On April 18, I ran the Boston Marathon. It was the first time in three years that the Boston Marathon was held in person on Patriots’ Day (the third Monday in April).
I arrived in Boston on
Friday, which gave me a chance to do the B.A.A. 5K race Saturday morning. I wrote a separate race report for the
5K. This post picks up where that one
left off.
Saturday, April 16
Boston Marathon weekend
is always filled with meet-ups of various running groups. My first meet-up of the weekend was Saturday afternoon,
when I met with other members of Boston Squeakers for a happy hour gathering at
Trillium Brewing. Squeakers are runners who, at one time or another, have qualified for Boston by a small margin. This year, all the squeakers got into the race. That's not always the case.
After dinner, six of us had dinner at Time Out Market, which is right next to Trillium. I’m surprised nobody from our group had dinner here last year. It’s an indoor market with about 10 different counter-serve restaurants and a central seating area. There was plenty of seating available, and each of us could get the style of food we wanted. I found a pizza place that had a pizza with Maine lobster.
Sunday, April 17
Sunday was the only
morning I could sleep in, and I took advantage of it. I didn’t get up until 7:45. After a relaxing morning, I had a late
breakfast at Thornton’s with my friend Robert.
I went back to the hotel to
do some exercises in the hotel’s fitness room.
Then I walked to the finish line on Boylston Street for the first of
three group pictures with different running clubs.
The first group picture
was Marathon Maniacs. They always meet
at the finish line at noon on Sunday. I
always know dozens of other runners who are in town for the marathon. This is always my best chance to see everyone
in one place.
After the group picture,
I had lunch with two other runners. After
lunch, my friend Cade and I each had some free time, so we went back to the expo.
My next group photo was
with Boston Squeakers. This is the same
group I met with on Saturday.
The last group photo was
with the World Marathon Majors Challenge group.
This is a group for people who aspire to run all six of the World Marathon
Majors. I finished the majors in 2016.
Next, I had a happy hour
meet-up with members of the 50sub4 club at an Irish pub near the finish line. Members of this club aspire to run marathons
in every state with times under four hours.
I’ve completed two 50sub4 circuits.
While I was there, I saw
my friend Michelle. Earlier in the day, I
heard she was experiencing flight delays and didn’t know if she would get to
Boston in time to pick up her race bib. I
went back to the expo with Michelle. While
I was there, I bumped into Robert. I
ended up having dinner with Robert and two other runners.
I tried to get to bed
early, but I couldn’t get to sleep. I
was still awake at midnight. I
eventually got two or three hours of sleep, but then I woke up and couldn’t get
back to sleep. It’s a good thing I slept
well Saturday night.
Monday, April 18
The usual way to get to
the start in Hopkinton is to take a bus from Boston Common. One of my running clubs chartered a motor
coach, so we could stay on the bus after arriving in Hopkinton. To board the bus, I needed to be at the Park Plaza
hotel by 6:45 AM.
I got up at 5:00. The hotel started their breakfast service at
5:30, but I didn’t want to take that much time.
I also didn’t need a full breakfast.
I made a cup of tea in my room and ate a pastry that I picked up at Mike’s
Pastry on Friday. Even the pastry was
more food than I could eat that early. I
ate about two third of it and saved the rest for later.
I was conflicted about what
to wear. The temperature was going to be
about 50 degrees in Hopkinton, but cooler in Boston. It was going to be sunny, but I didn’t know
how much wind there would be. A few
friends were asking me if I was wearing my cheetah outfit, so I felt obligated
to wear that, even though I suspected it would be too warm for the conditions.
There’s no gear check in
Hopkinton. If you want to bring extra layers
to wear before the race, you need to leave them in the donation bags. I had a pair of wind pants that I was willing
to donate. The only thing I brought to
keep my arms warm was my Tyvek jacket. I
wasn’t willing to part with that, but I could tie it around my waist before I
started running.
Last October, we had a
rolling start. This year, we returned to
the usual wave start. There are four
waves, with each wave divided into eight corrals. Based on my qualifying time, I was placed in
the fifth corral of the second wave. My
wave started at 10:25, which was 25 minutes after the first wave.
It took about an hour to
get to Hopkinton. VIP buses like this
one are able to park in an area that’s just a few blocks away from the Athlete’s
Village, where everyone else gets dropped off.
Since our bus could stay in Hopkinton, we were able to stay on the bus
instead of waiting outside.
There were dozens of
port-o-potties. Notice how long the
lines are. You could find a vacant
port-o-potty at any time without having to wait. That’s important when you’re going to be there
for two hours.
