I can't believe Boston 2023 has already come and gone! And I can't believe it went the way it did -- all you can do is laugh!!! One we'll remember forever.
It was a tale of two races, really. Head to my last post for our race goals, pace plans, and the race morning lead-up. And then scroll on down for the surely-going-to-be-a-novel race recap!
THE FIRST HALF:
Sweet Caroline was playing as our corral started, which was absolutely perfect. My OBGYN had it on her playlist when they were prepping me for my c-section with the twins and it was such a happy moment that morning -- going from the cold of surgery prep to the warmth of having the doctors and nurses and myself all singing along to a song that reminds me of the Boston Marathon, no less. Then a couple months later, someone was playing Sweet Caroline on the sideline early in the race in Boston and it made me smile so big. So I can't imagine a better start to this years' race than a few rounds of shouting "SO GOOD!"
We were off!!!
Kindal and I were idiots the first time we tried to run together in 2017, weaving and surging and braking and basically burning all of our matches in a hard four-mile fartlek to start the race. So we said we'd just try to stay to the left and be patient for those first few super-crowded miles. It worked well! We didn't stress about being constantly right next to each other -- just took the pass when we could, and trusted the other would catch up shortly. It was pretty smooth and didn't feel like we were exerting any extra energy, so hey! That was a win for the day already.
Pace-wise, we were right where we figured we'd be after that first 5K (7:30ish) and everything felt comfy -- we'd maneuvered it well. When the crowd started opening it up, Kindal started opening up her pace, too. There were a couple times I had to reign her in ("Kindal, we shouldn't be going 6:50, let's pull it back a little"), but overall it felt fast but doable. I reminded myself that this first half was Kindal's so she could be in position to have her PR day, and I'd be able to pull off the gas if I needed to after we hit our spot in Wellesley. There were only a couple miles that felt a little too hot (Kindal threw down a couple 7:0X around the 10K mark) and I had handled them just fine, so I started to gain some confidence as the miles went on. We were back in the 7:teens after that and just checking off landmarks along the way. It was faster than I would have chosen to go alone on paper, but it actually didn't feel too fast in reality.
We got to mile 10 and had settled into cruise control at 7:20ish — and I felt great. Not like, “Well, everyone feels good at mile 10 of the Boston Marathon.” Like, actually fantastic. Better than I’ve ever felt in a marathon. “This could really be our day,” I thought.
“I’m going to stay with you the whole time,” I announced to Kindal. “I feel really, really good. Let’s do the dang thing.”
Aaaand here came the turning point:
“Well, I do NOT feel good,” she replied.
We continued on in silence for awhile but it was clear she meant it. She'd actually woken up that morning with a visit from Aunt Flo, complained about cramps, told us she was nauseous and car sick on the bus, and teared up in Athlete's Village because her stomach didn't feel good. So we'd hoped for the best but it also wasn't a complete surprise.
I asked what I could do to help or what I could get her. I'd packed extra imodium in my gels on our way out the door that morning in case she'd need them.
“Nothing,” she replied. “Nothing will help. It’s over.”
“It’s not over until you’re sitting in a porta potty for 20 minutes,” I replied. “Right now, this moment — you’re still in this.”
And we were… and the paces were still good… but Kindal seemed like she was feeling worse and worse. “One mile at a time,” I reminded her. You could hear the Wellesley Scream Tunnel in the distance and I led us over to that right sideline to take part in the party. You lose a few seconds to all of the high-fives but it's more than worth it for the boost! Always so fun. Just beyond the college was the half marathon marker.
We’d discussed pacing rather thoroughly beforehand, and decided to try to hit the halfway point around 1:36-1:37. Sure enough, we clicked over at 1:36:26 (7:19 Garmin average with weaving, 7:22 official average) — literally perfect.
“Our spot” is at about 13.5 miles, and we had a moment as we passed it. Four years ago, I was on the bus when Kindal called to tell me that she’d taken the pregnancy test I’d bought for her the night before — and it was positive. She and our friend Charlie were going to be cheering in Wellesley, and I’ve never wanted to run anywhere faster in my life. I found them in the crowds and collected more than three full minutes of stoppage time as we hugged and cried happy tears. We said we'd be back at that spot together on the race course one day, and that had been my training focus the past few months -- to be fast enough that I could hang with Kindal to that spot and not have it destroy me for the rest of the race. It was really happening! We were here. We hugged on the run and Kindal lost an airpod and had to go back for it (oops), so we added some extra seconds there, too. But all was well still and it was a happy full-circle moment!
THE SECOND HALF:
Our watches had barely beeped 14 miles when Kindal pulled off to the side and bent over. She gagged a little and told me to leave her and go get my fast race. We'd gone over the scenarios of when to separate during the race and had agreed that the worst outcome would be to split at the first sign of danger, only to finish about a minute apart later. "I'm not leaving you during your first rough patch," I said. "Let's go -- you've got this."
And so we carried on for about another half mile, when Kindal pulled over again and actually threw up a little this time. "Just leave me. I don't want to ruin your race," she said, rather ornery actually at that point. "I'll be fine."
