Another recap Boston

Boston Marathon - photo recap

The joy of my brother's first Boston

I learned I was one of 705 finishers to run a negative split!

Canceled for "Flooding:" The Cellcom Green Bay (Half) Marathon

In my marathon career, I have registered for 49 marathons, finished 46, have 0 DNF (did not finish), and 3 were canceled. The 2012 New York City Marathon was canceled due to Hurricane Sandy. It was the correct call, but they waited to decide and announce it the Friday before the race when people had already arrived. I was in the car with my now-wife driving up the BW Parkway when we heard the news. My second canceled marathon was the 2017 Mississippi Blues Marathon. I caught an early morning flight to Chicago to transfer. There was a freak ice storm and the pilot told us (we hadn't boarded) that he couldn't land. When the flight was canceled, I caught a flight back to DC. Later that night, I heard the marathon was eventually canceled due to ice on the course. They made the right call.

Packet Pick Up at Lambeau Field

In each of these instances, I was fortunate to be able to pick up a replacement race. The week after New York City, I ran the Marshall University Marathon in Huntington, WV. They offered registered New York City Marathon runners a discount. The day that Mississippi Blues was supposed to be, I ran the Al Lewis 10 Miler in Maryland, hosted by my running club, DC Road Runners - a free race since I am a member. I try to understand how difficult it is to put on a race and the deliberations that must go into deciding whether to cancel a race. For New York City and Mississippi Blues, they were both obviously correct calls.

Ready for the Kids' Run

For the Green Bay Marathon, I was really disappointed with the decision to cancel the full, and I believe it was the wrong call. When I woke up to begin race preparation, I read this text:

The Cellcom Green Bay Marathon together with our public safety and medical partner has made the decision to cancel its marathon Sunday, May 19 due to flooding on the course.

Ready to race around the football field

I reread the text several times before getting to the second part:

Marathoners will have the option to run the half. Further details here.

I was bloated from my carb load. I tried to get ready and leave my room so my son and wife could sleep. I was so mad. I read Facebook comments and even texted to ask if we could run the half twice.

A selfie during the race inside Lambeau Field

I went down to the hotel lobby, but it was so early (5AM) that no one was there. I decided to head back to my room, where Miles was awake. I put on the iPad and climbed back into bed. Around 6AM, I got up and Laura wondered why I was back in bed. I told her and she was so sad for me. She was really supportive as I was devastated. I was ready for a marathon, not a half. I eventually left the room to begin a warm up run to the start.

Packet Pick Up with the Family

The "flooding" was near my hotel, so I got a good look at it. That only made me upset since there wasn't that much water, runners could have been diverted or just run through it. No one was going to get swept into the River. And, the water on the course was in the 25th mile, which was near the end of the race. There was maybe 50 meters of water on the trail by the river. In my opinion, runners could have been directed around the water.

Frozen custard near Green Bay at Zesty's

I ran down to the start and got ready. A photographer wanted to take my picture, and I declined. I didn't want to remember this race. I thought since it was "just a half" I should try to PR. That's not how it went. My mind was ready for the full, and my body didn't respond. The first few miles were okay, but then I lost my pace and just held on. The half was run through neighborhoods and a part went around Lambeau Field. Running through the stadium was neat, but the rest of the course wasn't particularly scenic or memorable. It wasn't a memorable race or a particularly fast time. I barely broke 1:27. A stranger raced me to the finish, and I am thankful he did otherwise I wouldn't have cracked 1:27. Here is the proof that I finished.

Frozen custard near Milwaukee inside Kopps

I went to the results desk to check and see if I placed in my age group. 7th. I did not. I ran back to the room to get my cool down. When I got back to my hotel, the flooding had receded and wouldn't have impacted the race. I was looking forward to racing Green Bay to add it as another state on my 50 state marathon quest. I know that it is a tough decision to cancel any race, but in my opinion, the organizers made the wrong call. As a final kick-in-the-pants, when I finished the half, the announcer mispronounced my name which summed up my race experience.

Tasty!

Results:

71 overall out of 2640; 65th male; 7th age group

31:37 at 5 mile mark; 1:05:42 at 10 mile; and 1:19:19 at 12 mile

6:38 average pace

Email after the race: "Dear Kenny Ames, Thanks for competing in the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon, you finished in a time of 1:26:41. Your detailed results are available here: Detailed Results and you can search all competitors and categories here Results."

