I
was in Boston this week-end to race the grand daddy of all marathons.
First
thing I need to do is to thank Robin and Jeff Cain for their
hospitality.
They are wonderful hosts and I had a great time spending the
week-end
with them. You did way too much for me guys!
Thanks
to Val Burgos as well for the bagel bash.
Now,
let's talk about that little race...
Short
version: that was my personal Waterloo. I came, I saw and I got shot.
Long
version: I openly stated my goal to anybody who was willing to listen
to
me during more than one second. I was here to break 3 hours or at least
get
a PR (under 3:03:47). I had run Boston just for fun last year in 3:12.
This
year was supposed to be "I raced Boston" by opposition to "I ran
Boston".
So
the forecast said cool and overcast... I must have boarded the wrong bus
on
Tremond St then. The weather felt like summer to me, but I don't think
it's
a valid excuse for what happened yesterday. Right at the warm-up, I
felt
like I had cotton in my legs. I put that on pre-race anxiety and tried
to
think positive.
To
meet my goal, I need to average 6:52/mile. A bit faster in the downhill
parts,
a bit slower in the hills. It is said that Boston is a "come from
behind"
kind of race. Despite that, my race plan was to start at what is
described
to be the ideal pace for a sub3 result. One could argue that it's
a
little too fast/aggressive in the first miles of the race. Maybe, but
then
I've never been that strong and well trained at the start of a
marathon,
so I could answer that shooting 2:59:xx is a little conservative.
Anyway,
noon is here and it's time to go. I briefly chat with Joe Bator in
corral
#3 and we wish ourselves good luck. I need just one minute to reach
the
starting line, and despite the crowd, the first mile comes in 7:05.
Miles
2 and 3 are covered in 6:41 each. Mile 4 takes 6:37. The 5th mile
with
an uphill is welcomed and the pace is still what I want: 6:55.
Unfortunately,
I already know something is not right. One of my quadriceps
is
already tightening. Bad omen. The first 5 miles are covered in 33:59,
which
is right on target.
The
next 5 miles segment is also correct time wise: I get 6:54, 6:49, 6:52,
6:51
and 6:54 to bring me to the 10 miles mark in 1:08:19. My only problem
is
that I'm working way too hard for that pace. This should be easy but I
already
feel on the wrong side of the red line. I try to think that this
will
get better around Wellesley. Yes it does, but the crowd cheering
cannot
do everything.
The
half arrives in 1:29:50. Ah! I know I'm done. Prescott flies by me at
that
time, I try to stay with him, but I can't do it. Weird. I could do a
1/2-marathon
in 90 minutes almost every day when I'm in training mode.
Today
I'm dead. Is this the downhill effect? Maybe. It's no time to think
about
bad strategy now: my screaming quads require all my attention and I
still
want to try, hoping that somehow I'll feel better soon.
This
"better soon" never comes. I have trouble to focus on my race. I
don't
feel
this "race mode" attitude that I usually have and this scares me. I
can't
focus on my running. Is that due to the crowd, noise and runners
around
me? I don't know. I'm just a bit out of it. The best thing to do at
that
point would be to drop out. But I'm in Boston and I'm not going to do
that.
I don't even allow myself to walk as I'm not sure I would be able to
run
again.
I
stop bothering with the splits. I reach the 30k mark just under 2:10. 3
weeks
ago, I easily ran the Around the Bay 30k in 2:06:33 and I was feeling
better
at the end than today. And I still have 12k to go. Yikes!
I
know that if I run hard, I can still get a PR. That's mission impossible:
I'm
stuck in the uphill parts and going downhill is like being stabbed in
the
quads. I give up mentally and this is when the humiliation begins.
Thousands
- ok, it was probably only hundreds - of runners are passing me.
The
Dead Runner singled is appropriate.
Last
10k time is 53:30. I feel like crying and don't even put the medal
around
my neck. Final chip time is 3:13:33. One minute slower than last
year
semi-easy run...
Here
goes my 4 winter months of excellent training. Now I'm shot and won't
be
able to get the dividend of that training just because I did not drop
out.
Pride...
In
a sense, this race went exactly the same way as my first Boston
qualifier
attempt. The good thing is that I got it right at the second
attempt.
So I'll have to try again for this sub3 thing.
I
hope this does not come up as a depressing report. The race was
disappointing,
but I had a great time in Boston during the whole week-end
and
despite not being a marathon rookie anymore, I learnt a lot. the
outcome
is not what I expected, but the everything else was fantastic.
Being
part of that race is so special, even a bad result won't take that
from
me.
Bad
races happen, this is the beauty of that sport. On a 10k, you lose 1
minute.
On a marathon you have a really long day. It seems that whenever I
forget
to fully respect the distance, it strikes back with a vengeance.
It
was not in my plans to come back next year, but now I need to redeem
myself
and show that I really deserve that jacket (pun for Robin C).
Speaking
of Robin... I think it was all due to the Sunday afternoon
tiramisu.
Eric
PS:
congrats to all the DR who completed the race. A special mention to
Prescott
who tough it out. I was also impressed by Andy H from California
when
he stormed by me around the 30k mark. And I'm speechless when I think
about
Kevin Beck's result. Well done guys.