Notes
123rd Boston Marathon Race Report
After every marathon, I write up a report reflecting on the race… the good, bad and ugly. This is my 17th marathon in the past 11 years and my 9th consecutive Boston.
The forecast for the week before promised heavy rain and an easterly, in your face, wind similar to 2018. BAA even sent out a warning email to the runners to prepare for brutal conditions. As race day approached the forecast was still calling for heavy rain, but the predicted temps were going to be in the 50’s. On the day before the race the prediction was for a south westerly wind (almost a tail wind) and temps in the high 60’s, but still with heavy rain and wind gusts. Based on the constantly evolving forecast I packed an assortment of gear from shorts and singlets, long sleeved shirts and lightweight tights, to waterproof hats and gloves and ponchos. We really wouldn’t know what to wear until the start of the race! Saturday morning the revised forecast showed a 3-4 hour window of no rain from 10 to 2… just the time I would be running.
After a restless night’s sleep, I woke up at 3:45 AM on race day. I had a breakfast of hot tea and a peanut butter, jelly and banana sandwich. I had packed a cooler with food and water to have about an hour before the start. Everything felt pretty good, though I was nervous about what surprises the weather might bring.
I left the house at 4:45 AM and drove to West Springfield where I was meeting a bus sponsored by the Springfield Harriers Running Club that would be leaving at 6:00. On the 30 minute drive down there was lots of lightening and it started to rain lightly. As I pulled into the parking lot the skies opened up to a “gully washer!” Strong gusty winds and more lightening. The bus ride to the start in Hopkinton was reminiscent of the heavy rain from last year’s race.
We arrived at Hopkinton around 7:30 AM and it was still raining steadily. I put on my poncho and ventured out to the porta-potties. The sky was dark and ominous, but by 9:00 the rain let up and the sky lightened. The temperature was in the low 60’s. Time to rethink what I was going to wear. I opted for a race singlet and shorts with a throw-away l/s shirt. I ate another PBJ and banana sandwich, some peanut M&M’s, drank some water, hit the porta-potty one more time and headed to the starting line at 9:45. I was in wave 3, corral 5 that was scheduled to start racing at 10:50. I am always blown away as you walk through the athletes’ village and see and feel the excitement of 30,000 runners all anxiously waiting to start the race. I was getting psyched. This could be ideal running conditions… wind had changed to the southwest (almost a tail wind), sky was slightly overcast and the temp was about 63.
There are 4 waves of about 7500 runners each divided into 8 corrals per wave. It’s pretty chaotic as runners queue up in the corrals and toss their throw away garments. Everyone is anxiously talking and wishing each other good luck. There are people from all over the world… it’s pretty amazing! Then the sun started shining and it started to get warmer and humid as the water on the wet roads started to evaporate. And we ‘re off…
The first 4 miles are downhill, but the roads are narrow and extremely crowded with runners. My plan was to follow my friend Barry’s advise and not charge out faster than my goal pace, but to mimic my long training runs which start off slower at 8:20-8:30 pace and build up to marathon pace. I was also using a Stryd Power Meter to measure my watts. Based on my training I was trying to keep my power at 225-230 watts whether I was going up or down hill. That translates to moving faster downhill and slowing down on the up hills. The exact opposite happened to me. The crowds were so thick in the first 5-7 miles that I barely could speed up enough to hit the prescribed power, meanwhile on the uphills I had to keep throttling back as my power would quickly jump to 240-250 watts. Stryd’s plan is in essence to keep your effort (power) consistent.
It became pretty obvious in the first 4 miles that the race was going to be hot and sunny. The temperature was climbing and I could feel it. I noticed my heart rate average was climbing. There are water stops at every mile after mile 2. I started hydrating early grabbing a cup of water from the volunteer and sipping on it for the next 1/4 mile. The crowds never seemed to thin out which is a problem with starting in wave 3. You don’t want to waste a lot of energy dodging runners and zig zagging, but I kept running up against slower runners or even people walking right down the middle of the course.
