Breaking News: Miller wins, De Zutters swarm Coast Guard Duathlon

Big congrats to Paul Miller who took the overall win at the Coast Guard Duathlon this weekend. Paul's crushing bike split and flying second run made him impossible to catch and gave him almost a full minute cushion.

And I suppose it goes without saying that the De Zutters were out in force as well. Even with Jerry up in Maine horsing around on the trails, triathlon's "royal family" was well represented with Jim (70th place in 1:08, 2nd division), Phil (92nd in 1:11) and of course Katherine, winning her division yet again and almost catching Phil in 1:11 also!

All total, they scored 16 Grand Prix points for NETT!

Did I miss anyone?

Pineland Farms race a big success for NETT

Well the Pineland Farms Trail Challenge was a great success for New England Track & Trail. After a pre-race dinner the night before in Portland, NETT members took to the trails early Sunday morning. Here's the results and a bunch of great pictures, courtesy of Doris and Adrienne.

25K
31 3/32 Adrienne Cyrulik 35 F 132 Belmont MA 2:03:13 7:56
33 4/32 Anne McGrail (adrienne's friend) 35 F 220 North Attleboro MA 2:04:35 8:02
49 11/36 John Burke 43 M 95 Cambridge MA 2:11:26 8:28

50K
2 2/28 Dave Hannon 38 M 1 West Roxbury MA 3:47:21 7:20
5 4/28 Paul Young 43 M 82 North Andover MA 3:55:21 7:35
6 5/28 Jerry DeZutter 44 M 117 Hudson MA 4:14:25 8:12
30 7/20 Bogie Dee 34 M 53 Chelmsford MA 4:44:37 9:10

50 Mile
21 1/8 Karen Mahoney-Ringheise 45 F 48 Carlisle MA 8:39:21 10:24


Random race notes: Jerry rode his bike for 1:30 before the race, and drove his car up 3 hours before that. Even I don't think that's normal...Bogie can no longer claim to be slow...Adrienne chopped 10 minutes off her 25K time from last year and Jack Burke chopped off 8 minutes--we should all be so lucky...Karen won her age group in the 50 miler (woohoo!)...Adrienne's friend Ann finished only two spots behind her!...The post-race party lived up to the expectations as always...NETT technically won the 50K team title, but results don't reflect it--it's being looked into...I'm still not sure what a canicross is...Pineland Farm is a dairy farm that used to be mental hospital. Brings new meaning to the term "head cheese."





Here's a couple trail veterans kicking back with a well-earned frosty post-race reward!

WANT MORE PHOTOS? The race director's pics are posted here.

UPDATE: Mini Ponies attack Lions--barefoot!

A few of the hearty NETTers took to the triathlon scene this weekend at the Lions Sprint Tri in Marlboro with our usual great success (are we getting spoiled here or what?). But it was our youngest team member that stole the show.

Martin Bures ripped off his first triathlon of the year at the finished 16th overall and 3rd in his age group. He had the 9th fastest swim split and 9th fastest run split in the race too. Also wrestling with the Lions this weekend were Jim and Katherine De Zutter. Jim had a fantastic bike leg (11th fastest) and cracked the hour mark in 59:29 and grabbed 2nd in the Clydesdale and 38th overall.

And then there was Katherine. Here's her dad Jim's report on Katherine's unique race:

"She had a much better pool time this week a much earlier start than Sudbury and only passed 1 person in the pool. The transition went smooth and the ride turned out to be a bit hilly but the training and spin classes paid off her time was very respectable for the woman’s category. Then came the transition for the run her feet were wet from the ride and she tried several times to slide her Zoots on her feet with no luck. She grabbed her shoes and left the transition with hopes to find a place to put them on the run. I met Katherine at the turn as I was headed back to the finish and suggested to her to just drop them and run she looked at me and kept running until the woman she was with told her I had told her to drop them. She finished the race without shoes a slower run than planned but still a good time considering the lack of shoes [and faster than her dad's run split, we might add!]. Katherine placed 1st in her age group and 77th overall with a time of 1:06. We are off to the Coast Guard Duathlon this weekend hope to see many of the team as it is a Grand Prix race."

Thanks Jim! Look closely at the pic--photographic evidence! You don't mess with a Mini Pony! What a gutsy performance by Katherine! Us old farts can definitely learn a thing or two from this kid!

NETT multisporters Du the Du this weekend

A couple Mini Ponies headed out (in opposite directions) this weekend to represent in New England area duathlons with typically impressive results.

