RunBlog

Nope Mohawk Hudson Marathon 2019 I end my marathon stories with a failure.  I targeted 2019 for a last shot at running a qualifying time for Boston (in 2021 at age 55). I hadn’t focused on running a fast marathon in a while. (In 2016, I had decided to start doing triathlons in order to give my body a break from all the running.) Since my best marathons were accomplished with the aid of coach Lowell Ladd, I went back to him again. He developed a plan for me that would hopefully keep me from getting injured yet allow me to qualify. I gave up all of the biking to focus on running, but his plan did allow me to keep swimming on the days I didn’t run. The plan didn’t involve quite as many miles as it had previously, but it had many of the same familiar features. In particular, I was back on the track running long intervals.  My Boston qualifying time at the beginning of training was 3:40, which realistically meant that I’d have to run faster than that to actually get in, since th

GNRC Joy Running with my fellow GNRC members brought me to levels that I would not have achieved on my own. I can say that with certainty. When I’m on a track, in particular, running with my friends, their presence pulls me along. And when I’m feeling strong, I push them--not by saying anything, but just by running purposefully. When I sense that they are running strong, they help make me strong. The energy flows. It is a lower-brain-stem, foundational connection between human animals. We are a pack.  The five marathons that make up this part of the story are all about the pack. All of these races were “destination races” for the club. We’d pick a race, put it on the calendar, train together, and race together. I didn’t set any speed records at any of these marathons. My times were respectable, but I did not put in the training to run excellent times. But for these races, the point was to run a respectable race and have a great time doing it. And for sure that happened.  Mo