2012 Boston Marathon Race Report

Quick results - 2:30:21, 23rd place overall, 8th American

Well, I ran 2:30:21 today, so considering I thought my race at Philadelphia last fall was a complete disaster, you'd think I'd be pretty bummed about this one, right? Nope. This was a tough day, a historically brutal Boston Marathon, and I'm actually not disappointed.

I'm just going to go through the whole thing from start to finish, partly for my own record-keeping. I want to remember all of this.

Pre-Race


My buddy Greg (who we were staying with in Cambridge) dropped me off ~6:45 at Copley Square... I boarded the elite bus and we drive out to Hopkington shortly after. Our bus was surrounded by about two dozen motorcycles who had blocked off every on-ramp on the Mass Turnpike. It was pretty cool - as if one of the other world marathon majors was going to attack us or something.

We got off the bus there were members of the media taking pictures as we walked into the Korean Church. This was unlike anything I had ever experienced and it was only going to escalate... in a good way.

Everything we needed was in the gym area of the church/school. Chairs and exercise mats to lay out and stretch on. They had Gatorade, food, etc. The talent level in that room was off the charts. I just hung out, mostly kept to myself, although I chatted with a few other runners - Scott Mindel (who I ran against in high school), and Camille Herron. Uta Pippig came over and asked me if I had run Boston before and when I said I hadn't, she asked if I had any questions about the course. She ended up spending 15 minutes giving me the most detailed course description ever - she is like an encyclopedia. My favorite part of the pre-race was that Joan Benoit couldn't decide which singlet to wear. You'd think after her storied career and experience, she'd have those things down by now. :-)

At about 9:15 I went out and jogged a mile on the little 200m loop that they had sectioned off for us. You could hear the low roar of the 27,000 runners nearby, but couldn't really see them.

At about 9:45 they brought us all outside behind the church. I did a few strides with some of the best runners in the world. Yet through all of this, I wasn't getting nervous. I felt calm and ready. I felt like I belonged there.

With 5-10 minutes to go, they "parted the seas" and the 30-40 of us made our way alongside the first corral and up to the starting line. As we were walking up, everyone was afraid to be the first one, and I found myself all of a sudden at the front. I turned around and Geoffrey Mutai was right behind me. I put my arm around him and said "Geoffrey, they are chearing for YOU, not me, you gotta get in front of me, brother!" He said "OK man." So that is how we made our way up to the starting line - Mutai, ME, then everyone else. It was incredible. The runners in the first corral were cheering and giving us high fives. Helicopters were circling overhead. They were like a hundred police officers and race officials. An unreal setting. In that moment I felt like my hard work was already paying off - just to be a part of this kind of scene - to be considered an elite athlete at the Boston FREAKING Marathon. Its something I wish everyone could experience, because its really a cool thing.

We all did a few strides and the first timers (like me) commented on how the first 100 meters is REALLY downhill. Like, impossible to run it slowly.

The announcers introduced the top 5 runners, then we lined up. I figured what the heck - I'm just going to stand next to Mutai in the middle of the starting line. Its not everyday you get these kind of opportunities, so that is exactly what I did.

RACE


The gun went off and guys ran like idiots, as I expected... since most of us had numbers on the front and back of our singlets, I could see lots of #s in the 50s-70s chasing the lead pack. I immediately fell quite a bit back, yet looked at my Garmin after 2-3 minutes and I was running 5:00 pace. I dialed it back immediately. First mile was 5:13. Perfect.



The lead pack quickly disappeared, and I found myself running alongside Mike Cassidy (#23). We decided to work together and try to hit 1:10ish for the first half. We ran together for a few miles (maybe until 8K?) and then I never saw him again. Other than those 3-4 miles, I ran solo for the entire race. I'd pass people (and ended up getting passed by a few at the end), but otherwise ran completely by myself - just like all my hard workouts!