First up, Adrienne Cyrulik kicked complete butt at the Shamrock Duathlon (I doubt she wore the leprechaun costume!) in Glastonbury, Conn. Adrienne finished 84th overall and sixth in her age group in 1:46. Great job Adrienne.

Meanwhile, Frank KJ headed up North to New Hampshire to du the Black Bear Duathlon with great results. Here's Frank's report:

Several times in my 13 seasons of multisport racing I have been close to giving up on swimming and focusing entirely duathlon. Two reasons have repeatedly kept me from going that route; the joy and challenge of swimming open water and the shortage of duathlon races, particular long-distance races.

One of my dreams is to one day race at Powerman Zofingen – a classic duathlon in Switzerland with an 8K run, a 120K bike and 30K run some of which are on trails. This race used to bigger and more prestigious than IM Hawaii. While that race is still on my to-do list, I had the opportunity to do a long-distance duathlon today in Waterville Valley. Ironically it turns out the race was organized by Jan Buitenberg who used to organize and race the Powerman Zofingen back in its hey days. He even knew some of the Danish duathletes I used to train with.

Black Bear Duathlon is a two day event. Saturday was short course (5K/30K/5K) and Sunday was long-course (10K/60K/5K). I woke up 3:40am and drove through shower after shower to Waterville Valley where the clouds were hanging low and the temperature was in the low 50s. Despite that it was obvious to me from the drive up along Mad River that this would be a great venue and a fantastic course.

The showers continued on off until 8am so everybody was ready and eager to get started with the first run on time. The first run, a relative flat two loop course, went behind the lodge, past the golf course, and finished with 1/3 mile on a trail right next to a streaming creek. Probably one of the most beautiful run courses I have ever tried in tri/du race. I had a great run finishing the 10K in just over 38 minutes and in 3rd position.

The bike leg turned out to be even more challenging than I had expected. After just ½ mile the course turns right off Rt. 49 and we have to a 1.5M 5% climb up to the ski lift. With the run still in your legs it’s quite painful. The downhill on the other hand is exhilarating with speeds around 40 mph down a bumpy road – in the aerobars of course. Back on Rt. 49 the downhill continues at a more reasonable but with the wind coming down from the mountain I am still able to push 26-32 mph. At the turnaround point I am still in 3rd place about a minute back the two leaders. Question is: can they climb? Answer: one can, one not so much. The 7 mile climb is fairly gradual at around 2-3% but with the headwind it is tough to push beyond 17-18 mph so it still takes me the entire climb to finally catch number 2. The other guy proves too strong and he increases his lead over me to 2:30. Oh and I forgot to mention the bike leg is two loops as well – including the climb up to the ski lift. I have a good second loop – keeping the same pace as on the first leg - increasing my leg over my pursuer. The lead person is almost 5 minutes ahead of me as return to T2.

Although it hasn’t rained on the entire bike leg the cold temperatures and wet roads have done the damage. My feet are soaked and completely numb so the second run feels like running on stone. Ouch. Luckily, my 2nd place is secure so I don’t have to race but can run steadily to the finish line.

Afterwards, I learn that the guy who won is only 19 years old. That’s a pretty solid bike split for such a young guy, especially since his background is in lacrosse and soccer. More interesting (to me) is that the guy I beat in 3rd place is Luc Morin – a professional triathlete from Canada (http://www.lucmorin.com/). I can now add that to my multisport bio. End result 2nd overall and a great experience.

This was the inaugural race so only about 100 people raced the short course and only about 50 people the long course. With the great venue, fantastic run and bike course and a well-organized event, I hope this race will be back next year. And hopefully more Mini Ponies will join. Paul and Jerry can totally demolish any contenders on the bike leg."

Thanks Frank.

Dima Takes on a BEAR

Never one to sit still, Dima Feinhaus last weekend took to the trails and ran the Bear Mountain 50 Miler in New York State. RESULTS posted here Here's his report:

It was a great day for a race and location was so beautiful. It would be even nicer if not for fog which was covering mountain tops earlier in the day.

When we arrived to the start at 4 am it was dark and raining. A few busy runners were wondering around taking care of their drop down bags and other necessities. Another pleasant surprise: no lines at port-o-johns, besides it was easy to get lost on your way to them.

We met Nikki Kimball before the race and chatted some. She lives in Montana now and hunts all the meat she eats. We were looking for Ben Nephew and couldn't find him, the guy who ended up being Ben was described by Nikki: "For Ben he's too undressed and bottles are too big".

