Boston Marathon 2017

This post is difficult to write.  Never have I had so many mixed emotions about a race experience as I do about this one.  The Boston Marathon is the Holy Grail for us recreational endurance athletes.  It is a standard that, to me at least, says "hey, you've still got it!"  Qualifying for and running Boston helps me feel like I am still competitive and gives me a deep sense of accomplishment.  However, Boston is much more than that.  The Boston Marathon in a very real sense is the spiritual center of our sport, the place where we come and pay homage to the athlete part of our lives that is so meaningful to us.

This was my second running of Boston and the experience was just as awesome as in 2011 when I first ran it.  Maybe even more so this year since it was so difficult.  The temps hovered around the 75 degree mark and the sun was out and super bright.  This made for warm conditions but luckily we had a tail wind which helped matters.  Since it was warm and I did, once again, too much tourist walking leading up to the race by mile 18 my feet and quads were screaming in pain.  I cannot figure this freaking race out!  In the end my sub 3:20 goal went out the window and I finished with a time of 3:28:35.  I needed a sub 3:25 for a BQ and once again I missed it.  Although this time by less than 4 minutes.  In 2011 I missed BQ by over 8 minutes.  In 2011 I placed in the 52nd percentile of my age group.  Six years later my time was worse by 5 minutes but I was in the 37th percentile of my age group.  According to MarathonGuide.com my performance of 3:23 in 2011 was an age-graded equivalent of 3:20.  My age-graded 3:28 performance in 2017 is a 3:15 equivalent.  So, I do think I ran a better race this time around but I still missed my goal to BQ.  No worries, this just means I will have to come back some time in the next couple of years to finish the business.  In the end though Right on Hereford, Left on Boylston was as magical as ever.  I left it all out there.

However, it is hard to be excited about Boston when the reality of life slaps you in the face the way it did for me on this Boston Marathon trip.  We stayed with my brother-in-law Kurt and his beautiful family.  Kurt and Jenn have five beautiful children ranging in age from 11 years old to 2.  They are always gracious hosts whenever we come to visit them and it is always a good time.  This time though tragedy struck their beautiful family while we were visiting with them in Boston.

My 11-year old niece Madi had been having fairly serious GI issues for a some time and by the time we got to Boston her symptoms were fairly severe.  The day after the marathon Jenn was fed up with the lack of answers she was getting from the doctors and she insisted in speaking with the GI doctor directly.  When she was talking to the doctor and explaining the recent symptoms Madi had been experiencing she mentioned that she had started to have bad headaches.  The doctor became alarmed when he heard this and ordered an MRI first thing on Wednesday morning.  Kurt and Jenn went to the MRI appointment at 7:30 am and we stayed with the kids.  A few hours later we got the news that they had found a very large tumor in Madi's brain.

Madi was rushed to have surgery and they were able to remove about 75% of the tumor.  Unfortunately the diagnosis is brain cancer.  The tumor is a Glioblastoma which is very aggressive.  They only removed 75% of the tumor because the rest was too risky to take out.  Miraculously she has been able to recuperate from the surgery very quickly and is very happy to be able to eat without throwing things up all the time.  However, Madi's fight is only starting.  The long-term odds with this type of cancer are not good at all but I believe in miracles.  If God wills it then I will exercise all the faith I can muster to plead with Him for Madi to beat this cancer.  As it is she has the best medical care in the nation when it comes to brain cancer and she has the best parents in the world to be with her through this struggle.  Her Mom Jenn is a cancer survivor herself and both she and my brother-in-law Kurt are wonderful and loving parents who will  help Madi through this great trial.

We had the blessing of being there until Thursday after the marathon and were able to take care of the kids for the two days after the discovery of the tumor.  So you see my Boston experience this time around has taken on a very different meaning.  I have always had such meaningful experiences anytime I go to Boston but this one has been almost indescribable.  I feel blessed to have had a wonderful experience with the marathon but I feel so thankful to have had the opportunity to be of some small service to Kurt and Jenn and their kids.  They are an awesome family.  I can't imagine what they are going through right now and the long road ahead for Madi.  I feel fortunate we had the opportunity to be there with them.  There is little that we did or could ever do but I was just glad to be close to them.  Whenever I think of the marathon now I will forever associate it with the graciousness, courage and love that Kurt, Jenn, Madi and their family represent for me.  The words Boston Strong to me are now forever associated with Kurt and Jenn's family.  They are always in my mind and in my prayers.

The awesome Knight kids when we took them to Minuteman National Park.  This is after the race wile Madi was recovering from her operation.  As you can see these kids have some swagger!

The marathon was awesome but in the larger context of events it is a minor part of our visit to Boston.  The Boston Marathon is the most organized and highest quality endurance event that I have experienced.  I have now raced it twice and the second time was almost as impressive as the first time in 2011.  Getting to the start line is so incredibly easy that it is easy to forget that the BAA is actually transporting 26,000+ runners up to the tiny town of Hopkinton.  I showed up at Boston Common a bit before 7:00 am dressed in throw away clothes that would be donated to charity by the BAA.  Ever since the 2013 bombings they have not allowed morning clothes bags on the buses so if you want warm clothes you pretty much have to dress like a hobo or be stylish and get a warm fuzzy for donating nice clothes to charity.  I went the hobo route by wearing sweat pants from when I was 30 pounds heavier and my daughters old High School Track sweater.  The BAA does allow you to bring a small clear bag for food, drink, etc. but it is very limited.  Luckily the weather that morning was nice at 60 degrees and I really didn't need much.

The abandoned morning clothes...

The BAA gives you a time for boarding the buses and as part of Wave 2 I had to board a bus before 7:40.  I walked right up to the buses and didn't even make a line to get in.   Much smoother than 2011.  My bus-mate for the ride to Hopkinton was a 53 year-old farmer (and runner) from Wyoming named Jed (no joke).  The dude was awesome and we had a really cool conversation which really calmed down the nerves.  This was Jed's first Boston and he was a man with a plan.  He had everything completely planned and was totally ready to go.  We got up to Hopkinton a little bit after 8:00 am.  The place was packed with runners, porta-potties, tents, welcome signs, bagels, coffee, and Gatorade.  And yep, the longest lines were for coffee and the porta-potties.

Entrance to the Athlete's Village in Hopkinton

This year I was actually able to find a spot under one of the tents.

Another view of the entrance to the AV

Wave 2 was called out at 9:40 am but I was in-line for the porta-potty for one last pit stop with about a 10 minute wait.  I decided to risk it and wait for the porta-potty.  After the porta-potty I made my way out of the village for the almost 1-mile walk to the starting corrals.  Spectators were already lined up to cheer on the runners as they made their way toward the corrals.  It was crazy.

Leaving the Athlete's Village.  Here we go!!!

On the way to the corrals we were welcomed to Hokpinton!

I jogged the rest of the way to the 2nd corral of Wave 2 and on the way took a few pictures of the exit to the streets of Hopkinton.  Fun fact:  The week after the marathon I started looking into hiring a consulting firm to help me at work and where are they based?  Hopkinton.  They were literally right across the green and within sight of the start line.  Not that I was going to conduct business on that day (LOL) but fun fact nonetheless.  Around this time there was also a flyover by what looked to be F-16.  They were flying low and it was pretty cool.