In Milwaukee near Lake Michigan

It was a mistake to cancel the full marathon. I saw the "flooding." It could have easily been run through or run around. I am very upset that the full was canceled after traveling from DC with my wife and young son. Plus, as a member of the 50 state marathon club, I will have to come back to Wisconsin at a later date to check off Wisconsin. Do not worry - I will find another city to run as I do not plan to come back to Green Bay.

Return to the ACLI Capital Challenge 3 Miler

And we're off! Shawn is very serious!

It has been seven years since I last ran the ACLI Capital Challenge 3 Miler. I ran a few years with CQ Roll Call in the news division as a reporter can serve as our captain. I organized the teams while I worked there. We won first print media team a couple of times with our stacked team when Amanda, Blake, Shawn, Eugene, and me worked for the company.

Waiting for the start

Now that I am working on the Hill again, I can run for a Congressional team. One problem is that the CAO isn't eligible to captain a team according to the rules. However, a Member can add one runner to their team from an organization such as CAO, AOC, Capitol Police, etc. I had reached out to the race director to ask how I could run, so he kept me in mind in case anyone asked him to fill their fifth slot.

Waiting

The day before the race, I Rep. Conor Lamb's staffer called and asked if I could run with them. A teammate was sick and the race director mentioned my name. They are one of the offices I support in my role as Customer Advocate (Pennsylvania is one of the states in the region assigned to me). I ran up to the office, filled out the paperwork, paid the entry fee, and talked with my teammates. One asked me if I could run 12 minutes. I said that would be close to a world record. She thought I meant I couldn't do a 12 minute per mile pace in which case they would find someone else. I assured them I could do at least 19 minutes for the whole race.

Ready already!

She asked if I had anything with the Steelers colors and said she could provide a Steelers t-shirt. I said if they made me wear a Steelers shirt, I would wear my Patriots hat. We compromised when I decided to wear the old DC Road Runners Club yellow singlet with a black Army hat and black shorts.

Finishing and breaking 18 for the first time!

On May 15, the morning of the race, I walked my wife and son to the Metro, took the Metro to Union Station, then hopped a bike share down to Anacostia Park. I met the Congressman and his staff near packet pickup, dropped my bag in one of the staffer's cars, and then we did a short warm up and I added on striders. I met up with Shawn and ran a little more before getting in the starting corral. Deena Kastor was the celebrity runner and she got the race started then hopped in the back.

First Congressional staffer!

I started out steady and didn't let the fast start pull me faster than my plan, which was to aim for 6:00-6:10. After the first mile, the field sorted itself out and I hit my strider, turning around at the midway point in 9:02. I knew that was a good pace I could hold without overexerting myself. I felt I had a good shot of breaking 18. I didn't pick up the pace too much more and did not even engage a strong finishing kick, saving some for the marathon. There were two runners ahead of me, which I normally would have caught, but they weren't in my division and wouldn't affect my team's score. I crossed in 17:53, good for 15th overall, and first House or Senate staffer. Our team ended up winning first House team by 2 points (cross country scoring where you take the places of all five teammates, add them up, and the lowest total wins). The Congressman said I am welcome back next year.

Motion to Recommit to Running - aka Team Rep. Conor Lamb

Quitting Is Habit-Forming, So Never Quit

Matt's first Boston Marathon - with our brand new matchy-matchy jackets!

Moments after I crossed the start line of the Boston Marathon, my leg wasn't feeling right. In that first mile, I hoped that the pain I was feeling was going to dissipate. In the second mile, I knew the pain was real and wasn't going away. As I watched my friends hold onto our pace while I faded, I felt scared, doubt, and anger. The 11th hour injury I suffered to my lower left leg on a training run 10 days out was going to keep me from running the pace I wanted. It might have kept me from even finishing. In those early few miles, I was genuinely scared that I was going to have to drop out of the race.

