The Boston Diaries: Chapter 39
16 seconds
The two messages came in quick succession:
“How are you holding up?”
“Sorry man.”
I didn’t know what either was about. I responded to the first one via text figuring it was about training leading up to Des Moines. It wasn’t. It was about Boston.
At this point, I didn’t think I would learn my fate until sometime this week.
“Oh that lol. I’m fine. Hoping the extended wait time is good news. Feels like I’ll be right on the line either way.”
The second was a comment on Strava, on a post for a run from the previous week, where I was asked what I projected the cutoff to be. In the case of this message, I figured his response was apologizing for the stress I’m going through.
“All good dude. Hoping those projections are off and the wait time will lead to an expanded field.”
Minutes later, he got back to me. “They announced 5:29.”
Sure enough, they did.
The official email came down the next day. My 2:59:47 — a buffer of five minutes and 13 seconds, given I needed a 3:05:00 to qualify in my age group — wasn’t good enough.
The 2024 edition of the Boston Marathon received a record number of applicants. I wrote about it two weeks back, as the waiting game began. I kind of figured this would be the end game, but as we got further and further from the application window, the more hopeful I became.
“Maybe they’re working with the local towns to expand the field!”
“Maybe they’re expanding the field regardless!”
“Outside of the covid-restricted race in 2021, my time would never have been a concern!”
Whether it was running right at the cutoff or 328 seconds faster, thousands of us were delivered news on Thursday that was a gut punch. All that work. All that time. Going into our races with a goal to beat the BQ by one second, one minute, or five minutes and 28 seconds. We all did it, moving forward with big concerns, little concern, or no concern at all. And in the end, it wasn’t enough.
As I wrote a couple weeks back:
In the (almost) year that’s followed, I’ve rarely ridden the rollercoaster of, “was that enough?” As the link above shows, having 5:13 of extra time would have gotten me in at every marathon in recent vintage, outside of the wonky 2021 race that was run in the fall. I’ve operated that way. I’m going. I’m planning to go. I named this series The Boston Diaries! I wouldn’t have done that if I was that worried about missing it.
Oops.
I read the news in my car, right before I got out to run another six miles. I texted the news to Riss, my family, and some friends, then made a point to not check my phone until I was done. I was going to wallow enough over the course of an hour, no need to turn things up a notch by reading a bunch of sad texts. And so, I ran.
I spent time feeling sorry for myself.
I spent time thinking about how close I came.
I spent time thinking about the Lincoln Marathon, wondering if I could have found 16 seconds that morning. I went out fast that day, spent the next week telling myself the meltdown was inevitable, but I also didn’t realize in that moment I needed 16 extra seconds in my back pocket.
And I spent time thinking about what’s next.
I got home after the run, got a big hug from Riss, and immediately we started talking about which marathon I’d be running in the spring. I threw out the idea of a local one. It would save us some money, but certainly wouldn’t make for a big trip like we originally had planned with Boston.
She went in the opposite direction. “What about Eugene?”
End of April, an area of the country she’s never been to1, and it finishes at Hayward Field? Sign me up!
So, that’s what I’ll be doing. That’s what we’ll be doing.
This week in podcasting:
Martinus Evans joined me to discuss his book — Slow AF Run Club: The Ultimate Guide for Anyone Who Wants to Run — why he got into running, what advice he wishes he could give himself a decade ago, and a whole lot more.
This pod was also the first with a sponsorship! Thanks to my friends at Peak Performance for joining me on the podcast adventure. Stop by one of their four locally-owned stores and mention Chasing Three Hours for $15 off your first pair of shoes at regular price!
The log
Monday: ~20 minutes of weightlifting + 3.5 miles of walking with Riss and Banks
Tuesday: 8 miles with 5 x 600 meter intervals
Wednesday: 12.01 miles
Thursday: 6 miles
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 10k tune-up with an extra 2.12 miles of warming up and cooling down
Sunday: 18 miles
Total: 56.35 miles
Year to date: 2206.92 miles
Day 268: Got to the gym for the usual lifting before going for a 3.5-mile walk with Riss and the doggo. Pretty great way to start the week! These Monday walks together end up working really well with our schedules.
Day 269: Tuesday brought the beginning of a ten-day stretch that would see me running three of my tough workouts, the final three before Des Moines. The first: eight miles with five intervals of 600 meters. Temps were fine, but the humidity was high, so I got to the trail with a goal of a 5:30-pace on all five, acknowledging I’d be ok going sub-5:40 on each if it came to that, which meant about two minutes per rep. I’d have 90 seconds in between each rep before I’d go again. Started with a 3.75-mile warmup that let me know I’d have the goods if my legs were ready for business.
Fired off the first in 1:59 — a 5:19-pace — so I was obviously feeling great early. The second one slowed down a bit — 2:04/5:33-pace — but I wasn’t too far off my goal. I pushed hard as I started the third rep, hoping to match what I did for the first 600 and I did, finishing again at 1:59. This was turning into one of my best workouts of the cycle, as I finished the fourth one at 2:03, a 5:30-pace. One more left, and wouldn’t you know it, 2:03/5:30-pace.
I wanted 5:30s, would have been ok with 5:40s, and finished averaging 5:26-per. Overall, I averaged 7:15-per mile with the heart rate hanging at 150 throughout. A damn good workout to start the week!
Day 270: I mentioned it in a recent newsletter, but there’s just something about a longer run the day after a tough workout that I adore. My legs are a little heavy, but not having to push the pace has me feeling aerobically fit in an even better way. Wednesday’s run was one of those.
