The Sweet Corn Chellenge

Today's bike ride I did with about 2,000 other riders where we participated in the Sweet Corn Challenge in Richfield, Ohio. The bike route meandered in and out of the beautiful Cuyahoga Valley.

I signed up for the 50 mile route. The highlight of the ride was the 3 optional challenging hills. I decided before the ride that I would do all three. The first 2 were early in the ride and only a few people riding near me took the challenge. The last challenge was near the 40 mile point and I noticed no one came with me to take the hill. After climbing up the hill I realized why. It was the toughest and made the ride to extend an additional 6.5 miles. All I could say while climbing up the hill was, "this is for the half ironman race on August 19th". I enjoy those little extra efforts put forth in training to help boost my confidence needed for race day.

I used my GPS to record my ride.
My max downhill speed was 42 mph.
Total Ascent 4,757 and Total Descent 4,815.
Total ride time 3:24:34 for 56.5 miles

Huntington Sprint Triathlon

This short and fast race was not my A race but I did manage to push myself enough to win my age group division and place 15th overall.

At the start of the swim I spotted my age group competitor and tried to stick with him for the swim but that only lasted about 20 yards. It was kind of hard to concentrate on my swim while trying to follow another swimmer. I decided to just do my swim and to give it my best effort. When I finally could touch the bottom of the lake with my hand, I stood up and began to run out of the lake and found that, "my friend" was right in front of me about 10 yards. I followed him into transition and together we were out on our bikes but he took advantage of the early down hill and put a good lead on me. I was able to keep him in view for about 3 to 4 miles but he kept putting distance on me. He made it back a little over 1 minute into transition. But then came the run...

I don't think he knew I was stalking him the whole race but I wasn't about to let him get away from me on the run. I was a man on a mission. I think I caught up to him about a mile into the run. I told him he was doing great and I ran past him. He didn't put up a fight.

At the finish area I made it a point to introduce myself to "my friend" and to congratulate him on a well run race. Nice to meet you, John. I'm sure we'll have more fun out there on another race course.

Follow this link to see the exciting finish between my 15th place and my friends' close 16th place race results.

For the cool down I ran the 3 mile course at an easy pace. I had fun chatting and encouraging the other runners to finish strong.

I have 2 weeks left of speed and focused quality workouts, and then it's 2 weeks of tapering for my first half ironman race. That'll be my A race.

Fun in the sun.

We had a wonderful time with the family during our stay at the Deer Creek State Park resort. There was on average 30 of us together every day for the week. And to quote my youngest son, "I loved every minute with our family at Deer Creek".

Not only was it a perfect week of fun in the sun but the training for my half ironman was the perfect getaway place to train.

Grandma enjoying her 5 generation heritage.

My in-laws with the grand kids, including my 4 kids.

Biking on the country roads.

Swimming in Deer Creek Lake.

Saddled up to ride off into the sunset.

I now am in my final 6 weeks of training for the half ironman triathlon which is 4 weeks of speed/quality phase and then 2 weeks of taper. The schedule is not a very heavy load but it sure feels like it at the home front. My wife expresses with emotion that she is not happy with all "my time" of training and that it is all about ME. Boy, do I have to be careful when choosing the right time to take off for a 2 to 3 hour workout. I am including the family to bike along while I run my long runs, and we all have a great time.
The next 4 weeks look like I'll be swimming about 1000 meters and running 12 miles on Saturdays. On Sundays I need to bike 50 miles then go for a 20 to 30 minute run. If I can survive these next 4 weeks I'll be ready for that half ironman.

Help! I can't swim!

It's lunch time and I'm in the pool doing my laps and feeling fast and strong. I think my swimming has improved in the last 4 to 5 weeks, probably because of the added mileage I've been putting in the pool, that is, until the life guard waves me over to the first lane so that he could tell me something about my swimming style.

He tells me that when I lift my head to breathe the rest of my body does a fish tailing dance. He also points out that my right hand crosses over the center of my body and as a result I don't get a good catch of the water. He tells me between the fish tailing and improper catch I waste too much energy.

He tries to show me what to do and I think I understand what he's trying to show me but when I put it into practice I still feel like I'm fish tailing and don't quite have the proper catch.

