Ever since I began running, I've wanted to qualify to run the Boston Marathon. And after living here 5 years, my interest has only increased. At my current age (40), this would require me to run a qualifying marathon in 3:20. And next year, this will get even more difficult as they make the times even more stringent (3:15:00). My fastest marathon was a 3:38 in St. George. I've thought that if I train hard enough, I could take off 18 minutes. Well, it's hard to train for triathlons, especially Ironman triathlons, and improve you marathon time (for me at least) due to the competing priorities (swim vs. bike vs. run) for your time. I really don't put in enough run time, including speed work, to improve my time. So, I'm not sure if I will ever qualify. However, this didn't stop me from running anyway. I was able to get a number through a friend of mine who has contacts within John Hancock (primary sponsor of the Boston Marathon). Last week, he informed me that he was able to get me a number. I paid the $300 entry fee and was assigned Bib# 26791 (out of apx. 27000 runners). This placed me way in the back (Last wave (Wave 3) and last corral (#9).
We had a perfect weather day yesterday. Temperature was around 60 degrees with a slight tailwind. Camille took me directly to Hopkinton and the start of the race. I had to walk 1/2 mile to the start/athlete's village due to road closures, but that was okay (although, it took Camille two hours to get home). I got there around 8:45 AM - two hours before my start. At 10:30, I made my way over to the starting line and ran into Nate Van Duzer from my church. He and I ended up running most of the race together. Wave 3 started at 10:40; although, I didn't cross the starting line until around 10:50. The first several miles were slow due to the mass of humanity. Things began to thin out slightly; although, it was crowded the entire 26.2 miles - very similar to NYC marathon. The crowds were fantastic. We spent much of the race running along the side of the street giving the little kids "high fives." The Wellesley College section (all women's college) was interesting as most of them were holding up signs labeled "kiss me" or "let's make out" or "I won't tell your wife" or "females only" and so forth. For the record, I just kept running.
Around mile 17, I started feeling some aches and pains in my kness and quads. This caused me to slow down considerably. The last 5 miles were a bear; however, the crowds were so huge, loud and motivating, it kept me going. The finish was amazing with hundreds of thousands of people lining Bolyston Ave down to the finish line. I ended with a 3:56:21 (9 min/mile pace) which was slower than I would have liked, but respectable. Overall, this was a great event. Very well supported, great food, give-a-aways, great crowds. Definitely worth the $ and effort. Everyone should try and run Boston at least once in their lifetime. The race was won by Geoffrey Mutai from Kenya with a course record of 2:03:02 (amazingly fast).
Although I missed my family on the course (they were waiting for me in Wellesley), they did give me a warm welcome when I got home.
This was also a great training run for my Ironman which takes place in less than 5 weeks. Now, I need to rest a bit and then get back at it.
