Back
to Boston in 2007
This was my eighth consecutive year going to Boston for the marathon. It's the
only such racing "streak" that I've ever had. Why do I go?
1) The original reason is obvious -- the goal shared with so many runners: To
earn entry by meeting the qualifying standard. Doing so on at my first marathon
(Kiawah Island in SC, in December of 1999 at age 44) was, at the time, the over
whelming objective to my running. Since then, I've been in better shape, ran
smarter in other races, and had faster times. But, I've NEVER ran as
hard as I did that December morning in South Carolina in 1999. It was my own
personal Olympic day. Since then, it's been a goal to see how many consecutive
years I can remain qualified.
2) As I've moved around the country over the years, Boston has become sort of a
reunion spot for seeing old running friends -- folks who have moved away, old
training partners from Georgia, a college buddy now living in Ohio, team mates
from the English running club, friend of a friend from California, jogging in
the Boston Commons the day before the race with old friends, etc. It's always
great to some of them again -- and, of course, to race.
3) And, there's always the excitement of going with a Boston rookie -- maybe
someone who's trained a bit with you ... every year, more running friends get
that qualifier and make the trip.
4) My wife Debbie -- while not a runner, she's traveled with me to the lion's
share of my marathons and ultras. She loves the excitement of the Boston
Marathon (an many of you can testify to her cheering and encouragement during
the races). And, we enjoy the annual spring vacation in New England. We try to
spend the rest of the marathon week seeing some place new in that part of the
US. This year, while looking for lighthouses, we saw some rather impressive
coastal waves in Maine from the remnants of the infamous Nor 'Easter, and
managed to find a coastal lobster house that was open. Considering some of my
race locations, this seems only fair for Debbie.
So, in spite of the fact that this little tradition often conflicts with other
race opportunities (such as the 100K national championships that were held in
Wisconsin this year), I'm sure I'll be back to Boston again next year -- seeing
both old and new faces.
As for the race this year, I've pasted in below a note to Ray Krolewicz (my
ultra running mentor) regarding the details of this year. A below average
finishing time for me, but overall a good day. And, below that, is a list of
the finishing times for several Boston Marathon finishers in the Fox
River/Naperville area. See you out on the roads and trails.
Steve
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Got there fine on Sat., jogged a bit that evening and again Sun. AM with
friends in the Boston Commons before going to eat pasta with other friends in
the North End.
The time at Boston wasn't what I wanted, but I raced it as hard as I could. The
conditions late Sunday night and early Monday AM were a bit scary. The starting
area was a swamp, with blowing rain still coming down. The rain convinced me to
change into (momentarily) dry shoes at the starting line and to run in a lightweight
rain jacket with a lightweight Coolmax shirt under it, and shorts (the
temperature was in the 40's). Rain was still coming down as we started. The
first miles were like rush hour in the rain -- slippery, crowded and slow. It
cleared up a bit by maybe mile 4, and the rain faded away, Throughout the race,
blowing rain would come and go, but not all that hard or much. However, I never
did feel it was really all that bad. Maybe it's the winter training in Chicago,
but I never felt the conditions were all that severe. Certainly no tailwind,
and on occasion, a real headwind. At times I was able to feel like I was
running free, but most of the time I felt like I was in a fight. Before the mid
point, the left ankle tightened a bit, but not to the point of real pain. As I
approached the hill, the winds picked up and I was glad I had the jacket
(early, I had felt warm and over dressed). The right hamstring and then the
right quad tightened as I got to the hills, and I was wondering if tights
would've helped in the wind. I chugged up the hills, but was not running well.
But, when I cleared the hills, the ultra training was there and I was still
able to proceed, picking the pace up a bit. I passed a lot of folks in the last
4 miles. Drank four 1/2 liter bottles of Gatorade, and took gels with water at
8, 14 and 20. The tape/lubrication on the feet worked well, and no problems
from the wet shoes. Crowds were way down, especially for the first 16 miles,
and in an area between the hills and the finish area. Met goals of finishing in
the top 20% overall and top 10% of age group, but just barely. Here's the
splits from my watch:
1-7:42/7:42
2-7:35/15:17
3-7:10/22:27
4&5-14:29/36:56
6-7:20/44:16
7-7:27/51:44
8-7:23/59:07 -- gel #1 w/water
9-7:47/1:06:53 (first bottle refill)
10-7:29/1:14:22
11-7:32/1:21:53
12-7:28/1;29:21
13-7:39/1:37:00 (half split was a bit under 1:38)
14-7:47/1:44:47 - gel #2 w/water
15&16-15:15/2:00:02; miles 14-16 were slower than they should've been ....
17-8:19/2:08:21 -- probably the hardest hill, and was having trouble with right
hamstring and quad ... refilled bottle again
18-8:06/2:16:27
19-7:55/2:24:22 -- trying to get back on track on the easy part of the hills
20-8:08/2:32:30 - gel #3 w/water
21-8:55/2:41:26 -- struggling, but never stopped running up heartbreak .. was
passing folks, but not going well .... refilled bottle for last time
22-8:12/2:49:39 -- final parts of the last hills
23-7:58/2:57:37 -- some down hill here, and trying to get back on pace ...
24-7:57/3:05:35 -- continuing on ..
25-7:55/3:13:30
26-7:48/3:21:19 -- running hard to the finish ...
26.219-1:38/3:22:57 (7:27 pace for final 0.219 miles, overall ave. pace of
7:45, re-qualified by ~13 minutes)
-- and so it goes ....
I did feel a bit beat up after the race, having struggled against the
conditions and the asphalt ... walked the ~0.6 miles back to the hotel, cleaned
up and then walked the same 0.6 miles back to the finish area to meet folks for
the traditional post race dinner. Jogged a slow 25 minutes Tue. AM and was
moving OK within 5 minutes -- no pain, no injuries. Wed. & Thru. AM jogs
were free and easy -- no problems. Flew back on Fri. Will recover fine -- am
not concerned about that. I just feel that I ran harder than the time shows.
The 21 mile recovery run on Sat. (5 days after) went fine, as did the usual
7-1/2 miler Sun. AM -- no problems. Back to regular training on the following
Monday. Green Bay in 4 weeks (5/20), then back to the ultras in June (24 hour
run 6/2-3, 12 hour run 6/16, and 6 hour run 6/30) -- hope to see you at one of
them.
Steve
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A random list of area runners at Boston in 2007:
Jay Ramirez 3:08:20
Dan Roder 3:10:21
Tom Kelly 3:16:38
Elena Shemyakina 3:20:05
John Becerril 3:20:46
Steve Richey 3:22:57
Mark Drendel 3:23:01
Steve Essig 3:24:45
Dale Steward 3:27:42
Dana Anastasia 3:30:09
Francis Strong 3:32:35
Steve Boots 3:34.52
Dave Sheble 3:38:09
Jerry Allanach 3:38:23
Anita Burkard 3:39:29
John Devine 3:44:42
Sasha Shemyakina 3:44:52
Phillip Anderson 3:47:10
Kara Fister 3:48:06
Dawn Elmendorf 3:47:48
Joel Warren 3:47:54
Tom Spadafora 3:49:46
Isola Metz 3:49:55
Eugene Schmidt 3:50:37
Terry Lueders 3:52:12
Amy Newman 3:53:47
Larry Zurawski 3:54:54
Mary Ann Pell 3:59:26
Martin Schulz 4:00:11
Elise Conner 4:00:48
De Ann Forest 4:05:50
Stephanie Mytych 4:08:47
Fatima Moore 4:26:32
Janis Davis 4:26:53