Like many others, from long before my first marathon the goal was being able to run Boston someday.
Finally, on October 2nd 2011, at the Twin Cities Marathon, the stars aligned and I qualified.
Here is a quick run-down of my experience at the most prestigious marathon in the world:
Goal: Sub 3hours. For watch-time, I need a 6:47 pace. I generally expect to have 1% error from watch (Ie, instead of 26.2 miles, I expect watch to show 26.46 miles at the end. It ended up showing 26.42 miles)
Drop-off: My wife dropped me off at the park near Hopkinton at about 6am. From there, took a bus over to the athlete's village at the Hopkinton High School. Weather was around 50 degrees, pretty comfortable for me in t-shirt and shorts.Grabbed a cup of coffee and received a free massage. Met a ton of incredibly nice people.
Start: Was in Wave 1, Corral 4 (there were I believe 3 waves, starting 20 minutes apart, with 10 corrals in each). Crossed the five-foot wide piece of art (http://www.26-2.org/marathon-art/start-line/) at 10:02:12. Shoulder to shoulder, trying to find the right pace during the 160' descent during the first mile. 300' total descent by mile 4.
First 4 miles were all about trying to keep the pace slow.
Mile 1: 6:55. Felt kind of fast though, was worried I wouldn't be able to hit goal.
Mile 2: 6:39. Felt good. Trying to hold it slow. Didn't want to be off by more than 10 seconds per mile from goal.
Mile 3: 6:36. Worrisome that I was too fast.
Mile 4: 6:36. Too fast again. Said it out loud to myself to make sure I understood.
Arrive in the town of Ashland! Good signs, good to see people out cheering more. The first few miles were fewer spectators.
My calves were feeling heavy and tired already. We had a 1,600 mile drive to Boston from Minnesota that I was worried was affecting my muscles. Around mile 3, we passed one of the Elite runners, (single-digit bib number) who looked like he was having calf issues already. Felt terrible for him.
Course flattens out for miles 4-11.Only 29' ascent over these 7 miles.
Mile 5: 6:45 - Perfect! Feeling good. Grabbing water at each mile, taking a sip and dumping rest on head/back.
Mile 6: 6:37 - Still good. Feel very comfortable. Eat a chocolate GU (with caffeine)
Mile 7: 6:29 - Through Framingham, which had more spectators and got you excited. Comfortable, scared about how fast this was. Try to slow it up.
Mile 8: 6:36 - Back in the noodle pace.
Mile 9: 6:33 - Perfect.
Mile 10: 6:39 - Perfect. Through the City of Natick. College kids outside drinking a lot of beer.
Mile 11: 6:39 - Perfect.
Mile 11 through the half is a bit uphill, then downhill, with Wellesley "Scream Tunnel" and "Kiss Me" posters at the half. Incredibly funny posters.
Mile 12: 6:28 - Little fast again. Eat a chocolate GU (with caffeine)
Mile 13: 6:38 -Perfect
Half Marathon: 1:27:36. Looking good, maybe a little too quick, but hope I can hold on.
The half through Mile 21 are all the four rolling hills through the City of Newton. Very similar running to Minneapolis. I was expecting a Heartbreak Hill sign of some sort or something, but it didn't come up. It is simply the last rolling hill of a few. After we were over it, I thought I heard someone mention that that was it, so I asked a guy in a Boston shirt near me and he said, "Yeah, it's all downhill from here." I was saving some energy for a big hill, so I was elated and took off at a sub-6 pace for a bit. Little mistake as we still had about a 10k to go, but sometimes you forget that when you are over two hours into a race.
Mile 14: 6:35. 50' hill over 0.1 mile at 14.5. Happy with this pace. Take Gatorade for first time.
Mile 15: 6:39. 60' hill over 0.1 mile at 15.7. Happy with this pace. Now it is getting a little tiresome to hold.
Mile 16: 6:27. 150' descent over 0.25 miles. Very refreshing for me as my legs were handling the downhills well. Trying to hold it slow and save energy for uphills.
Mile 17: 6:52. 80' hill over 0.1 mile at 17.0. from there, continue up another 50' over the rest of the mile. Happy with this pace, it will still get me my goal. Starting to get hot and feeling the eastern winds.
Mile 18: 6:55. 90' descent over 0.1 mile at 18.0. Then back up 90' over the rest of the mile including a steep 60' climb. Eat a chocolate GU (with caffeine).
Mile 19: 6:37. 75' hill over first 0.25 miles, then 140' descent over rest of the mile.
Mile 20: 6:52 .Gradual 60' climb.
