It's all relative

AM: Ran with Anthony.  We started decently quick but then he slowed down a bit- not sure why.  At about mile 7 we split and I sped it way, way up to 6:00-6:30 for every mile there on out.  Averaged 6:50/mile overall for the whole 20 miles, but felt good that the last 13 miles were so fast.

Was waiting for the air conditioning guy to arrive for an appointment, but decided that he wasn't going to make it.  I decided to go start a run to make something of my wasted evening... and lo and behold, as soon as I started there he was: right on time, 2.5 hours late.  Thanks, bud.  I'll take the angry quarter mile although.

AM: Workout with the group.  Mainly stayed well within myself with a workout planned tonight, but still probably did too much work.  Workout was 2x100, 2x200, 2x300, 2x400, 2x600, 2x400, 2x300, 2x200, 2x100.  I think this workout is a real staple when practicing form.  I went sub 5:30/mile pace on everything, but didn't check any splits, just ran for fun.

PM: About 10 miles total, with 6x800 at Jeremy and John's pace.  Just tried to relax with tired legs and keep my cadence high.

PM: 7 miles, half of them with Anthony.

Later PM: Gym- arms, back, abs, stretching

Even later PM: Group workout- arms, back, body-weight (chest), abs (dynamic), and 4 more miles mixed with 3 sprints to clear out some soreness.

PM: 8 miles (a mile of fast striders) and the gym- arms & back

2 miles and them gym- chest, tris, abs

AM: Ran a 5k parkrun in Clermont and then did the Clay loop in Clermont with Anthony and Elia.

No running

PM: 7 miles and the gym- chest, tris, shoulders, abs

AM: 8 miles, 4.5 on the track at effort.

PM: gym- chest, tris, abs, and some more miles

PM: Some miles on the treadmill followed by arms, back, and abs.

PM: 7 miles with Jeremy and Anthony

PM: 5 miles with Anthony.

AM: 3 miles

No running.  The weather here in Boston is terrible.  I am not in shape, but oddly excited for  the conditions.  I suppose it's because I don't have to meet any expectations other than to complete the marathon tomorrow.

The Boston Marathon Race Report

Training: Well, as you can see, I have basically only the one decent 20 mile long run- on asphalt in 75 degree perfect weather with no hills... zero of my races have had hills... and I live in Florida... so, not really prepared at all.  But- it's the Boston Marathon!  I was excited anyway!

Weather: 31 degrees wind chill, 40 degrees temperature, rain for the duration of the marathon with squalls/heavy rain, 26mph wind at the start that ended up being a constant headwind/Easterly wind the entire way, and even some small deposits of residual snow on the ground by the starting tents which added to the ambiance nicely.  People were laughing when I told them I was from Florida- I don't blame them!

Pre-race: The one hour bus ride was difficult- I forgot it took so long to get down there.  I'm about 6' tall, so I don't fit into a yellow school bus very easily.  When we finally arrived, the rain/wind/temperature was a tough combination to deal with, and I found myself shivering and and conversing with everyone while wondering how we were going to do this.  I knew I was going to do it, I just thought it was a bit crazy of all bad weather days for it to be on this particular day.  Finally they called for wave 1 and we trudged across the mud towards the start line, shivering.  Fortunately, I was in corral 2, so I got a good look at the elites which was a fun sight- oddly enough, Yuki Kawauchi- the winner- noticeably stood out as looking particularly spry while Galen Rupp (or at least I found out later was Galen Rupp) looked like he was about to rob a bank in dramatic fashion.  

Goals: A Goal- Run a 2:59 to keep my streak of sub 3-hour marathons intact.

B Goal- Run a BQ so I don't have to run another marathon until Boston next year (approximately a 3:03 finish time)

C Goal- Complete the marathon.

The Race!-  This was an insane, unforgettable experience.  If I could make a race with the worst weather conditions at the start, I'd have checked all of the boxes that this race had- enduring rain, squalls, headwind sustained over 25mph, and a windchill at freezing temperature- so as to be as cold as possible, but not cold enough to freeze.  I started with an inordinate amount of clothes and decided to wear a poncho- a legit poncho- for the duration of the marathon, which proved to be absolutely worth it despite making me into more of a kite than a runner.

