Everything's coming up Milhouse!

2011 Boston Marathon Experience

My training for the marathon was much different than any other marathon I have run. I essentially did 2 runs during the week; One with speed intervals totaling 5 miles and one tempo run of 5 to 7 miles. Then every Sunday morning I did a long run of 15 to 20 miles.  I did 20 miles run 3 times with the last one 2 weeks prior to the race.  My legs never had that tired feeling and did not really need a taper.  The night before the race I slept amazing well, 7 hours straight. Even though it was on a mattress on the floor of my friend Robs’ house in Sudbury.  The morning of the marathon he dropped me off at 6:45 at Hopkinton State Park. And right onto the shuttle bus where they dropped us off about .75 miles from the Athletes Village.   It was clear but really chilly. Mid 40s with 20+ MPH wind. So sat and shivered for a couple of hours.  When we finally went to the corrals it was 9:30 or so. I was in the last corral of Wave 1.  Because this corral was full of people qualifying between 3:15 and 3:20 it was only 40+ year old men and a handful of women.  I felt young and old at the same time.  It was really exciting standing there waiting for the starting gun. When it finally went off it took about 6 minutes for us to cross the starting line.  My goal was to run a negative split with a 3:40 or faster time (8:20 pace). So it was pretty important to take it easy on the first half of the race.  The race started downhill and I ended up running a 7:50 then another sub 8:00 on mile 2.  I tried hard to keep it slow but the course was slightly downhill, I was getting passed constantly, we had a great tailwind, and if I turned around I could see the end of the entire wave not that far behind. So it took me until mile 5 to run a slow mile (8:40) which of course I followed by a 7:45 because I suck at pace. So I was basically running the race like I was a first time runner. By the 8th or 9th mile I started to settle in with 8:20s.  I was listening to my iPod for the first time during a marathon. I had queued up about 2 hours (The NBA Playoffs preview) of the Sports Guy podcast then followed by a music mix. I was hoping the podcast would keep me slow then the music would pump me up. It was a little hard to focus on the podcast as my mind was constantly trying to figure out what pace I should run given my start, how I was feeling, the scenery, etc.  It was fairly sparse around me until about mile 10 when I first got passed by someone in Wave 2. Then I started getting passed more often and the race began to get more crowded.  I ended up running a 1:48 first half.  And I still felt really good.  The course itself was great. As we continued to run east, the towns became less rural, we passed through more town centers, and the crowds starting getting bigger. I gave high fives to probably 100 kids.  Problem was every time I went to a bunch of kids to do high fives I accelerated. I saw my sister at mile 10 and my friend Robs at mile 16.  The hills started right around mile 16.  The hills were not that bad. Generally mild but slightly lengthly.  The podcast ended right as the hills started and the music came on.  I think the first song I heard was a Busy P song and I ran a couple of 7:40s. I think my fastest mile was mile 18 as I definitely got the runners high right about then.  I was feeling pretty strong and generally started to run in the low 8s. I started to pass people and was getting passed far less often. I was looking forward to heartbreak hill. I had heard it was not that steep but because it was in mile 20 at a tough period.  I wasn’t exactly sure when it started but I knew I was on it when I saw “Thump Thump Thump” written on the street in chalk.  As I started it I decided my goal was to have no one pass me the entirety of the hill.  It was 0.4 miles. A little long of a climb but I still felt good so thought what the hell why not. So I started to use up some savings and charge up the hill.  The top was really cool with a “Its all downhill from here” sign and a ton of people. I really enjoyed the high of climbing it fast with no one passing me.  The course became more and more urban and people started to really be loud and supportive. I saw runners dressed in a pink dress, gorilla outfit and full Larry Bird uniform. That guy got huge cheers around BC.  Then he started to walk and I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.  Bird would never have walked. I was enjoying the bump the music was giving me.  I was thinking “I wonder if One by Metallica will come on” and if I would keep it on as it is 7 minutes and a little slow to start. Then it came on right as mile 22 started. So I kept it and ran a pretty good mile. I felt pretty strong until mile 24. Then my legs went. My left thigh started to twitch which was a first for me. Was a little worried I would cramp up. But I was able to keep a decent pace in the mid 8s.  As I was running the last mile I decided I would let it all out for the last .2 miles but I never saw the mile 26 marker. I don’t think they had one. So ended up only sprinting the last .05 or so.  But finished it in 3:35:39 with a 50 second negative split. Really happy with the time.  I was actually a little bummed it was over and usually at the end of a marathon I am ecstatic it is done. Amazing course, race and experience. Loved it all.  I did not think a marathon would ever top the NYC marathon but Boston did.  

brodeep:

Hells yeah it is.

