Lake Placid Ironman Race Report

Third times the charm ... right?

Thanks to everyone for your support and well wishes, without them doing these races would just not be possible. All in all the race turned out very well, no trips to the medical tent, and I even managed to get a trophy out of it :)

The Swim:

Showed up to transition race morning feeling confident that it was going to be a good day. Was in the middle of checking my bike over when the guy on the PA system announces that the water temperature of the lake is 77 degrees ... meaning that it is going to be a wetsuit optional swim. Read, if you wear a wetsuit you CANNOT qualify for Kona or place in your age group. Great way to get the adrenaline flowing at 5AM, I could not use my wetsuit and my speedsuit (a legal tight fitted swim suit to go over my trisuit during the swim) was back in the hotel! Managed to borrow a cell phone, call my mom, who relayed the message over to my dad, who sprinted (in flip flops) back to the hotel to get the suit. Absolute chaos. Long story short, I finally manage to get the speedsuit ... problem solved right ... if only it was that simple. I suit was given to me from a friend who swam D1 in college, so it may or may not be legal for use in triathlons. I finally manage to find the head official (at this time it is ~10 minutes before the race starts) and ask him if my suit is legal. Of course ... it is not. Rip the suit off and now I am left with only one option, swim in my trisuit. Not a horrible option but it is not a tight as a speedsuit so for 2.4miles I was looking forward to my top catching water and acting as a parachute. At this point I was frazzled to say the least. Got in the water, warmed up for a few minutes, and it was time to race. Despite not being in my wetsuit the swim went well. I managed to stay within range of the lead group without getting pounded to pieces. Exited the water first in my age group, 24th overall.

T1:

The first transition went off without a hitch and before I knew it I was out on my bike

The Bike:

My goal for the day was to be able to run strong, even if that meant giving up some time on the bike. I settled into a comfortable pace and the miles seemed to fly by. It was the first time I was not getting passed by people left and right. I was riding well and things were looking very positive. I had even managed to hang onto a group of back of the pack pros for a solid 40 miles or so. Came through the first loop of the bike feeling like a million bucks. Started the second loop and the legs felt a bit tired but still good. Had a few hairy instances where I needed to take evasive maneuvers to dodge rolling water bottles but aside from that I made it through loop two feeling good and without any mechanical problems. Entered the second transition 4th in my age group.

T2:

Again, flawless. Armed with my PB&J sandwich I was off to battle the 26.2 mile long monster

The Run:

Very proud of myself as I actually ran the entire 26.2 miles this year, aside from walking a bunch of the aide stations on the second loop to make sure I could take in enough fluids. Started out at a steady pace and just keep my feet moving. Would have liked to have run a bit faster but the heat made it very difficult. The first loop felt good and on the way out on the second loop I caught a guy in my age group, moving me up to third overall. The second loop was brutal, both mentally and physically. I convinced myself that if I could make it through the run (and not end up in the medical tent) then I would go to the lake placid brewery after the race and get myself a sampler of their craft beers. I kept moving at a solid pace and before I knew it I was rounding the final corner on the olympic oval. 10:50.13 ... good enough for third in my age group.

It was a great race and I am really happy with how things went. Unfortunately I missed qualifying for Kona by a single place. They gave our age group two slots and both were claimed. I am sure I have left out details, and I would love to share more about the race, but thanks again to everyone for their support. It really does mean alot.

Mooseman 70.3 - Race Report

I had been looking forward to this race for a very long time. Meghan's Aunt and Uncle have a lake house near the race course in Newfound Lake, New Hampshire and we all crashed there over the weekend. Aside from the race, the time was spent relaxing with family and friends, spending time outdoors and enjoying the Lake.

I arrived at the race site mid-afternoon on Friday, and proceeded to check in and inspect the transition area. I found it funny that transition was essentially in the middle of the forest with bike racks strewn between trees. The lake itself looked choppy when I had arrived with a solid wind blowing white caps across the water, but race day proved to be calm which was greatly appreciated. After futzing around the race site for a bit I made my way back to the lake house and organized my race gear before family and friends started to show up. Everyone filtered in and we spent the evening enjoying each others company as we watched the sun set over Webster Lake.

