Rochester Hills, MI

Carly Graytock has been a part an important member of the Hanson/Brooks training group. She has given the group a solid marathoner and the chance to see someone train smart and hard. Carly has been through an emotional and physical roller coaster this past year, but in the end she has come out smelling like roses. She was the 3rd American finisher at Boston this past year in a solid time of 2:44.02. Read more to learn about what Carly has gone through and where she plans to go.

RunMichigan:  Carly, congratulations on your performance at the Boston Marathon. You have had a very unique last year. Could you please walk us thru your past year and talk about your emotional roller coaster?

CG: Thank you. Yes, the past year was quite tumultuous and very much unexpected. It’s quite a long story. Prior to Boston, the last marathon I ran was the US Olympic Trials in St. Louis. Due to some health issues, which were later diagnosed as ulcers, I was forced to drop out. It was only the second time in my life that I didn’t finish a race and it was extremely disappointing, especially since it was such a big race. About a week and a half after the trials I flew home to Pennsylvania for some medical tests and while I was there I started having some intense cramping in my right calf. Initially, I assume it was a residual tightness from the marathon, so I had some deep tissue massage done.

Once I started back running after two weeks of down-time, the calf pain became more intense and I noticed that I felt incredibly out of shape. I had difficult time breathing and felt very sluggish. I got winded walking up a flight of stairs. This went on for a week before I finally decided to see someone about it. Kyle Ormsbee looked at my calf and I had asked him if there was any possibility it could be a blood clot, or if it was just a really bad muscle spasm. At first he thought it was a spasm, but after a day to think about it he sent me for a Doppler ultrasound to rule out a clot. I went to the hospital to have this done and what I thought would be a couple of hours of waiting turned into a five day hospitalization for a deep vein thrombosis in my right calf. A CT scan also revealed that some of the clot had broken off and traveled to my lungs, which explained the shortness of breath. As it turns out, it was most likely the deep massage I had done on my calf that caused the clot to break apart, since typically clots below the knee don’t break off.

I was immediately place on blood thinners and shortly after I left the hospital, a blood test showed that I had Factor V Leiden mutation, which is a genetic disorder that makes you more prone to blood clots. Because of this, I was put on coumadin (blood thinner) indefinitely, which I still take now.

After all of this I wasn’t sure where my future, if any, with running would go. I was told I might be out for months and possibly not be able to compete at the same level I had prior to the episode. Despite this, Kevin and Keith were very understanding and patient and allowed me to take my time coming back and see where things would go after I recovered. Fortunately, after six weeks of absolute rest I was able to start running again. I took most of the summer last year to just build up some mileage and I think it was late July when I did my first workout. I was definitely rusty for a while and even my first few races back were hard, but because I took my time coming back and was uncharacteristically patient about it, I eventually got into pretty good shape by the fall. I came back much stronger than expected, probably by my standards and by anyone else’s. I ended the fall with PR’s in the 10K and ½ marathon, which to me was unbelievable given where I had been in the spring. Given how the fall went, I was ready both physically and mentally to attempt a marathon in the spring. Boston became the obvious choice because I was familiar with the course from having lived there for several years and the timing of it worked well coming off of a fall segment that ended in mid December.

RunMichigan: How did training go leading up to the Boston marathon? Have you ever been in the shape that you were heading into Boston?


CG: With the exception of a few weather-induced rough workouts, training went extremely well. I hit my highest mileage ever (topping out at 110, with several consecutive 100+ weeks) and had some great workouts. I stayed healthy and toughed out the rough winter we had, which I think helped out in the long run. I don’t think I’ve ever been in better shape leading up to a marathon, and maybe even any race in general.

RunMichigan: What type of training did you do to prepare yourself for the hills that everyone talks about?

CG: Since I lived in Boston for two years before joining the Hanson’s-Brooks Distance Project, I was very familiar with the course, especially with the hills. My boyfriend, Terry Shea, is living out there now and runs for the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) so I planned some visits out there on weekends when the B.A.A. had group runs on the course. Between all of my visits I got to train on the first 24 miles of the course. Here in Michigan, I tried to incorporate some hillier runs for my long runs and we did a downhill workout out in Auburn Hills to get our quads used to the pounding. I think another thing that helped was running the Knoxville ½ Marathon. It’s a very hilly course, so I made sure to take advantage of how it felt to run marathon pace (or as close to it as possible) on the hills. To be honest though, I probably should have done a few more downhill-oriented workouts or long runs. But that’s something I’ll definitely work on for next year.


