February 2019 Monthly Running Challenge
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No shoes... spoke to the delivery driver, who said they should have been here Friday, if not Saturday. She suggested chasing up the outlet that took the package, so getting my Mum onto it now. In theory, depending how that line of inquiry goes, Ill have them tomorrow. No possibility of getting them today due to the way the courier system works here.
After all this rest, Ill need to clock up some huge miles to make my February goal. I'm a tad behind...
ETA: update they have found the shoes, they are in the city but no comment as to why they weren't on the courier. A reassurance that they will be on the van tomorrow.7 -
@Elise4270 if we run together some time I'll bring some uncured nitrite-free bacon. I was thinking about trying that anyway.6
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@Elise4270 if we run together some time I'll bring some uncured nitrite-free bacon. I was thinking about trying that anyway.
What does "cured" vs "uncured" mean btw?1 -
PastorVincent wrote: »girlinahat wrote: »PastorVincent wrote: »
Must be supper time, the first two times I read that as barbeque and I was trying to remember if he was the one smoking bacon or not...
Think it’s @7lenny7 taunting us with his dry-cured smoked deliciousness. Is it okay to hate him for it?
It is never okay to hate... but if he holds out on share bacon that might be cause for a very strong dislike.
@PastorVincent I'll make the same offer to you and everyone else here. Come run with me in Minnesota and I'll bring the bacon! I'm just frying up some now before I head to the trails on a very snowy day.
For anyone who wants to try curing and smoking bacon at home, it's pretty easy. Here are the two main sites I've used as reference.
https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/pork-recipes/how-make-smoked-bacon-home
https://randomlyedible.com/2014/10/25/cure-your-own-bacon/
I think our favorite so far is the Asian cure in the first link.
I have a half in Wisconsin in May. Do you deliver? From the start of the race, I'll be able to see Minnesota...10 -
@Elise4270 if we run together some time I'll bring some uncured nitrite-free bacon. I was thinking about trying that anyway.
Mmmm... you can’t cheat and use cherry or celery juice as a nitrate substitute either, nitrates are still nitrates. I want to run with you and kody.4 -
I did 10.75 miles yesterday. Was out of town and had brought road shoes, but no yaktrax / crampons. I should have because 70% of this route wasn't cleared, so it was a sheet of ice. I only fell once, but it was very slow.
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Hot and sticky here today. I got up and weighed myself (as I usually do), had breakfast, including a cup of coffee and a glass of water, dropped the children at school, ran 10k or so, had two more glasses of water when I got in the door, and when I finally stopped perspiring I stripped off and hopped on the scale again - still a kilo lighter than first thing! Furiously trying to rehydrate now as I'll end up paying for it later.
Running challenge
1 Feb: 6.9km
2 Feb: Yoga
3 Feb: 10.2km
4 Feb: 7.54 km + yoga
5 Feb: Rest
6 Feb: 6.8km trail, plus 1km on-road warm up
7 Feb: 15.5km
8 Feb: 1500m swim
9 Feb: 7km
10 Feb: Rest
11 Feb: 10.8km
65.74 of 120km for February9 -
February goal: 75 miles
2/2: 13.11 miles
2/5: 5.16 miles
2/6: 5.10 miles
2/7: 5.15 miles
2/10: 8.71miles
37.23/75 miles completed
I've had such good runs lately I guess it was time for a less than great run. It started out ok. The weather was cold, but not terrible and cloudy so just kind of meh. I decided I was just going to run and not worry about pace or anything so I never even looked at my watch until I got to one mile. My watch buzzed at me and I thought it was the pace info, but no it was my watch telling me it had been paused too long and was about to save. So I ran the whole first mile with my watch in pause. I'm still counting it as 8.71 though because even though my garmin says 7.71 I know I ran that first mile. After that I was kind of bummed. The run was ok though, it just wasn't great. My zipper on my jacket broke too so that kind of sucked. After I got home I made some homemade pizza and that was pretty good. I did some stretching and rolling and hopefully on Tuesday I'll have another good run.