Saturday I was up and out of the house early, I wanted to get in a morning bike-run to knock off any last minute dust. I was on the bike by 6:45AM and after a few miles warmup things just were not feeling right and I was starting to get very concerned. I could not find a comfortably turnover to save my life. Things were not coming as easy as they had been in the week leading up to the race, my legs were struggling to turn the pedals. Over, just before I really started to freak out I stopped and happened to look at my front break pad ... which was rubbing horribly on my front wheel ... nice. At least I had caught it before the race; 56 miles of that would not have been fun. After I made the quick fix things felt great and the rest of my bike and run went on without a hitch. Made my way back to the house and showered up just in time for Meghan to arrive. We hung out for a bit before I went for a quick afternoon swim to stay loose. I broke in my new Xterra Pro X2 wetsuit and let me tell you it was like a dream. The suit fit like a glove and felt super-fast! I must give a shout out to Xterra for continuing to raise the bar in wetsuit technology and producing amazing fast suits! In the shallow waters of Webster Lake (~64C) I was extremely comfortable in the sleeveless Pro X2 and had to force myself to go easy, Given the suit and the conditions I wanted to race but had to save it for Sunday.

After dropping the bike off in transition the rest of the day was spent relaxing. Meghan and I went to lunch at this awesome Irish Pub (www.kathleenscottagenh.com); turns out they were doing the catering at the Mooseman 70.3 event and they did an amazing job; great food and great people. It was off to bed early, as the next morning was race day!

Pre-Race: The night before the race I got a decent amount of sleep but had a series of troubling dreams. Clearly transition one was on my mind as I drifted off because I had the reoccurring dream that came out of the water with a massive lead and then had the worst transition ever; something like 30+min. It was an absolute comedy of errors, tried to put on all my running stuff, got a few miles down the road without my cycling shoes, forgot my sunglasses...etc. Suffice it to say I woke up rather concerned, but quickly got my things together and headed to the race site, getting there with time to organize my transition zone (and make sure my dream did not come a reality).

Swim - 1.2 miles: 00:27:08 (1st M19-24) *9th overall

The water on race morning was beautifully flat, perfect for racing, aside from the fact that it was ~56 degrees celsius. It was the kind of cold that shocks our brain and makes our teeth hurt. Very strange to see the first competitors, myself included, enter the water to "warm up" only 10min before the race started.

The wave start found me going off in the third group (M19-29) behind the male and female Pros. As always I was confident going into the swim and found my place at the front of the pack. Found it odd that no one else seemed at all eager to challenge for starting position. The gun went off and we took the plunge ... man it was cold. No more than 400yards into the race my arms were already a bit numb and my teeth were aching. My Xterra Pro X2 suit was working great but man did I wish I had sleeves. It took me very little time to surge to the front and soon I found myself swimming alone. I managed to catch a few of the trailing pro women only after ~500 yards. The course was set up in a rectangle and I found myself having difficulty spotting the guide buoys on the way out due to the position of the rising sun, but after a short time I made the turn and was on my way back to shore. While I was swimming well ahead of the rest of my wave, I knew the cold was taking its toll. I found it difficult to push any pace at all, rather I found myself plodding through each stroke with numb arms. As we made our way to the swim exit I bridged to the main group of pro women and a few trailing pro men. I exited the water in 27:08, good enough for 9th overall and well over 2.5min ahead of the next person in my wave.

T1: 00:01:53

Unlike in my dream, T1 went off without a hitch. Took advantage of the "peelers" and was out of my wetsuit in no time. I knew the cold from the swim was going to affect me on the bike so I tried to slide on some arm warmers but could not get them on. In hindsight this might have been a mistake and I probably should have taken the time to put them on. Arm-warmer-less I left transition on the tail of the last male pro.

Bike - 56 miles: 03:05:26 (9th M19-24)

Immediately I felt the effect of the wind chill on my still wet body as I moved along at 20+ mph. I rolled through the first 10 miles with my legs feeling great, but I was having a horrible time getting my core temperature up. With each descent I hit a threshold speed (~23mph) where the wind chill would cause my arms to shiver and shake and induce a speed-like-wobble. In essence, through the first 20 miles of the bikes I was forced to stay below 23mph to prevent myself from shivering out of control.

