I wanted to write this post last night but I was so tired that I fell asleep on the couch watching the Payton Jordan Invitational live on flotrack. Here is the full recap of the OC Marathon. I decided to stick with the full marathon at Orange County only in the last week leading up to the race. Actually, more like the day before the race. This was my 9th marathon and 7th slowest in 3:44:34 (avg pace 8:34 pace), and it was also my longest marathon (more on that later).
The day before the race, Dale went down to pick up our race packets. He texted me while down there and said, "Lauren wants to drop to the half, what do you want to do?" I texted back, "What are you running?" thinking that I didn't want to be the only one running the full. He texted back, "do you want to drop down?" which didn't answer my question, and after thinking that Dale would not want to drop down in distance, I texted back, "NO." I finally called him back and he said that he actually switched both Lauren and himself to the half, but then had second thoughts as did Lauren, who texted him back saying, "keep me in the full." So we were all still registered for the full marathon. What did we ever do without cell phones?
So the plan soon became to run with Lauren and help her run a solid marathon, maybe even a Boston Qualifier. Little did I know that she had been having lots of trouble with her asthma earlier in the week.
To avoid the hotel costs I crashed at Dale's house and woke at 2:40am to leave for Newport Beach by 3am and arrive in time to make the bus to the starting line. We arrived in what we thought was plenty of time. The line for the bus was already quite long and continued to grow. We waited for over a half hour to get on a bus and then sat there for another 5 mintues or so. When we finally arrived at the starting area we got off the bus and heard the National Anthem playing, we ran over to a short port-a-potty line and started weaving our way up as close as we could to the starting line and made it about half way into coral A before the gun went off.
The three of us talked and enjoyed the beautiful weather and clear skies for the first hour of the race. We meet up with David Weary (who was running the half) about mile three and he joined "team Lauren" for the next 8 miles or so. We were cruising right along and hit the 10 mile mark in 1:23, then David broke off to finish the half. Dale playing tour guide along the way as he is from Orange County, and he told us that there were only 2 big hills on the course. Lauren and I started counting hills and we were up to 9 at mile 9! This is NOT a PR course in any way.
We hit the half split in 1:47:47 (8:14 pace) and I thought this might be Lauren's day. I started helping her refill her amphipod at aid stations while she ran ahead. I would catch back up to her and deliver her water. About mile 17 she started to get some cramping in her diaphram which set off her asthma and she had to stop. We got her going again but then she had to stop again. Even by mile 15.5 our average pace was down to (8:11). But after 3 stops we could tell it was going to be a tough finish for Lauren. Dale and I continued on and tried to pick up the pace a bit but he soon decided he had had enough and said, "see you at the finish line Karl." Not a mile or so later, the bear jumped on my back and I "hit the wall."
The last 5 miles were a struggle. I guess I anticipated that it would be tough but it was also reaching 80 degrees and by now the dry Santa Ana winds, that were a nice cooling breeze, were now blowing at 15mph and in my face the last 3 miles. I looked around at my fellow runners and as glad to see it wasn't just me struggling out there. There is a comradery among runners, something about struggling together that bonds us. I called it, "The Death March" for the last 4-5 miles. It was tough. Certainly my lack of fitness was showing. For a while I tought I could be close to 3:35 and then sub 3:40 but ended up 3:44 (avg pace 8:34). Chuck was waiting for me at the finish line. He ran 3:41. Dale came in at 3:51 and Lauren finished in 4:02, actually better than I thought she would do.
The reason I said it was my longest marathon ever is because after running back and forth at water stopps and running back to check on Lauren, I actually ran just over 27 miles on Sunday!
It is hard to imagine running almost 50 minutes faster right now (my PR is 2:57). But here is my calculation of how I got to this time. 2:57+10 minutes for each of the last 3 months due to lack of training+3% slowing for every 10 degrees over 50=3:47.
It was a blast running with Dale, Lauren, and David. We told stories, jokes, and kept each other going. I thought Lauren had it today but it did not happen. There's always next time Lauren!
Finally, this morning at work I was reading an article in Competitor Magainze about Rhabdomyolysis, and it said, "just because you've run a marathon in the past doesn't mean you should run 26 miles without an appropriate build up; doing so can put you at risk becuase your body has not been trained to handle the stress." So I guess this is one of those, "do as I say not as I do" moments. I never once felt that I was in any kind of medical danger, just some major chaffing issues that a little cortizone creme took care of.
