As you can tell from the above paragraph, Saturday was a rather busy affair, so it was nice just to chill on Sunday and rest up for the big day ahead. I did manage a one mile jog to the local Panera for brunch and took advantage of the short distance to test out the all-new Saucony Hattori that I picked up at the Expo the previous day. Described as “a sock with cushioning”, the Saucony Hattori embodies “natural” running and at just 4.4oz is about as near to barefoot running as you can get. Anyway, I digress. The rest of the day was just a matter of laying out my race gear, reading a few magazines and enjoying a short nap to recharge the batteries. Dinner at a local sports bar was tasty and fun, but I probably got carried away with the drinking (Andy O is a bad influence!), and had one (or two) beers too many. At least I was able to get to bed nice and early, and quite predictably after three beers, sleep came rather quickly.

The alarm was set for 5am, and surprisingly I had no problem hopping out of bed to mix up the Hammer Nutrition breakfast and fuel for the marathon. Breakfast was my usual 3 scoops of Sustained Energy mixed in 24oz of water which I’d drink on the bus ride to the athlete’s village. I’d already pinned 4 small baggies containing 3 Endurolyte capsules to my shorts, so all that was left was to mix up a small hand-held flask of Perpetuem which would hopefully fuel each and every one of the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston.

After a quick goodbye to the still-sleeping Ally S, I headed downstairs to jump on the hotel shuttle bus which would ferry guests to Boston Common where a huge line of school buses awaited. The bus ride to the athlete’s village was fairly uneventful. I listened to some favorite tunes, sipped Sustained Energy and enjoyed a brief chat to a first time Boston marathoner who wasn’t nervous, but understandably full of questions.

Once at the village, the next couple of hours flew by. I found a nice quiet, sunny location and was soon joined by a gaggle of dailymilers – great people, good conversation, fun times.

All too quickly, however, it was time to leave the village and head to the starting corrals with good friends Peter L and Andy O. Somehow we lost Chris S before the baggage trucks, but were spotted by the always-smiling Brodie W at the port-o-john line. Small world… We said our goodbyes and exchanged good luck wishes at the respective corrals, which left me on my own for the first time in a few hours. The walk to my corral was a short one, but left me enough time to reflect on the pretty special feeling of being in corral number one for the first time in three Boston Marathons. After a few strides on the side of the road, I hopped in to the corral and listened to the conversations all around me. I’d kind of played down Boston to be a fun event this year, but now as I stood amongst some of the fastest marathon runners in the country, I realized having fun was not really what I’m all about, and kind of an insult to the Boston Marathon itself. I totally zoned out for a minute or two, sang the Welsh National Anthem to myself, felt goosebumps form on my arms and actually teared up a little as I thought about the race ahead. Ready.

My only goal going in to Boston was to reach the halfway point in around 1:25. If I felt okay, I figured I could maintain pace, finish in 2:50 and shave four minutes of my 2010 Boston time. If I felt good, maybe I could pick up the pace and cross the line in around 2:48. If today wasn’t my day, I’d just do my best, enjoy the second half and be cool with the fact that I’m not getting any younger. At 10am sharp, we were off. I’d spent the last couple of days advising people not to go out too fast, not to trash their quads on the early downhill miles, and as difficult as it can be at Boston, to stick to their game plan. My goal pace was around 6:30 per mile. I was happy with an “easy” 6:25 first mile, but couldn’t help myself in the next three miles with splits of 6:10, 6:12 and 6:19. The tailwind, as predicted, was strong. It seemed everyone was running faster than planned, but nobody was doing anything about it.

First 5k split – 19:35. Too fast.

I finally got things under control with a 6:26 and a 6:24, but it didn’t feel natural to ease off the gas and let streams of runners push on ahead of me. The crowds were out in force and I remember thinking how warm it was on the course. I decided to take the first baggie of Endurolytes a little early, and hoped they’d keep potential cramps at bay late in the race.

Second 5k – 20:04. Much better.

I found myself “in the zone” for the next 6 or 7 miles. I don’t recall checking my Garmin at all, and instead focused on the road ahead. Splits of 6:24, 6:27, 6:23, 6:22, 6:28, 6:22 came easily, and as arrogant as it sounds, I felt no pressure at all. The crowds were great and I enjoyed high-fiving the kids who were all holding out their hands in anticipation. Very cool.

