I ran the Boston 10K last weekend in 47:49, which was good enough for first in my para-athletic division and established a world record for the women's T36 division in the 10K.
I had originally planned to run the half-marathon at Grandma's this year, but then I realized that the Boston 10K on the same weekend offered my para-athlete division. Honestly, I like having the opportunity to compete in that division as well as in my age group and in the open field and it is important to me to support races that offer and support the para-athlete divisions. Plus running a 10K instead of a half in mid-June was consistent with my focus this summer on shorter stuff - no half-marathon meant no long runs. I could really just focus on track stuff and let my marathon fitness from the spring carry me over the 10K distance (nobody told me I could do this - I just assumed it would be thus...)
So... it wasn't a hard decision to swap races. I transferred my Grandma's bib to another runner and my prepaid Duluth hotel room to a teammate, and my flights were either refundable or transferrable, so I didn't waste any money with the switch. Then I booked my travel to Boston - fly in Saturday morning and out Sunday afternoon.
***
Saturday was mostly uneventful - my flight was smooth and on time (I care more about the latter than the former) and I had no trouble finding my hotel near Government Center (conveniently close to the start/finish line).
After getting situated, I headed over to Central Square with three goals - Chipotle, a visit to the re-incarnation of Manray, and a plastic rain poncho. Rain was in the forecast for Sunday morning, and while I normally keep a stash of rain ponchos in a drawer at home, I had discovered on Friday evening that I was out of stock.
The quest for plastic poncho required traipsing back and forth across Massachusetts Avenue to search first a Target, then a CVS, and finally a Walgreens. A quarter century ago I had spent many dusky afternoons wandering Cambridge in search of rare and bootleg CDs, now I was trying to find disposable rain gear. Middle age is cruel, y'all.
Finally, I uncovered a trove next to some Ghiradelli boxes in the Central Square Walgreens. Concerned that there might be a developing global plastic poncho shortage, I grabbed several.
Then it was back to the hotel for some stretching and PT exercises, a phone call with Brian, and an early bedtime.
***
I was in the para-athlete field, which meant we had a dedicated tent near the finish line. The tent opened at 6:30 am, and we had to check in by 7:00 (our bibs were in the tent). At 7:30 we would be walked up to the start line; we would start a bit after 8 am (the official order was wheelchairs, men's elite, women's elite, para-athletes, and then waves 1 and 2 of the open race).
This detailed scheduling was a bit different from my previous experiences in the elite field at small and mid-size races or in the American Development Program at Chicago. At those races, there was no mandatory check-in time. Just "the tent opens at this time" and "race starts at this time" with an occasional "you need to leave the tent at this time for the start line." I'm honestly not sure if this variation reflects the difference between a major race and a smaller one or if it is specific to the para-athlete field. I suspect a bit of both. Several of the para-athlete divisions have pre-race equipment checks, so a mandatory check-in time makes sense.
Since I had to be in the tent by 7 am, and I didn't know if I'd be able to jog around after checking in, I started warming up at around 6:15 in Boston Common. I finished up around 6:50 and then ducked through a metal fence to make my way to the tent. Once in the tent, I received my bib, my race shirt, and was offered coffee, water, bagels, donuts, and a seat. Nice.
As it turned out, I was allowed to leave the tent and jog around after checking in, so I did a bit more in a wistful effort to stay loose before returning to the tent to chat with others.
One big topic of discussion was the weather. It was extremely humid. The weather maps all seemed to indicate clear skies, but that was contradicted by the periodic showers that pinged the tent roof. I had brought a hat and debated whether to wear it - I don't like wearing hats when running, but I do prefer it over rain hitting my face and glasses.
I eventually decided on the hat, hoping that wearing it would ward off any further rain. For the same reason I also grabbed one of my precious ponchos before being walked to the start area.
***
One of the nicest things about being in the Para field was that I was allowed to use the same area as the elites for some final strides - a section of the starting area between the start line and the wave 1 corral. I've found that doing long lunges seems to open up my hips well before hard running, so I found a stretch of pavement off to the side and began lunging. Only to have my right foot (the front one for this lunge) slide out from under me on the wet pavement. This resulted in an unintentional (and awkward) half-split, and my left knee (the back one) hitting the pavement pretty hard.
It took a few seconds to extricate myself from the split, and then I checked out my knee. There was a tiny scrape with minimal blood, but nothing too concerning. I walked and then jogged a little bit, and it still felt fine, so I decided I was fine to race. But...NO MORE LUNGES.
***
I watched the elite men line up for their start, and on cue the skies opened up, resulting in nervous laughter and groans from the runners and normal laughter and groans from the race staff and audience.
