run, run, run

Boise, ID 6:15 am

6.8 miles

Pace: 7:18

The usual MWF route. A good solid run, nothing spectacular. Weather is getting better. It was light from the beginning, 41 degrees with blue skies. We're getting there.

8:00 am

2.5 miles

Pace: 6:57

I took the car in to the shop and ran home. Upped the pace a bit from the earlier run. Felt pretty good, except that I don't really like running down Fairview. Too many cars.

5:30 pm

2.55 miles

Pace: 7:11

Ran back to get the car.

Boise, ID 6:30 am

Pace: 7:12

Wasn't really that motivated this morning. Going long tomorrow, so I kind of just wanted to get it over with. But still, it was a good run. Weather was nice and I felt pretty good.

Boise, ID 6:15 am

Pace: 7:13

Last long run before Ogden. If I'm not ready now, I'm not gonna be. I ate a PBJ and ran my regular MWF 7-mile loop with Randy then did another 7-miles stopping back at the house in between for gel and Gatorade. The last 6 mile loop was the roughest, of course, but I was able to hold on to my marathon goal pace. I know you're supposed to do your long runs a bit slower than race pace, but I figured this was the only way I was going to have the confidence to believe that I can hold this pace for the distance.

I used Cliff Shots instead of GU and didn't have the stomach pains that I had previously, so that is good. Plus, that is the brand they will be handing out during the race.

Boise, ID 12:30pm

Pace: 6:53

Five mile recovery run after yesterday's long one. Felt a little fatigued at first, but was feeling really good by the end with a 6:36 final mile. Nice day, weather around 70. Ran at lunch to give my legs a few more hours to recover and to get some sun on my haole white body.

Boise, ID 6:15 am

Pace: 7:12

No Randy this morning. I waited for a while and then took off. I saw a few people I know out there, then with about a mile left, along comes Randy. He said he was sitting in his living room playing the guitar waiting for 6:30 to come around and then remembered that we run at 6:15 now. He took a different route but then saw me down the road. Said he ran a 5:40 pace trying to catch me.

Boise, ID 1:30 pm

Pace: 6:41

10 kilometers pushing it pretty hard the whole way. The pace felt good though. If I was in a race, it would be a 10k PR by almost 3 minutes. Ready for my day of rest tomorrow.

Boise, ID 6:15am

Pace: 7:12

Good solid run on a Monday morning. I was feeling kind of funny for a couple of miles but finished strong.

Nampa, ID 5:00 pm

Pace: 6:56

Went for a short run while my daughter was at softball practice. Weather was really nice except for a bit windy. Traffic on Karcher kind of sucked, but the rest of the run was nice.

Felt good. Trying to run strong while reducing the miles this week and next.

Boise, ID 6:15 am

Pace: 6:58

Good strong run this morning. Doing 5 on my MWF morning runs this week.

Boise, ID 6:30 am

Pace: 6:57

Still tapering. Perfect weather for a run this morning.

Boise, ID 6:15am

Pace: 7:07

Another nice morning, a little cooler than yesterday. We took a little bit different route because we ran by a house that Randy's wife wants to buy (but won't). Another solid run. I'm going to take tomorrow and Sunday off and then run a few on M-W next week. Starting to get that pre-marathon uptightness. My wife might be ready to kick me out of the house by this time next week.

Boise, ID 6:15am

Pace: 7:21

Cold and pouring down rain. My "easy" run this morning wasn't that easy.

Boise, ID 7:30 am

Pace: 6:54

Went out and ran my fastest 5k ever. Hit the 3.1 mark in 20:24. Next time I do a 5k race maybe I can shave off those 24 seconds. Then I went another .4 miles with my wife at about a 9mpm pace. I was able to run a little later this morning because I was taking off work to drive to Blackfoot for my Aunt's funeral.

Boise, ID 6:15 am

Pace: 7:03

Last run before Ogden. I'll rest tomorrow and travel to Utah on Friday. Tapering messes with your head. It's nice to get out for a short run and remind yourself what you have. Hopefully I'm not a basket case by Friday night.

 A good race. I met most of my goals. 19 minute PR and 12 minutes under Boston Qualifying. That will allow me to register on the Wednesday after registration opens. Not a guarantee I'll get in, but at least I won't have to wait the full week.

I had put a lot of pressure on myself this time. I'm 10 lbs. lighter than I was at Top Of Utah in September (I weighed in at 145 the morning before the race) and I've been running a lot faster, so I really expected to BQ this race.

