Notes
Good weather for the marathon, no wind and a cloudy day. Got a ride to the start from the hotel, which was about 1.5 miles away. Saw Wayne Levy at the start, he also DNF'd Boston. I started pretty close to the start, which was probably a mistake and I definitely went out too fast. I actually thought I could maintain a 7:20 pace the whole way. I tried to slow it down a bit and was getting passed by a lot of people, but realized that there is a long way to go. I was soon hitting around 7:25 pace and tucked in behind other runners. I saw Mara at around 7.5 miles which I didn't expect. She gave me a GU which was very thick so I just slowly sucked on it for about 2.5 miles, there were no water stops to help wash it down. Saw her again at around 9 and then again at 17. The early miles had some decent rolling hills, which I don't remember from 2013. It flattened out after about 5 miles. I could tell at about 13 that I wan't going to be able to maintain a 7:20 pace but hoped I could average 7:30. I took another GU at about 17 miles. I was going back and forth with another guy who looked like he could be in my age group. He eventually walked at the water station and I never looked back convinced I would get first place in AG. The short steep hill at 23 was tough and I was going back and forth with another guy. I got passed by a few people, but mostly passed other runners, some of whom were walking. I just played in my head "one mile at a time". I was realized that my 3:15 marathon was not going to happen and just hoped to get below 3:20 without dying. Legs were really tired and Achilles was hurting. With about 3 miles to go, I got passed by someone who looked over 60, but I couldn't respond, he looked strong and I had nothing left. Made the final turn and was happy to see the finish line as I saw the clock approaching 3:19. Raised my arms as I crossed the finish line. Hoped to have finished stronger, but I gave it everything. Cynthia was volunteering at the finish line and handed me my medal. The guy who passed my was 66. He beat me by a minute. Fil and James Sullivan came through about a minute later. They both completed Boston. Mara and Alfonso were there at the finish to cheer me on. it was great. Achilles very sore and knee also bothering me. But it was overall a good day.