Tom and I at the start of the 1999 Cape Cod Marathon. We are minutes away from our first marathon. Thanks for the picture Tom.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Out for a bike ride tonight
12:02 A.M.
I did not grow up a runner. I found myself on a bicycle. When I was 10 years old, or around that time, I road my bicycle alone to places my parents would rather not imagine their odd fourth child riding off to. I knew by the time I was 16 that I could be an athlete, because I could ride my bicycle farther and faster than any one I knew. A friend introduced me to the North East Bicycle Club's weekly critereum at the Hanscom Air Force base in Lincoln, Massachusetts. For the next 8 years riding would be my obsession. This obsession was followed by a three year fascination with Karate, and I never returned to racing. Life takes funny turns, and at 26 I was burned out on Karate, and my knees hurt when I got back on my bicycle. Oh, and I had to be an adult now.
Six years later. I am thirty two years old, over weight, and not sure I can ever get back in shape. I then remember while on a spontaneous run with friends up and down a trail I remember that for a brief period in 1978, when I was 15, I became a runner. I ran for one season indoor track at Newton North High School. My wife said okay to my idea to buy a pair of running shoes and seeing if I could become a runner again.
Eleven more years. I am a 3:09 marathoner. Running is what I am, when I am not with my son and my wife. I have been running two marathons a year since October 2003. You know what I have found out. Getting on a bicycle is still fun. Tonight I chose my 18 year old mountain bike instead of the cool loaner car to go get a quart of milk for tomorrow morning. What a great night it is, and it was felt wonderful to be riding this old bike. Earlier in the day I was out on my racing bike for the first time this year. I dropped my car off to be serviced and made the 10 mile ride home on a racing bike I bought 25 years ago. The plan was to run back, but I wanted to get a few things done around the house today. So I rode back the Toyota dealership (it was not ready, but they produced loaner with out hesitation). Running is what I love, but I really enjoyed my riding today. Wednesday I start a new job with former employer and I will have an 8 mile round trip commute instead of the 50 mile drive that I have made for the last 8 months. I can bike and run to work. Cool.
So runners, my advise: Dust off your bike and do your errands on two wheels instead of four. It is great when you can.
Keep your feet on the road,
Mark
I did not grow up a runner. I found myself on a bicycle. When I was 10 years old, or around that time, I road my bicycle alone to places my parents would rather not imagine their odd fourth child riding off to. I knew by the time I was 16 that I could be an athlete, because I could ride my bicycle farther and faster than any one I knew. A friend introduced me to the North East Bicycle Club's weekly critereum at the Hanscom Air Force base in Lincoln, Massachusetts. For the next 8 years riding would be my obsession. This obsession was followed by a three year fascination with Karate, and I never returned to racing. Life takes funny turns, and at 26 I was burned out on Karate, and my knees hurt when I got back on my bicycle. Oh, and I had to be an adult now.
Six years later. I am thirty two years old, over weight, and not sure I can ever get back in shape. I then remember while on a spontaneous run with friends up and down a trail I remember that for a brief period in 1978, when I was 15, I became a runner. I ran for one season indoor track at Newton North High School. My wife said okay to my idea to buy a pair of running shoes and seeing if I could become a runner again.
Eleven more years. I am a 3:09 marathoner. Running is what I am, when I am not with my son and my wife. I have been running two marathons a year since October 2003. You know what I have found out. Getting on a bicycle is still fun. Tonight I chose my 18 year old mountain bike instead of the cool loaner car to go get a quart of milk for tomorrow morning. What a great night it is, and it was felt wonderful to be riding this old bike. Earlier in the day I was out on my racing bike for the first time this year. I dropped my car off to be serviced and made the 10 mile ride home on a racing bike I bought 25 years ago. The plan was to run back, but I wanted to get a few things done around the house today. So I rode back the Toyota dealership (it was not ready, but they produced loaner with out hesitation). Running is what I love, but I really enjoyed my riding today. Wednesday I start a new job with former employer and I will have an 8 mile round trip commute instead of the 50 mile drive that I have made for the last 8 months. I can bike and run to work. Cool.
So runners, my advise: Dust off your bike and do your errands on two wheels instead of four. It is great when you can.
Keep your feet on the road,
Mark
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Vermont City Marathon
KeyBank Vermont City Marathon – The Race Report
The following is my account of the KBVC Marathon that I ran two weeks ago. An edited version of this will appear in a running club newsletter.
This course is one of the best for spectators, providing four opportunities to see friends and family with a short walk between each viewing. Spectators get to enjoy downtown Burlington which has a feeling to it similar to Boston's Quincy Market.
The Race.
The marathon course consists of four loops two to the north and two to the south. I did not like the Mystic Places Marathon course because it had two turns and meanders. This course has more, but I really like the course.
At 8:05 AM, May 28, 2006.
The first miles of the Vermont City Marathon bring you through a downtown neighborhood loop through the shopping district. It was warm and after my first mile I thought I might be in trouble. Settling into what I thought was a slower more sustainable pass I shocked to run a 6:32 mile. I slowed down, but I would speed up and slow down for the next 7 miles before I finally settle into a good pace.
The crowds were enthusiastic all day, but the runners leave them behind during the second loop. Heading north for three miles on Route 127 the course is suddenly on an empty highway. It is good that this part of the course is over early in the run because there is no shade to be seen. A down hill slope helps the runners make there way away from the downtown. At six miles the runners do a 180 turn around on 127 and head back towards downtown Burlington. There I got to see what 3500 runners look like. I searched for familiar SMAC faces and soon heard a call from Tom Davidson. He was running well and I was happy to see him.
Miles 7 through 9 were long upward grades that bring the runners back to the city and nearly constant crowd support. Miles 10 through 12 sent the runners south of the city through the some beautiful areas. Confidence was growing as I approached the 13 mile mark. Last fall I started to dissolve after mile 14 at the Niantic Mystic Places Marathon.. The last 12 miles of that run were some of the worst miles I have endured in any race. I really was not up for a repeat performance today.
Soon after the halfway point I passed a runner who had said earlier that she was trying to run a 7:45 pace. Her skin was now bright red and she was panting. At the time I told her that she was running about 7 minute pace. I never did see her again.
My strategy over these last five miles was to slow my pace back to about a 7:30. I knew that I had gone out too fast, but I was trying to correct my pace before the miles and the increasing heat did. The race picked up intensity from the crowds as the runner re-entered the Downtown and waterfront. The big hill of the marathon is at mile 15 at Battery Park. At this point I felt that I not likely to bonk my way out of a decent pace. The only race goal I was really committed to was qualifying for the 2007 Boston Marathon. That meant a 3:20 run today. We ran through Battery park near the start of the marathon, then out for another loop to the North.
As the miles passed from 18 to 21 I could feel that I was beginning to fade in pace, but I did not feel that I was about lose it. There were even brief periods of optimism about setting a PR, but the heat and the miles only increased. The last miles 4 ½ miles of the course are on the excellent bike path hugging the shore. Here I kept doing the math, and started to see that I would not finish in 3:10, but the I was very likely finish before 3:20. Closer in I realized that I had a chance to finish under 3:15. The final miles through to Waterfront Park were lined with cheering spectators. I heard my name called before I crossed the finish line at 3:14:52 guntime.
The Vermont City Marathon. It is a well organized, well supported event with a beautiful course. For those who think that the Spring is only about Boston I say skip Boston one year and do this marathon.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Today's Long Run, Cupcakes and Coffee.
On Saturday I a ran 30K, with a 2 mile warm up so I had my fifth 20 miler on Saturday. I set out for my 6th 20+ today with a 22 mile goal and easy pace on the agenda. I could still feel the effects of Saturday, but I did not push the pace and most of the stiff sore feeling I had disapeared after a couple of miles.
I live in a beautiful area and this morning when I finally got myself out the door it was clear, and crisp about 60 degrees. My favorite long route goes through the town of Montegue, Massachusetts. This is comfortable enclave of artsy types living in a classic old New England village. Their is a large used book store called the Book Mill in an old wooden mill building over the Mill River here. There is an attatched cafe that operates independently from the bookstore, but two coexist well together. This is 7.5 miles into my run,and I made it a goal today to make a coffee stop here.
It was so peaceful, so wonderful there. A large cup of french roast, and chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting made my all too brief stay there truelly nice. I will ride my bicycle up here one day before I go back to work (October 17th), and spend a few hours with a good book some great coffee and a wonderful knosh.
Oh yhea, I ran a lot too. After about 2o minutes I was back on the road running easy. Around 14 miles I realised that I was running late for the cable guy to come to reduce us to the most basic service. We use the internet more than the TV now for entertainment so we will keep the high speed internet (but we are going to DSL from Cable, so we will save a little there also).
I picked up the pace at 14 miles and that felt easy. I was running at about 7:45 pace for about 2 more miles, then I slowed down again. I was dragging at the end the of the run. I finished 22 miles in 3:15 of running time. Very slow at the end. I missed the cable guy by about five minutes, according to his reciept for work completed. Apparently he did not need me here.
This month is on track to be my longest month of running ever. am hoping for 240 t 250 miles for the month, then taper.
Keep your shoes on the road,
Mark
I live in a beautiful area and this morning when I finally got myself out the door it was clear, and crisp about 60 degrees. My favorite long route goes through the town of Montegue, Massachusetts. This is comfortable enclave of artsy types living in a classic old New England village. Their is a large used book store called the Book Mill in an old wooden mill building over the Mill River here. There is an attatched cafe that operates independently from the bookstore, but two coexist well together. This is 7.5 miles into my run,and I made it a goal today to make a coffee stop here.
It was so peaceful, so wonderful there. A large cup of french roast, and chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting made my all too brief stay there truelly nice. I will ride my bicycle up here one day before I go back to work (October 17th), and spend a few hours with a good book some great coffee and a wonderful knosh.