I knew several of the other
runners on the bus, and walked with one of them to the start corrals. When I got to my start corral, I bumped into
my friend Roger.
I feel like I’m just
barely in shape to run a marathon. I
knew I could finish, but I also knew I wouldn’t be fast. I took the same approach for Boston as I did
three weeks ago at the Savin Rock Marathon.
My goal was to run at a pace that felt comfortable and not worry about
my pace. That’s easier said than done.
The first few miles are
noticeably downhill. As I started
running, I noticed some discomfort near my right hip. The impact of running downhill was
aggravating my sciatic nerve. I tried to
alter my gait to minimize the impact.
That unfortunately led to my running faster down the hill.
Hopkinton is the first of
eight communities that the course goes through.
About two miles into the race, we entered Ashland. This is the first place along the route where
we were cheered by spectators. Before that,
we were surrounded by woods.
I’ve always liked the spectators
in Ashland. These are all local
residents who come out every year to watch and cheer. They’re not out there because they know one
of the runners. They come out every year
and cheer for everyone.
After about three miles,
the course started to level off. There
were still downhill sections, but there weren’t as steep. In theory, it should’ve been easier to slow
down and run a more sustainable pace. In
practice, I found it hard to ignore the runners around me. I started the race surrounded by runners who
had similar qualifying times. I had to remind myself that I couldn’t run at the
same pace as the people around me. I
wasn’t trying to keep up with them, but I wasn’t slowing down as much as I
should. Having faster runners all around
me definitely influenced me.
I resisted the temptation
to look at my watch. I wanted to run by
feel, without knowing my pace. Sometimes
I’d reach a mile marker and I’d hear runners near me discussing their
pace. Apparently, I was averaging 8:30
for the first few miles. That was much
too fast.
I gradually slowed down
and allowed myself to drift back in comparison with other runners. I was slowing down a little, but I probably
wasn’t slowing down enough. I still felt
like I was going too fast. I didn’t feel
as relaxed as I did in my last race.
At five miles, I left
Ashland and entered Framingham. There’s
a commuter rail station in Framingham, so this is the first town along the
route that can be reached easily by people staying in Boston. People wanting to spot friends or family in a
few different places will sometimes start here.
At about 10K, a spectator said, “you’re almost there.” I knew immediately that guy was from out of
town. No local resident would say something
at that misleading. Maybe at other
races, but not here.
By now, I was noticing a
slight headwind. It wasn’t strong enough
to feel tiring, but it had a nice cooling effect. The cool breeze is the main thing that kept
me from overheating, even though I was dressed awfully warm.
Around eight miles, I
entered Natick. This was the fourth of
the eight communities I would run through.
I like to think of the first 16 miles as mostly downhill, but the three
or four miles through Natick are actually rolling. If anything, this part of the course has a
slight uphill trend. This is where I
finally untethered myself from the runners around me.
There’s a guy who always
watches the race dressed like Santa Claus.
I think I’ve seen him on different parts of the course in different
years. This year, I saw him just past
the 8 mile mark. By chance, Roger was
posing for a picture with him.
The course didn’t seem
nearly as crowded now. I suspect I was
now at the back of wave two. The only runners
around me were other runners from my wave who were running at a pace that was
much slower than their qualifying times.
I was just about to the 15K
sign when I started seeing faster runners going by. They weren’t just passing me; they were
passing everyone. The fastest runners
from wave three were catching up to the back of wave two.
I was getting tired
running through Natick, but it but was easier when I reached Wellesley. Running through Wellesley, it’s mostly downhill.
Wellesley is home to the “Wellesley
scream tunnel,” where women from Wellesley College come out to cheer the
runners. The scream tunnel starts at
about 12.4 miles, but I could hear them from the 12 mile mark.
The halfway mark is also
in Wellesley. It’s conveniently located
right in the center of town, where there are lots of spectators. When I got to the half marathon mark, I
finally checked my watch for the first time. I was on pace to finish in 4:03.
I didn’t really think I
would continue at that pace. I ran my
last marathon in 4:13. If you asked me
to predict my time for this race, I would’ve said, “something between 4:10 and
4:15.” I knew my first few miles were fast,
and now I was slowing down. I’d be happy
if I could hold steady at my current pace, now that I had slowed down.
There’s a fairly steep
downhill around 25K that takes you down to the Charles River. When you cross the river, you’re in Newton.
Newton has a reputation
for being the hilly part of the course.
There are four hills, with the last one being “Heartbreak Hill.” When I’m racing for a fast time, I work hard
to sustain my pace through the Newton hills.
