Boston-bound 2018! (Harrisburg Marathon race report)

It was somewhat anti-climatic, on my slow walk back to the motel from the finish area of the Harrisburg Marathon two months ago, as I realized that I almost for certain will be running Boston 2018. That realization came not with a “wow!” but with a “meh!” Let me explain.

My qualifying for Boston for the first time last year, at the Pocono Marathon in May, had a Hollywood movie quality to it. That is, after some five years of trying and some 50 minutes faster, it came down to the last planned qualifying race (for Boston 2017) and the last mile for me to finally BQ--with not a fraction of a second to spare (3:55:00). But, as I’d previously written, in recent years, to actually get in to register for Boston has required a time that’s 2-3 minutes faster than one’s age group threshold time. Thus, my Pocono time put me in the group of about a thousand runners who qualified but did not gain entry.

Disappointed? Yes. But, absolutely exhilarated!

In contrast, my BQ at Harrisburg, the second time last year, was with a relatively slow time of 4:07:08. The injury-affected training cycle really showed, after ~Mile 21. Still, because this BQ is for Boston 2018 and I’ll be in a new age group, 4:07:08 is ~3 minutes faster than my new threshold time (4:10). So, I’ll all but certain gain entry—albeit with kind of a backdoor feel to it. But, I’ll take it!

In any case, I’ve two planned marathons in the first half of 2017, and my goal for those is 3:50 or 20 minutes faster than my new age group qualifying time. 20 minutes or faster is the first group to gain entry for 2018.

I want to be in that first group.

Similar to last year’s race, this year’s Harrisburg was run in near-perfect weather, with gorgeous scenery along the Susquehanna River. Here’s a scene of the Market St. Bridge, viewed from City Island, where the marathon began.

At the other end of the race, the finish line area had food and coffee provided by Panera Bread. Good stuff! Along the way, there were more than enough aid stations, many with gels and all with cheerful and helpful volunteers. A big thanks to all of them! A nice and warm, hooded sweatshirt came with the medal.

Unlike life in general, with running, you can't fake it. You can't con your way to a PR or a BQ (or to that house on Pennsylvania Ave). Based on my rate of recovery after that left heel injury, I thought I could run an average pace of ~9:20 (for a finish time of 4:04:30). I ended up running an average pace of ~9:26 (for a finish time of 4:07:08). The following pace chart shows my Harrisburg 2016 run, along with the previous three marathons, and their finish times. The 11- to 12-minute difference is the cost of that injury.

A race is mostly mental—assuming the pre-race physical part had gone well. The first seven of my 16 weeks of training before Harrisburg were injury affected, including about four weeks completely off the road and another three gingerly easing back into running. By then, there was not enough time to regain the lost speed. How long after “detraining” to regain speed depends on many factors, which apparently vary quite a bit with individuals.

There are two strategies in races with pacers: stay ahead of the pacer (but within earshot) and stay with the pacer. I usually try to stay ahead. That worked for Pocono 2014 but not for Pocono 2016. For Harrisburg this time, I was able to stay ahead of the 4:00 pacer for a while. But, eventually, I couldn’t keep up, at around Mile 19 and especially the last 10K.

A few miles into the race, I heard someone calling me; I turned and saw Pacer Dan, with whose 3:55 pace group I’d run in Harrisburg 2015. He didn’t pace this time; instead, he was running as a Wingman, “any individual (man or woman, fast or slow) who lends his/her heart and legs to empower an ASA [Athletes Serving Athletes] athlete to cross the finish line and at the same time raises awareness and funds for the organization.” The Wingman Program sounds very interesting and worthwhile.

So, I’m Boston-bound 2018. :) In preparing for that, I need to mindfully practice for the last 10K. I want to be fully ready for that last 10K on Beacon St.--and, for that finish on Boylston St.!