12 miles, easy2 pace, I got out right at about 8:00 am on a perfect morning. Low 50s, a little chilly; the absolute dream for a run on a hot and sticky morning in June or July. I was humming on those early miles. 7:58 with the HR at 129, 7:40 (137), 7:41 (134), and 7:37 (139). I mentioned in the above footnote that I like these runs to have the HR higher than 138, but I was going too fast to really wanna push these miles any harder, knowing it would only lead to my HR increasing over the long term. I hung out at that pace for a while, keeping things between 7:30 and 7:36 for mile’s 5-10, before ultimately deciding to close fast. 7:15, 7:17, and 7:22 to finish up.
I finished the final midweek 12-miler going 7:33-per, with the HR averaging 145. One of my better runs ever at this distance.
Day 271: Given the news delivered moments before I started this one, it’s fairly easy to say I have had more enjoyable runs in my life. Six miles, recovery3 pace, I never really felt comfortable, and spent most of the 53:56 trying not to be too upset. I mostly succeeded, but this one wasn’t as therapeutic as I would have liked. 8:59-per, HR at 128 throughout. Meh.
Day 272: Friday’s was a bit better. HR was still a bit higher than I would have liked, averaging 125 over the course of five miles at 9:09-per, but I chalked that up to the frustration of Thursday, the heat returning, and a busier week than normal. Honestly, my mind was less on the news from Boston and more on what awaited me Saturday.
Day 273: The final tune-up time trial of this training block. 10k — 6.22 miles — where I’d see what I had in me. I decided before the first of these a couple weeks ago that I’d use them to decide on race-day shoes. That one — 36:35, a new PR — saw the same kicks I wore in Lincoln, the Endorphin Pro’s from Saucony. Saturday, I’d head out in the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 2’s, a pair I picked up from a friend this summer.
Tune-up #1 took place on a wet morning, with humidity in the high 90%-range, with the trail still slick from the rain. A good testing-ground for potential rain on race-day, it definitely slowed me down a bit. Tune-up #2 wouldn’t have those same issues, but still had me dealing with a different test, given it was in the mid-70s with 10+ MPH winds in my face for the first 5k. After a little more than a mile warm-up, plus some additional stretching, I took off.
Given the temps, I didn’t know if this would be the morning for a PR, so my goals were as follows: Stay below 6:00 for every mile and get as close as possible to said PR. I’d be aiming for 5:55-miles in general, knowing that would have me in range for the PR. That’s a lot of words to say I wanted a PR but wasn’t going to beat myself up if I didn’t get it.
The first two miles finished in 5:52 and 5:50, six seconds ahead of my PR pace, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold that. Two weeks back, I had gone 5:48, 5:46, and 5:49 to start. That one eventually slowed down to the point where mile six climbed above six minutes, but I gave myself a huge buffer to start. By the time I finished mile three in 5:57 and made the turn at 3.1, the goal of sub-6:00 for each mile was the only one I knew I could reach. I just had to hold on.
Mile four seemed so, so long, and by the time my watch beeped at me, I kind of dreaded what I would see.
5:56!
Ok, it was still in range. Mile five had me feeling a bit more confident, but still, it had been a tough one.
5:57!
I had 1.22 miles left. The toughest mile(+.22) remaining in my training. I pushed a little harder, at times seeing my pace dip close to 5:50. I had no doubts this mile would show me what I wanted.
5:57!
I had less than a quarter mile left, as I dodged some runners, bikers, and walkers. I made the final turn of the trail, hit the 10k mark, and added a few more tenths of a mile, just to be sure.
36:46 officially for the 10k. I didn’t set a PR, but I got close, and kept every mile sub-6:00. I hit my goal.
With the final tune-up in the rearview, the only frustration is I don’t really feel like I was able to put my best foot forward with either one. The silver lining is I ran faster than I did at any point a year ago and had similar times to the spring when I had much better conditions.
Day 274: The warm temps were still in play on Sunday morning, so I set off before 7:00 am, not really expecting my best Long Run of the year, but knowing I had a good one in the cards. 7:41-per mile, the HR averaged 149. It got higher than I would have wanted towards the end, but that didn’t bother me much. I had a great time4.
Over the course of 2:10:37, I thought a lot about this last week.
How I have made peace with the situation, to the best that I can.
How excited I am for a trip to the Pacific Northwest in April.
How much fun it’ll be finishing the Eugene Marathon at a historic track.
How I’m two weeks away from a chance to qualify for the 2025 Boston Marathon and leave no doubt in the process.
So, that’s what I’ll be aiming for.
Leave No Doubt.
I’ve been three times, but not since 2017.
A reminder: My goal throughout the majority of miles on an easy-pace run is to keep my HR below 150 but higher than 138. The longer I hang below 150, the better it feels.
Goal is to keep the HR sub-130, but I like going as close to 122 as possible if I can.
To the point where I decided that 17 miles is my favorite distance to run. Long enough to feel like a true Long Run but short enough where I don’t feel like I’m out there forever. The perfect distance.
What a week. Knowing that the sting hits you the fullest, others who have and will continue to cheer you on feel it too....albeit on a smaller level. When you were growing up, we'd say, "rub some dirt on it," or "you will live and not die, and declare the works of the Lord." Sounds like you have done that and it is time to focus on October 15th. LEAVE NO DOUBT! See you there!