Boston Marathon 2007 - Bracing for the Storm

The run I remember best took place in a pelting January rainstorm -- a nor'easter that turned treacherous when the temperature dropped to the mid-20s. Kelley and I had emerged from the woods for a brief roadside run before ducking back onto a trail. At that moment, a state trooper drove by. Even after slowing to 10 miles per hour, he could barely contro his car, which slip-slided on the black ice. He rolled down his window and yelled at us: "Get off the roads, you crazy idiots."

- Amby Burfoot, running with John J. Kelley (the last BAA winner of Boston)
May 2007, Runner's World

Yes, us marathon runners are crazy idiots... I would guess if you polled all the runners on Monday, 95% of them would have run Boston even if it was snowing. This edition of the Boston Marathon was overshadowed by the threat of a Nor'easter. I spent the days leading up to marathon obsessing over the weather forecast and trying to figure out what to wear on race day. My fellow Boston bound blogger summed up the quandry most eloquently: "You should see it, I've packed half of the running gear I own. It's ridiculous. How the hell do any of us know what to expect? We need to have plenty of clothing options." I couldn't have said it better myself! After awhile, I just stopped checking the weather report because it was making me nervous. But before I delve into the race report, I just wanted to share briefly my experience at last year's Boston Marathon

Boston Marathon 2006
After falling short of qualifying for last year's Boston Marathon, I opted to raise money for my University and entered as a charity runner. On the one hand, I felt like I was taking the easy way out, but the money was going towards a worthy cause and I liked the idea of training with a community of runners working towards the same goal. 4 weeks before Boston, I ran a 1:28 at New Bedford and felt confident I could take a crack at qualifying at Boston. Here was my 2 months of prep leading up to Boston:

Weekly Distance Totals (miles) Feb 13, 2006, to Apr 17, 2006 Sport: Running Workout: all Route: all
Week of	12	21	30	39	48	57
Feb 13, 2006	12
Feb 27, 2006	18
Mar 6, 2006	46
Mar 13, 2006	34.65
Mar 20, 2006	33.85
Apr 3, 2006	28.40
Apr 17, 2006	26.20

Boston 2006 brought with it perfect weather and I was pretty psyched at the start. However, I severely underestimated the human gridlock over the first 10 miles. I quickly realized at the beginning that it was going to be tough. Being that far in the back, there was no one running my pace. I spent the first 10 miles or so swerving through traffic, passing runners. I expended too much energy and I had nothing left for Newton Hills. I was very happy to see my friends at my apartment and buddy Joel ran (he was ready to run it, I wasn't) the last 3.5 miles with me. I broke the tape at 3:30, much slower than I expected, but still not too bad. On the positive side, someone said that I probably passed at least 10,000 runners on the way to Boston. The crowds were just amazing, constantly spurring you on. As I crossed the finish line, I vowed to qualify for 2007.

The calm before the storm: lead up to Boston 2007
After Austin, I've been able to stay in reasonably good shape. I had one low mileage week, but again, I was confident after running a PR (need link) at New Bedford. Here's how the last 8 weeks shook out:

Weekly Distance Totals (miles) Feb 19, 2007, to Apr 22, 2007 Sport: Running Workout: all Route: all
Week of	9	18	27	36	45	54
Feb 19, 2007	21.90
Feb 26, 2007	32.80
Mar 5, 2007	7.50
Mar 12, 2007	29.30
Mar 19, 2007	26.30
Mar 26, 2007	39.93
Apr 2, 2007	28.44
Apr 9, 2007	17.49
Apr 16, 2007	31.20

OK, so the mileage totals aren't great.... I think it works out to ~25mpw in the 8 weeks leading up. However, I was able to get in all the long runs and I was filling in the gaps with a fair amount of cross training.

