It's TAPERtime finally!

This past Saturday marked the final "long" run of my training program. Long is in quotation marks because this upcoming Saturday I have a 14-16 mile run but at this point apparently that is short :-)

What does that mean for my training? Well it means it is time to scale back the weekly mileage and workouts to make sure I am fresh and injury free come race day. So while my running mileage was up around 47 miles last week, this week will be a "relaxing" 40-44 miles with a massive drop next week down into the 23-30 mile range. Who knows what I will do with all the added free time coming up!

For many runners, the taper period is actually not enjoyable as they struggle to deal with the idea that training season is almost over and issues that are not significant or real begin to play mind games. As this image highlights what are known as the taper crazies.

Honestly, at least at this point I am super happy to be tapering as I can honestly say I have begun to feel some wear and tear on my legs at this point with some soreness in my left foot and ankle as well as my right IT band and calf. And I don't think they are phantom pains as above indicated.

So what about that last long run? In short, it was probably my 2nd best run of the season and the longest by almost 4 miles. This despite another horrific weather day with blowing snow and below freezing temperatures that dropped as the run went on. So going into Boston, I am pretty happy with how my training has gone.

Saturday's run was made even more special by a very dedicated volunteer (Sandy) at the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge, who lost her son, Matty, to cancer and has made it a mission of hers to make sure her son is never forgotten. She decided to volunteer each and every week this season at the water stops for the running, and before Saturday's run she gave an inspiring speech to motivate the group.
Unbeknownst to her, two of the team members who run for Team Matty had arrange for the majority of the team, if not all of the team, to wear a blue Team Matty shirt in honor of her son's angelversary.

Still in awe of the awesome support this team provides my family!!
Posted by Sandra Cohan Dubuc on Saturday, March 28, 2015

It was a very overwhelming moment that I think helped put the grueling run we had ahead of us in perspective. It certainly made me look forward to miles 8 (10 for me) and 14 (16 for me) of the course where she was manning her family's water stop with her two other sons and husband. They are all so supportive and involved and it is great to see them rally together as a family. For the first time in all the training runs, I even stopped for a photo, since it just seemed like the right thing to do.

Sandy, a photo of Matty and me at mile 16.

Today, there is 3 weeks to go, I haven't lost any of my toenails (yet) or had any bleeding nipples and finally I can pull back on the throttle a bit. Expect some more posts over the last 3 weeks with my extra free time including the one you have all been waiting for and probably one about how I am going to deal with Passover not ruining me.

Thanks for reading!

If anyone read this and wanted to donate, feel free to do so here!

Bring on the spring! #winterforever

Boston skyline during my run....can't you see it?!

Winter decided to give everyone in Boston at least one more fuck you on the first full day of spring yesterday. As you see above, my 2nd last long run in the Boston training calendar was in far from ideal weather conditions. This has been par for the course for Saturday runs, as the last 8 Saturdays have all had miserable weather, whether it was raining, snowing or just plain frigid! As such, as I was ready for it, and felt pretty good for the first 16 miles or so of my 20 miler, despite being under the weather with a sore throat. Unfortunately, the slipperiness of the ground began to affect my running stride and my calf and IT band were hurting big time. I stopped a few times to stretch and rest and slowed my pace until I could get to the end of my run. I finally realized at mile 19 that if I ran in the road my calf wasn't hurting because I wasn't slipping and managed to salvage at least 1 more decent mile.

I didn't do the group run with DFMC this week because it was out in Wayland, which meant I finished off my run with TMRICE. It is always nice to hang out and chat with them after a run. Since moving to Boston and joining this most informal run club, I have greatly improved at running. I owe them a lot!

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful, with decent runs on Tuesday (TMRICE) and Thursday (DFMC) but I was definitely still feeling fatigued from the monster half marathon run on Sunday all week.

I didn't have a free evening all week with a "riveting" DFMC team meeting on Wednesday....Seriously, I wonder if they believe their own crap sometimes. Had poker night on Friday, along with runs on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and am really looking forward to my schedule freeing up when the marathon is over. I miss my lazy weeks :-)

Recruiting people for my March Madness pool took a lot of my time this week but with considerable effort many people graciously joined the pool and many who didn't decided to donate directly. This led to a surge in my total on the DFMC website to over 2000 in addition to the 765$ potentially raise from the March madness pool. Once I use a friend's matching program to double the contribution, I will have almost reached the minimum of 4000$ raised required by Dana-Farber. I really appreciate everyone's support and contribution. 4000 seemed like such a daunting number when I signed up for DFMC and finally I feel like I can breathe a bit on the fundraising component.

