2009 Boston Marathon

Boston 2009 was all about redemption. I tried to run the race last year with a pretty bad injury and the course just chewed me up and laughed in my face. So I had last year's nightmare hanging over me and to be perfectly honest, the course intimidated the hell out of me. So since last April I spent a lot of time thinking about what I needed to do to prepare for the Boston course so that I might be able to conquer it on my second attempt.

The answer seemed to lie in hill work. I still wasn't 100% healthy so I knew that I wasn't going to be able to do a lot of speed work but I thought that if I could just get comfortable running hills then that would be half the battle. So I incorporated hill work into almost every run. I had to retrain my body (and mind) to accept that hills were a fact of life. I didn't worry about how fast I was running the hills. It was enough just to be running them. Six milers turned into eight milers, then ten milers. In March, I tested myself by running a very hilly half marathon and I came through just fine.

Fast forward to Boston. The plan was to run with my friend Lisa and shoot for a 3:30 or better. Going into the race, I felt that I could hit 3:30 but that it was going to be tough.

The day before the race, Mark, Lisa and I drove out to the Newton Hills to familiarize ourselves with the four big hills that come in the second half of the race. We basically drove (and sometimes walked) the last ten miles of the course. This helped quite a bit.

Race day...cutting to the chase. The plan was to run a very controlled first half of the race, not get carried away, and save our strength for the Newton Hills beginning at mile 16, where the real race begins. Lisa and I did a good job of holding each other back anytime that one of us started running too fast or getting caught up in the pace of the crowd of runners around us. We just needed to run slightly faster than 8 minutes per mile.

Splits:
5k: 24:33
10k: 49:34
1 7:56
2 7:43
3 7:57
4 7:51
5 8:11
6 8:01

Pretty solid through the first 10k, but we were both having a little trouble grabbing on to a pace. This is probably due to the rolling hills that encompass the first half of the course. But our splits were fine and we chugged along. I wasn't totally confident in my ability to maintain this pace at this point but I was determined to keep pushing forward.

The course levelled off over the next few miles and our splits were steady. We really concentrated on not going too fast. Somewhere during mile 11, Lisa made a sudden veer toward the side of the road and yelled for me to keep going. At the time, I thought she saw someone she knew in the crowd or maybe she had prearranged for someone to hand her fluids or a gel or something at a designated point. I kept running and before I knew it I heard the screams and knew that I was close to Wellesley College. I ran through the "Wellesley Wall", which is basically maybe a quarter mile stretch of college women screaming their heads off as the runners pass. Right after Wellesley, Lisa caught up to me and we resumed our push toward Boston.

Splits:
15k: 1:14:07
20k: 1:38:53
1/2: 1:44:16
7 7:55
8 7:53
9 7:53
10 7:58
11 8:00
12 7:53
13 7:54
14 7:53

At this point, I was starting to feel a lot stronger than I had in the early miles and I was actually starting to look forward to the hills. I really wanted to conquer the hills that had so humbled me the year before. Lisa mentioned something about how I had never seen her crash and burn during a race before and at the time I thought it was just her way of getting mentally prepared for what was ahead. I remember her telling me to get ready to mentally toughen up (or something like that).

We finally hit the first hill and it was no problem. Then we hit the second hill and again, no big deal. Then it seemed like forever before we reached the third hill. I remember commenting that I just wanted the hills to get here. We finally reached hill number three and for the third hill in a row, Lisa started ahead of me and then I passed her as we went up the hill. This was surprising to me because when we ran our practice race last month she totally smoked me up the hills. I should have realized that something was wrong at this point but we were in the mile 19 range and the brain wasn't functioning at full capacity.

We crest the third hill and I'm fired up. I notice Lisa is not quite as enthusiastic as me so I try to pump her up a little by saying that we have this and that there is only a little over 10k left to run. We keep pushing and finally we reach Heartbreak Hill. Up and over. I'm working hard but I'm feeling so strong and confident. I've just crested the highest point of the course and I'm still in pretty good shape. I look at Lisa and tell her that we just need to be smart.

As we head down the hill toward Boston College, Lisa suddenly says something about desperately needing fluids. I start looking for the next water station and as we reach it I assume that Lisa will chug some water or Gatorade and be back beside me before I know it. This was the last I saw of Lisa until after the race.

Splits:
25k: 2:03:42
30k: 2:28:34
15 8:06
16: 7;44
17: 7:59
18: 8:07
19: 7:56
20: 8:04
21: 8:25

It takes me a while to realize that Lisa hasn't caught up to me yet and as I head down a long hill I start looking over my shoulder but she is no where in sight. Still, I'm feeling confident that she'll pull up beside me any minute, like she has so many times in the past. I'm still feeling strong and wondering if I can somehow manage to pick up the pace a little and push for a 3:28. Before I know it, runners start passing me and for a moment I'm confused. Then I look at my Garmin and it says my current pace is 8:23 and the sudden realization sets in. I've hit the wall.

I slow down considerably over the last two miles and at this point I start to really worry about Lisa because I'm now running so slow that she should have easily caught me and I realize that something must be wrong. But I'm still thinking that she's going to come breezing by me at any moment. I pass the Citgo sign at mile 25. I'm hurting but I keep on pushing. My hamstrings are threatening to cramp and I mentally try to ward them off. Before I know it I am turning onto Hereford Street and then onto Boylston. As I make the turn, I can see the finish line. I try to give it everything I have left (which isn't much) and both hamstrings cramp simultaneously. I let out a string of expletives and come to a limping, grinding halt. I'm barely moving forward for about ten seconds and then I just started to try to run again and the cramps somehow subsided just enough for me to hobble down Boylston Street to the finish.

I'm wiped out. There's no finishing kick. There's no celebration. I've left it all on the course. I cross the line at 3:32:46, exhausted but happy. I can barely stand up and I pull off to the side and start looking for Lisa. I wait about five minutes and at this point I realize she's not coming and I'm freezing and weak and I need to take care of myself. I head through the chutes and receive my medal. Mission accomplished.

Splits:
35k: 2:53:58
40k: 3:19:56
22 8:01
23 8:15
24 8:14
25 8:30
26 9:07
26.2 3:01 (.33 per Garmin)
Finish: 3:32:46

Lisa did finish in 3:35 and I'm still wondering how I missed her finish. She must have finished on the right side of the road while I was waiting for her on the left. But she overcame some major illness and GI issues and earned some serious hardcore points for sucking it up and finishing strong under some pretty horrible circumstances.

So it's a tale of two races. For me, it was redemption and a strong, satisfying race with an unfortunate, but acceptable fade late in the race. For the person who ran beside me for the majority of the 26.2 miles, it was a difficult struggle and an awful day. But on the bright side, there aren't that many of us who can claim a 3:35 Boston Marathon as our worst race ever.

Thanks for reading.