Boston Marathon Build Up. . . .”A work in progress”

Hi Sweat Family:

How is everyone doing?  It has been a while since I have logged in and updated my blogs.  I have been running pretty consistent.  The summer is not my best time to run but you have to do it if you want to run a fall marathon.

I have been running early in the morning or late evening.  I have been running with a few friends now who are signed up for Philly and Steamtown.  It is nice running with faster runners who push you that much more.  It is kind of different because I was so used to running by myself.  I really enjoy the fun times we have established.

We have had picnics with friends and family which is awesome to just get away and hang.

So how have you guys been?  What fall races are you all doing?  Have an awesome weekend.

Brooksrunner

Hi Sweat365:

How is everyone doing?  I hope the nice weather is treating everyone well.  I took a considerable amount of time off since I ran Boston.  I was really mentally drained after running Boston despite my good race.  Running and focusing on a target event really takes time and effort. 

Mentally I needed the rest because all I was thinking about was the race.  and for the last two weeks it got really bad.  I was having dreams about not completing the race and burning out at sixteen miles.  Once the race was over I allowed it to all soak in just relax.  I allowed my body to heal and I ate whatever I wanted to during that month off. 

I ate lots of pizza and everything I did not eat when I was training.  I was kind of fun to sit there on the couch and put away a pint of Ben and Jerry’s without thinking about how it was going to slow  me down the next day.  LOL!  I ate an entire pizza and had some soda to wash it down many evenings. 

I started getting back into spending time with friends.  My running buddies were like we have not seen you in so long.  It has been very nice running some easy runs with them.  It seems as though I have inspired four of my friends to run fall marathons this year which is awesome. 

I really think two of them will go under three hours  this fall.  My one friend is really just gifted and think he can do around 2:50 based on his ten mile time.  Again, running a marathon is a different animal.  You can train and put in the time but come race day anything can happen. 

Last week I ran for the first time with the group at the running store.  We did some speed work.  It was kind of a difficult workout for my first real run back but it was alright.  I got right back into it.  I ran Thursday, Saturday and Sunday of last week.  I ran about 23 miles all together last week.  I took Monday off and did a tempo run with  Greg and Mike. 

I held a 6:30 pace for 3.14 miles.  Greg was ahead of me and Mike was like five seconds behind me.  It was really hot but I was pretty impressed because it was the first time that I was able to do a 6:30 pace for tempo.  It is going to be an interesting summer.  I have never really trained with anyone. 

We are going to have four solid guys training for a marathon.  We are going to do tempo on Tuesday, Speed on Thursday, Long Run on Sunday and on Saturday easy run.  M, W, F will be easy days with one mixed effort on one of those days.  It is going to be a great motivational tool for me.  I can’t wait to train with these guys.  I know I am going to get faster running with faster guys. 

Well take care and have a great day everyone.

Brooksrunner

I have been taking some time off of running.  I needed some down time after Boston.  It has been good to relax and just sit on the couch and recover watching some good movies.  Sometimes we need a break to allow our muscles to recover.  I am going to do Boston again next year but I am going to train for a fall marathon.  I think I am going to do Philly.  I have some time to chill a little and build my base.  It was awesome training this season because I got a lot right which is awesome.

The storied history of the Boston Marathon needs no more introduction than just saying, “Boston!” I woke up around five in the morning and headed out around 5:45.

I arrived at the buses and there were tons of people waiting in like to board the yellow school buses heading to the start. The ride was about an hour but it went fast because of the great conversations with other participants of the race. When we arrived in the Athletes village all kind went our seperate ways. It was really windy and I grabbed a trash bag to keep warm. I ate a bagel and some gatorade about two hours before the race.

I started to head down to the start line but I did a nice warm-up before the race. I did some stretching and light jog to the start line. It was nice because I did not have to wait on the line for a line time. It took me over six minutes to cross the start. There were a lot of people running to the line but I walked all the way up to the start line and then started my trek to Boston.

Miles 1-3
My goal for was this race was to run a smart race. I ran the first mile at 8:00 and wanted to not go so fast. After the first mile it was really hot and I knew I would have to hydrate pretty well for the entire day. Every time I saw a kid with a sliced orange I grabbed it. Mile two I ran a 7:45 and knew I would have to start ramping down. I felt like a race horse holding back for the first couple of miles. For mile three I ran a 7:30 and by now the crowds were starting to get thick.

Mile4-17
I knew if I wanted to do well I would have to run well during this course of the race. I ran 7:15 pace for this section. It was a good stretch to run this section because the crowds were thick and that was really motivating me. The Wellsley girls were awesome. You could hear them like a mile away. I knew if I held 7:15 I would have to just forget about time and run as fast as I could after 17.