But the crowd - ohhhh the Boston crowds. Wow. Just unreal. I started hamming it up for them right from the start. All it takes is a little wave and some fist pumps and they would just go CRAZY. They helped me a lot. And I was surprised at how many people knew my name - there were a ton of "Go Jake Krong"s and people yelling out "Amsterdam NY!" (my hometown). Whoever you all were out there, if you are reading this - THANK YOU!

Back to the race. Miles 2-9 were 5:19, 5:19, 5:14, 5:25, 5:16, 5:14, 5:23, 5:23. At 6.5 miles Andrea was there (along with our friends Greg and Sarah) and they had a gatorade bottle and cold wet sponge for me. This was very helpful. I was taking a sip of Gatorade at every aid station (getting most of it in my eyes, despite wearing sunglasses), and dumping 1-2 cups of water on myself. I was soaked early, but it was so hot, you had no choice.

Miles 10-13 were 5:32, 5:31, 5:23, 5:27. I hit the halfway point in 1:10:19. Just what I wanted. Wellesley was fun - I flexed my biceps, blew kisses to the girls, got them going absolutely crazy. I'm sure some great photographs are going to come out of this part of the course! :-)

Honestly, to this point it was freaking easy. I felt like I was jogging the whole time. Other than my feet were hurting. They hurt bad from about 15K on - a by-product of running in the heat, I think. But it wasn't conservative enough. It was hot out, really hot. And there was no tailwind - it actually ended up being an east wind (headwind - although maybe that was better for keeping cool?). I could tell I was getting too warm, so I dialed back the pace a bit. I knew it would going to be tough to run even splits. I told myself the new goal was to break 2:21:46.

Miles 13-16 were 5:30, 5:41, 5:31. Slower, but I still felt OK. I felt like I was running the right effort. Greg and Sarah gave me another bottle and sponge ~15.

Somewhere around the start of the Newton Hills, I threw up a little bit in my mouth. My stomach wanted nothing more. Andrea was ~17 and gave me another bottle and sponge. As I passed her, I told her "this is getting really tough!"

From 17-23, the throwing up in my mouth became a constant battle. If you've ever done that, you know how you just can't describe how disgusting it is. I honestly thought about dropping out around 30K. But then a huge pack of people cheered specifically for me (turns out it was Derunzo)... and I said "F this" I can't quit! Thank you Derunzo, you pulled me out of a bad spell.

At the base of heartbreak hill, Emily Bates was waiting for me. She ran up with me and poured water on me the whole time. She kept me focused - thank you Emily. After cresting the hill, I knew I'd finish, and just went into "long run pace survival mode."

Splits for 17-23 were 5:51, 5:58, 6:02, 6:13, 6:23, 6:02, 6:14.

All through this stretch, and for the last couple miles, I was pouring water on myself about every quarter mile. I couldn't go longer than a minute without over heating. Luckily, there were little kids with cold water bottles every hundred feet, it seemed. I probably used about 50 gallons of water today - sorry environment! I was completely drenched from head to toe.

The last 3+ miles were a struggle. Unfortunately I got passed by 4-5 guys and just didn't have it in me to respond. I was probably in 18-19th place with 5K to go, but dropped back to 23rd.

The crowds carried me. Every though I didn't have the energy to play it up for them anymore, they were still amazing. Loud, really loud. Splits for the final stretch were 6:18, 6:45, 1:28 (I clicked it at the "1 mile to go" marker), 6:38. Not exactly a fantastic finishing stretch down Boylston Street, but I was just happy to still be upright.

Post-Race


I ran through the line, stopped, and saw stars. Two volunteers helped me walk to the elite tent. They said they were impressed that I could even walk the whole way, because they had to get wheelchairs for most of the finishers ahead of me!

I got a few bags of ice and put them on my head, neck, and feet. Sat in front of a giant industrial fan for about 20 minutes and got my core temperature back down. I got a massage, slowly drank about 4 x 20oz bottles of Gatorade, then made my way out of there and found Andrea. All the while, I got a ton of supportive text messages and phone calls. My Dad called and said Mutai dropped out and the winning time was barely under 2:13 and the women ran ~2:32. That really put the day in perspective, compared to last year.

