BOSTON REDUX

Boston 1, Stephen Taylor 1
Boston Marathon, April 16, 2007

I approached the Boston Marathon with a mixture of feelings this year. I had some unfinished business there, to be sure. As a fledgling 22-year old endurance athlete, I got my a** handed to me there. Boston 1997 was an important learning experience for me on many fronts: pacing, nutrition, patience, humility. Read about that experience here.

So now in 2007 I had signed up for the race as sort of a blip on my spring/summer racing schedule. See, what I really want to do is go fast at Olympic distance triathlon. I've been training hard, or more specifically fast, to do just that. What effect would my tri training have on a marathon race?

I qualified for Boston in January 2006 at the Miami marathon, with a smashing PR of 2:44. My aspirations for Boston on this day were much more modest. In fact, I had seriously considered running the race in the format of a pub crawl. There is so much crowd support along the race course that inevitably some parties break out. Eventually I decided to run a conservative 2:59. That way I could break 3 hours (the unfinished business) and hopefully limit the recovery time my legs would need to get back to hard swimming and biking.

Another twist was added to this story by the weather, which was atrocious. In the drive from Nashville to Boston, we drove through heavy wind and torrential downpours; a "Nor'Easterner." The forecast was for 40 degrees, 25mph headwinds, and rain. The conditions made the 2:59 time goal seem that much more challenging, but also added an enticing element of mental toughness.

Boston is unique in that it is a point-to-point course. Runners are shuttled from Boston Commons up to the town of Hopkinton, where they wait hours for the race to start. We were prepared, with a waterproof ground mat, a sleeping bag, and an umbrella. Huddled on the edge of a flooded high school football field, we hunkered down and managed to stay warm and dry. There were some miserable people in the waiting area, looking like space travelers wrapped in plastic from head to toe. Definitely staying warm and reasonably dry was a big part of the strategy before the race.

As the start time neared, I put my warm clothes in the shuttle to await me at the finish line. I listened to one more song on my ipod: "Daft Punk is Playing at My House." Wearing nothing but my race apparel, I jogged the mile to the starting corral. I made a couple of inconspicuous stops to urinate, stretched, then took my position among the runners.

My race plan initiated with the firing of the gun: Hold Back. Boston begins with several miles of downhill, which tends to lure runners into a false sense of confidence. My plan was to chill, hit the halfway mark at 1:29, and enjoy the scenery. Even as I was hitting mile splits 20 seconds ahead of pace, runners were streaming past me. I had learned my lesson here 10 years prior. Let them go.

The funny thing is a lot of the people that were passing me did not look that good. Many had awkward or inefficient-looking running form. I had overdressed by wearing a thin windbreaker shell over a skintight base layer. Shortly I had the coat tied around my waist, but these people were wearing gore-tex coats, stocking caps, mittens, fleece pants. I don't understand how one can run in so many hot clothes, but they were.

My patient pacing was going as planned. I was still running fast, but my body and HR monitor were telling me I was in the right "zone." One conversation I overheard was two runners sharing their time goals. One runner said "I am going for a 2:50, but the conditions are bad." With little pause, I challenged him, "actually these conditions are good. If you draft it is ideal racing weather." At that moment we both realized…except for the headwind, it was not too bad. And if you drafted strategically…

It was then when I started hearing spectators cheer, "Go Army." (You have to imagine that with a Boston accent.) I realized there was a guy near me running with an Army singlet on. For some reason he seemed to be running the pace I wanted to hold…steady but he wasn't passing a bunch of people yet.

I tucked in behind him and let his frame (slightly taller and more muscled than my own) block the wind. As Miles 9-12 ticked off, his pace stayed steady at 6:20-6:35 per mile. He was running strong and very steady, and moreover didn't seem to mind me running off his shoulder. Mile after mile I ran behind him, exchanging a few words once in a while but mostly keeping the mind on task. Yes he was running faster than my goal pace, but I couldn't bring myself to let such a steady source of drafting go.

Here is where ongoing work with running form really paid off. I have been running for 20 years, but even in the past 6 weeks I have learned new cues for running fast. I set my mindset on holding those movements, breathing deeply, keeping my mind and body relaxed. Whenever the running started to feel effortful, I consciously increased my cadence until it felt as if I were easily shuffling along. Also drawing from lessons learned 10 years earlier, I drank sports drink every mile and took in three gels over the course of the race. These contain a bunch of caffeine and I took one a couple minutes before Hearbreak Hill.

At mile 20, here was the location of my undoing at my first Boston attempt. On this day however I was running quite a bit faster but with all kinds of strategy. I pulled ahead of the Army runner and CHARGED up Heartbreak hill, passing dozens and dozens of runners. Their heads were hanging, dejected, a shelled remnant of the optimists that had started too quickly two hours earlier. At the top of the hill I looked at my watch: 6:23! That was awesome! I gave my accomplice a high-five and we turned our attention to flying downhill on the other side.

By this time I realized I had a pretty good time going. My conservative 2:59 goal was obviously a memory; the 2:55 benchmark one friend challenged me to was now also going to drop, but by how much?

This is where the joy of racing filled me. My legs hurt but they were moving fast very fast. I felt strong and more importantly full of drive to run fast. I WAS STOKED. I wasn't going to meekly meet my 10 year old Boston goal, a faded and yellow relic that I had long surpassed. I was going to HAMMER it home. The next mile after cresting Heartbreak I split 5:55. Yeah. Let's keep it rolling and see what I can do.

I was flying past runners now. The huge crowds along the streets could tell I was on fire. My form was strong and I was driven. Mile 23 fell in 5:53 and mile 24 in another 5:55. Oh this was so fun, I was full of running. I started doing mental math and calculated that I had 14 minutes left, then 12, then at mile 25, after running a 5:49, 8 minutes of effort left. By this time it was the thrill to see if I could hold the redline pace.

A couple quick corners delivers you to the finishing home stretch. As I turned the corner it was as if a wall of sound and energy hit my square in the chest. A solid roar from the crowd met huge booming base and that finish line looked so far in the distance. My the intensity of that 4-5 block stretch met my own emotional intensity and I drove to the finish line. Runners continued to fall by the wayside and no one even came close to matching my kick in to the finish line. When I crossed the line, the clock said 2:47 and some seconds. I felt good. That was not as hard as I expected.

Analytically, I have to ask myself what contributed to this performance. I can identify racing factors and training factors. In the race, I was patient by letting a lot of runners pass me early. That is a key as most people start any distance race to fast. Then patiently pacing and drafting off another runner paid huge dividends as well. Finally an attention to form, particularly cadence and arm position added an extra level of efficiency so had the reserves to hammer when it counted.

In training, I can definitely say that my ultra distance training and racing from this winter was helpful experience. In a 50K you have to do a 4 th Quarter Smackdown after 3 hours, not after 2 in the marathon, so there is another level of endurance that transferred to marathon. Also my triathlon training which largely has been high intensity in nature also added that extra fitness. Call it V02max or Shark Fin, but the high end stuff is key (thanks to my coaches who push me there, Jamie, Johnny, and Ashley).

Most of all the key is to be STOKED about what you do. Originally I wasn't fired up for this race especially with the weather and everything. But when I got there it was fun and everything came together. I write these race reports with some being more impressionistic and others being more analytical. But it is still magical to me every time it works. Every time I race well and reach a goal I genuinely feel surprised. It is the same feeling I get when my clients experience success. The best conclusion I can arrive at is to put your feelings and dreams into your goal, and allow it to be realized. Get stoked to drive the process, forget about the goal/outcome, and allow yourself to be surprised. That is when the magic happens.