Boston Marathon - Run


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Boston, Massachusetts
United States
Boston Athletic Association
60F / 16C
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 38m 55s
Overall Rank = 24653/36000
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Usually I can't sleep before a race, but being injured for the past two months, there were no nerves, so I slept well. Katie, Jackson and I left our house around 6:30 to drive to Hopkinton. I boarded a bus, and was shuttled to the 'Athletes Village,' AKA Hopkinton HS. I tried to take a nap on my trash bags, but just lay there as the sun rose overhead.
Event warmup:

Eventually walked to the start when the first wave was allowed to go.
Run
  • 4h 38m 55s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 10m 39s  min/mile
Comments:

I had high expectations for my 2nd attempt at Boston. I ran in 2012 when it was incredibly hot and finished just over 1200th overall in 3:12. I had a great training cycle and had PR'd a 10k a few weeks before that race in just over 36 min.

Last spring I ran a 1:20 half and felt that I finally had a sub 3:00 in reach. Training for Boston began to build up in December, and January was a great month with many runs that felt like sub 3:00 would happen. However, in early February my left calf began to bother me. I took a little time off, and it seemed to get better. Then, on my first run on the Boston course I developed an IT band issue that never healed. I went to a chiro twice a week to get Graston, ART and ultrasound. I did strengthening exercises for my hips and glutes, but nothing really helped.

In the end, I decided to get a cortisone shot, which I hoped would get me through the race. It only delayed the onset of the IT band pain. In training the pain began around mile 6 - in Boston it started around mile 8. I was able to tolerate it through around mile 17-18, but soon after the first of the Newton Hills (out of Newton Lower Falls and going up towards Newton/Wellesley Hospital) the pain suddenly got quite severe. I guess the cortisone got me that far, but the rest of the day was spent walking.

See the screen shot below for an idea of what my pace looked like - it's not all that hard to see where the pain increased and the pace decreased!

It was frustrating to be walking a course that I felt I knew so well and wanted to set a PR on. I guess there's always next time, but that will mean qualifying at another race, and that probably won't happen until next spring. So that means I'm looking at maybe another crack at Boston in 2016.

The best part of the day was being able to stop around mile 16 to see Katie and give Jackson a kiss. He just turned one and won't remember it, but it's etched in my mind. Next time, he'll be able to cheer me on!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/485246710#
What would you do differently?:

The injury and lack of training didn't make a difference, did they???
Post race
Warm down:

After walking the last nine miles I had to walk another mile or so to get to the nearest open T Station to get out to Alewife, where Katie was picking me up.

Event comments:

A momentous day, a first American win for the men in 30 years, and a race that I'd kind of like to forget on a personal level. I just wish I could go back two months and prevent getting injured!

Next step is taking at least two weeks of from running to try to let my IT band issues get better and focus on the tri season.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2013-09-14 12:00 AM
Running
04:38:55 | 26.2 miles | 10m 39s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/36000
Performance: Bad
HR: around 165 for the first 2 hrs (before things turned into a walk) 133 HR overall
Course: Hopkinton --> Boston - net downhill with a few hills in a town called Newton
Keeping cool Drinking
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?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]