Recovery runs...

For the next four to five weeks, it's recommended that I don't do any racing.  This is the school of thought for post marathon recovery.  Even though I might feel 100%, there is more than likely minor damages to many of the muscles, ligaments, and tendons in the legs.  The only thin that repairs those is rest, and eating right.

That said, I'm now starting a 30 day challenge to try and eat better. Food is one of my downfalls, well at least the bad food is.  So for the next month, food that is already in the house is still fair game, but I will be tracking all my calories.  Anything coming into the house must have some "healthy" dietary benefit.  Let's see how I do.

As far as the running goes, I still need target (goal) races.  Even if I run the races at about 75-80 percent and treat them as training runs, I feel that they will still give me "a reason" to run.  Next up is the Western Mass Mother's Day Half Marathon on May the 11th.

Yesterday's run was my first time back at Ashley Reservoir since November.  While it's nice to run on gravel roads, it's still interesting when you have to run across flooded areas.  Especially when the water is still very cold.


Yesterday's totals  -  4.82 miles  /  393.78 miles for the year.

Return to the road

Yesterday was my first day back on the roads since the marathon.  A nice easy 2.62 miles.  One-tenth of the marathon, and I felt pretty good.  Each day the pain (or should I say soreness) diminished by about 50-70 percent.  Three day off, and I felt refreshed.

Now it's time to start looking at my next races & goals.


Yesterday's totals  -  2.62 miles  /  388.96 miles for the year.

Boston Marathon 2014

Well, I've given myself a day to soak in the experience, and this year's Boston Marathon did not let me down.  It was an experience that I will never forget.  There were so many experiences, I'm not real sure how to begin.  So here goes...

The day started at 2:30 AM, that's when I woke up.  By 3:30 we were on the road, and arrived in Boston at around 5:00.  The buses were not loading yet, so we waited about a half hour for our Massachusetts State Police friend.  He's the one that invited us onto their buses.  Now I mention the bus because when you travel with the police, you go in style.  I'm talking a police escort for the 18 bus caravan.  Four of these buses contained active military that have served in Iraq & Afghanistan.  Some of them during the last year.  We arrived in Hopkinton about 7:30... now to kill four hours before our start.

The schedule for the day starts at about 9:00 with the mobility impaired.  The elite women start at 9:30, followed by the elite men and wave #1 at 10:00.  We were in wave #4.

While we waited we had several conversations with other individuals on (and off) the bus.  Without realizing it, one of the individuals on the bus was Jeff Galloway.  For runners, this is a real treat.  To listen him talk about some of his adventures was a real treat.

Finally it was time to head to the start line.  We worked our way towards the front to corral #3... our starting point.

As the gun fired to start our corral, we began to move ever so slowly forward.  Once we crossed the start line, the running began.  The crowds on either side of the road at the start were deafening!  I honestly can't ever remembering a crowd this loud.

The first 10 miles were great.  Legs felt good, breathing was right, and I was enjoying each and every moment.  During these miles, we averaged less than 10 minutes per mile.

Miles 10-13 were a little slower, but we were still making good time.  During these miles, we passed a friend (Amanda) who was watching the race from her normal spot.  Also during these miles we passed Wellesley College.  This is an experience that every guy has got to experience to believe it.  Hundreds of college girls cheering you on holding signs saying "Kiss Me I'm _____", or at very least wanting "High Fives".  Talk about an energy boost.  Sometime during these miles (it might have been mile 13, we also passed former Patriots Quarterback Doug Flutie.

As I hit the half marathon point, this is where I started having a few problems.  My knee started to ache.  We took a couple of extra walk breaks for me to work it out.  At mile 16 is when the hills began.  Now I'm usually good at hills, but after running 16 miles, and the heat now approaching 70 degrees, I started cramping in my calves.  This is when our State Police friend caught up to us.  I told Kyle to go ahead, and I'd see him at the finish.

My goal for the day had been 5 hours, and each mile, the more I walked the closer it was coming.  Once I hit mile 24, I realized that it wasn't going to happen.  But as long as I kept moving forward I would beat my time from Disney and set an over 40 PR for myself.

Coming by the famous Citgo sign, you have the crowds from Fenway cheering you on.  This give you another shot of adrenaline (not enough to run the whole way, but it helped).  Finally the last two turns on the course... Right on Hereford, and Left on Boyleston... 3 tenths of a mile to go... you can see the 26 mile mark, and the finish line.

I promised my self two things at this point... first, finish the last two tenths running, and second, pay respect (in my own personal way) as I pass the bombing sites.  I did both.  Finishing time was 5:03:35... just 12 minutes behind Kyle.

 

Yesterday's totals  -  26.2 miles  /  386.35 total for the year.

The Final Countdown (2014 Edition)

Two years ago, two days before the marathon, I had a blog entry titled "The Final Countdown"  at that time I had 36 hours until the race and I wrote about my excitement leading up to my first Boston.  Now, with only about 14 hours to go until my second, I'd like to do the same.

As I have always said, Boston is my dream come true.  With the "luck" of waivered entries, I'm able to run it for my second time.  When I finished the last one, I said I wouldn't go back unless I actually qualified.  That thought went out the window with the events of last year's marathon.  At that time, I was determined to go back.  I luckily received an entry through the Mass. National Guard.  I had already been training for the Disney Marathon when I applied for the entry, and didn't find out until I returned from Florida in January.  This left me about three months to recover from one marathon and prep for another.  Am I crazy???  Well the short answer is "YES".

