Boston Marathon 2011 Race Report

" Run the Mountens fast

Go Uncle Ryin!!!!

Go Go Go Go !!

Go Fast!

Finish Fast!!

Go for the Prises!!

Win the race!"

That was the poem written by my 6 year old niece on a sign to cheer me on during the race last weekend. I have taken the liberty to write a rendition that is more fitting:

"Run the streets like an Idiot

Suffer Uncle Ryan!!!!

Cramp, Cramp, Cramp, Cramp!!

Start fast!

Finish slow!!

Learn your lesson!!

Barely finish the race!"

The Boston Marathon this year was more about a vacation than a race. I didn't have any concrete goals or expectations. I was more looking to get away for a while an see some family and friends. In that regard the trip was a huge success.

I took the Red-eye out of Denver on Friday night and met up with my father at Logan Airport at the early (late?) hour of 5am. We then proceeded to drive north to New Hampshire to visit my step sister Molly and her wonderful family (husband Adam, and daughter Hope) . I've never been to NH before, and was quite suprised by it's beauty, and ruggedness. There are trees everywhere. I've venture to say there's nearly a tree every couple feet. It would be some rough trekking through those forrests, I'd imagine. Perhaps I'll go back and find out for myself one of these days.

Trees and trees. NH.

Upon arrival, breakfast was eaten and then I put on my running shoes for my last shakedown run before the marathon. Adam showed me around the neighborhood as we meandered through muddy trails for maybe 6 miles. We drove up to Hanover for lunch, followed by napping, an intense Lego house building session and some dinner. My sweet niece was kind enough to give up her bed for the night, so I got a great night of sleep as a hula princess.

Hope, Molly & I in Hanover

Building a Lego Mansion

The next morning my dad and I drove back to Boston, did the whole packet pick-up thing, and then race over to Fenway Park to watch the Sox beat the blue Jays on a perfect afternoon. Guessing by the size of the seats in that park, Americans used to be much smaller 100 years ago. After the game we had just enough time to check in to the hotel, and head off to dinner with a group of runners from Denver (and Portland I think). The size of the doorman at the Restaurant should have warned us, but the portion size of our dinners was ridiculous. Nobody even came close to eating half of their plate. We stopped of at Mikes for some Canoli's and then headed home to watch playoff basketball and get some sleep before the big day. It was nice watching Melo shove a guy late in the 4th quarter to cost the Knicks the game, and not have to get angry for once. I played it smart and turn off the Nuggs after the first quarter and went to bed, think a win was in the bag. Stupid.

The Finish Line on Sunday.

Hey, it was Fenway Park. I wasn't going there without getting a beer...and a hotdog.

My Dad snores. Alot. Very loudly.

Luckily I had earplugs. It didn't mater much 'cause I didn't sleep well anyway. There was a groggy wake up, meet up, walk to Boston Commons and a bus ride. After a short stay at athlete's village, Phil, Rafa (friends from CO) and I made our way to the starting line. We tried to catch the start of the women's elite race, but the combination of tiny women and crowds made that difficult. As we were waiting for the start the Elite Men made their way to the front of the wave, and it was cool to be sharing the same general space as some of those guys for a little while. The Kenyan's all looked tiny and overwhelmed by the crowd. Ryan Hall's pre-race resembled Ray Lewis' Pre-game. Yelling, fist pumps, chest bumps. Dude was stoked. Obviously, he was ready to race, as he set a new American record.

My friend Rafa is the "sage" of Boston. I think he's ran 10 times now, and at an age of 45, he's still running fast. I think all of his runs have been faster than I've ever ran a marathon. He was hoping to run below 2:50, which was my goal as well. I thought it would be a good idea to go out with him and see how things progressed. At the gun, we took it out right on pace, logging a 6:32 mile. The 2nd mile came in a bit faster, 6:10. We told ourselves we should ease up a bit, as 6:10 miles now would make for a long day. We didn't slow up. At about mile 4, in all of my wisdom, I decided it would be a good idea to drop Rafa and run my own race. I was admittedly feeling great, but what a stupid idea...