The Ames Brothers ready for Boston Marathon

Let's go back a few. With three weeks to go, I broke in a new pair of running shoes on a hilly tempo run up and down Greenbelt Park with Mike and Alex. After the run, while playing with my son at a playground, I felt pain in my left foot and near the ankle. I went to the podiatrist who said the pain in my foot was just a bruise and it was okay to keep running. I thought I dodged a bullet and continued to train. With 10 days to go before Boston, I went for a tempo run in Philadelphia along the Schuykill River. Everything seemed fine. On Friday night after work, while walking my son home, I started to feel pain in my lower left leg. It seemed to come out of nowhere. On Saturday, I ignored the pain and went on a two hour run, my last long run before the race. My leg really hurt, but I was in denial since I was able "deal" with the pain. I took off the next day. Then the next day. Then, I decided just to take the whole week off to let it heal. I was icing it and taking naproxen and applying BioFreeze. While away on my work conference, I was icing it every chance I had, storing my ice packs in the hotel's freezer (the staff were great!). By Friday, the pain had gone down a lot. I was convinced that it would be fine on race day. I didn’t sleep well the last few nights before Boston. Thursday night, I slept in a hotel bed since I was on work travel. Friday I was anxious because we were driving to Boston early in the morning (6AM wake up in hopes to hit the road by 7 to arrive by 3PM). And Saturday night, my dog was up scared and confused since we were at my folks' house and not her usual routine.

Bib pick up with Derek

I went into Boston with my brother on Sunday to pick up our packets. It was his first Boston Marathon, and I was so proud to be there with him as we picked up our bibs and bought the jackets.

Bib pick up with Matt

I let a woman selling something apply some tape to my foot. It had no effect, so I took it off before the race. After our traditional pasta dinner, I went to bed on Sunday. I didn't sleep that well either and ended up on the couch so as not to disturb others.

Bib pick up with Derek and Matt

In the morning, we picked up my brother and my dad dropped us off at the start line in Hopkinton. It was pouring and the wind blowing hard - it knocked a tent over that blew into the both of us. I worried the tent may hurt us, but we were fortunate. We waited in Athlete's Village for two hours while the rain and wind battered the big tent. I interviewed him for his charity's fundraising page. I had made plans to meet others, but they moved the "It All Starts Here" sign, so the directions I gave them were wrong. We did all finally meet in the corrals. The race began, we took off, and minutes later, I knew I was in trouble.

A wet and windy morning in the Athlete's Village. Since we were among the first to arrive, we got a spot against a pole.

I actually considered dropping out in the first 5K (25% serious / 75%) against. I have a friend in my running club who has the same brain cancer that Ted Kennedy, Beau Biden, and John McCain had. I thought of her and the idea of quitting disappeared. Soon, I found a group of other 3 hour marathoners between the waves who were the "running wounded." Mike from Utah and Ryan from North Carolina became my running team that day. Running with them helped get my mind into the positive, and I started to focus on what I could do, not what I couldn’t do. Running with others in your boat is a huge emotional boost as I don’t know if I would have gotten out of my hurt thinking alone. We joked about our injuries, shared stories about what should have been, compared QT times and races, shared stories of our kids, and just kept the other going. We were from different backgrounds and parts of the country in different fields, yet there we were with one thing in common: we could run fast marathons, just not today. We started to make light of our situation, and it was around then I was determined to finish. We were a running punchline: a Jew, a Catholic, and a Mormon were running Boston all injured...






I noticed something else while running with them. Being in the void that is between the waves, each fan could concentrate on us and devote energy to calling our name, number, or club in support. “Go DC with the Sawx hat!” In fact, after the half, my leg was not painful, just a discomfort. I knew my split (1:43:46) and knew I could do that again. Once I was confident of finishing, I felt a surge carry me forward. Then wave 2 caught us before the Newton hills. But not too many runners, just a few speedy people that probably had slow qualifying times but were actually fast enough to be in wave 1; they left us behind. That's when my competitiveness kicked in. Then Mike took off to go say hi to his wife with a promise to find me. I had promised to at least stick with him over Heartbreak since that’s where his race fell apart last year. While he was gone, I caught up to one of my club mates. I had seen her in the small tent in the village prior to the race and knew she was battling a leg injury that cropped up recently. We ran the first hill together over 128 and stayed together until the hospital when she told me to go. She HAD to finish as getting to the finish line guaranteed her streaker status (10 Boston finishes in a row). I later learned that she did indeed finish, probably much slower than she would have wanted. That was true for me as well.






