For starters, let's just get everything out in the open -- I ran the slowest of my 16 marathons on April 15, a 3:43:48. Oh well -- just a bit slower than my first Boston in 2004 (when the starting temperature was in the mid to upper 80s).
But I'm getting ahead of myself. The weekend started out with an uneventful flight to Boston. Jordana and I checked in to our hotel (near the TD Center) and then hit the expo to get our race packets.
After getting our bibs and shirts, we toured the expo. While there I met running legend Bart Yasso of the Yasso 800s.
After the expo, we took the T to the Italian district for a delicious pasta dinner. According to some of the kids in the restaurant, the owner of the Florida Marlins (they were playing the Sox) was also a dinner guest.
The next day (Sunday), we were up early to watch the Invitational Mile -- local high school kids race, followed by elites. It was cold and windy but very exciting. There was a huge Jumbotron hanging downtown near the finish that allowed you to text a message. Hmmm....
After watching the milers, we went back to the expo. We spent the better part of the day walking around the various booths and attending some very interesting lectures. I met the Boston Marathon race director, Dave McGillivray -- a very interesting man. He was always the last picked in school for sports because of his size, but grew up to run a very competitive marathon.
Then we listened to the legends of Boston, including Bart Yasso, Bill Rodgers, Katherine Switzer, and Amby Burfoot.
Followed by Dean Karnazes -- ultramarathon guru. It was a fun day. We went back to the hotel to drop off our stuff and then headed out to the official pre-race pasta party with our club friends Jackie, Patricia, Bob, and Giovanna.
Then off to bed.
Marathon day dawned bright and cool -- race forecast called for near perfect conditions (mid to upper 50s). We made our PB&Js and packed up our drop bags and headed off to Boston Commons for the buses to Hopkinton.
Hopkinton was a lot of fun. The club (Montgomery County Road Runners) had staked out an area (conveniently near the porta-johns). We dropped our gear and spent a pleasant hour or two waiting until it was time to head to the start line.
All too soon, it was time to head to the start. I was in Wave 1 which started at 10, Jordana was in Wave 3 which started at 10:40. We gave each other a good luck kiss and I was off for the 1/2 mile or so walk to the start line and specifically, corral #5.
At Boston, your Wave and Corral assignments are based on your qualifying time -- basically starting everyone who runs about the same marathon time near each other. My qualifying time of 3:02 was from Marine Corps 2011. I was nowhere near capable of running that fast this day. I thought about starting further back, but, hey, I busted my ass to run that qualifying time and I'd be damned if I wasn't going to start in my assigned corral!!!
Anyhow, soon enough it was 10:00. The gun went off and we started....walking. Yep. Corral number 5 means there were about 4000 runners in front of me that had to cross the start line before I could. It took about 2 minutes or so of walking before I crossed the timing mats, started my watch, and began the 117th running of the Boston Marathon (my 4th).
As I mentioned in previous notes, I decided to run this one somewhat conservatively. I was more worried about my pubic bones than I was my lack of training. I also experimented by running with my water bottle -- I still took water/gatorade at the water stops but I didn't want to feel limited to those stations if I was feeling thirsty. More importantly, I wanted to take my gu's on a 45 minute schedule rather than try to time them to water stations. Anyhow, I went out between 7:30 and 7:45. To be honest, I didn't look at my watch that much and decided to run more on perceived exertion. My 5K split was 23:38 which put me at a 7:37 pace. About right between where I wanted to be.
I spent a lot of time giving high fives and taking pictures. Here are a few along the course as I passed through Ashland
and Framingham
and Natick
For most of the first half, I was pretty consistent with my time. Hit the 10K split at 47:28 for a 7:39 pace. Hit 15K at 1:11:38 for a 7:42 pace. Passed 20K at 1:36:19 for a 7:46 split. Okay, Okay, my times were slowly drifting, but I really didn't care. I was having a fun time. Somewhere before Wellesley, I did start feeling some twinges in my pubic area. I didn't really slow down that much, knowing the course would take care of that for me.
As I said, I was having fun. Soon I was entering
Wellesley. And that means only one thing -- coeds! Screaming, cheering coeds. I was also taking video (which for some reason I can't seem to upload into my notes). Suffice it to say that it took 4 Bostons for me to draw up enough courage to kiss a Wellesley girl. But I made up for it by kissing 4 different girls along the way. It was a lot of fun.
