Cox Rhodes Races Providence (PVD) Marathon 2013

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Finishing the Providence Marathon in 3:25:51 (50 minutes better than my last marathon)

So I ran Providence Marathon on May 12th. This was my first real visit to Providence, other than driving through or visiting the mall. In particular, I enjoyed seeing Brown University, the State Capitol building, and much of the revitalized downtown area (I gather it used to be pretty rough back in the day, but they have made a very determined effort to modernize and rejuvenate). My goal with Providence was to get closer to the Boston Qualifier (BQ) time of 3:05 that I need for my age category, but it was not to get BQ itself this time. That’s because my previous marathon time was 4:18:22. I was aiming for 3:40 or better, and I got 3:25:51. I was happy with that time, though I of course need to beat it if I am going to qualify for Boston in 2014.

I arrived in Providence on the Saturday evening, ate dinner at one of the local veggie restaurants (Veggie Fun) and stayed at the Omni Providence, which was an ok host hotel (once you got over just how busy they were that Mother’s Day weekend). The marathon itself began at 7:00am on the Sunday, a few blocks from my hotel. I was up at about 5:30, though I had prepared my gear the night before. At the expo, I had bought a rain jacket, which I wound up ditching after a couple of miles. I will want to make a few other wardrobe adjustments for the next race, but it’s an ongoing learning process. At the halfway point, it became clear I was not going to get BQ, so I did stop for a couple of minutes to water up, desweat a little, clear my sunglasses, etc. I also might have live tweeted (@jonmasters) a little, and that did slow me down. Again, I wasn’t planning to hit BQ on this occasion, merely improve my previous time.

Since Providence, it has become clear that I need to make a more determined effort to get in as many marathon attempts as possible between now and September’s Boston Marathon registration cut-off. I am currently registered for 4 more marathons between now and then:

There are a few others (e.g. one in WA that I happen to be nearby during) that I either cannot make because I am out of country, or because they have sold out. I am entering the 24 Ultra Somerville Road Runner’s marathon in July because the regular marathon is sold out, but they will give me valid marathon split. I’ll honor the spirit of the ultra and be prepared to go a full 24 hours – that’s how keen I am to get BQ.

#onerun for Boston (Memorial Day Weekend) – I volunteered with my friend Kris (@krismatt)

Meanwhile, preparations for this coming weekend are ongoing. I ran two half marathons over the Memorial Day weekend (1:37 and 1:40 respectively). This was, of course, not advisable but I am still working on common sense. This coming weekend, I am driving from Boston to Cloudersport, PA on Friday. On Saturday morning, there’s a shuttle to the start line in Galeton, PA, and then a 26.2 mile straight shot run back (with an unfortunate hill at the 16 mile mark).

This weekend is more of a sustaining exercise than necessarily likely to get me a BQ. It’ll be the point where I decide whether to book a ticket to Duluth next month (which I’ve already registered for) or hold off and train harder for the ultra in July. Either way, my last contingency is currently the Via Marathon on September 8th, but I am open to suggestions for other marathons. If it’s on findmymarathon.com or the USATF site then I’ve probably already found it, but do let me know in the comments, just in case.

Want to support me? As always, please give a donation to The One Fund and support the victims of this terrible tragedy.

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