Fiasco! Considering I have only been able to run 70 miles in the last 30 days dealing with knee pain, I had little exectations about how I might 'race', but figured I would take things as they come. Arrived 40 minutes early & jogged 1/2 mile to start/packet pick-up ... took 20 minutes to get bib number! Decided I better jog back to car & get knee brace, and stopped to use restroom. As I arrived back at car, I heard national anthem, & knew I was screwed! Jogged back to start, passing all the runners going the opposite way! Grabbed a drink of water & started my journey of passing 800 runners ... already 4-1/2 minutes into the race. Unfortunately, there were no chip times, as they only recorded finish times, not 'start' times ... really? 600+ Half runners & 500 10k runners starting at same time & they can't put a timing mat at the start? Ridiculous ... not that it mattered because it was a crappy run anyway, but sad for many people, who surely assumed there would be a chip time & started farther back in the pack. Anyway, started off with a goal of trying to maintain a 6:30 pace, quickly revised to 6:40, then 6:50, then to 7:00 overall pace, then to just trying to finish running. As soon as I finished, I limped back to car, got a cold beer, and made my way back to congratulate some friends who got awards. Looks like Boston is going to just be about enjoying the experience, and hopefully I can compete in 2013. While my knee was the main culprit in this race, I was definitely feeling the aerobic effects of taking a month off for the most part ... and while I am sure I could get the aerobic part back in two months, I am pretty sure my knee would not hold up for 26 miles if I keep beating it up ... so getting healthy is my main goal. I stopped for water & walked a little in the 5th mile, and really had trouble starting to run again. I walked through every water stop from that point on, so there were walk breaks in Miles 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, & 12 ... not good. 1 - 6:25 2 - 6:41 3 - 6:40 4 - 6:50 5 - 7:20 6 - 8:09 7 - 6:56 8 - 6:54 9 - 7:01 10 - 7:14 11 - 7:11 12 - 7:08 13 - 6:55 .1 - 6:36 pace Overall pace: 7:02
A friend sent me a picture she took at Mile 11 ... I was grimacing & my form looked like crap ... I quickly deleted it! I think the worst part of running in pain is form goes out the window, as subconsciously your stride is altered trying to compensate/alleviate the forces causing the pain. All things considered, was still a good day ... saw lots of friends, & a good friend of mine smoked the course & won our Age group in 1:27.
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