On Meb and Baldini

I just read the part of Meb Keflezighi's new book Run to Overcome where the 2004 Olympic Marathon was described. I've got to say that this race was a favorite of mine. I watched it on the back deck of my house with my son, then six cruising in and out.

Near mile 22, Meb and Italy's Stefano Baldini were running together, trying to chase down Brazil's Vanderlei de Lima after having dropped Kenya's Paul Tergat. Meb turns to Baldini and says "Endiamo primo e segundo" (Let's get first and second). As described in the book (p. 129), "His eyes bugged out. He looked absolutely shocked, like he was thinking, Is this black dude in a USA uniform actually speaking Italian to me?"

Shortly thereafter, de Lima was pushed from the course by a deranged spectator. The spectator was pulled away from him by other fans, but de Lima was doubtless slowed and rattled a bit by the incident. He was quickly caught by Baldini and then by Keflezighi.

As the race neared its conclusion, my son was chanting, "Go Meb, Go!" As well as the race turned out, I think my favorite part was when de Lima ran onto the track and "did the airplane" running with his arms outstretched and running a swerving pattern on the track having beaten the odd circumstances that had delayed his arrival. His face reflected pure joy, and I consider it one of the most special moments in sports.

The book, which is an easy read (it was co-written by sportswriter Dick Patrick) provides lots of insights into Meb's success. While I haven't yet finished it, it's clear to me that this book will be a well-loved addition to a runner's library. It will likely be especially valuable to young runners as it contains lots of important distance running lessons presented without being preachy.

A Disorienting Experience

Having run all my previous marathons in the United States, running my first outside the States, and coping with the change from miles to kilometers was a bit disorienting. The math we are accustomed to doing is different, and the way they give info also differs. I don't know if the availability of clocks is limited, but I am fairly accustomed to seeing a clock at most, if not all, miles. Now, to be fair, I was at times pretty near the maximum time allowed for getting around the course, so some may have been pulled to be relocated or simply shut down. I recall seeing one that had its battery die, so was up but non-operational. Of course, at the pace I was moving, a sundial would have been adequate.
Also, while it's normal to wear a watch, because I was dressed like the Johnny Hayes of 1908, a watch would have looked out of place. (OK, I may have been overplaying the role, I'll admit.) I'd gotten a pace chart, courtesy of Running Room for a 6 hour pace. I fell a bit behind, and had actually intended on a 5:45 finish time, but they didn't have. Regardless, it gave me a pacing of 8:31 per km, which was enough to keep me mostly on track.

A Long Stroll

Today, I particpated in the National 40K racewalk. I say "particpated in" because I was not very competitive, nor did I expect to be. I had not done much racewalking this season, and rather expected that bent knees would likely prove my downfall, as had happened in the past. Sure enough, I got my first card on lap one, but was able to improve my form a bit and last until 14K before I got DQ'ed. When I came around at 16K, I saw three cards next to my number, and I took the number off of my chest.
I continued walking until 22K, as part of a test. I needed to "go long."
My plan is to walk the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in two weeks, dressed as Johnny Hayes. I have not gone that far in over two years, and have not run any distance longer than five miles in as long. I'm heavy (up about 30 lbs. from my "competitive weight" and 40 from my "really competitive weight.), and fairly soft.
At Toronto, there will be people marking three of the athletes - local boy Tom Longboat, first finisher at the Olympic Marathon, later disqualified, Dorando Pietri; and gold medalist Johnny Hayes. On display at the expo will be Dorando's cup, Hayes' medal, Longboat's 1907 Boston Marathon victory trophy and Hayes' 3rd place trophy from the same race. You can see a bit about Toronto's celbration here.

A Lesson On Hyponatremia

Working at the New York City Marathon on Sunday, I did some learning. I wound up helping a bit (more as brawn than brains) with some runners who were in trouble. Some had taken only water on their journey around New York City.
At one point, while we were walking a man who had just finished, I grabbed a bottle of Gatorade. My intent was to give it to him to replace salts in his system. I was emphatically told, "No" by the medical people. "Salt only," they said. The problem with hyponatrmia is that salt has been washed out of the athlete's body by sweating and urination, and the concentration of salt in and around their cells is too low. [Breaking the word down - hypo means low, nat comes from the Latin for sodium (remember salt in high school chemistry was NaCl?), and emia is standard ending for a condition in the medical world.]
So, the key is to get salt in AND not get any fluids in. It's a lasson that I'll remember.
Meantime, if YOU are running a marathon, take ADE!

Our Men's Olympic Marathon Team

The Men's Olympic Marathon Trials were held on Saturday in New York City. The race was won by twenty-five year-old Ryan Hall who made winning the trials look easy. I had one person say that his 2:09:02 finish would have been faster had he not spent much of the last three miles waving to the crowd. Hall's move came somewhere between 16 and 21, for when he passed me at about mile 21, he'd broken free of the lead pack and seemed to be running comfortably.

Dathan "Ritz" Ritzenhein, who's 24, placed second, clocking a 2:11:07.

Brian Sell of the Hanson's - Brooks Distance Project placed third in 2:11:40, giving Keith and Kevin Hanson their first Olympian (I think). Sell had a TON of crowd support, being seen as a "regular Joe" making good.

Fourth place was captured by Khalid Khannouchi, a 35 year-old Morroccan born U.S. citizen in 2:12:34. His fourth makes him the first alternate, so if one of the others suffers an injury or elects to run another race and NOT race the marathon, Khannouchi will get to race for an Olympic medal.
Unfortunately, this great race will likely be most remembered for the untimely death of Ryan Shay, who collapsed and died around the 5 1/2 mile mark. Most of the racers were unaware of Shay's death until after the race.

