Boston Marathon - RunMarathon

What can I say about the 2015 Boston Marathon? The weather dominated the day. It was cold, overcast, pretty much steady rain and a solid 20-30 mph headwind. These were not ideal conditions. It's one I will probably remember for a long while ("Remember the rain of '15?" we will say to one another as grizzled old runners many years from now. Maybe).

Anyway, here's how my race went:

The first 3 or 4 miles were OK. The temps were cool, but basically what you want on a marathon race day. I had convinced myself shorts and a singlet were the right choice (plus my snazzy knee-high-socks-as-arm-warmers). The wind was rough, but when I ducked behind people, it wasn't too bad. If the weather held up like this the whole race, I thought, it'll actually be totally doable.

But then at mile 4, of course, it started raining. It was a couple drops, then a few more, until within a mile, it was a pretty steady rain. "Welcome to the rest of your marathon," I said to myself. The rain coupled with the wind made for much harsher conditions and by mile 10, I couldn't feel my fingers too well.

I had my pace band and I tried to stick to the numbers pretty much all the way through (except for one suicidal 7:20 early on -- oops). I stuck to my plan of eating GUs at mile 6, 11, 17 and 24. Due to the numbness in my hands, I had to tear the GUs open with my teeth. That felt enjoyably animalistic -- running in the downpour and wind and ripping food open with my teeth. But the numbness had one bad side-effect: at one point, I was holding a GU gel in my hand, taking tiny bites (I don't eat well when I'm running under 7:40s) and trying to catch my breath -- and I hadn't noticed that I'd begun clenching my fist. So when I went back for another bite, there was GU all over the back of my hand which I'd unknowingly squeezed out of it. Nice. It was also chocolate, so I silently prayed no photogs were nearby snapping shots of me licking brown gunk off my hand (yes, I did that -- what? A gal's gotta eat!).

As always Wellesley was my favorite part of the course. I tried to soak in some of the girls' energy and read some signs. I knew I was going to need the distraction. Later on, as the rain got steadier and the wind felt harsher, I sought out the crowds -- I made eye contact with some random dude on his porch, playing a full drum kit. He paused with one hand still drumming and pointed his drum stick at me. It gave me a boost, but the race was feeling rough already and I wasn't even through the hills yet.

In my head I knew I had to get to Mile 21, post-hills, and see what I had left in my legs. But by the time I hit the middle of Newton, I knew I was not going to have much left. My shoes were getting wet from the rain, despite attempts to avoid the worst of the puddles. At one point, I reached down to adjust my shorts, which were soaking wet from the rain, and I could not feel my legs -- they had gone pretty much numb from the cold. I thought maybe that'd make it easier to run -- if you can't feel them, maybe you can't feel fatigue either? (Ha).

As I crested over the final hill, my one thought was to get to Dan, who was waiting at mile 25 for me. I just thought, "Run to Dan, go see Dan." I think I was so mentally exhausted from having to tell myself "You can do it!" that I needed someone else to tell me that, to pick up the slack. So that was my one focus -- not even getting to the finish, just getting to Dan. I figured if if I had anything left, I wouldn't stop, I'd just wave. But if my race goal was completely out of sight, I'd stop for a hug and maybe a beer. :)

So as I got closer to mile 25, I began moving over to the left side. I'd tried to stick behind as many people as I could during the race -- only leaving shelter to cross gaps between crowds -- but at some point, I figured I had to be over to the left to see him. So now I was tired, soaking wet and exposed to that headwind. Great. I felt like I was hanging onto my mood and my pace by a very thin thread at this point.

I passed a bunch of spots that LOOKED like the spot he would be standing at (it had a big statue on the corner). I was almost frantic, worried I'd miss him. Then finally, a block away, I spotted him and began blowing kisses. The relief of seeing him was so overwhelming. I had glanced down at my watch at this point and knew a 3:24:XX was unlikely, but I knew a 3:25 was still possible. So, I allowed Dan's cheers to buoy me on and I dug in. 1 mile to go, said the sign.

Last year, I remember the right on Hereford (uphill!!) and the left on Boylston (why is the finish line SO FAR AWAY??) had been a tad demoralizing -- sort of like someone dimming the light at the end of the tunnel just as you see it. So this year, I was trying to mentally prepare myself for it. The right and the hill wasn't so bad this time, but yeah, the finish line -- still looks like it's a mile away. I glanced down at my watch one last time and tried to calculate if I could make it. I started a slow second-by-second countdown in my head, but my legs weren't in it. I had spent everything I had the last 26 miles and this was all my legs were gonna give me. No 6:XX min/mile quarter mile finish sprint like last year. I was stubbornly holding strong at just over 7.

Still, I crossed the finish at 3:25:03. I didn't even feel disappointed in that, because I knew I did NOT have an extra four seconds in my legs at that point. But that is still a solid PR and with only :30 off my original time goal, I'm not beating myself up over it. I'll give those :30 to the weather and the wind. A rough race, but it's Boston. Nothing will make me love it less. Not even a headwind.

Maybe been a little more careful on the initial miles not to go too fast. One mile I went 7:20, which was obviously too crazy. I think that ended up hurting me at the Newton hills. A rookie mistake, but I thought maybe I could outrun the weather (ha). Otherwise, I think I did a good job of sticking to my pace and trying to run the course the best I could.

I walked across the finish line feeling pretty ecstatic. Got a fantastic hoodie/mylar blanket/space jacket. Got a medal and lots of smiles and congratulations from the volunteers. The final trek back to the Boston Common was a bit rough, but I was on a high and feeling amazing. As usual, I struck up a conversation with another runner and we discussed how the race went for us. Soon, I was at the tent, grabbing my bag, throwing on my warm clothes (it was a mosh-pit in the changing tent this year -- last year it was practically empty!) and then hobbling my way back to the hotel. I seriously only ever want to stay IN Boston proper for this race from now on. It was great being only a few blocks away from a warm shower.

After a shower, some tea and some more chips, Dan and I headed out to Precinct --where this year they'd hired a DJ. So of course, all these crazy fast people (emphasis on crazy) who'd just run super fast marathons were DANCING. So of course we joined in. One of the best post-race parties I've ever been to. My legs were sore, I was drinking a beer with very little else in my stomach, bouncing around, spinning and shaking my bootie -- and I seriously would not have wanted to be anywhere else.


I think I'm going to flat out blame the weather on this one. Had I been given a day of JUST rain or JUST a headwind, this would have been a different race. But I'm happy with the result and next up I'm ready to tackle Chicago in the hopes of landing a sub 3:20.


Second Boston, even better than my first. I'll be back next year!