My Running History part 5 (Boston 2007)

I had run a 3:03:54 at Lower Potomac River Marathon in March 2007, finishing 6th overall and first place in master's category. 2007 Boston was just around the corner. When I first ran Boston in 2004, we had a freak(?) heat wave. Just the opposite this time. The forecast was for a spring noreaster --- near freezing temperatures, wind, and rain. In fact in the days leading up the marathon, there was some concern that there might actually be snow or blizzard conditions. Great.

Anyhow, race day dawned with pouring rain and near freezing temperatures. By some stroke of good fortune, the rain died down as we waited in the Boston public gardens for the buses to take us to Hopkinton (the year before the BAA moved the marathon start from noon to 10 am, which meant we had to catch the buses around 6 am). I was wiser this time around and had packed my pre-marathon meal (PBJ, banana and hard-boiled egg) and did not eat it until 7 am on the bus (3 hours before race start). The rain picked up again as we reached Hopkinton and we scurried from the buses to find a dry spot underneath the large tents that were erected on the Hopkinton HS grounds. Sort of a nice camaraderie as everyone huddled together (like the penguins in that documentary) to block the wind and generate mutual body heat. Around 10:30 the rain let up as we made the ½ mile or so walk from the HS to the starting line. Most of the runners (myself included) were still wearing our "garbage bag" rain coats (take a hefty garbage bag, cut a hole at the bottom and one on either side and presto you have a disposable raincoat). As we were standing in our starting carrels doing last minute stretches some fool runner jinxed us all by commenting out loud that perhaps the rain would hold off after all. Thanks buddy. About two minutes before the start, the sky opened up again.

So we started the race with temperatures in the low 40s, pouring rain, and an easy 25 mph headwind. But off we went. I still thought that maybe I could run that sub 3 hour marathon (I had come within 4 minutes of it just 6 weeks earlier). The first half marathon I held the correct sub-3 pace. But the rain had soaked me to the bone and the windchill was not helping. Around mile 5 or so I developed a splitting headache that lasted pretty much the remainder of the race. About the wind, to be honest the first 12-13 miles were actually somewhat protected from the wind, so it wasn't a constant headwind. And the rain did let up around mile 10. Unfortunately, the cold weather had most of the Wellesley women dressed in winter gear (none of the shorts and bikini tops from 2004, oh well) but many were holding signs saying "kiss me." I passed.

The bad part about hitting Wellesley, is that the course became more out in the open and we started feeling the true effect of the wind. We were soaked, it was cold, and now it was windy. My headache was pounding. And we were just entering the Newton Hills. It all was taking its toll. My pace went from a nice sub-3 hour 6:49 minute per mile pace to 7:01 pace by mile 18, 7:11 by mile 21 (just after Heartbreak Hill), 7:21 at mile 24, and an overall pace at the finish of 7:26. Still, I ran a much smarter race than before. I was fueling better, hydrating better. I had my GPS watch so my pacing was better. But cold temperatures take a lot out of you. Nevertheless, I ran a very respectable 3:14:40 (a Boston qualifying time) and finished 2,524 out of 20,348 (top 13%).

So that's the thrill of Boston but the chills continued. I finished the race with a splitting headache and as they were removing the timing chip from my shoe and began shivering pretty much uncontrollably. As I walked (some might say staggered) to get some post-race food and course medic approached me. Looking at my bib information, he asked my name, age, where I was from. Perhaps I answered too slowly or perhaps it was my chattering teeth and shaking body. But he called over a wheelchair, shoved me in it, and they took me off to the medic tent. Hypothermia. Usually most people have a somewhat elevated body temperature after finishing a marathon, I seem to recall mine was about 95 or 96 degrees (stage 1 hypothermia). They wrapped me up in a warming blanket, removed my wet clothes, and started feeding my warm broth to get my body temp back up. There were runners a lot worse off than me though -- I saw several with IVs of warm fluid (I later learned that I was only a degree or two away from that treatment -- yikes). I spent about an hour in the medic temp until I was back to 98.6 and they released me.