Boston. So much: top notch competition, the roaring crowds, the tradition, the history.
The weather was pretty ideal at the start. Around 50º and sunny. It warmed up a bit as the day went on, perhaps reaching 70º around Newton, but it was tolerable.
Originally, I aspired for a PR at Boston but in the past couple of weeks it was clear this would not be in the cards. My left calf muscle, which had bothered me since the National Marathon a few weeks earlier, caused me to stop running for the entire week prior to the Boston Marathon. This resulted in what can only be described as a sluggish run for the BM.
I did avoid the classic BM mistake, which cost me dearly last year, of starting out too fast. My pace was measured, starting out conservatively. I remember hitting the halfway mark and thinking that I was on track for a 3:10 pace, which I would have been extremely pleased with.
However, my pace started to slide and then declined precipitously from the hills of Newton through Heartbreak Hill (miles 16-21). I may have been playing it too conservative, hoping to get a final burst of speed in the last 5 miles. No luck. I could only muster a 7:21 pace for the first of the last 5 miles. I couldn't sustain even that relatively meager pace; it steadily declined to 7:55 for the final mile. Definitely not a strong finish.
While the performance difference in comparison to the National Marathon, I'll just console myself with a better BM time from the prior year with plenty of room for improvement.
-Emery
Boston Marathon Personal Statistics
========================================
age: 45
chip time: 3:19:25
overall: 4171/22375
sex place: 3753/13263
45-49 div place: 1238/3762
pace: 7:37
mile 6: 0:43:16
mile 10: 1:11:54
mile 13: 1:33:40
half: 1:35:25
mile 19: 2:21:31
mile 21: 2:39:29
mile elev pace net pace
---- ---------- ----- --------
(each * counts as 50 feet in elevation)
m0 .********* -
m1 .******* 7:35
m2 .****** 7:17 7:26
m3 .***** 7:13 7:22
m4 .**** 7:07 7:18
m5 .***** 7:13 7:17
m6 .*** 7:01 7:14 42:86 43:16
m7 .*** 6:55 7:12
m8 .*** 7:12 7:12
m9 .*** 7:08 7:11
m10 .*** 7:23 7:12 28:38 1:11:54
m11 .**** 7:28 7:14
m12 .*** 7:25 7:15
m13 .*** 7:39 7:17 21:46 1:33:40
m14 .*** 7:36 7:18
m15 .*** 7:39 7:19
m16 .* 7:30 7:20
m17 .** 8:22~
m18 .*** 8:22~
m19 .** 8:22~ 7:30 47:51 2:21:31
m20 .*** 8:58 7:34
m21 .***** 9:00 7:38 17:58 2:39:29
m22 .*** 7:21 7:38
m23 .** 7:25 7:37
m24 .* 7:28 7:37
m25 . 7:42 7:37
m26 . 7:55~
end . 1:35~ 7:37
