Official Strava/Runkeeper Thread

[digamma]

I got a Nordic Track Commercial 2450 during a sale a couple of months ago. I have been very pleased with it. A cool feature is that you can plug in a route from google maps and it will mimic the route, elevation wise and show you street view images while you run. The best part is it uploads to strava as if you ran the route, so I usually plug in routes in Subby's neighborhood and cyber treadstalk him.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by digamma

I usually plug in routes in Subby's neighborhood and cyber treadstalk him.

Definitely something I would aim to do.

[Subby]

Started training for the Richmond Marathon, which is on November 11th. Last year I ran it and got a time with which I was happy, but still needed the age exception for it to be a BQ. This year my goal is to break 3:05 so I can say I qualified without any age help. Either way I am running Boston next spring (hopefully with digamma).

So anyway, I am actually training, which means a few things. First, I have to cut back a little bit on the cycling. I am a little past 6k miles for the year and this probably means I won't hit 10k unless I go crazy in 7 weeks after the marathon. Not a huge thing, but just a small point of pride.

I have probably signed up for and not started more marathons than I have finished (4) and left to my own devices, either get injured or under-trained. So this year I coughed up $50 for a McMillan marathon plan. Comes with web site stuff, app, and daily emails/notifications. I feel like maybe I will do better if someone is telling me what to do. I don't know. It is pretty customizable and uses your current fitness level and race history and marathon goals to recommend the pace range you should run for each workout. This is nice because, as has been established, I have no fucking idea what I am doing. There are also some "prehab" routines that you are supposed to do 2-3 times a week which focus on stronger core, trunk, etc.. You get access to a member-area with videos so you can actually see how each thing is supposed to be done.

If I had the discipline of some other all-stars on here, I probably wouldn't need the help but we'll see if having money on the line makes a difference.

The other thing I did was invest in some stuff from Hammer Nutrition. I have had some slight bonk issues with some dumbass bike rides that I've done in the past few months, and looking for solutions I stumbled on to Hammer's offerings. They have a pretty good range of products aimed at keeping your energy/recovery in check, so we'll see. Anyway, that's what's going on here. Hope everyone is having a good summer!

[MizzouCowboy]

Originally Posted by Subby

Started training for the Richmond Marathon

So this is wtf is going on! Thought I'd woke up in bizarro world with all the early morning and long runs you've been doing lately.

Seriously though, I'm glad you're training for this marathon. I've always felt that if you focused on training then there'd be no telling what you'd achieve. I mean hell you ran 5 miles before your last marathon and still easily bq'd. I'd say a 3:05 is quite possible, and if training/raceday go well a sub 3 could be done. Just be sure to listen to your body and take a day off if it needs it, getting injured, as you know, sucks. Better to run tomorrow than get injured today. (Something I seriously struggle with).

Too bad you haven't done anything stupid in the last couple of months, that blog sure is getting lonely...

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Subby

I am a little past 6k miles for the year and this probably means I won't hit 10k unless I go crazy in 7 weeks after the marathon.

Originally Posted by MizzouCowboy

Too bad you haven't done anything stupid in the last couple of months, that blog sure is getting lonely...

There's always time down the road for something stupid

[Subby]

Originally Posted by MizzouCowboy

So this is wtf is going on! Thought I'd woke up in bizarro world with all the early morning and long runs you've been doing lately.

Seriously though, I'm glad you're training for this marathon. I've always felt that if you focused on training then there'd be no telling what you'd achieve. I mean hell you ran 5 miles before your last marathon and still easily bq'd. I'd say a 3:05 is quite possible, and if training/raceday go well a sub 3 could be done. Just be sure to listen to your body and take a day off if it needs it, getting injured, as you know, sucks. Better to run tomorrow than get injured today. (Something I seriously struggle with).

Too bad you haven't done anything stupid in the last couple of months, that blog sure is getting lonely...

Thanks my man!

I have two things I haven't written up yet (one of which is everesting) and there are always stupid things on the horizon (in fact, keep an eye on strava sunday afternoon ).

[FrogMan]

dang Subby, you're a frigging beast!

oh hey, hi everyone!!! I usually visit FOFC on the go and don't have time to comment but I visit this thread every once in a while to see if anything new is happening. Good to see it still somewhat active.

I got marathon #5 (Quebec City) coming up in 11 days, followed by marathon #6 (Rock & Roll Montreal) just four weeks later. This kinda makes me nervous as I usually need quite a bit more time to recover after a marathon. I don't expect a best in either of those but don't need one since I ran a 3:15:25 back in May, good enough for Boston next April by nine and a half minutes on my age group time. Unlike Subby, I will take the age group qualifying of 3:25 and not try for 3:05...

So then, it looks like Subby, digamma might be running it, right? Have you guys started looking for hotels? I'm in the thick of it and, well, ouch. But then again, this'll probably a once in a lifetime thing so the heck with money, sorta.

I also plan on taking a prolonged break from official races next Summer with probably no other races than Boston. I have started running with my dog and will probably do so most of next year, running regularly but not very long every time. During marathon training cycles, long runs or 20+ miles every Sunday end up taking a lot of time and need lots of planning.

FM

[HerRealName]

Subby had a crazy fast result yesterday and it looks like FM had a great race today too. You guys are friggin' awesome.

It also looks like Northwood pulled a Subby and went on a crazy run himself yesterday. I wouldn't be able to walk for a week if I climbed those mountains at that distance.