After seeing the weather report, I decided to bag the sub-3:10 attempt and just enjoy the race. I didn't need to requalify because my Austin time is good for next year as well. So, here were my goals for Boston, in order of priority:

1. ENJOY running Boston
2. High five as many kids as possible along the route
3. Run 3:14:59 or better
4. Survive Cemetery Mile

Race Prep
One of the pleasant surprises was getting this e-mail from my running club a week before:

Buses to the Start

- Similar to last year, the club buses will leave no later than 7:15AM, they are located on Stuart Street, between Dartmouth St and Trinity Place. -only current members are allowed on the buses, no guests, friends, etc. Water, Gatorade, PowerBars and PowerGels will be available.

Awesome! Another unanticipated perk of being a BAA club member. I have to admit I was embarrassed that our club bus had a police escort out to Hopkinton, but it was because the elite runners were in one of the buses ahead of us. I spent most of the bus ride chatting up Sean Clarke about race strategy. After arriving at the athlete's village, we were give access to the school so we could change and get ready. There was much ado about proper race attire, and the combined consensus of Sean, Josh Gordon, and Joe Bator convinced me that I didn't need anything more than a long-sleeve and race jersey. Compared to last year, the rain and wind seemed to dampen everyone's spirits. There didn't seem to be the usual hoopla and tension associated Boston. Maybe the weather conditions had forced most runners to re-evaluate there race goals and take a more moderate approach...

Fortunately, mother nature smiled on us and instead of the forecasted temps in the 30s, it was in the high 40s when the race started. It was kinda entertaining observing human ingenuity at work with all the different strategies people had for staying dry.... large garbage bags were very fashionable and molded into every imaginable shape.

Sean and I headed for the start line at around 9:30. I broke into a light jog while he chatted up a Frenchman running his 10th Boston... it made me wonder if I'll ever hit double digits. I made one last pit stop just before the start.... it was essentially out in the open, but this was not the time to be modest! On the way to the corral, I ran into a Reach the Beach teammate, Jacquie, who I later found out ran a very respectable 3:22! We slipped our way into the 4th corral and I soaked in the pre-race banter while trying to stay warm. There were a couple marathon snobs making snide remarks about charity runners taking the easy way in, but all in all it was very muted. Before we knew it, the gun went off and we were funneling by the WBZ TV camera. Strange... no F-15 flyovers this year.

The race
Miles 0-10
I really enjoyed this one from the beginning. The rain stopped about two miles into the race and with thousands of other runners in close proximity, the wind really wasn't an issue. I ran comfortably with Sean for about the 1st 5 miles and really had to focus on holding back the pace. Immediately, I noticed the different between this year and last year. With other runners around me doing the same pace, it was much easier to get in a nice rhythm and just zone out for about 10 miles. I made one more unscheduled pit stop at around mile 6 and lost Sean in the process. After trying to catch him for about mile, I decided it wasn't worth the effort and settled back into a comfortable pace. I had only one sharp memory of the first 10 miles; a slightly overweight fellow passed me on my right and proceeded to cut me off. Then, to top it off he let out a multiple stage fart that could have been heard 50 ft away. Predictably, I was bathed in the rotten stench in about 3 seconds. Not a peep of an apology...

Running by the Tufts Camp at mile 9 was a lot of fun; I think I was the first Tufts runner through and I got a lot of high fives as I came through. It's great to see how many Tufts people were still dedicated to volunteer despite the weather.

Miles 10-16
I hit a bad patch between miles 10-14 and could feel the fatigue setting in my legs. I couldn't explain it at the time, but in retrospect it was probably all the downhill miles up to that point. It gave me deja vu because my struggles began here last year. I consciously pulled back the pace and reminded myself that bad patches can happen and that if I kept running, I would pull through. The Wellesley scream tunnel was great, though thinner than last year. Surprisingly, the spectators made up for the low numbers by just screaming louder! After cruising down the steep downhill going into Newton, the Newton Lower Falls Wine Company came into view and I knew it was time to buckle down and do the work.

