Last Chance Boston Qualifier (BQ2) Chicagoland
Saturday, September 12, 2014
Geneva, IL
I actually wrote this race report a month ago after completing this race and shared it with my Often Running Racing teammates (part of our team responsibilities includes sharing race reports post-races). However, since Clint and I weren't yet officially publicly talking about the pregnancy...I held off on putting this report in my blog. Now that we've made our "announcement" (the first trimester will be over in two days!)....I'm ready to share this race report! Honestly, I had fun re-reading it this afternoon and re-living this amazing day :)...a reminder of why I like blogging/writing race reports (to remember things like this!).
As some of you know, a year or so ago I had set a goal for myself to qualify for the Boston Marathon in my "next" marathon, whenever/wherever that may be. Prior to 9/12/15, I had run 10 marathons (if you count the marathon in Ironman Wisconsin I completed in September 2013...which some people say I should count in my marathon tally and some say I shouldn't...for now I am counting it) and I haven't really been very close to my qualifying standard of 3:35 (for the female 18-34 age group). My PR prior to this fall was 3:49:46 which was set at the Quad Cities Marathon in 2011. While I hadn't run a marathon since November of 2013, marathoning was really my "first love" as far as running events go. However, I haven't ever really focused on "speed" and more just ran to finish.
Over the past year and a half I have worked harder on improving my running than I ever have before. This spring, after talking things through with Clint, I decided that this should be the year that I give my BQ race a valiant effort. I had big PR at the half distance in April at the U of I (1:35:43) and wanted to build off of that momentum. As it always seems to happen, though, I fought with an injury (plantar fasciitis in my right foot) off and on throughout the season. I wasn't sure what marathon to register for either because I wanted to choose something close to home that wouldn't require a lot of travel because Clint usually has to work either Saturday or Sunday each weekend (sometimes both) and I wanted to be sure that he could be with me at what could be a really big race for me (and really, for "us," seeing as he has been the one coaching me through!).
Sometime this summer, my friend and teammate Andy sent me an article about the best 10 Boston qualifying marathons. One race on the list intrigued me...the Last Chance Boston Qualifier BQ2. The timing was good (September!) and it was within 2 hours of home (Geneva, IL). However, the course seemed...interesting to say the least. The course consisted of 8 loops, each of approximately 3.22 miles. Oh dear...holy boredom!?!
We kept an eye on the website for the race and in July they posted something saying that there were just 30 spots left. I jumped on it and registered, without telling Clint (not feeling like my body was performing at 100% made me nervous...and the race was pretty expensive! I was worried it was too big of a gamble.). The next day he commented to me as we were on a walk in a park in Normal, "I saw that the BQ2 race has only 30 entries left. Maybe you should register." I just looked at him and he said, "You already did, didn't you?!" :)
My training for the rest of July and the month of August went pretty well and I was fairly happy with how things were going leading into September. I had a big PR at the Bix7 in late July...and then the wedding adventures happened :). Our Wells Wedding Run 13.1 was nowhere near a strong 13.1 for me, but I guess I should give myself a smidgen of grace considering the stressful and exciting nature of the day and the fact that my nutrition was less than ideal that day (half of a latte and a few pieces of fruit and bites of egg for the first 8 hours of a day probably aren't sufficient when running a HOT mid-day half marathon!). Once we got back from the honeymoon, I ran a strong 20 miler with Clint one weekend, ran a strong 15 miler with the middle 7 miles at goal pace (8:00), ran 5 loops of an area trail race called Painful Elimination for 21.25 total trail miles and had some great speed workouts in the middle of the week thanks to Clint/Thursday Night runs.
Then...(and here's where things get crazy...)...there was a little something else that changed in our lives in mid August. We found out that we are expecting an addition to the Wells household sometime in late April (?!?!). We have vacillated between stunned surprise and sheer excitement over these past few weeks. We have now known for four weeks (when I originally wrote this report in September :)) and have gone to the doctor twice and have seen our little bean via ultrasound...talk about surreal.