But all too soon we were passed Wellesley college and into the town proper. I crossed the half-way point in 1:41:47 -- a 7:46 pace. I only needed to maintain a 7:49 overall pace to run a BQ (3:25), so I was feeling pretty good about myself. My pubic bone felt less sore. But my quads and my adductors were feeling increasingly sore. You see, the first half of Boston is net downhill and your quads take a pounding absorbing all that impact. I wasn't tired, I was just sore.
Meanwhile, I kept running on and soon left Wellesley for
Newton. Now Newton means only one thing -- hills. From about mile 15 until about mile 21, the course takes you on a series of increasingly challenging uphills, culminating in Heartbreak Hill between around mile 20 and 21. My quads are really starting to hurt now, and the pubic bones were getting a little sore. My times reflect this. My 25K split was 2:01:35 for a 7:50 overall pace (bye bye BQ). And my 30K split was 2:29:04 for an even 8:00 overall pace. Definitely bye bye BQ.
My lack of quality training was definitely taking its toll on my legs. I took my first walking break around mile 16. I started to walk at the beginning of the water station and walked through the station, resuming running at the end of the station. I did this again around mile 20 just before Heartbreak Hill began. As tired and sore and under-trained as I was, I was determined to run, however slowly, up Heartbreak Hill. And guess what? I did. It took what seemed like forever, but I ran up and over Heartbreak.
Having crested Heartbreak, it's all downhill. Just about a 10K to go. The course now descends into Brookline and crowds start really getting thick.
As difficult as going up Heartbreak is, some consider it even more painful going down. Your quads are shot and here you have a lovely downhill that you are too sore to take advantage of. But to be honest, I did pick up a bit of pace going down into Brookline. But once the course elevation leveled off, I was back to what felt like a plodding pace. I was actually concerned that I might have to walk the entire rest of the race. My 35K split was 2:58:42 or an 8:14 overall pace (can you believe I finished the entire Rehoboth Marathon in about that time, and here I still had several miles to go!). I took another walking break with around mile 23. Resuming running after that break was so painful in the quads that I resolved that I would not walk until after crossing the finish line (for fear of just totally cramping up!) Instead, I kept getting slower and slower. My 40K split was 3:30:11 for an overall pace now of 8:28.
But the miles were ticking away. I kept waiting for it. Where was it? The sign that said you're almost done. The CITGO sign! Yes! There it was; there it mercifully was...
The CITGO sign means only one thing -- about a mile left.
Of course, I had one more hill to go. The course (with less than about 3/4 of a mile to go) goes down and up an underpass (where the course goes under Massachusetts Ave). It's not a very big hill -- more like a dip in the road. But after 25+ miles, with totally blown quads, it is a most unkind hill. But down and up I went. Then the right turn onto Hereford Street, and the left onto Boylston!
Boylston Street! Yeehaw! A little over a quarter mile to go. There is something magical about that street. All the pain in your quads and calfs and shins and pubic bones and wherever, all the tiredness, it all just seems to disappear. The finish line is in sight. The crowds are screaming and cheering. And your pace picks up. I was feeling great and finished strong. 3:43:48 -- for an overall pace of 8:33. My slowest marathon ever!
It wasn't fast. It wasn't pretty. But I was done. I finished. I ran better than I thought I would and I ran worse than I thought I would.
I ran better because there were times since last September that I thought I'd never run again, let alone run a marathon. Hell, there were a few moments during the race that I was worried if I'd be able to finish. And here I was, I'd finished Boston.
But I also ran worse that I thought. It was my slowest marathon by far -- slower even than in 2004 when I ran Boston in the upper 80's/low 90's. As happy as I was that I finished with only a few twinges in my pubic bone, I was disappointed in my time. I did not run a BQ, I did not even run faster than my then slowest time. You have to respect the course -- it is very difficult. By all rights, I should not have even been running. I had not run a single hill since July 2012 before I got injured. I had done one, only one, 20 miler as part of my training. Hell, 16 weeks out I was barely running 8 mile long runs. I think I had maybe one, maybe two weeks with mileage over 40. I was sorely undertrained, and it showed.
But, but, you have to focus on the positive. Always have multiple goals. I had three goals -- I did not achieve two of them, but I did achieve probably the most important...
I came back from a pre-stress fracture to the left femoral neck and stress fracture to the pubic symphysis and finished, under my own power, the Boston Marathon.
And that, friends, is what really mattered.
