Got My Boston Qualifier at the Napa Valley Marathon

Got my BQ March 1 at the Napa Valley Marathon, 3:33:29 chip time (needed 3:50, male age 60 – 64 to qualify for Boston). I came fourth in my age group. This is a dream come true for me.

OUCH! The Finish Line

I was going to run with the 3:40 group, but the pace leader stood there looking around with his thumb up his rump when the race started! Major fail.
  
So I eased into my rhythm. At 2 miles I noted the 3:35 pace group about 100m ahead, and kept my eye on them. Around the 6 mile mark, a group of 6-7 runners formed and we discussed: What the heck happened to the 3:40 pace leader?! I made a plan with three other runners to gradually catch up to the 3:35 group.

After the race, thrashed but happy!

Feeling good after a water station, I floated away from the chase pack and caught the 3:35 pace group at 13 miles. The groove, the cohesion of this new pack was fantastic with 10-12 runners locked in. I had good stretches and not-so-good-stretches, but kept a positive attitude. I think "this is a dream come true. DON'T LET UP!"
Taking Gatorade at aid stations, and an energy gel every five miles stoked my engine.

I strode in front of our 3:35 group after a drink station with 3 miles to go, feeling good, and threw it down. With two miles to go, I dueled with a women who had also broken away from the pack. She wouldn't let me draw even with her, then I felt an uncanny lift in my stride -- this is the return on all those tempo runs, all those long runs, a sudden burst of effortless pace that took me away from a tough competitor!

Haha, the last mile was dicey as heck but I kicked myself in the butt to keep it rolling. See you at the Boston Marathon in April 2021!

St. Valentine's Update

Yes, I am just over two weeks out from the Napa Valley Marathon. My goal is a BQ, at my age I need a 3:50. I plan on running with the 3:40 pace group, if all goes well I'll kick it in over the last six miles.
Of course, the marathon should be approached with due respect, so I'm not going to get cocky. But I do have the confidence instilled by averaging over 50 MPW for 12 weeks of my four-month buildup. Oh, I did take a three week taper / rest break in the middle to run a PR 1:36:48 half marathon, and a 20:50 5K, my best in several years.
According to a range of performance equivalency tables, I'm good for somewhere around a 3:20 marathon based on those remarks. Well, like I said, I'm going with the 3:40 group and we'll take it from there!

Meanwhile, in real life, I'm having a pop-up Valentine's Day graphic novel sale! Check it out at my website and get yourself some superb graphic novels.
There is Death Plays a Mean Harmonica, my "Oaxaca" graphic novel, as well as my BugHouse and Dog Boy collected works.

Marathon Buildup Training Notes

I'm just about halfway through my build for the Napa Valley Marathon on March 1.

This past week:
Mon: 5.5 slow (fatigued from previous week, 63 miles)
Tue: 8.5 medium easy over hills
Wed: Rest
Thurs: 9.1 easy to medium (flat/creek trail)
Fri: 10.8 trail run/hill course medium>medium hard
Sat: Rest
Sun: 3.85 miles total, including 5k tempo run 22:30
Week total: 37.75 miles

Cut back on volume this week to let my legs catch up with the work thus far in this build. I'd logged six weeks averaging a touch over 51 miles per week. Next Saturday racing the "Almost NYE Half Marathon."

Marathoner

OK, so I ran my first marathon. The Rogue Marathon from Ashland to Medford Oregon, following meandering country roads and bike trails zigzagging north for 26 miles, crisscrossing underneath I-5. A good net-downhill run!
Everything went swimmingly, except I did stop for a bit over a minute to take a leak at mile 3. I paced cautiously and caught the 4:00 pace group just before the 7-mile mark, and chatted amiably with pace leader Norm until 21 miles.

Realizing I felt pretty good, I threw it down over the last five miles and finished in 3:51:42. While I am quite content with that, I will point out that at age 62, my Boston Qualifier mark is 3:50.
It was a super positive initial marathon experience, and I've signed up for another, the upcoming Napa Valley Marathon on March 1. And yes indeed, I will gun for a BQ this time! I'm well on my way to readiness, having just completed a six-week stretch where I averaged just over 51 miles per week.
I'm chilling on the volume until I run the Brazen NYE half marathon on Dec 28, followed by a few days off. From there, I'll be sure to book a goodly number of 3 hour runs leading up to the Napa Valley Race (without actually worrying about overall volume, it's the key long runs that will power me in Napa Valley!).
We'll see how it goes, my basic attitude is Boston or Bust! I went to high school near Boston, and grew up watching the classic race. In 1975, my senior year of high school, I tracked the race with my running buddy Tim -- (he was a 9:27 high school 2-miler!). We followed the route in my dad's '74 Plymouth Valliant, stopping at Framingham and Wellesley College before watching "Boston Billy" Rodgers set an American Record of 2:09:55. I'll never forget that roar for him at the Prudential Center on Boylston!
I've always wanted to run Boston at least once, here's hoping I'll make the cut.

