Meeting Meb - Wineglass Marathon Weekend

October 3, 2019

Who else do you know named Meb? Or, more formally Mebrāhtōm Kifl'izgī; in Eritrean. But best known as just plain, Meb or Mebrahtom "Meb" Keflezighi 

It was a normal travel day to the Wine Glass Marathon in Corning, NY from RDU to Corning through Dulles with Cynthia Anne. Or was it? Yes, the flight from RDU to IAD was nothing out of the ordinary, although a bit late and a long walk between gates, typical when there is a connection - the gates are always the farthest apart. When we boarded the plane at IAD, many had already boarded. We sat down and got situated, comfortable might be pushing it but at least a little extra legroom. Cindy was on the aisle with me at the window which is our normal arrangement. She generally reads/listens to a book and I stare out of the window deep in thought. I looked to the other side of the aisle and thought, "hmmm, that looks like Meb." He is wearing a USA Olympic hat, OK, I knew Meb was a silver medalist in the Olympics. I lean over to Cindy and say, "I think you are sitting beside Meb." She looks over and says, "who is his shoes, sponsor?" I knew he had switched to Skechers, both from reading his book 26 marathons and the advertisements with him after winning the 2014 Boston marathon in Skechers. I said, "Skechers." She asked me, " Do you want me to ask if he is Meb?" I said, "no, I don't want to bother him." Of course, Cindy could not help herself and leans over to him and says, "are you Meb." Politely, Meb says "yes." That is how an ordinary flight to a marathon turned into a real highlight!

Again, Cindy couldn't help herself and explained that I am a runner and have run 107 marathons, blah, blah, blah... I am thinking, "OK, here is Meb, winner of the Boston and NYC marathons, silver medalist in the Olympics not to mention other top finishes in his marathon and running career meeting a guy that tries to finish a half-marathon in the time it takes him to finish a marathon. Meb, a guy who has run with ( and beaten) some of the greatest marathoners in history, meeting a mid-pack guy." Meb gets a big smile on his face and is genuinely interested in meeting me. He even asks if I wanted to sit next to him in the empty seat beside the window. I thought that I would not make it any more awkward for the guy as it was but Cindy and I did swap seats so that we could chat across the aisle.

I had just finished Meb's new book 26 marathons a couple of months earlier. At least I could reference some things from the book. It is hard, at least for me, that when you meet someone like this to carry-on a flawless, intelligent conversation even with all of my marathon experiences and being well-versed in the sport, at least from an amateur's perspective. One thing that makes running so wonderful is that we all run the same course on the same day in the same weather as the elites. 26.2 miles is 26.2 miles no matter how you map it. Of course, running 2:04 in a marathon is much different than running a 4:04 or even a 3:04. We did chat for much of the hour flight to Corning where Meb was going to work the expo, speak at the pasta dinner, run the half-marathon, be at the finish and present the awards. We spoke about his current running regimen, the time he was planning to run in the half marathon, his children and their potential for running, among a few other things. I mentioned that my first marathon was NYC 1994 when German Silva took a wrong turn into the park but still won the race. He said that German was a good guy. Then, he asked if I wanted to see his silver medal from the Olympics. He puts it on display at the expo. He said that I could hold it and put it on. I didn't out of respect for what the medal meant but I did hold it and had a picture taken with it. I said that I had never qualified for Boston but as I age, I will still keep trying as the qualification times increase. At age 60,  I currently need a 3:50 and I ran 4:01 in the Flying Pig this year. He told me a story of a lady continuing to try as well advancing into her 60's. Upon arrival in Corning, we said our goodbyes and I told him that it was truly a highlight of all of my marathons that I got to chat with him. He is such a humble, nice person and loves meeting other runners - not only meeting but chatting with
 other runners.

