Week 151: Monday 26.2 in 3:47:58, Thursday 30 mins slow, Saturday 43 mins relatively fast. Oops. Typical time on that loop was 46 mins, so I need my head examined. Will run only every other day until the quads stop screeching at me.
Apologies in advance for this long post. It's kind of a big deal for me.
Thanks for the kind remarks here RE my race result. Boston was unbelievable. I'm all fired up and need to take a couple of deep breaths before figuring out if/when I am going back. The last time I paid close attention to this race was in the 1980s, when I was living in Massachusetts. Maybe it's just this year, but compared to back then the fan support was insane, and the media was just saturated.
Of course I have to say a few words about the 2013 bombing. When Jeff Baumann regained consciousness and immediately asked for pen and paper, writing "Saw the guy. He looked right at me." -- to me his action is the essence of why good must triumph over evil. Evil can win a few skirmishes, but to win a lasting victory it needs to overcome every last one of us. People like Jeff, and hopefully you and I if we are similarly tested, will make sure that does not happen.
Boston runs about 5% slower than a PR-type course, plus it's a little harsh for first-timers. On top of that my training was ultra conservative as I worked around various issues. So my goals were pretty modest, I figured around 3:50 and would not have been unhappy with 4:00 or so.
I was a little afraid of the downhills, and rightly so as it turned out. At the expo I picked up Hal Higdon's "4:09:43". Opening to a random page the first words I read were: "One big ouch for those who failed to prepare for Boston by adding a few downhill repeats to their training." I joked to Hal, "Wait a minute, I failed to prepare for Boston by adding downhill repeats to my training." I bought the book, my 2-second review is that it's respectful about the impact of the bombs, but is primarily about unscathed mid-packers (like me).
My plan was to run the first half at 9:00/mile and the second half at 8:00/mile. Somehow in the week before the race this evolved to 10 miles at 9:00 and then 16 miles at anywhere between 8:00-9:00. As you can see from the splits, I had a hard time holding back at the beginning, and an even harder time pressing at the end.
Timex Ironman total 3:48:04
course-marker lap split
01 01 9:06.84
02 02 8:41.45
03 03 8:38.22
04 04 8:53.98
05 05 9:07.70 [late press]
07 06 17:39.46 (06-07 8:49.74)
10 07 26:26.25 (08-10 8:38.75)
11 08 7:57.00
12 09 7:46.63
14 10 15:43.93 (13-14 7:51.82)
15 11 8:14.39
16 12 8:05.83
17 13 8:25.69
18 14 8:30.50
19 15 8:15.60
20 16 8:45.26
21 17 9:00.25
22 18 8:12.62
23 19 8:23.38
24 20 9:01.30
26 21 21:00.23 (25-26 10:30.12)
.2 22 2:08.40 (10:42)
At the start I put in earplugs and ran right down the center line to avoid the outstretched hands. Mile one I ran as slow as humanly possible. Literally everybody was passing me. Mile two I tried to run the same but somehow didn't manage it. After mile three the initial downhill petered out and I could relax. After mile four I passed the first walker. After mile seven I saw the first DNF. A little later I started running the tangents. I took a portaloo stop after mile nine, and kicked it into gear after mile ten. I really wanted to kiss some Wellesley girls, but kept my eyes on the double yellow line and settled for a wistful smile. After the scream tunnel I ditched the earplugs. So the first half passed without incident and I was getting into a groove.
Hal's big ouch is the downhill at 25k. I thought it was a breeze. I'm not really sure how many hills there are in Newton. Three is the usual answer, I have read as many as seven. I thought there were four. I was strong here, as far ahead as I could see the runners were coming back to me. Literally all of them. On the third hill I got a little overexuberant, tweaked my left calf, and cautiously dialed it back a bit, even more so on Heartbreak Hill. I loved those hills, but I was educated enough to still be worried.
Brookline was the killer. In the second half, every downhill I did in textbook fashion: soft legs, forward lean, forefoot strike, pick up speed and float down the hill. I started getting tired! For the first time, at mile 23, I walked the water stop. After mile 24 Beacon Street flattens out, but it was too late, my quads were on fire. The calculations began. I knew I could run the rest of the way, but I wasn't sure it would be wise. It looked like if I killed myself I might get a 3:42, which is nothing to brag about. A short distance later my right hip started lighting up, and I knew my form was gone. Finishing with bad form is a big no-no for marathoners. So just before the 40k marker I began a run-walk, one minute walk, two minutes run. I give myself a pat on the back for that decision. The quads stopped complaining even on the run segments, the hip was happy, I could probably have done another 15k like that. I did four walk segments in split 21, the first one beginning at 6:30 and the last one ending at 16:30.
It's a funny thing about the Boston spectators. It hardly seems possible for them to cheer any louder, but somehow for the walkers they do it. Now I was getting high fives, calls of "You got this!", and when I would switch to a run they went wild. It was slightly embarrassing really, given that I was walking by choice, unlike some of the other walkers I could see around me.
Once I made the turn on Boylston, I didn't need any more walking, the adrenaline carried me safely home.
That night I watched the replay of the men's race twice and the women's race once. Good on Meb and Rita. Knowing how my legs felt at the end gives me a special appreciation for how they closed it out.