2007 Flying Pig

Who's ready for another three part blog about my marathon experience? Kidding.

Well, here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from today's race:

The Good

I was happy with my place in the race. I finished 334th. I'm not sure how many runners competed in the full marathon, but there were over 10,000 in the races today. I figured I finished somewhere around top 5% - 10%.

My pace was right on for most of the race. At the twenty-three mile mark I was still on pace to reach my goal of 3:15:00.

I ran most of the race with a couple other members of the group that I train with. It's always a good time running and spending time with them.

The weather turned out to be good. I was afraid that it was going to too warm, but it stayed pretty cool all race. There was some stiff winds at times, but not too bad.

As I have said in the past, I work for the Cincinnati Reds. During the broadcast of today's game Marty Brennaman gave me and the other Reds employees who ran a congratulatory mention. A friend of mine who lives in California was listening to the game and heard it. He immediately emailed me to tell me. Although Marty mis-pronounced my name, it was still pretty neat for him to bring it up.

Kathleen and Brennan were able to come out, so I was able to see them a couple of times during the race.


The Bad

I didn't qualify for next year's Boston Marathon. My time was 3:27:14. I missed it by twelve minutes.

My legs just didn't have it today. I knew pretty early in the race that it wasn't going to happen. I wasn't going to go down without a fight, but at mile 22 I walked for the first time. At that point I knew my race was over. I alternated walking and running for the final four miles. Sound familiar? Same thing happened in Boston.

The Ugly

Did anyone see that guy who ran in only an orange Speedo? He and I ran pretty close together for a time early in the race. I can't think of anything else that I would want to look at while running a marathon. I'm only kidding (if orange Speedo happens to read this). I'm sure he heard all kinds of interesting things while running in that get up.



Some final thoughts on the race... I don't think I will try to run two marathons in twenty days again. I have heard that humans are the only animal on the planet that will run twenty six miles at one time. All others will stop when they get tired. We are the only ones dumb enough to keep going. With that in mind, how many dumb humans will try to do it twice in three weeks?

Another thought after reflecting... From mile twenty two on I was pretty upset that I wasn't going to reach my goal for the race. About five minutes after the race was over, I was over it. I picked up Brennan and it didn't seem quite as important anymore.

Another positive... I believe that if I hadn't run a marathon so close to this one I would have re-qualified for Boston. I don't think my legs would have hurt so bad at mile twenty two and I think I would have finished stronger. So, I think if I just concentrate on one marathon per year that I should be able to reach my goals.

An apology... I owe Gina from Cin Weekly a big 'I'm sorry'. She happened to be standing on the race course at mile twenty two (give or take). When she saw me she grabbed her camera to take my picture for her blog. I had just started walking and it was at about that point I knew I wasn't going to run 3:15. I was pretty pissed off. I politely asked her not to take my picture. If I had seen her five minutes earlier I would have been much friendlier and willing to have the picture taken. Gina, I hope you understand.

Final thoughts on this year's training... Thanks to Jay, Chris, Mark, Eric, David, and especially Jim for another successful year. Mark and Jay, way to go on qualifying for Boston. One year we will all get it together.

Final thoughts on the Blog... I want to thank Gina and the rest of Cin Weekly for this opportunity. I had a lot of fun sharing my training with everyone. I was told that at times I probably said too much about my personal life, my past in particular. I just wanted everyone to have a clear picture of who I am and where I came from.

I hope that this blog was at times insightful, sometimes funny, and sometimes entertaining. Although I doubt it on all three.

Above all, I hope you took from this blog my love of running.

See you on the road!

Lance Is No. 511

Hi, everyone!

This is Gina from CiNWeekly, and since Lance is probably doing speed work right now, I thought I'd post his bib number and let you know that you can follow his progress on race day.

Sign up for the Swine Line and you'll get a text message alerting you when Lance hits miles 6.8, 12, 19.3, 25.2 and 26.2.

All you need to know is his bib number, and it's 511.

You can read more about the Swine Line here. Or just sign up here.

Five More Days

Only five more days until the Pig. I am filled with mixed emotions about the race.