Oh yhea, I ran a lot too. After about 2o minutes I was back on the road running easy. Around 14 miles I realised that I was running late for the cable guy to come to reduce us to the most basic service. We use the internet more than the TV now for entertainment so we will keep the high speed internet (but we are going to DSL from Cable, so we will save a little there also).
I picked up the pace at 14 miles and that felt easy. I was running at about 7:45 pace for about 2 more miles, then I slowed down again. I was dragging at the end the of the run. I finished 22 miles in 3:15 of running time. Very slow at the end. I missed the cable guy by about five minutes, according to his reciept for work completed. Apparently he did not need me here.
This month is on track to be my longest month of running ever. am hoping for 240 t 250 miles for the month, then taper.
Keep your shoes on the road,
Mark
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
30 Kilometers
I took two rest days instead of one before Saturday's 30K. My legs were still wobbly Thursday so I decided to rest another day. That gave me 45 miles for the week.
Saturday morning 3:45 A.M. my alarm goes off and I roll out of bed, drag my self downstairs, hit the on button on the coffee maker, climb in to my running clothes, and toss every thing on the dining room table in to my backpack. 4:20 A.M. - I am in my car and driving. I packed the car the night before so I should have every thing I need for the today and tomorrow.
My destination is the East Coast Tune Up 30K in Lynn, Massachusetts. The directions are good and I am there in just over two hours. This race seemed to be the perfect race for me to try out my marathon strategy of running at a 6:58 pace. This course is similar to Mystic Places, mostly flat seashore, some hills, and lots of twists and turns through the neighborhoods.
The course begins and ends at the North Shore Community College in Lynn. It takes the runners out for some truelly beautiful seaside running in Nahant and Little Nahant. Hurricane Ophelia was making its way up the coast and was supposed to dump heavy rain on us, but we got lucky. The temperature was about 63, heavy overcast, and a slight spray in the air.
The runners who planned on finishing in over three hours had the option of starting the race at 7:30, the rest of the field got under way at 8:30. 313 runners finished the 18.6 mile course. Most runners were preparing for fall marathons but many were just out for a long challenging run.
The course meandered it's way south to the former Islands of Nahant and Little Nahant. It is an out and back course with some beautiful shoreside scenery. The first mile of the run is through city streets, but then the runners find them selves on the a concrete board walk for two miles. On Nahant the course is hilly with its most spectacular views on a rocky penisular owned by Northeastern University.
As a marathon tune up for me it was extremely valuable race. If I learn any thing from this race it is how difficult it still can be to pace yourself on a long fast course. Those early miles seem so easy. My goal was to head out at a 6:58 pace and to see what happens. Mile one, 6:38 (too fast). Mile 2 6:41 (too fast). The first seven miles were way too fast. I began to fade in the final miles. I finished in 2:11:41, for a 7:04 pace, and 22/313 overall.
The goal of this race for me was to set a pace for a the Mystic Places Marathon. I also know that I have to work at being in control of my pace from the beginning of the race. Had this been an actual marathon I would have been road kill by 26 miles.
Food. The food was good. Lots of cookies, banannas, yogurts, bagels, Tylenol 8 Hour...
If you have a fall marathon on your calendar next year it is worth doing this race just for the practice of running your goal pace, or setting your goal pace. I will be heading out at a 7:05 pace at Mystic Places and see what happens to me.
Saturday morning 3:45 A.M. my alarm goes off and I roll out of bed, drag my self downstairs, hit the on button on the coffee maker, climb in to my running clothes, and toss every thing on the dining room table in to my backpack. 4:20 A.M. - I am in my car and driving. I packed the car the night before so I should have every thing I need for the today and tomorrow.
My destination is the East Coast Tune Up 30K in Lynn, Massachusetts. The directions are good and I am there in just over two hours. This race seemed to be the perfect race for me to try out my marathon strategy of running at a 6:58 pace. This course is similar to Mystic Places, mostly flat seashore, some hills, and lots of twists and turns through the neighborhoods.
The course begins and ends at the North Shore Community College in Lynn. It takes the runners out for some truelly beautiful seaside running in Nahant and Little Nahant. Hurricane Ophelia was making its way up the coast and was supposed to dump heavy rain on us, but we got lucky. The temperature was about 63, heavy overcast, and a slight spray in the air.
The runners who planned on finishing in over three hours had the option of starting the race at 7:30, the rest of the field got under way at 8:30. 313 runners finished the 18.6 mile course. Most runners were preparing for fall marathons but many were just out for a long challenging run.
The course meandered it's way south to the former Islands of Nahant and Little Nahant. It is an out and back course with some beautiful shoreside scenery. The first mile of the run is through city streets, but then the runners find them selves on the a concrete board walk for two miles. On Nahant the course is hilly with its most spectacular views on a rocky penisular owned by Northeastern University.
As a marathon tune up for me it was extremely valuable race. If I learn any thing from this race it is how difficult it still can be to pace yourself on a long fast course. Those early miles seem so easy. My goal was to head out at a 6:58 pace and to see what happens. Mile one, 6:38 (too fast). Mile 2 6:41 (too fast). The first seven miles were way too fast. I began to fade in the final miles. I finished in 2:11:41, for a 7:04 pace, and 22/313 overall.
The goal of this race for me was to set a pace for a the Mystic Places Marathon. I also know that I have to work at being in control of my pace from the beginning of the race. Had this been an actual marathon I would have been road kill by 26 miles.
Food. The food was good. Lots of cookies, banannas, yogurts, bagels, Tylenol 8 Hour...
If you have a fall marathon on your calendar next year it is worth doing this race just for the practice of running your goal pace, or setting your goal pace. I will be heading out at a 7:05 pace at Mystic Places and see what happens to me.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Wobbly Feet
Yesterday's five miles were deliberately slow, following a nautilus round and some warm up time on an eliptical trainer. This morning my feet are wobbly. Too many miles last week, and I have a 30K on Saturday. I did a wobbly five miler this morning on flat ground. Very slow, sore muscles, no damage. I have back off for the next two days.
I am doing my best not to call FAF back and just accept the job, but I want to go down to Milikowski (open house, greenhouse supplier) tomorrow to talk to any growers who may be there. I just talked with my neighbor Hiedi about why I am around with so much free time. That has made me want to call FAF back also.
The training plan for tomorrow through Sunday .
Tomorrow - five more slow.
Friday - No Mileage.
Saturday - Fall Marathon Tune Up 30K - Lynne, MA- Goals - 2:09:38 (6:58 pace), 2:10:13 (7:00 pace), 2:11:08 (7:03 pace)
Sunday - Nephew Bobby's Wedding - 0 mileage, lots of food, good.
The wedding will be nice. It will be the first time in several years that the family comes together with out some one dieing.
Keep running folks, you're a harder target if you are moving.
Mark
I am doing my best not to call FAF back and just accept the job, but I want to go down to Milikowski (open house, greenhouse supplier) tomorrow to talk to any growers who may be there. I just talked with my neighbor Hiedi about why I am around with so much free time. That has made me want to call FAF back also.
The training plan for tomorrow through Sunday .
Tomorrow - five more slow.
Friday - No Mileage.
Saturday - Fall Marathon Tune Up 30K - Lynne, MA- Goals - 2:09:38 (6:58 pace), 2:10:13 (7:00 pace), 2:11:08 (7:03 pace)
Sunday - Nephew Bobby's Wedding - 0 mileage, lots of food, good.
The wedding will be nice. It will be the first time in several years that the family comes together with out some one dieing.
Keep running folks, you're a harder target if you are moving.
Mark
Running a Week Later
A week ago I was shocked to find out that I no longer had employment, but was rather relieved to know that I be getting a much needed rest. The possibilities for getting in some serious training miles did actually occur to me, almost immediately.
I have logged 71 miles in the last seven days, that may be a record. Today I managed to get in two runs for 15 miles. I ran a slow 8 miles in the morning from the Y in to Turners Falls and back. The plan was to return to the Y for seven miles in on a tread mill, and a round of nautilus. I was not able to pull off the nautilus but I did get my mileage in on the treadmill, 7.2 miles in 50 minutes. So 15 for the day.
The job hunting stuff may be coming to a quick close. I have had two interviews this week. The first job is right on in terms of what I want to do, this grower wants me to take over their perennial range growing six pacts, quarts, gallons of finished plants. I can do that. The interesting part of this job comes in their future plans to offer perennial liners (plug trays) along with their well established line of annuals. I would grow the liners and run the perennial propagation.
Should be fun.
The second interview was interesting, but I do not want to grow strawberries.
Here are my miles at this point since the great labor day sacking.
Tuesday - 25 very hilly miles to figure out what I am going to doduring this job hunting period.Wednesday - 0 milesThursday - 6 miles one good hillyFriday Night - 12 miles in the Pelham Hills after 9:00 P.M.Saturday - 0 milesSunday - 13.1 miles flatMonday morning - 8 miles slowMonday noon - Job interview, very good offer for new positionat FAFMonday Afternoon - 7.2 miles on the treadmill at the Y, a fast 50minutesTotal for 7 days = 71.3 miles
Tuesday, slow - five mile
Keep your feet on the road,
Mark
I have logged 71 miles in the last seven days, that may be a record. Today I managed to get in two runs for 15 miles. I ran a slow 8 miles in the morning from the Y in to Turners Falls and back. The plan was to return to the Y for seven miles in on a tread mill, and a round of nautilus. I was not able to pull off the nautilus but I did get my mileage in on the treadmill, 7.2 miles in 50 minutes. So 15 for the day.
The job hunting stuff may be coming to a quick close. I have had two interviews this week. The first job is right on in terms of what I want to do, this grower wants me to take over their perennial range growing six pacts, quarts, gallons of finished plants. I can do that. The interesting part of this job comes in their future plans to offer perennial liners (plug trays) along with their well established line of annuals. I would grow the liners and run the perennial propagation.
