Boston #5

2015 Boston Marathon report
Training: It was a tough winter forcing a lot of treadmill runs. My first 16 miler was into a 20-25 MPH wind with temps at below zeroF. The back half was a tailwind. I had a visible ring of sweat snow on the bottom fringe of my fleece running vest. Led the 8:30/mi pace group for most Saturday long runs so this was a change from the faster past. It was still in range for long runs compared to my target marathon pace. Was able to hit most key workouts albeit many on the mill. Peaked at 53mi/week with about 4 weeks close or right at 50.

Travel & Lodging: the flight turned out ok except for unexpected charge for carry-on baggage from Spirit airline- my fault for not reading airline's rules. Originally only booked a place for Sunday/Monday night until I couldn't get a flight on Sunday early enough to safely make the expo for bib pick-up. So I booked a shared Hostel room for Saturday night. The Hostel was reasonably affordable and surprisingly adequate with a great location. Only drawback was some late night noise after the bars closed, not sure how Sunday night would have been, but probably similar. The rental unit just across the bay was secluded and quiet with a great price right next to the T stop so i was able to make my team's bus.

Pre-race: Made the team bus since the 2nd bus was a bit late. Love having a comfortable bus with a bathroom all the way up to the start and until the walk to the start corral. Our bus ended up being one of the 1st on the highway and eventually realized we were mixed in with the elite buses and getting a police escort all the way. I had to inform the driver in Hopkington that we needed to park at the school and not right next to the start as we were being directed that way. I was thinking it would have been funny to hang at the church with the elites. lol Then I kind of underestimated the time to reach the start corral having a bottle neck to get into wave 2 corral 1. Just made it with about 1 minute to spare. Was hoping to met up with a running buddy from my winter long run group, but not able to.

Race: My goal was conservative realizing I had a slightly tame training cycle and I was a bit apprehensive after last year's melt down. So I was going to be happy with a 3:25-3:30 effort with an upgrade if things went well. I decided with the threat of rain and a headwind I'd pace just below 3:30 (8:00/mi) and negative split if possible. About 6mi in I felt a hamstring twinge that eventually went away along with a strong urge to pee. Ended up spending a few minutes in the port-a-pot at mile 8 and then a couple more times along the way. I decided to enjoy the atmosphere and just to hive five as many people as possible and set a PR for that all along the way. I found that this adrenaline boost helped carry me through the rain and winds which seemed less than expected. I yelled a lot, whooping up the crowd and thanked them for coming out in the nasty weather. There seemed to be just as many out as in previous years. I really had no cramps or setbacks in pace except for the potty breaks. With 2 miles to go I saw a runner flying by us all and realized it was my running mate from our group, I gave a yell which he acknowledged and unsuccessfully tried to keep up and realized it was not in the cards for me at that point. Anyway came in solid with fairly even splits averaging 8:05 pace in 3:31:53. I was able to pick up my backpack in a close hotel suite of our team leaders. The walk to packet pickup would have been horrible being all wet. Already planning next year! I love Boston.

Nice race, a nice report. It sounds like you made the best of the situation, all the way from the early days of training in a polar vortex all the way through the rain and potty breaks on the course. Some of us could learn a lot from you on that, and on setting appropriate pacing targets. Well done.

I think you should have tried to sneak in with the elites. Sure, you'd get bounced -- but maybe not right away...

Hope the conditions are more favorable for you next time.

Sorry that I didn't get to see you this year, Steve, but it sounds like I will next year.  Nicely run race.  Did you get the high five PR?

Thanks for the report, Steve. Seems as though you made the best of the situation. It's nice that you can have a below average day and still bq for next year. Congratulations!

I too have come to love this race after my years of doing it.

thanks for the report Steve.  Well planned.  Well run.  Hope to see you next year.

Congratulations!