I am definitely excited. I really enjoy our home town marathon. I was told in a recent comment that I should get out and do other marathons across the country and around the world. Someday I hope to, but for now I like focusing on the Pig. I like everything about the race and believe it or not - it's fun.

As excited as I am, I'm just as nervous. As I've said in the past, I always get a little anxious before races. This one is no different. I'm worried that I'm not in as good of shape as I would like to be. The past month has not been my best. Other than the Boston Marathon I've not run a lot. The week prior to Boston I rested. The week of Boston I only ran the race. Last week was OK, and this week I'm resting. So, for almost the whole month leading up to the Pig I've only had one really good run. I think that the rest is good, but I've never gone into a marathon with so much rest. I'm curious to see if it will prove to be beneficial or if the lack of running will hurt me.

I'm also a little sad to see another training season come to an end. I started training back in November and I have spent a great deal of time with the other members of the group I train with. We don't see each other nearly as much during the off season and at the risk of sounding a bit sappy, I'm going to miss hanging out with the guys.

Part of me is glad that it's coming to an end. I know, I just contradicted myself. What I mean is that I'll be happy not training for a while. I'll still run, but I won't train. I look forward to just going out and running for the enjoyment I get from it. It'll be nice not doing hill repeats or track work outs for the next six months. It'll feel good to sleep in a little on Saturday mornings and run only if I feel like it.

I was recently asked what my plan for the race will be. I plan to go out with the 3:10:00 pace group. That means I'll have to run 7:15 per mile. That is slightly faster than the pace I need to re-qualify for Boston. I should have a few minutes banked for the end of the race. Ideally, I should run negative splits, meaning my pace should be faster at the end of the race than at the beginning. I've never been able to do that, so I'd be foolish to think I could Sunday.

Weather is once again going to be a factor. The temperature at the start of the race is going to be about sixty degrees. That's almost twenty degrees warmer than ideal. Hopefully, it will be cloudy and it won't warm too much more by the end of the race. The heat, above all other factors, may be what keeps me from running the time I hope.

Re-qualifying for Boston is a motivating factor for me this year. I want to qualify this year even more than in years past. There are five guys in my running group that are hoping to go to Boston next year. Mark qualified in St. Louis three weeks ago. Jay got it in Boston. Eric, Chris, and I hope to qualify Sunday. Eric is the most talented runner in the group and is almost a lock. Chris just missed qualifying in the past, but he is in the best shape that I've seen him. I really like his chances. If the other four qualify and I don't, I'll be pissed. Obviously, I'll be very happy for them, but upset that I'll miss the trip with them. Hopefully, I will be able to use this motivation in a positive way.

Well, that's about it. The training is over. The months of preparation are in the books. There's nothing left to do but run the race. Good luck to all of you that are planning to run this weekend. Whether you're doing the 5K, 10K, Relay, Half-Marathon, or the whole thing, here's hoping that you do your best and achieve the results you're hoping for.

Boston 2007 (last one... I promise)

I studied the course map and elevation prior to the race and I had a plan. The first sixteen miles are down hill. The first four miles drop from about 515 feet above sea level to under 200 feet above sea level. The next ten miles are a gradual decline. Miles fourteen to sixteen are another significant drop. The next five miles are a series of four up hills ending with Heartbreak Hill. The race ends with five miles down hill, going from over 200 feet elevation down to sea level at the finish.

Like most runners, I prefer to run down hill. I used to joke to my cross country teams about down hills, telling them that even 'a dead guy can run down hill'.

My plan was to go out a little fast and use the down hills. Get to mile sixteen, gut out the hills, then coast down the last five. I would love to know how many idiots, like me, thought this plan would work. What's the saying about the best laid plans? This strategy most definitely did not work for me.

I started out at about 7:10 per mile pace. I probably would have been stupid enough to go even faster, but I couldn't separate myself from the other runners. There were just too many people. Most of the race there were at least a few runners close enough to reach out and touch. Looking back, being boxed in probably helped me.

The first half of the race goes through towns called Hopkinton, Ashland, Farmingham, and Natick. Not much sticks out in my mind about these towns. They were all small New England towns with well-kept homes and a lot of charm. I guess I was more focused on the run than I thought if I don't remember much.

