Boston marathon

So I took my Forerunner to the strand today to do a little tempo running. Since the Forerunner is still new to me, I'm still not all that familiar with the whole "lap" feature, but I eventually figured it out. I did a little over 5 miles which broke down like this:

1 11:15 warmup mile
2 8:24 tempo mile
3 10:24 recovery mile
4 8:19 tempo mile
5 10:14 recovery mile

I was really struggling in mile 4, unsure of whether I could maintain that pace. But I just kept repeating "Boston" to myself. My long term goal is Boston in 2010 and I need to average 8:35 a mile to qualify by then. I've never really worried about speed work, tempo work, etc. so I am pretty happy that my first tempo run went so well. I know the tempo run really needs to be strung together instead of broken up in intervals, but it's a start. Baby steps, right?

Leading up to the marathon, all of the talk for those of us planning to go to Boston was about the weather. The forecasts gradually got worse and worse as the day approached, until flood warnings were out for the eastern seaboard and we were looking at the worst weather in the 110 year history of the Boston Marathon.

Storms. Rain. Freezing rain. 25 mph headwinds with gusts up to 50 mph.

I took a red eye flight to Boston on Friday night, arriving Saturday morning with very little sleep. Then I walked around the marathon expo with friends most of the day Saturday.

By the time I got checked into my hotel and got a shower, it was time for me to go to a dinner held by one of the founders of a company called AgaMatrix. The main product of AgaMatrix is a blood glucose meter. The dinner was a benefit for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund, and I was one of several diabetic runners participating in the Boston Marathon who were invited as guests of honor.

When I came to Arizona I didn't know any local runners. I knew that it helped me run more consistently to do scheduled runs with a group, so I started going to a local running store, the Foothills Running Company, for their Wednesday night group run.

Most people there were relative beginners, slower even than I was. However, one runner, Jennifer, was running at my pace or faster. We both entered the Foothills store's training program for the 2005 Rock 'N' Roll Arizona Marathon.

We had a lot in common, a similar pace and things to talk about on long runs. We became and remain training partners and friends. The R'N'R AZ Marathon produced similar results to those Jennifer and I have had at several marathons since. Jennifer stuck very well to the program and ran a better marathon than I did.

News media were wetting themselves with excitement at an outrageous marketing coup, but I'm wondering just how great an advertisement it was for the controversial Spira spring-heeled shoes to send two Kenyans out in front wearing the bright yellow flats -- only to see them drop out after 92 minutes of running.

Maybe the springs in the shoes don't give quite enough advantage?

See this video newscast to catch the hype. (The site plays an ad before going to the newscast.)

Ooops. When you're having gut problems the LAST thing you want to hear is people shouting "Go, go!" at you... and holding up signs that say "Go Deena, go!"

Yes, poor Deena Kastor had her bid to win Boston wrecked by gut problems. Reminiscent of Paul Radcliffe in the Olympic marathon, she wasted energy before the start hunting for a bathroom, and had to stop during the race as well. But it seems that Boston is better-organized than the Olympics and Deena was spared the indignity of having to squat at the side of the road... there are portaloos on the course.

This has happened to me in races... and it is not pleasant!

Make sure you check what Kenyan Joseph Sitienei runs at Boston. The 32-year-old Kenyan sub 2:20 marathoner is the most well-known of a clutch of athletes who plan to run in the banned Spira shoes that feature energy-return springs in the heels and forefoot.

The move comes hard on the heels of news that Spira Footwear has filed a lawsuit against the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) and the United States Association of Track and Field (USATF), alleging that their Rule 143 -- which allegedly bans spring technology -- is a restraint on trade.

Runners who have used the shoes claim that they don't necessarily improve times, but are just mroe comfortable. However, thsoe claims took a knock recently when, as Spira reports: "Keith Pierce, a track coach from Krum, Texas, and a US Olympic trials hopeful, competed in the shoe at the 2007 Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth, Texas. He won the race by over 12 minutes."

Boston. The latest Runner's World is all about Boston. This morning it is all I thought about during my run. I will have to be faster; much faster to qualify for Boston. My 5 miler felt really good this morning. Dark, not too much traffic, 55 degrees. I'm training for the Palos Verdes 1/2 Marathon in May. So I'm doing a lot of hills. Last year I had my first 1/2 marathon PR at Palos Verdes and I would love to have another. My goal for PV is 2:08. Today it feels do-able. And someday, Boston - the dream.

U.S. Navy commander Suni Williams will be running the Boston Marathon this year, but she’ll be running the marathon from a location 210 miles (338 km) above Earth’s surface in the International Space Station.
Williams will run the 26.2 miles on a treadmill; one that she will be teathered to with a bungee cord. Unfortunately, [...]

That's the question put to Dick Beardsley, 4th fastest US marathoner of all time, who is still racing 25 years after his epic "Duel in the Sun" Boston marathon.

It's the first question in an interview with Dick for the nuBound supplement company. His reply:

"That’s a great question. I retired in 1988 from high level competition, but I’ve
always continued to love running. There’s a great new generation of top level competitors out there doing amazing things. Many top athletes as they age take the view that they “don’t want to lose” and back out of continued competition. For myself, I continue to love the challenge of training and improving — I’m working on a whole new set of 50+ personal bests. I certainly don’t do it to relive old glories. It’s not that I have something to prove. I do it because it’s just a hoot!"