Meb's Silver Medal

Meb Again (and Bart)

As we were walking into the expo, Meb was walking out and Cindy yells, "Meb! the people from the plane." He stops and walks over to us and says, "I was just telling someone your story." Frankly, I am not sure what that story was or maybe that I am still trying to qualify for Boston after 107 marathons at age 60. I am not sure if that is a good story or not! Anyway, as we were chatting, taking some pictures, which he is eager to do, Bart Yasso walks up. Now I am thinking I am hobnobbing with the goober smoochers. Although I had met and ran with Bart before, there is no way he could remember my name. I introduce myself and he says, "I know you." likely because I had just liked one of his runs on Strava or liked something of his on Facebook, maybe the Kauai Marathon. Again, we said goodbye to Meb and walked into the expo with Bart chatting about some races. Now I figure, after meeting these two, I am destined to run a BQ on the fast Wine Glass course. Haha!

Cynthia Anne, Meb and me

Bart Yasso, Meb and me

Watkins Glen

A highlight of the trip included hiking Watkins Glean State Park.  the glen's stream descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs, generating 19 waterfalls along its course. The gorge path winds over and under waterfalls and through the spray of Cavern Cascade. Rim trails overlook the gorge.  It will be difficult to stop taking pictures but enjoy the scenery without looking through a lens. Afterward, walk to Rooster Fish and enjoy their own brews and a nice lunch. We could not capture all of the beauty in pictures but we tried. There are many, many more!

Museum of Glass

No trip to Corning is complete without visiting the Museum Glass. Runners get a discount. There are your typical museum type things to do, meaning, looking at art made from glass but there are many demonstrations and hands-on exhibitions as well. We attended a glass blowing demonstration which in the end they give one lucky audience member a piece of glass made by one of their craftsmen.  After meeting Meb (twice) and Bart, I felt like it might be my day to land the piece of art. I never feel like this since my number is usually not the random number drawn. However, sure enough, my number was picked - 667! Now, I thought, a BQ is definitely in my grasp! Haha!

The 5K

I signed Cindy and me up for the 5K. I knew we would only be walking but always enjoy doing an event together. I also thought that it would give me a bit of a warmup the day before the marathon. It was fun and we finished together in 51.22.

The Marathon

I am not keen on bus rides to the start of a marathon, or any race for that matter. But, the organizers made it bearable not only for the bus ride but for the starting area as well. From our hotel, at the Hampton, it was about a 20-minute walk to where the buses were collecting runners. There were enough buses and no lines waiting to board the marathon buses. The bus even left half-full providing for a nice quiet ride to the start. Upon reaching the start there was a big circus tent, small portions heated with folding chairs throughout.  Porta potties were numerous across from the tent. I sat for a while in the tent but as it got more crowded and closer to the starting time, I left, used the porta-potty, and hung around outside stretching and trying to stay warm. The temperature was around 43 and the forecast was for overcast skies with a temperature in the upper 40's to low 50's, perfect for running a BQ, Haha! It was also a net downhill course, perfect for a BQ, Haha!

Tent at the start

Colors at the start

  Even up to the starting time, I was unsure whether to pace with the 3:50 group or the 4-hour group. I hadn't broken 4 hours for 9 years although close at the Flying Pig a few months ago running 4:01. A finish of 3:50 would be a BQ for me. Haha! I had a good summer of running in the hot, humid conditions of NC. So, who knows, it could be one of those great days where everything comes together. It has so far for the trip.

I decide to go with the 3:50 group and give it a go. When contemplating the 4-hour group, I thought that it would help me start out at an easier pace, warming up, and then making up the time and staying strong to the end.  But, I thought, likely I will not be able to make up time in the end so I opted for an even pace with the 3:50 group.

As it always does in a marathon, the pace felt easy from the start. Pacers can sometimes be a crap-shoot so I suspect I have only used pacers in about 10% of my 108 marathons. I have always felt that I have to run my own race. I was happy with my splits through 9 miles...

