April 17 – Evening Thoughts & My Strategy

I am ready. I will go to bed tonight at around 9:30ish and I will wake up at 5:30 a.m. I will shower, eat my usual “pre-game” meal of toast and Gatorade. I will put on my racing gear. I will then put on my two layers of clothing (one to throw into my retrieval bag and the other layer to throw away). I will then say goodbye to Diane and step out onto the Boston street at 6:30 a.m. I will walk over a mile to get to the bus pick up point. I will board a bus at around 7:00 a.m. to catch the ride to the athlete’s village in Hopkinton which is 26 miles away. I will probably arrive in the athlete’s village at around 8:00 a.m. My friend Bill Nawn has access to an apartment literally at the start line and he has graciously offered me access to it. So I will make my way to the house and sit there until about 9:50 at which time I will make my way to my “corral” starting point.

Once in my corral, I will keep an eye on my watch until about 10:15 a.m. at which time I will strip off my last layer of warm clothing. I will say a prayer and mentally run thru my head thru my strategy for the day………

I will run easy for the first couple of miles. Though the ultimate temptation is to pick up speed (especially since it is down hill) I have every intention of NOT doing this. I will hold back and settle for an 8:00 to 8:10 pace. Once I get to mile 3, my intention is to pick it up ever so slightly, just a hair below an 8:00 pace. I will try to keep things in check and save something for the Newton hills that start at  mile 16 and run thru about mile 20.5 (ending with the infamous heartbreak hill). I do not intend on attacking these hills but I do intend on getting thru them feeling good. Once I get over the top of the Newton hills, my intention is to pick things up as hard as I can. With the combination of reaching the end of the hills and also having the opportunity to see Diane (our meeting point is at about mile 21), I know that it is now time to hit it with everything I have. If my strategy works, I should have fuel left in my tank to make the last 6 miles good and to finish strong.

I believe I will reverse split this race. My second half will be faster versus my first half. I will be smarter with nutrition, with hydration and I will respect the hills. And I will take in every moment of this awesome event.

I have waited one year to redeem last year’s time. I have waited two years to achieve a personal best in my marathon time (better than 3:28) and I have trained hard for months to get ready for this.

It is, after all this……time to kill it. Thanks for all the support. Time to giddy-up!

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