[Northwood_DK]

Originally Posted by HerRealName

Subby had a crazy fast result yesterday and it looks like FM had a great race today too. You guys are friggin' awesome.

It also looks like Northwood pulled a Subby and went on a crazy run himself yesterday. I wouldn't be able to walk for a week if I climbed those mountains at that distance.

Thanks for the shutout.

I ran the @fjallmaratonsal yesterday. It was the 42k with just under 3000 ft. of climb.

It was completely different experience from running a road marathon where you pick a pace and tries to stay on that for the entire distance. I took me some time to figure out that looking at the clock was no use with the terrain changing for every mile.
After I figured that out, I had a fantastic day. I took me 5 ½ hours but my legs feels much better than after an asphalt marathon. Even playing 18 holes of golf today.

Plenty of climbing in the preparation unquestionably paid off.

[Subby]

I ran the Patrick Henry Half Marathon and had the best result I have ever had. I finished in 1:23:58 which translates to 6:25 pace. It was beyond perfect conditions - flat, dry, temperate. That said, I could probably stand to lose 10 pounds, so who knows! Out of 800+ runners I ended up 8th overall and 2nd for the masters division (yes, I am old af). I think I am proudest of putting down a 6:08 in the last mile to beat this one guy. I did a trip report on my blog but it's boring.

PS. Great job Northwood and FrogMan for great races this past weekend!

[MizzouCowboy]

Just one incredible effort Subby! Us mortals can only dream of such awesomeness.

The blog write-up kicked ass. From pissing blood (yikes) to OMGWTFBBQ! It was a great read and I love the way you can take the reader along for the ride. And I totally understand the feeling of seeing your family when not expected at the finish line, my daughters nearly killed me on my first 5k.

Now on to that everesting report...

[digamma]

Originally Posted by Subby

Either way I am running Boston next spring (hopefully with digamma).

Let's do this!!!

[corbes]

Originally Posted by Subby

I ran the Patrick Henry Half Marathon and had the best result I have ever had. I finished in 1:23:58 which translates to 6:25 pace. It was beyond perfect conditions - flat, dry, temperate. That said, I could probably stand to lose 10 pounds, so who knows! Out of 800+ runners I ended up 8th overall and 2nd for the masters division (yes, I am old af). I think I am proudest of putting down a 6:08 in the last mile to beat this one guy. I did a trip report on my blog but it's boring.

fantastic!!!!

[digamma]

I'll humble brag in the form of a strava complaint. I ran the Minocqua No Frills Marathon this morning and got my BQ (3:07:07 and third place in the race). My strava shows me running about 24 miles. Granted I'm a bit in the north woods of Wisconsin and don't have cell service, but the strava map shows exactly the course I ran but was just way off. I plugged it into google maps this afternoon and it comes out to 26.2 and it's an official qualifier anyway. See any of you in Boston!

If anyone is looking for a race in the Midwest next year I'd check out No Frills. An absolutely gorgeous run with 20+ miles on a groomed trail. It didn't hurt that the weather today was better than perfect.

[Radii]

fuck yes, congrats digamma!!!

[hoopsguy]

Great work to both digamma and Subby with their recent runs. Thrilled to see a few of our group putting in time and getting the BQ results you pursued.

[Subby]

Originally Posted by digamma

Let's do this!!!

Woohoo! Now I have someone to drag my ass through Boston! How do you feel about piggyback rides?

[Kodos]

You guys are impressive! I'm trying to get things back on track. 2017 has been a down year for me on the running front.

[FrogMan]

so, you guys registered for Boston yet??? you freaking beasts of speed!



Did it the moment my window opened this morning. Now comes the wait to get it confirmed. Should be a formality but still, I'll feel good about it only when I get the confirmation email...

FM

[HerRealName]

When I go to the Boston Marathon website I get only a blank screen and this:



Have a great time BQ'ers.

[Northwood_DK]

Don’t forget to follow the The Barkley Fall Classic on Facebook and Twitter today.

It’s the light version of the Barkley Marathons. One loop on a marked course in frozen head state park, open for everybody and still organized by Lazarus Lake.

[Marc Vaughan]

I got an email from Strava during Hurricane Irma recommending that during stressful times like the hurricane running is a good way to relieve stress .... I emailed them back and told them that I thought it was a great suggestion and that while my girlfriend had concerns about me running I was confident the 100mph wind behind me would help me get a PR.

I got an email back very quickly recommending that I shouldn't go for a run until the storm had passed

[digamma]

I go to a running class periodically. I went last night and the workout kicked my ass. It's treadmill based. Sharing here in case others are interested. It's a workout that I can and plan to incorporate at home.

Warm up approximately 1 mile going from jogging pace to ending with a pace you can hold for a hard one minute effort.

Agility exercises.

Workout:
1 minute at hard effort pace, then immediately
1 minute at hold on pace, something slightly slower but where you think you can hold on for one more minute
1 minute active recovery, walk/run at recovery pace
1 minute at hold on pace, with 4% incline

Rest 1 minute

Repeat, but reduce 4th minute to 3% incline

Rest 90 seconds

Repeat, but reduce 4th minute to 2% incline

Rest 2 minutes

Repeat, but reduce 4th minute to 1% incline

Rest 2 minutes 30 seconds

Repeat with no incline in the 4th minute

My speeds were 11.5 mph for the 1 minute effort (5:13 mile pace), 11 mph for hold on pace (5:27) and 6 mph for active recovery (10:00). I had to reduce the hold on pace some over the course of the efforts.

