Another chapter closes! No words can describe the emotions
that rushed through me as I approached that finish line. As I write this, I am
still in disbelief. Years of training, this was something that I knew was
totally impossible for me. I was convinced it was impossible when I took on my
first steps into the running world back in the winter of 2009. If you had told me then that I would one day
qualify for the Boston Marathon I would have laughed in your face. “Impossible! Those people are freaks,“ would
have been and was my response. And here I am, almost 8 years later, one of
those freaks.
But am I a freak? It’s not really freakish. Some have made
it much quicker than I have. And some have started before me and still pursue
it. I didn’t set it as a goal for myself until the day of the bombings back in April
2013. And from there progress was slow. I needed help. I joined the North
Brooklyn Runners: Learned proper form with this group. Later joined the Central
Park Track Club: learned to balance intense speed workouts with focused
recovery for important races. Throw in some physical therapy for injury
recovery and massages for injury prevention, and the puzzle was solved. Ten
tries that took me through New Jersey, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami,
Lehigh, Long Island, Rockland State Park, twice through the 5 boroughs of New
York City, and finally Chicago.
Ah Chicago! The great streets of Chicago! If you watch the
news enough, you would think it was worse than a Middle East War Zone. But it
is the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen within the United States. Clean
streets, beautifully tall buildings, pristine waters with river walk, and a
marathon that uniquely allows the runner to be in full control of his or her
own effort. No surprises, no significant hills! Just you, the flat road, and
the training regimen you put in prior to reaching the starting line.
The starting line! It was all business! I was on that
Michael Phelps game face ish! Central Park Track Club singlet: CHECK! Central
Park Half Tights for newfound easier running: CHECK! Bibs, name bibs, back
bibs, safety pins: CHECK! Shit – I forgot my SPI-Belt back in New York! Thanks to
my friend, the great Daphnie Sicre, for coming through in the clutch and
letting me borrow her extra FlipBelt (that actually worked better for me than
SpI-Belts). My only means of storing GU’s and salt tablets. Oh yes… I forgot
salt tablets in New York too. So flashback to Saturday as I scurry around town
looking for a GNC Wellness store that carried Endurolytes.
“Are you sure you want to take that for a marathon, man?
It’s known to dehydrate people,” says the clerk.
“I’ve taken it in my previous marathons and plenty of
runners have recommended it to me,” I replied.
“Well we don’t carry it. Sorry. Here’s some GU’s instead.”
Ok it’s not the end of the world. I’ve trained all summer
without them. Not good to do anything new for the marathon, right? It was about
10 minutes later, as I left the store, I thought to myself, “Wait a minute, did
he say dehydrate?” It was that moment the light bulb went off in my head. “I
don’t need salt tablets!” I confidently thought out loud to myself.
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| Daphnie happy about her marathon PR |
So I’m back at the starting line with 4 GU’s in Daphnie’s
Flipbelt and zero salt tablets. Every previous marathon that my hamstring
failed on me, I had taken salt tablets. Why didn’t anyone tell me this? This
had to be the reason for my chronic hamstring issues. Let’s see how this race
goes without them. With no time to use the bathroom, I made the 7:20 A.M.
cut-off for corral B start. Let’s do this! Time to get busy! And from the start
I got into rhythm.
There’s not really much I can say about my race. I was
extremely focused. I stayed in rhythm. All I kept thinking was what a fellow
CPTC friend once told me: “Don’t do anything stupid!” Thank you Felipe for the
great advice. But of course I did something stupid… started too fast. I was
super focused and the adrenaline was high. The plan was to start off at 7:20
minute per mile pace, then hit 7:10 about a third of the way into the race,
then throw some kick and hit and hold 7 after mile 20. My anxiety had me at a
comfortable 7:00 from the very beginning. Plus I still had to go to the
bathroom, which I eventually did when I saw the port-a-potties at mile 4.5. I may
have lost a minute but it was well worth it to relieve myself. And it wasn’t
hard for me to get back into rhythm.
And that’s basically it folks, I held 7:00 minutes per mile
ish (give or take) for about 20 miles in rhythmic fashion. I hit every water
stop in rhythmic fashion. One cup of Gatorade (maybe 2 in later miles) 5 cups
of water splashed on my body (take a sip from one of those cups to further
dilute the salt from the Gatorade). Moisture maintained in my muscles, no
hamstring strains until mile 20, plenty of electrolyte replenishment and
staying in solid, disciplined rhythm.
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| Staying in rhythm. Chicago 2016 |
I knew I had a cushion at mile 20. I could slow down and run
8 minute pace and still hit a Boston qualifier. So I did just that. The 3:05 pace group that caught me at mile 16
slowly ran further and further away. The 3:10 pace group finally caught me at
mile 24, yet it didn’t phase me. I stayed in rhythm, see-sawing back and forth
between 7:30 and 8:00 minutes per mile. Nothing else going through my mind,
only hoping for enough energy for that late race kick I knew I was capable
of. The conscious decision to run at a
slower pace in later miles provided relief and prevented my strained hamstring
from pulling and failing into that gunshot pain I was accustomed to in previous
marathons. All the pain went into my stronger hips courtesy of the 8 physical
therapy sessions I underwent in the weeks leading up to Chicago. I could feel
the burn along my sides as my hamstrings were thanking me. With each passing mile,
I knew I was still at Boston Qualifying Performance. It would have been ideal
if I executed a negative split but I listened to my body and made the proper
adjustments in the right timing. But that would have been stupid to kick after mile 20 and risk re-injuring my hamstring.
Mile 25 and the struggle became real. I locked into form and
used every ounce of energy I could to maintain that 8. The signs were coming at me to my right: 1
mile to go, 800 m, 400m, 300m, the hill at 200m and the home stretch
straightaway to the finish. The same emotion that overwhelmed me when I first
broke 4 hours in Los Angeles almost produced tears of joy as I approached the
Chicago Finish Line. Yet no tears since my body had used every last bit of
fluid to keep my muscles lubricated. No strains, no pulls, no injuries! And it
was a Boston Qualifying Performance. FINALLY!! I receive my medal and the first
person to randomly congratulate me is Danie Matusik from Michigan who has been
a Facebook friend and active participant in the runners’ blogs these past
couple of years. Her running adventures are an inspiration and I’m glad to have
finally met her in person.
So what was the magic formula that got me into Boston? It’s
different for everyone. You have to find your own rhythm. Not just on the
course but the training before the marathon. For me it was less running mileage, more speed
work, and staying consistent and disciplined. Regular massages and more physical therapy
allowed me to be fully recovered for race day! Most of all: don’t do anything
stupid! Only YOU can define what is stupid and what isn’t. It’s an interesting
puzzle to solve. And it is just that: a puzzle! But once you find your rhythm
and solve this puzzle, it’s certainly a tremendous weight lifted off of your
shoulders.
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| The lovely Lisneida and I both celebrating marathon PR's after the race! |
Thank you to the American Cancer Society's Illinois Chapter for Team Determination for allowing me to raise funds for their cause and provide guaranteed entry into the 2016 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
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| http://main.acsevents.org/goto/chicago2016dfanfan |
