Notes
2016 Boston Marathon Report
It was hot! It’s hard when you train all winter in cold, wind, ice and snow and then when you have to put all the training to the test it’s hot. Give me 50 degrees any day over 70’s.
I finished my 6th Boston Marathon. It wasn’t really pretty, but I got the job done! The past four months have been a challenging training season. My total mileage since Christmas was 601 miles representing about 84 hours of running. It’s tough getting in consistent training while being so busy at work. You sneak in the miles whenever and wherever you can. The official training actually started late this year as I had knee surgery for a torn meniscus on December 23rd. It delayed real training for 2-3 weeks, but I was hopeful that the repair would remove the crazy knee pain of a year ago. In early March I managed to strain my Achilles tendon on my other leg, which again altered my training for about three weeks. Luckily went back to OA and saw Jared Buzzell who was able to get me back running. Seems I end up there every year.
Hopkinton was crazy with runners everywhere. Police, National Guard, Snipers on the roof, and several helicopters overhead remind you of the change that the 2013 bombings did to the marathon. The predicted weather for race day was low 70’s at the start. They were right. Compared to last year’s pouring rain, low temps and wind this was quite a contrast. I was in the third wave of about 8000 runners – there are four waves total for about 30,000. It’s about a half mile walk to the starting line and once there you are put in your corrals and wait for the starting gun. AT 10:50 the group of 8000 runners in wave three started to creep slowly forward, then jog, then by the time you reach the starting line you are running. It was so crowded that you would have to slow down and speed up. The first four miles are mostly downhill and the tendency is for many runners to fly down the hills. The excitement of the day clouds your thinking and many make the mistake of going out way to fast. Experience has taught me the hard lesson multiple times. My plan was to go out about 20 seconds slower than goal pace, or about 8:38 per mile. By mile three I was able to pick it up and get back on pace, but my legs felt sluggish. There are water and Gatorade stops every mile, which was good due to the hot weather, but terrible due to the congestion it caused. It was hard to hold your pace steady.
The crowds on the side of the road carry you through this race. I put my name on my shirt and I am amazed at the shout outs, “Go Dave!” Multiple times groups would start chanting, “Dave, Dave, Dave…,” which causes you to pick up your pace. Thanks cheering squads. At mile 7-8 I saw my daughter Caroline and her husband Josh. I ran over to them and hugged them and kissed my daughter’s belly… I’m going to be a grandpa in August! That little break helped inspire me for miles, despite the heat wearing you down. I don’t normally like to run with music, but I popped in my ear buds at mile 10 and tried to use the music to get my cadence back to 180 strides per minute. It helps, but you get disconnected from the crowds. The 180 spm helps me avoid heel striking and dramatically improves your form when you’re tired. Mile 13 was coming; the half way point and you enter the tunnel of screams from the Wellesley girls. They are all insane, but a great inspiration. They all have signs that say, “Kiss me, I’m __________.” You fill in the blank. I even saw one that said, “Kiss me, I’m voting for Trump!” She was quite lonely! I avoided getting to close to the sirens wooing you to give them a kiss and mess up your race! I turned up the volume of my music!
I did a status check around mile 15 knowing that there was a huge downhill coming in Newton. Downhills beat up your quads. You have to increase your cadence, lean forward and not pound your legs. It’s around this time that you start seeing the runners who went out quickly at the start paying the price for their over-enthusiasm. The first Newton hill is actually when you cross over I95. It’s a long steady climb right after the downhill and many are walking. My strategy is to keep a fairly consistent effort on the hills. Your pace slows down, but you can motor up almost any hill at a slow-steady pace. You then reach the corner by the Newton Fire Station. The crowds are intense here cheering you on as you enter the next 4 miles of hills. The next hill begins right after the fire station and is about a 75 foot climb over a quarter mile. Not too bad. You then get a break for about a mile with some flats and a slight down hill. Mile 19 is hill number three climbing 63 feet followed by the infamous Heartbreak Hill which climbs another 97 feet over ¾ of a mile. Lots of people walking, but I continued running by effort. My pace slowed to about 9:15 per mile. When I reached the to, I raised both arms in the air and gave a shout. You are mile 21 by Boston College, and it’s time to see if you have any legs left for the next five miles.