In the 20 minutes of effort, I did about 3.1 miles.

[Subby]

wow that's legit!

[digamma]

In better news today, really awesome NYC marathon this morning. Shalane Flannagan laid down the hammer over the last two miles and became the first American woman to win NYC in 40 years. Really fantastic race!

The men's race was exciting with a final sprint to the finish, and our man Meb got his final run through Central Park.

[Kodos]

What miserable weather for the Boston Marathon. Do we have any entrants today?

[cartman]

I think Frogman and Subby are running.

[AlexB]

Really worrying scenes in the Commonwealth Games marathon a couple of days ago. Fortunately the runner was OK after a night in hospital, but the woman taking photos/video in particular should be ashamed of herself.

Commonwealth Games 2018: Scotland's Callum Hawkins collapses in marathon - BBC Sport

[cartman]

Frogman ran it in 3:29, and Subby in 3:09.

Congrats guys!!! Great times in horrible conditions!

[Kodos]

Yowsa! Great times!

[hoopsguy]

Originally Posted by cartman

Frogman ran it in 3:29, and Subby in 3:09.

Congrats guys!!! Great times in horrible conditions!

Awesome job to both of you!
Did digamma also run? Had thought he qualified as well ...

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by cartman

Frogman ran it in 3:29, and Subby in 3:09.

Congrats guys!!! Great times in horrible conditions!

Congrats, that's amazing!

[digamma]

Originally Posted by cartman

Frogman ran it in 3:29, and Subby in 3:09.

Congrats guys!!! Great times in horrible conditions!

Subby was a man among boys yesterday and left me about 3 miles in. I finished in 3:19.

[Kodos]

That's still a great time! Great job, guys! I can't tell you how impressed I am. I'm just looking to getting under 4 hours next time...

[digamma]

It was an amazing and special day. Subby and I endured a bus driver who took us on a driving tour of the back roads of Framingham for about an hour. This would have been fine, as it kept us out of the elements for a long time, except for my bladder. I was very close to Subby creating a pee tape while I used a gatorade bottle in our back corner of the bus.

The spirit of the marathon in Boston is strong. Subby and I starting together for a couple of miles, the Wellesley scream tunnel being louder than I remember, seeing my boys at mile 24 and a random runner turning to me at the finish and giving me a huge hug are the memories I'll take from yesterday.

Oh, and the weather. I'll remember that too.

[corbes]

congrats digamma, subby and frogman!

[Chief Rum]

That's awesome. Way to go guys!

[Subby]

Thanks everyone. This was an experience I will never forget and being able to toe the start line with digamma (and spend some time with his incredible boys) made it all the more special.

[FrogMan]

Hey guys! I survived! It was amazing and crazy, and horrible and crazy, and amazing. A freaking whirlwind for a first Boston, simply can’t really put into words...

Subby is a freaking machine, really. Would have liked to meet with you guys but had the family with me so it ended up being a balancing act between having time with them and trying not to freak out because I want to meet so many people at once.

I had a solid pace for a 3:20 time or so until the 22nd mile or so, right after Heartbreak Hill when I felt constant tingling in my fingers and was beginning to lose bits of it every time I closed my eyes so I went into survival mode and started walking during the last 4 miles. There was no freaking way I was not crossing that finish line.

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by AlexB

Really worrying scenes in the Commonwealth Games marathon a couple of days ago. Fortunately the runner was OK after a night in hospital, but the woman taking photos/video in particular should be ashamed of herself.

Commonwealth Games 2018: Scotland's Callum Hawkins collapses in marathon - BBC Sport

I’ve had this discussion with many recreational runners and way I see it, the guy is a pro, running is his life. He wanted to push to the end and probably didn’t want the help of anyone because the moment he gets help, he is disqualified. He is not a weekend warrior running the Boston Marathon with a bib number in the 10000 (like me for example). Sure looks bad that she was filming and not helping but HE chose to run to the limit of his body and maybe beyond, and I’m pretty sure he knows those limit, yet he chose to keep on pushing because to him, as a pro, that medal was VERY worth it.

So no, she should not be ashamed of herself, not in that context. As I said, had he been a middle aged runner, going for a 3:30 finish time and he was falling down and she was filming instead of helping, yeah, then she’d be quite the asshole...

FM

[Kodos]

Interesting TED talk. James O'Keefe says that if you are trying to improve your longevity, running marathons (or too much running in general) is just as bad as staying on the couch. He says you get the longevity benefits from moderate running speeds and moderate run lengths.

[FrogMan]

Here goes for the translated version of my Boston Marathon race report! it's long, guess I'll post in 2 or 3 parts, it wouldn't let me post it as one
======
I don't know if I should call this a race report or an adventure novel, because there was definitely more than just a race in that long weekend... This long thing took over a week to write in French and almost as long to simply translate. But it was a blast to write, as I collected my thoughts and the memories of the race as I remembered them. It was written while keeping in mind the "regular runner" (absolutely NO offense meant, bare with me) who probably will never have a chance to run the Boston Marathon. Deep down inside, I know I was blessed with great genes and aptitudes that gave me this opportunity, with hard work, to qualify and run this mythical marathon.

