Category Archives: Race-y

Amazing Race

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This morning the 113th Boston Marathon took place. Congratulations to the winners, Deriba Merga of Ethopia who finished in 2:08:42 and Salina Kosgei of Kenia who finished in 2:32:16. Our very own Kara Goucher and Ryan Hall came in 3rd with a finish time of 2:32:25 and 2:09:40 respectively.

It has been three years since I ran Boston and to this day it remains my most favorite race. Of all the marathons I have run this is the only one I can remember mile by mile. Anyone who has run with me knows that I totally zone out on long runs. I have been known to pass water stops that I myself had put out before a long run. While training for Pier to Peak one year my friends who were responsible to put out the water that morning placed a brightly dressed up bowling pin on the side of the road to mark the water stop for me. I ran right by it…

But when I came to Boston I was determined to take in the race. It had taken me three marathons to get there and I was not going to just let it pass me by. Boston is a happening place during marathon weekend and the atmosphere alone is something every runner should experience at some point in their life. The air is literally charged with excitement. Three of my best friends, including my coach, had also qualified and we all had our families with us. Our pre race dinner took place in restaurant in North End, Boston’s Italian Quarter, where the owner served us a family style feast that prepped us well for next day’s event. 

The next morning Hubby drove us all out to the start in Hopkinton. It was definitely a special feeling being in the presence of runners who we knew had to have run a previous race fast enough to qualify. And all of us knew what that entailed. According to a recent article in Runner’s World only 10% of American marathoners qualify for Boston and as any serious marathoner can tell you, it is a sought after goal. So yes, we did feel special.

Boston is a mostly downhill course and if you think that this would make running 26.2 miles easier you are quite mistaken. Training in Santa Barbara we are used to hilly terrain and at first the downhill seems to be favorable. By mile 14 I had changed my mind however when I had a felling that my quads were separating from my femurs. Any time you read about the Boston Marathon, the Newton Hills are being mentioned. Well, I could not wait to hit some uphill stretches!!! At Heartbreak Hill I wanted to lean down and kiss the road but I had gone over it before I could fully enjoy it. 

Turning the corner onto Boylston Street and seeing the finish line in the distance was one of the most breathtaking moments of my life. Thousands of people were lining those last few yards to the finish line, cheering and waving their flags and it was absolutely mesmerizing. My goal had been to run finish in a time that would qualify me again and I had made it.

 

11271 Boardman, Chris 38 F Cathedral City CA USA    
Checkpoints 5k 10k 15k 20k Half 25k 30k 35k 40k
0:25:13 0:49:37 1:14:39 1:39:15 1:44:34 2:04:26 2:30:42 2:57:15 3:23:40
Finish Pace Projected Time Official Time Overall Gender Division
0:08:13   3:35:13 7411 1440 1148
 

I have not run Boston since mainly because of all the other races I would like to run, but in spirit I will always be in Beantown on this third Monday in April, and one day I will be back!

 

 


Today’s Running Tip: Qualifying for Boston!

According to Runner’s World the following races had the highest number of qualifying times: 

Bay State, Lowell, Mass. (34.1%), Oct. 18 
Mohawk-Hudson River, Albany, N. Y. (33.4%), Oct. 11 
Inland Trail, Elyria, Oh. (29.7%), Nov. 1 
Last Chance for Boston, Columbus, Oh. (27.8%), Feb. 14, 2010 
California International, Sacramento (26.6%), Dec. 6 
Tucson (26.2%), Dec. 13 
Newport, Ore. (24.8%), June 5, 2010 
Tallahassee, Fla. (24.6%), Feb. 7, 2010 
Run for the Red, Poconos, Penn. (24.5%), May 16, 2010 
Wineglass, Corning, N. Y. (24.2%), Oct. 4 

(source: Runner’s World May 2009)

 

 