Showing posts with label marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marathon. Show all posts
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Spontaneous AV Marathon (3:35:47)
I ran the full distance of a marathon this morning (26.2 miles) and was finished by 8:25 am. My marathon time was 3:35:47 (avg pace 8:14/mi). I ran 16 miles of those with Dale Lister. Come back later tonight for the full story. It is pretty comical.
Update:
So the plan this morning was to meet Dale at Marie Kerr Park at 6:00am and go 20 miles. I even called to confirm with him and reminded him to change his clocks. I went around the house and set all the clocks in my house ahead one hour and went to bed. I decided the night before that I would run the 3.5 miles to meet Dale instead of drive which meant I would have to get up a little earlier. I left my house at 20 til and ran to the park. It was freezing this morning literally (30 degrees). I was happy to have worn my tights, gloves and ear band. I had to push the pace because I was running a little late but when I got there Dale was not there yet. I ran around the parking lot of Vons a few times, still no Dale. I then did the 1.25 mile loop around the park, still no Dale. I was thinking, "this is not like Dale." Then I realized that it was still pitch dark out and not getting any lighter. Why was it still so dark? I came to the conclusion that I HAD left at 20 til...20 til 5! I guess my alarm clock automatically changes for daylight savings and I added an extra hour. Dale would not be coming for another 45 minutes so I continued to run loops around the park until a little before 6:00am when I finally saw his van. By this time I had already run 9.3 miles. Dale was ready to go and we started up Rancho Vista on our way to Quartz Hill to add some hills into our long run (Dale is running the Boston Marathon in 5 weeks!). We zig zagged our way to 70th and L and then hit all the major hills in Quartz Hill finishing at N-8 and 50th. By this time I had decided to run the 26.2 mile distance and needed about 4 miles to finish. We did an out and back on N-8, adding another hill, and then I parted with Dale and headed home reaching the marathon split in my neighborhood in 3:35:47! Dale ran back to his car and finished 20 miles for the day. I did not eat anything before leaving and only brought approx 20oz bottle of powerbar recovery drink. I was tired and hungry by the end of the run and couldn't believe that I had only completed half the distance that I will cover in 5 weeks. Who talked me into this?
Update:
So the plan this morning was to meet Dale at Marie Kerr Park at 6:00am and go 20 miles. I even called to confirm with him and reminded him to change his clocks. I went around the house and set all the clocks in my house ahead one hour and went to bed. I decided the night before that I would run the 3.5 miles to meet Dale instead of drive which meant I would have to get up a little earlier. I left my house at 20 til and ran to the park. It was freezing this morning literally (30 degrees). I was happy to have worn my tights, gloves and ear band. I had to push the pace because I was running a little late but when I got there Dale was not there yet. I ran around the parking lot of Vons a few times, still no Dale. I then did the 1.25 mile loop around the park, still no Dale. I was thinking, "this is not like Dale." Then I realized that it was still pitch dark out and not getting any lighter. Why was it still so dark? I came to the conclusion that I HAD left at 20 til...20 til 5! I guess my alarm clock automatically changes for daylight savings and I added an extra hour. Dale would not be coming for another 45 minutes so I continued to run loops around the park until a little before 6:00am when I finally saw his van. By this time I had already run 9.3 miles. Dale was ready to go and we started up Rancho Vista on our way to Quartz Hill to add some hills into our long run (Dale is running the Boston Marathon in 5 weeks!). We zig zagged our way to 70th and L and then hit all the major hills in Quartz Hill finishing at N-8 and 50th. By this time I had decided to run the 26.2 mile distance and needed about 4 miles to finish. We did an out and back on N-8, adding another hill, and then I parted with Dale and headed home reaching the marathon split in my neighborhood in 3:35:47! Dale ran back to his car and finished 20 miles for the day. I did not eat anything before leaving and only brought approx 20oz bottle of powerbar recovery drink. I was tired and hungry by the end of the run and couldn't believe that I had only completed half the distance that I will cover in 5 weeks. Who talked me into this?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
New marathon PR set at CIM! 2:57:11
It took me three and a half years but I finally bettered my PR that I set at Grandma's Marathon in 2006. My previous best was 2:58:37. Today I ran 2:57:11! Here is the story (I may be wordy here but I don't want to forget any details).
