I had one main goal; BQ. Everything after that was secondary. 2015 BQ cutoff was Standard-1:03, so 3:13:57. I wanted at least 3:12:59 to be "safe". I thought I might have a 3:10 in me if the stars aligned. Friday night, I thought that might be possible. Until midnight, and Lainey became ill in the hotel room. Then I just kept waiting for it to hit me, as we had shared a sandwich for lunch Friday afternoon, and shared appetizers for dinner. Only thing different was I had a glass of red wine to her glass of white at dinner...

But it never hit me. I was exhausted when I "awoke", but went through the motions for prep. Brooks shorts (with lots of pockets, enough to carry 4 Gu packs), 2010 Adidas Climacool Boston Marathon shirt (for good luck; did nearly all of my long runs in this shirt this year), Smartwool(?) black socks (which felt AWESOME by the way), Medoc Marathon vest, 2010 Boston marathon Adidas hat (normally run in the Headsweats Medoc hat, but...this was a BQ attempt so wanted all my mojo), Mizuno Breathe gloves, and a handwarmer in each glove, Tifosi Tyrant glasses (the old silver ones from Boston '10). Carried the Medoc 24 oz. hand bottle with one Nuun orange tablet. Gu gels were a variety, but I saved the 40mg caffeine ones for mile 18 and 22 (Caramel Macchiato?). That. Was. Awesome.

The run just felt...right. I ran smart for once. When it felt good to push a little, I did. When I wanted to back off, I did. The only time I felt even a little "off" was right before mile 21. But I slowed it down a little, refocused on my wife who just gave up 18 weeks for me to make this attempt, and who just had to DNS her race, and pressed on. I prayed out loud just after crossing mile marker 18 for a few minutes. I asked for 4 more miles. I got them. At 22, I renewed my prayers, asking for just 4.2 more. I thanked God for lungs that breathed, for a heart that pumped, and for legs that were moving pretty well, all things considered.

And pretty soon, I started seeing other half finishers walking along with their medals, their chocolate milk, their swag, as they had finished. I knew I was close. I had rolled up my sleeves and was looking pretty ragged. I took a few moments to stretch the sleeves back out, zip up the jacket, get a little composure, move the bib to the front, and enjoy the finish chute. Somewhere along the way the hands went in the air, and I celebrated. I almost caught the 3:05 pacer, who had blown up a little and finished 3:08:20 to my 3:08:32. I had been shoulder to shoulder with her through 7, but let her go. She was running like me, off a watch and mile markers, no Garmin. I think it bit her.

Unlike Charleston, the blowup didn't come. Unlike Boston, I remember every step (I shut out miles 23-25ish of Boston...it hurt). Unlike Shamrock, my calves were perfect, no swelling in my feet.

This was Number 8. Boston would be #9. One becomes a Marathon Maniac at 10. Hmmm.

Nothing except maybe push just a wee bit harder in the last 3 miles.

Met the crew, confirmed my time, smiled, hugged my sick wife. Got half a banana, a pint of chocolate milk, and a massage for my legs. Then we headed back to the condo. After cleaning up, Tony, Karen and I went for brunch (omelet, home fries, and toast for me...and coffee). Then back to the condo to check on Lainey, who was feeling better but just wanted to rest in the sunlight by the sliding glass door. Tony and I went down and hit up the hot tub, that felt really nice. At 5pm we headed over to House of Blues and indulged in the after party a little. At 7 we headed back to the condo, and Lainey joined us for a little more after party. Great day.


Well, I felt pretty good today. Even though before the start, I told Lainey and the gang "I don't feel fast today", I felt comfortable all day. I kept waiting for the bottom to fall out, but the breathing was good, the nutrition and hydration plan were spot on, my sweat rate was perfect, I was able to modulate temperature properly with my vest, and by shedding my hand warmers around mile 10.



An over 5 minute PR, and a BQ on a slightly tougher (in my opinion) course than Shamrock. Six years after my first BQ. I'm pleased.