Positive Feedback Loop

Lately, my training runs have been going extremely well. All of them for the last several weeks have been pretty comfortable, hitting the pace without much/any difficulty. Sure, it's a bit easier to do so given the pre-set tempos on the treadmill, rather than dealing with the elements, but even the treadmill can be a challenge if there's some issue on any given day. I've certainly had my fill of those over the years.

I'm hitting my training well enough that I'm confident that I could break 3:10 again if the weather is cool enough. Looking at the semi-long-range forecast, though, the forecast is for a low of 66F with sunrise being 1 hour before the race starts. It's also calling for thunderstorms. Hopefully it will merely be an intermittent light rain so that I can get the cooling effect of the rain and not have to worry about getting water at the stations to douse myself with. With a slight breeze, it just might be good enough conditions to not need to pull back. We'll see -- it's a razor's edge we'll be running between that storm and the temps climbing quickly (the forecast high being 85F).

Regardless of the race-time decision on my pace, this latest part of the cycle (now that I'm in my taper) has been going well and I'm totally confident in the times I have in me. Now to just get to the start line already...

Officially in

 It's official! I will be running in this year's NYC Marathon in the reduced-size (33,000-strong) field.

So looking forward to doing all three domestic World Marathon Majors (Chicago, Boston, NY) in the span of less than 4 weeks. I'd love to know how many others are crazy enough to do this triple (given Boston is immediately after Chicago this year, rather than 6 months earlier), let alone even more (if not all) of the Majors.

It should be interesting to see what the different COVID mitigation strategies are going to be among these three races. Hopefully as the population is increasingly vaccinated and we're closer to herd immunity, the protocols will be ever more relaxed. 

Positive thoughts and energy, please. Let's have as close to a normal fall race season as possible!

Celebration

Some might have thought that the e-mail I received last Tuesday informing me officially that I was accepted into the 2021 Boston Marathon was the moment I would celebrate that achievement. They would have been wrong (mostly). I knew it was a foregone conclusion with the time that I had posted in Toronto in 2019 and used for my entry. (My BQ-17:58 was far better than this year's BQ-7:47 standard. I was expecting it to be closer to a BQ-15:00 standard, which still would have admitted me.) So, what was it that had me beaming this time (my 5th year in a row that I've gotten into the Boston Marathon) nearly as much as when I first hit a BQ time in Baltimore in 2015? Getting the Celebration Jacket.

There's something about the mythos that surrounds the Boston Marathon jacket. The sense of accomplishment. The sense of pride in achieving such a tough thing... again. And the "fresh out of the plastic wrapper" smell that is all-too-fleeting brought an even bigger smile to my face.

While most Boston Marathoners that I know refuse to wear the jacket until after they finish the race (save, maybe, for trying it on to verify that it fits), to me the celebration inherent in this jacket is the accomplishment of getting into the race. I proudly wear it any day where it is permissible weather conditions (not crazy cold, not crazy hot). I celebrate with this jacket until it is time for the next Boston jacket to arrive, at which point this one is relegated to the closet. And with the registration timeframe that Boston announced for the 2022 marathon (accepting times as far back as September 2019, meaning that Toronto will count again for me, and since I "age up" to the next age group, it will give me a BQ-22:58), this celebration with another jacket will certainly happen at least once more.

Here's to everyone celebrating: whether it is getting into the Boston Marathon, getting a qualifying time but being squeaked out, or any other goal that you've been working hard at achieving. Take pride in each accomplishment, and use it as motivation for your next achievement along the way.

Virtual Marathon results

I think it's pretty well-known (at least in many of the running Facebook groups in which I participate, even if not very often on this blog) that I dislike virtual marathons. There isn't an actual specific race-day set of conditions that all competitors have to contend with (from idyllic to Boston 2018 freezing, driving rain, to 2019 MCM downpour turned steambath). And everyone can choose their own course – from pancake flat or slightly rolling hills to major downhills (or, for the gluttons for punishment, major uphills).

Despite the above and my general disdain for virtual marathons, I decided to participate in the Abbott World Marathon Majors' virtual Global Marathon taking place this weekend. The “top 100” finishers (unclear exactly how that's being determined, though likely straight-up fastest 100 from age 40+) will be granted an invitation to the 2022 Age Championships. While I tend to doubt that I would finish in that vaunted group, nevertheless it was worth the $15 entry fee for the merest chance.

In the lead-up to this weekend, I had the choice of two rather different sets of conditions on the slightly rolling-hill course that I'd chosen: Cool (45-55F) with winds of 15mph+ or warmer (50-65F+) with winds of maybe 5mph. I chose the cooler day – today. And, despite the strong headwinds that I was hit with every single time I got to the back 1/3 mile of the 1-mile loop course I was on, I think it was the better choice, as I didn't overheat at any point in time.

I don't train over-much with hills (otherwise known as inclines on the treadmill), so the hills on this loop course – slight and brief as they were, especially when compared to the Newton Hills of Boston (ugh!) – took their toll on me. The first 18 miles, I stuck to my goal of approximately 7:20/mile. But those last 8.2 miles were the kicker, progressively getting ever slower (to about 8:15/mile by the end).

As I saw my lap times get ever slower, I saw my goal of not just sub-3:10 but of 3:15 slip by. I thought that I had even gotten into the 3:20 – 3:25 range. But, amazingly enough, I actually finished with a 3:16:06 – a BQ time (even though it won't count for Boston, since it's only a virtual race).

I'm surprised that I actually managed a sub-3:20 given those perpetual head winds eating away at a nice downhill part of the loop, and the uphill beating down on me with each additional lap. Gradually, I'm seeing my placement on the Live Leaderboard slip away. As I type this, I'm 92^nd overall (and currently 28^th in my age group). I'll need to wait until Tuesday, likely, to find out where I stand in the entire group of 40+, since I'm not about to keep track of each of the age groups and where my time falls in comparison on all of them. Suffice to say, today was a good effort, will leave me in pretty decent stead for my live marathon in mid-June and, once I go through a full training regimen for October's Chicago Marathon, will hopefully get me to that elusive sub-3:00.