I finished in 3:55, and believe it or not, if you would have told me that beforehand I would have taken it, for the simple fact that the word finished was present. It is a sad state when that is the goal for one's fourth marathon, but that is where I found myself coming off a DNF of my last marathon, and three months of not knowing if I would ever get over the injury that caused it.
For all intents and purposes, I really had no business in Hopkinton this morning. But if you qualify for Boston, you run Boston. If you are injured prior to Boston, you do all that you can to run Boston. If it's hot, you run Boston. If it's cold, wet or rainy, well, you get the idea.
I had a feeling it would get ugly today, so I turned off all the alerts on my watch and did not look at it a single time during the event. I just didn't want to be burdened with all that comes with that, and that was before I knew it was going to be 70 flipping degrees, ugh. (It was strange that 70 degree temps were forecast for an entire week, then a day before the race, they changed it. Well, they had it right the first time!) The sun was omnipresent, but strangely, it alternated between being hot and cool on the course. It was really weird.
Not to use the temps as an excuse, but they clearly had an effect on me. It was just a terrible day to race a marathon. For all of those who sat this one out, you should thank your lucky stars!
The crowd support was amazing, there were throngs of people everywhere! It got to be a bit much however when I was struggling. I mean, "you're almost there", "looking good" and "you got this" just don't fly when your ass is dragging on the ground. Still, kudos to them for taking the time to show up and even acknowledge my dumb butt.
I haven't really analyzed the data, but I was already in a tailspin before I got to Newton. And it was all I could to get through those miles without stopping to walk. Indeed, it was just after mile 22 when I walked during a race for the first time in my life. I was just so thirsty that I wanted to drink a gallon of water, and I did take four or five cups at that aid station. This despite the fact that I took water from every aid station before it, it was really bizarre. As an aside, I've taken in about 120 ounces of fluids since the conclusion of the race, but have only gone to the bathroom twice, with each of those being a little more than a tinkle. I wasn't hungry afterwards either, which is really odd for me.
Anyway, walking was the worst thing I could have ever done, but, I really should pat myself on the back because I wanted to walk much earlier than that. I just kept telling myself to make it through to the next hill, and then I'll walk. I said that until there were no more hills, and then I walked, on a fucking downhill.
I was in real trouble at that point, and it wasn't until a dwarf came tooling by that I said oh hell no, and started running again. Who knows, if I had not seen him I might still be out there walking!
Once I got going again, I got into a groove and it really wasn't all that bad (despite how ugly the spits are). I mean sure, my legs were throbbing in agony, but I wasn't in the dark place I usually am at that point. I was just sick of running, a direct result of the lack of mileage coming into the thing.
Man, it took forever, but once I got onto the home stretch I was overcome with relief! There was no point in sprinting and I did not. As a result, it looked as if I was standing still so many people passed me by! And a warning to all of those who have yet to run Boston; there is a 150 mile walk to get out of the "tunnel"! It was worse than the race FFS.
My splits are an abomination, but I have never been one to hide from a poor performance so here they are:
01 - 8:04
02 - 7:55
03 - 7:46
04 - 7:32
05 - 7:38
06 - 7:48
07 - 7:44
08 - 7:53
09 - 7:58
10 - 7:51
11 - 8:11
12 - 8:00
13 - 8:09
14 - 8:22
15 - 8:29
16 - 8:23
17 - 9:07
18 - 9:41
19 - 9:14
20 - 9:48
21 - 11:05
22 - 9:48
23 - 16:50
24 - 10:11
25 - 10:37
26 - 9:51
Someone mentioned that I ran a huge positive split (that's a nominee for understatement of the year right there!). Well, because I was there I can tell you with 100% certainty, that it is nothing short of a miracle that I even finished. I have blisters on three toes, two toenails appear to be coming off, and I ran with what felt like a brick in my stomach after my second gel. I was miserable, and as bad as I wanted to quit, I just kept thinking about all of the people who don't really care what my time was. All they care about is that I finished, and for once, that is all I cared about too.
