to say the least, but by the four mile point, things started spacing out nicely.  Now it was time to start into a nice rhythm.  

I walked through most of the water stops while running in between them, and at about 11.5 miles, I stopped for a photo op, water, and an ice-cold rag (Thanks to Amanda from work!)  This helped carry me into Wellesley, and was that amazing!!  Wellesley College is now my FAVORITE college in the world.  There were so many young ladies cheering, screaming, high-fiving, and collecting kisses.  I high-fived as many as I could, had this been 25 years ago, I would have been giving out the kisses!  The excitement in this area gave you a boost of energy, and next thing you knew, it was half way complete.

The second half was another story.  Even though there were lots of spectators along the course, cheering each and every one of us on, you could tell that the weather was getting to us all.  There were more and more people walking, and the pace was gradually getting slower.  To keep my mind occupied, I now started counting down the miles.

Soon enough we were past the Newton hills (heartbreak hill included), down into Cleveland Circle, and our first view of the Hancock Building.  One of the highlights of my day came at mile 24, when I was running side-by-side with Tedy Bruschi of the New England Patriots.  Next thing you knew I could see the Citgo sign & Fenway Park… ALMOST THERE!

I made it through the final two turns, and there’s just about a half mile remaining.  This is where it was hard to hold back the emotions.  Once I saw the 26 mile mark, I knew I had to run the last two tenths.  Finally… I did it…  5:21:46.

The Final Countdown

As I write this, there is only 36 hours left until the start of the 2012 Boston Marathon.  This will be my first marathon in over 25 years, and I have to say that I'm a little nervous.  Not about the actual run, but about the weather conditions.  Normally this time of year, the highs in New England are in the mid to high 50's, but not on Marathon Monday.  This year's forcast calls for a high of 87 degrees.  Yikes!  So much for any time predictions, my goal is just going to be to finish.

Today, Brenda & I went in to Boston for the fitness expo, and race packet pick-up.  I've been to several of these events with the half marathons that I've run, but this by far was the busiest.  They had booths from every major running company, and we may have purchased a little more than we expected.

After spending some time (and money) at the expo, we looked for a place to grab a bite and brew.  Right next door was the Atlantic Beer Garden.  Perfect!  We sat at the bar, grabbed a couple of appetizers, and drank down a couple pints of Sam Adams Boston 26.2 Brew.  A beer that was specially crafted for this year's marathon.

A great day with my honey, and hopefully a great start to a sucessful Marathon Weekend.

Boston or Bust!

The countdown continues...

6 days to go 'til Boston.  This week will be the longest week, with the most uncertainty that I can imagine.

I've done everything that I could, but is it enough?  I feel that my training was on par with the plan that I had, but how will I feel on Monday?  What will the weather bring?  Yesterday & today, the forcast for Monday went from 65 w/ showers, to 84 and sunny, and then to 74 with partial clouds.  How the heck do you prepare for that?

One of the things that I hate, is sitting around and waiting.  That's what this week is all about.  Wait and see what the weather will do.  Don't do too much training, sit around and get some rest, save the legs.

This is why I love HALF-marathons.  They're easier to train for, the taper in the last week isn't so drastic, and the anxiety of the week leading up to the race isn't anything like I'm already feeling.  Man, I can't wait until Monday.

10 Days Left

10 Days, that's all that's left.  Boston is in just 10 days!  This week's been another good training week.  The half marathon on Sunday, an easy 4-miler on Tuesday, and a 5K last night.

Last night's run was the first in this year's weekly series hosted by Empire One Running Club (EORC).  EORC hosts two different weekly series, as well as several other races during the year.  The Thursday night races take place at Ashley Reservoir in Holyoke, MA.  The Res makes for a very scenic run, and it's used for many of my easier training runs.  Mostly flat, part in the woods, and part along the water.  Usually, you'll see Canada Geese around the Res, and they keep to themselves except when they're protecting their young.

My training for the 5K was supposed to be a "tempo" run, and my training plan sugested a 9 minute pace.  Well, that went out the window in the first mile (which I ran in 8:25).  The best part was that I didn't feel like I was pushing.  So, I kept at a comfortable pace, and ran 8:15 for each of the next two miles.

I ran harder than I wanted, but I'm still feeling good.  Note to self... no more running races if I want to run easy.

Oleksak Half Marathon

Today was the Oleksak Half Marathon in Westfield, MA.  13.1 miles through a hilly Westfield/Southwick.  The first 4 miles are pretty much all uphill, with the rest gradually bringing you back down.  Here's a link to the course map on "Map My Run", and you can see the elevation change.

I was using this race as a tune-up for Boston in two weeks, so I decided to pace my friend Kyle.  This was his first half, and he wanted to be below 2:10.  Based upon the training runs that we've had, I suggested a 9:30 pace, which would bring him in at about 2:04:30.  This was our goal.  As long as we could make it through the uphill, and be within a minute of our goal, ther should be no prolem making up the difference on the downhills.

When the race began, we tried to be as conservative as we could.  We hit the first mile in 9:37, right where we wanted.  Through 4 miles we were only 20 seconds behind our goal, and at 5 miles, we were only 3 seconds behind.  Now, as long as we could keep our pace for 8 more miles, we'd be golden.  Mile 6 was mostly downhill, and this gave us the edge that we needed (8:55 mile).  Keeping Kyle going, we finished with a 2:03:59 (official time) and a 2:03:32 on our watches.  We gave up 27 seconds by starting in the back of the field.

Also, a congratulations goes out to Rob & Maureen (two more co-workers) who finished their first half marathons today.

We got our medals!! Well, they're actually wood because of the sponsor being a lumber yard, but that's one of the best things about this race... One of a kind, hand made medals!