Boston 1/2 Marathon, 2005

Yes, there is no Boston 1/2 Marathon.  After running in, and completing, 5 marathons, I finally failed to finish one.

I hadn't run a marathon since Beijing in 2003, and I was itching to get another one under my belt.  However, things just seemed to keep going wrong, I spent a bunch of time in 2004 having a Chinese doctor cure (!) a lifelong ailment, but that really got in the way of my training.  In fact, if kept me from running in 2004, but it was worth it!

I kicked off my training for 2005, but was immediately sidelined by what we thought was a blood clot in my left leg, by the time we did enough tests to determine that it was not vascular and not life threatening, I was out of time for training.  Or was I?

During a visit to Malaysia a month prior to the marathon, I visited the Batu Caves:

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I effortlessly climbed the 272 steps, which got me thinking that my cardio conditioning was still there.  What if I began training, ramped up quickly, and then treated the marathon itself like just another run in the ramp up?  It was worth a shot.

I IM'd my long time running buddy Bao, and asked him if he was going to attend the marathon, either running or spectating.  No, he had no plans, but asked why.  When I told him, he responded that it sounded really stupid, so I should count him in!  Ha!

Well, the ramp up went pretty well, but the day did not.  I started slowly, felt really good until right around mile 10, when I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles tendon.  I walked for a bit, but as soon as I started running again the pain returned.

Discretion is the better part of valor, so I stopped at the 13 mile mark, half way.  Having set a slow pace and then walked most of miles 10 - 13, I got there about 30 minutes after I normally would have, and Bao hadn't yet arrived.  Poor Bao, for him I guess it was only a matter of training, had I not stopped he wouldn't have either, but when he saw me waiting there with my crew he was happy to call it a day also.

I hate failure, I'm already training for my next one.  And yes, I'm glad I tried, the month of ramp up really helped my conditioning!

Here's a few pictures, I brought my camera with me this time to try to provide a little bit of a runners view:

At the start:

At the start, looking behind us.  Quite a few runners, huh?

Around Mile 10, runners spreading out, no sign of Bao.  I'm not in last place!!

Just before Wellesley College, some fake Wellesley 'babes'!