Third 5k – 20:00. Bang on pace.

Fourth 5k – 20:02. Almost perfect again.

The “Girls of Wellesley” were as loud as ever, but I managed to contain myself and kept on running. Mile 13 came in at 6:19, and I reached the half just over a minute too fast in a little under 1:24. My next decision was not a difficult one. Fueling had gone well, my legs were feeling good and the tailwind was still out in force. I decided to pick up the pace in the next seven miles, and if I still felt good, attack the last 10k like never before.

Fifth 5k – 19:39. Getting faster.

The hills of Newton came and went. Confidence was high, and I was able to power up the hills and pass many a flagging runner. The crowds were once again fantastic, and the shouts for “Bib #561″ kept me running strong.

Feeling good at 30K!

Sixth 5k – 19:39. The hills didn’t slow me down.

At mile 20, I knew I was in with a shout of a new PR. I hadn’t planned it, and definitely wasn’t expecting it, but there was no way I wasn’t going to go for it. I knew there were many friends and family tracking me online, and badly wanted to crush the last 10k for them as much as myself. My quads were sore from the early downhills, and to be honest I was a lot scared that they’d spasm and cramp up. Time to be my best and go for it though…

Seventh 5k – 19:17. Nice.

My mile splits dipped into the low 6:00s for several miles, and I managed to record a couple of sub-6:00 minute miles for the first time in a marathon too.

Eighth 5k – 19:01. Crazy.

I hit mile 25 and knew, barring a major disaster, the PR was mine. I pressed on for home, spurred on by the magnificent crowds, and inspired by friends cheering for me in numerous locations around the globe. I powered down Boylston Street, missed the 26 mile marker (if there was one), but crossed the finish line in an amazing 2:45:22 – almost two minutes faster than my previous best, and a crazy nine minutes faster than my 2010 Boston Marathon.

Overall Place – 357 of 23879
Gender Place – 327 of 13806
Age Group Place – 38 of 2303

I manage a charity marathon team (from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary) that will participate in this April’s Boston Marathon. There are still a few spots left on our 50-member team. It’s for a great cause and is a great opportunity to run the Boston Marathon!

Team members will raise funds to bring new hope and a healthier future to people everywhere who face loss of sight, hearing, voice, balance, taste and smell, as well as head and neck cancer. Team members must commit to raising a minimum of $5,000 for research and patient care at Mass. Eye and Ear. Fundraising and training support will be offered. The team coach, Fred Treseler, is recognized as one of the best in the country.

Interested runners can contact Kristina Sym at kristina_sym@meei.harvard.edu or (617) 573-6364. More information can also be found at www.MassEyeAndEar.org/TeamEyeAndEar.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As a comparison, here’s Ryan Hall showing me how it should be done. Totally impressive!

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Here’s a quick run down of how things panned out:

Walked to the start corrals with Chaz and Caleb where we agreed to run together and try to hit 10 miles between 1:05 and 1:07. This fitted in nicely with my race plan and sounded quite doable. C&C were both in corral #1 so I positioned myself near the front of corral #2 where I could keep them in sight and gradually catch them up.

Due to a niggly heel issue, my last long run (20 miles) leading up to Boston was three weeks ago and the sharp decrease in mileage had left my legs feeling pretty good and ready to race. The early miles felt great (as they should in any marathon) and it was enjoyable to run alongside C&C. We didn’t chat too much and for the most part it was straight down to business and settle into a good groove.

It was cool to cross the 5K timing mat knowing DailyMilers would be tracking us. The 10K mat seemed to appear in no time at all too. We were bang on pace but already at this early stage in the game I was aware of some heel pain. I think I dropped back a couple of strides a few times, not really struggling but not really feeling like I was flowing either. Chaz with his six sense glanced back to ask if I was okay and of course I replied “Yep, feeling good”.

I also needed a stop to relieve myself. I managed to hold on until the 11 mile mark, but at this stage I was also struggling a bit to stay with C&C and was in need of regrouping and settling into my own groove.

