The 120th Boston Marathon
This is my first post on Medium, and my first time writing on my progression into becoming a serious runner, so be forewarned that this is a work in progress.
This year’s Boston Marathon was a culmination of sorts — it was my senior year at Boston College, my final year living in Boston, and it became a point of redemption after running Boston in 2014 and learning how quickly the marathon distance can humble you. I approached Boston 2016 with the best training block I have had since becoming a serious runner 4 1/2 years ago. After running a solid 2:45 in the 2015 Santa Rosa Marathon in August off of an average of around 60–65 miles per week, I felt that I had a good chance of lowering my PR to around 2:40 at Boston by increasing my mileage to 80 miles per week and doing more track and extended tempo workouts.
The 4 month training block leading up to Marathon Monday went about as great as I could have hoped — I trained with my Greater Boston Track Club teammates, ran a 56:28 in the Amherst 10-Miler, and ran a 1:14:30 half marathon back home in Livermore, CA 3 weeks before Boston. In having the opportunity to train on the Boston course and its infamous Newton Hills, I felt that I was really well prepared to run in the sub-2:40 range if race day conditions proved favorable.
As race day fell upon us, I woke up excited and ready to race. I convened on Boylston Street at 6am with my GBTC teammates and took the buses out to Hopkinton. I had been obsessively tracking the race day forecast for over a week now, and like classic Boston weather the temperatures for Monday changed by the hour. About 3 days before race day, the weather started to look relatively favorable at a high of around 60°–65° degrees with partly cloudy skies. Because Boston’s weather is such a huge factor in how it affects runners, I was optimistic in this forecast holding true.
It didn’t.
As we approached our 10am start time in the 1st corral of wave 1, I saw a bunch of familiar faces from both GBTC and back home with the San Francisco Running Co. crew. It was great catching up with all of them as my nerves started to escalate. As we entered into the corral for the national anthem before the gun went off, I remember thinking to myself, “damn, this weather is hot.” Whatever the weather man was predicting the past several days, he was wrong. There were no clouds in sight, humidity was extremely low, and I could feel the sun bearing down on us. Nevertheless, I was ready to race. Everyone was dealing with the exact same conditions, and I knew that I was as prepared as possible to run the best marathon of my life.
To run in the 2:40 range, I had to run about 6:07/mile pace. My strategy that my coach Linda Gill and I had was to run the first 4–5 miles of downhill as relaxed as possible, and to not worry if my mile splits were off by a couple seconds. I felt that this was really smart, as the downhills at Boston are infamous for crushing your quads for later in the race on the Newton Hills.
After long last, the gun went off, and I started out running the first couple of miles with GBTC teammate Shaun Dever. My first mile was 6:11, which was right where I wanted to be — not pushing it too hard, and making sure I was running relaxed and easy when it is so easy for the excitement and emotions of the first mile to take over. The next 3 miles of downhill were 6:00, 6:01, and 5:55, and I hit the 10k timing mat in 37:54. Right on track.
At around the 7–8 mile mark, I ran into SFRC friend Jonas Oppedal, and he and I realized that we were both gunning for the same goal time. He and I wound up running together for the next 15+ miles and enjoyed some great times soaking up the roar of the spectators, a couple of whom decided it was a good idea to smoke cigars right next to the runners (nothing like getting a good whiff of smoke while running 6:00 pace). I felt really solid through the half marathon mark, and was right on pace at 1:20:16.
As we ran through the scream tunnel of the Wellesley girls and descended the Lower Newton Falls towards the infamous Newton Hills, I felt relatively decent considering the increasingly warm temperatures. I made sure to drink both gatorade and water at every mile mark and had a PowerGel at miles 15 and 18. As we made our way up the first hill (and most difficult, in my opinion) next to the Newton Firehouse , I knew that this was where all of the months of training were waiting to be released. The numerous tempo runs and ending my long runs on these same hills were to prepare me for this moment, where I had to conjure the utmost of focus in powering up these hills for the next 3 miles. Although this is where I began to really feel the affects of the heat, surprisingly I found myself passing people over the next 3 miles up to the top of Heartbreak Hill. I’m not sure if it was because of the incredible crowds, the familiarity of these hills, or just kicking into gear, but I felt relatively good cresting Heartbreak and heading towards my friends and peers at BC.
From mile 22 on is where the wheels started to fall off. I could feel slight twinges in my right calf, which I knew was a sign of impending cramps. I ran by several people on the Newton Hills who had pulled over with cramps, so I knew this was a potential threat over the next 5 miles to the finish. Running through BC and hearing my name screamed felt great, and although I was too entranced on the last several miles to acknowledge everyone, I promise I heard you! Thank you!
Descending through Cleveland Circle onto Beacon Street is always the toughest part of the race for me. The stretch on Beacon seems like forever, and it feels even longer when each mile feels more and more exhausting. Miles 22–24 came in at 6:23, 6:32, 6:27. Although these splits were slower than I was aiming for from the outset, I realized by this point that because of the heat, hitting the wall was going to be inevitable. I simply focused on taking each mile by itself and not worrying about the time.
After FINALLY reaching the infamous Citgo sign and Kenmore Square, I knew that there was 1 mile remaining. At this point, I began to feel really dizzy and dazed from heat exhaustion. I knew that if I could simply keep it together in the last mile I would run around 2:43, a 2 minute PR and a huge accomplishment for me on a tough day.
After taking the right onto Hereford and left on to Boylston, I don’t quite remember everything that happened over the next 1/2 mile of the race. Shortly after turning left onto Boylston Street with the finish line in sight, I collapsed onto the concrete. All I remember from this moment is lying on the ground and trying to get back up to finish the race, only to have an EMS volunteer and police officer run over to hold me down from getting back up. At this point I was really out of it, and was solely focused on crossing the finish line. Everything else could wait. Boston PD and EMS understandably wouldn’t let me get back up until they were sure that I would be able to walk without falling down again. After spending over 10 minutes on the ground just a quarter mile from the finish line, I eventually got up and walked with the EMS to the finish line. I crossed the finish line in 2:56:56.
Although the last 2 miles of my race were extremely difficult and disappointing, I still feel very proud and happy for how well I ran through the first 24 miles. I stuck to my game plan and executed to a T. I take solace in the fact that I gave literally all I had to this race, I just wasn’t able to go the extra 1/4 mile on Boylston before the wheels fell off. What I am most proud of is how I was able to push myself beyond my perceived limits, to the point of collapse. Although it’s definitely not how I wanted to finish this historic race, I know that in the long run it will make me stronger.
I am already ready to sign up for another marathon and start training. I want redemption. But I also have to be smart. What lies ahead in the next 6 months, I am not sure, but I am planning on signing up for a couple 10k and half marathons to work on my speed and then sign up for a marathon on a faster course (maybe Cal International?).
Running Boston for the second time was just an incredible experience. From the impeccable organization of the event itself by the BAA and the thousands of volunteers, to the energy surrounding the city in the days leading up to the race, to the fans that lined the streets for the entirety of the course, everything about the Boston Marathon is historic and unlike any other race in the world. I feel very lucky to have finished my senior year on this note. Thanks, Boston.
