Training Log Archive: bl

Boston marathon day, #123. Fcst was rain & doom & gloom but no rain fell until late. There was a fair amount of sun, with reasonable temps. At one point our raincoats and umbrellas seemed quite superfluous but it did rain somewhat hard several times, starting maybe 2pm. Usual fine spring flowers and colors around the Commons & Gardens tho a bit behind other mid-Aprils.

We spent most of our time on Hereford St. I spent close to an hour at the corner of Comm Ave & Hereford. Caught sight of Ernst there. The BAA app gave notice but still his one face briefly in a sea of faces & then he was by & gone, on the way to a 3:08. We spent close to an hour with a 51 y/o woman from FL (ex-Canada…didn’t like the winter cold) whose 67 y/o husband was running his first Boston. He qualified 5 yrs ago but then was found to have stage 3 colo-rectal ca. He spent 4 yrs fighting it with surgeries & chemo, re-qualified and now was on pace for about a 4 hr run. He had a goal of running the 6 prestigious marathons: Boston, Chicago, Berlin, NYC, Tokyo, and London. He’d now completed the first 3 and has entered NYC this fall.

So many people, faces, up and downs, inspirational examples and nonstop cheering of the crowds for each & every runner. We walked down the middle of Newbury St on the way back to the car, savoring sights all directions.

I thought of marathons past: ’67,” of "K. Switzer” the first woman to run & finish with a # and her run in with Jock Semple; ’68 when Amby Burfoot, first college student, from Wesleyan won; ’75 when Bill Rogers (Burfoot’s Wesleyan classmate) won in 2:09.27, stopping to tie a shoe lace; ’76 when the temp was around 94F; ’78 my third & last time; Rosie Ruiz, briefly the winner, doing the unimaginable subway "assist" in ’80; the ’82 epic Beardsley-Salazar race; the 2013 bombing that occurred about 90’ after we’d left that pretty much exact site; Johnny Kelly who completed his last Boston at age 84 and lived til 97. And on & on that reading a review would bring back to the fingertips.

I reckon we’ll be back next year. A wonderful way to spend a day in city that’s hard to beat.

C • You saw me! 3

BB, last of pre-meet map work. Many a chorus of peepers, a single mosquito, T in 70s. I "toggled" back & forth from 2011 & 2013 to the present. BB is indeed a large forest with varied terrain. I've known it since '78. The first map edition was printed in 1975 for the NAOC (the 1st?), in the early days of mapping. I have one dtd 9/23/78, a NEOC local meet - blue course, 10.1k, 9 controls, 1/15, first finisher PG.

C • Bear Brook 4

UNO BB local meet. Ugh, a rainy day, quite so at times, but a good turnout. Runners generally satisfied with courses/control placement etc. Tired by the time I got home, after the final foray for collecting a few of the farther points and then some closer ones. Alex Jospe was desirous of more training & retrieved the 3 furthest. Got home, took 800mg ibuprofen & a nap.

There were some nice moments at the end of the day - the work was generally done & I stopped to appreciate some of the control locations & environs. Pondered a return visit to one particular one each month of the year to document seasonal change.

Faces that surprised were Carl Underwood, Clint Morse, Marty Hawkes-Teeter (works in Boston). Nice to see two reps from the Newton/Boston contingent, Alex and David Yee. Phil came. He has a high tolerance for long drives. Then he went home to regroup before continuing on to New Haven. JJ & Nancy added to the mix.. Also fun to see new faces making their discovery - that O can be quite enticing, even in rain. Good collaboration with Steve. We go back “to the beginning”. Betsy & Beth helped with registration. Pete & Lex saved the day with the UNO West rain/shade canopy. It poured on one occasion. Faye helped all around and took the equipment off my hands.

Bear Brook, 6 more far-flung points that req'd more than 2 hours car to car.
Stiil gray & cold but no precipitation. Woods to myself.

Checking points for UNO meet 4/20. Started at 9a., done by noon. Was grey & chilly today. Left as drizzle set in. Ended up a snowy afternoon. Went to Exeter after for club meet equipment.