Should be fun.
The second interview was interesting, but I do not want to grow strawberries.
Here are my miles at this point since the great labor day sacking.
Tuesday - 25 very hilly miles to figure out what I am going to doduring this job hunting period.Wednesday - 0 milesThursday - 6 miles one good hillyFriday Night - 12 miles in the Pelham Hills after 9:00 P.M.Saturday - 0 milesSunday - 13.1 miles flatMonday morning - 8 miles slowMonday noon - Job interview, very good offer for new positionat FAFMonday Afternoon - 7.2 miles on the treadmill at the Y, a fast 50minutesTotal for 7 days = 71.3 miles
Tuesday, slow - five mile
Keep your feet on the road,
Mark
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Later in the Week
Thursday I was up a little after 5:00AM so that I could head off to the Y. A ten minute warm up on the elliptical trainer, then I was on to the nautilus machines. I did my round on the machines and off to a weight watchers meeting. I am still within two lbs. of my 160 target so I am in good graces with watchers of weight. My goal is to drop back to my previous weight of 153 or less before my October 23rd marathon. Later in the afternoon I ran a hilly loop for 5.7 miles. I am still not doing my speed work, but it has been a week.
Thursday morning 10:30, Lisa and I meet our financial planner to go over pur finances now that I am between positions. That gets done.
The rest of the day I am calling more people who I think can help me find a new job. I call Nourse Farms because they are losing their grower to his home in the Midwest. Tim Nourse is out but the receptionist thinks that he will want to talk to me.
I get an email from Donna asking if I am interested in another late night run of 10 to 14 miles Friday. Lisa says okay since it means I will not be doing a similar run on Friday morning. Face time with the spouse is a good thing.
Friday night at 8:30 I meet Donna, and we head out to the bicycle trail parking lot on Station Road. We run up hill for most of 7 miles into the Pelham Hills while she tells me about her recent 100 miler, the Cascade Trails 100. If this were Donna's Blog tonight's entry would be much more interesting than our 12 mile run in to the Pelham Hills. Donna is a running beast (this is a compliment she pays to other distance runners). Two weeks ago while I was running the Mt. Toby 14 miler, she was finishing the Cascades 100 16 seconds under 24 hours. She took three days off from her running, I took off four days. Tuesday I cranked out 25 miles, Monday she ran 28. Beastly running, beastly.
It was a great evenning for a run. We ran on mostly empty, unlit backroads and some dirt roads. It was a circle of sorts, with steep climbs and descents. A woman walking her dog commented on our resemblance to miners with our headlamps.
This time of unemployment will be great for running, and running will get me through this time.
Keep running folks.
Thursday morning 10:30, Lisa and I meet our financial planner to go over pur finances now that I am between positions. That gets done.
The rest of the day I am calling more people who I think can help me find a new job. I call Nourse Farms because they are losing their grower to his home in the Midwest. Tim Nourse is out but the receptionist thinks that he will want to talk to me.
I get an email from Donna asking if I am interested in another late night run of 10 to 14 miles Friday. Lisa says okay since it means I will not be doing a similar run on Friday morning. Face time with the spouse is a good thing.
Friday night at 8:30 I meet Donna, and we head out to the bicycle trail parking lot on Station Road. We run up hill for most of 7 miles into the Pelham Hills while she tells me about her recent 100 miler, the Cascade Trails 100. If this were Donna's Blog tonight's entry would be much more interesting than our 12 mile run in to the Pelham Hills. Donna is a running beast (this is a compliment she pays to other distance runners). Two weeks ago while I was running the Mt. Toby 14 miler, she was finishing the Cascades 100 16 seconds under 24 hours. She took three days off from her running, I took off four days. Tuesday I cranked out 25 miles, Monday she ran 28. Beastly running, beastly.
It was a great evenning for a run. We ran on mostly empty, unlit backroads and some dirt roads. It was a circle of sorts, with steep climbs and descents. A woman walking her dog commented on our resemblance to miners with our headlamps.
This time of unemployment will be great for running, and running will get me through this time.
Keep running folks.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
25 Hilly Miles Today
So, I ran 25 miles today, maybe more. My Garmin 201 lost me under the trees that shade route 47 in Sunderland and Montegue. This unemployment thing could be great for my fall training.
I had a fantastic running day. I did a hilly 21 mile loop through the nieghboring towns of Sunderland, Montegue, Greenfield, and back to Deerfield. I added a run up a local ridge called Poet's Seat, and then headed through downtown Greenfield. I am pretty sure that this added about 4 miles to the run, the Garmin lost me again. Total running time, 3:34:50. Total time 3:55.
My wife Lisa got MP3 player so she can down load podcasts, books and music. I do not have an IPod, MP3, or 8 track tape player to run with. I do have a pretty good mental MP3. I listen to music in my head (and to the little men who tell me open fire-just kidding) while I run. The songs that are rolling through my brain these days are Wheezer's We Are All On Drugs, Green Day's Holiday, and song from Friday night services at Beit Ahavah.
Good news on the Job front. I have a number of people offering to help me search for a new job. One local nursery is likely to offer me a position, but is also likely that I won't take that job.
Too little money.
I have been getting the word out today that I am looking for work and email messages of support are coming in.
Keep running,
Mark
I had a fantastic running day. I did a hilly 21 mile loop through the nieghboring towns of Sunderland, Montegue, Greenfield, and back to Deerfield. I added a run up a local ridge called Poet's Seat, and then headed through downtown Greenfield. I am pretty sure that this added about 4 miles to the run, the Garmin lost me again. Total running time, 3:34:50. Total time 3:55.
My wife Lisa got MP3 player so she can down load podcasts, books and music. I do not have an IPod, MP3, or 8 track tape player to run with. I do have a pretty good mental MP3. I listen to music in my head (and to the little men who tell me open fire-just kidding) while I run. The songs that are rolling through my brain these days are Wheezer's We Are All On Drugs, Green Day's Holiday, and song from Friday night services at Beit Ahavah.
Good news on the Job front. I have a number of people offering to help me search for a new job. One local nursery is likely to offer me a position, but is also likely that I won't take that job.
Too little money.
I have been getting the word out today that I am looking for work and email messages of support are coming in.
Keep running,
Mark
A Labor Day Irony, or I Have More Time To Train
A funny thing happenned to me on the way to my great career today. Do to a down turn in the Northeast greenhouse industry I was sacked today at work. My former employers have always been open with me. I knew we were hurting from sagging sales and that they had gambled the farm on increasing sales this fall. I am leaving with great references. That will make it easier to get a new job.
From a runner's point of view, this month should be a great month for logging miles.
This weekend I did not go out for 20 miles on Sunday as planned. I got up at 5:00 AM instead of 4:00 AM. I had to check the greenhouses Sunday morning, get in a long run, and spend some quality time with Ben and Lisa. I shorten my run to 13 miles, checked out the greenhouses, and I was home for 9:30 AM. The new plan is to go out for about 25 miles tomorrow (this plan was made before I got sacked today, I was taking Tuesdays off as vacation time this month to get in some mileage and work on the house).
Running thirteen miles on Sunday was definitely shorter than I had planned. Lisa and I went for a 10 mile bike ride on the Norwotick RailTrail with Ben on the back of ny bicycle. We spent the rest of the afternoon in our perennial garden pulling weeds. It was a good day. I guesse my training is paying off in that I felt like I had gotten little exercise all day (13 does not do it any more).
The new plan. Find a new job, and train hard in September for the Mystic Places Marathon.
Keep running folks.
From a runner's point of view, this month should be a great month for logging miles.
This weekend I did not go out for 20 miles on Sunday as planned. I got up at 5:00 AM instead of 4:00 AM. I had to check the greenhouses Sunday morning, get in a long run, and spend some quality time with Ben and Lisa. I shorten my run to 13 miles, checked out the greenhouses, and I was home for 9:30 AM. The new plan is to go out for about 25 miles tomorrow (this plan was made before I got sacked today, I was taking Tuesdays off as vacation time this month to get in some mileage and work on the house).
Running thirteen miles on Sunday was definitely shorter than I had planned. Lisa and I went for a 10 mile bike ride on the Norwotick RailTrail with Ben on the back of ny bicycle. We spent the rest of the afternoon in our perennial garden pulling weeds. It was a good day. I guesse my training is paying off in that I felt like I had gotten little exercise all day (13 does not do it any more).
The new plan. Find a new job, and train hard in September for the Mystic Places Marathon.
Keep running folks.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
The state of things.
The end of summer is finds me reasonably prepared for the distance of a fall marathon, but I have not done the speed work that has shaped my running over the last two years. August has always been my month of incidental speed work, with the usual races putting speed at the fore front of at least 3 weeks. I have run these races again so I am not totally without some speed work. The Yankee Home Coming 10 Miler was first race of the month. I ran it 69:68, more than three and half minutes slower than last year ( I bonked this year in the 90 F heat). The Bridge of Flowers 10K was next on my race card. It was unbelieveably hot and humid for this race. Finished about four minutes slower than last year (but I finished in about the same place overall surrounded by the same runners I usually finish with). I was slow but did not bonk. I kept the speed down when I felt myself over heating. Last week I ran the Mount Toby 14 Mile Trail Run also about two minutes slower than last year. It was raining in the woods on this run. I felt great at the end of this race, but I was still a couple of minutes slower than two years ago. Was it the rain? Am I getting slower?
My goals for September include bagging three more 20 milers (that will give me six 20s for this marathon since the end of July) , and running two races. Tomorrow I am heading out for one of the 20's. The Fall Marathon 30K tune up is my next race in two weeks. I will run this at my marathon pace ( what that will be I am not sure). I would love to run out at a 7 minute pace, but 7:05 looks more likely.
