COURSING: 2014 Boston Marathon & BAA 5K Recap

Let's put things into perspective first: A little over a month ago, I could hardly run. I had just taken three months off. The Boston Marathon was supposed to be somewhat of a pinnacle event for me, yet the prospect of running it was almost completely lost due to injury. While trying to recover, I started to allow some very light mileage... a mere 20 miles a week. I had about three weeks there. As I gradually felt better, I decided to up my mileage slightly and make an attempt for a 3-1/2 week push so that I could consider running this year's Boston Marathon.

Fast forward to last week: After my mini-binge, I was not necessarily fit for any sort of competitive race, however, I decided that I was fit enough to run the BAA 5K and complete the Boston Marathon. Importantly though, I was running pain free. The main goal became to run it and do it so that I did not re-injure myself.

Here's how they both went down:

The BAA 5K

This was my first real test at any fitness. I had no clue what to expect, especially considering I haven't really had any real quality or quantity in my running. I simply wanted to use this as a way to gauge what I might be able to run in the marathon. Such as, if I couldn't handle a certain pace or I fell apart in the 5K, then I would have to adjust my expectations for the marathon.
I came away pleasantly surprised.

The 5K started and finished in the Boston Commons. The second part of the race course actually traced the final mile of of the marathon. Very cool. The 5K has grown over the last few years. It's now an incredibly crowded and competitive race. A hefty purse produced 10 guys that ran sub 13:45 this year! Anyway, getting into the corral was annoying. I didn't have lofty goals so I didn't position myself too close to the front of the race. It easily took 5 seconds to cross the starting line. I got elbowed right in the chest while trying to cross the line (and not lightly either). I saw a guy fall down about 50m into the race (not sure if he tripped or was shoved). Lots of pushing going on! So as I said, very crowded and aggressive!

The first half mile was spent fighting my way around slower runners. It pretty much sorted after that though. A few of the other TTAU guys were racing and Michael was out in front of me. Knowing very well that I wasn't going to be able to hang with him, I still used him in the distance to help pace me. I hit the first mile at 5:27. I went out a little hot, but not ridiculous. I calmed down a bit in the second mile and regained some composure. There was also a couple underpasses that made for some small hills. Mile two was 5:38. The third mile was awesome - it was a straight rip down Boylston Street, then a turn into the Commons at Charles Street. I felt good, so I started to get a little more aggressive in there. The best part was that my body actually allowed me to do it! I passed anyone reasonably close to me and pressed right to the finish. Surprisingly, I even had a nice kick.

Overall, I finished in 17:05. Placement was horrible because the race is somewhat jacked, but that didn't matter. I was very pleased with this outcome. Those were the fastest miles that I've run since probably October, and I was able to keep some decent splits. My confidence was boosted a little by www.mcmillanrunning.com's calculator to see what I might be able to handle in the marathon.

5K Split recap:

1 - 5:27

2 - 5:38

3 - 5:28

.1 - :32 (about a 5:00 pace kick)

Total: 17:05 Place: 71

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The Boston Marathon

After 17:05, I was able project a mid-2:40s race. There was no way in hell I was going to shoot for that! Flat out, I just wasn't comfortable with my endurance level and I didn't want to risk injuring myself. But, I initially wanted to target 3:10 and this helped to push me towards a 3hr run.

A large group of TTAU teammates were also running, so I was able to work with other guys for chunks of the race. Weather was decent, even a touch warm, but nothing horrible. A very tiny SW wind that didn't work against the race and helped to give the occasional cool breeze. Things were lined up so that I could enjoy the race.

The pre-race rituals were all pretty standard. Shakeout then stayed off my feet the day before, a huge pasta dinner, somewhat reasonable sleep, the Hopkinton bus trip, absolutely flooding my body with Gatorade and water, countless trips to the bathroom... blah blah blah.

When it came down to it, I was in the corral with teammates and I decided to run a chunk of the early work with Justin Jackson. We stuck with a similar plan to our NYC Marathon back in the fall. We made the pact to go very easy for the first 10K, and then reassess. If things worked out well, it would turn into a negative split race.

We kept things nicely under control as the hoards of people passed us in those early down hills. 7:02 pace in the first 5K, then 7:06 in the next 5K. Very smooth. It felt slow... but that was the idea. It was incredibly how many people were flying by us! It was as if we were standing still. I'm pretty sure that by the 10K mark, no fewer than 5,000 people were in front of me. All I could do was laugh and joke about it... probably to an annoying and antagonistic point. I just knew that that I'd eventually consume most of them back as road kill (obviously not all, but certainly a few thousand of them). With every person that I was gonna pass back, I wanted to say, "Welcome to Boston, bitch!"