I decided to bring my phone with me and took good video of the start.  Fun fact:  After the race I saw WBZ's News coverage of the race and saw myself taking video of the start.  The fact that I was holding the phone up was the only reason I was able to place myself in the Wave 2 field.

The guy holding the phone up is me!!!

The start of the race from Wave 2 Corral 2.

The start was so much nicer than in 2011 when I was in Corral 6 of Wave 1 and it took forever to get to the start line.  This year I was able to see the start line festivities participate in the excitement of the start.  The start line the course felt much more crowded than in 2011 which makes sense since there are about 3,000 people more in 2017 than in 2011.  It was very difficult to find clear running space in order to get to race pace.  When I finally got to race pace I started really feeling that the heat was going to be a significant factor in this race.  I decided to drink more than planned.

One thing that totally infuriates me is the fact that Boston is not a record eligible race.  The reason is that for a marathon to be record eligible the start can't be too far from the finish and there should be no net elevation drop.  I understand that easy enforceable rules are good for the sport but they suck for Boston.  Every runner (including the pros) knows that Boston is a freakishly hard course.  The course is point-to-point and net downhill but on the way to Boston you go up and down a ton of hills some of which are disingenuously called "rollers".  Rollers my butt, most of those are bona fide hills and then as you are hitting the critical miles 18-21 all you have is a series of steep hills culminating in Heartbreak Hill, which is not the worse of the Newton Hills but is the insult to the injury.  Getting a PR at Boston is extremely difficult and the fact that it is not eligible for records is an insult.  OK, off my soap box...  One more thing, why doesn't anybody ever mention that hill at mile 25?!  That one really sucks...

The first 10K was great in the sense that the crowd support was incredible.  It was also funny to see how many people were essentially tailgating the marathon.  Burgers, brats, beer, loud music, you name it, it was a party.  I was extremely entertained simply by people-watching the spectators.  The whole race just seemed to be so much louder than in 2011.  By the 10K mark the fact that heat would be an issue was confirmed.  I really don't know what went through my mind at this point.  A rational person would have pulled back on the pace knowing that the second half of the course is much more challenging than the first.  For some reason my brain just kept thinking that hope by itself may turn into reality and that somehow my body would just be able to respond better in the 2nd half.

Jolynne and the rest of the gang decided that they would spectate at the 10-mile mark at Natick.  I started taking video with my phone as I approached mile 10 in hopes of catching their reaction when I ran by.  I also wanted to hand off my phone to Jolynne since I was sick of carrying it.  Like the last time I ran the marathon we agreed that they would carry orange balloons so that I could easily spot them.  Well here is what happened...

As you can see the balloons are right there!  I still somehow totally missed them...

There's the family with the balloons...

There's me running towards them...

...and me running right by them!

...and me coming back to hand off my phone.

I'm lucky I didn't miss them!

As you will notice I somehow totally missed my family and if it wasn't for Sofia yelling "Dad!" I would have missed them completely.  I had to backtrack and give them high fives and hand in my phone.  The fact that I completely missed those orange balloons that you can clearly see in the video shows you how mentally out of it I was by mile 10.  At this point I knew things were going to be tough for the rest of the race.

However for some strange reason I would not compromise my hunt and kept up my pacing strategy.  The result was that by the time I got to the Newton Hills around mile 17 I was completely cooked.  But before I go to the sad tale of the Newton Hills I have to give props to the Wellesley College girls.  Those are the loudest human beings in the universe.  I think I gave high fives to all of them.  And no, I did not kiss any of them.  I am old enough to be their father, gross.

OK, back to the Newton hills...  The first hill was sheer torture and by the time I got to Heartbreak I was truly suffering.  My feet hurt but what hurt the most were my hips.  This was weird because I never really have fatigue like that in my hips.  I knew now for sure that all that tourist walking and standing before the race was coming back to haunt me.  I also knew that it would take a miracle to do better than the 3:23 that I got back in 2011.  At this point I reset my goal to simply get a time under 3:25.

As I was jogging up Heartbreak people kept shouting encouragement, which I appreciated, but it started to annoy the crap out of me.  I felt so powerless going up that hill. Finally when I made it up to Boston College (mile 21) I took inventory of my situation and I thought that I could push it a little bit.  I was then able to find a little bit of speed but I also found incredible amounts of pain in my feet and my hips.  It was all now a mental exercise.  I knew that Jolynne and the crew would be waiting for me at mile 23 (Coolidge Corner) and I focused on getting over there in decent shape.  I got a bit of a second wind during that 2 mile stretch and I was able to at least keep the pace in the 8's.

As I approached Mile 23 I quickly saw the spot where we had arranged to meet.  The street looked just like it did on Google Earth so I knew where to look and I immediately spotted the balloons.  As soon as I spotted the balloons I heard Conrad yell out "Hurry up you Mexican!"  I didn't even have the strength to cuss him out as he so richly deserved.  I then met up with Jolynne and Kurt and gave them high fives.  Kurt said Jenn was on the other side of the street on the median but as I ran by I never did see her.

Conrad yelling "Hurry up you Mexican!"

Right after mile 23 with a little over a 5K left all strength left me.  I have always said that marathons would be awesome if they were only 23 miles!  I always hit the wall hard at 23 miles and Boston was no exception.  I now felt the heat and humidity like I had not felt before running in Boston and I had to think about every step.  Somehow I was able to keep running.  At a very slow pace (high 8's and 9's) but running nonetheless.  I think my years of Ironman training and racing definitely taught me to sustain suffering a bit better because it took all I had not to walk from there to the finish.

I kept losing time and by this point it was clear that I would not get a time under 3:25.  So once again no BQ for me at Boston.  Dang it!!!!  In any case, the last thing I wanted was to get a time that was greater than 3:30.  I think mentally anything over 3:30 would have really soured me on this running of Boston.  I could accept the fact that all my tourist walking and the heat totally shot my time goal but I definitely believed I was in good enough shape, regardless of the conditions, to at least break 3:30!  So the new goal was to protect my psyche.  Get in under 3:30.  At all costs!!!

Then it came into view...the CITGO sign.  This iconic landmark a Fenway Park marks the "1 mile to go" spot on the course.  It looked so far away.  I put my head down and I pushed.  I had been pouring so much water over me in order to control the heat that my shirt was completely wet and even though I used Body Glide generously my nipples were on fire.  But there was one major test left on the course.  The hill leading up to Mile 25.  Nobody ever talks about this part of the course but there is a fairly significant incline leading up to the Mile 25 mile marker and it is a killer.  The "hill" in reality is the overpass over the Mass Turnpike.  I almost stopped and walked but I just kept thinking how much worse the hill at Ironman Vineman felt last year.  That helped me to just go up the hill.

CITGO sign...after the race.

