Was worried about spending a whole week out in Boston before the Marathon, but we had to go to a Sox and Celtics game (both won). And then we had to go visit Maine and New Hampshire (both beautiful). And then we had to go visit my Uncle out in Montague, MA (still same old Cliff), visit Harvard, hang out in Boston Commons, etc. etc. Not to mention eating all of the foods that go with such destinations – hot dogs, burgers, fish and chips, deep dish pizza, bread bowls, lobster. . . .. So it was a long week with a lot of walking (freedom trail), getting to bed at midnight, and I definitely felt it during the week. I did get 12 hours of sleep Saturday night, and got some decent sleep Sunday. Met up with Rhett at the Athlete's village and sat with him, Smooth, Marc, and a few others' names I forgot, but all were very nice. We then headed up to the start about the time of the elite women's start. As we were walking up the hill close to the start, I had a really random Senator John Kerry run-in. He was just walking with the crowd and no one seemed to notice. I saw him at the last second and I shook his hand with a “Hi John Kerry”. He then wished me good luck in the race. Rhett and I had a plan of a very close 1:30 half and then sneaking in just under 3 for the finish. We both didn't want to go out too fast. The only issue was that Rhett had some issues (probable tear) with his plantar fascitis during the week and was unsure about how it was going to hold up. We both were on the same page as far as leaving each other whenever we needed to and running our own race, but I really liked his pace splits for the miles, so I thought I'd run as much with him as possible. I Enjoyed the finish line-like crowd from the start, and couldn't believe how continuous it was. Weather was nice, but there definitely was a headwind for most of the race with some pretty heavy gusts. I'd take that over the rain/cold that was to come later on that night. The wind to me was a lot like St. George last year. Splits for first 13 miles: 6:53, 6:35, 6:37, 6:40, 6:49, 6:48, 6:46, 6:49, 6:50, 6:55, 6:58, 6:43, 6:52 Felt really good/energetic. Never felt like I ever came close to breathing hard. Wellesely College was crazy! I really don't know how they can maintain that kind of enthusiasm for all 25,000 runners! I ran my hand through my hair prior to arrival and asked Rhett if I looked okay, then tried to give as many fives as possible. Just after Wellesely, Rhett's foot was in bad shape. He'd been overcompensating, and it not only hurt his foot more, but had caused other problems with his form. He decided to go into cruise control and I headed on. It was a great feeling to power up the Newton hills and pass so many runners. I noticed that there wasn't as much eye contact between the runners/crowd much anymore and tried my best to smile and give thumbs up as much as I could, and was amazed at what kind of reaction it would get. Very, Very, impressed with the crowd. Powered up Heartbreak and then pushed it the next mile. The only hill that felt like it took anything out of me was the little underpass at about mile 25. The last couple of miles were a blur, but I kept passing more and more people and finished in 2:58:29, a whopping 7 second P.R.! I really am excited about the finish, because I always wondered what I could do on a “legit” course (vs. Utah downhill marathons). I was also happy I posted a negative split and was able to actually run down Boylston St. instead of finishing in survival mode. Splits for last half: 6:53, 6:49, 6:38, 6:55, 6:55, 6:40, 6:49, 6:57, 6:26, 6:43, 6:38, 6:43, 6:52, 6:33 for .34 miles Apparently with the crowds, I couldn't run the tangents well and ended up running 26.34 miles. Thought I had a P.R. Easily based on my Garmin's overall pace of 6:47/mile, but forgot that it is based on the 26.34 my watch registered and not the 26.2 of the actual course. Instead I sneaked out the P.R. I owe it all to John Kerry's well wishing! | 