The last race before my taper is the Dave Maynard Memorial Five Miler in Greenfield. This will be a fast run and it should show if my Thursday night treadmill sessions can bring my speed back in time for The Mystic Places Marathon.
No one cares if I run a 3:10 marathon or 3:03, but it matters a hell of alot to me. That is the funny thing about the people I race with. Run 14 miles through the woods, up and down a mountain, in the rain and who really cares if your time varies by a few minutes. Every one I talked with on Sunday cared a great deal how fast they ran, but they were quick to acknowledge the other runners' accomplishments. It is the great thing about this sport that we can be victorious, or feel defeated by a few ticks of the clock. The reality that after nine years of running a 100 races I will never be in danger of actually winning one does not rob me of the thrill of a victory. Nor am I shielded from the disapointment of a race that goes bad. That is a great deal of what makes this worthwhile.
Here is the plan, I have to get up early tomorrow and run 20+ miles and still be available to my family. So it is off to bed and I will be on the road before 5:30 tomorrow.
Run well everyone.
My goals for September include bagging three more 20 milers (that will give me six 20s for this marathon since the end of July) , and running two races. Tomorrow I am heading out for one of the 20's. The Fall Marathon 30K tune up is my next race in two weeks. I will run this at my marathon pace ( what that will be I am not sure). I would love to run out at a 7 minute pace, but 7:05 looks more likely.
The last race before my taper is the Dave Maynard Memorial Five Miler in Greenfield. This will be a fast run and it should show if my Thursday night treadmill sessions can bring my speed back in time for The Mystic Places Marathon.
No one cares if I run a 3:10 marathon or 3:03, but it matters a hell of alot to me. That is the funny thing about the people I race with. Run 14 miles through the woods, up and down a mountain, in the rain and who really cares if your time varies by a few minutes. Every one I talked with on Sunday cared a great deal how fast they ran, but they were quick to acknowledge the other runners' accomplishments. It is the great thing about this sport that we can be victorious, or feel defeated by a few ticks of the clock. The reality that after nine years of running a 100 races I will never be in danger of actually winning one does not rob me of the thrill of a victory. Nor am I shielded from the disapointment of a race that goes bad. That is a great deal of what makes this worthwhile.
Here is the plan, I have to get up early tomorrow and run 20+ miles and still be available to my family. So it is off to bed and I will be on the road before 5:30 tomorrow.
Run well everyone.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Saturday Morning - Many Miles Later
I am now 38 miles in to my 50 mile week. The plan for tomorrow is to pull off my first 20 miler for the Mystic Places Marathon. I ran a slow and easy 4.5 miles this morning, had a cup of coffee at Jerry's Place and plodded on home.
My enthusiasm for running is definitely back. I will finish this week with close to 60 miles down, not bad for a vacation. My marathon training plan is simple. Run alot of 20 milers and try to fit in weekly speed work outs. If I can pull off 6 to 8 twentys over the next 10 weeks I will be in great shape.
Yesterday I pulled off a 17 mile run in heat and high humidity. The run was flat, and the pace was also. I ticked off mile after mile at 8:30 intervals. The course took me down Rte 47 through potato and tobacco fields, then across over to UMass, and back up a less scenic highway to Deerfield.
My enthusiasm for running is definitely back. I will finish this week with close to 60 miles down, not bad for a vacation. My marathon training plan is simple. Run alot of 20 milers and try to fit in weekly speed work outs. If I can pull off 6 to 8 twentys over the next 10 weeks I will be in great shape.
Yesterday I pulled off a 17 mile run in heat and high humidity. The run was flat, and the pace was also. I ticked off mile after mile at 8:30 intervals. The course took me down Rte 47 through potato and tobacco fields, then across over to UMass, and back up a less scenic highway to Deerfield.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Vacation Mileage or Lack of It
I am on vacation this week with no travel plans. Day trips with Ben and Lisa, and good list of house hold products. There should be plently of time for some serious mileage. The reality is proving a bit different. It has been Africa hot here in New England, but it ain't the heat it is the humidity that has made life outside really ugly.
I was able to blow off Saturday's run ( made only 2 miles) because I had a long run planned for Sunday. Sunday morning came and I decided to plan a later in the day run since Lisa had a morning Temple board retreat. Later in the day I had to go back to work to finish office work that would allow me to actually be on vacation.
Yadda. yadda, yadda, you get the drift of this do't you?
This morning, Wednesday, I did hit the road by 7:00 AM, about an hour later than planned, so my 14 miles became 10. Oh, well. I log my training from Monday through Sunday, so at least I have put some miles in log. It is getting pretty damn hot right now. The plan for today, paint the floor on the porch. empty back room and paint about 3/4 of the floor in the back room. It is about 9:00 AM, time for a shower.
A little over thirteen weeks before the Mystic Places Marathon. Here are my goals for Mystic Places: run a 7 minute pace marathon, 3:03:24 or better, 3:05 or less 7:04 pace, or 3:06 - 7:06 pace. This should be fun.
Shower time.
I was able to blow off Saturday's run ( made only 2 miles) because I had a long run planned for Sunday. Sunday morning came and I decided to plan a later in the day run since Lisa had a morning Temple board retreat. Later in the day I had to go back to work to finish office work that would allow me to actually be on vacation.
Yadda. yadda, yadda, you get the drift of this do't you?
This morning, Wednesday, I did hit the road by 7:00 AM, about an hour later than planned, so my 14 miles became 10. Oh, well. I log my training from Monday through Sunday, so at least I have put some miles in log. It is getting pretty damn hot right now. The plan for today, paint the floor on the porch. empty back room and paint about 3/4 of the floor in the back room. It is about 9:00 AM, time for a shower.
A little over thirteen weeks before the Mystic Places Marathon. Here are my goals for Mystic Places: run a 7 minute pace marathon, 3:03:24 or better, 3:05 or less 7:04 pace, or 3:06 - 7:06 pace. This should be fun.
Shower time.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
The Road to Niantic goes through Newburyport..
I am looking forward to the Yankee Home Coming 10 Miler in Newburyport next month. This race is a odd in that it is on the first Tuesday night in August. No weekend or holiday, just a couple of thousand runners on the road. Chuck Adams told me about this race a few years ago, and I thought how wierd. It turned out I was in the Boston are the day of the race, and I made my way up to Newburyport.
For the last four years I have taken the day out of work to make it to this race. The course is flat and fast. For me it is more than a two hour drive, but well worth it.
Tonight I ended up at the Y on a trend mill when it appeared that I would be running into a thunderstorm. I had a good time, and did some descent speed work. My favorite workout is to simple increase my speed every minute by a tenth of a mph. I usually top out at 10 mph for the last minute or two. Seven miles went by in just under 49 minutes, and I finished my 50 minute work out with the final minute running at 10 mph.
For the last four years I have taken the day out of work to make it to this race. The course is flat and fast. For me it is more than a two hour drive, but well worth it.
Tonight I ended up at the Y on a trend mill when it appeared that I would be running into a thunderstorm. I had a good time, and did some descent speed work. My favorite workout is to simple increase my speed every minute by a tenth of a mph. I usually top out at 10 mph for the last minute or two. Seven miles went by in just under 49 minutes, and I finished my 50 minute work out with the final minute running at 10 mph.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Massanutten Trails 100 Photographs
I got my copy of the Sugarloaf Sun today and thought that I should include a few photographs from the Massanutten Trails race.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
14 Weeks before the Mystic Places Marathon
Two nights ago I signed up for the Mystic Places Marathon and reserved a motel room in Groton for October 22. I am officially committed to my fall marathon. This will be #6 for me, the 5th in two years. Am I nutz, healthy, or just mildly obsessed? All three seem to fit.
I ran 18+ very hilly miles in Deerfield on Sunday. Sore feet, sore legs and I was wiped out by the heat on Monday. I had great run though. Slow, but flowing. Tom made a comment in his email about the first mile being the most familiar because it is the hardest. I ran long on Sunday, and I ran hard. It was a great experience, but until I reached the bustlin center of commerce, goverment and culture that is South Deerfield I was ready to call it a day. The town square is little over a 1/2 mile from my door.
When the alarm goes off early on a Sunday morning, what seemed like such a great idea the night before really does not look like such great plan right now. Come to think of it, I had the same experience often in college back 20 years or so. Oh, were we talking about running?
It is dark, the bed is comfortable, my wife and son are asleep and I am leaving them for the next three hours. Why does any one run? Fortunately, I remember how running makes me feel when I have couple miles under me and I am cruising. I don't totally believe this until I am out the door, but I am good at going through the motions. With a bowl of oatmeal, gatorade, a couple quick cups of strong coffee I am on the road and there is no turning back.
It is now Tuesday evennning, and I am heading out the door for an easy 5 miles. Gotta go, BYE.
Keep running,
Mark
I ran 18+ very hilly miles in Deerfield on Sunday. Sore feet, sore legs and I was wiped out by the heat on Monday. I had great run though. Slow, but flowing. Tom made a comment in his email about the first mile being the most familiar because it is the hardest. I ran long on Sunday, and I ran hard. It was a great experience, but until I reached the bustlin center of commerce, goverment and culture that is South Deerfield I was ready to call it a day. The town square is little over a 1/2 mile from my door.
When the alarm goes off early on a Sunday morning, what seemed like such a great idea the night before really does not look like such great plan right now. Come to think of it, I had the same experience often in college back 20 years or so. Oh, were we talking about running?
It is dark, the bed is comfortable, my wife and son are asleep and I am leaving them for the next three hours. Why does any one run? Fortunately, I remember how running makes me feel when I have couple miles under me and I am cruising. I don't totally believe this until I am out the door, but I am good at going through the motions. With a bowl of oatmeal, gatorade, a couple quick cups of strong coffee I am on the road and there is no turning back.
