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American Strong: The Untold Story of American Teamwork and How Ryan Hall Helped Meb Keflezighi Win Boston (LetsRun.com)

I’m sure like almost everybody who was paying attention to the Boston Marathon yesterday, I was blown away by Meb’s performance in becoming the first American winner since 1983.

Last night a story was posted to LetsRun.com by Robert Johnson about how American Ryan Hall, along with other American elite runners, worked together to help Meb accomplish this amazing feat. This is a great read, and an even better story. Amazing that Ryan coordinated all of this when his own personal race was going so poorly.

Must Read >> American Strong: The Untold Story of American Teamwork and How Ryan Hall Helped Meb Keflezighi Win Boston

This is the cover of the May issue of Boston Magazine. It is comprised of over 100 pairs of shoes worn by participants in the 2013 Boston Marathon. Inside the magazine are runner’s stories for 15 of the pairs, and many of the additional stories can be found on their website. This is fantastic.

Boston Magazine has an article (Behind the May Boston Magazine Cover) on their website that explains how the cover came about. Here is a brief excerpt:

Then our design director, Brian Struble, and deputy design director, Liz Noftle, came up with the concept of taking shoes worn during the marathon and arranging them so that the negative space is in the shape of a heart. For reasons I’ll explain in a moment, I knew as soon as I heard the idea that we had our concept—not just for the collection of essays, but also for the cover. In fact, I quickly realized that the stories of the runners who wore those shoes would be even more powerful than the essays we’d commissioned. We quickly changed course and settled on the cover concept and the outlines of a feature package: We’d shoot the shoes collectively to form the heart, but we’d also photograph them as individual pairs to illustrate the stories told by the runners in the package (which we called “The Shoes We Wore,” and which you’ll find in the May issue).

What an awesome idea, and amazing they were able to pull it off.

Big thanks to my buddy Paxton for sharing this….definitely worth reading. Written by ‘Runner’s World’ columnist Peter Sagal who ran in Boston, and was helping to guide a legally blind runner through the course. Pretty compelling:

Article >> Eyewitness to Bravery, Horror by Peter Sagal (RunnersWorld.com)

Today I almost deleted my Facebook account…

I was not an early adopter of Facebook, but these days nobody would question that I have fully embraced social media. This is not only through the use of Facebook, but also Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and even my personal Blog that is connected to these various services. In many ways social media has become an incredible tool for someone with my interests and background.

There are some obvious benefits to this technology, such as the ability to keep up with the lives of friends, former classmates, family members, and those that share my personal hobbies such as running. However, these things are only the tip of the iceberg.

As an active member and Bible class teacher at the Bellevue Church of Christ, social media provides me with an additional avenue of communication for church events, fellowship opportunities, Bible class notes and handouts, and those in need of prayer and encouragement. As a guest preacher and Bible class teacher, I have been blessed to work with a number of churches in Middle Tennessee through the years. Facebook and Twitter have provided me with a great way to stay in touch with my brothers and sisters in those churches, when this would have otherwise been difficult. It has also made it easier to keep up with the efforts of missionaries in other countries, especially those I’ve personally worked with in southern Honduras.

However, for all of the good things about Facebook and social media mentioned above, there are many things that really concern me, especially when coming from Christians. I remember vividly the moment when I found out about the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012. I was overwhelmed with sadness, and all I could think about was the need to pray. Probably the best post I saw on Facebook in response to this unspeakable act was from our preacher, Tom Riley…

Unfortunately, this was not the typical response that I saw from my fellow Christians. Between Facebook and Twitter I would estimate that 7 of every 10 posts coming from Christians were regarding the political implications of the attack, rather than anything concerning the victims, the families, the community, or most importantly….prayer. This shocked me.

Article >> A perfect Marathon day, then the unimaginable

Must-read column from the Boston Globe by Kevin Cullen. A couple of paragraphs below that just broke my heart:

The location and timing of the bombs was sinister beyond belief, done purposely to maximize death and destruction. Among those who watched in horror as a fireball belched out across the sidewalk on Boylston were the parents of the schoolkids murdered in Newtown, Conn. The ­Atlantic reported they were sitting in a VIP section at the finish line, across the street from the explosion.

This is how bad this is. I went out Monday night and bumped into some firefighters I know. They said one of the dead was an 8-year-old boy from Dorchester who had gone out to hug his dad after he crossed the finish line. The dad walked on; the boy went back to the sidewalk to join his mom and his little sister. And then the bomb went off. The boy was killed. His sister’s leg was blown off. His mother was badly injured. That’s just one ­family, one story.

