mcdonald’s, being the go-to healthy food provider for most serious athletes, has partnered with the rock-n-rock  marathon series.

no, i’m not kidding.  mcdonald’s is sponsoring a marathon series.

which further proves that marathoning (particularly half-marathons) has gone from an event for serious runners training for personal records to a bucket-list checkmark for non-runners.

did i run boston? people have asked.

as of last friday morning, i hadn’t decided whether i would run or simply spectate. i registered for the 2012 boston marathon in september of 2011. unfortunately, in the current day of sold out marathons, a runner must sign up months before the race and before we know our the condition of our bodies and life circumstances on race day. six months before the gun goes off in hopkinton, we commit $185 to race and hope that our training will progress smoothly and our bodies will be free of injury on patriot’s day.

not wanting to miss out on my 3rd consecutive boston marathon, i signed up. however, in january, i determined that it wasn’t in my best interest to continue training and race boston 2012. therefore, i backed off my training regimen and decreased my mileage. since the end of january, i have only been running about 30 – 35 miles per week over 3 days a week. (in comparison, last february i ran up to 80 miles per week over 6 – 7 days a week).

i wasn’t going to run boston. i was not in shape to run boston.

but marathon weekend showed up and i couldn’t help myself. i love this race.

my family drove out from missouri to watch my brother run his first boston marathon. i wanted to take part in the fun as well, but not race it. i resolved to start the race with wave 1, sans a timing chip, run my race until mile 21 where i would meet my brother, whom started 20 minutes later in wave 2, and finish the race together. this marathon was going to be about the fun and experience, not a personal record.

which is good, because it was hot. really hot. 80 degrees at the 10am start kind of hot. 86 degrees on the bank sign in framingham kind of hot. grab ice cubes from little kids along the route and shove them in your sports bra kind of hot.

i started the first 6 miles with a sub 8:00 mile pace. that was dumb. my next 9 miles were 8:00 to 8:30 before i slid to 10:00 miles around mile 17. i slowly made it to heartbreak hill at mile 21 and waited for my brother, as was our pre-race plan. i waited for awhile, but didn’t find him. since i had slowed so much in the last few miles, i figured that i must have missed him running by and he was already near the finish. i decided to move along. after stopping at mile 21, it was all but impossible to start running again. i finished the final 5 miles in a jog/walk/slog manner, stopping to talk with friends i spotted along the route and eat a grape popsicle from a guardian angel at mile 22 (it was the most amazing part of the entire race).

and for the record, i wasn’t the only one hitting the wall.  i may have seen 2 people actually running up heartbreak hill.  we were all walking dead at this point of the race.

the race was absolutely miserable.  the backs of my knees were sunburned.  i puked in newton.  the bottom front pad on my right foot was a solid blister.  i drank approximately 20 cups of water during the race, 1 liter of water after the race, followed by 1 liter of diet coke, 0.5 liter of sprite, 12 oz of cranberry juice, and a large iced coffee from dunkin donuts before i finally peed approximately 8 hrs after the race.

but, i finished, as ugly as my performance might have been.

what did i learn from boston?

expectations are everything.
all week we heard the weatherman warn us and the BAA warn us. we had an excuse not to do well, therefore, i think many of us let that excuse slow us down even more. we had no expectations of running well, therefore it was easy to accept our below average performance. i have never walked in a marathon before monday. however, i knew that monday brought forth a new set of circumstances and walking was a very acceptable, and common, behavior in the 2012 boston marathon. in another marathon, i might have pushed my body harder but on monday i accepted a lower standard of effort and just ‘stuck it out’ rather than ‘fight it out.’

that is not to say that i didn’t try. i absolutely tried. however, i just didn’t push myself as hard as i have in previous marathons. i knew the results of a harder effort would not be as rewarding as the damage i could have done to my body.

experience is golden. we can gain valuable lessons from both good and bad situations.
i earned my 3rd unicorn medal on monday. when i look at those pieces of blue and yellow metal, i will recall what each of them meant. during each marathon training cycle, i have a theme which can usually be summarized by one word. on race day, i write that word on my hand to serve as inspiration during the race. the first of my boston finisher’s medal will remind me of ‘purpose’ — about how we don’t run a race like a man running aimlessly, how we don’t fight like a man beating the air. the theme of my second boston was ‘movement.’ after learning about a friend’s diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, i wrote the word movement on my hand to serve as i reminder that i should never take running, or movement in general, for granted. i am lucky to have a healthy, able body.

monday’s race taught me about ‘choices.’ for the last two years, i have made the choice to train hard for marathons. i have changed my eating habits, my social habits, my sleeping habits, in order to boost my fitness level. i have changed my focus from my family, my husband, and my friends to myself and my goals. which brings me to my next lesson.