As we parted, Mike found me again. Thanks to Shawn kicking my ass up the hills of Brookland and the Capitol, I was in great shape and made very good time. I was even smiling and pointing at fans. One fan had a sign that said "Straight Outta Boston." I replied, "You mean Straight Into Boston!" I was able to let myself have fun, I pumped my fists, and I even asked the score of the Sox game. “Are you a Red Sox fan?” I asked people in the crowd wearing a hat or shirt. “Yes!!!” was their answer. “What’s the score?” Not one person knew to their shame. I spent the rest of our time together trying to convince Mike we are diehards. He chalked it up to they are such good race fans they didn’t check their phones.






My best 5K of the race was after the last hill. That’s when I had my fastest mile of 7:06. I had energy and figured I wasn’t going to do any more damage. And it was warm now so I had a lot of roadkill serve as rabbits. As bad as I felt, I was better off than the dude by mile 16 with a bib in the 1000s carted away in a stretcher or the guy at 23 sitting dazed unable to talk to medics. My thighs did tighten the last mile or so. I think that was due to how I had to compensate my gait. I took the final two turns raising my arms, blowing kisses to the fans, pointing to the B on my visor, and just being happy to finish. Then I realized if I ran a solid final sprint, I could claim 3:23 and I did by a few seconds. I saw Meb at the finish. He gave me a fist bump. He had a medal and I looked at him like "okay, put it around my neck." He said it was for someone else. After a few more steps, my dad spotted me and we took a picture. I connected with Shawn and regretted I had no more in me to make the mile trek and back to his house. I found Alex for a picture and congrats and rejoined my dad at a bar my the finish line. When my appetite came back, I joined Dad and Jen at the Charles Mark hotel Parish Cafe by the finish line. We could see the blue boards holding up the finish line. We drank beers and ate pizza along with my sister-in-law until my brother finished. I videoed him finishing the race - it was awesome to watch him finish his first Boston!

Moments after finishing with my dad

While not my best (or worst) time in Boston, I am grateful to have finished. I am beyond proud of my brother! Every picture of him running, he has a big grin on his face. Now, it is time to recover, rest, and heal. I am going to take it easy so I can make a go in Green Bay on May 19, or at least finish to collect another state.

Checking in with the wives while waiting for Matt to finish

My splits:


5k 0:24:10

10k 0:49:26

15k 1:14:16

20k 1:38:27

Half 1:43:46

25k 2:02:54

30k 2:26:55

35k 2:50:37

40k 3:13:42

Finish 3:23:54

Finish Pace 07:47

Overall 7486

Gender 6095

Division 1102

My Adidas video of the race

I gave my wife my medal for being so supportive and giving me best advice: you better be able to walk on vacation! We had a nice getaway in the Berkshires the three days after the race. It was our first time away from our son who had a blast with my sister and her family. On the drive, we stopped at a rest stop in Blandford, MA. We saw half a dozen Japanese tourists wearing their Boston Marathon jackets. At the Red Lion Inn where we stayed, I saw an older runner in his Boston jacket. He has now run 15 consecutive! And since I wore my jacket around the towns, many people congratulated me on finishing. That's my takeaway from this race - I finished, which is an accomplishment not to be minimized.

St. Patrick's Day Double

Miles and I raced the Pacer's St. Patrick's Day 5K and 10K races, completing "the double" as they call it. My goal was to run marathon race pace even with the stroller. For the race, I dressed Miles with my green hat I bought on our baby moon in Ireland. With his bright red hair, he looks really good in green. I wore my green clover hat (the one that is Adidas that I wear to Celtics games), and my running socks with clovers. I pinned to him a bib on his jacket  that says future runner they gave me for him at packet pickup.

My little leprechaun ready for the races!

It was the end of a long training week. I hit 120 miles for the first time, my most ever. I ran hills on Tuesday and did some speed on Thursday (5 repeats of 4:00 minutes at sub 6:10 pace with a 1 minute standing rest). I am very encouraged for Boston with my recent training and racing.

At the start line

We ran from our house to the start line near the Washington Monument, a little more than a five mile warm up. I let him out of the stroller for a few minutes to walk and stretch his legs. He pet a dog that was running with her owner, a beautiful golden retriever that was well behaved (pictured below).

