3:00C Marathon Race Report

Pre-race at the finish line just after visiting the expo

The cliff notes: I ran a 3:00:53 time, with a 1min33s negative split for a 6min PR and 3rd place in my age group. This was a significant come back, as I was badly injured a few months before the race. For those not interested in the detailed description of to my path to recovery, you can jump straight to the race description.

Pre-CIM injury

November 13th, 2012, 3 weeks before CIM. During an afternoon recovery run following a hard tempo interval session in the morning, I started feeling the back of my right knee. This was not the usual soreness, but some pain that I had not experienced before. I continued my planned workouts in the next few days, thinking that a few ART sessions and some icing might take care of it. Unfortunately, that right leg issue initiated a chain reaction that resulted in a compensatory injury on the left side, which resulted in increasing pain. A week before CIM it became obvious that I had to drop out as I could not run 5 minutes without hobbling in pain. Things were so bad that the week-end of the CIM race, I did a 5k fun run with my kids and had to take a couple of Aleve before the run in order to be able to complete the distance at 13 min/mi pace.

December 2012 was a very dark place for me. The right knee issue took care of itself, but because of the left side, I was barely able to run a few minutes before experiencing pain, and my body was stuck at 9:15-9:30 pace at an effort similar to general aerobic running. Driving every day in the neighborhood was a cruel reminder of the routes I used to run everyday when I was a fit runner just a few weeks before. I was not sure exactly what the issue was, but thought that it was due to a problem with the left glute or hip. After taking a week off during a ski vacation, things were not much improved, and I had to DNF the Operation Jack half marathon on 12/26 after 3.6 painful miles at 9:20 pace. I kept in shape by working out on the spinner bike at home, and tried to rehab myself with glute and core exercises, while trying some easy runs every 3-4 days to test the leg. I also had semi-regular ART sessions and acupuncture treatment to get rid of the pain. After a couple of weeks, the level of discomfort was lower, but my body was still stuck at 9:15 pace, and I felt like the running was not improving much. In despair, I started to reintroduce some fast running with some short hill sprints, some strides on grass, and also some downhill strides after reading an article from Magill describing how he reset his quads by doing fast downhill running. I do not know whether this desperate fast running treatment triggered the recovery, or whether the consistent rehab exercises, ART and acupuncture ultimately fixed me up, but things started to slowly improve. I tested my legs at the 13.1 LA Half marathon on 01/13 and was able to finish with minimal discomfort in 1:50. This was 26 minutes slower than the year before, but the finish photo looks like I broke my PR by 10 minutes, as I felt so happy to feel like a runner again.

Finish line of the 13.1 LA Half Marathon-2013

Back to training

After that race I felt ready to resume structured training, but I thought that I needed to change things in order to fully recover, get back into marathon shape and not get injured again. I contacted my coach Andrew to get back on the training, and we decided to forgo Boston because it would be too soon for a full buildup and focus instead on the Orange County Marathon on May 5th. I made the decision to not run doubles anymore, but instead spend more time in the gym to lift weights, and also give me one day off from running every week to help with the stress/recovery cycle. The first two weeks on the program felt awkward, with my legs still feeling sleepy, but I quickly improved, and the weight sessions proved to be useful. After just a few weeks lifting, my 200m times went down by 2s (37 to 35) and my legs felt much better after speedwork or tempo interval sessions. I also had a few sessions with a personal trainer, who identified some weaknesses in my glutes and had me do specific core exercises and AIS. Even though I could sometimes feel the left glute area, the training went fine, I did not miss any of the scheduled runs and my key workouts were an 18 mile LR with 13.1M at marathon pace that I finished in just under 1:30, a 15 miler with 5x2k tempo intervals at 6:20 pace, and a 14 miler with 6.8 M of fartlek ladder in the middle alternating 6:00 pace and 7:14 pace recoveries. I did most of my intervals and tempo on the track to minimize the pounding, except the fartleks sessions usually ran on a bike trail with multiple underpasses to get used to running faster downhill and uphill. At the end of the cycle and before a 2 week taper, I averaged 58 miles over 12 weeks, and 64 miles for the last 8 weeks on 6 days of running, with at least 2 weight lifting sessions per week, and AIS stretching every day. 