Sometime after I finally made it to mile 25 I noticed the 3 blue lines in the middle of the road that mark the final stretch of the race.  I focused on those lines and tried to block all else out.  It was hard though because the crowds were insane and they kept calling out to me.  However, the crowd support is not so much fun when you are hurting like I was and I just wanted to focus on finishing the race.  Then I went down under the the Mass Avenue overpass and on the way back up my legs stopped turning over and I walked for about 10-15 steps and then I remembered "I must get under 3:30!" and so I started running again.  Right in front of me was the famous right turn at Hereford St.  I took it as fast as I could and I focused on the blue "Adidas" lines on the road and made it up the hill to Boylston.  I then made the most famous turn in all of road racing "Left on Boylston" and there I could see it, the finish line!

Fun fact:  The words "Right on Hereford, Left on Boylston" describe the most legendary turns in marathoning.  However, if you are driving the course remember that you CAN'T turn right on Hereford!  It's a one-way street.  I found that out the hard way...

Me making a "Right on Hereford" and onto oncoming traffic.  Oops, not good...

The finish line looked so far away.  I then kicked it into high gear and put in all of my effort.  The crowds were deafening.  I felt inspired by the sight that has become so familiar to me especially after the 2013 bombings.  The crowds, the stands, Marathon Sports, the Public Library, the Church of the Finish Line and of course the finish line itself.  I put in one last hard effort and I crossed the finish line in 3:28:35.  Psyche saved, body destroyed.

I felt very satisfied and very happy but completely in pain.  Every step was horrendously painful.  All of the sudden the sky got all cloudy and I'm thinking "The sun has been beating on me for over three freaking hours and the clouds come in the minute I finish?!"  At least the cool the clouds brought made the space blanket I got at the finish useful.  The Boston Finish Line chute is like no other.  They give you water, a space blanket, your medal (which is now way bigger and nicer than back in 2011), a bag of food and recovery protein drink.  Pretty much all you need to refuel after the run.  The part that's not so nice is that you walk over half a mile to the family meeting area.  That half a mile was slow, very slow.  I finally found Jolynne, Sofia, and Brandon.  We had a nice meeting and some time for me to sit down and talk about the race.  After I felt sufficiently strong enough to get going we made our way to Boston Common and to the subway where, of course, we celebrated with some Dunkin Donuts.  It is Boston after all.

Happy to see my family in the family meeting area.

My daughter Sofia and I in the family meeting area.

Sofia and I in Boston Common

The subway ride back to Belmont...and to Dunkin Donuts!

Post Ironman Depression Syndrome (PIDS)

Those of us who have prepared and prepared for a long time for a big goal know how incredible it feels to finally achieve it.  Especially if said goal did not come easy.  If it took long hours and sacrifices of time and energy the satisfaction is intensified.  However, we all know what comes next.  The blues.  The "now what" feeling.  The "Holy crap I have a lot of time on my hands! Awesome!" followed by "Holy crap.  I have a lot of time on my hands...".  Other than the "blues" or "post-race depression" I had never heard this phenomenon called anything else.  While listening to the Endurance Hour podcast (endurancehour.com) the hosts named it something that made me laugh out loud.  They called it "Post Ironman Depression Syndrome (PIDS)". 


This term is ridiculous and appropriate all at once.  Ridiculous because it is a play on real disorders such as "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" (PTSD) which is a true trial in the lives of many people who have gone through harrowing experiences in their lives.  By comparison the blues we feel after reaching a big goal can be classified as "first-world problems".  These post-race blues are problems we are fortunate to experience. 


The term PIDS was so appropriate to me because this whole month I have been dealing with sad feelings as I mourn the fact that my Ironman experience for this year is over.  After Ironman Vineman I went through feelings of euphoria that are some of the reasons I love endurance sports.  But a few days after  the race I started having the following symptoms:


Hold on to anything you can find to make the high last -


1. Obsessively look at results, yours and others (including random strangers). 
2. Look up race analysis to decide "Am I happy with my result?  Did I really suck that bad?  I did better than most of the field?  Hey, at least I finished!"  (Check out coachcox.co.uk for an example of what I'm talking about.)
3. Obsessively browse Faceboook and Instagram for race reports and images from the race.  Spend disgusting amounts of time participating in threads about the most trivial things about the race.  For example, I spent waaayyy to much time on the thread about whether a particular hill on the course had too much camber, whaaat? Jeez...  The worst is when you get into fights on Slowtwitch about your race.  Can you say time suck?
4. You wear the medal...to work.  I have never done this but I know people that do.  My ritual is that the first day I am back to work after a race I hang my medal on the side of the monitor so I can bask in its glory for one day.  I then take it home and that's that.
5.  You keep the race wristband on for way too long.  At some races, definitely at Ironman and IM 70.3 races they give you a wristband at registration that brands you as a participant of the race.  Some people keep these wristbands on for weeks and months after the race.  Never mind that they look like hospital wristbands, they are pretty uncomfortable.  I must admit I kept mine for about two days after the race but then it started driving me crazy.  I may have shed a tear when I cut the band off.


Spend Money!!! -


Need I say more.  The lines at an Ironman Expo are ridiculous!  People, the stuff is at least 20% cheaper literally days after the event but even then holy crap the stuff is expensive.  Jacket - $119 online (gulp!), Ironman Finish Line Trophy - $169 (I kid you not), M-dot Tatoo (who knows how much it costs, it can't be cheap and really?  I don't think so).  The only way I'm buying race stuff is if it's still around when it goes on sale.  The Finisher's Medal is all I really care about.


Sign up for another race! -


You know who you are.  Those of us who say "well I have all this fitness I might as well put it to good use!"  Or "I bet I can get those 10 minutes back that will put me under 13 hours." Or just simply, "I gotta do that again!!!"  "Sure, what's another $3K-$5K in registration and travel expenses?"  "Can you imagine if I did two Ironmans in one year?!!!"  It's been almost a month since I did IMVM and I can truly say I am not fully recovered.  I have decided I am on the "One IM every two years" plan.  There is a wide world of endurance sports and I plan to enjoy as much variety as I can muster.  100-mile run here I come!!!


Screw this I'm done... -


And possibly the worst reaction anyone could have, "I quit".  I bought my tri bike from a guy who was so distraught from being pulled off the course at Ironman Lake Tahoe that he decided to completely quit the sport.  He sold me his Cervelo for a fraction of the value and threw in the bike shoes and hydration system just because he just didn't even want to look at the stuff.  I felt really bad for this dude because I don't think he was really looking at the reality of his day at Lake Tahoe.  That was a horrendously hard race in very tough conditions.  Many people DNF'ed that day.  I actually love the attitude of some of the DNF's at Ironman Vineman.  I am part of the Ironman Vineman Facebook group and have been inspired by some of the reports of athletes that got DNF's.  They will be back and I fully believe they will finish.  We all have failures but quitting is not the answer.  I flunked the CPA exam 5 times before I passed it.  But guess what, I'm a CPA.  My buddy failed 2 times at the Bear 100 mile race before finishing it on his third try (I was his pacer all three times). That finish was sweet and awesome.  Don't quit!  Also, enjoy short course, 70.3's, running, biking, hiking.  IM is just one thing.  That's all it is.


My Advice -


I have none.  Lest you think me a hypocrite I am a PIDS victim like the rest of you brothers and sisters in the Fraternity of Pain.  The way I cope is by writing ridiculously long race reports and blog posts.  So, while I have given my opinion I know I am as sick and twisted about this stuff like the rest of you.  I like the approach of Coach Brett from Zen and The Art of Triathlon (zentriathlon.com) "Simplicity leads to happiness.".  Thanks Coach Brett.  At it's core it's awesome and a blessing that I can even cover the distance.  Everything else is just icing on the cake.


