Running Through The Wall

pgmcpq

Congrats on the AG placement.

Killerz

Week ending 10th April:

Relatively low-mileage week as the taper for Boston continues.....

Tue: 7.27 miles in 49:47 - relatively fast run (6:51 pace), reasonably pleasant after taking the day off on Monday.
Thu: 8.28 miles - Significantly slower than Tuesday, but lovely evening for getting out for a run. 1:03:05.
Fri: 4.56 mile run in 32:36 just to keep limber for the 10k race on....
Sunday:

6.2 miles: Cadillac Fairview 10k Race, Sunnybrook Park, Toronto

I said I'd enter this as a chance to do a semi-decent run a week out from Boston, to keep me from doing a longer run this weekend and to test myself over 10k for the first time in almost a year.

This was a more difficult 10k course with tougher hills than that on which I got my PB of 37:23 last year. Furthermore, I was not willing to put everything into this, with Boston Marathon little more than a week away.

It kicked off with two lads flying off into the lead at a ridiculous pace. I kept a 3:40 pace for the first km or two, which was good enough to hold 4th place for a while. Myself and the guy ahead of me reeled in the 2nd place runner at 4km, and it was myself and another lad holding joint 2nd as we reached the turnaround point coming up to 19 odd minutes.

We were joined by another guy and the three of us held a pace of around 3:55 for from the 5km marker for about a km or so. I was happy with the slower pace, and was satisfied to hold that for a couple of kms anyhow. At 6km, the guy who joined us at 5km started to move ahead. So I was in joint 3rd now and not willing really to push much faster, certainly not at this stage. At km 7 as we hit a steep hill, I dropped the guy I was running with and didn't look back.

I could see the chap in 2nd spot not too far away, but I was not going to push him, moreover I was keen on consolidating third place.....

Which I did, and took it home in 38:31 for 3rd overall. I was delighted with that, and got a $50 voucher for Bench Clothing for my troubles (which was the same as 1st and 2nd prize, so no incentive for trying to reel the 2nd place guy in - who incidentally finished in 38:19).

Overall, a well organised race. Well worth the entry fee too - $45 (c. EUR 32ish). For that, we got race entry, New Balance tech tee, $15 voucher for brunch at a restaurant in downtown Toronto, a very tasty bowl of chilli, some pizza and cookies, and if you were a prizewinner, a $50 voucher. A good day's work!

Winner took it home in 35:53. He looked strong and relaxed throughout and ran a great race.

Lessons learned: always trust in your own pace - don't get disheartened if people fly out in front, they may have gone too early.
It was also interesting to run a race tactically vs against the clock.

The Week's Summary:

Total miles this week: 26.31
Total miles this year: 529.96

pgmcpq

You will need a new trophy case! Congrats again... Boston is next weekend ? Best of luck. Should be there next year (registration allowing) so I will be very interested in your report.

Killerz

pgmcpq wrote: »

You will need a new trophy case! Congrats again... Boston is next weekend ? Best of luck. Should be there next year (registration allowing) so I will be very interested in your report.

Thanks for that. All going well, I'll pull out another BQ sometime this year, and will go back again in 2012. My wife can't make it this year as she's pretty insanely busy with work, but I'm gonna makes sure she gets to go some day, and watch me take the kenyans on the home straight

With the new times, I'm really gonna have to go as close to 3:00 as possible some time this year, the thought of which which fills me with delight!

You're not doing Chicago by any chance? I'm signed up....

misty floyd

Great time and finish position Killerz, well done.

pgmcpq

Killerz wrote: »

Thanks for that. All going well, I'll pull out another BQ sometime this year, and will go back again in 2012. My wife can't make it this year as she's pretty insanely busy with work, but I'm gonna makes sure she gets to go some day, and watch me take the kenyans on the home straight

With the new times, I'm really gonna have to go as close to 3:00 as possible some time this year, the thought of which which fills me with delight!

You're not doing Chicago by any chance? I'm signed up....

No ... next up is my local race NY and for the moment I'm sticking with two marathons a year. Chicago is penciled in for 2013 !!!! Not really sure how the new times for Boston will work out. I'm fairly sure a BQ-10 will be safely in and probably BQ-5 is ok (saw a statistical analysis of qualifying times that suggested - iirc - 40% of entries where within 5 minutes of their BQ).

