Tunnel Lite Marathon Race Report

It's been an incredible year of training and racing in celebration of turning 50 last December. Last Sunday's Tunnel Lite Marathon concluded a 12 month stretch that included three full marathon training cycles (December 2015 Honolulu Marathon, April 2016 Boston Marathon and the September 2016 Tunnel Lite Marathon),  two half marathons (Rain Day Half January 2016 and Seattle Rock-n-Roll Half June 2016) as well as the Ragnar Relay in July (Sub-Masters team win) and an 8K and 5K for good measure.  In total the last 52 weeks of training was just short of 2000 miles at 1940 total -- which included limited mileage in the winter due to a nasty lower right leg tendon injury I fought from February through April.    Suffice it to say that my run last Sunday was coming on tired mind and body -- knowing full well that I'd also managed to hit peak fitness/speed sometime in late July and was starting to fall off my top training times and heart rate levels.    

Somewhere around mile 15 of the Tunnel Lite Marathon.  My quads were starting to take a real beating from the downhill here as I passed the photographer trying to look strong and knowing I had another 10 miles in front of me.

I loved this marathon for its beauty, simplicity and that it was just 600 total runners and executed like a finely oiled machine.  And lest I forget the primary selling point -- it's a 2000', vertical drop for 23 miles or about a negative 1.6% to the finish line just east of North Bend, WA from mile 3.    The other main feature of this race is that at about the 1/2 mile mark, you enter into an old railroad tunnel that is devoid of light (other than hundreds of headlamps and flashlights) through which we ran 2.3 miles to the light (hence the name of the race -- "Tunnel Lite Marathon").     My goal was to run a sub 3:30 BQ here and get back to Boston for 2017 (as the race fell right in them middle of the 2017 Boston Marathon entrance window) -- but realistically I knew that I had peaked a few weeks earlier and had been suffering the last month or so from some cumulative fatigue that had set in which would make a great time on this downhill track an uphill challenge.   I was however resolved to see if I could dig it out and decided to run an aggressive opening half to see if I could hang on over the back half of the race.

It was nice simply getting up around 4:30 AM for an 8:00 am race time, fueling about 150 grams of carbs which included a "roadie" smoothie" -- and driving the 25 miles on the freeway to the bus pick-up point just east of North Bend.     I parked my car in a non-descript parking lot before sunrise and simply walked over to a waiting yellow school bus which in turn took off and drove another 25 miles or so eastward up and over Snoqualmie Pass to Hyak (just short of Keechelus Lake) off Interstate 90.

Of my 9 marathons, this was my 3rd fastest time -- and easily the best racing weather I've experienced.  7 of my 9 marathons have featured simply terrible to non-ideal weather so it was great to catch a weather break this time.

In terms of racing strategy, if I was going to run below 3:30:00, I believed I had to get out strongly and take advantage of the downhill, building a time buffer and then hold on over the last 5 miles -- ideally running 8:00 pace or at least nothing slower than 8:20's for the final 5 miles.    

The terrain for the course was a converted railroad track that was mostly compact dirt and rocks becoming gravel over the latter stages of the course.    Nearly half of my training this last year has been on the Cross Kirkland Corridor trail which is also a converted railroad track composed of soft gravel and compact dirt - so I felt comfortable that I'd be fine on the terrain.     As it turns out, the first 10 miles of the trail was actually quarter or larger sized rocks, some gravel, dirt and smaller ruts and undulations -- that were easy to navigate -- but really made the run more jarring on the quads.   I knew was going to be a problem later in the race (in comparison, running on a smooth asphalt or gravel trail is less jarring and one is able to glide and be more economical with muscle movement which conserves energy that's required for the last 5-6 miles of the marathon).    

I got through the first 5 miles (which included the 2.3 mile jaunt through the tunnel which was a little harder to run quickly than anticipated) in 7:46 pace and 38:51 and 10 miles in 77:38 and 7:45's.   At mile 10 I was feeling a lot more quad weariness than I expected (it felt like I'd already gone through 18 miles or so in fact) from the jarring but I was able to press on and get to the half marathon point in a great time of 1:41:30 and 7:46 pace.   I was right on my race strategy and within 7 seconds per mile pace of my PR at 3:20:00.    However, the quad soreness and fatigue was mounting and I knew I had to back it down a bit.   

At mile 14 I had been running with a group of men all shooting for sub 3:25:00.  We were running comfortably for 10 or so miles together, chatting and just getting into the groove as the miles passed by.   However, I stopped to walk the water station before mile 14 to see if I could gather a bit and decrease the quad fatigue before resuming running -- cutting my pace back to around 8:00 or even a little slower as I had a good buffer of time built up.    I ran miles 14 - 20 in about 50 minutes or 8:17 pace and got to mile 20 in just under 2:40:00 (which is 8:00 pace).   I was still in the game late in the race for a BQ -- if I could simply just muster and rally through the quad fatigue.    In my training in the summer,  I consistently ran fast-finish long runs where I'd cut-down miles 16 - 22 below 8:00 pace and even miles 21-22 in around 7:40 pace to practice for this exact moment.      

But the downhill grade was really starting to take a toll on me.   I slowed running mile 21 in 8:36 and then the dreaded 9:00's set in and I ran 9:15, 9:11, 8:55, 9:16 and 9:05 in (20-30 seconds of each mile was walking trying to re-focus and then rally to something below 8:00 pace).  But as the final miles clicked off I realized I was out of reach of a BQ and I relaxed and got through to the finish line in 3:35:39.     I was very very pleased with my race outcome given the fact that I'd peaked in late July, been feeling run-down the last 6 weeks but still at mile 22 had a 3:30 in my gun sights.  

I also realized on the back half of the race that racing Boston in 2017 would require me to get back into marathon training in early January which felt overwhelming giving I've come off 3 races in 9 months and 5 marathons going back to Portland in October 2014 over 23 months.  

My opening half was 1:41:30.  I then faded running the concluding half in 1:54:00 or so which is a large positive split -- but I made a conscious decision to go out hard and try to hang on -- and this is the sort of thing which happens with aggressive race plans.   I wanted to win big or blow up trying. I had nothing to lose anyway, right?    

Subject to my next blog posting -- the leg pain from Monday-Thusday this week was incredible.  It didn't help I jumped on an airplane and flew all day Monday morning after Sunday's race, but suffice it to say running a downhill marathon requires a little more specialized training than I anticipated.   

I can't wait to do this race again.  The next running of it is June 2017 and I will be laced up and ready to go!  Can't wait. 

Looking to the SW at sunrise from Hyak.   The full moon is visible through the wispy fog/clouds at 2500' elevation.

Sunrise with a full moon over Hyak at about 7:00 AM.   Pre-race temperatures were in the upper 40's and a little cool -- but absolutely perfect for racing a marathon.