P.S. But no, you people who get  M-dot tattoos are freaks.  Just saying...  :-)

Ironman Vineman 2016

The Vacation

Holy crap that was hard.  Yeah, I know, I say that about most races but, holy crap that was hard.  This race was the capstone of one of the best vacations I have ever had.  The past four months I have been experiencing some of the most brutal and stressful times in my career since I was a lowly analyst with Andersen Consulting back in the 90's.  In addition I have been commuting one hour each way to work every day which has been hard on the training because I have been having to wake up between 4:15 and 4:30 am every day to put in the required training.  Needless to say I was not very confident that I would be ready for race day.

By the time vacation time came around I was as excited for vacation as I was for Ironman.  We started the vacation by going up to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho for a reception for my daughter Nikki and her husband Kevin at my Nikki's in-law's.  The in-law's live in Post Falls right outside of Coeur D'Alene and we were absolutely blown away by the beauty of the whole area.  Lake Coeur D'Alene is absolutely stunning.  I just couldn't stop grinning at our good fortune to have extended family in this beautiful part of the world.  The mountains frame the lake like something out of a movie.  The amenities for tourists at the lake and all around CDA and Post Falls are many.  I even had the chance of swimming and playing with my family for most of the day in the lake.  I swam in my wetsuit in very rough water in the morning which calmed down by the afternoon.  The rough swim was still great and a good confidence builder for Ironman.  Needless to say it absolutely kills me that this race is on Sunday.  For religious reasons I will never race on a Sunday.  If this race was on any other day of the week I would be the first to sign up.  It's no wonder it has lasted this long in the Ironman circuit.

We then made our way down the coast stopping at incredible places like Crater Lake National Park.  We even camped in a Native American tipi.  I definitely got my fix of Outside this trip.  Right before we made our way to Windsor we stayed a couple of nights in Crescent City, California.  This is where things got a bit crazy.

I started feeling a saddle sore that I thought was gone starting to make a comeback and to make matters worse I started feeling like a cold was coming on.  I started praying that all of this was taper madness and prayed for health.  That night my daughter Sofia woke in the middle of the night yelling "No, no!" as she ran to the bathroom.  She didn't make it to the toilet and she puked all over the bathroom and all over herself.  Mind you this is Wednesday night and the race is on Saturday.  I obviously felt bad for Sofia but all I could think off is "We are all going to get sick!  I have to clean up all this puke and I am going to get sick and DNF or worse DNS!"  Jolynne and I spent the next hour cleaning up the mess and my psyche was dying with every passing minute.

The next morning as we drove to Windsor we figured that it very well could have been food poisoning because of the sudden way in which Sofia got sick.  Once again I prayed for mercy and health.  Interestingly enough my saddle sore did not come back and my cold symptoms went away.  The worry of the stomach flu was still there though.

Pre-race Activities
By the time we got to Windsor and went through registration at the High School Sofia was feeling much, much better and Jolynne and I still felt great.  Registration was crazy.  Having done Vineman in 2014 I was expecting it to be a lot bigger but the reality was MUCH bigger.  We had about 450 people competing in the Full in 2014.  This year they had 2,225 registered.  They held several rounds of athlete briefings and mine, which I did that afternoon, filled an entire High School gym.  It was definitely a change for the better.

That evening we decided that we would go to the Ironman Banquet.  We decided that if we are going to get sick there is nothing we can do about it now.  The banquet was so much better than expected.  I thought they would have crappy pasta and a cheesy presentation of some sort but this was totally awesome.  The dinner was set outside in perfect weather.  The Vineman green and purple colors were spread throughout.  They served potato salad, grape salad (of course), quinoa salad, and 2 breasts of BBQ chicken.  They also had iced tea, water, and Ice Cream.  The food really was top notch.  We got there early so we were at the front of the line and got good seats close to the stage.  They had a girl singing live and she was very good.  We had great dinner conversation with fellow athletes from Sacramento while we waited for the program to start.  The program was led by Dave Ragsdale and Dave LaTourette, the race-day announcers.  They did a great job of recognizing participants and paying honor to the great history of this race.  Then they played a set of inspirational videos that were incredible.  My daughter was totally inspired and she even said she wanted to do an Ironman some day.  Mission accomplished.

We then went to the B&B at Guerneville where we were staying.  We stayed at Pocket Creek Farm about two miles from the race start.  This is a working organic farm that doubles as a B&B.  Pam and Steve are the hosts and we highly recommend you stay there.  Pam and Steve are awesome, the food was great and the accommodations are top notch.

That evening I took a closer look at my SWAG.  We got a very big and nice duffle-bag with the Ironman Vineman logo, a race poster, a race program, IMVM luggage tags, Red Bull bottles, and a whole bunch of nutritional samples.  The shirts were only handed out at the finish so no shirt at registration.  All in all pretty good SWAG.  The Ironman Store had very nice IMVM gear for sale.  The color and design schemes for IMVM were very nice and we picked up a couple of things.  We didn't touch any of the Finisher gear though (bad karma).

The next morning I organized all my transition bags, packed them in my OGIO bag and I rode the bike to the start.  I checked in my bike and my bike bag and checked out T1.  I liked the setup of T1 with the exception of the change tents which had an uncovered dirt floor.  I could tell that would turn into a mud pit by the time I got out of the water.

We then went to T2 at Windsor High School to check in the run gear and to browse the expo.  The expo was good and we picked up a few freebies.  We then went to lunch at KC's American Kitchen (like last time) and then we made our way back to the farm.

That night we had a light meal of grilled chicken and veggies (all fresh) and I finished getting my stuff ready and then went to bed.  I was having a very restful sleep when about 2am Jolynne stared screaming at the top of her lungs like someone was trying to kill her.  I looked around to see what was happening but noticed that she was screaming in her sleep.  I shook her for a while trying to get her to wake up and after a few seconds she finally woke up.  Sofia was in our room in seconds totally freaked out.  Jolynne said she just had a bad dream.  A bad dream?! In 23 years of marriage she has never screamed in the middle of the night and this, of all nights, is when this happened!  I asked her, what the heck were you dreaming about? She said "you don't want to know".  Needless to say that was the end of my sleep that night.  Uggghhh.

Race Morning
After the Poltergeist experience I decided to get up and start my nutrition.  I drank a bottle of High Protein Ensure and then laid in bed for about an hour.  I then got up and changed into race clothes and morning clothes and then had another bottle of Ensure and a peanut butter sandwich.  I also started sipping on a Gatorade.  I then got Jolynne and Sofia up and they drove me to the start.  4:50 am.
 

