A big congrats to all the Boston Runners!
track meat - Congrats on an awesome performance, you nailed it. I apologize if I seemed a little distant after the race. Nothing personal, I would've loved to stay and chat...but I was a little delirious, and needed a few minutes.
Pittsburgh Joe - What can I say...you ran awesome. Right on goal time, and near perfect splits. I'm assuming you passed me somewhere between mile 23 and 25. If you remember passing a guy with a dark blue singlet and light blue shorts, that was me.
WARNING - Long Race Report with some ugly splits to follow...
Mile 1 - 5:49, Wow...this feels like a jog. I even purposely held back, but I had no idea this mile was ALL downhill. Legs feel great.
Mile 2 - 5:47, Same as above. I was already getting warm, so I ditched my gloves and started to assess who was around me and took mental notes on who I could possibly run with.
Mile 3 - 5:44, Still running at the same effort level and this pace feels even easier than I expected. Not running with a pack yet, I keep moving up from one group to the next.
Mile 4 - 5:45, I think I've gained a few followers, when I move up from group to group, there are about 3-4 runners that have been matching my every move. Still doesn't seem like I'm running a marathon yet.
Mile 5 - 5:59, Not quite sure what happened on this mile, I don't remember there being any uphills to slow me down. I guess I just had a brain lapse.
Mile 6 - 5:42, After seeing the near 6:00 mile so early in the race, I set out to reel in a pack that was quite a ways ahead. Sure enough, the same group of guys just sat on me and followed my lead. I think one of them was a "Team Whilraway" guy, because I kept hearing cheers for Whirlaway.
Mile 7 - 5:48, Cut back the effort ever so slightly so I could get a glimpse of who I had running with me. They were all wearing red, so I assumed they were from the same team (possibly Whirlaway). Me, being in all blue, stuck out like a sore thumb in this pack, but I did get some cheers saying "You my boy, blue!", Old School style.
Mile 8 - 5:45, Legs still feeling great, I'm already starting to think about how many people I'm gonna pass. I feel like I'm settled into a pace, but I'm constantly passing people. Nobody, except for my little group, is running away from me and we seem to be reeling in every single group ahead of us.
Mile 9 - 5:44, I can't believe I'm already through 15k, this pace feels soooo effortless. I feel like my breathing is barely above my resting heart rate. Took my first gel here.
Mile 10 - 5:46, My group has gained some people that have let go of the group that we passed. Still the same Whirlaway guys with me though...one of them I think was named "Joe" and another had "Pak" written on his arm.
Mile 11 - 5:48, Funny, all I could think about at this point was "I can't wait to get to Wellesley!"
Mile 12 - 5:40, This mile we set out to reel in another pack that was waaay in the distance. It took about 3 miles just to get to them. Still don't feel like I'm working yet, but I've definitely found a nice rhythm that I feel like I could hold on for a while. I can already hear the screams ahead.
Mile 13 - 5:44, I remember listening to the live feed of this race at work last year, when the leaders passed through Wellesley, they were forced to stop talking because it was too loud. Those girls lived up to the expectations, and it seemed like they were cheering all for us, because we were the only group on the roads. The only point in the course where I was high-fiving the crowd. Though I will admit, the "kiss me" signs were tempting.
Mile 14 - 5:43, Now the adrenaline rush is gone, time to get back to reality...I've still got a long way to go. The good news, I still feel fresh and ready to attack the hills, the bad news...I'm now running solo.
Mile 15 - 5:52, I guess I slowed a little due to my pack being gone. But I did catch up to the group we originally set out for back in mile 12, but that pack is now kinda strung out and slowing down. Looks like I've gotta keep pressing on if I want to hold pace. First time all day I feel like I'm working now.
Mile 16 - 5:41, Kinda surprised at how easy this mile felt. I haven't had anyone pass me since the 2nd mile, still feeling strong.
Mile 17 - 5:57, The first of the hills, starting to breathe heavy at the crest but felt like I attacked it pretty well.
Mile 18 - 6:02, Uh-oh, first mile over 6:00. I thought back to my splits from Chicago, my first 6:00+ mile was mile 23, I know the hills slow you down, but my confidence did take a bit of a hit. Not feeling great, but still feel good enough to have the confidence to finish the hills without doing too much more damage.
Mile 19 - 5:57, I still seem to be passing people. Some are walking, some are running...a few were on the side of the road stretching.
Mile 20 - 5:58, Definitely felt like I was pushing this mile, the goal I told myself here was "no more miles over 6:00". I'm still running alone, which isn't easy going through the hills, but I feel like I'm doing well. At this point, I'm guessing I'm in the top 100 overall, which was a non-time related goal of mine.
Mile 21 - 6:23, I guess I miscounted the hills because I didn't know this was Heartbreak Hill until after it was over...maybe that was a good thing. I was huffing and puffing coming to the top of Heartbreak, but the legs still feel surprisingly good, so I'm confident I can keep rolling.
Mile 22 - 5:59, I really tried pushing the pace on this mile and could only muster a 5:59, a sign of things to come. I did happen to hear "Go Pablo!"...I'm assuming that was AKMarmoset.
Mile 23 - 6:21, This mile is where my legs simply left my body, I could not move them anymore. I went from feeling strong and confident, to beat and defeated in the blink of an eye.
Mile 24 - 6:35, I'm now in pure survival mode, I can't recall how many times I contemplated dropping out due to the intense pain I was in. My quads are burning more and more with every step and can't do a damn thing about it. I noticed the early group I was running with (Whirlaway) flew by me....should've stuck with them.
Mile 25 - 7:08, For as many people that were passing me, I was still passing a few people that crashed harder than I did. At the time, or even now, I didn't find any comfort in that. All I can think about was how badly I wanted this to end. Somewhere late in this mile I passed Mont back (very slowly).
Mile 26 - 7:10, Again, thoughts of dropping out were completely filling my head. I just wanted to stop running, whether that means crossing the finish line or pulling off the course...I really didn't care.
FINISH - 2:37:40
By far my most painful race. A truly humbling experience. The more time I've had to think about it, the better I feel. I've really got to put it all in perspective, I can't possibly be mad at the effort I put in, I truly left everything I had on the course. I can be mad at my time all I want, but there's nothing that can be done about it, so whats the point?
I don't have any excuses, we had near perfect weather, I had no injuries/ailments coming into the race, I had my best training cycle I've ever put together, and felt great for the vast majority of the race. All I can do now is hope the miles that I've already put in will carry over to the next one. There are some things I'd like to tweak next time around, but really, I think I just need a few more marathons in me to really get the hang of it.
Sorry about the long report, but I wanted to get it out there before I forgot it. I really do appreciate all the support, and I'll definitely continue participate in this thread.