The very first thing that I did when I woke up this morning, the morning after the 2013 Boston Marathon was cry. I’m not exactly sure why, but I was just overcome with sadness from everything yesterday and I guess it finally hit me. Hard.

The very next thing I did was put on my running shoes and my marathon shirt and went out for a run. I held my head high and ran proudly in memory of the people who lost their lives yesterday, and in support of everyone affected.

Today, I ran. Not because I was scheduled to, not because I really wanted to, and certainly not because my legs felt like running…but because I just did not know what else to do.

As I went out my door then ran down a few blocks onto the marathon course, as I so often do, I couldn’t help but think of everyone affected by the tragic events yesterday. I didn’t and still don’t know whether to be more angry or upset.

I also thought about all my friends who whose dreams of crossing the Boston Marathon (no matter if its their first or 5th time) did not get to come true yesterday…many of whom had been so close to actually finishing that they could feel the excitement as their dream was about to come true. I also thought about the 8 year old boy, who my friend helped coach and who apparently loved to run, who was there with his mother waiting for his father to finish the race when the explosions happened and claimed his life decades too soon.

I thought about my brother (and all of my friends and family), who could have easily been standing in that very spot had I been an hour or so slower, and I thought it could have been him. Then I thought, it was “him” not my brother, per say, but someone’s brother…somebody’s wife, husband, child, cousin, sister, and friend that was there when this heinous attack happened at such a joyful and prestigious event. I paused for a moment at the Mile 23 marker that was still displayed in Washington Square to think about all my friends that were still out on the course and never even got to see it or the finish line.

Today, I ran with blistered toes, aching knees, sore and cramping legs; and with a heavy heart.

Today I ran because that’s what runners do. We get back up! No matter what the circumstance, we runners persevere. We have a bad race and we get back up and do it again. We get injured then we get back up and we run again! Hear me when I tell you that nothing, NOTHING, not this tragedy or anything else will keep us runners from doing so. We will move on, and we WILL run the marathon again.

I still find myself asking why. Why did some selfish asshole have to go and bring violence into such a peaceful sport?? A sport where people cheer not against, but FOR each other in the stands and out on the course. We want nothing more than to see our fellow runners do well, even if sometimes that means beating us in a race. There is absolutely no hatred here, on this course, on this day; no matter the color of your skin, where you’re from, or what God/Gods you do or don’t worship. It just doesn’t matter. On this or any other race day, WE ARE ALL RUNNERS! The very moment we stop running, and stop living our lives as usual; as my friend Bryan so eloquently put it: the bastard wins. We must, as human beings, not let the bastards win…EVER.

Here is a little bit about what happened from my perspective yesterday:

Luckily I had already finished the race and met back up with my brother and roommate and had time to shower and clean up. We were walking from the Park Plaza hotel towards Newbury Street to meet a few friends and begin the celebration when we were crossing over Boylston and heard the first *BOOM*. I immediately had a bad feeling in my stomach. I tried to rationalize the sound/smoke with maybe fireworks or cannons (as we here in Boston love the cannon fire so often), but having been at that very finish line the past 2 years I knew there were no such fireworks or cannons on the schedule. More so, if there were, they wouldn’t be happening over 4 hours into the marathon.

I jumped up and climbed a light post and stood on a barricade trying to get a better view of what was happening. It was then that I heard and saw the second explosion. I knew this was no accident. No manhole, no transformer, but some deliberate act of terrorism. I use that word with no speculation, no connotation, and it doesn’t matter if it was domestic of foreign, any act that harms innocent bystanders for no reason is an act of terrorism; no matter who did it. At this point, we could see the police officers and people nearby still didn’t realize something was happening, and if they did they still didn’t know what it was or what to do. Every single ounce of my body wanted to jump over that barricade and run, as fast as I could – faster than I had all day to see what I could do to help out in any way. I am lucky that my brother and roommate were there, had they not been I have no doubts I would have run straight into whatever was happening. I don’t know what, or if any help I could have been, but I felt like I should find out. I knew that it wasn’t the smart thing to do, and that most others began running the opposite direction…but I guess it’s just something I felt like I needed to do.

However, I did not. I stayed with E and K as we walked closer to the bombing site to try and see what happened. First of all, we should have never been allowed to get as close as we did…we walked down Newbury and cut over to Boylston and walked to within about 100 yards of where the first explosion happened before the police finally began pushing people out of the area. This was a process that took about 30 minutes. The police began aggressively securing the area and making sure everyone was out of the area as they began to secure the first perimeter. After about 10 minutes from the first explosion we started seeing fire trucks, ambulances, and police vehicles heading closer into the area.

We then walked down Newbury towards Massachusetts and Commonwealth Ave away from the bombing site and towards the race course/runners. While we were walking we saw a man on his cell phone visibly shaken up and physically distraught. We could see his legs with blood splattered on them, though I couldn’t tell if it was his own or someone else’s. I asked if he was okay and what happened, but he didn’t want to talk about it. Moments later we saw an older woman with a race blanket draped over her shoulders who was walking alone, and also visibly shaken. We began chatting with her when she told us she had just finished, seconds before the bombs went off. She said she turned around and saw everything happening and didn’t know what to do.

Once we made our way over the Mass Ave bridge I was immediately blown away and at the same time heartbroken to see all of the runners just standing there, a mere 1/2 mile away from crossing the finish line of the most prestigious marathon in the world. Their dream unable to be fulfilled as they were unable to make those final two hallowed turns to the finish line “right on Hereford and left on Boylston” that so many thousands of runners before them have been able to do over the 116 previous runnings of the Boston Marathon. My heart breaks for those runners who put in all the time and effort only to have their dreams so violently ripped away from them yesterday. We had also heard about one other bomb that was intentionally detonated and later two others that were found before being detonated.

Runners stopped, waiting further instruction minutes after the bombings.