Mile 18-21
For this section I knew Heartbreak hill was coming and I would have to work very hard. During this stretch is when I had to really work. When I got to twenty miles I got a cramp but I kept moving and once I hit the water stop I was good again. It seemed like every time I would get a cramp I would hit a water stop and I would feel recovered again. I did not stop once during this section and I just kep moving. It was an awesome feeling. As I crested Heartbreak and went toward Boston College it was nuts there. The crowds were thick and the noise was so loud. I look down at my watch and it said, 6:40.

Mile 22-26.2
It was mostly downhill from here. To be honest I kind of stop looking at my watch but I know I was under 8:00s there. When I saw the Citgo sign I knew I was close and I just ran as fast as I could. The crowds were really thick in Boston. I was getting really tired but I was pushing through. As I approached the last mile I felt a second wind. When I hit the last quarter mile I felt like a rock star because the noise and the crowds were so thick it was amazing. It was insane. When I crossed the finished line I was so overwelmed I did not know what to do or say. I did not know my official time until my friend told me. I had a PR of nearly 2 mins.

My official time 3:18:30.

I really want to thank all my friends who helped me to this point. Jeff thanks for everything. You helped me so much with this training. I want to thank all my friends who have run with me in the mornings which were really cold. All of you guys here at sweat365 who read my blogs all the time. It is really motivating to come and see your comments. I want to thank the people at friendstreethostel.com. If you do the Maraton and you need a nice reasonable priced placed to stay that is not far from most places in Boston the people at Friend Street are awesome.

Thanks again and have a great day today. I heading back home tonight. I am coming back next year if I get in.

Brooksrunner

I am heading to the bus this morning leaving from park street.  I am meeting a friend from Denmark that I met on Saturday at the Expo.  I am ready and just waiting for my toast to be done and then I am heading out.  I will post a nice post race  blog.  I want to thank all of you Sweat365 members who have been following me.  You have been as much a part of my success to getting to the line.

Good luck folks today on your runs.

Brooksrunner,

As I rode on the Amtrak heading into Boston early Saturday morning so much was going through my head.  I was in Boston finally getting ready to run on the biggest stage of my running life. 

As I descended off the train and headed to my hotel.  I was thought about the journey that I had taken here.  It was a long and difficult but with work you can accomplish anything.  The weather in Boston was 32 degrees and the winds were around 16mph.  After checking into the Hotel I walked to the Expo.  As I arrived at the expo it was an experience I can only describe as awesome.  I  took some pics of the signs and of my bib number.  I then went into the expo and started to walk around.  I ended up getting some free tickets to go to Fenway Park to see the baseball game. 

I met a runner from Denmark named Anton and we kind of hung out and did some things together.  I only lasted about forty minutes at the game because it was really cold and I did not want to be out in the cold.  I ended up getting back on the T and heading back to the expo looking for some gloves. 

I ended up coming back to the hotel and relaxing and then doing a shake out.  I ran two easy miles on the Charles River trail.  The winds along the river was really gusting.  I heading back and then went out to eat with friends.  I met up with Jeff who had helped me with training for Boston.  We had a nice steak dinner.  This was my day in a nut shell.  I came back and was pretty tired and went to bed.  In the morning, I am going to watch the 5k race and then do some active rest for the entire day.  Then I am going to head to the pasta dinner and get a good nights sleep and wake up to catch the Bus for the race of my life.

Brooksrunner,

Today I wanted to do an easy 5 miles because I know tonight is a travel night and I will be sitting for a long time on the train.  I wanted to get the legs a little warm.  I did an easy 5 miles.

43:00, 8:36/mi, 5 miles.

With Boston only several days away now I just did an easy five mile run today.  I went out in a drizzle and came back home in the rain.  It was pouring by the time I got back home.  I was really kind of sluggish today.  I felt terrible yesterday.  I had tightness in my chest and I was not feeling great at all.  Today, I felt much better.  I was really concerned yesterday.  I think I am going to be alright for the weekend.  There is so much to going on in Boston this weekend I will have to take notes and update early next week.  I will be updating things pretty soon and some pre-race talk.  I will let you guys know what I am up to when I get a chance.

5 Miles, 42:35.

Brooksrunner,

This morning I did five miles very easy with friends.  It was a decent run but I did not feel great in the last mile.  My legs felt heavy and I wanted to just be done.  Looking forward to some rest this coming week.

Brooksrunner,

This morning I did a ten mile run.  The weather was pretty good.  I ran very early around five in the morning and it was just awesome running with no cars on the road and being able to just chill.

I ran 10 miles with five being very easy and the last five at a pretty good effort.

1:14, 7:25/mi, 1237 calories,

Brooksrunner