Boston Marathon

My Boston Marathon specific 13 weeks training block started end of Jan. The detailed buildup should you be interested is here. I ran an Ultra Marathon mid-Dec in Rajasthan more about it is here, so I had decent mileage in Nov and Dec which aided in ramping up mileage and pace for Boston. Just like my recent marathons, I ran 5-6 days a week and strength trained 3 days a week. The running comprised of easy, intervals and tempo runs. 

Unfortunately, my dad was diagnosed with cancer (NHL) Aug last year, I have been spending a lot of time traveling back-and-forth to Pune for his treatment and to be of little support to my mom. Whilst I was preparing for this marathon, back of my mind I wasn't even sure if I would be able to travel and run the race. All the more reason this race is very special and close to my heart. The idea was train and keep my fingers crossed. Thank god my dad has responded to treatment well and is in recovery. Back to the marathon training,

I usually do a race simulation 20 miler exactly 3 weeks before running any marathon. For this one, I ran a pretty decent 20 miler and was confident to run a sub 3:50 actually 3:45-3:50 at Boston. Having spoken to other friends who have run this course in previous years, I decided to revise it to 3:50-3:55 as my target finish time. Glad I did that, and you'll read more as you read. More importantly, I didn't want to mess up my last race of the Abbott World Marathon Major series, read more about it here. I ran my first World Marathon Major in Chicago on 8-Oct-2017, it took me 7 years, 16 months and 14 days and thousands of miles in training to complete the series of 6 marathons around the world. Except Chicago, I have blogged about all races Berlin NYC London and Tokyo. Do read about those outings when you get a minute.

Race week

I flew to Boston on Thu 17-Apr. My friend Raghuram took the pain to drive 60 odd miles to pick me up at Logan. We drove South to Providence, RI where he lives. I was pretty knackered with the long flight, but still did go to REI to buy some running stuff that night :). Raghuram cooked some amazing Indian food that night, well he cooked amazing food all days I was there. I was up early because of jet lag, I wanted to get to the Expo and pick my running number and return back to Providence before my other friend Sridhar and his family arrived from NJ. Expo was amazing, huge, well organized, I was in and out in about 60 minutes. I met with my niece who is doing undergrad at Tufts for Lunch, ran into an Indian restaurant next to the Expo which was good. I took the train back to Providence and spent rest of the day chilling and goofing around with Sridhar, Shubha, Sridhar's BIL (Vijay) and Raghuram, of course. Sridhar, Raghuram and I had registered for the Boston 5 km on Saturday, the idea of the race was essentially for gear and weather check. I did a conservative and cautious run, didn't want to pull a muscle or trip and fall in the crowd, there were about 9-9.5 thousand runners who ran the 5 km that morning. It was a fun time to take pictures, test the weather and soak in the vibe. We got back home for Lunch and then proceeded to Sri Lakshmi Temple in Ashland for Darshan, which also happens to be on the Boston Marathon route/course. Raghuram drove through the Start line until about 13-14 miles which was essentially to recce the route and understand what was coming the next day. After this drive, I was all the more convinced to stick to my revised target of 3:50-3:55. We did the Duck tour in Boston that evening, if you are ever in Boston to run the marathon or as a tourist, it's a great way to see important sights without having to walk too much. We drove back to Providence late that night, I started to get more sleep and was starting to settle in with the change in timezone, weather, place and everything else. Sunday, the plan to was stay home, load up on carb and up the electrolytes and drink a lot of water - which was of course easy but terribly boring. In the evening, we did go for a drive just for change of scene and walk those legs a bit before the D day! Shubha and Raghuram partnered to make some amazing Indian food for Lunch and Dinner. Sridhar helped with the prep for the race, pinning the running number and making sure I don't forget anything. All of them pampered and took care of me like I was a young kid. I can't thank them enough.

Picking up my running number at the Expo

At the Start line of Boston 5 km race

Post Boston 5 km race

Race day 

I woke up my usual time of 0500, met with Raghuram briefly as he was heading to Hopkinton (start line) to volunteer at the Boston Marathon start line. He has been volunteering for this race for a few years now. I had my usual breakfast, some black coffee, toast and eggs. I also packed some toast to eat the start line as my start time was 11:15 am. Sridhar, Vijay and I left for Hopkinton, it was an easy 45-60 minutes drive, we experienced some traffic and diversions at Hopkinton due to runners drop off and road closures as a result of the race, but overall it was smooth. I arrived in at the Runners' Village at Hopkinton about 90 minutes before the race flag off. I ate the toast and drank lots of water to make sure I was sufficiently hydrated. I met with Raghuram at the Start village, he wished me luck and continued doing a splendid job at the hydration station that he and other volunteers were taking care. At 11:15 am I crossed the start line to begin my epic sort of like once in a lifetime run from Hopkinton to Boylston St in Boston, the course details are here. Very briefly about the course, first 4 miles are net downhill and very tempting to run fast, 5-16 miles it's flat and nice, then the course features rolling hills - 4 of them between 16-22 miles, after 22 miles until you arrive at the iconic finish line it's mostly flat or downhill. Talking to runners who have run the course in the past and locals, the key is to hold back and try not to get carried away in the initial euphoria and blow up your quad muscles. I did exactly that, I ran conservative, in and around 5:30/km until about 35 km, I did intentionally slow down during those famed Newton Hills uphill sections to save up some energy to finish the race running and not running-walking which I managed to do. I ran the first half in 1:54:13 (5:25/km) and the second half just under 2 hours in 1:59:49 (5:41/km) taking a total time of 3:54:02 (5:33/km), detailed splits are available here. 5 Huma gels in total, one every 7 km and 2 salt tablets at 10 miles and 17 miles mark, drank plain water every 4-5 km to keep me going until the finish line.

All set - ready to go!

At the start village w/ Raghuram who was a race volunteer

After the marathon w/ Raghuram

After the marathon w/ Dhrithi Kiran

Gratitude

I dedicate this run to Rashmi who has been a huge support and my two lovely daughters, Diya and Dyuthi, They put up with me patiently during these marathon training blocks and do what it takes to support me. Gautham CB who introduced me to Boston Medical Center and made sure I signed up for the fundraising and did go get my 6th Star medal. I can't thank Raghuram enough for hosting me, The trio Raghuram, Sridhar and Shubha who took care of me like I were a state guest. Lots of love to you all. Finally, I want to thank the 61 donors who helped me raise $8,355 for Boston Medical Center. What a journey it has been, feels surreal. Thanks for your time reading this slightly long blog :)