Boston Marathon 2022 - I was fortunate enough to toe the starting line for the 126th running of this event. As I mentioned in some posts over the last few weeks, I have struggled with some lingering chronic hamstring and foot injuries over the past several months which really prevented me from doing any fast or intense training and left me feeling a little bit disappointed that I would not be able to run as well as I would have liked. But given that reality - I decided that I was not hurt enough to stop me from running - and I had my friend Richie and his friend Tom and a few others I knew were going to be running - along with having my wife making the trip and staying with my daughter - I would make this an enjoyable experience regardless of my performance. It really turned out probably even better than I had expected.
The weather was very nice - which a few days before appeared would not be the case - in the mid 40's, blue skies and not much wind. It would get windier as we neared Boston with some cooler headwind gusts - but those were almost inviting and cooled us on the way to the finish.
Richie and Tom and I met at the starting area - each arriving by different transportation. Mine was the traditional school bus ride from the Boston Common. We had what seemed to be a brief wait at the Hopkinton Middle School, until we were summoned to the starting corrals - maybe an hour at the most which was just enough time to use the bathroom, finish-up some pre-race hydration, fueling and gear decisions. Richie was actually seeded in a corral just behind us, so we moved back to start together.
Each of us knew Richie was very fit and likely could have run in the low 3 hour timeframe - but Tom and I were dealing with similar injury woes and had to scale back our expectations. But from the gun, Richie insisted that he was going to run with us and enjoy the day - despite our urgings to have him take-off.
And to our surprise, we ran reasonably well for the opening miles at right in the 7:50 pace per mile range. Very consistent with our splits. Richie is a talker and a loud one and very entertaining - for everyone around it seemed. He was taking photos and selfies and videos and generally making everything very enjoyable.
My "race plan" was to keep my heartrate no higher than the low 150's particularly early-on regardless of what that translated in pace; and to drink water or gatorade at every station, and to eat 4 gels over the course of the event. I pretty much knew if my HR exceeded 160 for any extended period of time, I would have a challenge not bonking. So I had to stick to my game plan...and I did just that - although it was not easy - because I was certainly tempted at times to run at an HR that exceeded that plan.
As most know, the early part of the route is primarily downhill - but there are some short uphills and very little "flat" periods. As we neared the 8-9 mile mark, I noticed I was allowing my HR to get into the upper 150's as I tried to maintain the pace with Richie and Tom - and so I let them know at mile 10 - I needed to stick to my game plan and would not be able to go with them on the uphills. Tom's metatarsal injury allowed him to climb rather quickly, but he had to slowly go downhill; my issue with the hamstring was the opposite - I had less power to go uphill and thus it took more effort, but I could go much faster on the downhills. Anyway - when I told them I would need to do my thing - they bid me farewell - and thought they'd seen the last of me.
But as it turned out between the uphills and downhills - I was able to make my way back to them by as we made our way up to Wellesley College around mile 12 - it was quite fun running through the high-pitched, very loud cheering of the women of the college who came out in full force this year. Richie took a video on his phone with one hand and slapped high-fives with the other. Lots of fun.
As we got to the center of town in Wellesley, which is the halfway point - we started going uphill again and so Richie and Tom got some separation from me - and then I saw Richie fist bump Tom and start to move away from him. And then I lost sight of the both of them.
Initially I thought my pace had slowed and I had some negative thoughts that I was going to have a rough run from that point - but as I stuck to the game plan, much to my surprise, my pace was consistently in the range of just under 8 mins per mile - even through the hills of Newton - I was no slower than 8:30 pace. When I crested Heartbreak and ran by the students at Boston College, I felt reasonably certain that I would be able to finish up with the same relative pace over the last couple of miles. Having run this race so many times and having spent time on the race course running from my daughter's apartment in Boston over the last several years - I have become really familiar with the roads and the landmarks and it is no longer a mystery of what to expect - and that in a sense is reassuring if the race is going as planned.
As we rounded Cleveland Circle I spotted Tom - who is very tall and was wearing an orange t-shirt - I kept him in my sights and caught him at just past mile 23. I grabbed him by the shoulder and announced my return - but he was in grind-it-out mode - and told me not to stay with him, but instead to keep going at my pace and to meet him at the finish. And so I did.
The last couple of miles I ignored my HR figuring I would be able to sustain the higher effort through the finish. Tracy and Riley and her friends were at the overpass of Mass Ave. just before the turn at Hereford from Beacon and we spotted each other and their cheers really made me smile and allowed me to run even more strongly through the end of the race. The crowds were really loud and it was easily my most enjoyable Boston experience ever.
Shortly after I was in the finish area I spotted Richie who was walking back toward the finish line having finished a few minutes ahead of me - and initially he seemed like he did not recognize me - and he was a bit altered and his speech was slurred - and he began telling me that after he turned on Hereford, his right arm felt like it was floating away and his right leg had the same sensation; and that when he tried to call his wife who was right near the finish line with his two youngest boys in a stroller, that he could not speak clearly and that she could not understand him and panicked that he needed medical assistance. As I tried to assess the situation I walked him over to a wheelchair and suggested that we get him checked out - but he would not stay in the chair, and insisted that he just wanted to get to his wife. So we got our medals and blankets and I walked him out of the finish area and into the Prudential center mall - found Tracy and Riley who I alerted about Richie - and we got him to his wife - and by that time, his speech and coherence were about back to normal. We sat in the lobby of the hotel with Tom's family and others and he seemed fine and agreed to get "checked-out" when he got home the next day.
Although that was a bit scary - I think he is fine - he attributed it to a possible electrolyte imbalance - and I checked on him a couple of times that evening and this morning and it was all good.
It was Tracy's birthday yesterday and we so went out to a wonderful dinner at La Voie on Newbury with Riley and her boyfriend and had a really great meal and an enjoyable evening together. I even remembered to get her a nice gift before the trip :)
So - this was my 8th official Boston Marathon and my 40th marathon. Really great memories from this weekend already.
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