One week after running my marathon, I’m still pretty sure this will end up being a one-and-done kind of thing for me. By every measure it was a huge success – I finished, I beat my target time (3:43!), and I beat both of my friends.
The weather forecast was grim, but it ended up being perfect for the runners (not so much for the spectators!) – low 50’s and rain. Luckily the rain stayed light for most of the morning, basically stopping for most of my run with a brief, intense shower while waiting for my friend at the finish. My parents came to support me and my friends and give us supplies so that I didn’t need to cram 12 gels into my pockets at the starting line.
We timed arriving and the start perfectly – my mom drove us down, we stopped at the bag check, donned our trash bag ponchos, and got in line for the pre-race piss. After that we then split off to our respective starting pens, did a little stretching, and before you knew it the race had started. The rush at the start gate is always hectic, people trying to avoid puddles caused more traffic even though we were about to be out in the rain for ~4 hours. I immediately stepped in a puddle and soaked my socks. It was never a question of if I’d get wet socks, but more a matter of when, so this wasn’t catastrophic by any means.
My faster friend and I started together, and then I fell behind by probably 50 yards and kind of stayed there. We were following the same pacer, so this was really a result of how each of us navigated the opening meters of the race. I followed my fueling plan as best I could – wait 40 minutes, then take a gel every 20 (~60g/hr), and get a gulp of water from basically every other aid station. Things settle out, I get ahead of the 3:45 pacers, and then basically just lock in for the rest of the first lap.
I came up with a plan with my parents about when and where to meet so I could collect my food for the 2nd half of the race. I put a dot on a map, sent them written instructions, an estimated time of arrival, and a link to the live timing page that would show my location on a map. Should be cut and dry. I finish the first lap, cruising down Lake street, and I see my mom in the crowd with a sign, not at our meeting spot. No big deal, my parents probably split up to get different angles (or something???), I’ll catch my dad at the meeting dot and life will be good. A quarter mile later, I’m passing the agreed-upon meeting point, slow down, really scrutinize the crowd, and don’t see a single person I recognize. I didn’t know what my dad’s rain gear looked like, which wasn’t helping, but two people looking for each other in a crowd generally are pretty able to find each other, even without knowing exactly what the other looks like. First date in a crowded restaurant type situation, you know?
No dice. Shit. Ok – I picked this spot because there are two chances for us to meet up – there’s a 6 mile loop south of Burlington, then you come back to Lake street, then back up Main to Church. I have two gels left over from the first lap that I can ration (I carried enough for 3 per hour, even though I knew I wouldn’t start consuming them for 40 minutes), and there are a few stations handing out freeze pops, maple syrup, etc. I had to work really hard to keep the mental game strong for this leg – I would get more fuel, I would pick my parents out of a crowd, I would not crash out because I’m out of calories. The one bright spot of this little loop was that I finally caught up to my faster friend at mile 16. I might not have ever caught him if I stopped to pee; both portapotties were occupied at the aid station which turned out to be massively lucky because I ended up being one of the last runners to cross the train tracks before they held traffic for a train to pass.
I’m coming up College street, almost to the corner of Lake and College, the meeting spot we agreed on, and I still can’t pick anyone out of the crowd. What the fuck. A few yards later and on the wrong side of the street, I see my mom again. Without breaking stride I ask if she’s got my food. She says no, dad does. I ask where he is, and she doesn’t know. That really stresses me out. Luckily about 500 feet later, past the aid station, I see my dad and he’s got a bag full of gels. Best day ever. I collect my prize, transfer them to my pockets, and keep trucking up the hill to Church street.
This is the beginning of the hilly part of the course, and its also past the distance of my longest run, and I need to catch up on fuel without pushing it too far or letting my pace collapse. Uncharted territory. Miles 20-22 are my least favorite, I think. They’re hilly, there’s not much of a crowd in those areas, and its a boring straight line for the most part. I’m realizing that I’m not falling apart, there’s no apocalyptic pain, and I that can probably do this. I definitely got emotional from this point through the end. There was a course worker shouting motivation to the runners – something along the lines of “Your strength is enough! You will finish this!” – that guy is my hero.
As I was making my way through the mile 23 neighborhood, I realized I could still hit my target of 3:45 if I averaged 9 minute miles form here to the end. That turned out to not be as big of a cushion as I hoped, I was really starting to feel it in my hip flexors. The ending is flat or down hill so I’d need to push on the flats and let gravity help me out for the rest.
Past Leddy park, back onto the bike path. The home stretch. By the time you make it past North Beach you can just start to hear noise from the finish. When you get to the skate park, you’re basically there. Faces whip past, I hear someone shout my name from the crowd, keep your head down and finish strong. Just like that, the announcer calls your name, you cross the line, collect your medal & a can of water, and wobble out of the finish chute to find your friends and family.
All in I spent ~6 months training which comes out to ~575 miles run plus 13.6 hours in the gym. I stayed the same weight, but converted a few pounds of fat to a few pounds of muscle according to a series of InBody scans. Absolutely crushed Strava’s performance prediction, and fell far short of Garmin’s, basically splitting the difference, which based on my running habits makes a lot of sense.