marathoning is a selfish sport.
i knew this before, which is why i decided back off my training in january. training for a marathon takes hundreds of hours away from our loved ones and causes them to adjust their lives for our hobby. this was reinforced over marathon weekend as my family followed my brother and i around boston. they stayed in the hotel that we wanted in order to be near the starting line. they walked around the expo and took pictures of us as we picked up our bibs. they ate where we wanted to eat so that we had the right amount of carbs in our bodies. they waited for hours at the finish line as we battled our way through the course. at one point, i stopped and borrowed a cell phone from a spectator to call my husband and warn him that i would be longer than i originally expected. he waited an extra hour for me to come into boston. they waited at the hotel as we went to the hospital to seek post-race treatment. they gave up their day of sightseeing on tuesday because we were too sore and tired to tour the city. it was all about us.

sometimes we have to take a break from running, not just because our bodies need the rest from the physical stress, but also because our loved ones need the rest from our selfishness.

no regrets.  everything i have done has brought me to where i am.

regardless of the difficult conditions on monday and the ups and downs of this training season, i am very happy that i ran the 2012 boston marathon. this year’s race wasn’t about setting a personal record, but about proving to myself that i can relax my running goals in order to focus on bigger life goals. i proved to myself that i can be happy running slower or less often in order to find balance in other areas of life.

the 2012 boston marathon taught me that …… life has its seasons.

A debate circled one of my running Google groups (Sugarloaf Mountain Athletic Club members) this week regarding the accuracy of GPS watches.  The debate started because a runner clocked a certified race course with his GPS and the GPS came up slightly short.  The race director explained the methodology of how the course distance was certified.  Another runner chimed into the conversation with a great explanation of GPS watches and their pros/cons.  I felt this was a very useful email and have posted his response below.

[Hat tip:  Alex]

Dear SMACmates,

I had wanted to follow up on the conversation about course accuracy and our “wonderful” GPS units but the week got away from me.

First, I happened to run Sunday’s (awesome, and superbly organized and executed) Ron Hebert race with two GPS units (yes, I am a geek):

1. The Garmin on my arm reported 7.93 miles.  You can see details here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/161539497.

2. The iPhone in my Spibelt reported 8.01 miles. You can see details here: http://j.mp/GOhJUu.

I run with both of them almost every time I run (one reports my progress to my sweetheart (who lives 1200 miles away) so she doesn’t worry about me). They almost never agree.

Which one do I trust?

Neither of them.

As convenient as our little GPS’s are, and as much as I swear by them when training on the road or trails, they are not very accurate.  Accurate enough for some kinds of work, but not to manage pace-based speed work.  Certainly not accurate enough to argue about the length of a course with an experienced set of race directors.

For example, my Garmin reported that the Chicago Marathon was 26.49 miles long.  It also said I ran that longer distance nearly 2 minutes faster than my official time.  Neither of these was correct and I knew it at the time.  Instead, the Garmin got confused along the way and at times thought that I had paused when I hadn’t and at other times thought I had climbed to the top of skyscrapers when I hadn’t done that either.  You can see details here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/52783276. (Check out the altitude chart.  Chicago is the flattest marathon I know.)

If you want to read about the relative accuracy of certified, wheel-measured courses compared to GPSs you might try this article suggested to me by Parker Morse:

http://hamptonhalf.com/hamptonhalf-GPS.html .

If you want to read a pretty technical article about the difficulty of making GPS’s work for pedestrians you might check out this article suggested by Rob Higley who knows a thing or two about measurement:  http://www.gpsworld.com/lbs/personal-navigation/city-walk-1836?page_id=1 .

For the foreseeable future I will place my confidence in a properly wheel measured course as the standard.

I view whatever numbers the GPS reports as useful approximations.

Servus,

Alex

UPDATE:  I ran 13 miles today and tested out my GPS.  First, I drove the course in my cars and noted the mile markers.  I ran the course with my GPS and a regular running watch.   The GPS showed the mileage slightly longer than my car’s odometer.  The watches matched within a second.  I don’t think my car’s odometer is 100% accurate method of measuring distance either, but it gave me another data source for comparison. Bottom line — GPS watches are nice for tempo run on the roads.  Keep to the track for specific pace workouts.  And trust your race director when it comes to USATF certified courses.

helping me get out the day on this cold, raw day:

good luck to everyone out there putting in their last long run before boston.

The Boston Marathon is getting faster!   The BAA posted the breakouts of the Waves.  

Here are the comparisons from last year to this year: 

2011 Break between Wave 1 and 2 – 3:22:41 
2011 Break between Wave 2 and 3 – 3:45:57 

2012 Break between Wave 1 and 2 – 3:19:10
2012 Break between Wave 2 and 3 – 3:43:48

i have been running in the harsh new england winters for a few years and have developed many survival techniques along the way. these techniques have become second nature to me, so i often forget that they are not always obvious to new runners. as i think of them, i’ll share them on here just in case some readers might benefit from my experiences.

sunday’s run was the first brutally cold, windy run of the season. i ran a 16 mile loop than ended in a -1* windchill. my last two miles were incredibly demoralizing, so much that i was literally yelling into the wind. the wind was blowing around 15 mph in my face and i added another 8 mph with my speed for what i call “an effective windspeed” of 23 mph. miserable.

knowing that i was going to be running into a stiff wind for most of my run, i took a few precautions to stay warm:

1) face protection. i don’t like face masks because my breath causes the mask to ice up and block my breathing. instead, i apply a thin layer of vaseline on my face to keep my face from chapping and my nose from bleeding.

