21 Weeks to a BQ

I hope travel goes OK with the flights and everything. I would think you would get there no problem but I understand with tapering and everything you could be a little obsessed/focused/taper mad about aspects of the race and travel.

JohnP wrote:I had to chuckle - I went back and read your first post to this blog and found this:

Nick Morris wrote: Well for starters, I have found that you can not trust the weather at the beginning of October.

It's ironic you are worried about the weather now but for a different reason. Hopefully the travel clears up in the next day or so. It's big business and everyone has good reasons to get travel going again.

Julie wrote:I hope travel goes OK with the flights and everything. I would think you would get there no problem but I understand with tapering and everything you could be a little obsessed/focused/taper mad about aspects of the race and travel.

Thanks guys I am not too worried, but there is always a chance...and Julie...I will always obsess marathon week

10.31.12 -

4 miles...Happy Halloween!!! My last run in L.A. consisted of an easy four miles. The weather out here is gorgeous and I think that I have fallen in love...with southern California, that is I put in an easy 4.11 miles this morning at a 7:21 pace... Ever so closer to race day

Hopefully nothing will get in your way when you get back here. Sending all the karma that I don't need in NY (not running) across Lake Erie.

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:Hopefully nothing will get in your way when you get back here. Sending all the karma that I don't need in NY (not running) across Lake Erie.

Thanks!! I will take all of the good juju that I can get

11.01.12 -

Scheduled off day...Off today as I travel back home from Los Angeles. Tomorrow I fly out again to Toronto!

11.02.12 -

Travel day...So after getting back from LA at 4 yesterday, I hopped back on a plane to Toronto and made in by 4pm. Tomorrow I plan on going to the expo and running the last couple miles of the race course. After that, I am probably going to check out Niagra Falls before calling it a day.

Have fun!!! Have a great race, Nick. You've trained for this, now race smartly and report back with your awesome PR!

Best wishes, good luck. Run a smart race, you're as ready as can be.

Have a great race!

11.03.12 -

2 miles...This morning I went to the race expo to pick up my race packet. The expo was out doors in a couple big tents, which was a first. The race tech shirt was a very nice Brooks shirt. I ended up buying some arm warmers at the expo, just in case. It is supposed to be in the low 30s upper 20s tomorrow at the start. After going to the expo, which is at the finish line, I went a couple of miles back and ran the last 2.25 miles of the course. It is going to be beautiful running along Lake Ontario. Tomorrow is the day!!!!

Good luck, Nick!

21 weeks complete...Here we go!!!

Have fun!!

Congrats on an excellent run, Nick!

So close! Heck of a run.

mul21 wrote:So close! Heck of a run.

Ditto, so very close.

11.04.12 -

Race Day - Hamilton Road2Hope Marathon, Hamilton, ON

So, all I can say is that I am extremely disappointed as I came a mere 29 seconds short of a BQ

Finish time of 3:05:28...Race report to come...Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement. I know that each and every one of you were on my mind.

Ah, man, I'm sorry. That is a great time and very fast, that stinks you just missed Boston but really you did very well, too and I hope you're proud of your accomplishment.

11.05.12 -

Travel day...I just made it back home from Toronto. My pride is more beat up than anything else. Just a little general soreness from racing 26.2. Time to rest...

Look at it this way, Nick- you beat the previous BQ time for your age by 5 min. And you trained well, ran well, and are recovering well. I'd give a lot to run a 3:05 again.Great job! Isn't this also a PR????

Sorry it turned out this way for you Nick. I know it is very difficult to stomach but you can use this to motivate your training in preparation for your next attempt. Just think how sweet that BQ is going to be once you achieve it. I think you'll look back on this one day and appreciate the journey much more than the actual accomplishment.

I'm waiting to see the report before commenting too much but that's an AWESOME time. And again I'll wait to fully hear that you are OK and not battling some injury etc. but you are SO CLOSE and your going in goal of getting that BQ for Boston 2014 is right there for you - I think you should go ahead and make a plan for either a March/April marathon or something real close to the registration deadline in September. YOU ARE THERE! You don't have to change a thing in what you are doing. You just sliced a massive amount off of your PR and not even killing it through the next cycle will find you that extra time and then some with the base of endurance you've built up. I've got ideas about possible races to do but my first shout to you is GO FOR IT again and get yourself to that Boston 2014 starting line as it could not be closer and is there for you in this next race....

