Sometimes the glass is half empty. Sometimes the glass is half full. And sometimes, it’s just nice to have a drink of water. I ran the Pocatello Marathon on Saturday, my last chance at qualifying for my sixth consecutive Boston Marathon. I love running Boston. At this point, it’s really the only reason I even train to run fast.
But for the first time since the first time I qualified, I was on the outside looking in a lot later than I wanted to be.
In October of 2007, I ran my first Boston qualifier (BQ) at the Long Beach Marathon and registered the next day for the 2008 race. That race also qualified me for the 2009 race. Six months before the 2009 race, I qualified for the 2010 race at the 2008 Long Beach Marathon. Then in January 2010, I qualified for the 2011 race at the Arizona Rock ‘N Roll Marathon. In December 2010, I qualified for the 2012 Boston Marathon at the Jacksonville Marathon.
So, the first four times I ran the Boston Marathon, I was already qualified for the next year’s race. But not this year. It was hot and I knew I wouldn’t re-qualify. They gave us the option of not running and having an automatic entry for next year, but there was no way I could do that. Taking the easy way out (and in, I guess) isn’t the way I had ever gotten to Boston and that’s not something I wanted to do. I wanted to run in the heat, to struggle and have a miserable day, and know I wrecked myself out there. That’s what I did, running somewhere around a 3:35 (I honestly don’t even know my time).
It was one of the toughest marathons I’ve ever run (and I’ve now run 102 of them) and I was glad I did it. At the end of the race, you turn right onto a street called Hereford and then left onto Boylston. That’s my favorite 2-3 minutes of running all year. Finishing that race amongst that field with all the screaming spectators and the history of the course — I just love it. When I turned onto Hereford and saw Boylston straight ahead, I got a little watery-eyed. I knew I might not get back next year. I wasn’t qualified and I really only had one more chance.
I was running Utah Valley on June 9, but that race turned into a disaster for me. A bad hamstring and nasty headwind left me with a 3:19 and I needed to break 3:10. My run of five consecutive Bostons was over and I was pretty bummed. In the back of my mind, I knew of a race in Idaho on Sept. 1 I could run, but that was way too much to ask of my wife Tiffany to let me do. So I didn’t even bother.
I texted her and told her I was safe, but that I didn’t hit my time. I was pretty upset, having traveled out there and not taking care of business. It was a waste of time and money. I called her up and apologized for that. She told me not to be ridiculous and told me to find a fall race. And, well, I did.
I trained hard in the summer. I went through a seven-week stretch averaging more than 95 miles a week, peaking at 130. I had nine runs of 20 or more miles, including four of at least 26.2 and a 30. I ran at least 20 miles on maybe 8 or 10 other days. I did some pretty high-intensity stuff to boost the VO2 for a guy looking to run no slower than 7:14 per mile (for instance, two weeks ago I did a tempo run that included 5.25 miles at a 6:21 pace). Oh, and I dropped about 14 pounds since Utah Valley.
I was ready. No doubt. To me, a BQ (sub-3:10) didn’t faze me. I wanted another sub-3 and I was in shape to go for another PR. I had troubles getting fired up for the race. I’m not sure why — maybe everything going on in my life is getting to me? Whatever the case, I was texting a couple of friends before the race and just didn’t feel the energy I normally do. I was listening to all the right music but I just wasn’t feeling it mentally.
The course can be quick if you run it right, but it has its challenges. It starts at about 6,100 feet and drops to about 4,700 by the half, but there are moderate rollers the rest of the way — not easy running at that altitude. There’s also a pretty nice hill at about mile 21 that’ll wipe you out.
I got rolling, going through the start, thinking, “Now or never, here we go.” I have some friends I want to see in Boston — some good friends from Maine I met through Operation Jack who have gone past charity acquaintances and are now friends I talk to daily, plus my two best friends from California who moved to the east coast this summer and were counting on me to qualify so we can have a boys weekend next April. I was thinking about all of them, knowing I had to get it done so I could see them!
I could tell fairly quickly that it was not going to be my day. I ran conservatively and took the initial miles as warmups, but I didn’t feel fast. I felt like I wanted to throw up and as a result, I felt bloated and heavy. My times were fairly quick at first, but I knew I was going to be in for a long day. I’ve since realized my problem is due to my pre-race fueling, which I’ll be adjusting going forward, but that didn’t do me any good on Saturday.
I knew I didn’t have it and I knew it was going to be a tough run. I mentally prepared for the fact that I was going to have to battle late no matter how good the early portion went.
First 10: 6:17, 6:37, 6:41, 6:45, 6:45, 6:46, 7:03, 7:02, 7:03, 6:55, 7:05, 7:00, 7:21
I know what you’re thinking — I went out too fast for the first couple of miles, but trust me, I didn’t. Those 13 miles were all conservative based on what the course was giving me. I knew I had to go conservative and I did. That 13th mile was the first one that was slower than BQ pace (7:14), but I didn’t sweat it. I was feeling pretty good and pretty comfortable with how I was running.
