Running on the course...to the Finish!!!

I did it! I ran across the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Unfortunately, there were no cheering fans. In fact there was almost no one around the Boston Public Library when I crossed the finish line. I guess I arrived a few weeks too early. Ok. Actually, I had just finished the last leg of running the actual marathon route to help me mentally prepare for the race.

This morning would take me from the Newton Hills through Brighton (the Birthplace of Staples) and Brookline until I would run through Kendall Square and into Boston for the famous turn onto Boylston St. Today’s run included the infamous Heartbreak Hill. I was using this route to complete my first 16 mile training run. So, I would get to run Heartbreak both up and down.

I parked near the Newton City Hall and headed down to Chestnut St. to start my run to the finish line. It would be an 8 mile run to the finish line and then back to where I started. As you will see from the profile below, the route would be mostly downhill to the finish line on Boylston St. The bad news is that I would have to run uphill on the way back.

Here is my view of what you will experience as you run from mile 20 to the finish line. At mile 20 you reach the base of Heartbreak Hill. The hill actually starts at mile 20.40 but who is counting. Over the next 4/10 of a mile, you climb 100 feet, a grade of about 5%. I like to imagine Heartbreak as a simple speed bump on my way to glory in Boston. It was steep. But, my hill training has me prepared for it and I did not find it too hard. Of course on race day, I will have been running for well over 3 hours when I reach it. I am not going to let it psyche me out. I am going to own Heartbreak Hill!

At mile 21 has you come into Chestnut Hill. I suspect that I will be happy to be done with the Newton Hills and focusing on a simple 10K run to the finish. This is also where you will reach the roaring crowds of Boston College. None were there this morning at 7:00 am when I ran by. But be warned, from this point on through the last 5 miles you will cover a 230 foot descent. If you have not paced yourself correctly or done some hill training your quads will be screaming here. From mile 21 to 22 you will drop 80 feet alone. As I crested the hill on the north side of the Boston College campus, I could finally see the downtown skyscrapers and Back Bay. The sun was just coming up over them as I made the turn onto Chestnut Hill Ave.

The mile 22 marker is just before you make the turn onto Chestnut Hill Ave. and head down to Cleveland Circle for the turn onto Beacon St. Cleveland Circle is located in Boston's Brighton neighborhood, and more specifically the Aberdeen section of Brighton. It is just a few mile south of where Staples opened their first retail store in 1986. If that is not historic enough for you, the streets you will be running on Chestnut Hill Avenue and Beacon Street were laid out in 1845 and 1850 respectively.

Mile 23 is on Beacon Street. The marathon route here follows the Green Line tracks towards Boston. As a Staples Real Estate Professional, it an exciting portion of the course because you will pass by one of two new Staples Copy & Print stores here in Boston. It will be on your right. These are Staples newest concepts and the store you will be passing was one of the first 5 we opened.

From mile 23 to 24 you pass into Coolidge Corner. Coolidge Corner has a significant Jewish population, and there are large synagogues located on both Beacon and Harvard Streets. Near Coolidge Corner, at 83 Beals Street, is the birthplace of President John F. Kennedy. There is a really cool synagogue on Beacon St on your right. It is the home of Ohabei Shalom congregation which is a large Reform synagogue in Brookline. It was organized in 1843 and is the oldest congregation in Massachusetts and the third oldest in New England, following congregations in Newport and Hartford. The building at 1187 Beacon St. is known for its Byzantine and Moorish Revival styles and was dedicated in 1925. The sanctuary is modeled on Hagia Sophia because of the excitement then felt over excavations of Byzantine-era synagogues in Israel in the early 1900s. Make sure you look for it as you run through Brookline.

Mile 25 is where all of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge runners get a huge boost of energy. This is where we find our own personal Dana-Farber cheering section. There will be 500 of us running the race for Dana-Farber this year. Each of us has our own personal reason for why we are running, but on race day we all share one goal and that is to finish. I know I will get a big boost of energy as I pass our cheering section. I am told that just past our adoring fans they will paint in the middle of the road in bright yellow letters the last bit of encouragement we will all need “1 mile to go”.