I was able to help out one Australian runner by texting his wife back home that he was okay and tried to help another woman who was sitting on a curb, alone, crying because her phone was dead and she couldn’t get a hold of any of her friends or her boyfriend who is a State Trooper…though she didn’t know any phone numbers to actually call unfortunately. We then began to walk home (about 5 miles) because all public transportation was shut down. Though, after a few blocks we got lucky enough to jump on a bus that was not so much “in service” but was shuttling people away as they tried to evacuate the whole area. We finally made it home, turned on the news, and continued to check in with our friends and family to make sure everyone was okay.

I know that these events will have an everlasting affect on not only the Boston Marathon, but the running community as a whole. I know that this horrible act of violence and terrorism will not soon be forgotten. I know that I will never forget this day, for many reasons. I am also incredibly thankful that all of my friends, runners or not, were eventually found and accounted for. I am also thankful for the technology that helped us all communicate so quickly.

I’ve been thinking about this day for years, and been mentally planning my strategy for months (and am still doing so while writing this). So here it is.

Actually, I’ve been going back and fourth a LOT on what my goal should be for the race…based on different marathon calculators online I am getting estimated finishing times between 2:50:25 and 2:55:15 (or close). The calculator my coach uses – that he recommends I go by gives me a 2:52:22…and I just KNOW I can beat that time. Also, their calculator was off (estimated slower) on my 10m and 1/2 marathon race times as well.

The other thing (my secret weapon – if you will) that I have in my corner is that I have been running on this course since the day I moved to Boston almost 4 years ago. I have run (not even counting the hundreds+ biked on the course) literally thousands of miles ON THIS COURSE just waiting, waiting patiently for my day to run the most prestigious and sought after marathon in the world! I know every turn, every hill, and every bump between Wellesley College and Washington Square so well that I could most likely run those 10+ miles blind-folded!! I have also run every other mile from start to finish many times. I have hit the Heartbreak Hills at every imaginable run distance over the years…the early miles (less than 8), the middle miles (say 9-18), the late miles (18+), and once even about 28 miles into a run. I know what the hills feel like tired, fresh, hot, cold, and/or bored out of mind. THIS IS MY COURSE AND I AM PREPARED TO SUCCEED, NO MATTER WHAT COMES MY WAY!

I guess what it comes down to is would I rather:

1. Go out with my goal race pace in mind knowing I am giving that goal my best possible chance for success and either succeed, or not? If not, if I do crash at some point, I would always know that I TRIED my best. I gave it everything I had and maybe it wasn’t enough on this day. I am confident I can sleep at night knowing that I gave it my all.
2. Go out conservatively and finish with a respectable, probably still even PR time…but know inside that I still had more to give? No…now that I couldn’t do…it’s not who I am, not in my nature. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself knowing that I didn’t leave every single ounce of energy I had out on the course. (Sorry for whoever is going to have to carry me around after the race)

So, in conclusion; based on my last few races, training paces, and overall strength and confidence and my own personal mental math I am aiming to run a 2:50 marathon. This means I will run all 26.2 miles at an average pace of 6:29/mile. This is about :20 per mile faster than my last marathon, which was in January of 2012. I know for a fact I am a much stronger, faster, and most importantly smarter runner than I was at that time. I have shaved almost 8 minutes off my 1/2 marathon time since then and basically PR’d every distance except the full since the marathon down in Louisiana. I have also run over 700 miles in the past 3 months in preparation for this day (way more miles than I’ve trained for any other marathon)!

I have been holding onto a handy dandy little pacing guide built specifically for the Boston Marathon for a few years now just waiting, WAITING, until the day came where I would get to use it. Based on my wave start time and goal finishing time it breaks down each mile pace based on difficulty (uphill miles harder/slower, downhill faster, etc.). My fastest mile is 6:16 pace and my slowest (the first mile) is 6:45. I can totally do that.

Very cool data/spreadsheet – Boston Marathon Pacing & Info

What I think the difference between a 2:50 and a 2:52 comes down to is the mental grit, that late in the race toughness, that willingness to keep pushing and to push harder when I start getting tired, and above all NOT TO GIVE UP. Well, for those of you who know me personally, you know I’ve got all of those things; but really that doesn’t even matter. What matters is that I KNOW I’ve got those things, and I know it well.

Sure taper sucks, I’ve got my doubts and concerns, and of course I’m nervous…who wouldn’t be when approaching a race they’ve been waiting years to get to run? However, make no mistake – when I get to Hopkinton on Monday morning, I will be ready to KICK ASS, and if necessary take names. Game on Boston. Game on.

[For those of you following along at home you can text the word "runner" to 345678 and reply with my bib number #2946 to get live updates or check out http://www.watchlive.baa.org/ on Monday to watch live!]

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Rize Above

In the last 19 days I’ve done 24 runs which covered 169  total miles; the majority of which were done on the Boston Marathon course. I’ve also added in some lifting and a few swims to break things up. Even though it was not intentional or deliberate this is by FAR the most days I’ve ever went in a row without a rest day. During this time my “rest days” typically consisted of 35 minute recovery paced runs. During these my HR would need to remain below 146 BPM, which was typically around 8-830 pace per mile for me depending on the day. They weren’t hard days by any means, but they were not “off” days like I am used to.

After doing these type of recovery days after my long runs, or speed workouts, I’ve decided that I am in favor of this method. It keeps the legs moving and the blood flowing better than complete off days – though those are apparently still useful every now and then. It also helps keep my ITB loose by running those days after long/hard workouts at a very easy pace.

That being said; I completed my last “long run” before the Boston Marathon last weekend and did 23 miles from the start line in Hopkinton back to my house along the course (which I live about 1/2 mile off of). This capped off a my 16th straight day running and a 79 mile week for me (again the most I’ve ever done in one week) and damnit if somehow my legs didn’t just feel AMAZING! I know, I know, I’m kind of an asshole…sorry ’bout that (okay, I’m not really). However, it is TRUE! After what legitimately felt like an easy run for almost every minute of the 2:40 I spent out there (a hair over 7 min/mile pace) my legs just felt better than they had in weeks. Maybe it was a complete mental thing, I hit the last long run, and it felt great, so a huge weight (so to speak) was lifted off of me. Or whatever. All I know is I had to go lift afterwards (legs of course – thanks Coach) and I even increased the weight I normally do on my leg presses and squats and my legs still felt great after!

