Quite a few people seemed surprised that I would travel up to Boston on marathon weekend just to run the 5K. But it wasn't just for that reason. Last year, when I raced the Boston Marathon, there were many many things that I wanted to do while up there, but abstained from, due to the need to rest before the race. Traveling up for 24 hours gave me an opportunity to scratch those itches.
Of course, for a while on Friday morning, I was worried I might not make it. My plane pushed back from the gate, only to sit there for an extended period of time before the captain announced that one of the engines wasn't able to start, and so we'd be returning to the gate to try to start it there. The unspoken understanding was that if they couldn't start the engine, we'd have to deplane.
I checked my phone, and confirmed that all other flights on Southwest to Boston that day were sold out. Not good. And ironically frustrating, since it was only 12 hours ago that I had swapped onto the 8:55 am flight from the 11:20 am. Ooooh I was going to be pissed if the 8:55 didn't leave while the 11:20 did.
But fortunately, they were able to get the engine started. And though we departed nearly 50 minutes behind schedule, we made up enough time in the air to land only 20 minutes late. A non-issue in the end.
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Once I landed in Boston, I took the T to Central Square in Cambridge, where I got lunch (3 guesses as to what) and made a pilgrimage to the former site of Manray, where I spent my Wednesday nights while in law school. Then to Harvard Square, where I hit the Coop (essentially the joint Harvard-MIT bookstore) to buy a mug and a teddy bear with a big crimson H on it, before I hit the Garage (think a tiny shopping mall where all the stores are dedicated to sub-culture stuff - comics, hemp, tattoos, anime). Then to my hotel. The B.A.A. mails out bibs for the 5K in advance, so there was no need to go to the expo.
Once there, I checked the weather for my 5K. It didn't look great. Wind and rain were supposed to roll in and linger until 10:00 am (the race was at 8:00). Oh well. The forecast had looked much better even 24 hours ago, when it was going to be windy but dry. But at least it wasn't a goal race.
I had brought my "second life" Vaporflys to race in - the pair with several hundred miles that have compacted down into a nice racing flat of sorts. However, historically I've had traction issues with those shoes on wet pavement. Hmmm....
I normally follow the rule of nothing new on race day, but this wasn't a goal race, so I felt a bit more comfortable experimenting. I headed over to the local drug/convenience store, where I purchased a set of non-slip sole pads - the type normally affixed to women's dress shoes. I stuck those to the bottom of my Vaporflys, on the forefoot. Either they'd work, they'd make no difference, or they'd fall off. But hopefully, they were low-risk.
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| Customized Vaporflys |
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I was staying in the financial district, about a mile away from the race start in Boston Common (the 5Kstart/finish was where the buses pick up on marathon race morning). So it was easy to warm-up by jogging to the start area to check out stuff, then back to my hotel for one final bathroom break, and then back to the start once more. A few 45 second bouts of harder running, some drills, some strides, and I jumped into my corral.
Since this was a pretty big race, with over 8000 runners, they assembled the corrals about 200m from the start line. We were required to be in our corrals no later than 7:45 for an 8 am start. It wasn't at all ideal for a 5K, where I'd prefer to be doing strides until about 5 minutes before, but it was what it was. To be safe, I stepped into the corral at 7:39 - there really wasn't too much difference between standing for 15 minutes and for 20, and I didn't want to get shut out.
The corrals were self-seeded, which I hope they change for next year. I lined up in the area for 5-6 minute miles - realistic, since I thought I was in shape to run around 6:00 pace or a bit faster on a good day. There, I was surrounded by a wide range of runners - some much faster than me, and others who seemed not to know why it mattered to seed oneself appropriately.
Since I thought I might be a contender for masters prize money (based on gun time) I wanted to start fairly close to the front. On the other hand, the start area was fairly narrow, and I also understood that there was a slight bottle neck in the course about 200m in, where the rails on each side narrowed in advance of a tight turn. This is a very fast race, and I really didn't want to wedge myself in front of a battalion of sub-17 minute guys. So reluctantly, I moved back - hitting what I thought was the best compromise between my focus on gun time and my desire not to screw up someone else's race.
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The weather was not great for a 5K. It was in the low 60s, which wasn't too bad, but it had been raining for some time and the roads were wet with puddles all around. The wind was also blowing at a good clip from the west, with strong gusts from other directions. We'd have a headwind going out, and a tailwind coming back on this out and back course. This was better than the reverse, since I'd have more people to use as windblocks earlier in the race, but still not ideal.
It was still raining as I stood in the corral, though not too hard. The rain itself wasn't a bad thing - without it the humidity would have been thick enough to affect my performance, but the rain provided a nice cooling effect that countered the warmth. I had warmed up in a longsleeve shirt and a cheap plastic poncho, and I kept both on in the starting corral to keep me warm.
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At around 7:55 the corrals was marched up to the start line, with the elites and the wheelchair racers then slotted in ahead of us. The race start ended up delayed a few minutes while the roads were cleared, so it wasn't until 8:05 that the gun actually started. That was 25 minutes of standing, pre-race, and I could tell it from my first strides. Not that it mattered anyway - the first quarter mile was ridiculously congested, especially with the early bottle neck on the course, and so it was best to stay patient and wait it out before easing into 5K effort as my body woke up.
