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Report by: Javier Quintero

I ran 2:48 and am fairly disappointed with the time. The training block was epic and I'm proud of our team who all ran really well. Read below for the long version.

Training Block

We had a really large group who qualified for Boston in CIM 2021 and almost everyone registered and raced Boston. It was really special having such a big group training for the same race. Sometime in October a group of us (John, Jose, Phillip, and myself) decided we would go for a sub 2:40. That would be a huge PR for all of us so it was kind of a scary goal. We also decided that Bowles would be putting together our training plan. We spent December hitting a bunch of trails in the Santa Monica Mountains to get some strength in our legs. In January we started our official training block with some really fast track workouts.

I felt a couple steps behind everyone because I raced NY in Nov and I came back with COVID. I did not feel like myself until the end of Jan. We signed up for the Surf City half in early Feb and the week of the race I came down with a nasty cold. I finished in 1:20. I felt like I was in 1:18-1:17 shape but the cold made that impossible. This was really frustrating because I needed a confidence booster and 1:20 was way off what I thought I could do. It took another couple weeks for me to get back to feeling fit again.

In late Feb I really started hitting my workouts and got my mileage up over 100 miles a week. By mid March I was up to 110 miles a week and I was feeling super fit. I was finally able to keep up with Phillip in our workouts and we finished the training block with 3 fast 22+ mile long runs. After a two week taper I felt like 2:40 was really possible.

The Race

My race plan was to start out at 6:10 pace for a couple miles and get down to around 6:00 and see if I could stick with John and Phillip up until the Newton Hills (mile 16), survive the hills and claw back whatever I could after heartbreak hill (mile 21). The weather looked good with temps in the high 40s low 50s and maybe a slight chance of rain at the end.

The start was extremely crowded and it started raining 5 minutes before the race. Mile 1 was super slow because of the huge number of runners on the course. I looked down at my watch a quarter mile in and my pace was 7:30! We had to weave in and out of runners and somehow got the first mile down to a 6:30. I was super scared of falling because of how close everyone was but it started to even out after about two miles. At this point I was just trying to keep locked onto John, Phillip, Jose, and Eric (who was pacing us because he was injured). Mile 2 was a 5:50 and I figured Phillip and Eric were just making up time from the slow first mile. After another 2 sub 6 miles I figured it was too fast for me so I made the decision to just try and keep it between 6:00 and 6:05 pace from there on. Fortunately John and Jose made the same decision and we ran together through mile 9. I was nervous at this point in the race because I felt like I was breathing a little too hard, but I felt like it was better to work off of John rather than running by myself. Somewhere between mile 6 and 10 the rain stopped.

At mile 10 my quads started burning which scared me because last year they didn't start hurting until mile 16 and I couldn't push after mile 21. At this point I figured I would be walking up heartbreak hill. Jose and I got dropped by John here so I just told myself "get to the next mile marker and keep Jose in your sights". My pace dropped to around 6:15-6:20 for the next 5 miles but my legs didn't get any worse so I felt like maybe I could have something in the tank in the last 10k. I got to the first of Newton hills with Jose just ahead of me but he was starting to pull a gap.

Of our core group of runners I am by far the weakest hill runner so I always expected to lose contact at mile 16, I took it really easy up the hills and tried to push hard on the crests and downhills. Once I got to the top of heartbreak at mile 21 I could no longer see Jose, but I felt like my legs were ok enough to push, so I came down the hill hard and ran 6:12 for mile 22. Even though the last 10k are downhill there are a few little hills mixed in and on every single hill my quads, hamstrings, and hips would spasm and lock up so I was doing this dance of pushing as hard as I could without locking up. Miles 24 and 25 were 6:50 and 6:55. I looked at my watch at mile 25 and saw 2:40:xx and I knew a sub 2:45 was out the window, but I should be able to get a 2:47 or 2:48 if I didn't lock all the way up. Just as I realized this the heavens opened up and a huge downpour started and I thought I was kind of funny, the universe was punishing all the runners who didn't run under 2:40. I saw my wife cheering on the home stretch which made me really happy and I crossed the line in 2:48:47.

Post Race Journey

Right after I crossed the finish line I asked the volunteers if Kipchoge won and was shocked to hear he finished in 6th place, so I guess I wasn't the only one who had a tough day. I very soon realized I was extremely cold and I could barely walk. A volunteer followed me with a wheelchair until I exited the finish area because I looked like I would collapse at any moment. I saw Phillip and Eric and learned they finished in 2:38!!!! I was so happy for them both. Eric and I stayed at the same hotel so I tried to follow him back, but just as in the race his pace was too hot for me. I was limping really bad and dry heaving every 30 seconds and at some point I looked up and couldn't find Eric or Phillip. I didn't know which way my hotel was and the rain just got more intense. I found a doorman at a hotel and asked for directions and he told me I was about 6 or 7 blocks in the wrong direction. I really wanted to fall down and cry because I was so cold and in so much pain and I could not bear the thought of walking another 2 blocks, let alone 6 or 7.

A guy riding one of those chariot bikes that has two seats in the back told me he could give me a ride, but I didn't have any money on me so I politely declined. He insisted that I hop in, I guess he could see how bad of shape I was in, and another complete stranger just walked up and paid him for my ride! It was the nicest thing ever. Just as we are about to leave my wife turns the corner yelling for us to wait. I carried an air tag in my shorts and she was able to triangulate my location. I was so happy to see her, but at the same time so cold, my legs and feet hurt so much, I was a little sad about how my race went but happy for how well Phillip ran. I never had so many different emotions at the same time, so I just hugged my wife and we rode back to the hotel in the chariot in the pouring rain.

-Javier