Mile 21: 7:13. HEARTBREAK HILL. 88' hill.Nothing different than any of the others.It did take me a little bit longer on this one, but my uphill pace was relatively similar to the others, there just wasn't any corresponding downhill during this mile. As the guy who gave me a massage before the race said, "Don't be afraid of Heartbreak Hill; it just has that name because John Kelley was passed there. It's just a frickin' hill."
Now time for going into Boston. There are fewer people around now to draft from (and being 6'1", it is a little tricky to draft anyways) and I am feeling the 10-15mph east wind pretty hard, especially with a lot of the turns that leave you out to the left and right of the packs quickly. Keep thinking that this will probably be my only chance this year to break 3 hours as I am doing tri events through the rest of the season. Promise myself a jacket if I get under 3. Anything to hold on.
Mile 22: 6:20. Largely due to running 5:45 for a bit from the excitement of getting through Heartbreak Hill and still having energy. Then noticed that I still have a long ways to go and am beginning to seriously overheat.
Mile 23: 6:50. Downhill for the first half. Would have been able to run it faster if it weren't for running too fast in mile 22 and the east wind. Keep thinking that friends/coworkers/family at home may be following the race online and cheering me on from far away to finish. I can't let them down.
Mile 24: 6:54. Pretty flat. I am not almost certain that I can beat 3 hours and my goal pace of 6:47 (watch-time). Just trying to hold on. Can no longer swallow gatorade or water. Tried a drink of Gatorade and ended up just throwing it into my eyes. Need to mostly close my eyes for a few hundred yards from the burning. Am otherwise getting water into my mouth, trying to swallow, failing, and spitting it out.
Mile 25: 6:49. Deep into the city streets. Curves, downhills, slight up-hills. Battling to not walk. Trained so long for this, what I wouldn't give normally to be at mile 25 in the Boston Marathon! Need to finish!!!!!!!! Can barely hold it together. Cringing in pain. Trying to keep a straight face and run fast in case someone I know sees me. Think of all the times I ran a 2-miler for the Army and how that is all I have left to do.
Mile 26: 7:06. Running through the City, feels like we are so close and so far away. Can't see the finish and just keep hoping it will come up soon!
Last 0.2 miles: Turn onto Boylson Street. See my beautiful wife Katie cheering across from where the explosions later take place. She is with some people that appear to take pictures as well. Do my best to smile, wave and look like I am not about to collapse.
Finish: Official time of 2:57:21. Watch pace of 6:43, real pace of 6:46. Ran under the finish line with the gun-time on the big clock of 2:59:33, so I knew for sure I had it!
Finally, on October 2nd 2011, at the Twin Cities Marathon, the stars aligned and I qualified.
Here is a quick run-down of my experience at the most prestigious marathon in the world:
Goal: Sub 3hours. For watch-time, I need a 6:47 pace. I generally expect to have 1% error from watch (Ie, instead of 26.2 miles, I expect watch to show 26.46 miles at the end. It ended up showing 26.42 miles)
Drop-off: My wife dropped me off at the park near Hopkinton at about 6am. From there, took a bus over to the athlete's village at the Hopkinton High School. Weather was around 50 degrees, pretty comfortable for me in t-shirt and shorts.Grabbed a cup of coffee and received a free massage. Met a ton of incredibly nice people.
Start: Was in Wave 1, Corral 4 (there were I believe 3 waves, starting 20 minutes apart, with 10 corrals in each). Crossed the five-foot wide piece of art (http://www.26-2.org/marathon-art/start-line/) at 10:02:12. Shoulder to shoulder, trying to find the right pace during the 160' descent during the first mile. 300' total descent by mile 4.
First 4 miles were all about trying to keep the pace slow.
Mile 1: 6:55. Felt kind of fast though, was worried I wouldn't be able to hit goal.
Mile 2: 6:39. Felt good. Trying to hold it slow. Didn't want to be off by more than 10 seconds per mile from goal.
Mile 3: 6:36. Worrisome that I was too fast.
Mile 4: 6:36. Too fast again. Said it out loud to myself to make sure I understood.
Arrive in the town of Ashland! Good signs, good to see people out cheering more. The first few miles were fewer spectators.
My calves were feeling heavy and tired already. We had a 1,600 mile drive to Boston from Minnesota that I was worried was affecting my muscles. Around mile 3, we passed one of the Elite runners, (single-digit bib number) who looked like he was having calf issues already. Felt terrible for him.
Course flattens out for miles 4-11.Only 29' ascent over these 7 miles.
Mile 5: 6:45 - Perfect! Feeling good. Grabbing water at each mile, taking a sip and dumping rest on head/back.
Mile 6: 6:37 - Still good. Feel very comfortable. Eat a chocolate GU (with caffeine)
Mile 7: 6:29 - Through Framingham, which had more spectators and got you excited. Comfortable, scared about how fast this was. Try to slow it up.