We woke up at 4:30 am (actually Clay was up even earlier...not by choice), to catch the bus to the starting line at 5:00am! We met up with the rest of our group (Dale, Michael, Dan, and Chuck) easily and boarded a bus quickly. It was around 30 degrees. We were able to stay on the bus to keep warm and go back and forth between the port-a-potties. We finally left for the starting line around 6:30 and got close to our pace groups. My plan was to say behind the 3 hour pacer for a while to test my right leg and then decide what to do. I was dressed perfectly. I had a skull cap, arm warmers and gloves with shorts and a sleeveless shirt. I wore my injinjis (socks), which I found out the hard way that they don't keep your toes very warm. I felt like I was running on stubs for the first two miles.
The gun went off and we took off down hill for the first mile. The three hour pacer really took off and was 10 seconds ahead of me right away. After mile one you turn right and head up a short hill and then start a series of short wavy hills for four miles. My first five splits were 6:50, 6:42, 6:35, 6:41, 6:39. The three hour pacer was still ahead of me. He took those poor guys out way too fast.
We turned south after the five mile mark and were welcomed by a stiff headwind for the next five miles which also had a series of short wavy hills. By mile seven I had passed the 3 hour pace group, which was still ahead of schedule, and I was powering up the short hills then cruising down the other side. The hills almost seemed to be strategically placed. Just when my quads were getting tired we were going up, and just when my calves and hams were tiring we were going down again. Things were going really well. The wind did not seem to affect me at all. I had no right foot pain and no right leg tightness at this point. I couldn't believe it! My next five splits were 6:39, 6:43. 6:42. 6:42, 6:25!
We then turned right (west) and the head wind became a cross wind. The hills continued but were longer for the next four miles. I continued to power up the hills and really started to pick it up on the downhills. I was going from one pack to the next. Everyone seemed to be coming back to me and as I passed more and more people I was a little worried that I was going to fast. Still feeling relaxed, I decided to maintain my pace. My splits were 6:17, 6:40, 6:42, 6:42. That 6:17 was me trying to keep up with another runner that was obviously too fast for me...I let him go. My half marathon split was 1:27:36 (right on pace for a 2:55).
Just passed the half way point my right calf started to tighten a bit but not enough to affect my stride or slow me down. I kept grinding. We turned south again to an even stronger headwind for the next five miles. I got stuck between packs for a few miles and was all by myself in no mans land with no one to help me. I was continuing on pace focusing on groups ahead until I finally caught one, and then another. My spits here were 6:50, 6:35, 6:39, 6:37, 6:33. I went through mile 18 I remember just over 2 hours (2:00:20ish). Knowing that I was still on pace for 2:55 I decided there that I hadn't come all this way and put myself in this position not to finish well.
I took two powerbar gels (strawberry-banana) with water. One at the half way point and one at mile 20. I took one cup of Ultima around mile 10 and one other sip of water some where along the way. That is all I needed.
There is a bridge around mile 21 that I was waiting for as a landmark and it seemed to take forever to get there. "Where is that darn bridge?" I kept thinking. That is really the last hill on the course. By mile 19 the headwind was now a cross wind again and didn't seem to affect me the rest of the race. It did keep temperatures down though. I passed a bank around mile 22 and the clock outside read 39 degrees. By my Garmin (which was a little off) I went through 20 miles in 2:12:55. It was actually just over 2:13. Mile 20 was 6:36, mile 21 was 6:48, mile 22 was 6:55, and then the legs started to get a little heavy.
6:40 is the average pace to run a 2:55. They were calling out average paces almost every mile and by 20 I was 6:41! After 21 miles the course starts to flatten out, but because my legs were tiring it felt like I was still running up hill. We hit 56th street and had to run down to 9th street. My legs were getting harder and harder to lift and I was pushing off the ground less and less. I was trying to do the math and calculate how close I could be to running a PR as 2:55 started to slip away. Last four miles were 7:05, 7:07, 6:58, 7:04 and a last finishing kick for the last .2 miles gave me a 2:57:11! Those last four miles were probably the hardest four miles I have ever run. That is where my extra 1.5 minutes came from. I realized with about a mile to go that I was going to PR for sure and I was pumped up!