10 min before start some non-runner looking guy was saying some incomprehensible non-sense, but who cares. Ready set go and we're running. It was dark at first, but the path was leading up and runners spread pretty quickly. The most unfamiliar element of the race was running water covered steep rocky uphills and downhills. they were pretty challenging particularly in the dark and closer to the end of the race when legs are tired don't quite do what you'd expect. there were a couple of those in that pitch dark first 40 minutes.

My position after first mile was 20-25. But by the end of the first hour it was more like 30-35. two groups of runners passed me. One of those groups was 5 latin americans (probably brazilians) working together. the group was headed by slim black-haired woman dressed in all black. As i founded out later she was pretty dilligently fighting with Nikki and was pretty close to her for most of the race, but slowed down on the last 10 miles.

From mile 10 to mile 28 i ran with a bunch 20+ guys. One of them was Kevin the Marine. He was talking of his tour of duty in Iraq and how it was pretty boring there and how after coming back they invented challenges for each other. His challenge was 50 miler. Kevin was bragging how he was on duty for 60+ hours without sleep and used to pushing his body beyond the reason. Even though he dropped back pretty suddenly at mile 20 and DNFed. Another guy was Navy sailor. He didn't mince words and run way ahead after 5-7 miles. The longest partner was Kurtis the music theory and cognitive science major from Rochester. I lost the view of him only at the aid station where Karen started pacing me and his brother started pacing him. Kusrtis actually tried to run away at some point but got disoriented on the top of the ridge and I caught up with him. He finished 40 minutes after me and thanked me profusely for support, it was very sweet.

First miles with Karen were pretty tough. However after awhile I picked up speed and soon started passing back people who just passed me. From mile 33 to 40 we were cruising high speed and a bunch of people tried to keep up with us. It was the first extended runnable, relatively flat stretch and it certainly helped. My unfair advantage was going through the mad. It has to be my Russian upbringing. After each mud hole, our entourage had to catch up. Particularly troubled was a young texan. He ran with earphones and would swear very loudly on each stumble. His driving force was to beat his twin brother who's a better runner but ran a 100 miler shortly before the race.

First 30 minutes after mile 40 aid station were tough. At first it was a half mile of asphalt and a gentle uphill afterwards. I had trouble making myself run. A lone 50k girl was struggling along. She told me a story of a gentlemanly tall dark and handsome 50-miler who helped her across the river. Maybe it was her night with a shiny water bottle, who knows.

Miles 42 to 46 were dark and cragy. The were steepest uphills and steepest downhills. there were nobody around but occasional 50k struggler. Karen waited for me at mile 47, we passed together the last aid station at mile 47.2 and the BIG question presented itself: should I try to finish under 11:30. It was whole 2.8 miles to go mostly downhill and only 33 minutes to spare. It was a tough decision. But challenge is challenge and i went all out.

Bottom line, 11:29:49, 38th out of 72 finishers and 131 people at the start line.

Positives: beautiful scenery, much younger friendly running crowd, different terrain, reasonable finish time at a race where almost half runners dropped, nursing pulled heap muscle from mile 10 which never turned into a problem, a single lost nail, no blisters or chaffing, no a single fall, scratch, or stumble

Negatives: too freaking far, orgainizers run it more as a business, rather than a labor of love, mediocre finish line party, some unsafe downhills.

We didn't see Leigh Schmidt at the start, but he had to be there, because he won the race. First three guys were from Massachusetts -- which i think is pretty amazing.

NETT moms (and more) kick butt on Mother's Day weekend

We had some great results over Mother's Day weekend. Here's a couple reports from the field. First, here's Frank KJ's report from the Sudbury Sprint Triathlon:

"The NETT family relay of Nicholas, Tina and Frank was back at Sudbury in another attempt to wrestle Überbiker Don Vescio off the thrown – but unfortunately I did not deliver on the bike leg and we fell short by 47 seconds to take second once again. Nicholas did his job and swam the 400y in 5:20 including passing several slower swimmers. This was 30 seconds faster than last. So shame on me for immediately losing exactly the same time on the bike part! Tina was a strong anchor as always and actually ran 5 seconds faster than last year. I guess I should not be surprised if they ask Paul, Jerry, Joe or Bruce to replace me next year ;-)

It was the day of second places as Jim De Zutter took second in the Clydesdale division and daughther Katherine took second in Female under 19. Jim was flying low and fast like a missile on his new sweet Cervelo.

