Friday Night Vertical 2021

Friday Night Vertical 2021

Thursday, November 2, 2017

2017 Baystate Marathon- USATF-NE GP#6

Bob Jackman, me, Ginger Reiner and some other dudes we didn't know
I know! I know! I'm skipping over some weeks and doing this out of order, but I decided to work my way back to Hartford instead of start with it. The week between Hartford and Baystate was a tough one for me, as I had a tough loss on Monday, so I decided to start with Baystate weekend and end it with Hartford. This post was supposed to be a completely positive one, but, as you'll see, it doesn't end that way. I'll move on to the week of Baystate and then have all of Hartford week and the race in one post to end my 2017 serious racing season on a high note.

I woke up on Saturday morning still in denial that I had to run another marathon the next day. It's funny because the distance wasn't what bothered me at all. I'm so used to the marathon distance from these last two years that 26.2 miles is just like whatever. It was the speed I was most worried about. How could I maintain a decent speed with such fatigued legs? I wasn't even recovered from Hartford last year when I ran Manchester 4 weeks later. This was only 7 days!! OMG! I just didn't know how I was going to do it. I obviously had to adjust my goal to something reasonable and remind myself that I was out there just to finish so I could complete the Grand Prix series. I decided to shoot for a sub-3:10. Looking at that average pace, I thought it was something I could pull off. The course was flat and fast, so the less hills I had to run up, the easier it would be for me to run a sub-3:10. "Easy" would not be a word I'd use to describe one step of my race at the Baystate Marathon.

I got in 3 slow, flat miles on the treadmill in the morning and then packed up my things for the night and next day. John and I were staying close to the race overnight. This wasn't my original plan, but someone offered us a hotel room. (See the end of this post for more on that.) This definitely made it easier in the morning. Otherwise, I was planning to leave by 3:30am. That would have hurt. We left midday, dropping off John's friend at his house first. Then I had some other errands to run on the way down. Tedeschi's for snacks, since we had had zero food that morning, and gas. Then a quick stop in Rite Aid for some Epsom salts that I nearly forgot about. I always have an Epsom Salt bath the day before a marathon. The rest of the drive wasn't bad at all, and we got there around 3pm. We stopped at the Expo first to pick up my bib. It was a small expo so we weren't there long. A photographer got a photo of John and me but it never got posted anywhere. Kind of bummed about that, but it's not like I don't have 5 million photos of John and me. I just don't have many photos of us that aren't selfies. Haha. Laid low the rest of the night. Typical one beer for me and spaghetti and meatballs. John just had spaghetti. Had my Epsom salt bath then went to bed.

Prepped my gels and S-Caps. I would learn this tape idea was not a good one. Haha

My gel carrier! Haha. I had nothing else!

A bunch of "Spots". This is what her father's job was.

I didn't register myself so I didn't know about the option to have something written on my bib. I made this with photoshop. And, no, I didn't actually have this on my bib.
5:30am came too quickly. I was groggy unlike the morning of Hartford, but I got right up and got into prep mode. Coffee first, then these awesome power muffin things I got at Trader Joe's that I had before Hartford, too. I rarely eat soy or anything that has the words "low fat" on it, but damn, this was the best pre-marathon food I've tried yet.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know it was the 6 days past the expiration date.
It was a little tough getting John out so early since it was very dark still. Plus, it was pretty cold out, and thankfully, my car decided to have heat that morning! Yay! This happens rarely, so when it does, I get really excited. Haha. This was a morning that I needed it even if it was a short drive. Something to make John happier about getting up at O'Dark Thirty!

I parked us in the John St garage. I literally picked this garage because it was on John St. I did. Really. Haha. John was not happy to get out in the cold so I was happy to see the Tsongas Center was open at least through the race start so I parked him there in the warmth while I went out for a warm up. I got in close to a mile, but I messed up my watch so I'm not exactly sure. Legs felt really heavy, so naturally I began to get nervous. I ran into Todd Brown and Jeff Gould at the end and chatted with them for a bit. (Let her go, Todd! You'll be so much happier!) Then I ran back to the Tsongas Center to gather my mounds of stuff and John to park him in a good spot for the race. Fortunately, he was going to be sitting in the sun, and he was in a good safe place. That was my biggest concern, and I had this little worry about it in the back of my mind all week and especially this morning. This was Lowell. Just like I wouldn't leave him alone in New Bedford. This spot ended up being prime so that I could finally relax somewhat for the 10 minutes before the start.