2019 Races:
2/2/19: Catch the Groundhog Half Marathon - PR 2:15:1710 -
@greyparks206 - Congratulations!! A 6 minute drop is awesome!
@garygse - Oh what can I say?! Fantastic race, BQ qualifying run, an amazing time well under where you were hoping to be, and what looks like a perfectly paced race! I am looking forward to your race report!
@MobyCarp - another great race and AG win! Congratulations!
@JulieS3103 - Fantastic 8k improvement!! Congratulations!
@ddmom0811 - You got it done!! Congratulations!! "I was looking at the transition as my little break, lol. I mean, I would have stopped for a glass of wine had they offered it!" Love this! 🤣 I totally laughed and thought, Yup!
@girlinahat - That's a lot of miles! Great job on the parkrun pb or not!
@simcon1 - my daughter is buried in snow too. Took the dog for a 'walk' to Seward Park with her snowshoes (last used in MD). She hasn't been able to get to work and is worried about her income. She doesn't get paid if she doesn't see patients. Even if she were able to get there though I don't think too many parents would be taking their kids to the doctor unless it were an emergency.
@marisap2010 - Wow those hills are no joke and knocking 13 mins off your previous time Wow... just Wow. The AG win is icing to top it off - Congratulations!
@eleanorhawkins - we should organize a 'turtle' race with just one turtle runner in each AG 😊
@7lenny7 - love the picture with Kody and the matching ice beards. He does look like he wats to eat yours though or at least lick it off for you! Thanks for the bacon links, I was going to ask so I could share them with my DH.
@Elise4270 - we can get salami now that is uncured and has no nitrates if you like salami... I wonder if you and Eric made your own bacon if there is a way to do it w/o too? ETA - saw that @7lenny7 mentioned doing precisely this! Good that I think alike with the bacon man 🤣
No run or walk for me. Agility trial both Sat and today. I did get lots of exercise and steps in (17k yesterday and another 15k today). Mostly I don't sit down all day because I am walking Hobbes, running the courses with him or watching other dogs that are running to see how they handle the courses. It is fun stuff but exhausting with having to be up and be there so early. It was also SO cold and damp for us with temps in the high 30's(F) low 40s with rain pretty much most of the weekend. Moving around a lot helped me to stay warm.9 -
Today I got to run 6.64 awesome, if somewhat exhausting, miles in the snow.
This week started slow due to being sick Monday through Wednesday, but I feel good about really seizing the last three days. In addition to my monthly mileage goal here (which I am officially downgrading from 45 miles to 35) I’ve started tracking my time spent each week on vigorous cardio, moderate cardio, strength training, and flexibility and mobility. Missing two out of three strength classes meant missing my strength workouts goal and I’m going to be low on flexibility/mobility again even if I do get a half hour stretch in today, which might be more aspirational than realistic (though I’m starting to feel sore enough that I might need to talk myself out of skipping it). However I managed to almost double my vigorous cardio goal with 50 minutes on the stationary bike yesterday and 90 minutes run today, and my walk back from the gym on Friday meant that I just hit my 150 minute moderate cardio goal. I really didn’t like feeling so out of breath at the gym on Friday which was a good motivator to get moving this weekend.
As for the run today, I managed my layers pretty well. It was snowing pretty steadily at 16 degrees with only light wind, a bit warmer than most of my last few runs. I resisted the urge to wear my insulated jacket and opted for a long sleeve base, racerback tank over that for a little more core warmth, 1/4 zip pullover from my last race, and my trusty North Face windbreaker. Seriously, I love this thing. Two pairs of socks, trail leggings, and two additional butt layers worked out well, though my butt was still cold. #always
Before!
The first part of the run was tough - after a deceptively easy couple of blocks following a snowplow, I had about a quarter of a mile of sidewalks along a cemetery. Normally I like this route because there are no entrances on that side, so no curb cuts or traffic to worry about (also it’s super pretty), but I have a bad habit of forgetting that it is also not very well maintained or heavily trafficked. It’s also one of the hilliest portions of road around here, so that plus the fact that it definitely hadn’t been cleared of the snow we got on Thursday, let alone the new stuff today, made it a real slog.