Looking at one of the ski runs at Snoqualmie Pass at about 7:30 AM.

The race route feather 4 high elevation overpasses that were breathtaking. I tried to run as close to the side as I could to see down and distract myself from the growing pain in my quads as I ran towards the finish line which was still some 10 miles away at this point of the race.

WE WON -- Men's Submasters Win at the Ragnar Relay NW Passage

I am proud to say tonight that my son Ethan and I were both members of the winning Men's Submasters team "Sandbaggers" at this weekend's Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage covering 196 hilly miles in 26:00:35 which was 7:55 average pace per mile.

Team Sandbaggers enjoying the ferry ride back from Whidbey Island to Mukilteo after completing the 196 mile Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage.  It was perfect weather for this year's event.

Sandbaggers take first place by over 30 minutes.  The 2nd place team was on the first mile of the 36th and final leg when we crossed the finish line 4 miles ahead.

For anyone not familiar with the format of a Ragnar relay, a team consists of twelve runners who are broken into two vans of six runners each.   The entire relay consists of thirty-six legs beginning at the U.S. / Canadian border at the Peace Arch in Blaine, WA and then works its way south through Bellingham, the Skagit Flats, Burlington and then onto Widbey Island across Deception Pass and into Oak Harbor, Coupeville and then Langley for the finish.   

The six runners in van-1 run six successive legs of varying length before handing off to the six runners in van-2 who then do the same succession before handing back off to the runners in van-1.   

When the runners in a van hand the baton off to the other van, they drive to the next rally point  where they will resume running once the other van has covered its next six legs which typically is around 25-30 miles and 4-5 hours in duration.  During this 4-5 hours, runners are able to try and grab a quick meal, rest, replenish and prepare to resume running their next leg of the relay.   

For this year's relay, I ran legs 7, 19, and 31 with distance of 3.85, 10.5 and 6.1 miles.    Each leg featured significant hill climbs with leg-7 being the easiest and leg-19 the hardest with 3 major hill climbs and a start time of 12:30 am.    My son Ethan received the baton from me running legs 8, 20, and 32 with lengths of 6.0, 5.5 and 7.7 miles.   

My first leg was a bit of a joke running through downtown Bellingham and late afternoon Friday traffic (I had to stop at a light for 20 seconds before traffic cleared).   I hadn't run since Monday and rolled the first mile in 7:22 before fading in the heat and running an 8:40 final .85 mile up a hill and being passed by 2 runners.   It wasn't a great confidence builder.  

My second leg was far better, coming at the hand-off from van-1 who had just completed leg-18. Leg-19 is probably the 2nd hardest leg of the whole relay spanning 10.5 miles and 750' of hills in the pitch black of some rural roads leading into Anacortes, WA.  I was armed with a green strobe on the back of my running t-shirt and a headlamp with front and back lights.  The front headlamp was just OK for spotting potholes and other variations in the terrain as I ran (Ragnar is supposed to be run on sidewalks when possible, but I determined early in the blackness of this run that it's far safer to simply run in the road while keeping a careful eye on the incoming traffic so as to avoid a nasty sprained ankle from missing a curb).    I was passed fairly early in the race by 2 runners easily running sub 6:00 pace (both of whom were probably 150 lbs) before hitting my own rhythm and settling in and passing 20 runners (representing 20 teams; each pass for a runner is called a "road kill") and running a solid 7:51 average pace through 3 hill climbs and descents that easily rival the Newton Hills of the Boston Marathon.    My splits on this leg were 7:42, 7:58, 8:41, 7:13, 7:51, 8:00, 8:11, 7:08, 8:20, 7:41, and a final 1/2 mile in 3:26 for a 7:10 closing speed.     The most memorable moment occurred near the end of the leg with a runner about 25' in front of me falling hard having missed a deep pothole in the road on the hill climb through mile 8.   

My third and final leg came after van-2 completed leg 24 at about 6:00 AM.   We arrived into Coupeville, WA about 6:30 am (30 minute drive from the end of leg-24 to the start of leg-31) which provided me just enough time for a quick shower and some eggs and sausage at the school cafeteria before laying out my sleeping cushion and bag and grabbing 75 minutes of rest before getting up and getting the hand-off from the final van-1 runner (see picture below) between legs 30 and 31.    My final leg-31 was arguably the most scenic of the whole relay starting in downtown Coupeville and then heading out to the Admiralty Inlet on a slight downhill track before climbing a significant 1 mile length hill between miles 2 and 3 before then wending its way towards Admiralty Bay.   My legs were absolutely screaming in fatigue after the hard, hilly 10.5 miler just 7 hours earlier.  On this leg  I passed  a total of 10 runners (and was passed by a sole runner) and ran splits of 7:12, 8:38, 8:01, 7:10, 7:51, and 7:45.   I gave this leg all I had and was rewarded with an average pace of 7:45 across some fairly hard terrain.     

Quick Tips on Running a Ragnar Relay

• Be prepared to not sleep and get two good nights of rest on Wednesday and Thursday
• About a month in advance, try and do 3 very hilly runs spanning 18-21 total miles in a 30 hour period.
• As soon as you are done running -- Immediately hydrate with electrolytes and a great recovery drink with a 2:1 carb/protein grams mix within 10 minutes of concluding your running leg.  If your stomach will tolerate it, take 400 - 600 grams of ibuprofen.  
• Wear compression socks between your running legs
• Even if you can't sleep during the 4-5 hours of downtime, be sure to take in 500-1000 calories of nutrition and lay down for 60 - 90 minutes and be off your feet.   Sleep outside under the stars if you can; and not in the gyms which are hot and stuffy and loud.
• A location-sharing app like Glympse is great for providing up to the second information on where a runner is at on her/his running leg.
• Don't drink during the 2 breaks between vans and caffeine is your friend.  
• Bring toilet paper with you for your runs.

Ethan and I at the exchange point in Bellingham, WA between leg 6 and leg 7 (which was the starting leg for van-2)

Little did I know when this picture was taken this easy leg of 3.85 miles would be by far the easiest -- and my slowest leg of the relay.   I hadn't run since Monday coming into my first leg on Friday as I was feeling beat up from a 50 mile training week last week.   I only passed 1 runner and was passed by 2 runners at the end which made me more than a little grumpy.  

Ethan and I sleeping under the starts in Oak Harbor after completing leg-12.  We had about 90 minutes of downtime before resuming our running on leg-13 about 12:40 AM.

Elevation map for my 10.5 mile leg-19 which featured 3 long hill climbs of .80, 1.5 and .50 miles in duration. The final climb was at 7% incline.

Pace chart for Leg-19.  Couldn't be more pleased.

Hand-off at the conclusion of Ethan's 5.5 mile leg-20 to a short 2.5 mile leg-21.  