I responded with the loving sternness of a big sister: "If you think I'm leaving you, you're wrong."
There were two things that I knew: First, that with our race time and Kindal's level of fitness, even with the inevitable continued slowdowns that would come as a result of this? She could still BQ. And two, that without me staying with her, that would certainly not happen, and she might not even finish the race.
A small part of me did mourn a little inside, just knowing that feeling amazing on race day is a unicorn in itself and I was giving up a chance at a pretty shiny Boston time. But like, who cares? There will always be more race days, and I care WAY more about Kindal than I do about a time on a clock. I'd said all along that all I wanted from this race experience was to run with my best friend. That didn't change just because *I* was the one having a great running day and she was puking on the side of the road. Time to put your money where your mouth is, you know? We were still going to have our day together, it was just going to look a little different than planned.
Miles 14 to 18 were just kind of that on repeat -- get a little ways up the road, then pull over and gag/dry heave/throw up a little, and carry on. I texted Matt about the situation so he wouldn't be worried about me as the times slipped. Then somewhere around that mile 18 marker, the flood gates opened -- and like a true friend, I happened to catch some of it on video haha (stopped it too early, though!). Kindal just uncontrollably projectile vomited over and over until there was absolutely nothing left. I gave her a hug... and told her she'd have to rally.
"Rally after vomiting like THAT?" she asked incredulously.
"Yep. I threw up for a whole Ironman. You can puke and BQ!"
We had her walk for a bit and then she started jogging again. At that point, her nausea was much, much better. (As it often is when you finally just let it all go. Source: Three pregnancies in which I projectile vomited in many places, many times over for the duration of the pregnancies, ha.) However, we're not stupid. Not only does puking like that take a lot of energy, but at that point, she also had no energy to work with from a caloric standpoint. Luckily the carb load stores up some glycogen, but now Kindal was feeling pretty light-headed so we needed to be smart and not have her over-exert.
It was really helpful that I know the course so well (I took advantage of my 2021 situation and really studied it while I was out there) because I was able to coach through the little ups & downs & turns that were coming up all along the way. There was a lot of encouragement and some doses of tough love to keep her moving toward that BQ. I watched the clock and coaxed her on during the downhills and flats, and timed the walk breaks on the uphills and through aid stations to get the most bang for our buck. We tried to get just a little bit of hydration and fuel in her, basically microdosing it to not upset her stomach again. The amazing thing is that she was still running really well when she was running. The puking miles and recovery miles through the Newton Hills were all around 9:00 pace, but on the other side of Heartbreak Hill, everything was low-to-mid 8s even with walk breaks.
Meanwhile, that second half of the race for me may as well have been at Disney World -- just feeling great and having fun! The Boston crowds are second-to-none, and the more you play it up with them, the more they cheer for you. I figured Kindal could use as many cheers as possible, so I was really extra. But it worked! My friends and family call me "Ash," but I put "Ashley" on my amazing Hyperthreads tank simply due to the fact that it looked better to have the longer name. And I laughed because I most definitely heard "Ashley" more times during that race than I have in the past decade! Just so many cheers and high-fives and overall awesomeness coming from the world's best spectators, standing out there in the rain.
Speaking of which, right as we had dropped down in Newton Falls and turned into the headwind and the Newton Hills? The rain started pouring. It was such a cool BRING IT ON moment with all the hard things all at once! Man, it made me hungry to crush that part of the course. I felt the same thing cresting Heartbreak Hill so full of energy -- I want so badly to hit that point in the race next year and just FLY. It's good to keep that fire burning I suppose!
We hit Boston College and I told Kindal I was going to have some fun but that I'd wait for her after the college. That BC stretch is one of my all-time racing favorites! The college kids bring the party and my arm was tired afterward from all the high-fives haha. It was super fun as usual, and Kindal and I were back together in no time. At that point in the race, the countdown is really on as you head into Brookline and then toward the Citgo sign.
Next thing I knew, I was pointing out the famous turns ahead:
"That's Hereford. This is IT! You freaking did it, Kindal. We're almost there!"
And as we made that right turn onto Hereford, I excitedly said to her: "This is everything we ever wanted." And then paused and added with a laugh, "Minus the puking." But, you know, can't be too picky sometimes. ;)
A couple hundred yards later, we turned left on Boylston and I soaked it all in as we made our way down that final stretch together. What a magical marathon.
We threw our hands up as we ran over the finish line, and then threw them around each other in a big hug.
3:28:18! A BQ by 7 minutes. Far from the times we'd wanted, but what a victory that day!!!
The first thing I told Matt after the race is that it turns out, the altitude calculators are right -- we're much fitter than our 7200ft paces and bike powers have us thinking. YAY science.
It's a weird feeling knowing I left time on the table, and I'm having to resist the urge to jump into another marathon to have a time that reflects my current fitness. But that would take away from my biggest goal of the year, which is a strong race in KONA!!! So I'm taking the win in the form of the big confidence boost that comes from feeling so great that entire time and knowing I had a lot more to give.
I'm going to have to just stay hungry for a faster marathon time -- but that hunger isn't a bad thing. :)
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