Once I stopped running I could barely move. Both of my legs seized up with cramping and I hobbled around the finish area. I kept waiting around but never found anyone else from my group. I finally ran into Michael who shook his head. He was hoping to run sub 3:10 and ended up 3:18 (still a PR). He said he lost Dan at around the half way point. I couldn't find anyone else so I shuffled back to my hotel room. It took me at least 20 minutes to walk a quarter mile to the hotel.
The conditions where tough out there and only got worse as the day went on. Dale was the only other runner in our group to PR with a time of 3:19:48. Chuck (two weeks after running the Route 66 marathon) ran 3:22:00. Clay and Dan both had a really rough time out there. Clay said he caught up to Dan around mile 22 and they were both walking. He said Dan was weaving back and forth on the road. They got together and walk/jogged it in at around 3:45. They both battled calf issues. Don't let it get you down guys. You are both better than that. It just wasn't your day.
I checked the official results when I got home and found that I had just cracked the top 200 runners finishing in 197th place. I was 36th in my age group 30-34. There were a number of talented runners there. My 2:57:11 is averaging 6:45 pace! This may also be the first time that I ran under 1:30 for my second half of the marathon. Since I went out in 1:27:36 I came back in 1:29:25. This was my 8th marathon and they don't get any easier. I don't know when I will take shot at this new PR but I know I have more in me. 2:55 is certainly possible, then who knows.
Tomorrow will be a tough day at work. My legs are extremely stiff and sore, the right leg is worse than the left.
It was a great trip. One I will never forget (especially after this LONG blog post).
We woke up at 4:30 am (actually Clay was up even earlier...not by choice), to catch the bus to the starting line at 5:00am! We met up with the rest of our group (Dale, Michael, Dan, and Chuck) easily and boarded a bus quickly. It was around 30 degrees. We were able to stay on the bus to keep warm and go back and forth between the port-a-potties. We finally left for the starting line around 6:30 and got close to our pace groups. My plan was to say behind the 3 hour pacer for a while to test my right leg and then decide what to do. I was dressed perfectly. I had a skull cap, arm warmers and gloves with shorts and a sleeveless shirt. I wore my injinjis (socks), which I found out the hard way that they don't keep your toes very warm. I felt like I was running on stubs for the first two miles.
The gun went off and we took off down hill for the first mile. The three hour pacer really took off and was 10 seconds ahead of me right away. After mile one you turn right and head up a short hill and then start a series of short wavy hills for four miles. My first five splits were 6:50, 6:42, 6:35, 6:41, 6:39. The three hour pacer was still ahead of me. He took those poor guys out way too fast.
We turned south after the five mile mark and were welcomed by a stiff headwind for the next five miles which also had a series of short wavy hills. By mile seven I had passed the 3 hour pace group, which was still ahead of schedule, and I was powering up the short hills then cruising down the other side. The hills almost seemed to be strategically placed. Just when my quads were getting tired we were going up, and just when my calves and hams were tiring we were going down again. Things were going really well. The wind did not seem to affect me at all. I had no right foot pain and no right leg tightness at this point. I couldn't believe it! My next five splits were 6:39, 6:43. 6:42. 6:42, 6:25!
We then turned right (west) and the head wind became a cross wind. The hills continued but were longer for the next four miles. I continued to power up the hills and really started to pick it up on the downhills. I was going from one pack to the next. Everyone seemed to be coming back to me and as I passed more and more people I was a little worried that I was going to fast. Still feeling relaxed, I decided to maintain my pace. My splits were 6:17, 6:40, 6:42, 6:42. That 6:17 was me trying to keep up with another runner that was obviously too fast for me...I let him go. My half marathon split was 1:27:36 (right on pace for a 2:55).
Just passed the half way point my right calf started to tighten a bit but not enough to affect my stride or slow me down. I kept grinding. We turned south again to an even stronger headwind for the next five miles. I got stuck between packs for a few miles and was all by myself in no mans land with no one to help me. I was continuing on pace focusing on groups ahead until I finally caught one, and then another. My spits here were 6:50, 6:35, 6:39, 6:37, 6:33. I went through mile 18 I remember just over 2 hours (2:00:20ish). Knowing that I was still on pace for 2:55 I decided there that I hadn't come all this way and put myself in this position not to finish well.