Speedy44

Killerz wrote: »

Thanks for that. All going well, I'll pull out another BQ sometime this year, and will go back again in 2012. My wife can't make it this year as she's pretty insanely busy with work, but I'm gonna makes sure she gets to go some day, and watch me take the kenyans on the home straight

With the new times, I'm really gonna have to go as close to 3:00 as possible some time this year, the thought of which which fills me with delight!

You're not doing Chicago by any chance? I'm signed up....

Enjoy the Boston experience Killerz.

I plan on been there next year too. As unhappy as I was with my Rotterdam marathon, I still managed to get the BQ with 12mins to spare,so I should be ok come registration in September.

Killerz

Thanks speedy, I'm really looking forward to it now.

You'll get there too- your result in Rotterdam was still excellent.

Killerz

Sitting in Toronto Airport now, waiting for the 11.15 am flight to Boston. Excitement and deep heat fill the air. Many boston-marathon-jacketed folk sauntering around drinking cups of coffee and looking ridiculously fit.

Can't wait......

pgmcpq

Killerz wrote: »

Sitting in Toronto Airport now, waiting for the 11.15 am flight to Boston. Excitement and deep heat fill the air. Many boston-marathon-jacketed folk sauntering around drinking cups of coffee and looking ridiculously fit.

Can't wait......

Remember reading a debate somewhere about whether wearing the Boston jacket was just pretentious - 'course if I get one I will wear it everywhere ! Beware the scruffy guy sleeping in the corner -s/he going to post a 2.47 on Monday! Good luck - I'll be very keen to read the race report.

Killerz

Week ending 17th April:

Mon: 7.83 miles - recovery run after 10k yesterday. 59:10. Really enjoyed this, nice relaxed, decent weather.
Weds: A pre-work run - nice easy 5.5 miles in 43:08.
Thu: Another 5.5 miles, slightly faster in 42:10.
Sat: 2 miles in pouring rain, keeping loose ahead of Boston.

The Week's Summary:

Total miles this week: 20.83
Total miles this year: 550.79

Killerz

Boston Marathon - 18th April 2011 - Race Report

Background:

And so, here it was. Boston Marathon 2011. My first marathon major, and my 8th marathon to date (previous: Dublin x 2, Cork, 2 x Ultramarathons, Toronto Waterfront and Toronto City Marathon).

The goal for this one was to enjoy it. This was the victory lap after busting a gut to get here (we needed 3:10:59 or under for our age group). With that, myself and a friend of mine who also qualified in Toronto, but is Irish too, set out to enjoy the day, soak up the sights and have a good time. Our target would be 3:30, but it wasn't set in stone by any means.

We were staying in a hostel in downtown Boston - Hostelling International on Hemenway Street. This was perfect. As it turns out, most of the guests were also doing the marathon, so there was a great atmosphere there. It was also incredibly central, within walking distance of finish line, expo, fenway park etc.

I'm not going to write about the Expo, Athlete's Village etc as I could talk all day about how impressive I found the whole set-up. Nor will I talk too much about how lovely 3-time champion Uta Pippig is... she spent some time with the two of us at brunch on Sunday giving advice on the course and how to manage it (see picture below).

The Race:

At 10am, we were off, in Corral 6 of Wave #1 - took us about 3 mins to get over the start line. Both wearing Irish tricolour tops, and me wearing a green wig, lets just say, we were crowd favourites the whole way through. "Go Ireland", "Erin go Brath", "Go Green Wig man" and so on. My arms were sore from all the high-fives, fist-pumps, cheering etc.... It was hard not to go faster.
Loved every minute of it - from Hopkington to Ashland to Wellesley to Boylston Street, though it was a hot day to be wearing that wig for so long!

By halfway, we were bang on pace for a 3:30 finish (1:44:29), however my running partner was starting to experience a nasty stitch, something which did not go away for the duration of the marathon. We decided we'd still stick together, as this was more about enjoying the day rather than achieving a goal time. And so he persevered through the pain as I worked the crowds into a frenzy.

So, we lost a lot of time over the second half of the course - 20 mins. But that didn't matter. 3:49:58 was the finish time.

We'd just crossed the line when we were interviewed by the Boston Herald. The interview and our picture appeared in the paper the next day - fame! (the article is attached below).

