Running race 4:49:07 [3] 42.2 km (6:51 / km)
I'm going to Boston, baby!
As support crew and chief photographer, that is. To summarize my race... Not. Even. Close. I tried my best in the first half, using the long downhill sections to improve my average pace. Unfortunately, a couple of urgent pit stops pushed me behind the 4-hr pace bunny by the half. I think I was 2:06 at that point, and I could tell from the pain in my quads that I wasn't going to have a miraculous negative split and achieve the necessary 4:00:59.
At that point, I quit racing. If I couldn't achieve a Boston qualifying time, then I simply wanted to finish my first (and only) marathon, and I didn't really care what my time was. Road running isn't important enough to me to risk injury at the start of winter sports season. So I switched to run-walk and admired the stunning mountain and desert scenery. If I were trail running or bike riding, I would have simply enjoyed being in such a beautiful place, but I'm not keen on the physical experience of road running, so I just wanted it to be over.
Caron had passed me at 19 miles looking good, but she'd had an asthma attack earlier in the race. At 25 miles, I ran up behind her walking and not feeling well, so I stopped to walk with her. We agreed that at this point, we would only be upset if we went over 5 hrs, and we had plenty of time. We started running when we turned the final corner, doing the final half-mile and finishing together. It wasn't the result that either of us had hoped for, but for me, it was an honour to cross the line with a friend and multiple Ironman finisher.
Am I disappointed? Honestly, not that much. It would have been cool to run Boston with 'Bent, Crash, Rocky, Superwes and the gang, but I'm looking forward to taking their photos and helping them out. It's possible that if I'd done serious marathon training for 4-6 months that I might have succeeded, but I never would have done that because I love my multi-sport life too much. So the 6-7 weeks of training I did was about all I would ever have been able to stand. Unlike 'Bent and Goose, I don't have the raw ability to pull it off without long-term specific training. I've never been a runner, and I had a comment today on my inefficient running gait. In some ways, it's a relief that I missed it by a lot because there is absolutely no temptation to try again. But hey, I had to give it a shot since our hotel room is already booked in Boston!
'Bent took an impressive 8:35 off his Toronto Marathon time, finishing in 3:10:17. We agreed that a marathon with lots of downhill sounds better on paper than it actually is. Our quads are killing us! In the first half, we looked forward to the downhill sections. In the second half, we looked forward to the uphills. Yay, different muscles!
There is some good stuff to report. No blisters or chafing. Shoes felt good, and my feet are better than some of our other friends who ran the marathon. Everything worked just fine - clothing choices (including the arm warmers that Slowrunner suggested), iPod, Garmin Forerunner, Camelbak with eLoad (turns out there were other Camelbak wearers), food that I carried. I guess that's the stuff that adventure racing prepared me for - testing my gear and taking care of myself. Best of all, my gimpy knee didn't so much as whimper during or after all that pavement pounding. That was my biggest fear, but Leanimal has obviously whipped it into decent shape.
Some really nice photos of Tucson are yet to come, but we need to get to sleep for our 7 a.m. flight!