In addition to the March madness pool, it also meant there was actually going to be the March madness games. While I don't watch a single minute of NCAA basketball all year, the tournament brings out the deep deep down basketball fan in me. Thursday afternoon turned into a veritable waste of time at work as a result with myself, Tom and Sanchez sucked into the many tight, nail biter games. The same pretty much applied Friday afternoon and parts of Saturday and Sunday. Luckily as I am writing this, the exciting round of 64 and 32 is almost over. Here is a runner/basketball meme that runners with totally get :-)

Right after the water stop.....I always do my best!

To end this less than exciting blog, I'll say that while I haven't had any GI distress on my long runs, I certainly can use some CharcoCaps after my long runs because it really upsets my stomach. Something else I won't miss after this training. As many of you know, this will be my last marathon and between the GI issues and the toe damage, I won't miss the training. I know many people don't believe me on this being my last marathon but it will be, I promised the wife afterall.

Crush New Bedford Half Marathon: Check

Something you don't want to see come Race day!

Race report

Yesterday was the 38th annual New Bedford Half Marathon and with 5 weeks to go to the Boston marathon, it seems training through the winter has really paid its dividends. As we drove down to New Bedford Sunday morning, I really had no idea what my goal for the race was that day. I knew I wanted to break an 87 minute half-marathon, what would be a personal record by 90 seconds but I really was winging it. My chosen gear for the day was my conventional Lulu on the top/Nike on the bottom with a Lululemon tech t-shirt, luon long sleeve and gloves and Nike shorts, tights, socks and shoes. If anyone really wants more details, let me know. Mother nature threw me a curve ball though, as the weather turned out to be much warmer than anticipated or prepared. With no other options, I basically removed the tights and the long sleeve and hoped for the best. My first run in shorts and a tshirt in over 2 months!

Pre-race at the starting line. Ben wasn't allowed in the area!

Pre-race

Chris and Sean from TMIRCE were also running the race, as well as DFMC teammate Sarah. Ben came out to cheer us on, which is amazing because New Bedford's course is not a spectators' course to put it mildly. We got ready for the race knowing our reward of a fish sandwish and clam chowder awaited us at the finish line (seriously - they advertise this as a selling point). Highlighting how not focused I was pre-race, I left my shades in the car and I forgot to take my pre-race Gu. Gu is a gatorade supplement of concentrate sugar in many delicious and revolting flavours.

Chris and I moved towards the front of the start line and when we settled on our location, we heard some runners (one of which I knew, let's call him 'douche' from here on in) talking about their strategy for their upcoming 81 minute half-marathon. At this point I felt that perhaps we had moved to close to the front but figured it wouldn't be too much of a big deal. As the minutes ticked down to the start of the race, the race director said his schpiel and they had a local singer do the American national anthem, which she promptly forgot the words to, about 20 seconds in. The runners were kind to her as they picked up where she got stuck and carried her to the finish, something no one would do for them over the next 13.1mi/21.1km. Chris and I wished each other a good race and we were off!

Race 

Miles 1-4

To say that I started conservatively would be a lie, as I ran a 6:12 on the mostly flat first mile. Probably not a good strategy but I was feeling the energy of the runners around me. The next few miles of the course have a pretty substantial incline and while I slowed to the low 6:30s, this was still well ahead of the pace for an 87 minute half marathon (~6:38min/mile) and I was still passing people as they struggled with the hills, all that winter training on the Newton Hills seemed to be paying off. 

Miles 4-7

As the course began to head downhill, people began to catch up and pass me. Initially this was very disheartening until I realized I was actually running 6:15min/miles. Downhill is by far my weakest area, which may come back to haunt me in Boston. However, I was able to maintain a steady pace and didn't let myself get sucked into running even faster. At mile 4.7 or so, I had my first Gu and felt a boost, soon after. At mile 6.5, 'douche' pulled up along side me and looked super confident and smug that he was going to pass me, since in all our encounters he has been pretty condescending about his superior speed. I was still feeling good but was running my own race and let him get slightly ahead of me. He didn't even return my head nod at this point.

Miles 7-12

As the downhill ends in the race, you get near the coast and have ocean views for part of this section. It is really the only decent scenery you see anywhere on the course. Unfortunately, it also means it gets windy, really, really windy! Wind sometimes is the end of me because of my larger frame but it also helps prevent me from getting thrown around by the wind. As much as I tried to draft behind or next to other runners, it was proving impossible and I just decided to break off from the pack of 4-5 runners that we had formed. By mile 8, I had pulled alongside 'douche', gave him a nod and went right by him. This would be the last time I'd see him until after the finish line. At mile 9, I had Gu number two, which I had planned to be the final one. Again it gave me a huge boost of energy, and I passed some more people as a result. In my mind, I knew I had to save some energy, as mile 12 of the race is a monster hill. At mile 11.5, was the last water stop of the race. Since I forgot to take a Gu at the start, I had an extra one and with the knowledge of the hill ahead, I downed my 3rd Gu in 7 miles (oops?!) and embarked on the challenge ahead.