I found on active.com where it states: "Crossover: When your hand enters the water at the beginning of each stroke, you must ensure it doesn't cross your body's imaginary mid-line running from head to toe. Crossing over puts a tremendous amount of strain on the shoulder joint and makes your body fishtail or swing from side to side, increasing drag.
Prescription: Single-arm and catch-up drills. Exaggerate the width of your entry point. At first it may feel as though you are entering far too wide, but this is simply because relative to where you were entering, it feels wide. Video analysis is usually necessary to monitor progress.

Now I need to figure out how to do the single-arm and catch-up drills.

I've got to find a swim coach to help fix my problems.

Next week I take the family to Deer Creek State Park for a week long family reunion. I'll not only enjoy time with the family but I get to enjoy swimming in a big lake, biking country roads, and running around the park.
Everyone enjoy time with your family & friends during this 4th of July.
Life is good!

Gadgets

Where have you been my sweet-hearts? I didn't realize what I've been missing until I recently found you. I have turned into a podcast junkie after having you on my runs. I can finally get caught up listening to my back logs of Phedippidations, Tri-Talk Triathlon, and Zen and the Art of Triathlon and other pod cast shows. You've made my runs more enjoyable.

And you my new Garmin Forerunner 205 how I enjoy going out on a run with no planned course but free to run anywhere I like and you will keep track of my pace, distance, and mileage. You have a boat load of other information for me to use but I'll need to learn how to utilize all the features you offer. You guys are more than welcomed to keep pace with me on my runs.


My sandals wore out and it was time for me to replace them but rather than buy new sandals I spotted these "babies" at the LL Bean store while visiting in Maine. I tried on several sizes including the velcro style and decided to buy these. I have been eyeing these vibram five fingers for about a year but didn't want to buy them online without trying them on first. I'm glad I waited. I've worn them while hiking in the woods, around the neighborhood, and even on a 2 mile run. I was surprised after running on asphalt my feet felt quite comfortable. I could see myself using these more for my short runs and even do some speed work on the track with them.

Maumee Bay Tri

What a beautiful day to do a triathlon. Today was my first triathlon race for this summer season. I raced the Maumee Bay Triathlon international distance which was a 1500 meter swim, 40K bike, and a 10K run.

The swim was in a man made lake with water temperatures warm enough for me to swim in with no wet suit. We swam 2 loops in a calm lake. It was a typical swim with slapping and bumping into each other but I managed to enjoy a steady hard pace with no problems. My swim time was 32:18. Now I need to work on breaking 30 minutes for a 1500 meter swim. It may take a year before that happens but I plan to work on it.

T1 was about throwing my swim cap and goggles into my bag, slip on a jersey with race number already pined to it, put on sun glasses, helmet, un-rack bike and run with bike. My shoes were already clipped onto the pedals. T1 time 56 seconds.

The bike ride was on country roads with no hills to climb or go down. We did have some tail winds to push me at plus 22 miles per hour average but the head winds held me at 18 miles per hour average. Bike time 1:12:02.

Before T2 I slipped my feet out from my shoes and rode with them on top of the shoes for about 200 yards to the dismount line. I hopped off and ran with my bike to the racking area and racked my bike, threw my helmet into my bag, slipped on running shoes and I began to run the 10K. T2 time 49 seconds.

The run was a flat out and back course with very little shade to cover us from the brutal, blazing sun which was wearing down the runners. I was able to average a 6:30 per mile pace but felt the heat sap my strength and energy the last 2 miles. My fluid and gel intake I felt was adequate until I came to the last drink station and was disappointed that they had no water but only Exceed. I decided against drinking Exceed but later realized I should have taken at least a sip to help me mentally make it through the last mile to the finish. Run time was 41:44.

My goal with this race was to race hard and to have fun starting my triathlon season. I was hoping to finish in under 2:30:00 and managed to finish with a time of 2:27:49. I was very please with the how the race organizers put on a top quality race and would like to thank them and all the volunteers for a great season opener for me.

Miss a turn and lose a race.

Today I ran a 5 mile race representing my son on his Naval base. The race had about 30 runners toe the line. I met some of the officers who pointed out the guy that has been winning all the races on base this year.

My only concern was not to get lost while running the race. My plan was to run with the current champion and not to get lost.