Published a Piece at RunGuides: Almost Five Decades of Running

I've always been a freelancer, working mostly in comics & illustration, as well as the printed T-Shirt trade. More recently, I've turned to writing, dashing off articles on subjects from personal finance and small business to constructing the perfect Halloween costume.

For several years I've been writing for the excellent RunGuides site, which helps runners locate races and prepare for them. The site is a perfect online companion for us runners, guiding us through many aspects of the running experience with race calendars, run club info, and articles on running. There are even coupon codes to get you discounts on races.

I was recently invited to pen an article at RunGuides that pulls on my looooooooong experience as a runner (beginning in 1972 as a high school freshman). I came up with a piece entitled What I've Learned In Almost 50 Years of Running. Here's an excerpt.

"Trust yourself. Get into a good rhythm. Relax and run hard. Those endorphins will flow, and you'll know just what to do."

Go ahead a click through the above link to check out the article. Also, be sure to take the time to have a look around the RunGuides site... a good way to start is to navigate to the run calendar for the big city nearest you.

Happy Running!

- Steve Lafler

Here I am finishing 3rd for Lincoln Sudbury High in a cross country meet in September 1974. It was a triple meet against Wayland and Acton Boxboro, perhaps my best XC run in high school. The guys who beat me that day were tough.

One Rick Smith of Acton, a brilliant power runner who won the indoor state mile championship that year, finished ahead of me in second. The race was won by a skinny kid named Alberto Salazar of Wayland high school.

Our Dual Couny League was a real powerhouse. This day, I beat out a stack of my close rivals, a good five runners who were accomplished at both the league and state level in cross country and indoor and outdoor track over distances from the half mile to the two-mile.
On my part, I came 2nd in the Dual County championships over the mile twice, and 2nd in the 1000-yard indoor championships. As a senior, I was 5th in the state in the 1,000-yard run.

Love a Training Route P.R.!

When we moved to Santa Rosa two years back, I started doing out & back runs on the Santa Rosa Creek Trail. It's pretty, it's flat and there's a lot of shade. Perfect flat & fast course for tempo runs!

I like to relax on the way out, cross the bridge to the other side of the trail, and run a negative split on the way back. With the various bridges and street crossings, I can run loops totaling 7 miles, 10.4 and 15 miles. Sometimes I run 6.55 miles out, and turn on a dime to cover the 13.1 mile half marathon distance.

Last winter, soon after turning 61, I set a workout P.R. of 1:19:54 on the 10.4 loop. A bit more than six months later, all indications are that I was set to go faster on this route. I felt relaxed on the way out this a.m. and figured I'd give it a shot.

 "Ouch!"

Cruisin' through the turnaround bridge at 41:15, I was pretty sure I had it in the tank to do it. I relaxed and stayed focused on the moment, not worrying about the distance left to run, and came back in 1:18:52. It was not easy! Hmmmmm... we did stay out dancing until past 1 a.m. three days back, I seem to recall, but only had 1.5 margaritas each. No prob! I love a workout P.R.!

Of course, it's not lost on me that in the late 70s I could run a 60 mile week at a substantially faster pace without too much sweat. But in truth, I am thrilled with running today, as I was then!

Roller Coaster Run at the Tiburon Half Marathon

Jogging? No, I'm shuffling at a 10 minute mile pace, half stumbling around in the pre-dawn in the pretty San Francisco Bay town of Tiburon, CA at 6:41 a.m. I remind myself: Have a positive attitude! The Tiburon Half Marathon starts in 19 minutes as I line up for the porta-potty. The early start time, and uncharacteristic butterflies in the gut have me a bit hyped-up! Let's R-e-l-a-x.

