2018 Boston Marathon, and the week that was
Posted on Tue 17 April 2018 in Running
tl;dr research is hard, running helps, injuries suck, Boston was miserable and incredible, I'm now a Doctor.
Typically, completing a marathon is a defining moment in one's life. Months of training and preparation boil down to only a few intense hours of racing. But this time around, for me, it was just another marathon accomplishment in a crazy week in mid April:
Wed, April 11th-- Ph.D defense
Mon, April 16th-- Boston. Holy shit Boston
Wed, April 18th-- revised Ph.D thesis submitted
Following an intenese marathon buildup in the Fall, and a successful return to CIM in December 2017, I took a few weeks off for the holidays, and tended to other parts of my life. It was mid December, and while my quads healed and my psyche adapted to daily routines which lacked at least 1.5 hours of running every day, one task I checked off my list was passing my PhD comprehensive exam. During this exam, one lays out the research plan for the ultimate completion of one's PhD. With the plan approved, and the path to the finish line of my 23rd(?) year of academia more-or-less defined, I tried to enjoy the holidays before diving back in to the final chapter of research.
On my mind over the holidays, other than the daunting research questions which waited for me in January, was the Boston Marathon. Due to the qualification process, registration for Boston occurs months in advance. I actually registered for Boston a few weeks prior to running CIM. So about 5 months in advance. A lot can happen in 5 months..
#ignore
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
objects = ('CIM','19','18','17','16','15','14','13','12','11','10','9','8','7','6','5','4','knee','2','1','Boston')
y_pos = np.arange(len(objects))
mpw = [68,6.6,19.1,8.1,10,39.3,29.5,7.6,11.1,30.2,36.4,52.1,43.3,46.5,64.8,74.6,90.7,4.1,11.7,9,26.4]
plt.figure(figsize=(12,6))
plt.bar(y_pos, mpw, align='center', zorder=3)
plt.xticks(y_pos, objects)
plt.yticks([0,10,20,30,40,50,60,70,80,90,100])
plt.xlabel('weeks until Boston')
plt.ylabel('miles per week')
plt.title('Buildup to Boston')
plt.grid(zorder=0)
From 19 to 12 weeks until Boston: In January and February, I was finding it difficult to get mentally engaged with another marathon training cycle. Research was progressing well, the small initialization-type questions and tasks coming easily. I was making great progress on my project, and, like the feeling toward the end of a long run, didn't want to interrupt my rhythm. Running suffered. Even though by now I'm well aware that running makes me more efficient at work, it was challenging to break away from long workbouts of research in order to get in the running workouts and training necessary for a successful Boston. When you feel great on a run, you don't want to stop. Same applies to research. I was on a roll. And then came the hills..
From 11 to 4 weeks until Boston: There is an essential question at the core of any PhD thesis. There's a lot of background research and verification and validation and benchmarking and reproduction, all of which was a breeze, but once the essential question presented itself, I was suddenly finding it easier to peel myself away and go for a run. I'd hit a roadblock, so out of frustration, I'd go run. During the run, as often happens, frustration would fade, rational thought would return, and by the end, I'd feel refreshed and motivated to dive back into research with a new set of ideas. I was making slow and steady progress on research not in spite of running, but because of it. With 6, 5, and 4 weeks until Boston, my symbiotic research + running formula began to pay dividends. I was getting fit, almost accidentally. Long runs led to long hours of progress on my thesis. This is how its supposed to work! Life is good! Progress on research, progress on running. I'm invincible! Until I'm not..
3 weeks until Boston: Fresh off a 90mi week, and the day after a solid 22 miler on the roads with Clint and Drew, I decided to demonstrate some plyometric exercises to the team I coach during practice. I haven't really done any plyometric exercises since HS. Marathoners don't do plyometric exercises. They should! But just 'jumping' into them, the day after a 22 mile long run, and following a 90mi week, is not smart. Something may have happened in my knee, I'm still not sure. All I know is that the next day something was off.. some tracking issue, perhaps. Tightness in the quad, says the PT. To this day (early May, as of this writing), I'm still struggling to get it back to normal.
