Reflections part 1: "Chicks dig runners"

"Chicks dig runners". That was just one of the inscriptions that appeared on the space blanket we were given to stay warm after the Boston Marathon. It lead to an embarrassing question from my wife but she seem to be satisfied with my explanation that that was simply an machine embossed note that appeared on all blankets produced for the race. Phew!

I am back home in Oz now and time for a few more Boston Marathon reflections before I put the race to bed.

"Oh, what a feeling!" That's me in blue. The Boston Marathon was easily the slowest of my three marathons but by far the most satisfying (3.14, 3.16, 3.22 respectively). I had been well prepped for my first two marathons. For Boston it was anything but.

I arrived in the US vastly under prepared: no speed work, little hill work, one poor run of 30+ k’s, weekly mileage in the 50 to 65 k doldrums, injury and illness ridden and lacking confidence. I arrived in Boston early to acclimatise but found that jetlag, too, was hard to beat and I slept poorly for each night I was in town. I was far from being at my peak physically by race day and the odds were against a good run.

Yet mentally at the start I felt great. The occasion itself obviously helped but really there is no doubt that what got me across the line was the phenomenal support I received from, you, my friends back home in Oz and, secondly, from the incredible spectators that lined the course.

I was overwhelmed by the level of support I received from my family and friends. I have referred to this before but will do so again because I can not overstate how much this all meant to me. I drew enormous strength from it. Throughout the race I recalled many times the poems, the emails, the cards and other specific words of encouragement that many people gave to me. The wonderful support I received was very humbling, and was far more than I deserved. It played a major role in how I ran on the day.

With the spectator support, I tried to give a sense of this in my previous report. I am not sure I really did it justice. The press said crowd numbers were down due to the weather, and maybe this was the case. All I can say is that for a small crowd they made a hell of a lot of noise. The numbers built up along the course and from Boston College at the 20 mile mark were 3 or 4 deep behind the roadside barriers. There were so many cries of ‘go dad’, ‘go mum’ ‘good job runners’, ‘go Canada’, ‘go Mexico’, ‘go Costa Rica’ etc etc that it was difficult to take it all in. I was even astounded at one point to see a sign that said ‘go Don Smith’. I slowed and thought, hey, what’s this? It wasn’t for me but I took strength from it anyway.

When I arrived home on Thursday I was intrigued to read in the Weekend Australian magazine an article about Deek's fantastic win in Boston in 1986. As Jim Fixx did in the 1970s and I did in my earlier post, Deek specifically referred to the girls from Wellesley College who he said treated him like a rock star. For a mere mortal such as myself it wasn't much different.

These were chicks that certainly did dig runners! I slapped hands with each one of those young ladies. I had a huge smile on my face as I ran down that line and was close to a tear, I guarantee it. It was like running through the middle of a wind tunnel with the vortex generating a noise of jet engine proportions. Felt good. I just couldn’t believe I was experiencing all this. W hat right did I, an ordinary runner from Downunder, have to receive such adulation? I can’t answer that question and will ponder it as one of the mysteries of this magic day.

The other mystery is the nature of the Boston course itself. It's a point to point race starting in the township of Hopkinton then weaving through Ashland, Framington, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, and Brookline before finishing in downturn Boston. A profile map shows it as mostly a downhill run and I have to admit that I found it to have many accommodating down hill portions. Heartbreak Hill was taxing but not too bad and certainly not has steep as our own Heartbreak Hill during the City to Surf. Yet every runner I spoke to says Boston is a deceptively difficult course. There may be something to this. While the hills are not especially steep there are a lot of them and collectively they may take their toll by the end of 26 miles. I think the jury is still out on this one.

I am definitely feeling a post-Boston letdown. As I rode Boston’s subway out to the airport last Tuesday my mood, surprisingly, was dreary. Boston's weather didn't help: still cold, wet and miserable. Boston had been my dream for so long. It had been achieved. What next?

To be continued.

Mission accomplished

Well, I've done the deed and run Boston and I had a ball. And I got a pretty little gong for my efforts.

I am absolutely stoked with my result 3.22.03. And thanks Eddie for giving me that as I in fact had no idea of my net time until I read your comment on my previous post. My Garmin would not locate a satellite and I ran blind for the whole race. I had no idea of my splits or of my actual finishing time (and to be honest I didn't really care; I was just having such a great time).

I could not be happier. Despite my terrible preparation and poor lead up form I felt great out there. I felt strong and fast and didn't tire until depletion started to set in about the 23 mile mark. My time was eight minutes slower than my PB and I probably could be accused of dawdling the early stages of the race too much. I was lapping up the atmosphere and doing quite a bit of high fiving with spectators at very points. At the half way mark (13 miles) I was even thinking this seemed all too easy and that was probably a sign I was too casual with my pace early on. But I was running blind as I said above.

