This is Insane!

The 20 Mile run from the starting line in Hopkinton to the base of Hearthbreak hill in Newton was a success and enjoyable! I finished in a time of 3:01.24. My iPod Nike was a little off, it had me clocking 7 minute miles from the starting line! I must have calibrated it with a wider stride than my normal pace. Not being able to rely on my iPod to inform me of my pace, I was on my own to run.

I kept my backup watch running the entire time, which clocked the 3:01 time. Remember that neat pace chart from my last post? In another tab of the Boston Marathon Excel sheet, I had the chance to print of a Wrist Pace watch – a list of my pace per time and time elapsed per mile according to a goal time entered by me! I finished 6 minutes over my goal time. According to a 3:50 finish goal time, I should have finished the 20 miles in 2hours and 54 minutes. I AM PUMPED! 6 minutes off the pace is nothing, right?! If I can rest, train, taper, and rest properly, I should be lined up to run a great marathon!

The marathon route is a great little course. I like the start through Hopkinton and Ashland, but it definitely takes discipline to hold back to not zoom down the hills. It was my first time running past Ashland. I ran the Newton hills with Katie Stomski a few weeks ago, but it was a thrill to string the route together run all the way from Hopkinton to Newton, seeing all the town signs, and the few historical (well Marathon historical) highlights along the way. I did not enjoy running through most of Framingham! It was a long stretch of nasty road, luckily on Marathon Monday, the cars won’t be bothering us. The Lake Cochituate was beautiful as described, so I’ll give that to Framingham. Natick was uneventful, I don’t recall hating or loving any point of the route there. Wellesley was the best part of the run! It was a shady area along the suddenly sunny day! I always like running through towns too. I was flying down the streets, although, this is also where I first turned on my iPod for musically entertainment. The University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band is a great artist and really had my legs moving! OH my Goodness, at Mile 15, there is a LARGE downhill and I almost screamed. Yikes! I don’t like reliving it! Any advice, anyone? Anyway, another very exciting moment was arriving in Newton and running over Rt95! I took out my iPod earphones and yelled to the runner next to me, “THIS IS INSANE! WE’RE RUNNING OVER ROUTE 95! WE JUST RAN FROM RT 495 TO 95!” He responded with, “Yea, and who put this hill here?!” The Newton hills are as bad as I’d heard. They are hard. Well, they aren’t all that bad…it’s the other 16 miles before that cause the real problem! My coach advised stopping at the base of heartbreak hill to avoid hurting ourselves during training. 20 miles in 3 hours! I stopped a few times for water, Gatorade and I think I walked 4 times to relax my muscles. I also stopped at the Dunkin Donuts in Ashland for a bathroom break. I ran inside and a few other runners were waiting so I said, “Oh, you needed your morning coffee too?” Everyone in line laughed! It’s so close to the route, I don’t think it messed with my time all that much. On Marathon Monday, hopefully I’ll be able to take all bathroom visits before crossing the starting line!

Many of my experienced running friends have told me about racing strategies. One particular method is running the last 100-150 feet of a 5K as a warmup to the race to understand the finish line and when to kick in the last sprint. Now for a marathon, is it essential to run the last 6 miles of the route? I’ve never run it before. I won’t be blindly running, because the mile markers are clearly displayed. The surprise and waiting to experience the route until Marathon Monday adds another degree of excitement! We’ll see… I guess!

Okay, another quick funny story for you. I woke up on Saturday morning at 6:15am! Earlier than any other day of the week! I woke up before my alarm sounded! I gazed at my phone and thought, is today the marathon? Phew, wow! Apparently, I psyched my body and mind up too much and I am also really confused in the mornings.
Okay time for bed!