Pre-Race

In November of 2007, I made my first attempt to qualify for the Boston Marathon. All was good until mile 18, where I bonked badly and ended up missing qualifying by 3 minutes. My training had been spotty as I had been sick a lot in the fall. I had also gained weight. During the race, I had probably started off too fast and didn’t take-in the proper nutrition (note to self: it is not smart to drink smart water as an “electrolyte replacement” during a race)

I learned my lesson(s) and was determined to not let something like that happen for my second attempt.

Initially, I had chosen the Napa Marathon on March 2nd, but it was not logistically feasible, so I chose the National Marathon instead. I figured it would be a nice opportunity to visit with family and friends, too, since they live in the D.C area.

Between November and March, I followed my training plan really well. I changed my eating habits and lost 15 pounds. I incorporated speedwork at track. A half marathon 5 weeks out went decently (PR), as did a 30k race that was 3 weeks out. I still had another long run after that, so I was curious as to how my body would handle a short taper - something I had never tried before.

The night before, my friends threw a carbo loading party for a RAAM team member (who did his first marathon and kicked ass) and for me. It was great to meet all the RAAM teammates and enjoy some yummy food (and customary glass of red wine!).

Race

Race morning I woke up at 5am, had coffee, my friends’ magic bread, and gathered my nutrition (Cytomax this time!) - I had GU’s as well but figured I would chase them with the water at the aid stations.

I started off VERY leisurely - I didn’t want to take any chances. At mile 1, I saw my friends and ditched my warmup jacket and maintained the leisurely pace. Unfortunately, I was having some stomach issues. At mile 3 I had to make a pit stop (sorry if TMI!) - oh well - I just kept going and didn’t think about the loss of time.

My GPS stopwatch was set to stop when I stopped, so it didn’t count that time - ditto with going under tunnels, so I’d just have to mentally add them in. At the 10k, I figured my pace was just under 9 mins/mile, so I picked it up just a tad - but still maintained an easy pace until Mile 10. I picked it up a bit and my stomach started to feel a bit better…except after the half I had to make a pit stop AGAIN. At the half I was basically just at the pace I would need to be to qualify since I had lost some time at mile 3…but for some reason, I wasn’t worried. The whole time I had it in my head that I was going to do it no matter what.

Anyways, after the half it was pretty much game on. My nutrition had been spot on and my energy level was good.

At mile 20, there was a bridge with an incline. I was still feeling good, so that’s where I decided to gun it. I couldn’t believe it and I was wondering when the “hurt” would come since it usually does for me in long distance running, but it never did. Instead of being passed at the end (as usually happens with me), I was the one doing the passing.

My last 10k averaged 8 mins/mile and my last mile was my fastest (7:18 - the red bull at mile 23 gave me wings). Must admit at the end, up the climb at RFK stadium, I was beginning to get tired, but a friend was there on his bike motivating me the whole way up so I kept going.

At the end my stopwatch said 3:36. I figured that for three minutes, I was going under tunnels (so maybe closer to 3:39 running) and then I prob. lost 3 more minutes with the 2 pit stops, but since I had mentally added them in, I knew my stopwatch needed to read less than 3:40…so I knew I had qualified and that chip time was prob. around 3:42 when I finished. Was happy at the finish line and glad to see my family and friends (thanks for coming to cheer!!)

Results/Stats

half marathon split = 1:52:31 pace at half = 8:35
overall time = 3:42:41 overall pace = 8:30

average heartrate = 159
energy expenditure = 2300 kCals (i made this up post-race with my twice-a-year treat: a gigantic cheeseburger with fries)

Take Aways

START EASY, START EASY, START EASY

I really enjoyed this race. Even though this course had more hills, this race felt much more pleasant and easier than Philly because even though I was pushing hard at the end, I was never out of control or hurting.

I couldn’t do much about the pit stops. Goes to show the unexpected can always happen in a race - that is why I was running a sub 3:40 pace so I had a 5-minute “cushion” for hiccups and didn’t worry much about losing the 3 minutes.

RTFM for the GPS - so that I can learn how to set it right to keep going during stops so I don’t have to think about math while racing.

The short taper worked for me. So did the more thoughtful nutrition plan. So did yoga for staying injury-free.

I could have started just a tad faster (5-10 seconds/mile) so I will try that next time but will DEFINITELY KEEP STARTING OFF SLOW. It works and is conducive to a negative split. Hopefully I have learned to have patience at the beginning of races LOL.

Can’t wait ’till the 2009 Boston Marathon!