It should also be noted that the mile 25 marker is near Kenmore Square and a few blocks from Fenway Park. You will pass over the Mass Pike and start your final push down Commonwealth Ave towards the finish line which is now just a little more than a mile away. It is also where you will see the famous Citgo sign. The sign is so famous that CITGO has an area dedicated to it on its Web site. This is what they have to say about their Boston landmark:

"CITGO holds an especially important place in Boston. The illuminated sign in Kenmore Square has become a landmark on the Boston skyline. It graces left field at Fenway Park and has seen thousands of athletes to the finish line at the Boston Marathon. It also serves as an excellent orientation point when people are lost in the city.”

Mile 26 to the finish line takes you into the City of Boston. You turn onto Hereford St. and head up to Boylston for one of the most famous turns in marathoning. And you get to run by another Staples Copy & Print shop right near the Prudential Center. The finish line is only a couple of blocks up Boylston and I imagine you will see it from the turn. I know you will hear the crowds. I am sure it will be an exhilarating experience when I make that turn on April 20th.

I hope all of you have enjoyed my descriptions of the route. Maybe for those of you who will be travelling to the marathon from out of town will now have a bit of a picture in your head of the route you will be running. I for one cannot wait for the actual race. Feel free to post comments here if you have any questions about the route or what to expect. Below you will find a good profile of the entire route.

Due to my trip to New York for a 2 day site tour, I had to skip one of my runs. But, I am sure it will have no effect on my overall training. Here are my training totals for this week. :

Feb. 16 – 10.00 miles (1:31:15, 9:03 pace)
Feb. 23– 8.10 miles (1:17:12, 9:32 pace)
Feb. 24 – 9.50 miles (1:33:40, 9:52 pace) – 6 x 1 Mile Repeats w/1/2 mi recovery between
Feb. 25 – 8.10 miles (1:14:17, 9:04 pace) – Tempo Run

Feb. 27 – 8.00 miles (1:15:46, 9:28 pace)

Total Miles: 43.70 miles

2009 YTD Miles: 355.90 miles

Why we run

Today I received an email from one of my fellow runners on the DFMC Team. Her name is Nicole. Although we have never met, we have corresponded about fundraising. I hope my advice on how to use email to keep our fundraising efforts at the forefront of our potential donors minds has helped her. I am looking forward to meeting her either at the Pasta Dinner or somewhere on the course in April.

She sent a message to her potential donors today that really speaks to why we are out there training to run this race. But, more importantly why we are raising money. We do it in the hope that someday the children who are patients of Dana-Farber will no longer have to go there for treatments because we will have finally defeated this disease. Nicole is partnered with Patrice. Nicole describes Patrice as "the wonderful young woman I am partnered with, that gives us the daily inspiration and motivation to get out there and run."

It is people like Patrice that give us the motivation to go out there in the cold and log those miles. No matter what little aches and pains we might experience during our training are nothing compared to what patients like Patrice have to go through. I really appreciate Nicole's allowing me to meet (even if it is electronically) her patient partner. They truly are two beautiful and strong young women.

The link below in this entry is a short video of of steel workers spray painting names of the children who are currently patients at Dana Farber on the beams of a new building currently under construction. It truly is inspiring. Please take the time to watch it.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1185143625/bctid13796845001

Running while on the road...

Last week I talked about all of the strange things that come to you as you are out on the road logging all of those miles. This weekend, I had two long runs which allowed for a lot of random thoughts. But, on both runs, there seemed to be a common theme – running while travelling. I think this was due to the fact that this week, I am heading down to New York for a site review tour with my boss. I guess this is what caused me to think about my running schedule and how I was going to get my runs in while on the road.

Running on the road is really nothing new. I chose a career that would put me on the road quite a bit each month as I scoped out new sites for the various companies I have worked for and in numerous cities across the country. I have travelled to and run some amount of miles in 49 of the 50 states. I still have not had the pleasure of visiting Alaska but hope to in the near future. I have also run in Australia, Canada, The Bahamas and Israel. I can always find a route to run where ever I am.

