Boston Marathon - RunMarathon


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Boston, Massachusetts
United States
Boston Athletic Association
48F / 9C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 05m 19s
Overall Rank = 1966/26,000
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 286/
Pre-race routine:

We went to a nice dinner at Dolce Vita a ways from the start line. Ate with some Friends and headed home to get some good sleep. I had an ear infections last Monday and I am still on anti biotic. Felt fine come race morning. Got up at 7:00 since we were like 3 miles from the start. Ate a good breakfast with my brother at the hotel which was eggs and a waffle and a few potatoes. Drank 1.5 cups of coffee and a glass of O.J. Loaded up the car and drove to Hopkinton.
Event warmup:

Chilly morning. Wore cotton gloves and a skull cap until the start. Shedded the hat before the gun went off.Had to walk about 1.2 miles to the start area. Dropped off my warm clothes bag on the bus and took a quick pee. Walked around the athlete village and took a few pictures then off to the start which was 3/4 of a mile away. Got in Corral #3 and shed my warm up suit. Nice to have my brother there. He was my sherpa all weekend long. Got ready to run. Tried to find Dick Dime but could not. When I got to the race site I ran for a few minutes and did some dynamic stretching right before the start.
Run
  • 3h 05m 19s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 07m 04s  min/mile
Comments:

So I started in the back of my corral and carried a full gatorade for the first 13 miles so I didn't have to stop. The gun went off and the crowd moved slowly to the start. Trying to pass was not gonna happen. I was on the right side of the road high fiving all the kids along the way. Just had to run with the crowd. Thankfully we were all running about the same pace. Chugged along and enjoyed the sights and people. Caught up to a friend from my Altitude adjusted team and ran with him for about 5 miles. Had to stop at mile 9 to pee. Kept on running and loving the crowd. Got to mile 13 and was thrilled with my sub 1:30 time. At this point I could already feel my quads getting sore. Down hill for the first 13 miles. Then past the screaming Wellsley girls and ready for some hills at Newton. The uphills were mighty slow as my quads had nothing on the up. Still hurting on the down hills but at least I could go faster. Then came heart break hill at mile 20.5. It was not fun. I was barely moving and my legs were screaming. Got down the hill and tried to maintain as my quads were starting to lock up every so often. I gelled at the start, mile 6, mile 17. Gatorade at about every other aid station as it was not hot but didn't want to cramp. The quads felt crampy after mile 17 the rest of the way. Got to the 5k remaining mark and just pushed. The HR shows that. I really had to stay focused today more than any other race. Had to play tricks on my body to push throught the pain. I did not want to walk. I only stopped once the whole race and that was to pee at mile 9. It was not fast but all i had. Got to 1 mile left and the fans were absolutely screaming. It really did help. Got on to Boyleston street and saw the finish. I had no kick but put the head down because I was in serious pain and wanted it to be over. Got to the finish and was elated by my time. Walked for ever to get to the busses with my clothes. Had 2 of those foil blankets on me. They gave us a bagel, chips and a bag of granola. Yuck. COuldn't eat any of it. I wanted something hot and yummy. Finally got to the bus and it was caous trying to find bags. Mine was not so hard to run. Found my brother at the end under the D sign and we walked about 5 blocks to a nearby pub. Had many beers and a brat. Met Dime and Bridget there after a while. Then kenny and Tyra showed up too. Also met Jim from Cali. and then had to leave to get to the airport by 8 pm. Quite a spectacle! The race course was lined with people the whole route! I want to do it again next year and get my wife qualified. I did requalify with my time.
What would you do differently?:

Train more. My training was down quite a bit the last 3 weeks. I would have to say that I am glad that I was undertrained and not overtrained.
Post race
Warm down:

Walking, beers, brats.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training

Event comments:

Just awesome, everyone should try and go!




Last updated: 2009-02-02 12:00 AM
Running
03:05:19 | 26.2 miles | 07m 04s  min/mile
Age Group: 286/
Overall: 1966/26,000
Performance: Good
Mile 1 6:52 AVHR 147 Mile 2 6:36 AVHR 156 Mile 3 6:40 AVHR 153 Mile 4 6:33 AVHR 155 Mile 5 6:46 AVHR 157 Mile 6 6:42 AVHR 156 Mile 7 6:42 AVHR 156 Mile 8 6:45 AVHR 157 Mile 9 7:07 AVHR 156 Pee stop. Mile 10 6:43 AVHR 159 Mile 11 6:52 AVHR 158 Mile 12 6:45 AVHR 156 Mile 13 6:46 AVHR 157 Mile 14 6:45 AVHR 159 Mile 15 6:59 AVHR 158 Mile 16 6:39 AVHR 157 Mile 17 7:23 AVHR 158 Mile 18 7:28 AVHR 157 Mile 19 7:07 AVHR 157 Mile 20 7:25 AVHR 158 Mile 21 7:57 AVHR 158 Heart Break Hill Mile 22 6:59 aVHR 158 Mile 23 7:23 AVHR 157 Mile 24 7:10 AVHR 163 Mile 25 7:15 aVHR 163 Mile 26 7:37 AVHR 163 Mile .2 3:14 AVHR 162
Course: Started in Hopkinton and ended in downtown Boston. Straight shot to Bean town.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 5