Race Recap from the 126th Boston Marathon on April 18th, 2022 -- I did my best to put this race into words but sometimes capturing what happens during these moments is unexplainable. Here's my best shot...
Heading into the race I had felt really strong. I didn't set a time goal but instead, I set some small micro-goals to hit.
1) Run my last mile as my fastest mile.
2) Find a nutrition strategy that worked for me.
3) Have f****** fun, and soak up this historic race.
Pre-Race
I started out with the usual race-day jitters. Waking up at 5 AM, we had about 5 hours before we hit the start line. I did my best to eat on a jittery stomach, listened to some Dermot Kennedy to calm me down, had some coffee, went potty, had electrolytes, two bagels, and was out the door to the buses.
The bus ride was about 50 mins out to Hopkinton, and from there we had about an hour to kill before we loaded into the coral. I ate a PBJ, drank some G1M Sport, and then we started to line up in our corals. We walked down from the Athletes Village to the start line and it was time to rock.
The national anthem played, two F-15s flew over - I teared up. This is what makes race day so special. It's hard to put into words what this feels like. I looked at Hanna, said "time to have some fun, let's do this" and boom, the gun went off.
The Start
Mile 1 was an absolute cluster-fest. People were everywhere, bumping each other, and a few people tripped. It was crowded & very hard to get into a rhythm. We snuck off to the right side and found some room to run in.
Miles 2-10 I felt like I was on cruise control. One foot in front of another, controlled breathing, just pure bliss running. Miles 3/4 @ 6:21 pace & Mile 5/6 @ 6:22 pace. We stuck to our plan of mid 6:20's pace and didn't let the downhills suck us into running faster than our plan. A teammate told us that if you hit it hard, your quads will be destroyed by Mile 10, so we listened (they were still hurting, lol...)
For nutrition throughout, we were sipping on our run bottles which had 40g of carbs, and 1000mg of sodium. For gels, it was one Huma Gel every 5 Miles. Then I would grab a cup of water at the aid station to rinse it down (harder than it sounds) and then grab another cup to throw on my neck/back to cool me down. 54 degrees and sunny had me sweating more than usual. The plan was solid, and we kept to it. The Huma gels helped sustain the energy we needed.
Miles 10-16 were the same thing. We kept it at our planned pace. Miles 10/11 @ 6:24 -- Miles 12/13 @ 6:21. Everything felt pretty strong. I kept telling myself "stick to the plan, stick to the plan, soak it all up!" -- knowing the hardest part was approaching we had to get ready for it. After a big downhill at Mile 16 at 6:18 pace - it was time for the biggest 4 miles of the race.
Boston is known for the Heartbreak Hill but it's really a collection of them starting at mile 17, ending with the biggest one at Heartbreak Hill (Mile 21) -- I told myself I can do anything for 4 miles, just stick to the plan! This is actually when my quads got a little bit of a break, and it was time to use the hammies more. Kept it anywhere from 6:25 to 6:35 for the first 3 miles and then at Mile 21 (Heartbreak) we slowed to a 6:43 pace. Once I hit the top of the hill, my legs were screaming, and we hit a big downhill right after which did not help. I knew there was work to be done. 5 more miles!!! Heading into the biggest crowd, and the city of Boston.
We got right back on track at Mile 22-24 anywhere from 6:23-6:26 pace. I knew we had this in us after practicing so many big hills during our prep. You have to put yourself in the same challenging situations to be able to overcome them come race day. So here it was, back in the groove, I finished the last few sips of my bottle, grabbed a water cup and threw it on my neck, and was ready to finish. Onto my favorite mile.
Mile 25 I dug deep into the cookie jar. I used past experiences to fuel this. Something snapped in me and knew it was time to empty the tank. They had a big sign at Mile 25.2 with "1 Mile to Go" -- I looked back at Hanna and she said "Go, you got this."
Mile 25.2-26.2 at a 5:57 pace -- my fastest mile of the day. I hit another gear that I have never experienced in any of my races. Something just hit me, and it was time to leave it all out there. Step after step, I kept telling myself, "You are not out of the fight, push."
I took the right, and then a quick left to get us onto Boylston St where I could see the finish line. The crowd here was on another level, I soaked it all in, every single second. 200 yards out, I hit another few big strides - wanting to leave every ounce of it out there.
I hit the blue & yellow finish line and everything felt like it clicked.
02:49:06 - a new 26.22 PR by over 9 minutes, in less than 6 months.
Final Thoughts
Heading into this race I knew the prep had gone to plan and it was shaping up to be a big day. We hit big milestones throughout the last 3.5 months that I knew would help us on race day, thanks to the team at the Endurance Drive.
I hit the 3 goals that I set for myself and the biggest one was to have fun out there. That doesn't mean every second of the race was fun. There were times it sucked, my legs felt like glass, you question if you have it in you. It's digging deep to find the new measures that will take you out of those places. It's being surrounded by 30,000 other runners who are out there for the same reason, to better themselves.
This race was truly amazing to be a part of. I have so many good memories from start to finish.
Thank you to everyone who reached out before the race, during, and after. Your support means the world. I love this sport, and the people it has connected me with.
Time to enjoy this, and get ready for the tri season.