Grabbing a quick 75 minutes of downtime before resuming our running on Saturday morning in Coupeville, WA.

31st leg of the relay and my 3rd and final.   I gave it all I had and passed 10 runners enroute to passing the baton to my son Ethan for his final 7.7 mile leg-3.

Inspired hand-off between leg-30 and leg-31.   It's amazing what coffee does for the heart and soul after no sleep.

Me and Ethan at the conclusion of his 7.7 mile final leg (32nd leg overall).  Ethan's first and third leg featured major hill climbs which he handled with ease on his 17-year old  fresh legs.

The winning Sandbaggers team shot at the finish line of the Ragnar Relay NW Passage.

Who Says You Can't Go Home

I was born and raised in Walla Walla, Washington which is situated about 250 miles to the SE of Seattle in Southeastern Washington just north of the Oregon border.    Walla Walla had an established Indian (Nez Perce) trading post as early as1818 but really didn't become settled until the arrival of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman in 1836 and the establishment of the Whitman Mission.  The Whitman's were later killed by the local Cayuse Indians due to their bringing disease to the tribe which resulted in an epidemic leading to Cayuse Indian deaths.  

Eventually Fort Walla Walla was established by the U.S. Army in the 1850's and the settlement of Walla Walla really began in earnest eventually leading to it being the largest town in the Washington Territory before growth in Seattle overtook it (and even considered as the eventual Washington State Capital in the latter 1800's).      

Today Walla Walla is largely known for it's outstanding wines with over 100 wineries alone in and around the town itself.    As a kid growing up, Walla Walla was known by us "townies" as the home of the Washington State Penitentiary, Whitman College,  Walla Walla Sweet Onions and miles upon miles of golden wheat fields among other crops.   Many of us are descendants of Italians who migrated to the Walla Walla Valley in the 1890's who were enroute from California to a gold strike in northern Idaho when the gold strike dried up.   Many of the Italians stayed and farmed and brought some of the traditions of onion farming and wine making from the old country which have since grown into the economic backbone for the region.    

My mom's side of the family (Mele's, Frazari's, Locati's, Leonetti's) generally migrated from Calabria (southern Italy across from Sicily) in the 1890's and early 1900's.   My great-great grandma and her parents arriving around 1904 to Walla Walla.    

Setting aside all of the history of agriculture, Walla Walla is simply a fantastic place to train.   I never miss a chance when I am in town to steal out on a 10-20 mile run out to the Blue Mountains and back just to soak up the fragrant air, smell of the wheat fields and general peacefulness of running far into the country side at 6:00 AM on a Sunday before anyone but the farmers are up and about.    

It was here during the summer of 1984 as I prepared to enter active duty in the U.S. Army that I trained running 6-8 miles and cycling 25-30 miles 5-6 days a week.  I simply loved training and getting out on the hot and clear mornings with temperatures already in the upper 70's and getting miles of training in.     I still feel this love today when I am home 32 years later -- often running some of the very same routes I did as an 18 year old preparing for Army basic training in September of 1984.  

Since then, I've only run a single half marathon in Walla Walla (2010 Walla Walla Half Marathon) and regret not getting back and running the Walla Walla Marathon which was raced circa 2008 - 2015 before being cancelled (not sure what happened with the race director or its postponement).  

I'll be back in Walla Walla in a few weeks and plan to roll a nice easy 22 miler out to the Blue Mountains and back -- and I will soak up and relish every moment of growing up a small town boy and having the chance to get back to my roots as frequently as I do.  

Who says you can't go home!

About 3 miles from downtown Walla Walla, Main Street is Cottonwood Road which 5 miles from the base of the Blue Mountains and a left hand turn onto Foster Road. It's about 1-1.5% hill climb all the way out.

The golden wheat fields of July looking up towards Cottonwood Hollow from Cook Rd.

Looking south into Oregon about a mile away.

Lavender-lined driveway of Walla Walla Vintners and A'Maurice Vineyards on the Mill Creek Road.

Seattle Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon Race Report

My 5th race of the year is in the bag for 2016.   I ran a 1:37:49 half marathon today placing 303/11689 overall and 11/373 in my age group and setting a personal RnR half marathon race PR for me by nearly 90 seconds (half marathon PR is 1:34:20 from 2010).    It was an extra special race morning for me as I was racing with my 17 year old son, Ethan, who was running only his 2nd half marathon this morning.

Race conditions last night looked dire with rain and wind and chilly temperatures forecast; however, 4:30 came this morning and temperatures were in the low 50's with most of the rain having passed and little wind -- perfect weather conditions for a longer race (in fact -- could've used conditions like this morning for this year's Boston Marathon which was warm and windy).  

This year's RnR course changed from prior years which featured a largely uphill closing 5K and sharply uphill final 1K to the finish line on Mercer at Seattle Center. I really disliked the old finish to this race as in back-to-back years I lost nearly a minute of time slogging through the last part of this race's hill climb.    

This year's race started at Seattle Center, however it wended it's way a bit east and then west before connecting with the Battery Street Tunnel and then connecting southbound onto the Seattle Viaduct.   The opening 5K was net downhill.    The race finish line moved back to Century Link Field (believe it was here for the first few years of this race) and featured a mostly downhill closing 2 miles after a 1.55% grade climb throughout all of mile-11.   It was really a nice improvement to the race course design which I think everyone appreciated -- as much as we all had to grind through mile-11.   

My race strategy this morning was based on breaking the race into 3 segments, Miles 1-5, 6-10 and the final 5K.    My goal being to ease into a 37:30, increase to a 37:00 and then roll something like a low 22:00 closing 5K given the net downhill finish.  

I felt very strong at the start of the race and eased into a good rhythm feeling my A-game and hit the opening 5K in 22:36 and through 5 miles in 36:53.   I hit the 10K mark in 45:48 and rolled the second 5 miles in 37:12 crossing 10 miles right at 74:00.   I was feeling very confident with 5K to go that I could run a sub 23:00 and drop down into the 1:36's for a finishing time.   

What I overlooked, however, is that mile 11 is significantly uphill (I should've remembered how much as I've run this race 3 other times) requiring a climb from the shores of Lake Washington up to the I-90 Express Way and then a 3/4 mile run dead west and uphill through the I-90 westbound express tunnel (which was hot and stuffy and really not enjoyable running).    My Garmin 630 stopped working in the tunnel and I figured by effort I was around 7:45 pace.  I was very surprised to emerge from the tunnel and have run an 8:11 - basically crushing what buffer I had to get down comfortably below 1:36.   I can't say whether my GPS not giving me up to the second pace information would've made a difference, but I might've pressed just a little harder.  Hard to say.  My bad ultimately.   