For the first time, I finally felt like I AM READY FOR BOSTON. I am ready for Boston. I am ready. I have to keep telling myself that to make sure it sinks in, and because the race is a mere 18 days away…but each time I tell myself I know the answer. The answer is 100%, without a doubt, absolutely, positively, unquestionably  YES!

Are you ready? For the Boston Marathon? For your next big race? For whatever adventure or challenge awaits you next…are YOU ready? Comment below to tell me what you have coming up next and what you’ve done to mentally and physically prepare for it.

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Rize Above

I haven’t been sleeping well the past week, my IT band has been sore after long or hard runs, and I am just completely exhausted. As of today I’m on day 14 straight of running wherein I’ve done 19 total runs. When this “streak” is over I will have run for 19 straight days and 24 total runs and covered roughly 200 miles. By far the longest such streak I’ve ever done. I’ve been hitting snooze an extra time or two, sitting at work mulling over the 2nd runs of the day afterward, and just overall not as excited about each run as I normally am. It’s been a big mental struggle for me lately…but I don’t think I really knew why or took the time to figure it out, until Tuesday.

I saw my friend Paul who has been doing a #30DaysT0Boston #PhotoChallenge on Instagram wherein each day has a different topic to post photos about. I thought it was a fun idea and something different so I figured I would join in. The photo challenge is being put together by Ty, a blogger who will be running Boston again this year – Seeking Boston Marathon.

What really stumped me was on the 4th day – the topic was “inspire”. I thought about it the day before, thought about it during my run, and off and on for the majority of that day. I could not think of a single thing that “inspired” me to get out and run or to finish what I’ve started and cared so deeply about for so many years. This only fueled my recent mental struggle, not to mention the constant barrage of snow storms we seem to get EVERY SINGLE TIME the roads just get clear and all the previous snow has melted and we see that brief ever so brilliant glimmer of spring peeking around the corner.

Of course there are the old stand by’s like online posts about friend’s workouts, motivational photos, great songs, inspiring stories like the Hoyt’s or about people like Dean Karnazes, Kilian Burgada, and other crazy athletes that push the limits of our very sport and bodies to the absolute limits. These type of things may be good for the moment or for one run, etc. but they don’t fuel me. They don’t make me do what I do. I was drawing a blank…why do I do what I do? WHY? More importantly, why continue to kill myself if I couldn’t figure out why I was doing so. I mean, there is definitely the internal drive and push to get better, and to see just how fast I can become, time goals I want to hit, races I want to qualify for, the always evolving “bucket list” of races and accomplishments I’d like to cross off throughout my lifetime…but are those enough?

It wasn’t until my morning run the following day where I thought of something that does inspire me on a regular basis and that pushes me to new levels and keeps me moving time and time again. I thought about the two teams of runners and triathletes I train with and who support me on a very consistent and regular basis throughout everything I do. I thought about all the amazing triathletes and runners I know who no matter how fast or slow push themselves every day to do great things! Many set out to run their first marathon, to complete their first 70.3 or 140.6 distance, to run a faster marathon, to complete their first ever 5k/half-marathon/triathlon, to lose a few pounds, to get healthier, and so on.

These aren’t things that I can easily put on paper or take a photo of, but these people: my teammates and my friends inspire me to push myself harder every day and with every run and race I do. People who didn’t even start running until their 40′s or 50′s, friends who regularly hit 100+ miles/week of training (even when they may have  marathon that weekend and don’t taper anyway), people who get up and out the door every day for the love of running/biking/swimming, and the people that may even rank a little higher than me on the “crazy scale” – who run more, run faster, and who run for their own very different reasons.

My Friends from Zoom Multisport and the Somerville Road Runners inspire me and push me to do by best and represent the teams and all of their members to the best of my abilities every time I toe the start line and put on either singlet.

<– Ironman Lake Placid Finish

4 on the Fourth race start –>

I think I was also starting to realize that I wouldn’t have anyone out on the course for “me” and that was a little bit disappointing. Of course I’ll know tons of people out along the course and on the course who will surely cheer for me along the way; and will absolutely help me push myself further and faster and make me smile (if only internally depending on how much energy I have at the time) and who I will be ecstatic to see…but they will all have tons of people out there they are cheering for as well. I know I will be super excited to approach the 30K mark of the race where the Somerville Road Runners will have their annual CHEER ZONE and from there on the crowds will be huge and super supportive I’m sure of it…but still that little feeling deep down inside knowing of the thousands of people out there none of them were out there to support “me” directly. I also know that I have the support of all of my friends and family back home and that many of them will be following along online and sending me positive thoughts and encouragement which I’ll definitely hold close when the going gets tough (and it will), and for that I know I am truly lucky. I probably wouldn’t be where I am today without all of their love and support along the way!

I know that is selfish – and putting it in writing makes it sound even more so…but it was so incredible to have my own personal support group for IMLP that going out for a race like the Boston Marathon that I’ve trained so hard for and for so long and that is so important to me and not having that personal support was just a little bit disappointing…UNTIL LAST NIGHT when my brother called up to say he would be able to come visit for Marathon weekend and stay a few days afterward to hang out and see the city. I’ve been bitching at him for almost 4 years now to come and visit and there is honestly not one other weekend I would have rather him come and visited than Marathon weekend. I am so excited that I cannot even put it into words that Eric is going to be in Boston for the first time ever and he will also get to see me race for the first time ever.

Now it’s time for me to get back to what I love doing! I’ll get back to running for the love of running, pushing myself to be better, and mentally preparing myself for one of the hardest things I’ve ever pushed my body to accomplish. 24 more days to go.