I took two powerbar gels (strawberry-banana) with water. One at the half way point and one at mile 20. I took one cup of Ultima around mile 10 and one other sip of water some where along the way. That is all I needed.
There is a bridge around mile 21 that I was waiting for as a landmark and it seemed to take forever to get there. "Where is that darn bridge?" I kept thinking. That is really the last hill on the course. By mile 19 the headwind was now a cross wind again and didn't seem to affect me the rest of the race. It did keep temperatures down though. I passed a bank around mile 22 and the clock outside read 39 degrees. By my Garmin (which was a little off) I went through 20 miles in 2:12:55. It was actually just over 2:13. Mile 20 was 6:36, mile 21 was 6:48, mile 22 was 6:55, and then the legs started to get a little heavy.
6:40 is the average pace to run a 2:55. They were calling out average paces almost every mile and by 20 I was 6:41! After 21 miles the course starts to flatten out, but because my legs were tiring it felt like I was still running up hill. We hit 56th street and had to run down to 9th street. My legs were getting harder and harder to lift and I was pushing off the ground less and less. I was trying to do the math and calculate how close I could be to running a PR as 2:55 started to slip away. Last four miles were 7:05, 7:07, 6:58, 7:04 and a last finishing kick for the last .2 miles gave me a 2:57:11! Those last four miles were probably the hardest four miles I have ever run. That is where my extra 1.5 minutes came from. I realized with about a mile to go that I was going to PR for sure and I was pumped up!
Once I stopped running I could barely move. Both of my legs seized up with cramping and I hobbled around the finish area. I kept waiting around but never found anyone else from my group. I finally ran into Michael who shook his head. He was hoping to run sub 3:10 and ended up 3:18 (still a PR). He said he lost Dan at around the half way point. I couldn't find anyone else so I shuffled back to my hotel room. It took me at least 20 minutes to walk a quarter mile to the hotel.
The conditions where tough out there and only got worse as the day went on. Dale was the only other runner in our group to PR with a time of 3:19:48. Chuck (two weeks after running the Route 66 marathon) ran 3:22:00. Clay and Dan both had a really rough time out there. Clay said he caught up to Dan around mile 22 and they were both walking. He said Dan was weaving back and forth on the road. They got together and walk/jogged it in at around 3:45. They both battled calf issues. Don't let it get you down guys. You are both better than that. It just wasn't your day.
I checked the official results when I got home and found that I had just cracked the top 200 runners finishing in 197th place. I was 36th in my age group 30-34. There were a number of talented runners there. My 2:57:11 is averaging 6:45 pace! This may also be the first time that I ran under 1:30 for my second half of the marathon. Since I went out in 1:27:36 I came back in 1:29:25. This was my 8th marathon and they don't get any easier. I don't know when I will take shot at this new PR but I know I have more in me. 2:55 is certainly possible, then who knows.
Tomorrow will be a tough day at work. My legs are extremely stiff and sore, the right leg is worse than the left.
It was a great trip. One I will never forget (especially after this LONG blog post).
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Twin Cities Marathon (3:49:58)
Sorry for the lateness of this post but it has been a busy day. We got up at 6:15 for an 8:00 start. My dad lives 15 minutes from the starting line. The temperature was 41 degrees when we got there. They opened up the Metrodome so we were able to get back inside and use restrooms before the race. We didn't go outside until about 15 minutes before race time. We were in corral 2 only because Andi had not run a recent marathon to use for qualifying time. So we started behind the 5:30 pace group! It took at least 6 miles to break ahead of all the slower runners and by then the course narrowed making it hard to pass other people. Our second 5k was faster than our first and we were able to get back on track with an 8:30 pace. We went through the half in 1:50:20 (about 2 minutes ahead of pace) we both were starting to get some calf tightness that only got worse, especially for Andi. Then we made a port-a-potty stop at mile 14 and started to feel a little better. The pace started to slow for us around mile 18 and the last 10 miles were tough. We really had to grind them out. Andi's calves were cramping worse and her legs were getting heavier. At this point we started to walk through the water stops which helped loosen her legs enough to start at a faster pace again. The weather was beautiful the whole way with temperatures staying in the 40's and a slight breeze that kept us nice and cool. We were almost overdressed. There is a net uphill from mile 20 to mile 23 but after that it is a flat and downhill finish. With about 2 miles to go we were able to maintain 8:30 pace again. I started to do the math in my head and could see the finish when I realized, if we pushed it in we could still be under 3:50. We crossed the line and Andi stopped her watch at 3:50:00. Our official time was 3:49:58!
