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Tuesday, April 19

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by
USMS MemberThe Fortress
, April 19th, 2011 at 08:38 PM (3080 Views)
Had a fabulous weekend in Boston! The city was packed with runners and the atmosphere was great. All the first timers, including Mr. Fort, couldn't believe the level of crowd support. There were crowds cheering every inch of the way. It was also a beautiful day for running and spectating (unlike today).

Mr. Fort was hoping to go a 3:30, but ended up at 3:40. I thought 3:30 was optimistic given that he'd hardy run in 3 weeks. But he was on pace until the Newton Hills. Oddly, he had no hamstring issues -- it was his quads that betrayed him after the long downhills. His training partner completely blew up on mile 18. In fact, I didn't hear very many people that were happy with their times. Still, he was happy to finish, and very happy that he and Lil Fort got to run the 5K on Sunday. He has to now re-evaluate whether he wants to run another marathon to get a BQ for next year (maybe Lehigh in Sept.) or continue to focus on biking as he did most of last year.

As I predicted, I didn't swim for 3 days. I estimate that I got about 10 miles of walking in though, so that was probably good for the legs. I sat in the whirlpool for a long time on Sunday, but only did about 10 laps in the hotel pool -- too crowded. Unfortunately, I got very little sleep and am now extremely tired. I can't sleep in hotels at all.

I'm also having some second thoughts about Canadian Nationals. May-June is going to be a very busy time (regattas, soccer, trip to Dartmouth, summer swim starting, mom visiting, graduation), not a good time for a trip. And I just realized today, doh, that the meet is the same weekend as the Stotesbury Regatta in Philly where both my kids will be rowing. http://www.boathouserow.org/rega11/scr11.html. On the the other hand, if I don't go, I likely will not have a masters meet until late August. The other option is to re-join USAS and do either the local VA or MD LC State Champs the end of May or beginning of June. I'll have to mull it over. Maybe after a couple days sleep, I'll be dying to go.

I received my Speedo silicone low profile nose clips in the mail. They are absolute crap too -- way too big. I need to return those and the TYR clips. My regular Speedo competition nose clip is sold out almost everywhere, but I finally found a site that had them in stock and ordered 8.

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Updated April 19th, 2011 at 09:35 PM by The Fortress

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  1. qbrain's Avatar
    USAS only has one 50...
  2. mj_mcgrath's Avatar
    The Boston winner wasn't complaining about slow times--2:03:02--wow! WB should be a WR despite tailwind.

    Still, 3:40 is pretty darn good considering the relatively slow (narrow streets) and downhill first 5k in 25 minutes that beats up your quads. And of course it's called the Heartbreak Hills for good reasons. Congrats to Mr. Fort.
  3. knelson's Avatar
    What time did he run to qualify?

    Boston is a fun town. Wow, it's been a decaide now since I've been there.
  4. The Fortress's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by qbrain
    USAS only has one 50...
    Sometimes in LCM, they have the other 50s. But not every meet.
  5. The Fortress's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by mj_mcgrath
    The Boston winner wasn't complaining about slow times--2:03:02--wow! WB should be a WR despite tailwind.

    Still, 3:40 is pretty darn good considering the relatively slow (narrow streets) and downhill first 5k in 25 minutes that beats up your quads. And of course it's called the Heartbreak Hills for good reasons. Congrats to Mr. Fort.
    Because of his high stress job, Mr. Fort uses running for fun and stress relief. I'm sure he was much less concerned about this time and splits than most runners there. He loved the experience and thought it was a great race.
  6. The Fortress's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by knelson
    What time did he run to qualify?

    Boston is a fun town. Wow, it's been a decaide now since I've been there.
    He ran a 3:32 at the York marathon on a relatively flat course. Those were the first 2 marathons he'd run since his early 30s, so he was fine with it.

    I LOVE Boston. One of my favorite towns. Really had a great time tooling around there for the 3 days.
  7. jaadams1's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by The Fortress
    Sometimes in LCM, they have the other 50s. But not every meet.
    I'm signed up for a USA-S meet that is offering 50s of all the strokes for the 13 & overs. I'm in the 50 LCM Fly that weekend.
  8. The Fortress's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by jaadams1
    I'm signed up for a USA-S meet that is offering 50s of all the strokes for the 13 & overs. I'm in the 50 LCM Fly that weekend.
    Exactly, I've seen that before. My kid used to do some 50s. But they don't put the meet events up for a looong time, so it's hard to plan your life around those meets.

    If I was feeling really gung ho, I'd taper for CN and then enter some 50s in a USA meet (assuming they were available).
  9. Jazz Hands's Avatar
    USAS is totally run by distance dorks.
  10. The Fortress's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Jazz Hands
    USAS is totally run by distance dorks.
    Yeah, pretty true.

    But the kids did swim 50s at Jr. Nationals this year. They should do them more often since the rest of the world regularly competes in 50 meter distances.
  11. Jazz Hands's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by The Fortress
    Yeah, pretty true.

    But the kids did swim 50s at Jr. Nationals this year. They should do them more often since the rest of the world regularly competes in 50 meter distances.
    No surprise that junior nats is hip to the 50s, since USAS doesn't run that one. All of their "real" nationals only have "serious" events. To represent USA in, say, the 50 fly at a world championship, swimmers have to qualify in other events. Super lame.
  12. The Fortress's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Jazz Hands
    To represent USA in, say, the 50 fly at a world championship, swimmers have to qualify in other events. Super lame.
    And then USA swimmers often skip the 50s or aren't very ready to swim them. The only swimmer I recall offhand doing well in a 50 stroke was Rebecca Soni.
  13. aztimm's Avatar
    I heard mixed things about Boston this year too. A guy who does track here regularly finished around 3 hours (I can't remember his exact time), yet my friend in NYC who was hoping for 3:05 got a horrible side stitch and was around 3:40.

    That Lehigh Valley marathon looks like a similar course as the half that I'm doing there soon. I'll let you know how I fare and you can pass it to Mr Fort. If he doesn't want that, I'm scheduled for Steamtown in Scranton on Oct 9, which is supposed to be another good fast race, and not too much further from home for you.

    I was hoping you'd find a pool for at least something. I'll be in Boston in Sep and I was looking forward to you finding one for me . I have a couple running routes, so may just plan running. I'd think the schools would have pools, but open to the public is another story.
  14. The Fortress's Avatar
    Yeah, I was with a bunch of runners from a running forum and only one of them did well (2:49). Everyone else seemed to cramp or blow up. If you're not used to a course like Boston, it seems to really crush the muscles. From what I gather, most people do not expect to PR there.

    Scranton is past the cutoff date for a BQ time. September is the very latest you can do it.

    I didn't make much of an effort to swim. I was too busy with friends and fam and some sightseeing. I'm sure there are masters groups there you could drop in with.
  15. qbrain's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by The Fortress
    Sometimes in LCM, they have the other 50s. But not every meet.
    So you are going to try to pass as an 8 and under?
  16. Speedo's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by qbrain
    So you are going to try to pass as an 8 and under?
    She'd need some serious luffas and moisturizer to do that
  17. qbrain's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Speedo
    She'd need some serious luffas and moisturizer to do that
    She has the height.
  18. Speedo's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by qbrain
    She has the height.
    Careful, she may bust your kneecap.
  19. qbrain's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Speedo
    Careful, she may bust your kneecap.
    More likely bite my ankle.
  20. quicksilver's Avatar
    You guys are in deep water.
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