That being said, I kept the first loop of the bike under control and I am glad I did. There are some massive hills on the Mooseman course and they really force you to ride smart. Going too hard too early can really ruin your day on the road. Through the first loop I was feeling great, still not pushing the pace but turning over a solid tempo and taking in gels, salt, and fluids. By the time I was mid way through the second loop I was still feeling pretty good, but was starting to feel the effects of the large hills. I had aimed to finish the bike in 2:45ish and ended up coming into T2 in 3:05.

In hindsight I felt that in this race my bike was by far my weakest leg. Overall I felt that I could not push the pace as much as I had wanted because of how cold I was on the first full loop. Once my core temperature had dropped it set the tone for the rest of the bike and I found myself braking on a majority of the larger, faster decents; losing valuable time. In general, while I am happy with the time on my bike leg I feel I could have raced it much better.

T2: 00:01:17

Again, T2 went as planned. Slipped into my new Zoot Ultras and was out running in no time; no more shoe lace problems for me. Unfortunately, I realized at mile 3 that I had left my salt tabs in my bento box. This error did not cause any problems but in the future I am going to have to be more careful.

Run - 13.1 miles: 01:39:07 (8th M19-24)

As I started the run I forced myself to keep a nice easy pace. I have a tendency to take off way to fast out of T2 and end up paying for it later on. I kept telling myself to use the first three miles to get my running legs under me; that is exactly what I did, and sure enough things started to progress very well. My stride increased I was pleasantly surprised at how good I was feeling. Before I knew it I was at the first turn around and feeling great. My legs continued to improve and as I approached the half-way mark I found Meghan and gave her a kiss as I ran by. My goal for the run was to finish in 1:40 (half of my 3:20 pace goal for Placid in July) and I ran through the second turn around at 0:50; right on target. Legs continued to feel great as I reaching the final turn around, and fueled by a chocolate chip cookie and a strawberry twizzler I made the turn for home. To this point the lack of salt had not had an effect as I was supplementing with gatorade at each aid station, but around mile 10.5 I started to feel it. It was a creeping feeling of general lethargy, and I did my best to fight through it. With about a mile to go I felt as though I was completely drained and pounded a fist full of luna moons, which admittedly helped. As a Rounded the final corner I got a jolt of energy from the crowd and was able to finish strong crossing the line with a 1:39 negative split run.

Final: 05:14:51 (8th M19-24) - 170th overall

After crossing the finish line I found Meghan and my family, took a minute to settle myself and then headed over to get myself the best post race athlete meal I had ever eaten. Barbecue chicken, pasta salad, and corn; again hats off to Kathleen's Cottage Irish Pub for cooking up some delicious food. I had come in a respectable 8th in my age group, three slots shy of getting a really cool award, a custom engraved Mooseman 70.3 bottle of pure maple syrup. In all I was please with how I had raced given the conditions and difficulty of the course.

I had wanted to push the pace hard on the swim (24:00) but the frigid water and seemingly froze my arms in place; I was however the fastest sleeveless wetsuit time on the day, if that counts for anything. The chill continued to takes its toll on the bike and at the end of the day I feel I lost a lot of time because of it. With my muscles tightly clenched I dont think my power output was were it could have been, but I think I am right on track with my training and look forward to more opportunities to race at my upmost potential. Last but not least I was most pleased with my run. Having posted two ~5hr marathons in the last two years at IMLP I feel like I have finally figured out (with respect to nutrition planning and race training) how to run fast off the bike. Not the fastest split ever, but it is a step in the right direction and I feel confident in where things are going.

Vermont City Marathon - Family Fun

Traveled to Vermont over the Memorial Day weekend to run a portion of the Vermont City Marathon on one of two relays put together by my girlfriend Meghan's family. Ran two back-to-back segments of the relay covering a total of 12.8 miles.

The day started out rainy and I was concerned that the weather would continue, but by the time it was my turn to run the sun was starting to break and the temperature was rising rapidly. The relay was broken down into 5 legs and I had the 3rd and 4th; Meghan had the 5th on our second relay so I was able to hang out with her for a bit before she had to run which was nice.

I received the handoff from Meghan's Uncle Dave, and at that point we were running a great pace and situated well in the middle of the main pack. My legs were feeling great so I immediately pushed the pace, running the first mile in 5:10min thanks to the excitement in the air of running through the cheering downtown crowds. As we made our way out of town I was still feeling great, I settled into a solid 5:45-5:50min/mile pace and continued to pound the pavement. I think I managed to pass 200-300 people in the first 4 miles. As the miles ticked by my legs continued to feel great thanks to the e21 Recovery capsules I had with me, conveniently stashed in an empty Mentos container.