Big Al Prescott decided it was time to do all 3 legs of a triathlon (as opposed to the swim leg alone) and that so well he placed 6th overall in the competitive M40-44. No surprise that he had one of the fastest swim times of the day. And his wife Judy who has done the race more times than I can count put in her usual solid performance.

Another fun day at the Atkinson pool in Sudbury and more great NETT results. Full results at www.firm-racing.com."

Thanks for the report Frank. And now a report from Karyn Miller-Medzon, who ran the Mom's Run 5K in Somerville:

"Can I PLEASE run a race without a headwind???

I ended up heading out to the Mom's Run 5K in Somerville without the Skittle boys--Noah twisted his ankle playing soccer yesterday so I vetoed his run today (much to his annoyance). And Daniel woke up with a cold and fever so no run for him either.
When I saw the massive buffet table of doughnuts and bagels and yogurts and luna bars inside the VFW post at the starting line I thought maybe I'd just spend the morning eating and pretend I had run.....Somehow I overcame this urge and lined up at the start in beautiful sunshine and VERY heavy wind. There was a lovely tail wind for the first mile, but then we looped around and had a powerful headwind the last mile and a half. It was like being back at wretched mile 23 of the marathon! But it was over in no time. I finished in 23:02 (not my fastest, but good enough to place 2nd in my age group and 9th woman overall.) I figure I'll try another one next weekend (and the weekend after if I have to!) until I find a race WITHOUT wind."

Great work Eminem. Also racing this weekend were Dima Feinhaus at the Bear Mountain 50 Miler, but can't find results just yet.

The Smith Sisters Crush the Pittsburgh Marathon

Today, we are honored to have a guest blog post from Clare Smith (Mary's big sister), reviewing the girls' very strong run at the Pittsburgh Marathon this weekend. Enjoy!

On an overcast Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh, the sisters Smith, Mary and Clare, separated by 457 miles or 735 kilometers, reconnect at the Pittsburgh International Airport. It's been too long since they've seen one another and even longer since they've been able to run together. But this weekend, they’ve joined forces to tackle the Pittsburgh Marathon together and nothing can stop them.

Mary, looking svelte and fit in her AX jeans, approaches the waiting Clare in her favorite "Lucky Mario" Lemieux t-shirt. (Her Pens, however, are losing game 1 of the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs to the HATED Washington Capitals). The girls hop into the Jetta and take off to confirm their race numbers at the marathon expo.

Mary's been given an elite or seeded runners' bib, #369, somehow. Clare is a little lower in the pack #3545, but both are excited and ready to run. After a quick lunch in the historic Strip District in Pittsburgh, they head to a friend’s house for dinner and relaxation before the big day. The girls fall asleep on the couch watching the Pittsburgh Pirates and are in bed by 9 pm.

The alarm goes off at 5 am Sunday and they're up, donning the matching Mizuno Wave Riders, pink City Sports running skirts and black T-shirts (thanks Chrissy!) for the “tag team” effect. Parked downtown by 6am, they have plenty of time to eat breakfast and drop their extra gear at the bag check. The savvy sisters had even scoped out the starting line the night before the race and smartly make the decision to line up between the 8:00-8:30 mile pace, as there was likely to be a nasty bottle neck anywhere behind the 8:30 pack.

After the national anthem and some pep talk by “Boston” Bill Rodgers, the wheel chair racers are off. Now, only 15 minutes until the marathon starts. The crowd numbers approx 10,000 in the corral for the full, half, and marathon relay. Tick tick tick tick tick, the gun finally goes off and they start moving. It takes Clare approximately one minute to reach the start, Mary approximately one minute and one second (this become relevant later).

The first 5K takes them through the Strip, nice, flat running with plenty of crowd support. Aside from the annoying and almost obnoxious pace group, it was great. They cross the 16th Street Bridge and enter the North Shore section. Mary hears her name from a familiar blond—it’s one of Mary's former Clarion Univ XC teammates! They cruise through the North Shore, coming across “Mr I AmSterdam” for the first time. Mary eats and drinks for the first time. The North Shore is known for its historical neighborhoods and the girls cruise by a host of mom and pop businesses. It's also where they pose for their first photo...holding hands raised in the air. The first relay exchange zone is just before the West End Bridge, about mile 7.5. The course makes a hairpin turn and the girls can see the elite runners on the bridge. Clare takes a Lifesaver and offers Mary one too, so Mary eats for the second time. As they cross the West End Bridge, they can see Heinz Field. Mary realizes it's where the Steelers play and says “BOO Steelers.” Bad move--she narrowly escapes being pushed into the Ohio River by a rowdy "Stillers" fan--they're everywhere!!!

