Hamilton Road2Hope Marathon - Redemption...Finally!!!

As most of you may know, I missed my goal of achieving a BQ at Hamilton last year by 29 seconds.  Even with the 8 minute PR, there was a lot of disappointment.  So, I set my sights on heading back to the "Great White North" again to conquer the course that just beat me the previous year.

My confidence was fairly high heading into this race, as I had a pretty decent training cycle.  I also seemed to be peaking at just the right time.  I was feeling fit and feeling fast.  

I set out with my family (father, mother, and sister) on Friday.  This is the first race that my father has gone to, so this experience was a new adventure for him.  We flew into Buffalo and the 45-50 mile per hour wind gusts that were there.  Then made the hour drive north to Hamilton.  We checked into the hotel and just relaxed the first evening.  Saturday morning we drove the first 17 miles of the course, as they made a minor change that added 5k to the first portion of the race (prior to the downhill to the lakefront).  This meant that the first half of the race was completed on top of the hill.  We then went back to the hotel and waited for my friends (my running parents) to arrive, as they drove the 10 hours from Madison, Wisconsin.  Once they arrived, we headed to the expo to get our race packets.  We just missed Nancy as she had just left the expo.  We got our race packet, then did our 2.25 mile shake out run that covers the last portion of the course.  This is when I noticed that my Garmin would not turn on.  I didn't think much of it, as I thought that the battery went dead while traveling.  We finished the run and went back to the hotel before heading out to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner.  After dinner we headed back to our rooms and I tried my watch again, as I had placed it on the charger before dinner.  That was when a little sense of panic set in.  The darn watch would not turn on.  I did the hard reset...nothing.  I charged it some more...nothing.  I did notice that it would turn on when it was on the charging dock, but as soon as I would take it off, it would go blank.  This ercked me a little, as it had been working fine on Thursday.  Luckily my friend Pete let me use his Timex Ironman GPS watch and my nerves were calmed a little.  Pete's plan was to run with me for most of the first half and then slow down a bit in the second half.  So, he was ok in using his normal Timex stopwatch.  I will be contacting Garmin in regards to my watch.

Race day morning arrived and conditions seemed perfect for a race.  Temps were sitting around 30 degrees at the start with a very light breeze.  I had told Pete the night before that I had wanted to lead the race for a little bit and he was ok in following me.  So, when the gun went off, so did I.  I took the lead to the point that I led last year and no one seemed to pass me.  So, I continued on to where I knew my parents would be standing.  After passing them, I started to slow back down a bit and finally the rest of the field caught up with Pete and I.  It's the longest I have led a race (about a 1/3 of a mile).  We then settled back into our rhythm and put it in cruise control.  Miles 2-5 were along a ridge top road that over looked the city below, as well as, Lake Ontario and Toronto.  It was a very scenic view, especially with the sun rising.  At about mile 7, Pete told me that he was not going to be able to stay with me and he let me go ahead.  I continued on and saw my family for the second time at mile 10.  It is always a boost to see your cheering crew!!!  I continued on and made it to the halfway point and the start of the downhill.  I was right where I wanted to be at this point in the race.  I was averaging 6:55s and thought that I could bank a little time on the nice long 3+ mile downhill portion of the course (they actually close off the downhill portion of an expressway for the race).  Man was I wrong...It was at this point that we hit a wall of wind that really came out of nowhere.  The straight headwind felt like it was about 10-15 miles per hour and really negated any advantage that gravity was supposed to give me.  By the time I got halfway down the hill I was having to actually work to maintain the 6:55 pace.  I exited the parkway still hitting sub 7:00 splits.  Mile 19 is when a little bit of fatigue started to set in and my first mile over 7:00 was logged.  When I got to mile 20 I started doing the math in my head and knew that I had a great shot at around a 3:02-3:03 marathon.  I continued on and made it to my dreaded mile 23.  This is always the point in the race where my mind starts telling me that I am tired.  The point where I have to yell at myself to go on.  As I started the 23rd mile, I continued to do the math in my head and knew that if I could run sub 8:00s for the final miles, that I would be alright.  I gave my self a few "Come On Nick!!" pump up chants and continued to forge on along the lakefront path.  It was at around this time that I got to see both my friend Jenny and Nancy as they were making there way up the lakefront before the turnaround back to the finish.  This helped me a little from a mental standpoint too, as they were rooting for me as we passed each other.  I pressed on at a 7:30 pace.  Pushing myself the whole way. I made my way to mile 26 and at this point it really started to sink in that I was going to do it   I made it to the turn that took you up a hill to the finish shoot and tried to make the sprint to the finish.  It's funny thinking back now, because my mind felt like I was sprinting, but my legs felt like they were concrete.  With the finish line a few yards a way, I raised my arms and a huge smile came across my face as I crossed the finish line with a time of 3:04:35.  I DID IT!!!  I got my goal...sub 3:05 and an official BQ!!

