Pre-Race

Every marathon for every person has a story.  It’s why you do it.  Even though it’s only a couple hours of your life, it’s a memorable couple of hours.  For the last 10 years, every time my brother or I have run a race, our first call is to the other.  Not only how’d it go, but tell me the story.  How did it unfold.  So, here’s the story.  And I haven’t spared you any details!

I woke up at 7AM and managed to put down a bagel and coffee, although I wasn’t hungry.

I chose not to go on the marathon buses, for my dislike of feeling like a member of the herd.  I got a ride with Mark out to Hopkinton, and our small team gathered at our teammate James’ house in Hopkinton.   There, we sharpied our bodies, put our names on our shirts, used the restrooms (NOT PORTAPOTTIES!), ate some final calories (which were necessary, but VERY hard to get down) and got rides over to within 1/2 mile of the start.  It was a really nice way to start the day.

(Note, I didn’t want to post all the photos on the blog, but do have them posted here)

The Cycle Kids team just before we headed out to the Marathon.

It was a great morning.  Cool and sunny. We walked over to put our bags on the buses and then back down to the start.  Probably walked almost 2 miles, which made me a little nervous, but was OK.  Wandering about, Hopkinton is crazy that day.   Runners, runners everywhere.  Dressed crazy, wearing stupid clothing, garbage bags that they might throw away.  And people opening their houses to hundreds of random runners for coffee, OJ, water, vaseline, and even the bathroom  So wonderful.

Hopkinton before the marathon. What a zoo. Not the greatest picture, but you get the idea.

I wanted to really see how much distance running does to my mental state / oxygen feed to the brain.  So I did this pre-marathon video where I recited the alphabet backwards, and planned to compare it to post-marathon.  Just after this video, I put the camera away, to send to Boston and retrieve after the race.

Click here to see the 1 minute video.

I then met up with a Cycle Kids teammate Rich, whom I had never run with before, but we wanted to do similar marathon times.  So we decided that we would at least start together and then see what happens.

The Start and First 6 Miles – Smooth Sailing

So after walking up to the corrales, we got in at our numbers (22,000) and proceeded to ‘illegally’ work our way up to the 14,000’s (sorry marathon volunteers!).  We are those buttheads who push their way up to the front.  So when the Wave 2 gun went off at 10:30, we had only a 40 second time lag from when we started.  And we could see the front of Wave 2, which was great.

As we got going, we ran the first several miles (except the first mile) in 7:20-7:25 pace.  It felt very comfortable, so I thought it was safe.  I wasn’t breathing hard, and it seemed good.  I tried to stay on as much grass/dirt as possible to minimize the beating on the legs.  Although there were rolling hills, it was SO much better than the training run I had done on these roads a couple weeks ago!

Elite men's start - Wave 1 (photo courtesy of Mark Pachucki)

Rich and I stayed together, drinking water and gatorade at alternating stops.  At about mile 5, I felt that the long sleeve I had was a little too warm, but I was not going to throw it out.  Not Patagonia!  So, I knew I was going to see my friend and colleague Lisa at Framingham Center.  I took off the shirt and tied it around my waist.  As we got closer, I started looking, and there I saw her!  I heard, ‘Go Alison!’ and ran over to her, untying my shirt, and threw the sweaty, gatorade-saturated shirt into her surprised face – ‘Bring this to the office!  Thanks!’  I truly hope she got a picture of the shirt attack.

Rich and I near the start (photo courtesy of Mark Pachucki). Note the garbage bag behind us. It was only this crowded at the very beginning. Note the people with 14,000 numbers on around us. Nice job moving up in the wave!

The Middle 12 Miles – The Wind

Immediately after Framingham Center, two things happened.  First, I shifted my hat to the right, to signify the passing of the first 1/4 of the marathon.  Second, the wind hit.  From Framingham to West Newton, the next 10 miles, we ran into a strong headwind.

We pretty much had our own room to run our own pace, without dodging people.  We then got into a rhythm and banged out the miles.  We chatted a little bit, about the crowds, or lack thereof on some portions of the route, I tried to slap as many hands as possible, and heard tons of  “Go Ali”, as I had written my name on my singlet.

It is in this 3 hours that you, no matter how fast or slow you are, feel like a superstar.  I also was SO glad to have done the Hopkinton-Newton training (although in awful weather) just a couple of weeks earlier.  It really helps me to know where the big hills are, what town lines mean (Ashland-DOWN, Natick to go…).  Also, knowing the route and the hills really allowed me to moderate my pace at the beginning.  I knew that there was no way I could run a full marathon at faster than 7:20 in these conditions, so I was not tempted to push it.  Moderate at the beginning.

The times in the middle were certainly slower than at the beginning.  More 7:30’s than 7:20’s.  At about mile 10, coming into Natick, I knew that a negative split was out of the question.  Both Rich and I felt the muscles in our legs.  Tight.  Not cramping, but tight.  Hamstrings for me.  Cardiovascularly, I felt great.  I feared what the hills would bring and if I could keep up this pace.  But kept moving on.

At the Natick-Wellesley border, a noise arose.  You could hear it 1/2 a mile away.  The deafening Wellesley College scream tunnel.  Pretty awesome.

Then we hit the half marathon at about 1:38.  I did the calculation that matching that pace would be a 3:16, but I knew there was little chance of hitting that.  I was already feeling a bit beat.

I knew Nurit and her cousin Colin and Sopheap would be soon after the 1/2 marathon, so I started looking.  Not there… not there.. and then, I saw Nurit’s bike!  And I started almost panicking – did I miss her?  I was running along, yelling her name!  And then, about 100 yards later, I saw them with a CUTE sign!  but i was sort of past them when I saw them, so I could only wave and move on.

