Boston Marathon race report
3:43:06 (14,385 overall ..a move up from my start #18044)
Man, marathons are hard ...particularly Boston, and especially on an ugly day. The temp was around 46 degrees, and the rain started 5 minutes before my wave start. The rain was moderate to very heavy throughout the race, and a steady headwind added to the challenge. That said, I didn't take much note of the rain while on the course. Frankly, I was in quite a zone throughout the race ..it was rather surreal the way the miles floated by.
Staying with my friend in the suburbs worked out great again. (Earmuffs, pbm, grue, and nigel) I had a leisurely morning in Southborough, and my friend dropped me off near the Hopkinton state park to catch a bus into town. They had tons of buses there. So easy to catch an open bank of porta potties, step on a bus, and then get dropped off right near the back of the corrals - no need to go to the athletes' village. Even some locals chose to get dropped off at the park instead of heading into Boston. My wave started at 10:50 a.m., and I got dropped off in Hopkinton at 10:15. I hopped into a short restroom line at the corner gas station and then joined the throngs heading into the corrals. I was unusually calm before the start. Normally, my HR reaches about 100 before a race. Here, the HR was around 80 or below. I was just enjoying the sights and sounds, soaking it all in.
Somewhere around mile 15-16, I managed to lock my Garmin, and I always forget how to unlock it. It was on the HR screen, which was good, but I did want to keep a bit of an eye on pace as well. In attempting to unlock it, I seemed to have screwed up the timing, so I don't have good mile/HR splits.
5K: 25:18
10K: 25:23
15K: 25:46
20K: 26:57 pee stop
25K: 25:59
30K: 27:13
35K: 27:38
40K: 26:34
HM split: 1:49:07 ..final HM split: 1:53:59
I've seen grue's freakishly steady pacing, but the above is probably more the Boston norm - fast on the early down slopes, steady through the middle, hanging tough through the hills, and then finishing as strong as possible (
if possible). The early miles were a little better than I expected. My HR was hanging around 160, so I tried to hold back. The pee break was too long - went to a line of porta potties near mile 12, but the extra time to step off the road and latch/unlatch the door is a waste. Shoulda done like nigel and just quickly caught a tree.
About mile 15 my quads started barking at me - a sign of limited training (and lack of hill work). Ultimately, this was the limiting factor for the day. I took it steady through the hills, not daring to push too hard and aggravate the quads too much. The HR moved into the mid or high-170s on the hills but then drop back into the 160s. As I pushed to the finish, the HR stayed in the 170s.
I really fed off of the amazing crowds. I'd put an extra "Wally" tag near my left shoulder (above the bib), and wow ..giving them a name to call out generates a ton of response. I starting counting the personalized call-outs during the early miles as a way to pass the time, and it was well over 300 before the HM point. They get really enthusiastic when you make eye contact and give them a smile or a finger point. Toward the end, where I'd normally start to withdraw into myself to some degree, I consciously worked to respond to the crowd with a look or a high-five so that I'd stay engaged and get their energy. I really did have a positive spirit throughout, much of it due to my extra motivation. Never really any negative thoughts or doubts about finishing well.
The difficult part was after the race. We had to shuffle forward for about 4 city blocks, and the wind was funneled down Boylston right into us. Very cold and uncomfortable. I could hardly walk anyway, but then needed to loop back several blocks to catch a train. The train station, where I had to wait an hour, wasn't too warm either. Eventually a young couple next to me insisted I take a few bucks to buy some hot tea, since as the guy pointed out, "your lips are turning blue." The tea helped a lot. A massage last night was beneficial, too, but my legs - especially the quads - are still a mess.
My time easily qualifies me for next year's race in a new bracket (only needed a 3:55). Early goal? Top 10% in that bracket.
TL
R - successful, satisfying, surreal event; tight quads; requalified.
That's funny - its the exact time I ran in the AF 2 miler during bootcamp. I can still vividly remember that morning.What time gets you a perfect score? I'm assuming you didn't go all out because that's all you need.