I'm glad I stuck it out. 23rd place (8th American) at the Boston Marathon is pretty good. I can't be too disappointed, since we were running in historically tough conditions. You can learn something from every race, especially the hard ones. I obviously need to dial in the hydration/fueling strategy for the marathon (I only took one GU today - that was all my stomach would accept). In terms of eating/drinking before the race, I ate a lot more than I ever had before, and I felt really good in terms of energy at the start. I also really did a good job of pre-hydrating with electrolyte drinks. Andrea has been crucial in helping me out with this aspect of preparation. And a final thought... I think we need to stay in Utah or the west coast for my next marathon because flying east isn't working out for us! :-)  I know I got myself in better shape this spring than I have ever been in my life - I'm going to switch my focus to shorter races for a while now and pop some fast times this summer with the aerobic base I've built. Then, re-visit the marathon in the fall.

Tomorrow we'll go out to visit Saucony HQ, then do some sight-seeing if my feet allow it. They are pretty blistered. Otherwise, I feel alright.

Thanks to everyone for the support! It means so, so much to me.

Thanks especially to Andrea and my parents. You guys are my rocks.

Greg took some fantastic photos... I'll post more as they pop up on the web - like I said, I think there are some good ones floating around out there from the start and those first 15 miles. If anyone recorded the webcast / TV broadcast, I'd love to see it when we get back to Utah.

LET ME HEAR YOU BOSTON!!!

Full Picasa Gallery - more pictures...

Spectator Prep for Boston

Written by Andrea

Due to the expected heat, the Boston Marathon coordinators decided that it was okay for Jake to accept aid at non-official stations. This is crucial because it is almost impossible to drink out of the aid station cups when cruising at 5:15 pace! So my friends and I took a trip to Target last night to get some squeeze water bottles and sponges. We soaked the sponges in ice cold water and filled the bottles with Jake's favorite lemon-lime Gatorade (and added extra electrolytes). We made him a cute sign too with the Saucony logo - FIND YOUR STRONG!

We are planning to be at the 10k, 16 mile, and 24 mile marks. It's going to be so much fun!

I'm pretty sure that I am more nervous about this race than Jake is! It is hard to be a spectator :)

Quick thoughts before the Boston Marathon

Everyone is (for good reason) talking about the weather. Anyway you slice it, its going to be freaking HOT tomorrow. Highs will be in the 80s and it will already be in the 70s by the time the gun even goes off. Not ideal for fast racing, obviously.

I believe that in good conditions, I'm ready to run 2:17-2:18. I've got that 5:15 pace locked into my legs. I've done enough workouts to know that was a realistic goal. But when it is this warm out, times are going to be 3-5 minutes slower. I'm not lacking any confidence in my ability to run 2:17, trust me, but I feel like going out at that kind of pace tomorrow is suicidal. Any mistakes you make are going to be magnified. Running smart is going to be the name of the game. So I'm going to force myself to run more conservatively for the first half of the race. Guys are going to blow up, and hopefully I'll be there to run them down. I'm targeting ~1:10-1:10:30 for the first half. I think that will be conservative enough that if the weather is brutal, I'll be able to hold it together. And if I'm having a great day, then I'll still have a chance to break 2:20, which I realize will be tough in these temperatures but I still believe I can do it. Maybe that is even too ambitious - its hard to know how the conditions will affect me. I'm going to have to be very tuned into what my body is telling me in the early miles and make adjustments accordingly.

Its hard after focusing so much on this specific day to not be able to chase the time goal I want to. But its a race, not a time trial. If I run a smart race, I can place pretty darn high.