The spectator support during the race was like nothing on this planet. I can't really describe the intensity of the cheering, the hooting and hollering, the waving of signs and placards, the ringing of bells, and so on. God it was good for the ego. Bostonians go ballistic about marathon runners and even riding the subway back to my hotel I had several strangers come up and congratulate me for finishing the race. The level of support towards the finish was like something out of a movie and I felt like I had just entered the stadium leading the Olympic marathon.

The beauty of the little townships we passed through on the way from Hopkinton to central Boston was also something special. Even though it was a crappy day the locals came out in numbers. The girls of Wellesley College were something else too. In his Complete Book of Running, Jim Fixx says they are the world's most appreciative marathon fans. He's not wrong. I heard them before I saw them; this massive crescendo of sound on the right hand side of the road as we approached the college. Of course, I had to high five the girls from the college - such appreciative supporters can't be left unappreciated!

The conditions were not pleasant but were not as bad as we had feared. Yes it was cold, wet and windy but so what. I have run in worse. The photo at right shows just some of the 22,000 runners waiting for the call up to the race in the Hopkinton High School gym. I was grateful to be in that gym where it was dry and warm. Most runners slugged out the waiting under tents where conditions were a tad airy and muddy.

I have got my wonderful family to thank for giving me the opportunity of doing this and I have been greatly touched by the level of interest and support that friends on-line and off-line have given me. Several people did some very special things for me and I am reluctant to name names as I might forget someone. But I would like to thank Flashduck who very generously lent me her Garmin. In the end the satellites didn't cooperate with the Garmin but I was very grateful for her kind thought in giving it to me.

I have got the usual post-marathon soreness and I hate stairs (and for such a marathon focussed city why does Boston's subway system have so many frigging stairs!)

Today was simply an incredible day; there is no other way to say it. I just didn't want it to end and was sad when it did.

It has been the greatest day of my running life.

The night before

It's the night before the big race and my third day in Boston and boy it's cold! The much anticipated big storm arrived bringing snow to large areas of the north-eastern United States and heavy rain and plunging temperatures in the Boston region.

I doubt the temperature got above 4 or 5 degrees all day and the wind chill factor would have been well below zero.

I was amazed at the fortitude of some of the marathon volunteers. This photo (above) really doesn't do justice to what this guy directing human traffic for the pre-race dinner had to put up with - bitterly cold winds and driving, sleeting rain. The volunteers have been amazing. There's literally hundreds of them and all are incredibly friendly and supportive.

The weather is forecast to ease only slightly. If it continues, the race will be a challenge. Race organisers have issued a hypothermia alert for tomorrow and put in place additional medical arrangements to cater for the many runners who are likely to pull out of the race due to the cold.

There's even been some discussion of canceling the race, but that has never happened in the 111 year history of the event and I am sure it will take place as planned. Every runner I have talked to remains excited about tomorrow and is looking forward to the challenge of confronting the elements. I know I am.

I went to the pre-race dinner tonight and met runners from Chicago, Mexico and Canada. It has been great to compare notes on our running experiences. Despite differences in language and culture we are really all that not different no matter where we come from in the world.

I am been trying to catch up with results from Canberra and well done to everyone. There were some fantastic performances, including from those in my Pink Arrows group. I look forward to reading race reports.

It is 8.45 Sunday evening in Boston as I write this and I need to be up in time to catch the 5.15 am transport from the hotel. Jet lag has been a real pest again on this trip and I haven't been sleeping well. But I don't think I would expect to sleep well anyway. The butterflies in my stomach have also got jet lag and are going ballistic.

And so it has come down to this. At 10 am tomorrow (midnight eastern Australian time Monday) I will start on the final leg of my journey that began when I first read about this race in 1984. When I think back over all the disappointments and challenges I have faced in my life before I became a runner I don't think in a million years I could ever have envisaged the day I would run in a Boston Marathon. Even now, hours from the start, I don't think I can still quite believe it.

As all of us do before a marathon we need to confront our fears - fear of the cold, fear of the distance, fear of the pain, fear of embarrassment, fear of failure; the fear that emerges from my lack of preparation and poor lead-up form. Yet this is why we do it don't we? We want to stand in front of the monster, scream at it, and prove who is boss.

Tomorrow I am going to show who is boss - "I have promises to keep"
Robert Frost (US poet)

Meet Bill Rodgers

For my second day in Boston I received a real thrill when I met marathon great, Bill Rodgers. Four times winner of the Boston and New York marathons, a former US olympian, and Boston resident, it was Jim Fixx's stories about Rodgers that first got me interested in the Boston marathon all those years ago.