 Almost didn't make it to the starting line. Four of us were waiting for our ride. He didn't arrive on time, so I called him and discovered that his alarm had not gone off. But he made up for it with some sweet Dale Jr.-like moves down Washington Blvd. and luckily the buses were a little late so all was good.

I lined up just ahead of the 7 minute pace and took off. I was pretty close to the front so there weren't any congestion problems. Most of the crowd was behind me.

1    0:06:46 A good start. Maybe a little faster than I planned, but it felt good so I went with it. I wasn't sure how much gravity would help with the downhill stretch at the beginning, so I thought I would hang with a 6:50 to 7 minute pace for the first 8 miles or so.
2    0:07:02
3    0:06:52 I started getting warm, so I decided it was time to shed the throw-away cotton shirt. It was a $1 DI shirt that I had cut at the collar and the bottom, so I tore it off Incredible Hulk style. It worked really well to take it off without messing with my visor, sunglasses or iPod.
4    0:06:52
5    0:06:50
6    0:06:50
7    0:06:57
8    0:07:06 This is where the downhill ends and the course goes slightly uphill for a few miles. I just wanted to hold on to a pace below 7:13 at this stretch.
9    0:07:11
10    0:07:07
11    0:07:21
12    0:07:18
13    0:07:18 Feeling really good up until the half marathon point (exactly the same as last time) when nature starts to call. I run through the half marathon starting line with people calling my name, telling me good job (names were on our bibs). As soon as I pass the crowd, I dive into one of the port-a-johns and drop a deuce in record time. I run out of the can and, for a number of reasons, wearing gloves doesn't seem like a good idea anymore.
14    0:07:55 This is where the hill is. Not a bad hill, only about a half mile long and I keep up a decent pace. I down my third gel at the top.
15    0:07:51 Maybe I swallowed that gel too fast because the gut starts grinding pretty hard in two places. I know it will go away, but it's really hurting most of this mile.
16    0:07:32 Gut still grinding.
17    0:07:42
18    0:07:15 Time to start running down the canyon. I should pick up some good time here.
19    0:07:30 I'm not picking up any time.
20    0:07:46 I'm running downhill, I'm supposed to run faster.
21    0:07:46
22    0:08:00
23    0:07:45
24    0:08:32 Out of the canyon. This is where it will start to really hurt.
25    0:08:59 I start feeling like I'm going to puke and even throw up a little in my mouth, but there's nothing I can do about it but just keep on running.
26    0:08:37 The last mile is up Grant Street. I'm not running very fast, but it's all I've got. I see Paige, she's yelling "you got it babe!" Some of the back-of-the-pack half marathoners are walking toward the finish line, at least I'm passing them.

When I cross the finish line I'm kind of dizzy. Somebody asks "are you ok?" I said "I don't know." He must have thought I said "sure, I feel great" because he just told me to continue on and get my medal.

I saw Jim along the rail and chatted with him for a bit.  He ran his first half marathon and finished in 2:20. I told him I was proud of him and then went into the finishers area and just sat there for a while. I felt much worse than I did after my last marathon. After a few minutes I saw Paige by the fence and she gave me a hug and started crying telling me "you did it, you did it!"

I've never gotten a massage after a race before, but I did this time. The girl giving me the rub down asked if I was going to run another marathon any time soon. I told her that I was planning on doing Pocatello in August, and I probably will, "but right now, I don't want to."

So, that's it. I'm a little gimpy now, but pretty soon the pain will be gone and I will always know that I qualified for the Boston Marathon.

Fredericton, NB, Canada 6:30 pm

Pace: 7.18

First run after the marathon. Went further than I should have, but I found a cool loop on rail-trails and I couldn't resist. It was a really nice run, mostly through the forest but I started feeling sore about halfway through. My quads and right knee were feeling it, so I slowed down a bit. I don't think I'm any worse for wear, but I'll probably go a little shorter tomorrow.

Fredericton, NB, Canada 6 pm

Pace: 7:47

Still too soon. Legs and knees started hurting about 2.5 miles into it. I'm going to take off Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Boise, ID 6:15 am

Pace: 7:23

Felt pretty good for about 4.5 miles. The last half mile hurt. I'm going to try to keep it really light this week. I don't want this knee thing lasting too long.

Meridian, ID 9 am

One mile with Riley, getting her ready for Saturday's kid's race.