On April 17th, I ran the Boston Marathon. This was my sixth consecutive Boston Marathon
and my seventh overall. I’m not sure how
long I can keep my current streak going.
Qualifying is getting more and more difficult. I’ve yet to qualify for 2018.
For years, I stayed in hotels that were within walking
distance of the finish line. Now the
room rates are too expensive. They
seemed to take a big jump two years ago.
This year, I stayed in Cambridge, near Lechmere Station, which is the
northern terminus of the Green Line. The
expo, the loading point for buses to the start, and the finish line are all
near Green Line stations, so it wasn’t too hard to get around, even though I
was outside Boston.
Boston is one of those cities where you should never rent a
car. Driving is a hassle, and parking is
expensive. It’s much easier to get
around taking the subway and doing a little bit of walking. I always buy a seven day pass, even though
I’m only in town for four days. I’ve
never failed to use the trains enough to get my money’s worth.
I flew to Boston on Saturday afternoon and got to my hotel
around 4:30. After checking in and
dropping off my bags, I went to JJ Foley’s Café to catch the tail end of a
happy hour meetup with members of a group called Boston Squeakers for Life.
A “squeaker” is someone who has qualified for Boston, but
doesn’t know if their qualifying time will actually be good enough to get into
the race. In recent years, the number of
qualified runners who have tried to register has exceeded the number of
available slots. When this happens, some
of the “squeakers” don’t get in. Last
year, the cutoff was about two and a half minutes.
I joined this group last summer when I didn’t know if I
would even be able to qualify. I ended
up qualifying with 3:21 to spare. That
turned out to be good enough. I used to
be able to qualify with at least 20 minutes to spare. Those days are gone. Now I’m a squeaker.
By the time I got to the café, some of the runners were
already leaving, but I joined several others for dinner.
Sunday morning, I went to the expo at the Hynes Convention
Center. On my way, I stopped by the
finish line to take a picture. All
weekend, one block of Boylston Street is blocked off to traffic so they can set
up the finish line scaffolding.
Near the finish line, there were memorials for the victims
of the 2013 bombings and the police officer who died during the ensuing
manhunt.
After picking up my race packet, I took the time to browse some
of the booths. I don’t usually do much
shopping at expos, but I always bump into people I know while browsing the
booths. This year was no exception.
After the expo, I took the time to return to my hotel before
going to lunch. The race packet is
bulky, and I don’t like carrying it around all day. I also didn’t want to risk anything happening
to my race bib.
Boston weekend isn’t just about the race. It’s also a chance to get together with
friends. The rest of the day included
meetups with two different running clubs.
At noon, I went to the finish line for the Marathon Maniacs group
photo. I’m not actually that much into
group photos, but a lot of my friends are in this club, so it’s like one stop
shopping to see friends in Boston. After
the photo, I joined a few friends for lunch at Durgin Park. This is my favorite Boston restaurant. I go there every time I’m here. I don’t always order the same entree, but I
always have Indian pudding for dessert.
In the afternoon, I went to Solas Irish Pub to meet with
other members of the 50sub4 Club. Last
year, despite being a 50sub4 finisher, I didn’t feel like I really
belonged. At the time, I couldn’t even break
five hours. Now, having broken four in
my last three races, I felt more comfortable wearing my 50sub4 visor.
Later, I had dinner at Babbo Pizzeria with some friends from
California whom I first met in Paris.
The last time we had dinner together we were in South Africa for the
Comrades Marathon. It’s a small world.
The logistics of getting everyone to the start in Hopkinton
is a big deal. Hundreds of buses begin
loading at Boston Common as early as 6:00, even though the first wave doesn’t
start running until 10:00. This year, I
was in the third wave. That meant I
didn’t need to get up as early. Runners
in the third wave were expected to board buses between 8:00 and 8:40. I was able to get a little extra sleep. I also had time to eat breakfast at the
hotel.
We boarded the buses along a different street this year, but
it’s wasn’t far from the old location.
By moving the bus location, they were able to have two rows of buses
side by side. That really sped up the
loading process. In past years, I’ve
waited in line for 30 minutes to board a bus.
This year, I walked right onto a bus with no waiting.
I was on a bus by 8:15 and got to the Athletes’ Village in
Hopkinton at 9:20. My wave wasn’t
scheduled to start until 10:50, so I still had to wait in the Athletes’ Village
for until we were instructed to walk to the start corrals.
When I was fast enough to start with the first wave, I would
arrive at the Athletes’ Village before it got too crowded. In rainy years, I could find a spot under one
of the canopies. This year, the village
was already packed. All the runners from
the first two waves were already there, but it wasn’t quite time for them to
make their way to the start. It was
harder to find an unclaimed patch of grass to sit on. Also, the port-o-potty lines were already
long.
As soon I got there, I got into a port-o-potty line. The line was long and didn’t move very
fast. When I got in line, runners in
wave one were heading to the start corrals.
While I waited in line, they called for runners in the first two corrals
of wave two. Then they called corrals
three and four … then five and six … then seven and eight … then the first two
corrals of wave three. By the time I got
through the line, it was already time for runners in my corral to leave.
