Twenty One

Today was the day of the last big training run. A 21 mile run from the start of the marathon in Hopkinton to Boston College (right at Heartbreak Hill). This draws a big crowd from all of the various charity runners. You have the benefit of waterstops but have to contend with traffic and loads of other runners competing for space on the shoulders of roads.

There are some tenants of preparing yourself for a big race. Of course I seem to ignore common sense.

Advice: Eat a hearty breakfast 90-120 minutes before starting the run
Me: Roll out of bed wolf down some oatmeal and hit the road.

Advice: Keep hydrated by sipping water/gatorade for 90 minutes before a long run
Me: I get up and drink nothing (zero, ziltch, nada) before heading out to Hopkinton

Advice: Don't waste too much energy at the beginning of the race dodging people
Me: I waste energy do weaving around slower runners (risking life and limb with the oncoming traffic).

Bottom line is that I am not very smart and need to do a better job on the big day to prepare myself.

Despite the above mentioned handicaps - I had a pretty good run. The knee was bothersome at times but was essentially a non-factor. The weather was great for running (mid 40's to 50's) and it was nice having other people around to help keep you going. At the end of the 21 miles - I think that I had enough in the tank to go another 5 miles but certainly was not doing cartwheels. Marathon day has the potential of being quite a bit warmer - so that will also play a factor in my endurance.

Some other random thoughts from the 21 miles

• In general - I am amazed at how often some people have to go the bathroom. We were literally 700 yards from the starting point in Hopkinton and there was a guy who darted into the woods to relieve himself. If you can only make it 700 yards without urinating - you need to see a doctor or wear Depends.
• I saw two people that had CD walkmans strapped to their waist. This is curious on a number of levels. First - are they listening to the same CD for 3+ hours ? Can't they spring for the $70 that it would cost for an iPod shuffle that holds 300 songs and is the size of a postage stamp ?
• The training run was organized for the charity runners. Charity runners do not have to have a qualifying time to run the race. I will be shocked if some of the people I saw today see the finish line in three weeks. Some of them looked like they might have a hard time making it to the end of their driveway to get the paper, much less run 26 miles.

Nightmare

Had a vivid dream last night that I had a sudden realization that I only had 30 minutes to get from my house to the marathon starting line. I had not eaten or dressed and since the direct access roads were closed - it was looking unlikely that I was going to make the starting line on time. My Dad was in the dream and ready to give me a ride and try and make it on time. The dream had no conclusion....

Since I live so close to the starting line - I am not particularly worried about race day logistics - so I am not sure how I should interpret this dream. It is preferable to a dream of realizing that I was running the marathon naked......

Weather is looking good for tomorrow's 21 mile race. I need to stop by REI on the way home from work to get some of that Orange flavored Gu.

With a little help from my friends

Running a marathon is an individual sport that tests the body and mind. Training for a marathon is a team sport that requires a support system to keep on track. I am grateful for having a family that supports and encourages me along the way. The long Saturday runs not only require me to be away from my family but sometimes require logistical support to drop me off at various spots on the marathon route.

As a rookie marathoner - I also benefit from the advice of teammates and other runners that I have talked with over the past few months. The husband of our team captain is a running coach that produces a weekly email that has provided valuable information on marthon running and the Boston course.

I did a 11 mile run last Saturday and we have the last big training run (21 miles !) this Saturday. It should be interesting.

Death of an iPod

My original iPod shuffle suffered an untimely death on Friday. Running without musical inspiration is not really a viable option on long runs - so I went out and got the next generation of the iPod shuffle. It is hard to image that these tiny MP3 players can hold a gigabyte of data. In my first IT job, the companies main file server stored less than 5% of the capacity that I now wear on my sleeve.

I ran 12 miles today from my house through Wellesley center. The weather is starting to turn the corner and most of the snow and ice is off the sidewalk. This was the first time I ever used Gu Energy Gel during my run. The gel is consumed in an attempt to replace the glucose and other essentials that you lose during the run. Apparently these gels have a reputation for being nasty tasting but they have made taste improvements over the past few years. I had a delightful orange flavored Gu. In may be coincidence but I did feel better at the end of this run - than I did during the previous week without the Gu.

Got my official team running shirt in the mail on Friday. The race is just over a month away....

My Dad the World Class Marathoner

When I was putting the kids to bed the other night I mentioned that they would be able to see me run the marathon and that I would stop and say hello to them in Natick. After a moment's reflection Brett was sat up in bed and said:

"Dad - you can't stop and talk to us - you might lose"

I attempted to explain that it was a long race and stopping for a brief moment - would not dramatically effect my time. Besides, I told him, I was merely hoping to finish - not to win the race.

Brett was incredulous that I was not going to win the race and was pretty upset by the thought that I would not be winning the 111th running of the Boston Marathon. It is nice to know my 5-year old thinks his old man can beat the world. Hopefully he will not be too disappointed when about 10,000 people pass before him before I amble through....

It was 50 degrees today and I did a nice 10 mile run to Wellesley Center. The route is pretty safe - as there is either a bike lane or sidewalk through a vast majority. The only trouble spot is right in front of Wellesely College. The sidewalks are a mess (ice and snow) - so you are almost forced to run along the road - but there is no shoulder so it gets pretty hairy. At one point I had to jump a guard rail to avoid a collision with a tour bus. That would not be a fight I could win - despite what my son might think of me.....

Running with the Blue Monster

Was down in Miami this week for a short business trip. Thankfully I do not travel all that often because I may be cursed like Hurley on Lost. Back in September when flying to Denver - we had to make an emergency landing in Memphis because a lady in the row in front of me was in cardiac arrest. Going down to Miami the guy across the row from me was having a bad reaction to some meds he was taking to control his flight anxiety. They did not have to make an emergency landing but had an ambulance meet the plane when we landed in Miami. Good times.

Our facility in Miami is not on the beach but in a industrial area near the airport - so the running opportunities were limited. The facility is across the street from the Doral resort - home of the famed Blue Monster golf course. So on Wednesday after work - I snuck into the resort to check it out and discovered they had a 3 mile jogging trail. The odd thing was that it weaved around the golf course and seemed there would be a high probability of being hit by an errant shot. Fortunately I was running an twilight and there were no golfers on the course - so it was nice jaunt around the course.

By Wednesday my body had recovered enough to feel pretty good on the 6 mile run - although the right knee is still pretty cranky. I am thinking about trying a knee brace to see if that will help matters.