Clearly that news complicated things :). It's funny how quickly (instantly!) ones priorities change...suddenly a BQ wasn't my #1 priority, but growing our healthy little one IS. That said, I knew that it was highly unlikely that I would be in my current state of fitness again for a very long time (if ever!). We decided that if I felt good...I would still run the race. I had already run one of my 20 milers while {unknowingly!} pregnant and it had gone well. We did ask our doctor about running at our appointment the Tuesday before the marathon and he talked with us about how he preaches "moderation in all things." He asked how far I was planning to run and he didn't tell me not to :). He did say to keep the heart rate below 150 and to listen to my body. Additionally, if I have ANY issues I am to see him the very day that issues begin. I've been scouring blogs and different forums, reading everything I can about running during pregnancy. As you can imagine, some of this information is great and some is not-so-great...some contradicts other, etc. Mostly, though, I am learning that balance, moderation, and listening to your body are the important pieces of knowledge.
Over the next few days, I made every effort to be as in-tune with my body as I could be and as the weekend approached it seemed like all systems were a "go." This isn't to say everything was perfect...I've definitely been dealing with nausea and exhaustion (and sometimes eating a TON due to extreme hunger while other times not eating anything at all due to nausea), but nothing too serious. Additionally, I've been dealing with...uhh...altered fit of sports bras which has been an interesting (and painful!) conundrum.
Friday night prior to the race, Clint was able to get off work a bit early (THANKS Mitch!!) and we headed to Chipotle together for dinner before heading out of town. We saw our friend and area fellow runner Briana Paris at Chipotle who wished us luck on our big racing weekend (Clint had an ultra on Sunday the day after my race!), finished our dinner, and were soon on our way to our hotel in Geneva. Big thanks to Clint for driving the 2 hours to the hotel...while I closed my eyes a bit off and on during the journey ;).
We got to our hotel around 9pm. Clint got things ready for breakfast in the morning and I prepped my race clothes. We got in bed around 10...with alarms set for 4:30am (SICK!!). I actually slept decently well, which was surprising. Usually I can't sleep much at all before a big race. Maybe those pregnancy hormones are good for something ;).
At 4:30am the alarm went off and Clint got right out of bed to get my breakfast ready (muesli, banana and almond milk). I rolled out after a few snooze-hits and got dressed and ate my yummy fuel. We gathered up all of our things and headed out a bit before 5:30. Our hotel was just 10 minutes from the race site and start was at 6:30am.
Clint had devised a nutrition plan for me that involved more calories than I'd ever consumed during a marathon. We have two small hand-held water bottles that he planned to fill with 2 Huma gels each (my favorite mild gels that don't ever upset my stomach...they're basically fruit puree and chia seeds) diluted with water to fill each small bottle. The plan was for me to bring one bottle with 2 gels and some water on each loop and consume each one (200 calories) during the course of a ~3.22 mile loop. I've used huma gels in the past with no issues. The Monday prior to the race, Clint mixed me up a sample water bottle with 2 gels mixed in to take on a 7-mile run and it worked out really well. Since the course involved the same loop run over and over, I would be able to see Clint at the end of each loop to make a water bottle switch.
We arrived at the park where the race was held around 5:40, parked, and made our way to packet pickup. The air was cool and crisp...I was glad Clint had advised me the day before to pack a blanket and walked around with it wrapped around me for a while as we found our way to the start.
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| The starting line! |
We found an area by the finish (which was just a few yards behind where the start was in the loop) for Clint to set up camp. I visited the porta potty and then went out on a "warmup" that consisted of about a minute and a half of jogging and a few strides and then a few minutes of walking/stretching. Before long it was time to join the crowd in the starting area! With just around 300 entrants, it was manageable and not crowded at all. There were pacers at each of the different BQ times, but I made the decision not to run with a pace group. Running with random people I don't know and inevitably having to make small talk with someone who wants to chat during the run is sometimes stressful...and I would rather run by myself. I don't mind talking to people while running, but I like doing so without any expectation of keeping someone else's pace and being able to slow down (or speed up) if and when I so desire. My goal was to keep an 8:00/mile pace for the duration of the race. This would result in a 3:29 finish, which was a 6-minute "cushion" behind my needed time of 3:35.
