Boston Marathon Race Report

So it’s taken me a little longer than I would have liked to jot down my race report from the Boston Marathon. Lots going on right now, but I think it’s important taking the time to think through the race. 

We drove down to Boston on Friday. This was the first year that I would be doing Boston. For whatever reason I had told myself I would not race Boston until I was capable of running a sub 2:40. So seeing as I had broken that mark twice last year: once at Mesa-Phoenix Marathon and a second time at Ottawa Race Weekend...... Anyways the drive to Boston was quite uneventful, but as always I thoroughly enjoyed the road trip with the family. 

Heading to the Expo!

At the Brooks booth.

Saturday morning we drove into Boston and I did bib number pick-up and then went through the Expo. The line-up was quite long to get into Bib pick-up, but I think that was only because we showed up right around 0900hrs when it was just opening. Bib pick-up was actually very quick and then we took a trip through the Expo. The expo was probably one of the best I have seen at a running race. I skipped the Adidas Boston Marathon collection and instead opted for a pair of Boston inspired Brooks Launch running shoes. I figured I had enough running shirts and jackets that I didn’t need another and figured the shoes would get more use. We spent the rest of the day at the Boston Children’s Museum which was great…bonus - you get free entry if you are military (so Claudia and I were free and we just had to pay for the kids). For dinner we met up with some of the other CAF athletes (Helene & John) at Maggiono’s. 

CAF Athletes: Benoit, John, Dave, me, Phil, Helene

Phil and I posing in our F2C Nutrition at the finish line!

Sunday morning I got up and did a short run and then we headed back into town to meet up with the rest of the CAF athletes for a picture at the finish line. We took it easy for the remainder of the day and decided to skip the Pre-Race Dinner. I am not much of a fan of doing the pasta dinner if it’s the night before the race. I prefer to eat in and that way I can better control what I am eating, in this case, chicken stir fry.

Monday morning, race morning, I was up around 0430hrs and had my usual race morning breakfast of eggs, bagel, orange juice, coffee, and a banana. In addition to my breakfast I also drank about 750mL of Hydra-Durance. We headed out around 0630. Claudia had done some surfing through the Boston Marathon website and had decided that she would drive me to the pick-up location in Hopkinton. She wanted to take the kids to the start anyways and figured this would reduce the time I had to be in the cold prior to the race. The bus shuttle from the drop off location in Hopkinton to the pre-race staging area was only about 10-15min. It was a cold, wet, windy morning so it was great having a tent to rest in until we got marshaled to the start. The ground was soaked and everyone tried to pack into the tents. The tents blocked most of the wind, but it would have been nice if there had been some heat. At 0900hrs they let my wave, the first wave, run the mile to the starting line. Claudia and the kids were at the start. The kids were clearly miserable as it was cold, wet, and windy. Phil and I lined up together in the first wave and then waited for the start.

The start in Hopkinton!

At 0945hrs we were off. I had decided that I was going to try and run 2:45 and negative split the marathon. I figured I’d start at a 3:55/km place and after going through the first half I’d adjust based on how I was feeling. Well, the start was fast and the first kilometer was a 3:35 or something. I backed off the pace and felt like I was being passed by a constant stream of people, which I was fine with as I figured I would pass a lot of them later in the race. I finally settled into a 3:45-3:50/km pace and kind of bounced between a few groups. The cool part about this race was running through all the towns and seeing all the spectators out on the course. The race was cold and wet and the constant headwind was annoying to say the least but I just enjoyed the experience. I went through the first half in about 1:21 which was a little faster than I was anticipating. 

The last ten kilometers of the race were a bit of a struggle. I wasn’t sure if I just didn’t have enough Calories (about 200 Calories of Glyco-Durance + one Rekab Gel and water at every aid station) or if it was just a case of my legs being cold (that being said I didn’t really feel cold). I pretty much ignored my watch for the last 10km as I knew I was struggling and sometimes it’s just better to run than be frustrated with the pace. The back half of the course was definitely a little hillier than I had anticipated. That being said it was a great experience. 

Final time was 2:48. I definitely think I’ll be back.