The Boston Marathon, what an event! My goal with this race report is to walk you through my experience. I was planning to cover some of my lessons learned and hopefully help out future first timers with logistics. But in my very typical race report fashion, this is already a long read. Be on the lookout for a follow up post!
My wife and I arrived Saturday afternoon, a day and a half before the marathon. With triathlon training, it was easier to get my final swims/rides in at home and I just did a short shakeout run after arriving. It also saved some money with hotels being $300/night, and I felt like this was plenty of time to get myself ready for Monday. We had time to go sight-seeing, but opted to just relax and go out for seafood that first night. Sunday I got up early for my final run, and we traveled to the venue shortly after bib pick-up opened. There was already a huge line, but the race organizers were incredibly efficient and kept everyone moving. For me, it was a little overwhelming since most Ironman races are less than 3,000 people. Once I got my gear, we saw a few things at the expo and went back to the hotel to chill. I spent my time relaxing in the pool and catching up on the T100-Series to kill time.
Race morning was perfect. Breakfast at the hotel started at 6AM, so we were ready for them to open. I shoveled down some “free” food before heading downtown and grabbed a coffee and bagel for the train ride. It was nice having someone like my wife Ty, who knows how to navigate, so I can just follow along. We got to the buses and off I went. I was fortunate to sit next the one of the top Master runners in the world. With a PR of 2:29 at 46 years old, I was all ears the entire bus ride. I soaked up as much as I could since this was his 12th Boston. I stuck with him all morning until it was time to head to the start. Everything else went well as I got to my corral. The morning temps were perfect and I was very comfortable after discarding my sweatshirt.
When the race started, everyone was already running 100 yards before crossing the start line. The first 4 miles were packed shoulder to shoulder, and I skipped the first few aid stations simply because I couldn’t get over. Checking my HR early on, I was at my first limit and figured it would be a long day. I mostly stuck with the flow of runners and stayed relaxed. The first aid station I went to was hectic. Everyone darted over, slowed down, tripped over cups…it was tricky. A few more miles and it started to open up a bit more, and after 4 miles I was allowed to raise my HR (per my race plan). I was cruising around 6:05-6:10 pace and honestly felt pretty good. But when mile 10 hit, I noticed some soreness in my quads. I felt like this was way too soon for that, but kept plugging along. Mile 16 is when my quads started to seize up, and I wasn’t able to keep my HR where it needed to be. I felt like I had done a good job with sodium since every aid station had Gatorade Endurance, and I was getting 1-2 cups each mile. Plus I’d wash it down with water and cool myself off with one final cup. At no point did I feel like I was dehydrated or overheating (it was only 55-65 degrees, but everyone I talked to said it was hot). At this point I wasn’t sure what to do. I was in more pain than any Ironman marathon I’d ever done. My cardio had so much room to go, but my legs were fried. Determined not to walk, I just kept the churning. When I hit 18, I told myself I had less than an hour to go, even if I slowed down to 7:30s. At this point, the downhills were more painful than the uphills. When I got to Heartbreak hill, I “hammered” up it and was greeted by the most amazing crowds. At the top, the screams were deafening and suddenly my legs started to come back. As I ran down, I gave over a hundred high fives and the received a massive boost from the crowd. I was passing a ton of runners that went by me miles 17-21. My quads shut back down at the bottom, but I was happy to at least have that mile of reprieve. I ran my slowest split of the day at mile 24 even though it was net downhill. For me, this was incredibly humbling. Watching other runners swallow me up and leave me behind is a feeling I will never forget. With a mile to go, my only focus was getting to those massive crowds that lined Boylston street. When I got there, the roar was so loud. Every step it got louder and louder and louder yet. I couldn’t hear or feel anything. I got to the arch and didn’t even celebrate with how broken I felt. I was disappointed being 6.5 minutes behind my goal, and I really suffered for 90 minutes of the race (should be more like 30 when done right).
After walking through the finish area and finding Ty, I finally sat down to assess the damage. I couldn’t bend my knees to 90 degrees without extreme pain. This was something I have never experienced with my quads before. After gathering myself, we hopped on the train and went back to the hotel. After getting back, I decided to go for a walk to the beach and clear my head. When I was done sulking, we celebrated the experience with more seafood and a Sam Adams.
Right now, I am still licking my wounds after that. I’m less upset about my time now and more frustrated with being miserable for so much of the race. Instead of getting to soak in the incredible atmosphere and enjoy the crowds that lined every mile…I was stuck inside my own head just trying to not walk. I also felt disappointment with every timing mat I crossed, knowing that friends and family were getting updates of me slowing down and falling short. But, to end on a positive note, another one of my goals was to beat my bib number (1500) with a stretch of finishing in the top 1000. I was 884th place out of 25,500 finishers despite feeling like everyone passed me. I also saw quite a few athletes stopped at medical tents and getting wheeled around at the finish line, so my day could have been so much worse. I really do appreciate everyone’s kind words and congratulations after the race. And, I apologize for any lackluster responses you may have received while I was still feeling bitter.
Be on the lookout for a follow up post on where I think things went south for me, what I’d do differently and just general info on logistics for any future first timers.
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