Boston

So the Boston trip…

It was a perfect day: 50-60 degrees during the race with a northerly wind. I felt really good. I was ready. I went out and ran the first half in a perfect 1:13:39. This was perfect, I was not pushing the pace, just sitting in a pack running along. I was probably about 100th place… right where I wanted to be. I figured I’d come back in a 1:14 or 1:15. This would be perfect because Boston’s 1st half is entirely downhill. Therefore, clocking a similar yet slightly slower 2nd half is the equivalent to negative splitting there. I went through the half figuring I’d run 1:27 maybe 1:30 if I slowed down by a lot. I felt confident clicking off 5:30 miles: click, click, click… and then my calves tightened up entirely. I felt awesome, I was not straining, my breathing was controlled, by body felt great, except for my calves they were too tight to run. I knew the race was over for all practical purposes so I just settled into a shuffle and finished the race in 2:56, yes it was a slow shuffle. Might not have been the most pretty marathon but I finished it. Lesson learned: when running downhill on asphalt, even at an easy pace, if my legs aren’t ready for such pounding I can forget it.

Oh well, it was an excellent first half.