Boston planning for an injured old guy who hasn't run in 3 months

Congratulations on a fantastic race and one of the great all-time threads. Here's to many more.

great job OP, really delivered on a tough day

Smoove wrote:

2:34:40, 3rd age group, 94th overall. Calves locked up at 18 and it was a battle from there. It as fast as I would've wanted, but I absolutely left it all out there.

Big congrats, Smoove. As Toadlips has stated, you are an inspiration to all of us old guys. You show us that it can be done.

Enjoy your accomplishment.

Nice run smoove. Great thread.

Pretzel Man wrote:

Smoove wrote:

Unfortunately, water doesn't flow up hill, nor do I. That's what I am most worried about at this point.

What the hell kinda attitude is this, were all worried, you got this no problems.

You are right water don't flow up hill.

But we will POWER up them hills and then flow like water.

Awesome job, was a little warm. YOU THE MAN.

Thanks for posting.

Not bad for an injured old guy.

Congrats Smoove!

Congrats! It was really inspiring and informative to witness your journey over this thread.

What an amazing run, Smoove!! Congratulations on taking 3rd in your age group!!! Are you gonna give us a full recap of the race after you've properly recovered? :)

Smoove wrote:

2:34:40, 3rd age group, 94th overall. Calves locked up at 18 and it was a battle from there. It as fast as I would've wanted, but I absolutely left it all out there.

Nice work! Congrats!

Not surprised though... you had a well thought out and executed plan.

I've had many calve issues too... and it's only getting worse as time marches on.

Dang, you bested your bib# by 54 places! You are a legit stud, sir.

Enjoy your well-deserved recovery beverages.

Smoove wrote:

If you believe the VDOT tables, today's effort currently puts me in 2:33 high shape,

Here's your post from ~ 13 weeks ago.

The VDOT tables worked well.

Congrats on the great race and thanks for this thread. You handled the conditions really well. A local guy from here (northeast) had a bib similar to yours and cracked the top 100 last year and he ran about a 2:44 yesterday. A few of our other top runners were DNS, one in the elite category.

I went out for an M paced run about the time the marathon was happening and had to cut the workout short by a couple of miles just to preserve the rest of my week. I always forget how difficult it is to adjust to 70 deg with sun when youv'e only had one or two runs higher than 50 in the last 4 months.

Runners that can ball in the heat are like super humans to me. Great job, man.

Smoove wrote:

My goal is to be competitive in the 45-49 age group (ideally in contention for the win, but top 5 would be enough to make me happy). I have never run Boston.

Smoove, congratulations! Mission accomplished. I've learned a lot from this thread and the training thread. Thanks for generously sharing the journey with us! Carry on, old man! (although I wish 45 still seemed "old" to me ...)

Not a ton to tell. Met up in the coral with a fellow LRC guy (and his buddy) who was fitter than me but was more conservative in his goal setting - we originally planned to run even 5:40-5:42s until the 16 mile mark together, then he was going to push while I ran the hills conservatively. The heat was in our heads and we pretty much agreed that we'd probably back off some. The tailwind was out there, but wasn't as strong as we hoped and didn't offset the sun and heat.

Went through 5k in 17:42 and felt pretty good. split the next 5k in 17:48, still feeling pretty good. We were really forcing ourselves to hold back.

I feel bad for the guy I was running with - he was a smart, solid guy who knew what he was doing, but it's my habit as a coach to be vocal and remind folks about the race plan, he had to hear me all day (well, 18 miles at least). The heat was legit and I was taking in more water than I normally would and dumping tons on my head (wore a hat to keep sun off of my face and to hold the dumped water for a greater cooling effect).

Came through 15k in 53:19 (17:49) and still felt good. Things started thinning out in the field a little at that point. Still tons of folks around, but it was more manageable to navigate. We dropped at 17:57 5k to get through 20k (Wellesley girls were all they were cracked up to be). Started to feel a little tightness in my right hamstring, but nothing too bad. Calves were feeling tight but not twinning. That got in my head a little.

Came through the half in 1:15:08 and went 17:54 from 20k to 25k and started to think more about position than time at this point. We were generally picking people off pretty consistently.

My calves twinged just a bit for the first time at 16 mile mark. I knew then that t was just a matter of time and let my friend (because at this point into the marathon he was my closest friend in the world and not just some other LRC dude) know that he might be on his own soon. He reminded me that the upcoming hills would change muscle emphasis and that might help. We hit the hills and dropped a 18:33 5k through 30k. It did help a little, but at 18 my calves fully locked for the first time and I stopped and stretched. Off went my race partner.

After that it was just a series of intervals. I'd run 5:40s to 5:50s until I locked up again then would stop and stretch and get back out there and start running again. Lost track of how many times I stopped and started. The crazy part was how much of a wasteland it was out there. I went from 5th to 3rd in my age group, and moved into the top 100 AFTER I started cramping. People were dropping hard.

It was really tough for me to feel so under control aerobically (my lungs would've comfortably supported 5:42 pace for the full 26.2) but to be so spent muscularly - my quads were pretty shot too.

Garmin data starting at mile 16: 5:43, 5:51, 5:54, 6:04, 5:46, 6:29, 6:17, 5:48, 6:10, 6:16, 6:32, 5:40 pace for last stretch after 26 (.36 miles of Garmin distance).

Coming out from under pass on Commonwealth and the the Hereford to Boylston turns were really pretty spectacular.

Never saw Skrieg during the race - he ran away from me at the start, I think and performed really well, especially on his training which was primarily based off of his CIM base, some cross training and some crash workouts the last month or so. Thankfully, he's not in my age group!

Smoove great race. It was an awesome day out there in Boston. You nailed it.

I was hoping to run into you at the start but it was pretty crazy.

I had a great day. I Went out crazy fast and went for broke. I had decided that morning that I was going out quick and going to see what happens. I figured it might be a good day to blast one with the tail wind. I had a ton of fun just rolling fast until about 16 miles. I had so much fun yesterday and enjoyed the hell out of the tail wind compared to the head wind from the previous year. We went through the half at 1:12:57 and my quads were just starting to toss up the white flag. I actually ran through the hills pretty solid and was Still in striking distance of a good time... the last 5 miles I turned into a jogger and came in at 2:32:46 I was super happy with the effort and honestly think my pacing strategy was worth a try. I lacked the legs to finish strong....but still ran a few seconds faster than last year.

I'm so stoked you crushed it! I am sure our paths will cross in the best future!

great another bald self important attorney. Just what the world needs

OMG, thanks....if I had known he didn't have a full head of hair, I would never have given him props.I retract all my previous kudos, with thanks to "asfdsfdasfdasfdsa" for the diligent backround work.

asfdsfdasfdasfdsa wrote:

great another bald self important attorney. Just what the world needs

I've been considering implants.

Smoove- get a rug like this...

https://i.imgur.com/d5FU3Fu.png

I WAS BALD!