Olympic Trials Marathon

It happens this AM, and I'll be watching.

An Annoying Man!

On Sunday evening, I had the pleasure of having a beer with Vince "Boston or Bust" Hemingson. He insisted on taunting me by calling me "Scooter", a name he knows I don't use in real life. He kept saying it was "self-inflicted", so he was merciless. Vince went on to run a 3:48:53, a very solid performance on a less than ideal day. A picture will follow. I had a very nice time finally getting to visit with Vince. Last year, we had some communication issues, this year, my phone went on the fritz, but was usable, so while our communication wasn't optimal, we did manage to get things set up.

A Few Goals

The new year brings a chance to look at ourselves, and I felt that there were a few fitness goals that I need to achieve.

Goal 1: In shape to walk a marathon in April. I'm going to try to wangle myself an invite to walk Boston (there are ways). If I can't manage that, then NJ Shore will probably be my backup. My goal will be low-5 hour range. I'd like to say under 5, but don't think I'll be able to be in that kind of shape by April, so I'll identify my goal as 5:15.

Goal 2: In shape to run a marathon in the fall. I'd like to try to BQ for 2008, but will probably choose to run Steamtown, which I've wanted to run for years. Steamtown has a reputation of being fast, but I've spoken to area people who've run it, and they note that it's a hard marathon unless you're very comfortable with hills. If I come through OK, but don't BQ, then I'll probably try to double with Philly. The five weeks between will likely be adequate to recover IF I pull the plug early if Steamtown starts to come apart.

Those are my fitness goals for 2007. I'd also like to add some upper body strength, and will try to do exercise at least 2x/week.

Torn

Sunday morning is the Footlocker Finals, but it's also the Honolulu Marathon. I love watching the kids, but I have a friend running Honolulu.

I grew up in Colts Neck, NJ, where the school for whom both Craig Forys and Ashley Higginson run is located. Needless to say, I have some interest in the outcome of this race. Forys won both the NJ State Meet (aka Meet of Champions or officially the All-Group Meet), and the Footlocker Northeast Meet. Higginson is in an interesting position, as she's spent much of her running career in the shadows, behind Southern Regional's Danielle Tauro and sometimes behind schoolmate and child running star Briana Jackucewicz. The result has been that while she's a fine runner and multi-time state champ, Tauro has often kept her off the radar screens. This is likely a blessing AND a curse, as it means she's able to prepare for races without the interruptions of reporters and fans, but she also doesn't get the level of respect and recognition that she deserves. In the last few weeks, she's popped out of the shadows, finishing fourth at Footlocker NE, and finishing first at Nike Team Nationals.

Part of Higginson's popping out of the shadows is because at Footlocker Northeast, Tauro collapsed twice during the race, dropping from fourth to tenth in the final 60 meters. She and her coach decided to end her season after a diagnosis of rhabdomyolysis. (My speculation is that after some time off in the early season due to summer racing, Tauro rushed her preparation for the late season races and wasn't as muscularly strong as was needed. Her drive permitted her to keep racing, but at the NE race, the damage was severe enough that her body shut down.) When you look at some of the effects of this condition, things like kidney damage, no race is worth that, so I agree with their decision, even though it took away someone I love to root for.

Meanwhile, at the Honolulu Marathon, Dan Dillon, whom I count as a friend, will be running his first marathon since his eighth place finish at Boston in 1985. Having run with Dan a bit this summer, I'm confident he's ready. Dan is strong, he's fast, and his recent training leads me to believe he's again durable. Dillon's recent 26:07 at the Manchester Road Race won him the 50+ age-group, until Dan corrected race organizers that he's only 49! (AARP must wait!) So, I'll try to watch both as the morning progresses. Hawaii's 5:00AM start means that he'll finish sometime before 1:00PM my time (if my math was right and his plan holds together). Footlocker's starts are at 9:15 (girls) and 10:00 (boys). Results from both should come available at about the same time, thus, I'm torn by needing to try to watch for both more or less at once.

Edit: OOPS! Footlocker is Saturday! In the words of Emily Latella, "Never Mind!"

A Few Images From My Day Working At NY City Marathon

What better to start a post about the NY City Marathon than a race banner?
As I crossed the park, I passed these tents being used for volunteers to sign in.
I shot a photo of this temporary pedestrian bridge by 72nd St. It would prove to be important in my day.
I also shot a picture of the finish line at about 8:30 AM.
This was the group which got sent over to Queens. Here were are in the subway, en route.
We were sent to Queens in order to help with the wheelchairs, getting them to follow the correct routing onto the 59th St. Bridge.
There were more runners with prosthetics than I recall in the past. I think this is at least in part the result of the Iraq War.
The race used SmartCars, a European built micro car that gets 40+ mpg, as lead vehicles. I always smile when I see them.
It also gave us an excellent view of the women's leaders. Here are Prokopcuka and Hladka.
This is the women's chase pack. It contains, amongst others, American Deena Kastor, and Kenyans Catherine "the Great" Ndereba, and Lornah Kiplagat.
Shortly behind them came Katie MacGregor and Amy Rudolph.
The men's leaders were still a pretty massive pack, though a move was about to be made on the bridge.
When we ceased to be useful, we returned to Central Park and were reassigned to the temporary pedestrian bridge at 72nd St. They were having trouble controlling traffic there.
I spent a fair amount of the afternoon watching the parade of finishers pass by, en route to the chip clippers and baggage trucks.
Oh, and Dianna, look what I got, an orange hat!