Boston UK marathon 31 May 21
11:40am, 1st Jun 2021 | Boston Marathon UK | 12 Comments
Blog by riggys99
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Warning this blog may offend those who like a well planned and prepared marathon account
Before the pandemic I entered the Boston Marathon for 2020 but has events unfolded it never happened.
2021 started and things didnt appear to be improving and my training virtually stopped and by the end of Jan beginning of Feb I was down to running once or twice a week. The second week in march came and I decided to get my arse in gear for the Grimsby 10k in July and started some proper training again but not with the intention of running a marathon this year. That lasted a few weeks and as i started to increase my weekly mileage and my long runs I decided to enter the Maravan marathon in Cleethorpes in Nov 2021. I decided to increase my long runs in preparation for starting marathon training the day after the 10k.
I did get up to 20miles and felt in good shape. Throughout this time I hadn't give any thought to Boston on the 31 may (in fact I thought I had deferred to 2022) until the number came in the post the week before the race.
Bugger it I thought I would do it anyway. Trouble was we had planned a family BBQ for the Sunday before the race and I hadn't tapered. To late to change any plans so it would be a case of driving 60 miles or so the morning of the race and having a easy week leading up to it.
The day before the race I spent a few hours behind the BBQ in the sun but it was great to see the kids who apart from one who has just returned from Uni live away from home.
After taking the eldest home it was very late (or early) by the time I got to bed and after around 3 and half hours sleep I was up and on my way to Boston. Breakfast was eaten whilst driving to Boston and I arrived with plenty of time to spare.
The assembly area was well run with plenty of loos etc and around 07:50 my wave was escorted to the market place for the start. With very little fuss (mayor may have said something but I didnt hear) we were off. I had set myself 3 targets for the race - target A sub 3:05 for a PB, target B sub 3:13 for a course PB and target C sub 3:15.
Setting off I felt good and decided to go for target A. The first 11 miles or so were into a headwind but it didnt seem to bad and my pace was around 6:55 ish with a slowest mile of 7:15 and a quickest of 6:46. Miles 11-17 felt good and I was keeping a good pace. The sun was starting to break through and with very little shelter I made sure I was taking on water and the water stations as well as pouring some into my hat to keep my head cool. Somewhere between 17 and 18 miles I started to get a aching neck and my form started to suffer due to this. From this point my pace slowed. Around 23 miles I started to get occasional cramps in my left foot and from 24 miles cramp like twinges in my hamstrings. Knowing I wasn't going to get a PB but also knowing I had plenty of time to beat my previous time for this race and the sub 3:15 target I decided to take it easy for the last couple of miles and actually quite enjoyed most of the run in through the houses with spectators. The final sharp turn did however send my right leg into cramp so it was a bit of a hobbled finish.
Overall pleased with how the run went. Yes I should have run a bit slower to start with but I wanted to test myself and see what I could do. I think I may have drank to much water as my stomach felt full and I struggled in the last few miles to eat my jelly babies.
Looking forward to November and another crack at sub 3:05.
Will be back in Boston next year.
Before the pandemic I entered the Boston Marathon for 2020 but has events unfolded it never happened.
2021 started and things didnt appear to be improving and my training virtually stopped and by the end of Jan beginning of Feb I was down to running once or twice a week. The second week in march came and I decided to get my arse in gear for the Grimsby 10k in July and started some proper training again but not with the intention of running a marathon this year. That lasted a few weeks and as i started to increase my weekly mileage and my long runs I decided to enter the Maravan marathon in Cleethorpes in Nov 2021. I decided to increase my long runs in preparation for starting marathon training the day after the 10k.
I did get up to 20miles and felt in good shape. Throughout this time I hadn't give any thought to Boston on the 31 may (in fact I thought I had deferred to 2022) until the number came in the post the week before the race.
Bugger it I thought I would do it anyway. Trouble was we had planned a family BBQ for the Sunday before the race and I hadn't tapered. To late to change any plans so it would be a case of driving 60 miles or so the morning of the race and having a easy week leading up to it.
The day before the race I spent a few hours behind the BBQ in the sun but it was great to see the kids who apart from one who has just returned from Uni live away from home.
After taking the eldest home it was very late (or early) by the time I got to bed and after around 3 and half hours sleep I was up and on my way to Boston. Breakfast was eaten whilst driving to Boston and I arrived with plenty of time to spare.
The assembly area was well run with plenty of loos etc and around 07:50 my wave was escorted to the market place for the start. With very little fuss (mayor may have said something but I didnt hear) we were off. I had set myself 3 targets for the race - target A sub 3:05 for a PB, target B sub 3:13 for a course PB and target C sub 3:15.
Setting off I felt good and decided to go for target A. The first 11 miles or so were into a headwind but it didnt seem to bad and my pace was around 6:55 ish with a slowest mile of 7:15 and a quickest of 6:46. Miles 11-17 felt good and I was keeping a good pace. The sun was starting to break through and with very little shelter I made sure I was taking on water and the water stations as well as pouring some into my hat to keep my head cool. Somewhere between 17 and 18 miles I started to get a aching neck and my form started to suffer due to this. From this point my pace slowed. Around 23 miles I started to get occasional cramps in my left foot and from 24 miles cramp like twinges in my hamstrings. Knowing I wasn't going to get a PB but also knowing I had plenty of time to beat my previous time for this race and the sub 3:15 target I decided to take it easy for the last couple of miles and actually quite enjoyed most of the run in through the houses with spectators. The final sharp turn did however send my right leg into cramp so it was a bit of a hobbled finish.
Overall pleased with how the run went. Yes I should have run a bit slower to start with but I wanted to test myself and see what I could do. I think I may have drank to much water as my stomach felt full and I struggled in the last few miles to eat my jelly babies.
Looking forward to November and another crack at sub 3:05.
Will be back in Boston next year.
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