So I wrote a really painfully long reflection on this race. If by any chance you want more detail than below, email me and I'll send it along.Best to read this while listening to Elton John's Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters. It was stuck squarely in my head during the entire race.
Short version
There were two parts to the race, miles 0-15, and the rest. I'm proud of miles 0-15; I flew beaming down the wet streets beneath partly-cloudy skies. It was as fun as running can be - whenever I became too focused, there were the folks of Oakland out for some analog entertainment. I ran mostly alone, in sixth or seventh place overall.
The splits were as follows:
Start through 15:
1 - 5:55 (thrill of the start, rolling through the turns of downtown oakland, spending time with the frontrunners)
2 - 5:56 (still in with the front group. feeling out of place as they all look like semi-pro runners)
3 - 6:24 (ungracefully removed my undershirt. decided to ease-off on the pace a bit)
4 - 6:06 (the-man-the-legend-plus-artist Rob Wilson was out cheering along Telegraph)
5 - 6:26 (slight uphills has a pronounced effect on my pace)
6 - 6:56 (again, just starting into the hills, bit slower than I'd intended. passed by some hotshot relay runner, but didn't realize he was such until 8 miles later. brain function minimal.)
7 - 7:28 (steepest hill section. not too shabby)
8 - 6:23 (lake temescal)
9 - 6:56 (another insignificant uphill takes its toll on my pace)
10 - 6:16 (saw ultrarunning stud Lon Freeman out in Montclair. Didn't recognize me on account of my haircut and "beard")
11 - 7:04 (last of the hills and past the temples atop Lincoln)
12 - 6:00 (flyin' down)
13 - 6:23 (more downhill thrillz)
14 - 6:03 (75 ft elevation drop. still flying)
15 - 6:44 (wump. International Blvd. Flat course from here to the finish, but soon the fun begins...)
So at this point you can see that the hills jostled my pace a bit, but as I came down onto International Blvd, things were looking good. Things were looking fast. Miles 12-14 represent a 350 ft. drop in elevation, so maybe that's masking the early signs of fatigue.
16 through finish:
It was an old nemesis, one that had cost me time and position in a race once before. My IT band. fuck. It began tickling during mile 15, and perhaps the dreaded band detected I wasn't willing to give it any quarter, so it just plain seized-up on me. From that point I knew several things:
Start through 15:
1 - 5:55 (thrill of the start, rolling through the turns of downtown oakland, spending time with the frontrunners)
2 - 5:56 (still in with the front group. feeling out of place as they all look like semi-pro runners)
3 - 6:24 (ungracefully removed my undershirt. decided to ease-off on the pace a bit)
4 - 6:06 (the-man-the-legend-plus-artist Rob Wilson was out cheering along Telegraph)
5 - 6:26 (slight uphills has a pronounced effect on my pace)
6 - 6:56 (again, just starting into the hills, bit slower than I'd intended. passed by some hotshot relay runner, but didn't realize he was such until 8 miles later. brain function minimal.)
7 - 7:28 (steepest hill section. not too shabby)
8 - 6:23 (lake temescal)
9 - 6:56 (another insignificant uphill takes its toll on my pace)
10 - 6:16 (saw ultrarunning stud Lon Freeman out in Montclair. Didn't recognize me on account of my haircut and "beard")
11 - 7:04 (last of the hills and past the temples atop Lincoln)
12 - 6:00 (flyin' down)
13 - 6:23 (more downhill thrillz)
14 - 6:03 (75 ft elevation drop. still flying)
15 - 6:44 (wump. International Blvd. Flat course from here to the finish, but soon the fun begins...)
So at this point you can see that the hills jostled my pace a bit, but as I came down onto International Blvd, things were looking good. Things were looking fast. Miles 12-14 represent a 350 ft. drop in elevation, so maybe that's masking the early signs of fatigue.
16 through finish:
It was an old nemesis, one that had cost me time and position in a race once before. My IT band. fuck. It began tickling during mile 15, and perhaps the dreaded band detected I wasn't willing to give it any quarter, so it just plain seized-up on me. From that point I knew several things:
a) dreams of maintaining a anything near my goal pace were gone,
b) stopping to stretch would do no good,
c) stopping would only increase the risk of not finishing and
d) that I might, despite my best efforts, not finish.
For those unfamiliar with IT band irritation, it's like with every step somebody's tickling the outside of your thigh so much it hurts. For those familiar who've used the foam roller thingy to address their pain, each step became as painful as using the roller.
