RHODE TO BOSTON
So as some of you may know a little know race called the Boston Marathon is fast approaching and we have ourselves a solid crew heading up there. I thought I'd reach out to our atheletes to see how their training is going and how they're feeling going into the big race! Below are all the folks taking part and some of their thoughts be sure to track them on race day!
Wave 1 (10:00am start time)
* Eric Lonergan - Corral 1 (#149)
* Jason Ashley - Corral 2 (#1891)
* Kurt Mias - Corral 3 (#2948)
* Eric Rudman - Corral 5 (#4095)
* Mike Muschiano - Corral 5 (#4587)
* Serge McKhann - Corral 6 (#5825)
Wave 2 (10:25am start time)
* Paul Chekal - Corral 2 (#9583)
* Brian Patrick Mulligan - Corral 3 (#10671)
Wave 3 (10:50am start time)
* Wendy Billings-Litke - Corral 2 (#17958)
* Mary D'Arcy - Corral 3 (#18712)
Wave 4 (11:15am start time)
* Liz Goodermote - Corral 4 (#27078)
* Paul Morrissey - Corral 4 (#27164)
* Allison Johnson - Corral 6 (#29808)
Eric Lonergan (Aka: Me)
So hows my training going? In one word terrible. With some personal things going on the past few months I've put my running on the back burner and am doing everything you should not do to train for a marathon...jamming all my training into one month. Zero to Hero. I've thought to myself the main goal here should be to experience the Boston Marathon and just get across the line...but being the competitor I am I'd like to at least put in the effort I think necessary. I hear folks talking about 20 milers and tempo runs and I think boy I haven't done any of those I better get to it! So I'm cranking out a bunch of miles for a few weeks bracing myself for injury (too much, too fast, too soon) and running literally with my fingers crossed until race day.
Paul Morrissey MD
"It was a strange winter with not too much snow, but enough, some warm days and now the unofficial start of spring in Massachusetts is upon us. A very windy and cool New Bedford 13.1 provided a good tune up and assessment of current fitness.
Now we’ll see what weather is brought upon us April 17th by the increasingly unstable climate.
On the bright side, this will be our last chance to run 26.2 with (or should I say well behind) Meb."
Kurt Mias
"I’m definitely feeling very fit and ready for April 17th. Training has gone really well considering I caught a few colds this season. My mileage is currently at around 60-64 miles. A typical training week includes 6 days of running with a big tempo or speed workout on Wednesday, and then a substantial long run on Sunday. An example of a Wednesday workout I’m doing this week is 3 x 3 miles at a faster/moderate tempo pace with a little recovery in between. I also make sure I do my tempo runs on courses that have rolling terrain. Sunday’s long run is either at straight aerobic pace or it’s infused with something like “hot” marathon paced miles.
On some of the easier days I typically inject a bit of speed in the legs by completing some strides or some “uptempo” pick-ups at the end of a run. I’ve been trying to really be good about getting in regular foam rolling, stretching, massage, and core work. And meditation! And a morning green smoothie! I’m definitely nervous for the race. I know how hard this course is, and I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself to PR and run a fast race. I unofficially PR’d at my half-marathon tune-up race this month, so that’s a big confidence booster. I think with this being my fourth marathon, I’m going to try to really apply all of the lessons I’ve learned in regards to training and racing at this distance. I’m wicked excited though, and can’t wait to see what happens on April 17th!"
Allison Johnson
"Like everyone else I am sure, I have aches and some foot pain but feel pretty good overall. My last long run was on Saturday, March 25; I ran the first 21 miles of the course, finishing on Heartbreak Hill, woo!
A few things have helped immensely to make me feel prepared for Boston:
Actual training runs on the course have helped with focus; and made it fun to run someplace different.
Consistently running 4 days a week with Saturday and Sunday runs(thank you Geoff!) and 2 days crosstraining.
Most of all, the strength training from RR bootcamp has made a big difference in my running endurance. Fabio’s Bootcamp has helped physically by strengthening me overall as well as my core, but equally importantly has strengthened me mentally from endurance for the workouts – you have personal knowledge about that!
I am excited to see everyone’s hard work pay off on Marathon Monday, I am so proud of everyone giving their best effort especially when life gets in the way and you have to adapt training. The winter weather has made training challenging for sure, but difficult conditions only make you stronger."
Putting in the work makes all the difference. I think no matter the outcome of the race you all clearly trained hard and earned the right to run the Boston Marathon. Go Get Em!
Eric