Short version: I managed to finish in 3:59:16 (3:49:04 chip). Not fast enough to re-qualify, but I am happy with it in light of my training weakness, health problems, and the brutal weather. Full version: My training going into Boston was less than 70% of what I wanted. Not because of weather like many others I talked to, but because of extensive travel. First I was doing the snowbird thing down in Arizona which made it harder to incorporate long runs especially, then I had to do three excursions to Billings for legal troubles which made it even more difficult. However the biggest distraction was a business trip to Brazil. Although I got in several tempo runs in hot weather conditions that probably helped me make it through Boston yesterday, I failed to get much in the way of long runs in. I only had 60 long miles for all of March instead of the 120 I had planned.
My biggest problem was my health. My wife and I flew from Seattle to NYC on Tuesday (4/15) to take in a Broadway play (The Producers) before driving to Boston on Friday. I usually have no trouble adjusting to time zone changes especially if I run the morning after I arrive. I also try to eat at the appropriate times for the new time zone. Consequently we headed for a restaurant that we remembered which had a lobster dinner special where the second lobster is half price. I think I over did it. I went for the second lobster and followed it up with a huge piece of New York cheesecake and coffee. However as soon as I lay down my digestion stopped. I had heart burn which made me get up and drink water. The next day while shopping I had to go outside and puke in a plastic bag. By then my system had stopped completely. I figured I had the flu, cause my muscles felt fatigued in spite of having not run for a couple days. But the suddenness of the problem made me think of food poisoning as well. Or it could be jet lag. I've never had jet lag like this before and I've traveled a lot including 12 hour changes, which is as bad as it gets. I had to start with small quantities of bland food and sit up half the night to keep my digestion going. If I lay down too long the indigestion and heart burn would return. It wasn't till Friday that I felt well enough to run. I tried running around Central Park. I felt great till Eric caught me before I completed the loop. I spied some outhouses in the middle so I made a bee line for them. Unfortunately they were locked!! That messed up my run (literally). My system was still a bit quesy when I arrived in Boston, but kept getting better as the big day approached. The NE Deads hosted an encounter on Saturday, where I loaded sparingly, and a brunch on Sunday, where I started to feel normal. By the evening carbo loading dinner I finally felt like I was good to go.
I met with other NowDeads, Steve, Tony, Chris, and Terry at the encounters and hoped to meet up them at the athlete village. However my suggestion to meet to the left of the entrance did not work. That was where the honey buckets were lined up. When I arrived which was early cause my number was above 12000, there was a big line of runners waiting for food which bisected the corner but none at the potties. I decided to take up a position outside the tent where I could be seen and also watch the left side of the entrance. Soon however the potty lines engulfed me and defeated my plan. Eventually out of fear of being stepped on I had to give up my spot and take a position in the opening near the entrance. By then the weather had warmed up so it was still comfortable. I never did see any of the others. I guess we needed a better defined meeting area. I met and talked to several other runners though, which helped pass the time.
I was prepared for anything from cold rain to sunny weather. I had dressed for cool, sunny weather with a tee shirt under my DRS singlet, however as the time got closer, it was appearant we would have to deal with a warm, if not hot, sunny start. I didn't figure it would cool off till close to the end, so I shed my tee shirt and put on sun block. As it turned out that was a wise move. Several people got their guess wrong or weren't prepared for hot weather and were suffering with their long sleeve tops and/or tights. I lined up for my final potty exercise, however by then the lines were at their worst. It took about a half-hour to get my turn. by then the announcement to move to the starting corrals had been made. Between my shaky system and the desire to not hold up the potty for too long, I didn't do a very good job of empting my system, which would haunt me later. By the time I got to the starting corrals, they were a complete mess. I don't know why, other than the lack of directions after you drop off your bag. The low number corrals were directed to drop off their bags in the opposite direction from the high numbers. I correctly figured I had to keep going in the direction of the busses till I arrived at the corrals. The first corral I came to was 20, so I only had to go 7 corrals to get to 13. Seems reasonable except after a couple corrals the forward progess came to a virtual stop. We were met head on with a mass of runners trying to go the opposite way. Apparently they had started at the other end and were trying to get to the high number corrals the long way. As time for the start approached I wondered if I would be able to get to my corral before the ropes were pulled and the corrals were shifted foward and packed. Fortunately I made it with a minute or two to spare.
