On October 10th, I ran
the Hartford Marathon. I scheduled this
race so I could try for a second Boston qualifier in Connecticut. It’s the only marathon in Connecticut where I
would have a realistic chance of getting a BQ.
Until a week ago, I
didn’t know if I was in good enough shape to run a Boston-qualifying time. Then I qualified with six minutes to spare at
the Twin Cities Marathon. The good news
is that I came into this race knowing I can run that fast. The bad news is that my effort last weekend
took a lot out of me. After that race,
my left Achilles tendon was as tight as it’s been in months, and I only had six
days to recover. I didn’t do much training
during the week. I just did strength
training and a few short recovery runs.
I flew to Hartford Friday
morning. I was staying in a downtown
hotel, so I didn’t need to rent a car. I
took a taxi from the airport. After
that, I could walk everywhere.
When I got to my hotel,
it wasn’t even 11:00 yet. Surprisingly,
I was able to check into my room right away.
The expo didn’t open
until noon. In the meantime, I did a
little sightseeing in the downtown area. I didn’t plan to have my phone with me during
the race, so this was my chance to take pictures of the landmarks near the
start and finish.
This is the Soldiers &
Sailors Memorial Arch in Bushnell Park.
We ran through this arch just before finishing the race.
The starting line was in
front of the Connecticut capitol building.
This was the second time in a week that I was starting or finishing a
race in front of a state capitol.
The expo was held at the
Connecticut Convention Center. After
picking up my bib and T-shirt, I browsed the various merchandise, sampled a
beer from a local brewery, studied a map of the finisher area, and visited the
booth for the pace team.
I spent the rest of the
afternoon doing a workout at the hotel and relaxing until it was time for
dinner.
The race didn’t start
until 8:00 AM, so I didn’t have to get up too early. I still went to bed early. That made it possible to get a full night’s
sleep and still wake up an hour before my alarm. I was able to eat a light breakfast and take
my time getting ready. I’ve never felt
so relaxed on the morning of a race.
The temperature started
out in the mid-40s. It would rise to 60
by noon, but I dressed for the cooler temperatures at the start. They had a gear check in the start/finish
area, but I chose not to check a gear bag.
I waited as long as possible before leaving the hotel, so I wouldn’t be
standing around in the cold for too long.
From my hotel, it was about a 15-minute walk to get to the start
corrals.
The qualifying standard
for my age group is 4:05. That was my
goal. They didn’t have a pace group for
4:05, but I knew one of the guys leading the 4:00 pace group. His name is Ken, and I’ve run with him at several
races. I decided to line up with the
4:00 group and follow them for the first mile before deciding if that pace was
comfortable or if I needed to drop back and run on my own.
The pace felt comfortable
enough at first. We left the downtown
area and headed to the western side of the city.
The two biggest hills on
the course both come in the first five miles.
The first one started during the second mile and topped out halfway
through mile three. It was gradual, but
it was long enough to be tiring. I was
able to stay with the 4:00 group through this hill. That was encouraging.
After that, we had a nice
downhill section. On the downhill, I had
to ease up to keep from getting ahead of the pace group.
The second hill came in
mile five. I expected this hill to be
just like the first one, but it was shorter.
On this hill, I was so determined to keep up my pace that I got out in
front of the pace group.
Next, we ran through
Elizabeth Park. This park had some nice
flower gardens. It also had a nice
downhill section. I had to keep telling
myself to ease up, so I wouldn’t get too far ahead of the 4:00 group. Sometimes, I could hear Ken talking to the
group, so I knew they weren’t too far behind.
I was running ahead of
the group for the next several miles.
Ahead of me, I could see a 2:00 group for the half marathon. As long as I stayed behind them, I wasn’t too
worried about going too fast.
After eight miles, we
re-entered the downtown area. During the
next mile, we reached the point where the half marathon course diverged from
the marathon course. I could no longer
count on seeing the 2:00 pace group in front of me, so I had to start paying
more attention to my pace.
We left downtown Hartford
on a bridge over the Connecticut River.
This bridge was a bit of a hill.
I made note of the fact that we would need to cross it again later in
the race.
The next few miles were
through East Hartford. After that, we
started a long out-and-back that took us into the countryside.
I had been easing up, and
the 4:00 group eventually caught up to me again. I was with them when we reached the halfway
point.
Soon, we started to see the
fastest runners coming back on the other side of the street.
I stayed with the pace
group for the next several miles. With
each passing mile, I got more confident that I could keep up this pace for the whole
race. To help pass the miles, Ken and I
were each telling stories.
When we reached the
turnaround, it got easier psychologically.
Now, instead of running farther away from Hartford, we were running back
toward it.
At 18 miles, Ken told us that we were 75 seconds ahead of schedule. Anyone who felt strong could go ahead, but he was going to start slowing down. I continued to run with the group.
At 20 miles, I was on
roughly the same pace as my last race.
That race had a long uphill section from 20 to 23. This race was relatively flat from 20 to
23. That made me more confident that I
could stay with the group.
I was talking with a
runner from Boston who was running her first marathon. Her name was Nikki. At 22 miles, I noticed that we were getting
ahead of the group. Nikki seemed to be
running strong, so I kept running with her and didn’t worry about our pace. She’s familiar with the Boston Marathon, so I
sometimes told her where we would be if we were at the same mile marker on the
Boston course.
With about two miles to
go, I told Nikki that I didn’t know if I could keep up with her for the rest of
the race. She thanked me for helping her
run faster, and then she went ahead on her own.
I kept running at the
same pace, while Nikki accelerated and gradually pulled away from me. For the next mile, I could still see
her. Then I walked for a few seconds
while I drank at an aid station. That’s
when I lost sight of her. That was at
mile 25.
Next, we had to cross the
bridge over the river again. I thought
that would be the last hill. I was
wrong. I kept up my pace on the uphill
side of the bridge. The downhill side
gave me a chance to recover. Then there
was one more uphill section as we came back through the downtown area.
I struggled on that last hill,
but I recovered as the street leveled out.
I’m not familiar with all the downtown streets or buildings, but I knew
where I was when I crossed Trumbull Street.
That’s the street I took to get to the start/finish area before the race.
To my left, I could see
the post-race area in Bushnell Park.
Ahead of me, I could see a different section of the park. I just had to continue a little farther before
making the last turn. Just before I got
there, I reached the 26-mile sign.
Mile 26 was my slowest of
the race, but I was almost done. I made
the last turn, ran through the arch, and then ran to the finish line. I finished in 3:59:18.
My second half was 30
seconds slower than my first half. If I
could’ve stayed with Nikki, I would’ve run negative splits. That would've been a tall order though. She really accelerated in those last two miles.
After I finished, a
volunteer handed me a souvenir water bottle that was already filled with
water. Another gave me a heat sheet.
The finisher medal
depicts the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Arch.
Post-race food included
popcorn, bananas, granola, pumpkin muffins, chocolate milk, and soup. I took what I could carry and found a place
to sit so I could eat. I had enough to
drink that I skipped the beer garden.
Instead, I went to the results tent, where I found out I was fourth in
my age group. I just missed placing high
enough for an award.
I easily ran fast enough to get my second BQ in Connecticut. Now I’m one step closer to having two BQs in every state. I’m just missing Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, and Alaska. I’ll have a shot at Missouri next month. The other states will have to wait until next year. Alaska may be the toughest one to schedule.
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