We got to the start and we were praying that our secret parking spot right next to the start would still be available.  I'm not giving any details because it's a SECRET parking spot.  Miraculously enough the spot was open and we had front row parking.  I got out and handed in my Special Needs bags and then made my way down to T1.  It was dark and about 52 degrees.  I was s cold and I immediately had to pee.  I dropped my pump and morning race bag at my bike rack and stood in line for the porta potties.  Ten minutes later I was good to go.  I ate a Glukos bar, finished my Gatorade, and loaded the rest of my nutrition on the bike (mostly Infinit drink).  I use a between-the-arms bottle (BTA) bottle and two behind-the-saddle (BTS) bottles.  All with Infinit.  The bento box had a Glukos bar, some gels and salt caps.  I changed into my wetsuit, took a couple of pictures of the transition and phoned Jolynne.  She and Sofia met me right outside transition and I gave them the pump and the morning clothes bag.  I was then ready for showtime.

The Swim
The corrals for self seeding were ridiculously full.  We were packed in like sardines.  I lined up in the 1:30-1:45 pace group since my last swim there had been 1:32.  It felt like the whole world believed they were going to swim 1:30.  To make matters worse the corrals were right on the beach which is pure gravel.  I made the stupid decision to give the sandals to Jolynne and she took off further down the beach with them.  My feet did not appreciate the rocks.  Next time I will bring throw away flip flops.  The horn went off at 6:25.  I didn't make it to the water until 7:10!  It was crazy how long it took to get everybody in the water.

As expected the water was very cloudy from everybody being in that shallow river.  I thought my allergies would start acting up like crazy but they didn't.  I felt perfectly fine and the 72 degree water felt awesome.  I got into a good rhythm and then the contact started.  I started running into slower people and people kept running into me.  It was pretty high contact but only violent a couple of times.  One time I got whacked in the face by an arm and it stung pretty good.  However all this contact was to be expected and really wasn't a big deal.  The part I hated was the fact that there were tons of people walking in the shallow parts.  This made an obstacle course because the walkers were going much slower than what I could swim.  That really annoyed me and I ran into a few walkers .  Regardless I felt like I was doing good time and like the draft was pretty good.  I hit 43 minutes at the turnaround, which was good because the second half is always faster in that river.  The swim on the way back was the same story.  My strategy for the shallow parts was to adjust my stroke so that it came close and under my body rather than straight down.  This kept me moving and making good progress.  The finish came a lot faster than expected and I rocketed up the chute.  I checked my time and it was 1:23, a PR of 9 minutes!  I was super stoked about this and then I saw Jolynne and Sofia right in the chute cheering me on.  That felt great and I made my way to the strippers, got my wetsuit off, then to the bag area where I yelled my number, the volunteers gave me my bag and I made my way to the change tent.

T1
The change tent was a muddy mess and I was sooo glad I brought a towel.  I struggled to find a place to sit so I decided to go the spots closest to the exit which had seats available.  I changed my entire kit, put my helmet on, wiped down my feet, and put socks and bike shoes on.  I stuffed the swim gear in the bag and gave it to a volunteer.  I then ran out of the tent, got some sunscreen on my ears and neck, picked up my bike and ate another Glukos bar.  On the way out I saw Jolynne and Sofia one more time.  I walked the bike up the hill and very carefully mounted the bike.  The whole transition took way too long, 9 minutes.  I need to practice Ironman transitions.

The Bike
Riding on River Road was a bit sketchy.  Tons of people and cars going in both directions.  The cars were not going very fast but still it as crowded.  I decided to take it easy and make sure I got my hydration going.  There were so many people that getting down in the aerobars was useless so I stayed up on the basebars and jockeyed for position in order to keep a good speed.  As we got close to the hairpin turn at Sunset I slowed way down and made sure the person in front of me had ample room I also yelled back to the dude right behind me to slow down so he wouldn't run into me.  This gave me plenty of room to maneuver the curve and I had no problems at all.
 

Then I made it to Westside and the fun began.  I immediately noticed the nice repaving that they did on Westside.  It was buttery smooth.  I also noticed my stomach was not very happy with me.  It didn't hurt but it was uncomfortable.  This worried me to no end because I didn't know if I had made a nutrition mistake or if I was coming down with a virus from Sofia.  I decided to make absolutely sure that I stayed within a Heart Rate box of 135 to 145.  This is a sweet spot where I should be able to function aerobically for a long time without having to deny the proper function of the heart and the rest of the organs.

I kept a good pace but never really felt comfortable.  I definitely felt a lack of energy that I had the last time I did this race.  This could have been because I pushed it so hard in the craziness of the swim.  Whatever it was I decided to be cautious and to make sure to stay properly hydrated.  The first half of the bike was fairly uneventful and I managed to stay at my minimum desired pace.  I got to special needs and a cold bottle of Ensure waited for me as well as a super concentrated cold bottle of Infinit.  I spent too long at Special Needs and lost a couple of minutes that I should have saved.  It also didn't help that I saw the leader of the race go by as he was finishing the bike leg of his race.  Uggghhh, that made me feel slow.

I got back on the saddle and settled in for the second half. The temperature was starting to get hot and I decided to start getting water at the aid stations and dumping it on my neck in order to keep the temperature down.  My stomach issues were now gone but the fatigue was settling in.  I was doing great in the flats but the rollers were killing me.  It really wasn't too difficult to stay in aero but I was just feeling muscle fatigue.  My quads were not happy with me.  Once again I went back to making sure that I was keeping hydrated, on top of my nutrition and within my heart rate box.  As I approached Chalk Hill for the second time I started experiencing cardiac drift and I made sure to hold back in order to not burn my run matches.

Then at mile 95 catastrophe struck (maybe).  My right quad started cramping and seizing.  The pain was pretty intense but what worried me the most is that I could hardly bend my leg.  I slowed down and did all I could do to not have to stop.  The pain eased up for about a mile and then right as I was approaching Chalk Hill both of my legs seized.  Holy crap, that hurt like a mother.  I just slowed down and started taking salt caps and drinking Infinit.  I massaged my quads and tried to keep on moving.  I have never suffered cramps on the bike so I wasn't sure what the heck was going on.  All I knew was that I better get mobility in my legs before the upcoming Chalk Hill.

My thoughts started going to the run.  Could I even run if I was in so much pain right now?  I then decided to put that out of my mind and handle the problem at hand.  I massaged a ton and started stretching on the bike.  Before I knew it Chalk Hill was right in front of me.  A guy that had been cheering us on the first time greeted us poor souls with a grin and a slow clap and he said "Welcome back riders!  A bit harder this time, huh?  He, he, he!"  I almost flip him off. 

I got on the lowest gear and just put my head down and hammered as carefully as I could.  The pain was pretty bad but the fatigue was worse.  I just looked at the road right in front of me and kept going.  The cheers from the spectators became a blur and I just kept going.  Then suddenly I felt the effort getting easier and just like that I had made it to the top.  Things then got sketchy since there is a severe downhill and I was dizzy and not totally in control.  I did my best to keep the downhill under control and once I got to the flat I focused on getting nutrition in me.  I had a mostly full bottle of Gatorade in my bottle cages and I really struggled to get it into my BTA bottle so that I could focus on pedaling and drinking at the same time.  I got the job done but I had a few scary moments because the road was very rough at this part of the course.

