After our trip to Cape Cod, Deb and I flew directly from Boston to Baltimore, where I ran the Baltimore Marathon on October 14.
We were originally
scheduled to arrive in Baltimore at 2:15 on Friday, but Delta changed their
flight schedule. Our revised arrival
time was 3:07, which didn’t give us as much time as we were originally
expecting to have. I would’ve been nervous
about that, but the expo went until 8:00 PM.
We stayed in a downtown
hotel that was right next to Camden Yards, where the race started. It’s a shame the Baltimore Orioles lost in the
American League Divisional Series. Had
they advanced to the championship series, they would’ve had a home game on Saturday. Our hotel was so close to the stadium that we
had this view from our hotel room.
We were also just a
couple of blocks from the convention center, where the expo was held. We didn’t get to our hotel until 4:15, but I
was back from the expo by 5:00.
After organizing my clothes
for the race, I had dinner with my friend Aaron at a Detroit-style pizza place
near the waterfront. On my way to
dinner, I walked right past the finish area for the marathon. Most of the barriers were already in place.
I got to bed early, slept
well all night, and woke up about 30 minutes before my alarm would’ve gone
off. The race didn’t start until 8:00 AM,
so I didn’t need to be up too early.
The temperature was in
the 50s, but I didn’t know when the rain would start. For most of the morning, there was about a
50% chance of rain. There was no question
it would rain in the afternoon, but I didn’t know how much of the race would be
in the rain. I was only expecting
intermittent showers, but to hedge my bets I wore tights. I had a Tyvek jacket that I wore to the start. In case of heavy rain, I kept a plastic rain
poncho folded up in my fanny pack.
The starting line was
close enough to my hotel that I could wait until 20 minutes before the race
before going outside. I was able to use
the bathroom in my hotel room, so I didn’t need to allow time to wait in
port-o-potty lines in the start area.
I neglected to pack the
charger cable for my GPS watch. After
using it for the Cape Cod Marathon and two shorter runs, I didn’t know for sure
if I had enough battery life for another marathon. I left that watch at the hotel and used my older
Timex, which is just a plain stopwatch.
I’ve grown accustomed to my watch giving me splits, but I had to go back
to my old practice of just reading my watch at each mile marker and doing the
arithmetic in my head.
I ran Boston qualifying
times in my last three marathons, but those were all on fast courses. One was sharply downhill, one was slightly
downhill, and the other was mostly flat.
This race was hilly, so I went in with lower expectations. I needed to wait and see how I felt after the
first few miles.
When I got to the start
area, I saw there was a 3:50 pace group. I lined up with them and decided to run at
that pace long enough to evaluate whether the pace would be sustainable on this
course.
Besides having a view
into the stadium, our hotel room also had a view of the starting line. Deb was taking pictures before the race started.
About 10 minutes before
the race started, it started to rain. It
was only sprinkling, but I decided to keep my jacket on, instead of tying it
around my waist.
Starting with the 3:50 pace
group took all the guesswork about how fast to start. I followed the pacers, and I didn’t look at
my watch for the first half of the race.
The first few miles had a gradual uphill trend. Running uphill, I found the pace to be
tiring, but I knew it would eventually get easier. I forced myself to keep up with the group,
even though it seemed like I was working way too hard.
The first song I heard
during the race was Fallin’ by Alicia Keys. That was a reminder that I fell during my
last race, and I should pay attention to my footing. In the downtown area, the pavement had cracks
in a few places. Also, the pavement was
slippery from the rain.
About halfway through the
second mile, I started to feel hot. I
took off my jacket and tied it around my waist.
After taking off my jacket, I realized there weren’t any drops hitting
my arms. Because the pavement was wet, I
didn’t notice that the rain had stopped.
Shortly before the three
mile mark, we entered Druid Hill Park.
As we crested a hill, one of the pacers told us this was the highest
point on the course. There would be
other hills, but from here, it was more downhill than uphill.
As we continued through
the park, we entered the Maryland Zoo. The
zoo has African penguins, and two of the zookeepers brought one of the penguins
outside to watch the race. We all got to
see the penguin as we ran by.
Where we entered the zoo,
it was the beginning of a downhill section.
The leaders of our pace group were running the whole race at a
consistent pace. They ran uphill at the
same pace that they ran downhill. For
most of the runners in the group, the downhill sections were a chance to rest
and recover from the uphill sections. I’m
used to speeding up going downhill, so I took the downhill sections at my own
pace. I often got ahead of the pace
group, but they would catch up to me again on the next uphill section.
Shortly after leaving the
zoo, we reached a spot where we had a good view of the downtown area to our
right. One of the pacers told us when
this view was coming up. In general,
they gave us lots of useful information throughout the race.
Between six and seven
miles, we turned and started running back toward the downtown area. The next two and a half miles had a gradual
downhill trend. One of the pacers told
us to pay attention to how this section of the course felt, because the section
from 24 to 26 would be similar.