I was pretty warm by the time I hit the lake and actually ended up taking off my mid-layer. I had a random thought that if anyone saw me doing that they’d think I had hypothermia (people often remove clothing in late-stage hypothermia - it's called Paradoxical Undressing). That said, it also occurred to me that I feel safer on runs like this knowing that there are people all over the place, even in moderately heavy snow - I saw at least a dozen other runners, maybe twice that many walkers, and groups of people sledding or ice-fishing. The roads along the lakes weren’t busy today but they weren’t empty, either.
I had already decided I was NOT going to go home via the cemetery, which meant crossing over to lake number two instead. I'd decided that if I felt up for it I would take the long way around to get home (about 3/4ths of the circumference) and decided to go for it. I did end up putting my mid-layer back on, as the snow had gotten wetter and I was feeling a bit cool. I saw a lot fewer people at this lake for whatever reason, possibly because it's less sheltered, and had a few moments where I wondered what they all knew that I didn't. Sometimes you're tougher than other people, and sometimes you're just dumber.
Well whatever it was, I made it home, but I was TIRED. Three hours later I'm still tired, and I'm supposed to stay up until 10:00 for our weekly MST3K movie night. I'm debating a nap, but also debating skipping it and stretching and going to bed early. That seems like a more wise move.
After!
Also, my new shoes got here, but who knows when I'll have the chance to wear them with even more snow in the forecast. I have actually not worn out a pair of shoes yet, but from reading what others have suggested, it seems like having a new pair ready when the first pair tops 500 miles is a good plan, and I've logged 525 miles on my Ghosts over the last year and change. Wow.
My first pair of running shoes that don't have any pink on them!
2/1 Fr - rest
2/2 Sa - 0:40:33 - 3.80 miles
2/3 Su - rest
2/4 Mo - sick
2/5 Tu - sick
2/6 We - playing catchup
2/7 Th - gym closed due to all the snow
2/8 Fr - GLORIOUS GYM WORKOUT! But no run
2/9 Sa - 50 minutes (aka 1 episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) on the stationary bike. UGGGGGGGGGGGGG!
2/10 Su - 1:29:18 - 6.64 snowy miles
February Mileage Total: 10.44 / 35 miles
2019 Races! (italics under consideration)
January 26: Securian 10K Chip time: 1:05:07
February 16: Half Fast 10K
March 23: Hot Dash 10Mi
April 27: Get In Gear 10K ($5 price jump 1/31)
May 19: Women Run the Cities 10K (rolling registration cost)
June 1: Grand Teton Half, Jackson WY
June 12: ESTRS French 5K
June 29: Lift Bridge 10K
July 10: ESTRS Lebanon 7Mi OR
July 17: Torchlight 5K
July 27: St. Croix Crossing Half OR
August 3: Minnesota Half Marathon 10Mi OR
August 7: ESTRS SLP 5Mi OR
August 10: Gopher to Badger 10K
September 8: Sioux Falls Half Marathon
September 21: Surly Trail Loppet 7Mi
October 5: TCM 10K or 10Mi
November: Undecided Half?
November 28: Turkey Trot St. Paul 10K
December: Undecided 10K15 -
10 miles of heaven.
It was a hell of a lot of work though. We had 3 or 4 inches of fresh snow when I got to the park and it snowed the entire time. It was like running in soft sand. I intended to get 13 or 14 but this 10 miles felt like 15. All that slipping and sliding and my hips, ankles and support muscles got a great workout.
Yesterday I ran 11.5 miles on packed snow on roads in 2 hours. Today 10.5 took me 3 hours. I loved every second of it though. I cannot imagine a better winter day than today. Kody was just as excited as I was to get out there, if not more so. We're both pretty tired, sore pups tonight.
The only negative about the day, and it was a small one, was when Kody decided he had to poop right in the middle of the pricker bushes. Dummy that I am tried to pull them off with my gloved hand and ended up getting them on my gloves, golf mitts and tights.