16 weeks

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It has begun! Today marks the official start of marathon training. For the next sixteen weeks I will once again embark on a journey that will lead me through many streets, various trails, countless treadmill runs (especially as we are heading into spring with ever rising desert temperatures), and numerous speed workouts on the track. There will be days when I cannot wait to hit the pavement and days when tying my shoes will take every ounce of strength I have left from the previous run. Days when I will come home skipping and days when I will barely make it back to the front door before I collapse on the couch. Days when I will run all of my mileage in one run and days when I will split the workout in half and will run half of the day’s miles in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. GU will once again be my best nutritional buddy, pre long run dinners will once again consist of mounds of whole wheat pasta the likes of which this house only sees when a marathon is on the horizon. Power naps will be my best friend and long hours of uninterrupted sleep will make me the happiest person awake. And then there will be rest days!!! Before I started marathon running I never ever took a day off from running and it definitely took some getting used to during my very first training for L.A. But over the past few years I have actually come to enjoy those days of rest and regrouping. And “Rest Day” hardly means I will just collapse between the sofa cushions all day and eat Bon Bons. I usually do yoga and go for a long walk with Hubby and the dog, but overall I really try to take it easy on those days and look forward to them. 

Non runners often ask me how I could even think of doing such a thing, how I could attempt such madness? And not just once, I mean once would be OK as you were clearly oblivious, but now that you are actually aware of what you will get yourself into, how could you do this again and again? My answer is always the same: “Because it is fun!” And I say this with all honesty. I love to run! I love everything about it. I love short runs, speed runs, long runs, buddy runs, and runs in solitude, nature runs, trail runs, and runs around the track. It clears my mind and keeps me sane. The times I have overcome inner turmoil, calmed down a fuse that was about to blow, mended heartbreak and sadness are too many to count. There is no problem a run cannot put into perspective. 

For the next sixteen weeks I will stick to this training plan, and I already know that even on the “hard” days, when an easy 5 miler sounds so much more inviting than a “Tempo 8.5 miles or Hills” I will stick to my guns and run what is on the schedule, because I know that no matter how I feel before the run, I will always feel absolutely amazing after the workout. Now “sticking to the schedule” does not necessarily mean that I will be totally inflexible. There will be weeks when a couple of workouts need to be swapped due to a scheduling conflict with real life (yeah, there is that!), but I will always still run all of the scheduled workouts for that week. Discipline has gotten me over the finish line before and will do so again.

And in the end there will be a day of absolute blastitude! Followed by an ice bath! Yipeee!!!

Hope to see you at the start and finish line!!!

 

Today’s Running Tip: Find online resources for Marathon Training!

There are literally countless resources to find a good training plan when you are preparing for your marathon. Personally I like to utilize the Runner’s World website, which has many links to training guides, nutrition, and anything else you need as you embark on your journey towards 26.2!

Going to Miami

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This morning 15, 000 runners made their way through the streets of Miami. The race was led by Kenian Jynocel Basweti and at mile 20 it sure looked like he was going to take home the win. That is until he mistakingly took a wrong turn as he followed a truck that had been flagged off the course by police. By the time he realized and back tracked the wind had been knocked out of his sails and he lost to 34 year old Benazzouz Slimani, a Marroccon who now lives in Italy. Slimani had also taken that wrong turn but realized soon enough he was off the course and was able to recover. He finished in 2:16:49.

I have to say though that it is hard for me to imagine to be the leader in a marathon, with the win in sight only to get veered off course. It must be devastating beyond anything we as runners can imagine. A person who does not know what it takes to train and run a marathon probably has little idea how crippling such a mistake can be. It reminds me of the 2004 Olympic marathon in Athens when the race leader Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima of Brazil was pushed by Irish protester Cornelius Horan. The incident cost him the gold medal and he finished third. 

 

On the women’s side the race was led by 30 year old Zeddy Chepkoech of Kenya until she was passed at mile 26 by our own Michele Suskek, a 26 year old from Westminster, Colorado. She won in 2:43:31.

