Typically, Marathon training is about 100 days, so for Boston it starts just about on New Year’s Day. Last year I finished the Boston Marathon in 2 hours and 59 minutes and this year I wanted to challenge myself to finish in 2 hours and 55 minutes. Last year I was doing 50-55 miles a week supplementing myself with biking and some swimming. This year I did 60-65 miles of running a week and swimming three days and periodically biking. One of the keys of training is to stay injury-free, so I was doing running-specific exercises and Yoga twice a week. I was able to hit almost all the key runs through the cycle. I did the New Bedford half-marathon leading up to Boston and finished in 1 hour 22 minutes, that gave me a big boost of confidence to be able to finish the Marathon in target time.
One of the trickiest things about spring marathons is unpredictability in weather. Training in the winter I was hoping and wishing for cooler temperatures. It’s really tougher to adapt to heat than running in cold weather. As Marathon Day approached, it was getting clear that the weather was going to be warm. Starting time would be in the high 60s to getting up to mid 70s with clear skies. If I could have asked anything to God on that day I would have at least asked for cloudy skies, or temperature in the 40-50 range.
On the way to Hopkinton, I wasn’t sure how I would do in the race, but I made some adjustments for the day. I drank Gatorade, which is provided along the racecourse and dumped water on my head to stay cool and tried to run as planned, which was run the first 17 miles in rhythm and pick up the rhythm and pace after arriving at the fire house on Comm Ave. and finish strong. On the starting line the sun was hitting straight to my face and I could see my sweat dripping from my armpits, it was hard to stay calm as my mind was going through all the time I worked to toe the line to have the best time, and here I could sense everything falling apart right in front of me.
The race started, I tried to stay calm and make sure that I stayed within my zone 3 heart rate which is considered as sub threshold zone, and in my case that is 150 beats per minute. Right after mile 2 my heart rate started to move to 160bpm, so I switched my watch to clock mode and started to run with feeling instead of metrics. I was drinking Gatorade and pouring water over my head at every aid station. I made it to Wellesley, and I wasn’t fading, which was a great sign, I saw a few of my clients, and gave them high fives. I was coming to the exciting part of the run which is turning on to Comm Ave and starting to use my strength. I looked at my watch and changed it to race mode. I was within the range to finish the race in 2:55, I got really excited and started to push on the hill that comes right after turning onto Comm Ave. As soon as I tried to push, I could feel my right calf pulling, and immediately there were two thoughts that came to my mind; ignore the feeling and keep moving or take caution, there is still 9 miles of run left and we can’t afford to walk if we want to finish sub 3 hours. Naturally, I am a risk-averse guy, so the second thought took control, and instead of pushing I changed my watch from race mode and went back to run with feelings.
I saw my family at the base of Heartbreak Hill, it was awesome to see them, after high fives and a quick kiss to my wife I finished the hilly part of the course. At that point my shoes were soaked from dumping water, and I could sense the exhaustion coming. Having done many marathons, I have experienced this feeling many times, I tried my best to keep the pace, but I could feel I was off my rhythm, and I was purely running with sheer force, but I knew I had it in me to push through for another 3-4 miles. It was exhilarating to see my name on the cardboard in Brookline, and I took the cardboard with me and smiled through the last part of the race. I was able to finish the race in 2:56:22.
I was happy to be done with the race and I am still trying to process fully what else I could have done. I haven’t found the answer and very likely I will not, which I am okay with. I understand the notion of doing your best to train but not dwelling on the result.
I hope this gives you an insight into my marathon journey. Thank you for reading this, and I am open to any feedback. Santosh