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Rize Above

You may recall my recent post where I discussed in detail some conversations between my then new coach and myself where I was unsure of his methods…and by unsure I really mean hated/didn’t agree with/and was ready to quit using them.

However, as time went on and I settled into my “groove” so to speak, and more fully understood the methods that the Your 26.2 coaching team uses I felt more and more comfortable with their strategic approach, even if I didn’t love it.

In the weeks since that post I have run almost all of my miles at a much slower pace than I ever would have on my own, I’ve hit new personal records in # of runs in a week and total distance covered in a week, I feel stronger as a runner, and most importantly I understand the core concepts they base their training philosophy on. I am able to truly realize NOW how much I was over-racing in the past and how lucky I am to still be a healthy runner and have not had any major injuries to this point given how much I was pushing my body to its limits. I now know that I am a better, SMARTER, stronger, (and faster) runner for it.

A “faster runner”…lets talk about that. That is why I sought out a coach and eventually decided to go with the Your 26.2 program, a division of QT2 Systems Tri and Ironman Coaching - one of the best, fastest teams in New England, and probably the country. They are always out, and at the front of the pack at just about every triathlon I’ve ever raced in since moving to Boston. This was honestly the biggest and most motivating factor I used when I chose their program.

In the weeks since starting their training program (while keep in mind…I’ve been running slower than I ever have trained in the past) I have hit significant personal records in the 5k and 1/2 marathon distance (and would have also done so in the 10 mile distance…but I’d never run one of those before a few weeks ago). My 5k time went from 18:25 down to 17:54…10 seconds per mile off my previous best time!! I dropped 3 entire minutes off my 1/2 marathon pr from 1:24:53 down to 1:21:54 in less than 5 months! For that I would like to say thank you Tim Snow and the coaches at Your 26.2!!

While I won’t be 100% completely sold until after April 15th, nobody can argue with the dramatic difference they have made in my training philosophy and my running times since I began running with them at the beginning of the year. So, as painful as it is for me to say this…I would like it to be publicly known that I, Gregory Soutiea was wrong. Contrary to what I may think, I do not know everything there is to know about running and training. Based on these experiences recently I would definitely recommend hiring a professional coach if you are serious about your training and want to continue to improve on what you’ve built, or if you’ve hit a point where you’re not seeing the returns you might like to see.

I am very excited and nervous to see how the next few weeks of training go leading up to Boston and, of course how the race turns out. Stay tuned for more!

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Rize Above

A few weeks ago my training plan called for a 90 minute zone 1 run on Thursday then a 120 minute run on Friday which included a 45 minute zone 2 push to finish it off. No big deal…or so I thought.

I went out Thursday night and banged out the 90 minute run with ease, body felt great, legs felt great, and had a solid pace and good cadence. Came home, ate some dinner, rolled out, and went to bed early for my morning run. Friday morning came around and I got up 430-445 like usual for a long, pre-work morning run. Had a quick light breakfast and headed out the door about 515.

From the very first step out my door my body felt just beaten, broken, and beyond completely exhausted. This has happened a few other times on my long morning runs until the food kicks in and I wake up a bit (may take a mile or maybe even 2 to completely wake up), but never this bad. So I just kept dredging along expecting to wake up and feel better any minute. This was never to be. It felt like an actual death march for me. My normal Z1 pace is between 7:15-7:45 depending on how I feel…this day I was closer to 8:45s for the first 75 minutes. I ate some GU, I drank some water, but no matter what I tried nothing could shake the funk I was in. As I shuffled on I began to dread the last 45 minutes of the run…having to bump my HR up another 10 BPM to get into my Z2 for the final few miles home. I knew that I had very little energy left and even less desire to push myself any harder than I already was.

I began to think of some of the races I’ve done, and how at times I felt beaten, exhausted, and downright broken…then I started thinking about why I was out there on the Boston Marathon course; weeks before the race was to happen; hours before the sun would rise behind me lighting up (all to well) the plethora of hills that lie between me and my final destination, and most importantly what I wanted to accomplish on April 15th. I began to get a little choked up imagining the crowds that would line Comm Ave and then Beacon Street, and finally Boylston streets as I neared the end of what I can only imagine to be one of the greatest races I’ll ever run; my very first Boston Marathon. The one goal I have been working towards (whether I knew it or not at the time) since my very first run over 8 years ago.

I used this little mental picture to muster every last ounce of energy I had to get me up the hills and back home the final 45 minutes of my run…though it was by no means inspirational or pretty. My HR was at the very top of my Z2, if not over it…and it was slow. My normal Z2 pace is about 645-715, but I was lucky if I hit anything below 8min/mile at any point. I used every downhill just to catch my breath and coast/recover to have enough energy to physically make it home without walking. My average pace for the whole 2 hours was 8:36/mile, by far one of my slowest runs in a very long time.

It’s not even the pace that bothers me the most, in fact my recovery runs are usually at least that slow…it’s just how physically and mentally beaten I felt for every second of every minute of this particular run. It’s hard for me to describe in words just how miserable of a run it was, aside from the technical and HR info…what I can say, for certain though, is that these are the runs that stick with you. These are the runs that will get you through the toughest moments of any race. I know that having the physical and mental capacity to dig down into the very depths of myself and push through the hardest moments of any training run will absolutely make me a better athlete in the “long run” (<– see what I did there!)!

I’m sure everyone has heard these quotes, but I find them to be particularly applicable to this topic:

• “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” – Mahatma Gandhi
• “The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.” – Vince Lombardi
• “Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional.” – Ernest Hemingway 

As athletes and runners (no mater how slow or fast) we all have bad runs and we all have bad races, it’s part of the game we play. However, the most important part of those bad runs/races is that we pick ourselves up and go out there and we do it again. We do this, not because we like to torture ourselves, and not because we’re crazy; but because there is nothing in the world we would rather do.