Weekly Training from January-April 2013

This was less mileage than what I ran before Missoula and CIM, but I felt well prepared and my heart rate at marathon pace (164) matched 6:48-6:52 pace, which made me think that I was ready for a sub-3 attempt. Another advantage of the combined running and lifting is that I lost 4 lbs, having started the cycle at 126 lbs and been down to 122 before carbo loading.   

The Race

I booked a hotel right in front of the start line because of the early start (5:30AM). The forecast predicted 55°-60°F, which was probably the best one could hope for a May Marathon in Southern California. The only issue was a significant SE wind, which could become a problem for the late miles given the direction of the course. The temperature ended up being 60°F during the time I was on the course, a tad too warm for my taste, but still good enough for a PR attempt.

I was at the start by 5AM and met Howard and Rocky from the CA forum, before warming-up with drills. I positioned myself a few rows from the front, and we observed a moment of silence for the victims of the Boston explosions, after which the race announcer asked us to shout "Strong" after he said "Boston". Following the national anthem we were off and running a few minutes past 5:30AM.

The first few miles did not feel comfortable. Miles 6-8 miles were supposed to be the most scenic and enjoyable, with ocean views and some of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Southern California, but I didn't really enjoy them. The course was more rolling than I expected, and the effort felt harder than my usual marathon pace. This was validated when I checked my heart rate, which was on the high side for MP (167-169). The course was constantly going slightly up or down, with a lot of turns, which did not help get into a rhythm. In addition, the constant changes in direction made that either I was feeling a cooling head wind, or it felt warmish because of a tailwind. I started to douse myself with water at pretty much each water station to help cool down. I carried a small water bottle to help with hydration the first few miles, and drank from it after my gels at mile 3.5 and 8. 

Elevation Profile from RunningAhead

The other issue is that my GPS splits and the mile markers did not agree with each other pretty much from the start. I was very careful to run the tangents, and did not do any weaving since there weren't many runners at my pace, but I was already 20-30s long by Mile 4 or 5. This worried me, but I did not want to believe that the markers were correctly placed and pretty much ignored the problem thinking that the later markers would compensate for this.

Despite feeling lousy for these first miles, I did not panic as I had experienced this before during previous marathons. By mile 8 I tossed my water bottle, and things started to feel better. This was corroborated by the heart rate data, which dropped towards normal MP heart rate. I started to feel more comfortable and relax. The course flattened out, with still a few inclines and declines, but less rolling and twists and turns. 

At Mile 8, starting to feel better

I checked my time at the official M11 marker and knew I was already late, as I was supposed to get there in 1h15 for a 2:59 time, but got in around 1h16min30s. However I did not feel I could start to run faster at that point without risking a major bonk later. Around M12, two guys caught up with me and I hooked with them as they were running at a good clip. We reached the official half in 1:31:13. Shortly after, there was an overpass over the 405 freeway, and I dropped the two runners on the uphill, and also passed the second female who was escorted by a bike.

I much preferred the second half of the course. It was supposed to be less scenic than the first half, but it was much more conducive to fast running, with less turns, and a flatter course. During M16-17, I felt really good and the pace dropped to low 6:40s. I started to pass many runners who probably went out too quick in the first half and were already struggling. I might have run these 2 miles a tad too fast, as the next 2 miles became harder -- although my heart rate continued to drop. After M19, maintaining sub 6:50 Garmin pace became more of a struggle. My calves became tight, and I felt that they could cramp at any moment, but they never did. Around Mile 20 we turned onto a bike path following the Santa Ana river bed where we hit a headwind. I heard my name, and it turned out to be coach John Loftus who was there to encourage his runners and who gave me a shout out.  I passed a couple of runners, which was good for the morale, but I knew then that I was getting close to my limit running around 6:50 pace.

During these later parts of the race I saw my average pace dropping from 6:53 at the half down to 6:52 and 6:51, which told me that I might be on track to a significant negative split. After 2 miles on the bike path we were back into residential areas. I was still reeling in runners, including one who had to stop abruptly to walk, probaly because of cramps. He asked me what time it was, but I did not want to lose time or energy responding. There were a couple of small hills there, which felt hard but did not slow me down much.

