Brief: 3:31:42 (chip), 3:36:17 (gun), 315 in Veterans AG (50-59), 4th
Veteran from Oregon (according to the Oregonian), requalified for Boston, no
more stitches (removed this morning :-)
A lot longer:
This was my 5th running of Boston (marathon #41) and I was planning on
running my best Boston yet. I had a pretty good training period with some
fast races but then had the little scare with melanoma. That put a crimp
into my training with a zero mile week just 3 weeks out from the race but I
made it to the starting line cancer-free, which is what counted. I was
debating about what my time goal should be and decided that because of the
weather I would shoot for 3:25. If the weather was more cooperative I would
have tried for 3:20 but I decided that wouldn't be too smart (as opposed to
my go-for-broke roomie, Mika). 3:25 would still be a great Boston for me
since my fastest Boston until this year was 3:36:35 back in 2002 when we had
a wonderful, thick overcast at the start and for the first 3 or so hours.
I arrived early Saturday morning after the red-eye, checked into my hotel,
and decided to go get breakfast around the finish line. As I was walking to
Finagle A Bagel, there went Boston Billy out for his morning run. He was
running alone but everyone who saw him waved or called at him and he
acknowledged just about everyone. I knew I was in Boston at marathon time
and was psyched. In the afternoon, I worked at the expo with some of my
fellow Maniacs and competitors in our annual (at least the last two years)
duel. That is tiring work. By the end of the day, my feet were shot but I
did have the coveted Boston volunteer jacket :-). After a wonderful dinner
at an Indian restaurant with Nangel, I went back to the hotel and met up
with Mika.
Sunday morning came and Mika, Lorne, and I went for a short run along the
Charles followed by a fantastic brunch at Julia's and Joe's -- thanks so
much for hosting it. I got to say hi to lots of old friends and got to meet
Dr. Judits after lots of backchannel emails and great support and advice
regarding my melanoma/surgery. I also finally met ex-NoWDead Lindsey
Orcutt, who used to live only a few blocks from me but we never met. Then I
went back to the expo with Mika and bought a second pair of shoes (I bought
one on Saturday) as well as a second pair of Smart Wool socks. I purchased
my first pair on Saturday and ran in them on Sunday morning. They felt
great so I decided to get a new pair and wear them on race day. Yes, I know
it isn't the smartest thing in the world but they worked out great. A bunch
of us NoWDeads and other Portlanders (Janelle, Rich, and Dave) met for
dinner on Sunday night, including our own Meghan Arbogast who ended up 8th
female masters in 3:03:10.
Race morning came and it looked like the predictions for warm weather were
right on. While it obviously wasn't as bad as last year, it still was not
optimal conditions. Many folks said it was similar to 2003. After a long
but kind of pleasant wait at the Athletes Village and some trash talking
with Team Maniacs, Lorne and I were off to corral #6. Like I said at the
beginning of this short note, my goal was 3:25, which meant starting off
around a 7:45 pace (the pace charts said I should cross the 1/2 way mark at
around 1:42).
I ran the first mile with Lorne but then took off and I was by myself,
except for the thousands of runners all around me. Maniac aNnIe came
zooming by during mile 2 and almost knocked me over with her wake. She was
smoking and ended up running 3:10ish. I got into a nice rhythm and just
soaked up the atmosphere and the surroundings. My first 5 mile splits were:
7:57, 7:30, 7:42, 7:25, 7:48 - 38:23 (goal pace was 38:31 -- not too bad.
BTW, I didn't carry my goal splits with me but knew I needed to keep the
miles around 7:45 for as long as I could)
The next 5 mile stretch continues its downhill climb with lots of rollers.
I could feel the heat but kept telling myself that it wasn't as bad as last
year and to try to keep up with the plan. I wasn't feeling too bad though
my legs starting to feel a bit sore towards mile 10. The splits were:
7:37, 7:39, 7:46, 7:42, 7:44 - 38:29 (1:16:52 OA - goal: 1:17:44)
The next stretch is one of my favorites since we pass through Wellesley and
it is the last section before the hills start. Wellesley was great as usual
and I was still feeling OK. Around mile 11-12, fellow Maniac Mark Looi, who
is usually much faster than me but has been having some injury issues, came
by and we ran together for a bit. Unfortunately we got separated at an aid
station and I didn't see him again. After passing the Wellesley girls,
another young woman, Nangel, screamed out my name as I went by. It was
great seeing her on the course.
7:48, 7:42, 7:48, 7:46, 7:57 - 39:02 (1:55:54 - goal 1:57:03)
Now it was time to get ready for the hills but first we have a decent
downhill into Newton. Then comes the first of the hills, followed by the
turn at the firehouse and up the three Newton hills. I was beginning to
feel it during this section and started to lose time against my goal. While
I knew I would slow up, I still need to keep the uphill miles no slower than
8:20 and the downhill ones in the 7:45 range. It wasn't to be. The hills
took their toll and by the time I reached mile 20, I knew that 3:25 was not
possible, even though looking at the calculated pace splits I was still on
course for 3:25. Also, around mile 18, I passed my great teammate from the
north, Lorne, who told me his legs were shot. I guess training in Alberta
during the winter is not the best acclimation tool for a hot Boston.
7:40, 8:17, 8:18, 8:02, 8:30 - 40:48 (2:36:42 - goal 2:36:30)
One more hill, Heartbreak and then it was downhill and home. But, my legs
were shot. It was time to bite the bullet and just try to hang on. One of
my goals was to get a BQ at Boston (I've never done that) and I set 3:30 as
my new goal. I thought it was doable, though it was getting tougher to keep
up form and pace. I was passing a bunch of walkers but those folks who were
running were passing me at a pretty good pace. I tried to make up some time
on the downhills but didn't have much luck. Finally, the Citgo sign came in
sight and then we were at Fenway going up my least favorite hill on the
course around mile 25.
9:00, 8:22, 8:33, 8:45, 9:01 - 43:43 (3:20:25 - goal 3:15:32)
After cresting the Fenway hill, I decided to try to give it my all on the
downhill and then Boylston. I thought I had a shot of running the last 1.2
miles in 10 minutes since the run up the last part of Commonwealth and
Boylston is the most mile or so in running IMHO. The crowd support is the
best (except for Wellesley) and I usually find something in reserve. It
wasn't to be. When I started to push down the hill past Fenway, I got a bad
side stitch that stayed with me the rest of the way. There was no way I
could run "fast" and it was a major struggle not to walk. But there was no
way I was walking that stretch of the race. I never get a side stitch in
marathons so I guess it showed me that my tank was totally empty. I
struggled in, being passed by tons of runners.
9:11, 2:06
Except for the final 1.2 miles, I was pretty pleased with my race. I gave
it my all, didn't collapse too bad and had a Boston PR by 5 minutes. After
getting back to the hotel room and cleaning up, Mika and I were off to pay
our humble respects to Team Maniac who cleaned our clocks. It was great
seeing everyone at John Harvards (now a NoWDead tradition) and reliving the
race. Meghan showed up with her award and everyone was in awe over aNnIe's
3:10. Boston rookie Chris M was smiling ear to ear with his great race
(maybe a bit too much money in the bank over the first half of the race).
And, of course, I had loads of fun discussing the race with Steve Yee :-).
During dinner, Mika and I found out that our roomie, Dave Parham, who
dropped out of the race was OK after a visit to the hospital. Dave, who has
been injured and was undertrained, had a tough time but vowed to be back and
conquer the course.
After all, it can't be hot again next year. Hmm, that sounds like something
lots of people said after last year.
That's enough (actually more than enough) from me for now.
marc