2:37:13 Official Time!!!!

I had a great race on Monday. I don't have time now, but will post more later. Here are my splits:

mile 1: 6:10
mile 2: 5:51
mile 3: 5:50
mile 4: 5:47
mile 5: 5:55
mile 6: 5:51
mile 7: 5:56
mile 8: 5:58
mile 9: 5:57
mile 10: 5:57
mile 11: 6:02
mile 12: 5:51
mile 13: 5:54
mile 14: 5:48
mile 15: 6:01
mile 16: 6:05
mile 17: 5:57
mile 18: 6:13
mile 19: 6:18
mile 20: 6:02
mile 21: 6:27 "Heart Break Hill"
mile 22: 5:57
mile 23: 6:00
mile 24: 5:56
mile 25: 6:06
mile 26: 5:56
last .2: 1:16

Total: 2hrs. 37min. 13sec. ( 131st place overall)

I'm Ready!

Happy Easter!!!

17 weeks down and 1 to go!

I did my last medium distance run today of 12 miles with Jerry Ross on my hilly Boston route. Since it was Easter morning we decided to run a little earlier at 8 am. It was a cool 28 degrees and the wet spots on the roads were still icy. It was actually nice knowing that this was my last longer run for awhile.

I am ready to race this Marathon. I put in the training. My confidence is high, but I'm also aware that thing can turn bad during a race, so I need to be smart and pay attention to certain details during the race. I was telling Jerry this morning that my goal is basically a 2:37-2:40 range marathon. I'm also going to commit to 6 min. pace right away. I will run the 1st mile a little slower (6:15-6:25 pace), but then get after it. I have the confidence that I will be able to keep this up for the marathon.

I have committed 4 months of my life to Boston. I was a college wrestler and I have put just as much effort (if not more) into this race. I'm 35 years old, but I still consider myself an athlete. I am not scared to fail. Last year I ran really conservative and had a good race and I'm proud of my 2:44, but I could've ran faster. This year I'm going to see how fast I can run a marathon. If I fail, then I know that I went after it. Like I said, it's not always about the end result its the process and the road to get their that we sometimes need to be proud of.

Here is the week of 4/6-4/12 (Taper week #2)

4/6- Off (1st Day off in 113 days)
4/7- 9 miles (8 X 100m striders)
4/8- 6 miles
4/9- 9+ miles ( 3 X 1600m @ 5K pace w/ 2 min. rest) (5:03, 4:59, 4:57)
4/10- 5+ miles
4/11- 7+ miles (8 X 100m striders)
4/12- 12 miles

Total: 48 miles

Boston: Here I come!

No Running Today!

No running for me today. I've run 113 days in a row (6 miles or more) and its time for a day off. I'm on the taper phase for Boston and I just want to make sure my legs are going to be fresh for race day. I didn't plan on having a running streak, it just sort of happend this year. I was in a great groove and I like to stick to a plan. The plan had me running everyday and I wanted to make sure I stuck to it. Last week I managed 70 miles and would like to take it down to about 45-50 this week. 2 Weeks until Boston!!!!!!!!!!

Boston Course Preview

Another week of training in the books. Even though I began my taper this week I still managed to get 70 miles in. I had a couple of good workouts too. Yesterday tempo run was very encouraging to me and today was a great long run.

Jerry Ross and I ran around Lake Hood and then ran the totem run out by the airport for a solid 18+ miles. We ran at a pretty good clip too. We progressively got faster during the run and we probably averaged about 6:30-6:40ish pace. We doubled back on the totem run to be able to work the hills some more. We picked it up on the uphills and downhills and ran a little Marathon pace too. I believe it was the perfect amount of effort 2 weeks out from Boston. Plus, it was really nice outside. The sun was shining and the roads were dry. It's nice to actually be able to see the roads for a change.

As they say, "All the hay is in the barn. The work is done. Just need to get to the starting line ready to roll."

Here is my mileage for the week 3/30-4/5

3/30- 6 miles
3/31- 10 miles
4/1- 13 miles
4/2- 7+ miles
4/3- 6 miles
4/4- 10 miles (5 @ Tempo) Tempo miles ranged from 5:36-5:20 range
4/5- 18+ miles

Total: 70 miles

Next week I'm probably going to take it down between 45-50 miles. Suppose to be in the 40's this week too. I hope that is true!