M23 and 24 were spent bargaining with my body to hold on just one more mile at MP. I clearly remember focusing on using more of my butt muscles like my trainer Adam told me during the training sessions, and it seemed to make running easier. I also remember feeling the breathing becoming harder and more labored, as if my cardio was now becoming limiting. 

Mile 25 was very cruel. In contrast to other markers, this one was exactly in sync with my Garmin M25 split, which made me think that other markers might have been misplaced and that I might be on pace for a sub-3 run. I gave all I had in M26, dropping to 6:39 pace, only to find out that the marker was back to 0.24M further than my Garmin split. Major bummer! I knew then that I would not hit sub-3, but still tried to finish as strong as I could. I saw the race clock from far away and knew that if I pushed enough, I could hit a 3:00 time and avoid having some minutes on my finishing time.

Kicking hard to get under 3:01 at the finish

I clocked in at 3:00:53, good for a 6 minutes PR, a Boston qualifying time with 25 minutes to spare, and a 3rd place in my age group (out of 147 runners in the 45-49AG). I ended up running the second half in 1:29:40, which corresponded to a 1min 33s negative split. I probably lost too much time on the early part of the course with the rollers and twist and turns, which cost me a sub-3 time. Despite not being able to go under 3 hours, I am still ecstatic with my race. Reflecting back on the last few months, I feel blessed to have been able to came back and run strong on that day. Thanks for reading.

Split            Dist.            Time            Pace         AvgHR       MaxHR

1              1 mi            07:01.7            7:02            166            173

2              1 mi            06:42.0            6:43            167            172

3              1 mi            06:51.2            6:52            168            174

4              1 mi            06:52.6            6:53            169            173

5              1 mi            06:48.0            6:48            168            171

6              1 mi            06:57.7            6:58            169            179

7              1 mi            06:53.3            6:54            168            172

8              1 mi            06:58.8            6:59            169            173

9              1 mi            06:51.6            6:52            166            174

10            1 mi            06:56.5            6:57            164            169

11            1 mi            06:52.6            6:53            163            172

12            1 mi            06:51.8            6:52            162            167

13            1 mi            06:51.3            6:52            161            164

14            1 mi            06:54.1            6:55            162            172

15            1 mi            06:48.6            6:49            164            170

16            1 mi            06:44.8            6:45            163            166

17            1 mi            06:42.0            6:42            163            166

18            1 mi            06:54.4            6:55            161            163

19            1 mi            06:47.7            6:48            161            166

20            1 mi            06:56.3            6:57            160            163

21            1 mi            06:50.5            6:51            162            169

22            1 mi            06:52.0            6:52            162            163

23            1 mi            06:48.9            6:49            164            167

24            1 mi            06:52.2            6:53            165            167

25            1 mi            06:47.6            6:48            165            168

26            1 mi            06:39.3            6:40            168            169

27            0.44mi        02:46.0            6:18            168            170

Missoula Marathon - my Boston redemption and a 9 minutes PR

Last April 16th, Boston registered record-high temperatures. This was bad timing, since the Boston Marathon was run on that particular day. Faced with the decision of what to do, I decided to run it much slower than what I had prepared for, and to enjoy the run and the crowds. This decision would also allow me to recover faster and train for a race a couple of months later. I stuck to the plan and ran a 3:34 at Boston, taking a lot of pictures and enjoying what could have been an atrocious day for racing. After a couple of weeks of low volume, I focused the next two weeks on doing speed workouts to get some turnover on my legs, and then the next 6 weeks on marathon specific work, before a two week taper. During the marathon minicycle, I ran a 30s half-marathon PR (1:26:47), which showed me that the fitness was there, and that I had improved since Boston. I also incorporated doubles twice a week, which boosted my overall volume and endurance. At the end of these 6 weeks my target marathon pace was between 6:55 and 7:00, based on heart rate (HR) data and how I was able to manage the pace on a couple of fast finish long runs.