You used to be able to bring whatever you wanted to the
Athletes’ Village and then check a gear bag before walking to the starting
line. That ended after the bombs in
2013. If you want warm clothes at the
finish line, you can check a gear bag, but you have to drop it off in Boston
Common, before boarding a bus to the start.
If you want an extra layer of clothes in Hopkinton, you need to bring
clothes that you’re willing to donate.
You spend a long time at Boston Common, on the bus, and in
the athlete’s village in Hopkinton. I wore
a cheap pair of sweatpants and the disposable jacket I got at the Cowtown
Marathon. It was warm enough that I
really didn’t need them. As I left the village to walk to the start, I
dropped them in the donation bags.
On our way to the corrals, we passed a booth that had large
dispensers of sunblock. I applied
sunblock before leaving the hotel, but a lot of runners stopped here. It was a
bright sunny day.
It was a hot day for running a marathon. By the time my wave started, it was already
in the low 70s, and it would warm up a few more degrees during the race. We also had a strong wind out of the
west. On the plus side, that meant we
would be running with a tailwind.
Unfortunately, that also meant the wind wouldn’t cool us off as much as
if it was coming from another direction.
Because of my recent back injury, I went into this race with
low expectations. I’ve lost a lot of
training time, and I’m still not fully recovered. My longest run since hurting my back was only
seven miles, and that was at a cautious pace.
I didn’t expect to have back discomfort during the race, but I also
didn’t want to push my luck. I viewed
this race as one to enjoy the experience.
I wasn’t gunning for a fast time, but I also wasn’t worried about
finishing within the cutoff time. If I
felt good, I might try to break four hours, but qualifying for next year would
have to wait until another race.
A lot changed after 2013.
The most obvious change was not being able to check gear bags in
Hopkinton. There were also subtle
changes. You might not notice if you
weren’t looking, but there were soldiers on a rooftop overlooking the start
corrals.
It’s easy to say you’re going to start at an easy pace. It’s harder to actually do it when all of the
runners in your corrals had qualifying times that are faster than you can
currently run. It’s even harder when the
early miles are downhill and you have a tailwind.
I ran the first mile in 8:31. It seemed easy enough, but I knew it was too
fast. My second mile was 8:15. I knew that was much too fast. I would be happy to average nine minutes per
mile for the race. That would bring me
in under four hours.
While the pace seemed fast, I didn’t have any issues with my
back. It never bothered me during the
race, and I quickly put it out of my mind.
Although the first two miles are mostly downhill, there are
a couple places where the road briefly turns uphill. Each time, I felt myself beginning to sweat.
After two miles, we reached an aid station. I was so thirsty my throat felt bone
dry. I drank both water and
Gatorade. After that, there were aid
stations every mile. I drank more than
one cup at several of them, but I always felt thirsty. It was that kind of day.
I ran the next two miles in 8:28 and 8:21. I knew that was too fast, so I forced myself
to slow down a little. I have a tendency
to stay with the runners around me, but they were too fast. I started to let them go and drift backwards
through the field. After that, my mile
times ranged between 8:30 and 9:00.
At seven miles, I took a drink of water and accidentally
splashed some of it on my face. As the
water dripped into my mouth, it tasted salty.
Yeah, I was sweating.
I’m sure the tailwind was pushing me to a faster pace, but
it wasn’t doing much to help with the heat.
You just don’t get much cooling effect from a tailwind. Occasionally, a strong gust would cool me
off, but it never lasted long enough.
By the time I reached 10 miles, I was starting to feel
tired. I never felt like I was working hard,
but the pace was fast enough to make me overheat. That, in turn, made me feel fatigued.
Two miles later, I got a psychological lift, when I ran
through the Wellesley “scream tunnel.”
After another mile, I got another psychological lift, when I reached the
halfway point.
My half marathon split was 1:52. That put me on pace for a 3:44 finish. That’s when I knew for sure I was running too
fast. I’m not currently in shape to run
3:44 on a nice cool day. I certainly
shouldn’t have been trying to do it on a hot day.
The next three miles were all downhill, so I enjoyed it
while I could. Just before 16 miles, I
crossed the Charles River and entered Newton.
The easy part of the race was over.
There are four hills in Newton. None of them are huge, but they come at a
difficult time. If you’ve been running
too fast, this is where you usually pay for it.
The first hill is the most gradual. My concern here was that if I worked too hard
on the hills, I might overheat. At
first, I let myself fall behind the other runners. Then I saw a spectator with ice. I put some ice cubes in my hat. That gave me confidence that I wouldn’t
overheat on the first hill. I didn’t
intend to pick up my effort, but suddenly I was keeping pace with the other
runners. Then I started to pass
them. Then I backed off.
Between the hills, the road turns downhill again. I used these sections between the hills as
opportunities to recover and regain my composure.
This course has only four sharp turns. The first one comes between 17 and 18
miles. As soon as you make the right
turn onto Commonwealth Avenue, you begin the second hill. This one is the steepest of the four. Here I just wanted to keep running the whole
way. I didn’t care if I slowed down, but I didn’t want the hill to break
me. For the first time in the race, I
was breathing hard.