I'm not nervous at all. I haven't been all week. I feel very confident in what I have done to prepare. And I have to say that I have downright ENJOYED this training cycle and buildup towards Boston. I've pushed my body and discovered that I'm nowhere near my limits. I've made new friendships along the way. Its been fun and rewarding already. Tomorrow is the icing on the cake, or spinkles on the ice cream, as I prefer to say.

My Dad texted me last night to say he thinks I am "ready to race in -40F or 110F." He said to just adjust the pace and enjoy the fact that I will running on sacred ground. He is right.

This new weather twist almost has me more excited about the race. People are freaking out. Yeah, its going to be tough. But the marathon is tough to begin with. This is where you find out. This is an opportunity. Tomorrow is where you find out what you are made of.

Can I run a smart, disciplined race? Can I stick to the plan? Can I COMPETE? Can I leave absolutely everything I have out there and hit that finish line with no regrets?

I want to know the answers to all of those questions.

Live tracking from the 2012 Boston Marathon

You can follow live splits (every 5K) on BAA.org.

I will be wearing bib #29.

Here is the BAA's information on television coverage. It seems like there will be a webcast on Universal Sports. You can also get updates via text message.

The race begins at 10am eastern time (8am in Utah).

Here is a list of the elite entrants for the marathon. Stacked fields, as you would expect!

I'm sure that regardless of how it goes, the 24-48 hours after the race will be an absolute whirlwind. I'll try to post a quick summary of how it goes on Monday night, but probably won't have a full recap written up until we get back to Utah on Wednesday afternoon.

We leave for Boston tomorrow (Saturday). Andrea is racing the BAA 5K on Sunday morning, and she'll post her recap as soon as she can afterwards. I'm hoping to get some good photos, as the course layout allows me to see her a couple times.

Its going to be pretty warm (possible hot) on Monday, which obviously isn't ideal in terms of running fast times... but I plan to be smart and run conservatively in the first 16 miles.

And to prep for the warm temps, we've been doing some FroYo-loading. Top off the glycogen and pre-cool the body. I swear there is FroYo in there under all the toppings...

Hopkinton to Boston (Training Analysis and Goals for the Marathon)

The last workout (2 x 2.5 miles, an easy one!) is in the books, so its time to write the pre-marathon blog...

When I decided in January to run a spring marathon, I figured if I wasn't going to be in the Olympic Trials, I might as well run the biggest and best race out there - Boston. I'm really glad I made that choice and I'm looking forward to getting out there this weekend.

This training cycle has gone extremely well, and I'm excited to see what I can do on April 16th. My goals are simple - finish the race feeling like I gave it my best shot and leave everything I have out there. If I can't walk the next day - good!

I'm trying not to look at the weather at this point. If we get a day similar to last year (ie. SW wind, and I realize 2011 was a once in a lifetime type of day, so I'm not counting on it!), then that will change my race strategy a tiny bit, but not by much. I learned the hard way last November that no matter how prepared you are, the marathon can still absolutely humble you and break you into pieces. So I'm going to be a bit more conservative this time around. In an ideal world - I'll hit the halfway point somewhere between 1:09:00 to 1:09:30. That should give me an excellent chance of going under 2:20, a time I would not be disappointed with. I'm going to try and resist the temptation to get sucked out too fast in the opening miles, which is easier said than done due to the downhill on that part of the course. I want to live in the 5:15-5:20 / mile range, regardless of competition dynamics and what is happening around me.

Its been an interesting winter. After skiing close to 300 days in the past 3 seasons, I skied twice this year, and haven't been in the mountains since mid-January. It was a record year for lack of snowfall, so I put all my eggs in the marathon basket and got to work.

Compared to the fall marathon buildup, I ran more miles, more workouts, and faster workouts. It was all a natural progression, and nothing was ever forced. I feel like I did a good job of listening to my body and making sure I was properly recovering between faster sessions. I didn't race very much, and only really had one very competitive race (Mountain to Fountain 15K) - but that one told me everything I needed to know.

Here's what the calendar of workouts ended up looking like when all was said and done (click to enlarge)...