I flew to Missoula on the Friday before the race and checked in at a Motel6. On Saturday I drove the course and also ran 2.6 miles on it. The effort on that short run felt higher than usual for the pace, and after checking the heart rate data, it was significantly higher than on my normal easy runs. I did not fully understood it at the time, but this was a sign that I would have to adjust my pace on race day, possibly because of the elevation. It also felt warm at 8am on the course - considering that I would be around mile 16-17 at that time. On Saturday night I had dinner with Neil (Longboat on RWOL) and a few of his friends at an italian restaurant. I went to bed at 8:30pm, and had some decent sleep considering the early wake-up time (3:30am).

After eating two muffins with honey and drinking a cup of coffee, I showered, foam rolled, and was on my way to the bus, a short 15 min walk from the motel. Bus pick up was efficient, and we arrived at the start area by 5am. Immediately after we arrived, fireworks gave the signal for the marathon walkers to start. I then used the port-a-johns and tried to relax before the start. Checking my heart rate resting it was 10-15bpm higher than usual, either because of the elevation or because of the pre-race jitters. 20 minutes before the start, I decided to go for a warm-up jog, a short 0.6 miles out and back to get the legs moving. Immediately after, I drank a Gatorade prime and entered the starting chute, where I waited less than 10 minutes for the start.

In the start area, around 5:15am

Coming back from my warm-up

There was a cannon shot to signal the start, and off we went. I tried to hit my target MP (6:55-7:00), but it was too hard during mile 1, so I decided to see what felt like MP and it ended up being around 7:05. I checked my heart rate several times in the first 20-30 minutes, and the garmin showed around 165-166, right where it should have been. So I didn't push more, knowing that I was in the right zone. 

At the gun - I am on the right with sunglasses (video capture)

Mile 1-9 were on an exposed highway on Mullan Road. At mile 4 we passed a pulp mill. I ran miles 2-6 in the company of two runners who were talking way too much for my taste. One of them dropped quickly after mile 4, the other passed me, but I ended up passing him again around mile 6 because he was running in sandals and had some issues with them. I took my first GU at mile 4. 

On Mullan Road, at the spot of mile marker 3, looking at the pulp mill site on Mile 4

There was a slight head wind right on our face but it wasn't really annoying. The temperature felt cool and crisp, great running weather. However the first miles did not feel completely comfortable, I could feel my left shin at every step, and I had the feeling that I was banging my feet on the road - not a smooth relaxed running style. This made me worry that it might degenerate later on into some more serious issues. However the feeling on the shin disappeared for good after mile 5-6.

Aerial View of miles 3-6 of the course, with the pulp mill; on the right is the river that we crossed at mile 9; the forested area that we ran on is also visible on the far left side.

I focused on running the tangents and my Garmin ending up beeping exactly on or right after each mile markers for the entire first half. I was content on hitting splits close to 7:05 pace, since periodically checking my HR validated my feeling that I was at the right effort.

After mile 9 we turned onto Kona Ranch Road. I think this is the first place where I saw Neil (longboat), who came to support the runners he knew. I took my 2nd GU at mile 9.5. Mile 10 felt slightly downhill and I tried to get a bit faster, but could not get better than 7:03. That's where an older guy whom I was running with until then dropped me, and I never saw him again. However I found out later looking at the results that I must have passed him later on during the late stages of the race. We crossed a bridge over a beautiful river.

At the cross between Mullan and Kona Ranch Roads

Crossing the river at Mile 9.8

We then turned onto Big Flat Road around Mile 11. As its name does not indicate, Big Flat Road is neither big, nor flat. The road was more curvy there, winding through a forest, so I really focused on hitting the tangents. Mile 13 felt slightly uphill - this was validated by the elevation chart. Around that time, I passed Ed Ettinghauser, one of the most famous Marathon Maniacs, who took the early start.

 

Elevation chart showing the incline at mile 13 and the hill at 14.

 

There was a timing mat at the "half", but it was way off, being located at 13.4 by my Garmin (which I knew was accurate, since I was in sync' with all the other markers). I hit the 'real' half at around 1:33:05; 3rd GU at 13.5.

