That’s
what my son said, when I told him that the Pocono Marathon two Sundays ago would be my last chance to qualify for Boston (2017) in my current age group
(threshold qualifying time of 3:55). My third and last planned marathon for
this year is in November, a qualifying result from which would be for Boston
2018. For the latter, I’ll be in the next age group, with 15 more minutes for
BQ (threshold qualifying time of 4:10). So, I’ll all but certain qualify and actually
be able to get in. I will have “aged” into qualifying. Meh! That’s why I so
wanted to BQ at Pocono.
Run
without regret. I really like these three words and what they represent.
Perfect as a mantra, of which I made good use during Pocono’s run. It made the
difference between yet another missed-the-BQ-by-just-a-few-seconds run and BQ,
albeit by just making the threshold time (3:55:00).
Oh, yea, oh, yea, my GPS watch says BQ!
Just
ahead of the 3:55 Pacer Yoshiko
The
Pocono Marathon is kind of special for me. It was here where I ran my first
sub-4 marathon (2014) and, now, where I finally BQ’ed. But, with just a
threshold qualifying time, my chance of actually getting in for Boston 2017 is
pretty much nil—unless everyone in my age group, for some strange reason, decides not
to run next year. :) I’ll still submit my registration, of course. Regardless, I’m absolutely
thrilled! Before the race, I’d thought, well, if I just qualify and don’t
actually get in, it doesn’t quite count. Afterwards—and after five years of
trying—it feels like a pretty big deal!
At bib
pickup the day before the race, I talked with the pace group people about
pacing strategy. There were pace groups for 3:55 and 3:50. I needed ~3:52 or
faster (to qualify and get in for 2017). So, my question was should I stay with
the 3:55 pacer for the front half and then try to catch up to the 3:50 group?
Or, should I go with the 3:50 pacer and try to hang on for the last 10K? At the
pasta dinner hosted by the local Rotary Club the night before the race, a fellow runner sat down across from me
who had been a pacer for other races. I asked him what he thought I should do.
He suggested, given the course profile, I should take advantage of
the elevation loss in the first 2/3 of the course and follow the 3:50 pacer
and, then, just try to hang on.
Which was
what I ended up doing. The following chart shows my pacing and finishing times
for Pocono 2014, 2015, and 2016. It also shows the three fairly distinct
segments of the course: Miles 1-18, Miles 19-23, and Miles 24-26. I’ve named
the front 18 the “primrose path” and the series of rolling hills of Miles 19-23
the “buzz saw” (to the unwary!). (See course profile and map.) The last three
miles are relatively flat, starting on Wallace Street, followed by N 6th
Street and then Main Street, before turning into the parking lot of Stroudsburg
High School and ending with a ¾ run around its stadium track—Olympic style!
The pace
chart shows 4:00, 3:55, and 3:50 pacing for the first 18 miles, for 2014, 2015,
and 2016, respectively. I used the even pace strategy in 2014, by staying just
ahead of the 4:00 pacer pretty much all the way to the finish. In 2015, I began
with the 3:55 pacer, even though that was risky, given the forecast high
temperatures in the 80s. And, sure enough, that run ended with the usual “death
march” after Mile 18. This year, I began with the 3:50 Pacer Dan; but, then,
feeling good—and with visions of a sub-3:50!—I stepped onto the “primrose path”
between Miles 5 and 16 and went ahead of Pacer Dan. He eventually caught up
with me around Mile 17. We ran together the next couple miles, before he went
ahead shortly after we got into the “buzz saw” segment. What saved me this year
was the almost ideal temperature, which began in the upper 30s and ended in the
upper 50s. The cool temperatures helped me contain the upward trend of the “death
march.” The forecast ~15 mph wind turned out to be not much of a factor. This year, then, I used the “banking time” strategy—though
not on purpose! (This strategy, of course, is not recommended.)
Pocono
Marathon course profile: Net elevation loss, but deceptive!
Pocono
Marathon course map
The pace
chart also shows the importance of pacers. Pacer Dan helped me maintain a sub-3:50
pace for the front 18. That “banked time” mitigated my error of succumbing to
the temptation of the “primrose path.” But, what really helped me cross the
finish line not one second slower and, thus, BQ was having Pacer Yoshiko pass
me shortly after I got out of the “buzz saw” and onto Wallace Street. As I was
struggling through the “buzz saw,” and as those mile splits steadily slowed, I
saw my BQ slipping away. I kept saying to myself, you blew it—and all kinds of
other negative things! On Wallace Street, with three miles left, I felt as I had nothing left.
But,
then, something happened, as Pacer Yoshiko passed me with some words of
encouragement. It brought back the thought of running without regret. I said, damn
it, I’m not going to miss BQ again by a few seconds, regardless of my
earlier pacing error. I'm not going to, on the drive home, once again regret that I was not able to run a few seconds faster over 26 miles. Or, chose not to.
It was
the first time I felt I was able to really reach deep down and tap into that 50-65%
unused potential that the body reserves to prevent catastrophic failure. (See
Tim Noakes’ 2012 review article in Frontiers in Physiology, "Fatigue is a brain-derived emotion that regulates the
exercise behavior to ensure the protection of whole body homeostasis.") I thought if I could just keep Pacer Yoshiko in sight, then I’d still have a chance
to BQ. Many pacers run to finish with a few seconds to spare. I took a final 5-second
walk right before the turn onto Main Street, around Mile 25, and just hanged on
for that last mile. I don’t know how I did it—that last mile was kind of blurry—other
than just one stride at a time. My pace even got slightly faster. Pacer Yoshiko
then did a really nice thing; using some of those spare seconds, she stopped at the entrance to the Stroudsburg High
School stadium and said “You did it!” as she encouraged everyone onto the
track. She then followed me to the finish.
So, that
was how I finally, after five years of trying, managed to BQ--with not a fraction of a second to spare. :)
I’ve
written about the Pocono Marathon itself the previous two years (Pocono 2014, Pocono 2015).
Here are a few more details:
- The
national anthem right before the start was one of the best renditions I’ve
heard in all the races I’ve been to. I found out later that the singers were a
group of students from the Pocono Mountain East High School. Very impressive!
- As
usual, the volunteers were superb. Helpful and cheerful, sunshine or rain.
There was a period of the latter, not too heavy but cold, around Miles 17-18. I
was glad that I’d decided not to dress for the finish temperature (in shorts)
and went for, instead, a pair of light tights.
- I love
that volunteer who stood at the top of the last significant hill before Wallace
Street around the beginning of Mile 24 and said, this is the last hill, I promise!
- For a
mostly non-city race, the spectator support was really good and helpful.
Numbers varied along the course but were particularly high around Mile 9, at
the intersection of Routes 314 and 611, and at the half way point, shortly
after turning from Red Rock Road onto Route 191, a main road going down to
Stroudsburg.
- Race shirt is short-sleeved this year, with a nice and
simple design.
Of
course, I’ve been rethinking quite a bit about my pacing decision and
implementation. Had I not gone onto the “primrose path” and, instead, stayed
with Pacer Dan, would I have been able to keep up with him longer? Had I started
with Pacer Yoshiko, would I have been able to better negotiate the “buzz saw”
and perhaps push ahead of her in those last three miles? Either way, could I
have finished three minutes faster (3:52)? I would never know, of course.
No matter: Boston qualified, I am. :) And, I ran without regret!
No matter: Boston qualified, I am. :) And, I ran without regret!