Coming into the South Side, about mile 9, the girls hit Carson Street. They make use of the port-a-potties and keep trucking. Clare confesses that she feels half nauseated but eats some jelly beans. Both drink and Mary eats for the third time.

There is McDonald's billboard that shows french fries and Clare almost loses the jelly beans. They see a sign that reads "Your feet hurt because you are kicking ass!" Both laugh and keep rolling, the half marathon runners begin turning off course just before mile 10. Right after that they come up on the Boast brothers. Clare tackles her boyfriend Johnny, gives him a sweaty hug and kiss and they're off again. Carson Street to the Birmingham Bridge is nice running, the course really opened up when the half runners turned off and both girls are feeling pretty good.

Just before crossing the Birmingham bridge they hear a band covering Styx “Renegade” and Clare tells Mary that is "such a Pittsburgh Steelers' song - Let's GO PENS!" Coming off the bridge, they start climbing into Oakland, home of the "always choke in March” Univ of Pitt Men's Basketball team. The Smith sisters, however, are coming on strong and passing many runners on the steep hill. These girls are tough as grandma's cookies. They reach the half-way mark in mid Oakland and enter Shadyside. Mary eats for the fourth time.

As they run down the posh, yuppie lined streets of Shadyside, it begins to drizzle, 2 miles later you can see some rain drops and Aquaphor saves Clare's legs from chaffing--nothing like wearing brand new skirts on race day - however, the sisters did look especially good and it was all worth it.

By mile 18 Clare was beginning to feel a tightness in her right quad. She finally confesses she feels "ok, let's keep going and not talk about it.” Mary looks and feels great, she is cruising along like a machine. Eating and drinking, eating and drinking, eating and drinking. Mary eats for the eighth time. Clare manages down a gel outside of Homewood. Many cheers of "YOU GO GIRLS" follow them through Homewood and East Liberty (not the nicest parts of town). The neighborhood is full of men, women, and children making BBQ chicken.

Coming into Friendship and Bloomfield Clare starts to flashback to the Duquesne days. They run past the old apartment on Stratford Avenue. Mr "I AmSterdam" appears again and starts to chat with the girls. He tells them he's impressed with their consistent pace. Apparently they've been passing each other for the past 22 miles.

Turning onto Liberty Avenue puts goosebumps onto the entire field's neck, the banners honoring Pittsburgh's three fallen officers display proudly and many of the locals are out in their black shirts honoring the officers (the 3 officers killed a few weeks ago attempting to resolve a domestic dispute). This is the hometown of one of the three. Clare is feeling like garbage and it grateful to have her little sister pushing the pace. They start a brutal 3/4 mile downhill at about 23 1/2 miles. The girls politely decline beer from the local hash house harriers. Mary is doing her best to keep Clare entertained, telling her stories about "Crazy Dave" and their 30K training runs and beer. Clare's half delirious and dehydrated at this point, every muscle in her legs start to burn, not just the right hamstring. They push through the last 2 brutally flat miles in the Strip, actually re -running part of the first 5K of the course. They come up on the 26 mile marker and Mary lets out a yell: "4 minutes to qualify for Boston!!! Let's GO!!!" Heads are lowered, legs and lungs burn and the girls make their way into the chute. They join hands, raise them up into the air and cross the finish line together.

Mary 96th woman, 576/3453 overall 3:38:23. Clare 97th woman, 577/3453 overall 3:38:24. Both are happy and exhausted, just as they should be after a marathon. They claim their medals and pose for one more picture.

All in all, the Smith sisters rocked the Pittsburgh Marathon. They loved running one together and can't wait to tackle the next challenge. The 457 miles between them doesn't stand a chance!!

The World is Just Full of Mini Pony Fans!

Believe it or not there are more mini pony fans out there than you realize. I recently came across a blog called "Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies" written by a person who is a fan of, well, Pittsburgh Sports and mini ponies. I mean REAL mini ponies. I was so impressed, I got in touch with him and mentioned to him that we are the Mini Ponies and we had a member (Mary) and her sister run the Pittsburgh Marathon this weekend. And, to my amazement, he said he KNEW of our site already! And this morning, he even posted a photo of our members up on his blog here:
http://psamp.com/

Go Mini Ponies! Go Mini Ponies! Go Mini Ponies!