Miles 16-22
For some reason, I got my second wind heading into the Newton Hills. I don't know if it was just getting a break from all the downhill and working different muscles, or if it was just accumulated muscle memory from all the fast finish runs I did starting from this spot, but something clicked and I just started feeling better. After being passed for the last 6 miles, I started passing people and really felt my rhythm returning. The headwinds were nice because I had overdressed and the cooling breezes were welcome. I don't know if its sacrilegious to say this, but the hills really weren't that bad. I really enjoyed the downhill section that was mile 19 and perked up after seeing that split (7:11). After cresting Heartbreak Hill I grabbed a beer from a BC student, and pretended to chug it (I'm not brave enough to actually drink it!). Cemetery mile was as advertised... the crowds were sparse and the slight uphill grade makes it deceptively hard. I caught up to Harry Pino at this point, who was struggling a bit. I stopped briefly to urge him on; he said he was trying. I passed the first familiar spectator on the course just before mile 22. Peter, a lab technician in my lab, saw me and asked if he was allowed to run with me. I waved him along and I had company for about a half mile, at which point he declared, "You're running too fast, I'll see you in lab tomorrow." Too bad... I could have used the company at that point.

Miles 22-finish
The downhill into Cleveland Circle was nice, but I honestly don't remember if the wind was bad at this point, like everyone was saying. After rounding the corner, I was eagerly anticipating running by my apartment and seeing Christina, my wife, waiting in front. Christina was bundled up and I think I saw her before she spotted me. I stopped to give her a big hug and then continued on. At this point, I knew I was going to finish comfortably and the fatigue I felt back at the midpoint was a distant memory. I saw friends at every mile from then on. My Reach the Beach teammates made up a raucous group at Coolidge Corner... they were banging away with their thunder sticks. I got a strange cramp in my left foot just as I was crossing Park Dr and heading towards the 25 mile mark. Chalk it up to wet socks and my feet sliding around on each toe off. My stride was pretty ragged by now... but it didn't matter, 1 mile to go. Saw Chris George just before heading into the Mass Ave. tunnel; predictably, he was on his cell phone. Really tried to soak it in going down Boylston St.

Post-Race
After crossing the finish, I lingered, waiting for Ryan to come in. He had said sub-3:30, but I took the chance that he might have run faster. I kept seeing numbers that were close... 5205, 5210, but no 5215. The cold started to get the better of me and I made a beeline for the club tent. Sorry Ryan... I tried! Maybe next year. After getting some fluids in the club tent, I shared some war stories with Sean Clarke and Paul Morrison.

This ended up being just a fun day, despite the lousy conditions. I could have definitely run faster, but this one was the one to really enjoy. After all, you're only a 1st time qualifier once. I didn't have an absolute time goal, so it was nice to just cruise and not hit the wall. I have to say this was the most enjoyable of the 5 marathons I've done so far.

I want to thank everyone who came out to cheer me on or tracked me online. It means a lot to me and really spurs me on.

Splits

Mile	Lap	Avg. HR	Max HR
1	07:30.0	141	161
2	07:10.0	158	164
3	07:03.0	158	164
4	07:03.0	159	163
5	07:15.0	166	171
6	07:03.0	164	168
7	07:18.0	160	164
8	07:17.0	162	167
9	07:21.0	160	164
10	07:24.0	161	164
11	07:27.0	158	162
12	07:17.0	157	162
13	07:25.0	159	162
14	07:28.0	159	162
15	07:33.0	159	164
16	07:18.0	154	159
17	07:32.0	162	166
18	07:30.0	163	169
19	07:11.0	162	167
20	07:30.0	164	168
21	07:38.0	164	168
22	07:14.0	160	166
23	07:21.0	162	166
24	07:23.0	158	163
25	07:37.0	159	166
26	07:23.0	163	166
26.2	01:25.0	165	166
Total	3:12:36	160	171