Nurit, Colin and Sopheap with the super cute sign in Wellesley.

We strode through Wellesley, into the headwind, time getting slightly slower.  7:33, 7:35… I was taking my own splits just so i would know what the pace was.

After mile 15, and seeing my colleague Susan, we exited Wellesley, did the blessed big downhill into Newton Lower Falls, and then a surprising, terrible, windy uphill across Route 128 into West Newton.  That was the first of several slow miles.

Rich and I passed the power gel station at around 17, and then there was a little melee.   We got water, I saw my friend Alison just before the Newton Fire Station, waved, and the next thing I knew, I had lost Rich.  The rest of the marathon would be on my own.  But in familiar territory, now heading home, and ready to see so many people who would be along the route.

Mile 18 To the End – Newton Hills and Bringin’ It Home

The first of the Newton hills was big and hard.  Another 8-ish minute mile.  Reached the top.  2 more hills to go.  The second hill was blessedly smaller than I remembered, and first I saw my friend Amy D, and then, as I was rounding a corner to start the 3rd hill, I saw Nurit standing there with the sign held high over her head!  I veered my path, stopped to give her a big kiss in front of several hundred people, and ran on.  that moment was a race highlight for me.  ahh, massachusetts.

And then to the third and biggest Heartbreak Hill.  Although I was under no impression that the race is over after this hill, after doing this run and looking at the elevation thanks to this blog, I knew that this is the big beast.  and, I had also noticed that the downhills were feeling good to me today, as opposed to past Boston hill experiences.  So with this in mind, I started up it.

And I heard “A-LI-SON, A-LI-SON”, and looked over and saw my friends Maureen and Jake!  It was so great to see them, I smiled, yelled hi and started trudging up.  Then, I heard, about 15 seconds later, “Go Alison!”  And I looked over, and there was Jake, in jeans and boots, running up the hill with me!  I proceeded to watch him as I ran, an amazing distraction to get through this.  At the top, we waved bye, and the last big obstacle was over.  At mile 20.5.

Boston College was crazy and loud, and after passing mile 21, I was coming up on Chestnut Hill Reservoir.  And as I ran bye, there were Shelly, Blake and Betsy in running garb and they jumped in with me!  I knew it was a slight possibility, but had not known it was the plan.  They were hilarious.  “There’s a downhill in 100 yards.  We can’t wait for it.  Water stop coming up… Gatorade first, water later…”  Like I haven’t seen 20 of these already!  It was so fun to see them, although I felt pretty catatonic at that point.  Passing Cleveland Circle, I looked up and saw Molly, Capone, Vivian and the girls.

Molly and Vivian at Cleveland Circle!

They stayed with me for about a mile, and I was feeling pretty good and steady.  I knew at this point it was a hold on to the end.  I was cranking out steady 7:35-ish miles, and although mylegs hurt, I knew it was just 25 minutes… just 20 minutes… just 15 minutes.  My rally cap was on backwards.

I passed Coolidge Corner, no longer scanning crowds, just looking forward.  and happened to see my friend Jen just passed Coolidge Corner.  The Citgo sign was well within sight.  Then, coming on Park Drive, I saw Peri and Olivier, and knew that the bridge to Kenmore, and the 25 mile mark was just ahead.

I saw my 25 mile time of about 3:11.  Should I try to push it, kill myself to break 3:20?  I decided not to.  I wanted to have a good experience, and plus or minus a couple seconds for some arbitrary goal means little to me.

So i went through Kenmore, down and up under Mass Ave, turned onto Hereford and then Boylston.  There’s the finish line.  Lots of people screaming.  Gloucester… Fairfield… Exeter… Weirdly, I didn’t get the chills that I have gotten in the past when it’s not even my race.  I just ran.  I heard my name over the loudspeaker, “Alison Cohen from Cambridge Massachusetts” a couple of yards before finishing, and then I heard the beep of the ChampionChip as I crossed the finish line, and then I started walking.

And to myself, I thought, so… that’s it? Can I keep running?  It was weirdly anticlimactic!  I walked slowly, happily, content, proud of my time.

I got my stuff, and immediately did the post-marathon video.

Just after finishing! Click here to see the post-marathon video. I missed 'G'!

Post Marathon Happiness and Celebration

And then, I met up with Nurit, who unfortunately had a terrible time getting into town on her bike because of all the closed roads.  She was AMAZING along the route. And, if you can’t tell from this blog, it meant SO much and was so helpful to have so many people on the route.  I can’t thank you enough for being out there.

Warm and dry, happy to be watching other people suffer. Umm... I mean, so happy to see people finishing the marathon!

And for everyone who has emailed / called congratulations, I can’t thank you enough for all the good wishes.

I got on my bike, showered, and Nurit and I went out to celebrate.

With Brett and Aviva. Brett had come directly in from finishing his first marathon

So, the statistics:

• Net time:  3:20:21
• Start time lag: 45 seconds
• Finish overall: #4741 out of 23, 162 who started the race
• Finish womens:  #483 out of 9,432 who started the race
• My mile splits are here.  You can feel the pain!

Overall, considering the hills and the wind, I am very happy with the performance.  I ran a 3:10 in 2000 on a flat and non-windy course.  I believe that this performance is pretty similar to that one, which only means that I haven’t aged at all.

Thank you for your support of me and Cycle Kids! If you still would like to donate on my behalf, please go to this web site. I raised about $4,000 for the group, and our team raised about $60,000.

It has been quite an adventure this winter and spring!  Thanks for reading!