The men started and then the elite women gamely strode up to the line, since they were seconds away from their start. The para field had a bit longer, so we huddled under umbrellas held by race staff. I was incredibly grateful for both hat and poncho.
A few minutes later, it was our turn to line up. I reluctantly shed my precious plastic poncho and handed it to someone (thank you, whomever you were). There was a 10 second warning, and then the gun.
***
The 10K started with a gentle uphill in Beacon Hill, which I was excited about (it's easiest for me to run fast on an incline). Unfortunately, I was stiff enough from standing pre-race that I couldn't take full advantage, and rough pavement (classic Beacon Hill and not at all surprising) slowed me a bit more. Then we turned left to descend down to the bridge across the Charles River to Cambridge.
My gait was still off here, and I struggled with the descent to the bridge, as well as the descent off of the bridge. However, I tried some "tricks" I had discussed with one of my physical therapists - forcibly punching my hands forward in sync with my stride while staring at a focal point ahead - and that helped.
 |
I am whining about
my performance,
but I bought a
photo anyway. |
Once on flat ground, things loosened up and I started to open up my stride. The rain had eased off, which was great. However, the moisture would linger in the air for the rest of the race. I realized pretty quickly that I was running harder than I would be able to hold for 10K, especially given the weather. Honestly, I was doubting occasionally that I'd be able to finish without walking. So much for marathon fitness from this spring carrying over.
The rest of the race was just me grinding away. I struggled some with a section of bridge spans with uneven metal grates that threw off my balance (par for the course for me, and part of the territory of being a T36 para-athlete). Things improved when we turned towards the Charles to head into Boston about mile 4, and then Murphy's law kicked in with a side stitch that had to be managed. ("managed" means thumb pressed into stomach). The stitch eased with about a mile to go, and I pushed as best I could into Boston Common and to the finish line.
***
I crossed the line and was greeted by a BAA official who grabbed a medal and a bottle of water for me before escorting me back to the tent. I had won my para-division which was great, but I felt really sheepish about my performance. More specifically, that I hadn't trained for this distance and had been caught flatfooted by my utter lack of stamina. Almost immediately I was planning to return next year so I could run better.
My lack of fitness was mistake #1; mistake #2 was booking my return flight way too early in the afternoon. I didn't realize that ambulatory para-athletes were included in the awards ceremony, and so I had planned on saying my thank yous and good byes and heading back to my hotel about 20 minutes after finishing. Fortunately the timing worked out, and I was able to accept my award at a really well done awards ceremony and then hustle back to my hotel to shower, check out (made it by 10:58), and get to the security line at Logan by noon (my flight was at 1:15).
 |
Me and the Men's T35-38 winner,
Cory Gardner. We have since
realized that we both clubbed at
Manray back in the 90s...
(big thank you to Rhonda Foulds
for the picture) |
During the awards ceremony, they also announced that I had set the 10K World Record for the women's T36 division. So that was really cool but also made me even more determined to return. That record should be faster than it is, and I also feel obligated to do the BAA right with a better performance and not rushing away after, given everything that they are doing for para-athletic running.
***
Splits were:
Mile 1: 8:43 (this one was a bit long)
Mile 2: 7:16 (this was a bit short)
Mile 3: 7:44
Mile 4: 7:36
Mile 5-6: 14:57
Last .21 - 1:32
Other notes:
- The official weather was mid-60s, with intermittent rain. So doesn't seem that bad on pixels, but this was one of those days where it seemed like the laws of science had wavered, and we had exceeded 100% humidity.
- I met some really great people in the para-athlete tent. Pretty much everybody there is a rock star, in their own way.
- Honestly requires that I disclose that the women's T36 10K World Record was open, and I established the first time for others to chase. I'm actually not embarrassed by that point. So much of the competition in these para-divisions is actually making it to the starting line. And somebody has to go first and set a mark for others to chase. I just hope that the future brings many more T36 women trying to beat my record. (I also hope that I lower it some myself first.)
- Mistake 3 of the weekend was not making sure that my pre-check number was on my airline ticket. It's been a long time since I've had to take my shoes off and remove my laptop from my bag, and it was less than ideal to have this happen at the same time I was carrying a very nice trophy with me. So that's three things to fix for next year.
- I was really worried about getting the trophy onto the plane. My plane was completely sold out, and I was in one of the latter boarding groups. I couldn't check my backpack (laptop and medication) and I was certain the trophy would be destroyed if I checked it (it was in a cardboard box, but I didn't think that would be sufficient to protect it). Fortunately, there was enough overhead space that I could tuck the trophy there. And then set my watch with 3 different alarms so that I didn't forget it when I deplaned.
- My left knee was fine. Never hurt during the race or after. Just a bit tender to the touch.