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Rize Above

The 117th Boston Marathon

As anyone who knows me knows, or  if you’ve read this blog at all in the past you know I absolutely LOVE RACING; it’s why I do what I do. I love the start, with everyone lined up, tense, emotional, and ready to pounce…the battles throughout the miles, the pushing against yourself and your competitors, and most of all, I love the finish.

I love the finish line…it is that singular moment in time where everything I work for day in and day out either pays off or it doesn’t…and I am the only one who knows that answer…and if it’s not the answer I wanted, then I know I have to work harder for the next time I get to cross it.

One of my favorite mental “mantra’s” I like to think about when I am out for a run is that “I train to race, not race to train” it helps keep me focused on the plan and training run at hand. More often than not in my past I have been lucky enough to hit the goals I aim for, but as I continue to work harder and get faster it is going to be more and more difficult to hit my goal times and continue to increase my speed. Which is why I have enlisted the help of the professional coaches at Your26.2 Marathon Training Plan.

I know their branch of triathlon coaching (QT2) has had very good success leading athletes to the front of the pack and getting them to the IMWC in Kona so I was excited what they would come up with to get me in prime shape over the 14 weeks leading up to the Boston Marathon. Would it be lots of time on the track? Lots of days in the weight room? Interval workouts? Huge mileage? What delightful combination of pain was in store for me? I was like a little kid at Christmas just waiting for that email to come through and tell me my plan was ready…

Finally I received the confirmation and eagerly opened up the website where the plan was kept and where I would input all my workout information! But wait…what’s that…there must be some kind of mistake…the whole first week was Zone 1 workouts (keeping my heart rate between 150-160 bpm which usually keeps me around 7:15-7:30 min pace, but now coming off a lot of endurance training in the fall and a few weeks off is more like 8:20 pace). Okay, sure…I guess that’s just a warm up, no big deal…let’s check week 2. MORE of the same, week 3, week 4…ALL ZONE 1 workouts, NO track work, NO speed work at all! How could this be? I am a fast runner, I am a good athlete, I want to get faster and put down a fast, PR setting time for the Boston Marathon. A race which I have trained for years to get into. Possibly the most confusing of all is that I AM PAYING FOR THIS COACHING, shouldn’t they be kind of doing what I want?…I don’t understand!! In addition to that I was being told that I should not, could not do some of the races that I wanted to do coming up. Races I have friends doing, races that I have done in the past and that are fun! [insert angry face here]

After some initial back and fourth via the Your26.2 forum with one of the coaches, Tim (a professional triathlete) I decided it was okay, I would try their plan…this lasted all of about 1 week. I noticed myself feeling slower, and getting way too comfortable at the 8-8:15 per mile pace…how am I going to get faster in the next couple months while I feel SLOWER on every run!? I decided it was time to email the coaches directly (and not voice my concerns over a public forum) and either get some much better answers or move on. I sent the following email to them:

“Upon choosing Your26.2 to be my coach for the Boston Marathon I had very high hopes given your reputation in the triathlon community and how many athletes you have coached to Kona and to the front of the pack.

I understand I have only been with the program for 2 weeks and it is very early on…my hesitation stems from the feeling that I am going BACKWARDS in my training, and not forward, especially with not much time until Boston. I feel my body getting too comfortable with all of the zone 1 running, like that is becoming my regular pace. I do not feel my heart rate zones coming down any, unfortunately I feel the opposite. When I am in normal training (doing regular hill/speed work) I typically am running at 7:15-7:30 pace with my HR in the 155-165 range…I am honestly bored out of my mind running all of these miles at 8:15-8:30 pace right now and feel like I am running them for almost no reason…the old “miles for miles” sake. I have always approached my training with making the most out of every run and not just adding on miles to boost my weekly number. I have done my best to stick to your program very closely (aside from adding in a few XT workouts) and don’t think it is going where I want it to.

I know your intention is to keep me healthy and build me up at the right time to peak at Boston, which is why I came to you; and I also know you are all TOP notch athletes, and are much faster than I am…but currently I can’t see that happening given the current training I am doing. Goal MP runs have always been an integral part of my training in the past for weeks leading up to my goal race, and have helped me achieve every single marathon goal I have set for myself in the past ranging from 3:30 all the way down to sub-3!

I also feel very under prepared for the Boston Prep which I was planning to use as a goal training race to see where I am at in my training. Is there any way we can change things up a little bit to include some…ANY speed work into my program?

I honestly feel like I either need to understand your methods much better, see a change in my training, or find someone who is more in tune with my needs as an athlete before it is too late if I want to hit my goal for Boston…which I have worked very hard for years to qualify for.

Thank you for your time and please let me know your thoughts, or if we can either schedule a call or meet up to discuss them in more detail.”

I felt like my concerns were very justified and I needed some reassurance that they were doing things in my best interest and mainly I just wanted to understand completely, without question why they had me doing what they had me doing. Tim replied with the following:

Greg:

Let me just say this again: “Being at a singular fitness level 48 weeks out of the year comes as the result of exercise.  Being fully prepared to peak fitness and speed potential for a single event comes as the result of training.  There is a significant difference.  Most runners exercise.  The fast ones train.” Okay, I get it now…this is how I have ALWAYS trained…I am (or was now) always in shape, I always want to do well in my races, I don’t want to get slower or lose fitness; even if it’s only for a few weeks of the year in a rest phase of training…but, BUT if the Boston Marathon is my main goal, not the Derry 16 miler, or the Black Cat 20 miler, and not any other race before April 15th, then I have to listen for once in my life to someone else who is looking out for my best interest and trying to help me accomplish my goals…and who has been doing this far longer than I have been.

You win Tim. You win. From here on out, throughout my training, slow or fast, I will listen and follow instruction and put my “faith” as it were, in you, your experience, and your methodology…no matter how hard that will be for me.

I hereby relinquish my pride as a runner and as a competitor BUT will hold onto every bit of it to get me through those 26.2 miles on April 15th.

