The sound of hundreds of shoes striking the pavement was all around as the procession continued on Park Street and made a quick left onto Pearl Street. In spite of starting in the preferred corral I made a few moves to try to get myself out of a pack of runners and leave myself some room to run. I noticed the crowds lining Pearl and heard their cheering and I tried to absorb this energy as I passed on by.
The big question for this day had been the weather. It was forecast to be hot and humid, hardly ideal for a marathon and I was concerned that my performance would suffer. Starting with a light rain and temps in the upper 60s was better than I expected.
Turning onto South Willard Street I was already starting to look at my watch to monitor my pace. I knew I could cover the distance, but trying to achieve a Boston Marathon qualifying time was my goal this day and I planned to run as close to the boundary of pushing myself to maintain a good, steady pace without blowing up. It's more difficult than it sounds. Go too conservatively at the outset and you might run out of time, but push too hard in the early going and you might not finish at all.
I hadn't done any training on the course and I wasn't too familiar with it either, except from studying the overview in the runner's handbook. Going into this race I figured that it would be just as well to be surprised by the course than dread certain sections that might be hilly or tedious. I had some anecdotal information about the course from friends which was also beneficial.
The course starts opposite Battery Park and ends at the nearby Waterfront Park, making four separate loops out and back from the city center. On the first return loop, we've not yet run 3 miles and the course heads right down Church Street, Burlington's great outdoor marketplace, where crowds line the route and folks are outside at restaurants under umbrellas watching the field pass by. Continuing north, the course makes a 4.5 mile out and back on the Northern Connector where you have the experience of passing the leaders and everyone who follows you. I realize that I'm probably not taking the most efficient lines on this section as I often find myself on the wrong side of the road at a corner and I scold myself for being sloppy.
I pass the leader- who is running in the opposite direction- along the way, perhaps almost two miles ahead of me. A few minutes later I see Jack and call out to him. Before long I reach the turn around and enjoy seeing the droves of runners who are behind me. I continue to pass runners all the way to the southern end of the Connector - hard to believe at mile 8 that I can be 4 miles ahead of others. Approaching the city center again I feel my pace hasten as I turn onto Church Street and soak in the energy of the cheering crowd. I grab a water at the aid station and get most of it in my mouth without stopping. I've been taking water and gatorade at most stations so far, but my accuracy has been lousy and I've been covering myself with it. It's good to know that gatorade doesn't sting my eyes.
The run south down Pine Street felt pretty good. There were fewer people along the course and I tried to keep myself going at a steady pace. I was singing to myself, including a song written by my sister's family that made me chuckle, although I couldn't remember all the words right now, which made me chuckle a little more. The rain had stopped and I could tell that the sun was trying to come out as the temperature increased and it started to feel a bit muggy, but there was a slight headwind that I found myself appreciating. As I passed the 10 mile mark I was concerned that my watch seemed to be un-synched- I've noticed before that it sometimes seems to overestimate mileage on the road, and it seemed to be picking up distance today, which was skewing the pace output on which I was focused- I really wasn't going as fast.
Turning on Flynn Avenue the course enters a neighborhood area and I had heard that these sections can be slow and tedious with their frequent turns. There were a few kids out at the curb with their own aid stations and many were looking for high-fives. It was fun to high-five the kids and feed off of their excitement about the event. Entering Oakledge park I was feeling good but my energy was flagging and as I crossed the half marathon mark at 1:31:34, I was pretty sure that the second half would be a struggle.
The course continues along the bike path for a few miles and I passed a few runners along this stretch. Without the constant attention of onlookers it's easy to lose your edge and slow down. I tried to maintain the pace as I swallowed down another GU- this one from an aid station a couple miles ago that had been pre-opened and by now my hands were coated in a sticky film. I enjoyed the quick detour through the rail yard where engines idled and rolling stock stood still. I saw many places and things while running that I hadn't seen before.
Crossing back to Battery Street I heard the Taiko drummers at the base of Battery hill, the six block climb to Battery Park, and I used their rhythm to slingshot me up the hill. At this point I was very inwardly focused and I summoned my resolve to keep pace, hearing the crowd, including cheers for 297, but not really looking at, or acknowledging them. At the top of the hill the long run on North Avenue begins and this was the low point for me on the run. Initially I felt a small stitch and I eased back a little bit and it followed with a feeling of some tightness in my chest, which was probably nerves, but freaked me out for a moment as I was concerned that my cardio-vascular system was stressed out.
After a couple of miles on North Avenue the course re-enters a neighborhood and I was feeling better now and appreciating all of the impromtu aid stations set up by folks, the offers of popsicles, the running of sprinklers, and other good gestures, including the continued high-fives by the kids. I didn't remember how many neighborhood stretches there were, but after crossing through Leddy Park and another aid station with GUs, there was another stretch of a couple miles through neighborhoods to negotiate.
After passing mile 20 the course rejoins North Avenue and I felt rejuvinated. Many people falter in the final miles but I was excited to be at this point and I tried to pick up my pace, in reality, just maintaining the same pace. Passing a high school band playing 'In the Mood' the course headed downhill, making a sweeping left turn and I knew that the course was about to rejoin the bike path and take me home.
With legs bouncy, swift, and strong, back on the bike path I was feeling good as the miles were ticking by. Seriously though, my quads were getting sore. I saw Joe again near Leddy Park which was a boost for me as I tried to keep a steady pace. I found myself doing a lot of calculating in this section to determine how I would finish and I realized that my 3:15 goal was achievable, but I also realized that I might crack 3:10 if I pushed, but I still didn't want to push too hard and risk a muscle pull that could slow me down to a walk.
I was excited to see the crowd of people at the finish area as the bike path entered the Waterfront Park. Running alongside Lake Champlain to the right and the crowds to the left I was in the groove, passing the 26-mile mark. The course made a dogleg left and then right to enter the chute, a grassy ramp to the finish and I poured it on as I heard the MC tell the crowd to ring their cowbells, announce my name and hometown, and ask them to give-it-up for me. I raised my arms to acknowledge them and funneled through the finish with a gun time of 3:10:21, and a chip time of 3:10:10. I did it!
My very first road marathon and I couldn't have been happier with the result. I received my medal, happily grabbed a water, a chocolate milk, a banana, and then another water, and walked around in circles for a while before exiting the finish area. I hung around at the finish for another hour and one half to cheer the other runners to the finish and to savor the great feeling of satisfaction about my accomplishment.
It's not a side note in the least, but the race was very well organized and couldn't have been possible with out a very capable race organization and the tremendous efforts of volunteers, including those who cleaned and re-routed the course following the spring flooding. And the fans were great too- turning up in the rain to cheer on family, friends, and complete strangers. Official race results may be found here: Race Results
After running the Vermont City Marathon I have a lot of respect for the marathon race. As I said from the start, I knew I could cover the distance, but the question about pace and consistency was an unknown for an untested rookie like me. Now with hindsight, I can say that the intensity of exertion and the determination required to finish make it a supreme challenge.
Having eased into trail running a few years ago after being coaxed out of the mountains, I always told people that I wasn't really a runner and I would follow-up my trail races by saying 'not bad for a non-runner.' Growing up I never ran track and heck, the suburban street of my youth had a 'slow children playing' sign. But before this marathon I told my friend Ernie that if I qualified for Boston I really couldn't legitimately call myself a 'non-runner' anymore. And so, the transformation is complete.
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| #297 zips down Pearl St at mile 8+ |
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