Article >> Attack will test marathon community by Bonnie D. Ford (ESPN.com)

Article >> A Joyful Day in Boston Ends in Shock by Jason Gay (WSJ.com)

Article >> So Close, Yet So Far by Amby Burfoot (RunnersWorld.com)

Article >> A Bomb Is the Opposite of a Marathon by Jeff Edmonds (logicoflongdistance.com)

Another compelling article regarding today’s events from by Ezra Klein, writing for  washingtonpost.com

Article >> If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon

Thought provoking article on RunnersWorld.com from Roger Robinson, husband of Kathrine Switzer, on the future of Marathons in light of what happened in Boston today.

Article >> Boston Bombings: A Loss of Innocence

If you’ve seen any of the videos of the explosion, or the picture above, you’ve probably seen an older runner who crumbles to the ground at the moment of the explosion. Turns out that he was fine other than a scraped knee, and got back up to complete the race, finishing 2nd in his age group. His name is Bill Iffrig, and he is 78-years-old. This was his 45th marathon finish. Remarkable!

You can read more about Bill in this article >> Lake Stevens runner just feet from blast in Boston

Photo >> John Tlumacki, Boston

Tonight I got back to cross-training after my laziness and apathy last week. However, that’s about the only good news that I have to share. The whole time I was on the elliptical, I was watching the continuing coverage of the Boston Marathon explosions on various new outlets. It was also during this time that the first reports came out that one of the 3 dead was an 8-year-old child.

This is just so incredibly sad and unthinkable! How could anybody possibly do something like this? All attacks of this nature are hideous, but somehow this seems closer to me than most others. I guess it is because this happened during a marathon! I’ve participated in 13 marathons over the past 4 years, and would dearly LOVE to run in the Boston Marathon!

Today started out with a mix of emotions anyway. The selfish part of me was a little depressed about having never qualified for Boston, and wondering if I would ever make it there considering the daunting standards for men. Another part of me was excited for all of my friends that would be toeing the line in Hopkinton this morning. I kept tracking all of them online from their start during the late morning until most of them finished in the early afternoon.

When all but two of my friends had finished the race, I saw the initial reports of two explosions. Once the severity of the situation became apparent, a number of us here in Nashville began frantically trying to get any information we could about their condition. Initially we were able to touch base with everyone except for our friends Dan and Vicki, who had not finished the race. Thankfully we heard from them about an hour later, and they are both OK. Vicki later posted the following on her Facebook account:

I’m ok. Heard the explosion but thought it was fireworks. Rounded the corner for the last 400 meters and they stopped the runners. I saw the smoke. My boyfriend got knocked down twice from the explosion and has temporary (we hope) hearing issues now. So thankful I needed to walk when I did or it could’ve been me, too. Horrific!

All of this puts my initial selfish emotions into perspective. I’m thankful that my friends are OK. I’m thankful that I was NOT in Boston today. I will continue to pray for those affected by the explosions today.

Link >> Live Updates

This is a great site anyway, but today they are providing the best live updates I have been able to find within the running community. The story is so fluid right now, and the stats keep getting worse.

AWESOME NEWS!

This tragedy is something that is beyond understanding. Terrible.

Vicki is OK. Her boyfriend was there and can’t hear out of one ear. Has blood on his shirt. Saw a dead person and people missing limbs. He just found out Vicki is safe.

Talk about a haunting message. Just awful…Brings it home. Glad that Vicki and her boyfriend are safe. Still praying for my friend Dan.

This article provides a lot more details on the explosion today at the Boston Marathon:

Still praying for my friends Dan and Vicki.

Article >> At least 2 dead, 22 hurt by Boston Marathon bombs

Summary From the Article:

• 2 explosive devices detonated at the Boston Marathon finish line
• At least 2 deaths, 22 injured by the explosions
• 2 additional explosive devices were found, undetonated
• A third explosive device went off in a controlled detonation

Still praying for the safety of my friends Dan and Vicki. Glad all of the others are safe.

Photo >> John Tlumacki, Boston

Just Horrible – Praying for all of my friends who participated in the race today. I’ve heard from all of them except for Dan. Very anxious about his safety.

