Boston Marathon - RunMarathon

First, I just have to say that this race is incredible. It totally lives up to the hype. The people of Boston are AMAZING. If you ever have a chance to run Boston, take it! It is an experience you'll never forget.

Somehow everything just came together for me at this race. I went in with the hope of going sub-4 but no high expectations for myself. Okay. so here's the race

Miles 1-5: 8:33, 8:17, 8:23, 8:11, 8:21
I was warned to take it easy the first couple miles b/c of the pounding my quads would take on the downhills. So I just ran what felt comfortable and easy. I looked at my garmin a few times but didn't really pay too close attention to pace because I didn't want to get psyched out or anything. I was feeling good and felt like I could keep that pace all day long.

The crowds were great. I loved the kids jumping on trampolines in a row. ANd there was a bounce house with kids in it yelling "go runners! go runners!" Lots of stuff to look at and laugh about. Got pretty warm after mile 2 so I tossed my beanie and gloves. Still have a long sleeve under my singlet and was comfortable in that.

Was taking a shot blok about every mile and a half or so. Drank water with each one. Nutrition was spot on.

Mile 6-10: 8:06, 8:07, 8:10, 8:06, 8:04
Continued to feel really good. It was no longer tons of downhill, just gentle rollers and false flats, so I was able to gauge my speed a little better. Read the back of a guy's shirt that said "The only good race pace is a suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die." That really spoke to me. I thought about it and decided that I'd try to keep my pace in the low 8:10s. Why not, right? I felt great. If I popped, so what. So I kept that pace... and it felt awesome. It felt so good! I was thinking it was too good to last long, but I kept at it.

Again, crowds were awesome. People were along every single mile, both sides of the road, screaming their heads off. It was awesome.

Miles 11-15: 8:13, 8:03, 8:06, 8:04, 9:13
The wind was starting to really pick up here. I tried to just get behind big tall guys. There was a father-son duo running and they were perfect to draft off of b/c they were both about 6'4'' and running side by side. So I tucked in right behind them and ran with them until they pulled off to pee. I was sad to see them go because they were holding a good pace.

The Wellesley girls were awesome. I could hear them a half mile away! Lots of them had "kiss me!" signs and I saw quite a few guys pulling over to give smooches. So funny.

I was starting to get too warm and I decided to pull off to the side to take my long sleeve off and wear just my singlet. (that's the long mile, 9:13). I felt SO much better once I took it off.

Miles 16-20: 7:55, 8:22, 8:29, 8:00, 8:16
Here's where we got into the Newton hills. My legs were starting to feel not quite so snappy but I wasn't dying. Nutrition was right on. Kept repeating the ting about the suicide pace. I was saying "it's a good day to die" over and over, haha.

Ran up on a blind runner and that made me choke up a bit. It's incredible that someone with a disability like that can run marathons.

My friends Teni and Lindsay were at mile 17. They had made "Run Bridget Run!" tshirts and were looking GREAT! I was so happy to see them. I ran over and gave them each a smooch and then went on my way.

Also saw the Hoyts somewhere in this stretch and that choked me up too. Such an inspirational team. Even writing this now I'm getting teary-eyed. They are amazing.

Miles 21-26.2: 8:32, 7:54, 8:04, 8:06, 7:59, 8:02, 3:42 (I had a 26.5 mile reading on my garmin so my last half mile pace was 7:29)

Alright this is where my legs started to talk. I was in pain, but it was this weird pain that didn't really make me slow down. I kept thinking "you have a PR in your grasp, don't lose it!" And I know I've explained that slowing down never really makes anything better. I just kept plowing forward. My mental state was really strong. I just kept counting down the miles (only a 10k to go! you can do a 10k no problem. Less than 5 miles to go! That ain't shit! a 5k left, you are almost there!). They were going by so quickly!

Heartbreak Hill was really not that bad. I felt fine on it. Driving the course the day before I had said "Heartbreak ain't shit!" and so I kept telling myself that while I was climbing. It didn't slow me down that much or demoralize me.

The crowds from Boston College and forward were the best. So loud and obnoxious and fabulous. Watching the spectators as I ran by was such a blast. I think being distracted from the distance really made a difference.

I knew with 3 miles to go that I would PR and I couldn't believe it. Everything had just fallen in to place. This is what a good race feels like I guess. I never really hit a wall or thought about slowing down or stopping. My head was in the game as much as my body.

Turning onto Boylston I was SO STOKED to see the finish line. And then I saw a waomn who had crapped herself. And I made it my sole mission to get as far ahead of her as possible. It was soooo gross, I could smell it because of the ever present headwind. I was saying "get head of poop girl! get ahead of poop girl!"

I crossed the finish line feeling like a million bucks and couldn't believe I had just run the race that I did. I would venture to say it was the best race I've ever run. Unbelieveable. I loved every minute of it.

Following a training plan would be a good place to start. I feel like the entire last year I've been cobbling together workouts without any consistency or purpose. I just get in what I can, when I feel like it. Work is always screwing things up once I get into a routine. It stresses me out when I have races looming, plus I feel like a slacker compared to everyone else on BT. The no-routine thing hasn't been a total failure-- I've had some good races and a PR or two, but I would like to see what I'm capable of if I really follow a plan.

Met up with Teni & Lindsay and we had a couple beers at a bar at mile 26.1. Then we met up with a big gang of BTers for more beers at Bukowskis, then dinner in the North End. It was a blast. So much fun to celebrate a great race with my friends!


My fat ass, and my employer. Also I'm pretty lazy. And I'm a bit of a boozehound.


This was the most organized, well-run race I've ever done. It was just as good as everything I had heard. You must, must, MUST run the Boston Marathon at least once in your life!