After the run we hurried home to shower, change, get in the car, and get to the ball game. We only missed the first three innings and had to walk up 18 rows to get to our seats. The prolonged sitting was the hardest part, but the Twins won 13-4 and forced a tiebreaker on Tuesday...which we got tickets for after the game! It was quite a day.
Only one lady at the game commented on our shirts!
Both of our legs were not fully prepared for 4 hours of running today. I had not run more than 13 miles at one time since our 18 mile run in Santa Clarita on September 5th, nearly a month ago. Andi had never been past 19.
I was very proud of her for grinding out those last ten miles and finishing strong. She did great! This was her first marathon since 2005 in Los Angeles (which we also ran together). It was great to run another marathon with her. Although it was tough we got through it together.
My Garmin got thrown off big time after going under a tunnel in the first mile. I was over a mile off by the finish. After reviewing our splits online I realized that our pace did not suffer that much until the last 10k (which was 56:05 or 9:01 pace). Including our potty stop and walks through the water stops we were very close to our goal of 3:45.
Our splits were:
5k: 26:51
10k: 52:42
Half: 1:50:20
30k: 2:40:30
20mi: 2:53:07
Marathon: 3:49:58
I maintained my streak of no marathons over 4 hours!
This was my 7th marathon and Andi's 5th.
45 year old Colleen DeReuck won the US Masters Title and just missed the overall and US Women's Title in a time of 2:32:37. Amazing!
Here are some pictures from after the race. The best post run food was the chicken or vegetable soup broth! It was warm, salty and wet and it hit the spot!
After the run we hurried home to shower, change, get in the car, and get to the ball game. We only missed the first three innings and had to walk up 18 rows to get to our seats. The prolonged sitting was the hardest part, but the Twins won 13-4 and forced a tiebreaker on Tuesday...which we got tickets for after the game! It was quite a day.Only one lady at the game commented on our shirts!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Boston Marathon Weekend Recap +3 mile recovery run
I didn't really get to write a full recap of the weekend yet so here it goes.
I got into Boston at 6 am on Saturday which was 6 hours earlier than expected to do a last minute flight change. I sat next to an off duty flight attendant who gave me some tips on how to get into Boston from the airport. With the good advice I was downtown Boston by 6:40 and it was a beautiful morning. They were setting up the finish line which hadn't even been repainted yet. I got some coffee and a bagel and had breakfast at Boston Common.
The expo opened at 9am so I was one of the first inside. The line to get your bib number was already long so I just went in to the main floor area. I happened to walk by the Jet Blue booth where Bart Yasso was signing his new book and I was one of the first 50 people in line who got the book for free. I also got in line early to meet Ryan Hall, men's olympic trials marathon winner, see picture.
I also heard a panel speak that included Amby Burfoot, Katherine Switzer, Dick Beardsley, Greg Meyer and Joan Benoit Samuelson and got a few autographs there. I got the souvenirs I wanted, which included two unexpected size 13 pairs of Asics Gel-Kayanos for $40 a piece. I barely made the commuter train out to Framingham and got picked up by my hosts, Dave and Camille Foster. Their hospitality was unbelievable. I got everywhere I needed to be on time and we had a great time sharing stories. Dave ran the course about 18 years ago as a bandit.
The next day Dave got me to the airport shuttle at 6am so I could get into Boston early enough to see the US Women's Olympic Trials Marathon which started at 8am. I got down in plenty of time and bought a collapsable chair at a drugstore (the best 6 dollars I spent the whole trip). I just parked myself on the side of the road and got to watch the start and see them run by 4 other times. It was an incredible race as the top females in the country battled for 3 spots on the team.
The winner Deena Kastor is in the middle of the picture in the white hat. After she won she ran back onto the course with an American flag in hand, like a victory lap. She happened to be on my side of the road and happened to sign an 8x10 that I printed before I left. She signed it "Dreams Come True, Deena." I also got Joan Benoit Samuelson to sign a photo after she set an American record for the marathon for females over 50 years old (2:49:08). I spotted Alan Webb near the athletes exit an he signed my cap that I wore on race day.