Conclusion:

As this was more of a training-paced run, I don't have much to say about it from a technical point of view, except that I felt very comfortable the whole way through, kept the hydration levels up, sank a couple of gels later on.
It would be unfair of me to compare the course to anything else that I've run - while I found Heartbreak Hill and the others no problem, I wonder what it may have been like if I had just run the previous 20 miles at a more typical pace of c.1.5 mins/mile faster?

General Organisation Notes:

The crowd support was streets ahead of anything I've ever seen, though that is to be expected I suppose for such an historic marathon, and being one of the majors.
The organisation was perfect.
The pre-race pasta party, the post-race party were both excellent.
The people of Boston were congratulatory.... we felt like celebrities
Any gripes? The expo was very crowded on Sunday - it could benefit from a bigger location. They may find that people would stick around longer and buy more. The athletes village could have done with more shelter - we were lucky with the weather.
But that would be picking holes in it.

Effectively, this was a 26 mile slow training run ahead of the Toronto Marathon on 15th May. Looking forward to that now!!!!

Pics: Newspaper article and with Uta Pippig (i'm on the right in both pics)

boston herald pic.JPG

uta.jpg

pgmcpq

Killerz wrote: »

fenway park etc.

Bloody red sox !

Killerz wrote: »

I'm not going to write about the Expo, Athlete's Village etc as I could talk all day about how impressive I found the whole set-up. Nor will I talk too much about how lovely 3-time champion Uta Pippig is... she spent some time with the two of us at brunch on Sunday giving advice on the course and how to manage it (see picture below).

Nice job ! How long were you on the bus the AV and at the AV ? Toying with staying the night before out at Hopkinton next year.

... and what was the gist of the advice ? Hold back in the opening 15 miles ? Looking at the tv coverage the first half course looks to be rolling - it might be a next down hill but there were a few scarey looking climbs every early on. Might be camera angle.

You certainly picked a memorable Boston to run.

Killerz

Ya, I picked that Boston marathon especially, as I knew there was a world record in the offing!

I think the bus was about 50-55 mins minutes, so I got it at around 6.10 am or so and was getting off it at Hopkington around 7am. After collecting a free cup of coffee, bagel, bottle of water etc, we found a spot to sit down at around 7.15-7.20 or so and hung out there. We left our spot around 8.40, stripped down to shorts, top etc and put our bags in the baggage bus around 9.10-9.20 or so. By the time we'd checked that in, and walked the .7 mile or whatever it is to the start line, it was getting close to 9.40, so some time for stretches and banter before the gun went off.

So there was about 1.5 hours of hanging round doing nothing between picking up coffee and checking bag in, depending on what corral you're in and what bus you get out there. There are massages and seminars going on though to keep everyone interested if thats your thing, and in fairness, the time went quickly, especially as we were well geared up for the cold. There were people with sleeping bags etc sound asleep which wouldnt be a bad call - if you didnt have proper clothing, you'd be getting very cold. Fair play if you can get Hopkington accommodation - I dont think its really necessary, but u'd want to be staying closer to town afterwards for atmosphere and convenience I'd say.

I didn't really kick off my hydration and most of my nutrition intake until after we arrived at Hopkington - 2.5 hours is enough digestion time for me, in fact i took in more bagel around 30 mins before the off.

Ya, the advice was to try keep the pace in check despite the adrenalin pumping, but also more importantly to shorten the stride on the downhills, which helps preserve the legs. I didn't find any of the hills particularly hard, but like I said, I wasnt attacking them with full effort....

I'd recommend getting a copy of "26 Miles to Boston" by Michael Connolly.

Speedy44

glad you enjoyed the Boston experience, you got me licking my lips in anticipation for next year already!
So do you think you will be back next year yourself to race it this time?
As you said, you will appreciate the hills more at a quicker pace!

Killerz

Speedy44 wrote: »

glad you enjoyed the Boston experience, you got me licking my lips in anticipation for next year already!
So do you think you will be back next year yourself to race it this time?
As you said, you will appreciate the hills more at a quicker pace!

Hey Speedy, indeed you should be licking the lips in anticipation - the whole experience around Boston (never mind the race itself) is the runners equivalent of how I imagine a really serious trainspotter would feel coming across the largest model railway layout in the world. The various events, the conversations with randomers about PB's, sub 3 marathons, marathon history etc...