Because it’s one of the World Marathon Majors, the Boston
Marathon has a large international component.
This year, there were runners from 99 different countries. In Newton I saw a runner with a flag on the
back of her shirt. I’m familiar with a
lot of flags, but I had never seen this one before. I got closer, so I could read the writing
underneath the flag. She was from St. Lucia,
an island in the Lesser Antilles.
At the 18 mile clock, I saw my friends Alison and Elizabeth,
who were volunteering. That gave me a
lift. At the 30K clock, I saw my friend David, who always comes down from Maine
to volunteer. If any of you are reading
this, thank you for volunteering.
At 19 miles, I checked my watch. At this point I just wanted to hang on well
enough to break four hours. With 7.2
miles to go, an average of 10 minutes per mile would be good enough. I even had
a few minutes to spare.
The third hill is the smallest of the four, but I still
found it to be tiring. About halfway up
this hill, another runner asked me if this was Heartbreak Hill. I said, “No.
That’s the next one.” Her friend
made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sigh.
The fourth hill is “Heartbreak Hill.” It starts out gradual, but gets steeper. About halfway up this hill, I saw a spectator
holding a small cup and yelling, “ice cold beer.” I told myself before the race I wouldn’t do
any beer stops today. Halfway up a hill
on a hot day was a bad place to have a beer.
I reached for it anyway. That got
a big cheer from the crowd, which was the whole point. I took it on the run, so about half of it
spilled on my hand. I only got a small
taste. That’s just as well.
I struggled with the rest of the hill, but it didn’t break
me. Then I regained my composure on the
ensuing downhill.
I saw a spectator with a sign that may be my all-time
favorite. It read, “High five if you’re
just doing this for the pizza.” I gave
her a high five. It’s like she knows me.
At 21 miles, I passed Boston College and drank some Gatorade
at an aid station. For several miles,
the water and Gatorade at the aid stations seemed lukewarm after sitting in the
sun. Here, they ran out of luke. It was just plain warm.
After Boston College, the road turns sharply downhill. I was able to pick up the pace. The last five miles have a downhill
trend. You can make good time here if
you’re feeling good. I wasn’t feeling
good, but could still push myself. The
Newton hills didn’t break me.
In the late miles, the wind picked up. Those occasional strong gusts became more
frequent. As a result, I didn’t feel as
hot. It’s also possible the temperature
was beginning to drop. I was no longer
in danger of overheating.
With 4.2 miles to go, I realized I could break four hours
just by averaging 11 minutes per mile. I
wasn’t slowing down, so I knew I had it.
I saw some spectators offering cups of water. It had been a while since the last aid
station, and I was getting thirsty, so I grabbed a cup. It was nice and cold. After another block, I reached an aid
station. Having just had cold water, I
skipped the warm stuff.
Somewhere between 23 and 24, I saw the iconic Citgo
sign. When you reach it, you have one
mile to go. My goal now was to get to that
sign. Just before getting there, I had
to run up a small hill to cross a bridge.
I focused on getting to the “One mile to go” point.
The last mile was tough. I just needed to keep running, but it
was getting tougher.
I had run out of downhill.
I had run out of downhill.
In the last half mile, you make the two most famous turns on
road racing: right on Hereford and left
on Boylston. Hereford is slightly
uphill, but it’s not enough to break you unless you’re already broken. I wasn’t broken.
When I made the final turn onto Boylston, I was
conflicted. On one hand, I wanted to
pick my effort and finish as strong as I could.
On the other hand, I knew I could afford to just coast in. I did neither. I maintained the same effort, finishing in
3:51:29.
My average pace in the first half was 8:33. My average pace in the second half was
9:07. I slowed down, but I would have
been happy if my average pace for the whole race was 9:07. I held up much better than I expected.
The finisher medal for Boston always has the same basic
design. They make small changes in
styling, but it always features the unicorn logo of the Boston Athletic
Association. I wouldn’t have it any other
way. This is always my favorite
medal. I bagged my seventh unicorn.
At any race, they always hand you a water bottle when you
finish. I usually decline, knowing there
are better beverages as you move farther through the finisher chute. This time I took the water and immediately
started drinking. Later, after getting a
bag filled with snacks, I saw bottles of Muscle Milk. I didn’t think I would have room for that
much liquid, but I took one so I could get some protein. I finished it before I reached the train.
At 6:30, they had a post-race party at Fenway Park. It was free for runners, but $25 for friends
and family. I’m not sure why they think
it’s worth $25. Basically all you’re
getting is admission to the stadium. It
doesn’t include any food or beverages.
If you want to eat, you need to buy overpriced stadium food. You get a chance to see the ballpark, but you
couldn't go into the bleachers until 8:00.
I wasn’t impressed, so I went across the street to have my
post-race pizza at Boston Beer Works. I didn't just run for the unicorn. I also ran for the pizza.
Race Statistics
Distance: 26.2 miles
Time: 3:51:29
Average Pace: 8:50
Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:
332
Unicorns: 7
Congrats on getting your unicorn and your pizza!
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