2) overdress. i tend to overdress in winter to make sure i’m protected if the wind picks up and the sun goes behind a cloud. if you’re wearing synthetic clothes, it’s ok to sweat because the clothing will continue to keep you warm regardless of sweating. it’s better to be wet and warm than cold and underdressed.

3) duct tape. it really does fix everything. one of my biggest pet peeve is the porous fabric on the top of running shoes. shoe companies designed the shoes to be well ventilated in warm temperatures, like built-in air conditioning for the toes. this is great in the summer and helps mitigate blisters, but it’s miserable in the winter as the icy wind blows into your shoes. on windy, cold days, i apply duct tape to the top of my shoes to block the wind.

so imagine a runner with a fluorescent yellow jacket, vaseline slathered all over her face, mis-matched wool mittens, and duct tape on her shoes.

yep, winter running is a fashionable sport.

this month’s running times featured an article about runner jenny barringer simpson.  in the article simpson mentioned the quote above which was from cs lewis’s screwtape letters.  since reading the quote, i have been pondering its meaning and what it means in my life.

first, i considered the word ‘virtue.’   what is a virtue?  what are ‘the virtues’?  i know that ‘patience is a virtue’ however, i’m not sure i could tell you any others beyond patience.  a quick wikipedia search taught me that there are seven virtues, one to correspond with each of the seven deadly sins.

the seven virtues are as follows, along with their corresponding sin:  chastity (lust), temperance (gluttony), charity (greed), diligence (sloth), patience (wrath), kindness (envy), and humility (pride).

as i thought through each of the virtues, i realized that virtues are not bought or inherited.   each of virtues must be earned.  patience is developed by being tested; it is the forbearance and endurance through moderation.  diligence is the careful nature of one’s actions/work and the capability of not giving up.  by definition, these virtues require time and challenges to develop.  they are developed through trial and perseverance through ‘testing points’.

we are defined and refined by our testing points.  strength untested is not strength.

we do not become marathoners by standing on a starting line then being magically transported to the finish line.  rather marathoners earn their titles by the months of training and every step they run of the 26.2 mile trek to the end.  calling me a marathoner if i had never ran a marathon would be a pointless accolade.  it would be shameful, like wearing a race tshirt of a race i had not ran.

this week i have felt demoralized.  i have experienced a particularly challenging and tiring week.  during such weeks, it is easy for me to question why life must be so difficult sometimes and why i must continue to seek out challenges for myself.  maybe i could have chosen a more simple path in life or a less challenging lifestyle.  i question the road that i have chosen for myself.

these doubts, and we all have them at certain times, mark a ‘testing point.’  they signal a decision point where i can choose to give up or to persevere.  if i choose to press on, i refine and reinforce the virtues in my life.

this week when i read the above quote, i was reminded that life’s ugly challenges are the very things that create the virtuous and beautiful qualities in life.

i should welcome and embrace challenges.  i should wish for the courage to face the very testing points of life that lead to the development of the coveted virtues.

The new Running Times showed up in the mail yesterday telling me how to run a 2:03 marathon.

No biggie. All the kids are doing it these days!

i love winter.  and even though i complain about the challenges of training through the winter, i love getting outside and running in the snow.

today was the first time this season i was able to run in the snow.  i snuck outside for a lunchtime run, just as the snowflakes started falling. the flakes were huge and blinded me as they stuck in my eye.  when i started the road was merely wet with precipitation, but quickly accumulated 2 inches of snow by the end of my run.  my calves ached by the end of my run due to the extra muscle contractions needed to stabilize my stride on the slippery surface.

i absolutely enjoyed the peaceful quiet of the snowfall as I ran along the country roads of new england.  welcome winter!  i hope you stay for awhile.

for new year’s day, i took toby up his namesake peak, mt toby.  the vet said i needed to keep his mileage around 6 miles and stick to the trails.  since the 10 month old pup is still growing, his joints are vulnerable to the jarring on his joints which could lead to arthritis later in his life.   i was disappointed to hear this, but was happy to take to the trail for a little fun.

toby was a champ, running straight and true up the trail despite the numerous dogs on the trail trying to distract him.  my legs were a little tired from the 15 miles i ran earlier that morning, but toby gently tugged me up the trail, aiding my climb on the steep ascent.  the trail was a little icy and caused me to take a spill.  toby slipped a little, but was able to stay upright.   the run made me think about the gear adjustment that both myself and my dog will have to make in the coming winter weather, such as doggie booties.  i couldn’t help but think about how i could fashion a pair of doggie crampons for my bud so that i can take him ice climbing.   making the crampons is easy, the trick is teaching him to belay!