Killerz

Week ending 24th April:

Mon: Marathon (see report above). 26.2 miles or more, 3:49:58
Weds: 2 miles very slowly around Boston Common. Very slow. Very tired.
Fri: 4 miles gently in 32:50 to mark my return to Toronto after most of a week in Boston.
Sat: 10.83 miles; 1:23:18. Avg 7.42/miles. Not a bad recovery run.

The Week's Summary:

Total miles this week: 43.43
Total miles this year: 594.22

Speedy44

Killerz wrote: »

Hey Speedy, indeed you should be licking the lips in anticipation - the whole experience around Boston (never mind the race itself) is the runners equivalent of how I imagine a really serious trainspotter would feel coming across the largest model railway layout in the world. The various events, the conversations with randomers about PB's, sub 3 marathons, marathon history etc...

so of course this means that you will be digging out the racing flats and toeing the line next April 19th !!

Killerz

Speedy44 wrote: »

so of course this means that you will be digging out the racing flats and toeing the line next April 19th !!

You got it!

Killerz

Week ending 1st May:

Mon: A nice 6.3 miles in 48:11.
Tue: Gym session - 11 miles/40 mins on the ex bike, followed by some weights.
Weds: 10.5 miles in 1:19:29. Decent run over a difficult enough course. Felt this one in the legs though.
Thu: 5.22 miles in 38:41. Reasonably okay run. Worried that I havent shaken off the tiredness of Boston just yet.

Sat: 19.1 miles in 2:41:10. I arrived home from work on Friday not feeling the best. I had thought that I had finally shaken off the flu + cough+ headcold that had been on top of me over the last 2 weeks and affected my holiday in Boston but this came back to me again on Friday night and Saturday morning.

I decided to proceed with a long run anyhow on Saturday morning. I had planned on doing the second 8-10 of the planned 20 miles at planned marathon pace, or c.6:55 min/mi. This was all thrown out the window as I felt feverish and was coughing, to an uncomfortable point after mile 10. There were a lot of walking breaks in this in the second half (left the clock running obviously), so as to avoid what i felt was a faint coming on. I think I'm in tune enough with my body at this stage to know what is stupid and what I can manage. And I was right on this occasion. Just took it slowly. I took some confidence in the fact that I still came in in 2:41, representing under 8:30 miles.

Sun: No running today... I reckon I will be taking 2-3 days off as I taper for Toronto in two weeks. I went to watch the Sporting Life 10k here in Toronto. Got to see the top 3 pass by at km 8. It was won in 28:08, 2nd place in 28:09 and 3rd in 28:10. It looked close at km 8, and the lead changed hands in the time to the finish too.

The Week's Summary:

Total miles this week: 41.12
Total miles this year: 635.34

Killerz

Week ending 8th May:

Took the plunge and went to the doctor on monday - on a 5 day course of antibiotics that hopefully should clear up my cough/ flu thing. Nothing serious anyhow.

Tue: Gentle 6.30 miles in 46:51.
Weds: 7.65 miles in 57:36
Fri: 6.47 miles in 48:30
Sun: 8.25 miles in 57:52.

Not setting the world alight with those times. But thats okay, i'm just all about keeping limber ahead of Toronto Marathon on Sunday. At the very least, I hope i'll get a half marathon PB. The course is weighted towards a faster first half. I've looked at some previous sub-3 results and have seen a lot of 1:25-1:27 first halves, balanced out with a 1:31-1:33 second half. I will be looking at that approach, trying to go under my pb of 1:28:40 and see how things pan out. The first half is net downhill, so fkkk it, may aswell give it a lash.

Biggest challenges will be (a) recovery from illness (b) recovery from Boston (c) temperature - supposed to be 15 degrees and light rain and (d) wind - 2nd half of course is quite exposed.

Sure lets see how it goes!

The Week's Summary:

Total miles this week: 28.67
Total miles this year: 664.01

Killerz

A long report - but I felt I had to get a few things off my chest on this one....

My preparation for this was less than ideal, having run Boston just under 4 weeks ago, and been down with flu/cough/cold etc for about 3 of the last 4 weeks. My plan was to go out and try to run a strong first half and hopefully leave enough in the tank to come in under 3 hours, all going well. With the weather on the day (rain, wind), I felt that this was going to be a huge ask.