At the start of the race the race director told us that there would be blue flag posts at every corner to help direct our run. I was comforted to hear there were some markers on the course and took off running in the lead from the start. Everything was going well until after the turnaround. I hit the 2.52 mile turnaround in 14:47. I drank some water and headed back the way I came. Running back I passed the 2nd place guy who was maybe a minute behind.

At the 3 mile marker I noticed my new Garmin 205 was stopped. I apparently hit the stop button at the turnaround instead of the lap button.

I continued to push the pace knowing that I'd be done in less than 12 minutes. I like to think of how much time I have left rather than distance. I can think of suffering through a certain amount of time much easier than toughing it out through mile after mile.

Following the blue markers along the run course was easy enough except when it came for the last turn to the finish. I missed the turn and continued on before my son pulled up next to me in his car and told me which way I needed to go. I ran an additional .8 of a mile and came in 3rd overall with a time of 33:30.

As you can guess I was mad for missing the turn and not breaking the winning tape. Oh well, everyone else knew I won or would have won the race.

After more runners came in the finishing area I met more Navy officers and I had an appreciation of meeting and running with our service men serving our country.

On our way home we drove back to the point of where I missed the turn and saw the reason why I missed the turn. The blue flag marker was maybe 50 feet from the corner behind a utility box and close to a telephone pole.

I normally have time for a warm up run before a race and I would jog the last finishing miles to familiarize myself of what the finish line looks like and to visualize me crossing the finish line in style. My mistake for not warming up. I'll learn from this one.

Last fling in Maine

We are spending this week up in Maine to visit my son and his wife. This will most likely be our last trip to Maine because my son is getting new orders from the Navy for him to move to New Orleans.
During our time up here we will take a trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire for some hiking and site seeing.

I will also run a 5 mile race to represent my son's squadron on the Navy base.

Here we are climbing one of the trails in the White mountains. Beautiful scenery! If I ever come back here it would be to run the annual foot race or the bike race they have going up Mount Washington.

My little backpack. He thought it would be good training to hike up the mountain with a 54 pound sack on my back. I wasn't smiling too much so I dropped the sack in no time.

No biking this week. The only run I'll do is the race on Thursday. I did manage to swim 2000 yards at the YMCA. I'm hoping to swim again early Thursday morning before the 5 mile race.

I'll be back in Ohio to start my summer season of triathlons for this weekend's triathlon in Toledo, Ohio.

Training updates

I'm in my 8th of 18 week training for the Buckeye Challenge Half Ironman. There are 4 more weeks left of base training to build up strength and endurance. During this build up phase I am focusing on not missing any of the bike rides. And up to now I have been able to keep on track by not missing any of the long rides. Although, finding the time and place to ride becomes a challenge. I have to be creative with my time and route.

I ran 20 miles this past Sunday to begin the counterpulsation tests for this week. This is part two of a test that began at the end of March. At that time I was training for the Boston marathon and had run my last 20 miler before tapering for Boston. Results from that test showed that after the 20 mile run and under normal recovery my blood levels went back to normal after 5 days. This time I ran 20 miles, only 2 minutes slower (2:26:14), and I felt little discomfort or soreness. The blood test after 2 days so far indicate a faster recovery compared to the previous test. The faster recovery is what the lab techs were expecting, due to the counterpulsation test.

The counterpulsation consists of laying flat on your back with these cuffs wrapped around each leg completely and air is force into the cuffs to compress the legs so that the blood is forced back up into the heart during the resting phase of the heart beat. The lab techs monitor the blood pressure to make sure the lower number of my blood pressure does not exceed 1.4 times higher than the upper number of my blood pressure. For example if my blood pressure is 114/80 then when the machine is pumping air, in rhythm of my heart beat, the blood pressure may read 114/114. Anyway by using this method it is supposed that muscle recovery is enhanced by 2 to 3 days. The only discomfort I have is when the cuffs compress my legs it feels like someone is constantly punching them all over. I have to lay for 1 hour for 5 days. Three more days of speedy recovery. Oh, boy!

If I had to pay for this speedy recovery I'd say no thank you. But rather they are paying me $500.00 for this fancy test. I'm a triathlete so I put up with the little discomfort and enjoy the cash.