The weather had taken a turn. Just as the race began, the rain stopped. It was now just cloudy and damp. I think it had actually warmed up a little and I was worried that I had overdressed. There was still quite a bit of wind, but it could have been a lot worse. Most people that have talked to me about the race have remarked about how difficult the conditions must have been. I would like to blame the weather, but I don't think it was that bad.

The second half of the race was much more memorable for me. Just before mile thirteen we ran past Wellesley College. Wellesley is small women's college with an enrollment of about 2300 students. It's most famous alum is probably Hillary Clinton. A large number of the students line the street and cheer on the runners. You can hear the high-pitched cheers from about a half mile away. Many of the young ladies were holding signs asking for a kiss from the runners. Several guys running near me stopped and and planted a quick one on one of the waiting young ladies. I did not.

At this point my quads were starting to really bother me. The extended down hill running was taking it's toll. It worried me that my legs were starting to hurt so early in the race. I got to the fourteen mile point and saw another down hill approaching. Each step was getting more and more painful. At the bottom of that hill I remember thinking how glad I would be to see the up hills. I don't like running up hill, but at least it would be something different.

Mile sixteen took me into Newton, another small town. It was here that I saw Kathleen. She and Sally were screaming for me on the side of the street. I took a few seconds and went over to see them. Brennan slept. It was good to see familiar faces.

The series of four up hills was at this part of the race. A friend who has run Boston in the past advised me not to look ahead. He said for me to concentrate on the shoes of the person in front of me. I tried this and it seemed to help. Basically, the theory is to focus on one step at a time, not the entire hill. I got through the first hill fine and was actually feeling a little better. I crested the hill and welcomed the flat stretch that led to the second hill. The second hill wasn't too bad. I think it was relatively short. The third hill was the worst. It seemed to go on forever. It was here where I walked for the first time and the realization that I wasn't going to re-qualify set in. I walked/ran the rest of that hill and ran all of the recovery distance that led to Heartbreak Hill.

I was determined to run all of Heartbreak and got almost all the way up. I was really struggling and a spectator tried to help. "You only have one more minute of running until the top", he told me. I thought I would make it. Wrong. I walked the last 200 yards of Heartbreak. The rest of the race was down hill.

I caught a bit of a second wind at mile twenty one. At this point I was running through Boston College. The young students were out in large numbers. They were rowdy and their energy really helped.

I got to mile twenty three and I was done. I started to alternate walking and running. I made deals with myself. I would find a landmark ahead of me and I would tell myself that if I ran to that point then I could walk for a minute. I would then start running again, find another landmark, and repeat the whole thing.

I reminded myself that the race I was most concerned about was the Pig. Boston was just a training run, so I didn't care that I walked. I took some time to take in the surroundings. I watched the spectators. I high-fived little kids. The pressure I put on myself to re-qualify had lifted and even as sore as I was, the last few miles were enjoyable.

I hobbled into downtown Boston. The huge Citgo sign was approaching and so was the finish line. I mustered up the strength to run the last half mile and was satisfied to finish in 3:29:58. My goal was to break 3:30 and I did by two seconds.

Kathleen and Brennan were waiting for me at the finish along with Jay and Sally. Jay finished in 3:13, so he re-qualified. I gave Kathleen and Brennan a hug and I limped off the course.

It's been nine days since Boston and I've recovered. It's time to put my focus back on the Pig. My Boston experience was great and I hope to qualify again at this year's Pig. I will definitely go back if I do.

Thank you for your patience with the length of this blog. I have been told that I drug my experience in Boston out a bit and that I should have condensed it to just one. Maybe I should have. But here's the thing, this was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me. As I have said, I hope to qualify and run it again. One thing's for sure, I will never run it as a first timer again.

On to the Pig!

Boston 2007 (part 2)

If there was one thing I could change about the Boston experience it would be the pre-race stuff. I guess I'm spoiled with the Pig pre-race routine. I live about five minutes from the start line and usually leave about an hour prior the the Pig, do a little stretching, and run.

At Boston the race started at 10:00am, so I foolishly thought I'd get to sleep in a little. Wrong. The first ten thousand runners had to meet at the buses to be driven to Hopkinton at 7:ooam. Of course, it took a shuttle bus to get to the train which took us to the buses. So, I got up around 5:45, met Jay at 6:15, and we waited in the hotel lobby for the shuttle.