Right after mile 13, we encountered "THE" hill of the course. It wasn't long, but it was steep, making up the last 0.3 miles of mile 14. I ran according to effort, which slowed me down to 7:25 for that mile; I recovered relatively well but the next section was rolling in the forest - not quite the downhill that I remembered from driving. Mile 16 was coming down the hill and out of the forest, and I got my fastest mile of the day (6:55)...but not enough to recover from the lost time on the uphill on Big "Flat" Road.

On Big Flat Road, right after the uphill

Coming down Big Flat Road, looking back at the downhill

7:57AM - just before crossing the one-lane bridge

Mile 17 was still relatively rural, and we passed a single lane bridge over the river. However unlike the day before, I did not appreciate the scenery much. I started to struggle a bit to keep pace. Another cool sight in that area was a guy playing a grand piano in his front yard....   

The grand piano player (photo by Tom Robertson during the 2011 edition)

4th GU at 17.5. This is in this section that I started to consistently douse myself with water at every water station, as it started to feel warm.  It wasn't actually that warm, but I could feel the sun heating up on non-shaded areas. At mile 18, I hit a rough patch, feeling a side stitch. I tried to breathe differently and after about 10 minutes it went away. However I felt that I was putting too much effort to maintain pace, too early in the race. Around that point, I saw longboat who encouraged me, but I guess I probably did not look great there. 

Right after that mile, I got passed by a runner in green T-shirt who shouted at me  "hey run2thehills" - it was jpride, that I had "met" on  RWOL on the Missoula thread. We chatted briefly. His goal was 3:04:59 for a BQ, and I told him that I had to back off of my initial pace. He ran ahead of me, but I tried to stay within relatively short distance of him, using him as a 'rabbit' to keep me on pace. In that section we passed a female runner who was escorted by a bike. She was the 3rd female runner, and we never saw her again.

Mile 19-20 were a grind. There were some parts of the course exposed to the sun, which made it feel warmer, although the water dousing at the aid stations really helped cool me off. On the shaded sections, my Garmin lost good reception, which annoyingly made my pace slow down. In addition, we were now passing an army of Half-Marathon walkers, who had started at the same time as we did. This was a nuisance, as many of them were walking several abreast and using the tangents, which made it hard to keep running straight.

After mile 20, the course was now in suburban Missoula, with a lot of turns. Some resident spectators had turned their sprinklers on, which was really helpful to help cool off on the non-shaded parts of the course.  After staying a few feet behind jpride until mile 21, I saw him suddenly jump in pain, hit by a calf cramp. I told him to keep going, but there was not much I could do to help at this point. I passed him and left to myself, I tried to keep plugging, thinking that after mile 22 I might try to finish faster. However at that point, just keeping the pace close to 7:05 was the only thing I could manage. I took my last GU after mile 21 - although I did not feel like I wanted it, I thought it might help.

Coming out of the tunnel, mile 21

I ran into the issue of slow half-marathoners until the end, since a lot of them were occupying most of the road width and not keeping a straight trajectory. On several occasions I had to yell at some of them "WATCH OUT ! ON YOUR RIGHT" to get space; retrospectively I feel like I was being a jerk, but it was really annoyed at them at the time. Nevertheless a few of them were genuinely nice, encouraging me as I was passing them.

Although maintaining pace felt harder, I started to feel better after mile 23. At that mile, I had one of those emotional highs that I usually experience during the late stages of goal marathons, with the feeling like I was going to cry, and making it harder to breathe. It did not last long but it had the effect of getting me to realize that I was getting close to the end, and that I could finish this run strong, if not fast.

At that point, the perceived effort was much, much higher, but all I could do was sustain the original pace close to 7:05. Interestingly, I felt that the hardest part was the breathing, as I had the feeling that I risked getting out of breath or getting a side-stitch had I tried to run faster. Looking back at the heart rate data, it never went higher than 170, in contrast to some other races I did. I felt some twinges in the calf and hamstring, but nothing bad - I knew that I would not cramp. I passed several male marathoners, who obviously started too fast and paid the price in these later miles. At mile 25, there was an ambulance backing off on the course, to pick up a runner who was down. I also saw longboat a last time.

