Boston Marathon Race Report
Requisite mention of the attack: I’m saddened by what
happened and am thinking about all those affected, directly and
indirectly. I hope we get all the
details and find out what happened and deal with it appropriately. Everyone I know that was there was safe so
that was a relief. We were in The Lenox’s
lobby (our hotel) drinking beers with my wife, sister and her boyfriend when it
happened. The Lenox is on Boylston directly between the bomb sites. They both shook the building and immediately
we kinda knew what was going on. I sent
out a facebook message instantly because I knew phones would be swamped. We were stuck in the hotel for about 45
minutes lock down and then told to evacuate. Luckily we had out bag and did the
only thing we could think to do, walk to Cambridge where our friends had an
apt. We walked about 2 miles before
catching the bus to her apartment. We
showered, ate and caught a cab to the airport were we were able to get out
flight back home. Now on to my race
Training: Over the 18
weeks before the marathon I ran about 850 miles and averaged about 48 miles per
week. I did 7 18-20 mile runs, several
long marathon paced runs, and some tough tempo runs. I also trained on hills trying to prepare
myself. I managed not to get hurt but February
was rough motivation wise and I only managed to run about 171 during that month
and missed a bunch of runs. It was my
highest training volume to date. Despite feeling strong in my runs I was not
feeling confident at all and in general pretty nervous. My goal was sub 3 and I
was aiming to go out at 2:57.
Pre-race: We got into
town Friday and went to the expo. It was
exciting to be at a race of this scale. I
picked up my super flashy jacket and some other swag. Saturday we met up with my sister and her
friends. We went to the aquarium on
Sunday and at a nice pre-race dinner with her friend in Cambridge. Race-morning, I got up and walked to the
busses and met my sister. At the staging
area we relaxed with her running club from Baltimore. I was super impressed how smoothly it all
went. When it was time we went to the start
Start and first 5k (21:27, pace 6:55): My goal was to NOT go out to fast or panic
too much. It was surprisingly downhill
and hard to hold back. Felt real good
and ready for the long haul. Crowds were amazing and surprisingly little
bumping. It was hotter/sunnier than I
expected but it wasn’t horrible
5-10k (20:56, pace: 6:44):
Right on pace and felt decent. My
stomach was a little bloated but nothing too serious. Ate my chomps every 45 minutes as planned and
drank a cup at each water station
10-15k (20:51, pace 6:43):
Still feeling good eating and drinking.
The crowd support was great as we hit the small towns along the
way. Never seen anything like it, people
with great signs, people screaming their heads off, and people handing out
everything all sorts of snacks.
15-20k (20:55, pace 6:44):
Starting to feel a little labored and the little bumps in the road
dropped my pace a little. The Wellesley girls
were crazy, the loudedest section of the race, nice little motivation before
the half
20-25k (21:08, pace 6:48):
Feeling rough, took a powergel to try to get some energy back into my
leg.
25-30k (21:43, pace 7:00): Hit the half right on goal at
1:28:45. The Newton hills took their
toll on me. Really dropped my pace and I
had trouble picking the pace up on the backside going down. Saw a lot of other people in the hurting too
30-35k (25:30, pace 8:13):
And the wheels came off and came off hard . It’s totally cliché but heartbreak hill did
me in. Walked the last 1/3 of the hill
but still managed to run down the backside but it wasn’t getting and
better. My pace really slowed and I knew
my goal of sub-3 (and even a 3:05 BQ) was gone so I just tried to enjoy
myself. The crowds were pretty much the
only thing keeping me going and they were amazing.
35-40k (29:16, pace 9:26):
Despite a couple brief walking breaks I managed to keep shuffling
(mostly to get it done sooner than later).
At around mile 23 I saw my Wife and a couple friends cheering like crazy
for me (and pretty much everyone in the race) and I was pretty disappointed with
myself at that point so I could only manage a little excitement seeing
them. The crowds were growing thicker
and I loved all the support
40-42k (11:00, pace 8:04): No matter how bad you feel you
run the last 2k as best you can. Coming
down Boylston was amazing and I just pushed to the end and crossed at 3:12:46. Felt pretty rough but kept walking and got my
medal, blanket and checked bag. Found my
sister, friends and wife and made our way to the hotel.
Post-race thought: I’m
pretty disappointed with how I ran and sometimes the bear eats you. If you don’t
push you’ll never fail. I don’t know
where it went wrong. Was it my training,
the weather, the hills or just a bad race?
Most bitter was that I missed my BQ so I’d need to do another marathon
this fall if I want to run in 2014 (which I’d like to). All in all, I’m no worse for wear aside from viscous
blisters and the expected soreness. I
enjoyed Boston, the race and the experienced and I can wear my super ugly
jacket with pride. It was like no race I’ve
ever done before and I’m going to put my performance behind me and look forward
to using my base to some great races this summer.
The pace profile says it all. 
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