Nonetheless, I went for it. I felt very comfortable throughout the first half, working for a while around the 15-20km stage with the eventual female winner, the second place female and another guy to try and take turns in sheltering the group from headwinds. No words spoken, just a mutual understanding!

The first half of the course, taking runners from the north of the city down to the financial district by the lake is nice. Some good pockets of support despite the rain, and tree-lined avenues and plenty to see.

So, I hit the halfway mark at 1:25:59, which is a huge half-marathon PB for me (previous was 1:28:40). Makes me think that if I was running a half, I could get close to the 1:23 I would require (I think) for NY marathon qualification. Was still feeling good as I braced myself for what was going to be an exposed, windswept second half.

And so it was. There was minimal support, and significant winds. There was a part (possibly around 26km from recollection) where I am 99% certain we were directed the wrong way be the stewards. Then there was a serious lack of direction posting and once again, I am sure that myself and a group of runners actually ran a longer segment there.

I was starting to tire too, and some of the random headwinds were taking it out of me. Nonetheless, I persevered through, and hit 30km in 2:04:43 (a 30km PB, that betters my Around The Bay 30km road time of 2:08 odd recorded in March 2010).

Just after that, the course involved stepping through mud. Seriously. I went ankle deep in it. This should not happen! I can only imagine it got worse for the later runners too. So, I now had about 11km to go, was still feeling relatively comfortable, and so ploughed on as the km markers passed by. I started to feel the legs a bit around 37-38km, and needed to briefly walk, especially after losing my breath a few times due to headwinds. Still on course to come in under 3 hours though. However, that goal evaporated over the final 2km uphill :eek: to the finish line.

Finish time: 3:01:34 chip time
Place: 25th overall, 21st male, 6th in age group (M30-34)

I wasn’t too annoyed. I felt that sub 3 was a big ask, and I finished this in relative comfort, with a great time and a new personal best in difficult conditions.

I have run this race twice now (2010 as pacer and now as a competitive runner). I’m not one to criticize races, and there are some things that race directors cannot control (eg the weather). However, there were some alarming things present that could be very easily improved upon:

1. Running through mud should not be part of ANY road race.
2. Lack of direction signs was a serious issue. Though I would never be one to rely on the Garmin as a true indicator, my Garmin recorded well over 43km (think I had 43.2km or something like that) for the full race. At km 25, and 2 or 3 of the previous km markers – I was recording .2km over (which I would expect). At 30km, I was recording 30.8km (as I was not having to weave or anything I would have expected 30.3 or 30.4km at most) – this is why I am so sure there was a wrong turn taken, especially as there are no tall buildings in that area to mess with the GPS. I hit 42.2km per my garmin in 2hrs 58, so who knows what would have happened if I could regain that 0.4-0.5km.
3. There was an SUV parked across the route outside at c. km 37, with the driver chatting to a policeman. For tired runners at this stage of a race, to stop, or to go around a large vehicle is very difficult.
4. Some of the later water stations were very poorly marshaled. I had to stop while someone went and got me water. Twice. Plenty of Gatorade being offered, but no signs of water. Very odd. Coming to the second of those aid stations, I shouted “water” well in advance, and made a “W” shape to be sure. Didn’t help me!

On the positive side, the medals are great, the post-race massage was excellent, and the food at the end was good too.

But there’s lots that this race needs to improve on. I have run in big city and small rural marathons and I have never experienced any of the above issues in any of them.

So, mixed feelings.... A huge PB and I would have taken that time in a heartbeat if you'd offered to me that morning... however I feel a little cheated by the wrong turn....

pgmcpq

Fantastic effort. Mud, wind and water shortages makes this sound like a difficult day on top of your recent dose of flu(?). That's great overall and AG place. The sub3 is there if you can find a race with better conditions - Chicago (if the weather is cool) might well be your day.

Sounds like the race organization got caught out by the weather. Volunteers tend to vanish when the first drops of rainfall let alone the conditions you were running in... this might also have been the cause of the mud problem - a gamble that went wrong.

All in all there's a huge upside to your day. Congrats.