Halfway through my leg, around mile 6 (for me), I came upon the infamous Battery Hill, it might as well not have been there as I flew up it passing even more runners. I was feeling great. The feeling continued through the end of my leg and I entered the last transition zone in a final time of 01:14:49, a solid 5:49min/mile pace.

Our last runner finished out the last 5.5miles in solid form and we crossed the line in 03:10:01 to take 3rd in the family relay category! A great race day with family and friends.

Chase Corporate Challenge - Race Report

Time again for the annual Chase Corporate Challenge 3.5 mile race at RIT. Was getting excited leading up to the event as there were murmurs of the world championships being held in London a few weeks before the 2010 Olympic opening ceremonies. As a bit of background, the Chase Corporate Challenge is an event put on by Chase Bank. There are events held all over the World. Companies enter teams, everyone runs, and after 4-person teams are submitted (male, female, and coed) by each company and the winning relays get to go to the world championships. The best part, Chase picks up the tab, including airfare, hotel, food, etc. Good times for sure.

Suffice it to say, while I am not a short distance runner, I took some time to prepare for this race in the hopes of being on a winning relay. Fast forward to race day and the weather was perfect, maybe a bit too perfect as it was a slight bit warm, but much better than past years that have been plagued with thunderstorms. After warming up I secured myself a spot on the line, and as the start drew near my ~10,000 competitors lined up behind me.

When the gun went off I surged to the front to ensure that I did not get tangled up in merging runners; the start at this race can be pretty intense. As the lead runners stretched out the pack I found myself sitting comfortably in 3rd and as we approached the 1 mile marker my Garmin read 4:56min; a rather fast start and I hoped I would be able to hold on. As we ran through mile 2 my pace started to break down slightly and I fell into 7th, but was still running strong. At the 5K mark I passed through at 16:48min. This alone was huge for me, first time under 17:00min for a 5K. Unfortunately I was not done yet, still another 0.4miles to run and man did those last few tenths of a mile hurt.

Ended up crossing the line in 11th with a time of 19:38min. Better yet I was the fourth male from the University of Rochester to cross, we had dominated the mens race! ... or so it seemed. The celebration was bitter sweet however, as a few days later we found out that one of the other UR men was disqualified due to some shenanigans with respect to working hours (you need to be a 40hr a week employee to represent the company team). Long story short, had a great race, but will not be going to worlds this year (or so it seems), official results are still not posted ... so there is still hope ... maybe ...

Some Day You are the Bug... and Others the Windshield

....and some days your both.

This past Saturday I raced with the University of Rochester Cycling Team in the Bristol Road Race in Bristol New York. I was excited for this race, to this point in the season I had not been able to race with the team due to conflicts and alot of our riders are graduating this year.

Going in the race we had high expectations, as it was a cat 5 race and we had 4 riders who have shown consistent cat 3-4 performances. From the very start the UofR team dictated the race. We rolled out (~40 riders) at a steady pace and I set a moderate tempo as we approached the first of a series of climbs. My legs felt good and I pulled up the first climb. With my teammate Kevin at my side, and Liam and Travis behind we rolled through a false flat and prepared for the next rise in the road. As we made our way through the second uphill an attack came and we quickly countered. UR continued to drive the front of the group through the next few climbs and as we approached the largest/longest climb in the circuit another attack came. Again, we countered and as we continued to climb the field was reduced to 5 total riders; myself, 3 of my teammates and 1 "outsider", the PERFECT scenario.

So now for the part were I become the bug...

As we crested the climb we approached a massive downhill. We quickly discussed and agreed that we would play it safe, stick together as the lead group and not risk a dangerous accident by someone crashing out as a result of trying to exceed 50+mph (something that could be easily done on this decent). As we made out way down the initial decline all was well and I was sitting second wheel to my teammate. Then all hell broke loose.