If I am really thinking ahead, I will map out a route to run ahead of time which makes it a little easier to complete any specific training goals I have for the days I am on the road. Plus, I typically get my run over with early in the day so it won't interfere with my work. If I forget to map a run before hand, I have found that most hotels will have suggestions for running routes that start at the hotel. If not, I just go out and explore. I have been lost a few times but always manage to get back to my hotel. Sometimes bruised and bloodied from being a bit of a klutz.

I have had many memorable runs in my travels. But, the most memorable runs I have had while travelling were when I was in Israel in February 2007. After we arrived and had a good nights sleep, I got up early in the morning and had a chance to run along the Mediterranean oceanfront in Tel Aviv. I ran from my hotel down along the oceanfront to Jaffo and back. It was such a beautiful run. People were just starting to get up and move around. A few hearty souls were actually out in the surf swimming along the beachfront. But overall it was so quiet and peaceful. I had the chance to run the route twice before we headed up the coast.

My next good runs were up in the Kinneret region. This is also known as The Sea of Galilee area. We were staying at Kfar Blum (Hebrew: כְּפַר בְּלוּם‎, lit. Blum Village) which is a small kibbutz in the Hula Valley part of the Upper Galilee in Israel. Kfar Blum's location near the Jordan River at the foot of Mount Hermon has made it a center for outdoor recreational activities including walking, hiking, kayaking, rafting and bird watching. They had a jogging path that ran along the Jordan River. As I did my 5 mile run along the Jordan River path, I had a chance to see some pretty amazing birds. What amazed me is how narrow the Jordan River is when you stand next to it. In comparison to the Mississippi, it is really no more than a stream.

But, the most amazing runs I had were near the end of our trip when we were staying in Jersualem. Here I had a chance to run around the new and old city. It is truly awe inspiring to be running along streets that have been there for thousands of years. I could feel the history oozing up through the soles of shoes. I can say that Jerusalem, with its many hills, is not the easiest place for unplanned runs. But, I found a good route from my hotel up to the Old City and then up to the Jaffa Gate just as the sun was rising over the ancient walls. I actually had to stop for a moment to take it all in.

The Jaffa Gate (the westernmost gate) is so named because it is the portal for Jaffa Road, the precursor to the modern highway to the ancient port of Jaffa and the Mediterranean coastal plain. There I was able to run along the high city walls, south of the Jaffa Gate where the walls are known as the Citadel of Jerusalem and mistakenly known as the "Tower of David," a Jerusalem landmark. The current tower was built during the reign of the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. During Israel's War of Independence, Israeli forces fought hard to connect the Jewish Quarter of the Old City with Israeli-held western Jerusalem by controlling the Jaffa Gate. With a Jordanian victory in 1948, Israeli forces were not able to gain control of the gate until the Six Day War in 1967.

I always bring my running shoes and clothes with me on every trip. I have found that people I work with in the areas I am travelling are sometimes up for a run in the morning before we head out to look at real estate. I get a chance to see the area and not from a car window. I find that I can get a much better sense of the areas after running through them. Plus you can get your workouts in anywhere and you don’t really need any special equipment. The only thing I can recommend is to map a route out before you go. One of the better websites to use is runtheplanet.com.

So, for those runners who can’t cope with any days off; bring your shoes with you when you travel. Then lace them up and head out for a new adventure. I know I am never disappointed.

Here are my training totals for this week. :
Feb 8 – 15.20 miles (2:20:08, 9:13 pace)
Feb. 16 – 6.10 miles (53:18, 8:44 pace)
Feb. 17 – 3.00 miles (22:56, 7:38 pace) – Speed work
Feb. 19 – 8.20 miles (1:13:47, 8:59 pace) – Tempo Run
Feb. 20 – 6.10 miles (55:43, 9:08 pace)

Feb. 21 – 10.10 miles (1:31:31, 9:03 pace)

Total Miles: 48.70 miles

2009 YTD Miles: 312.20 miles

Rambling Thoughts...

When you are out for a long run, there are so many things that run through your head. Work issues, family, what you have to do that day, random songs, etc., all seem to pop into my brain while running. The longer I run, the more varied I find my rambling thoughts. So, I thought I would jot down a few of the various unrelated thoughts that came to me while I was doing my 15 mile run on Sunday.