While getting ready for the race it dawned on me that I left Garmin at home. I felt like the parents form the movie Home Alone. How could I have forgotten Garmin? I guess I was in such a rush to get ready that I left him on his cradle charging. I'm happy to report that Garmin survived the long weekend alone. He still hasn't gotten over missing the trip. I'll make it up to him somehow.

Dressing for the race was tricky. The weather hadn't improved. It was still cold, rainy, and extremely windy. I decided to run in pants. I wouldn't have been uncomfortable in shorts, but I went with pants, two shirts, gloves, and a hat. I never run in a hat, but I wanted to keep the rain out of my face. When you check out the picture you'll understand why I don't wear hats very often - those are some big ass ears.

So, we met up with a large group of runners in the lobby of our hotel. When the shuttle arrived we piled in and took the five minute ride to the train station. Even more runners were there. Jay and I weren't sure where we were going, so we just followed the masses. The train took us to Boston Common where there was a line of school buses as far as you could see. We jumped on the first available bus and took the one hour ride to Athlete's Village located in a small town called Hopkinton.

Athlete's Village was basically a large tent in the middle of a rain soaked baseball field. It was 8:00 when we got to Athlete's Village, so we had two hours to kill before the race was to start. We went inside the tent and there were hundreds of runners sitting on anything they could find that would help them to stay dry. There wasn't a place for us to sit. Jay noticed a cafeteria style table loaded with boxes and boxes of Power Bars. We decided to move a few of the boxes off the table. They turned out to be the best seats in the place. I was happy. We were off our feet and dry.

While in the tent we met up with a friend of ours from Northern Kentucky. Small world. His name is Steve Chapman and he is a great runner. He had only run one other marathon (Pig '06) and qualified with about a 3:07:00 (I think). He told me his goal was to run a sub three hour Boston. I thought he was being a little ambitious. A lot of people told me that I could expect to run about fifteen minutes slower than my qualifying time. So, I thought Steve would probably run about 3:10 - 3:15 at best, especially in the weather we had. Shows what I know, Steve ran a 2:55. The best part of Steve's story is that he proposed to his girlfriend on the finish line. A local news station was supposed to cover it, but he got bounced for more coverage on the storm.

At about 9:20 they made the first call for runners to start heading to the start. We made the long walk from Athlete's Village to the start. I would guess that it was at least a half mile walk. At the start, race officials lead everyone into a corral. The corrals each held 1000 runners and you were seeded according to your qualifying time. For example, the fastest thousand runners were in the first corral. My number was 6423, so I had to start in the seventh corral. Jay was numbered 4000 something, and Steve was 3001. We said our 'Good Lucks' and went to our designated corral.

It was about 9:50 and I was alone in my corral. As alone as you can be with 10,000 other people packed tightly together. I took a few minutes to just take everything in. What struck me most was the number of runners. They were everywhere. I watched them. They all looked so determined. I'm sure each of them had their own stories about their training and how they got to the starting line of the 2007 Boston Marathon. I later found out that of the 23,000 runners to start the race over 16,000 were like me - first time Boston runners. I thought that was interesting. Where were all the other runners that qualified in previous years? I guess a lot of people run Boston once and never go back. I hope that's not the case for me. I hope to go back often.

9:55 was the singing of the National Anthem. I did a few last minute stretches and readied myself for the start. At 9:59 the starter announced that we were ready to go. At 10:00 the gun went off. I was so far back that it took me almost five minutes to get to the actual starting line. At 10:05 I started my race!

Next... The Race!!!

Boston 2007 (part 1)

Last weekend, as most of you know, was the 111th running of the Boston Marathon. After years of trying, I finally qualified at last year's Flying Pig. So, I was pretty excited about my first Boston experience as we began the trip Saturday morning. My wife Kathleen and son Brennan made the trip with me. Fellow runner Jay Brewer and his wife Sally went, as well. This was Jay's second time running Boston.

We flew out of Columbus and had one lay over in New York before we finally arrived in Boston Saturday evening. I have to say that Brennan was great. I was a little worried about traveling with a five month old, but luckily there were no issues.

