I succeeded in completing three marathons in 90 days. This last one didn't go as well as the first two, but the major goal was the completion of this race.
Overall Time (Net): 3:46:50
Pace per mile: 8 minutes, 39 seconds
Overall place: 535/2403
Age group finish: 59/160
Splits (5-mile): 35:58 (0-5), 36:18 (5-10), 39:39 (10-15), 49:24 (15-20), 1:05:31 (last 10km)
Splits (Half): 1:37:16 (1st half), 2:09:34 (2nd half)
Little sleep, long travel, bad sleeping conditions, bad weather conditions, mistakes during the race...I can't blame any one factor, but those combined created a wall so immense that I almost dropped out at a few different places of the race.
I had spent the previous two nights camping over an hour away from Burlington. The air mattress I slept on was uncomfortable at best, which caused a sore lower back to develop and (maybe) a combined 8 hours of sleep in those two nights left me with almost no energy on race morning. In spite of adequate preparation and a relatively healthy start to the race, the cards were stacked against me.
The rain let loose around the start of the race and kept up for the first 3-4 miles, soaking every inch of my running gear. In spite of some good splits in the first few miles I could already feel an odd pressure in my right leg - muscle fatigue - and I had a bad feeling that I would not be able to hold a BQ pace for very long.
Miles 5-9 departed the city streets and entered an open stretch of highway. I was glad that the sun was not out; it would have cooked me early. The humidity was increasing with each mile but I stayed fairly consistent - hugging the 7:10-7:20 mile pace right up through the re-entry into the city. The one big mishap, however, came at mile 7 when I reached for my first GU packet and had it slip though my hand. I had considered stopping to pick it back up but I decided against it after noticing the large pack of runners behind me. I would have to try to find a way with only two gels instead of three.
The clouds partially gave way to a hazy atmosphere during miles 10-12. It was on this stretch where I hot my first wall and recorded my first mile over eight minutes. Desperate to ration my gel, I successfully took my first one on mile 11. Miles 13-15 were very rough as I tried hard to recollect myself but I had no energy. The first GU was only helping me to hold on by a thread.
Then there was mile 16 - the assault on Battery Hill.
I turned the corner to see the long ascent ahead of me. At that moment I had thought about stopping there and dropping - I could not will myself to go any faster and I could only think of the damage this hill was going to do to me. Then, I heard a wonderful thing. The rhythmic pounding of the
taiko drums perked me up like no amount of caffeine could. It was like a rally for the defeated troops of my body. Renewed by adrenaline, I fought up the hill, raising a fist-clenched arm to the drummers as I went by (as they shouted back - which bolstered me further). For just a few minutes, I forgot what ailed me and conquered the hill.
I would carry the fleeting momentum through 17 and 18, but the endless labyrinth of streets could do nothing to maintain that energy. I go through a park forest on the first part of 19 and cross the makeshift plywood bridge that kept us from the flooded muck of the ruined trail.
I slid -slightly- on one of the floorboards and my left calf muscle seized up.
The pain stops my running for a few moments as I walk it off. After a couple minutes the pain gives way to a bit of soreness but I can resume running once again. I hobble through miles 20-22 though I walk through each water stop and put considerable effort into running again.
As I approach the long bike path on 23, the sun fully emerges from a break in the clouds. The air is set on fire and breathing slowly gets more difficult. The aid station announced that 'condition red' is up as I run by (meaning unsafe conditions for running - one step down from calling off the remainder of the race). I knew, however, that I had this last road to finish before I was done. I made it over 22 miles in spite of almost giving up at several places.
This was the point of no return. I needed to finish as long as I was physically capable of doing so.
The last 4 miles was a blur of hazy sun, shouting crowds, and broken racers. It wasn't until I passed a muddy stretch of trail that I realized I was opening into Waterfront Park and was a half mile away from the finish. I tried hard to push with anything I had in the tank and finally made it to the finish. After getting out of the way, I laid down for over 20 minutes to let the pain subside enough to walk.
My disappointment was in the fact that I will likely not be running Boston 2012, as I still have yet to qualify for it. I did succeed in finishing when for the longest time it didn't look like I'd make it. It's my third worst time (behind Hyannis and Sugarloaf 2008) but time was relative on a weekend that was clearly not the time for me to run my best. The best thing for me to do at this point is to focus on the summer ahead and prepare for MDI after that.
