An Old Boston Report from 2006 to get in the spirit! A picture of the Citgo sign. Ah, to only have one mile left...On to the old report.

I always begin these reports with caveat that the report may be long and many details are just for me to remember those details later. Please skim past any portions that may be (and likely are) boring.

Also, here is a link to some pictures. I tried to put some of the Forum pictures and race pictures near the front, but they are otherwise just a hodgepodge of pictures from the trip. You should be able to go to the link and select that you wish to view the pictures without signing in.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=h07keh7.7cer18zn&Uy=l6mda5&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

Now, on to the report.

Wow, Boston is a great marathon. This was my 4th year in a row and I was hoping for some nice weather. We finally got a good day to run. Going into the race I had hopes of running a Sub 3 as a repeat of my effort 3 months earlier in Houston. My training between Houston and Boston was far less than optimal, but I had a good group of training buddies to run with both in training and in the race. Tom was ramping up his training quickly and avoiding injury at the same time in an effort to make a Sub 3 assault along with me, Jay (who did Houston with me) and Eric. Eric was trying to springboard from Houston into better fitness (and no injuries) for Boston.

Unfortunately my training took some serious hits along the way. I was planning on decent training for about 10 weeks and then tapering. I thought that I would have good carry over training from Houston and that I would be able to make a good go at it. I never really did get the feel for training again and most of my runs felt like a chore. I went on a ski trip and came back with a tight calf. I also had some other health issues knock me out a bit during what should have been my peak training. My 10 weeks of mileage leading into my taper were 20, 31, 39, 36, 47, 25, 16, 0, 47, and 48. Ouch - this is the first time I have analyzed that (31 mpw avg).

Those last 2 weeks of 47 and 48 gave me hope that I had maintained more fitness than I had thought and I felt like I was back in the game. Tom had rounded into form fairly well, but was just very uncertain of whether he had done enough since his training duration was so limited. We both had about 10 weeks, but I had my base of training from Houston whereas he was starting from scratch. Jay was having some hamstring and back issues and Eric was still fighting some injuries as well. We were a very nervous group, but stubborn enough to go for it anyway.

I was camping out in Boston with Jay at the Club Quarters while Tom and Eric were staying with their lovely wives in the luxurious Jury's Hotel. We all arrived safely and had an absolute blast hanging out Saturday and Sunday. I will skip past our adventures and get to race day.

Jay and I woke up at 6am and went next door for some pancakes. Unfortunately the dang restaurant was out of pancake mix and bagels. A bowl of Cheerios would have to suffice. We made our way over to the Park Plaza Hotel where the HP buses were waiting to take us to the start. I managed to find Tom and Eric to give them my pup tent for their lounging pleasure in the village. The bus ride was uneventful, but it was nice to have a restroom on board. Once we got to the village we were able to come and go from the bus and use the restroom which made it a little more convenient.

I met up with the RW Forum folk for my first FE. I am not going to try to mention the names because I will forget too many of them. Please help in ID'ing the people in the group photo and I will add their names to the title of the picture. I was able to eat a banana and one poptart and I packed 4 vanilla gu's into my shorts for the race.

The plan was for me and Jay to move to the back of corral 2 and to meet up with Tom, Eric, Wayne and Jake in the front of corral 3. We also met up with Bama Dave and JWD1113. The plan worked out and we were all able to start together. I ditched my long sleeve shirt and gloves before the start and we were finally moving. It took a little over a minute to reach the start and then we were running. I found it more congested this year and had a hard time getting into a rhythm for the first mile. We wanted to run the first 2 - 3 miles at 7 min/mile, but Tom and I lost track of everyone within the first half mile. We knew Jay and Wayne were in front of us and we never could find Eric. Our first mile was slow in a 7:17, but our second mile was quick in 6:41 and we were then back with Jay and Wayne. I really did not feel comfortable during that first mile, but things were ok by the second mile. We were in a group and running according to plan.

