Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Beautiful Views at 1000 feet







Despite having one city with a population of 110,000 just 10 miles to the north and another city of nearly 90,000 only 15 miles to the south we are lucky to live so close to many beautiful rural country roads. One of the most scenic routes we run on a regular basis starts in Amherst, passes into Mont Vernon and then crosses into New Boston on Joe English Road. I've written about this route before but on Monday with temperatures in the low 70's, a slight breeze and barely a cloud in the sky this route was literally right out of a travel guide. We are now training for the Mt. Washington Road Race on June 20 and decided this was a good time to run this hilly course (despite a sore left knee). I carried my digital camera with me and posted a few pictures as we reached the top of Joe English Road just over the line in New Boston. We can thank New Hampshire's current use law for these shots. The elderly property owner who has lived on this property his entire life told me on Monday that he had been offered close to $15 million by several developers for the property just a few years ago. He is able to preserve his property and stay in his home because of the New Hampshire current use land tax law which significantly reduces his property taxes provided he maintains it in a rural, undeveloped state. For my own selfish reasons I hope he never sells.

Posted by Mike Merra at 10:42 PM  

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Saturday, May 23, 2009

Post Boston Aches and Pains


My initial recovery from Boston was much easier than expected and within ten days I was back to daily 60+ minute easy runs. Unlike my Boston qualifier in October 2008 (where I dragged for more than three weeks after the race) I felt literally no pain in the days after the race other than some expected soreness in my quads. By the end of April I had put Boston in the rear view mirror and turned my attention to the Mt. Washington Road Race on June 20 as well as picking a Fall marathon. Everything changed on May 2 when I headed out on an easy long run with a group of fellow Gate City Striders who regularly run on Saturday mornings in Hollis, N.H. While the 75 minute run was fun within a few hours I felt a sharp pain developing in my left knee when flexing it at 90 degrees and by the evening I could barely flex the knee at all without severe pain in my medial meniscus, exactly the spot where I underwent a partial knee meniscectomy in 2001. Not good news. Actually really bad news. I then missed 6 straight days of running (more than I missed in the previous 6 months) and after running just 30 minutes on May 9 and flying to Philadelphia for the day to watch Anthony run I could barely walk without pain after getting off the plane. I then spent the next week on the elliptical at my health club and while I'm now back to easy running the left knee pain, although not debilitating, is still present. My sister and her husband are both orthopedic surgeons and essentially told me I'm doomed (I'm slightly exaggerating) so I've been icing it several times a day, taking Advil and hoping its just a bad case of tendonitis and not a new tear. I'm still on track to run Mt. Washington on June 20 but it will be a challenge at best. Several other runners have told me that they have experienced similar delayed post-Boston injuries, the theory being that the injury may have occurred during the course of the 26 miles but doesn't actually manifest itself until several days or weeks later. We ran an easy 10 miles this morning and we are in NYC tonight bringing Anthony home from Columbia and will run long in Central Park in the A.M. so hopefully I'm back on the mend.

Posted by Mike Merra at 11:19 PM  

Friday, May 15, 2009

My Final Boston Marathon Post





This will be my final post on this year’s Boston Marathon. I will however try to continue posting over the Spring and Summer so stay tuned. Overall, I was happy with my race (274th out of 1826 in my age division) and was extremely lucky to have run essentially injury free for 13 straight months. I ran every day but four between January 1 through race day on April 20 and just a little more than a year ago never imagined that another Boston was even remotely possible. My race pales in comparison to many other friends who ran Boston (see below) most notably my wife Cathy who finished in 3:11:59 placing her 4th overall in her age division. She ran close to Nancy Corsaro (3:06-2:40 in the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials) and in front of Brenda Walton of Tennessee, who competed in the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials. Below is a list of some New Hampshire running friends—please forgive me if I left you out—if I did, email me and I’ll add you :

John Stanzel, Manchester (2:58:38) John is a lawyer friend who has only been running a few years—his 1st Boston

Mike Wright, Milford (2:59:42) Mike is the Milford H.S. and Gate City Strider youth coach

Steve Piper, Hollis (3:15:32) Steve underwent surgery in 2008 yet comes back at age 54 to run a 9 minute PR)

Karen Long, Nashua (3:17:11) a Strider and top masters runner, Karen runs an 11 minute Boston PR.

Mike Craig, Manchester (3:21: 57) a Manchester lawyer and John Stanzel’s cousin—we all did a brutal early March 22 miler on the hills of Mont Vernon where they left me in the dust.

Rick Collopy, Durham (3:29:16) Rick’s first Boston, he is a Flash coach and my October 2008 Steamtown travel and Boston qualifying companion.

Jim Belanger, Nashua (3:35:51) See Jim’s picture above—his 15th and final Boston—we ran together the first few miles

Yuki Chorney, Mont Vernon (3:39:36) Yuki ran a qualifying time for next year

Jennifer Rood , Manchester (3:44:48) Another NH lawyer friend and our Flash youth girls coach—due to a serious back injury forced to train most of the winter in the pool and on the elliptical machine—yet easily breaks 4 hours. Was top NH Woman in 1991.