I continued to speed
ahead on the downhill sections, but I was never too far ahead of the group. They were always talking, and I could hear
them right behind me.
At nine miles, we passed
close to where we would eventually finish.
Then we started an out-and-back section along the west side of the inner
harbor. When I got to the 10 mile mark,
I asked myself how I felt. I was getting
tired. It didn’t seem like my effort
would be sustainable for 16 more miles, but I decided to stay with the pace
group until the halfway mark and then re-evaluate.
By now, it was raining again,
and I also felt more wind near the inner harbor. Earlier, I had been hot going up hills, so
the colder conditions initially felt good.
I knew I’d get cold if it rained for the rest of the race, but my more
immediate concern was the condition of the streets. They were getting slick again.
I could see faster
runners coming back on the other side of the street. When I saw the 3:40 group coming back, I knew
we were only a couple minutes away from the turnaround.
Somewhere between 12 and
13 miles, we reached the end of the out-and-back section, and we started heading
east. The next few miles were along the
other side of the inner harbor.
By now, the rain had
stopped again. I questioned whether I
could keep up with the group, but I was afraid to drop back. I was afraid that if I unhitched myself from
the group, I would keep slowing down until my pace felt comfortable. There’s a big disparity between my all-out
race pace and the pace I find comfortable.
If I started running by myself, I could easily slow down by a minute per
mile. If I did that now, I could easily
give up so much time that I wouldn’t even break four hours. For that reason, I wanted to keep up with the
group until I had no more than 10 miles to go.
I was so determined to
keep up with the group for a while longer, that I sped up and ran in front of
them. I could still hear them, so I knew
I was never too far ahead of them.
Somehow, it felt easier to stay ahead of them than to follow them.
When I reached the
halfway mark, I looked at my watch. I
was more than a minute ahead of schedule foe a 3:50 finish. Then meant I had a little bit of room to slow
down later in the race.
Suddenly, the pace no
longer felt difficult. Maybe it was just
psychological, but I easily stayed ahead of the group for the next few miles.
By the beginning of the
15th mile, it was starting to rain again.
Now I had an extra incentive to keep up my current pace. If I slowed down, I was more apt to get cold. I would also be out in the wet conditions for
that much longer.
While each additional
mile I finished, staying on my current pace for the rest of the race seemed
more feasible. In my previous two races,
I managed to dig deep and pick up my effort in the late miles. I was feeling tired earlier in this race, but
I wasn’t trying for as fast of a time.
As I got close to 16 miles,
I could hear one of the pacers talking to the group, but I couldn’t hear
everything she said. I heard “Don’t
panic” and “you can see the merge.” I
looked ahead and saw a huge pack of runners coming from the left and turning
onto the same street we were on. It was
about a block and a half ahead of me.
This was the point where the half marathon merged with the
marathon. For the next 10 miles, we
would all be running together.
I didn’t know if these
runners would be going at a faster or slower pace. They outnumbered us by about 20 to 1, so if
they were slower, it would be difficult to keep up a consistent pace.
As I reached the merge
point, it quickly became apparent that the runners merging in with us weren’t
going as fast. I look around to see
which runners I recognized as marathon runners.
There were two runners in front of me who I had consistently seen in
front of me for the last mile or two.
One was a guy in a red T-shirt.
The other was a woman wearing a clear plastic rain poncho. I followed them through the crowd of slower
runners.
It wasn’t long before I
passed the guy in the red shirt. Then I
could only follow the woman in the rain poncho.
She was weaving through the crowd aggressively. It took a lot of effort to keep up with her,
but I was afraid that if I didn’t I would start running at the pace of the
runners around me.
I suspected I had sped up
since the merge. I wasn’t looking at my
watch, so I didn’t actually know how fast I was going. It just felt faster. I could no longer hear the pace group behind
me. I didn’t know if I was getting way
ahead of them or if they were no longer audible over all the other
runners. The street was incredibly
crowded now.
We turned a corner and
started up a hill. Going up the hill, I
couldn’t keep up with the woman in the rain poncho, but I tried to stay close
enough that I could still see her. I got
hot running up this hill. That’s when I
realized the rain had stopped again.
This hill was long and tiring. I realized here that the “don’t panic”
comment wasn’t in reference to the merge.
The pacer who said that probably told the group about this hill and told
them not to panic, because there would be downhill sections later.
I never saw the 16 mile
mark. When I saw the 4 mile sign for the
half marathon, I realized I had also missed the 17 mile sign.
As I continued up a long
hill, I started to lose contact with the runner I was trying to follow. As I neared the top of the hill, I didn’t
care as much if there were slower runners in my way. I was slowing down anyway.
We turned another corner
and started a long downhill section. Now
I cared. I can speed up on the downhills,
so I didn’t want to be bottled up behind a wall of slower runners. I found a gap and raced down the hill. By the time I reached the bottom, I caught up
to the woman in the rain poncho. Then we
started up another hill, and I fell behind again.