I remember hearing an explosion behind me. My immediate thoughts were: "Oh crap, someone just lost their tire and they are about to be in big trouble". At that moment we were moving at 45mph. And then I started to speed wobble. Hard. It was not SOMEONE who lost their tire, it was ME! At 45mph, and my back tire shredded (literally) my bike was out of control. It was wobbling from right to left over the span of 5 to 6 feet and all I could do was try my hardest to keep everything under control. Horrible thoughts ran through my head. I had been in a bad accident three years prior: 46mph, end-over-end, bad concussion, hospital trip, sort term memory loss, and I did not want it to happen again. Somehow I managed to unclip my left shoe and drag it on the road to maintain three points of contact, preventing myself from hitting the pavement and slowing the bike down to were I could manage to pull it over to the side of the road, the process of which wore off my entire pedal clip. Suffice it to say I was a bit frazzled.

When I finally got around to looking at my rear tire I found a 3-4 inch gash where the bead had pulled away from the side wall. My tire had pulled apart. At the time of the accident Travis was directly behind me and he said he saw the air explode out the side of the tire. Not good.

Having crashed out I was not pleased, but worse yet the UofR team had taken control of the race and would continue to dictate the tempo all the way to the finish, with Travis crossing the line in first. Would like to have been there with him but after all that excitement I am happy to have been able to walk away with no injuries of damage to the bike. There is always next time, which is more than I can say for half the bugs that smack into my windshield.

My Mom put it very well: "I must have a very quick guardian angel".

To Race, or Not to Race...Tis Never a Question

So two weeks after the Boston Marathon the City of Rochester was putting on their annual Flower City Challenge. The weekend consisted of a duathlon and paddle triathlon on Saturday, as well as a 5K and half-marathon on Sunday. With the weather finally improving (i.e. it stopped snowing) and my rapid recovery from Boston (thanks to e21 Recovery) I could not resist the opportunity to bring out my TT rig and race the duathlon.

One of my buddies from the University of Rochester, Travis, was also racing so I was looking forward to a solid race between the two of us. On race morning we met up in transition, did a quick warmup to get the legs moving, and headed to the start. Heading to the start I bumped into one of my e21 teammate, Ryan Joyce. It was great to see another athlete out there flying the e21 flag!

At the starting line Travis and I got prime position and once the gun went off we surged to the front. Within a quarter mile the group at the front had thinned down to 5, Travis, myself, and three others. I was running strong and felt great; it was almost as if I was floating through the miles, my legs were turning over with little to no effort at all. At mile 1.5 of the first 5K run one of the runners made a surge and opened up a 25 yard gap on the chase group. I moved to the front to make sure we kept him within striking distance but made no immediate effort to run him down even though my legs were feeling amazing. We ticked through the next mile and I noticed that his lead was stagnant and if anything he seemed to be slowing coming back to us. At this point my competitive instincts kicked in and I pushed the pace and began closing the gap. My legs responded, and it felt like no time, and with no effort, I had brought the leader back to us. With my legs feeling great I wasted no time in attacking and quickly opened up a 20 yard lead of my own as we closed in on T1. As I approached transition I glanced at my watch and it read 17:15. I would end up running the first 5K in just over 18min at a VERY conserved effort. I was feeling amazing.

I was the first athlete back to T1 and as a result of relatively mediocre transition (stupid shoe laces) I was the 3rd out on the bike, Travis had surged back and was now in the lead. Immediately I noticed how fresh my legs felt, and as we rolled out I wasted no time blowing past the 2nd place rider and soon found myself behind Travis. I pulled up along side him and we quickly exchanged remarks about rolling in first and second before I pulled to the front. I felt amazing on the bike. We stuck together through the first 4miles of the 20mile course, but he fell back as we made our way through a series of rolling hills. By mile 5 I was clear out in front and loving life. The legs were turning over beautifully and I felt great. As the miles ticked by my lead slowly grew. I continued to remain in the lead as we approached T2 and it finally struck me that I was going to be leading the race off the bike (something I had never done before); I was pumped. Having averaged just over 23mph on the bike, I was very happy with my performance.

