Boston Marathon
In March I will turn 36 years-old. Sadly, for a male long-distance runner I am thought to be at the end of my physical prime, if not already beyond it. Sure, many older runners do phenomenal things. For example, last year 85-year Ed Whitlock ran a sub-4:00 marathon, and 44-year-old Jeff Browning was the second-ranked ultra runner in the…
For the last three years I have perhaps been more serious about running than about backpacking. It’s a function of lifestyle and age: running 10-20 hours per week is more compatible with marriage than thru-hiking would be, and at nearly 36-years-old I have only a few years left in which to run really fast lifetime PR’s. I took…
Last month I posted a comprehensive interview with running coach extraordinaire David Roche. If you have not read it already, you should — it is valuable context for this interview, in addition to having standalone value. Days after publishing it, I entered the last stage of my training for the Boston Marathon, which is April 17, a week from…
The 121st Boston Marathon is now just a week out, on #MarathonMonday, April 17! Live tracking The Elite Men and Wave One (mine) start at 10 AM. You won’t see me on TV in Galen Rupp’s slipstream, but if you want to track my progress you can sign up for text or email updates. I’m bib #703.…
At this point in the training cycle, within a week of my first big race of 2017, I have as clear an understanding of my current fitness as I will get. While the taper does include some workouts, they are less telling than near-max efforts weeks and months ago. So this is an appropriate point to settle…
Two weeks out from the Boston Marathon, I had my heart set on sub-2:30, or 5:43 pace. I thought my workouts proved that it was within reach. But as the race day forecast solidified — high-60’s/low-70’s, sunny, and low humidity — I wisely gave up on that best case scenario, and honed in on 2:32,…
I thought Boston would be a one-and-done affair. I’m not so sure now. For the next time, here are some tips, advice, and reflections that will be useful for first-timers and veterans alike: General Until race day, I didn’t fully grasp the scale of the event. The numbers help convey this: Nearly 30,000 runners participate. At…
A GPS sport watch like the Suunto Ambit3 Peak and Garmin Fenix 5 offers pace, distance, heart rate and other data on a current, average, cumulative, and lap basis. I consider my GPS watch an indispensable tool for training and racing, especially in longer events like marathons and trail ultras, when early on I need…
Six weeks out from the Boston Marathon, I was inclined to race in the Salomon Sonic Pro 2 (my review), which fit me well and which had proven themselves on multiple long runs. But I was open to other options: the Sonic Pro 2 is heavy relative to a true road-racing shoe, and I found…
My Boston Marathon coverage finishes with a data dump. It’s mostly for my purposes, so I can quickly access and compare the information in the future; but there are a few resources that will be useful for any Boston participant. Boston Marathon course GPX file During the race I wore a Suunto Ambit GPS sport…