It wasn't as bad temperature wise as last year but it sure felt hot on the
course. Although the official high temperature for Boston was only 66, I
believe the temperature on the course was 75 in the shade; however there was
very little shade. There was either no wind or a slight tail wind for most
of the way and the sun bore down on us incessantly. I had to hang on just to
finish in 3:58:25!
My undoing wasn't just due to the heat. I noticed a cold coming on by
Saturday. I had a fever and it was so bad on Sunday night that I got very
little sleep. I thought about dropping out before I even started, but
decided if Chris W. could run with his tendonitis I should at least try to
run with my cold. I figured it would aggravate any dehydration so I needed
to drink more and take it easy. My goal had been to run 3:40 but I really
didn't figure out how much I needed to slow down.
I went out on one of the early busses and staked out a spot in one of the
tents. I was soon joined by other 'Marathon Maniacs' as well as Mika and
Loren of the 'No Sandbaggers'. It was great to pass the time with fellow
NowDeads, however nearly 4hours is still a long time to hang out!
BAA has really improved the organization and logistics this year over the
fiasco two years ago. The fastest runners in the low number corrals got to
go first and got first dibs on the porta-potty's along the way. I was in the
second group (corrals 5 thru 8) so I had to wait in line for the
porta-potty's and just barely had enough time to get to my corral.
Thankfully there wasn't the chaos or confussion of two years ago. There was
an announcer directing higher corral numbers to go a different way. However
I think it would work even better if the corrals in the middle got to leave
the village first. They have to walk the furthest regardless of which end
they approach from.
It was getting hot by the time the race finally started at noon. It was
another 7 minutes before the 8th coral where I was got to cross the start
line and begin running. It was crowded but I still was able to get into my
pace right away. I had to watch my feet and elbows to avoid hitting other
runners though. My first mile split was 8:05 only slightly faster than I
intended.
My 2nd through 5th splits were also in the low 8's. I arrived at the 5 mile
marker at 40:33, about 1 minute ahead of my intended pace. My HR was running
about 150 or more even though it was mostly downhill to this point! The heat
and/or my cold were driving up my HR. I knew I had to slow down or I'd pay
the price later. My next five miles were slower, more like my intended pace,
as I arrived at the 10 mile marker in 1:22:35. However my HR stayed up at
150 and I was starting to feel the effects of lactic acid buildup. I
probably should have slowed down sooner!
I was having a hard time finding the right combination of fluids. My throat
reacted poorly to the Accelerade I had in my bottle and the Gatorade upset
my stomach. I could get the plain water down but then I worried about
hyponatremia if I drank too much, so I poured half of it on my head instead.
I did not feel very good at this point. I slowed down even more but my HR
only came down to about 145 as I came up on mile 15 at 2:07:31. I was trying
to save something for the hills ahead consequently my average pace for mile
11 through 15 was 8:59. Somewhere around this point Chris M. went by me like
I was standing still. I knew it wasn't going to be a good day for me, so I
had to just let him go.
After mile 15 the hills start. I was able to run steady but only at my
aerobic pace of 9+ minutes until the urge to make a potty stop became
irresistible. That cost me about 3 minutes but at this point I didn't care.
I only wanted to finish and there were more hills ahead. It was hard to get
back in a rhythm after the potty stop. All I could do on the hill for mile
21 was 10:26. The next mile was better but the average for miles 21 through
25 was 9:47. My wife and friends were waiting for me at Cleveland Circle
which is at about mile 22. I was exhausted at this point and would have
dropped out if I could have jumped the fence.
From mile 22 on it was like a death march. I was barely making a 9:30 pace
but was passing road kill right and left. I felt awful but at least I had no
cramps. The promised east wind off the water was conspicuously absent. It
was hot and I missed a water stop because they stopped offering a left side
option in this area. I had been using the left side most of the way. When I
used the right side of the road because it offered better shade and tried
the right side water stop, I stepped on the heels of a lady who suddenly
stopped in front of me. I reached out and caught her before she hit the
ground, but I thought for a moment we were both going down.
I finally saw the Citgo sign and became determined to finish. I had no
energy left to pick up my pace. All I could do was to keep on putting one
foot in front of the other till thank goodness it was over. The clock read
4:05:05 but my chip time and watch read 3:58:25. Not my PW but the slowest
in 2-1/2 years!