If you ran Boston yesterday- post about your experience here

1) 3:00

2) 2:42

3) Split shorts, letsrun singlet

Best day of my life!

I didn't run but one of my runners won the women's race. She said it was very cold and windy. I have so much blubber that I was warm the whole time. After she won I hugged her before her husband could. I miss the spotlight so much.

Goal Time: 2:48

Actual Time: 2:53:08

Wore: synthetic thermal long sleeve under singlet, windbreaker jacket to start, dropped jacket at mile 3, half tights, baseball cap

Didn't know what to expect, so I ran conservative the first half and through the hills. Picked it up in the last 5 miles and had a great experience. Rain and wind were miserable, but eventually you just get used to it and tune it out. Worst part was walking to get gear and waiting to change into dry clothes. Saw lots of people really struggling to stay warm after the race.

maybe the first serious response?

1) Goal time = sub 3 (3:03 qualifying time)

2) Actual time = 3:31 (1:37/1:54)

3) What you wore = running hat, headband, gloves, socks over the gloves (discarded at mile 3) on head.

compression shirt, sweatshirt (was supposed to be throwaway, but I kept it), singlet up top.

tights, shorts, wind pants (again, supposed to be throwaway, but kept them on) over legs. I'm sure all this crap slowed me down, but it was worth it just to survive. I'm a big dude and was getting drilled out there.

4) And then overall experience = it was really difficult. The start is emotional, I saw my wife at Framingham (6.6), the Wellesley girls were loud and great, and Boylston was amazing. Outside of that 5 minutes, though, it was miserable. Everyone who finished has my permanent admiration. And the volunteers deserve all the stars.

Goal: 2:35

Actual: 2:36

Wore arm warmers, singlet, compression shorts under split shorts, polyester gloves, thin hat, thin Smartwool running socks.

It was a PR for me by 7-8 minutes. I positive split by 2 minutes, which might be even effort at Boston.

1) Goal time: 2:55 or better (original before weather reports), 3:00+/- (adjusted for the race conditions) [qualified with sub 3]

2) 3:12 (hypothermic at end)

3) half tights with shorts underneath, long sleeve polypropylene top, singlet, ball cap with ear headband, polypro gloves

4) Maybe the hardest race I've done. Definitely the toughest conditions that I've raced in. The last two miles were worse than bonking. Nevertheless, it was a great experience to run Boston and to be part of such an event. They do a great job.

Goal 3:10

Actual 3:26

T-shirt, singlet, shorts, gloves, arm warmers, and cap

Pre-race staging sucked. BAA did not make any extra accommodations for the weather. No extra tents, etc. Field was a total mudpit. There was more mud under the tents than outside of them. Was able to find a corner and still on a extra poncho for a bit. Felt decent at start. Volunteers and crowd support was fantastic. They really did great in such crappy weather. Realized I was in trouble by 10 miles so I switched to survival mode. Totally numb hands once the gloves became wet. Happy to have finished but by far the worst marathon weather I have run in out of the 26 I have completed.

Goal: Sub 3:05 (supported by an 85:56 tune-up half)

Actual: 3:12:34, split 1:34:50/1:37:44

Started with singlet, shorts, arm-warmers, plus throw-away longsleeve and clear poncho. Also wore headband and hat, and convertable gloves/mittens with handwarmers and plastic gloves under the "real gloves". Tossed the poncho at 5, wore the longsleeve to the end. I've raced in identical weather for a half marathon, and the outfit I described above was perfect then. But I didn't allow for the facts that you generate less heat at full marathon pace, and you're out there for more than twice as long.

I stayed conservative through Heartbreak and then started to pick it up. And then totally bonked at 23. I think my issue was nutritional - after 19, my hands were too cold to extricate any more of my gels from my soggy shorts, and the lack of nutrition caught up to me.

Things I would do differently next time:

1) tuck 1 or 2 gels in my sportsbra, as a back up in case I couldn't access the ones in my shorts.

2) push the pace a bit more between 6 and 16. I think I was too careful there. On a day like Monday, the slower you ran, the more energy you ended up spending just staying warm. Had I run a bit harder there, I would have stayed warmer, and not lost anything in terms of overall energy exerted.

3) worn a light form-fitting water-repellent jacket (I don't own one currently). I do think that shorts were a much better choice than tights - tights would have just gotten water-logged and slowed me down.

Also - question for all. Did anyone else note differences in relative performances between the different waves?

I knew a LOT of people who ran it on Monday, and it seemed that on average, those in wave 2 fared better than those in wave 1. I'm thinking perhaps a combination of having more people around you to block the wind, and perhaps timing of when the worst of the wind and rain hit.

(obviously, those in the women's elite start had a much harder time than those of us in wave 1)

Goal 2:47, actual 2:56. Singlet, shorts, arm warmers, cap. Was right on goal pace through 16. Did not think weather was affecting me, but legs felt tight, so I eased up by 10 seconds or so on hills. Then had hard time on heartbreak and started serious bonk at 23. Could not move legs and had to walk/jog intermittently. Still not sure why -- weather, nutrition, combo? Did not start shaking until finish, but when I did it was uncontrollable.

1) Goal time: 2:55 2:55 was my "A goal"; I was on pace through first half, but ended up with my "B goal"....

2) Actual time: 2:59

3) What you wore:

In village: old NYC finisher's poncho, throw away shoes, fleece pajama pants, beanies (one thin, one fleece)

To run: Shorts, Short sleeve shirt with arm warmers that I lost, long sleeve shirt, quarter zip tech that I intended to discard but never did, tech beanie.

I made a mistake in wearing Nike VaporFly 4%. That foam soaks up tons of water.