I should note that the calendar did not necessarily look like that at the beginning... it was constantly evolving and changing. I think its very important to be flexible in your training. The sum is much, much greater than any of the individual parts. Or however that saying goes. In any case, I had a heck of a winter, and really enjoyed the training and preparing for this race. No matter how it turns out - I took my body to a new level, and learned some things about myself in the process.

Some quick notes on the workouts... tempo runs were all done at marathon pace or slightly faster (5:10-5:20 pace)... track work and shorter intervals were never all-out type sessions. I tried to make everything build on top of everything else. 

If you are interested in the specifics of the day to day workouts, they are all here: January - February - March - April

I averaged about 135 miles/week during the 12 weeks before I began to taper. This was up about 10-15% from my first two marathon buildups. The overall percentage of "fast" (marathon-pace or faster) miles went up quite a bit compared to last year. In the last 10 weeks, I've done about 35% more "fast" miles than I did in the 10 weeks leading up the Philadelphia. Most of that increase was in the 4-10 weeks out period, where I really got into a good groove, felt like I was recovering well, and was able to do lots of quality running (including the double-dippers).

I like having lots of data and keeping track of things - its fun to look back and analyze. I'm not a slave to it, I just enjoy the record-keeping. I realize there's no "prediction" that really holds true in the marathon (like how it works at shorter distances). Although it will be interesting to see if there is any correlation between how many pushups I do and marathon time... I have those stats, trust me! :-)

In terms of tapering - I did things slightly differently this time. I kept the volume up a little higher than in the past (103 miles in the week ending 8 days before the race), and dialed back the intensity of the last couple workouts a little bit. The idea was to keep my body in the normal "routine" while still conserving energy and saving my best running for race day. I've shortened the duration of my afternoon runs, but I'll keep running doubles right up until the weekend.

So that's that. These comparisons don't mean anything until I cross the finish line on Monday, but I like doing the blogging now (its actually a good distraction from thinking about the race, if that makes any sense, which is probably doesn't)... after the race I tend to not want to look at the training data for a while and give myself a mental break from it all.

Andrea and I leave on Saturday for Boston. Later this week I'll post information on how you can track me in real time, as well as where you can watch a live webcast of the race.

Double Dipping (2 quality workouts in 1 day)

One new wrinkle I've added into my training during the buildup towards Boston is the AM/PM "double dip" - where I have been doing a tempo run in the morning, then a track session after work. I've developed the ability to recovery very quickly after hard workouts over the past year, so this has been a somewhat natural progression.

Like a lot of runners, I often feel really good after doing a tempo run, especially later that same day. I figure that while the body is primed and feeling good, I might as well throw in a little bonus turnover/speed work, then really focus on recovery afterwards. The advantage is that I get in the extra workload without sacrificing a true recovery day. The other bonus is that it keeps me from running either session too fast! It forces me to make each workout on these days a controlled effort. In February and March I did the double workout 6 times - here is a table of what those sessions were and the paces:

AM: Tempo	PM: Track
6 miles (5:16/mi)	12 x 400m (72.8)
10K (5:15/mi)	4x200m + 8x400m + 4x200m   (34, 71, 33)
5 miles (5:16/mi)	8 x 800m (2:26)
8 miles (5:15/mi)	20 x 200m (33.8)
10K (5:13/mi)	3 x 1600m + 8 x 200m (4:55, 33.0)
5K (5:00/mi)	8 x 400m (67.9)

These aren't my longest tempo runs, or my hardest track workouts by any means. But I have found these days to be very beneficial in the overall scheme of the training. The tempo runs are generally at marathon goal pace or slightly faster, and most of the track work is at 3K/5K goal pace... except on longer reps (800-1600m), where I'm doing "cruise" intervals at threshold pace. I keep the rest short on all interval workouts... usually a 200m jog b/w reps.

