BostonBound59

Entering 2008 I was running about 35-45 minutes per day six days a week. This was a routine I had followed for many years and I had become (lazily) set in my ways. When I turned my attention to qualifying for Boston 2009 in February 2008 I increased these daily runs up to about 60 minutes with weekly long runs of 10-12 miles beginning in March gradually increasing these to 14-15 miles by May, 16-18 miles by June/July and 20-22 miles by late August. I also paid for a 24 week training plan from Greg McMillan http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/ which was key.

Before receiving the plan I filled out a detailed questionnaire on my training habits and goals. I was initially skeptical of following a plan designed via e-mail but needed the structure that a formal training plan would provide.

In addition to the long runs I also learned from the BMI (Body Mass Index) that at 5' 8" (standing up very straight) I was overweight (my BMI was 26.7 above top end of "normal" weight for this height which was 24.9) and certainly too heavy to run a Boston qualifying time (3:35). Here is the link to determine your BMI http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ .

As I gradually increased my weekly mileage up to above 40 miles per week the weight began to come off at a rate of about one pound a week. I did three other things: I made sure I weighed myself every day (and cutting back the next day if I slipped), reduced (but not eliminate) my intake of carbs (breads, bagels donuts etc.) and started eating lots of uncooked fruits and vegetables a couple of times a day when I got hungry.

These changes were not easy at first but eventually became second nature. Looking back, I'm absolutely convinced that in my case the weight loss was as important as the long runs in qualifying for Boston. It not only made the training easier, I had fewer aches and pains after each workout, especially in the lower extremities. I found the weight loss had a compounding effect: the more I ran, the more weight I lost and the more miles I could run and the more weight I lost....etc. etc. I found several well documented medical studies that revealed that for each pound of weight lost resulted in a 4800 lb. lessening of the compressive load on each knee per mile. With a ten pound loss this increased to a 48,000 lb. reduction over a mile. In 2001 I underwent two medial knee meniscectomies and never realized at the time that the likely cause of the small meniscus tears was that I was too heavy. It is my impression many runners (I include myself prior to 2008 in this group) search for "cures" for their lower extremity ailments such as medial or lateral meniscus pain, heel soreness, patella pain, plantar fasciitis etc. They try new shoes, undergo surgery, physical therapy, or chiropractic, take various anti-inflammatory drugs or place heel inserts into their running shoes. The answer however is often simple: lose the weight. In early March 2008 when I was weighing in at a portly 170 (yes better than the 190 a few years earlier but I was still a pudge) my knees would ache after just a 10 mile run. By September after losing close to 30 lbs. I experienced no lower extremity pain despite running 20+ miles each Sunday. Here is just one of many articles detailing the beneficial effects on your lower extremities of even a minor weight loss: http://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/news/20050629/small-weight-loss-takes-pressure-off-knee

At the peak of my training in August/mid-Sept. 2008. I was averaging 60+ miles per week with three weeks over 70. My weight had dropped from 172 in January 2008 to 142 by September 2008. My longest run was 24 miles (on September 14) By years end my mileage totaled 2489.

Despite New Hampshire's small size (44th of 50 states size wise and 41st of 50 in population) it has a very active running community and a large variety of road races. My unscientific guess is that there are more competitive runners in New Hampshire per household than most anywhere in the country. I belong to the Gate City Striders which is the largest running club in New Hampshire with approximately 400 members. Today the 10th Annual Millennium Mile was held in Londonderry, N.H. http://www.millenniummile.com/home.htm This is a point to point, downhill one mile race which begins in front of Londonderry High School and heads straight down Mammoth Road (Route 128) finishing just past Mack's Apples. http://www.macksapples.com/ The race was founded by John Mortimer, a local cross country running legend for Londonderry High School as well as All-American at Michigan. John is currently head cross country coach at the University of Kentucky. The race benefits a scholarship in memory of John's parents Jack and June Mortimer. I've run the race many times and for the last eight years we have encouraged all of our Granite State Flash runners (past and present) as well as parents and siblings to participate as a final running get together of our Flash team before the cold New Hampshire winter sets in. This year we had approximately 40 Flash runners and family members participate and our Flash program director Jan Platt gives out mega-large candy bars to every runner who beats their coach. Several competitors over the years have broken the four minute mile barrier. This year our boys midget coach Mike DeChane left the other Flash coaches in the dust with a time of 5:02. We had quite a few Flash runners win age group awards. Here are the results: http://www.coolrunning.com/results/08/nh/Dec28_Millen_set1.shtml I had many boys from my recently crowned National Champion team either run or cheer on their teammates. I ran 5:24 which wasn't too bad as I ran 14 miles yesterday as well as three consecutive days last Tues., Wed., and Thurs., of 90 minutes (10+ miles) per day. Each year when the gun goes off I practically go into shock at the pace as my lungs nearly explode as I gasp for air heading down Mammoth Road. Its a unique race and today was an unusually warm day (high 50's) for late December in New Hampshire. Starting tomorrow I begin my formal McMillan Training plan so that hopefully will be my last mile race for a while.

I grew up just a few miles from the Boston Marathon course. I developed a love for the race when as a child I would watch the race every year with my mother and four sisters in Framingham (about the 6 mile mark) where we would hand out water and yell out the names of runners published that morning in the Boston Globe. I've attended nearly every Boston Marathon since 1970. At Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School my coach Pat McMahon finished 2nd at Boston in the closest finish ever (5 seconds) up until the legendary 1982 Salazar-Beardsley duel. Pat has been a major inspiration for me over the years. Pat also competed for Ireland in the 1968 Olympic Marathon (Mexico City--where he was 12th). In 1978 at age 19 I made a futile attempt (3:46) as a sophomore at Notre Dame to qualify for Boston at the Mayor Daley Marathon (now the Chicago Marathon). I ran my first Boston in 1982 as a bandit :( in 3:27 and vowed that some day I would actually qualify and run Boston with an official number. In October 2008 at the age of 49 (after the passage of more than 26 years, two knee surgeries and the loss of 32 lbs) I finally qualified for Boston at the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton, Pa. with a 3:23:55. I received a major boost when several members of my Flash team drove 6 hours the day before the race to cheer me along with fellow Flash Coach Rick Collopy. This blog will follow not only the Boston Marathon 2009 progress but my other running interests including coaching the Granite State Flash, training, interesting information from other runners far more knowledgeable and talented than me and last but not least the exploits of the other more talented runners in our running club as well as my family including my wife Cathy who recently ran 3:16 at the Maine Marathon (her first) in October, my oldest son who runs for Columbia University and my younger son who runs for Souhegan High School in Amherst, New Hampshire. Despite my enthusiasm for running, I'm by far the slowest runner in my family.