The job now was to recover over the last 12 miles so that I could be ready to run.  I decided to focus on fast cadence and controlled heart rate.  The strategy worked and started to feel progressively better.  I finally got back into the neighborhood of the High School and finally took the last turn to ride to T2.  I was so happy but I was also totally scared of how I would feel once I got off the bike.  I got to the dismount line, dismounted and then ran the bike to a volunteer who took my bike.  I was surprised that I actually felt pretty good.  As I made my way to the run gear bags I saw Jolynne and Sofia right there cheering me on.  Sofia said "What took you so long?"  I thought "Seriously child?!"  My total time was 6:30.  Five minutes worse than 2014 but not as bad as it could have been.

T2
A volunteer gave me my bag and I jogged over to the change tent.  I found the first open seat and took it.  Immediately my quads started cramping again but not as bad as before.  I spent a couple of minutes massaging the legs and the cramps subsided.  Once I felt better I changed my jersey for a Tri-top, put on a visor, donned my Hoka shoes and put on my race belt.  I also had concentrated cold Infinit and some salt caps.  I needed to pee really bad which was a good sign of hydration and I went outside to the porta potties and then spent more time than necessary trying to figure out how to get out to the run course.  The whole thing took me 10 minutes.  Uggghhhh....

The Run

The run takes you through a couple of large sponsor arches (one of them being Hoka who is sponsoring the IM run courses in the US this year) and takes you out to Keiser Park.  Then it puts you on the trail system for the park which leads you to the turnaround point for each of the three loops.  This turn around section is fan-central for the course and the center of the park.  There were tons of people here enjoying the shade of the trees and cheering on the runners.  Many high-fives were given in this section.  The trail meanders through the park and eventually drops you out to Windsor River Road.  Here you face a slight uphill followed by a healthy downhill and a healthy uphill.  Then you have a significant 6% or so downhill for a quarter of a mile.  The run course is completely different to the course I ran in 2014.  After the hill on Windsor River Road you take a right on Eastside Road and then a left on Old Redwood Road until you get to the turnaround at mile 4.7.  After the first leg the next 4 legs become 4.2 miles long and the last one is 4.7 to the Finish Line in the middle of Windsor High School.  So, the distance of the lengths when you are “looping” (4.2 miles) is pretty manageable. 

I actually felt great as I started the run.  I was so happy to be off that freaking bike.  One thing I noticed was how much stronger I felt at this point of the race than what I did back in 2014.  Back in 2014 I physically could not run for the first 10 minutes.  I was pretty wrecked and the entire run was a bit touch and go.  This year I felt like I could run at a pretty good pace.  However, I remembered the many “4-keys” talks that I listened to from Endurance Nation in preparation for the race.  EN makes it clear that you don’t earn the right to race until you reach mile 18 in a condition that allows you to race your peers.  I could feel that I would need to slow it way down if I was going to have any chance of making it to mile 18 in any sort of shape to compete. 

I slowed the pace way down from 8:45 to 10:00.  On the downhills I allowed the pace to creep up a bit but never faster than 9:30.  As I was making my way down the hill to Eastside Road I saw a lady that was moving at a pretty good clip.  I asked her if this was her second loop.  She said that it was and I asked how it was to go up this hill.  In her words: “It’s a bitch, but you just put your head down and look at the road in front of you.  Before you know it you’re at the top.”  I thanked her for her advice and she went on her way.  I had lots of people passing me but I told myself that I would stick to the plan and kept the pace around 10:00.  I also made the decision that I would walk the aid stations.  I came up on the first aid station and it was stocked with the usual fare.  I took a big sip of the concentrated Infinit and then took some water, then some Coke and then threw some water on my neck and head.  This was essentially my nutrition routine for all the aid stations in the run course and it worked out pretty well.

Eastside Road is beautifully paved and rolling.  I swear there were very few flat sections in the course.  Most of the time you were either going up or down.  The heat was bad but better than 2014 where I had to have ice all over me right from the beginning.  There was also a nice tailwind on the way out to the turnaround point.  I was concerned about the way back because I think the net grade was uphill for most of the course going back and because that nice tailwind would now be a headwind.  However, the wind was refreshing once I turned around and the hills were not too bad to deal with at all.  Then came the hill back to the finish.

I followed the advice I received and put my head down and just pushed up the hill.  It was haard but surprisingly not as hard as I thought it would be.  I made it back to Keiser park, used the bathroom real quick and then made it back onto the course for Loop 2.  I decided not to look at my total time just so that I focused on the moment.  I stopped at special needs and got a fresh bottle of cold concentrated Infinit.

The second loop was a lot harder, especially on the quads, my quads were screaming.  However, I was able to keep my target pace.  I saw Tom Hutches on the course and he looked like he was doing awesome.  I also saw the Blonde Runner, a coach from Utah, and she looked like she was hurting.  It was neat to start recognizing people out on the course and getting an idea of where I was position-wise.

By the time I made it back to Keiser Park for the second time I was very tired but I felt like I could keep running.  Jolynne and Sofia met me here and gave me a cheer.  I gave Sofia my bottle holder and decided to live off the course for the last loop.  The downhill down to Eastside was horrible, my quads were screaming.  I tried to put it out of my mind by talking to other athletes but it was difficult.  I then got very angry.  They ran out of Coke on the course!  Are you kidding me?!  I started panicking a little bit but I just told myself that I had followed my nutrition plan well and that I could make it.  They were really pushing the Red Bull but I decided to rely on Gatorade, Water, and my Salt Caps.
 

It was awesome to make it to the last turnaround, thank the volunteers and tell them "Thanks, I'm outta here!"  The road back to the finish was super hard but somehow I was able to mostly keep pace.  There were a couple of hills that I had to walk but for the most part the only time I walked was at the aid stations.  The hill the third time was horrendous and I decided to attack it by walking 35 seconds and running 60.  With that strategy I was able to make it up the hill without too much trouble.  At that point with about 1 mile to go I decided to not stop and run it all the way to the finish.  One spectator wearing an Ironman Finisher's shirt from another race told me "Good job Jose but please smile, don't screw up the finish line picture."  I thought, "I must look like crap but I'm glad he gave me a heads ups.  I zipped up my top and decided to relax and run it in smooth.  I started getting excited as I approached the park and I could hear the finish line announcer.  Then I got to the turnaround and felt so  great to be able to continue to the finishing stretch rather than to another loop.  That felt incredibly satisfying.  I then made it out of the park and onto the High School grounds.

The Finish

Once on the High School grounds they had a finishing corridor that went right along one side of the high school and was slightly downhill.  By now I knew I was sub 5 hours for the run and I knew I had a PR.  I started getting excited for the finish and I could feel the excitement from the crowd.  I then took a right and went right onto the finishing chute.  It played out just like in all the Ironman videos I have seen before and there it was, the Finish Line.  I pumped my fists and gave a ton of high fives as I made my way down the chute.  Then I heard Dave Ragsdale say "Welcome in Jose Jimenez, 44 year old from Riverton Utah" and then Dave LaTourette said "You are an Ironman!" then I crossed the finish line.  Finally!!!  Official time 13:05:13.

The Aftermath

After you cross the finish line a volunteer called a "catcher" comes and makes sure to get  hold of you in order to make sure you don't pass out.  They also give you a water bottle and a heat blanket.  When they are sure you can walk they send you further down the chute where you get your medal and then your Finisher's Shirt.  We did not get any hats at the race because the supplier sent them to the wrong place.  Ironman said they would be sending the hats to us in the mail as soon as possible.