I would caution most runners against incorporating this into their training unless you aren't very susceptible to injuries and you've already built a very strong aerobic foundation. If you are considering trying this, I would recommend starting with something along the lines of a 3-4 mile tempo run in the morning, and then an easy session of 6-10 x 200m @ 5K pace in the afternoon. Give your body a chance to get accustomed to what you are throwing at it, without overloading the systems all at once. Then try it again 10-14 days later. Over 2 months I did this only 6 times, so its not necessarily something to start doing twice a week. Once every week or two is probably the ideal way to mix it in. You still need to get the longer tempo runs when training for the marathon (for me, those are in the 8-16 mile range) and track workouts like 5-6 x Mile where you are running faster and need to have fresh(er) legs for the workout.

[Update from original post: As I thought about this more after posting the blog, I think I should make it very clear that in addition to having a strong aerobic foundation before trying this training idea, you need to be very comfortable running doubles in general - easy shakeout runs after harder efforts and long run. I would say that you'd want to be consistently running doubles for months, maybe even a year, before trying to squeeze two workouts into such a short timeframe.]

Mentally, its a challenge to psyche yourself up to run fast again, especially when you've already had a very good run in the morning. To me, this is an additional benefit - your mind has to be tough, just like in races!

I didn't really have any good pictures to include with this post, but here's my arsenal lined up by the door right now :-)

26.2K "Simulator" - Dialing it in

Trying to dial in the hydration / fueling strategy

I haven't really been posting a ton about training like we were doing in the fall buildup towards Philadelphia. No re-inventing the wheel - I've been averaging about 135 miles/week with several quality sessions and a long run every week. You can check out my day by day training log entries here: January - February - March. I've done a lot more miles at marathon pace and threshold pace that I did last fall - my fitness is at an all-time high level.

A new wrinkle that I've added in has been double workout days. I always run twice a day, but during this training cycle I've been (every week or 10 days) doing a marathon-paced (or faster) tempo run in the morning followed by speedwork on the track that afternoon. This has allowed me to sneak in an extra workout without losing a recovery day. I'm going to write a more detailed blog about why I'm doing this in the next week.

Anyways, this weekend I did my "big" tempo run of the training cycle. Last fall Andrea and I did a 13.1 mile tempo at race pace (Video) and that was the longest race-pace effort of the cycle. Since I'm feeling even stronger this time around, I decide to do a true Hanson's style simulator this time around: 26.2 Kilometers (16.3 miles) at marathon pace. The idea is that you do this without cutting back the workouts or mileage at all, and its therefore hopefully simulating the last 16 miles of the marathon. Since I  ran 150 miles last week, and had double workout days on Tues/Thur of this week, I definitely went into this without fresh legs on Saturday.

The workout went well - I ran the tempo right at 5:20/mile pace despite the windy conditions. It didn't feel that hard physically (it was more challenging mentally to be out there running at that kind of effort level, SOLO, for that long). If sea-level and tapering bring out a little more magic, I'm ready for a good one in Boston. Its good to practice running at a strong pace for that long, and it feels good afterwards not only to know you can do it, but to have the feeling that you could easily have kept it going.

This workout gave me a chance to try out a new hydration / fueling strategy for the marathon as well. I don't like taking gels, and they are not easy to choke down at 5:15 pace. I'd rather drink my calories, so I got some real mountain dew, let the carbonation out, then dissolved some electrolyte tablets in the drink. It was a delicious explosion of sugar/caffeine/salt! This might end up being my drink of choice for Boston, depending on how many bottles I'm allowed to have out on the course.

I use nalgene wash bottles (250mL) - easy to drink out of on the run!

Since Andrea is in Brazil I had to get creative with stashing bottles along the road.
I make a big loop out of chicken wire and then can grab the bottles while running without breaking stride.

Post-tempo, in the jeep because the bugs are starting to hatch.
It was 70 degrees this weekend - at least I'll be ready if its warm in Boston.

Some random photos...

