Saturday, April 26, 2014

Boston 2014

The short story
It was a great day. I felt reasonable good, never hit the wall, and finished strong. Given the issues I've had this winter, I was pleased with my time. My official time was 3:16:48. I'll be going back to BayState to work on my PR. ;)

Water stop woes
It's no secret that water stops and I don't get along. It's embarrassing really. I can't run and drink water from an open cup. Why oh why can't I drink and run at the same time!

Since training wasn't awesome this winter and I didn't find a hydration belt that I liked, I decided to run belt-less. It was a good opportunity to learn to drink from a cup while running. I mean, there are like 25 water stops, I was bound to pick up the skill along the way, right?

Here's what happened as I ran through water stops:

  • Water stop 1: Grab a cup of water, throw water in face...nope that's not how you drink and run at the same time. Moving on...
  • Water stop 2: Grab a cup of water, squeeze cup to a point, get a few drips in mouth, throw rest of water up nose. Still learning obviously...
  • Water stop 3: Grab cup of water, squeeze cup to a point, get more in mouth...nice. Choke as swallowing. Oops.
  • Water stop 4: Grab cup of water, curse because it's only half full, but get all the water in mouth! Too much to swallow at once though....Choke again
  • Water stop 5: Grab water, empty some out, make the spout, drink the water in smaller sips!!!! Nice.
  • Water stops 6, 7, 8, 9, 10....as my daughter would say "easy peasy". I got this running and drinking water thing down!
  • Water stop 11: Grab a cup of Gatorade by mistake...gross.
  • Water stop 12: Grab a cup of water, throw water up nose again...guess I shouldn't have gotten so cocky.
  • Many water stops go by uneventful, then somewhere late in the race...Grab a cup of water, and almost ram into someone who seemed to take the term "water stop" literally. This was a common occurrence the last few miles. Runners would grab a cup and simply stop running right then and there. Then I had to become accomplished at running, drinking, AND dodging. Who am I kidding...I didn't dodge very well, but it's fair to say that I can now drink water and run at the same time.
25 water stops later, and now I should be good to use the provided hydration in races. Though I think at Boston using the water stops does lose some time. There are so many people, it's hard not to slow down.
 
Best part of the race
Running by the Wellesly girls. There were lots of high fives, and crazy screaming, and one runner dude yelled out, "Woo hoo! New PR! 7 kisses!" It was awesome. Trust me...

Worst part of the race
Technically it happened before the race, but I'm about 99% positive that I got peed on in the starting corral. To the gentlemen who pee in starting corrals...just because you can, doesn't mean you should. If the fairer sex can hold it, then so can you. (This happened to me last year too.) Ew. Enough said.

Splits & Stats
Net Time 3:16:48
Overall 5655/31931 (This makes me feel like I at least earned my 7000 bib number.)
In Gender 700/14356 (Female)
In Division 563/6979 (F18-39 Age Group)

I think my Garmin short changed me a bit. It reported 26.15, and I KNOW that Boston isn't short.

Split
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Summary3:16:49.426.157:32
17:22.81.007:23
27:08.31.007:08
37:10.01.007:10
47:19.91.007:20
57:28.21.007:28
67:15.21.007:15
77:11.51.007:11
87:17.61.007:18
97:14.21.007:14
107:25.21.007:25
117:20.61.007:21
127:27.71.007:28
137:24.71.007:25
147:28.61.007:29
157:31.71.007:32
167:16.91.007:17
177:32.21.007:32
187:43.61.007:44
197:41.31.007:41
207:57.41.007:57
218:16.31.008:16
228:03.01.008:03
238:09.91.008:10
247:14.71.007:15
258:14.91.008:15
267:37.61.007:38
27:55.20.156:04

And...that's all I have! I hope you had a great day too!

11 comments:

Ana-Maria RunTriLive said...

You ran a great race! And great job at learning how to drink on the run- I can't do it! So funny about your Garmin. Boston is at least 26.5. So, your pace was surely faster:) Good luck at Baystate! Hope recovery is going well!

Karen said...

I loved the commentary on aid stations. I haven't got them figured out either. Has anyone really? My husband dumps everything down his shirt in an effort to hopefully get some in his mouth. I stop and walk and drink it all. Pinching the cup helps a little, I guess?

Congrats! That's a killer time! You look great in your photo too, so determined. :)

Healthy Ambitions said...

I can't drink or take gels on the run....I slobber, choke, cough & all of the above :) great race! Nice job! I hope I never run into someone peeing in a starting corral!

Amanda@runninghood said...

Nice race girl! Yes, Baystate sounds like a good PR course! I'm impressed with your quick learning with the water stops here. :) I guess there is something I have to be thankful for about my race...I'm good at the water stops. Just have to figure fueling out so I don't puke at mile 20. Yes, my Garmin said almost 26.6 so your garmin short changed you! :) Good luck at your next marathon. Nice reading you here.

Michelle said...

26.15?? How did you mange that? I am always over 26.2. Lol Amazing time! Amazing race!! I can not drink from a cup and run at the same time. I run with a bottle strapped to my hand. I gave up on the cups long ago.

Men pee in the starting corral?? Omg. I have never seen that. I did once have a guy smoking while we were in the starting corral. Almost as nasty as pee.

Loved reading your race post! (probably the closest I will ever get to a marathon any more)

Alicia Hudelson said...

Congrats on a solid race! Are you going straight to Bay State training or do you have something in between?

I still think the best solution to the water thing is a strategically-placed family member with a disposable water bottle, the kind with the little pop-up top that you suck out of. One thing I noticed when I was watching the live coverage of Boston was how long the elites held onto their water bottles after an aid station--it wasn't a quick gulp and then they were done, they were having a few sips here and there for maybe a minute. It sounds like a good strategy to me...

Pam said...

Way to go!!! I loved scrolling through those even splits. Reading this gave me hope that someday, I too, may be able to drink from a cup while running, though I'm not going to hold my breath for a 3:16 marathon:) You look tough in that picture, too!

Pete said...

3:16:48 is a great time, congratulations. However I am sure you will be able to get even better.

Canus said...

It sounds good! And i think that you can achieve the result better. A runner has the certain plan as you that the success will be sure.

Anonymous said...

I bring a couple of straws with me. Give it a try.

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