I started rattling off 6:0x miles for quite a while. I was feeling great. I stopped briefly at Wellesley for a kiss on the cheek. Not wanting to repeat the indecision and miss out like last year, I settled on a relatively cute girl with a sign which read "KISS ME I"M A TRAILGURL". There were probably cuter girls with better appreciation for the English language, but I think I made a decent decision.

I crossed the 1/2 way point in 1:21, a PR for a 1/2 marathon by several seconds. I don't want to tell anybody their business, and I'm not an expert at running strategy, but UNLESS YOU ARE INTERESTED IN EXTREME SUFFERING AND PAIN, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SET A 1/2 MARATHON PR WHILE RUNNING A FULL MARATHON. At this point I was still running in 'superman' bliss and did not realize the hole I was digging for myself. I kept on racking up 6:0x miles all the way through mile 18 or 19.

I knew I was in trouble around mile 17 or 18, but somehow kept the pace going until about mile 20. And then I was a hot mess. My legs were a mess. My feet were a mess. I was miserable. I had set out to really push things in this race, so I was actually quite content with my situation. I had brought this on myself, and was now facing 6 miles of running with nothing left in the legs. I considered it an exercise in understanding and trying to embrace suffering. A skill which I feel is important in my longterm running outlook. Learn to enjoy suffering. That's easier said than done.

While I was busy trashing my legs, my Niece was busy conjuring up a motivational sign.

I had difficulty logging anything faster than 7 minute miles the rest of the way into Boston. My legs were hurting and cramping & I was pretty sure there were a variety of blisters on my feet. Being an ultrarunner, I decided that Endurolytes would fix everything. I popped about 3 or 4 of them at once. Nothing, shucks. Rafa came flying by at mile 24.5. He's a great guy and offered words of encouragement, but as I watched him run out of sight I was cursing my stupidity. One of these days maybe I'll learn my lesson.

At mile 25 I got a nice rise in enthusiasm as I spotted my Dad, Molly, Adam and Hope. They cheered loudly. I waved. Mustered up a smile.

Passing the Family at Mile 25. My legs cramp just looking at this photo.

The high lasted only a couple of minutes. Soon I was getting passed by a female runner who had, well, who had shat herself. That was a blow to the ego. At least she wasn't wearing Vibrams.

As I turned on to Boyston St., I looked at the running watch as it clicked past my goal time of 2:50. 45 seconds later I was done.

Cramping and limping, I found Rafa and we exchanged war stories. I stumbled down some stairs and got a quick massage, and headed to the Back Bay Hotel to meet up with my friends and see how everybody else made out. I was stoked to find out that my friend Phil had ran a 2:56ish time, well below the 3 hour mark that had eluded him. I knew he was in great shape, and am happy he didn't settle for a 2:59 and went for it. I grabbed a quick recovery beer and sauntered back my hotel to meet family, shower, and head out for lunch.

Phil & I enjoying a quick Recovery Beer after the race.

Post race noodles.

Hope and me after the race with my 'nonstoppable' sign. If only it were true.

The afternoon was spend suffering with aches and stomach problems. I managed to leave my pit party and walk down to an actual party later in the evening to grab several more beers and celebrate with some friends. I stumbled back home around midnight, put in the earplugs and attempted to sleep.

The "Denver" guys. We definitely won the drinking portion of the Boston Marathon.

Tuesday was spent sleeping in, accessing the damage to my feet (extensive-I'll save you all the pictures), and stopping by "Cheers" for a burger and beer before heading off to the airport and flying back home. The plane was at least1/2 full or runners. Crazy.

"Cheers". Smiles were at a premium on Tuesday.

Overall, this was a great trip. My 'newer' step family is awesome. I will have to work on getting them to move to CO. It was nice spending time with my Father, despite his snoring.

