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I’ll cut to the chase: 1:43:18! Take that, my 1:45 goal!

Catherine and I got there about an hour early, and I spent the time putting on sunscreen, stretching, and warming up. I didn’t warm up as much as I would for a 5k since I wanted to save my energy for the race. I jogged for about 8 minutes, did a short bit at race pace, then lined up at the 8:00 pace marker. I wore the Garmin so I could keep track of my pace, and I was shooting to go out around 8:10 pace for the first couple of miles to warm up before settling into 8:00 pace for miles 3-10. Well, guess what? I went out too fast! My first mile came up in around 7:40, and even then the pace felt slow, much easier than a 7:40 mile in training. I ran around 7:50s for the next few miles, despite my efforts to slow down.

The turnaround on Memorial Drive came at mile 6, and I was still feeling great. I decided at that point that I could probably break 1:43 if I could hold 7:50 miles through to the end. I kept pushing the pace, but I started tiring out around mile 8 or 9. I was still holding 7:50s, but it was getting harder to do so. At the 11 mile mark, my calves started cramping up. It was warm today, and I think I was getting dehydrated. I took water at every aid station, but I couldn’t get more than 1/2 the cup down; the rest ended up on my shirt. Mile 13 consisted of me trying desperately to avoid calf cramps by slowing down and not pushing off with my calves. Finally, I ran over the bridge that connects Boston to the seaport, and I picked up pace for a strong finish. I saw the finish line, and I kicked, passing the girl next to me… only to discover that it wasn’t the finish line, it was actually the start line, and the finish was another 100 yards. My official finish time was 1:43:18.

I was really happy with this race. My training went well, and everything today went perfectly. My pacing was pretty good (the Garmin was a lifesaver; I would have gone out at 7:15 if I hadn’t had the real-time feedback). I would have broken 1:43 if my calves hadn’t cramped up at the end. I think next time I will wear my Fuel Belt so I don’t have to rely on the race for water/Gatorade.

Now I’m thinking about doing a fall half marathon and trying to get my time below 1:40. Maybe the BAA Half or the Baystate Half.

My taper has officially started! Yesterday I did my last long run. 14 miles in the middle of the day. I got a little dehydrated, and the last mile was killer, but overall I felt pretty good. I wanted to see what I had left at the end, so I cranked it up to an 8:10 mile for the last half mile or so. The pace felt “comfortably hard,” which bodes well for my half marathon goal time.

This morning I did my first taper run. 4 miles at 9:20 pace, easy as pie. I’m doing only 3 runs this week before the race. I’m doing a 3-mile tempo run on Wednesday and another easy 4-miler on Friday, then the half on Sunday morning. My legs are pretty tired after all these weeks of high mileage and intensity, but I feel well prepared for the race. Barring some horrible injury, I should have no trouble finishing, as I’ve run 13.1 miles 3 times now, all at around 9:00 pace. So now it’s just a question of what kind of pace I can hold for the distance.

My half marathon is less than two weeks away, so that means my taper is rapidly approaching. My Runner’s World training plan doesn’t call for much of a taper. This week is my longest week (36 miles), with a tough interval workout tomorrow and a 14-mile long run on Sunday. Next week is a little lighter, with a short 3-mile tempo run on Wednesday and then the race on Sunday. I’ve decided that I’m going to taper a little more than my plan suggests. This week I will stick to the plan, but next week I will run only 4 days instead of 5. I’ll keep the tempo workout to keep me sharp, but I will keep my easy runs under 4 miles.

I’m still working out my strategy for the half, but here’s what I’m thinking. My goal time of 1:45 breaks down to 8:00/mile. I want to start out around 8:10 for the first mile or two to settle in and keep from going out too fast. Then I’ll shoot for 8:00 for the rest of the first 10 miles. After that I’ll see what I have left and run as fast as I can for the last 3.1 miles. I plan to wear the Garmin so I can keep close track of my pace, and I want to make a pace band so I know how I am doing in relation to my goal time.

Half marathon training is going well. April was a very solid month where I avoided injury and followed my training plan to a T. I feel strong, and while my 1:45 goal (8:00/mi) is still a little daunting, my long tempo runs at 7:50/mi have given me more confidence that I’ll be able to sustain a fast (for me) pace for 13.1 miles.