I’m sore today. Walking down stairs is the hardest. The up and down course has done a number on my quads. My calves are surprisingly less sore than expected but my knees hurt too. The rest of my body is doing fine.
I slept hard last night and woke up late today. It felt good to take it easy. Today, I get to reflect on the Boston Marathon. Compared to what I expected, I was about 12 minutes slower. I made plenty of mistakes and gave up mentally after a few of the mishaps. I’m not upset at all about giving up because I actually had fun with the crowd. I made it a memorable experience. I made it count. Look at the table below and you will see where I gave up time. At the halfway point, I was right on pace but lost it all in the second half.
Some points to note:
- I am not used to hills and my leg muscles paid a heavy toll for 18 miles leaving me with sore legs for the final stretch
- My hands had no dexterity throughout the race; my nutrition was sub-optimal both for calorie intake and salt intake
- My shoelace came loose twice
- I had way too much fun with the Wellesley girls and during the last 6 miles to call this a competitive race
But I have Boston under my belt. How many regular people I know can say that? It is the grand-daddy of all Marathons. And now I have run it.