2019 Races
02/23/2019 - Psycho Wyco 20M w/ Kody - Kansas City, KS
04/13/2019 - Zumbro Endurance Run - Theilman, MN - Volunteer/Pace for 17M
04/27/2019 - Tillamook Burn 50M - Tillamook Forest, OR
05/18/2019 - Superior Spring 50K - Lutsen, MN
06/22/2019 - Dan Patch 5K Pace - Savage, MN -or-
06/22/2019 - Circle of Life 10K - Lake City, MN
07/04/2019 - Red Wing 5K - Red Wing, MN
07/13/2019 - Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon - Carlton, MN
07/27/2019 - Wabasha River Run 10K - Wabasha, MN
09/14/2019 - Outrun Homelessness 5K - Savage, MN
09/21/2019 - Surly Trail Loppet HM
10/12/2019 - Big Woods Run Trail HM - Nerstrand, MN
10/20/2019 - Surf the Murph (50k or 50M)
12/07/2019 - Alternate Chili 10M - KCK
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PastorVincent wrote: »What does "cured" vs "uncured" mean btw?Mmmm... you can’t cheat and use cherry or celery juice as a nitrate substitute either, nitrates are still nitrates. I want to run with you and kody.
Nope, Uncured, to me, means no nitrates at all. Many of the "uncured" products in the grocery store cheat by using that stuff but what I'd do is use everything but the curing salt. Essentially, then, instead of curing and smoking you marinate or salt it and then smoke the belly. The end result would not have as long of a shelf life and would not have the characteristic red/pink color. I'll try it out the next time I buy a pork belly, which should be in the next couple of weeks.
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February Running Totals (miles)
2/1 –5.16 course preview
2/2 – 7.29 warmup, commute, 8K XC race
2/3 – 10.81 easy
2/4 – rest day
2/5 – 10.52 warmup, speed work, cool down
2/6 – 8.78 easy
2/7 – 7.59 warmup, speed work, cool down
2/8 – rest day
2/9 – 11.50 warmup, 8 mile race
2/10 – 13.33 MP with hills
February running total to date – 74.98
Nominal February mileage goal: 190 miles
Real Goals: Train well toward Boston. Work the February races into the training plan smoothly. Remain uninjured, even if it means cutting back on planned mileage or races.
Today's notes – Today's assignment on the marathon training plan is 100 minutes easy. But that was supposed to come after 20-22 miles yesterday, which I didn't do. And it's supposed to be a peak mileage week, but I've backed off mileage in response to my body telling me I did too much a few weeks ago. So I had 8 miles penciled in for today, as part of a plan to come out to a 50-56 mile week including a 20 mile run on Saturday.
The best laid plans . . .
This afternoon it was 28° F (-2° C) with only 6 mph wind. Got out before 3 PM, with plenty of time to run in the daylight. I found myself heading out in the direction of a 13 mile route that I had thought of doing for 100 easy minutes. I figured 100 minutes at 8 minutes per mile would be 12.5 miles, but I'd probably actually run a little faster than that. And the route has some nice hills that let me practice not challenging hills and practice running downhill smoothly to avoid hurting myself. Both of those are Good Things to practice for Boston.
2 miles in, the weather felt great. The roads and sidewalks were clear of snow. I felt like I could run forever. So I went for at least 10 miles. Got to the turning point for 10, and went for the 12.5 miles. Went up the most challenging hill on the route, and still felt great. Look at my watch periodically, and I'm going faster than intended. Look at my HR, and it looks like easy running. So I don't worry too much about it. Take a gel at 6.75 miles, figuring that one will be enough for this run.
Get back close to home, and I'm getting close to 100 minutes. What the heck. Add a minor loop. Get to my driveway at 99 minutes plus 30 seconds. Run 30 seconds past my driveway for the 100 minutes. 13.33 miles, Garmin says the average pace is 7:30. 7:30 per mile is what I targeted for marathon pace the last 2 training cycles. Look at the splits, and the first 2 miles look like easy pace; the rest look like somewhere between 7:20 and 7:30 for the most part.