The calamity of transition errors continued as I made my way through transition the second time; again, stupid shoe laces. But I was out on the second 5K run before the second athlete even entered transition. Unfortunately for me the second place athlete was quickly gain ground. It was Eric Grimm, a Rochester local who is notorious for crushing the bike (25mph+) and running a blistering pace off the run. He had started in the second wave (3min behind us) but had gained time on the bike. As he closed the gap I made my best effort to fend him off, but he made the pass at mile 1.5 and there was no staying with him. Shortly after another athlete from wave two passed me and put the pressure on Eric for the overall win. As we ran through mile 2 of the final 5K run I was caught in no-mans-land, no one within striking distance in front of me and no one immediately behind me (Travis was about an 8th of a mile back). I still held a steady tempo and crossed the line in 3rd with Travis taking 4th. As it would turn out another athlete from wave two would displace both of us so I would finish 4th overall but win the M19-24 age bracket with a final time of 1:31:49. I was VERY pleased with the way I raced and given the perfect race conditions I could not have asked for more!

As a side note the Rochester news was on site to capture the race start and a video made the channel website. If you go to this link you can see me in my e21 race kit at the front around 0:12 seconds into the main broadcast.

Boston Marathon Race Report

I went into Boston with no expectations; aside from having a good time and enjoying the experience as much as possible. Having just recently recovered from patellar tendonitis in my right knee my training going into race day was well below where I would have liked it to be. That being said, the race went very well and I had an absolute blast.

My parents and I drove to Boston Saturday morning, stopping in Natick along the way to pick up my girlfriend Meghan before going to the expo. Funny aside, two days before the race I learned that her apartment complex is on the race course. Spent Saturday afternoon bumming around the expo getting free gear and spreading the good word about e21 Recovery.

Sunday was spent resting the legs and visiting some old stomping grounds. I lived in Lexington (15 miles outside of Boston) for two years when I was younger so it was nice to visit the town after having been away for ~12 years. Since I was staying in Natick, Meghan and I took a practice run out to Hopkinton to judge how long we needed in the morning. As it turned out we made the trip ~20min faster race morning. Go figure, but better safe than sorry.

5:15AM. Up bright and early on race day. Out of the house at 6:15AM and on the way to the start after a pre-race breakfast of a banana and a PB&J bagel. As I had mentioned earlier we made it to "athletes village" VERY early, I think I was one of the first 5 runners to enter as the buses coming from downtown Boston had not arrived. Meghan took a quick moment to snap a picture of me in the calm before the storm, as race volunteers warned her that her car might be towed at any moment. No worries though, we made it through unscathed.

While I arrived at 6:30AM my wave of the race (wave 1, corral 2) would not be staged until 9:10AM (10:00AM start), so I had a long time to wait. Monkey see, monkey do, so I snagged a spot on the wall of the high school and I am glad I did. The athletes village was situated in the middle of the varsity football field and the wind was blowing at 15mph. Next to the wall I was able to stay relatively warm. While waiting I met a few very cool individuals. Neat experience.

At roughly 9:00AM I started to get prepared to head down to the start line. Let me tell you, taking off my warm pre-race gear (thanks again to xterra) and getting into my race kit was not the most enjoyable experience as it was still cold and windy. With my gear finally in the hands of a volunteer I jogged down to the start line.

The start was broken into three separate waves this year; each broken down into 10 corals. I was lucky enough to be in wave one coral 2, right behind the pros. When I finally made it to my starting area I happened to bump into one of my buddies Anthony Wind. We had run high school cross-country together and actually qualified for Boston at the same race, taking 1st and 2nd in our age group at the Rochester City Marathon. It was great to see him before the race, we even managed to run the first few miles together.

Just prior to race start, they brought out the professional males. It was great, they walked right in front of us! The last one to come through was Ryan Hall and he was PUMPED!!! Jumping around and high-fiving everyone in sight. This happening moments before the start definitely contributed to the high-energy atmosphere.

Moments before the race there were a million things running through my head; how would my knee hold up? Would I be able to race to the level I wanted? And then the gun went off....

I had no expectations. Based on the patellar tendonitis I had been fighting two months prior I would have been happy with running the entire course, no walking, and finishing strong. As we rolled through the first few miles I felt VERY good. The first 7 miles are all down hill and even holding back I was running a very comfortable 6:10min/mile pace. Aside from the ease at which I was running I recall the strange silence that encompassed the first 3-4miles. There were packets of spectators, who were out in force, but otherwise there was just the sound of thousands of shoes striking the pavement.