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In the process a number of random thoughts came over me and I thought I should share them with you (all both of you who will probably read this):

• It actually IS nice to run “naked” sometimes (sans watch…though running actually naked could be fun too)…though I had my watch, I didn’t look once at it! Which is way better than I usually do when I try not to look at it.
• “It puts the Gu, in its glove, to warm it up” First, HOW THE HELL did I not know that this works so well! All these years of running and I’ve been chomping on half frozen Gu all winter!? And why did this all of a sudden hit me, why today? All I know is damn, that worked awesome! Just put that bad boy in the glove about 1/2 mile before you’re ready to use it and BAM perfect temp!
• I don’t know why everyone doesn’t like running in the winter…because I love it!
• It must be Boston Marathon training time because from about 515-715 I saw about 13 people out running, way more than I usually ever see the rest of the year running (not Jan-Apr) at that time…Especially in the dark, in the cold, and on a Friday. Of these 13 only 4 replied back when I said “good morning” or “hello” (I always count…but that’s a post for another day) Either way it was nice to see some other runners out and about.
• TAKE YOUR HEADPHONES OUT WHEN YOU’RE RUNNING IN THE STREET – If you don’t run 100% on the sidewalk (and even then…) get the headphones out of your ears people…it’s dangerous!
• You know the saying we, all of us runners, tell ourselves from time to time? The one that goes “oh he/she is going faster than me, oh well…I’m SURE that I’m running further than he/she”? It allows us to save a little dignity and also gives us an out to not have to break off our planned pace and chase them. Well this morning…everyone I passed who told themselves that…so not true.
• I wonder how reflective the back of my vest is?
• The Cranberry/lime Gu Roctane do not taste good burping them back up.
• Why do I fucking love hills so much? On my 15 mile rhomp this morning I hit 14 pretty good sized hills, at least half of them being of significant size. This can’t be normal…oh another hill…sweet.
• Out of all these random thoughts I couldn’t decide which ones would make better tweets or fb statuses…then I decided blog was the best option, though nobody reads it anyway. Oh well.

So one of my favorite things in the entire world is heading out the door before anyone else is up. NO lights on at my apt building, or any others. NO cars on the road. NO sunlight yet. Slowly after the minutes and miles pass by a few lights begin to shine in the windows as I approach, a couple cars pass here, another couple there…and as the morning inches on another light, another car, the occasional runner, etc. This is truly one of the best feelings I know…just actually and literally feeling the city wake up around me, and before I know it I’m getting honked at and its morning rush hour traffic. LOVE IT.

Overall this was probably one of the most enjoyable runs I have had in quite some time. I ended up running just over 15 miles and exactly 2 hours which was my plan. It was a slower pace…almost 8 minutes a mile, but I didn’t care (which in itself is rare). No pressure, no goals, just to run…AND have fun!

Then I did.

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Rize Above

Well, it turns out…I F*ING DID IT!! Crossing that finish line for the 5th and final time of the race was one of the most amazing feelings I’ve ever felt.

Jesse, Me, Joshua, Ehsan, and Nick.

It was without a question, the most difficult and challenging race/event I have ever put myself through. The challenges were coming at you from all angles! They were physical and they were mental, they were also designed to make us quit. Well, as one of the Tough Mudder slogans goes: “NO QUIT IN HERE” and damnit somehow there wasn’t. I can still say that I have never not finished a race which I have started. Starting and finishing this race was one of the most proud moments of my life, especially overcoming huge mental blocks to get there.

Throughout the day I had a lot of help along the way from Jesse, Joshua, Anthony, Ehsan, Nick, and many other random Mudders out there on the course. Each and every task would have been much more difficult without the help of my fellow competitors.

All 32 different obstacles.

I was personally able to complete 5 laps of this course in 24 hours and 16 minutes. This amount of laps in that time was good enough to place me 78th place of 1097 people who finished at least one lap. I also heard that 1300 registered, so I assume over 100 people did not make it through one lap (or maybe didn’t start). A week ago it was tough for me to imagine finishing the race, let alone doing so in the top 10% of my age group and top 7% of competitors! All of which had at least done some sort of obstacle racing before (or so I assume).

Finishing stats.

Here is how everything went down:

A week earlier I had met up with Joshua who I was introduced to through a mutual friend for a training run he was doing. Joshua was doing a 24 hour trial run to get himself completely ready for being awake and active for 24 hours at the WTM. I met him for his 5th lap later in the evening which we did in around 4 or 5 hours. Along the way we talked some strategy, gear, and just general racing stuff. Joshua and his wife Amy were gracious enough to offer a ride down to New Jersey so I didn’t have to make the trip alone, and more importantly drive home alone completely exhausted after the race. We got down to Englishtown, NJ about 2pm on Friday the 16th (registration didn’t open until 4) so we had a little time to kill and it didn’t seem like they cared if we walked around the course to check things out. We got sight of a few obstacles and then waited in line for about an hour while the lines got significantly longer behind us.

Joshua got checked in a little ahead of me so he went inside to claim us some prime pit area, which he certainly did. We were the two closest camp sites to the starting line. It was loud and it was bright, about halfway between water and the showers, it was perfect! Once I began carrying some items into the pit area I found my good friend Jesse who made the trip down from VT after my convincing him to join me for the race. Jesse got checked in a little while later and came in to join us setting up the final few elements of our pit sites.

Pit area

Once we were all set up we went off to do some good pre race carbo loading. That we did at a fantastic little Italian restaurant with good Yelp reviews. Had a big pile of lasagna, amazing homemade rolls, stuffed mushrooms, and some soup! Then we went back to our hotel rooms for some rest.

It was nice the race starting at 10am though, instead of earlier like a marathon or a tri would. We got to still sleep in quite a bit and didn’t need to be at the race until 8:30ish. So we carried in the rest of our gear/food and began layering up.