After mile 25 I had the feeling that I really dropped the hammer, but all I could get was 7:01 pace... My Garmin beeped in sync while I passed the mile 26 marker. This gave me great satisfaction, as this was the first time during a marathon that my Garmin would show the perfect distance. I ran faster to the end, but bumped and almost crashed onto another half-marathoner on the last curve to the bridge, cursing at her on the way. My Garmin showed 6:40 pace, as I ran up the bridge on Higgins Ave, and I started to feel overcome with emotions. I passed the finish line, pointing out at the sky, picked up my medal, and immediately bended over on one of the fences of the chute, and started crying.

I stayed there, bended over for a couple of minutes, crying, before I was able to pick-up myself.  I wasn't hurting anymore physically, but was emotionally drained. This was a major PR (9 min), and although it was not what I had trained for, I left it all on the course that day. 

I will never know if the slower pace than what I had trained for was due to the elevation, or to some other factor. I did not expect any effect from the elevation; however after checking Daniels Running Formula book, he mentions that at 3,300 ft elevation, for a ~3hr long race, acclimatized runners should expect adding ~3.5% to sea-level time...unacclimatized runners (like myself) could add "up to double". So I guess the adjustment was up to par with these figures - or even better. I am glad I adjusted the pace regardless, otherwise, the finish would have been ugly considering how difficult the finish felt. 

Checking the placing, I found out that I finished 6th in my age-group...the first 3 spots being taken by the 3 guys who also won overall Masters. Somehow being in the M40-44 AG sucks !

3:06:36 (1:33:05/1:33:31)

32nd OA -- 30th Male -- 6th AG/92

Here are the splits - thanks for reading.

1	07:06.2	163
2	07:05.2	167
3	07:04.0	165
4	07:04.5	165
5	07:07.2	165
6	07:07.3	165
7	07:05.8	165
8	07:07.7	165
9	07:05.4	165
10	07:03.7	164
11	07:03.5	163
12	07:05.4	163
13	07:06.9	164
14	07:25.7	(uphill)         167
15	07:04.8	166
16	06:55.1	(downhill)      162
17	07:04.8	164
18	07:08.8	163
19	07:05.4	164
20	07:11.1	164
21	07:04.8	164
22	07:06.2	167
23	07:03.9	168
24	07:07.4	166
25	07:02.7	166
26	07:01.5	168
+0.2	6:40 pace	175

Boston Marathon 2012 Race Report - It's getting hot in here, so bring on the Wellesley girls !

Cliff notes: 1:48:34/1:45:47 = 3:34:21 for a ~ 3 min. neg. split in a very warm race that started in the high 70s and reached high 80s. While I started with #7681 with a 3:15:14 qualifying time, I finished 3636 overall with 3:34...this gives an idea of how bad the conditions were. If you are not interested in reading a novel, just scroll down and enjoy the pictures, most of which were taken while running during the race.

Pre-Race Weekend
I flew on Friday from California and spent the weekend in Boston to recover from the jet lag. I spent a lot of time with my friend and former student Pok, who drove me around and treated me like royalty. On Saturday morning I went to the expo to pick up my bib and bag. I took a few pictures and watched the video of the course.

I also ran into Stevie Ray Lopez at the Adidas shop. We chatted for a while, and it was fun seeing a familiar face in this mass of humanity. 

With SRL at the Adidas shop

In the afternoon, Pok drove me around and we visited the finish line.

We also found some interesting statues near the finish line, which were the perfect allegory for the race to come - those who started as tortoises might finish ahead of many hares...

We then drove the course on Saturday afternoon, to get a better idea of what to expect. Some warning signs were already posted:

Heat Warning Signs on the course

 After dinner with Pok, I had a few beers with Tony, Steve, his wife Gina, Rachel, and Holly but went back early since I got tired from the jet lag. On Sunday, I had brunch with Pok, chilled in my room in the afternoon and had dinner with Steve B., his wife, and other virtual friends from RWOL.

