Hyannis Marathon

Hi Everyone. My quest continues–I managed to finish my 12th marathon/ultra over school vacation in sunny Hyannis–not so. It was cold, windy and rainy, especially along the waterfront. The course isn’t bad to run. A double loop that is pretty flat with only one memorable hill at mile 8-9 and 17-18 (second time around). I don’t mind double loops. It mentally breaks the course up, and there are no surprises the second half. The field isn’t huge, only 500 runners in the full with about 1,500 running the half. I had company the first half. After that it was pretty quiet, until I started to catch the slower half marathon runners. The last few miles I didn’t push myself, letting my splits slip a little. I did finish in 2:56 (6:45/mile pace). Since it was a small field I ended up in 6th place overall and 2nd in my age-group (30-39). This is my last race in the open division. I now will be a masters runner (40+) here on out. I should be locally competitive in that category-though because of attrition-the remaining runners are generally good. Virginia Beach next in a few weeks then Boston.

 

Some pictures from Disney:

The start. I’m on the right of the picture.

 

 

Running with the group. Animal Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom.

Finished.

Disney Marathon

Another one finished — number eleven if you are counting, three to go. This weekend was the Disney Marathon. A nice flat and fun marathon to run. You see three parks and most of the Disney characters along route. I recommend this marathon for anyone who wants to run a marathon. For those who have been to Disney, you don’t get from a from one point to another quickly. A lot of waiting for shuttle buses. When I booked my plane tickets I didn’t realize this. So a 12:00 PM flight sounded fine, finish the race by 9:00, shower and leave the hotel by 10:00 and be at the airport for 10:30. So after it took me two and a half hours to get from my hotel to the expo to pick up my race packet and back I became a little panicky. Then half way through the race I started to think if I fall off pace, I might not make it to the airport on time–a great motivator. The start was early, at 6:00 am. I had to get up at 3:30! Considering the warm weather, a necessity. The start was a comfortable 55 degrees, and by the time I finished it was already 70. I did run a great race, finishing in a time of 2:54 which was good for 51st place out of 15,000 runners. I even had negative splits (finishing the second half faster than the first). That motivating factor had kicked in. I literally finished, grabbed my clothes, jumped on a shuttle (only a 9 minute wait!), and made it to the airport by 10:00. I did have to pay an exorbitant taxi fare of $50 rather than wait for a shuttle bus. 

Next stop–Hyannis MA

Thunder Marathon

Despite the ice storm, and no power at home, I managed to complete the Thunder Marathon in Charlotte over the weekend. I finished in a time of 2:56 which was good enough for 12th place in the field of 5,000. and 1st in my age group. Not too bad for the old man. Though, I felt I didn’t have a good run. I couldn’t get into a good rhythm and my mile times were all over the place. I did have even splits for the the halves, with the second only being 30 seconds off of the first. The course ran through the communities of Charlotte with long up and down hills. They weren’t steep, but I wouldn’t describe the course as flat. The weather perfect–temps ending in the forties. Pretty well marked course (few spots I had to ask which way to go) and helpful volunteers. Very little in the way of crowd support was a downside. I think I didn’t have a good run because I was worried about home–which didn’t get power back until Monday! I still don’t have phone or cable. 

This week kicks off 18 weeks until Boston. I’ll be back to weekly updates for the run up. This week I took Sunday and Monday off, but was back into the schedule yesterday with an 8 mile general aerobic run. 

Next on the marathon schedule is Disney in January. I have four weeks until then–I won’t know what to do with all the time!

Philadelphia Marathon

Kicked Asphalt!

I managed to comfortably finish in a time of 2:53, which was good enough for 111th place overall and 13th in my age-group. I felt strong and really only dropped 10 seconds per split off of my pace the last five miles. I think I could have run faster if the mile markers weren’t messed up at the beginning of the race. According to my splits, I ran mile 4 in 7:30, mile 5 in 5:30 and mile six in 6:40. It is difficult to modify your pace if you can’t get a consistent measurement. I hadn’t planned on going out that fast but felt strong early on and ran with it. As I like to say, my ‘big gear’ was that much faster. I think I’ll give another good effort in at Charlotte. We’ll see. Weather and recovery are big factors when running back to back to back…marathons.

Other than screwy mile markers, it was a well run race. Organized expo, well manned water stops and a beautiful medal were pluses. A better course map, especially for spectators, would add to the improvement. A cold and breezy day kept some of the crowds inside, but I have run other races with a lot less crowd support. I’d run it again and recommend it for anyone looking to run a rolling course.

I took off running today, my legs are a little sore. But, not to worry, I’ll be back at it tomorrow. On December 12th I’ll be running Charlotte.

Kick some asphalt!

Manchester Marathon

This past weekend was my “extra” marathon. Laura B asked if I didn’t mind running the 3:10 pace group. How could I say no. I have to say it was great fun. I had a solid group of twelve runners up until the hill at mile 18 (Daniel Plumber Rd). After we were through St. Anslems, it was down to 5. But those five stuck with me until the end. One of these runners was Evan, a 17 year old HS student, running his first marathon! It took some motivating, but Evan and I crossed the line in 3:09.34–a qualifying time for Boston. Hugs and tears, really rewarding. On the flip side, if I had run at race pace, I could have taken 2nd or 3rd overall. No worries, it wasn’t on my schedule, but next year….