This time, I just wanted to keep moving with a consistent effort. I wasn’t going to worry if I slowed down on
the hills.
The first turn on the
course is in Newton. When I turned the corner,
I immediately noticed more wind. It was
stronger now, and it was mostly a headwind.
Every few minutes, I took off my hat and let the cold wind rush through
me hair. That did a lot to cool me off.
I was past the third of
the Newton hills when my friend Stefanie caught up to me. Stef was on a faster pace, but she started in
wave three. I ran with her for a few
minutes, but I had to let her go when we reached Heartbreak Hill.
Although I was getting
tired, I was able to put more effort into this hill, knowing it was the last
climb of any significance. When I
crested the hill, I knew the rest of the race would be easier.
There was one more small
rise, and then I enjoyed a long downhill section. Now that I was getting into Boston, I
partitioned the rest of the course with familiar landmarks. The first was Boston College.
The crowds at Boston
College were great. They may have been
just as loud as the Wellesley students.
After Boston College, I continued past Evergreen Cemetery and through
Cleveland Circle.
With a little less than
four miles to go, I entered Brookline. I
was getting fatigued. I needed to endure
two more miles before returning to Boston for the end of the race.
When I finally re-entered
Boston, I had less than two miles left in the race. The last major landmark on the course is the
large Citgo sign near Fenway Park. When
I got there, I had one mile to go.
I know the last mile of
the course like the back of my hand. I
ran under two bridges. The first was
Charlesgate. The second was
Massachusetts Avenue. Then I made the
right turn onto Hereford. After two short
blocks, I made the left turn onto Boylston.
Now I could see the finish line in the distance.
I wanted to put on a
strong finish, but my legs were dead. It
wasn’t until the last two blocks that I managed to coax a little extra speed out
of them. I finished in 4:11:29. That’s about what I originally expected. It’s actually better than I expected when you
consider how many times I stopped to take pictures. Without all those stops, I would’ve been pretty
close to four hours. Getting my time
back under four hours can be a goal for another race. After finishing, I received another unicorn
medal.
As I moved through the
finish area, I bumped into Robert again.
While we were talking, another runner wanted to get a picture with
Robert. He’s somewhat well-known because
of all the Facebook pages he manages. Robert
wanted to get a picture with me when he saw how I was dressed.
Robert and I we met two runners who had just received their six star medal for finishing all six of the World Marathon Majors. One of them was the first runner from Jamaica to do it.
This race always gives
you more food than you really need. I
picked up a food bag, but I didn’t get any of the extras, like a banana or an
extra water bottle. In fact, I removed
the large bottle of Gatorade and gave it to a volunteer to give to anyone else
who wanted it. I should’ve also removed
the water bottle. I already had three
unopened bottles of water in my hotel room.
My feet felt unusually
sore as I made my way slowly through the finish area to get to Arlington
Station. I took the train most of the
way to my hotel, but I had to walk the last few blocks.
There were times during
the race when I had some slight lower back discomfort, but it was only while
running downhill, and it never lasted long.
My right knee wasn’t too happy when I was walking up and down steps in
the subway stations, but I expect it to feel better in the next day or two.
Although I had a ton of
post-race snacks, the first thing I ate was the rest of the raspberry roll that
started eating in the morning. Before
eating any other snacks, I washed up and changed into clean clothes. By then, it was already 4:00 PM. I ate a few of my post-race snacks, but I
didn’t eat all of them. I wanted to have
room to eat a real dinner later.
I don’t know why my feet
were so sore, but I didn’t feel like leaving the hotel. Fortunately, the hotel has a restaurant, and
the menu included pizza.
After not getting much
sleep Sunday night, I slept like a rock Monday night. That’s the difference between pre-race nerves
and post-race exhaustion.
Tuesday, April, 19
When I woke up, I noticed
some sunburn on my right arm and the right side of my neck. The Boston Marathon course runs from west to
east, so the sun is always on your right side.
I didn’t have much exposed skin, but where I did, I got sunburn.
Many of my friends had
early flights and were already on their way to the airport before I woke
up. I had a mid-day flight, so I didn’t
need to set an alarm. I had plenty of time
to eat breakfast and take my time packing before taking the T back to the
airport.
I often say that every Boston Marathon is different. I guess you could say the thing that made this one unique was the fact that we were running in person on Patriots’ Day for the first time in three years. Other that that, the most striking thing about this year’s race is how normal it was. Even the weather was normal. It wasn’t too hot or too cold. It didn’t rain. There was a little wind, but nothing too tiring. The cool breeze actually helped counteract the warmth of the sun. It was about as perfect as weather can be, especially for Boston.