Waiting for the starting gun

For the 5K, we lined up almost at the back, standing with the 13+ minute per mile people. The first mile was slow as it took me nearly half a mile to weave through the crowd of people before finding a solid lane. 7:24 for the first mile was pretty impressive given I think I was in the 9 minute pace for a good chunk of the beginning mile.

Racing

I was able to cut down miles 2 and 3 to 6:38 and 6:34. Miles shouted, "On your left" and "beep, beep" as we passed runners. I received a few kudos for my pace with the stroller. It was a great feeling. When finishing, I was able to give it a real good kick. I finished 6th in my age group of men 40-44 and 57th overall in a time of 21:17, good for a 6:50 pace.

Running by the Lincoln Memorial

I let him out of his stroller in between races. We shared a Nature Valley granola bar and he danced while an Irish band played Celtic music. For the 10K, I lined up with the 9 minute group. It still took a few minutes to pass enough people to get into my pace. The course was similar to the 5K, going down Independence and up towards the Kennedy Center and down Ohio Drive by the George Mason and Thomas Jefferson Memorials. I did have to push in the middle miles, especially the 5th mile which was right into the wind. For the last mile, Miles started shouting, "Go Daddy, faster!"

Showing off our bling!

I was able to pass a few people and finish strong. I was the first stroller, so I was the first stroller for the 5K, 10K, and the double. I even was first in my age group (Male 40-44), so I won! I felt happy with my times as I kept my pace in range of my marathon pace. I hope to have a solid Boston Marathon - I just have to taper correctly. And, today I found out my bib is #5204. Four weeks to go!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The racing was a neat experience. I hope Miles has great memories of us running together.

Post race photo

Taper Not Required: DC Road Runners Club George Washington Birthday Marathon

Usually before a marathon, I plan my pace, my taper, and my carb load. This race was different as I didn't expend much energy in preparation. I didn't have a proper taper - seven days out, I completed my third consecutive 100 mile week. The week leading up to the race, I took off Sunday and Monday, ran my usual pre race tempo (5 repeats of 4 minutes at 6:20 pace with a 1 minute standing rest), and planned to run a few more miles Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. But, with reports of snow between 1-3 inches on Saturday and cold temperatures Sunday, I thought the race would be canceled since it has been in the past. I was in Pittsburgh for work, so I ran 10 miles on Wednesday and 15 on Thursday thinking why taper if there won't be a race. Then the forecast changed and I received an email from the race director saying the race was on. Well, shoot! I didn't run at all on Friday or Saturday. I went into the race with low expectation. I chatted with my coach on Friday and we thought a 6:50-7:00 pace was the goal. I was going to treat the race as a long marathon pace tempo.

The start line

Friday night, my wife and I watched Bohemian Rhapsody and I bought the album, meaning I had Queen stuck in my head the whole race (We Will Rock You, Radio Ga-Ga, and Killer Queen cycled through my head during the race). Before the race, I tried to assess if there were any 40+ runners that would challenge me for first master. I thought there was a good chance I could claim that prize. We have access to the Greenbelt Youth Center for check in and to wait. The race starts a short walk away in the neighborhood and runs out to the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, three loops, and then back to finish not far from the start. They introduced the two elite athletes and off we went.

Early in the race

Turning a corner

The first mile of a marathon can be tricky. I don't want to get sucked out and run too fast: too many runners usually do that and this race was no exception. If I go out too slowly, I fear that I won't be able to get to my pace. I have to remind myself that I cannot "win" the marathon in the first few miles. I was pleased that my pace was fine. The second mile was only fast because it was mostly down hill. In the third mile, a fellow club member started to run with me. He's a 2:40 marathoner and was going out slow as he had a 100 mile week recently as well. We ran together for most of the first loop. I told him I was going to try to keep it to a 7:00 and didn't want to hold him back. We chatted casually about running, race strategy, and other topics. As we went by the on ramp to the BW Parkway, he picked up the pace and I wished him a good race.

The short out and back section before the loop

Headed to the loop

I have run this course before as I competed in the relay portion. I know where the rolling hills are. That familiarity was helpful to me in pacing and strategy. Despite not having tapered, my legs felt okay and I had settled into a slightly sub 7:00 pace. I hit the end of the first loop in about 1:07, which was on target for a sub 3:05.