It is now Tuesday evennning, and I am heading out the door for an easy 5 miles. Gotta go, BYE.
Keep running,
Mark
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Running through the weeks
As runners go I have been very lucky avoiding injury. I rarely get sick, and in my day to day existence I do not have any health conscerns. So, why am I such hypochondriac about running? This weekend I threw my back out lifting a cooler of god knows what. I pretty soon became an exrunner, former runner, injured person. Then my pain subsided and went away and I am a runner again. My back is still sore, but it is not spasming the way it had been.
Another odd thought. Before any race when I run to warm up, my legs feel like they made of lead. It does not matter if the race is the marathon I have been in training for 6 months, or a 10 K that I have no real investment in. I always feel weak and slow before a race. I expect it, and it does not conscern me any more. As soon as the race begins every thing changes and I feel great.
It is late, and I have not been out running since 7 very hilly miles in Maine on Sunday. I plan to run about 9 miles after tomorrow night 's wieght watchers meeting. I have a good pair of loops in Greenfield that have me running over Poet's Seat.
The next race is in four weeks. I have signed up for the Yankee Home Coming 10 Miler in Newberyport on August 2. This is a great race, flat, pretty, lot's of other runners. It is run at 6:30 PM on a Tuesday evenning. The race, combined with a 5 K attracts 1500 to 2000 runners. ( Any one in Western Mass. interested in car pooling should leave a comment at the end of this posting). Doug Adams told me about this race 4 or 5 years ago. I thought it was a nutty idea driving out over a 100 miles for a Tuesday night race. Now I make a point of just taking the day as a vacation day.
Keep running folks.
Mark
Another odd thought. Before any race when I run to warm up, my legs feel like they made of lead. It does not matter if the race is the marathon I have been in training for 6 months, or a 10 K that I have no real investment in. I always feel weak and slow before a race. I expect it, and it does not conscern me any more. As soon as the race begins every thing changes and I feel great.
It is late, and I have not been out running since 7 very hilly miles in Maine on Sunday. I plan to run about 9 miles after tomorrow night 's wieght watchers meeting. I have a good pair of loops in Greenfield that have me running over Poet's Seat.
The next race is in four weeks. I have signed up for the Yankee Home Coming 10 Miler in Newberyport on August 2. This is a great race, flat, pretty, lot's of other runners. It is run at 6:30 PM on a Tuesday evenning. The race, combined with a 5 K attracts 1500 to 2000 runners. ( Any one in Western Mass. interested in car pooling should leave a comment at the end of this posting). Doug Adams told me about this race 4 or 5 years ago. I thought it was a nutty idea driving out over a 100 miles for a Tuesday night race. Now I make a point of just taking the day as a vacation day.
Keep running folks.
Mark
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Something New - SMAC Linkage
Tom Davidson just sent me an email stating that this blog is now linked to the SMAC website.
http://sugarloafmac.org/
I guesse that means I should start writing shorter and more frequent postings. Let me know if any one is reading this stuff. I am not against an ongoing dialog happenning here, it could be fun.
Keep on running friends.
Mark
http://sugarloafmac.org/
I guesse that means I should start writing shorter and more frequent postings. Let me know if any one is reading this stuff. I am not against an ongoing dialog happenning here, it could be fun.
Keep on running friends.
Mark
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Massanutten Trails 100
The following is a piece I have written for my running club's newsletter.
Enjoy.
The Massanutten Trails 100, from the crew’s perspective
Front Royal, Virginia, Saturday morning, May 7, 2005 :
Some time around 4:30 A.M. 141 runners are getting ready run a trail race, a very long trail race. The Massanutten Moutain Trails 100 is a 101.8 ultra marathon trail race around the George Washington National Forest. The runners have 36 hours to run this course through 82.7 miles of trails, 14.8 miles of dirt roads, and 4.3 miles of pavement climbing over 18000 feet in the process.
The Virginia Happy Trails Running Club (VHTRC) is a well organized vibrant group that makes the Massanutten and other several other trail races possible. For the MMT 100 the VHTRC has put together 130 volunteers to do every thing that needs to be done in an event like this. The runners have on average two additional people supporting their efforts. The teams support their runners by driving from aid station to aid station over the many hours bringing food, drink, and encouragement. After 6:00 P.M.Saturday night pacers are allowed to join their runners to accompany them through the night and in to the following morning (and afternoon if necessary) to the end of the race.
5:00 A.M. : 141 runners start out from the Skyline Ranch on a paved road for a little over two miles before they head into the woods. The course has claimed 9 runners already who DNS (Did Not Start).
It Is About the Support
While the runners start their 102 mile trek I am back at my room in the in the Quality Inn asleep. Bill Cook is preparing to meet his wife Donna Utakis at the Shawl Gap Trail Head Aid Station at mile 8.7 to take her lights and give her more Hammer Gel and sports drink. My role in this event is be half of Donna’s support team. Around 6:00 AM Bill bangs on my door to ask if I want to join him to see Donna at Shawl Gap. I say, “aaah no.” and go back to sleep. I am a dedicated member of the team.
8:15 AM: I am shaving. Bill bangs on my door. We have to hit the road to catch our runner at the second team accessible aid station about 24 miles in to the run. I grab my gear and we are off to AS #5 (aid station number #5 of 16) Habron Gap Trail Head.
9:23A.M. AS #5 Habron Gap Trail Head 24.7 Miles: Bill sees Donna running in to the aid
station before we even have a chance to park the car. She is running much faster than we had expected her to. We are not ready with the sports drink or much else in terms of support. We barely get her refueled and our runner is gone. Bill has been up since 3:30 AM and he will be schlepping a cooler to all of the accessible aid stations on the course. He has a broken wrist so his job will become truly painful when I jump in as a pacer, and leave him on his own.
24.7 miles is awfully close to the end of a marathon, and I am astounded at how fresh the runners appear at this point in the race. Marathoners do not look happy after 20 miles of running, yet
these ultramarathoners are all smiles.
It is About the Food
There are 16 aid stations along the course provide every thing from emergency foot care to amazing assortment of hot and cold foods. If you run marathons or shorter races in race nutrition is probably a couple of Gues and some Gatorade. 100 mile trail events require real fuel to get the runners across the finish line. Nearly all of the aid stations provide a spread that beats out most races post-race food. At the Gap II check point the runners had grilled cheese, fried spam, soups, cookies, potato chips . The spam and grilled cheese sandwiches really caught my eye.. I never imagined such food could eaten during this kind of event.
As a pacer I happy to hear the race director say that the pacers would be fed during the run, but the crews were on their own. The pacers were not supposed to have the potato soup, because this was in limited supply. Thus began our ongoing joke about the soup Nazis, and how lowly pacers could not have the soup.
I found the cold pizza at the last two aid stations to be real life savers. The cookies were good. Donna shared her potato soup with me and got a real tung lashing for it. I never got to try the Spam.
It is About Smoozing With the Other Runner’s Support People
10:00 A.M. AS #6 Camp Roosevelt 34.2 Miles:
We are waiting for our runner and watching the leaders come out of the woods and then disappear again in to the forest. There are about thirty people at this aid station in the woods. I spend an hour talking with the families and support people of runners. Many of these people are runners , though most are not ultramarathoners themselves. It is a beautiful sunny morning and I am able to enjoy the company of these people who are waiting for their runners to come in. An older man wearing a VHTRC volunteer tee shirt and I share a piece of the trail a couple hundred feet up the aid station. His son is running this race and is some where in the front of the pack. Along with his dad, this runner’s young children and his wife are all there to provide support for the more than 24 hours it will take him to finish the run. I never learn the name of this runner, but I am impressed that his family is so involved in his long distance running.
10:21 AM Todd Walker of Amherst is the second runner into the aid station and one minute out of first place. Having met Todd the night before I will enjoy watching him run through the aid stations for the next 8 hours before he disappears in to the night (finishing second overall in 19:24:03). (Todd would finish second overall in 19:24 behind Matthew Estes, 18:12) I gabbed with his pacer who did the Bull Run 50 miler, then ten days later ran the Boston Marathon in 2:56. I was kind of left speechless.
Kerry Arsenault of Connecticut, a truly fast runner herself, was one of the supportive people chasing a runner from aid station to aid station. She is a marathoner, and like many of people supporting the ultra runners she is considering a 50 miler some day. The great social aspect of this event was the simple fact that you got to hang out with so many runners for extended periods of time. I saw many of the same people at different aid stations through the day.
The runners coming in to this aid station still look good even though they have already run a marathon plus eight miles. The smiles are not as beaming as they were a couple of hours ago, but these runners have been on their feet for more than seven hours.
Bill Cook and I are ready for our runner when she comes in. A sports drink, some hammer gell, and a reminder to eat are all that Donna needs before she runs out again. Bill and I are off to find lunch for ourselves.
A Long Run Through The Night
7:13 P.M. AS #11 Gap Creek Jawbone II 64.9 miles:
Bill and I have been here for an hour and a half. This is our third and final visit to this aid station. The Gap Creek Jawbone aid station is alive with activity. Runners are coming into the aid station from two directions. The first approach is aid station #6 the Gap Creek Jawbone I at 39.9 miles. The second approach is Gap II at nearly 65 miles. Todd Walker was the first runner through this aid station at 11:21 A.M. with eventual third place finisher Karl Metzer one minute behind. If manning an aid station could be an ultra sport this was the premiere event. The last runner to come into this aid station would be come through at 2:00 A.M. Sunday morning.
More than any other location this aid station resembles a campground and emergency triage. The runners are coming in hot, tired and hungry. Some are falling apart. Several are still smiling and moving fast. Runners can get their feet taped, a massage, a drink and food. An amazing variety of foods are available. Hot food including soups, cookies, fried foods. Ultra runners eat things that would make a road runner spew. It had been years since I eaten Spam. The thought of eating Spam in the middle of a race the way one downs a Gue or gel intrigued me.