The jets flew over and the announcer said the elite were off and running, but you would never have guessed that from where we were. Eventually we started to move a few feet at a time. We even got to run around the corner and up the hill toward the start, but we resumed our shuffle to the start. As I crosed the start line the clock showed about 10 minutes had already passed. That is a lot of lead to give the elite runners (as if they needed it). The road was packed but nonetheless I managed to get to a full stride earlier than I rembered in my previous Boston Marathon in 1999.
My plan was to run about 8:20 pace to start, so I was surprised to see the clock at mile 1 was about 18:00. In spite of the slow start I was on an 8:00 pace. I mentally tried to slow down, but my body refused to co-operate. The next miles kept knocking off at about 8:05 or less. I felt fine and decided to go with it even though it was faster than I had planned. I hoped I would not regret it later, but I was enjoying the run. I was busy high fiving the kids and soaking in the enthusiasm of the crowds. The only problem was the heat. The wind was at our back so it was worse than no breeze. My training in Brazil no doubt helped me deal with the heat, but I knew I needed to take on fluids more often. Fortunately they had water stops at every mile past mile 2 and lots of people were offering water at unoffical stops too, so that was easy. What was harder to deal with was the sweat burning my eyes. I was still on a steady 8:00 to 8:05 pace and had a good rhythm established till mile 10 when Eric caught up with me. I started looking for a familiar looking little house. Eventually right after the mile 11 water stop I spotted one. Unfortunately I was 5th in line, but I couldn't trust myself to make it to the next one after my troubles in NY Central Park. I lost nearly 5 minutes in the process. So now I was 2 or 3 minutes behind my initially intended pace which would have given me a 3:45 finish. The runners around me were moving slower now so I was passing lots of them as I tried to make up for some lost time. I think I ran the next mile in less than 7:00, however as mile 15 approached I knew I had to relax and save energy for the hills ahead so I slowed to a more conservative pace. My plan worked because I managed the hills with relative ease. I only had to slow to about a 9:00 pace between mile 17 and mile 22. My wife was going to be at Cleveland Circle (just past mile 22), which helped motivate me to keep going at least to that point. I went wide in search of her but failed to spot her (she was on the other side of the street). By this time my legs were trashed and I felt a big blister on the bottom of my foot right behind my big toe but I keep going. I was just trying to hang on one mile at a time.
Finally I see the CITGO up ahead and I know I have only one mile to go. I do some quick calculation and figure I have to do a 7 minute mile to come in at 3:46 and requalify. As I start to pick up my pace in a valiant effort to make it, my HR monitor alarm goes off. My HR has jumped to 178 and I figured I'm not going to make it without hurting myself. So I stopped to walk till my HR recovered. It kinda scared me cause my hands were tingling which is a danger sign. Anyway I wanted to finish running so I resumed running but only at a steady pace - no sense being foolish now - I'll have to get my next BQ on a better day with hopefully better training.
I didn't see any of the other Nowdeads or even any other runners with DRS singlets during or after the race. I must have passed Glen at some point fairly early but either he wasn't wearing his DRS singlet or I missed seeing him.
I finished 8647th overall which is probably near the peak. All I know is that the finish area was jammed and runners who finished after me were pushing from behind, however there were not enough helpers to remove chips. I was pushed right past the cip removal area without finding anyone to help me, so I had to back track against the onslaught to find someone to remove my chip. Even then I had to wait what seemed like an eternity, without falling over (or being pushed over) before I got my turn. I sure appreciate the guys who do this service, but I sure wish there were a few more of them. I believe it would have eased the congestion too!
All in all the BAA people did an excellent job considering the number of runners (20,000+) entered. I want to say thanks to all the volunteers and even the unoffical water stop volunteers too! The spectators are the best! Nowhere do you feel so honored and respected on the course. Thanks to all the NEDeads and the kind people of Boston for their hospitality.
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