Sorry for the late race report, but two weeks in Disney World will do that. For some of you the front end of this report will be old news but I had to put in because the road to Boston was a journey for me that dates back to when I was a little boy.
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The Boston Marathon. You only have to say it to evoke in every runner, thoughts of running legends and the hills of Newton. Ever since I was a young boy, I have wanted to run Boston. I remember seeing Jerome Drayton beating Bill Rodgers in the 70?s and telling my parents that I was going to run Boston. Funny thing was that I was not a runner back then, just a skinny uncoordinated tall kid who dreamed of sports, but was not very good at it.
As I got older, I stopped getting taller, filled in and became quite a decent athlete but although I dabbled in running, I never truly trained as a runner. Then life came along?
I got married, traveled with work all over the world and my six foot four frame took on 250lbs by the time I was 39. At the same time as the high tech bust, I tore my left Achilles playing squash and had to have it surgically re-attached. It took a year to heal and on New Year?s Eve 2004 I made a promise to myself ?Get Fit and start running).
The first few months, the runs were a 100 yard shuffle, as my achilles was extremely tight, but over time it stretched and I ran my first 10k at the NCM in 48 minutes and change (I weighed 228). Those who know me know that I am a fairly obsessive person and I kept setting my goals higher, running NCM the next year in 39 minutes and change. I then set my sights on the NCM marathon (my first marathon) in 2006 and trained hard thru the winter, actually too hard and wound up over trained in March and had to take 6 weeks off. Luckily I was still able to run a 3:09 marathon and qualify for Boston.
I decided that I needed a coach and signed on with Rick Hellard of Zone3sports in November of 2006. Rick developed a plan that suited my style, strengths and weaknesses. I followed it religiously (well almost) and stopped racing every training run. I trained with many accomplished triathletes and runners from Rick?s team that gave me confidence and invaluable advice on how to train and keep myself motivated.
On Sunday during our running group' dinner, I met Spareribs brother in law. A truly great guy, full advice and who passed on good wishes from Spareribs. Thanks Spareribs, the thoughts calmed me down.
On Monday April 16th, as you already know the weather was awful and my shoes were already soaked by the time I lined up in Hopkinton. My weight was down to 206 and I felt good, but due to the weather (weather forecasters kept drilling the worst into our heads) I had decided to just enjoy and run Boston (my friends will not be able to believe this). Unfortunately I made a rookie mistake, I wore too much clothes. Although I had on shorts I also had a long sleeve cold weather wicking shirt plus (my coach is gong to kill me) a shell that my kids and wife had bought me at the Expo.
As the gun sounded and the runners took off I was passed by a hoard of runner?s intent on trying to catch the elite it seemed. I took it easy and to tell the truth did not focus on pace much until each 5K chip mat. I soon realized that I was overdressed and got rid of the gloves, but I just could not part with the new expensive jacket. So for the first 13 or so miles, I was overheating and did not feel great. At was around mile 5 or so that I heard a shout behind me: ?Are you Tallrunner?? I turned around and looked at the runner who had called out and thought he looked like the pictures I had seen of mcsolar, so I said are you Mcsolar? He said he was winejunky, so we said hello and talked on and off over the next few miles before I went slowly ahead. Thanks for saying hi winejunky it helped settle my nerves. My splits were 21:35 at 5K, 42:40 at 10K, 1:03:41 at 15K and 1:29:40 at the half. At was at this point that I realized that a PR was still possible and that my initial strategy of running the hills hard could still work. At Wellesley the girls gave me an amazing lift; I slapped so many hands and talked with so many children that I was tired by the end of the long line. The rain was really a non-issue (other than blisters) but the wind was another story, at some points in the race it was a struggle and it was key to maneuver behind other runners to avoid the biggest blasts. I kept going from the left side of the road to the right side and then back again. I swear I ran an extra mile out there.
It was at this point that I started focusing and at mile 16 coming up to the first key hill that I started to pass hundreds of runners that had gone out too fast. The hill work that I had done diligently on all winter, kicked in and I was on cruise control. I won?t say it was easy but I truly did not feel any pain thru any part of these miles as I kept plugging away.
1:46:40 thru 25K, then 2:08:39 at 30K. At this point, I realized I still had a chance for a sub 3:00 but that I could not let up on Heartbreak Hill and would have to speed up on the way down to Boston.
