| Author |
Topic: Running with Hermosaboy in Boston RR |
johnmaas
Cool Runner |
 posted Apr-19-2007 10:59 AM
  
Boston Marathon Race report:
Short version:
3:12:09 chip time Course PR by 4:09
2,153 / 20,640 OA
2,008 / 12,567 Gender
540 / 4,584 AG
Long version:
This year, my DW, DS1 and DS2 traveled with me to Boston for my second running of the Boston Marathon.
Hermosaboy and I had planned to run the first 21 miles of the course on an average pace of 7:20/mile. With the strong headwinds forecast for the race, I knew it would be difficult to hold this sort of pace, especially when we would tackle the Newton Hills.
Hemosa and I worked together quite well as a team, as mentioned in his RR.
Don’t listen to him complain about me mooching a nice draft from him! You all know he’s such an accomplished runner, that he doesn’t need any help at all!
My goal for the race was to run a 3:12 and we were using the pace splits based slightly on effort, aiming to hit mile splits ranging from 7:09 to 7:39 per mile.
We had a good system going, I would tell him the upcoming mile split goal and he would execute the plan perfectly. He didn’t miss by more than 6 seconds on any individual mile!!!
I also told him that I needed to watch my heart rate during the run, and make sure that I don’t go over 170 for any sustained period of time.
Early on, the HR stayed in check. But when we hit the hill at mile 4.5, I noticed it went up to 175. I chose not to tell Hermosa about it, I figured it would drop back down.
It went back down to 170, but after that I had a real hard time keeping my HR below 167, except on the long downhill sections.
We kept moving along, hitting our splits quite well and accumulating about 20 seconds in the bank. Around mile 14, I shouted to Hermosa that we had about 20 seconds in the bank. A guy next to me says, “That sounds great, but I’m really worried about inflation hitting us later on.” I found his comment pretty amusing, but deep down I was a bit worried about the upcoming inflation rates also.
One of the biggest highlights was when we hit the Boomer Water Stop at Mile 20. Many THANKS to Pro and his excellent crew!!!!!!!
Hermosa spotted it first and we veered off to the left. I knew I would need my second Clif shot before going up Heartbreak, so I wanted to use the water to wash it down. I think it was Stuart (the guy with the beard) that handed me my care package at the Water Stop. I put the banana in my pocket, and was trying to fiddle with the water and gel pack at the same time.
The banana then fell out of my pocket, but Hermosa saved the day by offering me half of his.
Heartbreak was tough, and I managed to stay within 20 yards of Hermosaboy when we hit the top.
While approaching the Mile 21 marker, I noticed an orange glow ahead as Hermosaboy turned on the afterburners and “dropped the hammer”.
I was going into survival mode and was on the verge of cramping badly while going past Boston College. I was losing some time from my intended pace now, but not too bad.
The spectators were getting really loud on the final miles, and they lifted my spirits. The long-awaited turn from Hereford to Boylston had now arrived and I took to the center of the street to spot the finish line. Then, I heard familiar voices yelling at me from my right!!! Sure enough it was DW, DS1 and DS2 yelling, screaming, jumping, and going absolutely nuts! DW had a camera, clicked off about 3 shots, but she was so excited that none of the pictures even had a glimpse of me in them!!
Yea, I got soggy eyes after seeing them. There was just too much emotion with them being so excited and the finish line in sight. It must have really pumped me up, as I ran the last 1.3639 miles in 9:54 (7:15/mile).
Overall average HR was 169, which is an all-time high for the marathon distance.Last but not least, the Fashion Report for Ilene:
Blue/White Brooks Burn 3 shoes,
Mini-crew Wright socks with Freedom Run lunch bags over them,
Grey MUG,
Black 9-inch inseam running shorts,
Goldenrod Under Armour long sleeve top,
Garmin 305,
Fuel belt with Gatorade Endurance Formula (lemon-lime),
Mizuno running gloves,
Timex running cap sometimes topped with Black Nike stocking cap,
And the 55 gallon garbage bag that was shed in the starting corral. Thanks for reading.
John
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Aamos
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 11:10 AM
I think the heartrate is due to the excitement of Boston. Great race and report.
Big congrats to you!
grins,
A
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Lil Engine
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 11:14 AM
Wow! You're goal time was 3:12, and you finished in 3:12:09? That's what I call nailing a goal! Excellent run, and it sounds like you had a fine time. Congrats!------------------
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"I think I can, I think I can"
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ksrunr
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 11:25 AM
Congratulations on your marathon. Sounds like it was well executed except for the banana! Drafting is allowed in marathons as well. Great report.ksrunr
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hermosaboy
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 11:32 AM
quote:
Originally posted by johnmaas:
Don’t listen to him complain about me mooching a nice draft from him! You all know he’s such an accomplished runner, that he doesn’t need any help at all!
Well, then there was the complaining from someone that I need to be taller and wider next time.  See, you can still see John in the picture: 
Greta job of sticking with it John! Gotta love a hugh course PR!!!
See you at some races this summer! [This message has been edited by hermosaboy (edited Apr-19-2007).]
