Boston Marathon - RunMarathon


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Boston, Massachusetts
United States
Boston Athletic Association
50F / 10C
Total Time = 3h 57m 35s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 697/1583
Pre-race routine:

I had wondered how it could be possible to bus so many runners to the start of the race, but those people in Boston have it down to a science. What a smooth operation.
Woke up at 5:45 am. Dressed, ate and then my cousin picked me up at the hotel and drove me to the bus drop-off. I arrived in Boston Common at 7 am and proceed to a bus line (with one stop at the porta potty. I chatted with the women who shared the seat with me on the bus, and we proceeded to hang out together until the race start. She had already done Boston once before so it was nice to have someone "experienced" around.
Event warmup:

Not much, hit the potties, relaxed in the Athlete's village, took in the atmosphere and excitement. I suppose the walk to the start corrals would count as a warm-up since it's a bit of a walk. .7 miles? I think.
Run
  • 3h 57m 35s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 09m 04s  min/mile
Comments:

I ran the best race I could. I had driven the course the day before so I knew what to expect. I was feeling very strong for the first 25K,averaging between an 8:31 to 8:54 pace. then I began to slow down a bit. I'm proud to say that even at the end, when I was struggling, I never went slower than a 10 minute mile. I ended up beating my qualifying time from Chicago by 3 minutes.
What would you do differently?:

Perhaps take it a bit slower at the beginning. I had been told it's very easy to go out too fast due to the excitement of the race start and the fact that the first part is somewhat downhill.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked the long finishers chute picking up the items (medal, food, etc) along the way. Light stretching every so often. Changed into my compression recovery socks after I picked up my gear bag. I ate the potato chips from the snack bag ( the only thing I could eat since I have a wheat and dairy free diet) and oh no....about 10 minutes later the GI issues began. I have Crohn's disease and have to be very careful with food. Guess I ate too soon after running. Fortunately, many porta potties with no waiting. And I must compliment the city of Boston on their fine transit system's clean bathrooms.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I'm still relatively new to marathons actually. Chicago was my first, and this one only my second, so I guess I have much to learn about what my race strategy should be. But, regardless, I'm very pleased with my performance.

Event comments:

LOVED IT. 2011 Here I come!




Last updated: 2010-04-21 12:00 AM
Running
03:57:35 | 26.2 miles | 09m 04s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/1583
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Course: Hilly
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 5