So there we go, sit down, grab a drink (it's a bit long, sorry but not sorry), and have a good read, or go straight to the next post, as you wish. You've been warned, hope you enjoy!

======
Yeah, wow, what an adventure, running the mythical Boston Marathon. Where should I begin? With those words of "Someday I will run Boston", written to the guy in charge of the Strength Running website in March 2014, as a reply to his peptalk speech for those who were getting ready to run the first Boston Marathon after the bombings? Or with the fact that the following year (2015) I had written a comment under a friend's selfie taken in front of the Boston Marathon finish line, a friend who'd just started running but happened to be in Boston during marathon weekend?

Fas forward three years, I'm there. Wow, this is big, Boston. The city, yes, but in particular, Boston as a single word describing THE Boston Marathon. Bigger than I could imagine. From the finish line, visited before going to to expo, wow. Runners, runners everywhere. Runners waiting in line in front of city and marathon exhibits in order to take pictures. My family with me, gosh I love you. My pick for hotel, the Holiday Inn Bunker Hill in Somerville, perfect choice! Not as expensive as right in Boston but still only 3 miles up North and easily reachable by subway with a station no more than 7-8 minutes of walking from the hotel.

I got my bib and toured the Fitness expo with the family on Sunday after getting in town around dinner time on Saturday. The family tagged along, I would even think they had fun, discovering among other things my favorite Honey Stingers carbs chews, they taste like candy, they said. My boys tasted a whole lot of things... As I said, that expo, wow. That was big. I had about as much fun as a kid let out free in a toy store. We followed that expo visit with a stop at the Assembly Row outlets who just happened to be on subway stop further than our hotel subway station. Yeah, I probably walked a little more than I would have hoped on this marathon race eve but it was all right. There I was, with my family that I love, living a moment I probably will never see again. It was well worth it.

And then, there was this weather, always playing in my head, darn weather. In my head since about one full week BEFORE race day. The highlight of the weekend, for better or for worse. I'd put so much stuff in my runner bag that I had trouble zipping it close before putting it in the car. From the old track suit and hoodie from the time I was involved in karate to the old running shoes for before the race. To that I added many different layers I could mix and match to run the marathon, and even with all that, I forgot to put in running tights for the race itself. Even though they were forecasting cold weather, around Wednesday in the week before the race, they were still saying 8-10C (46-50F) and at those temps, for a long race like that, I would go in shorts. Oops.

I went to bed on Sunday night with a teeny tiny hope that the rain would not show up the next morning. What, it was not raining yet at 11 pm, maybe the clouds could go right through. A guy can hope, no? Surprisingly, I slept very well, in on shot from the moment my head hit the pillow up until my alarm rang at 5:15. I think it was the first time this has happened in all of my six marathons so far. For all of the previous ones, I have always opened my eyes a few minutes (sometimes more) before the alarm rang. Usually worse for the three that were run away from home. I hade probably made peace with the weather. I had settled down on a kit to run this marathon. Yes, in shorts but with a UnderArmour long sleeve compression shirt as first layer (heatgear but still close to the body), another long sleeve shirt as second layer (Columbia Omniheat that has a sort of inner that looks like foil and is supposed to reflect body heat to keep it inside, a short sleeve tee to keep some body heat on the core of the body and finally, my finisher jacket from the Montreal Rock N Roll marathon as outer layer. For my head a technical beanie hat and my hands light winter gloves, both trusted UnderArmour items. For the pre race wait, I had planned for a hoodie sweater over my race kit, and a track suit (long pants and jacket) that I would cover with a rain poncho from the dollar store. On my feet, an old pair of Brooks Ghost running shoes that had been retired from my rotation and were now gathering dust in the basement avec over 600 miles of duty. I had my bright yellow and blue Brooks Launch tied around my neck under my rain poncho so they would stay dry.

That is the whole logistic of the Boston Marathon. What you bring to the starting area, you will never see again once you discard it. Volunteers will pick any dropped item and will donate them to good causes...

Meanwhile, I also had prepared my post race gear bag, the stuff that would allow me to get dry as soon as possible once the race would be over. Once again, there are rules to follow. They give you a transparent drawstring bag, 18" by 18" wide wide a 5" wide gusset bottom to which you apply a tag with your bib number and that you leave to a gear check tent before heading to the shuttle that will take you from the finish area to the starting line. I had stuffed that bag with so many things. I had a hard time pulling the draw string to make it close. Dry shoes and wool socks, technical sweatpants, Coldgear compression shirt and technical fabric hoodie, all good and trusted UnderArmour stuff, as well as a sleeveless Nike Running vest and finally a towels. I trusted that that bag could save me from trouble if I got cold and wet after the race.

So, back to Monday morning, race day. I looked through the curstains right after waking up and any hope of avoiding the rain vanished right there. Our hotel room was on the sixth floor and all I could see everywhere around was puddles of rain water, crazy wind through trees, crazy rain pushed around by the wind too... Oh boy, this was going to be a long day, but I was trying to stay positive. There were possibly millions of other runners around the world who wanted to be in my place. This whole them, trying to be thankful for the opportunity, had been with me the whole week before race day, and it would stay with me all through the day.

