Notes
My first marathon. What a painful experience! Goal was 3:40, and we used a spreadsheet to set our pace. We wanted to go through the first half slightly faster to bank some time for the hills in the second half.
Start was very slow, at the very back of the second wave. First two miles were roughly 8:50s because of the crowd. We may have wasted too much energy accelerating and decelerating to get around people. After a few miles we settled in and hit a few 8:05-8:10 miles, catching up to our goal pace. We started going a bit too fast and tried to rein it in. We hit the halfway point just slightly ahead of pace (1:48:57 vs. 1:49:36). I felt pretty good (a little tired, but pretty good) and thought I was on pace to hit my goal time.
Sometime around the half, I felt the first twinge of a leg cramp. I ignored it and hoped it wouldn't get worse. But it did. By mile 16 I was slowing noticeable, and by mile 17 I let my friends go and started to walk. I was having horrible calf cramps that made it impossible to run. I tried stretching, but that only made the opposite muscle cramp. I wondered how I was even going to finish, considering I still had 9 miles to go and was unable to run.
At this point I switched into "just finish" mode. I decided to walk as much as I needed to then so I could run later. I started taking 2 cups of Gatorade at each water stop, hoping to get enough salt into me that my cramps would go away. The first couple of miles I was walking more than I was running. Finally around mile 21 or 22 I was able to run more than I walked. I continued to walk the uphills and run flat or down. The cramps spread from my calves to my quads and hamstrings, but they weren't as debilitating. I was able to run the entire last mile or so.
I remember running down Hereford Street, seeing the Hoyts on my right, and cheering for them. I remember turning onto Boylston and hearing the crowd, then tearing up as I realized that I was able to finish The Boston Marathon. I remembered to hold my arms up and smile as I finished. I hugged Don and President Bacow. It was fantastic. One of the greatest moments of my life.
Official splits:
5k 0:26:32
10k 0:52:08
15k 1:17:30
20k 1:43:16
Half 1:48:57
25k 2:09:23
30k 2:37:47
35k 3:19:01
40k 3:52:52
Official time 4:05:34