Even though I was just one in a long line to see him at Boston's Hynes Convention Center, Bill was incredibly friendly and was keen to talk. He asked me about Deek and Monas and surprisingly even asked about Benita Johnson who he described as an outstanding runner. He said he had visited Australia to run the Melbourne Marathon and would love to come back. Without me asking he gave me some pointers for Monday's race, suggesting especially that I dress well given the doom-like forecast (see below).

Bill gave me his autograph writing: "Don, run steady on the Boston Hills, Bill Rodgers 2007". While I was waiting to meet Bill, I was chatting to a young American from Florida who had been an exchange student in Australia and at the University of Queensland of all places, which was my alma mater. Small world.

Marathon fever continues to build in this phenomenal city with the weather remaining the main talking point. Boston's two major Saturday dailies ran front page stories on the Marathon. For its headline story the Boston Globe wrote: "With a nasty brew of heavy rain, cold and headwinds forecast for Monday, authorities are scrambling to mitigate the misery of 23,000 runners in what could rank among the worst conditions in the history of the Boston Marathon".

I think I have come well prepared and will be running in my full winter kit but it will be interesting to see what the weather does throw up on Monday. Race organisers have sent emails to all runners with guidelines for avoiding hypothermia and snow is forecast for tomorrow. Gulp!

At least we should have God on our side, judging by this banner I saw outside of the Old South Church near the marathon finish line.

I have never come across a level of anticipation and excitement as I have for the Boston Marathon. It reminds me of the build-up to the Melbourne Cup back home, but yet this is for a road race. The local WBZ TV station continues to give regular weather updates and station promos for its live coverage. Runners are everywhere and you can't go anywhere without being reminded of the race (subway poster at left).

Is there another city in the world with such a devotion to a road race? I would be interested to find out. It's as if all the running gods have descended on this city, this Mecca of the running world for the once in year celebration of the running spirit. For me, the dream continues. Meeting Bill Rodgers just made it even more a bit surreal.

As I write this my friends running the Canberra Marathon should just be coming to the end of their own race. I hope their dreams have come true too.

"Marathon Monday"

I arrived Boston tired but in good shape around midnight local time Thursday (2 pm Canberra time Friday) and am already getting a feel for the extraordinary hold the race has over this city.

The place is abuzz with runners and talk about the Marathon. The streets are adorned with posters (at right) and you just know that that lean looking dude in the running shoes and track pants at any street corner in Boston at present is here to do business on "Marathon Monday" as the locals call it.

The local TV station is already giving regular promos about its upcoming live coverage of the race and the local Boston Globe newspaper even produced a 10-page lift out spread for the race in today's edition (below left). I could never imagine this happening for any race in Australia.

The weather is the big talking point. The temperature in Boston today (Friday 13) ranges from 0 to 4 degrees. Similar temps plus heavy rain and strong winds are forecast for the race itself. It might be spring here but the weather feels like an unpleasant Canberra day in mid-winter. It's chilly.

I have had an easy day so far. I have been to the runners' expo (at right), which is impressive in itself - massive in size - to pickup up my number and other bits and pieces. I have already met some runners from Aus and also had a good chat today to several US runners who had made the trek from Arizona and Pennsylvania.

Such is the feeling around town that I think I am coming to understand Jim Fixx's observation in his Complete Book of Running that Bostonians love their marathon. Even as spectators they look on it with pride and recall the day that they were there in one particular year to watch such and such do battle. The weather might reduce the spectator numbers a little next Monday. But I am still told that crowds of ten deep will line the course up to 500,000 in number. And these people are there there to cheer on the back of the pack guys as much as the elite.

I took a snapshot of the finish line in Bolyston Street (at left) and am trying to imagine what it will be like on Monday. Three days out from the race the atmosphere is already fantastic. It's hard to describe my feelings at present. I just know that my dream has started and I enjoying the sensation.

Time to go as I am trying to squeeze in a light run before it gets dark.

Departure for Boston

My thanks to everyone for your fantastic comments. I have really treasured the wonderful support I have received from friends on-line and off-line and it has all given me a great boost on the eve of my departure for Boston.

Best of luck to all my friends running Canberra on Sunday. I am thinking of each of you and will enjoy catching up with your post-race reports.

For my Boston adventure I am going to break my normal weekly posting habit by trying to post daily if I can. If nothing else, for posterity and for the family record it might be useful for me to record my experiences as things roll along.