Ashland: (mile 4)

The first town we ran through was Ashland, and this was the first location that my family had arranged to meet me. Left hand side of the road. Corner of Main Street and RT135. Sure enough I found them easily and slow just enough to smile and say hello. Seeing them definitely fueled my legs. At this point I knew that it was going to be a good day.

As we rolled through Ashland I was still holding a 6:10min/mile pace and feeling strong. More and more spectators had made their way out and the noise of the crowd was definitely increasing. A very cool experience.

Natick with Nerve: (mile 10)

As the race made its way into Natick my legs felt incredible. Still running strong it was hard to believe we were already approaching mile 10. To this point I had taken water and Gatorade at every aide station, and I would continue to do so through to the finish. In addition I was taking salt tablets, one evert 3 to 4 miles, something I forgot in the Rochester Marathon and paid for dearly. Running through Natick town center was quite an experience. There were tons of people out, crowds cheering, bands playing. Made it very difficult to run slow and I came through still holding onto a comfortable 6:10min/mile pace.

Wellesley: (mile 13)

Prior to the race, someone had told me that running past Wellesley College was one of the highlights of the entire race. Man were they right. The ENTIRE college was out cheering at the top of their lungs. No joke the sound made my ears ring and it went on for a solid mile (which I think I covered in 5:30min flat). For me it was definitely one of those moments that stuck with me. Rolling into the town center (and the half way point) my legs were still feeling great. Passed under the 13.1 banner in 1:24 and change, head up, feeling great, scanning the crowd for my people. Again, the power of the crowd was amazing and I found it very hard to run slow as we continued our journey to Boston.

Newton with Grit: (mile 20)

As my legs kept churning I could not help but think what an amazing day I was having. Returning from injury, in the Boston Marathon, running at an amazing pace, and feeling outstanding. As we entered the rolling hills I started to feel the slight pangs of fatigue but one moment of listening to the crowd made all the pain disappear. At I passed through 20miles I was still running a solid 6:10min/mile pace and flying high.

Shortly after mile 20 (and just in time for heart break hill) my legs started to suffer. Thankfully it was not an issue with my knee but rather the lack of pre-race milage finally catching up to me. As my pace steadily dropped I kept my legs turning over as best I could, refusing to walk. With each stride I convinced myself to take another, and another, and another. As I made my way up heartbreak's final climb I was so focused I didnt even notice my family cheering for me on the side of the road until I was nearly past them. I crested the climb and began the descent into Boston, convinced that I would make it to the finish without walking.

Boston with Swagger:

As we made our way into the city a thousands thoughts were flooding my head. The magnitude of the day finally started to settle in and I forced myself to take in the atmosphere. By this point in the race my legs were all but gone (but still refusing to walk), but the crowd kept me moving forward. At one point in Brookline I saw someone holding a sign that read "Don't slow down now, everyone is watching.....seriously EVERYONE is watching". So true, I had to laugh. The long straight descent to the finish was alive with spectators and it helped ease the pain, but the sight of the Citogo sign was something that could not come soon enough.

After having suffer through miles 21-25 at an 8:30+min/mile pace I found the strength to push 7:00min/mile pace as we ran over the final bridge. At this point it became a race again, my body felt the rush of the crowd and I found it difficult to run slow. As we approached the end of the race the course dipped under an overpass and the strange silence of shoes on pavement returned. When we reemerged on the other side the crowd was even loader and I felt a surge as I powered around the last turn. To my dismay the finish line was still a quarter mile away but I relished the final stretch as I reflected on the day and read the Adidas sign that boldly shown "Boston with swagger". I crossed the line in 03:05:34, exhausted, but happy.

As I reflect on how the race unfolded, I really could not have asked for more. Having been injured and racing on minimal training a 3:05 was something to be proud of, considering the exponential increase in course difficulty as compared to the pancake flat Rochester City Marathon. It would have been a dream to stay on pace and run a 2:40-2:50 but all-in-all I was very happy. Best of all my finishing time qualified my for next year (pending I can get a spot). Encore in 2012?

As an aside I have to acknowledge e21 Recovery and their amazing line of recovery supplements. Having used e21 Recovery before, during, and after the race I was AMAZED at how quickly I recovered. I was back to my normal workout routine less than four days after crossing the line in Boston! Looking forward to the continued benefits of racing and training with e21 Recovery!