I'll call this a run at MP. Felt good, like I could have kept going another 4 miles at least. I'll have to think about reshuffling the plan for weekday running; I suppose I could chop some miles out of Thursday so I have enough left to run 20 on Saturday.
Many of you have asked what marathon training plan is good to follow. My answer for this training cycle is, I'm making it up as I go along. There are some basic principles to follow, like building miles gradually, getting the long runs in, and getting speed work appropriate to where I am in the marathon training cycle; but a lot of it is just listening to my body and backing off if I'm too beat up. I will see how well that works in Boston. No pressure; I'm already qualified for Boston 2020.
2019 Races:
January 1, 2019 Freezeroo #2 (Resolution Run 7.5 mile) (Mendon, NY) finished in 50:55
January 5, 2019 Winter Warrior Half Marathon (Gates, NY) finished in 1:30:48
January 12, 2019 Freezeroo #3 (Pineway Ponds 5 Mile) (Spencerport, NY) finished in 33:10
January 26, 2019 Freezeroo #4 (Hearnish 5 mile) (Victor, NY) 4.9 miles, finished in 32:28
February 2, 2019 USATF XC Championship, Masters 8K (Tallahassee, FL) finished in 32:53
February 9, 2019 Freezeroo #5 (Tom Brannon 8 mile) (Greece, NY) finished in 55:55
February 23, 2019 Freezeroo #6 (White House Challenge 4.4 mile) (Webster, NY)
March 16, 2019 USATF Masters 8K Championship (Shamrock 8K) (Virginia Beach, VA)
March 17, 2019 Shamrock Half Marathon (Virginia Beach, VA)
April 13, 2019 BAA 5K (Boston, MA)
April 15, 2019 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA to Boston, MA)
November 3, 2019 TCS New York City Marathon (New York, NY)13 -
Today's plan was to do a "2 hour run" - but instead I worked on tax prep paperwork for 4 hours. That should count I think! And it turns out that I can not finish as I had planned cause I am missing documents. Yay! Now to spend all those wonderful hours calling/emailing/begging people to send documents so that I can pay the government off for another year...
(I really have no problem paying taxes, just wish it was not so flipping complicated to do! I mean could you imagine if McDonalds made you fill out 500 forms and what not before they allowed you to give them money? Crazy!)14 -
@MegaMooseEsq have you considered taping hand warmers in your shorts to keep your backside warm?
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@greyparks206 Awesome job on your PR, that was a fantastic race!
@7lenny7 Thanks for the congratulatory hug...I was wondering who had clicked that, lol.
@MobyCarp Congrats on your race, and I intend to register for Boston 2020 so I'll see you there! To be fair, you're one seriously fast guy to beat...if you would have run this course with these conditions, you'd have beaten me, as it was a fast downhill (mostly) course!
@marisap2010 Congrats on your 15K AG win, and a great PR!
@ddmom0811 Superb job on an amazing (and tough) duathlon!
@JulieS3103 Congrats on your 8K and a huge PR!6 -
Well I'm back home now...thanks everyone for the many congrats (@7lenny7, @Elise4270, @Avidkeo, @katharmonic, @MegaMooseEsq, @Mari33a, @amirahdaboss, @Tramboman, @ddmom0811, @kgirlhart, @JulieS3103, @girlinahat, @PastorVincent, @simcon1, @MobyCarp, @Scott6255, @noblsheep, @eleanorhawkins, @marisap2010, and @shanaber) - apologies if I missed anyone!
Warning...long race report ahead, so TLDR: I needed a 3:20:00 time to qualify for Boston, I aimed for 3:10:00 to 3-15:00, and I got a 3:08:49, smashing my previous official PR at Long Beach by over 22½ minutes.
And now the long version.
The race was a point-to-point race, with buses shuttling everyone out to the starting point. I had hardly slept as I kept waking up afraid that I'd oversleep (even with two alarms set) and miss the bus. If anyone missed the buses, then it was an instant DNS as road closures meant that runners couldn't be dropped off by car. The buses started at 4am, so I got up at 3:15am and got ready before making my way to the pick-up point. After double-checking many times that this was the marathon bus (there were multiple races, so multiple buses), we were on our way.