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perchcreek
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 11:37 AM
Congratulations John on nailing your goal! It must have been wonderful to run so long with Hermosa and execute such a greta plan! Really enjoyed your RR.
Steve
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hally
Moderator of Boomers and Beyond |
posted Apr-19-2007 11:41 AM
John you really nailed your goal and wrote a RR that had me there with you. How great is it to have a running partner like the speedy Hermosaboy run with you for 21 miles. And the family waiting for you at the finish, priceless.Barb
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Ileneforward
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 11:44 AM
What an excellent race you ran! Smart, determined and tough. And you write one of the very best fashion reports too!! 
Congratulations on a hugh PR and at Boston no less. You are going to have a great year.
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TammyM
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 11:48 AM
what an excellent RR and a superb performance! You really nailed your goal and ran so strong the entire way. All in a days work right? Nice job! Congratulation!!!
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arf 1
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 11:52 AM
Congrats on a fantastic race and time John and wonderful that your family could join you this year. I loved the part about your soggy eyes after you saw them screaming and yelling for you. Congrats again.arf
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Sans Souci
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 11:54 AM
Is that a banana in your pocket or are you ...Oh, nevermind. I'll behave.  Fantastic report, John, and whopping 4-minute PR. I enjoyed reading about the team approach with hermosaboy. You're right, the dood with the beard is Stuart. Good thing he was paying attention when you arrived.
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hopeful4ever
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 02:55 PM
Geech, I got all teary eyed reading about you getting all teary eyed . . . .Congratulations on a HUGH PR John! You ran a great race with Hermosa. ~Mary
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millbot
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 03:01 PM
john, congrats on a fine boston effort, the course pr, and a memorable experience with the family. i hope nobody slipped on that banana.
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mariposai
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 03:20 PM
John you are not only a great runner, but a great writer as well. I read your report twice, you made me feel like I was right there with you two.
What a team work!!!! What a way to stay focussed to execute a terrific race plan.
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LeftRightRepeat
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 05:32 PM
quote:
Originally posted by johnmaas:
I ran the last 1.3639 miles in 9:54 (7:15/mile).
Uh... Where does that interval start? Great report! Great run! Way to nail the goal! ------------------
->>> John <<<-
Go write something in the Newbie Wiki!!
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Spareribs
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 05:40 PM
Nice going John, and I think it is helpful and instructive for you to comment on the benefits of two similarly trained people to help each other in an event like this. Many things have to work out and early discussions are important, but when it can work it is really a boost. You two were wise to adjust the mile averages based on average fluctuations for that course--very smart idea. And of course both runners have to be at about the same ability and have similar goals. I found your report to be very informative on this subject.Let me also congratulate you on the excellent OA and AG performance. On that day, in those conditions, to meet your goal and then PR too, is very significant. You are near 3 hours on a different course in ideal conditions. Very well done. Spareribs
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Dark Horse
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 05:59 PM
John,Wow, good job of executing your plan. I'd like to run 3:12 at Boston some day. Er, it's nice that you are in the photo above, but there are a lot of people in that photo. Which one is you? Dark Horse ------------------
I'm a dark horse, running on a dark race course
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TammyM
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 06:02 PM
DH - based on his fashion report, I'm guessing (and I think this is a pretty good guess), he's the guy sort of third back in that line of guys - black running gloves, goldenrod long sleeved shirt - and you can see "john" on his number bib. that's just my educated guess though . . .
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Dark Horse
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 06:29 PM
Thanks, Tammy! I figured there must be enough information, but I was too lazy to make the effort. Dark Horse ------------------
I'm a dark horse, running on a dark race course
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hermosaboy
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 06:45 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Dark Horse:
John,Wow, good job of executing your plan. I'd like to run 3:12 at Boston some day. Er, it's nice that you are in the photo above, but there are a lot of people in that photo. Which one is you? Dark Horse
He's kind of hard to pick out cuz he's drafting off of me. As I recall, the wind was diagonal at that point and he was in the optimal position for me to block it. Edited to add -- not sure I should have worked with him -- he beat my time from last year by exactly ONE second...
[This message has been edited by hermosaboy (edited Apr-19-2007).]
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tselbs
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 06:47 PM
Nice job, John. What a memorable race, Boston, time right on plan, hermosa to run with, and family at the finish. Congratulations.TomS ------------------
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jemmama
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 07:15 PM
I'm teary-eyed, too. Thanks for a great RR. What an incredible execution of your plan.
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johnmaas
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 10:15 PM
LeftRightRepeat asked:
quote:
Uh... Where does that interval start?
1.3639 miles is exactly the distance from the 40K mark to the finish line.....
I just took the time difference between my finish and 40K times and divided by 1.3639.
All my other splits from my Garmin 305 are a bit off, as it measured the course at 26.40 miles.
John
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cajohnson5
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-19-2007 11:44 PM
John, you and your bud Hermosaboy are just too cool for words. Really enjoyed reading about your race. Congrats on reaching that goal! cj
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smpankowski
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-20-2007 05:58 AM
I love this RR. Thanks!!!!!------------------
Never regret anything that made you smile, SteveP My User Profile
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