Boston Marathon

SixinSixty©

Determination, fortitude, courage, and consistency

(Two Cross Country and four running marathons at 60)

Hi Folks (Family and Friends):

I would like to thank you all for the Emails and I would like to share with you my experience.

First of all, I qualified for the 2009 Boston Marathon by 20 minutes and reached another personnel best. The Boston Marathon was awesome experience. The most memorable part of this race will be all the support I received from my family and friends and seeing the 2008 Boston Marathon Finish banner after 3:40.

The race

It was a great day for a race -the temperature was cool with cloud cover –similar to a Calgary summer. My whole race strategy changed at the start line by the atmosphere of the event and the spectators along the way.

It was reported that there was a ½ million spectators along the 26 mile course. The cheering never stopped. You would have to be there to experience it. A total of 25,000 runners participated in the race. After the start, I looked ahead and all I could see is a road packed with runners for the next 3-4 miles. This presented a challenge in it self. For the first 6 miles I had to be careful to avoid being tripped or tripping someone. I had to plan every move to advance by runners. After 6 miles the field spread out which gave me some breathing room. However, I was elbow to elbow with someone all the way to the finish.

The spectators were supportive and enjoyable along the way. It was fun giving young kids and older ones a high fives along the way. There were plenty of aid stations with food and water. As well, spectators offered oranges, bananas, water, and ice along the way. I chucked my water bottle early in the race. At two points along the course spectators were on the road crowding the runners as we passed by.

The RACE –This race was a personnel best. For the first 6 miles it was downhill and I was able to maintain a quick pace with little effort. Due to runner traffic and spectators, I was well into the race when I checked my heart rate and I realized I was in zone 4 ( 170 bpm). I contemplated cutting back. However this now changed into an experiment to see if I could maintain a zone 4 for the entire race. I knew I could do it for a ½ marathon – for an entire marathon with hills at the end I was prepared to give it a try. I kept my pace up based on perceived effort and heart rate.

The next 6 miles was flat and I run in a low zone 4 with a pace around 5min/KM. It was tempting to increase my pace as I crossed each 5km marker. My legs were feeling good and I felt that my left IT band would not give me a problem. However, I kept thinking about the rolling hills ahead.

At the 15 mile mark I started preparing for the hills by feeding and hydrating. At the 20 mile mark I started the hills. The hills didn’t look that bad but they were long. I tempted to maintain my pace at the start. It was here that I started realizing that I may have pushed my self too much. My legs started burning and I noticed that I may have a problem with my IT band. It was time to start thinking about other things then my legs. The crowd and those that my be monitoring me on the web came to mind. As well, I would held ice in my hands until they were so cold I forgot about my legs. When I got the chance I iced my IT band. After 4 miles of rolling hills, I realized I made it past Heart Break Hill. I had only 2 miles left to the finish line. I was pumped. The crowd was even more intense. My legs started to recover but it was the first time during the race that I felt a low energy level.

As I made my way to downtown Boston I could hear the roar of the crowd. After turning the last corner I could see the 2008 Boston Marathon banner -what a relief and thrill. I managed to find the energy to pick up the pace to the finish line.

Now, the Calgary Marathon in July and I plan to start training for this one in a few days. I plan to win this one in my age category.

Here are the stat’s:

Average Pace: 5:09 min/km; Average heart rate: 174; Maximum Heart rate: 186

Calories burnt: 3265

Age Division placement: 69/1134

% Division Placement: 6%

Location Time Pace/mile

10 Kilometers 0:50:13 8:04

Half-Marathon 1:45:51 8:04

30 Kilometers 2:32:57 8:12

Finish 3:39:59 8:23

Boston Marathon