I met Shilpa before the start.
I dropped off my bag and ran into E-J Hrynowski which always brings a smile to my face. He gives good hugs! Off I went to use the bathroom somewhere besides a porta potty line. On the way to the start, I ran into Jen Mortimer and Tammie Robie and wished them good luck, then Christin Doneski caught up with me. We had to stop for the National Anthem and then realized we'd made a huge mistake waiting so long. We had to weave through the huge crowd to get up near the front but finally made it with just a few minutes to spare. We were in a group of mostly familiar faces, which was nice. I lined up behind Bob Jackman and as soon as we got going, we stuck together. I knew I wouldn't need to look at my watch or worry about my pace as long as I could run with him since he's pretty good about pacing. This would begin my many elbow swings that would hit Bob in the arms like 8 times in 13 miles. Haha. The start was super tight with way too many people. I felt like we were squished, especially after the half marathon merged with us. It was cool to have Alex Shaffer join us for a bit before he took the half turn at mile 2. I was so looking forward to spreading out again, but that never really happened.

As we split from the half marathoners just past the bridge, I started to hear my name being called from the sidelines. My fans! Hahaha!! I was smiling and waving....and then I tripped right over a cone!! Haha!! I went down hard, but I have quite a bit of experience in the falling like an idiot department so I did a roll and popped right back up laughing my head off. Bob had slowed a little and then made fun of me "prom-queening it" to the crowd. I heard someone behind me say, "That could have been a lot worse." It hurt and I was bleeding, but I still couldn't stop laughing about it. What an idiot!! It was nice not be surrounded by people who were all, "Omg! Are you ok?! Do you need help?" No, I was surrounded by people who laughed right along with me. I'll admit it fucking hurt for the next mile, but then it stopped and didn't bother me again the whole race. I found out later that it was Caitlyn Germain (I thought it was!) who was calling my name when I waved and fell. She just happened to be videoing but got distracted by her daughter. She sent me a frame grab just as I'm turning my head and about to meet my demise.


She also sent the video which is the link below, but I'm not sure it's a public post on FB. I can't tell. So you may or may not be able to watch it. You can't see me fall. The best part is the guy who says, "I think Leslie just fell." Hahaha. I sure did.
The Cone Attack


We continued on a pretty good pace. My legs were already feeling it, though, so I didn't know if I could maintain this pace the whole way. We were averaging around 6:56-6:57 for the first few miles which should have felt super easy on fresh legs. Kind of made me nervous that I was feeling the fatigue already, but we were still talking easily this whole time. Ginger Reiner caught up with us around mile 3 maybe. She looked like she was feeling pretty good and running a smart race. So it was basically Ginger, Bob and me chatting away for basically the first half marathon. There was a group of guys running right behind us, too, which was kind of annoying. One kept trying to split us up which was super annoying. We're wearing the same singlet and we're talking to each other. You'd think he'd guess we might be running together and would stop literally trying to squeeze in between. Around mile 9, I'd had enough of it, so when he tried again, I purposely stepped in front to cut him off. He stepped right on my heels. I totally meant to do it, but said, "Oh sorry about that." But, seriously, who does that? He was an alright guy, though, they all were. I think they just liked the pace, but, dude, personal space, please! (I feel like I just wrote about that in my last blog post. haha).

The first half seemed to fly by. The weather was absolutely perfect, unlike what was predicted. I was never hot at all. And the course was SO easy. What I could have done on fresh legs still kind of eats at me a little. With Bob's perfect pacing, we ran right around an average 6:54/mi pace. Hardly deviating from that, even though miles 12 and 13 were a little fast. My legs were getting heavy, though, so I knew I wouldn't be able to hang on much longer. I was kind of bummed because I've never had someone else pace me, and it would have been nice to have that the whole way. I knew Ginger was holding back for the first half and would probably take off on me, too. Here are some pics from the first half...


Ginger and me. Photo by Kevin Beck

Heading over the bridge. This hurt.
Not to brag, but this guy and I would make a great race poster! Haha.

Everyone except Bob looks like we're out for a Sunday jog posing for photos.

Paul Hammond took this as we turned onto the bridge.