I'm currently in the Qantas Club at Sydney International and there is QF11 above at left waiting to take me to the USA. There was once a time in my life when I believed I would never get to visit the United States. I thought I might get their with work at one point. When that didn't eventuate, and after 45 years of waiting, I finally took the family off for a great five week holiday to both sides of the US in 2005.

Of course, lo and behold, what happens? Within a year and half of this trip I do in fact visit the US twice more for work. And now here I am about to go back to the US for the fourth time in 19 months, and for my twelfth overseas trip in that time period. Boston wont be a completely new experience for me as I did visit that beautiful city during my 2005 visit. My family is not with me this time and that will feel strange.

Next stop Los Angeles. I will have about a four hour stop-over there before my American Airlines connection to Boston. I went for a light run near Botany Bay last night and for a Canberra-sider it was great to suck in some warm salty air for a change. I am a little tight this morning and stretching will be a priority on the flight.

The race looms

This will probably be my last post before I leave for my Boston journey on Wednesday and I need to start with an apology. Work and family life have been so frenetic of late that I am badly behind in my blog reading and I am sorry I haven't had a chance to catch up with everyone's news. I have some time on my hands now and will make amends.

Boston is now looming very large on my radar screen and I am well and truly into the detailed planning for the day. Ewen said I would need to rise early to make it to the start of the race in Hopkinton and he is not wrong. My bib number is 7224 and that puts me in the first wave of runners starting at 10 am. This will mean I have to be at Boston Common at 6 am to catch one of the official buses to the Athletes' village near the start. As I will be staying in a hotel in outer Boston I will probably need to set the alarm clock for 3 am or some similar bewitching hour to get ready in time and make it into town.

The pre-race guide makes fascinating reading, not least in conveying the organisational puzzle that underpins the race. I know the BAA have had a lot of practice (this is the 111th running of the race) but to read about the sheer scale of logisitics behind the race, the transport arrangements, medical facilities, pre and post race functions, massage facilities, drink stations, the media arrangements, and so on on is a marathon in itself. The race will televised live throughout Boston and I think nationally throughout the US; 500,000 spectators are expected to line the course, and the field of 23,500 is the second largest in the history of the race.

The race will start at mid-night in Australia Monday 16 April. I have no real idea how I will go but should come in under 3 hours 30, which means I should finish just before 3.30 am Tuesday 17 April. For the utterly bored and sleepless my progress can be tracked on the Boston Marathon website (www.bostonmarathon.org). Just punch in my bib number of 7224 at some spot on the site and hey presto and you should get a read out on some dehydrated and fatigued runner from Downunder struggling to make it up Heartbreak Hill at about the 30k mark. If you do see that, don't bother with the rest of the story. Just go back to bed. I'll be thinking of you.

So there you go. My dream will soon become a reality. The Boston Marathon first caught my imagination when I read Jim Fixx's Complete Book of Running in the early 1980's where he gives a great description of running the race. The book will come along with me to Boston, as will Stephen Lacey's wonderful poem and some other special things from people close to me. What will also come along for the ride will be the many, many stories, of my great friends in Blogland. Meeting so many new friends both virtual and in the flesh through my running has been one of the great revelations of my life. At its core, too, I have my family to thank for putting up with this slightly obsessed runner who has wanted to fulfill this goal for so long. And it will come true.

My preparations, as noted in earlier posts, have not been great. I haven't been able to get beyond one long run of 30k or thereabouts and no week has gone further than 75k in workload. Out of concerns with this adductor injury, I have done no speed work at all - not once, zilch! (Tess - thank you for your comments about taping the adductor injury. When you first raised this I mentioned it to my physio and just last week we had another detailed discussion about the pro and cons of taping it. I am seeing my physio for one last time before the race this Tuesday and we will make a decision whether to tape or not).

On the positive side, though, I have had over a year of solid running to fall back on. And I was very pleased with my run this morning with the Saturday group, which was over very tough, hilly terrain in the Isaacs, Mt Wanniassa and Mt Taylor area. I pushed all the hills hard and felt great, really strong and fast. This was just the 'mental' run I needed with just over a week to go to the race.

I felt so good at one point at racing to the top of Mt Wanniassa (what a brute) that I thrust my arms into the air ala Rocky and let out a loud yowl. I also did a couple of chin-ups on a survey marker for good measure. But as my running buddy Maria had much pleasure in telling me the only thing that responded to my yowl was a dog in the distant reaches of the Tuggeranong Valley, probably on heat, and probably drooling at the mouth that it had received its best offer for a couple of weeks or so!

Frankly, I might get so lonely in Boston I would be happy to have a dog howling for me. And it will be me doing the drooling!