By the time I saw my parents on a streetcorner in Chinatown, I was in a lot of pain ("Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.") Seeing mom and pop gave me an emotional boost, which wasn't reflected in my time. Señor Pain began dismantling the connection between emotion and performance. There was only one speed: keep going. There was no slowing, no acceleration. The splits tell it all, a slow fall from grace:
16 - 6:43 (the f***in IT band takes its grip. passed by the first guy to pass me in miles.)
17 - 6:57 (pain. parents. shouted 谢谢大家! to some Chinese supports. They laughed. another guy passed me.)
18 - 7:10 (pain)
19 - 7:20 (pain. dropped another position.)
20 - 7:42 (pain. archway of fire.)
21 - 7:59 (pain. passed by eventual female winner. Burning Man art car with horses head.)
22 - 8:09 (pain. Ella Baker volunteers somewhere in this stretch. Took water from them though I didn't need it because they seemed so nice.)
23 - 8:03 (pain. didn't see mom and dad or the cheerleaders as I came upon Lake Merritt. just pain.)
24 - 8:16 (more pain. knew by this time that I'd finish, but was deeply unsure about qualifying.)
25 - 7:43 (pain. a bright spot! knew by this mile market that I had it.)
26 - 8:07 (still in pain)
26.2 - 1:27 (Christina and Brian were waiting along the way to the finish line! Fairly sprinted across. So relieved.)
Finish time: 3:02.48. Good for the Boston Marathon by a mere 2 minutes and 12 seconds. I'm proud of these miles only for the grit it took to get through them. Determination - I haz it. Post-race massage? Yes, I'll haz that too.
And the rest:
I feel intense gratitude for all the volunteers out on the course, my parents and friends who came out in support, and to David Wild especially for prepping for the race with me. I've a slight feeling of survivor's guilt - I thought David too would qualify for Boston. He missed his goal time by about ten minutes, but came away from the race feelings stoked on his performance. And fast - 3:16.06.
I'm disappointed that I couldn't, after all my preparation, find out what my heart and lungs can do in the final ten miles of a marathon. Nonetheless, the result was still pretty damn strong - 14th overall, 13th among men, 1st in my age group. I'm hungry for more - I'm planning to take time to heal, rebuild my form from the ground up, and strengthen my body. Next time, I'll see where my true limits lie. Streets of Boston perhaps.
By the time I saw my parents on a streetcorner in Chinatown, I was in a lot of pain ("Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.") Seeing mom and pop gave me an emotional boost, which wasn't reflected in my time. Señor Pain began dismantling the connection between emotion and performance. There was only one speed: keep going. There was no slowing, no acceleration. The splits tell it all, a slow fall from grace:
16 - 6:43 (the f***in IT band takes its grip. passed by the first guy to pass me in miles.)
17 - 6:57 (pain. parents. shouted 谢谢大家! to some Chinese supports. They laughed. another guy passed me.)
18 - 7:10 (pain)
19 - 7:20 (pain. dropped another position.)
20 - 7:42 (pain. archway of fire.)
21 - 7:59 (pain. passed by eventual female winner. Burning Man art car with horses head.)
22 - 8:09 (pain. Ella Baker volunteers somewhere in this stretch. Took water from them though I didn't need it because they seemed so nice.)
23 - 8:03 (pain. didn't see mom and dad or the cheerleaders as I came upon Lake Merritt. just pain.)
24 - 8:16 (more pain. knew by this time that I'd finish, but was deeply unsure about qualifying.)
25 - 7:43 (pain. a bright spot! knew by this mile market that I had it.)
26 - 8:07 (still in pain)
26.2 - 1:27 (Christina and Brian were waiting along the way to the finish line! Fairly sprinted across. So relieved.)
Finish time: 3:02.48. Good for the Boston Marathon by a mere 2 minutes and 12 seconds. I'm proud of these miles only for the grit it took to get through them. Determination - I haz it. Post-race massage? Yes, I'll haz that too.
And the rest:
I feel intense gratitude for all the volunteers out on the course, my parents and friends who came out in support, and to David Wild especially for prepping for the race with me. I've a slight feeling of survivor's guilt - I thought David too would qualify for Boston. He missed his goal time by about ten minutes, but came away from the race feelings stoked on his performance. And fast - 3:16.06.
I'm disappointed that I couldn't, after all my preparation, find out what my heart and lungs can do in the final ten miles of a marathon. Nonetheless, the result was still pretty damn strong - 14th overall, 13th among men, 1st in my age group. I'm hungry for more - I'm planning to take time to heal, rebuild my form from the ground up, and strengthen my body. Next time, I'll see where my true limits lie. Streets of Boston perhaps.