I then saw Sofia who was capturing everything on video. I was so glad to see her.  She said she saw me come through and I was glad because I didn't see her and Jolynne in the finishing chute.  There was an area with an Ironman backdrop to take your finisher pictures and I posed for the pictures.  Then I saw Jolynne on the other side of the barrier taking the opportunity to take her own pictures.  I then went over to them and started debriefing the whole race experience.
After the whole post race food thing (pizza, sandwiches, Grandma's Cookies, Beachbody Recovery drink, etc.) we went to the car so that I could warm up a bit.  Sofia made fun of me because I was shivering uncontrollably.  On the way to the car I saw Russ Pugh, the founder of Vineman and I told him thanks for an awesome event.  After warming up in the car I bundled up with a sleeping bag and we made it back to the finish line to cheer on the finishers.  It was pretty awesome.  They had a huge jumbotron where you could see the person coming into the chute and it made the whole atmosphere feel bigger-than-life.  We stayed there for about 30 minutes and then made our way back to Guerneville. 

As I write this it has been one week since the race and recovery is coming along slow.  I think the cramping on the bike and the effort I had to put from that point on really did a number on me.  I ended up getting a bad sinus cold a few days after the race and I am getting over that now.  I have never been more beat up after a race.  I was able to put together a much more complete race than in 2014 but I really was not in optimal shape to do so.  My work schedule had been crazy, my strength training had been non-existent and a few of the nights leading up to the race were crazy.  Somehow though I knew what I needed to do to execute and I pushed the body to do it although it cost me big time in recovery.  It kills me I didn't break 13 hours but at least that's the carrot that will keep me coming back.  I will be back in 2018, at Vineman or elsewhere.  No back-to-back Ironman years for me.
As always my selfish  hobby is sponsored and made possible by my awesome wife and children.  For this particular race Jolynne and Sofia were the perfect support crew and I love them both very much.

Next A-race on the schedule...the 2017 Boston Marathon! My 2nd Boston.  Here we go again...

2011 Boston Marathon - My first Boston Marathon

The Boston Marathon has been the best overall race experience I have had.  I was reading the new book Boston Marathon: History by the Mile by Paul Clerici and it took me down memory lane.  I worked my butt off (literally) to qualify for the Boston Marathon and running it lived up to all the hype.  2011 was a special year in that it saw the fastest Marathon ever run by a human being up to that point and the fastest marathon run by an American, Ryan Hall, who just announced his retirement.  I want to go back to the Boston Marathon and I think I was able to accomplish this in late 2015 at the St. George marathon.  I ran a 3:14 which gives me an 11 minute cushion on my qualifying time of 3:25 for the 2017 Boston Marathon.  I think that should be a big enough cushion to get in.  We'll see.  

In the meantime I'll bask in the glory of my last run of the Boston Marathon:

I have been conditioned to temper my expectations about things that are hyped, advertised, and loudly lauded.  I’m thinking of things like summer blockbuster movies, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, Black Friday deals, Fireworks on the 4^th of July, theme parks, most Marathon Expos and their related activities, and a myriad of other activities/experiences.  While these have enriched my life they have fallen short of their hype and advertisements in one way or another.  I fully expected that this would be the case with the Boston Marathon.  I was wrong.  The Boston Marathon experience exceeded my expectations.   It stands up to the hype and blows it out of the water.

My wife and I decided to make the trip a vacation.  This was both a wonderful and a fateful decision.  Wonderful because we got to spend two sunny days at Newport, RI prior to spending time in Boston during marathon weekend.  Fateful because I did not adjust my race plan to account for the fatigue on my feet from two days walking through Newport Mansions and one entire day at the Expo and downtown Boston.  Needless to say by mile 22 my feet had had it and I posted a fairly slow 3:23 on race day.  But more on that later.  We probably should have planned on Newport for after the race but I figured that my wife deserved a good experience without having to drag a post-marathon-trauma disabled husband.  I would not have made it to Boston without her patience and support.  So the Newport trip was non-negotiable and very enjoyable. 

The Expo on Saturday was also non-negotiable.  This could be my only Boston and I was determined to experience as much of the Expo as possible.  I picked up my bib number and bag of goodies and took the obligatory pictures.  I absolutely love the shirt this year.  Very nice.  Wow, pretty much every retailer in the running world was there.  I loved all the free food and the Runner’s Seminar series.  I attended two of these.  One was a course introduction by Dave McGillivray and the Course Director.  These guys did an awesome job and I was able to get Dave’s autograph on my Boston book by Higdon.  The next seminar was advice by the editors of Runner’s World who included Amby Burfoot, Bart Yasso, Mark Remy and others.  At this session I got autographs from Amby Burfoot, who won the Boston Marathon in 1967, and from David Willey who is the Editor-in-Chief of Runner’s World Magazine.  The seminars were awesome and everyone was very nice and personable.  As far as the retailers go I purchased a hat from Adidas and shirts from New Balance.  I already had bought the Official Adidas jacket from Running Warehouse.  I was also able to play around with the new Garmin 610 GPS watch which will probably be my next watch.  I would say New Balance had the best apparel at the expo.  They had a good presence at the marathon throughout.

 

So that took most of that day then we went and had lunch/dinner at the Prudential center where I met Neil from Pennsylvania.  Neil was about to run his 45^th straight Boston Marathon.  He holds the record for the most Bostons run consecutively.  To put it in context, he ran the marathon in 1967 when Amby Burfoot won.  He was the nicest guy and provided me with some good race wisdom.  After that we went to the finish line and took 200+ pictures (it felt like my wedding).  We then took the T back to Cambridge got our rental car and drove to Hopkinton where we took 200 more pictures.  Finally we drove the course and went back to my brother-in-law’s in Cambridge.

Sunday we returned the rental and then took the T to Old South Church on Boylston where we attended the Blessing of the Runners service that the Church of Christ puts together.  They did a really good job and it was a bonus that it was Palm Sunday so the sermons and ceremony were extra special.  We then took the T and met up with Smooth, Rhett and other bloggers and attended our church in Cambridge (that’s 4 hours of church for me on that Sunday!). 

Needless to say I was dog meat by the time I got back to my brother-in-law’s house on Sunday.  Reason would tell any intelligent person that an adjustment in the race plan is warranted.  However, since I am an idiot I decided to stick to my original plan.  This plan called for a conservative first half and an aggressive second half resulting in a PR.  I wrote the splits down on my arms with permanent marker and committed to the plan.