Added the Saucony logo to the White Wolf

New Kroger flavor! First impression - delicious!!!

8 weeks until Boston

On the track in Sedona - February 2012

This winter has been all about running - the exact opposite of last winter (where we were still running a ton, but our lives revolved around skiing all day on the weekends). I'm now 8 weeks out from the Boston Marathon, and the excitement is really starting to build.

Here's a quick rundown of my training since Philadelphia. For the first 7 weeks, I primarily ran easy, built my mileage up, and threw in some occasional faster efforts starting around the holidays - just to give my legs a chance to "go" once in a while. Around that point (early January) I realized two things: 1) My body was fully recovered from the fall marathon season and ready to get back after it, and 2) In terms of skiing, this winter was going to be a bust! So I ended up deciding to run Boston.

For the next 3 weeks I lived in the 140 mile/week world (where I have gotten very comfortable), started mixing in some lighter workouts, then raced a 5K which told me I was on the right track. The last 3 weeks have been another 140+/wk cycle, topping out at 150 miles, and my workouts have gone really well. The majority of my hard days have consisted of tempo runs in the 5:10-5:20 pace range, long runs up to 25 miles and almost always with a fast finish, and then some shorter reps on the track (or roads) to keep the turnover. I've also started incorporating days where I do a tempo run in the morning, then shorter track reps at 3K/5K pace in the afternoons. With my ability to recover quickly between runs, this has allowed me to get in an extra track session each week without sacrificing a recovery day. The "winter" weather in Utah has been quite mild to this point, and it hasn't been hard to do quality workouts on the roads and even on the track.

Now I'll drop the volume a bit and start working in even more marathon-paced (and faster) miles. I'll race 3 times in the next 6 weeks: The SLC Track Club 15K on Feb 25th, the Southwest Spine and Sports Mountain to Fountain 15K in Arizona on March 11th (this will be a major test as I'll be racing against a bunch of elites who train in Flagstaff), and then a 5000m on the track against the college kids on March 30th (Utah Valley University Invitational).

In between these races I'll be doing a handful of marathon-simulation workouts, on routes that simulate the Boston course as much as possible.

Since I'm not shooting for the specific OTQ standard this time around, I have more of a goal "range" than time in mind. First and foremost, I want to break my PR of 2:21:46. But unless weather conditions are abysmal I think I can go a lot faster, as I'm already in much better shape than that. Sub 2:20 would be great, sub 2:19 would be even better. I think after the 15K in Arizona in 3 weeks, I'll have a much better idea of what I should be aiming towards. For now, I'll just keep cranking out the miles, tempos, and all that fun stuff - and keep the faith that I can put it all together on April 16th.

13 weeks of training since the Philadelphia Marathon on 11/20/2011

Making Lemonade

Andrea told me this morning that "wasatch and beyond is getting pretty pathetic!"

Unfortunately, she is right - but its not our fault! We are having one of the driest and most pathetic winters in history. In terms of snowfall, right now 2011-2012 is primed for a podium spot in the "least snowy winters of all-time" competition. This is obviously the exact opposite of last year's 800" winter, where every day was a powder day! Backcountry conditions are sketchy at best in the spots where there is even enough snow to make turns. I hate to admit this, but we've only been out on skis once so far - and that was to skin inbounds laps at Brighton.

When winter hands you lemons, you make lemonade, right? The upside of the mild winter is that I've gotten my mileage back up into the 130-140 / week range a lot quicker than expected, and I'm feeling great. So good, in fact, that I've decided to run a spring marathon. Yesterday I got an elite entry to the Boston Marathon.

And now that I'm running Boston, I'm sure the weather patterns will completely shift and it will get downright stormy for the next couple months :-)

I'm really excited about the opportunity to run Boston, and hopefully have a breakthrough race that will be redemption of sorts after falling apart in Philadelphia last fall. A lot of friends from Utah are also heading east in April, so we'll be traveling with a great group of folks and this is going to be a lot of fun.