Luckily for me, one of my friends also received an entry and we trained together.  For those from New England, you know how terrible this winter was.  As I HATE treadmills (and feeling like a hamster), I forced myself to run in single digit temperatures with wind chills in the negatives.  It was brutal, but I was able to keep my "hamster" runs to only two.

Now it's the evening before the race.  I feel nervous, but that's normal.  I believe that all my training has been enough, but only time will tell.  Tomorrow when I run, I will be doing it in memory of the four innocent people who lost their lives in the tragedy last year.  When I take the final two turns (Right on Hereford, and Left on Boyleston) I'll be able to see the finish line with a quarter mile to go.  I will pass by the two locations of the bombs, and I know my emotions will be out of control.  Boston is a strong city, and hopefully that strength will get me to the finish line.  #BostonStrong,  #WeRunTogether

Today's totals  -  0.00 miles  /  360.15 total for the year.

85 hours to go...

As I write this, I just realized that there's only 85 hours until the start of the marathon.  One more small run this weekend, as well as the marathon Expo on Saturday, and it'll be my second Boston.  During the last couple of days I took some time to reflect on the training that I did.

This is more miles than I did while training in 2012, and it's also more than I did for Disney in January.  My training has been more consistent.  Possibly from having a training plan to go by, but more importantly it was because I had a training partner.

On Monday, Patriots Day, I will be proud to be running in the marathon.  Proud to be part of the running community, proud to be representing the Air National Guard, proud to be from Massachusetts, and proud to be an American.

I'm sure that it will be an emotional day, and my heart will go out to all those whose lives were changed that day.  I didn't run last year, not because I didn't want to, but because I was unable to obtain a "wavered entry".  Maybe it wasn't meant for me to be there last year, but this year I'll be there, and I'll be thinking of Martin, Krystle, Lingzi, and Sean, four angels that will be watching over the race.

God Bless Boston.  #BostonStrong


Today's totals -  4.03 miles  /  360.15 total for the year.

Remembrance

Today was an emotional drain.  The one year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings.  It was a day of remembrance and reflection.  A day to honor those that lost their lives and those whose lives changed because of hatred.  Today we remember the fallen - Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu, and Ofc. Sean Collier.  In honor of these four innocent lives, I ran four miles.  One mile honoring each of the victims.

I could have very easily had said no to running today.  It was a hard, driving rain, that at times felt like needles hitting my skin.  But I felt if I didn't run, it would have been disrespectful.

As I watched the memorials and the moment of silence today, I couldn't help but to get choked up.  I thought to myself, what if it was me?  What if I knew the people on a personal level?

Life is short, enjoy each and every day, and always let the one's you love know how you feel.


Today's totals - 4.01 miles  /  356.12 for the year

Final Long Run

So today was the final "long run" before the marathon.  We drove to Hopkinton, and then drove the course to mile 16.  Right on the border of Wellesley & Newton, we found a public lot that had plenty of parking (and it was free on weekends).

The course that we chose was starting at mile 16, and running to mile 21.  This would put us past "Heartbreak Hill".  At Boston College, we could turn around an run the same miles in reverse.

As we prepared to hit the road, Mother Nature decided that we needed a little liquid cooling (even though it wasn't hot).  The rain, not real hard, continued until we had about a mile left in the run.

I've never seen more runners our for a training run, than I did today.  In addition to those training, Boston College was running their "Bandit Marathon".  As we were on the return leg, we passed many of these college students.  It was awesome to see this many young people running the marathon distance.

With only 8 days left, now the only thins to do is short easy runs, and prepare mentally.


Today's totals  -  10.56 miles  /  352.11 for the year.

The week that was

Week # 1 of the pre-marathon taper is done.  The good news is that my legs are feeling much better than they have been, the bad news is I'm feeling like I'm not doing enough.  from everything that I've read, this is perfectly normal, but this is the first time that I've experienced it.  It's a feeling like you're forgetting something, but you can't put your finger on it.  Hopefully the training will all pay off.

Tomorrow, I'll be heading to Wellesley for a 10 mile run.  This will be the last double digit run before the marathon.  What we're running is the actual course from mile 16 to mile 21, and then return on the same route.  If you know anything about the Boston Marathon, you know that this is the "hilly" part of the course.  The Newton hills (including "Heartbreak Hill").  From running the race in 2012, I know that these hills aren't that bad.  The course map on BAA.org shows an elevation gain of about 200 ft (in 5 miles).  The last half marathon had about the same elevation change in four miles.

Now my biggest concern is the weather.  With the cold winter that we've had, I can only hope that we don't get a quick warm-up in the next week.


This week's totals:

Tuesday  -  3.36 miles
Friday  -  2.51 miles

Total for the year  -  341.55 miles

Quick note

Just a quick note today.  It's another work weekend, so my mind is a little bit tired.  Managed to get a three mile run in today after work.  Wind made it a little tough (22 MPH).  Starting the taper with just over two weeks until the big day.


Today's totals  -  3.31 miles  /  335.68 total for year.

Run Run Run

As I get closer and closer to Marathon Monday, I find myself getting more and more excited.  I've done more training for this marathon than I did for either of my last two (and the others were in the 80's so I can't remember that far back).

Today I came across this video and had to share it.  If you like it, you can find more about Michelle by clicking here.



Today was another long run... we chose a course that we've never run before.  It's always nice running a new route.  This one took us through the portion of Westfield that is known as Wyben.  Many of the houses on the main road were built in the early 1800's.  I noticed four of them that had dates of 1835.  I wonder the stories that those houses could tell.

Today's totals  -  12.09 miles  /  332.36 total for the year