11.06.12 -

Race Report...

So, where do I start...I have had a couple of days now to let everything sink in and the more I think about it the more I still think that it SUCKS!!

Anyways, I got into Toronto on Friday evening. My mother and sister both traveled with me, while the older married couple that I run with often (and I talked into running this marathon) got in Friday, as well. We flew, while they drove...too far for me to sit in a car!! That evening we went to a little local Italian restaurant and I filled myself with pasta. Then it was back to the hotel to get a good nights sleep. Saturday morning we went to the expo to get our race bibs. The expo was set up at the finish with a couple of huge tents. This was the first time that I had been to an outdoor race expo. We got our bib and then proceeded to run the final 2.25 miles of the course.

Following my short run to loosen everything up, my mother, sister, and I made the short 25 minute drive down to Niagara Falls. It was our first time seeing the falls and I can say that they are extremely magnificent and beautiful. I am so glad that I took the time to go see them. We then ventured back to the hotel, where I ate a light dinner and settled down for the evening.

Now on to the important part...race day. Since the race is a point to point, we got dropped off at the start line about an hour and a half before the start of the race. I went through my pre-race routine and before I knew it, it was time to make my way to the starting line. I lined up on the front row knowing that I wanted to get a good clean start. The race director counted down, 3, 2, 1 and for a second, no one moved so I took off and everyone else seemed to follow. I actually led the race for the first 250 feet or so and then my friend that was running/pacing me yelled at me to slow down I settled in from there and let the true leaders take over. With temps in the lower 30s and hardly much for wind, the first couple of mile ticked off 6:56, 6:58, 6:56, 6:57. At about mile four, my friend that was pacing me said that his calf was acting up and he was not sure that he would be able to hold up much longer. He dropped in behind me and that was really the last time that I talked to him. I caught up to a couple of guys that were running around 6:58 and decided to sit in behind them and let them pace me. At about mile 9 I saw my mother and sister for the first time and I was thinking that today could be the day. Not too long after seeing them (mile 10), the downhill portion of the race began. For a little over three miles the course takes you down an expressway that they have closed off. The downhill is fairly significant and was a good place to save up some energy. The two guys that I had been pacing with took the hill faster than I wanted to, so I let them go and eased off a little. But I ended up catching back up with them by mile 15 just be fore we got to Lake Ontario. With a big portion of the race still left, I was once again using these two guys as my pace bunnies. We mad our way down the lake front path and completed the first and only real tricky part of the course. They had to put a loop in the lake front trail to get us to 26.2. The loop was about 3 miles long and I made it through the two loops at about the 21 mile mark. At this point I started to play the mental game. My mind was telling me that I was tired and my pace started to slow a little. By mile 23 I had to convince myself that I was going to do this and I pushed through the mental block. By mile 26 I knew that I was going to be close to the 3:05 mark. I started yelling at myself to get me going. Mile 26 hit and I was almost finished...as I made the turn to the shoot, I looked at my watch and saw it tick over 3:04 to 3:05. It was at that point that my heart sunk. All I know is that if there were any kids at the finish shoot, I hope that they had some earmuffs on, because I was cussing the rest of the way to the finish.

I crossed the line at 3:05:28...just 29 seconds short of a BQ My pride was hurt and disappointment ran over me. To be so close, yet not attain my goal was such a tough pill to swallow. Looking back now, though, I do know that I did not leave anything on the course. I gave it my all and on that day, the marathon won. I did get an 8:01 PR, so that is a positive that I can take from this.

I also made the Canadian News (see the videos below). You will be able to see that no one else started until I did

This one I am at the :13 mark.
http://www.chch.com/index.php/home/item/10274-road-2-hope-marathon-gets-a-boost

This one I am at the :33 mark.
http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/video?bcpid=605122007001&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAii5Rh_E~,CtyoY0YlBsZ47P9cPTKAjo-LMRVZQFs3&bctid=1947355650001

Congrats on a huge pr and giving it your all.

Sorry you came so close but missed. That must be a heartbreaker. Happened to my best running buddy a few years ago, too - he missed a BQ by less than a minute.

Hang in there, you'll recover psychologically from this just like you're recovering physically.

Great race!