How to ruin a perfectly good day? Check the qualifying times for Boston! Q.T. for my age bracket for instance is 3:35 male/ 4:05 female. Just when you're starting to feel a little cocky about your speed you learn you're not even in the ballpark for Boston. An 80 + year old man needs a 5 hour time to qualify... that's 80 as in 8 decades old! What's a guy to do? I could work towards qualifying for the female time of 4:05 (even 4:00 in a pinch), but 3:35 ... that's a tall order! Some of you are thinking sex change or I could counterfeit my birth certificate to read 1928, but there is a less drastic solution; you can always "buy" yourself into the Boston. For a mere $2000 fundraising you're in! Having read the QT's I have a whole new respect for all running in this year's Boston Marathon. Cheers to you all! You are amazing! This evening I asked my wife how she'd feel if I work towards qualifying for Boston. She replied "if you did that you'd become obsessed". Me? Obsessed? Nonsense! Bernie, Lorie, Jacques, Liz, and Debbie had a good spin this evening. Quick pace, clear trails, good talk, all is well.
Thursday Clinic, 5.21 miles, 10:22 pace, -22 (-29 wc), Chafont/ Valley of Death/ return.
(Henry, Debbie, David, Al, Jacques, Naomi, Manny, Caitlin, and 3 others). Physiotherapist, Barb Webb was the guest speaker this evening. Good talk on pronators (feet roll inwards/ low arches) and supinators (lacks inward rolling/ high arches). Long story short, be sure to buy your running shoes at a professional running store (Wal-Mart doesn't cut it). Here's an unsolicited plug for my favourite Running Room store. Having purchased at least 4 pair from the Kenaston store I have yet to be disappointed. Each pair fit like a glove (yes running shoes should fit like a glove, weird, but true) and the staff walk the talk. I'm waiting for the dryer weather before I buy my next pair. Do yourself a favour, ditch the old one at about 350 miles. They may look ok, but trust me, they've lost their integrity and your feet will thank you. The wind was a little sharp this evening. I feel the skin on my face aging, but that's the least of my worries, now that I know my Boston QT :>( .
Our group is starting to slip into a groove. Naomi, recovering from a strep throat is back in fine form. Pace groups seem to be forming naturally. Good laughs, good groups, good people. Things are shaping up for a fine marathon.
Saturday, 16 miles, -12 (-22 w/c). (Terry, Lorie, Mario, Edwiena, Lisa)
I joined the Fargo group for a run in the park this morning at 7 AM. Conditions were reminiscent of last year's Hypo; fresh snow covering trails and roadways, wet feet, deep drifts and the like. Despite the less than ideal conditions it was a picture perfect run with stellar company and two (2!) washroom breaks (the second one, mile 12, was at Timmies... the aroma of fresh coffee and toasted bagels was painful). We met another running group at The Forks who started their run at 5 AM so we grudgingly forgave Terry for the 7AM start. Terry sets a rock solid pace; I'm sure my Garmin didn't fluctuate more than +/- 10 seconds for the entire run. The course was idyllic and clocked in precisely at 16 miles. If you've never set a route before you may not appreciate how challenging it is to be this precise (I usually err on the side of too long (right Lynda). Lorie is totally hooked on cold water baths following long runs. I've never tried this but I hear the results are miraculous. I'm having trouble with the concept of lowering my lower extremities into ice cold water after a 16 mile run in -22 weather, but that just proves I really am a wimp and will never qualify for Boston! Thank-you to Lisa for pointing out the video "After The Marathon". Do check it out; it's a painful hoot (see side bar). A huge thank-you to Running Room Rachelle for having bagels, peanut butter, cream cheese, and chocolate milk waiting for us at the store. What did we do to deserve such treats?! Mario of Hypo Fame (1:49) has an interesting little wager with his 17 year old son. The one with the slower MB Marathon time must wear a France Soccer Jersey to the Caboto Centre following the race. Here's to the old guy.
Sunday, 10.35 miles, 10:38 pace (w/w) -21 (-25 w/c), Grace Hospital/ return
(Nazeer, Lynda, Debbie, Al, Jacques, Naomi, Ryan, Liz) Great having Nazeer back in the groove. He's been hibernating in Hawaii for the last 6 weeks and returned a few days ago to freezing temperatures and way too much snow. He'll be training with us for the MB Marathon and hopes to complete a 4:15. We started with one large group today and ended with two. The faster runners are starting to strut their stuff and move at a pace more to their goal. Good for them. It's nice to see the groups starting to form in such a natural way. From what I see Naomi would make a pretty fine 4 hour pace bunny. Henry, take note, she's fast. Lynda is well into her training for Boston and she looks very strong. She qualified at last year's MB Marathon with about 6 minutes to spare! Boston will be Lynda's 21 marathon! It's an honor to run along her side (I'm hoping her mojo will rub off on me). We'll be rooting for you Lynda! Debbie thinks I should run 16 miles every Saturday because it tends to keep my pace a little slower for Sunday. Truthfully, I felt as though I was dragging an anchor for the last 2 miles. Ahh, what doesn't kill you makes you stupid, errr, strong. Happy trails. ;>M
Week milage 37.57 miles
No comments:
Post a Comment