Next stop in Philly in three weeks. I am going to taper and see what happens, but I know this isn’t the time to try to break 2:50. I am thinking either Virginia Beach in March, or try at Boston. I need to get back into weights and plyo–of which I haven’t done since the summer. I also need to be more consistent on my mileage. 50-70 miles a week is fine for maintenance but not enough to finish sub 2:50. 

To infinity and beyond!

Breakers Marathon – Rhode Island

7 down – 7 to go. I finished the Breakers Marathon in 2:58 which was good for 10th place. Newport is a very neat area, downtown and surrounding communities. The morning was cool, 50 degrees, cloudy and windy. The wind seemed to be in my face the entire way, especially along the waterfront. I had a few runners with me for the first half-sitting at a 6:45 pace. The second half was more challenging–hillier and still windy. I lost the other runners and focused on staying steady. I struggled a little on the back of 18 through 20 which was a very long uphill climb. Not too steep, but relentless. I managed to catch a few runners and finished feeling good. Overall a solid run.

The Manchester Marathon will be next. I am running the 3:10 pace group. It’ll slow me down and allow for some recovery before Philly. I am not sure of going out to break 2:50 at Philly. We’ll see. I am going to taper over a few weeks and see if that puts some pep back into my legs.

To infinity and beyond,

Nicholas

Clarence DeMar Marathon

I have to apologize for not writing in quite a while. I hit a bad patch–mentally and physically. After vacation in California and the Park City Marathon I struggled.    

Though I finished well, 3:07 (at altitude) in 7th place, I didn’t bounce back as quickly as in the past and had a really hard time getting my mileage back up to par. I think that I was more mentally beaten up than physically. School started and the first few weeks were hectic. Not being half way through my 13 marathons and being drained was challenging. 

I ended up taking three days off before Clarence DeMar to recoup. I finished sub 3 in 2:59 which was good enough for 7th place (again). Though this wasn’t a stella time, I felt with having 6 bad weeks of training, it was a success.

No sooner than it came on, my running blues disappeared. I have had a solid week of training this past week and I am looking forward to Breaker’s in two. My hip is still sore, but it hurts only laterally, which is good as I don’t run in that direction. My broken toe also hurts, but is manageable.

 

To infinity and beyond!

Nicholas

Week #2 – Park City

Hi all. I have had a very rough few days last week. I ended up getting pretty sick with a vicious cold. I always find that my immunity system is suppressed after a marathon. But after running Jay, it was destroyed. One of my boys had a cold, so I ended up with it. Add exhaustion and two septic toes, and I was very sick. I ended up taking a few days off to recoup. Monday came around and I was feeling better–enough to run anyway. This week has been better. I ran two hard runs on Tuesday and Wednesday (10 mile tempo and 14 mile race pace). My mileage is up to the 80s now and I am feeling strong. I’ll continue building-to the mid 90s. With the next couple of races, Park City and Clarence DeMar, I’ll taper a few days before the runs. I am still planning on running Philly hard (shooting to break 2:50). We’ll see.

If you want to see some pictures from Jay, click on the link below. They are not mine, but will give you an idea of the course.

http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t62/dironstarr/Jay%20Challenge/ 

Take care – Nicholas.

Jay Challenge

WOW. They don’t call it the hardest 33 mile XC course without good reason. It was. I was humbled with a time of 6:47. 

I would like to share a little of the run for you:

The course starts with some single track through the woods with mud pits up to your knees. You then get to run up a river for 3 miles, back into the woods. You then run up Jay Mtn (4000 ft) and back down. Back into the woods, more mud pits. Up another river, through these coverts (tunnels) with rapidly flowing water. Back into the woods — oh yes more mud. Then off into the swamp–several miles of muddy water up to your waist and these holes that dropped you down up to your neck. Down a cliff into another river. Try not to fall off a waterfall, scale some major rocks and back into the woods. Add some dirt roads, fields and fire breaks and you have made it 24 miles. 9 miles left! 

I did survive. My quads are destroyed, but I survived.

I will drop some pictures in for everyone. A big thank you to Mark who helped as support crew.

Race Week – Jay Challenge

With one week to go to Jay Challenge, I am getting a little nervous. Not so much running the 33 miles, but rather the terrain. I have strictly been a road runner, for good reason–easy footing, regular water stops, not getting lost (except of the Hartford Marathon-not my fault). The nice thing about the road is that your energy is easy transfered to speed, not so on trails. Of course, the trail includes streams, river crossings, mud pits, Jay Mountain, bugs, etc. Mark, and maybe Libbi (my support crew) and I are going up Friday – a nice 3 1/2 hour drive. For those who don’t know,  Jay Vermont is spitting distance to Canada. This might also be a problem. If I get lost, do I need a passport to return back into the country? There a two spots that your support crew can go, one after Jay Mt and the other after the river crossing. You get two drop bags for dry cloths and shoes. Both of which I’ll probably need. The long range weather looks good – 70 and sunny. I don’t plan on running out to hard. A nice even pace that the terrain allows and and I’ll gage it from there. 

You can visit http://www.ultimatexc.com/JAY.html to see more information on the run. Ignore all the warnings — I did

Later,

Nicholas