Congratulations to the winners and the entire rest of the pack.

 

Today’s Running Tip: Consider yourself a winner!

No matter how long it takes you to run across the marathon finish line, or in what place you finish at, you are always a winner!!!

Raising Arizona

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Today marks the first race in the “Rock ‘N’ Roll series of 2009. This morning at 7:40 am Mountain Standard Time a few thousand runners crossed the start line near the Wesley Bolin Memorial Park in downtown Phoenix to run 26.2 miles to the rockin’ tunes of over 60 bands. The P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon in Arizona was won by Moses Kigen of Kenya in 2:10:36 and Olena Shurkhno of Ukraine in 2:31:22. Congratulations to the winners and all 6408 finishers. YOU ROCK!!!

Did you know that in Arizona:

• A man can legally beat his wife, but not more than once a month.

• Any misdemeanor committed while wearing a red mask is considered a felony (This goes back in the days of the Wild West).
• Cards may not be played in the street with a Native American.
• Donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs.
• Due to a typographical error in the Tempe, Ariz., code, a shooting range can be run by the “Amateur Crapshooting Association.”
• Glendale: Cars may not be driven in reverse.
• Hayden: If you bother the cottontails or bullfrogs, you will be fined.
• Hunting camels is prohibited.
• In 1985, an Arizona legislator proposed that each candidate for the legislature take a reading and an I.Q. test three months before the election. The scores would have been posted on the ballot, had the bill passed. But a majority of legislators, for whatever reason, voted it down.
• In Arizona it is illegal to take naked photographs before noon on Sunday.
• It is illegal for men and women over the age of 18 to have less than one missing tooth visible when smiling.
• It is illegal to hunt camels in the state of Arizona.
• It is unlawful to refuse a person a glass of water.
• Maricopa County: No more than six girls may live in any house.
• Mesa: It is illegal to smoke cigarettes within 15 feet of a public place unless you have a Class 12 liqueur license.
• Mohave County: A decree declares that anyone caught stealing soap must wash himself with it until it is all used up.
• Nogales: An ordinance prohibits the wearing of suspenders.
• Oral sex is considered to be sodomy.
• Prescott: No one is permitted to ride their horse up the stairs of the county court house.
• There is a possible 25 years in prison for cutting down a cactus.
• Tucson: Women may not wear pants.
• When being attacked by a criminal or burglar, you may only protect yourself with the same weapon that the other person posseses.
• When being attacked by a criminal or burglar, you may only protect yourself with the same weapon that the other person possesses.
• You may not have more than two dildos in a house.

 

Today’s Running Tip: Running in Arizona!

Visiting the Grand Canyon State? Check out running routes at Run.com

Disney is the theme!

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Congratulations to ADRIANO BASTOS and LISA MIZUTANI who were the winners of today’s Walt Disney World Marathon with finish times of 2:20:38 for the 30 year old man from Sao Paulo, Brazil and 2:46:27 for the 23 year old woman from Tsukuba, Japan. In honor of this themed race following is a list of favorite characters (in alpha order)

And not only for the fact that he shares his name with this phenomenon! Someone who left us all breathless last summer.

 

Anyone who has such a strong belief in himself deserves some admiration!

With a voice like his he would probably make for a great cheerleader along your race course. Not to mention that he could probably swim you out of the water!

A true friend, who would no doubt stick by you for any race!

Just look at him! How can one not love this face?!

 

His sense of adventure and grand ideas to improve life, even when he gets constantly put down buy others,  could serve as an example to some, if not many!

I trust this dude could cook some mean pre-race pasta dish!

Who would not want a true running companion during endless training runs?!

Someone who taps his foot to keep you in line and on (the) track!

 

This guy LOVES spaghetti!!!

 

Today’s Running Tip: Have fun!

Always try to have fun on your runs. Take in the scenery, breathe the fresh air, enjoy the time with your friends on in solitude, recharge!