Well, duh. Running a marathon is hard. So perhaps that enough explanation for how I didn't meet my 4:15-4:30 time goal. Not that I need an explanation. Because, you know, marathons are hard.
I will write a real race report when I have some pictures (hopefully, considering that I prepaid for photos) and I won't have to mess around with the iPhone. But here are some bullet points:
•The weather was pretty much ideal after we got past the chilly waiting period. I ditched my throwaway jacket at the start and tied my other jacket around my waist in the first two miles. I was comfortably sleeveless the remainder of the race.
•Traveling to different time zones messes with your bodily functions. Although I stood in porta potty lines twice before the start, it didn't do the trick and I made three stops along the way. The third one was probably gratuitous, especially since I only had three miles to go, but it did make me feel better, even though it didn't help my time.
•I was amazingly consistent through at least 25K, then things went downhill.
•The Newton hills aren't all that bad. That is, they aren't really any worse than other hilly races I've run, or the other hills that occur throughout the Boston course!
•The downhills really are hard on your legs. I expect that contributed to why my legs hurt so much by the last 20 miles. Perhaps my only real disappointment in the race, more than my slower finishing time, was that I didn't have the strength to take advantage of the last five miles.
•The day before the race, I figured out where my dad could go to watch the almost end of the race--the corner of Mass Ave and Boylston, near the Hynes Covention Center T stop. I didn't see him there in the crowd and he didn't see me among the runners, but approaching that spot gave me something to aim for near the end. Plus when I turned that corner onto Boylston I could see the finish, and that was amazing!
Now we are finishing our trip with a few days in Maine. Hopefully by the time I get home the photos will be online and I can see myself running the Boston Marathon!
I will write a real race report when I have some pictures (hopefully, considering that I prepaid for photos) and I won't have to mess around with the iPhone. But here are some bullet points:
•The weather was pretty much ideal after we got past the chilly waiting period. I ditched my throwaway jacket at the start and tied my other jacket around my waist in the first two miles. I was comfortably sleeveless the remainder of the race.
•Traveling to different time zones messes with your bodily functions. Although I stood in porta potty lines twice before the start, it didn't do the trick and I made three stops along the way. The third one was probably gratuitous, especially since I only had three miles to go, but it did make me feel better, even though it didn't help my time.
•I was amazingly consistent through at least 25K, then things went downhill.
•The Newton hills aren't all that bad. That is, they aren't really any worse than other hilly races I've run, or the other hills that occur throughout the Boston course!
•The downhills really are hard on your legs. I expect that contributed to why my legs hurt so much by the last 20 miles. Perhaps my only real disappointment in the race, more than my slower finishing time, was that I didn't have the strength to take advantage of the last five miles.
•The day before the race, I figured out where my dad could go to watch the almost end of the race--the corner of Mass Ave and Boylston, near the Hynes Covention Center T stop. I didn't see him there in the crowd and he didn't see me among the runners, but approaching that spot gave me something to aim for near the end. Plus when I turned that corner onto Boylston I could see the finish, and that was amazing!
Now we are finishing our trip with a few days in Maine. Hopefully by the time I get home the photos will be online and I can see myself running the Boston Marathon!
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