Besides the runners there are a couple dozen or more crew people hanging out. After 6:00PM pacers are allowed to join their runners. Donna ran through the last aid station at 5:35 so this is the first place where I can join her. Being a first time pacer is a little scarey. I will be running along side of my runner for 37 miles. 26.2 is my longest distance run so far. I have been promised a runner who after 65 miles will be wishing for death, and totally trashed emotionally and physically. My job will be to keep her in this event. This runner I am pacing is promising to
hate me before the event is over. So extreme vitriol and a long night running in the woods with a babbling shell of an ultra runner was the agenda for me. It doesn’t get better this.
Reality proved to be different. Donna came into the aid station, we reloaded her Hammer Gel, and food. We put on our head lamps and ran out of the aid station in to the night. She seemed strong and together and I was excited to be running. This was a good sign.
The first aid station was less than 3 miles away. We got there before dark and soon were on our way towards the “notorious” Short Mountain. I was clueless about the trail ahead. This is work. . It takes us just over three hours to cover the next eight miles which consists of loose rock. This is the only part of the run where I worry about my runner. After two and half hours on Short
Mountain I detect a drop in energy in the voice of my runner. It is close to 11:00 P.M. when I realize that we both really need a serious dose of carbohydrates. I often ask Donna if she has been drinking her Gel. Somewhere near the end of this section of trail Donna’s headlamp battery call’s it quits. I give her a small flash light that I have as a back up. The batteries die in that light quickly also. We come off the trail with just my headlamp.
The Edinburgh Gap Aid station supplies us with the needed carbohydrates, and very kind people have the batteries that Donna’s headlamp requires. Bill is there to provide additional support, as he has been for the last 20 hours. We leave Edinburgh with renewed energy. This point of the run we are fresh again. 75 miles down and our next aid station is nine miles away. We have another 3 hours of running ahead to the Woodstock Tower aid station.
My runner has not yet melted down, and I feel pretty good myself. There is a beauty in the dark trail lit by headlamps and glow sticks. The VHTRC has done a heroic job of marking the trail with yellow tape and green glowing light sticks.
Woodstock Tower has soup, cookies, chips, beef jerky. The late hour and running fatigue are making me feel light headed. The Woodstock Tower aid station brings us back again. 84 miles down.
4:00 AM and we are at Powell’s Fort. It is cold, but we have about 12 miles to go. Pizza and soup bring me back into this. My runner is still moving strong and I have not seen any evidence that a melt down is imminent.
I am a talker, so by now my runner either has zoned me out, or is living some where in Dante’s fourth circle of hell. The fourth circle is where sinners must listen to an eternity of dabble from a runner of their own choosing. We leave Powell’s Fort on a dirt road, and then back to run-able trails in the dark. The sun comes up as we make our way to Elizabeth’s Furnace. The final aid station is before us. Bill is there, and so is the food. I have pepperoni pizza, and soup. My runner is anxious to run. Food and drink are necessary, but we are close to the end. We are told of a photographer on the course ahead.
There is final climb of over a thousand feet over a ridge then there are just two or three miles to the end. During this final push we encounter the photographer. The photographer followed us to the top of the ridge talking the whole way. We are polite, but once out of his sight we are happy to be rid of him. We later learn that he is from USA today, and Donna’s picture is seen coast to coast.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2005-05-09-ultramarathon_x.htm
In a literal final sprint the run ends with Donna running to finish in 27:00:30(8:00 AM). She finishes as the second woman, and the 19th of 93 finishers. 50 starters did not finish the course. The ultra runners and their support teams showed their tenacity in getting themselves and there runners moving for up to 35 hours). The good thing about finishing when we did is that we got to sleep before the post race festivities. The last runner finished in 35 hours, 39 minutes, only a few minutes before the post race awards.
This race well organized, well supported, and the course was well marked even at night. In this group as a marathoner I was looked at as a sprinter. It seemed odd to think of marathons as short fast races, but in this context I was. People asked when I was planning on doing s 50 miler. No time soon, but I did enjoy being a pacer, and I look forward to doing this again.
For race information:
http://www.vhtrc.org/mmt/
Enjoy.
The Massanutten Trails 100, from the crew’s perspective
Front Royal, Virginia, Saturday morning, May 7, 2005 :
Some time around 4:30 A.M. 141 runners are getting ready run a trail race, a very long trail race. The Massanutten Moutain Trails 100 is a 101.8 ultra marathon trail race around the George Washington National Forest. The runners have 36 hours to run this course through 82.7 miles of trails, 14.8 miles of dirt roads, and 4.3 miles of pavement climbing over 18000 feet in the process.
The Virginia Happy Trails Running Club (VHTRC) is a well organized vibrant group that makes the Massanutten and other several other trail races possible. For the MMT 100 the VHTRC has put together 130 volunteers to do every thing that needs to be done in an event like this. The runners have on average two additional people supporting their efforts. The teams support their runners by driving from aid station to aid station over the many hours bringing food, drink, and encouragement. After 6:00 P.M.Saturday night pacers are allowed to join their runners to accompany them through the night and in to the following morning (and afternoon if necessary) to the end of the race.
5:00 A.M. : 141 runners start out from the Skyline Ranch on a paved road for a little over two miles before they head into the woods. The course has claimed 9 runners already who DNS (Did Not Start).
It Is About the Support
While the runners start their 102 mile trek I am back at my room in the in the Quality Inn asleep. Bill Cook is preparing to meet his wife Donna Utakis at the Shawl Gap Trail Head Aid Station at mile 8.7 to take her lights and give her more Hammer Gel and sports drink. My role in this event is be half of Donna’s support team. Around 6:00 AM Bill bangs on my door to ask if I want to join him to see Donna at Shawl Gap. I say, “aaah no.” and go back to sleep. I am a dedicated member of the team.
8:15 AM: I am shaving. Bill bangs on my door. We have to hit the road to catch our runner at the second team accessible aid station about 24 miles in to the run. I grab my gear and we are off to AS #5 (aid station number #5 of 16) Habron Gap Trail Head.
9:23A.M. AS #5 Habron Gap Trail Head 24.7 Miles: Bill sees Donna running in to the aid
station before we even have a chance to park the car. She is running much faster than we had expected her to. We are not ready with the sports drink or much else in terms of support. We barely get her refueled and our runner is gone. Bill has been up since 3:30 AM and he will be schlepping a cooler to all of the accessible aid stations on the course. He has a broken wrist so his job will become truly painful when I jump in as a pacer, and leave him on his own.
24.7 miles is awfully close to the end of a marathon, and I am astounded at how fresh the runners appear at this point in the race. Marathoners do not look happy after 20 miles of running, yet
these ultramarathoners are all smiles.
It is About the Food
There are 16 aid stations along the course provide every thing from emergency foot care to amazing assortment of hot and cold foods. If you run marathons or shorter races in race nutrition is probably a couple of Gues and some Gatorade. 100 mile trail events require real fuel to get the runners across the finish line. Nearly all of the aid stations provide a spread that beats out most races post-race food. At the Gap II check point the runners had grilled cheese, fried spam, soups, cookies, potato chips . The spam and grilled cheese sandwiches really caught my eye.. I never imagined such food could eaten during this kind of event.
As a pacer I happy to hear the race director say that the pacers would be fed during the run, but the crews were on their own. The pacers were not supposed to have the potato soup, because this was in limited supply. Thus began our ongoing joke about the soup Nazis, and how lowly pacers could not have the soup.
I found the cold pizza at the last two aid stations to be real life savers. The cookies were good. Donna shared her potato soup with me and got a real tung lashing for it. I never got to try the Spam.
It is About Smoozing With the Other Runner’s Support People
10:00 A.M. AS #6 Camp Roosevelt 34.2 Miles:
We are waiting for our runner and watching the leaders come out of the woods and then disappear again in to the forest. There are about thirty people at this aid station in the woods. I spend an hour talking with the families and support people of runners. Many of these people are runners , though most are not ultramarathoners themselves. It is a beautiful sunny morning and I am able to enjoy the company of these people who are waiting for their runners to come in. An older man wearing a VHTRC volunteer tee shirt and I share a piece of the trail a couple hundred feet up the aid station. His son is running this race and is some where in the front of the pack. Along with his dad, this runner’s young children and his wife are all there to provide support for the more than 24 hours it will take him to finish the run. I never learn the name of this runner, but I am impressed that his family is so involved in his long distance running.
10:21 AM Todd Walker of Amherst is the second runner into the aid station and one minute out of first place. Having met Todd the night before I will enjoy watching him run through the aid stations for the next 8 hours before he disappears in to the night (finishing second overall in 19:24:03). (Todd would finish second overall in 19:24 behind Matthew Estes, 18:12) I gabbed with his pacer who did the Bull Run 50 miler, then ten days later ran the Boston Marathon in 2:56. I was kind of left speechless.
Kerry Arsenault of Connecticut, a truly fast runner herself, was one of the supportive people chasing a runner from aid station to aid station. She is a marathoner, and like many of people supporting the ultra runners she is considering a 50 miler some day. The great social aspect of this event was the simple fact that you got to hang out with so many runners for extended periods of time. I saw many of the same people at different aid stations through the day.
The runners coming in to this aid station still look good even though they have already run a marathon plus eight miles. The smiles are not as beaming as they were a couple of hours ago, but these runners have been on their feet for more than seven hours.
Bill Cook and I are ready for our runner when she comes in. A sports drink, some hammer gell, and a reminder to eat are all that Donna needs before she runs out again. Bill and I are off to find lunch for ourselves.