Article >> 2 explosions at Boston marathon finish line

Call Marathon Sports and ask if they will ship you a pair! Or shout out to Tumblrs running Boston!!!

Let me know if u want me to pick up a pair for you when I am at the expo!!!

I sincerely appreciate it, but my issue here is more that I don’t want to wear anything Boston Marathon related until I actually qualify for Boston. The cruel part about these shoes is that they just look so awesome!

For someone who desperately wants to run Boston, and is in love with the Saucony Kinvara, these limited edition Kinvara 4s are downright CRUEL! They will only be available at Saucony’s Boston Marathon expo booth or Marathon Sports in Boston.

I believe that 2012 was the first time I had ever written down my running goals, and I ended up with a pretty successful year in spite of my stress fracture. For 2013 I’m doing away with all goals related to total mileage or running a certain number of races, and instead focusing on racing achievements.

• Stay Healthy – This first one is a direct result of missing 6-weeks of training with a femoral stress fracture in 2012. While this could mean a lot of different things, I’m going to try and put a quantifiable measurement on it. My goal is to avoid any running injury that would cause me to miss more than a week of training. To work toward this goal I’m going to try and be smarter than I was in 2012, however I still plan on pushing the envelope as it relates to my capabilities.

• Qualify for the 2014 Boston Marathon – After completing my “Quest for 3:15” last year, my attention immediately shifted to qualifying for Boston. In order to qualify for 2014, I will have to run a sub-3:10 marathon (7:14 average pace) between now and early October (most likely). My current PR is 3:12:28, but I’m still trying to regain my speed and endurance after coming back from the stress fracture. My first chance at this will be on February 24 at the 2013 Rock n’ Roll NOLA Marathon, which is also the site of my current PR. It’s probably unrealistic that I’ll be ready for a BQ by then, but I do think it is achievable in 2013.

• Run a Sub-1:29 Half Marathon – My current PR of 1:29:52 was set on one of the hardest courses that I’ve ever run at the 2012 Oak Barrel Half Marathon. I’ve had a lot of bad luck In other races with much faster courses, and I do not feel that my PR is indicative of my capabilities, especially at their peak in 2012. To that end, I want to break 1:29 (or better) in 2013. That will require maintaining an average pace of 6:47, which is a bit daunting.
• Finish in the Top 500 at the 2013 500 Festival Mini Marathon – This is one of my absolute favorite races, and I’m registered to participate for my 5th consecutive year in 2013. The Mini is the largest half marathon in the US with 35,000 runners. To go along with the “Indy 500” theme, the first 500 finishers get a special medal in addition to the normal medal that all finishers receive. I got one of these for the first time in 2012 with a finish time of 1:31, but this was aided by the oppressive humidity for last year’s race. In previous years, it required a finish time of 1:28 or better to achieve this mark.

Well, there it is for what it’s worth. What are your running goals for 2013?

This morning the Nashville Striders group training run for the Country Music Marathon was a 20-miler on the Stones River and Shelby Bottoms Greenways. There were several members of our group who were planning to participate (most of them are running Boston), so I decided to join them for at least part of the run. My coach had told me on Thursday that for the next couple of weeks he just wants me to try and keep my mileage up as long as my legs feel good, and then we would start thinking about the specific training plan for Milwaukee.

Since I’m only two weeks removed from the NOLA Marathon I decided to just play it by feel with regard to how much distance I would go for today. Most of the route was an out-and-back, so shortening the run would not be a problem.

However, I ended up feeling good for the entire run and actually completed 21-miles. I love this route and the run was fantastic. My overall pace was in the 8:30s, but this was a mix of miles from the 9:10s in the beginning to 7:40s at the end. I was especially pleased with how well my legs felt on big hills near the end of the run. Dan and Mary pushed the pace through this section, and my legs felt strong all the way to the end (BTW…Dan and Mary looked great).

Right now my confidence is still pretty high from NOLA, and I’m excited about the things my coach has in store for my training over the spring and summer. Beginning tomorrow, my Dad and I leave for an 8-day mission trip to southern Honduras. Not sure how much I’ll get to run, but any mileage completed will be up in the mountains at 5,000 ft above sea level.

Two weeks after we get back I’ve got the Oak Barrel Half Marathon in Lynchburg, followed 3-weeks later by the Country Music Marathon (as the 4-hour pacer), and then the 500 Festival Mini Marathon (in Indianapolis) a week after that. Busy Schedule!

Beast Mode…ON!