I think the port-a-john break was about 40 seconds, but boy did my bladder feel better! Definitely a wise move to stop. Wish I could say the same for my heel though, as on starting to run again, it felt pretty painful just to run normally. I hobbled through about half a mile and honestly thought about quitting. I’m not proud that the thought entered my head, but it was definitely an option. It was either stop and be taken back to the finish in one of the medical vehicles or run/walk to the finish and probably log my slowest marathon time ever. I even played through my mind that I’d have to sell my 2010 Boston jacket that I’d purchased just two days earlier — no way could I wear it with a DNF or an unBulldog like finish time.

Somehow, however, I managed to find a running gait that worked for me, although I definitely favored the toes of my left foot and the ball of my right. It felt like a fast limp and probably looked quite awkward. The flat sections and inclines on the course turned out to be the most manageable but the downhills were painful and definitely made me slow down.

Crowd support was so much better than I remember in 2000, and really helped me through those middle miles, but once through the crazy noise of Wellesley, I suffered a bit during 16, 17 and 18 (17 was actually my slowest split of the race). I felt strong though, and the momentum of passing people kept me on a bit of a roll. I dug deep, really deep and attempted to pick up the pace.
Somewhere just after Heartbreak the crowds swelled and the enthusiasm seemed to carry me along. I pushed the heel issue to the back of my mind and went for it. Finish line or bust. Runners all around me were struggling now; some hobbling along the side of the road, some stretching their calves and some trying to keep cramps at bay.

Finally the huge Citgo sign came into view and before I knew it were rounding the final couple of bends to the finish with just four tenths of a mile to go. Up ahead I spotted the blue singlet and shorts of Caleb M, but it was too late to catch him and snag a great finish line pic.
I crossed the line in 2:54:26 (the Garmin had died just after mile 24) and congratulated Caleb on a fantastic Boston debut. Chaz was also waiting a little further down the line. He’s finished about a minute ahead of Caleb and was looking good on his race. Good times.

So, overall, I’m really happy with my time — 10 minutes faster than my one and only Boston 10 years ago and my fastest marathon since November 2008. Can’t be bad eh? I’m not looking to use the heel as an excuse. Actually, the pain of mile 11 may have helped me from going too fast in the middle miles and unintentionally allowed me to hold something back for the final 10k. Who knows? It is what it is.

Congrats to C&C for a great couple of race times and for dragging me along for the ride in the early stages of the race. I’m looking forward to seeing the official photos where we were running side by side. Congrats also to all the other DailyMile Boston finishers and to everyone who tracked my splits, sent me messages or were out on the course cheering me on.

Splits:
1 — 6:35
2 — 6:29
3 — 6:43
4 — 6:34
5 — 6:45
6 — 6:42
7 — 6:38
8 — 6:34
9 — 6:32
10 — 6:31
11 — 6:30
12 — 6:32
13 — 6:33
14 — 6:30
15 — 6:37
16 — 6:40
17 — 6:59
18 — 6:47
19 — 6:31
20 — 6:36
21 — 6:54
22 — 6:27
23 — 6:36
24 — ??
25 — ??
26 — ??

5K — 20:33
10K — 20:50
15K — 20:31
20K — 21:03 (pit stop)
25K — 20:19
30K — 21:18
35K — 20:35
40K — 20:34

1st half — 1:27:21
2nd half — 1:27:05

It usually takes a while for qualifying times to be verified and the $130 entry fee (increases to $180 after February 1st, 2010) to be processed, but I hope to be listed as one of the registered entrants some time in mid-October. I’ll also be looking out for my official postcard from the B.A.A.!

Anyone else entered the 114th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 19, 2010? Maybe I’ll see you there…

Every time I come out here, I swear to myself I’m going to train harder for the next one. But I never do.

Maybe Lance is human after all? Armstrong also said there’s no comparison between running a marathon and cycling, either physically or mentally.

You can’t compare the pounding or running with the efficiency of a bicycle. Nothing even comes close to comparing the pain, especially it seems like this course, with a significant amount of downhills … that really take their toll on the muscles.

Lance finished his third marathon in 2 hours, 50 minutes, 58 seconds – 2 seconds faster than my all-time PR!