Well, it's over. Funny how you spend all this time anticipating the marathon, and once you're there, your only thought is, "I can't wait until it's over." I'll summarize this by saying that the race didn't go the way I had hoped, and hence, the title. I finished officially in 3:44:24, which is my slowest marathon ever. Ironically, I was able to enjoy this race more than my other Bostons, because I was able to look at and soak in the atmosphere (of course, that was because I was going so slow).
Alright, here are the dirty details. We (Rob Ory, Mark Bieber, and I) headed to the bus pick up point at 6:15 AM. By the time we got there, there were already big lines to get on board. The trip to Hopkington was pretty uneventful, although my seatmate was pretty chatty and profane. Hopkington was cold, windy, and sunny, so we found an area that was protected from the wind by the school. After waiting for 90 minutes, it was time to dump our gear and head to the start. Of course, even though I had used the Port-a-potties at the school, I had to go again (call it nervous bladder) on the way to the start. As we got to the start staging area, we saw a huge line in front of the Port-a-potties, so I found a tree, and Rob did the same. As I was finishing up, I looked up and was surprised to see a woman drop her shorts and squat no more than 15 feet away; maybe I'm chauvinistic, but I assumed that the outside world is usually a bathroom just for males. Obviously, I was mistaken.
I quickly walked up to my corral (Corral 1 in the 2nd wave), and the gun went off. The first few miles of the race are fairly steeply downhill, and I basically jogged through the first 5 miles at 7:10-7:15 pace, a bit quicker than planned but my effort seemed about right. After that the road started undulating, so it was time to get to work.
I got through 8 miles at 7:15 pace, but then my IT band started to act up. In addition, my GI tract started complaining with some cramps, so I stopped at a Port-a-Potty. That was when life turned ugly. As I left the Port-a-Potty, I started to run, and was immediately stopped by sharp pain in my left leg. I tried to stretch and massage it, but was only minimally successful. I started jogging, hoping it would loosen up, and it started feeling a bit better, although it was still bothering me. Talking mental stock of this, I wondered whether I would be able to run another 18 miles. Figuring that I had to get back to Boston somehow, I decided to keep going. I also really wanted a finisher's medal, so I planned to finish no matter what. I wanted to at least run through the "scream tunnel" at Wellesley; there is no way to describe this adequately, but it is a great Boston Marathon tradition. No, I did not stop for a kiss.
I then got through the 1/2 still in reasonable state, despite having to stop again because of my GI tract. Same drill with my IT band again. By then, it had warmed up enough, and I ditched my shirt, so I was only running in a singlet and shorts. Basically, I was trying anything to distract me and keep me going. After the 1/2, my legs really started bothering me. Because my IT band was acting up, I was changing my stride to compensate. Long story short, I ended up walking a fair amount, although I did run all the way up Heartbreak Hill. My aunt had showed me where she was going to watch for me in Newton, and even though I slowed down (it wasn't mattering much at that point) as I ran past Newton City Hall, I missed her, and she never saw me. More walking and running until mile 24, at which point, I figured that I could suffer my way through the last 2.2 miles. As I ran past the Citgo sign, I realized that it was only 1.2 miles to go, so I was able to pick it up for the last part.
All in all, pretty much everything that could have gone wrong today did go wrong. And while I'm disappointed that I didn't perform better, I also understand that one runs a marathon with the conditions of the day, both your own body's as well as the weather and circumstances. It has been a long journey to get to this point. I feel fortunate that I was healthy enough to get to the start line, and have had so much support from people.
Does this blog continue? I hadn't planned to go on after the marathon, but I may continue it as I transition to the triathlon season. Thanks for reading.
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