I meet Smooth and the rest of group at the Boston Common at 6:20am on race morning.  It was freezing!  The wind seemed to come from all directions.  We quickly made our way to the line for the buses and literally fought our way to get into the bus.  I sat with Rhett and had a good conversation all the way up to Hopkinton.  This was nice and it made the ride up to Hopkinton feel shorter.  I was very glad I listened to Scott and Smooth and brought an inflatable mattress with me to lie down.  The wind kept whipping and it was sooo cold.  Very glad I brought extra clothes and a blanket.  I was very prepared for the Village and the time went by quickly.  When time came to head to the corrals I headed out with Rhett and Lito (Bobcat).  They made for good conversation as we dropped off our bags and started our long walk.  Rhett was nice enough to give me an extra trash bag he brought with him which I used as a wind breaker.  We made one last PP stop behind Coella’s Market and then headed out to the corrals.  I definitely scored with my super thick $1 gloves I picked up at Wal-Mart in Newport.  These kept me toasty warm all the way to the start.  The organization of the race was incredible.  There was never a doubt as to where I needed to be.  They must have checked my bib number about four times before I made it into the corral.  One disappointment was that I thought there was a flyover by fighter jets at the beginning of the race.  I either missed it or they didn’t have one.  In any case, the level of excitement from the runners and the crowd at the beginning was awesome.

The feeling of finally starting the race was so gratifying.  This is what I had been towards for about two years and I was finally a part of it.  I started high fiving right from the start.  I probably high-fived kids (and Wellesley girls) for about 50% of the race.  The kids were so excited.  There was a biker bar close to the start where the bikers were more excited or “happy” than anyone else.  I was being passed a lot at the beginning since I decided to take it fairly easy at the beginning of the race and that was fine since I was taking it all in. 

The first few miles were very easy since they were at a gentle downhill.  I stuck to my plan like glue.  Well, for the first 19 miles at least.  Here is the play-by-play:

    1-      7:31

    2-      7:16 (Crazy running with these many people.  Very different experience.)

    3-      7:03

    4-      7:09

    5-      7:17 (I think it was here that I saw my reflection on some store windows.  I saw myself running the Boston Marathon!)

    6-      7:01

    7-      7:07

    8-      7:11 (All throughout here it was very pretty.  I am feeling good.  I cannot believe every foot of this race is lined with spectators.  My hand is getting a workout from all the high-fives.)

    9-      7:08

    10-   7:18

    11-   7:20

    12-   7:11 (Wellesley.  Scream Tunnel.  Insane as advertised.  Literally all of the girls lining the street were looking for kisses.  Oh, if I was 20 years younger!  Instead I gave them all high-fives.)

    13-   7:17 (7:16 pace at the half, feeling good starting to have some pain on top of my feet)

    14-   7:11 (Pain on top of my feet is pretty bad and moving to the bottom.)

    15-   7:24 (My feet feel totally swollen and in pain.  What the heck is going on?)

    16-   7:08 (Here was the first long hill of the course, which was an overpass over Rte. 128, and I actually felt great going up it.  The pain on my feet eased significantly.)

    17-   7:43 (Looked for Jolynne after passing the Newton Hospital since this is where we were supposed to meet.  However, she was nowhere to be found.  Then, after the Power Bar aid station, the course turned left and I could see where we took a hard right towards the hills of Newton.  It was then that I saw the three orange balloons that I told Jolynne to use to mark her position.  She was at the left of the road with Kurt, Jen and the kids.  I headed over and paused to give high-fives to everybody.  As I was ready to leave I heard someone say “Hey!”.  I looked up and it was my brother-in-law Conrad!  He had not said anything about coming out and it caught me completely by surprise.  I said “Wow!”, gave him a fist pump, turned, and headed for the Newton hills.)

    18-   7:46 (2nd hill, not too bad.  Feeling good.)

    19-   7:34 (Fairly flat here.  My feet are hurting again.)

    20-   8:03 (3rd hill, feet don’t hurt as much but slowed down the pace to make sure I have enough for Heartbreak)

    21-   8:33 (Heartbreak!  I took it easy up Heartbreak and it was good that I did.  By this point the hills took their toll but I still felt pretty good.  It was great to see the big inflatable sign at Boston College that read “Heartbreak is Over!!!”  That was very cool but as I headed down hill toward Brookline my feet were pulsating with pain like I have not felt before at any race.  Here is where I paid the price for my four days of tourist walking prior to the race.  Stupid!  My body wanted to go but every step shot pain up my legs)

    22-   8:41 (My pace really slowed down here.  This was a death march.)

    23-   9:04 (I started taking walk breaks at this point.  Pain was fairly severe.  I saw two people passed out, one with blood all over his face.  I was definitely not the only one having issues.)

    24-   9:22 (I continued taking walk breaks.  Half the world is passing me now.  I was disgusted with myself and made several efforts to push the pace and ignore the pain in my feet.  I don’t remember where it was but I think it was around this mile that I caught my first glimpse of the CITGO sign in the distance.  This is where I remembered: YOU’RE RUNNING BOSTON!  This could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and you’re missing it!  It was at this point that I came to my senses and stopped trying to push the pace and decided to jog my way to the finish while taking it all in.  I waved at people.  Smiled and looked forward to Hereford and Boylston.)

    25-   9:32 (It was awesome to see the fabled CITGO sign and Kenmore Square.  The crowds were overwhelming.  My feet started to feel a bit better.)

    26-   8:47 (Later I calculated that the second half was 8:18 pace, over one minute more per mile more than the first half!  At this point people were going nuts and this helped me to pick up the pace.  The right turn at Hereford was awesome.  I could really get a sense of the history of this race.  This is what I had worked and suffered so much to achieve and it was within my grasp.  Then left on Boylston.  Wow!  I felt like a rock star.  The crowd was going crazy and I had a smile from ear to ear.  I started pumping my fists and egging the crowd on.)

    27-   7:47 (This was actually 0.47 miles on the Garmin.  I was able to muster up some energy for the last stretch although the Marathonfoto pictures show that I was in deep pain. I was all grimace outside but I felt completely elated.  There it was!  The most famous finish line in all of running.  I finished it!  I finished the Boston Marathon!!!)

Total Final Time = 3:23:52.  My eighth marathon, my third best Marathon time, and the best race experience I have ever had.

After the finish I was congratulated by a volunteer who gave me a Gatorade and instructed me to keep walking.  Here’s where the hurt came back with a vengeance.  I started feeling my legs lock up somewhat and walking was difficult but I kept going.  Another volunteer gave me a Gatorade Recovery Drink and a bag of food.  Later we got our space blankets and tape for the blankets and finally we were given our medals.  After that we were directed to the bus that had my bag and I waited for about 15 minutes in line to get my bag.  This was much faster than expected and I was glad.  I then moved to the family meeting area to find Jolynne and the rest of the gang.

It was cool to see Conrad there.  He also greeted me with a great surprise.  He pulled out a Salt Lake Marathon medal.  It took me a while to realize that this big boy had actually just run the Salt Lake Marathon on Saturday.  I yelled in astonishment and gave him a hug.  Jolynne then took a picture of us holding our medals side by side.  I think it’s amazing that he was still walking around after having completed that marathon only two days before.  Conrad is a die hard.  We then made our way to the subway where we had the nice surprise to find that they were giving free rides to the runners.

The way back to Kurt’s house was difficult but once we got there it was nice to kick up my feet and watch the re-runs of the race on TV.  Amazingly this Boston Marathon saw the fastest marathon ever run by any human being and the fastest run by an American.  Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai ran a 2:03:02, fastest marathon ever recorded.  American Ryan Hall ran a 2:04:58, the fastest marathon ever run by an American.  It is extremely cool that I ran the same race where these records were set.  It is even cooler that it all happened in Boston!  I will be back someday!