Boston meltdown report

JohnP wrote:Well, since you all spent the time tracking us, I feel I owe a Boston report. It can’t be called a race report but at least a report. This was my 21st marathon and 30% of them have been in very warm conditions (80+ degrees). Not coincidentally, those are roughly my worst times, cold weather is my friend. Even though I knew it was going to be hot, there was no thought of not running. It was my first Boston, I was here, and I already have a BQ-5 for next year. But I was not prepared for the total meltdown that ensued on my part.

The original time goal was anywhere from 3:30-3:35. After hearing the forecasts, it seemed appropriate to change that to a 4:00 goal though there was no real basis for that. Looking back, in similar conditions in Chicago and Atlanta, I ran about 4:25 in those, so a 4:00 goal was too aggressive especially considering a 10:30 AM start time and my inability to handle heat. I remembered everyone’s advice about not going out fast so the first six miles, which I knew to be net decline, were fairly controlled:

1 – 8:50
2- 8:51
3 – 8:52
4 – 8:52
5 – 9:01
6 – 9:11

Believe it or not (and I was struggling to believe it), I was starting to hurt after 6 miles. Looking at my HR data now (I don’t display HR during the run on my watch), my HR was at 87-90% starting at mile 4. That is simply unsustainable so I tried to back off the pace some more but knew this would be a long day.

7 - 9:21
8 – 9:34
9 - 9:34

I was struggling even more so slowed a bit, my mind quickly agreed to this.

10 – 9:59
11 – 9:59

At this point, though I didn’t realize it, I had just run 7 miles at a tempo pace HR of roughly 89%. It was around here where it started to fall apart. And the heat of the day was really upon us too. I don’t know exact temps, it seems like it was 85-88 degrees through most of the race. I knew it was going to be a long day. I slowed some more to go into survival mode but this is awfully early in a marathon to go in survival mode.

12 – 10:19

Not certain where the Wellesley College cheerers were but that was definitely the highlight of the day. I did high-fives with everyone possible there, their enthusiasm was sky high. It's everything I heard it would be. It was funny because there were 9-10 cheerers and then a break and I thought, "Is that it?" But then the main area started, seemed like hundreds of them for a long time. Awesome. That probably kept me going an additional mile or two.

13 – 10:16
14 – 10:45
15 – 12:02 (I think a long water stop)
16 – 10:45

Though these paces are slow, I wasn’t walking at all except through water stops. But starting at the hills, I just had to walk. Every time I stopped for water, it seems like a rush of blood would go to my head and I felt dizzy. By mile 16, it was forcing me to walk 2-3 extra minutes each mile.

17 – 12:56
18 – 12:56
19 – 12:50

Starting at mile 20, I had to walk completely, I totally felt like I was going to faint and I definitely did not want to do that. It was either drop out or walk. Dropping out was pretty much out of the picture so I just put one foot in front of the other and walked. I tried twice to run and had the same feeling come over me. Since there are a lot of crowds in this section, it was tough to take and rather embarassing.

20 – 16:22
21 – 15:28
22 – 15:09
23 – 14:31
24 – 14:20

As my walking time increased a bit, it seemed OK to start jogging again. So at least for the last two miles, I was able to do a slow trot in.

25 – 12:34
26 – 12:41
Total – 5:00:08

Anyway, my worst marathon by about 33 minutes. My quads and legs don’t care how slow I went, they are really hurting today, a lot. Even if the weather was good, these hills would have eaten me up. I did quite a few long runs and runs out in Barrington Hills to train for this but that definitely did not prepare me enough. If I come back, I will be better prepared for them.The spectator support was unbelievable. People kept saying, “Thanks for running.” There was lots of encouragement, “You can do it.” One time three guys were really yelling loudly to encourage someone who was walking (in a very good way) and the guy said, “Come on out and run with me.” So one of the three did for a little while, I think it made that guy’s day, he was really smiling. It was tough walking through the cheering sections but I figured it was better to walk than faint in front of them.

Other first timer observations - the bus ride out was pretty good except for an accident that added 15 minutes time. The wait in Athlete’s village was really cool, it felt good to be a part of everyone running, this "club.". The line to get to the race start really took a while. But everything about the Boston marathon is top notch, it’s truly a level above any marathon I’ve done in terms of organization. I think the only bad thing was a marshal in the finisher’s chute giving me bad directions to the reunite area so I got caught up in blocked off streets and wound up limping back to my room alone.

The gear check is fantastic and this is the first time I brought a cell phone to the waiting area and had one afterwards. Thanks all for tracking and reading. It was not the marathon experience I wanted but I have accepted all that happened. Thanks also for all the posts people put out there in the past month, they really helped me to prepare. And as usual, it was great to meet old friends and some new ones there from the boards.