So, that ridiculous buildup ending in a 90mi week, the 22 miler on roads, the plyometrics, or some combination of all of that left me on the sidelines for pretty much the remaining 3 weeks until Boston. As I'd soon find out though, that period of time would become jam packed with stress, work, limited sleep, stress, and some interludes of adventure and excitement. I annotated those 3 weeks below, on top of my (basically blank) training log. It begins at the bottom, with the approval of the rough copy of my dissertation by my committee, and spiraled out of control from there, my schedule dictated by graduate school deadlines, CHSAA out-of-state coaching rules, an adventure planned months in advance, and ultimately, a long run through the streets of Boston...
The Race¶
That was incredible. Weather was absolutely miserable, and yet the crowds were huge. The whole way. Thousands and thousands of people, miserably cold and soaked, screaming their lungs out for complete strangers. For HOURS. Wow. I am in awe.
This race was so, so, so hard. I was in the hurt box beginning with shivering for 2hrs waiting in athlete village. There were snowbanks. And mud lakes. "Red bibs are now permitted to leave the tent!". Ha! Permitted? Okay.. so soon?
I ate zero calories the entire time (too cold, hands didn't work). 2 chokes of Gatorade, at mile 7 and 23(?).
The rain did not stop. The entire time, wire to wire, worsening the whole time. Sometimes it was light, most of the time it was heavy. Sometimes it was sideways, sometimes straight into your eyes. It never stopped raining.
Low 40s at the start. Low 40s at the finish (felt like -40). Wore multiple "throw-away items", intending to toss them when I warmed up. Ha. Wore all of them to the finish line.
"Cadence check!!" Fun group I tucked in with for a while in the beginning. Alec and I together. Hunting for tall people.
Tuck in. Tuck in. Tuck in. -Clint. (Thanks)
Didn't really notice the hills, other than evidence from the increasing numbers I could barely make out on my watch. Was deleriously cold by then. Beginning at about mile 15, actually. Just. Keep. Running. If you stop, you'll freeze, and never finish. No stopping.
Knee was okay ish. Mostly numb, I think. And lots of ibuprofen (can dissolved ibuprofen in your compression shorts pocket diffuse into the bloodstream?). Lack of training has left my quads absolutely wrecked. They acted up first, just a hint at first, and then borderline cramps for the last 10 miles. Calves and hamstrings joined in later, rounding out a cacophony of almost-cramps, on every step.
DESI!!! Shalane porta-john. Such a cool story.
Sarah Sellers. Such a cool story.
The turn onto Boylston really is as special as people describe. I had no real reason to get emotional, but found myself emotional at that moment. Maybe because I could finally SEE the place where this would finally end. And the screaming was so loud.
Violent shivering began 3min after finishing. Long walk to gear check tents, and stride length is 6 inches. Loudspeaker: "If you are in danger, seek help from a volunteer. If you see someone who is in danger next to you, take them to a volunteer!"
Rachel found a Starbucks, where we huddled, still shivering, 30min later. Abs sore from shivering. Hot tea helped. Calories too, gently.
Eventually, hobbled down to the Arlington T stop. Down the stairs.. don't let your left hand slip on the railing.. if you do, shooting pain up both quads. Fare is free. Otherwise, they'd have thousands more with hypothermia.
This pair of Bostons, with ~400mi on them, are now squeaky clean!
Two days later..¶
Once on the T, we got back to our host's home, took a hot shower, packed, and by 7pm, were on a flight back to Denver. On the flight, I wrote revisions. I slept a bit once we got home, and then wrote revisions for about the next 36 hours. On Wednesday the 18th, I sought out the signatures required and submitted my dissertation an hour before the deadline. Then, I slept.
