Not want I wanted today but I don't have any regrets. I was very content with going out slow as everything I had heard was don't go out too fast. I started with my coach John in the huge crowd. I did have time and space for the Lunge Matrix and leg swings but there was no room for any warmup. I didn't mind because I knew that would make us go out even slower. First mile felt like a complete jog and it was hard to move there were so many people. I thought it would thin out quickly but it didn't. We ran the first mile in 5:56 and the second mile in 5:42 (garmin splits). My watch was way off from the mile splits so I should have just hit lap at the markers but I didn't. It was hard to run the tangents correctly because there were so many people that you couldn't move over that easily. I felt pretty good in the first few miles and they went by quickly. 3 and four were 5:48 and 5:47. I got a bottle from my sister at 6.6 and carried it for a while sipping on electrolytes. Miles 5,6,7 were 6:00, 5:54, 5:51. I was really happy that I was executing and felt well within myself. I hit another 6 flat at mile 8 and I checked in with John and he said he felt blah. He was gone after that. I was still feeling good and there were still a ton of runners around. The crowds were literally nonstop the entire way. It was kind of surreal. Miles 9 and 10 were 5:55, 5:56 and I noticed some fatigue setting in at this point. One of my training partners from home had a friend who lives on the course around 10.75 and I had planned to get a bottle from him. I heard my name being yelled out but it was behind me so I ran about 10 seconds back to get the bottle because I thought it would be worth it. At that point I saw my buddies from home who were all trying to run about 2:36. I was happy they were right there and I could run with them. We ran together through half with splits of 5:59, 5:55, 5:57. I was feeling good again and thinking I would crush the last portion of the course because of my slower start. We hit half way in 1:18:10 and we lost Ricardo from our group shortly after that. The screams for Phoenix (on our singlets) were non stop and motivating. We ran 14,15, in 5:54, 5:52 and we lost Bret. It was just me and my buddy JT now and I knew what was coming with the hills. 16 has a big downhill in it and we hit that in 5:46. Now it was time for the hills. I hit the first one and I didn't feel good but not horrible yet. Mile 17 was 6:04. At that point things began to fall apart. JT left me and was surging up the hills in a hurry (he ran a negative split 2:35). 18 and 19 were 6:05 and 6:06 but insided I knew my body was failing me. Just keep pushing, keep moving I told myself. 20 and 21 were 6:13 and 6:35. After Heartbreak Hill I was pretty much in hang on mode. Miles 22 and 23 were 6:14, 6:23 and I was barely hanging on where I thought I would be killing it. I was getting passed left and right it was very humbling. At 24 my friend Brett passed me but he didn't have much left either. Mile 24 was 6:28. The crowds were deep and terrific but I felt so bad and was so focused on just keeping moving that I didn't enjoy them. I saw the Citgo sign but it seemed so far away. I was dissppointed in myself but I had a new challenge which was to finish the best I could and I wanted to accomplish that. No walking, no quitting. Mile 25 was 6:31 and 26 was 6:34. I did enjoy the final straight down Boylston and played to the crowd a little bit. I was finally there! I passed my friend Brett and actually close half way decent. I was relieved to cross the finish line and proud that I didn't quit mentally. It's not easy to stay postive and motivated when things fall apart. When I crossed the line my legs were 100% gone. Shortly after I crossed I saw reporters around Meb and I went over and told him thank you. He gave me a high five and soon all the runners were giving him high fives as they heard he had won. Pretty cool. I'm not sure what happened to me. I thought I was in better shape than my performance and nothing went wrong. The weather was pretty good, no injury, no GI issues, I went out conservatively. I still fell apart though. The marathon is just really hard to knock out of the park. Thanks to all those who support me!
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