Mile 8: 6:36 - Back in the noodle pace.
Mile 9: 6:33 - Perfect.
Mile 10: 6:39 - Perfect. Through the City of Natick. College kids outside drinking a lot of beer.
Mile 11: 6:39 - Perfect.
Mile 11 through the half is a bit uphill, then downhill, with Wellesley "Scream Tunnel" and "Kiss Me" posters at the half. Incredibly funny posters.
Mile 12: 6:28 - Little fast again. Eat a chocolate GU (with caffeine)
Mile 13: 6:38 -Perfect
Half Marathon: 1:27:36. Looking good, maybe a little too quick, but hope I can hold on.
The half through Mile 21 are all the four rolling hills through the City of Newton. Very similar running to Minneapolis. I was expecting a Heartbreak Hill sign of some sort or something, but it didn't come up. It is simply the last rolling hill of a few. After we were over it, I thought I heard someone mention that that was it, so I asked a guy in a Boston shirt near me and he said, "Yeah, it's all downhill from here." I was saving some energy for a big hill, so I was elated and took off at a sub-6 pace for a bit. Little mistake as we still had about a 10k to go, but sometimes you forget that when you are over two hours into a race.
Mile 14: 6:35. 50' hill over 0.1 mile at 14.5. Happy with this pace. Take Gatorade for first time.
Mile 15: 6:39. 60' hill over 0.1 mile at 15.7. Happy with this pace. Now it is getting a little tiresome to hold.
Mile 16: 6:27. 150' descent over 0.25 miles. Very refreshing for me as my legs were handling the downhills well. Trying to hold it slow and save energy for uphills.
Mile 17: 6:52. 80' hill over 0.1 mile at 17.0. from there, continue up another 50' over the rest of the mile. Happy with this pace, it will still get me my goal. Starting to get hot and feeling the eastern winds.
Mile 18: 6:55. 90' descent over 0.1 mile at 18.0. Then back up 90' over the rest of the mile including a steep 60' climb. Eat a chocolate GU (with caffeine).
Mile 19: 6:37. 75' hill over first 0.25 miles, then 140' descent over rest of the mile.
Mile 20: 6:52 .Gradual 60' climb.
Mile 21: 7:13. HEARTBREAK HILL. 88' hill.Nothing different than any of the others.It did take me a little bit longer on this one, but my uphill pace was relatively similar to the others, there just wasn't any corresponding downhill during this mile. As the guy who gave me a massage before the race said, "Don't be afraid of Heartbreak Hill; it just has that name because John Kelley was passed there. It's just a frickin' hill."
Now time for going into Boston. There are fewer people around now to draft from (and being 6'1", it is a little tricky to draft anyways) and I am feeling the 10-15mph east wind pretty hard, especially with a lot of the turns that leave you out to the left and right of the packs quickly. Keep thinking that this will probably be my only chance this year to break 3 hours as I am doing tri events through the rest of the season. Promise myself a jacket if I get under 3. Anything to hold on.
Mile 22: 6:20. Largely due to running 5:45 for a bit from the excitement of getting through Heartbreak Hill and still having energy. Then noticed that I still have a long ways to go and am beginning to seriously overheat.
Mile 23: 6:50. Downhill for the first half. Would have been able to run it faster if it weren't for running too fast in mile 22 and the east wind. Keep thinking that friends/coworkers/family at home may be following the race online and cheering me on from far away to finish. I can't let them down.
Mile 24: 6:54. Pretty flat. I am not almost certain that I can beat 3 hours and my goal pace of 6:47 (watch-time). Just trying to hold on. Can no longer swallow gatorade or water. Tried a drink of Gatorade and ended up just throwing it into my eyes. Need to mostly close my eyes for a few hundred yards from the burning. Am otherwise getting water into my mouth, trying to swallow, failing, and spitting it out.
Mile 25: 6:49. Deep into the city streets. Curves, downhills, slight up-hills. Battling to not walk. Trained so long for this, what I wouldn't give normally to be at mile 25 in the Boston Marathon! Need to finish!!!!!!!! Can barely hold it together. Cringing in pain. Trying to keep a straight face and run fast in case someone I know sees me. Think of all the times I ran a 2-miler for the Army and how that is all I have left to do.Mile 26: 7:06. Running through the City, feels like we are so close and so far away. Can't see the finish and just keep hoping it will come up soon!
Last 0.2 miles: Turn onto Boylson Street. See my beautiful wife Katie cheering across from where the explosions later take place. She is with some people that appear to take pictures as well. Do my best to smile, wave and look like I am not about to collapse.
Finish: Official time of 2:57:21. Watch pace of 6:43, real pace of 6:46. Ran under the finish line with the gun-time on the big clock of 2:59:33, so I knew for sure I had it!
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