No idea what my face is doing. haha.
We were slowly reeling in Christin Doneski right at the half. When I saw I hit the half in 1:30:28, I had a feeling I was doomed. That was 2 seconds faster than the week before at Hartford!! I had to back off...like right now...even though it took until mile 16. It was sad watching Bob and Ginger run off into the distance, but now, I had Christin by my side for next 3 miles! Yay!! We caught up to the stroller running queen Dianna Chivakos (who got a world record that day) and were passed by Kelsey Allen. Love the familiar faces! And Christin is such a good friend; I was happy to have her company, and we were keeping a good pace still unti mile 16 when we hit 7:14. I felt this was too slow and noticed we were catching up to Tammie Robie so I decided to pick the pace back up. I told myself I could start my kick now, but this wasn't Hartford! Oops. So that basically lasted only a mile. Haha. Mile 17 would be my last mile under 7 minute pace, just squeezing in with a 6:59. Haha.

I hung right behind Tammie and very slowly reeled her in. I could tell she was fading and finally passed her at mile 18. I wished I'd had the ability to offer more encouragement, but I was also starting to fade. The next two miles, I would start to feel my legs burn. And not the normal burn, but a burn I've never felt before. By mile 20, my legs were in agony. So much pain! I've never felt pain in my legs like that in a race. They were just SO fatigued by this point. Every single muscle. I spent the last 10K on the verge of them locking up. Both legs. It felt as if they could go with every step. And thus began my death march from hell. At 20, my pace hit 7:21... then another 7:21...7:29...7:45 and at mile 24...the dreaded 8:00. I was in the running pain cave for the first time in my life. It took everything I had not to walk. I just had to keep going. I had to finish. I didn't care who passed me. I was at the point where I doubted a sub-3:10, but I didn't care. 7:58 mile 25. How could one more mile feel SO DAMN HARD? Christin caught me an passed me. I passed Kelsey who was having a day similar to mine. Dianna caught me with the stroller. I attempted to mumble something encouraging. Finally the bridge. I was starting to hyperventilate. So fucking close to ending the pain. I couldn't wait. It was the most I've ever dug deep, and I usually hate that whole "dig deep" crap, but that's what it was. 8:16 mile 26. Holy shit. I think I'm going to break 3:08! But that fucking .2 miles was like another mile of pure hell. My quads were tightening. I passed John who was sound asleep in his lawn chair. That must have been why I smiled at the finish because I had absolutely no other reason to smile. It was about to be over. I couldn't believe I had made it through this. 3:07:42!!! Holy fuck!! I will take that!!!!



I could barely walk as soon as I finished. I was hyperventilating pretty badly and had to take a moment to catch my breath. I finally moved on and refused to allow that damn heat sheet to be put on me. I saw them coming and stopped it! I said I'd still take it for later, but I never needed it. I struggled to walk but made it to the end of the shoot where Apryl Sabadosa was and hugged her and talked briefly. I downed a water but needed gatorade or something similar so badly! I was dying. I needed electrolytes! It seemed like the finish line stuff was a mile away. I would end up limping along with Dave Dunham briefly as he dropped his iPod Shuffle twice; it pained me watching him have to bend over to pick it up. I would have keeled over at this point if I had to pick something up. I kept walking and got another hug from E-J! Haha! Next was the bag pick up, but omg. I needed something to drink. I was starting to get angry which led to me hyperventilating again. I could feel my blood sugar must be really low because I was trying to walk but couldn't breathe and started to pretty much get combative. I made it just before the tent before I threw my stuff onto the ground in a near rage. All I saw was Pepsi and Mountain Dew!! I couldn't go any further. I needed something, though, and this really awesome pregnant woman with two kids in tow offered to get me a drink. I was so upset to see soda. I hadn't had a soda in 12 years, but I needed the sugar and the salt. She was SO nice to get me a Pepsi. I felt awful, but I was at the point of not being able to control myself. Jeff Gould saw me and came over to make sure I was ok and watched me chug an entire Pepsi. It was the most disgusting thing ever. And I nearly vomited the entire thing back up. So gross!!! But it did the trick. I was all of a sudden in my right mind. I was able to calm down  and finally breathe normally again. In the meantime, Todd Brown joined us. He was super excited to have had a good race. I talked to them until I felt like I could move again and headed for the changing room...the bushes right behind the food table. Walking past the food table made me want to barf. Food and I don't get along right after a marathon.