First lap complete

Finishing first lap

The first few miles of the second loop have climbs, so I took it easy. I hit the half in 1:31:02 - happy with my effort and figured an even split would give me a 3:02-3. After the half, there was a chance to pick up the pace with some down hills, so I did since I felt good. At the 16 mile mark, I passed a guy I thought was a master runner. He was in his late 30s and starting to fade - he went out too fast.

Feeling good!

Thumbs up!

At this point of the race, I was lapping some runners. They served as rabbits in my mind, something to go and catch and pass. It kept me motivated and my pace steady. In my head, I had Freddy Mercury's Live Aid performance from 1985. I was able to pick up the pace slightly, dropping my average mile down to 6:55. At about the 20 mile mark which is on the third loop, I caught my friend from earlier. I encouraged him to come with me, but he was done and jogged it the rest of the way.

Having a good time!

I don't remember much about the last loop other than feeling pretty good. I started to do math to figure out my time. I thought I was in 2:59 to 3:02 range. Breaking 3 was going to be tough because of the long hill in the 26th mile. But 3:00 and 3:01 were in the cards. One by one, I was able to pick off runners ahead of me. Leaving the last lap, I saw a guy I hadn't seen and asked volunteers if he was relay. They didn't know. I caught him - he was a solo marathoner. As the climb up the final hill began, I tried to make sure I put space between us so that he wouldn't catch me. I also wanted to leave something for the final kick. Then, I heard two runners approaching, so I tried to pick up the pace. At the top of the hill, I began my kick with the goal of not getting passed. With less than .2 left, I caught one more runner and crossed the finish line, good enough to earn a top ten finish.

My finishing kick!

With a 3:01:15, it was my 5th fastest marathon (2:59:31 Houston 2016, 2:59:32 Rock N Roll DC 2018, 3:00:58 Bismarck, ND 2015, 3:01:06 NYC 2018), second consecutive 3:01, and my 45th total marathon in 27 different states. 15 of my 45 total marathons are sub 3:10 and Boston Qualifiers according to my age and qualifying standards when I raced them. While I had already run Baltimore, Maryland, in 2007 (3:49), this one gives me Maryland in under 3:30 and puts me on track for 50 states sub 3:30 (I have to redo California). It was also my first marathon in February. Once I race in August, I will have run a marathon in every month.

Finishing in 3:01:15

I was really pleased with my race. My only disappointment was two men over 40 that finished ahead of me. I wasn't going to run a 2:46, but the runner who placed ahead of me put down a 2:59:06. My effort was good for 10th out of 181, 3rd over 40, and technically 2nd age 40-49. And I did this on a course that was rolling hills with a few tough climbs.

My miles: 6:55 / 6:49 / 6:59 / 6:59 / 6:58 / 6:59 / 6:51 / 6:56 / 6:49 / 6:53 / 6:53 / 6:58 / 6:58 / 6:40 / 6:37 / 6:52 / 6:48 / 6:47 / 6:57 / 6:48 / 7:02 / 6:51 / 6:55 / 6:55 / 6:59 / 7:25 / 5:37 (final .3)

Splits:
Mile mark = Overall time (Overall pace)
2.2 = 15:11 (6:54)
5.8 = 40:35 (7:00)
9.7 = 1:07:27 (6:58) finished first loop
Half = 1:31:02 (6:57)
17 = 1:57:16 (6:54) finished second loop
20.4 = 2:20:51 (6:55)
24.3 = 2:47:49 (6:55) finished third loop
Finish = 3:01:15 (6:55)
Second half = 1:30:13
47 second negative split

Results: https://results.chronotrack.com/event/results/event/event-47603

A sampling of the comments I received:

"Nice job, Kenny. Glad one of us continued to move forward after the half way point."
"You were strong! No taper and top 10 with negative splits! Congrats!!"
"This course was harder than NYC and you nailed it!"

"Excellent time on a real bear of a course!"
"Nice job Storm!"
"Great job Kenny - proud of this effort!"
"You looked like having fun the whole time! Too bad it takes 100+ mile weeks to look that relaxed and fast at the same time!"

Thanks to DC Road Runners for hosting a fun and well-organized race and to my supporters and fellow runners! Next up: Boston!!

P.S. For Boston, my brother is fundraising for Dreamfar High School Marathon, the charity that provided his bib. If you are able to support Team Ames, it would be greatly appreciated!