Necessities

Nutrition: I went in with a solid nutrition plan (as I always try to do – but so often fail at). I had cooked up some pasta, mashed potato, and scrambled egg pouches to get us some bigger and more tasty calories in during the day. I also had a case of Gatorade bottles, a few cans of meat, some canned fruits, and an overwhelming amount of GU packets. The plan was to consume a gel/bean/chomp/etc. every 45 minutes out on the course in addition to any on course nutrition provided. We would load up in between laps with Gatorade, my food bags, and PB&J sandwiches. To my surprise we stuck to this quite religiously and I attribute that to keeping us moving throughout the race.

GU, Chomps, and Beans, OH MY!

Pasta, Potatoes, and eggs!

Wetsuit: Rip Curl F Bomb 6/5 mm with integrated hood (very key!)

Base layers: 2XU running tights with Massif Gear Flamestretch pants on top. Massif Gear long sleeve Flamestretch top. (by far the best base layer equipment on the market!) With only one shirt under my wetsuit and 2 pant layers on I was sweating heavily for the first couple of laps and even welcomed the water obstacles to help cool me off. The shirt was literally wicking so much moisture/sweat away from my body it was dripping down and out the arms of my wetsuit.

Socks: The most important was a 2mm thick neoprene sock set I picked up from Cabella’s online. These allowed moisture into the socks and let my body heat warm the thin layer of moisture and keep my feet nice and warm all day and night long. Under the neoprene socks I alternated Smartwool and Massif socks which I put on over my feet where I had applied a thick layer of vasaline and foot powder. This proved to be amazing, and I should have ended up blister free except that I did not reapply between the 4th and 5th laps because I just didn’t want to remove my shoes/socks as tired as I was.

Shoes: Inov-8 Roclite 315 These were AMAZING! They drained well, they had incredible traction, and they were light and comfortable. I would just walk right up the side of huge mud hills that others in running/hiking shoes were slipping and sliding all over. They helped me out tremendously throughout the day.

Golves: For my first 3 laps I used a 3mm thick neoprene golve which  had excellent grip strength and provided excellent warmth. With the air and water temps decreasing as it got dark I switched to a 5mm thick pair of dry diving gloves for the final 2 laps. The gloves were soft and fuzzy warm on the inside and didn’t allow any water to penetrate the seal and wet my hands keeping them very warm throughout the wee hours of the night. Unfortunately they did not provide any grip and I fell off of the Funky Monkey and Hanging Tough obstacles (monkey bars and rings over water) almost immediately and had to take the distance penalties. However, the warmth was a fine tradeoff for a little extra distance.

Other: I carried with me for the first few laps an amazing little water bottle by the name of Simple Hydration. It is small and fit right into my pack and was easy to refill on the go. I also used a great trail running pack which allowed me to keep extra gloves, plenty of GU packs, my camelbak and other gear in it without being too heavy. It was a CAMP Trail Vest 10 and I would highly recommend it for hiking, trail running, or other random activities in the woods.

Each lap was basically the same thing with increasing difficulty as our bodies got more and more tired and our minds began to wander, especially when the temperatures dropped to below 30*F at night. I was told the water temps were in the low 40′s as well. Here is a great video put together by a fellow WTMer that shows every obstacle throughout the course. It will give you some sort of idea what we went through repeatedly throughout the day/night.

Worlds Toughest Mudder 2012 Obstacles

Some of the obstacles were more of annoying than they were physically demanding, but many of them were difficult from the first lap. Climbing up over 12 foot walls, swimming a couple hundred yards to climb up a 40′ cargo net, running up a huge ramp, climbing a 40′ high “ladder”, dredging through long stretches of chest/neck deep mud, climbing a 20′ high wall with a rope and going up and over a point then back down the other side with only a rope, getting zapped with live electric wires, climbing up and down over 6′ high mud walls repeatedly for a mile, dragging tires for a half mile (one of my least favorites), carrying cinder blocks a half mile, just to name a few were very challenging.

Lap 1, 10 am – this was by far the easiest lap. The adrenaline was pumping, we were fresh, and there were 1300 people out around us on the course. We started off at a very slow pace which we knew would be important if we were to survive for 24+ hours straight. About 1 mile in, we were probably in the back 20% of the field…but we knew if we stuck to our game plan and kept a consistent pace we would soon be ahead of most of the people in front of us. I passed through almost all of the obstacles with ease – the Funky Monkey (long monkey bars that went up for the first 1/2 and down the second) twice, the Hanging Tough I made it to the last ring, but just missed it as I let go of the previous one and fell to the water, and Everest I ran up grabbed the top and hoisted myself up and over without any problem. The walls/nets were all mostly easy to climb…until we all got tired.

Lap 2, 2 pm – we made a quick pit stop for food and sock change and went back out. This lap was also pretty easy and I managed to make it through all of the obstacles without taking any penalties! This was the only lap I’d made it across the Hanging Tough and it felt great to do so!

Lap 3, 630 pm- After a little longer pit stop for food and sock change this lap is where it began to become more physically difficult. Sometime towards the beginning of this lap I began feeling what I thought was a cramp in my left side whenever I tensed up or went over a wall or anything. There weren’t as many people out on the course as previous laps but the 5 of us held on strong and kept at about the same pace. We kept talking and kept moving and were doing alright. This was the first lap I’d fell off the Funky Monkey (though it was the second time around and right after we crawled through muddy tunnels).

Lap 4, 11:30 pm – This was our longest pit stop as I changed socks again and added a layer of running socks with arch support because my left foot was hurting quite a bit. My left hip flexor was also terribly sore and by this time I actually had to physically pick up my left leg to help move it, or just drag it along over trees and mud as it was painful to actually lift my leg up more than about 6″ off the ground. We also needed to find a solution for a huge rip in Joshua’s wetsuit; we found a second suit which we got on over the current one. I also cut up an old wetsuit and added the top half as a little extra insulate for the colder last laps. This was definitely the most difficult lap by far. It was dark, colder, and we were all visibly tired. We also lost Jesse to some leg stiffness and Anthony to knee pain. It was just Joshua, Ehsan, and myself for the 4th lap…that was until we got about 1/2 mile in and we found Nick who was wandering the course by himself; well not any longer he wasn’t! We were back up to 4 and just kept our feet moving. We all failed the Funky Monkey and Hanging Tough and were forced to take the extra distance penalties after being dropped into freezing cold water for not making it across. Going through the couple miles through the dark and quite wooded (and very muddy) areas was very exhausting and mentally draining. Though, we kept dredging on and eventually finished up the lap around 4:30 am.