I had been looking for the Pro?s stop at HH but I missed them but Doctor Dale sure did not miss me as he gave me a bottle with a gel. It was great getting this boost and Dale you rock. Thanks for catching up to me and finding me in the crowd. Sorry I could not meet you guys after the race to buy beers.
Heartbreak is not a steep hill, but at this stage of the game it seemed to go on forever and for the first time I was getting a little tired. The squishiness under my right foot also told me that the wet weather had produced a big blister. I ran thru that but just at the top of Heartbreak, my left hamstring spassemed and I worried for 2 seconds if my NCM miseries were going to happen again, but luckily it cleared and off I went. I was passing so many people here that I thought I was going faster than I had been earlier. I felt fantastic; this is how I had hoped to run Boston, streaking down the last few hills leading into Boston with the boisterous crowds cheering me on. This lasted about 5 miles and with 2K to go the first pain set in, I was still moving okay but my right hip was in extreme pain and I knew that if I stopped, getting going again would be very difficult, so I pressed on. This stretch seemed to take forever and I was very happy to hear my wife Sandie and my two daughters cheering me on as I rounded the last stretch on Boylston.
I finished in 3:02:59 a PR by almost 7 minutes, but more importantly I truly enjoyed running Boston a city that embodies the spirit of the marathon like no other.
I absolutely loved the Boston Marathon, the crowds and the course. I believe it?s a great course for me and one I would love to attack in the future. For those of you who live there and get to race it often you are blessed.
At the end of the race I got to meet PBJ and we chatted for some time before agreeing to meet for dinner with our families. The dinner was wonderful and PBJ for those of you who have not met him yet is a great guy who has a beautiful family. We had a great time and loved the fudge. It nourished us all the way to Florida.
To this day I still wonder what made me sign up to Cool Running Boomers forum, but let me tell you this, it was one of the best decisions I have made. You are an amazing group of people from all walks of life that have a passion for running and for life. Thank you.
NOTE: My coach wrote me the day after Boston and said I need to run the Ottawa Marathon in less than 4 weeks if I recover okay because he believes I might have a 2:50 in me. I am not sure if I believe him but he has not been wrong yet. So who knows maybe this is where I truly race a marathon. Cross your fingers.
Yours Truly
Tall
http://This message has been edited by tallrunner (edited Apr-29-2007).
---------------------
The Boston Marathon. You only have to say it to evoke in every runner, thoughts of running legends and the hills of Newton. Ever since I was a young boy, I have wanted to run Boston. I remember seeing Jerome Drayton beating Bill Rodgers in the 70?s and telling my parents that I was going to run Boston. Funny thing was that I was not a runner back then, just a skinny uncoordinated tall kid who dreamed of sports, but was not very good at it.
As I got older, I stopped getting taller, filled in and became quite a decent athlete but although I dabbled in running, I never truly trained as a runner. Then life came along?
I got married, traveled with work all over the world and my six foot four frame took on 250lbs by the time I was 39. At the same time as the high tech bust, I tore my left Achilles playing squash and had to have it surgically re-attached. It took a year to heal and on New Year?s Eve 2004 I made a promise to myself ?Get Fit and start running).
The first few months, the runs were a 100 yard shuffle, as my achilles was extremely tight, but over time it stretched and I ran my first 10k at the NCM in 48 minutes and change (I weighed 228). Those who know me know that I am a fairly obsessive person and I kept setting my goals higher, running NCM the next year in 39 minutes and change. I then set my sights on the NCM marathon (my first marathon) in 2006 and trained hard thru the winter, actually too hard and wound up over trained in March and had to take 6 weeks off. Luckily I was still able to run a 3:09 marathon and qualify for Boston.
I decided that I needed a coach and signed on with Rick Hellard of Zone3sports in November of 2006. Rick developed a plan that suited my style, strengths and weaknesses. I followed it religiously (well almost) and stopped racing every training run. I trained with many accomplished triathletes and runners from Rick?s team that gave me confidence and invaluable advice on how to train and keep myself motivated.
On Sunday during our running group' dinner, I met Spareribs brother in law. A truly great guy, full advice and who passed on good wishes from Spareribs. Thanks Spareribs, the thoughts calmed me down.