Once we were dropped off at the starting point, there were plenty of heaters and fire pits to keep everyone warm out in the cold desert air, so I stood by one of the fires as they gave out so much more heat. At 6:15am it was time for the national anthem, some fireworks, and then everyone was allowed to make their way to the start. I took off the hoodie and gloves that I was using to help stay warm, and placed them in a bag in the back of a truck to be dropped off for me to pick up later at the end.
Looking around, I could see the 3:20 pacer, and I could see the 3:05 pacer, but the 3:10 pacer was nowhere to be seen. Someone asked one of the staff where the 3:10 pacer was, and we were told that he was starting at the half-way point. Great...I'd have to manage the pace myself and hope to get to the halfway point at around 1:35.
The gun went off, and we all set off. In the dark with no lights whatsoever except for a faint light on the horizon from dawn starting to break. I was dependent on the other runners, and the lights that some had on as head gear. Now this is a fast course, starting out at over 2000 ft and dropping almost 900 ft with one small uphill section at mile 5 for about 1½ miles. Most of that drop is in the first half, and so it was easy to get carried away and go out way too fast. I made sure to heed the pace alarms I had set on my watch, so I generally let gravity pull me along for the first few miles, which allowed me to keep my heart rate down.
Mile 3 came really quickly, daylight was making things much easier, and it was time for the first aid station. My plan was to grab a cup of Gatorade at each station up to mile 21 (so 10 stations in all) to give me a small top-up of carbs. After mile 21, there would be no benefit in drinking any more Gatorade as the carbs wouldn't be absorbed until after the race by that point anyway. At that point I would switch to water if I needed it.
I grabbed a Gatorade and slowed down enough to drink it and not waterboard myself. It was still a good downhill grade, so I picked up the pace a little to make up for slowing down before settling back to my race pace. By mile 5, the next aid station presented more Gatorade, and now it was time to start climbing uphill for a little while. It wasn't much of a climb...probably about 100 feet or so...but in keeping my heart rate under my lactate threshold, this marked the slowest part of my race. Once over the hill, it was time to open up again and let gravity gain my time back.
The miles ticked away pretty uneventfully and I was feeling pretty good despite having no pacer. As I approached the half-way point though, I started to look ahead for any runner holding a sign. Nope, couldn't see one. My watch buzzed the time to let me know that I had passed mile 13 at 1:34:15...the pacer had to be a little ahead. I continued for a little while, and then I saw it: a 3:10 sign bobbing up and down just up ahead. By mile 14, I was with him and decided at that point to just stay with him. There were other people running with the pacer, but one-by-one, they dropped off. I chatted with the guy and he was really talkative, which helped the miles fly by. Mile 21 came, and I grabbed my last Gatorade from the aid station before catching back up with the pacer.
At this point, a girl joined us, and she asked the pacer how he was doing for time. He replied that we were on target for 3:09 at that point and that he would slow down a little. The girl stayed with us for a little while, but then she too dropped back as she ran out of steam.
Slowly but surely, we were overtaking other runners. Some were from the half marathon, and some were marathoners that were about done for as they were hitting the wall. At mile 22, another runner called Pike joined us...he was very chatty too and sounded like he was in good shape. He was excited because he was going to smash his previous PR of 3:25, and he had the pace to carry it through to the end.
By mile 24, Pike and I thanked the pacer, and started to pull away together. By that point, I was starting to feel it, and every time I tried to push a little harder, I could feel my calves start to cramp up. I told Pike that I was starting to feel it, and he kept urging me on...just 1½ more miles, he said.
We carried on together, passing many more runners that included a guy who had his phone playing the Rocky theme tune at full blast. "Just 0.7 miles" said Pike, and at this point I recognised the route as it was by the hotel I was staying at and I had run the other direction the previous day. I was hurting, and I could feel myself starting to get a stitch. "I'm fading" I said, but again Pike urged me to stay with him..."We've got this" he said.