Miles one to the 13.1 mark were difficult conditions, but the mild 6:32 pace made it easy to sustain.  I crossed the half in 1:25:45 and felt fine condition-wise.  Wellesley again was an incredible experience, and I was able to see my family twice, smiling and high-fiving every time.

Miles 13.1-20 were a bit unprecendented.  The rain squalls were intense and had me smiling at the sheer ridiculous conditions.  I'll run in pretty much anything, but had I woken up for an important long run and it was doing this outside, I'd have noped my way right back into bed and took the L.  Some runners along the route were such an absolute mess that I felt bad.  Some were shivering, walking, hunkered under blankets and tangents seemed to be the last thing on anyones mind.  How 89% of the runners started the race who signed up and 95% of those who started were able to finish is phenomenal.  Then again, I suppose if it's the Boston Marathon you just kind omit not finishing from your vocabulary, so I shouldn't be too surprised.

Miles 20 & 21 were slow, but I still felt fine.  The Newton hills are a bit evil, mostly because they aren't necessarily challenging, it's just hard to speed back up after them and everyone slows so it's easy to slow paces and not realize or correct it.  Not surprisingly this was my slowest 5k.  Fortunately, I got to see my family/friends for a fourth time, and I was still smiling and high-fiving people along the way which was a good sign.  I'm shocked I was able to pick them all out so quickly in the crowd of umbrellas and coats.  What a memorable experience!

The last 5.2 miles were a lot of fun.  I am usually a bit over running right about here, so the biggest benefit of Boston is you have a large group just pulling you along so looking at your watch isn't really needed which eases the mind and effort.  Lots of smiling and high-fives.  I did have to drop in a bathroom break within the last two miles, but it was worth the stop, particularly because it takes forever to find one after the race ends.  I crossed the finish line arms in the air and still smiling at 2:53:30.  What an uncanny experience!  I truly enjoyed this race and was able to take everything in much better this time around.  

Truly, the difficult part of this race was afterwards- they (the BAA) were NOT prepared for the state of the runners at the end.  After waiting 20+ minutes just to get my bag of dry clothes, I was shivering pretty intensely and needed things to expedite- they did not have a good plan for places for runners to change/get dry/get warm.  I felt like I was waiting at the DMV.

Splits: 1st half- 1:25:45, 2nd half- 1:27:45 (6:37/mile overall pace)

5k Splits: 20:23, 20:13, 20:10, 20:33, 20:22, 20:39, 21:13, 20:27, Finish- 9:33

AM: 1 mile.

PM: 2+ miles and then gym- arms, back, legs, and abs.

PM: 8 miles- felt good.

PM: 7 miles- felt good.

AM: 8 miles and then the gym- arms, back, legs, and abs.

AM: 12.5 miles with Anthony and Elia.  Felt pretty spry- 7:00/mile average.

AM: 9 miles- 3 of them faster, ~6:00/mile pace.

AM: 9 miles, 3 fast with the group.

PM: 10 miles solo then the gym- arms, back, abs.

PM: 10.3 miles solo.

PM: 7+ miles and the gym- chest, tris, shoulders, abs.

AM: 6 miles with Anthony.

AM: Ran as part of a relay in the St. Anthony's Olympic triathlon.  Our swimmer exited the pool in 11th overall for the relays and our biker was 6th on the bike but with positioning set me up for 4th entering the run with 5:00, 4:40, and 2:30 behind 1-3 respectively so I had my work cut out for me.  I did not get the job done and did not pass a single one.  Although my overall time (35:50) was faster than their three, I did not do enough to catch up, finishing 4:12, 1:58, and 1:37 back respectively.  I had done the math at the halfway point and had just too much ground to make up (4:40, 4:00, and 2:20) so I did kind of pack it in a bit.  I still ran semi-hard, but figured I didn't have much of a shot.  

Splits- 18:13, 17:37 (also not included would be the +19 seconds for the time through the transition area from the mat).

I did get to see a bunch of friends along the way who were volunteering or participating!  A lot of people mentioned my form looked good, so that was a nice surprise despite not being able to catch anyone in my division.  

PM: half the way running to the gym then arms, back, and abs, then ran home.  6:50-7:20/mile pace.