This is the moment where the emotions came rushing out.  I hugged the guy that gave me my medal and I just stood there bent over, thinking to myself...I did it!!...All of the hard work...the sacrifices and dedication paid off!!  My mother came over to the finish corral (I am still only about 20 yards past the finish line) and we shared a very long hug and cried tears of joy.  I still can not put into words the actual feeling that I had.  It is just awesome!!

Looking back at my splits now, I gave back a lot of time in those final 3.2 miles to the finish (nearly 2 minutes) as fatigue really started to kick in.  But I don't care...I did what I had set out to do.  At no time did I ever get that feeling that I needed to walk.  Nor did get that feeling that I was not going to make my goal.  I am not sure how much a -25 second BQ will do to get me into the 2015 Boston Marathon or if it even will.  Either way I will now find myself there, because if it comes down to it, I will pay my way in through a charity.

I want to thank everyone who has followed my journey and supported me a long the way.  Without you guys, I am not sure that I would be where I am today. THANK YOU ALL and I hope to see a lot of you in Boston 2015!!

Well done, sir!  I'm all too familiar with the wind issue and it's just a helpless feeling.  Way to hang on and hit the line under the goal number!

I am so happy for you, Nick! You worked your tail off and came back from disappointment to put in a great training cycle.

You rolled with the changes to the course, the loss of your beloved 305 and the wall of wind. You were mentally strong and fully committed. It's little wonder that it paid off so well for you. Congratulations!

Rest up and get ready to soak in Boston. You've earned it.

Wish you could have all seen the grin on Nick's face when I saw him after I finished.  It was priceless!  He didn't tell you about his snazzy new jacket.  

Wish I'd been able to catch up with you and talk before the race but pleased you were still around when I finished and we got to talk then.

Congratulations on a race well run and a much deserved BQ Nick.

Not sure of my plans for Boston but you can be sure that if I do decide to run in 2015 I'll be looking forward to seeing you again.

nkrichards wrote:Wish you could have all seen the grin on Nick's face when I saw him after I finished.  It was priceless!  He didn't tell you about his snazzy new jacket.  

Wish I'd been able to catch up with you and talk before the race but pleased you were still around when I finished and we got to talk then.

Congratulations on a race well run and a much deserved BQ Nick.

Not sure of my plans for Boston but you can be sure that if I do decide to run in 2015 I'll be looking forward to seeing you again.

Was I smiling??

BQ is a good feeling. Well done, Nick.

Congrats again, Nick.  You deserved that BQ!!!!!  Loved the report and so sorry that you had to deal with the wind that had actually left us (winds in Cleveland were like Buffalo when I left for Indy).  Who care about the seconds - you ran a BQ time and that is what counts!  Now you need to set that goal on a sub-3! in the Spring and you'll be in for 2015 no problem.

Congratulations! Your training was spot-on and you met your  goal. Happy for you.

That's awesome, congrats on a job well-done!

Maybe Garmin will give you an upgrade….

Great job Nick.  Probably a long year after just missing but I'm sure it made it that much sweeter.  Congrats on the BQ.

Way to go Nick!  It must  be all the sweeter to BQ after just missing it last year.  Congrats

It's hard explaining to a non-runner why a seemingly arbitrary time goal can mean so much.  Your race, and the years of hard work that went into it, sums it up nicely. 

Congrats.  You earned this one.

This is how bad I wanted it!!


(running through the shoot to the finish line)

Redemption - check.  Hard work and dedication - check.  Well executed race - check.  Dues paid - check.  You are the MAN Nick!  Great job, you earned it!

Fun read. Well earned. Major congrats!

Excellent run race! Nice report it's a great feeling when all that hard work pays off nice work!

Great race Nick, you put in the work and it paid off on race day. Boston 2015 it is then !!!

Great report, great race, and congratulations to you on a well earned BQ!  I think those of us that have tried and failed several times, perservered, and eventually succeeded have a lot of satisfaction in the process itself.  Hopefully your story is one that can inspire others to continue to attempt to maximize their potential.  Hope to see you in Boston in 2015.  I will need to BQ again myself.

Wow....what a fantastic race.  I'm so happy for you!  Congratulations!

It really is a bit of picker-upper to see folks on the sidelines cheering...amazing how that works.

Wait, you ran through the shoot? You were holding back Nick! hah hah! Awesome accomplishment, hope you get in 2015.

Thanks everyone!!! I am still coming down from my runner's high  

I actually took a complete week off from running, but am itching to get back at it tonight.  Lots of decisions to make in regards of what to do next year, but for now I am going into maintenance mode to keep my fitness level fairly high.