So I reflect. It's been a very good buildup for this run. I've enjoyed killer workouts! Some great negative split 13 and 15 mile runs, and an eye-popping 1:50 workout PR over my 7-mile tempo run course. Clearly I'm ready to bust open my half-marathon PR of 1:40:32! But (and it's a BIG BUT!) that half marathon best was set on a pancake-flat course at nearby Quarry Lake in Fremont. This Tiburon half marathon course starts and ends on the flat, but in between it's a hilly roller coaster ride.

At the start line, I'm looking for the 1:40 pace group, but today the fastest group leader holds a sign for 1:45 pace. A brief chat with the pacer works out great, he advises “I'm going to run 7:30s for the first few miles to make up for the hills”. Perfect! The starting horn blares and I relax into it. But I think the pacer is too slow, like 8:30 pace! Chill, I tell myself. We hit the mile in 7:35 and I'm appreciative of his pace judgement skills.

Locked in with the 1:45 group, I am relaxed and conserving energy. We cruise the first 4 miles just above 7:40 pace. Right on. The first medium-sized hill comes along, the group strings out a bit on the way up. Drifting ahead of the group on the next flat stretch, I've moved out front of the pacer without giving it much thought. OK, just stay relaxed.

Cruisin' early on

The undulating hills start coming at us, as we run through neighborhoods approaching Mt. Tam, the 2000-foot hill at the center of Marin County. Nothing too drastic pace-wise, I keep rhythm, stay relaxed, but it ain't lost on me that I am steadily passing other runners, including some who were striding out quickly in the first couple miles.

The elevation map of the course showed a steep climb about halfway on the course, and BOOM, here it is! I keep rhythm as before, feeling jaunty. Don't push too hard, cowboy! Truth is, I'm really pleased with how I'm feeling on these hills. The flow is there. Not so sure I'm going to get under 1:40 due to these inclines, but the run is going swell.

Indeed, I'm well prepared for a hilly run. Four weeks back, I had a fine race at the Annadel Loop 7-mile trail race up in Santa Rosa, nailing down 4^th out of about 100 runners. OK, so it's a handicap run, but heck I'm 61 years young, I'll take it! Did I mention the first mile is straight up? Basically, up a mountain, down a mountain, and finish, that's the Annadel Loop.

My real secret weapon, two months back I spent a couple weeks in the mountain town of Oaxaca Mexico, running from the 5000-foot city floor to the 6000-foot mountain ridge just to the north, and back. Ready for hills !

This pitched Tiburon hill is a quarter mile at a steep incline, very Oaxaca. Only Tiburon is not at altitude! Done. Sliding down the other side, I press a bit. Why not? It's been all relaxation up to now, but the competitive former miler in me wants to race. We get on the flat and I open it up a bit.

Then some kid (I mean a 40-year old, of course) slips by, really the only person who has passed me since mile 4. Go ahead young man, I'm in my own pace. I'm feeling good, six miles to go, maybe I'll dip under 1:40 today after all! Rolling!

But wait-a-minit. There are more hills coming at me! Long hills. I was ready for maybe one more, but nope, the course continues to be a roller coaster. I'm still doing OK up the inclines, but at this stage of the race I can only go so fast without depleting the tank. At least I'm still passing people.

The course finally flattens out with a little over 3 miles to run. I find a bit of pace in my legs, even if I'm starting to feel ragged. Then, inside three to go, I think, let's throw it down. Go for broke! Does this really hurt so much? Nah.

...and done. Whew!

Now I'm rolling, but maybe a bit too much too soon. With a mile and a quarter to go, I'm struggling to maintain pace. Trying to work the rhythm and relaxation as well as I can, but fact is I'm hungry for the finish! There's suddenly a lot of slow stragglers from the concurrent 5k and 10k runs, and I'm obliged to make the effort to run around them.

I hear the race announcer's voice floating from the finish line, and see the finish gate as I round a bend in the path. Maybe 300 to go I really pick it up, and manage a near sprint over the last 150 or so, let's milk it for an extra few seconds if I can! I come under the finish line gate in 1:41:08, very pleased with my effort on the day.

I missed my PR by 36 seconds, but in truth I consider this my best half marathon, given those pesky and persistent rolling hills!

The Tiburon Half was well organized. I had a very positive on course experience, and collected the usual medal and t-shirt. There was plenty of convivial good cheer to go around. I note that the registration fee was a bit higher than the going rate. Although it was a fantastic experience, I'd probably try another local half before returning here, as I could find a flatter course at a better price. I'll save my hill racing for other distances than the half, where I'm rather keen to work on the PR.