2017 Boston Marathon Race Report

Boston 2012 - 3:58:44, 1st marathon
Boston 2013 - 3:23:54, 3rd marathon, PR

Boston 2014 - 3:21:11, 5th marathon, PR

Boston 2015 - 2:58:08, 6th marathon, PR

Boston 2016 - 2:52:52, 7th marathon, PR

Boston 2017 - 2:50:58, 8th marathon, PR

Photo Courtesy of Douglas M Weisman

We passed the McNatt's at their normal spot, and Terry and Jon caught up to us to provide a couple small water bottles.  We held on to those to drink and douse ourselves - something we were doing at every water station (another smart strategy on this day).  And as we hit the Newton Hills, we were still running together and running well.  We passed Jenn and the rest of Neil's cheering section (he had a few of them!).  Then we passed the CSU crew in the middle with Julie/Gail/Del, then another group of CSUers in Ken/Dan/Stephen.  I'm pretty sure there were a few other pockets of CSU cheering sections, but my mind wasn't sharp at that point in the race - sorry!  I do remember passing Elizabeth, and tossing her one of my Gu's.  I only took one throughout the race, and didn't feel like carrying it anymore.  As is the case with each of my marathon's, having her out there at various points is awesome.  It's both motivating and helpful.  Helpful for taking/giving any gear or food that I may need, and motivating because I always want to avoid looking like death when I pass her!

At a minimum, I can be happy with that PR trend, but otherwise my running results in 2017 continue with one semi-disappointment after another.  In regards to Boston 2017...I can approach how I feel by asking the same question from two different angles:

On a scale of 1-10, how happy am I with my performance?
On a scale of 1-10, how disappointed am I with my performance?

Oddly enough, the answer is the same - somewhere around a 2 or 3.  I'm neither very happy nor am I very disappointed....but having run yet another marathon in less than ideal conditions leaves me frustrated and, somewhat oddly, motivated.  I was not happy with my build up, with the seeds for disrupted training being planted in the fall with a fluke sprained ankle on Battle Road.  Nonetheless, I put in some good mileage, had a few good workouts, and somewhat maintained fitness during a two week bout with tendonitis.  I felt capable on race day, if not a little nervous about my fitness.

For those that have run in the heat, Monday's high of ~74 may not sound that bad.  But, running in 74 degrees vs racing a marathon in 74 degree temps are two very different things.  My worries about my build up probably helped me in the early going.  The pace for the first mile was partly dictated by the packed crowds, but a cautious 6:34 on the initial downhill was a good idea.

Neil and I started to feel better and better during the next few miles.  During mile four I said to Neil that we should consider backing off just a little bit.  The 6:12/6:12 for miles two and three felt fine, but the 4th mile had us dipping into the 5:50 range, which seemed risky.  We backed off a hair to run 6:05, and then settled in nicely for the next 15 miles.  I would say we averaged roughly 6:20/mile for that chunk, and were running what I would consider a very smart race.

The one thing I noticed is that I never felt very comfortable.  Normally, I like to think, "this is the easy part," up until the Newton hills, but that was never the case.  I wasn't straining though, and thankfully I know the difference.

Heartbreak Hill - Courtesy of Kent Duckham

It was at the peak of heartbreak that I started to really feel like I was working.  Neil and I stuck together for a few more miles, and there was one section near BU that we hit a stiff headwind.  I think that was the point that Neil broke ahead and I had to really focus to keep it together.  Running together for ~23 miles was awesome though.  We had a great give and take with pacing and also keeping each other honest.

I'd had a blister on my right foot since Wellesley, and by this point, I also had a pinch in my left hip & hamstring, and a developing blister on my left Achilles.  The final 5k+ was a very controlled and challenging slow down.  I passed Jonathan somewhere around the 1m to go sign, and by then the blister on my achilles was gone, and getting worse.  I was trying to ignore the pain, but that was the worst of the little injuries as it became extremely raw and the heel of my shoe continued to dig and dig into the skin...whatever though!

Photo Courtesy of New England Runner Magazine

As seems to be the case every year now, I felt a big wave of emotion as I turned right onto Hereford and left onto Boylston.  That didn't last too long though.  I was caught off guard and passed by Shaun Dever (he was in corral 1, and I had passed him maybe 2m prior).  I did my best to go with him, but my stride had gone to **** and I decided it was more important not to cramp up.

After I crossed the finish line, my legs stiffened up and I was in danger of both calves and hamstrings locking up.  I started the Frankenstein walk, and began to make my way to meet Elizabeth.

I wish I could've gone with Neil and we could've finished together, but he had a lot more in the tank than I did and finished incredibly well.  Danny was just behind me, and also ran a PR.  So, three PRs on a very warm and sunny day...not bad for the gentleman of CSU!  I'm pretty sure that Dima, BillP, and StephenP were ok with how their races went as well.  Sorry if I missed anyone!

Impression of Frankenstein at 2:21:45
CSU Photos

Final time and splits via Garmin: 2:50:58