By the time I reached the
19 mile mark, I was getting really tired, but I didn’t have much more than
seven miles to go. I was sure I could
hang in there for seven miles.
Next, we began another
out-and-back section along one side of a lake.
I didn’t know how long it would be, so I started looking for pace groups
coming back. I saw a pace group, but I
couldn’t see their sign, so I didn’t know which group it was. Then I recognized Aaron. I knew he started with the 3:40 group, so I
assumed he was seven or eight minutes ahead of me by now. That meant I was within four minutes of
reaching the turnaround.
By now, I had lost sight
of the woman in the rain poncho. I had been
moving through the crowd of half marathoners for the last four miles, so the people
around me weren’t that much slower than my own pace. It would have been easy to just run with the
crowd. At times I did, but then I’d
remind myself to keep passing people. It
wasn’t as easy when I didn’t have someone else setting the pace for me.
If I was alert, I would’ve
started looking for the 3:50 group as soon as I made the turn. By the time I thought of it, I had already
missed them. For the past few miles, I
thought I was way ahead of them. Now I
realized they must be pretty close to me.
There was one more
out-and-back section. This one was much
shorter. Going out, it started out
downhill, but the last part before the hill was uphill. Going downhill, I spotted the woman in the
rain poncho. She was only half a block
ahead of me now. I was gaining ground,
but only until I started uphill. Then I
lost ground again.
This time, I looked for
the 3:50 group as soon as I made the turn.
They were right behind me. After the
turn, we briefly rain downhill, but then turn uphill again. By the time I reached the next turn, they had
caught up to me.
After the group caught
me, I really struggled to keep up with them.
I thought they would drop me. Then
we hit another uphill section, and it got even harder. After falling behind, I dug deep and summoned
up the effort to catch up to them again.
It was raining again, and trying to accelerate on slick pavement made it
even harder.
I got alongside of one of
the pacers and asked her when we would crest the hill. She said it would be like this for another
mile. She asked me if I remembered what
she said earlier as we started the stretch from seven to nine, which was mostly
downhill. I did. Then she said after this uphill section, we
would get to that same downhill section.
She yelled to the entire
group that she needed everyone to put on their big boy or big girl pants. This was the last really tough section of the
course. It wasn’t easy, but I gave it
everything I had for the next mile.
The spectators in the late
miles were great. One of them told us we
had two more minutes of climbing, and then it would be downhill. That information really helped.
After cresting that hill,
I saw the 23 sign. It was still another
mile before the section of the course I was anticipating. Fortunately, this mile was also downhill.
At first, I needed to use
the downhill to recover, while staying with the group. After a few blocks of running downhill, I was
able to speed up and get a little bit ahead of the group.
Between 23 and 24 miles,
I turned a corner to start the last long section running back into the downtown
area. We weren’t on the same street as
before, but this street ran parallel to that one, and it had the same gentle
downhill trend.
The section from seven to
nine had a short uphill section, so I assumed this street would too. I could see it from a distance, but I felt it
when I got there. It was tough, but the
spectators were encouraging. When I got
to the top, a woman said, “Just one more hill.”
I didn’t know there would be another hill, but I appreciated the advance
warning.
When I reached the 25
mile sign, I didn’t think to look at my watch.
Instead, I looked when I saw the 12 mile sign for the half
marathon. It was the first time I looked
at my watch since the halfway mark. To
break 3:50, I needed to run the last 1.1 miles in 9:40. At my current pace, I would do it, but I was
hoping for more of a cushion.
The last 1.1 miles were
mostly downhill, and I really worked the hill.
As I moved through the crowd of runners, I caught sight of the woman in
the rain poncho. It had been three or
four miles since I last saw her. I worked
hard to close the gap, but the closest I came was half a block.
The last hill was steep,
but it was also short. I shortened my stride
and pushed hard to keep up my pace. After
cresting the hill, I worked the last downhill as much as I could.
When I made the final
turn onto Pratt Street, I knew I was only a few blocks from the finish. Looking ahead, I could see the finish. It was comparable to making the turn onto Boylston
Street at the end of the Boston Marathon.
I finished the race in
3:47:58. It was the third time in 21
days that I qualified for Boston. The
last time I did that was four years ago.
This one wasn’t as fast as the last two, but it was a tougher
course. I no longer need a fast course
to qualify.
The second half of the
race wasn’t quite as fast as the first half, but it was close. I slowed down by less than a minute.
The finisher medal is in
the shape of a crab, and the shell opens to reveal the image of the Constellation,
which is docked in the Baltimore harbor.
I had been drinking at
every aid station, so I didn’t need to drink anything in the finish area. My clothes were wet, and I was cold, so I
didn’t hang around for long. I picked up
some post-race food and walked back to my hotel as quickly as I could. I ate while I was walking.
One of my cousins lives
in the Baltimore area. Deb and I went to
his house for dinner later in the day.
Saturday wasn’t a good
day for sightseeing, because it rained all afternoon. Sunday morning, Deb and I walked down to the
harbor to see the Constellation.
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