1 7:19
2 6:41
3 6:39
(5K 21:19)
4 6:48
5 6:54

My legs felt tight and my left hamstring very tight. After a taper I would have hoped for the fresh leg feel, but they were tight and tired. I was not terribly worried because they kind of felt that way in the Houston marathon and I managed a sub 3. Anyway, we had our group running well, but Tom was full of beans and kept pulling away. We worked well together and would pass around the water or Gatorade to make sure everyone got some. The miles up to number 10 were clicking off according to plan for the most part. At about 8 miles Tom pulled on ahead and quit waiting on us. I actually thought to myself that it was smart because we were really running on the slow side to have a good shot at the sub 3. This was one of the rare occasions that I thought Tom was doing the right thing by going out faster (he sometimes goes out too fast), but I was still worried for him.

6 6:44
10K 42:31
7 6:44
8 6:53
9 6:50
15K 1:03:39
10 6:55

Tom was now gone and somewhere before Wellesley Jay and I lost Wayne. Jay was having some problems with his back, but we were getting close to the Wellesley girls and we stayed together and had a blast. I blew many kisses, but did not stop for a real one. The girls were awesome and lifted my spirits. I was hanging on and fighting to maintain pace. I knew I had to go through the half under 1:30 to have any shot. I managed a 1:29:54, but pretty much knew my sub 3 was gone. I just did not have it in me that day. This is where the real fight started. I really felt like just dialing it back and coasting in at a comfortable pace, but had told myself that I could take a break after this marathon. I needed to run hard if I was going to deserve a break. The goal now was to maintain up to the hills, get through the hills and then see what was left.

11 6:59
12 6:53
20K 1:25:19
13 6:53
Half 1:29:54
14 6:44
15 6:57

I was really feeling drained and working hard to just stay in the race mentally. Jay dropped off somewhere near the hills. He came cruising up to me around mile 16 or 17 and looked good, but then he dropped back and I never saw him again. My climb up the hills went fine, but they were slowing me down. I was still having delusions of getting to the top of heartbreak and kicking all the way home for a sub 3. My mind said the right things, but my body had long quit listening. I was slowing down, but still passing many people on the hills.

16 6:51
17 7:19
18 7:18
30K 2:09:00
19 7:09
20 7:19
21 7:29

Well, I was over the hills and ready to see what I had left. Mile 22 has always been hard on me since it is downhill after those 4 back to back hills. I tried to go fast and only managed a 6:54. I knew my dreams were over, but I still had 4 miles to go. I basically just maintained my effort level and tried not to look for the Citgo sign. I was passing a lot of people even though I was not really kicking it home these last miles. I finally made the Citgo sign and then made it to the new underpass with the hill. It was not bad and actually made Hereford street come very quickly. Once you get up that hill it is not far at all to Hereford. I made the right turn and then the left onto Boylston and decided to kick in. I don't think I let anyone pass me on the stretch and went cruising by many. I missed the mile 26 split, but was kicking in strong the last bit. I crossed the line for a 3:03:15 which is a PR for the Boston course.

22 6:54
23 7:03
24 7:07
25 7:24
26.2 8:24 (6:54 pace)

I was happy with my effort if not my results. I pushed on even though it was not my day. I was way too optimistic in my level of fitness given my training, but I gave a very solid effort and did not quit mentally or physically. I probably had a bit too much left at the end since I pretty much made up all of my time going down Boylston, but it sure felt good to own that stretch of the race.

Tom was waiting at the end and he had to wait for me for a LONG time! He busted a 2:54:05 to set a new PR on a 10 week training program!!! He maxed at over 80 mpw and had 2 a Days several times a week. Kent and Bill (T_Toise) had set up his training and boy did it work out perfectly. I thought Tom and I were in similar shape and would be able to run most of the race together. No way was I going to be able to run 2:54:00 - No Freakin Way!

After the race we went to the HP post race party and then headed off to a great dinner organized by Tom's wife, Katrina. I stayed out too late drinking beer, but I was thirsty.

Thanks for reading this far if you made it.