I didn't meet my 'goal' time of 2:50, but to be honest, I don't really care. It's somehow still a new PR, so I'm not allowed to complain.

I am a bit annoyed at myself for the damage I did to my legs and feet. I've only logged about 10 miles since, and have likely put my feet in a condition that will require coddling and attention the rest of the summer. This was supposed to be just a 'blip' in the training schedule, but may require more extensive recovery.

Next up... Scandinavian running adventure next Monday, followed closely by pacing at the Kalamazoo Marathon 6 days later.

Barefoot Running...

Its the most exhausting topic in running today. You've all probably seen the silly Vibram shoes by now. I'll just say I could really care less about the whole topic. I myself wear somewhat skimpy shoes, but I'm not about to go running without shoes.

Regardless. This is hilarious...

Watch this video.

Now watch this one.

901

Thats my bib number this Monday at the Boston Marathon.

This race is kind of the oddball in my racing schedule. Roads, 25,000 people... not really my thing, but I actually had a great time last year. Boston's a neat city, the spectators are along the entire course, there's a bunch of college girls screaming and willing to kiss sweaty old men at the halfway point... Pretty fun really.

Being such a big race, they actually allow you at home to track me every 5K along the course. You can do that by going HERE on raceday and either entering that number up above or typing in my name.

What should you expect/be looking for?

Great question. I don't really know what to expect either. Here's a little insight:

Things that are different going into this race since last year:

-I have ran a crapload more miles in the winter months leading up to the race

-I have more racing experience than last year, including running the course before

-I have been eating very poorly, and imbibing in a few more beers this winter and spring

-I weigh about 10 pounds more than I did last year, and it's not all beer gut (possibly correlated to the note above)

-I actually tapered intelligently this year

-I have done 2, yes 2, track workout all spring (speed work is for the birds).

Other factors:

-The weather is supposed to be perfect

-I can't really come up with a single nagging injury (I typically like to talk up an injury before races so that I have a fallback excuse if things go poorly)

What does that all mean? I don't know. Last year I ran 2:57. I bonked the last 4 miles in spectacular fashion. I didn't stop for any kisses at Wellesley either.

I'm pulling this out of my A$$, but I'm gonna predict a 2:50. Kind of ambitious, but why the hell not. When I look at the reasons above, a slower time can only be attributed to being an overweight, beer drinking lazy ass who hates track workout. No injuries, perfect weather...I'm really in a corner without any excuses. So I might as well go for it. What's the worst than can happen? I hear IV's are actually quite refreshing and invigorating.

The plan will be to run the first half in 1:24 and then watch the fun unfold. This could end poorly, but it would be boring any other way.

Posts are boring without Pictures. So here are some randoms.

A Vigilante Llama I passed going up to White Ranch Last Fall

Some friends and I pounding watery beers after the the Turkey Trot. Walsh, Tom (We're currently fighting), BB, and I.

Truck

I was looking through some old pictures this morning (because I have spring fever & can't stop thinking about having fun in the mountains) and came across this picture from the Mt. Bierstadt TH several years ago while I was hiking with my stepdad and too many dogs. This activity is much more comfortable now that I have a truck (one with a nice fresh dent in it from driving like a teenage girl last night, that is).

Neons-Not the ideal car for a mountain man (or any man to be honest)

Too Many Puppies. (This shot proved difficult to obtain, trying to get me and 3 dogs to look good for the camera, so I'm willing to post (yet another) pic of me looking like a goof)

FIRE!

Its frightening to think about, but the Front Range is already catching aflame this spring. This is far earlier in the year than I can ever remember. One particular fire that garnered a lot of attention was the Mount Galbraith fire just outside of Golden. Mostly because it blew smoke all over Denver. I, on the other hand, was concerned because I like running in the open space park in the area.

On Sunday, the fire was out, and my friend Luke and I ventured out on the nearby Beaver Brook Trail to survey the damage while traversing the on the south side of Clear Creek. Poor lighting made it hard to photograph the effected area, but I got plenty of other nice photos.

