Boston 2008 - Race Report

The start of the Boston Marathon is pretty cool. It's about 1/2 mile walk from the Athlete's Village to the starting corrals. Along the way we dropped off our clothing bags at the school buses that corresponded to our bib numbers. Everybody seemed really excited. Duane and I chatted with a guy from Austin that happened to be in the crowd with us.

Here's some pictures showing the big crowd headed for the start of Wave 1. It seemed like there were 100 buses lined up collecting all the bags.

Once we reached the starting area, Duane and I ran into Murray and chatted about the race. I had to use the restroom one more time, but the porta-potty lines were too long. A bunch of guys were peeing on the side of the library building in Hopkinton, which didn't seem to amuse the guy next door. I ended up going over there too, but used a bottle so that I wasn't leaving anything behind.

Once we got into the starting corral (#3), we met up with Ken and Thomas and got ready to go. After the national anthem and a flyover that was partially hidden by the clouds, they shot off the gun and we were off. I was finally running the Boston Marathon.

My race plan was to have as much fun as possible. I thought I could run around 8:00/mile and feel comfortable. Duane and I were planning to take it easy, hit the beer stops, take some picture and try to enjoy the race.

I knew the the start was going to be downhill, but I had no idea it was going to be so steep. We cruised along letting everyone go by as much as possible, but it's really impossible to run slow when there are thousands of people around you running fast. The first mile was between 7:30-8:00/mile including a stop to use the restroom again.

Here's a couple picture's of Mile 1. Travis us passed when we stopped to let Duane use the woods. I got some weird looks from some people when I started walking and taking pictures.

After that we settled in to a good pace for the next several miles. As much as we tried to slow down we alway seemed to be running between 7:30 - 7:44. Around Mile 6 I started feeling my Gu belt loosening. I reached down and it came completely off. It took some time to get it put back together while I was running. We stopped in Framingham to use the restroom again and I was able to secure it.

We started looking for Sadie and Jennifer because we knew they would be out there somewhere. We finally spotted them in Natick in Mile 10. It was kind of fitting because that's where I waiting for Sadie when she ran in 2006. As soon as we saw them we cut across the runners behind us to give our wives some big hugs.

Here's what it looked like.

After that we took off into the hills. It was cool running through Natick and seeing the same things I saw in 2006, but from the runner's perspective. In 2006, there was an Elvis impersonator singing in the back of a truck. This year he was Johnny Cash.

After Natick the hills began and my pace started to slow. We went from mostly sub-8:00 miles to 8:12 & 8:43. Pretty soon though we started into Wellesley and started hearing the girls. You can't help but run faster when enter that wall of noise. Check it out.

We didn't stop for any kisses, but I did manage to high-five as many as I could while running and taking pictures.

Pretty soon afterward I really started to feel my lack of training. By Mile 15 I started to notice Duane pulling away and then slowing down to let me catch up. I finally told him to stop waiting for me and to keep going. From here I was in survival mode, trying to just finish. I kept on running but really slowed down. The sun was out and I felt really hot. We were approaching the Newton Hills and I was determined to run through them. I did take the time for a video.

I knew my mom and Jim would be in here somewhere and I was really looking for them. I needed and excuse to take a break and I wanted to give them my camera because it felt like it weighed 20 pounds at this point. My back hurt, my hamstrings were tight and it felt like I was crawling. The crowds were getting huge and were really loud so I was starting to worry that I would miss them. I finally saw them between 19 and 20, ran over to see them and ditched my camera. I was so glad to see them. While I was talking to them, John from training group ran by and said hi. It surprised me because I expected him to be way down the road. I ran to catch up with and he wasn't having a great day. After a little while he started walking and I went on.

I managed to run through the big hills and make it over Heartbreak Hill. Kate was on the side of the road with a big yellow sign so I ran over to say hi. I wanted to stop for a little bit but they kept yelling at me to run. Kate joked that Lance Armstrong was just ahead of me.

The last 6 miles became a run/walk-athon. I should have kept my camera because I was moving so slowly. I started walking through water stops and trying to drink as much as possible. I could feel my legs cramping all over whenever I pushed too hard. Despite all of this I was still enjoying myself. I just tried to soak in the atmosphere and check out the runners and the crowds. I stopped to stretch occasionally. People in the crowd would urge me on and make me start running again. A lot of people would see my hat and yell "Go Texas" or "Hook em Horns". They all helped keep me going.

I had known for some time now that 3:30 was out of the question, but it never dawned on me until about Mile 22 that I wasn't going to beat 3:37, Sadie's 2006 Boston time. I did some quick calculations and realized I had no chance at that. I felt good about it though. She worked her butt of that year training for Boston and gave it a whole lot more effort than I did. She deserves to be the fastest Boston marathoner in our family.

The last few miles were tough and a lot of it was a blur. I remember seeing Mac on the sidelines and stopping to talk to him for a few seconds. I remember passing Fenway where my Rangers were getting kicked around by the Red Sox again. I remember thinking I needed to hustle to beat 3:50.

With a mile to go I was walking along, trying to keep from cramping up, when I looked over and saw a guy sitting against the fence with an oxygen mask on being attended to by the EMS. I said to myself, "At least I feel better than him" and figured I ought to be running. From there I ran all the way to the finish.

When I made the final turn onto Boylston I could finally see the finish. It seemed like a million people were lining the streets. I just ran and smiled. As I neared the finish line, I actually felt myself tear up a little. I had just run the Boston Marathon. 3:48.