With the $500.00 I will buy a Garmin Forerunner 205 Wrist-Mounted GPS Navigator and Personal Training Device, and a weekend backpack for my lovely wife.

I will post more test results and numbers when I complete the test.

10K+ photo finish

From the photo, guess which one is running at a sub 6 minute mile pace to the finish line at the Cleveland Rite Aid (suppose to be 10K) race. Two guys are finishing at an 8 minute mile pace.

The problem was that I was with a group of lead runners and was directed off course early in the race and did not get back on the correct course until the 5 mile mark. I was then blowing by all kinds of runners who were trying to finish in 48 minutes for 6.2 miles. My finish time was also 48 minutes but I had to run an additional 2.7 miles.

The race directors are doing their best to resolve the error and will let us know what they will do about it on June 6th.

Here is an update from an email I received today from the Cleveland Rite Aid race director.

Dear 10K runner, We now have sent either an email or letter to every registered 10K runner asking anyone who ran off course to let us know, and emails and phone calls continue to trickle into our office. At this time we have had 78 runners contact us. To bring this to a conclusion, we are setting a deadline of June 6 for any runner who went off course to contact us.
We have spoken to USATF as well as several marathon race directors about the mishap, and we've received plenty of advice from them as well as our runners. Shortly after the June 6 deadline, we will notify you of our decisions regarding this year's race as well as changes planned for next year. Our goal is to minimize the likelihood that this can happen again. "Minimize" is key, because we have learned that Cleveland was not the first race where groups of runners went off course. We just want to make sure it doesn't happen again in Cleveland.
Thank you for your patience. For those of you who offered advice, know that we are listening. We will contact you again shortly after June 6.
Sincerely, Ralph A Staph Race Director

Backpacking Minister Creek Hiking Trail

My wife and I were driving to Allegheny National Forest this past weekend, with three 9 year old boys in the car, and when they were acting like silly little crazy boys, we looked at each other and asked, 'and why are we doing this'? We were taking them on their first backpacking experience for the weekend. If we had our druthers we would have been doing our own little weekend getaway trip, but this time was for us to have fun with the boys.

We chose to backpack the Minister Creek Hiking Trail which is considered a family friendly hiking trial. The trail is a 7.3 mile loop. We hiked about 2 hours on Saturday from the trail head to our camp site.

I let the boys lead the pace and if they wanted to stop and pick up hiking sticks, pick up a newt, climb huge tree roots that were growing on the side of a cliff, or jump in the creek it was all up to them and about having fun. I also wanted to teach them some backpacking skills. The first skill I wanted to show them was how to use a water purifier to pump out water from the creek. The only problem was I forgot to bring the filter cartridge. oops. The lesson learned was you almost always forget something on a backpacking trip. We had enough water for Saturday and for Sunday's breakfast but then we had to divided the remaining water among us for the hike out on Sunday. We only had about 4 ounces each with about 3 hours left to hike. I knew we would have to do something to survive the hike. Another lesson I taught them was to be friendly with other hikers especially if you notice a family out backpacking. We did find a father and his son at a camp site and we began to talk with them. We mentioned our water dilemma to them and they were more than willing to let us use their water pump so that we could fill up our water bottles. We were all elated that we had water to enjoy from the mountain stream. And the boys got to see how to purify water from the stream.

We were able to finish the hike with plenty of water and time to enjoy the scenery and the boys got one last time to jump in the stream to cool off and have some fun.

Letter from Race Director.

I received this email this morning from the race director.

Thank you very much for responding to our email. Let us tell you what we know so far, and what we are doing.
We have heard from about 65 runners who went off course, and many have different reasons for taking a wrong turn. We know that elite runners were led off course by the lead vehicle, and it looks like it snowballed from there. Those in sight of the elite runners followed, and then well-meaning bystanders, volunteers and police misdirected others. We learned of the problem from a race official as it happened, and we were able to get it corrected as quickly as possible. This is no excuse, and we sincerely apologize.
We are talking to USATF, the governing body of road racing, to help us determine the correct course of action. This may take a few days, so please be patient with us. We will do what is right, and we will make whatever changes are necessary to ensure that this never happens again. Under consideration already are a course change and greater separation in the start time between the marathon and 10K.
We appreciate your comments - even the harshest and most critical. We are listening, and we will make changes to make our race better for you, our runners. Many of the people who put this race together are runners, too, so please know that we feel your pain and we care.
Again, thank for responding and sharing your experience with us. We will be back in touch with you as soon as we have a decision about the best course of action we can take.
Sincerely,
Ralph A Staph Race Director

I'll post any new information I get from the race director as soon I get them.