Miles 6 through 12 are through Framingham, Natick, and Wellesley and mostly flat with rollers. My pace was averaging 7:57 to 8:05 and my power output was right on the mark. I was in the groove. At mile 12½ you hear the Wellesley girls screaming… the scream tunnel. I avoid the sirens the like Odysseus and kept plodding to the half marathon mark. My half split was 1:46.34 which was about 3 ½ minutes slower than 2018. Was it the heat, the Stryd plan, poor pacing, being old?
HALF
2018 1:42:52
2019 1:46.34
Miles 13 to 16 are fairly flat with mile 16 being a 100’ downhill plunge into Newton. My pacing here was slowing, my power was still within the planned range, but my average heart rate was increasing to the low 170’s. I also started dumping water on my head at every water stop to try to cool off. I was using eGels for electrolyte replacement every 6 miles and drinking water at least every two miles. The heat, sun and humidity were starting to take a toll on me. At mile 13 the race officials posted on an electronic display that there was a “High Heat Warning – Condition RED!” I was getting discouraged.
About at this point of the race I also noticed a sharp burning pain on one of my toes on my left foot, like my sock was rubbing. I knew a blister was forming. Every step on the left foot started to burn. I told myself to ignore it. After the race when I look at my toe I had a huge blood blister circling around my 4th toe. Gross.
At mile 16 you begin climbing the Newton Hills with the first hill climbing over I 95. At mile 17.5 you reach the Newton Fire Station and make a 90-degree right turn and begin climbing the first of the three hills. My goal was to keep my power at 226 which meant not charging up the hills – run with consistent effort. My power through the hills and miles 17-22 was 217-208 watts with Heart Break really taking a toll. My pace slowed to 9:24. I never walked and tried to use my arms to motor up all the hills, but it was so hot!
At the top of heartbreak and mile 21 I seemed to get some energy back and started to pick up the pace slightly. What was amazing at this point is how any runners were walking. I was passing dozens and dozens of runners who were all spent from the heat. Miles 23 to 25 are down Beacon Street and the crowds are amazing cheering you on. I would raise my arms in the air the response was a deafening cheer. It helped keep me going. I knew I could finish. A turn to the right on Hereford Street and run two blocks and a left onto Boylston Street and you are at the sweetest .3 miles of the whole course. Crowds 10-12 deep line both sides of street screaming and cheering you on. You can see the finish up a head and dig down to give it everything you have left.
I crossed the finish line at 3:39:30. A vertical finish! A little faster than last year where the conditions were so brutally cold and windy. I thought this year was going to have similar conditions and we would be soaked and facing a headwind, instead we baked and got sun burned!
This is my ninth consecutive Boston Marathon. I managed to requalify with 25 minutes faster than the required time. I will be back next year for number 10! I came in 20th place out of 468 male runners aged 65-69. Top~5%!
Thanks to the many of you who cheered me on and wished me good luck. Thanks to my running buddies who pushed me, ran with me, coached me and encouraged me. Thanks to the lessons I’ve learned (the hard way) from Jared Buzzell and Kate Waldron about strengthening the core. I was dedicated throughout my training cycle to include bi-weekly strength training for core, glutes, arms and legs. Amazingly, it works… no injuries, and after the race the recovery (other than the blistered toe) was quick and pain free.
Special thanks to one of my biggest fans, daughter Caroline who is always cheering the loudest. Thanks to my number 1 grandson Theo for his music video singing, “Good Luck Bupah…” and wearing his “Future Boston Marathoner Shirt!” And most importantly thanks to the love of my life Jane for putting up with my 650+ miles of training runs I did since January, making special meals, providing hammie massages, bandaging wounded feet, and always telling me she’s proud of me.
My next race is up Mount Washington in June… only one hill, followed by a return to the NYC Marathon in November.
If you made it to this point of my Marathon report, I hope I gave you a small idea of my run on April 15th. Thanks for reading.
See you next year!
Dave
Bib # 20558