RT @neiltyson: Sixty-four decimal places of Pi gets the observable universe’s circumference down to a sextillionth the size of a proton

First course of the Omakase at Seki

Sushi at Seki for BB birthday http://twitpic.com/48x771

Dim sum in flushing http://twitpic.com/3z0fwr

RT @fivethirtyeight: Huffington Post has sort of been the Moneyball case for SEO and traffic optimization.

Kids eating the 5 lb hershey bar

2010 Detroit Marathon Experience

My goal was to break 3:20:59 (essentially 7:40 per mile) and qualify for Boston. The start was in the dark under the lights. Very organized, quick walk from the hotel, and not overcrowded. I was in the second of ten or so waves so I had a good place. Found the 3:20 pace group right away. Leader was a very small woman who had just run Chicago a week earlier and Olympic qualifier caliber. Temperature was probably high 40s. And because it is Detroit, they played Enimem’s song Eight mile as they counted down to the start. So everything looked perfect. Start was not that congested, but the first mile was a little slow, the second a little fast so was basically on pace by the end of mile two. We soon started to climb the Ambassador bridge. It was actually a long hill. Not very steep but probably about a mile. I stayed right in front one pace group the entire time. As we entered Canada there were a lot of people cheering given how early it was in the morning. As I started to warm up, my mile paces started to pick up a bit. I was doing a lot of 7:25s or so and got a little ahead of the pace group. So I slowed down some and they were quickly right behind me. As we went into the one mile tunnel back to Detroit it was probably 15 degrees warmer inside the tunnel and the air seemed stale. Pace group was still right behind me. But as I got out of the tunnel I didn’t see the pace group. I slowed a bit and ran a 7:50 but still didn’t see them. So I forgot about the group and started running 7:35s pretty consistently. At this point we were sort of on the outskirts of downtown so there weren’t really any spectators. Not a great section of town but not too bad. The weird thing about this race, and I guess this is common outside the big marathons, is that it was not only marathon runners, but half marathon runners and marathon relay runners. So as we got close to the end of the half marathon a lot of them started to pass me which makes it hard for me to keep my competitive juices in place and to keep my pace. But I generally kept it consistent. After the halfway point it was just marathon runners and the race became sparse. A woman asked me what time I was going for and after I told her she said was going for the same time. This will become important later. I kept the pace up. But at mile 16 it started to get a little hard for the first time. I still kept the pace but this was definitely earlier than I had hoped for the running to get difficult. We were in some wealthy part of Detroit with large old houses and not too many spectators. Although the ones that were there were really vocal. There was a u-turn around mile 17 and I saw the pace group maybe 40 seconds behind me. I figured I would just go at whatever pace I could do in some comfort and when they catch me just hang on with them. But I was able to do the next few miles around 7:40 so did not see them. Belle island was essentially a big park. So few spectators. This is when it got really hard and I started to drop pace. Miles 20 to 22 were hard. I was waiting for the pace group to catch me so I could use them to drag me home. I was still passing people and only occasionally got passed so I knew I was generally keeping pace. Doing the math in my head constantly I figured I had to keep a 7:40 pace the last 4 miles to make it. Doable but I was definitely not looking forward to it. Soon I saw the woman from before. Her training partner was on a bike next to her shouting encouragement and letting her know what to expect on the course. She saw me and said “oh you got this”. I said “I think so but it is going to be close”. So she tells the guy on the bike that I’m going for Boston qualifying so he starts to goad me on too. I am not feeling good but end up following her for a couple miles since she is doing 7:40s. The guy on the bike is great. “big turn up here then the mile marker” or “pick it up…pass those people ahead” or “skip that water station and use your arms if you need to”.  I was barely hanging on so this was a huge help. Could have ended up making the difference. I took the lead for a mile and paced her. Guy on the bike telling me “Run like your life depends on it!” So one mile left. I feel really bad but do the math and figure to make it I had to run 7:40 pace for the last 1.2 miles. No sure thing given how I felt. I had no cardio or hydration issues but but my legs were starting to go. I am getting freaked out because I know the possibility is very real of me missing by seconds. So I use whatever I have left in the legs and all my cardio. I run the last mile plus in 7:20s or so and make it by 30 seconds. I think I realized I was going to make it only in the final 100 yards. During training I had always visualized a last mile victory jog knowing I had it made, but oh well. Weird thing was that the pace group never passed me. So that group may not have even made it under 3:21.  Boston is April 18th.

RT @johndefi: @JSinclair must be happy about Liverpool http://www.cbssports.com/soccer/story/14134425/heated-liverpool-sale-to-red-sox-o …