I guess the Marathon director is receiving all kinds of complaints from not only the 10K runners but also the marathoners as well. Runners were directed to run on the sidewalks after 5 hours on the course and after 6 hours aid stations were gone, police support gone, and race cones gone but according to race information, quote "Official times of the 26.2-mile competitive foot race are maintained for 8 hours". People will be calling this 30th anniversary of the Cleveland Rite Aid Marathon & 10K race as the "marathon mistake on the lake" for sure.

Cleveland "not a" 10K Race report.

I have a reoccurring nightmare where I am running effortlessly with my feet hovering off the ground and I'm passing all kinds of people, but the only problem is that I don't know where I am running. I am lost. I would always wake up from my dream race experience extremely agitated and frustrated. My dream or rather my nightmare came true today.
This morning at the Cleveland Rite Aid 10k, for some unknown reason, the lead vehicle led us astray. The runners all followed the vehicle the WRONG way and some were exchanging expletives unsure of what to do anyway. I figured if we are all being led down into the flats, then no big deal, we'll all run the same distance and get our respective times at the finish. I thought lets make the best of it and continue to the finish. The 2 mile marker was the last one we saw until we were directed back onto the original course at the five mile maker.
Between the 2 and 5 mile maker we had, no crowd support, no aid stations, and no police support. And we managed to run probably an additional 2 + miles. Sometime during the race the officials realized the error and made the correction and had the rest of the runners diverted back onto the correct course. But the damage was done and some of the runners were so mad that they didn't finish. My focus was to continue to run tough and stay with one of the lead Kenyan women (Leah Kiprono) who was running a sub 6 minute mile pace. But while I was chasing her, people driving in their cars were beeping and yelling at us to get off the road. They were probably wondering why this old white man was chasing a young pretty black girl. I wasn't going to hurt her. really. She was my inspiration to the finish. Her stride was poetry in motion. I thanked her and shook her hand at the finish for a run well done. I did manage to finish ahead of Leah by 17 seconds. I was happy.
I emailed the race director to let him know how upset I was and requested a refund. We'll see what they say.
If anyone ran the misdirected 10K run and was wearing a GPS and knows the correct distance please let me know. I think my next watch will be a Garmin 205. Anyone have one on sale?

What's your style?

We all have our own unique style of running. Some runners glide effortlessly across the ground as poetry in motion and others move in a suffering waddling way. Over the years of running I am amused that I can spot someone running in my direction, who may be several hundred yards away, by their particular movements as a male or female, a friend, or someone else I recognize.

I have heard of different methods of running by using the Pose or ChiRunning methods. I have tried some of the techniques they teach but eventually I revert back to my particular way of running where I feel comfortable with. Maybe if there were some mechanical issues with my legs and I incurred injuries regularly then I would have to learn some new form of running. But thankfully, I have been injury free for the past 21 years and I think I can run fast so there is no need for me to change my running style. Though, I do enjoy reading and learning about things I can do to improve my running I sometimes give them a try. I realize there is always room for improvement when it comes to running. Knowledge and experience come to a runner over the years of training and racing which is why we keep running.

If I did change my running form then you might not recognize me when we cross each other on the trails. I want you to remember me by my style. See you out on the roads.

Vo2 Max & Fitness test

A definition of cardiovascular fitness can be explained as the ability of the heart, lungs and circulatory system to supply oxygen and nutrients to working muscles efficiently, and allows activities that involve large muscle groups (walking, running, swimming, biking, etc.) to be performed over long periods of time. From a health standpoint, cardiovascular or aerobic fitness is generally considered to be the most important of the fitness components.

