Boston Marathon
April 16, 2018
John: 4:29:38 20,420/25,746 Overall
11,676/14,142 Male 217/450 in
65-69
“You don’t have to be crazy to be a marathoner … but it
helps” is what they say. The 122nd running of the Boston Marathon certainly lent
credence to that concept. With wind chill temps in the 30s, 20-30 mph
headwinds, steady rain that was at times extremely heavy, it was a challenging
day for runners, spectators, and aid station crews. It was amazing that in
spite of the weather, there were still 100s of thousands of fans out cheering
us all on and the aid stations folks were undaunted. Highlight of the day for
me was at mile 15 when the skies let loose with a downpour as I was passing an
aid station: the volunteers all let out a huge cheer in unison. You talk about
embracing the challenge! It was so inspiring. Great memory from my 20th
Boston Marathon and the 30th anniversary of my 1st one in
1988. It was also my 8th in a row matching the 8 from 1994-2001.
I
was in the 4th wave, 1st corral, but after the 3rd
wave finished and they released us to head to corrals, they said “just go; no
need to be waiting in the rain”. That was a great idea and allowed me to
warm-up going to starting line and just keep going. I felt I ran a really
comfortable race (as far as my legs go) and accomplished my 2 main goals: run
all the hills and run the last 4 miles without hurting too much and having to
walk. Happily I did both because I didn’t start too fast and just ran a
conservative pace. Also, I did get one selfie in Wellsley because I wanted to
show the ladies that braved the weather that we appreciated their extra effort.
The numbers were smaller, but the ones out there were still loud and giving
lots of high fives and kisses.
The
first half was 2:08:39, but the second half was slower because the heavy
downpours hit me at 15, 17 and 21. Up until 15 my shoes were not too bad; after
that they were soaked and heavy with water. Also, the wind in our face the
second half was very strong and slowed me a lot.
The race was hard, but the hardest part was after
I finished: my cousin was caught in traffic and I had to wait 1 hour and 30
minutes in wet, cold clothing in hotel lobby. Fortunately a lady asked if I
needed anything because she saw how awful I looked. She got me coffee and a
brownie and I started to revive!
Also,
I ran the race pain-free from the injury that I ran all of Boston with last
year and which plagued me much of 2017. I ran 4:29 this year, exactly a minute per
mile faster than last year (4:55). It really is so much better to run without
injury pain. Also, just plain great to be done with this one! And finally, what
a wonderful treat to get back to John and Linda’s and get a warm shower and dry
clothes and then enjoy Linda’s dinner of steak and baked potato topped off with
a bowl of ice cream. “Pain is temporary; glory is forever!” (Unknown
skateboarder)
(The summary of my trip follows
the order of the pictures on Shutterfly so please see them as you read.)
We had a couple of send-offs in Fresno: Fleet
Feet and Uncle Harry (and Aunt Amanda’s). Fun to run into Joanna and Deana in
the SF Airport on way to Boston. And then when I went to the expo in Boston on
Friday morning to run into Kyle Grossman and his family first thing. At the
expo I saw Sal and Laura from Fresno. Note the pictures from some of the recent
years. I expecially loved 2014 (where I proposed to Jodi at the top of
Heartbreak Hill) and the caption of the picture notes “most memorable marathon”.
I appreciate their pointing that out! I also bought Deena Kastor’s new book and
got it autographed by her. I also ran into Joan Benoit Samuelson and said hello
to her, reminding her that I had talked to her in Napa this year, too.
There
are some pics of John and Linda Duncan working on clearing the trees and brush
on their land and of their dog, T-man. I had gotten very excited when I found
out that the Celtics were hosting a playoff game Sunday afternoon, and that I could
get a ticket. It was really fun to explore the new Garden since the only Celtic
game I’d been to had been in 1994 with Bill and Paul Koopmans. It turned out to
be an exciting game with the Bucks making a 40 foot shot with .5 seconds on the
clock in regulation and then the Celts winning in OT.
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This
was Marathon #158; 23 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces. Next
up: Fargo-5/19/18
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