Afterward I went back into the expo to hear a few other quick seminars. One included Grete Waitz (9 time NY Marathon winner), and Jen Rhines (US 5k 10k hopeful). The other included Andrew Carlson (15k national champ), Todd Williams (former US 10k Olympian), and Coach Greg McMillan out of Flagstaff, AZ who I was most interested in hearing from. I asked Greg what is the one thing I could do to take my training to the next level and his answer was, "Consistency."
I got back into the expo one last time and got to meet and get autographs from Frank Shorter (1972 Olympic Marathon Champ) and Bill Rodgers (4 time Boston Marathon winner). See pictures below.
I was able to swing by Fenway Park for a quick photo before barely making my train back to my hosts house for the evening. We had some great chicken and pesto pasta that night and I went to bed early.
I got to sleep in on race day! What a concept! The race didn't start until 10am so we left around 7:30 to get to the bus pick up at Hopkinton State Park. I was not rushed at all and even had time to sit and relax in my chair for a few minutes before the start.
I got to my corral about 20 minutes early, too early, and once the race started it only took me one minute to cross the starting line. The rest is history.
I was right on my goal for 30k but after 23 miles, a left hamstring cramp, three black toe nails, and some hydration issues due to the unexpected heat, I had to walk a few times the last 5k, but ran the last 1.2 miles to finish in 3:13:56. I talked with plenty of other people afterward that dealt with similar issues that ended up not requalifying, which made me feel a little better. Overall it was an incredible experience, and I accomplished a goal that I have been thinking about for many years. My time was my third fastest marathon time yet. It makes me hungry enough to want to try it again some day to better my time.
The trip home was uneventful except for sharing a flight from Phoenix to Burbank with actor, Jim Caviezel.
Yesterday I got to be a spectator at a 10k at CSUN that my wife Andi and her friend Dawn ran. The two of them ran 49:21 and got 2nd and 3rd in their age group. See Andi's Blog.
Two of Clay's children also did well in the 5k. See Clay's Blog.
Today was my first recovery run since the marathon. I ran about 3 miles with Andi and the boys taking turns pushing the jogger. My hamstring and calf on the left are still pretty tight and 3 miles was about all I could do. I did some good stretching afterward. My right leg feels great.
I got into Boston at 6 am on Saturday which was 6 hours earlier than expected to do a last minute flight change. I sat next to an off duty flight attendant who gave me some tips on how to get into Boston from the airport. With the good advice I was downtown Boston by 6:40 and it was a beautiful morning. They were setting up the finish line which hadn't even been repainted yet. I got some coffee and a bagel and had breakfast at Boston Common.
The expo opened at 9am so I was one of the first inside. The line to get your bib number was already long so I just went in to the main floor area. I happened to walk by the Jet Blue booth where Bart Yasso was signing his new book and I was one of the first 50 people in line who got the book for free. I also got in line early to meet Ryan Hall, men's olympic trials marathon winner, see picture.
I also heard a panel speak that included Amby Burfoot, Katherine Switzer, Dick Beardsley, Greg Meyer and Joan Benoit Samuelson and got a few autographs there. I got the souvenirs I wanted, which included two unexpected size 13 pairs of Asics Gel-Kayanos for $40 a piece. I barely made the commuter train out to Framingham and got picked up by my hosts, Dave and Camille Foster. Their hospitality was unbelievable. I got everywhere I needed to be on time and we had a great time sharing stories. Dave ran the course about 18 years ago as a bandit.
The next day Dave got me to the airport shuttle at 6am so I could get into Boston early enough to see the US Women's Olympic Trials Marathon which started at 8am. I got down in plenty of time and bought a collapsable chair at a drugstore (the best 6 dollars I spent the whole trip). I just parked myself on the side of the road and got to watch the start and see them run by 4 other times. It was an incredible race as the top females in the country battled for 3 spots on the team.
The winner Deena Kastor is in the middle of the picture in the white hat. After she won she ran back onto the course with an American flag in hand, like a victory lap. She happened to be on my side of the road and happened to sign an 8x10 that I printed before I left. She signed it "Dreams Come True, Deena." I also got Joan Benoit Samuelson to sign a photo after she set an American record for the marathon for females over 50 years old (2:49:08). I spotted Alan Webb near the athletes exit an he signed my cap that I wore on race day.