As I emerged from the express lanes tunnel, I saw my son Ethan about 25 seconds out in front of me and knew he must be struggling as he had at least a 2:00 minute lead on my deep into the race (I wasn't even seeing him on the myriad hairpin turns where we would run out 1/4 mile and then come back the exact same direction where you can see the runners in front and behind as you run the stretch).   I immediately figured he didn't fuel properly as he left his 2 gels in the car prior to the race (which I didn't discover until 15 minutes prior).   I'm sure he burned through all of the glycogen in his legs at about mile 8 (where he bonked and slowed) as we was running sub 7:20's comfortably and on pace for something upper 1:34's to mid 1:35's.     

As we crested the hill and headed out of the tunnel, I rolled mile 11 in 7:29 pulling nearly even with Ethan at the start of mile 12 and then turned on the after-burners running mile 12 in 7:05 and accelerating to the finish trying to make up for the bad mile 11 in 8:17.     I ran the final uphill corkscrew up and around past Safeco field and then really tried to pick it up over the last 600 meters to the finish coming in at 1:37:49.    It was a shocking reversal of fortune for me as just 25 minutes earlier I was sure I had plenty of gas to run a sub 23:00 closing 5K vs. a 23:41 where I valiantly tried to make up for the hill gaffe at least grabbing back some time with a 7:05 mile 12.   

All in all I'm pleased with my race performance and am strongly tempted to race another half marathon in 2 weeks before heading back into Marathon training for Marathons in August and September.   

In terms of critiquing my training, it's clear I'm not in great hill shape.  On a flat course today, I'm sure I had 1:36 in me -- if not better -- but I just get gassed on the hills -- even slight hills.  It's residual damage from my Boston Marathon training where I nursed a tendon injury for 3 months and did not hill train at all -- even avoided hills.  Hard to make excuses any longer.  I'm going to get weekly hill intervals into the mix.

Next official race is the Ragnar Relay in July followed by the SeaFair 8K in later July.    I'm looking for a half marathon for me and Ethan to run in 2 weeks that is small, flat and fast!

Me enjoying an early Father's Day gift racing my son Ethan's 2nd half marathon this morning.

Obligatory pre-race starting line photos this morning.

Ethan feeling confident this morning after a hard 5 weeks of half-marathon specific training following a great Junior Year track season at Bellevue High where he PR'd in the mile running a 5:05.  He ran the opening 5 of the half marathon in 35:30.

We were officially corral 4 but moved up to corral 2 and closer to the 1:35 pacer group. 

Post race celebrations.  Half marathons always seem to pass so quickly - which is why I love them.  After you get through the first 5 miles there's not even an hour of running left.  In a marathon, I'm not even warm yet.

Seattle Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon - Training is a Wrap!

In thirty-six hours I'll be 45 minutes into running the 2016 Seattle Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon -- ideally somewhere past the 10K point.    It's been a very fast 5 week training cycle coming off the April 18 Boston Marathon and mid-May Nordstrom Beat the Bridge 8K.    This will be my 4th Rock 'N' Roll half marathon and 3rd consecutive year.  I believe this year's training cycle leading up to the race -- and building on a base that included 2 marathons in a 5 month stretch -- could be the hardest I've trained yet for this distance.  

The last 3 weeks have included some very promising workouts of substance that included a 75-degree half marathon time trial in 1:42 on tired legs, successive 8-mile tempo runs in 7:27 and then 7:24 average pace and 4 x 1 mile intervals in average 7:05 pace.    With a personal PR of 1:34:20 (on a flat course in 2010), a 1:39:20 last year (on a course that was hillier than the modified route for this year's race) and a 1:37:07 in October 2014 - I have a shot at racing one of my better times over the last few years.    I haven't run below 1:36 since the Green River Half Marathon in January 2012 where I went 1:35:50 -- and not sure I have that in me for Saturday, but am going to go out with my A goal being 7:19 pace and sub 1:37:00 with a fallback to anything sub 1:40 depending on how the new course plays out (more hills in the early miles with more of a downhill finish the final 5K).    

The only real glitch I've had this training cycle is that my Garmin FR620 which has been a constant training companion the last twenty-four months refused to re-charge as of last Sunday.   Not being confident I could get it repaired by Garmin in less than 7 days, I decided to upgrade to the Garmin FR 630 (picture below) for Saturday's race.  Thus far I've done a single run on the new watch and had about every issue once can expect running with a complicated piece of new gear after 2 years of something different.   It's not optimal, but my early impressions are positive and I'll make the best of it on Saturday AM.   I'll do a future blog post on whether this upgrade at $399 was worth it given the FR620 was rock solid for 2 years (other than the charging mechanism suddenly dying).   

Racing strategy for Saturday at 7:00 am is to get through the first 10 in sub 74:00 - 74:30 and then knock down a 22:00 closing 5K for something in the neighborhood of 1:36:00.    

Stay tuned.   

Garmin FR630 - my new training companion albeit at an awkward time

Seattle Rock 'N' Roll Training Update

Today's 13.1 mile half marathon pacing session wiped me out.   This is the end of my third week of a five week half marathon training cycle preparing for the June 18 Seattle Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon and I am feeling the burn.

I find it somewhat surprising that with such a deep aerobic running base given I ran the December Honolulu and then April Boston Marathon that a trio of 40 mile average training weeks would leave me so spent on a Saturday afternoon, but I am honestly looking forward to tapering the next couple of weeks which is something I would normally somewhat sneer at doing since a half marathon is a relatively straight-forward distance to train for and recover from.  

As I look back on the last 3 weeks of training, each six day revolution had three very hard runs of substance.   My strength intervals every Tuesday have been 4 x 1 mile in 7:10 pace; 4 x 1.5 mile in 7:20 pace and then a brutal 3 x 2 mile session this last week where I averaged around 7:35 pace (all these runs have been on the Cross Kirkland Corridor trail which is dirt and gravel and adds to the workout intensity).  My tempo runs have been 60 minute pacing sessions around 7:25 - 7:30 pace followed by Saturday runs of 14-mile cut-down (average overall pace 8:00 with last 5 miles in 7:30 pace); 2 x 5 mile tempo intervals in 37:30 and 38:30 and then wrapping with this morning's 13.1 time trial in 1:42:15.  

The goal of this five week segment was to really bracket my training with time spent at or around 10K to half marathon pace while buffering these workouts with easy runs at 9:00 pace.     Given I spent so much time preparing for Boston running much slower times due to my injury, I also wanted to get a little footspeed back; although, I haven't really done a lot of track running nor pressed hard on 5K speed work (somewhat in fear of my tendon injury returning).