And then I saw the finish line up ahead, lined with a cheering crowd, so I dug in hard and started to sprint ahead. As I approached the line, I heard the announcer call out my name, and he thanked me for having a name he could pronounce.
I ran across the finishing mat and stopped my watch. I guess I must have run some tight-ish tangents, as it showed I had run 26.18 miles.
Pike came up behind me, and we collected our medals, water, and towels, and then made our way to get a photo with the PR bell. He then informed me that his time was actually quicker than what the clock said, as he was still sitting in the porta-pot when the starting gun went off. We then went to the recovery area where they were serving delicious-looking french toast, and that was where we parted ways. I'll always remember that guy as the one who kept pushing me towards the end and refusing to let me give in. Thanks Pike!
After grabbing a slice of french toast, I went to get my results, and once I had an official time, it finally sunk in as to what I had just achieved. After all that training, the fact that I am almost certainly now going to Boston, and the pain my body was now feeling, I'm not afraid to admit that I started to well up. I had to compose myself though, because it's not easy eating french toast while sobbing.36 -
Well I'm back home now...thanks everyone for the many congrats (@7lenny7, @Elise4270, @Avidkeo, @katharmonic, @MegaMooseEsq, @Mari33a, @amirahdaboss, @Tramboman, @ddmom0811, @kgirlhart, @JulieS3103, @girlinahat, @PastorVincent, @simcon1, @MobyCarp, @Scott6255, @noblsheep, @eleanorhawkins, @marisap2010, and @shanaber) - apologies if I missed anyone!
Warning...long race report ahead, so TLDR: I needed a 3:20:00 time to qualify for Boston, I aimed for 3:10:00 to 3-15:00, and I got a 3:08:49, smashing my previous official PR at Long Beach by over 22½ minutes.
And now the long version.
The race was a point-to-point race, with buses shuttling everyone out to the starting point. I had hardly slept as I kept waking up afraid that I'd oversleep (even with two alarms set) and miss the bus. If anyone missed the buses, then it was an instant DNS as road closures meant that runners couldn't be dropped off by car. The buses started at 4am, so I got up at 3:15am and got ready before making my way to the pick-up point. After double-checking many times that this was the marathon bus (there were multiple races, so multiple buses), we were on our way.
Once we were dropped off at the starting point, there were plenty of heaters and fire pits to keep everyone warm out in the cold desert air, so I stood by one of the fires as they gave out so much more heat. At 6:15am it was time for the national anthem, some fireworks, and then everyone was allowed to make their way to the start. I took off the hoodie and gloves that I was using to help stay warm, and placed them in a bag in the back of a truck to be dropped off for me to pick up later at the end.
Looking around, I could see the 3:20 pacer, and I could see the 3:05 pacer, but the 3:10 pacer was nowhere to be seen. Someone asked one of the staff where the 3:10 pacer was, and we were told that he was starting at the half-way point. Great...I'd have to manage the pace myself and hope to get to the halfway point at around 1:35.
The gun went off, and we all set off. In the dark with no lights whatsoever except for a faint light on the horizon from dawn starting to break. I was dependent on the other runners, and the lights that some had on as head gear. Now this is a fast course, starting out at over 2000 ft and dropping almost 900 ft with one small uphill section at mile 5 for about 1½ miles. Most of that drop is in the first half, and so it was easy to get carried away and go out way too fast. I made sure to heed the pace alarms I had set on my watch, so I generally let gravity pull me along for the first few miles, which allowed me to keep my heart rate down.
Mile 3 came really quickly, daylight was making things much easier, and it was time for the first aid station. My plan was to grab a cup of Gatorade at each station up to mile 21 (so 10 stations in all) to give me a small top-up of carbs. After mile 21, there would be no benefit in drinking any more Gatorade as the carbs wouldn't be absorbed until after the race by that point anyway. At that point I would switch to water if I needed it.
