BayState II

Another BayState Marathon has come and gone.  Luckily this year the weather was significantly more pleasant than the cold rain we experienced last year.  I wasn't completely sure I was going to be able to run this time being that I had been out for so long.  Once I began training again it was a short 8 weeks until the marathon.  This was an aggressive training by any standard but especially so coming from considering that I would be starting with no base mileage at all.  Hell, even the Couch to 5K program takes 9 weeks.  The week before the race I finished my first and only 20-miler and it felt good so I was determined to run the full marathon.

And I'm glad I did because I had fun doing it.  Once again the lines at the bathrooms were crazy before the race so I spent a long time waiting there until I had to abandon that venture and rush to the start.  Because of the delay I had lost the rest of the group and I was on my own.  I tucked into the start somewhere in the middle and waited for the start.  Finally we were off and I figured I would run a bit faster than planned and try to catch up with everyone, assuming that they were actually in front of me.

The miles ticked off until around mile 5 I caught up with Michael and Tricia G.  I said hi to them but honestly, that pace was way to slow for me so I left them and was determined to catch Melissa and Tricia whom I was told were ahead.  Off I went, feeling great and having a good time until 6 miles later I found Melissa.  We ran together for a bit with me doing most of the talking until the bridge where I left her to catch up to Tricia who had been about 100 yards ahead of us.  Again, we ran together for a couple of miles but I could tell that she was struggling to keep pace so I did what any good teammate would do, I took off at a faster pace and left her behind.  Hey, it's a race!

From then forward there isn't much to report.  I set my pace and I maintained the pace.  Besides a couple of minor cramps at 19 and 25.7 (so close to the finish!) I had no difficulty finishing.  Sure I was tired but I kept expecting to hit the wall and it never came.  Besides the cramp, I felt as strong the last 5 miles as I did the middle 5 miles.  Furthermore, my foot was never an issue (although it has ached since) so this was a good test of how it was healing.  I used this marathon as an indicator of where I stand and what needs work and I am pleased with the results.  I still need to keep an eye on the foot for it is still clearly not 100% and I definitely need to work on strengthening my legs more but that will come in time.  Overall I am very happy with my 3:42:28 time, even though it is my slowest marathon, and was happy that I decided to run.