Paul Joyce, Milford (3:49:51) Paul is the Milford Track Coach and multi year Boston participant—a Boston PR for him)

Janice Platt, Amherst (3:52:01) The Granite State Flash Program director as well as a talented runner and coach

Dave Contrada, Nashua (3:52:01) Dave wins the Purple Heart Award-He finishes Boston despite being tripped, landing on his face yet gets up to run the next 13 miles covered with blood & with two black eyes

Mark Sage, Hollis (3:56:10) On the Strider E-board—an organizer of the Hollis Saturday morning running group

Shu Minami, Mont Vernon (4:12:19) Shu is Yuki’s dad turned and 70 this year.

Dave Salvas, Amherst (4:35:12) Dave is a Striders and Team in Training Coach who ran 8 marathons over the last year

Dan Dugan, Nashua (4:44:36) A Strider E-board member, organizer of the Strider Bus and a talented runner-he ran 3:39 at the 2008 Baystate and is already training on the McMillan Plan for Boston 2010—where I predict he will be sub 3:30

Jim Callahan, Sharon (5:33:26) Jim is my former law partner at Sullivan & Gregg- He ran the Antarctica Marathon earlier this year—finished Boston despite becoming sick at the halfway mark

Posted by Mike Merra at 11:03 PM  

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Monday, May 4, 2009

Boston Marathon Part IV-The Final Five Miles








Once you reach the crest at BC the crowds are enormous and while I was relieved the hilly five mile stretch that comprises Heartbreak Hill was now behind me, my relief was tempered by the fact that I still had five miles of difficult running left. I also noticed the wind picking up and many in the crowd were now wearing hats and jackets.

We descended over the trolley tracks and onto Chestnut Hill Ave and then into Cleveland Circle before taking a left onto Beacon Street. It is at this point in the race you realize you are now actually in Boston. While running in Wellesley and Newton you feel far removed from the city but the apartment buildings and brownstones lining Beacon Street along with the trolley tracks immediately to your left, let you know you’re a long way from Hopkinton and heading down the home stretch. I passed through this difficult 5k stretch from 30k -35k in 24:40, a just a little over a minute slower than my six previous 5k splits through 30k (23:22 avg.) and only about 1 ½ minutes over sub 3:20 pace. Despite being close to my goal I knew I was starting to run out of gas and was about to hit the proverbial wall. When I hit the wall it involves a sensation of losing my regular steady cadence and rhythm and each running step starts to feel wobbly and unsteady as my feet hit the ground. I kept reminding myself that we had done nine training runs in excess of 20 miles in preparation for this race with four of those 23 milers on terrain (with the exception of Central Park) far more difficult than Boston. This helped me handle the unpleasant sensation of being completely depleted of glycogen or expressed in simpler terms, running on dead legs. I told myself that as long as I could see pavement moving underneath my feet, I’d be ok and eventually get to the finish line.

I passed through Coolidge Corner in Brookline within a block of where I lived while attending law school in Boston and right by one of the T stops I would take to class every day. It seemed like forever before I could see the famous Citgo sign. Finally, it appeared far off in the distance next to Fenway and immediately after spotting the Citgo sign and approaching the Mass. Pike overpass I could see the Hancock tower slightly off to the right. You’d expect to feel a sense of relief when you see these landmarks but they look so far away my spirits sagged a bit so I decided to keep things simple so I kept my focus on the ground and the pavement moving underneath my feet. I ran miles 22, 23 and 24 at 7:50, 7:57, and 8:08 and I then passed the 40k (24.8m) mark at 3:10:18 (25:21 5k split) my slowest mile of the day at 8:30 for mile 25. I needed to be 3:08 at the 40k mark to have any shot at 3:20 and knew I had about 10 minutes of running left. Then within a few minutes of passing 40k I got a big boost when I saw the “One Mile to Go” sign. When I coach my cross country runners on the Granite State Flash we usually try to have the team visualize how far they are from the finish based on laps on a track. Before the race we always walk off as a team the mile to go (1600 meters), 1200 meters, 800 meters and 400 meter marks. Usually we pick a tree, stonewall or other landmark so even if they are near the end of the race and can’t see the finish line (which is very common in cross country) they know exactly where they are in relation to the finish by equating it to laps around the track. So when I passed the mile to go sign I knew I had just four laps around the proverbial track and felt my legs come back to life (somewhat) and pressed as hard as I could and suddenly arrived at Hereford Street where I took a hard right and where the screaming crowds were literally five deep and then about 150 meters later a sharp left onto Boylston where I could see the finish line in the distance. Cathy's brother Phil was in this area and took the great photo of Cathy above and I'm disappointed I missed him. I could see the finish line and timing clocks as well as the hundreds of other runners approaching the end at the same time. The crowds are so loud down this final stretch you can’t even hear yourself breathe. Finally, I crossed the timing mat and it was over: 3:21:15. While I was about 75 seconds over my goal I was happy and relieved as this was 6 minutes faster than my last Boston in 1982 (age 23) and a PR. Literally seconds after coming across the line I ran into fellow Strider Steve Moland who was working the finish line and he grabbed me (and 10 minutes earleir Cathy) for the brutal pictures posted above. About two minutes later I received a text from my friend Roy Seliber who was following me in Seattle, Washington who texted me Cathy’s time of 3:11:59, 4th overall in the women’s 50-54 age category. After 13 months and more than 3000 miles of training, it was all over.