Killerz

pgmcpq wrote: »

Fantastic effort. Mud, wind and water shortages makes this sound like a difficult day on top of your recent dose of flu(?). That's great overall and AG place. The sub3 is there if you can find a race with better conditions - Chicago (if the weather is cool) might well be your day.

Sounds like the race organization got caught out by the weather. Volunteers tend to vanish when the first drops of rainfall let alone the conditions you were running in... this might also have been the cause of the mud problem - a gamble that went wrong.

All in all there's a huge upside to your day. Congrats.

Ya, you're right, I think the weather affected things. Hopefully the weather will be good in Chicago, I think to keep things interesting this summer, I may aim towards a ny qualifying time (ie 2.55) in Chicago. Gives me something to really work toward, rather than feel I'm pushing all summer for an extra 1.5 mins that I felt I was capable of anyhow....

Killerz

2 weeks ending 22nd May 2011:

Short recap on past couple of weeks to catch up on mileage totals etc.

Week ending 15th May, 2011 (final week of taper for marathon):

Tue: 5.02 miles in 37:29
Weds: 6.52 miles in 48:01
Fri: 4.07 miles before work, nice and easy in 31:48
Sun: Marathon: 26.73 miles in 3:01:34.

Total miles this week: 42.34

=====================

Week ending 22nd May, 2011:

Very low exercise week - no problems with that!

Thu: 3.64 miles in 29:46. Sore quads!
Fri: 4.06 miles in 33:33
Sun: 8.65 miles in 1:04:38. Decent run, first time I felt comfortable to push a little pace into the run since the marathon.

Total miles this week: 16.35

So, now to consider a few races over the summer - mostly short races here in downtown Toronto, although there are a few trail ultras to consider also. The goal race for H2 2011 is Chicago Marathon in October. One thing's for sure, I plan on slacking off a bit in terms of long runs for the remainder of May and possibly on into June - although that said, its depending on if I choose to do an ultra or not during the summer!

Total miles this year: 722.7

Killerz

Week ending 29th May 2011

Mon: gym - 55 mins on the bike + 20mins
Tue: 5.12 miles, 41:21
Weds: 35mins on ex bike
Thu: 11.7 miles in 1:28:54
Sat: 12.3 miles in 1:34:37
Sun: 6.1 miles in 44.34

Starting to feel looser again, at last, after being quite stiff and generally heavy-legged after the toronto marathon. Looking forward to a trip back to ireland at the weekend- will get a few runs in there all going well. After that, lookimg towards a trail ultra in july as my focal point for the summer.

Total miles this week: 35.22
Total miles this year: 757.92

misty floyd

well done on a great performance in Toronto mate. Sub 3 is well within you, just unlucky but cracking run and congrats on the PB.

Killerz

Cheers Misty.... I suppose it gives me a good goal for the next marathon!

Killerz

2 weeks ending 12th June 2011

Tue 31st: 7.02 miles in 52:24
Wed 1st Jun: 6.03 miles in 46:54
Fri 3rd Jun: 12.3 miles in 1:31:01... satisfactory run ahead of my flight home to Ireland!
Sun 5th Jun: 8.04 miles out and about Dun Laoghaire and Blackrock

Tue 7th Jun: 6.84 miles
Wed 8th Jun: 6.13 miles
Fri 10th Jun: 6.2 miles

Have lost the timings for the last 4 runs unfortunately.

Back in sunny Toronto now....

Total miles this week: 52.56
Total miles this year: 810.48

Killerz

Week ending 19th june

Tue: 11miles in 1:20:13. Nice run to get back into the swing of things after the weekend back in ireland.
Wed: 5.16 miles, 39:34. Felt quite tired after yesterday's run.
Fri 14 miles in 1:51:12. Very tough run with the heat.
Sat: 5.67 miles, 43:55. Just a short run to sweat friday night beers out of the system!
Sun: 6.7 miles in 51mins. Pleasant sunday morning run ahead of watching baseball and golf for the afternoon.

Key thing over next few weeks is training myself to run at a slower pace for the 35mile ultra in mid july. I am not 100% sure what my target time will be yet, but judging by results from last year amongst people that i believe are at roughly same level as me, i think i could be looking at 7-8 hours as it is supposed to be quite a hilly, but stunningly spectacular course.

Total miles this week: 42.53
Total miles this year: 853.01