1	1.00 mi	8:37	8:37 /mi	8:38 /mi	129 bpm
2	1.00 mi	8:36	8:36 /mi	8:37 /mi	148 bpm
3	1.00 mi	8:34	8:34 /mi	8:35 /mi	150 bpm
4	1.00 mi	8:38	8:38 /mi	8:38 /mi	152 bpm
5	1.00 mi	8:40	8:40 /mi	8:27 /mi	152 bpm
6	1.00 mi	8:36	8:36 /mi	8:34 /mi	153 bpm
7	1.00 mi	8:41	8:41 /mi	8:54 /mi	148 bpm
8	1.00 mi	8:52	8:52 /mi	8:51 /mi	149 bpm
9	1.00 mi	8:51	8:51 /mi	8:55 /mi	147 bpm

...and then with a single step, the pain in my Soleus shot deep into the muscle. I have struggled with this specific issue throughout the year, coming and going at some of the most inopportune times. It happened in mid-march a few days after the Umstead trail marathon when running very slowly, took some more time off and then it reoccurred, took 10 days off, and it felt better. I was only a few weeks away from running the Blue Ridge Marathon, self-proclaimed, America's Toughest Road Marathon. I knew that the severity of running up and down would be difficult for my calf. Oddly, the marathon went quite well and never felt an issue with that calf. But now, here I am in the early stages of a marathon still with 16 miles to go. Right away, I changed pace with a slight limp and favoring my left leg which then started putting more stress on my right one and changed my mechanics. I didn't want to stop, so I chugged along. For the next 12 miles, I somehow held it together, yet slower...

10	1.00 mi	9:08	9:08 /mi	9:08 /mi	147 bpm
11	1.00 mi	9:15	9:15 /mi	9:16 /mi	146 bpm
12	1.00 mi	9:10	9:10 /mi	9:11 /mi	145 bpm
13	1.00 mi	9:09	9:09 /mi	9:10 /mi	145 bpm
14	1.00 mi	8:59	8:59 /mi	9:00 /mi	148 bpm
15	1.00 mi	9:24	9:24 /mi	9:21 /mi	146 bpm
16	1.00 mi	9:20	9:20 /mi	9:22 /mi	147 bpm
17	1.00 mi	8:59	8:59 /mi	9:03 /mi	147 bpm
18	1.00 mi	9:18	9:18 /mi	9:20 /mi	147 bpm
19	1.00 mi	9:49	9:49 /mi	9:47 /mi	144 bpm
20	1.00 mi	9:40	9:40 /mi	9:45 /mi	139 bpm
21	1.00 mi	9:56	9:56 /mi	9:52 /mi	134 bpm

At that point, I knew that a BQ was out of the question and also knew sub 4 hours was also gone. My focus now was to finish without further injury since I had my 19th Baltimore Marathon in two weeks. I slowed even more because the toll that overcompensating was taking on my right leg and just the struggle to keep going.

22	1.00 mi	10:42	10:42 /mi	10:44 /mi	136 bpm
23	1.00 mi	11:05	11:05 /mi	11:06 /mi	137 bpm
24	1.00 mi	11:16	11:16 /mi	11:13 /mi	134 bpm
25	1.00 mi	11:57	11:57 /mi	12:02 /mi	135 bpm
26	1.00 mi	11:28	11:28 /mi	11:23 /mi	134 bpm
27	0.31 mi	2:58	9:30 /mi	9:40 /mi	134 bpm

Over the bridge and down market to the finish

Final cheering group

Market St. finish

Off I go for another quarter mile

Eventually, I got to the finish line running down Market Street in Corning among the spectators. I found Cindy, who is always there for me, gave the finish line kiss and hobbled across the line. I heard Bart call out my name and say, "I know him." 

Lots of food!

So, I ran 4:09 55 which for the injury mid-race and struggling to get to the finish, I was good with. Of course, more times than not, I am just good with a finish in a marathon. Strangely enough, 4:09:55 is just 12 seconds from the time of 4:09:43 when the first bomb sent off in Boston back in 2013.

Wine Glass is a great event; some nice swag, a well-organized, big race in a small town, a great area to visit. It looks like Meb and Bart will be back in 2020. Go run and have fun!

Curious dog!