Notes
We arrived at the Sugarloaf Mountain hotel on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, thankful that we were not running on this day in 70 degree weather. There wasn't an expo at all, just a long line to get your bib. Laurie, Greg, Mike & Noel, Michelle, Richard & family, along with Doug and his family were there. Had a nice dinner at the recommended restaurant, Tufulio's. We all thought this was the best pizza we ever had. I limited myself to 2 Sam Summer's and a Cornona. Now it was off to bed, hoping that I would sleep better than the night before. Gwen was out by 9:00 and I tried to get my mind off the upcoming day by watching a stupid movie on HBO. I eventually fell asleep after an hour or so and only woke once prior to 2:45. That was it, I was up. I laid in bed until 4:00 and decided that I would go for a walk/run around the halls of the 3rd floor to get my muscles woken up. Came back to the room, had coffee and woke up Gwen. That's when the thunder crackled and the skies opened up to a downpour that continued for several minutes. We started to get worried as we looked at the weather and saw that the radar didn't show much improvement.
At 6:15, we met Vangie, who was driving us to the starting line near the campground. It was still raining, but not all that heavy. By the time we arrived at the starting line in Eustis, it was just misting. I ditched my poncho just before the 7:00 starting time. They were still putting the mats down and connecting the wires at this time, We were all standing in line waiting for the announcements or National Anthem and boom! the gun goes off without warning. We take off and I try to relax and just settle in while weaving in and out of the numerous people who positioned themselves way too far up in line. I'm already behind my goal pace but that's OK because I told myself I was fine with being a little slow to start. In no time, however, I made it up to pace without much effort. The first beep goes off at about the same point as the marker and I realize that I'm a little fast. But it's completely flat so I'm not too concerned. The next three miles are the same, flat and slightly downhill. It's still not really raining and I'm thankful for that. At the 5 mile mark, we encounter a hill and it begins to rain pretty steadily. Rollers again through 6 but I'm still on pace but have to look at the watch to be sure as I dip down to 7:27 because I relaxed a but much, This concerns me and doubts creep in because I shouldn't be working at all yet. I tell myself that it's OK, just relax and look forward to the back half of the course. Now mile 7.5 comes and the first of three hills. I climb it, keeping pace but winded and get it back going down the backside. I'm anticipating the next hill because I know that it's the steepest and most difficult hill I'll see all day. This one beats me right up. I predetermined that this should be about an 8:00 mile but was a little defeated when the beep went off and I was over that mark, This was definitely too early to be feeling this way. The final decent hill occurred in mile 9. This one wasn't as steep just a bit longer. When I finally reached the top, my legs were screaming at me. The backside of the hill featured a very steep downhill that I planned to run on the side in the soft sand. This worked pretty well as I was able to spare the quads the pounding the would otherwise get running on the road. I started to feel better and ran this mile at pace. After the first couple of miles, my watch was going off about 8-10 seconds before the mile marker. That distance continued throughout the race and did not grow but I figured that meant that my goal pace went from 7:20 to 7:13. As I started heading towards Sugarloaf the terrain was almost all gradual downhill and this meant that I was feeling pretty good. I reached the halfway point at a 7:18 average pace, too slow to make the now adjusted 7:13 pace I needed to make goal. I ponder how I've felt in the past at this point in the race and decide that this is probably the best I've ever felt. Miles 14-16 I settle right in and I am flying. I feel so great, I'm playing air drums on a good song and even yelling at the guys beside me to get them fired up. I think about the inevitable BQ because after all it's only 10 more at pace and I'm home free. Then mile 17 comes. I realize that the BQ is not going to be given to me, I need to earn it. OK, settle down, relax and work on running form. This helps me a lot as I focus on a good cadence and having my feet hit the ground in an efficient manner. I begin to catch the group of four runners that have been ahead of me the entire way. I chat with them a bit and ask what pace they are running. They tell me they are going for a 3:10 so I think OK great if I can just stay with them I should have the 3:12 no problem, I actually pick it up slightly and pass them for about a mile. Then around 19 I begin to feel the fade and they overtake me once again and for good. I roll through 20 and ask myself how I'm feeling and determine that I feel better than in the past but it's going to be a long 6 miles at this pace, At this point, I tell myself that I only have four more pace miles and then I will allow myself a 7:45 the last two miles as a reward for the banked miles from the earlier sub 7s. At 22 I encounter the first hill in a while and I look down before climbing it and the watch reads 7:44. Oh shit. I pick it up and run the hill with authority to wake up the legs again, I just keep focusing on form the next two miles and finally reach 24. Now I can really feel the elation as I know that all I have to do is run 8:00 miles in and I've got the BQ. The next mile marker comes quickly and I can't make out the number but I'm hoping it says 25. Crap, it says 24...no, no it's 25. Excellent, only one more mile. I know from driving the course the last mile is gradually uphill the whole way. I allow myself to slow some for this last mile and I finally arrive at the Hardware store to make a right and travel the final .02 through the chute. I see Vangie and Noel on the sidelines cheering and I book it through the chute, screaming "BQ baby, yeah!, yeah!" I cross the mat, still yelling. I am so totally pumped I can't stop yelling "yeah!" People are looking at me chuckling and congratulating me but I don't even care that I sound foolish. I'm not even really beat up but I know I should walk. I nearly break down at this point as I consider all the work and sacrifice I've done to finally get my Boston Qualifier.
I regroup and head to the corner hoping to see Gwen in the next two minutes. I don't really know the exact course time because the clock is all screwed up and it had me finishing at the 2:42 mark. I estimate that she needs to come in the next 2 mins to break 3:40 and grab the BQ. All of a sudden I see someone that fits her profile rounding the corner but it doesn't look like the shirt she was wearing when we started so I have to keep looking. Once I realize it's her I run on the sidelines in my flip flops yelling "Go get it! Every second counts!" She books it to the finish and circle around and give her a big hug full of emotion. I am so proud of Gwen at this moment and can't believe we both raced so well today. Next up, break 40 in a 10k, break 19 in a 5k this summer and marry my love in December. 2016 is the year of celebration!
This turned out to be just what we needed for weather and the course was quite favorable. Vangie provided all the support we could ask for driving ahead giving us gels, gloves, water when we needed it. See you all in 2017 when I run my final marathon at Boston.