Right around 10K, a few of the TTUA guys from a later corral caught up. They were shooting for mid-2:50's, and running around 6:45's. I felt good at that point and the course had flattened out, so I decided to go and play with them for a while. Justin chilled out and did his own thing.

That was just what I needed to get my wheels going. I hung fairly close with them for about four miles. We averaged 6:48 from the 10 to 15K mark. Still smooth and comfortable. I squeezed the trigger ever so slightly from there, and I went from being passed to passing chunks of people. Without much effort, I started chopping away at the other runners. Annoyingly though, this had me zig-zagging for pretty much the entire rest of the race. I'm not used to these crowds of runners, so at times it became very frustrating. You can't just pass 3,000 people in a straight line!

From 15 to 20K, I ran 21:38... but that included my first ever marathon pit stop. It was getting hotter out, and the sun was beating down. I was drowning myself in Gatorade and taking some from every single water stop; I knew I was going to need the hydration. However, I paid the price and had to piss. Given that I didn't really care too much about my time, I was inclined to remove this discomfort. The pee break added about 40seconds... otherwise I averaged around 6:45s in that stretch.

I crossed the half at 1:31:12... averaging about 6:58 after the conservative 10K. I realized that if I just maintained my effort in the mid-6:40's then I would go sub-3hrs. I knew I would be very pleased with a sub-3 given my training, and it felt perfectly doable.

So from there on, I pressed. Not a single mile phased me either. The race became incredibly fun as I was now an aggressor and passing swarms of runners. I went through the entirety of Wellesley College hitting every single hand I could see... that's nearly a mile! I chickened out when it came to kissing one of the girls (I ain't a slut!)... but it was still fun to hi-5 all of them and get them screaming!

20-25K was 6:38's.

25-30K was 6:46's, which is where the hills started.

30-35K was 6:49's, includes Heart Break and a sharp downhill.

The hills didn't bother me at all. In fact, I actually welcomed the change in terrain... On the back side of Heart Break Hill, I went very very easy for the sake of saving my legs. I then lit up the final 7K of the race. My pace got more aggressive as the course flattened out. 35-40K was 6:21 average. I blazed the 24th mile, which was reasonably flat to down-hill at a 6:12ish pace. I continued to zig-zag as all the chumps were now crawling or walking. Nobody was passing me. Regardless of my training, this is apparently what happens when you put a wolf amongst a bunch of sheep (-or a rabid rabbit, whatever you want to call it).

The final 2.2K includes the dreaded Rte 90 overpass, the Comm-Ave underpass, and a slight incline on Hereford Street. Each of which are not really complicated obstacles, but when you're 26 miles deep and then combined them, they still add an element of pain. I pulled back just a touch to about a 6:30 in the 26th mile, then let it rip on Boylston Street. I passed everyone possible. I was even rapidly approaching a couple TTAU guys in the final steps, but ran out of room when it came to passing them.

The long story short for all this, is that I turned the Boston Marathon into a gigantic playground and a progression run. It was awesome! 2:58:02 overall. 1:31:12 out, 1:26:50 back. 4:22 negative split, and I had plenty left in the tank at the end of that thing. I easily could've continued a few more miles. In hindsight, I completely sandbagged it and certainly could've gone faster - but that wasn't the goal. I merely wanted a decent time, to have fun, and live to run another day.

I'm still amazed that I was able to run like that on such little training though. Apparently muscles do have memory...!? Best of all, I'm unscathed and really not even that sore afterword. Actually, my biceps are among the more sore parts of my body just from all the damn hi-5's!!

So where does this leave me? Spring is here. I'm not fit enough to race much right now, but I can get it back with a good month of basing. I think it's safe at this point to start getting back into a groove of things. It'll be nice to not have to force anything for a little while too. Soldier Field 10 or Lemont 10 at the end of May could be a good next step. Otherwise, it's safe for me to now set my sights on Berlin in September.

I'm back, ya bish!!

Marathon Split recap:

Dist -- Split -- Lap -- Pace

5K - 0:21:52 - 21:52 - 7:02.3

10K - 0:43:55 - 22:03 - 7:05.8

15K - 1:05:02 - 21:07 - 6:47.8

20K - 1:26:40 - 21:38 - 6:57.8

25K - 1:47:16 - 20:36 - 6:37.8

30K - 2:08:17 - 21:01 - 6:45.9

35K - 2:29:28 - 21:11 - 6:49.1

40K - 2:49:13 - 19:45 - 6:21.4

42.2 - 2:58:02 - 8:49 - 6:27.9