RunMichigan: Was there anything else that you felt you did different for the Boston Marathon that you would not do for another marathon?


CG: Something new that I did for this marathon, which I would probably consider doing for other warm weather marathons in the future, was going to Orlando the week before Boston. Kevin and Keith took my teammate Jacob Frey and me there to acclimate to the heat just in case it was warm again like it has been the past two years. I think that was a great idea and felt it really helped on race day.

RunMichigan: How did the race unfold and did it go according to your plan

CG: Up until the last mile or two the race went as planned. My race plan was to run 6:10’s with the goal of getting under 2:42. I started with the elite women’s start a half hour before the rest of the field. With that kind of a start there was a possibility of the race getting strung out early on since there were only about 50 women in the start. After about two miles though, I partnered up with Caroline Annis, a former Stanford runner, and we ran together until somewhere around the 16 and ½ mark. It was great having her there. We went through the half in 1:21:02 and held on to 6:05-6:15’s most of the way. I pulled ahead of her on the hills, where I caught both Emily LeVan and Kim Fitchen-Young. I felt very strong and was running close to pace until roughly 23 miles. Emily and Caroline both passed me just past the 40K mark. I was running pretty slowly at that point. I just ran out of gas and I think the weather and slight head wind had taken its toll on me by that point. I ran with everything I had, so I can’t really say I left anything out there that day.

RunMichigan: What type of things did you do to keep yourself under control and hydrated?


CG: Having done several marathons before and one in particular that was in warmer weather (Grandma’s in 2003), I knew I had to be patient because what feels easy for the first 13 miles can feel a lot more difficult come 20. So keeping pace under control was never a problem. With the warm weather I took water any chance I got and either dumped it on myself or drank it. I also made sure to take in Gatorade every so often. I think I ran 90% of that race completely drenched and I was taking in so much liquid that at times my stomach would slosh. By the time I got done I never wanted to drink Gatorade again. However, I never felt dehydrated or overheated at any point so I think my soaking tactics worked.

RunMichigan: Was there ever a time during the race that you thought you would not make it to the finish? Were you worried when pre race it reached up into the 70's?

CG: It never crossed my mind that I would not finish. Given the events of the past year, I was hell-bent on finishing and taking in every step of the race. I never worried about the temps because given the weather the past two years out there, I knew there was a very good possibility of it being warm again. Also, having run in 85 degree and 90% humidity weather in Orlando for the previous week, mid 60’s and 70’s didn’t feel as bad as it could have had I just come from Michigan.


RunMichigan: How would you rate the atmosphere of the Boston Marathon and its fans compared to some of the other marathons you have raced? Is Boston all it is cracked up to being?

CG: There is nothing like Boston compared to other marathons or any race in general. There are spectators lining the course every step of the way from Hopkinton on down. The crowds in the hills and then as you descend into the city are crazy and so energetic. It’s like running through a big party. I had so much fun running there, as odd as it sounds to have fun running a marathon.

RunMichigan: What are some words of advice that you would give to someone looking to run the Boston Marathon?

CG: Study the course, prepare yourself for the uphills and the downhills, and be prepared for anything. Boston can throw you many curve balls between the weather and the course. The more willing you are to accept adversity and be ready for it, the less frustrated you’ll get out and the better you’ll run. Most importantly, enjoy the crowds and the unique atmosphere that comes with the race. Soaking it all ups makes the miles go by quickly.


RunMichigan: Where does Carly Graytock go from here?

CG: I’m going to take the next few months to build a solid base of mileage. I’m just getting over a minor strain in my left achilles/calf area, so first and foremost I want to be completely healthy before I get too crazy with mileage. In terms of racing, I don’t know what the immediate plans are just yet. I’d like to point towards the 20K championships in September and I think I’ll be doing Boston again next year. I think that I’ll be able to take my experience from this year and really use it to my advantage next year.

Thanks for the great interview! (Interview conducted by Nick Cordes)