I had the opportunity to get a fitness test and my maximum oxygen consumption (Max VO2) measured last Friday at the Human Performance lab here at CSU. A fitness test along with a Max VO2 test is part of the fitness for life class that students take at the end of the semester.
My fitness test results included the measurements of:
**Blood Chemistry's - Total Cholesterol -203 mg/dl, HDL - 65 mg/dl, LDL - 120 mg/dl, Triglycerides - 86 mg/dl, and Glucose - 95mg/dl,
**Muscular Strength Assessment - Grip (L) 53 kg, and Grip (R) 49 kg
**Flexibility Assessment - Sit & Reach - 9.3 in
**Body Composition - Body weight 144lbs, Lean Body Mass 134.5 lbs, Fat Mass 9.5 lbs, Basal Metabolic Rate 1915, Body fat percentage 6.6%.
My Body Age is 39 compared to my chronological age of 47. I finally caught up with my father who still claims to be 39. Now I can say, 'I'm turdee-nine too (said with a Hungarian accent).

The Max VO2 test was performed on a treadmill. I started with a warm-up run at a 7:30 pace for 10 minutes and the incline set to zero. After the warm-up a head piece with a mouth piece connected to hoses and a nose clip were put on and I was hooked up to the machine to begin the test. The test began with me running at the 7:30 pace and the incline increased to 3 percent every 3 minutes. I hit my max of 60.8 ml/kg-min ten minutes into the test and the incline was set to 9 percent. At eleven minutes the effort began to wane and my VO2 went down to 58.6 which meant I wouldn't get any better than 60.8 and the test was completed. I think I might have done better if the nose clip didn't keep flying off my sweaty nose and the head piece would have stayed on better. I was a bit distracted with those issues and lost my concentration to push it a little harder. Overall I was please with the results which indicated my cardiovascular fitness to be in the 99th percentile and the Elite classification.

I have been in the program for the past 6 years and have been tested every year. I find it interesting to review the results and compare it with pervious years.

Weekend get away.

Friday evening, I took the family, including the grand kids, out for a weekend getaway at a church retreat home to enjoy some rest and relaxation. We stayed in a log cabin home with 6 other couples. The home is located in a rural area of Ashland, Ohio.

Saturday I got up early, but not early enough to watch the sunrise, to run 8 miles. I had mapped out an 8 mile loop on country roads. The skies were overcast and the temps were around 50 degrees. The route was fairly flat and the only encounters I had that morning was 1 car, 1 horse & buggy, and 1 loose dog to chase me. I love running, or riding, on country roads and not have a car or dog scare me off the road. A dog, I can yell at to, 'go home', but a car is too big for me to mess with.

Sunday afternoon the weather was beautiful with lots of sunshine which was perfect for a bike ride. I was able to get out and ride an easy 30 miles.

I'm enjoying the easy pace and efforts of running and biking during the build up phase of my half irnoman training. Most of my training efforts is in the 110-120 bpm heart rate range which comes out to be about 17mph on the bike and 7:45 per mile on the run.

This Friday I will participate in a Maximal Oxygen Consumption Test (VO2max) and will get some real data to help determine my correct levels of heart rate for running easy or hard.

Wasting no time.

I'd like to thank my family, friends, and including those I've never physically met here in blogger land, for all your encouraging words sent to me for running the Boston Marathon. I am motivated to train and race well, in part, because of all your kind words.

To recover from the Monday marathon on Tuesday I walked 30 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the afternoon. Wednesday was a day of rest. On Thursday I swam for an easy 1000 meters. The soreness in my legs lasted for a good 3 days and by Friday I felt no pain walking up or down the stairs. Friday was another day of total rest.

On Saturday I ran an easy 5 miles with my son along side me on his scooter. He thanked me more than once for the good time we had enjoying the park scenery while chit-chatting.

On Sunday I rode my bike outside, for the second time this year, for a nice 24 mile ride.

This week I start an 18 week training program for a Half Ironman triathlon. I will use the tri-newbies program to help keep me focused and on track for the August 19th event.

The first 12 weeks is a base build up of mileage. Weeks 13-16 consists of speed/quality workouts followed by weeks 17 and 18 to taper. If I can keep most of this schedule I should be confident and happy to compete in my first Half Ironman Triathlon.

The excitement in Boston.