I grabbed a Gatorade and slowed down enough to drink it and not waterboard myself. It was still a good downhill grade, so I picked up the pace a little to make up for slowing down before settling back to my race pace. By mile 5, the next aid station presented more Gatorade, and now it was time to start climbing uphill for a little while. It wasn't much of a climb...probably about 100 feet or so...but in keeping my heart rate under my lactate threshold, this marked the slowest part of my race. Once over the hill, it was time to open up again and let gravity gain my time back.
The miles ticked away pretty uneventfully and I was feeling pretty good despite having no pacer. As I approached the half-way point though, I started to look ahead for any runner holding a sign. Nope, couldn't see one. My watch buzzed the time to let me know that I had passed mile 13 at 1:34:15...the pacer had to be a little ahead. I continued for a little while, and then I saw it: a 3:10 sign bobbing up and down just up ahead. By mile 14, I was with him and decided at that point to just stay with him. There were other people running with the pacer, but one-by-one, they dropped off. I chatted with the guy and he was really talkative, which helped the miles fly by. Mile 21 came, and I grabbed my last Gatorade from the aid station before catching back up with the pacer.
At this point, a girl joined us, and she asked the pacer how he was doing for time. He replied that we were on target for 3:09 at that point and that he would slow down a little. The girl stayed with us for a little while, but then she too dropped back as she ran out of steam.
Slowly but surely, we were overtaking other runners. Some were from the half marathon, and some were marathoners that were about done for as they were hitting the wall. At mile 22, another runner called Pike joined us...he was very chatty too and sounded like he was in good shape. He was excited because he was going to smash his previous PR of 3:25, and he had the pace to carry it through to the end.
By mile 24, Pike and I thanked the pacer, and started to pull away together. By that point, I was starting to feel it, and every time I tried to push a little harder, I could feel my calves start to cramp up. I told Pike that I was starting to feel it, and he kept urging me on...just 1½ more miles, he said.
We carried on together, passing many more runners that included a guy who had his phone playing the Rocky theme tune at full blast. "Just 0.7 miles" said Pike, and at this point I recognised the route as it was by the hotel I was staying at and I had run the other direction the previous day. I was hurting, and I could feel myself starting to get a stitch. "I'm fading" I said, but again Pike urged me to stay with him..."We've got this" he said.
And then I saw the finish line up ahead, lined with a cheering crowd, so I dug in hard and started to sprint ahead. As I approached the line, I heard the announcer call out my name, and he thanked me for having a name he could pronounce. I ran across the finishing mat and stopped my watch. I guess I must have run some tight-ish tangents, as it showed I had run 26.18 miles.
Pike came up behind me, and we collected our medals, water, and towels, and then made our way to get a photo with the PR bell. He then informed me that his time was actually quicker than what the clock said, as he was still sitting in the porta-pot when the starting gun went off. We then went to the recovery area where they were serving delicious-looking french toast, and that was where we parted ways. I'll always remember that guy as the one who kept pushing me towards the end and refusing to let me give in. Thanks Pike!
After grabbing a slice of french toast, I went to get my results, and once I had an official time, it finally sunk in as to what I had just achieved. After all that training, the fact that I am almost certainly now going to Boston, and the pain my body was now feeling, I'm not afraid to admit that I started to well up. I had to compose myself though, because it's not easy eating french toast while sobbing.
I loved all of this! I teared up just reading it let alone living it. Congratulations!5 -
Feburary Goal: Just keep trying
2/1: Lots of
2/2: party
2/3: prep
2/4: and recovery
2/5: 4.00
2/6 1.25
2/7 snorkel fail
2/8 4.02
2/9 rest
2/10 3.25
Total: 12.52
Congrats on the BQ @garygse and on the PR's @marisap2010 and
@greyparks206 ! @shanaber I'm sitting here thinking of you and Hobbes as I watch the Westminster agility competition....
...and edited to add @7lenny7 the pics of Kody in the snow are stunning!
Ticker is my goal for 2019 and progress to date:
8 -
@garygse Awesome race! And I really enjoyed reading your race report. We all need a Pike in our lives!
Great job everyone else who had races this weekend! So many great accomplishments!4
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