Word.
Dude. That just sounds brutal. Mile 23 looks like it was a marathon in itself. You were in no shape to run a marathon, or barely even a half based on when you started to slow down. But, mad props for having the balls to show up (I had no idea if you would until a few days ago), and once you did, crawl if needed to the finish line. Because one does not DNF Boston if one retains consciousness. And, you do win the prize for the fastest RR, so you've got that going for you. Don't forget to wear the jacket and medal when you go back to work. Congratulations, man.
Dave
Penguin Power!
Great job finishing a marathon on such little training. Other than the whole running part, how was the Boston Marathon? Was it a good race in terms of crowd support for the entire length of the race, amenities, organization, etc? It seems similar to NY in that it is a point to point race. How long before your start did you have to leave for the athlete's village?
Upcoming Races: Run as One 4M (4/24) * Japan Run 4M (5/8) * Brooklyn Half (5/21)
My friend DNFed Boston this year. Granted he basically collapsed in the med tent so it was probably the wise choice :-P
Way to hang in there. I lol-ed that you started running again after being passed by a dwarf.
Nice job persevering. Maybe your body wasn't ready, but obviously your head was totally in the game.
"..all of the people who don't really care what my time was. All they care about is that I finished." Amen to that.
on my way to badass
You did it. Great race report. Your lack of fluid output is a little concerning. Are you better this morning?
Still waiting for the perfect race picture. 5K PR-33:52 , 10K PR 1:11:16, First HM 2:42:28
Now that I've met you, I can hear you narrating this RR in my head.
I'm glad you showed up, and finished this thing with as little as blisters and a couple of toe nails as an injury report. Even for a competitor such as yourself, given what the past few months have been like, this has got to feel good in some way.
The dwarf part made me laugh.
Recover well, my friend.
I boarded a shuttle to the village at 7:15 (my wave started at 10:25), and got to the village at 8:30ish. Once there, you just kind of hangout and try not to think about too much. I found a spot inside the tent (because me and the sun don't get along) and laid on the grass. I actually saw many people that I know walk by. For me, the whole was about keeping everything in check, so instead of listening the loudest music I could find as I normally do pre-race, I actually listened to some jazz tunes.
Everything about it was as billed, except the expo needs its own planet, as it was packed! Coming from a city without mass transit, I just had to figure out the whole subway thing, and once I did, the rest was all good.
I saw my first beer keg just after mile 2, and then it all made sense; it's a big ass party for them people. Not unlike St Patrick's Day, opening day, or Cinco De Mayo is here....except times a billion!
No more marathons
Been there, done that. (more than once)
A finish is a finish, especially at Boston.
Way to go LRB.
Boston 2014 - a 33 year journey
Lordy, I hope there are tapes.
He's a leaker!
Yes, it's taken it's own sweet time, but my body appears to be functioning normally again.
Now that I've met you, I can hear you narrating this RR in my head. I'm glad you showed up, and finished this thing with as little as blisters and a couple of toe nails as an injury report. Even for a competitor such as yourself, given what the past few months have been like, this has got to feel good in some way. The dwarf part made me laugh. Recover well, my friend.
I think I'm up into the double digits with FEs now and it's always cool to put a voice with a forumite. It was a pleasure to meet you and "the woman" and my main man Jay Deezy!
It sounds weird but I think I feel better for all of my friends and family who have no clue of what it is we do or how we do it, but are as thrilled as if we won the stupid thing. It was them that kept me going (as well as the peeps here), something I'll be sure to tell each of them.
And to be clear, I wasn't making fun of any group of people. When you're in a world of hurt, you take motivation from wherever you can. My point there was that if he was still running, I could too. It got my ass in gear and I am actually thankful for that!
Totally understand. It was both motivating and demoralizing to be passed by a guy on crutches (due to a spinal cord issue) at a half a few years ago.
Are we there, yet?
Following the splits while tracking all of you, I expected a report like this, but I cringed reading it because I know what it feels like.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.