Afterward I went back into the expo to hear a few other quick seminars. One included Grete Waitz (9 time NY Marathon winner), and Jen Rhines (US 5k 10k hopeful). The other included Andrew Carlson (15k national champ), Todd Williams (former US 10k Olympian), and Coach Greg McMillan out of Flagstaff, AZ who I was most interested in hearing from. I asked Greg what is the one thing I could do to take my training to the next level and his answer was, "Consistency."
I got back into the expo one last time and got to meet and get autographs from Frank Shorter (1972 Olympic Marathon Champ) and Bill Rodgers (4 time Boston Marathon winner). See pictures below.
I was able to swing by Fenway Park for a quick photo before barely making my train back to my hosts house for the evening. We had some great chicken and pesto pasta that night and I went to bed early.I got to sleep in on race day! What a concept! The race didn't start until 10am so we left around 7:30 to get to the bus pick up at Hopkinton State Park. I was not rushed at all and even had time to sit and relax in my chair for a few minutes before the start.
I got to my corral about 20 minutes early, too early, and once the race started it only took me one minute to cross the starting line. The rest is history.
I was right on my goal for 30k but after 23 miles, a left hamstring cramp, three black toe nails, and some hydration issues due to the unexpected heat, I had to walk a few times the last 5k, but ran the last 1.2 miles to finish in 3:13:56. I talked with plenty of other people afterward that dealt with similar issues that ended up not requalifying, which made me feel a little better. Overall it was an incredible experience, and I accomplished a goal that I have been thinking about for many years. My time was my third fastest marathon time yet. It makes me hungry enough to want to try it again some day to better my time.
The trip home was uneventful except for sharing a flight from Phoenix to Burbank with actor, Jim Caviezel.
Yesterday I got to be a spectator at a 10k at CSUN that my wife Andi and her friend Dawn ran. The two of them ran 49:21 and got 2nd and 3rd in their age group. See Andi's Blog.
Two of Clay's children also did well in the 5k. See Clay's Blog.
Today was my first recovery run since the marathon. I ran about 3 miles with Andi and the boys taking turns pushing the jogger. My hamstring and calf on the left are still pretty tight and 3 miles was about all I could do. I did some good stretching afterward. My right leg feels great.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Karl finishes the Boston Marathon (3:13:56)
Well the Boston Marathon has come and gone. It was a much more challenging course that I thought. They don't call it "Heartbreak Hill" for nothing. Actually the first of the 4 hills in Newton was just as hard because it was so long, and I think that really sucked the energy out of my legs. The picture above was taken just after the half way point when I was still feeling good. I still have a smile on my face.
I felt great at the start and it was really hard to hold back and stay on goal pace for the first 10k of the race as people just kept flying by me. I started to get a cramp in my left hamstring around mile 7 that was enough to make me shorten my stride a bit. It didn't affect my time until I got to the hills and needed to use the hamstring more and it basically shut down.
The weather was also a factor. It was about 50 degrees at the start which felt great, but by mile 7 or 8 the sun was beating down on us with no cloud cover and it felt like the temperatures were reaching over 70 degrees. I tried to hydrate early and often but it was more of an impact than I anticipated.
I was right on pace at the half marathon mark and even at the 30k mark I was on pace to be close to 3 hours but after that my legs had had enough and the last 5k I had to walk a few times due to the hamstring and feeling a little dizzy at times. I was able to run the last 1.2 miles without stopping but my last 5k was almost 30 minutes.
My 5k splits were 20:43, 21:07, 21:07, 21:19, 21:02, 22:22, 24:06, and 29:56.
Overall times were:
20:43 5k
41:50 10k
1:02:57 15k
1:24:16 20k
1:28:48 half marathon
1:45:18 25k
2:07:40 30k
2:31:46 35k
3:01:42 40k
3:13:56 marathon finish
My overall place was 3052, 2822 male, and 1836 in my age group.
Overall it was an incredible experience and I would love to come back some day to try and better my time. It was my 3rd fastest marathon time ever after Grandma's and Las Vegas. The heat and the hamstring were unfortunate events that I could not predict. My overall pace was 7:26. The Wellesley girls at mile 13 were deafening and the race is the most well run I have been at.
There were some great signs along the course, here are a few:
"Forget politics, this is the important race"
"May the course be with you"
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