As I noted, most of the first mile+ of the race was into a headwind, and a fairly strong one. It seemed like most about me were hammering into it, but I went with a negative split strategy - find a group and tuck in and conserve until we turned around and had a tailwind. Oddly enough, even when I found a group, it seemed like I wasn't that shielded. But maybe that's just me.
After the first mile marker, we dropped down into an underpass below a highway before running back up. I'm a really good downhill runner, so I was able to use the descent to surge and pass some people, maintaining pace on the following climb back to the surface. Then around a turn and we joined up with the marathon course on Commonwealth Avenue, heading east. Down and up on the underpass again (with more passing), and then right on Hereford and left on Boylston just like the marathon. With as much splashing as I remember from last year. But the water was warmer, at least.
Boylston seems long when you're finishing the marathon. Having done both races, I can tell you it feels even longer when the marathon finish line is an arch that you run through that is 1200m from the finish of the 5K.
We were now in the third mile, and we had the tailwind, so I knew it was time to go. I gave it my all, but I only had so much juice in the legs. Which, in retrospect, wasn't all that shocking given the 10 mile (er...9.95 mile) race only 6 days ago. However, people were fading all around me, suffering the logical consequences of going too hard into the headwind, and I was able to pass quite a few, though I wasn't doing too well myself.
I emptied the tank I had, and then we turned the corner into Boston Common, and I turned the tank over and shook out the last drops. As I approached the finish line, I realized the clock was still in the 18s and I was going to break 19. Well, that was nice. I knew I was fit enough to do that, but wasn't sure it would happen at this race given the weather and recovery from Cherry Blossom.
I kicked as hard as I could, got myself across both finish mats, and then stopped my watch (well..actually lapped and then stopped). 18:53, which I hoped meant a few seconds faster, since I had waited until the second mat to stop it.
***
Splits were:
Mile 1: 6:15
Mile 2: 6:04
Mile 3 plus the last .11 - 6:35 (5:55 pace).
So a slow first mile, and not as fast on the last as I would have liked. But I think the slow first mile is the logical result of a headwind, early congestion, and standing for 25 minutes before the start.
My PR is 18:51, and so I was tantalizingly close. But I'm not too upset about missing it. Based on this result, I know I'm in shape to run a big PR at that distance and there are plenty of fast 5Ks coming up to take a shot.
***
After the race, I grabbed my t-shirt and then headed back to my hotel getting hopelessly lost on the way. The financial district is a maze of twisting, turning streets with names that change every few blocks. And it doesn't work to use stores as landmarks, since every other block has a Starbucks, a CVS, and a Chipotle. Finally, with the help of three different strangers with cell phones, I found my way back, where I showered, packed, and then checked out, leaving my backpack at the front desk.
From there, I headed back downtown to Boylston street to watch the men's and women's elite B.A.A. mile races, then on to the expo, where I stood in line way too long to pick up my bib. Then on to check out all the vendors, taste samples, talk to people, and do all the other stuff you shouldn't do when you've got a marathon the next day. I thought I'd be a bit wistful about not running the marathon, but I wasn't - instead, it was the most relaxed and cheery I've ever been at bib pick-up.
Then on to lunch, overlooking the finish line and people-watching, followed by a return to Cambridge to tour my old grad school and law school campus (20 year reunion coming up next year, oh WOW). Then a pilgrimage to the side of the old Lincoln's Inn (now a private residence). After that, I went back to the hotel to grab my back pack and Tetris (if that's not a verb it should be) all of my recent purchases into the bag, and then to the airport for a 6 pm flight home.
My souvenir haul ended up being two race shirts (5K and marathon), two bibs, one medal (for the 5K), three magnets, three headbands, a new pair of sunglasses, a pair of shorts, one teddy bear, one mug, a book on how to build cat castles, and a decorative unicorn horn for a cat (I'm not making the last two up). I somehow managed to squeeze it all into my backpack, and later, to fit the backpack under the seat in front of me on the plane. Quite an achievement. And a fun weekend.
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The astute observer will note
that the non-slip pads are still there.
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***
Other notes:
- The non-stick pads on the bottoms of the Vaporflys stayed on for the entire race. And...it felt like I had better traction on the wet pavement than I've noted in the past. Possibly a placebo effect, but I don't care. Whatever works. I think I'm going to try this again, maybe with bathtub non-slip decals.
- My second life Vaporflys are working better and better for shorter distances, the more I run in them (and presumably, the more the supposedly magic cushion gets compacted). With each race, they have a little less bounce, and are thus a bit more maneuverable. I can also kick in them, in a way I couldn't when they were fresh and bouncy. It's really too bad they don't sell "pre-crushed" Vaporflys.
- It took several hours for the B.A.A. to post the results. It turned out that I was third masters female, which earned me a $100 in cash. So woo.
Sounds like a fun trip. My guess for lunch is Chipolte. I don't think they will change the self corralling unfortunately. Greg has run this race twice and he always lines up where he should be, but then can't actually run goal pace until mile 2 due to crowding. I feel like this race is enough of a "thing" to warrant a true corral system. Anyway, fantastic running and you are sure to crush that PR in your next goal 5K!
ReplyDeleteI am very impressed with your packing ability - and your DIY non-slip soles. I might try that trick on some of my slippery shoes! Congratulations on your place and your prize money!
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