I had planned to keep a long-sleeved top on for the first lap, but made a last-second decision to cast the shirt off to Clint and just wore my Often Running singlet and shorts. With a quick kiss, Clint left me in the start corral and headed to watch the start from across the line. A few seconds later...we were off! After the first few yards, we crossed by a parking lot area and I saw AP off to my right who had arrived right at the start to spectate/keep Clint company. Awesome!
I settled right into my stride, with one pace group not far ahead of me and another not far behind. I was happy with how things felt and excited to get started. I was chilly, but could tell that I would heat up fast and was glad I had decided to get rid of the long sleeves right away.
Mile 1- 7:50...a little faster than goal pace, but not far off, I tried to dial it back a bit for mile 2. I was successful because the second mile ticked off with the exact pace that I was shooting for.
Mile 2 - 8:00
Mile 3 - 7:53
Somewhere between mile 3 and 4, I completed the first loop and made the first water bottle hand-off with Clint. I smiled as we made the switch...things felt great!
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| My dear, sweet Clint waiting with a water bottle as I approached after one of the loops |
Right at the start of each loop, there was a slight downhill that always felt great...like it was propelling me into the next loop. I was always careful to stay to the center as I started each loop as there was a water bottle table to the left (you could leave a water bottle for yourself here) and a water/Gatorade station to the right.
About a quarter mile into each loop, the path turned slightly to the right and went uphill just enough to get annoying as it got later into the race. After this, you had to run through a small construction zone with uneven pavement and some loose gravel...and then through a McDonald's parking lot with some rubber mats placed over curbs (that were actually pretty slippery the first 2 laps) for runners to run over. Following this, we had to cross a wooden bridge over the river...and the darn thing loved to move a whole lot as runners went across. Not gonna lie...the first few laps, this made my tummy a little nauseated! Right after crossing the bridge, we had a sharp left hand turn that also went up the most significant "hill" of the loop. This course is advertised as "fast and flat"...and it really is. However, the flatness of the rest of the course really made the two hilly spots stand out!
After that second {slight} hill, the course ran past the second water stop. Each time I passed this stop, I was sure to grab a cup of water and each time drank most or all of it. Sometimes when I grabbed cups, the individuals handing it out had even pre-folded the top a bit to make it easier to drink. Best volunteers ever!
After the water stop, the course went under a bridge where some people had camped out to cheer. Here you could also see across the river to the finish line area which was kind of fun. After running under the bridge, the course took runners through a wooded area (much of the course was nicely shaded) and then we had to take a left turn to head back over the river via another wooden bridge (though not nearly as shaky as the first one!). After crossing the bridge, the course curved to the right and then around to the left...and straight on through the start/finish area.
Mile 4 - 7:58 Spot on! I carried on through the second lap and held on tightly to my all-important 8:00 pace.
Mile 5 - 8:01 Happy!
Shortly after the 5th mile, a woman came up next to me and said, "Your pace is so steady! Are you keeping 8's?" I told her that I was and told her that I didn't always FEEL steady and felt like I was a little irregular with my pacing. We made some small talk and it turned out that her goal was to hold 8's as well. Her qualifying time was 3:45, but she wanted to finish well under that time. Turns out she had had a hysterectomy in the spring. Sheesh! I wasn't the only one running with extra challenges! :) We ended up sticking together for many miles and I came to think of her as "Pink" in my head because of her bright pink tank top. At each water stop (there was one at the start/finish and one about halfway through each loop) she stopped to take a gel and drink an entire cup of water...but most of the time ended up catching right back up to me.
A bit before the second loop ended, I crossed the 6 mile point...
Mile 6 - 7:51. Nice!
Around 6.5 miles I saw Clint and received my third bottle and got rolling on my 3rd lap.
Mile 7 - 7:55 Sweet! I had started making it a game to see how many seconds under my goal pace I was as each mile ticked off. With my goal being even 8-minute miles, it made calculating what the goal total time for each mile marker was. I love thinking about numbers while I am running...probably because it's something to keep my brain detached from what is going on for a bit!