The volunteers were great! Boston Strong rang true.

My biggest fear was hitting the wall and having to walk because I knew I would freeze and not be able to start running again.

Once I finished I did start shivering and didn't stop until I got dry about an hour later.

1. Goal = Sub 2:40, #stoprupp

2. Result = 2:41 (PR), #stoppedrupp

3. Clothing = Arm warmers, gloves, hat, headband, singlet at start then shirtless after mile 5 or so, Vaporfly 4%

I posted a full report over on the RRT thread. In sum, that was some epic sh!t. Glad to have been a part of it. I’m sure I’d feel differently if my run had sucked.

1) Because of the weather, I didn't have a goal time. Beforehand, I decide on 2:45 ideal weather, 2:47 for iffy. Day off, I decided to run by feel, which turned out to be a bit too fast I think (4:12 positive split)

2) 2:49:32 (an 86 second PR but several minutes off what I'm capable of I think)

3) Balaclava and skullcap on head. Thermal long sleeve base layer + tech T-Shirt + gloves on body. Full tights base layer (Sugoi MidZero) with running shorts.

Had I done it again, a breathable windbreaker with a less thermal top base layer would probably have been better and maybe half tights instead of tights. I stand by the double balaclava + hat, my head was warm. If you search the photos, I believe bib 1597 dressed ideally.

Overall experience was that it was goddamn awful. I screwed up the start by not double bagging my feet (shoes got soaked before the start) and ditching my poncho too early (rain got heavier). I felt good through the half but very very cold at times (downpour followed by winds). But overall winds weren't too bad as long as I remained in a pack. I did get caught without a pack a couple of times (which sucked). At mile 14 I started feeling it in my quads and knew that it would be a very dicey trip to the end. I almost gave up several times after mile 20 as it became a true death march. I still don't know how I got through the last 3 miles. I recall gazing longingly at each medical tent I passed. The combo of winds, rains, cold, and course made it really tough.

I managed to finish and that's when the cold really set in: uncontrollable shivering and misery. Medical spotters were great and asked me if I needed help. I didn't need medical attention but I needed to get warm (maybe mild hypothermia?), so they directed me to a warming center set up at the John Hancock Hall. They had bathrooms (which I destroyed, yeah!), hot water, and hot chicken broth (omg incredible). I felt like a million bucks 30 minutes later. I'm so happy I found that place.

But yeah big shout out to the volunteers.

I meant to mention that while the headwind was hard at times, I didn't feel like there were sustained heavy winds that I saw reported on every weather app I checked.

This is the opposite of 2011. In 2011 I felt the tail wind helped elites, but didn't benefit my run much. I know others always scream "tail wind" when tell I ran that year. But I've had several Bostons where I've run better.

Running with the masses, I wonder how much the constant stream of runners in front of me broke up the wind, vs the elite runners who were much less sheltered by others. Yes they ran in packs, but some had to be in the front, and the lead packs break up as the race goes on.

1) 2:45

2) 2:57 (~5 min positive split)

3) Half tights, Arm warmers, Compression Tee, Gloves, Baseball Cap, Headband

I really fall apart in wet cold, so it I knew it was going to be a challenge from the get go. My training said 2:45-2:47 shape, but I was off space from the beginning. It all rolled up into a tidy little ball when my shoe came untied in the first two miles and it took me about a minute to tie it because I was so cold. Got into a little rhythm after that, but was pretty much starting to feel like dog turd through Wellesley. By the time the hills hit, I was going purely on effort and admiring the carnage around me, truly a death march. As soon as I stopped running I was shaking uncontrollably.

For those that PR'ed or ran evenly, amazing work, it was the worst conditions I've ever been part of.

whatsupchucky wrote:

I made a mistake in wearing Nike VaporFly 4%. That foam soaks up tons of water. .

Y'know, I wore those also. And they just felt so weird the whole race, like not the same shoe. I couldn't figure out exactly what it was. I thought it was maybe just that I was so cold and stiff that my gait was off.

+1

they did not feel like the same shoe. Wish I had worn adidas.

I got first place, everyone else sucked. I'm the best runner

Goal time (before the weather conditions became a certainty): 2:29:59

Goal after the weather conditions became a certainty: top 100, forget time

Actual time: 2:35:59, 61st place

I wore a singlet, split shorts, compression socks, arm warmers, thin tech gloves, and a mesh hat mainly to keep rain out of my eyes. I really wasn't sure what to do with the weather, clothing wise. I never run in tech clothes, even though I live in the Northeast. I usually stick with sweats to train in cold weather, which I knew would be way too heavy to run fast in, and I didn't want to try something new on race day. Also, the fact that we had to have our bib on our outer layer meant we couldn't shed layers, and I was concerned any sort of rain/wind jacket would mean lots of extra drag.

I was very cold for the first hour or so. I finally stopped thinking about how cold I was around the half when my legs started to hurt. While the cold and rain were unpleasant, it was the wind that made running fast impossible. There were definitely some stretches on the course where it was mild, but it was always present, and there were miles where it was really really bad. Coming out of the Newton Hills the wind picked up so much that I think it was tougher than going up heartbreak. I really ran out of gas the last two miles of the race, more than I have in past marathons, I think it was the extra calories that had to go into fighting the wind for so long, more so than the cold, although I am purely speculating there.

For me, succeeding yesterday was about accepting that things were not going to go well and deciding to just keep running regardless. It was very easy to feel discouraged by the splits as there was no way during the race to put them into context. Looking at the winning times and top 10 after, it became clear to me that I ran really well relative to what I set out to accomplish. I had been dwelling on my pace, I probably would have bagged it at mile 15.

Another thing that probably helped is I'm pretty fat for a marathoner.