A Long Run Through The Night
7:13 P.M. AS #11 Gap Creek Jawbone II 64.9 miles:
Bill and I have been here for an hour and a half. This is our third and final visit to this aid station. The Gap Creek Jawbone aid station is alive with activity. Runners are coming into the aid station from two directions. The first approach is aid station #6 the Gap Creek Jawbone I at 39.9 miles. The second approach is Gap II at nearly 65 miles. Todd Walker was the first runner through this aid station at 11:21 A.M. with eventual third place finisher Karl Metzer one minute behind. If manning an aid station could be an ultra sport this was the premiere event. The last runner to come into this aid station would be come through at 2:00 A.M. Sunday morning.
More than any other location this aid station resembles a campground and emergency triage. The runners are coming in hot, tired and hungry. Some are falling apart. Several are still smiling and moving fast. Runners can get their feet taped, a massage, a drink and food. An amazing variety of foods are available. Hot food including soups, cookies, fried foods. Ultra runners eat things that would make a road runner spew. It had been years since I eaten Spam. The thought of eating Spam in the middle of a race the way one downs a Gue or gel intrigued me.
Besides the runners there are a couple dozen or more crew people hanging out. After 6:00PM pacers are allowed to join their runners. Donna ran through the last aid station at 5:35 so this is the first place where I can join her. Being a first time pacer is a little scarey. I will be running along side of my runner for 37 miles. 26.2 is my longest distance run so far. I have been promised a runner who after 65 miles will be wishing for death, and totally trashed emotionally and physically. My job will be to keep her in this event. This runner I am pacing is promising to
hate me before the event is over. So extreme vitriol and a long night running in the woods with a babbling shell of an ultra runner was the agenda for me. It doesn’t get better this.
Reality proved to be different. Donna came into the aid station, we reloaded her Hammer Gel, and food. We put on our head lamps and ran out of the aid station in to the night. She seemed strong and together and I was excited to be running. This was a good sign.
The first aid station was less than 3 miles away. We got there before dark and soon were on our way towards the “notorious” Short Mountain. I was clueless about the trail ahead. This is work. . It takes us just over three hours to cover the next eight miles which consists of loose rock. This is the only part of the run where I worry about my runner. After two and half hours on Short
Mountain I detect a drop in energy in the voice of my runner. It is close to 11:00 P.M. when I realize that we both really need a serious dose of carbohydrates. I often ask Donna if she has been drinking her Gel. Somewhere near the end of this section of trail Donna’s headlamp battery call’s it quits. I give her a small flash light that I have as a back up. The batteries die in that light quickly also. We come off the trail with just my headlamp.
The Edinburgh Gap Aid station supplies us with the needed carbohydrates, and very kind people have the batteries that Donna’s headlamp requires. Bill is there to provide additional support, as he has been for the last 20 hours. We leave Edinburgh with renewed energy. This point of the run we are fresh again. 75 miles down and our next aid station is nine miles away. We have another 3 hours of running ahead to the Woodstock Tower aid station.
My runner has not yet melted down, and I feel pretty good myself. There is a beauty in the dark trail lit by headlamps and glow sticks. The VHTRC has done a heroic job of marking the trail with yellow tape and green glowing light sticks.
Woodstock Tower has soup, cookies, chips, beef jerky. The late hour and running fatigue are making me feel light headed. The Woodstock Tower aid station brings us back again. 84 miles down.
4:00 AM and we are at Powell’s Fort. It is cold, but we have about 12 miles to go. Pizza and soup bring me back into this. My runner is still moving strong and I have not seen any evidence that a melt down is imminent.
I am a talker, so by now my runner either has zoned me out, or is living some where in Dante’s fourth circle of hell. The fourth circle is where sinners must listen to an eternity of dabble from a runner of their own choosing. We leave Powell’s Fort on a dirt road, and then back to run-able trails in the dark. The sun comes up as we make our way to Elizabeth’s Furnace. The final aid station is before us. Bill is there, and so is the food. I have pepperoni pizza, and soup. My runner is anxious to run. Food and drink are necessary, but we are close to the end. We are told of a photographer on the course ahead.
There is final climb of over a thousand feet over a ridge then there are just two or three miles to the end. During this final push we encounter the photographer. The photographer followed us to the top of the ridge talking the whole way. We are polite, but once out of his sight we are happy to be rid of him. We later learn that he is from USA today, and Donna’s picture is seen coast to coast.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2005-05-09-ultramarathon_x.htm
In a literal final sprint the run ends with Donna running to finish in 27:00:30(8:00 AM). She finishes as the second woman, and the 19th of 93 finishers. 50 starters did not finish the course. The ultra runners and their support teams showed their tenacity in getting themselves and there runners moving for up to 35 hours). The good thing about finishing when we did is that we got to sleep before the post race festivities. The last runner finished in 35 hours, 39 minutes, only a few minutes before the post race awards.
This race well organized, well supported, and the course was well marked even at night. In this group as a marathoner I was looked at as a sprinter. It seemed odd to think of marathons as short fast races, but in this context I was. People asked when I was planning on doing s 50 miler. No time soon, but I did enjoy being a pacer, and I look forward to doing this again.
For race information:
http://www.vhtrc.org/mmt/
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Boston Marathon 2005
"Lemmings. They look like lemmings. Well lemmings are cute." - Lisa Prolman (my wife) on watching a video tape of the start of the 2005 Boston Marathon.
I survived the 2004 Boston Marathon rather well. It was a joy to be greeted by Jim Plaza and John Stifler at the end of the marathon. Then came the joyful and care free shuffle through the finishers area, where very nice people asked me if I needed a wheel chair, a bottle of water or last rites. I got my water, my medal, gave up my chip with out falling down, then off to the buses to recover my plastic duffle bag with all my extra clothes, some money and car keys. Volunteers with wheelchairs flocked around me like Paparazzi around Madonna as I marched towards Stuart Street. On the Greenline train to Riverside I listened to two wounded runners say that they would never return to run the fabled Boston Marathon. It was at that moment that I decided that I would definitely be coming back to run in the 2005 Boston Marathon. It was just too much fun.
I decided to spare my family the ordeal of looking for me from a road side vantage in Newton this year so I hopped a ride with Harriers on their chartered bus. This sounded like a good deal and it was. For a reasonable fee of $30.00 you can ride in a chartered bus to Hopkinton with 50 or so other runners. This is a magic bus of people who totally get it. There is no need to explain why you are here, you are among kin on this bus. SMAC, Empire One, and Harriers were all aboard. If you run even a handful of local races the faces on this bus will be familiar to you.
Another aspect of the bus is the fact that you get to immediately share your experience of the Marathon with other runners while the you wait to collect every one at the end. The bus ride home matches any return from a field trip that you may have experienced as a grade school student.
This year’s Boston Marathon was warmer than most runners would have liked, but the conditions were much better than the inferno that the runners had to endure in 2004. According to the B.A.A. website the temperatures for the marathon were 70 at the start, 70 in the middle, and 69 at the end. For the first miles out of Hopkinton the runners were protected from the sun by the tall trees that line the very narrow roads.
Much of Boston is about hyperbole, but it is a big deal to many of the people who will do any thing to be apart of it. A pair of bandit runners carried a large pirate flag as they ran the start of the course. I thought these odd fellows brave to be carrying their banner on such a quest, but apparently their destination was a biker bar two miles from the start.
Running a marathon well is about pacing, as is the case in most races. The challenge of a marathon is that you must decide your pace early while you are full of energy and enthusiasm. It is a hard task slow down when people are streaming by you at a pace that you could easily maintain. The question is how long can you maintain your pace?. Ten, fifteen, or even 18 miles is not enough (see the previous issue’s story on the Hartford Marathon). You must run 26.2 miles. Ten miles into a marathon you will know if you went out too fast; you should feel like you still have a full tank at this point. If half way you are feeling fatigued, it is too late. You went out too fast. You need to slow down now to recover before that wall hits you like windshield against a bug. That is the challenge of a marathon, you often will not know if your pace right until it is too late to do any thing about it.
At the Expo the day before the marathon I heard some great advice during a panel discussion with Grete Waitz, Jen Rhines, Todd Williams, and Amby Burfoot. The topic was "How to Run Your Best Marathon". The advice came down to this, "pace your self as evenly as possible with a goal of an even or negative split between the first half and second half of the marathon." The second bit of useful advice was to plan to run slower in the 70 degrees predicted than you would have if the temperatures had been an ideal 52 F. I took the advice that Tom Derderian wrote in the 2004 BAA Program to forget about running even timed splits and instead to concentrate on running with even effort. With Derderian’s race plan you will run faster down hill than you will up hill. It kind of makes sense.
A half million people line the marathon course, and they are enthusiastic. In Framingham the crowds along the course are large and loud. The runners are moving with no protection from the sun. There is a great deal of activity around the train Depot. Moving out of Framingham the crowds thin for the first time. 10K occurs at the Framingham Train Depot.
Natick and the runners pass Lake Cochituit. There are not so many spectators here but the runners never feel unappreciated. Before the 12 mile mark a 10 foot plus Addidas banner warns of the screaming Wellesley students a half mile up the road. Welcome to the Wellesley Scream tunnel. You hear it before you get there. A roar, then a long piercing chorus of young women screaming their lungs out for the runners. This is the part of the course where you feel like one of the Beetles.
The half marathon marker, 13.1 miles. Now the simple question, did you go out at the pace that you planned to run? A little slower, a little faster? A lot faster, not good. I am on pace at this point, and I feel good. Mile 14 and I am feeling a little sluggish in the legs.
During the Hartford Marathon in October I picked up the pace when I felt I was slowing down. That turned out to be a very bad game plan. This time I dropped my pace by about thirty seconds and tried to use the hills going in to Newton Lower Falls to regroup and regain my stride. I was not in trouble, but I was not sure.
