Boston Marathon - RunMarathon

This was the least stressful race I have ever had, because my plan was to not treat it as a race at all. More like a victory lap. I qualified in October so I already get to come back next year. And I did a total of 4 training runs for this race (12, 14, 16, 19 miles). And it's the beginning of racing season, so the sooner I recover from this race the better. Aaand I heard the course could really kill you if you take it too lightly and go fast in the beginning miles. So, my strategy was clear: take it easy right from the start, and maybe in the last few miles hit the gas if I feel like it. I generally planned to keep the pace around 7:30/mile, and I planned to eat a GU every 4 miles, with gatorade and/or water as needed.

So, I just kind of cruised along at about a conversational pace for a long time. I tried to keep my effort even, so as the terrain went up or down my speed changed. Generally people were passing me continuously. I spent a lot of time high fiving little kids and posing for photographers.

Mile 6 was awesome, because some college kids set up a beer aid station. I didn't see anyone actually accept their beer, but fortunately I wasn't racing so I went ahead and drank up. It was probably Genny light or some other sick beer, but it tasted so ridiculously good at that point. I have to remember to combine running and drinking more often.

Mile 13 was awesome too, because of the Wellesley girls.

Mile 17 was when things started to go bad for me, even though I had held back for the whole race. The bottoms of my feet began hurting a lot at that point from all the pounding. Maybe my shoes were worn out or something. Anyway, before that point my pace was below 7:30/mile, but afterward they were all 8:00+. I just couldn't push against the ground very well anymore. This of course coincided with the Newton hills, so I was in slow-and-steady mode until mile 22 or 23. I didn't actually notice when Heartbreak Hill occurred. The first Newton hills were the worst, so if I went over Heartbreak when I think I did, it wasn't that bad.

After the hills my feet still hurt a lot. Couldn't even go downhill fast, because I needed my feet to do that too. I focused on the crowds the rest of the way. The college kids were quite entertaining. No finishing kick in this one, because there was no point.

Mile Splits:
1: 7:13
2: 7:06
3: 7:00
4: 7:03
5: 7:28
6: 7:18
7,8: 15:18 (including a pee break)
9: 7:21
10: 7:28
11: 7:17
12: 7:22
13,14: 14:38
15: 7:30
16: 7:36
17: 8:03
18: 8:11
19: 8:05
20: 8:26
21: 8:46
22: 8:08
23: 8:15
24: 8:23
25: 8:30
26.2: 9:40

Kilometer splits (I'll put these in later):
5K:
10K:
15K:
20K:
25K:
30K:
35K:
40K:

I might train sometime. I was actually surprised by my cardiovascular endurance. If my feet didn't hurt so much I probably would have ended up closer to 3:12.

Lots of walking. They guided us down several blocks to accomplish various post-race tasks. I think walking helped me recover better.


Asphalt hurts.


The first and still the best.