Endurance

Top 10 Boston Marathon Tips

The 2010 Boston Marathon was my first and I've had some time to reflect on the experience.  Below is my my top 10 tips for newbies to the race.

10.  Buy your marathon goodies Sunday afternoon after they are half off.

9.    Test walk your trip to the bus stop at Boston Common before Monday morning.

8.    Bring a blanket to lay down on at Athlete's Village so you can avoid the hard concrete or bleachers.

7.    Bring a good book to read and food to eat at Athlete's Village as you will be there multiple hours.

6.    There is a secret stash of porta pottys  at the starting line that no one talks about - use them at the last minute.

5.      The only place to pee along the course without waiting in line is in the first 5 miles of the race, so pull up to a tree and take advantage of it.  Males and Females are welcome.  You will make up the time on the downhill.

4.      Kiss a Wellesley girl at mile 13, only because it is party of "history". But make sure you are in the right lane.  Grumpy runners will growl at you if you try and cut through.

3.     Wear a Boston College tee-shirt.  You will need the encouragement in the home stretch

2.    Don't walk the entire Freedom Trail the day before the race.

1.    Try and prepare yourself for the most exciting mile in the sport, but it won't match what you will actually experience!

StevePre.com | quotes : section home

Great Quotes from a Great Runner."Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative."

"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more. Nobody is going to win a 5,000 meter race after running an easy 2 miles. Not with me. If I lose forcing the pace all the way, well, at least I can live with myself."

My fav -> "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift."

"I don't just go out there and run. I like to give people watching something exciting."

"Something inside of me just said 'Hey, wait a minute, I want to beat him,' and I just took off."

"What I want is to be number one."

Second fav ->"Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it."

"I'm going to work so that it's a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it."

"How does a kid from Coos Bay, with one leg longer than the other win races? All my life people have been telling me, 'You're too small Pre', 'You're not fast enough Pre', 'Give up your foolish dream Steve'. But they forgot something, I HAVE TO WIN."

"A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they’re capable of understanding."

"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement."

Thanks - >via www.stevepre.com

Funny But True Training Story

Below is a real live email exchange between members of our triathlon club in Champaign, IL.  Names have been withheld to protect the innocent so to speak.  What I can say is that several members of our club are also police officers which I will call Cop #1, and Cop #2.  We will call the athlete in the email exchange Triathlete #1. 

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Triathlete #1
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 17:42:30 -0600
To: Triathlon Group
Subject: kirby

I was out for an afternoon run, enjoying the weather and doing my usual
10 mile loop around Kirby/mattis/prospect/Duncan/Windsor/etc. finishing
up running down Kirby towards mattis and I see a man in the sidewalk
yelling into a cell-phone, brandishing a gun.  I quickly crossed the
street flagged a motorist to call 911 and then called 911 myself when I
got to Panera.  By the time I ran home, the police were at my house,
they had caught they guy and wanted to ask some questions.  I always
felt skittish running down that section of Kirby, and this time my
irrational instincts were made rational.  Just a head’s up.

Triathlete #1

 

 ----- Original Message -----

From: Cop #1
To: Triathlon Group
Sent: Sun Nov 01 17:53:26 2009
Subject: Re:  kirby

I saw you out today, little did I know you were "working!".  Job well
done, glad no one got hurt.

Cop #1

----- Original Message -----
From: Cop #1
To: Triathlon Group
Sent: Mon Nov 02 18:07:56 2009
Subject: RE: Re:  kirby

Triathlete #1,

I spoke to the officer that handled this call yesterday.  I am not sure
this will make you feel any better but apparently the individual you saw
yelling into the phone  was holding an airsoft pistol.  These neat
little 'toy' guns shoot little plastic pellets.  They look just like the
real thing so you had reason to be alarmed.  In fact, the officer
thought it looked real as well, so this fine citizen was ordered to the
ground at gun point.  Thankfully he complied without incident (we really
don't want to shoot people).

I think your route is safe, however, I would be alert around the house
where this individual lives.  He is obviously not the brightest person
in that block.  Really, you have to be pretty stupid to stand on Kirby
Ave., screaming into a phone, waving a gun around while you have weed in
your pocket.

Thanks for calling!

Top 25 warning signs that your a tri junkie

Source: Wikipedia

You will enjoy this as we get geared up for this year's training.

1. You wear swim trunks instead of boxers.
2. You've gotten callouses places you didn't think you could get them
3. You erase the word "over train" from your vocabulary.
4. You pass on sex the night before your brick
5. You'll spend  $120 for new tires for your bike but the tires on your vehicle are bald.
6. Your mailman got a hernia from delivering all of your running and biking magazines and catalogs.
7. All your favorites on your computer have something to do with tri's.
8. You plan all family vacations around races.
9. You keep looking on the website in hopes of signing up for the race even though it's been closed for months.
10. Your arms look like you’re a junkie and it’s from IV needles, not drugs.
11. Your entire non work wardrobe is race t- shirts.
12. You can't wait to go on a business trip, so you can exercise 3 times a day without family interruptions and obligations
13. You have a permanent circular tattoo of rash/pimple/chafing around your chest from wearing your heart rate monitor too often
14. You wear your heart rate monitor watch with your suit and tie.
15. You actually enjoy the taste of Perpetuem
16. The first thing your non Ironman friends ask you is when is your next race
17. You have so more pairs of (running) shoes that Imelda Marcos
18. You time your daily activities (meetings, dates, meals, etc.) around times that the pool is open...
19. When you are driving around with the family in the car and you see someone else running, biking or swimming, you are jealous...
20. You have mastered the art of peeing discreetly while biking

Blown tire

Well, I had to change my first flat tire in an actual event at the Effingham, IL 1/2 Ironman race this past Sunday.  It took me about 10 minutes, which was not bad considering the conditions.  Although I'm bummed that it cost me a valuable 10 minutes, looking back it was a great experience for the big race in NY on July 22nd.  Prior to that the only tire I changed was in the comfort of my garage.  It's a much different experience hearing your competitors flying by you as you sit on the side of the road with your tire in several pieces.  I learned to keep my cool and told myself if executed correctly it would not cost me much in the long run.  For us slow swimmers, the best part about a flat tire is getting to pass the same people twice!  Anybody have tips on faster tire change times?

Farting Marathoners

I really enjoyed the following article What is Normal Gas? because I learned so much.  For example, I had no idea that the average person releases gas 10-20 times per day, most of the time without our knowledge!  In fact, a study of over 600 people concluded that runners fart more.  So next time your running partners blows a big one that seems like it lasts a quarter mile, cut him/her some slack.