View of the burn area from the South. The light of the midmorning makes it hard to see the burn line, but if you stare long enough you can find it.

Luke at the top of Gudy Gaskill overlook

No fire, but nice view of Evan's from the Gudy overlook.

Downtown Golden and South Table Mountain (and smoggy Denver) on the way down Chimney Gulch Trail

Our "Trail Head" for Sunday's run. I don't know why I haven't thought of it before, but Golden City Brewery is the perfect place to start and end a run. Cold beers on tap upon return.

Yesterday, my friend Tom informed me that the park had re-opened. I jumped on the opportunity to take a easy run out there to survey the damage. It was extremely windy ('slightly breezy' as Tom put it). It never dawned on me until I was turning into the TH, but running in a recently burnt forest on a windy day is not the brightest idea. Tom put my mind at ease when he let me know that his uncle had died by getting crushed by a fallen tree. The chances of that happening to two people he knew had to be very small.

Anyhow, the combination of wind and a nice evening sun resulted in some great photos of the area, and a face full of ash. Good times.

Game trails that would typically be hidden under brush emerged when the vegetation is all gone.

Tom at the top of Mount Galbraith. This is close to where they think the fire started.

Salida 'Run Through Time' Marathon Race Report

What a great weekend. I don't really know where to start this story. The best place may be as I was lying in bed Thursday night. I got a txt on my phone from an unknown number. It read : Random question, will you be in Salida this weekend? Why, yeah, I was gonna be in Salida this weekend, but I had no clue who the txt was from. I conferred with my google account for a while and tracked down the number. Long story short... my good friend from college, Hunter, was driving up from Los Alamos to run his first marathon.

Friday evening I jumped in the car with a couple good friends excited to get down to Salida, run a trail marathon in a great setting and catch up an old friend; better than any happy hour I've ever attended...

This was my 1st (but definitely not last) time running this race. All I could really gather is that it cheap, well run, and in a great spot. The course had an advertised 4600 feet of gain/loss, and lots of dirt. So I actually had pretty high expectations going in. I wasn't disappointed in the least. I didn't really have any big goals for the race, as you never really know who's going to show up and it's hard to predict a time goal on a hilly trial course.

Following the check-in, I had pretty low goals for the day. There were tons of fast, accomplished runners all around me. I decided anything under 4 hours would make me happy. I also got to catch up with Hunter and quiz him on why he chose such a crazy run for his first substantial distance race. He didn't really have a good reason, which, when I really think about it makes the most sense.

Long shadows of Emily, Jeremiah and I.

The race starts with a long 10 mile gradual and fully runnable climb. I decided to take it pretty easy at the start hoping to gradually crank up the pace as the day went on and the course flattened out and headed back down towards Salida. I found myself in about 25th place a few miles in, and gradually started moving up the pack as runners who'd likely gone out a bit too fast started to slow. The course turns off of a decently smooth dirt road onto a more rocky jeep trail for a 2-3 out and back to the top of the course. This section got steep at the end and allowed you to gauge where you stood amongst all of the leaders. I started counting the runners on their way back down, but stopped counting at 10 as I was out of breath and could smell the top. I pushed it a bit harder right at the top of the climb and was able to catch 2-3 runners right before the turn around. I wanted to just hang out up there and enjoy the view, but alas, I was in a race. A total stranger was friendly enough to share a photo he snapped from the spot. Hammering the downhill back to the dirt road, I was able to wave and encourage several friends on their way up the hill.

Snowy 14ers that will likely make me their B*tch this fall. (Photo: John Courtney)

Around the 13 mile Aid Station I caught up to Geoff Roes, who was obviously out for a leisurely training run, and we chatted about my upcoming trip to AK and what not as we ran through some slightly muddy jeep trail on our way to the 20M aid station. It was nice talking with him; he really is just another humble nice trail runner and I'm pretty excited for that trip (he has a few more spots open for his July session, if you're interested).