I had brought two slices of bread and some Nutella, trusted breakfast for me on race day, especially in a hotel room out of town. Race day is not the day to try new stuff. I eat them with my stomach still unsure, chasing them down with a bottle of Gatorade. Yup Gatorade for breakfast, the life of a marathon runner. I added a few Honey Stingers chews and I was in business!

It got time for me to head out to the subway station. I feel about to chicken out... I don't want to walk in this rain... I want to avoid getting wet, it's irrational but I walk over to my dear wife who's still sleeping and wake her up softly, asking her if she wouldn't not give me a ride to the subway station. Half awake, she lets out a soft "huh, what?" and I come back to my senses, kiss her on the cheek and tell her I'm about to head out. I give hugs both of my boys and finally head out.

About halfway to the subway station a yellow schoolbus stops right next to me. A sign on the front window reads "Boston Marathon Official". I had no clue if it was a shuttle for runners or volunteers or what else. The bus driver opens the door and I ask him where he's headed. Either he's chewing his English, or my understanding of English isn't as accurate as it used to be (remember that I speak French in everyday life) but I'm having a hard time understanding where he's going. He points toward the city of Boston saying he's going "over there" but he adds that he's only leaving at 7 am. It's 6:45 and I need to be at the shuttle between 7 and 7:45. It's going to be too tight so I let it go and start walking toward the subway station. I feel reassured as I walk into the station when I see other runners wearing rain ponchos or even garbage bags over running gear, also walking down the stairs toward the subway train. I'm feeling pretty good that I am fairly warm at this point. Pretty happy with my pre-race getup.

We are three runners in my subway wago. From what I had figured out, I was supposed to come out of the subway at the Back Bay station but the runner next to me seems to tell his wife he's supposed to come out at the station before that, Chinatown. Hrm, I ask the runner in front of me and he answers me he had planned to follow us, lol! We end up coming out at Chinatown as a big group of runners also comes out at this point. We all follow each other and as I walk, I hear the runner that was in front of me talking to his wife... IN FRENCH! How cool, I tell him hi in French and learn he is from Montreal and for him too, it's his first time running Boston. His name is Luc. I'll say I'm taking comfort wherever I can at this point. We chat a little as we walk toward the gear check tents and we keep on talking as we walk toward the shuttle after dropping our gear bags. I lose him as I head toward a shuttle and he stays behind to say bye to his wife. This reminds me of my loved ones. This'll be a long day for my wife and my boys, I can feel it...

It doesn't take too long before a shuttle bus, a good old yellow schoolbus, shows up in front of me. I get in and it's a go to Hopkinton! The runner sitting besides me isn't very talkative. Let's say I'm not all that much either. Looking out the window, all I can see is rain, rain and more rain. We end up talking a little. He's 62, from Toronto and has run Boston numerous times. At one point I've lost track of time so I'm beginning to think if we're about to get to Hopkinton. I pull out my iPhone and get an itinerary from our current location to Hopkinton in Google maps. The route looks weird, as if we were on some sort of detour, but I'm thinking I'm simply mixed up. Finally, no. The runner in front of us, agae similar to my seat neihbghor seems to think our bus driver got mixed up. But sweet lord, we're following another schoolbus, how can we be lost together? It's about 9 am at that point and we've been in that bus for about 90 minutes but we've stopped moving now. It seemed like way longer by now, probably because my bladder is pretty full and in dire need of some relief. That runner in front of us is a funny guy. He yells to the driver that he can simply drive around for another lap so we'll stay seated in the warm bus instead of going out in the rain, lol! Driver ends up telling us he's at a roadblock and cannot move anymore, we've got to get out the bus and finish the trip walking. I get out but don't understand where we are too much. I feel pretty lost and follow other runners who seem to know where they're going. And oh, portapotties, five of them and no waiting line, yay! I hear cheering while doing my "business" and understand when I come out that it was the start of the wheelchair race! We are on the side of the race course!! I follow other runners who came out of my bus and we walk calmly toward what I think will be the start line. I see a small group of runners to my right and it's only later that I will associate them to the elite runners of the marathon. Makes sense since it's about 9:30 or 9:40 and their start is scheduled for 10 am. I get to the start line with its two big towers. There's a little park to my left with a big tent but pretty much nobody in it but one runner. He tells me in a broken English that they told him to wait there and I ask him where he's from. His reply: Iceland, woah...

(out of story but I see all I've written so far and realize that I have not even started running my marathon, oops, an adventure, I said, well, that's what it was)

[FrogMan]

I stay under cover of this tent a little then see a group of runners coming. Some of them have started shedding layers and I can see red bibs so I realize they are wave 1 runners coming up for their start. I decided to walk against the stream a little until I see the parking lot of a CVS Pharmacy with loads and loads of portapotties and long waiting lines. Not knowing any better, I take this place as being the Runners' Village. It's only after the race, after seeing pictures taken by fellow runners that I will realize that it was only the pre-start area and not the Village itself. My start time is coming at that point so I forget about going to the Runners' Village and anyway, if I want to go to the bathroom one last time before the start of the race, I better get in line now because the lines are long. Once inside, I hear the national anthem playing and realize they are starting the race for the elites!

I go back to wait along the wall of the pharmacy and am again happy of how warm I am, considering the conditions. I see people shivering all around. Some of them already seem in trouble and we've not started running yet! A man from Arizona is talking with a young woman from Seattle and tell her he's gonna shed some layers of clothing as the race goes on. I'm telling myself that whatever I'll be wearing at the start, I'll probably keep on me until the end. He's wearing some thick cotton sweatpants that will sponge up with water, at least in my opinion...