Lap 5, 5:15 am – We got back to camp and took about a 45 min pit stop, which gave Jesse plenty of time to wake up and get ready to join us for the last lap. The first hour or so of this lap was the only time the entire race which I felt “cold” for an extended period of time. Not freezing, just cold. After stopping for almost an hour it took some time for my body to heat back up in the crisp morning air. We were all tired and struggling to keep moving, and the cramp in my left side and the pain in my hip flexor was getting worse. Ehsan was literally falling asleep while walking throughout the course (and once momentarily standing up against a pole) and I was worried about him not being able to make it through the last lap. Joshua had become quite and exhausted. I did my best to stick to the nutrition schedule and try to keep everyone talking to keep us awake and moving. This only got us so far…but it got us far enough. Soon the sun began to peek through the sky and started warming things up a bit and melting the heavy frost around us. Once the sun came out it was like a new day (at least for me), I knew we only had a few hours left and we would get to cross the finish line. We also knew we would be sometime right around 10am which if we were before we could attempt another lap, but if we were after we would have completed over 24 hours which was the main goal. We debated if we should aim to be done by 10 so we could attempt another lap, but decided it was best to keep our current pace and see where that left us. We finished the last lap at 10:16 am and though I was a little disappointed we couldn’t get out there for a 6th lap, I am quite certain my body wouldn’t have been able to handle it. As we approached the final 1/2 mile I was overcome with emotion and my eyes began to water thinking about everything we had accomplished in the past 24 hours…we had done what we set out to do!

Overall this was one of the most epic things I’ve ever done in my athletic career, and I can honestly say it was extremely more difficult than the Ironman was. However it was a much different kind of difficult…very hard to explain.

I am thankful for my friends and fellow Mudders on the course and wouldn’t have been able to get where I needed to be mentally without the support of my amazing family and friends who always support my crazy ass throughout all my endeavors. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all!

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Rize Above

I know you’ve all been wondering it for some time…but now I am starting to wonder it myself. What the F was I thinking signing up for this race!? Well, that is a damn good question…

At first it was just to see IF I could finish a 24 hour obstacle race of this high level of difficulty…

Then it was to prove to myself that I COULD finish it…

But now…after recently participating in some group WTM workouts with other people likely much more crazy than I am, I begin to doubt if I belong in the race at all.

Note: to get into the Worlds Toughest Mudder, an entrant must qualify in the top 5% of a regular Tough Mudder event, or be accepted as a “wild card entry” by virtue of an application process. Never having done any sort of obstacle race before, this is how I am able to participate in the event.

As the WTM continues to creep closer and closer all of those little (and not so little) doubts that I have kept hidden deep inside of me for months are beginning to rear their ugly heads as often as they can. Now the questions become, are they justified? Are they right? Should I race? Do I need to adjust my goals?

On Saturday I met up with Junyong Pak – one of obstacle course racing’s biggest, fastest, and baddest athletes, for a WTM practice workout he set up for local runners on his home course in Beverly, MA. As soon as I saw this event I jumped on it! The chance to learn obstacle racing from one of the absolute best in the sport? I would be stupid not to go! Pak had about 12 obstacles set up on a loop about 1.25 miles long. Below is the loop we ran:

Tire drag, sand roll, mud walk, water rope, wall climb, more climb, rope traverse, ocean swim, low crawl, rope climb, hill repeats, jump rope, and electric shock!

I went into the day still feeling very drained and weak from the #Miles4RedCross run the past Sunday but I knew that I needed to get in some training with Pak and some of the other crazy bastards who showed up. I was also just not feeling 100% and couldn’t tell if it was fatigue from the miles I logged or something else? Friday night I had a very slight fever, but that was gone on Saturday morning before I left. I had hoped to at least get in a few hours and around 10 miles or so on the day to help me better mentally prepare for the big day.

Unfortunately, from the start I was wiped out and having trouble keeping up with everyone (though I did my best to try and hide it). After one lap through as a group Pak took off and we spread out throughout the obstacles to follow. I was drained, and even much too tired to try and eat some GU. I ate one through the first lap and tried for a second a little later but it was sandy and wet and I just didn’t want to mess with it. I tried some Shot Blocks but they were soggy and salty, so I ate one and tossed the rest. I knew that it wasn’t smart, but I also knew that I wasn’t going to be going for much longer. After about one lap my right knee began to bother me (something that started earlier this week after pounding pavement for almost 10 hours a few days earlier). By the end of my 3rd lap it was getting pretty painful and I pulled the plug. I only completed 4 miles in a little over an hour and a half. The workout was a disaster and I felt physically and mentally defeated.

This was (obviously) the opposite effect I had hoped to achieve in my last obstacle workout before hitting the race this weekend. So, now what?

The mental aspect of running and racing has ALWAYS been my best ally! When I go into a race, I know my goals, I know I can achieve them, and I know the time and effort that I have put into them training…and I almost always succeed! From a 5k to Ironman, I step to the start knowing I am going to finish. I have NEVER not finished a race. However, going into Worlds Toughest Mudder, I just don’t have that training and experience to back it up, and to keep myself mentally prepared and focused…and especially not for 24+ hours long!

All I have now is fear, uncertainty, and doubt…and all I have is (less than) 5 days to figure out a way to overcome it. Motivational quotes and friendly support only get so far; I know this is in MY head and I alone have to overcome it, I just can’t quite figure out how.

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Rize Above