The 'highlight's of the day involved the 20M aid station. As we were running in I was talking about how I was excited to finally get on some more technical single track while simultaneously unscrewing the top of my water bottle to get a fill-up. I'd like to say I know what happened, but I don't. Simply put, I ate shit. Water, dirt, and even a little blood went everywhere. No major injuries, just my pride. Right in front the AS crew and a couple runners. I finally gathered myself and sauntered over to the aid station just as Geoff was cracking open a PBR. He didn't want the whole can, and given the recent affairs, I felt it wouldn't hurt to imbibe a little myself, so I joined him.

That whole fiasco lasted all but a few minutes, but it was long enough for a couple runners to pass me. Geoff and I headed down the as-advertised awesome single track. About a mile later, there was a 200-300 yard grunt of a climb that practically stopped me in my tracks. That was the last of Geoff as he went flying by. Just at the top, I was able to catch and pass one of the runners who passed me at the aid station.

The last 5 miles of the race were pretty uneventful. I would catch glimpses of the runner in front of me, but he always seemed closer than he actually was. The single track was quite curvy, and the views of the Collegiate Peaks on the other side of the valley were breathtaking. It got me thinking about the Nolan's 14 attempt I have been contemplating later this summer.

Jeremiah and Emily were awaiting me at the finish. I think I ended up 9th in about 3:38, but the results currently list some lady with my bib number finishing instead of me. I guess my attempt at a beard isn't working. We hung out at the Park and had a few beers while we waited to cheer Hunter to the finish. I attempted to take a dip in the creek, but only got about ankle deep before chickening out. It was damn cold. I'm just not that tough. A beer or two later, we spotted hunter on the switchbacks leading into town. He finished with a smile, which is more than I can say about my first marathon.

Emily, Jeremiah and I soaking in the sun post race (beer in hand).

Hunter post race..I was excited for him

My car-mates (who ran the 1/2) were savvy enough to drink enough beers to render themselves non-drivers, so we hopped in the car, grabbed some beer and pizza on the way out of town and I drove rather quickly back to Denver just in time for a shower before I heading to the Pepsi Center to watch the Nuggets embarrass the Pistons.

Race Report-Montana de Oro 50K

I had a business trip in CA last week. I figured I'd take advantage of the situation and piggyback my first Ultra of the year on with the trip. As an extra bonus, I got to visit some old friends from MI while I was out there.

I flew into San Diego on February 11th, rented an SUV with the intention of playing beach bum and sleeping in the back all weekend before heading back to San Diego for my work conference.

The race was in Las Osos, about 300 miles north of San Diego. After a quick stop at In-N-Out, I started the drive north hoping to make some ground before finding a place to 'camp' for the night. At about 10pm I started to feel the energy waining. This is when I discovered that the state of CA charges an arm and a leg to camp in their parks. $35 for a campsite! $45 for one with a nice view. Not a mile from the park was a Motel 6 for $49/night. Easy choice... the extra cash for a shower and a bed was a no-brainer.

I headed to some beaches by Santa Barbara on Saturday and got in a nice easy 4M run to keep the legs moving. Filled my water bottle with some beer and brought my camera to keep my mindset in the right place. Like an idiot, I ran without socks, in my racing shoes. Nothing like running a 50K in wet shoes, with new blisters, and sand all over the place!

Lots of birds, shells, rocks, the ocean, and even some nude chicks sunbathing. Perfect scenery for a mountain man.

A bird hanging out, not really giving a shit

A bird-I'm an expert in Ornithology, if you can't tell

Beach by Santa Barbara

After the run I drove through some wine country to San Luis Obisbo to meet my friends Bill and Tamara (who was running the 25K). After a nice hike in the neighboring hills, we enjoyed a great dinner with some local wine and lots of pasta at Tamara's parents, before heading to bed. That's about the best pre-race day I've ever had.

