Here’s a race recap of my first BQ attempt from my point of view from start to finish.
Pre-race
I got to the race only about 45 minutes before showtime although I’d been up for a while going through my usual fueling strategy at the hotel: Shot of beet juice 2 hours before the race. Little coffee 75 mins before, and peanut butter sandwich 60 minutes before. Everything exactly how I’d planned it. I went through my usual warm-up routine of light jogging, skipping, dynamic stretching, etc with a few marathon pace pick-ups in there. All of it only lasted about 10-15 minutes. Took in my pre-race gel about 5 minutes before the gun went off, said my usual prayer, then locked in!
Miles 1-2 (7:10, 7:09) – “Calm and Controlled”
I made a conscious decision to start very conservative this race. My heart rate is always through the roof as I start races and I think this is part of why I struggled in my last BQ attempt.
My last hard long run saw me average 6:58/mi for 20 miles after spending the first 6 at 7:40/mi pace. So I had faith that I could make up for lost time. This was not an easy decision since there was an actual 3:01 pace group – my exact time that I needed! But I had to run my own race. All the day before, I knew my race mantra would be “Calm and Controlled.”
Miles 3-11 (6:53, 6:54, 6:56, 6:56, 6:48, 6:52, 6:48, 6:48, 6:50, 6:45) – No man’s land.
I ran purely by feel in this segment, making sure my heart rate stayed controlled. Naturally, with this pace, I settled in exactly between two different pace groups (3:06 and 3:01). I had to keep telling myself that I didn’t need to catch them right away. Thankfully, another runner and I worked together in these miles and ran alongside each other.
Again to myself, “calm and controlled.” “You’re going to get stronger as this race goes on.” My rhythm felt smooth and I kept ticking off the miles!
Miles 12-16 (6:45, 6:37, 6:39, 6:38, 6:39) – The sweet spot.
My watch was hit or miss on the mile splits, but I knew from my training that the average pace was accurate. Looking back it didn’t feel like I was going faster than 6:40 for this stretch! I finally caught the 3:01 pace group which still had about 10 guys going strong in it. I passed the halfway point at 1:30:09. And a new inner dialogue was born – “You’d take this!” Meaning: if someone would’ve told me before the race I’d be feeling this good after 13.1 miles and I’d cross at 1:30:09, I would’ve taken it! I repeated that to myself at nearly every mile marker after that because it was true!
Miles 17-22 (6:42, 6:54, 6:41, 6:46, 6:45, 6:45) – Believe!
The pace was starting to require more effort now but still felt smooth. It was not fun to take drinks from the aid station anymore, but I could still get it down at least. The thoughts started to creep in – “Uh oh, this is where a lot of people hit the wall! Remember when you bonked last year?!” But I just kept turning to gratitude – “You’d take this feeling/pace at mile 18, 19, 20..any day! You can do this.” I started to believe it more and more with each mile though our pack of 10 was now decimated to just 3 (one of them being the pacer!) by mile 22. Guys that seemed to look like they were running strong were nowhere to be found!
Miles 23-24 (6:45, 6:44) – Umm…What?
Our pack of 3 was going nicely though it really required all my effort now. I started to think of the 3 mile segments that I’d run on familiar roads back home and how short they seemed. This very gradual hill which seemed like nothing at all early in the race now felt like Everest! And then I hear our pacer say something – “Ok guys, I’m done. Take it from here!” Umm…I’m sorry, what?! You’re quitting on me now after 23 miles?! Admittedly, this guy was hacking up a lung for much of the race. This clearly was taking more out of him than he bargained for.
The other guy and I looked at each other. He put his fist out for a fist bump and I obliged. No words. “Here we go!” I thought to myself. It was one of my favorite moments of the race. However, it was short-lived.
Miles 25-Finish (7:16, 7:23, 7:14 for 0.2) – Noooooo!
Shortly after mile 24, there was a wave of dizziness that hit me. I felt lightheaded all the sudden and knew something was off. I looked down at my watch to discover my heart rate (which had just crossed 170 bpm not long ago) was at 124! A very clear sign that my body was starting to fade. At that time, I was projected to finish somewhere around 2:58-2:59, which would’ve been a dream.
“I HAVE to at least BQ” I thought to myself. “I’m only 2+ miles away!” So the fight began (continued?). “Focus on your form. Just make it to the aid station. As if you’re life depended on it. What would you want your athletes to do?” I tried every motivational trick in the book at this point! I felt as though I was moving at the pace of a snail. After half a mile of that, my watch said I was going about 7:20/mi. No freaking way, I thought to myself – but I forced myself to believe it because it meant I still had a chance! My qualifying time for Boston was 3:05 which meant it was more realistically closer to 3:01 after they cut the field down.
I finally saw the finish and knew I would BQ. Sweet relief! I found the closest fence and collapsed on it. Eventually I learned my exact time – 3:00:28. The sub-3 hour marathon had slipped away, but I refused to let it rob me of the joy of a Boston Qualifier. I’ll take another crack at a sub-3 later this year. The confidence gained from this race is irreplaceable. Eliud Kipchoge famously said after he attempted to break 2 hours in the marathon and ran 2:00:25, “The world is only 25 seconds away.” I’ll think of that a lot in my next training cycle – I’m only 28 seconds away!
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