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Boston Marathon Recap

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I woke up 5 minutes before my alarm was set to go off on the morning of the Boston Marathon. I laid in my hotel bed for a minute and reflected back from the day before to the 16 weeks before that. I had rested well. I had eaten and hydrated well. I was at race weight.

I reflected about some of the key workouts that I had nailed. Fast-finish long runs, long tempo intervals, 20x400m repeats on the track, a good tune up half-marathon, and countless easy and recovery runs. I followed Dave’s plan closer than ever before and almost always hit my paces. I ran significantly more miles than ever before and was more consistent with my training. My uniform and gear was laid out and ready to go. Since Erica stayed behind in Nashville, I pinned her picture to my bib so that she could be with me — everything felt right.

I felt confident that I was waking up a 2:46 marathoner, but would be going to bed that night as a 2:3x marathoner. I had put in the work and was ready to go. As I got ready I sent this tweet:


Erica (Kyle, Greg’s wife) drove Greg, David, and I to the start. We skipped Athlete’s Village and went straight to where we needed to be — the porta-potty line. After running into Stephen Hagan and taking care of that final preparation we headed to our corrals. Greg and I were in Wave 1, Corral 1. We were about the last people in the corral and we were packed in like sardines. Somehow we ended up next to Chris Duncan, a badass Nashville runner who always seems to be in a good mood. We shared our weather-adjusted goals and enjoyed some camaraderie before the gun went off.

Greg had warned me that it would be congested at the start, but I was in absolute awe as we dropped a slow 6:32 first mile in HEAVY traffic. It was like the entire corral never thinned out. By mile 2 we had a little more room and were able to dip down to 6:03. I was also amazed at how much crowd support there was as we were essentially running through a forest. It was still so tight with runners that Greg and I would get briefly separated and have to work a little to get back together. We went through mile 3 in 5:57 and the 5k at 19:08. After a 5:53 forth mile, we got separated.

I was feeling really good at this point and had a mantra going: “hydrate well, eat well, pace well.” My plan was to continue that mantra until mile 20 and then switch it to “now go to the well.” While my mile splits were varied based on the terrain, I was running surprisingly consistent. I also found a new super power on the course and was able to effectively drink from paper cups without choking. I crossed the 10k in 37:45 and smiled as I imagined the tracking text messages going out to my family and friends. They now knew I was going for it.

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is the weather. There was definitely a head wind and it was raining. I felt great, so it didn’t phase me. However, I was trying to tuck into groups. The problem was, it seemed like each group started to slow down and I would get impatient. Next thing I knew I would be leading the group, so I would push ahead to catch the next group a few feet ahead. I had to do this at least 10 times before the 15k mark. Still, I felt great and went through 15k in 56:39. I was off my A pace of 2:37, but I felt good about being conservative and targeting my B goal of 2:39:59 and I was right on schedule.

At 1 hour I took my first gel. It went down without a problem. I pushed a little bit to make sure I got under 1:20 at the half so that I could know I was on pace to go under 2:40. As I stepped on the mat for the half, I again smiled as I thought it might look like I was picking it up. I was still repeating my mantra and trying to stay patient, but I was looking forward to getting to 20 miles and switching to “now go to the well!”

A little bit after mile 14 I had to stop to pee. I guess I had been hydrating a little too well. It surprised me because I never have needed to pee in a marathon before. Mile 15 was a 6:48 as a result, but I still felt good and with an empty bladder I felt lighter and looser. At this point the rain was starting to pick up. The wind would die and I would leave the comfort of a group, only to get hit in the face with a wind gust as soon as I was all alone. This happened a few times and my pace started to fade a little as I battled the wind.  Then I hit the Newton hills and my pace started to fade again, but I knew that would happen. Soon I would crest Heartbreak Hill and it would be all downhill from there.

Instead, my pace continued to fade and I stopped thinking clearly. Somewhere around mile 20 (it may have actually been ON Heartbreak Hill), I saw Dave and Erica. I decided I would jog over to them and talk for a second. I remember running over there, but everything after that is only hearsay to me. Apparently, I stopped dead, leaned on the fence and said, “Boston is hard.” I do remember Dave saying something along the lines of “No shit! You are at mile 20 of a marathon, but you are on PR pace, Go! Go! Go!”

I snapped out of it and took off up the hill, but before long I was foggy and distracted again. I happened to look to my left and saw Greg passing me. I ran up to him and said hi and told him I was just trying to finish at that point. He encouraged me to join him and I said I would, but within 100 meters he had started to gap me.

I was suffering bad on the final stretch.

I was suffering bad on the final stretch.

I honestly have no idea how I went from invincible to broken so fast. Sure, it was during the Newton Hills, but I run hills all the time. I normally feed off hills. The one thing that I do know is that I was totally broken and had to dig deep, very deep, just to get to the finish line. I was cold and starting to shiver. I had taken off my hat and gloves early in the race once I warmed up, so I put those back on. It took me several minutes to get both of my gloves on.

I spent the last 4 miles walking through water stops and trying to calculate if I could walk it in and still re-qualify for Boston next year. Around mile 24 I realized that I could in fact walk it in, but that I should keep running as hard as I could so that I could be done as soon as possible. I was cold and shivering.

I am actually pretty grateful that I was able to salvage a sub-3 marathon. I crossed the line in 2:55 and ran into Greg in the finisher’s shoot. After spending so much time training together this year, it was fun to be able to start the race and finish the race together. Plus, he knew the secret details of where the free massages were after the race.

Glad that was over.

Glad that was over.

 

 

So, it wasn’t the race I had hoped for. I don’t really know what I did wrong. While I am sure I could have done more in training, I do know that I trained better for this race than ever before. Maybe I needed more nutrition during the race? Maybe it was the weather? Maybe I just wasn’t as fit as I thought I was and went out too fast. I don’t know.

What I do know is that I ran the fucking Boston Marathon. I know that I only started running regularly in 2011 and in 2015 I am upset about a sub-3 finish at Boston on a tough day, and I can recognize it is still a big accomplishment. I know that I had amazing support from friends and family and while I feel like I let them down, I also know they are still excited for me. I know that I am VERY grateful for Erica Kyle for meeting us at the finish with dry clothes and helping us get to a place that served burgers and beer. I know that having Erica’s (my wife) picture pinned to my bib made a world of difference to me in both the good parts of the race and the bad parts of the race.

I know that I have a lot to be grateful for and proud of. I also know that I can do better and want redemption. I know I can run faster. I know I can train harder. I know I can do better. Now I have to prove it.


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