I change into my dry socks and shoes around 10:15, so with about 10 minutes to spare before the start of my wave, and I start walking toward my corral. It's no more than a 200 to 300m walk to get to my corral but even with that tiny walk, my feet are already wet. I still had my multiple layers and my rain poncho though. My fingers are a little wet in my tiny magic gloves but other than that, I still feel pretty warm...

Now up to my corral 3, I begin taking out layers of extra clothing, it's about 10:20. I get ready to start the Garmin Livetracking going on my watch when I see a text message from my wife asking me if I've started to run. She's looking for the email announcing my trakcing link... I launch it a minute later. I take out my tiny gloves and my fingers are already wet and wrinkled but I have good UA gloves that were kept dry in my pre race zipper bag. Thing is, these gloves usually feel pretty adjusted when my fingers are dry but now that they're all wet, I'm struggling to get the gloves on. I start fighting with the gloves but in my head, it's clear I am not walking to the start line until I got this worked out, or at least well enough in place. The end of corral 3 has advanced and I'm now in the middle of corral 4. I don't worry much about because I know my official time will not start until I go over the mat at the start line. I finally pass that start line no more than a minute later but will really be done pushing my fingers all the way in only at the first mile marker...

The race start, wow, what a race start!! Runners everywhere looking forward, the whole width of the street! Really! And contrary to what you might think it's not that dangerous, everyone is running in the same direction, at about the same pace and there is a certain level of respect between runners. Of course, you can't start thinking about passing other runners left and right and anyway, it's not in those few first hundreds meters that you will succeed or break your whole marathon. Oh and it goes downhill, a lot, but I knew that, and I had planned my pace accordingly.

There are tons of signs on the side of the course. A lot of people to cheer us on too, despite the pretty inclement weather. Strangely, the bad weather doesn't phase me in these first few kilometers. I smile, flash thumbs up to people by the side. A sign gets to me. I am paraphrasing but it was a bible verse, something along the lines of "with God at your side, anything is possible". I believe in Christ although I to not practice a lot. What got to me what the source of the verse. I don't remember the exact number but it was from Matthew. Seeing my swimmer son's name on that sign was indeed for me a sign, and even more, with all the water being sprayed on us, only my swimmer son was fit to follow me in that advanture!!! (this is where the shirt I ended up buying online after the race that read "I swam from Hopkinton to Boston, 04/16/18" gets a bigger of meaning to me!!)

I run my first 5K in a time of 23:39, pace of 4:44/km (7:37/mile). My race plan was to try to keep it at aout 4:45/km (7:39/mile) for the first few K's, that's a marathon slightly under 3:22. I was right in line with my plan.

It keeps downhill during the second 5K et I finish it in a time of 23:03, pace of 4:37/km (7:26/mile). It's slightly faster but still very much under control. By comparison, when I ran my personal best for a marathon, in the Spring of 2017, I was keeping a pace of 4:32/km (7:18/mile) for a long while, on a fairly flat course. I feel good during that stretch of the course. We got hit by a mega flood of a rainfall during that second 5K. You know, the kind of wall of rain that hits you in the face, where you have a hard time seeing straight in front of you. That would end up being the first of maybe 3 or 4 such rainfalls that would hit me in the face over the 42K of the marathon... Yet again, I'm smiling. Nope, that weather is not keeping anything from my fun.

There is a lot of water on the course. Sometimes, little rivers run through the street. Nothing dangerous really, you can't fall down because of it, but I usually hate having wet feet when I run. Let's just say I forgot about the concept of keeping my feet dry early in the race. That being said, it didn't stop me at times to skip a step and try to avoid those little rivers, or even it didn't stop my brain from internally getting mad at the runner next to me who splashed me with heavy steps through a puddle of rain water. Yeah, you don't always think rationally over the course of 42.2 km of effort...

Kudos to the kid with a bright all color sign on the side of the road presenting the score of 28-3 with the Falcons leading the Super Bowl before the Pats started their comeback. I saluted hime with a thundering "GO PAAAAATS!!!". Let's say we were pretty much in the middle of Pats nation and I repeated that rallying cry a few more times during the race when I saw supporters wearing coats or rainjackets with a Pats logo.

It's also at that point in the race that I realized that I was pretty wet all over and not only on my feet. As Iw as running, the beat of my arms was throwins water everywhere from the tip of my gloves. I went, what? I made a fist out of my hands and woah, it was as if someone had turned on the faucet! I decided that even all wet, I wanted to keep my gloves on, if only to keep my wet hands from the wind.

I was still going through the course decently well at that point. We went through some "rolling hills" over the next 10K stretch but the overall incline/decline was neutral. I run my third 5K in 23:21 (pace of 4:40/km or 7:31/mile) and my fourth one in 23:33 (pace of 4:43/km or 7:35/mile). Gotta admit that last 5K split included a stretch through the Wellesley College scream tunnel with students and faculty members are cheering REALLY loud, lol! Craziness, really! Despite the pretty bad weather, we can definitely hear their cheering from very far away, something really special. Girls on the side of the course have signs saying "Kiss me!" with one who earns extra points for her "Kiss me I'm wet!!!" sign, lol! I think I laughed about that one for at least 3 minutes! And no, I didn't stop... But the boost we got from that scream tunnel was very real, at one point I was running at pace around 4:26/km (7:08/mile)...

