6 Minutes Short Of Qualifying For The Boston Marathon! (Chip Time: 3:21:01)

Today is a good day! It is now about 6pm on Sunday Evening and occasionally you hear a "Wow", or an "I can't believe it" phrase coming from either myself or Jose. And I still cannot believe it myself as I am writing this, but Jose was short ONLY 6 minutes to qualify for the Boston Marathon!!!This was way beyond the expectations of today. The goal was to TRY to run the Marathon under 3:45, but he felt really good today and was able to keep a good pace the entire time. Last year, his time was 4:22, so he was over an hour faster this year. I contribute this amazing improvement to all of the training he has been doing this year combined with losing 20 pounds since the Half Ironman in March 2007. What an enormous difference.
For those of you that like to read stats, here they are:

10K - 42:39 min (6:52 min miles)
Half Marathon - 1:33:44 (7:09 min miles)
21 Miles - 2:36:08 (7:26 min miles)
Finish - 3:21:01 (7:40 min miles)

You can say the Rock and Roll Marathon was a great success for him and I am so proud!!

On my way to San Diego, as I was driving on the 5 Southbound around Sea World Drive, I saw, what I believed to be, the lead runner being filmed. I think he was on Friars Road. It was really neat to see and I started getting excited about watching the runners arrive at the Finish Line, hearing the music, the announcer and in particular, I was anxious to see if Jose could make his goal of 3 hrs and 40 minutes. :0) I knew he would do well, because he has been training so hard. Hopefully it would pay off for him.
I arrived at MCRD (the Marine Corps Recruit Depot) around 9am after having gone through long lines, security etc. It was still cloudy. Perfect for running. Not hot at all.
Anyway, I was checking things out and the first runners (apart from the pro's of course) were trickling in already. One in particular I heard and was amazed about was a 16 year old who ran the Marathon just under 3 hours. I believe when I looked at the clock, his time was 2:54. My god, that is insane I thought!! Only 16 years old. Great job.
I was expecting Jose around 10:10am, so around 9:30 I settled in a spot just past the Grand Stands in the hopes of getting close to the fence so I could hold the boys up when he would run by. Right when I got there...oeps, Joey needed a bathroom break. Oh well, we still had plenty of time. Just as we settled back into our spot, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was only 9:54am and there was Jose!!! What??? Is that right? I was so excited, screaming and jumping up and down. He didn't hear me yell, but I think the lady who was standing next to me will be deaf for the rest of the night. Sorry! I quickly apologized to her, said goodbye to the mom next to me, also waiting with her two kids, and headed towards the finish line.
We were reunited about 30 minutes later (after a well deserved massage) and Jose looked great. I helped him stretch out a bit. He explained to me that he felt so good and that he possibly just missed the cut-off to qualify for the Boston Marathon. That is right. I didn't even think about it yet. We were going to have to wait to find out his chip time. Jose continued to tell me about the run and how at Mile 15 someone came up behind him and said: "Man, you are an animal!". It was Mark Ford. Jose's co-worker, mentor and 19 time Ironman Finisher!! Wow, that is crazy he thought. I am running with Mark!! That was definitely a highlight. I got to meet Mark later on and he was so nice. He said again how well Jose did and, of course, I agreed. It was unbelieveable what had just happened!!

Just to recap the improvement for the Marathons this past year:
Los Angeles Marathon 2006 - 5 hrs 4 minutes
Rotterdam Marathon April 2006 - 4 hrs 40 minutes
Rock and Roll Marathon June 2006 - 4 hrs 22 minutes
Rock and Roll Marathon June 2007 - 3 hrs 21 minutes (yes!!)

We can only hope Jose will feel as strong on August 4th, during Vineman, as he did today. I can't wait and know Jose will finish in the time he has alloted himself. He still amazes me with his determination every time. I am always in for a surprise. For now, we are hanging out, I'm going to put the kids to bed and I am sure we'll be talking about this day for the rest of the week.

Good luck to all Trifecta Team Members on June 10th who will be participating in the Half Ironman Ensenada, Mexico. We will be rooting for you!! Happy & Safe Training to you all!

Untill next time. Over and Out ;0)