After landing in Boston we checked into our hotel and headed out for a quick bite. Having only been in Boston one other time, I wanted to find a restaurant that featured a menu with foods that best represented New England. We found a quaint little place within walking distance of the hotel. If you are ever in Boston you should check it out, it's called Applebee's.

After dinner we just went back to the hotel and called it a night.

The buzz around Boston now was about the weather. The forecasters were calling for a major storm to hit the area Sunday afternoon and continue into Monday morning. They were predicting cold temperatures, 3 - 5 inches of rain, and winds of 20 - 30 miles per hour with gusts over fifty. Perfect. Weather played a large part of my training all winter, appropriate that it was going to be a factor in Boston.

Sunday morning Jay, Sally, and Kathleen went to church while I stayed back and got Brennan ready for the day. We all met up at the marathon Expo. The Boston Marathon Expo was about ten times the size of the Flying Pig's. I think everyone decided to go at the same time. It was very crowded and difficult to get around. We picked up our race packets and I bought the obligatory souvenirs - tee shirts, hat, jacket, etc.


We left the Expo and went outside to get some pictures on the finish line. The rain had arrived. By this time it was only lightly coming down, but it was going to get worse.


After the Expo we jumped into a cab and headed for Fenway Park where we had tickets for the Red Sox game. We got there to find that the game had already been cancelled. I am a self-proclaimed baseball nerd and was disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to go inside and see the ball park. We walked around outside Fenway and grabbed lunch at a nearby restaurant.

With nothing else to do, we went back to the hotel. Looking back, it was probably a good thing that the game was cancelled. I was off my feet all day and the rest was good.

Weather alerts were breaking on TV all day. At one point CNN reported that the marathon powers-that-be were considering cancelling the race. I realize that the news occasionally exaggerates the facts in order to boost ratings, so I'm not sure they were seriously thinking about not running the race. But, just the thought of stopping it should be some indication of the conditions. The race had been run 110 consecutive times. It had been run in extremely cold weather as well as in temperatures over ninety degrees. It had been run during times of war, for Pete's sake. There was no chance they were going to cancel the race.

The rest of the day was spent laying around and 10:00 was lights out. The night before most races is usually hard for me. I'm typically nervous and rarely get much sleep. I can't explain it, but I was calm and fell right to sleep. I awoke a couple of times Sunday night to check the weather. Looking out the window, I found the rain pouring down almost sideways. The wind was whipping. There was a time when it sounded like the roof was going to be blown off the the hotel. Things were not looking good and I started to prepare for the worst.

Up next... Race Day!

Just My Luck

I was recently asked to write about my experience with running related injuries. I thought about it, but realized that I have no experience with them. I've been very fortunate in the injury department. I've had the typical muscle soreness that comes with over use or high intensity training, but nothing serious. I was also side lined a couple of years ago with lower back problems, but that issue didn't have anything to do with running.

After taking it easy last weekend, I met the group on Monday at the track for a ladder workout. From the start I was feeling some pain in my right shin. The sorest point was in an area about three inches below the knee on the inside of my leg. The pain wasn't unbearable so I finished the workout.

I made a comment or two about my new ache and it was quickly dismissed as nerves about the marathon. It was in my head, I was told. Well, I'm here to tell you it's not in my head - it's my leg.

The pain was even worse yesterday. I foolishly tried to run a slow six miles thinking it would be good to try and work it out. I don't think I exaggerated it, but the run certainly didn't help things.

I hope my friends are right about it being in my head, though. I hope it is a mental thing. If it is, then I guess I can expect it to go away when the butterflies do.

To be on the safe side I've been tossing down Naproxen like M&M's. I don't know much about it other than it's an anti-inflammatory that was recommended to me by another runner who had some leg problems in the past. I've also been icing my shin a couple of times a day, another recommendation. I'll try anything at this point.

I had reservations about writing about my injury, either real or imagined. It sounds like I'm laying the ground work for an excuse if I have a bad race Monday. I'm not. I just wanted to share my bad luck with you.

I will try not to think about my nagging little ache and just focus on the awesome experience I'm about to go on. I hope I can run pain-free Monday, but if I can't a little discomfort will be a small price to pay for the chance to run in the Super Bowl of marathons.