Weather forecasters called it, "Nasty in New England", or "Monsoon Monday", to describe the kind of day it was in the Boston area. Needless to say, the weather conditions did not favor the marathon runners. I did not want the talk of the crummy weather from the dramatized weather reports, and even from fellow runners to scare me or deter my plans of running well. Running well was what I trained for. As someone once quoted, "I bring the weather with me", and that was my motto for the weekend.

...This sculpture is a dedication to the spirit of everyone young at heart.


The crazy weather didn't hamper my fun or excitement of running the world renowned marathon. There was 20-30 mile per hour wind gusts, and downpours during the run. I remember having to tuck in behind runners when the winds would try to push us backward. And the rains were on and off in the early miles of the run. It didn't matter what the weather was doing, it was the crowds along the course who were cheering for the runners that made for all the fun of running the marathon.

The Wellesley girls got high fives from me but my family got hugs and kisses from me.

The most excitement came from the college girls of Wellesley. As we were approaching the half way point of the race you could hear the cheers and roars of the girls, even though you couldn't see them. I was awestruck by the sound. I remember looking over to another runner and was about to say something but he was plugged into his ipod. I thought how could you listen to that thing and miss the great sound of 'many waters'. The girls were all that they were promised to be, including giving out kisses to some of the runners. I gave as many high fives to as many girls I could while passing them at a 6:40 pace. But the highlight after the girls was meeting my family where I stopped to give them hugs and kisses. They were surprised I stopped to show my affection and appreciation.















I continued to run well, feeling confident of maintaining, what I thought, was a comfortable pace but something began to happen after 30 Kilometers. It may have been the cold, windy, rainy weather, or the majority down hill running, followed by hill climbs between 16 to 21 miles, whatever it was my mind was telling me I could still finish the last 12 K fast enough to come in under 3 hours. But my legs couldn't keep up with my mind. I had to find a way to survive and push to the end. The last few miles the crowds were really cheering the hurting runners on to, 'keep up the pace' and that, 'you're almost done you can do it'. You almost feel not to let the crowds down by walking because of the well wishes and encouraging words. It's OK to walk the aid stations which I did from the very beginning of the race. I just had to walk a lot slower near the end of the race and somehow get my legs moving to run to the next aid station. And then to the finish line.

I would have liked to run 13 minutes faster but so would have a lot of other people, so I will not let it bother me and remember the enjoyable time I had with my wife, son, his wife, and the crowds along the Boston marathon course.

Results can be views here by entering my bib number 3160.

Why not PR at Boston?

I believe runners are hopeful people. We hope to run and race well even when adverse conditions such as, bad weather, injuries, poor diet, or any other unplanned events try to dash our hopes of obtaining a PR. We are blessed with the gift of good health and should perform to the best of our ability. It is hope that carries us beyond pain and all adversities.

Our hope is based on:
The consistent hours of running, strength training, and cross-training.
The new physique, after shedding a few extra pounds, and having more muscle tone.
The faster times of intervals, tempos, and long runs during training.
The encouragement given to us by our family and friends, telling us, we can do it.

It is through experience that our hope is confirmed.
It is through experience we gain confidence and are determined to meet our goal of setting a PR.

I would like to wish great success to all those running the Boston Marathon with me this coming Monday.

My goal will be to break 3 hours, which will be a PR.

Week leading up to the "great BM"!

I guess it takes all kinds of roads that lead to Boston, including heavy, wet snow covered roads. I managed to run 10 miles in our winter wonderland on the all purpose trails. The trails must have had 12 inches of snow on them, which made for a great cushioned surface to run on. I had fun making fresh foot print tracks in the snow. I didn't even mind my feet getting wet and cold. Besides I was enjoying the beautiful scenery in the park.

This week workouts include:
Monday - 30 minute Power Yoga with Graeme Street's Cyclo-Zen DVD
Tuesday - Kalahari Water Park with the cub scouts. I promise not to go crazy on the slides. If I get home early I'll do some 1/4 mile repeats on the treadmill.
Wednesday - swim 1000 meters and spin on the bike for an hour.
Thursday - 3 mile run at marathon pace.
Friday - swim 1000 meters and more Yoga with Graeme
Saturday - fly me to Boston
Sunday - 2 mile run on the Boston course or on the treadmill.
Monday - Run the great Boston Marathon (BM)

If anyone wants to track me online my race bib number is 3160. Click on the link and track me on race day.