Comments on: Race Report: 2011 Boston Marathon

By: RunningPT12

RunningPT12 — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Pete, thanks for the report. Don't sweat your race there, most first-time Bostons are rough, regardless of how well prepared you are. One really has to study the course and manage their pacing and fueling carefully to run well there. This time was my 4th race there (since 2003) and the first time that I actually had a good race there. Managed to just squeak under 3 hours. The whole weekend was very enjoyable, was able to listen to Lieberman, Cucuzzella and Davis over at the AMAA meeting and picked up a great deal of useful information.

By: Bob Mauer65

Bob Mauer65 — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Hey, really great blog post… I've enjoyed reading through your blog because of the great style and energy you put into each post. I actually run AceHealth.org, a blog of my personal research and experiences. If you're interested, I would love to have you on as a guest blogger. Please send me an e-mail: bob.mauer65(at)gmail(dot)com, and I can give you more information. Looking forward to hearing from you.

By: Pete Larson

Pete Larson — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

In reply to RunningPT12.

Thanks Kent - wish I could have made it to the AMAA meeting, but couldn't
justify the price. Had a great weekend, easy to see why the marathon has
such a reputation.

Pete

By: MsRitz

MsRitz — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I was just about to suggest the same thing you mentioned at the end. Last year, I got there late and started around 3 corrals back. It was a bit frustrating because you really couldn't move, but I think it made my race perfect! Congrats, Boston Finisher!

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Where do I begin? You had the exact same experience at Boston that I did. We even started in the same corral. (bib 6533). I had never run such a tough course and I thought I was starting out slowly. (7:10 pace which was slower than my projected time.) I ended up bonking around the same spot as you did and had to push myself through the last 8 miles. I must say, I learned a lot about myself that day. I am MUCH tougher than I give myself credit for. I ended up run/walking the last 4 miles and I really enjoyed the Boston College crowd. I almost broke down and cried at the top of HB. When I hit the BC crowd though, things changed a bit. I finished in 3:48 which is WAY off my qualifying time. The old addage that Boston will humble you sure holds true. But I wouldn't change my experience for ANYthing. It was awesome. The crowds were amazing and I am so blessed and honored to say I am a Boston finisher. I know how hard I worked to get to that point. We all deserved to be there. Some of us, just had a bad day. That shouldn't take away from the experience. I am a much better runner and overall person because of what I went through. you are too! Congratulations to you.

p.s. I also ended up in the med tent afterwards with dehydration. My bp was 70/30. I almost passed out. The warm weather in the second half was tricky.

By: Linda Q.

Linda Q. — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Way to persevere, Pete! Now, come over to the Seacoast and run the Runner's Alley/Redhook 5k. It's a fun one with a free beer waiting for you after you finish. What could be better than that?

By: RaDragon

RaDragon — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Quite honest, informative, and yet still inspiring report of your race! Though you're waaaay speedier than I am (your 10 min/mile is a slow jog?!), I can definitely relate to having suffered at a marathon (or rather, marathons, as I have had one-too-many of those experiences O_o). Your Boston finish time is a time that I can only dream of ATM, too. Anyway, I think it was Hal Higdon who once said, "time heals most of the damage done in the marathon," and that you can't start planning another marathon until after Zero Week... So congrats again, here's to your recovery!

p.s.,
Looking forward to your Saucony Hattori review.

By: The Laminator

The Laminator — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Great race report Pete! Despite the lack of training and the hard time you had dealing with all of your issues in the later miles, I am glad you got to run, finish and receive your much coveted unicorn medal! This was the end of a long journey for you and i'm happy you got to enjoy the weekend and the fruits of your labor! No need to dwell on what went wrong...you did a great job and finished what you started. That is highly commendable! Congratulations to you =)

By: Jpt1272

Jpt1272 — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Sorry to hear that your Boston experience was not entirely what you expected. I am glad to see you are not discouraged. I myself am still trying to break the 4 hour barrier andd hope to SOMEDAY qualify for Boston.

Take care Pete,

Jamie

By: AndyC

AndyC — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Pete, respect to you for finishing in spite of everything. I read a bit about the dangers of overhydration before I did my first marathon this 10th April (e.g. in this Runner World piece: http://bit.ly/fOIwQi) and I stuck religiously to drinking 300ml of water or sports drink every three miles, since I’d found I lose 100ml a mile in weight on training runs. That worked perfectly for me. Of course you were running at a much higher pace – I was pleased to get a 3:48 finish.

By: Mark U.

Mark U. — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Glad you're not beating yourself up over your performance, and are instead seeing it as a learning opportunity. Indeed, it's the incredible challenge of the marathon, especially when we try to unduly push ourselves to meet our former accomplishments where we get into trouble. Your belated idea of dropping back a few corrals to accommodate your fitness level is brilliant, I've never thought of that but in retrospect doing so definitely would have helped me in my two Boston runs as well. Indeed starting in the assigned BQ corral with other athletes who managed a qualification time withing a couple minutes of your own, combined with the relatively steep downhill enjoyed by running east from Hopkinton which got both of us into trouble (for me on both occasions running Boston... so I have less an excuse than you!)

In any case, I was very impressed with your final half-mile split, as you obviously dug deep to achieve that pace despite certain low glycogen levels (a huge testament to your mind's powerful drive), and wish you luck.

By: John

John — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Nice to hear your story.. I was there, and it went well for me this year, but I have a collection of split graphs from other races that look a lot like the one you posted..