It was nice to have some peace and quiet in the bushes. It was nearly total privacy, but I still used my skirt as a cover up just in case, although at one point I was completely topless and didn't care. Haha. I moved slowly but finally had on clean clothes. My stomach felt sick from the Pepsi, but the rest of me felt pretty normal again. It was time to retrieve John! I ran into Kassandra Marin who had an awesome race. Her first sub-3! As I was talking to her, Christin Doneski, her husband and Brandon Newbould came by. I had no idea at this point that he had won the race! I was chatting and all of sudden I hear Brandon snickering. He'd spotted my bloody knees. "Did Leslie O'Dell go down in a road race?!" Hahahaha. He got a huge kick out of that and said he would let me live that down for awhile. So funny! The walk to John had me passing and chatting with people like Ed Sheldon and his wife and so many other people that I can't remember. I had to go all the way around close to the 26 mile point to get around to the post office where John was. This random guy walks up with a flip phone and asks if I can read it for him. He was trying to see the results on a flip phone for a particular runner. All I had to see was "Kassandra" to know it was Kassandra Marin. I didn't have to read him anymore; I was able to tell him her time and tell him I'd just talked to her to point him in the right direction.

I made it to John and was able to wake him up. He was actually in a really good mood which was awesome. I had a sudden wave of nausea come over me from the Pepsi and had to quickly sit down. I was lucky to get back up! It was right to Beerworks for some real recovery drinks!! Some of the Tuesday Night Turtles were at the bar, but we couldn't sit with them since John isn't 21, so we chatted for a bit then moved outside. Outside was the place to be since it was perfect out. I had two huge stouts and forced down a grilled cheese. I was a little out of it with brain fatigue, but the beer perked me up. John's phone was dead so he joined the land of the living. It was nice since he's so funny.

Cookie Stout!

Silverware art by John
The walk back to the car would feel like forever. I was carrying my bag and chair over my left shoulder which I know I shouldn't do and totally hurt my neck in the same place I always do. I could barely do any upper body stuff for the next 5 days because it hurt so much, but it eventually healed. I dreaded the ride in the car, but at least it was only 2.5 hours. We got home later than I had originally planned, but I still got the dogs out for their short walk. An Epsom Salt bath was awesome. Then snuggles on the couch with Phoenix.

Look at what that cone did to me??!! Haha.




I'm glad I did Baystate. The first half was really fun having company and not worrying about my pace. The second half....well...not so much. I'm not sure I would do two marathons within a week again, but never say never. I've been known to do crazy things. :) Just by gutting that out, it did give me the 40-44 women's win for the USATF-NE Grand Prix Series! Woot. Basically it was by default since I ran all 6 races, but whatever. Every race this year was an extra challenge for me, and I still pulled off something mediocre enough to win the age group. 3 out of the 6 races were on the heels of other races, One was through an injury I didn't know I had, and 2 were while sick. 5 out of the 6 were with the high hamstring issue AND with plantar fasciitis. With all that going on this year, I cannot complain a bit about the outcome with the GP. I certainly hope to do better next year, but I am seriously psyched with the it.

I have to end this with a negative side since it left out a lot of the weekend; that time was spent with another person, but for some reason this coward decided to completely cut me off with no explanation whatsoever 1.5 weeks later. I have no idea why either. NONE, but for someone who says he doesn't play games (yes, he said these words), this is a very childish game indeed, and I refuse to take the bait and play along. I'm obviously better off for it, though, if this is any indication of his typical behavior. Yes, I do hope you read this, COWARD--->you. Adults talk. Children hide. I don't get it, but whatever! He's not the first, and I'm somewhat guilty of it myself at times, so I guess what goes around comes around. But, this? Nope. I wouldn't be a pussy like this. And yeah.....totally calling this person out on here will taint my blog post, but that's why I put it at the end. Most people who really know me know I say what I'm thinking, so here it is for everyone to see. You're just lucky I didn't call you out by name, but I'm not that much of scumbag...unless you're threatening to rape and kill me like a certain stalker we all know and love...to hate.

So there's that! Hope everyone loves my post. Haha. Sorry I had to end it on a sour note, but I'll leave it with a fun song. Totally cheesy pop, but I love it!


1 comment:

  1. Great recap! And watch out for those cones, they'll getcha! Ha!

    ReplyDelete