The fifth 5K also goes on pretty well and I close it in 23:39 (pace of 4:44/km or 7:37/mile) but this is where the real work will start. As an aside, you gotta know that during an official race, I set my watch to show me two paces. One is my average pace of the current 500m split and the other is my average pace since the beginning of the race. I have little to care about how much time has gone on since the beginning of the race. All of this to tell you that up to about the 25th or 26th km, I remember clearly seeing an overal average pace around 4:41/km (7:32/mile). Under these conditions, not so much the rain or the cold but especially the constant headwind, I was pretty happy with how it was going.

But yeah, Newton and her hills were coming. A first hill. Omph, one km in 5:09, my first not only over 5:00 but even simply over 4:50, but I was running on feeling of how much tougher it was instead of trying to keep an even pace. A second hill was coming right after the first but we'd had some downhill in between, 4:49 for that km. At that point, I had lost some of my mental focus, I think, because I had lost count of how many hills we'd gone over. I thought the third one we'd just done was in fact the fourth and most famous one, Heartbreak Hill. Imagine the slap in the face I got when we started climbing, again, for a very real fourth time. As we say around here, right in the kisser... My 34th km was run in 5:25, my slowest yet, with my heartrate frequencies being at the highest they'd been so far in the race.

A couple kilometers going slightly downhill followed, but never going down enough to my taste... After one kilometer in 4:44, I ran two in 5:05 and 5:07 and it was not going really well at that point. That's about at that point that I realized I was feeling some tingling at the tip of my fingers and every time I would close my eyes, I would feel some sort of delay when reopening them, as if my eyelids were coming up in slow motion. I will admit to you, it kinda scared me, thought it could be the beginning of hypothermia setting in. 37 km done and I had to concentrate a little bit to see where I was, see the cheering crowd on the side of the course. There was about 5 or 6 km to go (3 or 3.5 miles), I was not sure really, but I knew one thing. There was no way I was not crossing that finish line. I had a thought for my family who were supposed to take the green subway line to the bottom of the Newton hills and I realized I had not seen them. That is when I decided that, in order to save my energy, I had to begin walking. That is something I'd never done before in any of my first five marathons, walking. I had also never run a marathon in such harsh conditions...

I did not track for how long I was walking but I was ready to walk whatever was left if it did not get any better. I was concentrating on the cheering crowd, feeding on their cheers. I have lived through an episode of dehydration back in May 2014, in my first half marathon, and I can tell you that in that race, I probably ran 2 or 3 km that I have no recollection of. This time though, I am well aware of my surrounding, even if I have a hard time staying focused. This'll remain my check, stay aware and as focused as possible in going forward. I see a little dip downhill on the course and I decide to start jogging but as soon as we get either level or going up, I walk again. I can hear the crowd. Some of them are cheering us on, "You got this!" they say. Yes, I got this...

I will never see the big CITGO sign that announces our arrival close to Boston and that I've read so much about in any course description. I have a mental habit of tracking the extra distance that will be needed to complete my marathon by comparing my split distance to course marker. From about the halfway mark, I've determined that I'll need to run at least 42.5 and not the usual 42.2 km to cross the finish line. Right now, every 500m is a little victory. Turn left on Boylston Street, almost there! I start running. I'd like to say, gloriously, as fast as I can but even "as fast as I can" is not that fast anymore. It gives me one last 500m split at about 5:14/km pace (8:25/mile). We're pretty far from the 4:40/km (7:31/mile) from the first half of the race but I don't care anymore. I'm about to cross the finish line. I see photographs, raise your arms you idiot! But they're way too heavy! No, no, leeeeeet's gooooooo, RAISE 'EM!!! That's it, I'VE... RUN... BOSTON!!!

I clinch my fists to try and compare if the tingling is still there, it is but not any worse than it was about 5 km ago. I will survive, and immediately, a big sob hit me, I cry. I ran Boston... and even with the walk, I finished under 3:30. Official Time: 3:29:27, the slowest time of my six marathons so far but I don't care... I... ran... Boston...

We all walk after crossing the finish line. Contrary to all my other marathons before where there wasn't really any big crowd when I finished them, here there's still a lot of runners finishing with about the same time as me. A volunteer congratulates me and gives me my finisher medal. I thank her. I will do this a lot in the next few minutes, thank each and any volunteer I will come across. These people had to endure the harsh conditions so we, crazy fools, could test ourselves over that race course.

The after-race remains almost as big a challenge as the race itself. Yes, another volunteer just put a nice foil type rain poncho over my shoulders. It's designed to keep my body temperature from dropping too much. But I had to go get back my gear back and my dry clothes. Walking toward my wave's gear check tent, I see two small tents on the right: Womens changing & Mens changin. I guess my brain must be warming up because it's clear to me that I'll have at least an hour of waiting before getting in one of those tents. We walk until the gear check tent for wave 2. I say we because right now, a lot of runners from my wave have finished the marathon at about the same time and a crowd has formed in front of the gear check tent. I'm waiting in line to get my bag, it's taking quite some time. Everything seems to take a lot of time to us at this point. I don't have the feeling that I'm shivering too much under my rain poncho, but some are shaking like crazy. I finally get my gear bag and love seeing the dry items I left in there. Instead of going back to my right, toward the changing tents, I take a turn left, for no real reason. I wander around a little, trying to find an option, a place to change. Good faith for me! I see many runners in a tent with the front open right to the left of the gear check for the wave 2 runners. It's in fact the wave 1 gear check tent. Most of the runners of that wave were much faster and have already picked up their gear bag. Many of them are now changing into dry clothes in the back of this tent. I enter and make myself small and go to the back. It's quite the challenge to try and change yourself out of drenched clothes, without a chair, so standing up on battered legs who just gave you there all for 42K/26 miles! It's quite an effort but I feel the nice effect of replacing wet clothing with dry one immediately! My fingers feel better. I will definitely survive.