I set a goal for this morning's half marathon pacing session of something in the 1:38:00 range which I missed by a full 4:00 running 1:42:15.    That being said, I misjudged how warm it was this morning and didn't start running until nearly 8:30 am when it was nearly 70 degrees with little shade on the Lake Sammamish Trail.  If I'd been thinking more clearly about morning temperatures we'd have started around 7:00 am.  Nonetheless, I could feel the heat and cumulative training fatigue on me right away as we took off and had to work hard to get through the first 6.55 miles in 7:42 pace and 50:25 elapsed time (which was about a minute slower than I'd hoped for).    We fought a full headwind all the way running north this morning which added to my slowness -- so I was hopeful as we turned around I'd be able to roll off some 7:30's and dial it in with the wind at my back (but of course the sun now was full on us as we ran back to the south).    Opening 6 miles were in 7:40, 7:43, 7:44, 7:44, 7:45, 7:39 and then 4:08 for .55 mile to 6.55.    

Turning around with the wind at our back I felt energized and quickly rolled off a 7:28 and was feeling bullish about dropping back below 1:40 based on a negative split on the second half; however my energy started to be dampened as I was really heating up in the sun running 7:40, 7:42, 7:47 and then started to really have to work hard at mile 10 running 7:50 before descending into the pain cave and really struggling over the last 5K running a snail-like 7:50, 8:08, 8:22 and 57.1 final .1 mile.   I got through 10 miles in 76:57 and 7:41 pace and then collapsed on the final 5K running 24:20 and 8:06 average pace.    

I don't know why it always amazes me how much the heat takes out of us in terms of speed based on our brain consciously slowing our bodies down (as a form of self preservation), but the temperature at the start of this morning was right where it was for the start of the Boston Marathon (about 70) and then was around 75-77 the last part of the race which was warmer than what we endured over the final 10K as we dropped into Boston and it cooled down.   It seems like I should have been able to better endure it.  But at 50 years old, the heat just crushes me these days.  Although, I think a lot of this is simply being from Seattle as we don't spend a lot of time running in moderate heat which is probably the underlying issue.  I'm not adapted for warmer running temperatures (many wouldn't consider running in 75 degrees that overly warm in other parts of the country).  

So with the half marathon race 2 weeks from this morning, I'm going to work hard to nail my Tuesday intervals (4 x 1 mile), Thursday tempo run (60 minute pacing session) and then a final 10-12 miles easy with a cut-down final 5K at half marathon goal pace for week 4 of this cycle.  

My goal coming into this cycle was to run something below 1:36:00 for the race.    At this point, today's outcome worries me a bit but I also know I have a lot of fatigue on my legs and with a taper and some sharpening I may be able to pull off a great race.   My fallback goal is anything in the 1:38:00's which will leave me in good shape to resume marathon training in mid-July with some decent speed under my belt.  

Epic Suffering

I'm a big fan of Strava.   For the most part over the last few years I've relied on Garmin Connect for specific running dynamics, split, and heart rate information, but recently re-discovered just how good the Strava app has become.   I originally tried Strava back in 2013 and wasn't impressed after a few runs and deleted the app.   Recently I was on a run and forgot to charge my Garmin 620, but had my iPhone with me and decided for expediency to download Strava and give it another shot.    I was impressed.

The infographic below is from a 12 mile run today I did in preparation for the Seattle Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon I'm racing in 3 weeks.   I'm at the conclusion of what's been 2 great training weeks rolling back-to-back 40-mile weeks and what appears to be a half marathon pace that could be sub 7:30 depending on the weather on race morning in a few weeks.    I'm not sure I actually suffered in an epic fashion today, but I realized that being good at suffering takes a lot of practice -- it doesn't just happen.  I'll write more about this later in a different post.    It's a hard concept to explain and I'm not sure I even have my own thoughts straight on what it takes to be good at suffering on an intense run and how endurance athletes are able to do it.

This afternoons run was effectively 2 x 5 mile tempo run with 1 mile warm-up and warm-downs.    I ran the outbound 5 in 37:30 and the return in a stiff headwind in a somewhat disappointing 38:26.   I realized however once I was on the run that I didn't plan my workouts smartly this week as Thursday afternoon I ran a 60 minute half marathon pacing session in 7:27's which I was still feeling on today's run.    I plan to do a couple of super easy runs the next couple of days and gear up for a half marathon time trial next Saturday which is 2 weeks prior to race day just to see where I'm likely to be.

The goal for this year's race is something in the 1:37's but I really want to get back into the 1:35's before I get back into training in July for a mid-September marathon.    

This will be Ethan's second half marathon this year.   At last year's Rock-n-Roll he ran 1:37:10 on a course that's mostly uphill the last couple of miles with a stiff uphill climb the last 600 meters or so. Apparently this year's course has changed and offers a significantly more downhill run from miles 10 through finish once we climb off Lake Washington Blvd to Interstate 90 and head back on the express lanes towards town.    

I have no chance of hanging with Ethan over the first half of the race as he's significantly faster than me at this point (recently running a 5:05 PR in the mile as a Junior at Bellevue High), but I'm secretly hoping I can get him in my gun sights over the last 5K and chase him down from over the last 3K of the race as we push to the finish line.    

2016 Beat the Bridge 8K Race Report

It's been a month since the Boston Marathon and it felt great today to be back racing the JDRF Nordstrom Beat the Bridge 8K in Seattle.    This was the 8th time I've run this race with a 34:08 PR in 2010 with race times the three years of 35:58 (2014), 35:39 (2015), and 35:41 (2016).   I was happy with today's result placing 12/142 in my age bracket and 239th out of nearly 2,000 runners.   

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect today after taking a week off from Boston and then following up with a couple of solid 40-mile training weeks before heading off to Mexico the week before last for seven days.   Although I ran five of the seven days on vacation (I didn't run on the travel days) including a 22:41 5K on the resort treadmill, I was fairly sure the vacation was going to slightly derail what would've possibly been a better race time this morning.    I've never run well coming off of vacation when it comes to racing.   

Coming out of the Boston Marathon unscathed and finally healed up from a nagging lower right leg tendon injury from January, I've finally been able to string together a month of workouts where I've been able to blend in tempo, interval and long runs all within a seven day training cycle without any pain (and it seems like it's been forever since I trained and wasn't in some level of pain leading up to Boston).   

Preparing mentally for this morning's race, my son Ethan and I have a fun pre-race ritual we've enjoyed the last couple of years together. The night before the race, we jot down our anticipated split times for the next morning's race.  It's a simply way to think about how we plan to run the race and talk a little racing strategy before actually going out and running the race.   The scribbles below are what I wrote down last night depicting my actual splits from the 2015 race, planned splits for this morning's race followed by my actual splits this morning.   

  

The story of this morning's race is I've gained a lot of speed coming out of the marathon, but anything approaching even a minor hill climb (such as the first 400 meters of mile three in this race) really causes me to fade.  I think this is a function of being unable to do any hill training leading to Boston due to my injury as well as still having just a bit of residual marathon fatigue which shows up on hills.    

