I generally don’t use this blog to share personal reflections, but since this year’s Boston Marathon happens to coincide with other Boston events — the IxCenter Board meeting and the first-ever Health 2.0 Meets Ix conference – I figured I could get away with it. I promise this marathon race report will be just a fraction of my typical step-by-step account.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, “The rumors about my demise have been greatly exaggerated.” I’ll admit…most of these rumors probably were started by me. For months, I’ve been complaining to those who would listen to me (mostly my wife) about my body just not responding to my workouts ever since I turned 40 last fall.

In any case, I lined up in Hopkinton for the start, knowing that my best marathoning days  were long behind me, and feeling that my training this winter had been inconsistent. But the weather was cool — even though I’d be facing a 15 mph headwind most of the way.

I had a little trouble holding back but eventually settled in and then got into a groove. I was trying to keep each mile between 7:10 and 7:15 to assure a sub-3:10 finish — a little hard on course like Boston with its rolling hills. The miles started clicking by and — just when I started to feel fatigue after the first 12 miles — the uplifting pass by Wellesley College was more rejuvenating than ever (just for the record, I didn’t answer any of the hundreds of signs offering “free kisses”).

I hit the halfway point in 1:33 flat. I began to wonder if I had pushed it a little too hard to early, but I kept the pace up through Wellesley and geared up for the four hills of Newton (miles 17-21). The first hill is the long, lonely one; it passes over the highway so the crowds are thin and it’s exposed to the elements — which, today, meant the cruel wind. I pushed over the summit and past the hospital to make the famous turn at the Newton firehouse and up hill #2, a bit shorter, but a bit steeper. My calves and quads began to complain here, but I fought the instinct to give in and continued to pass dozens of runner on the climb.

Mile 19 offers a brief respite, and I recouped, picked up the pace and geared up for the big push. By the 20th mile, I was beginning to sense that I had nailed my hydration and fueling needs because my body actually responded to the third Newton hill. That set me up for the notorious Heartbreak Hill — a half-mile stretch that typically confronts the runner just as he or she is hitting the proverbial wall. In this case, the wind was whipping in my face at this point, but I pushed through, crested Heartbreak and hit the mile marker in 7:23 (it would turn out to be my slowest mile of the day).

As I passed Boston College, I took advantage of gravity and ran 22 in 6:58. I kept hammering past my family just shy of Mile 23, where I grew up and continued to run strong through the rest of Brookline. When I reached the “Mile to Go” sign, I knew I could break 3:07 with a 7:10 final mile. I summoned whatever I had left down Comm Ave, up Hereford, and down the final long stretch on Boylston to hit the finish in 3:06:52 to record a second half just 52 seconds slower than the first.

It was my 13 Boston (12th consecutive) but my first as a “Master.” It was a good way to start the next phase of my running life.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 20th, 2009 at 11:03 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.