Mile 8 - 8:01
Mile 9 - 7:59
Around mile 9.75 it was time for the next bottle switch and the start of lap 4. I found myself REALLY looking forward to seeing Clint at the conclusion of another loop. It helped break up the time and was a very welcome distraction. Additionally, the start/finish area was just a lot of fun. The crowd was the largest here, there was a fun DJ/announcer and I had two familiar faces (AP and Clint!) to cheer me on. The adrenaline surge as I started each lap was very helpful indeed!
Mile 10 - 7:55
Mile 11 - 7:56
Just prior to the irritating wooden bridge/McDonald's parking lot...a little boy (maybe 8-11 years old) held a variety of different signs. One time, he yelled (in a hilariously monotonous voice), "Run faster! I just broke the wind!" HA!!!! I don't think he knew how funny he was...or maybe it was just me. I thought he was hilarious ;).
Each time I crossed the annoying wooden bridge, I told myself, "Just FOUR more times over this bridge! Just THREE more times over this bridge! Just TWO..."etc. :)
Mile 12 - 8:03
Mile 13- 8:03
I was still just under my target 8:00 average pace when I crossed the 13.1 mile mark right before I saw Clint for the next bottle hand off. With some encouraging words from Clint, I powered through to lap 5. Halfway done...I felt STRONG!
Mile 14 - 8:01 Good!
Mile 15 - 8:04 Decent! It was somewhere around mile 15 that I realized my hands/fingers were pretty swollen. I looked down at my hands and bent my fingers back and forth, trying to assess the situation. I noted that my rings were stuck around my fingers as if they were fat little sausages. Here I did begin to worry and doubt the situation a little bit. I wondered if it was a "sign" that I needed to call it a day and quit..after all, I had run 15 miles at just under an 8-minute average pace (something I had NEVER done before!). It has already been a good day...and I didn't "need" to push it in my current state. I thought about things for a few strides and realized that I really was ok and soldiered on. I was perfectly content with calling it if I needed to (again, priorities are clearly different now!) but I also didn't want to make unnecessary excuses. Here I told myself that one of the big things I want to teach this child is that we are strong enough to do really hard things...and I really could finish this marathon. Somewhere here, during this post-15 mile inner conversation, I told myself that this was real...that I really was going to finish and I really was going to meet my goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon no matter how hard the next 11 miles got.
Mile 16 - 8:01
Just before mile 17, I saw Clint for the 5th bottle hand off and the start of lap 6. He smiled and told me, "You're spot-on!" Lap 6...just 3 total to go...6...7...8. I could do it, right?! Here, the temp also started to heat up. I told Clint and AP later that I felt like my race really started at the beginning of lap 6. I'm not saying those first 5 laps were easy by any stretch of the imagination, but they also seemed comfortable. I never felt out-of-control. But man...those last 3 laps REALLY felt like WORK!
Mile 17 - 7:59
At mile 17 I was approximately 20 seconds under my goal of an 8-minute mile average and felt like I was fighting for each of those precious "cushion" seconds. It was also here....that my pace began to die. While I wish I could've held strong to my solid 8-minute miles, but I truly believe I did put it all out there and ran as hard as I could in my current state on that specific day.
Mile 18 - 8:12
I was a little disappointed in myself seeing those 12 seconds past the goal time and basically eating up a majority of the 20 second cushion I had held onto until mile 17. But, I also knew that a sub 3:35 was still well within my reach.
Mile 19 - 8:16
Mile 20 - 8:14
A bit after mile 20 clicked off, I saw Clint again as I ran through and swapped bottles. He gave me an encouraging, "this is your race! Keep it up!" and I headed out on my 7th lap. UGH...the start of each lap was SO HOT by this point! I made sure to grab water from the water stop to supplement the water/gel I had in my bottle (I was doing a pretty good job of finishing or nearly finishing my bottle each lap...sometimes I had to really remind myself to take drinks, or if someone around me took a drink it spurred me on to do the same).
