Notes
I was going to post this within the 3:15 thread, but I think it's time I stick my head outta there and introduce myself.
Abridged version:
I beat my “A” goal of 3:06 in a time of 3:05:55 and I had a really great time.
Full version:
Goals
A – sub-3:06
B – any PR
C – BQ
D – Don’t die
Morning in Boston
I woke up at 4:45 a.m., and had 1.5 bagels with strawberry jam, a banana, and a coffee in my room. I should’ve waken up a little earlier, because that wasn’t quite enough time to get things moving if you know what I mean.
I left my hotel at around 6:00 for the 15 minute walk over to the Boston Commons to meet Jon A (PR!) and Rock N Run (sub-3:00!!) from the sub-3:15 thread for bus loading. It was great to have some company for that bus ride into Hopkinton. It was quite chilly waiting for the buses and sitting around in the Athlete’s Village. I think it was about 4-5 degrees C around 6:00-7:00. We couldn’t have asked for better weather for the race though. I was a little worried because it was rainy and a little breezy for a few days, but the forecast was for clear skies and a slight NW wind, which was perfect since we were running east. The forecast held true! Here are some pics of the bus loading area:
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Athlete’s Village
When I saw Rock N Run put on his sunglasses during the bus ride, that’s when I realized I had left mine in the hotel. I took that as a good sign though, since I forgot my sunglasses in the hotel for my 2 prior marathons and those both went really well. The bus ride seemed to have taken forever, but we finally arrived in Hopkinton and we headed directly to the port-o-joins. Once business was taken care of, we headed over to the place where many other RWOL forumites were planning to meet. We sat around for about 2 hours, took care of business one more time, and then prepared for battle. Stupid me forgot to put my toque in my drop bag – doh! That’s a throwaway now. Here’s the three of us just before heading to the starting corrals:
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We were all planning to do the “pee in the Gatorade bottle underneath a garbage bag trick” in the starting corrals, but I suggested we hit the port-o-johns one more time on the way to the start area. Too be quite honest, I needed to take a dump, which was my second time doing it in a port-o-john. The first time was when we arrived in Hopkinton.
Miles 1-5
1 – 7:19
2 – 7:00
3 – 6:52
4 – 6:55
5 – 7:04
Not having run a marathon in over a year and not having raced in over 8 months, I was quite nervous and wasn’t sure if my stomach was queasy at the start or if it was just the nerves. Rock and Jon assured me that it was just the nerves and they ended up being right, or my stomach discomfort just went away. Jon was shooting for a 3:05, and I for a 3:06, so we decided to start out together and see what happens. It’s a fast downhill start for the first 5k, but we know not to get too carried away because of all the stories we’ve heard of people paying dearly for it later. I think we stayed pretty true to our splits, but I later confessed to Jon that I wasn’t comfortable in the early going looking down at my watch and seeing all those times in the 6:50s. Things weren’t quite loose yet after 5 miles, but I knew I’d start feeling good and get into a groove soon. We were both surprised to see Rock pass us at around mile 3 or 4 as we both thought he was long gone. He had a plan and stuck with it.
Miles 6-10
6 – 6:55
7-8 – 13:58
9 – 6:55
10 – 7:03
Still on pace and starting to feel comfortable with our mile splits. Jon and I asked each other how we were feeling, and we were both still feeling good up to that point, but we both knew that we still had a lot of work ahead of us.
Miles 11-15
11 – 6:59
12 – 6:55
13 – 6:57
14 – 7:02
15 – 7:08
This was the last flat stretch before hitting the Newton hills. Mile 10-11 has a gradual incline, and I think this is where Jon got away from me a little bit. I did shortly catch up, and I told him that I’m not too strong on the hills so I was just going to try to keep it between 7:00 and 7:10 on the flats, give a little time away on the up hills, and try to take it back on the down hills. Mile 12 is Wellesley College and it was so crazy with all the girls screaming and leaning over for kisses. I’ve heard about this spot before, but I just couldn’t imagine it. I was fully planning on kissing a few of the Wellesley girls, but I was making such great time that I didn’t want to slow down, so we both just gave out a bunch of high 5s. We hit the halfway mark in 1:31:42, so we were about a minute fast according to my pace band, but probably right on target for Jon. The halfway mark is also the Wellesley town center and it was almost equally loud as Wellesley College. In fact, I really felt like some kind of Olympic champion or something with all the cheers.
Miles 16-20
16 – 6:58
17 – 7:25
18 – 7:32
19 – 7:17
20 – 7:24
The famous Newton Hills are from miles 16-21. I found the first one to be the most difficult. It didn’t look overly intimidating, but maybe it was just because it was the first one and I wasn’t quite ready for it yet. Although I had trained up and down Prospect Point (about 150ft elevation gain over the course of about ½ mile) in Stanley Park several times a week in preparation for hills, I still wasn’t quite confident in my hill running ability, but more so because of the location of these hills in the marathon. I mean, we are just starting to get zapped of energy at this point. Because of my lack of confidence going up the hills, I decided not to attack them, but just to try to maintain even effort and see what’s left at the end. I don’t think I lost too much time during this segment, but I knew Heartbreak Hill was next and I was just praying that I’d still have gas left for a final push to the finish. It was also during this stretch that Jon got away from me again, and I actually lost sight of him this time. Here are some pics of me at 30k from that website:
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Miles 21-24
21 – 7:37
22 – 6:57
23 – 7:04
24 – 7:08
I think I handled Heartbreak decently, and I actually saw Jon at the crest of the hill. I caught up with him shortly thereafter and asked what he had left. I was quite discouraged when he said, “I don’t know, you go for it!” but I knew I had to press on. I was really looking forward to smoking his azz in a foot race to the finish. Boston College was around here, and that was crazy loud too! At around mile 23, my lower left quad seemed like it was about to lock up and it was screaming at me for a bit. My heart really sank at this point, since I felt that I ran a great race up until now, survived the hills, and I thought is was all about to unfold. I said outloud, “Go away!” I hope the people around me didn’t think I was talking to them. Well looking at my splits from mile 23 and 24, it obviously didn’t bother me for that long.
The longest 2.2 miles of my life
25 – 7:03
26.2 – 8:22 (6:52 pace)
I think it was around mile 25 that I saw the famous Citgo sign that everybody talks about so I know the end was near and I try to muster up what I can for a strong finish. My quad started to talk to me again but I didn’t care because I was almost there and I knew I could withstand it for just a bit more. But man, there was a slight headwind for the last 2.2 and I saw people starting to walk at around miles 24 and 25 and my head started playing games with me. “I could just jog it in and still BQ,” I said to myself. “No, shut up! Put your head down and finish strong!” I made that turn onto Boylston Street that I remember seeing on tv last year, and I was running strong, pumping my arms, and had this stupid grin on my face. I raised my arms, crossed the line, and was just elated. I set a PR in Boston, and no one can take this moment away from me. Coincidentally, Don S.51 who was originally from the sub-3:15 thread crossed the finish line right around the same time as me. I really need to thank Jon for his early pacing efforts. I put my stupid pace band on upside down, so it was completely useless. I also wouldn’t have had the confidence to drop those 6:5x’s had I started out on my own. I don’t think I’ll be back next year, but I will be back. BQ willing.
Finish line pics:
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