Miles 12-finish

I thought the hill was only mile 12 through 12.5 but I was wrong, it actually stretched all the way through 12.75. Last year, when I hit this hill my race totally went to shit and while I finished, the hill definitely got the best of me. This year, while my pace did slow slightly, I just plowed through it, knowing that on the other side was the massive downhill to the finish. Based on the earlier splits, I knew a sub 85 minute half was possible at this point. As I finished the hill, I didn't know what I had to do the last 0.35 miles in but it didn't matter, I just started running with everything I had left. I passed the 13 mile marker clock at 1:24:13 or so. Since I started at least 20 seconds post-gun time, I knew I had sub 85 in sight. I sprinted down the hill and made the turn to the finish and checked behind me to make sure there was no one there to pass me. There was no one to pass in front of me either as they were too far ahead and sprinting as well but I chugged my way as fast as I could to the finish and a 84:38 half marathon. Soon behind me was Chris, who also PR'ed by almost 3 minutes and finally over a minute later, 'douche' crossed the finish line. I went over to congratulate him but he didn't seem in the mood and sulked away. Just some icing on top of a great race!

Sean finished in an awesome 99 and Sarah encountered some garment issues and somehow moved her bib from her jacket to her top while running, on her was to a respectable 118.

Sean and Sarah part-took in the awesome fish sandwich and chowder, while I passed and just ate the crackers and banana :-)

Everything on track now with just 5 weeks to go and now a huge question ahead for me, what time should I be aiming for in the Boston Marathon?!

Thanks for reading!

Pre-New Bedford rest day

Courtesy of a DFMC teammate

Today is a pretty dreary day in Boston with overcast drizzly skies and a balmy 1degC/33degF. My plan was to do a short (6.4k/4m) run this morning with the TMRICE crew but my leg felt a little sore, so I figured I would rest up for the race tomorrow instead. Rain is my least favourite running condition, way worse than cold or snow, so it was an easy decision to rest up.

In other news, I finally managed to finish shoveling out our sidewalk at our corner, and I realize I should have taken photos so you all could understand what a feat that truly was. We have over 400 linear feet of side walk to shovel at our condo building and the other owners are about as helpful as a manatee. The city had plowed the snow off the street directly onto our sidewalk leaving piles as high as 12 feet in some places. Hopefully now I can put away the shovel for at least 9 months :-)

I owe a lot of thank yous to people who donated lately:
Richard Roskies and Jessica Wertman
Sung Hee Choi
Tejas Inamdar
Michael Katz
Todd Stupell
Michael Bourkas
Jocelyn Mang

Thank you so much for supporting me, the cause and my research. Post-marathon expect something, sometime, somewhere :D

Apparently I have been going about this blog thing the wrong way, as yesterday's blog was clearly good click bait with numerous views. I don't know if anyone read it or just looked at the photo laughed and/or puked but it showed me that I need to make it less boring. But how can I do that without just going off the rails? Perhaps George and Kramer can shed some light?



So I promised with 5 weeks left, I will come up with tasteful (at least to me - Shirley won't even look at yesterday's blog post) but amusing posts here on in. Obviously, this excludes the post that will finally discuss a runner's marathon day arch nemesis, the gastrointestinal tract.

And to end today's post, something that every male runner does/experiences when he is running.
Something for the ladies in the next post!



Enjoy your Saturday!

Is this Brandon's running post about pooping?

Sorry this photo was too good.....

Sorry to disappoint you all but this will not be my post about one of the most significant hurdles any runner faces on marathon day. Saving it for a bit later....This guy just couldn't keep it in his pants....

Things have really turned the corner in Boston and within basically one week, the vast majority of the snow has melted. It would be difficult to tell right now that we had 250cm of snow over 1 month if you visited. While running conditions are still a bit treacherous because of melting snow turning to ice overnight, it really have been a pleasure to go out and run in the light as a result of daylight savings time (thank you George Bush! ugh....).

All this training has not been without sacrifice, as I feel like I haven't seen most of my friends at all over the past few months except for a few sporadic events and I am really looking forward to the end of training.

DFMC's marathon team training adviser posted a video that reviews the Boston marathon course. I thought it would just be boring (which it is) but I honestly had some chills watching it. I haven't cried in a marathon since finishing Montreal in the Olympic stadium but there probably is a legit chance that there might be some waterworks in this one.