Pre-Race Strategy

Early during the weekend, the weather forecast for the race turned out to be bad - start in the mid 70s, quickly climbing into 80s with no cloud cover. Once the forecast stabilized, I threw the towel on the idea of trying to get a time close to my "A"-goal time (3:05). I ran Chicago in 2008 when it reached temperatures in the 80s, and I have a horrific recollection of the late stages of the race, when I death marched and experienced chills and dizziness, the early signs of heat exhaustion/stroke. I did not want to repeat the experience, so I decided to back off. With my family waiting for me, I got scared of the heat, and thought that it would be too stupid to die or finish in the medical tent trying to run a time that would probably not even be a PR. But backing off by how much? I also did not want to stay for over 4 hours on the course, baking under the sun. Ultimately I decided to pace by heart rate and to try to stay around 160 bpm, given that my marathon pace HR is around 164. Who knew what pace that would correspond to...

Pre-Race morning

After less than optimal sleep I met friends from the 3:20 thread at the Soldiers and Sailors monument in Boston Commons.

We then boarded the bus for the ride to Hopkinton, and hung around under the tent at Athlete Village. Ron (ESG) brought a tarp, and we stayed there under the shade, relaxing before the start. 

Local Carboloading

Walter (NACN), me, James (FB), and Ron (ESG)

 Since I was in corral 8, I got separated from the group once they started to call wave 1. Just before checking my bag in the bus, I made the last minute decision to take my camera with me. I wasn't going to try for a fast run, so why not try to take as many pictures as I could? I made a last port-a-john stop on my way to the corrals, and then walked what seemed to be a long walk to my corral. It really felt hot in the start corral, baking under the sun and surrounded by so many people. Just standing, my heart rate was 10-20 bpm higher than normal in decent temperatures.

Baking under the sun in corral 8

The Race

And off we started. Miles 1-4 were probably the most difficult for me. I tried to stay close to 160 bpm, but I saw most people in corrals 8-9 flying by and passing me. I scratched my head thinking that many of these people were starting too fast for the conditions and would pay the price later on. 

Flying down -- too fast - the downhill at the start

 It was also depressing to see my pace slip after the early downhills and I had problems finding a good rhythm in the early rollers. I only started to feel comfortable at maybe mile 4-5, and only after starting to douse myself with water at every aid station, or whenever a spectator would give me a cup of water.
Shortly after mile 4, I saw this guy juggling - after looking on Twitter, I found that his name is Thomas Gounley and he made it all the way juggling in 3:52 !

The Meat House Joggler

 Miles 5 and 6 sights and autoportrait:

Starting from mile 7 I really started to feel better - the topography of the course was more gentle, and I started to pass people who were walking and who had numbers in the 3000-6000's. I got into a groove, "feeling" the correct pace-effort without having to look at my HR monitor. Someone had a stereo blasting Nelly "It's getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes", which made me chuckle. I high-fived a few kids on the road.

At mile 8 or 9 I felt an emotional surge. I usually experience these only during marathon races, and in the past only during the later parts of the race. These are usually associated with thinking of a member of my family, and they push me to the edge of crying while at the same time having emotions of joy, and with difficulties to breathe at the end of the episode. These only last for a few seconds, but I got worried that because I experienced it so early in the course, it meant that I would blow up early on. Fortunately it wouldn't be the case.

Passing Mile 9

Some interesting sights in these miles, like passing the Team Hoyt:

The Hoyt team...Respect.

 At mile 10 or 11 I got passed by a few runners from wave 2, but continued to stay truth to my heart rate strategy. Interestingly the pace seemed to accelerate while keeping the heart rate around 160. It also felt slightly less hot during that part of the race. The thermometer might not have shown it, but maybe I got better at cooling myself down. 

Passing Mile 10 in Natick

Misting Station in Natick

Around Mile 11 - notice the runners like #8239 who passed me earlier and are now walking

Before mile 12, I heard a loud noise further down the road and knew I was approaching Wellesley College and the scream tunnel.

When I reached the scream tunnel, I got amazed to see all the students lining up with all sorts of funny signs:

 This was my slowest mile (8:22) but probably the most fun, as I kissed and hugged 10 or 12 students (I lost count). I got pictures for only four of them but that segment contributed to making me feel way better about the race and I started to really soak the atmosphere.