In fact, my pace on mile three over the University Bridge today was fading towards a 7:50 split before I got off the bridge and made up time over the remaining 1000 meters of mile three and got back down to 7:29 expending a lot of energy with sapped me a bit on mile four.    

I was actually ahead of my race time last year until the final ~1500 meters running it in 6:51 vs. 6:41 in last year's race.   I thought I ran a strong closing stretch but again the slight uphill over the last few hundred meters before it flattens out over the final 100 meters probably did me in.    

Snapshot from the race from Strava 

In summary I had some mini PR's over the course of the race running a two-mile stretch in just over 14:00 minutes which I was quite happy with.    

Me and my 17 year old son Ethan who ran a 32:08 this morning, leaving me in the dust with an opening mile of 5:57.

 Next up for me is likely the June 18 Seattle Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon.    With 4+ training weeks remaining I'm hoping I can leverage some of the great aerobic base from all the Marathon training and get some good threshold and tempo work in that gives me a competitive time.  The course was changed this year so that the closing 1/2 mile is now mostly downhill vs. dead uphill which I'm sure a lot of runners complained about.       Last year I ran it in 1:39:20.   I'll be pleased with anything sub 1:39 and elated for anything sub 1:37 although some of the hills along the route will make this tough.

Lessons Learned on the way to the 2016 Boston Marathon

2016 Boston Marathon + 13 

It's already been 13 days since I ran the Boston Marathon. After taking the rest of the week off to rest and recuperate, I resumed training this last week logging nearly 40 miles including a tempo run, intervals and a solid 14 miler on what was a perfect Saturday afternoon in the Puget Sound.    The tendon injury I've been nursing for the last few months (and written about endlessly in my prior blog posts leading to the Marathon itself) has cooled down.   I'm finally starting to regain some speed that I felt glimpses of prior to the Marathon but couldn't really bring out in my training for fear of further exacerbating the injury.

Looking north on the Sammamish Trail on a perfect Saturday afternoon in in Redmond, WA.

Training Cycle Insights 

• Enjoy the process - not only the result  I was struck by a somewhat obvious observation made by Olympic Marathoner Des Linden on a Podcast I was listening to yesterday while on my run.    Her comment was that she had endured a lot of disappointment on the road to two Olympic marathon teams and that she was still racing marathons because she enjoyed the process - not just the result.   I couldn't agree more.    As much fun as it was to travel to Boston and run this year's marathon, the process of planning for and executing a 14 week training cycle culminating in running a Boston Marathon qualifying time -- and then putting together a training program to actually go run in Boston this year was highly rewarding.      It's almost akin to building a business plan for an idea and then putting it into play, doing what it takes to make it a reality.  
   
• Have a plan B Someone once said to me "man plans; God laughs".  While that may be a bit over the top, it really pays off to stratify goals in terms of "A" and "B" outcomes.   While it's imperative to strive for top-level goal achievement, it's impossible to hit the mark every time. Invariably, as is the case in marathoning (and in life), things happen outside your control (such as the weather, a nagging injury, etc) that will impact your actual execution requiring real-time course correction.     In the case of this year's race, the weather played a significant role in what was possible out on the course.   Fortunately, I had anticipated some sort of circumstance in the actual racing of the marathon that would require a real-time course correction and ratcheting my goal back to something obtainable that I could still be proud of.   My "A" goal was 3:33:00 and "B" goal was a 3:43:00.  It was obvious to me just a few miles into the race that the warm temperatures and moderate headwind for me meant I had to re-set my race tactics and expectations.  That I had anticipated and planned for this made it easier to simply adjust my race tactics towards my "B" goal which I achieved - running a 3:42:40 and passing nearly 3500 runners along the way to the finish line.
  
  
• Strike a balance Nearly all of my prior marathon training cycles were nothing but 45 - 55 mile weeks of running with little invested in mobility and core/strength training.   This time around, due to injury, I had to significantly cut my miles back and take a far more balanced approach in my training incorporating a lot of mobility and alternate aerobic activities into the mix.    The result was that I likely got out to Hopkinton in the best overall shape I've been in spanning the last 5 years.    It's hard to quantify exactly how striking a cross-training balance will pan out for me in the future, but it served an important lesson for me with respect to being good at not just one thing -- but a multitude of things in order to run a successful race under challenging circumstances -- which I attribute to a higher degree of balance in my training regimen vs. simply pounding out miles every week.
  
  
• Be data driven Of all the things in executing a marathon training cycle, besides the training itself, I think I love all of the biometric information that's now at our fingertips the most.   I can't wait to get back from a workout and examine my running biometric and running dynamics data to look for insights whatever they may be.    On any given day I am pouring through data in Strava and Garmin looking for insights that will allow me to train even more effectively and/or pinpoint weaknesses I can work on before getting to the starting line.     I've also found that the data doesn't lie, and that it's pretty easy to get an advance read on your actual race day performance by simply looking at how you are performing on your harder workouts of substance where you are really tested week in and week out.   I love these workouts as they are the single best indicator of race day performance when examined as a trend over time leading to race day.
  
  
• Dress rehearsals matter For this training cycle I ran four 20+ mile training runs (two 20's and two 22's), each with fast finishes at or below marathon pace.    But it's not just running the long run, it's the management of the entire 48-hour cycle leading to the long run that for me really constitutes a dress rehearsal.   Nutrition, sleep, the morning-of-the-long-run routine, recovery, what gear to wear (or not to wear), hydration and nutrition plan, etc.   I like to practice all of these aspects so that when the 4:00 am wake-up call comes on race day morning, I am in a routine and not doing things for the first time under pressure.    Practice makes perfect and it's never more amplified than when running an event like the Boston Marathon which for most of us is likely the biggest race day stage we will be on as amateur runners.
  
  
• Execution In the end when the moment comes there's nothing more to do except trust in your training, your planning, and go out and enjoy the experience for what it is.   My top goal for Boston this year wasn't running another BQ, rather, it was completely soaking up and enjoying the experience -- and being grateful for having the opportunity to compete in such a world class event.     There's nothing like the last few moments before the start of a marathon and being at complete peace with everything you've done to get to that moment and knowing you're comfortable with whatever the outcome will be -- because you've prepared as hard and as diligently as you can -- and now it's simply about execution vs. thinking.  
  

I couldn't be more grateful for being given the gifts of athleticism, health, desire and determination and the support of family and friends in pursuit of this wonderful sport of marathoning.   I can't wait to lace my shoes up and get to the next starting line -- and hopefully another BQ and trip to Boston.

2016 Boston Marathon Race Analysis

I ran 3:42:40 in yesterday's 120th Boston Marathon -- and although it's one of my slowest marathon race times to date -- I actually think it may be the best race I've ever run tactically under the warmer weather conditions and moderate headwinds of Boston yesterday.  I finished about 3500 places above my seeding (15162) and was passing runners throughout the entire 26 miles which for me is always an indication of a strong race performance.