Race Updates: Cure is Coming 5K, Pittsburgh Marathon, etc

Big congrats this weekend to two NETT members, Jerry De Zutter and Mary Smith, who each pulled off impressive tasks.

Mary ran her second marathon this weekend, the Pittsburgh Marathon, with Sister Clare and both finished very well in 3:38. This being the return of their "hometown" marathon, the Sisters Smith ran the whole race together and cracked the top 100 women in the huge field of almost 3,500 runners. They were 26th and 27th in the women's 25-29 age group (crazy kids!). Great teamwork.

For his part, Jerry pulled of a very successful semi-debut as a race director at the Cure is Coming 5K for ALS in Lexington on Saturday, with a lot of the extended NETT (and De Zutter) family helping out. NETT members were all over the course, both in the race and volunteering. The NETT ladies looked extra stylish in their new singlets. Adrienne Cyrulik was second woman overall in 20:05 and Katherine De Zutter was third in the 0-29 age group (she's 13!) in 21:38. On the men's side, Dave Guertin dusted off the cobwebs in 20:21 and Jim De Zutter cranked out the 8s for a sub-25 clocking.

The post-race festivities in Lexington Center were top-notch with food from Jasper White's Summer Shack and a long list of awards and raffle that kept participants happy and raised money for ALS research.

Big props go out to Frank and Tina for getting up early to mark not only the 5K run course, but the separate four mile walk course as well with great signage. As if that wasn't enough, Frank hopped on the mountain bike and led the runners on the course and Tina worked as course marshal. Dave and Doris chipped in as course marshals and course sweep. Rod and Mike M worked the water stop great. And Jerry's tireless wife Jennifer just seemed to be everywhere, at registration, post-race cleanup, mom duties, and even crossing guard at one point! I'm sure there's plenty more volunteers Jerry would like to thanks as well.

All in all it was a great event and big kudos go out to Jerry for the work he put in in his first official duties as RD (at least to my knowledge?).

Photos courtesy of WangPix International.

And as if Tina wasn't busy enough volunteering, getting enlightened by the Dalai Lama and outlet shopping, she managed to sneak in a second-place finish in the Exercise for Education 5K race in Burlington on Sunday. She says: "I wanted to test the water after Boston Marathon in preparation for our Sudbury triathlon relay race next weekend. I felt okay in the beginning and was leading more than half way through. But definitely could feel the speed was not there. With a half mile to go, can't believe a 58 year old woman passed me. I tried to move my legs faster. But my legs were just not listening. I settled for second place overall and missed the first place by one second." Congrats!

The Rick Report: Boston, in two parts

For those who were wondering, our illustrious running pal and story-teller Rick Cleary had a bad day at Boston this year and registered a DNFY--that's did not finish YET. As has been his tradition in the many many many (did I say many too much) Boston Marathons, if he is forced to DNF, Rick goes back to the spot he dropped later and finishes the run. And true to his word, this year was no exception. Here's Rick's report:

"I finished the 2009 Boston Marathon this morning (May 1), crossing the line 264:48:07 after the second wave gun was fired last Monday. Given the 71 seconds to cross the starting line back on Patriots' Day, my chip time is 264:46:56. Nice to be in under the challenging 265 hour mark, though I was almost 261.25 hours past my needed qualifying time for 2010.

A few highlights of the run in from the point where I stopped at the Woodland T-stop last Monday:

I chose today because my son Tommy had his three year old doctor check up, and his pediatrician's office is quite near where I dropped out so it was easy for Ann to leave me off there. If you ever want a warm up to elevate your heartrate, I suggest holding 31 pounds of wiggly toddler that needs to have blood drawn for a lead screening. Way better than stretching.

-I realized running up Heartbreak Hill is MUCH easier without doing 17 miles ahead of time. It's quite a nice neighborhood when you're not exhausted.

-As I neared mile 21, I had a sudden impulse to veer off the course and run right over to work, and keep doing the course a little at a time over more days. This time I worked through it and kept on track.

-I ran a little under nine minute pace for the part I did today, about 8:30s in the early miles when you don't have so much traffic and slower once in town where there was a lot of standing around at street corners. Adding how long I ran before I quit last Monday and how long I ran today I did a 3:48:30 marathon with about 261 hours of rest.

-There were people giving away free samples of Quaker "Mini Delights Multi Grain Chews" right at the Boston finish line; so it felt a little like the real post race! I didn't get anybody to take my picture or anything.

With this year's race done, time to decide if I should try to re-qualify...