To Boston and Beyond
Two marathons, one week
Posted Monday, June 16, 2008
I slid into mile 6. It was the homerun of trail running. I had dirt from my shins to my chin, but no major injury. Even my palms were grubby. With a smile on my face, I got up, dusted off and was ready for 20.2 more miles of the 2008 Free State Marathon. When I got to the first aid station around mile 8, Caleb Chatfield, a seasoned and accomplished trail runner, was grinning from ear to ear. “Looks like you took a spill Sophia. You okay?”
“Yup.”
“Awesome. Awesome.”
I could see my real estate in the trail nerd world had just risen two floors. (Who says pride doesn’t come after a fall?!)
(My loyal blog readers may be confused right now. You thought you were going to see a report on the Boston Marathon. What’s going on here?)
“Who ran Boston on Monday?” Race Director Ben Holmes, a.k.a. Bad Ben, was getting folks pumped before the race. I raised my hand, not sure if I’d make it through another 26.2 only five days after Boston.
“Who’s running Oklahoma City tomorrow?”
Several folks raised their hands. Okay, I was not the craziest person there. Not even close.
One woman I met during the race was running three marathons in nine days. This was number two. Lesa from Washington State finished in 4 hours and 20 minutes, and was headed to Oklahoma the next day. Impressive.
Anyway, I was running the short distance. 40 miles and 100k (about 62 miles) were also available. Crazy yes, and in good company.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?" It was the night before the race and my good friend Kelley was worried about me running the duo marathons.
“Kelley. I helped with packet pick up yesterday. Don’t you know what it’s like to help, and you feel the energy from all the runners but you’re not running the race? It’s just not fun.”
“I do understand.”
Yes she does. A fast runner and rep for Mizuno there have been many times Kelley’s tried to maneuver running a booth at the end of a race and running the race. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t.
Many interesting things would happen after that initial fall. Turns out my little tube of Aquafor fell out during the spill. I was all decked out in a cute skirt again (see prior Boston blog).But, without the Aquafor, I was feeling the pain of dreaded chafing. (Btw for those of you who read the Boston Blog, the skirt I wore there was the right choice.)
“It’s nasty… and it only gets worse.” I was talking to a guy named Andy after the race. He also ran Boston on Monday and commiserated with me about the problem.
There is no pride after chafing -- just irritation. Irritation at improper preparation, and the obvious physical. I kept digging in my pockets. Hope beyond hope the little tube would appear. It didn’t. Why didn’t I put it in the zipper pocket? why? What to do? What to do? I started asking runners along the way if they had anything that would help. No. No. No. Many had wisely worn tights or dieted enough not to have the inner thigh chafing problem in the first place.
This could be a disaster. Destroying the serenity of running in nature, I did what any other desperate person would do, I picked up the phone and called my friend Debbie who ran Boston with me. She was meeting me at mile 16 today.
“Debbie, I lost my little tube of Aquafor ointment. I need lube and my tights.”
I left a message and I continued running behind a man named Bryan who was from Minnesota. “ How does he (Bad Ben) come up with these courses?”
“Greg Burger showed him this section, but I know he prides himself on designing courses that would make the Marquis de Sade blush.”
We were walking along my favorite section where craggy large limestone blocks make running impossible, careful footwork a necessity, and offers a breathtaking view.
“But look Bryan. Can you believe it’s Kansas?”
“It is pretty unbelievable.”
The phone rings. “Sophia, it’s Debbie. I’ve got a lime gu, ointment and Ben’s getting your tights out of your car.”
Great. But I still had 6 more miles until relief.
“Oh Sophia, I knew that had to be you on the phone.”
Colleen a.k.a. Cynical MudBabe had caught up with me.
“It was Debbie. I lost my little tube of lube. She’s meeting me with some and tights. Do you have any?”
Coleen wears a little Nathan backpack, which I was hoping she’d packed heavy.
“I have yours! I saw it on the ground and picked it up. I figured it was yours. But of course, I wouldn’t want to leave litter either.”
This was a “green race” after all.
Later I saw Coleen’s mom and husband and shouted: “Coleen saved my life!”
They didn’t know what I was talking about and probably thought I was crazy. But we’ve already established that.
This was the turning point for me. Thankful, I grabbed the tube. Slathered a bunch of the soothing salve on the necessary spots and decided to take it easy.
I’d been running a little slower than 10 minute miles. Considering the terrain and my previous marathon, it was unnecessarily fast. So I started taking pictures with my phone, deciding this should be a victory lap for Boston.
“So how was Boston?” Bryan from Minnesota had run it before.
“Hilly, very hilly, but I’m fascinated with the course. I’ll crush it next year.”
After the race, I’d researched (because I am after all a nerd at heart) the course and elevation. Turns out the course map on the official Boston site smooths out a lot of the hills. (Learn more about Boston's hills.)
I explained my plan to Bryan, who trains a group in Minnesota, "I’m going to focus hard on hill repeats, and really power down the downhills.”
A quick explanation for non-runners. In the middle of a 6-mile run, find a short hill (about a minute top to bottom) and go up and down as fast as you can for 10 to 14 repeats. Normally, runners will jog or walk on the downhills. But, Boston has steep downhills over and over and the only way to really make up time there is to improve the downhill running.
And of course running the rocky root-filled trails of Clinton Lake will improve overall strength too.
Debbie met me at the 16 mile aid station. Formerly the “Hangover Hottie” in “Oops I ate my run,” today she’s Debbie Nightengale! Feeling fresh and happy, I snacked quickly on some watermelon, oranges and these little rubbery Welch’s gummi bear knock off things, that quite frankly are better than the original. Juicier.
I would fall one more time, more of a leaf gathering experience than dirt this time. Debbie and I would chat and relive our Boston experience.“I think we each donated 5 minutes to charity.”
We’d ended up starting in with the charity runners who don’t have to qualify and run slowly and in packs. Oh well it was a great race. Debbie and I are both qualified for next year.
Around mile 20 we came upon Kyle and Dan who would finish second in the 100k. (running about a 9 minute pace for 62 miles.. impressive!) As Kyle ran past Bryan he said, “Hey keep running with these ladies, and they’ll solve all the world’s problems.” Yeah as long as you have a cell phone and a friend who knows that what looks like trash just might save someone’s race.
Kyle’s comment came at an interesting time because I was feeling pretty humbled by my preparation error and tired because of the difficulties of running two marathons in a week.
Still someone asked would I run Boston again. Yes.
Will I run two marathons in a week again. Yes.
Actually, I got a little second wind at Boston at mile 21.
“You know what that means Sophia?” It was Gary Henry aka the Luddite. “You’ve got a 50k in you.”
Yes Gary. I’m sure I do.”
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