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 countdown to Boston
Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

countdown to Boston Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2006 10:11 am 

Two weeks to go, and I'm getting a little crazy.

Craziness #1: Called the doctor about this persistent chest/sinus congestion that's been plaguing me for the past couple weeks. It's not really slowing me down, but it still seems worth checking out.

Craziness #2: Checked the long-range weather forecast for race day. It calls for rain, low 45, high 60, winds 9mph from WNW. I don't mind the rain as long as it's not pouring buckets. This far in advance, though, that forecast could very easily change.

Craziness #3: I think this speaks for itself: :-)

http://www.runworks.com/templates/runworksClean/images/photos/rickshaw-shirt.jpg


Rustyboy

LA, CA
Joined: 14 Dec 2004
Posts: 225

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2006 11:00 pm 

Yep, the shirt settles it: You're insane.

Go git em!


mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 10:31 am 

The shirt looks great! My daughter made one for me for last year's NYC marathon, and which I wore in the Philadelphia marathon two week later. She used individual iron-on embroidered letters. So it really stood out nicely.

Richshaw, how did you do yours? This might be a useful thing to ad to a "tips" list; "what's the best way to put your name on your shirt." I've seen so many people use tape (I guess they don't want to ruin a good shirt) and the tape ends up falling off half way through (gets wet) or it's too difficult to read from the side of the road.


Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 10:43 am 

I made a stencil by printing out the image I wanted, mounting it on poster board with spray adhesive, and then cutting it out with an x-acto knife. My first attempt used a permanent marker with the stencil, but I definitely wouldn't recommend that technique. The marker bled a lot, so the letters came out fuzzy and indistinct, and the house smelled like marker for two days afterwards. The one in the photo was my second attempt, and used fabric paint designed for synthetic fabric. It still looks pretty "home made", but it'll do the job. :-)

Originally I was going to make a stencil of a runner in silhouette too, and add it below my name. Once I found how much work it was just to do the name, though, I decided against it.

My biggest concern was how to mark a breathable fabric like cool-max or dri-fit without compromising it's breathability. Some paints dry like a hard plastic shell, and would have closed the air holes in the shirt. I also looked into getting one custom-made, but every place I looked only offered cotton T-shirts.


mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 10:50 am 

I'm hoping you'll show us the back of the shirt...where I'm sure it says "Runworks.com" in nice bold letters.

Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 12:53 pm 

Rickshaw wrote:
Checked the long-range weather forecast for race day.

I just peeked again... it seems to change every 10 minutes, so it's probably totally meaningless. But as of right now, the forecast is for mostly sunny, low 47, high 62, winds from the W at 16 mph. That would be one rippin' tailwind!


Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 1:06 pm 

The level of goo in my lungs finally seems to be receding, thankfully. I'm still coughing a lot, and I'm left feeling flat and tired, but I'll take it. With a few more days of rest, I'll hopefully be back to something like normal.

I've been looking at some post-Boston races, to give myself something to look forward to when I get back. There's a duathlon near home on April 30, so maybe I'll give that a try. I've never done a bike race, but I'm willing to try it and look stupid in the process.

There's also a Muddy Buddy race in June that I may do if I can rope a friend into it. You race in two-person teams, sharing a single bike, alternating segments of running, biking, and physical challenges like rope climbs. There's a whole series of Muddy Buddy events around the country... if anyone has done it before, what were your impressions?


mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 7:08 pm 

Sorry to hear you're not already back fully on your "fleet" feet. They say you can't get any fitter during the three weeks before the marathon so there's no point in trying to do anything but rest up and just keep your legs in tune. If there is anything postive to come from your illness, I hope it's that it forced you to get the rest you might not otherwise have had the discipline to get. And hopefully, you'll be well rested and ready.

So how can we best track you and Bricks on Patriote's Day? I think Boston has something similar (or perhaps better) to the alert system used at NYC to let friends and family know when you pass the chip timing mats.

The Muddy Buddy sounds great. If I were in your neck of the woods I'd be knocking your door down to join you. I hope you can find someone to partner up with.


Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 7:50 pm 

You can use Bricks' and my bib numbers (from a previous Boston thread) to look up our live 5K splits at the baa.org website on race day. You can even have them text messaged to your cell phone! Um, yeah... I don't think even my wife will be signing up for that. :-)

Anybody else running? There must be some other lurkers out there who rarely post, but are also running Boston.

There's a Muddy Buddy in Boston-- could you grab a friend and make a weekend drive up there from NY? It's also in Chicago, Boulder, and several other cities. Or you could score a cheap plane ticket, and join me in San Jose... :-)


mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 8:01 pm 

When is the one in San Jose? My brother-in-law lives in Mountainview and I know Jet Blue has some cheap flights out of NY to San Jose. He's been wanting me to come out to do some mountain biking with him. I might be able to kill two birds with one stone.

Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 9:09 pm 

It looks like the Muddy Buddy season is May-October, and San Jose is June 11. Check out www.muddybuddy.com for the info!

Bricks
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
Chicago
Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 222

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 12:05 pm 

The alerts system is there, but it has it's limitations. Each runner can only enter 3 devices (cell, pager or email). I know in Chicago, anyone can log on and get unlimited alerts for unlimited runners and devices, but Boston and NY seem to limit each runner to 3 alerts total. I know I'm using mine up on the 3 potential groups following me in Boston on race day. Beyond that, they're going to have live updates on the BAA website throughout the race where you can check all runners manually. That of course assumes you're at a computer, but the alerts system is a bit limited.

Rickshaw, glad to hear your illness is subsiding. Mine is lingering, but it's just a light cold, for now, knock on wood. As long as it's mostly gone by race day, i don't see it mattering one bit based on what mfox said. if i was going to get it, getting it in zero week was actually ideal, again, assuming it's gone by race day.


Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 8:31 pm 

I'm impressed you actually know three people who want your splits beamed to their cell phones! :-)

mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:07 am 

Anyone else here listen to the "Phedippidations" podcast? The host (SteveRunner) is running Boston and has created a distribution list to alert all and any who are interested in his progress during the race. I think he's using the tracking system to send alerts his site. His system then re-sends the alert to the distribution list containing the e-mail or verizon text message address of anyone who wants to keep track of him. Clever idea.

mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:07 am 

Anyone else here listen to the "Phedippidations" podcast? The host (SteveRunner) is running Boston and has created a distribution list to alert all and any who are interested in his progress during the race. I think he's using the tracking system to send alerts his site. His system then re-sends the alert to the distribution list containing the e-mail or verizon text message address of anyone who wants to keep track of him. Clever idea.

Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:49 am 

I hear he's making a podcast from his entire race. Interesting idea, but would you really want to listen to 3+ hours of step-by-step narration of somebody's race?

I can hear it now: "Just passed the 2 mile marker. There's a GU wrapper on the ground. Sure is hilly here. The guy in front of me has an 'I brake for chili' t-shirt. Okay, I'm still running. Now I'm at mile 2.01..."

Maybe with some judicious editing after the fact, it would be more reasonable.


OldManRunner
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
Rochester, NY
Joined: 28 Nov 2004
Posts: 262

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 3:42 pm 

"Man, I really need to take a leak, but there don't seem to be any trees around. Wish I hadn't drunk so much before the start. OK, passing mile 2.02 now..."

mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:04 pm 

I doubt the final podcast will be much more than an hour long. He's expecting to finish the race in about 4:25. He recorded his run during the Boston "Run to Remember" recently and had it nicely edited. He pointed out major milestones and then narrated over much of it (post production) with tidbits of information about the race. He didn't include minute-by-minute coverage. It should be an interesting podcast.

I listen to several running/triathlon related podcasts and Phedippidations is one (if not THE) best.


Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Re: countdown to Boston Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 8:19 am 

Dang, I need to stop looking at the weather forecast, it's making me nervous. I'm starting to freak out! I need some sedatives.

Now Accuweather is calling for 60 degrees and 20 mph winds on Monday. But weather.com and weatherunderground both have a better outlook. Weather underground forecasts 52 degrees, 38% humidity, 46% cloud cover, 11 mph NNE wind. I'll take it!


Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Phedippidations Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2006 9:36 pm 

Oh man, poor Steve Runner. Phedippidations #41 was supposed to be his celebration/narration of his Boston Marathon run. I'm sure he never expected he'd be puking the whole way! The music he dubbed in over all the puking noises was hilarous, but sad.

mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367

Re: Phedippidations Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 5:17 am 

I've always said I admire those people who are in the back of the pack of a marathon and are out there on their feel (running or walking) for 5+ hours. Poor Steve was feeling rotten even before the race started and managed to push himself to the finish line despite not being able to keep any fluids down. And he even managed to stay focused on his podcast. My hat's off to him.

For those of you who enjoy listening to someone talkig while you run (rather than music) you should find Phedippidations very entertaining. RunnerSteve usually produces an hour long podcast each week full of all sorts of things related to running or runners. It has definitely helped me pass the miles away much easier during my longer runs. Give it a try. Check out SteveRunner.com or you can subscribe to it through ITunes


OldManRunner
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
Rochester, NY
Joined: 28 Nov 2004
Posts: 262

Re: Phedippidations Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 1:58 pm 

Yeah, based on your recommendations mfox I listened to his Boston Marathon report. Ouch, the poor guy! I tried a few of the other segments as well, which I thought were OK but the mailbag responses got a little old after a while. Very well produced, though. Sort of reminded me of NPR's "This American Life", with a running focus!

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