Aside from the weather, marathon Monday went nearly exactly to plan. I chatted up a first time Boston runner on the bus ride out, and she and I happened to both be in Wave 3/Corral 2. So time passed quickly to get to the starting line. Except for the fact that I was shivering on the line as it started to rain, I was hardly anxious or stressed out. The plan was to run Boston as a supported long run - run easy for the first few miles, then do a "workout" of 18 to 24 miles at 95% of goal marathon pace. With the headwinds in the forecast, I figured I would be running mostly on feel so I wasn't going to be frustrated if I wasn't exactly at 95%.
When the gun went off, it was the typical slow shuffle. I saw 8:xx on my watch for the first mile, and continued on unconcerned about pace, simply looking to make sure I didn't get my heals clipped. I stayed relaxed and ran on the outside of the crowd, bobbing and weaving as little as possible. Without giving it much thought, my pace started to quicken. By the 3rd mile, I realized I was basically in that 95% zone and the "workout" had started.
The crowd started to stretch out around the 4m mark where I was promptly cut off by one runner who was bounding along like an idiot. Not surprisingly, I caught up to him within a quarter mile where he tucked in behind me and started nipping at my heals. Instead of dope slapping this poor fool (who was surely dope slapped by the merciless distance itself) - I accelerated ever so slightly.
As far as the weather was concerned, I was pretty drenched a few miles in. Around the 5k point I could feel that my shorts were soaked, but my shoes were dry, and I was avoiding puddles. The wind was noticeable here and there, but I was focused on other things that were more within my control.
A lot of these middle miles, I was zoned out people watching. I felt really comfortable, and I was pleased with that. Around mile 10, I started to get concerned with my left achilles. It wasn't causing me to alter my stride, but it is a minor injury that started a few weeks ago and as it became bothersome I wanted to stay aware of it and be careful. I backed off ever so slightly, and then around Wellesley I slowed a bit more to people watch. One male runner went in between all of the college females and gave a male officer a peck on the cheek. The officer feigned anger (or perhaps he
was annoyed), but I was amused.
When I passed the McNatt's at ~14 miles, I felt like I had been out for an easy morning run. Things were going exactly to plan, and the achilles was proving a minor issue. I had given Terry a small water bottle and an electrolyte thingie, and he jogged with me for a spell and handed that off to me.
Note to my future self: electrolyte thingie caused no stomach issues and I had no cramping the entire race. Once I downed the drink, I sort of settled back in, but I noticed it getting a bit more crowded again. I had caught up and been running with people who started in Wave 2 for awhile, but this was the point where I was really getting into that crowd.
I was surprised when I turned onto Comm Ave. I literally shook my head, and looked at my watch confused by how suddenly I had arrived at the fire house. I stopped noticing the little buzz my watch would make after every mile, and all of the sudden I was hitting the Newton Hills. I was also amazed at how easy the hills felt. This was my 4th time running Boston, and I have never felt so good at this point. I must admit though, I was getting very annoyed at the runners around me; I understand the need to walk, but I think you should do it in a safe way that doesn't risk collision. The splits show me slowing a bit here, however, a good chunk of that can be attributed to the nearly stopping short/zig zagging/etc. I passed Elizabeth right around Centre St. and yelled out "I AM KHAL DROGO!" and onward to Boston I went.
With around 5k to go, I looked at my watch and did some math and realized I was going to be cutting it awfully close to 3 hours. At this point I diverted from my plan and started to accelerate. This was quite difficult because there were huge sections of clustereffed runners, other than that - I was on cruise control. I continued to cross the road, zig zag, and do whatever I could to keep open pavement ahead of me. I was taking the wide end of every turn to steer clear of runners, and even passing under Mass Ave I needed to hop onto the grass to avoid wobbly-legged runners. Once I turned onto Boylston, I just kept the foot on the gas and I was pleased to come in at 2:58:08.
I'm even more pleased to come out of this 100% healthy. I've had no issues going down stairs, and I've been able to continue my routine of running to and from work without missing a beat.
The only issue I have now is my decision: do I stick with my master plan of running VCM at the end of May? I have 24 hours to decide...
Garmin Splits:
| 1 |
- 8:07 |
| 2 |
- 7:17 |
| 3 |
- 6:43 |
| 4 |
- 6:30 |
| 5 |
- 6:45 |
| 6 |
- 6:38 |
| 7 |
- 6:39 |
| 8 |
- 6:47 |
| 9 |
- 6:45 |
| 10 |
- 6:46 |
| 11 |
- 6:46 |
| 12 |
- 6:44 |
| 13 |
- 6:51 |
| 14 |
- 6:51 |
| 15 |
- 6:51 |
| 16 |
- 6:45 |
| 17 |
- 7:01 |
| 18 |
- 6:53 |
| 19 |
- 6:40 |
| 20 |
- 6:45 |
| 21 |
- 7:01 |
| 22 |
- 6:32.3 |
| 23 |
- 6:25.2 |
| 24 |
- 6:23.5 |
| 25 |
- 6:15.0 |
| 26 |
- 6:13.3 |
| 0.41 |
- 2:15.0 |
| Final Time |
2:58:08 |
