Boston Marathon Recap

The following is an expanded recap, adapted from a facebook post I wrote last night after the Boston Marathon.

I finished the Boston Marathon today in 3:59:23. This was a battle against the heat right from the start. The temperature eventually reached 88 degrees F by the time this one was over. My first 10K was fine, then it went downhill, then very very downhill. By mile 18-19 in Newton I knew my family was going to be cheering me on from a home in that area. I kept thinking back to the way my kids would use a garden hose to cool me off after mid-day track workouts in summers past and how badly I wanted to cool down. I was thinking about sitting on the grass and getting my kids to hose me down for 5 minutes straight. But that of course would have been the path to quitting, and we just don't go for that! I saw my family, and also a coworker Arnold at that spot. Next up was Heartbreak Hill. To this point in the race I had not stopped/walked and I drew a line in the sand - I would absolutely not walk at any point on Heartbreak. I saw another friend Brian Banks on the hill who called out my name as I ran by. I gave a point back in his direction to acknowledge his wonderful support. After the hill I did spend some time walking, eating ice chips, orange slices and popsicles kindly offered by race volunteers and spectators. The final 1.5 miles were done as a proper run so I could soak in the experience of the incredible crowd support and take those memories with me without focusing on the walking so much. As I made the left turn from Hereford onto Boylston St., the final stretch, I raised my arm in the air knowing it was just a few hundred yards left. I could see the finishing area and knew it would be close to get under 4 hours.

My goal would have been to finish in under 3:00:00, an audacious goal. But there are so many good things to take out of this. Here are just a few:

• First of all I am now a FINISHER, period. First marathon, in the Big Kahuna. No messing around. It's about going for BIG goals.
• My wife Danielle and mother in law Linda Friel & children supported me all the way and cheered me on in Newton with some awesome signs - "No Quit!"
• My Mom&Dad, brother Jon Cain and sister in law Colleen Locke course-hopped and found me in Ashland, Natick, and Comm. Ave. after Kenmore Square, and had a cool sign too to help me find them. These guys have had my back on this project from the beginning and support me so much.
• I am incredibly proud of the work our training group including Joe Loureiro and Will Swenson put in over the last 22 weeks to be ready for today. We did not get the best draw with the weather but we have got to be proud of the whole body of work - the incredible discipline (5:15 a.m. runs), training execution, solid race results, and masterpiece of a training plan we followed (contributed by none other than our leader Joe).
• We raised well over $4000 for American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts in the process, putting food on tables of families in need, assisting those burned out of their homes, and much more. 
• And I got to see so many words of encouragement by text, facebook and twitter today. I'm catching up on all of them now after an exhausting day! Thanks guys! 

Here is a video and just a few photos. The video includes some of my teammates explaining why they ran, and is posted on the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts wordpress blog. I strongly encourage you to subscribe to it!
 

 

Athlete Alert

Event Information:
Event:	2012 Boston Marathon
Runner:	Ken Cain
Latest Results:
Location Time Pace/mile 10km 0:43:41 7:01 Half-Marathon 1:40:40 7:40 30km 2:33:58 8:15 Finish 3:59:23 9:07

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Athlete Alert

Event Information:
Event:	2012 Boston Marathon
Runner:	Ken Cain
Latest Results:
Location Time Pace/mile 10km 0:43:41 7:01 Half-Marathon 1:40:40 7:40 30km 2:33:58 8:15

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Athlete Alert

Event Information:
Event:	2012 Boston Marathon
Runner:	Ken Cain
Latest Results:
Location Time Pace/mile 10km 0:43:41 7:01 Half-Marathon 1:40:40 7:40

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Athlete Alert

Event Information:
Event:	2012 Boston Marathon
Runner:	Ken Cain
Latest Results:
Location Time Pace/mile 10km 0:43:41 7:01

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Race Day Logistics and Athlete Tracking

Here you can follow my progress in the Boston Marathon:

Bib # 21907
Wave 3, Corral 4, starting at 10:40 a.m.
http://raceday.baa.org

Or use the AT&T Athlete Alert system, especially for those who will be out on the course as spectators! This allows you to receive email or text message updates at the 10K, 21K(half), 30K, and 42K(finish) markers.
http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/att-athlete-alert.aspx

Monday cannot come soon enough!

Cheers,

-Ken

Team Sport Report: Bob Oakes

Bob and I go way back to fall 1989 where we met at Northeastern University. It's funny how you meet lifelong friends right away when you get to college. I was a bit of a wanderer that first week (orientation), and eager (ok maybe desperate?) to find some new friends, decided to head to a social event at the Ell Center.  Well, I ended up hooking on with a small group there, and followed them back to their dormitory. That's where I met Bob. It is also where I met my wife Danielle. That night I was given a very short lived and perhaps unfortunate nickname homeless Ken. Another good friend Bruce Skillin quickly took care of that problem, doling out nicknames based on where everyone came from. Mine started with "Ken Dover".

So what does any of this foolishness have to do with running? Well, first off Bob also was also a cross country athlete in high school, and we did make a few fleeting attempts our freshman year to hit the roads. During parents weekend, ours were impressed when we did a morning workout around the Fens before engaging in a day of family visits and touring the city. But it was a couple years later when we turned up the dedication a bit and started up with some early a.m. runs along the Charles River - in February. I would run from my campus apartment over to Bob's place on Comm Ave., then head over to the Esplanade. That was the beginning of learning what a frozen face feels like with the bone chilling and high velocity winds along the Charles. The experiment didn't last all that long but showed we hat at least a some dedication and discipline in us, lazy undergraduate slackers.

But the real deal with Bob is that he's a quintessential optimist, one to rally the troops, and do it while keeping things loose. Back then, when we were up against a homework / project / final exam deadline Bob was the guy to be around. When doubt inevitably set in, he would step in and say "hold on - we can do this, trust me". Also, preparing for final exams was simply prohibited until we first had a chance to blow off some steam on the friday night before - per order of Bob. We've been in lots of situations like this and the guy knows what he's talking about. We "learned" 3 chapters of Physics all night before an 8am final exam and nailed it! Now, he did have to drag me half asleep for a mile walk in the freezing cold to the exam, and he himself had to be nudged awake during the exam, panic and start from the beginning - but we got it done and nailed the test. As always.

So if - no when - things start to feel a little "dark" in the marathon, I'm going to have to think back to Bob's rallying style, listen to that advice and try to pull it off. Bob, let's just hope it's not as big a hole as being down 3 games to 0, trailing the Yankees in the 8th inning - although that certainly was an incredible comeback!

Championship Revelry, Red Sox Parade 2004