Boston Marathon Part #1 (the good miles)

I always forget how long it takes to get from Boston to Hopkinton. It's kind of intimidating to think that you're going to have to run back. They started calling Wave 1 soon after I got there, which was more than an hour before Wave 1 took off. They were very insistent that "only people with red bibs" should start existing Athlete's Village. I thought of my friends running in that wave and hoped they were all feeling good.

I started listening closely to the announcements after 9:45... and even more closely after 10:00 (after Wave 1 took off). If they called Wave 2, I never heard it. I started heading over around 10:10 because even though I didn't want to be "one of those people", I would start lining up for a local race 15min before gun time! There were a bunch of people heading over in Wave 2, some with bib numbers higher than mine, as well as lower than mine. There was finally a sign that had us split out by bib number... there was virtually no one in the coral 1-5 line. I noticed that anyone in this line, as well as getting into this line, start jogging. I also heard the announcer say that, even though it felt like you had been running for a mile (yes), your time wouldn't start until you crossed the start line (no clue, why was he saying this?).

When I got to the start line, I heard the announcer wish coral 8 good luck. I was supposed to be in coral 3. Oh well. I tucked in on the far left side of the road behind two girls that looked like they were in the same boat as me. We passed people for a bit. It's amazing how 8000+ people can all run along at a 7:30 (or faster) min/mile pace.

Around mile 2, there was someone who was going crazy when they saw Raleigh on my singlet. I have no idea who it was, but it was kind of cool. Shortly after that, I got to the first water stop, which was a cluster !@#$. In the past two Boston's I ran, I was in the first two corals of the wave, so I've never really had to deal with this. Anyways, I managed not to get taken out, or take anyone else out, but I think I might have flung water on a volunteer by accident.

A little after the 5k mark, I heard a spectator comment that he thought there were more guys than girls running. It suddenly dawned on me how I would know I was back "in the right spot". I had been kind of trying to look at people's bib numbers to see what coral I was "in". I knew I wouldn't/shouldn't catch up to my coral (I would have to make up 5ish minutes), but I was aiming for two corals back. I figured they would be running the pace I would want to run by the time I caught them (hopefully around the half mark). However, it isn't like you can really stop and get a good look at the people beside you in a crowd when you're running. But, I knew I wasn't where I wanted to be. What I couldn't figure out is how I knew that. The people around me were mostly female and looked about my age... probably 95:5 on the female:male ratio. If we get a 50:50 split in the groups of people I train with, it's a good day. So, I figured when I started seeing more guys in their late 40's / early 50's, I'd be good.

I was having fun though. There were a lot of people. That was cool. And, I was actually averaging the pace I wanted to, right around a 7:30. So, it probably wasn't the worst thing that I started late. Around the 8k mark, I heard a guy behind me say, "isn't it a great day to be a runner?". I had to agree. It was.

I clicked off mile after mile, averaging about the pace I wanted to give or take. That was encouraging. It was getting slightly harder to do this somewhere around mile 10, but that was probably due to the heat. The girls at Wellesley were going crazy at mile 12ish, and soon enough I was at the half marathon mark. I came through exactly where I wanted to be... 1:37:45... somewhere between 1:37 and 1:38.

I knew my family would be somewhere around the half marathon mark right after a bridge. This is where they've been the past two Bostons I've run. However, I can never quite remember where it is. So, from 13.1 on, I was on the lookout, which was a good distraction. Turns out, the bridge is actually a little after mile 14. I saw them, cheering like crazy. It was good to see them. I gave them a wave, and continued on.

I think I started to slow down a little after I saw them. But, my 25k split was still ok. It wasn't until I hit the downhill at mile 15-16ish that I started running into trouble. My right quad... well, whole upper right leg up to my lower back... was really starting to hurt.

THE STATS:
Cumulative Pace- 7:23 (5k), 7:27 (10k), 7:28 (15k), 7:29 (20k), 7:28 (13.1M), 7:30 (25k)
5k Paces- 7:23 (5k), 7:31 (10k), 7:30 (15k), 7:31 (20k), 7:36 (25k)