boston255ink.blogspot.com
First 5K | Boston 2:55
http://boston255ink.blogspot.com/2011/04/first-5k.html
Saturday, April 23, 2011. The start was as fast and as crowded as I remembered from prior years. The one thing that I knew that I'd regret about this run, if everything went according to plan, was that I'd pretty much miss everything that happened around me. I was already zoned out and so focused on my goal that I didn't even pay attention to the early crowds and the party atmosphere. I don't even recall seeing/hearing the drunk bikers at the biker bar! That folks would be a marathon PR split for me.
boston255ink.blogspot.com
The Hills Are Alive | Boston 2:55
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Sunday, April 24, 2011. The Hills Are Alive. The tweak in my hamstring at the half-way mark turned out to be a false alarm. I was just passing gas and something slid down my legs. No worries. I was now alone and running my own race. I got through the 25K in 1:39:48. Another 20 minute 5K in the books, but the worse was yet to come as I entered Newton. All of those repeats on Catamount Rd paid off as I kept up the same effort going over 128. 1 down, 3 to go. I also continued to drench myself with water at ...
boston255ink.blogspot.com
The Half | Boston 2:55
http://boston255ink.blogspot.com/2011/04/half.html
Saturday, April 23, 2011. Brendan and I rolled through the 10K, 15K, and 20K marks like two well-oiled sumo wrestlers going down a water slide (hard to believe that there's no image for this description on the Internets). Like I said previously, everything for much of this race was going to be a blur to me, and this section was no different. I only recalled a couple of memorable items of note through this stretch.. I think we were finally able to relax now. Once Brendan dropped back, I took that as my c...
boston255ink.blogspot.com
Pre-Race | Boston 2:55
http://boston255ink.blogspot.com/2011/04/pre-race.html
Thursday, April 21, 2011. After dozing off for what felt like a whole five minutes, I was wide awake and ready to take on Boston 2:49:59! My bags were packed, the dogs were eaten, and the breakfast walked (Yeah, I know, I'm riding this joke like a dying water buffalo in a persistence hunt). I gave Rachel a quick kiss before she headed off to real work. She told me not to come home if I didn't break 2:50. Ah, the love of my life! My dad had the day off from work (supposedly he works for the only company i...
boston255ink.blogspot.com
Left on Boylston | Boston 2:55
http://boston255ink.blogspot.com/2011/04/left-on-boylston.html
Monday, April 25, 2011. The final, final, final hill on the Boston course is the relatively short stretch up Hereford before you make the left onto Boylston. I've cramped up on this hill in the past, but not today. Today was different. I still had something left in the tank to get me over the hump. Cut the tangent on the turn, look out for that pothole, don't turn too wide. 35 miles, huh? I should be able to do that within 1:40 with fresh legs. I couldn't believe how close this was actually going to be.
boston255ink.blogspot.com
The Start | Boston 2:55
http://boston255ink.blogspot.com/2011/04/start.html
Friday, April 22, 2011. It was a little after 9:15AM when Bash, Chris, and I made our way down Grove St towards our corrals. The general layout of the area appeared to be different this year, I'm guessing that it was setup that way to accommodate the newly implemented three wave start. It actually took us about 10 minutes of wandering around before we were even able to find Grove St! Corral #2 is directly across from the church where the elites hang out before the race. Even then I couldn't catch a g...
boston255ink.blogspot.com
Right on Hereford | Boston 2:55
http://boston255ink.blogspot.com/2011/04/right-on-hereford.html
Sunday, April 24, 2011. The GLRR mystery man at Mile 22 was none other than GLRR legend David Oliver! I didn't recognize him at first because he was wearing the prototype GLRR racing singlet (gotta get me one of those! Once I did though, it was a whole new race for me. On a side note, this is another reason for you to sign up for a running club! So why not join the chickens. Once again I found myself all alone among hundreds of other runners. I took my third and final GU before hitting the 40K mark in 2:...
