I had a great time in Boston. It's always great seeing the deads at the
various encounters. What a wonderful dynamic group. Thanks again to the
organizers.
Believing the weather forecasts by early Sunday I had decided this was to
be a fun race. I made the mistake a racing a hot marathon (Hartford 2000)
and I wasn't about to do that again. I bought a fanny pack at the expo and
loaded it with some bills in a baggie so I could find get a few Starbucks
Frappacinnos during the race. Once I decided to take the race EZ I could
relax and enjoy Boston. Didn't even mind when Andy Katz tried to dehydrate
me in the hot sun at the Sox game Sunday, not only that he forced me to eat
a large quantity of pistachio nuts!
The relaxation continued on to Monday morning. My wife and daughter were to
drive Andy and I into Hopkinton so we slept late, took our time, and
arrived in Hopkinton the latest I ever have - 11:00. By the time we had
walked upstream to the baggage buses it was time to lube up and get in our
corrals. On the way we ran into NE dead and fellow Mainer Kevin Johnson and
since we were in the same corral we decided to run together. Wonder if he
decided later that he made a bad decision.
Somewhere around this time I realized that I was cold, even in my plastic
trash bag. I didn't expect this. My hands, as always, were cold but there
on the ground - gloves (turned out they were giving them out somewhere at
the start). The gloves stayed with me all the way, sometimes I was cold,
other times comfortable. Gloves came on and off. Not bad running weather
after the 70+ degree forecasts..
Anyway, Kevin and I ran together for 7 miles or so. I should have warned
him that I save my caffeine use for race day, and that caffeine causes me
to talk a lot. He got to hear all about my recent yoga teacher training and
"inner quest" experiences. Hope he is still talking to me ;-).
I took a Succeed tablet at the start and one every 45 minutes or so. I'm
convinced this helps me absorb liquids and stay hydrated. Since it wasn't
real hot I didn't stop for a Starbucks but I was sorely tempted. Got some
caffeine from A GU every hour or so though.
Of my seven Bostons this one was the most fun. I managed a reasonable
qualifying time while greatly enjoying the experience. I high fived every
kid I could. When my arm got tired I'd switch sides of the road to use the
other hand. I got hoarse and out of breath hooting back at the Wellsley
women. What a blast. I really noticed that I seemed to be able to suck
energy from the crowd.
Felt bad when I caught David Hayes especially since by then I was too brain
dead to think of any inspiring words. Got hellos from Allan Rube' and Neil
Cook along the way. At the finish I was interviewed by a Portland Press
Herald reporter. He commented on how great I looked (must have been the
caffeine). About then the sun was shining bright, I looked around at the
runners, spectators, volunteers, the sun shinning on the tall buildings and
said what could be better than this.
O yea, I ran a major negative split with the second half 3:47 faster!