As I sit here on a flight home to Seattle from Boston this afternoon reflecting on my race performance, I'm struck by just how fast the Boston Marathon weekend -- and even the race itself -- has come and gone.    Official training for me started exactly 15 weeks ago yesterday on January 11th when I was coming off a couple of weeks of rest after the December Honolulu Marathon.  All of the months of training and recovery and battling a persistent lower-right leg tendon strain all came down to 10:25 am EDT on a sunny and overly warm morning in Hopkinton at the start of wave 2.

I arrived in Boston early Friday evening and managed to get 3 great nights of sleep (including Sunday evening before the race itself).    I've found that for me in particular a lot of high quality sleep in the week before the race itself is crucial to a good outcome.  Travel to other marathons such as Boston 2012, New York 2013 and even Honolulu 2014 had hampered my quality sleep in the past so I made special efforts this time to be in bed early and get an extra 1-2 hours a night which paid off in yesterday's race.

Like everyone running this year's race, I'd been watching the race forecast for over 2 weeks.  The forecast had been oscillating between highs spanning the low 60's up to the low 70's with tailwinds out of the west for the warmer forecast and a headwind out of the east for the cooler temperature.   As race day approached late last week the forecast seemed to be narrowing in on something in the low 60's for Boston with moderate headwinds of 7-9 mph.     As luck would have it, Saturday afternoon the forecast changed for higher temperatures and slightly stronger headwinds on Monday.   The forecast for Boston was a high of 65 degrees but out west and away from the water in Hopkinton, Framingham and Newton it was for closer to 70.   Given the race doesn't begin until after 10:00 am, this meant that the meat of the race and through the Newton Hills between miles 16-20 -- it was going to be warm.    As it turns out, the weather was once again a fairly strong factor on the final marathon outcomes here in Boston (as it was for me in 2012 when I last raced here and temperatures peaked at 90 in the Newton Hills and race day was simply a matter of surviving and getting to the finish line).

Getting up and to the race Monday morning went like clock work.   I was up by 5:00 am to eat and prepare and out of the hotel by 6:00 am headed to the Boston Commons to catch a bus up to Hopkinton.   I walked out of my hotel room at the same time as another runner just down the hall (Rusty from San Louis Obispo who was hoping to run a 3:05:00 and had qualified with a 3:15:00).  We caught the bus together and hung out in Runner's Village exchanging small talk and stories from other marathons we'd run.  As this was his first Boston Marathon, I shared stories from my experience in 2012 when I'd qualified with a 3:20 and had come to Boston prepared to race a 3:14 only to be destroyed by the rolling hills of the course as well as the 90-degree temperatures that day.   I couldn't have run the course more incorrectly than I did back in 2012.   I told him that in my opinion this was a course best suited to lay back on in the early miles and stay a little above goal pace, lean in through the 5 miles of the Newton Hills giving back even a little more time -- and then try to really air it out from mile 21 to the finish.    

I noticed right away when we got to the Runner's Village that the temperature in the sun was warmer than I expected given it was only 7:45 AM.    In fact, as time passed and the first call for Wave-1 runners approached we nervously watched as the temperature rose to 65 well before the sun was very high in the sky.     As wave-1 was being called there was the typical frantic push for a final bathroom stop (although the starting line has a massive bank of porto-potties) which was irritating for anyone sitting within 200' of the bathrooms as the lines snaked all around the ground we'd staked out.   Once most of the wave-1 runners cleared out it calmed down a good deal and there was more room to maneuver.   The call for wave-2 runners was only another 35 minutes or so after wave-1 which was nice as I was done with all the waiting at this point and just ready to go as it was getting warmer and warmer sitting around.

The walk to the starting corrals I believe is something like .60 to .70 of a mile. It was nice to just mindlessly walk to the starting line listening to the banter and the shouts of encouragement from those lining the streets of Hopkinton.     Once I got to the starting area we had about 15 minutes before the gun so I made a quick beeline for a final restroom stop and then got to starting Corral 8 which is the back of wave-2 (I was seeded 15162 running a 3:27:30 vs. something in the low 9,000's when I ran a 3:20:00 to get into the 2012 race).    I definitely would've preferred the earlier start time by 25 minutes with the heat which will be incentive to run a faster qualifying time in the future.   I took a final gel just before we took off, and with that the 2016 Boston Marathon began for me.

While it's fresh I want to say that although the Boston Marathon course is net downhill and features the Newton Hills from miles 16 - 21 followed by a downhill stretch into Boston and mile 24, this is really a course of rolling hills with very few -- if any -- long stretches of flat terrain.    It's not at all evident from the course elevation map as it really amplifies the major ascents and descents, but mile after mile of this course is really smaller uphill and then downhill climbs -- which really places a beating on your quads and will incrementally take its toll as the miles go on.

The opening 2 miles of the race and in general first 5 miles are downhill out of Hopkinton.   In particular the first 1/2 mile is very downhill with a a hill thrown in near the end of mile 1.   My goal was to run 8:15 splits the first 2 miles and something in the 41:00 - 41:30 range for an opening 5 miles before ideally settling into running 8:00 average pace the next 10 miles up to the start of the Newton Hills at mile 16.     People were flying past me the first 2 miles while I held back and ran opening splits of 8:12 and 8:11 (I REALLY had to rein it in).   It would've been a cakewalk to roll a couple of 7:30's here and open with a 15:00 2-mile time with 1 minute in the bank -- but trust me -- and everyone else who's run this course wisely -- this is not the place to bank time.     I also noticed right away that it was quite warm at this point (approaching 10:45 am).  I am guessing the temperature out in this section of the course peaked near 70 if not higher.

Miles 3 - 5 were uneventful knocking them out in 8:12, 8:00 and 8:19 (with the 8:00 coming off a downhill and the 8:19 off of a short, somewhat steep uphill of a couple hundred yards in length).   As I mentioned above, these short little rolling hills are a constant throughout the first 16 miles of the race -- and they served to keep me away from pushing my goal time of 8:00 or faster as I knew I needed gas in the tank to run the hills starting at 16 and then attempt to hit the gas from 21 miles in.

After getting through mile 5 in a pedestrian, albeit comfortable 40:56, I really focused in running the next 11 miles steady and comfortable pace -- hoping to gain back some time against my goal pace.   Miles 6 - 10 were punctuated by simply incredible levels of crowd support as we passed through smallish New England towns where folks were all celebrating and doing a fantastic job of cheering everyone along with massive amounts of infectious energy and encouragement (and ample amount of booze!).    I love this race and find the level of crowd support simply the best.   I've run the New York City Marathon, and while the crowd support there is fantastic, Boston takes it to a completely different level. That fact that's it's a state holiday and the warmer temperatures just add to the party atmosphere along the whole race route.  It's something every marathoner should try and experience one time as a bucket list item.  