I went faster the next mile (7:53), either because of the visual stimulation of the scream tunnel or because of the kissing breaks (much more fun than Galloway walking breaks....). I cruised down the next couple of miles, knowing that the Newton hills would be coming soon.  

Reaching the Half after Wellesley College

Passing Mile 15

Water Station before Mile 14

 I felt relieved when I reached mile 16 and the first of the Newton hills, as I knew I was in good shape to attack them. I continued to douse myself every half mile but kept a consistent pace on these hills.

Mile 16 marker in Newton

First of the four Newton Hills

I encouraged the spectators to give me support by pumping up my arms while going through the hills. Many of them responded by chanting "U-S-A, U-S-A" - looking at my shirt (and easier than to pronounce my name, I guess !). Mile 16 and 17 went well, with the strong support from the crowds and the regular hosing.

Passing Mile 17 in Newton

Refreshing fire hydrant in Newton

 At that point a lot of people were walking the hills or death marching, and unfortunately, also saw a few who were aided by medical staff, who obviously paid the price for their overenthusiastic start. 

Passing Mile 18 - Everyone here seems to be in trouble....

After mile 18, I unfortunately could no longer take pictures, as the camera battery died. I tried several times to resuscitate it, but with no success.

I had a blast going through those hills, passing many walkers and plugging in at a regular pace. I wasn't sandbagging the pace, since the HR climbed in the 165-170 on the hills, but my strategy of reducing my effort early on paid dividends on these hills. At Mile 21, I finally reached heartbreak hill. At the bottom of the hill, I dedicated the climb to Flo, who currently climbs her own mountain and fights her own battle with disease. My pace dipped to 8:15, as I tried to stay relaxed, passed a large number of runners who were walking or shuffling, but I really had to zigzag to avoid some of the runners who would suddenly stop in the middle of the hill.  

After cresting Heartbreak hill, I reached Boston College, where the kids got crazy seeing my USA jersey. I high-5'ed countless number of students, and stopped doing it when my left hand started to hurt and when I almost lost my wedding ring. I looked for beer as I thought they would offer me some but could not find any. Mile 22 was the fastest, aided by the generous downhill. Then the pace stabilized since it got flat and I started to feel some muscle fatigue on the left quad and IT band. At that point I felt that there was no point pushing too hard, since I would not break 3:30 anyway, and this would only make recovery harder. So I decide to enjoy the crowds even more, and ran most of the time close to the spectators, encouraging them to chant "U-S-A" by raising my arms, and high 5'ing entire rows of spectators. Many of them responded and were also offering wet towels, ice, or water.  Around mile 23, I had another emotional surge, thinking of my boys at home. It did not last long, but made me feel like crying again. I then saw the Citgo sign far in sight and that it meant that the end was getting closer.

Despite the muscle fatigue that I started to feel, I smiled ecstatically during the last two miles, knowing that I was on my way to finishing my first Boston. Before turning into Boylston, I removed my visor and sunglasses to get better finish pictures. I encouraged spectators for support by raising my arms during the entire segment on Boylston. I ran faster without even thinking about it and felt like a rock star, the spectators chanting "U-S-A" when they were seeing my jersey. 

One of my best finishes ever, not for reaching a particular finish time, but for the emotions associated with it. Four years ago in 2008 I finished my first marathon, and while at the expo, I saw several runners wearing the Boston Marathon jacket. At the time, I thought this would never happen to me and that running Boston was out of reach. This was not my best time by far, but certainly one of my best race experiences. 

Here are the splits and HR data- thanks for reading.

              Mile       Pace         Heart Rate

1	8:04	158
2	8:08	161
3	8:19	159
4	8:10	160
5	8:19	163
6	8:17	159
7	8:17	157
8	8:17	159
9	8:12	158
10	8:12	160
11	8:06	160
12	7:59	156
13	8:22	159
14	7:53	161
15	8:02	160
16	7:49	158
17	8:02	162
18	8:00	162
19	8:06	159
20	8:11	158
21	8:15	163
22	7:48	163
23	8:02	158
24	8:05	159
25	8:01	158
26	7:59	162
27	(+0.49) 7:13	172