I pull out my cell phone from my flipbelt (but still in a zipper bag!) while changeing. I already have received two text messages from my honey. "where are you? are you ok?" I finally am able to answer to her. It's not easy trying to type on a cell phone screen through a plastic bag with water perling on op of the bag...

Once changed, we work hard to find each other. Thank you cell phone technology! After 2-3 exchange of our GPS positions, my boys find me and my honey is right behind them. My supporters are so wet, and cold! My oldest son Andrew takes charge of finding the closest subway station to get us back to the hotel. I am kind of dishoriented right now, but feeling otherwise fine. We take the subway but rain has not stopped. We will walk the little stretch from the subway station to our hotel under a constant rain. I get to our hotel almost as wet as I was at the end of the race, despite changing into dry clothes, but a warm shower awaits me...

Quite the adventure...

I went into this first Boston Marathon considering the fact there was about no guarantee I would ever run it again. You need to run a certain qualifying during one calendar year in order to be eligible to register for the Boston Merathon of the following year. For exmple, in my age bracket, I need to run a marathon that is slightly faster that 3:25 to qualify. My 3:29:27 is not good enough to next year. I also have no other marathon before the 2019 registration date so I will nto be going back in 2019. Oh, I could find one marathon to run (hard) before September since there are marathons happening almost every other weekend, but I don't feel the need. I want to run for fun, with my boy. The seed has been planted however, I will be back someday. As I said, there is no guarantee but I know deep down inside that if I put in the work, I can run a qualifying time. I also ran this first Boston while trying not to get depressed by the bad conditions. I had a down moment the week before the race, getting stressed about every little thing. Huge thanks to my honey, Patsy, for putting me back on track, making me realise that those were all little things I had no control over. I then read something that followed me until the start of the race and that will probably be with me forever. I said it before, while I was getting stressed over that darn weather, there were maybe millions of runners sitting at home around the world that would have begged to be in my place and get stressed about the same weather for the same reason I was stressing about it. So my stress became thankfulness. Yes, I am lucky, and blessed...

If you are still reading, wow, you're tough and I really appreciate it. I took the time to write this long report for all of those runners out there who will probably never have a chance to run Boston. I hope I was able to transmit a little of how crazy this adventure was.

Huge, HUGE thank you to all of you for your support. It was VERY appreciated, more than I could put into words.

Finally, the BIGGEST of thanks to my close family, Matthew, Andrew and Patsy, gosh I love you. Sorry for the weather you had to endure, but as we said, I had not control over it.

[FrogMan]

ok, it worked in two parts

FM

[MizzouCowboy]

Excellent write-up FM! Really enjoyed reading about your Boston adventure. As one of the "regular runners" that will probably never run Boston (starting to wonder about ever running consistently again) there definitely was no offence taken. Just want to congratulate you on your run and sharing your experience.

Now get out there and take that pup for another run .

[Northwood_DK]

Great write-up-

[digamma]

Nice work. The great thing is that by next year the bus ride will have been 2.5 hours long and it will have taken you 2 hours to find your gear. Being part of that day is the stuff legends are made of, and tall tales too!

[Chief Rum]

Awesome. Fun read, FM. Congrats on a well run race and glad you're okay.

I ran a half in pretty rainy weather last year and it definitely has an impact, although I don't think the weather I saw compares to what you went through.

[Kodos]

You Don’t Need Sports Drinks To Stay Hydrated | FiveThirtyEight

Interesting article about how over-hydration is actually a bigger risk for athletes than dehydration.

There’s never been a case of a runner dying of dehydration on a marathon course, but since 1993, at least five marathoners have died from hyponatremia they developed during a race.6 At the 2002 Boston Marathon, researchers from Harvard Medical School took blood samples from 488 marathoners after the finish. The samples showed that 13 percent of the runners had diagnosable hyponatremia, and three had critical cases of the condition. German researchers similarly took blood samples from more than a thousand finishers of the Ironman European Championship over multiple years and found that 10.6 percent of them had hyponatremia. Most of the instances were mild, but nearly 2 percent of the finishers had severe or critical cases. Although the findings indicate that hyponatremia is still a rare condition, what makes them especially concerning is that the early symptoms of hyponatremia are very easily confused with those of dehydration — weakness, headache, nausea, dizziness and lightheadedness.

[Subby]

Originally Posted by Kodos

You Don’t Need Sports Drinks To Stay Hydrated | FiveThirtyEight

Interesting article about how over-hydration is actually a bigger risk for athletes than dehydration.

Totally believe this. I try not to drink at all on rides of up to 3 hours and runs up to 2. The only exception would be if it is really hot and humid and I'm losing fluids at an accelerated rate.

Everyone is different though, so as always, do what's best for you.