Pace-wise I ran the second 5 miles in 41:19 and 8:15 pace and 82:15 / 8:13's for 10 miles.   I think it's really here where I realized that 8:00's or better weren't coming easy with the terrain of the course along with the heat which I was really starting to feel -- so I adjusted my goal closer to a 3:40:00 or better (My official race B-goal was sub 3:44:00 and accounted for exactly this scenario minus the heat and headwind).     The hills through the first 10 miles, albeit small ones were constant and kept me from finding an 8:00 pace -- not because I couldn't drop down to it -- I just didn't have the confidence that with the heat and wind -- a faster pacing strategy was going to end well for me from mile 21 on.   In fact, I probably could've run an opening 13.1 miles in low 1:40's or even 1:39's -- but the suffering over the next 13.1 miles would've simply crushed me and led to something more than 4:00:00 for a finishing time.  

It turned out to be a wise decision as miles 10 - 16 were even warmer than the first 10 miles (I was starting to feel very hot and could feel myself slowing down -- and there was nothing I could do about it as I've not trained in 70 degree weather since last September if not longer).   I hit the half marathon point in around 1:48:00 which was 60-90 seconds slower than I'd hoped for; however,  I was starting to pass a lot of people and feeling stronger as the race progressed.  

The stretch leading to the Newton Hills at mile 16 was quite warm, but I managed to get through it with limited suffering running 8:19 pace for the segment and overall 8:16 pace for the marathon through 16 miles.  At this point, I was on plan to stay below my 8:20 target and could tell that the heat and wind were taking an increasingly high toll on runners around me as I continued to pass more people.   As an aside, this actually proved to be a bit of a double-edged sword for me as I found myself in a larger group of runners I was passing and was never able to tuck behind anyone or get into a pack and be protected from the wind with runners around the same pace as me.  Instead I ran most of the first 16 miles exposed to the moderate headwind which was also starting to take a toll on me as made the turn at the Newton fire station and started 5 miles of hill climbing.

My race strategy had me going out conservatively through 5 miles followed by trying to get back closer to 8:00 minute splits and pace average from mile 5 to 16 followed by running the Newton Hills segment in something between 8:30 - 9:00 pace.    At this point, I still felt quite strong and relaxed into the first of the 4 hills; although, I did feel quite hot as the sun was now blazing down and the wind was growing stronger and becoming more of a consistent headwind.  

I relaxed on each of the hills and tried to just cruise on the backside of each hill before the next one pacing 8:43, 8:56, 8:29, 8:59 and 9:22 to close out Heartbreak Hill.    I passed many runners here who were overheating or just walking to rest their legs before the downhill push into Boston from mile 21, but I was overall pleased to get through this section in under 9:00 pace given I basically did absolutely zero hill training during my marathon training cycle due to my tendon injury (and yes as I was running I was definitely doing the "what-if I hadn't been injured scenario" in my head as I was having such a strong race under the hard conditions).    In hindsight, as I write this race report, I am wondering a bit if I'd been better to push harder through here and run closer to 8:30's vs. 8:55's; however it only would've netted me back 90 seconds at most and may have really hurt my closing pace over the last 5 miles).

As I was working my way through the 4 Newton Hills, mentally I was really preparing myself to come out of Heartbreak Hill and hit the gas.  My goal had been to get through 21 miles in 2:48 for the case I was having an "A" race and something around 2:58 for a "B" race.  I crested Heartbreak Hill (which has a false top by the way as you proceed downhill and then have a quick, short uphill climb before you are truly through it) right at 2:58:00 and had roughly 5.2 miles to the finish line.   Doing some quick math, I knew I had to run 8:00 splits coming in to be around what would be a fantastic A- time of 3:39 and change.    The last 2 months I've been training for exactly this scenario albeit more like running the last 3 miles of fast-finish long runs below goal pace,  but felt I had a chance as I was feeling fine and continued to pass a lot of people as I crested the final hill.

If there's any disappointment I have with my performance yesterday it's this next race segment through the finish line.    As I accelerated into mile 22 I rolled off an 8:17 with a lot of this mile being run down in the 7:40 range -- but the wind was really starting to crush me as we dropped down through Boston College.  The temperature thankfully dropped as well, but what was before a moderate head/shoulder wind was now a dead headwind with some strong gusts that felt like an invisible hand pushing against my own progress as hard I willed my legs to turnover and move.     As I'd prepared for in my winter training sessions where I ran so many long runs in driving wind and rain, I shortened my stride and tried to increase my stride rate (turnover) to keep my legs moving.    The wind was every bit as relentless as the energy and enthusiasm of the masses lining the streets of downtown Boston.   At about mile 24 I caught a glimpse of the John Hancock Tower (?) and then shortly thereafter the Citgo sign which I believe is just about 1 mile from the finish line on Boylston.    As hard as I pushed I could not drop my pace down below 8:20 and get back anytime and watched as my shot at a sub 3:40:00 ebbed away with each mile in spite of my efforts.   Miles 23 - 26 were 8:27, 8:30, 8:30 and a most disappointing 8:54 for mile 26.   Somewhere on the last part of mile 26 around the right hand turn onto Hereford and then the left onto Boylston I picked it up and ran somewhere in the 7:45's through the finish line feeling extremely grateful for all the support my family has given me as well as being healthy enough to participate in such a grueling event.    My closing 5.4 miles (I somehow ran an extra .20 miles probably zig-zagging to water stands and around slower runners) were in 46:00 and just under 8:40 pace.  

Although I didn't run my "A" time of 3:33:00 yesterday, I did beat my "B" time of 3:44:00 and in doing so I realized there was no way I had a 3:33:00 in me yesterday.  The very best I might have otherwise run under the conditions of heat and wind would've been something in the 3:39's -- and even then I'm not sure where I could've attacked and dropped my time without risking a collapse over the challenging final miles in a headwind.

I'm really pleased with my race outcome yesterday.   Given I couldn't train at a level approaching my normal marathon preparation cycle given my injury coupled with the heat and wind, this was probably as close to a perfect race as I've ever run including my race preparation, race nutrition, hydration and even switching tactics during the race based on weather conditions.   I give credit to my Coach Lesley who also played a big role in helping me manage my expectations of training intensity through a persistent injury while also working with me on a modified approach to training that obviously served me very well yesterday.  

On a cooler day with no wind I would've obviously run faster -- but that wasn't the hand that was dealt for this year's marathon.    There was no chance for a BQ under any circumstance for me given the conditions this year; and I'd wager that the number of BQ's this year by racers is well off the historical average.

In my next postings I'll spend time reflecting on how I will train to run this course in the future as well as approaches to training -- especially given the weather variability -- which in April in Boston is never a sure bet for an optimal temperature or race conditions on the course.