On Monday April 16th, as you already know the weather was awful and my shoes were already soaked by the time I lined up in Hopkinton. My weight was down to 206 and I felt good, but due to the weather (weather forecasters kept drilling the worst into our heads) I had decided to just enjoy and run Boston (my friends will not be able to believe this). Unfortunately I made a rookie mistake, I wore too much clothes. Although I had on shorts I also had a long sleeve cold weather wicking shirt plus (my coach is gong to kill me) a shell that my kids and wife had bought me at the Expo.
As the gun sounded and the runners took off I was passed by a hoard of runner?s intent on trying to catch the elite it seemed. I took it easy and to tell the truth did not focus on pace much until each 5K chip mat. I soon realized that I was overdressed and got rid of the gloves, but I just could not part with the new expensive jacket. So for the first 13 or so miles, I was overheating and did not feel great. At was around mile 5 or so that I heard a shout behind me: ?Are you Tallrunner?? I turned around and looked at the runner who had called out and thought he looked like the pictures I had seen of mcsolar, so I said are you Mcsolar? He said he was winejunky, so we said hello and talked on and off over the next few miles before I went slowly ahead. Thanks for saying hi winejunky it helped settle my nerves. My splits were 21:35 at 5K, 42:40 at 10K, 1:03:41 at 15K and 1:29:40 at the half. At was at this point that I realized that a PR was still possible and that my initial strategy of running the hills hard could still work. At Wellesley the girls gave me an amazing lift; I slapped so many hands and talked with so many children that I was tired by the end of the long line. The rain was really a non-issue (other than blisters) but the wind was another story, at some points in the race it was a struggle and it was key to maneuver behind other runners to avoid the biggest blasts. I kept going from the left side of the road to the right side and then back again. I swear I ran an extra mile out there.
It was at this point that I started focusing and at mile 16 coming up to the first key hill that I started to pass hundreds of runners that had gone out too fast. The hill work that I had done diligently on all winter, kicked in and I was on cruise control. I won?t say it was easy but I truly did not feel any pain thru any part of these miles as I kept plugging away.
1:46:40 thru 25K, then 2:08:39 at 30K. At this point, I realized I still had a chance for a sub 3:00 but that I could not let up on Heartbreak Hill and would have to speed up on the way down to Boston.
I had been looking for the Pro?s stop at HH but I missed them but Doctor Dale sure did not miss me as he gave me a bottle with a gel. It was great getting this boost and Dale you rock. Thanks for catching up to me and finding me in the crowd. Sorry I could not meet you guys after the race to buy beers.
Heartbreak is not a steep hill, but at this stage of the game it seemed to go on forever and for the first time I was getting a little tired. The squishiness under my right foot also told me that the wet weather had produced a big blister. I ran thru that but just at the top of Heartbreak, my left hamstring spassemed and I worried for 2 seconds if my NCM miseries were going to happen again, but luckily it cleared and off I went. I was passing so many people here that I thought I was going faster than I had been earlier. I felt fantastic; this is how I had hoped to run Boston, streaking down the last few hills leading into Boston with the boisterous crowds cheering me on. This lasted about 5 miles and with 2K to go the first pain set in, I was still moving okay but my right hip was in extreme pain and I knew that if I stopped, getting going again would be very difficult, so I pressed on. This stretch seemed to take forever and I was very happy to hear my wife Sandie and my two daughters cheering me on as I rounded the last stretch on Boylston.
I finished in 3:02:59 a PR by almost 7 minutes, but more importantly I truly enjoyed running Boston a city that embodies the spirit of the marathon like no other.
I absolutely loved the Boston Marathon, the crowds and the course. I believe it?s a great course for me and one I would love to attack in the future. For those of you who live there and get to race it often you are blessed.
At the end of the race I got to meet PBJ and we chatted for some time before agreeing to meet for dinner with our families. The dinner was wonderful and PBJ for those of you who have not met him yet is a great guy who has a beautiful family. We had a great time and loved the fudge. It nourished us all the way to Florida.
To this day I still wonder what made me sign up to Cool Running Boomers forum, but let me tell you this, it was one of the best decisions I have made. You are an amazing group of people from all walks of life that have a passion for running and for life. Thank you.
NOTE: My coach wrote me the day after Boston and said I need to run the Ottawa Marathon in less than 4 weeks if I recover okay because he believes I might have a 2:50 in me. I am not sure if I believe him but he has not been wrong yet. So who knows maybe this is where I truly race a marathon. Cross your fingers.
Yours Truly
Tall
http://This message has been edited by tallrunner (edited Apr-29-2007).
next time though, we need to meet for a beer or three...
