Summary: An unforgettable experience; I am grateful for it. Felt I could/should have done better, but a chip time of 3:07:28 is a PR of almost 3 minutes.
The details: Race day began early with breakfast and a walk to the busses for the longish ride to the starting line. I hadn&Mac226;t paid much attention to the exact location of the busses, figuring they „had‰ to be close to the finish line or the convention center. Boy was I wrong. I would estimate they were 1.5 miles from my South End location (I am an idiot who should have taken a cab). Our bus had us to the „Athletes Village‰ somewhere around 9:00 am. After being herded into the „Village,‰ I got my bearings and decided the best place to be was under one of the large tents. Problem was, of course that is what everyone else seemed to think. I have never seen a Refugee Camp, but looking under the tents gave me a feeling that I was looking at something similar.
People huddled together as closely as possible, each „defending‰ his or her little piece of real estate. I was fortunate to find a little patch of grass I could call my own for the nearly three hour wait for the start. I looked around and saw that many folks had learned from earlier experiences. They had inflatable beds and comforters and the whole set up. I was lucky to find a garbage bag to sit on. (Oh boy, this day is not starting too well.) I was hard to not get chilled sitting there on the cold wet ground (YES, YES, just like a golfer I am building in excuses before I even start!). I was happy when it was time to head for the starting line.
As we approached the corrals, I started to worry I might not make it to my corral (#6), as there was a really large „traffic jam‰ of runners near a small intersection. Well, I made it with not too much time to spare. My plan was simple, allow for the time to reach the starting line and then run steady 6:45 miles (21 minutes per 5K). I knew it would take a couple minutes to reach the starting line, and I even figured it might take a mile or two to get completely up to speed. But I figured I was seeded with a bunch of folks who had run pretty good marathons, and we would get moving at a decent pace pretty quickly.
I was wrong. It took 2+ minutes to get to the start, this I expected. But we walked/jogged the first mile in 9 minutes. OH BOY, this is not good. The second mile was around 7:30. I hit 5K in 26 minutes, almost exactly 5 minutes off pace. I knew the chip would give me two of the minutes back. The other three minutes were simply gone.
At this point I was able to get on pace. But it was a lot of work, dodging, zigging, zagging, and surging. The big lesson here is to not try to run Boston too much faster than your qualifying time (unless you are in one of the first corrals, perhaps). Another lesson is to send in your fastest certified time even if it comes after you are registered (this could have moved me up at least one corral). I could not believe how crowded the course was. Forget cutting the tangents on the curves, you had to pretty much pick a side of the road to run and stay there. There were some close calls at the first few water stops as well. Fortunately, it was never worse than some accidental bumping. I would estimate that this crowded condition existed for the first 10 miles. After that, you were still constantly in big packs, but at least there was a bit of room to maneuver if you thought enough ahead.
I enjoyed the course. I found the hardest section to be that first hill after you turn right onto Commonwealth Avenue at the fire station (miles 16&17?). You ran what seemed to be an entire mile of slightly uphill grade, then it leveled out for perhaps a quarter mile, and then you hit the first of the Newton Hills. Problem was, for me, that quarter mile was not enough time to recover from the long gradual uphill. After that first hill after the fire station, the others seemed (to me) to be a lot easier, as you could be fully recovered by coasting down the previous downhill. I enjoyed „heartbreak.‰ I felt a sense of awe that I was running where so many great runners had before me.
As for my pace, I was able to hold 21 minute 5K splits until the Newton Hills. Then I lost a minute or two to the hills, which was fine and by plan. I crested heartbreak feeling strong. I figured I could recover for the first bit of downhill, and then get back on pace and cruise in with a sub 3:05, which would have been a most satisfying result under the circumstances.
But my body had other ideas. Somewhere in the 23rd mile both of my hamstrings started to tighten. I could tell they were going to cramp. I slowed my pace, but they continued to get worse. I ended up having to stop and walk several times in the last few miles. They were all in the 8:XX range. It was frustrating, because I was full of energy (as much as one can be at that point), and the rest of my body felt fine. I suspect that hydration (or lack thereof) was a major contributor to my condition. I know I hurried through the water stops, not wanting to let a bunch of people I had just passed back in front of me. Of course, the problem could have been lack of training for the hills, or all the jockeying I did in the early parts of the race. And of course it could have been that I am just not ready to run as fast as I think I can.
Regardless, it's done now. It was an honor to come to Boston and run this famous race. I'm happy to walk away with a PR, no injuries, and fond memories.
Thank you for reading.
Kevin Holley
Grand Island, NY
ObligatoryFinishNote: Started in the 6th corral and ended up 2335th overall. The most ironic thing (for me) about the finish is that John Holley finished 2334th overall. And NO, I doubt he is relation.
ObligatoryDrivingNote: Left Hilton Head at 10:00 am on Saturday and arrived in Grand Island this morning at 3:30 am. Made good time on the roads, but bad time at restaurants with four hungry and restless little children.
ObligatoryRunningNote: 13 easy miles. Legs were kind of tight after the long drive, but I think I'll soon be ready for another marathon....