Work in the lab has had more downs than ups lately, mostly thanks to a company's error in sending me a bad reagent but there is progress there. Amusingly, the fund that I am raising money for via DFMC, funds one of the projects I work on in the lab. So to all of you who have donated so far, thank you for directly supporting the cancer research that I do. I have definitely stepped up the effort in the fundraising the campaign over the past week or so, which I hate to do but it is necessary. The march madness pool starts on Thursday, March 19th @ noon, so please join and have a chance to win some money in the process! Just so everyone knows - if I win the pool, I will donate all the money towards my fundraising goal.

This week in running

Not much of interest to report this week so far. Have had some pretty decent runs and actually regained some of my motivation to train. Didn't have anything crazy to juggle around this week and I even managed an early morning Monday run (I always prefer to sleep). I have felt a couple of twinges here and there while running lately but it is probably more about me being hyper concerned about an injury that actually having one. No long run for me this Saturday because Sunday is the New Bedford Half Marathon. Conditions look OK for the race but pretty cold but still hoping to finish in under 1:27 which would be a PR by a 1 minute and 31 seconds, wish me luck!

I did have a "uh oh" moment this week when I learned that unfortunately I could not finagle my way out of the non-qualifier wave through a friend who knew people at the B.A.A. To explain, there are 4 waves of runners in the Boston Marathon, which are set based on your qualifying time. Wave 1-2-3 are made up of qualified runners and wave 4 is mostly the fundraising groups. Since Boston is so huge, each wave is separated by ~25 minutes making the start time for the 4th wave, 11:15am. Depending on the weather, you actually want to get out as early as possible, so that the temperatures are as low and cool during the majority of the race. Anyways, my efforts to move from wave 4 to wave 1 or 2 through a friend resulted in a email from the coordinator of the DFMC team to call her immediately. I have to admit I was shitting bricks that she was going to tell me that I had violated some team rule and they were kicking me off. Luckily, she just wanted to comfort me that it would be OK to start in wave 4 and that it would all be okay.

Hopefully I will have time to post after the New Bedford half!
Thanks for reading!

March's arrival, Boston's thaw and what seems like the home stretch!

Wow, as bad as February was in Boston, it sure seems to have gone by quickly. Boston's sits about 4 inches/10cm from the all time snow record and we will probably break it with two small snowfalls over the next coming days but psychologically I feel like winter is over and it is time for things to warm up. At work, Tom joked about how there is always a march storm, which led me to giving him the evil eye. Seriously, though as far as I am concerned, the corner has been turned and it's time for some decent weather, as you can see below, even the parking meters are getting ready.

Even the parking meters have made an appearance and have their shades ready!

Saturday's run was again extremely fast (16miles @6:50min/mile or 4:15min/km) but unli ke last week, I felt pretty shit. It was a real struggle for the 2nd half of the run, which wasn't helped by the extreme congestion on the marathon course. I can only imagine how bad it is going to be on marathon day when more than 30,000 people will be on the course. On a positive note, there are only 5 long runs left before the marathon, it almost seems too easy.

My recent pace explosion on the long runs has left me thinking about my plan and strategy for race. I have promised the wife that this will be my last marathon that I do (unless someone asks me to pace them) and I am conflicted about whether I should. Basically, my main goal for this marathon is to not implode during the race but I also want to give it my all without ruining the experience. One of my running club friends who ran the race in 2013 fainted at mile 25 while on pace for a 2:58. So with 7 weeks to go, I have a lot of thinking to do as to what my strategy will be that day. In reality, a lot will depend on the BAA and where they seat me in the starting lineup as there will be 4 waves this year again, 10am/10:25am/10:50am/11:15am.  In all likelihood, we start at 11:15am, which after a 4:30am wake up will be quite a wait and challenge and will definitely influence my race day performace. I mean, how does one even make a pre-marathon pooping schedule with that time lag? (More on that later)

While I have been very serious about running up until this point, I have definitely taken a laisser-faire approach to the fundraising side. I (like most people) don't like harassing people to donate for money. While that hasn't been totally useless to this point that is obviously going to have to change.

First on the docket is a March madness basketball tournament fundraiser. 50% of your contribution will go towards my fundraising - the rest to the pot. The pot will have 4 prizes: 1st overall (30%), 2nd overall (5%), 1st place after round 1 (10%), and last place overall (5%). Please sign up even if you know nothing about college basketball. If you don't want to sign up, then feel free to head over directly to my fundraising page and make a donation. :-)

Thanks for reading!