Posted by Mike Merra at 9:56 PM  

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Friday, May 1, 2009

Boston Marathon Part III-Wellesley to BC





Just after passing the 13.1 mark in downtown Wellesley the course bears slightly left off of Rt. 135 onto Rt. 16 and then stays on Rt. 16 for the next 4 ½ miles. Miles 14 and 15 are relatively flat and I passed the 14th mile in 7:33 and the 15th mile (which passes in front of Marathon Sports in Wellesley and then immediately over Rt. 9) in 7:40, slightly slower than the 7:27 I had maintained through 13 miles but I knew that mile 16 had a large downhill section as the course descended into Newton Lower Falls. I made up some time and ran mile 16 in 7:20, still feeling pretty strong but I knew that a sub 3:20 marathon would be a very close call because the headwinds which had been blowing at a steady 10 mph for the first half of the race from Hopkinton had picked up considerably and were now in the 15-20 mph range. Despite the wind being directly in our face it actually felt good and the crowds were very large and enthusiastic throughout this stretch. Long time marathon race director Dave McGillvray says he finds this part of the course the most difficult because as you reach Newton Lower Falls you can see right in front of you that first long Newton hill which passes over Rt. 128. This is a tough stretch where you are wide open and exposed over Rt. 128 and contending with not only the first difficult hill but high winds and the knowledge that you haven’t yet even reached the heart of the course. I agree. Once you reach the top of this incline you pass by the Woodland Golf course on your left and then Newton-Wellesley Hospital on your right before swinging right onto Rt. 30 at the Newton fire house. It helped that Cathy and I had run this stretch of the course beginning at the hospital twice during our winter training but I'll concede fit feels quite different starting at that point on a Sunday morning with fresh legs versus having run 16 hard miles over the course of nearly two hours. Just before we reached the right hand turn at the fire station I felt I was still running strong when suddenly fellow Gate City Strider Steve Piper (age 54) blew right by me on my right as if I was standing still and I patted him on the back wished him well and soon lost sight of him (he was on his way ultimately to a fantastic 3:15). He said later he never even saw me. There was a live band playing at the fire station and now it was make or break time up to Boston College. I ran mile 18 at in 7:41 (still on pace) then got a boost when I saw one of our Flash runners Keith Thibault (now at Brandeis) right in front of Brae Burn. I knew I was now only one mile away from our Granite State Flash cheering section at mile 19 directly in front of Newton City Hall where I would be joined by two of our Flash runners, Alex Peck from Stratham and Cam Dumont from Hampton. I passed the 30k (18.6 miles) still on pace at 2:20 overall (7:31 pace). The crowds were much heavier than I ever remembered so I was worried that I might miss our group when all of a sudden I saw Kate Collopy (her husband Rick, a Flash coach was also running) jumping up and down and waiving (she had followed my splits on her cell phone) then I saw Annemarie Peck so I knew I was in friendly territory. This gave me a huge boost as Alex and Cam jumped out onto the course with their Flash singlets with Cam on my left and Alex on my right and off we went. This was by far the highlight of my day as I got a kick of adrenaline as the wall of kelly green ascended Heartbreak. While a few people had cheered for the Flash in the previous miles, once the boys joined me the cheers picked up ten fold (should I take something from that?) I could tell they were both amused by the crowd reaction as well as thrilled leading their 50 year old coach up the heart of the marathon course. Alex updated me on who was leading the race and told me Cathy had passed by about seven minutes earlier. I was also looking for my parents and cousin Joe and his family and was concerned I had missed them when all of a sudden I saw my Dad to my right as he snapped the picture posted above as well as the two earlier pictures of Cathy. These miles passed quickly but due to the size of the crowd I missed getting my split at the 20 mile mark at Centre Street but we made it to the top of Heartbreak in just under 8 minute mile pace. I also saw my Amherst running buddy and long time friend Charlie Lawrence and his son Sam (a sophomore at BC) on this final hill. Once we reached BC (the crowds were deafening at this point—aided of course by what I could see as beer kegs every 50 feet) I gave each boy a low 5 and they reversed back to return to their families on the carriage road that runs along the other side of the course. I was now on my own….a little more than 5 miles and 40 minutes of running to go….

Posted by Mike Merra at 9:40 PM  

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