Arthur Lydiard – Arthur Lydiard is known as one of the greatest running coaches of all time. He is known mostly for popularizing recreational running to improve your health. The key things he taught were building a strong base and incorporating periodization into your training. Thanks to Steve Runner’s podcast, I was reintroduced to Arthur. Steve read a lecture that Arthur gave on running back in 1990. What was interesting is that as I ran, I could not get the idea of relaxation out of my mind. You see, Lydiard felt that relaxation was the key to good running. So as the miles piled up, I started to focus on relaxing as Lydiard taught. Just keeping my arms nice and loose and having them come through inside my shoulders. Suddenly, the run got easier for me.

Sweeney Todd – Out of nowhere, I am running along and the Ballad of Sweeney Todd starts repeating in my head. Why? Well, I am actually going to be in the musical Sweeney Todd here in Westborough as part of the Westborough Players Club. I am going to be singing bass in the Ensemble. We have not really started full music rehearsals yet. But, I find on my runs many of the songs running through my brain.

Backpacking on the Midstate Trail – Next I started to go over the plan for our Scout Troop’s March trip where we will be hiking on the Midstate Trail. I was trying to work out what type of food we should be bringing for a 2 night trip. What could we cook that was easy, light weight and had very little clean up. While contemplating food, I started to think about how I could hike to the top of Mount Washington in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Pain – I started to feel a little pain in my right foot. Right on the top. Not sure what was happening. But, it took my mind right off of hiking. I decided to walk a bit and take some fluids. The pain went away mysteriously and I picked the pace back up again.

President’s Day – What happened to getting 2 days off in February. When I was a kid we got both Lincoln’s (Feb. 12) and Washington’s Birthday (Feb. 22) off. Now, we just get a 3 day weekend.

Cold – Why does it have to be so cold out here? The wind was making it feel colder than usual. I was thinking, did I layer properly? Am I sweating too much and my wicking layer is getting soaked through. I was still 5 miles from the finish. I need to just tough it out.

Then when I was approaching the last 3 miles of my run, a song came on by George Harrison. It actually helped me get back to my relaxed state of running and helped me finish strong. It is from his CD “Cloud Nine” and is titled “Just for Today”. It has some great meaning and I felt could double as a song for Dana-Farber patients. Maybe help them get through the day and not let life’s problems get them down. Here are the lyrics:

Just for today
I could try to live through this day only
Not deal with all life's problems
Just for today

If just for one night
I could feel not sad and lonely
Not be my own life's problem
Just for one night

If just (for) today
I could try to live through this day only
Not deal with all life's problems
Just for today

If just for one night
I could feel not sad and lonely
Not be my own life's problem
Just for one night

Just for today
I could try to live through this day only
Not deal with all life's problems
Just for today

Just for today

Sorry for an incoherent bunch of ramblings. But, anyone who runs for more than 30 minutes has the same rambling thoughts I am sure.

Here are my training totals for this week. :
Feb 8 – 10.15 miles (1:31:00, 9:00 pace)
Feb. 9 – 8.10 miles (1:14:02, 9:08 pace)
Feb. 10 – 3.00 miles (23:00, 7:39 pace) – Speed work
Feb. 12 – 8.10 miles (1:12:56, 9:00 pace) – Tempo Run
Feb. 13 – 7.20 miles (1:06:02, 9:10 pace)
Feb. 14 – 8.10 miles (1:12:43, 8:58 pace)

Total Miles: 44.65 miles
2009 YTD Miles: 263.50 miles

OMG! We have exceeded my fundraising goal!

When I set out to raise money for Dana-Farber, I took a long time deciding what goal I should set for my fundraising effort. I didn't want to set it too high nor too low. I really thought that $10,000 was a stretch goal. I thought it was achievable but not easily. I certainly did not think I would be able to reach the goal with a little under 10 weeks to go until the race.

So, for those of you who are following my blog and have donated all I can say is THANK YOU!!!. I feel truly blessed to have such great friends and family who care enough about others to go above and beyond any expectations I had for raising money. Not to mention how difficult it could have been in these tough economic times. I assure you that I will run with pride in April knowing I have y'alls support.

