Training
This year I have adjusted to running with a stroller as my main training. Training had been very good and I have done 90% of my training outdoors with Ella in the stroller, only on extreme cold days and hard rain days we have stayed inside to use the treadmill. 1000 miles was logged before this years Boston, I have been hitting all the paces on my workouts and sometimes faster when going by feel. Team Wicked BonkProofs coach Caleb Masland Boston schedule fit me extremely well with one workout and one long with tempo/fartlek involved. I was very well prepared for Boston this year and I was confident travelling to Boston. I would say I was probably in my best shape
Boston/Expo
Last couple of years we have been staying in Charlestown, just a few minutes away from Quincy Market, and so even this year. We travelled up Saturday and spent the day around Quincy Market and the Aquarium. Sunday it was time for a shake out run with my fellow Swede Johan. Just to get nerves under control and get the right tension in the legs. After breakfast, time to hit the expo and get my bib. Expo was more crowed then usual years and I had to stand in line for the first time to get my bib. expo itself was the same, did not look much just walked around. Got Ella a official "future Boston marathon shirt"
Later Sunday we went to Needham for traditional dinner with our family. They always make a great job and ton of food to choose from. Arrangements were made for 2 bottles to be handle of during the course, at mile 6 and 13.
Got to bed in decent time, alarm set to 4:50am to meet up my Swedish friend Johan at 6am.
Spent a lot of time walking this year, both Saturday and Sunday, plus carry all stuff needed for Ella, stroller etc. Felt a little bit overwhelmed, tired because of this. Shoulders and neck had tighten up a bit.
Gear:
Shoes: Salming Race5, extremely happy with this shoes. They give me the right road feel Im looking for and have a snappy feel to them. Upper is a one piece fabric, that gives you more of a compress sock like feeling.
Shorts: Salming split shorts. Simple classic black split shorts, with a pocket in the back. No chafing and smooth feel.
Singlet: Salming, no chafing and it kept me dry on a hot day.
Sunglasses: Zeal, worked great on a sunny day, did not thinking twice that I was wearing them, which is a good review.
Racebelt: Flipbelt, to storage my salt tabs and gels. Very happy with flipbelt, zero bounce and easy to get my gels and salt tabs. Usually I throw my belts away when they are empty, but flipbelt I kept as I didn't even notice it.
Energy: Endurance Tap Maple Syrup. Maple Syrup works great for me. It taste really good (nothing new here, hey its maple syrup). No GI distress, its sits really well in my stomach. I can actually eat after the race, usually im totally messed up after fructose/maltodextrin bombs. Maple Syrup gives me a steady energy, no peaks. Endurance Tap has some extra sea salt added and ginger. I really like Endurance tap package, a screw cap that is easy to remove and you dont get syrup all over your hands. I took a gel every 20 min to have steady energy.
Pre Race:
Me and Johan walked to the train station, about 15 min walk. At Boston Commons the busses are line up after you leave your drop off bag, very organized. Its about 45 min bus ride out to the start area in Hopkinton. As usual I dont stay in the Athletes Village, I have my spot I like right by the start, by the Porta Johns, no one is really there for a couple of hours and it easy to use the Porta Johns when ever you need. It got warm really early and just like last year you had to sit under the sun for a couple of hours. Couple of hours went really thanks to good company and a lot of Porta Johns visit, "just to be sure" . For the first time I was in the second wave. I was a bit nervous how this would turn out. It is 25 minute gap between the waves and it was enough for the roads to be cleared. I was almost toeing the start line this year, in the second wave.
Race:
When the gun went off the road was wide open in front of me, it was a cool feeling to be in the coral, second wave. You got a lot more cheers along the way as you never really caught up with the first wave. of course you caught some but for the most part it was spread out really good. I might consider to drop down to second wave next year to get more room. It was easy to find my pace and the first miles were ticking by fast. Drinking water by every water station and gels every 20 min was the plan. It felt really good for the first hour. Around mile eight I started to feel that I had to put in more effort on any incline that I wanted. The heat was getting to me and I started to have problems to keep my 6:45 splits. At this point I decided to slow down a bit to not wear myself out in the heat. I passed half way point at 1:31 and I still thought maybe I could catch the second wind but soon again I realized that it was better to keep a slower, steady pace. Around mile 16, the famous Newton Hills starts, its here you can tell how you have spent your energy and how well you re trained and prepared. I have started to see, runner collapse with heat strokes and runners on stretchers before the hills and I was worried to g to hard. I climbed the hills on a steady pace and I passed a lot of runners. It was inspiring and gave me motivation to finish strong when I finally hit the top of Heartbreak Hill. Its nice to know its only downhill from here. I kept my steady pace around 7:20, not trying to beat myself up in the sun. Reaching Boylston street is always a great feeling and it is the best final stretch you can find at a marathon. 3:08 was the final time.
Post race:
I didn't hit my goal of 2:55, again the New England weather was playing hard games. I probably was in my best shape I've been in but it is tough for me to run in degrees over 60. This years Boston was over 70. After the race I meet up with family and its always great to see Erin and Ella after!