I knew an inevitable slowdown as coming, because the downhill was ending, plus I didn’t take in the calories I wanted to in the first half. As part of battling nausea, I didn’t consume much and I knew that would slow me down late in the race. I hit the half in 1:30:38, which was slower than I wanted to, but I was content with that. I knew that my goals of setting a new personal best (better than 2:57:53) or running a sub-3 were out the window, so I turned my focus towards staying under 3:10.
Miles 14-16: 6:59, 7:16, 7:37.
14 and 15 didn’t faze me. After the 7:37, I looked at my Garmin to know when I had 10 to go and did the math of what I needed to average the rest of the way. Normally I don’t start doing that math until there’s 6 to go, but I didn’t want to wait to long and find out I was in trouble. With 10 to go, I needed to average 7:35s. That was pretty comforting, although coming off a 7:37, by far my worst mile of the race, I was doing any celebrating.
Miles 17-20: 7:42, 7:20, 7:21, 7:35
At this point, the course was kind of boring with gradual rollers at about 4,700 feet. Mile 17 concerned me a bit. That was the second consecutive mile that was my worst of the race and I didn’t know if it was the beginning of the end. I tried to tell myself to be strong. I kept reminding myself that Boston was on the line. This wasn’t a good time to throw a pit party. I got back into a reasonable groove and with 6 to go, I only needed 7:40s or so to hit my goal. It was starting to look like I was going to have a good day.
But there’s a cliché in marathoning that the second half of a marathon starts at mile 20, and while a lot can happen to ruin your day in those final 6.2 miles, I don’t buy that halfway bit. You lay the foundation with solid training and then 20 good miles. The final 10K is where finish the job. Hopefully!
The miles were flying by quick. When they go by in the blink of an eye during a race, that’s how I know I’m running well. I was starting to think I was going to push for a 3:06 or 3:07.
Mile 21: 7:43, OK, that wasn’t so good. But there was a tough hill in there. And math was on my side. Maybe a 3:07.
Mile 22: 8:14. WHOA. That was BAD. I just gave back a minute. I couldn’t afford another 8:14 or I would be done. I was getting a little antsy because it was coming down to the wire.
Mile 23: 7:35. Kind of what I needed. But with three to go, I needed to average 7:35s. That’s kind of what I’d been doing for most of the previous 6-8 miles and I was really cutting it close. Normally, I like to step up my push at mile 24 and then kick with all I can at 25. But I knew I needed to give it a go for three miles.
Mile 24: 7:21. Moving in the right direction, no doubt. Legs are feeling a little more alive and I’m physically and mentally moving forward knowing it’s absolutely now or never. For the first time all race, I really feel like I’m starting to run hard.
Mile 25: 7:10. That’s how I know I can run, even if I’m broken down and out of calories with 24 miles on my legs for the day. I take pride in finishing marathons hard.
Mile 26: 7:04. Not a sub-3 caliber mile, but finally I’m running hard and feeling the way I should.
Final .36 (tangents): 2:16 (6:18 pace). I was chasing a guy who kept looking over his shoulder but had a pretty good kick. I couldn’t catch. Not a big deal, he was a good rabbit. I ended up finishing the race in 3:08:45, good for 18th overall, 5th in my age group.
It’s my 27th BQ and it should be enough to get me in the race. Registration goes in phases and qualifying doesn’t guarantee a spot if there are more entrants than openings. Last year, folks with a 3:10 qualifying standard actually needed a 3:08:46 to get in the race — just one second slower than I ran! But they moved the times up five minutes per division, so my age group — which had a 3:15 mark and only 3:13:46 or faster runners got in — is now at 3:10. Plus, there were fewer re-qualifiers with so many warm spring races (especially Boston), but some runners took some spots with deferrals.
I think the reason they dropped the times is to keep registration open a little longer and let folks get in with their fall races, primarily Chicago in early October — kind of a Marathon Majors way of working together to keep the demand up. But there’s no telling. So I have to wait until September 24 to find out if I made it in. I’d be truly surprised if I don’t get in. I would have really liked to have been a couple of minutes faster, though.
Bottom line is that I’m glad I trained so hard all summer. Getting myself into much better shape than I needed to be in to hit 3:10 was critical, because I had enough cushion to still get there despite clearly not having my A game. I truly feel that my ability as about 10 minutes faster.
I drove 600 miles to run the race. After my post-race shower, I drove straight home. So, I’m glad that I at least stepped it up those last three miles to avoid a 600-mile drive of shame. I wasn’t ecstatic, but I didn’t view the glass as half full or half empty. I was just glad to have a drink of water.
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Deirdre @ Oh Well Whatever says
So glad you made it back to Boston!!!
Be sure to put me on your volunteer list for OJ Marathon!! I will see if I can talk any friends into it.
Paula Kiger says
I hope you make it to Boston! Here’s my friend’s recap: http://runfortheboys.blogspot.com/2012/09/pocatello-marathon-recap.html