Training, so to speak, for the week of Sept. 22, 2013:
ran 27 miles, walked 3
For week Sept. 29, run 30 miles including a 15 miler.
MARATHONS AGAIN
The Boston marathon happens about April 15th. About 1980 I went to run one. The day before, the
temperature forecast for the race was 95 degrees; so we went to the beach instead. The only thing in bloom was forsythia in bright yellow. My wife and daughter and I went into the cold ocean in our underwear (beach was deserted). Boston does that to you. In 2003 I dropped out at about 15 miles because of the heat (Why be miserable?) and we drove up to Ipswich on the North Shore - to the beach, of course. Crane Beach, excellent to run on. Ran in the wind, sand and surf and not a building in sight.
At Boston in 2005, my "sponsor" asked me to recount; there were 22 corrals, each for 1000 runners. It didn't start until noon. In full sun, at 85 degrees. My corral didn't start running until 20 minutes after the gun went off. Thanks for chips! The wind was westerly, gentle, at our backs, so worse than useless. I was committed so had to finish this hot Boston. It became windy and at the finish line the space blankets had come loose and were flying through the air as high as the 6th floor of buildings, an extraordinary sight. During my run the temperature remained at 85. [Ed. note: Mike was 83]
In a much earlier Boston I caught up with Walt Stack, a San Francisco hod carrier, famous at 75. We talked a bit. I may have asked him how he did both his work (hods are loads of bricks and heavy to carry up a ladder on a stick - maybe 100 pounds) and regular training on a 17-mile course including
the Golden Gate Bridge. That may be the time he said, "Well, I start off slow...and taper off!"
At the Cincinnati Flying Pig in 2005 I saw noted marathoner Karen Cosgrove helping out at mile 24 and she said " Need some salt, Mike?"
She gave me a McDonald's salt packet as I complained to her, "Why am I so slow? Fifteen minutes slower than last year!"
She replied, "Mike, you're not 82 any more!"
Also at the Pig, about 2006, I was doing pretty well at Mariemont when I spotted a friend watching the race, who was here from Utah and dressed up for church. I talked to him for at least five minutes and maybe missed making a national or world record! Oh well. It was a good chat!
Boston in 1973 had about 1750 runners, all of which I think were male. We assembled at the high school in Hopkinton without nearby restroom. One clever runner laid out a towel on the grass and said "make a circle." So we did, improvising outdoor facilities and did our business there. In the same race many runners ran barefoot, which was more a political statement than an athletic performance issue.
FAQ:
1. What's special about the Boston marathon? Unlike other marathons where you sign up, pay up, and show up, one must qualify for Boston by running a certified marathon fast enough to qualify according to one's age. Such qualifying times are not easy to accomplish and many good runners never qualify in their career. Qualification standards and its age (It's the oldest of them all) make it elite.
Boston used to be the only marathon to demand qualifying for, but there was one at Fukuoka in Japan. Maybe we need some more qualifying marathons since Boston fills up fast. And Boston is as far east as you can get. How about a Midwest and a Western one?
2. And why is it held on Monday instead of a weekend day? Well, it's held on Patriot's Day, which is a state holiday in Massachusetts for one thing. Another is that the route goes past several churches that would be affected by a Sunday race. So it misses out on all the furiously valuable media attention it would get in a weekend. (I thought races were for runners, not commerce.) However many raise
large funds for charities.
ran 27 miles, walked 3
For week Sept. 29, run 30 miles including a 15 miler.
MARATHONS AGAIN
The Boston marathon happens about April 15th. About 1980 I went to run one. The day before, the
temperature forecast for the race was 95 degrees; so we went to the beach instead. The only thing in bloom was forsythia in bright yellow. My wife and daughter and I went into the cold ocean in our underwear (beach was deserted). Boston does that to you. In 2003 I dropped out at about 15 miles because of the heat (Why be miserable?) and we drove up to Ipswich on the North Shore - to the beach, of course. Crane Beach, excellent to run on. Ran in the wind, sand and surf and not a building in sight.
At Boston in 2005, my "sponsor" asked me to recount; there were 22 corrals, each for 1000 runners. It didn't start until noon. In full sun, at 85 degrees. My corral didn't start running until 20 minutes after the gun went off. Thanks for chips! The wind was westerly, gentle, at our backs, so worse than useless. I was committed so had to finish this hot Boston. It became windy and at the finish line the space blankets had come loose and were flying through the air as high as the 6th floor of buildings, an extraordinary sight. During my run the temperature remained at 85. [Ed. note: Mike was 83]
In a much earlier Boston I caught up with Walt Stack, a San Francisco hod carrier, famous at 75. We talked a bit. I may have asked him how he did both his work (hods are loads of bricks and heavy to carry up a ladder on a stick - maybe 100 pounds) and regular training on a 17-mile course including
the Golden Gate Bridge. That may be the time he said, "Well, I start off slow...and taper off!"
At the Cincinnati Flying Pig in 2005 I saw noted marathoner Karen Cosgrove helping out at mile 24 and she said " Need some salt, Mike?"
She gave me a McDonald's salt packet as I complained to her, "Why am I so slow? Fifteen minutes slower than last year!"
She replied, "Mike, you're not 82 any more!"
Also at the Pig, about 2006, I was doing pretty well at Mariemont when I spotted a friend watching the race, who was here from Utah and dressed up for church. I talked to him for at least five minutes and maybe missed making a national or world record! Oh well. It was a good chat!
Boston in 1973 had about 1750 runners, all of which I think were male. We assembled at the high school in Hopkinton without nearby restroom. One clever runner laid out a towel on the grass and said "make a circle." So we did, improvising outdoor facilities and did our business there. In the same race many runners ran barefoot, which was more a political statement than an athletic performance issue.
FAQ:
1. What's special about the Boston marathon? Unlike other marathons where you sign up, pay up, and show up, one must qualify for Boston by running a certified marathon fast enough to qualify according to one's age. Such qualifying times are not easy to accomplish and many good runners never qualify in their career. Qualification standards and its age (It's the oldest of them all) make it elite.
Boston used to be the only marathon to demand qualifying for, but there was one at Fukuoka in Japan. Maybe we need some more qualifying marathons since Boston fills up fast. And Boston is as far east as you can get. How about a Midwest and a Western one?
2. And why is it held on Monday instead of a weekend day? Well, it's held on Patriot's Day, which is a state holiday in Massachusetts for one thing. Another is that the route goes past several churches that would be affected by a Sunday race. So it misses out on all the furiously valuable media attention it would get in a weekend. (I thought races were for runners, not commerce.) However many raise
large funds for charities.
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