At mile 6, 12 and 18 I too my electrolyte gels – mostly potassium, sodium, sugar and amino acids. On hindsight I should have taken them at 5, 10, 15 and 20. I think by mile 21 I was low on salt and energy and becoming dehydrated. Mile 21 is often the area the people talk about “hitting the wall.” Your body can store about enough energy for 2 hours. You take the gels to add to the store, but the body just can’t convert it to energy fast enough. Luckily my conservative, perhaps overly conservative early miles, allowed me to feel pretty strong still from mile 21 through 25. I turned off the music and played a game my runner friend Laurie Gaudreau taught – picking off “bogeys!” How many runners can you pass? It’s a crazy game, but there were so many people really hurting at this point of the race that I was flying by dozens of runners. It actually helps build your confidence and pushes you toward the end. I saw Caroline, Josh and Leah at mile 23. Caroline was holding up a water bottle and banana for me. I yelled out, “I love you” to Caroline and kept trucking toward the finish. I was tired, real tired and wanted to get this done.
At this point you can see the infamous Citgo sign, but you know you still have a ways to go. There’s one more unspoken hill at mile 25, (Citgo Hill) as you cross I90. It’s the toughest one of the race I think because you are so spent. Once over, you head downhill and under a tunnel and back out and make a right onto Hereford St. I saw my friends Richard Sherman and Laurie Gaudreau screaming out my name. Just the motivation you need to get up Hereford and make the final left turn on to Boylston. This is a “dream-like” experience as you look down the final quarter mile to the finish. It looks so far away. The screaming from the sidelines is deafening. At this point you give it all you got to finish. I was able to increase my pace to 7:31 and crossed the finish line. Done. Then the dizzies start and then my vision starts to get fuzzy. The medics ask if you are all right; I’m vertical, just barely, holding on to the fence and begin the walk to get some water and my medal. I always give a big hug to the volunteer who puts on my medal. It’s a pretty emotional time. My knees really ache… I wonder how I will walk the mile back to the Lenox Hotel. It’s really windy and actually much colder in the city. I’m shivering as I ask a police officer how I get back to the Lenox. When I finally get there and walk through the door, all the staff applaud and cheer and hand you a beer. Up to the room, take a shower, eat, drink a can of coke, eat some more and rest.
This was my 6th Boston and one of the hardest. They say each year you get older your times increase 10-20%. I don’t want to believe them. I finished with a time of 3:44:13 which is about 10+ better than the qualifying time I need for 2017. If the body holds up, I will be back again next year.
You can’t do a race like this without support. My wife Jane is my rock. She inspires me to get out and train when I’m tired or its cold. She deals with mounds of sweaty and stinky clothes, makes special meals for race day, and always cheers me on. Thanks! My daughter and son-in-law, family members, friends and the amazing crowds of Boston all helped me in different ways finish the race. I believe that finishing is more from the heart and mind than from the legs. My dad would say in Greek, “Tahn, ee, epi-tahn.” It basically means are you holding your shield or are you on your shield, referring to the ancient Greek wars. I managed to hold my shield today. Thanks everyone for reading through this epic tale. Thanks for your support and encouragement. It really means a lot. Time to rest and get ready for the next race.
splits
Split time of day time diff min/mile miles/h
5K 11:20:33AM 00:26:21 26:21 08:29 7.08
10K 11:46:23AM 00:52:11 25:50 08:19 7.22
15K 12:12:10PM 01:17:57 25:46 08:18 7.24
20K 12:37:56PM 01:43:43 25:46 08:18 7.24
HALF 12:43:36PM 01:49:24 05:41 08:20 7.21
25K 01:04:12PM 02:09:59 20:35 08:30 7.07
30K 01:31:49PM 02:37:36 27:37 08:54 6.75
35K 02:00:00PM 03:05:47 28:11 09:05 6.62
40K 02:26:17PM 03:32:04 26:17 08:28 7.09
Finish Net 02:38:25PM 03:44:13 12:09 08:54 6.74