Boston Marathon 2006

The perfect race. I ran the perfect marathon.

The group rode up together to Hopkinton (including Helen and I on a "blue only" bus). The temperature in Hopkinton was probably in the mid-40s and I was a bit cold. I wore my rainsuit and a long-sleeved shirt over my running clothes and gloves. I ate a banana and most of a bagel and drank lots of Gatorade. The time passed quickly and before we knew it, it was 11:00 and our friends were leaving Helen and I for the first wave. Helen and I used the opportunity to use the bathrooms while the lines were short. Then it was 11:45 and time for us to drop off our bags on the buses and walk our way to the starting line. I walked into corral 13 and I was all alone.

As I stood waiting for the starting gun all I could think about was having to go to the bathroom and how badly I didn't want to run a marathon. With these thoughts, you would have bet I was going to have a rough day.

The gun sounded promptly at 12:30 and we were off. It took me less than 2 minutes to get to the start line, but even knowing I was 32 minutes behind the first wave, my math skills were still not sharp enough to figure out how I was doing compared to the race clock. And my watch was on split time which means I could only see the time from the previous mile, except right when I hit the split button.

The first 4 miles all I could think about was having to go to the bathroom. But there was always a line so I stopped thinking about it. I also forced myself to hold back on the downhills and go ahead and let people pass me. I was a smarter racer this year.

Before I knew it 10 miles had passed and soon it would be Wellsley. And it didn't disappoint. Screaming girls!!! It was deafening and inspiring. I really had to control my emotions. The came the 14 mile mark. I checked myself here. Last year at the 14 mile mark is when I started taking walking breaks. This year at 14, however, I felt good and said to myself that I only had 12 miles left which would be easy because that's what I run all the time.

As the miles and kilometers passed I was amazed at how good I felt. I reached the 25K point and started to climb the hills in Newton. Last year I walked the hills; this year I took it one step at a time and ran up them. I got to mile 16, then 17, and I was still running and feeling fine. I told myself I would run to 30K which is about 18.6 miles. I knew some friends at work would be tracking me and I didn't want to disappoint. At 30K I decided I would continue to run to the 20 mile mark and see how I felt. At 20 or 21 is Heartbreak Hill. It wasn't pretty but I ran up Heartbreak too. This was my slowest mile of the race. I crested Heartbreak and it was all downhill into Boston. I was going to be okay.

I reached 35K ~ 22 miles and I was still running. I had never run this far without stopping before. I was entering new territory and despite my right quad getting sore, I decided to take it mile by mile and keep running. Besides there were only 4 miles left.

I reached mile 23, still running, and thought to myself only two miles until I saw my family and make the last turn. I started to see the Citgo sign and used it to pull me into the city. Mile 24 and I can't believe I'm still running and still pacing well. Only 2 miles left and the Citgo sign is ahead. Mile 25 and I'm getting tired and my head's getting foggy. I click the split and see I'm at 3:30 exactly. I have 10 minutes and I know I'm going to qualify for Boston in Boston. A big accomplishment.

All of 25 I'm looking on either side of the street for Mom, Dad, and Dave. The route has changed here and I didn't know where they would be. It's just a sea of faces and I'm having trouble concentrating. We go under Massachusetts Avenue and as we're coming up I hear "MJ" and I see my dad on the right. I point to my watch and yell, "I'm going to qualify."

I turn right onto Hereford and power up the hill as best I can. I then turn left onto Boylston, look up, and see the finish line. I click my watch at mile 26 and I have got 3:38 and change. Better move Meredith!!! I finish with my watch at 3:40:36, but I believe my official time is 3:40:33 (that's what my in-laws tracked online).

I ran the whole thing. All 26 miles. I didn't walk through a water stop. Nothing. And I ran even splits from start to finish. I'm encouraged. I feel like the hard training I put in paid off. I'm pretty sore. Check that; VERY sore, but not as bad as last year. I don't know what the rest of the year's racing season looks like, but this week I have plans to rest. I've very happy with my race.




Splits:
Mile 1: 8:54
Mile 2: 8:22
Mile 3: 8:26
Mile 4: 8:18
Mile 5: 8:22
Mile 6: 8:22
Mile 7: 8:12
Mile 8: 8:17
Mile 9: 8:18
Mile 10: 8:18
Mile 11: 8:23
Mile 12: 8:11
Mile 13: 8:12
Mile 14: 8:06
Mile 15: 8:14
Mile 16: 8:15
Mile 17: 8:22
Mile 18: 8:35
Mile 18: 8:22
Mile 19: 8:22
Mile 20: 8:43
Mile 21: 8:59
Mile 22: 8:25
Mile 23: 8:25
Mile 24: 8:20
Mile 25: 8:34
Mile 26: 8:39
Last 0.2: 1:49
Finish: 3:40:33