The morning of the race I was in prime form. I was channeling my inner space cadet like you wouldn't believe. Forgot my water bottle at Tamara's, but was lucky enough to get a phone call in time to go back an get it. I should clarify, Tamara got a call in time. A call to me would have gone unanswered as I had also left my phone back at the house. I wouldn't figure this out until later though.

Montana De Oro Park is a beautiful state park along the ocean. The 50K course is 2 laps of a figure-8 course, with the start/finish/aid station positioned at the intersection point. Each 'loop' of the figure-8 contained a 1200-1400 foot climb. I think the total climb for the race was something like 6400 feet. The race starts with a nice flat 3 mile section though some bluffs along the ocean, followed by a steep climb, a steep drop, a steady climb and then a steady drop. Then you repeat it all again.

The weather was perfect. Maybe low 50's at the beginning.

I decided to try a new approach to this race. My goal was to go out somewhat hard for the first 1/4 of the race and establish myself as a contender. Then ease off for the middle 1/2 of the race, and then try to hammer it home during the last 1/4.

The start was rather chaotic, as the 8K, 12K, 25K and 50K races all started together. It was rather difficult to know who was racing what distance. I recognized Evan Hone (the eventual 50K winner) and decided to keep him in my sights. Within a 1/4 mile he was in 2nd place amongst all runners, and I found myself in 3rd. Once we hit the 1st big climb, I believe Evan jumped into 1st place. This is the way it remained the entire rest of the 1st lap.

Beginning of the first climb of the day (Photo: Luis Escobar)

Coming out of the woods after the 1st loop (Photo: Bill Theide)

The guy who was in 2nd ended up being a 25K runner, so I found my place in 2nd at the start of the 2nd lap. By this time it was heating up quite a bit. I was draining a 20oz water bottle every 7 miles, plus chugging liquids at the aid station and popping endurolytes like they were candy. I had sweat dripping off the brim of my cap. It's been a good 6 months since I've ran in such heat.

There was a guy that got within probably 50 yards of me at the beginning of the third climb and that gave me a bit of a jolt, but once the climbing started he seemed to run out of gas. On my way back down the mountain I could see that I'd opened a decent gap, so I chilled a bit. Unfortunately, by this time I had lost sight of Evan, and couldn't see anybody behind me. The whole "hammer it home the last 1/4 of the race' strategy seemed unnecessary, and to be honest too much work. It was hot, I was out of water, and there was nobody around, so I ran at a decent but relaxed pace for the remainder of the race. With about 2 miles to go, I caught my toe on a rock and almost ate shit, but was able to recover. In the moment of panic, I somehow managed to get a extremely painful cramp in my tricep. I can't explain it, but its a sign of how dehydrated I really was, and did I mention it hurt like hell.

Finishing strong...(Photo: Bill Theide)

I finished the race in 5:21, for 2nd overall. 20 minutes behind 1st, and 23 minutes ahead of 3rd.

I took a beating. I was sunburned all to hell, dehydrate, and I am pretty sure (as in I have a lot of objective proof) that I ran through a bunch of poison oak. But overall it was a great time and a great race with phenomenal scenery. I followed it up with some beer and fish tacos, before bidding a farewell to Bill and Tamara and heading back down the coast towards San Diego. Tamara took 2nd women in the 25K too! Congrats to her. We've renamed the Park Montana de Plata (Silver).

Stayed the night in another cheap motel. I found the energy to go on a 'fast hike' on Monday in the Topanga State Park outside of LA before hitting up In-N-Out again and finishing my drive to San Diego.

Topanga State Park-Pretty sure there's illegal pot growing going on somewhere down in that valley.

A Waterfall in Topanga State Park

Sunset in Topanga State Park

I think a Trek to CA in the dead of winter is going to be a standard thing for years to come. For now, I'm gonna switch gears and try to jam a road marathon training regime into 8 weeks in preparation for Boston. Bring on the boring bike paths!!!