Summary:I qualified for Boston with a finish time of 3:42:42 and kept an 8:30 pace (results here). Ruth also nailed it but I will let her offer the details.
The Details:
We woke up at 3:50 AM (10 minutes earlier because Ruth woke up early), had a cup of coffee and bagel to go. She dropped me off at my shuttle bus location and she went on to hers for the Half Marathon. We were driven off into the desert and I got to stay on the coach bus very comfortable and cozy until the 7:30 AM start.
I stayed pretty calm pre-race and even slept on the bus. At the start, I shed my long-sleeve layer and didn't worry about positioning myself anywhere near the front of the start because it was chip timed.
The first few miles were rolling and my first split was slower than I wanted -- I made up for it (see splits below) and felt good and loose in the beginning. I needed reel myself in a bit after doing a couple of sub-8 minute splits because I thought to myself -- Cheryl is going to kick my ass if I do not get my pace back to the 8:30 we agreed to.
It was a good run -- beautiful and just the right temperature. I worked to consistently get in my nutrition even when I didn't want to eat. I did struggle a bit mile 14 - 17 because even though it may have been flat, it seemed uphill for me. That was also when the headwinds picked up a bit and I managed to position myself behind a pack and draft for a couple miles who were going at a pace a bit faster than the one I was supposed to do but it did not feel hard because of the wind shield.
I started to hurt -- not unexpectedly at mile 20ish and then I had to dig a bit deep mentally. But I reminded myself that I was still feeling good and maintaining my pace (even though I did really have to pick it up a bit when I saw the mile marker in the distance to hit my time).
Near the last few miles, I knew I was right on time and did not have to kill myself to finish in goal time. So I didn't. I even took some water at the rest stations to offer myself an opportunity to walk for a moment or two.
The best thing about the finish were the drums near the end -- very motivational! I finished with a big smile on my face and limped around a bit. Okay, a lot.
I learned:
- Kept my pace MY PACE and used Ruth's mantra "My race, my pace"
- The power of positive thinking. I did let a couple of thoughts of being a failure at my races the last couple of years creep in and shot them out immediately. I kept telling myself "I will qualify" rather than "I wish I could qualify".
- Control my own nutrition by bringing my own.
Here are my splits:Mile 1 @ 08:49
180a, 230m
Mile 2 @ 07:39
147a, 178m
Mile 3 @ 08:08
150a, 156m
Mile 4 -5 @ 15:48
148a, 156m
Mile 6 @ 08:14
148a, 153m
Mile 7 @ 08:23
147a, 150m
Mile 8 @ 08:37
147a, 154m
Mile 9 @ 09:27
150a, 163m
Mile 10 @ 08:31
150a, 154m
Mile 11 @ 08:30
153a, 157m
Mile 12 @ 08:17
154a, 161m
Mile 13 @ 08:33
156a, 168m
Mile 14 @ 08:26
155a, 158m
Mile 15 @ 08:47
158a, 160m
Mile 16 @ 08:33
159a, 161m
Mile 17 @ 08:34
160a, 163m
Mile 18 @ 08:30
159a, 160m
Mile 19 @ 08:39
159a, 163m
Mile 20 @ 08:35
161a, 165m
Mile 21 @ 08:26
161a, 163m
Mile 22 @ 08:32
161a, 164m
Mile 23 @ 08:30
160a, 164m
Mile 24 @ 08:40
158a, 161m
Mile 25 @ 09:17
159a, 162m
Mile 26 @ 09:52
162a, 165m
Mile 26.2 @ 01:16
167a, 179m
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