If you have not had a chance to donate, please feel free to donate even though I have exceeded my goal. Maybe we can make it to $12,000 before April 20th. I hope and pray that all the money I and my teammates have raised this year will finally get us to that finish line where we can cure this dreaded disease.

Stay tuned for more training updates!

Running the Course Part 4...

OK, OK! My Dad told me this week that he likes it when I write about the actual marathon course. It has simply been too cold and icy to chance the 4th 5 mile section (miles 15-20). There are not too many sidewalks along this portion of the route and what there are are covered with ice. So, I have been holding off until it started to melt. Today was the day because the morning temperature at 6:30 am was 44 degrees. A heat wave by recent standards. Who knew I would think that is warm.

I drove into Wellesley and parked at the Wellesley Congregational Church. This put me right near mile marker 15. I headed up Washington Street knowing that this portion of the course would take me through Newton Lower Falls and into the dreaded Newton Hills. At mile marker 16, I crossed the Charles River and entered Newton. This is also the beginning of the first of the 4 "Newton Hills". From 16.00 to 16.62 there is an uninterrupted 93 foot climb, followed by about a 20 foot drop to the 17 mile mark.

I have been training on the hills around Westborough. So, they are not intimidating when I am running them on a training run. I know that on race day it will be different as I will have already run 16 miles when I reach the Newton Hills. I have heard from some runners that even though Heartbreak Hill gets the notoriety, the climb over Rte. 128 is considered by some the toughest part of the whole race. I have to say it was tough even early in a leisurely run.

When I reached mile marker 17, I had just passed Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Newton-Wellesley Hospital is known for being one of the top bariatric surgery centers in the country. This is where you go to get your gastric bypass surgery for weight loss. I don’t think that anyone running Boston would need to stop there for that type of surgery. Here is what they say about themselves, “A comprehensive medical center located right in Newton on Washington Street, Newton-Wellesley Hospital provides the services and expertise of a major medical facility with the convenience and personal attention of a community hospital. The Hospital is committed to delivering high-quality, safe and efficient medical care to each and every patient.”

I continued on and after a hard right onto Commonwealth, the road flattened out for about 1/10 of a mile before beginning a short, but steep 64 foot climb that crested right at the 18 mile marker. This was the second of the Newton Hills. I almost didn’t feel it. What is unique about this section of the course is that it is the exact opposite of what most people think of when they hear the name Commonwealth Ave. This part Commonwealth is lined with trees and passes through a residential neighborhood. The houses are very nice and well maintained.

This section was a nice break as I was gradually rolling downhill (from 153 feet at 18.00 to 96 feet at 19.25) as I approached the mile 19 marker. When I passed the mile 19 marker, I knew I was headed for one of the nastier hills in Newton. I have heard that mile 19 is probably one of the two toughest miles of the course. After dropping about 30 feet for the first 1/4 mile, "Hill 3" begins at Walnut Street at 19.25. This hill is about 1/2 mile and climbs 64 feet, topping out at Cedar Street at 19.75. You then drop about 20 feet to "the wall" at 20.00.

I ran to Cedar Street and the base of Heartbreak Hill. I was tempted to run it just to see how bad it really is compared to its reputation. But, I decided to save it for another day. I turned and headed back to my car. The surprising thing was that I ran this 5 mile section in 44:19 (8:51 per mile pace). I felt really good at the turn around. I ended up finishing in a little over 88 minutes. It was a really nice run with warm weather and not a lot of traffic to deal with.

There is one more section to go. I am not sure when I will run it. But Dad, I will be sure to post the information when I do.

Here are my training totals for this week. :

Jan. 31 – 14.10 miles (2:15:59, 9:38 pace)
Feb. 2 – 6.00 miles (53:34, 8:55 pace)
Feb. 3 – 3.00 miles (22:37, 7:32 pace) – Speed work
Feb. 5 – 7.10 miles (1:04:07, 9:02 pace) – Tempo Run
Feb. 6 – 6.00 miles (55:04, 9:11 pace)

Feb. 7 – 10.10 miles (1:31:00, 9:00 pace)

Total Miles: 46.30 miles

2009 YTD Miles: 218.85 miles