Mile 21 - 8:21
Mile 22 - 8:24
Mile 23 - 8:29
As I went through our FINAL bottle exchange, Clint told me, "now go do work!" and I headed out on the final lap. This. Was. HARD. It was a constant mental fight...I told myself that I could do it, that I WOULD do it...if I just managed to keep my pace below 9-minute miles. Sometime during the final lap I passed my friend "Pink" for the final time and told her, "keep it up...we are almost there!"
Mile 24 - 8:39
Mile 25 - 8:45
As I crossed the second bridge of the loop (the LAST BRIDGE of the race!!!), my brain started to play tricks on me. For some reason, I thought I had grossly miscalculated things and that the finish line was a lot further away than it actually was and that I needed more than 5 minutes (my watch showed 3:30 at this point) to make it to the finish line. I started to panic a little bit, "I made it SO FAR and am SO CLOSE and I've messed it up!" Thankfully, my brain was just being weird ;).
Mile 26 - 8:33
As I crossed mile 26, I could see and hear the finish line ahead and smiled. I was doing it...I was really doing it! ;). I dug in with all I had left and finished the final bit (final 0.26 by my watch) in 1:57.9 in a 7:29 pace.
Total - clock time 3:33:16
BQ, baby! Literally! BQ...with a {teeny, tiny lentil-sized} baby!
I got my medal, was offered a mylar blanket which I refused (I WAS SO HOT!) but AP took for me knowing I would want it later (which I did!)...drank some coconut water {aka nectar of the gods} and plopped out on the ground. I had done it...I had run one of my best races ever and had PR'ed my marathon by 16 minutes and 30 seconds.
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| I DID it! Well...WE did it! :) |
THANKS first and foremost to my sweet husband Clint. I couldn't have done this and wouldn't be here without you. Thank you for the perfect nutrition plan (I ended up consuming 1000 total calories during that marathon...which seemed to be just what I needed, even though I thought it sounded crazy!) and for taking care of not just me but of our Wells #3.
THANKS to AP for the great spectating support .... and for some super-awesome pics!!
THANKS to Mitch for the privilege of being on the Often Running Racing team (and for letting Clint leave work early Friday night! :)). Thanks to my Often Running and Challenge triathlon teammates for the support and camaraderie. Thanks to Adidas for the great, comfy (non-chafey!) gear (I think I'm gonna need to size up on my shorts soon, though ;)....post-race I discovered a little line traveling around my stomach from the waistband :).).
What's next?! Well...I will be crossing my fingers that my BQ time will be within the qualification window for 2017. They are releasing those dates soon (I already e-mailed to ask!). I won't be joining those of you who are going in 2016...because Clint and I will be beginning our own marathon in April :-). In April of 2017 our little one will be around 1 and it will maybe be a good comeback race for me (HA HA HA!). Until then...I plan on running as much as I can do in a healthy and safe manner.
****Update (October 14, 2015). So, as it turns out, the qualifying window for the 2017 Boston Marathon starts on September 19, 2015. This is SO disappointing, seeing as I ran my qualifying time on September 12...one mere week too early (the qualifying window for Boston 2016 started Sat. Sept 13, 2015 so I was hopeful the weekend would stay the same for the subsequent year!). I turn 35 in 2017, so my qualifying time for that year is actually 3:40 instead of 3:35...and my time of 3:33:16 is a nice 6 minutes and 44 seconds under that time. SO...if I would've run this time just seven days later...I would very likely make it in to the 2017 race. BUT...it's not to be, not yet anyway. And that's ok. I still met my goal...I did run *below* my BQ time and I did PR in a big way. And...I did it all 7+ weeks pregnant!
So...we'll see how things go with this pregnancy and what running looks like next summer and maybe give qualifying a whirl again next September. I know I have NO idea what's in store for my body...but I am very encouraged by all of the strong, inspiring females in my life who have shown me what impressive things our bodies can do during and after pregnancy.
Stay tuned for my next report...marathon #12, Chicago 2015 ("run" at 11+ weeks pregnant :)). After this...marathoning is on HOLD until this baby is in our arms!
In the words of the great Paul Bliss, Runfaster :)
~Rachel
