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

I figured it'd net out as a wash as I'd have them transplant my back hair.

Back hair doesn't create air resistance. Let your armpits go, on the other hand, and you can have a problem. And avoid the compensatory facial hair.

Smoove wrote:

I've been considering implants.

for your brain?

Seriously, you may be above avg runner, but you sound like a strava Dbag. who used "we dropped" a 17:XXX

Pump the brakes everyone. He's just ran a race, he didn't cure cancer, didn't help anyone but himself. Probably on T to boot

Go away. The guy has shared a great story here over the months. Let's not discourage this kind of thing.

Why is there always one self-hating little fukkkkker to piss on an otherwise inspiring thread?

It's the way of the world. I just choose not to take it seriously and feed it.

Congrats at Boston Smoove! Seen you did great on your splits

Smoove,

again great job at Boston pretty cool to see your progression from pretty darn hurt....to running really well at Boston. A great lesson for the next time I get hurt just to be patient. Wow I can't believe what the previous author wrote .....maybe he should use his actual name pretty funny and slightly hateful.

Again nice job In bean town... mission accomplished.

Hey Smoove - just curious, how closely did you end up sticking to the Daniels plan for the final 18 weeks? Sorry in advance if this has been mentioned elsewhere already.

Very closely. I made some modifications based on existing races on my calendar, vacation plans and how I was feeling. The last three weeks of he cycle were not quite as close to Daniels as the prior 15 weeks though - I went with a longer taper for Chicago because I was so close to redlining in that cycle; and it worked for me so I went with a more aggressive taper again here.

If you search the Road Racing and Training threads, I've posted every workout in the training cycle (and every run since my surgery) on those threads - usually on the first page, so you could see how close it is. But it's really close.

BTW smoove I was just joking, as I am bald bald as well!

Was a lot of fun following the cycle on the training thread and seeing how you did things and the rationale behind. The insight will become invaluable in future races .

Thanks for the race recap, smoove! It's funny how the emotions, trials and tribulations of the marathon can create a great sense of camaraderie. I had to laugh about the "closest friend in the world" line since I've experienced that phenomenon myself.

I saw the splits, and I knew you must've been hurting at the end, but I had no idea of the extent! Mad props for gutting it through those cramps!!

Congratulations again...what's next? Disney Land?

I've had a good run through the three world majors in the US. I never want to experience the calf issue again.

So it's looking like focusing on my local race series and on the 15k to half marathon distance (since hard 5k paced intervals are getting harder and harder to force myself to do every year).

If I ever do another marathon, it will be Grandma's, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

You've definitely made your mark, and I can understand why you'd want to take a break. But I have a feeling that the marathon is in your blood now, and sooner or later you'll be back!!!

Smoove wrote:

I've had a good run through the three world majors in the US. I never want to experience the calf issue again.

So it's looking like focusing on my local race series and on the 15k to half marathon distance (since hard 5k paced intervals are getting harder and harder to force myself to do every year).

If I ever do another marathon, it will be Grandma's, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

Good morning, just wondering what you will be doing for the next week or so to help with recovery. Thanks

I will just do some light stretching of my calves to deal with residual discomfort in my calves and in my left heel/plantar fascia area.

Other than that, I will take the rest of the week off altogether (no cross training or anything) and enjoy some of the beer, wine, whisky and ice cream that I tried to forego during the last few weeks.

Hopefully next week I will get back on the horse and start with some light running or maybe some cross training if my legs are not feeling healthy.

Hey y'all. A little late to the game, but I wanted to contribute to this thread... which, IMHO, is a rare rose that grew out of the pile of dogsh1t that is the LRC forum.

Smoove and I have been corresponding via email since December 2016 after he sent me his training plan for Boston. I didn't know about this thread until much later, so I looked at Smoove as a knowledgeable veteran of the sport... not as an older guy with lofty goals that was also recovering from a pretty tough injury. In hindsight, it's pretty amazing to read the evolution and conclusion of this thread.

Anyway, I had the pleasure of running with Smoove at Boston. My original goal was to run sub-2:30 (PR of 2:37), but those plans were dashed once we entered the coral under the blazing sun. And if it hadn't been for Smoove's patience and wisdom, I probably would have gone out at my original goal pace and had a nuclear meltdown around 18. Instead, and again thanks to Smoove's patience, we went out a little slower and only hit a mini meltdown around 18. I was able to accomplish 2/3 goals I had set for the race and felt satisfied with the result.

I am only mentioning my accomplishments here because I owe it all to Smoove's raceday heroics. The guy is not only a great runner, but a generous one at that. He was really vocal throughout the race, reminding us to keep things under control. Without him reigning us in, those low 5:40's would have been high 5:30's and things would have gotten a lot uglier a lot faster. Further, I am certain that at every single water stop, Smoove would grab an extra cup of water for either me or my buddy who was running with us. He offered salt tablets, tried to keep the mood light with nervous banter, and just made the whole race feel like a team effort... which was invaluable for the tough kind of race that we all were in on Monday.

The guy is an animal and I was really psyched to see him get some legit hardware for his top 3 placing. I hope that he decides to keep at the marathon for another year or two, because a sub-2:30 clocking is a sure thing if he can stay injury-free.

Just wanted to echo all the other "congrats" to Smoove on an incredible journey, effort, and result. And, to conclude, I'll provide a text I just got from my buddy that ran alongside me and Smoove on Monday: "Your old man friend is unreal."

I was the "buddy" that ran with you guys for most of the race, and just to echo what Schuylkill said, I owe a lot of my race to Smoove's coaching early. Just extremely generous and helpful for someone I met 2 minutes before the gun. My race ended up the worst out of the three of us, but without Smoove yelling at me every time I got a step or two ahead of pace I would have crashed out much earlier and harder than I did. Watching him grind out from 18 on, stopping to stretch and then blowing by me again and again was one of the most badass things I've ever seen in a race, and awesome to jump on here and find out you hit your age group goal. Thanks again man, sorry I didn't get to catch up with you after. I obviously went straight to the bar.

This has been such an amazing, positive thread. Once again, kudos to Smoove for a great run. I hope you do kick back and bask in your success for a bit before getting back on that horse.

It all makes me want to get back into the marathon game myself, a 58yo woman who has not finished a full marathon since 2004. My last three attempts at the marathon have resulted in one DNF and two DNS with injuries. But I keep running OK at the HM distance, and last weekend I went 18 miles at 3:44 marathon pace without incident. My nominal BQ time is only 4:10...

Toadlips wrote:

You've definitely made your mark, and I can understand why you'd want to take a break. But I have a feeling that the marathon is in your blood now, and sooner or later you'll be back!!!

I agree, Toadlips. When I crossed the line at NYC, feeling much the same (but in my quads and hams) as Smoove, I said to myself: "F the NYC Marathon and F the marathon"...and this from a guy that rarely even uses a curse word. In the coming weeks, I wanted nothing but to get back to the marathon.

You are right--it gets in one's blood. Also, I have realized that the marathon is probably my best distance, though it is the toughest, most hard-to-figure-out distance.

Rest and feel better, Smoove.