Mile 16 begins the climb out of Newton Lower Falls across I-95 towards Woodland Country Club. The Boston Globe called this one mile rise "Hell’s Mile". Hyperbole, but more people call it quits here than anywhere else. I am feeling good coming in to Newton.
Around the Fire Station on Commonwealth Ave and the first of the Hills that lead to Heart Break Hill. I feel great here. This is where I grew up. I truly feel I have come home and I am looking for family and old friends who may in the crowds that line Comm. Ave. The crowds from here on will be huge, loud and unescapable. Past Brae Burn Country Club near mile 18 ( I was a caddy there, 30 years ago) and I climbing fresh. Just before Newton City Hall my father and two cousins call from the sidelines. I wave and sprint off. Over Heart Break Hill and it is cool running in to Brookline. The heat of the day is now making it hard for me to take in water and Gatorade. Around me runners are dropping unexpectedly. The Citgo sign is visible one or two miles before Kenmore Square. It does not seem to get closer for a while, but eventually Fenway Park appears before you and then it is a hop over a short bump of hill in to Kenmore Square.
Real confusion, despair, and euphoria are all possible at this point. The end of the marathon is one mile away. Back on Comm. Ave. to Hereford Street then you are there on Boylston Street. A clear view of the finish line is before you at Copley Square and there are bleachers filled with screaming fans. I cross the line and the marathon is over. The are no familiar faces here this year, but I know that the Harriers bus in not too far away. I hope it is. I try not to fall down while volunteers remove my chip and put a medal around my neck.
I make my way to the Radison Hotel where I hope to find the bus. It is there, and I change in to dry clothes and soon I am reliving the run with other runners for the next three hours while we wait for everyone to get to back to the bus.
The Boston Marathon is not generous with post race food, but we are in Boston. Unfortunately having just run a marathon I am not really into food. You know, Hartford has really great food. I got a potato there.
We talk about our run, our lives and what is next on our running agenda’s. As I sip my Kenya AA and eat a large chocolate chip cookie I watch runners coming from Copley square displaying the post marathon shuffle limp. Runners may not be smiling during the race, but most are smiling now. Over the next few days I will suffer from Post Marathon Tourett’s syndrome. This syndrome causes runners to swear inappropriately when ever they try to get up, sit down, or move suddenly. Fortunately it fades by the weekend.
Links about the Boston Marathon : http://www.baa.org,/ http://www.boston.com/marathon/course/video.shtml
http://www.jeffpalm.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=citgo
What is next? I will be reporting on the where abouts of Sugarloaf Mountain Athletic Club president Donna Utakis as she runs the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 Mile Run.
(This is my account of the 2005 Boston Marathon. It was written for my running club's newsletter)
I survived the 2004 Boston Marathon rather well. It was a joy to be greeted by Jim Plaza and John Stifler at the end of the marathon. Then came the joyful and care free shuffle through the finishers area, where very nice people asked me if I needed a wheel chair, a bottle of water or last rites. I got my water, my medal, gave up my chip with out falling down, then off to the buses to recover my plastic duffle bag with all my extra clothes, some money and car keys. Volunteers with wheelchairs flocked around me like Paparazzi around Madonna as I marched towards Stuart Street. On the Greenline train to Riverside I listened to two wounded runners say that they would never return to run the fabled Boston Marathon. It was at that moment that I decided that I would definitely be coming back to run in the 2005 Boston Marathon. It was just too much fun.
I decided to spare my family the ordeal of looking for me from a road side vantage in Newton this year so I hopped a ride with Harriers on their chartered bus. This sounded like a good deal and it was. For a reasonable fee of $30.00 you can ride in a chartered bus to Hopkinton with 50 or so other runners. This is a magic bus of people who totally get it. There is no need to explain why you are here, you are among kin on this bus. SMAC, Empire One, and Harriers were all aboard. If you run even a handful of local races the faces on this bus will be familiar to you.
Another aspect of the bus is the fact that you get to immediately share your experience of the Marathon with other runners while the you wait to collect every one at the end. The bus ride home matches any return from a field trip that you may have experienced as a grade school student.
This year’s Boston Marathon was warmer than most runners would have liked, but the conditions were much better than the inferno that the runners had to endure in 2004. According to the B.A.A. website the temperatures for the marathon were 70 at the start, 70 in the middle, and 69 at the end. For the first miles out of Hopkinton the runners were protected from the sun by the tall trees that line the very narrow roads.
Much of Boston is about hyperbole, but it is a big deal to many of the people who will do any thing to be apart of it. A pair of bandit runners carried a large pirate flag as they ran the start of the course. I thought these odd fellows brave to be carrying their banner on such a quest, but apparently their destination was a biker bar two miles from the start.
Running a marathon well is about pacing, as is the case in most races. The challenge of a marathon is that you must decide your pace early while you are full of energy and enthusiasm. It is a hard task slow down when people are streaming by you at a pace that you could easily maintain. The question is how long can you maintain your pace?. Ten, fifteen, or even 18 miles is not enough (see the previous issue’s story on the Hartford Marathon). You must run 26.2 miles. Ten miles into a marathon you will know if you went out too fast; you should feel like you still have a full tank at this point. If half way you are feeling fatigued, it is too late. You went out too fast. You need to slow down now to recover before that wall hits you like windshield against a bug. That is the challenge of a marathon, you often will not know if your pace right until it is too late to do any thing about it.
At the Expo the day before the marathon I heard some great advice during a panel discussion with Grete Waitz, Jen Rhines, Todd Williams, and Amby Burfoot. The topic was "How to Run Your Best Marathon". The advice came down to this, "pace your self as evenly as possible with a goal of an even or negative split between the first half and second half of the marathon." The second bit of useful advice was to plan to run slower in the 70 degrees predicted than you would have if the temperatures had been an ideal 52 F. I took the advice that Tom Derderian wrote in the 2004 BAA Program to forget about running even timed splits and instead to concentrate on running with even effort. With Derderian’s race plan you will run faster down hill than you will up hill. It kind of makes sense.
A half million people line the marathon course, and they are enthusiastic. In Framingham the crowds along the course are large and loud. The runners are moving with no protection from the sun. There is a great deal of activity around the train Depot. Moving out of Framingham the crowds thin for the first time. 10K occurs at the Framingham Train Depot.
Natick and the runners pass Lake Cochituit. There are not so many spectators here but the runners never feel unappreciated. Before the 12 mile mark a 10 foot plus Addidas banner warns of the screaming Wellesley students a half mile up the road. Welcome to the Wellesley Scream tunnel. You hear it before you get there. A roar, then a long piercing chorus of young women screaming their lungs out for the runners. This is the part of the course where you feel like one of the Beetles.
The half marathon marker, 13.1 miles. Now the simple question, did you go out at the pace that you planned to run? A little slower, a little faster? A lot faster, not good. I am on pace at this point, and I feel good. Mile 14 and I am feeling a little sluggish in the legs.
During the Hartford Marathon in October I picked up the pace when I felt I was slowing down. That turned out to be a very bad game plan. This time I dropped my pace by about thirty seconds and tried to use the hills going in to Newton Lower Falls to regroup and regain my stride. I was not in trouble, but I was not sure.
Mile 16 begins the climb out of Newton Lower Falls across I-95 towards Woodland Country Club. The Boston Globe called this one mile rise "Hell’s Mile". Hyperbole, but more people call it quits here than anywhere else. I am feeling good coming in to Newton.
Around the Fire Station on Commonwealth Ave and the first of the Hills that lead to Heart Break Hill. I feel great here. This is where I grew up. I truly feel I have come home and I am looking for family and old friends who may in the crowds that line Comm. Ave. The crowds from here on will be huge, loud and unescapable. Past Brae Burn Country Club near mile 18 ( I was a caddy there, 30 years ago) and I climbing fresh. Just before Newton City Hall my father and two cousins call from the sidelines. I wave and sprint off. Over Heart Break Hill and it is cool running in to Brookline. The heat of the day is now making it hard for me to take in water and Gatorade. Around me runners are dropping unexpectedly. The Citgo sign is visible one or two miles before Kenmore Square. It does not seem to get closer for a while, but eventually Fenway Park appears before you and then it is a hop over a short bump of hill in to Kenmore Square.
Real confusion, despair, and euphoria are all possible at this point. The end of the marathon is one mile away. Back on Comm. Ave. to Hereford Street then you are there on Boylston Street. A clear view of the finish line is before you at Copley Square and there are bleachers filled with screaming fans. I cross the line and the marathon is over. The are no familiar faces here this year, but I know that the Harriers bus in not too far away. I hope it is. I try not to fall down while volunteers remove my chip and put a medal around my neck.
I make my way to the Radison Hotel where I hope to find the bus. It is there, and I change in to dry clothes and soon I am reliving the run with other runners for the next three hours while we wait for everyone to get to back to the bus.
The Boston Marathon is not generous with post race food, but we are in Boston. Unfortunately having just run a marathon I am not really into food. You know, Hartford has really great food. I got a potato there.
We talk about our run, our lives and what is next on our running agenda’s. As I sip my Kenya AA and eat a large chocolate chip cookie I watch runners coming from Copley square displaying the post marathon shuffle limp. Runners may not be smiling during the race, but most are smiling now. Over the next few days I will suffer from Post Marathon Tourett’s syndrome. This syndrome causes runners to swear inappropriately when ever they try to get up, sit down, or move suddenly. Fortunately it fades by the weekend.
Links about the Boston Marathon : http://www.baa.org,/ http://www.boston.com/marathon/course/video.shtml
http://www.jeffpalm.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=citgo
What is next? I will be reporting on the where abouts of Sugarloaf Mountain Athletic Club president Donna Utakis as she runs the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 Mile Run.
(This is my account of the 2005 Boston Marathon. It was written for my running club's newsletter)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)