I didn't have to get up on race morning until 7am. We needed to catch the shuttle to Hopkinton from Boston Common by around 8:30am, so we had plenty of time.
We awoke to a nasty thunderstorm and a message from B.A.A. that they had to have all participants at Athlete's Village and Boston Common seek shelter because of its severity. Well, that wasn't exactly a relaxing thing to wake up to.
I was a really nervous runner, not so much because I was fearful of running 26.2, but because I just really wanted a good experience, to enjoy myself, and not piss off Greg too much!
Thankfully, the storm passed fairly quickly and we were able to walk the mile to Boston Common in light rain. We were kept nice and dry by our ponchos and we had our race shoes safely tucked under the poncho, with throwaway shoes on our feet. Athlete's Village was bound to be very muddy, just like the previous year, and we were prepared.
That was such a long bus ride! I think it took at least an hour to get to Hopkinton and Athlete's Village, and I was getting more and more anxious about the race start. At one point I told Greg I couldn't talk anymore! But we finally arrived and it was just as much of a mud pit as I had expected, but the rain had stopped. It was muggy, that's for sure. We were both pretty thankful we had worn an old pair of shoes.
 |
| so much mud |
 |
We didn't spend much time in Athlete's Village. By the time we hit the potty and navigated through the mud and changed into our clean and dry shoes and socks, it was time to walk to the start. I decided to leave behind the shoes I wore when I qualified for Boston in Baton Rouge. They were the shoes that got me to Hopkinton, so I left them in Hopkinton.
The start line is about 3/4 of a mile from Athlete's Village. By the time we made it there, we realized we'd already walked nearly 4 miles that day, before the marathon had even started! I swear this race isn't for the weak!
 |
| The sign behind us says "There's only one Boston, and it all starts here!" |
 |
| Clearly this was before we started running |
This race is so crazy awesome organized. To be able to get 30,000 runners into the tiny town of Hopkinton, then get them to walk to the start and get into the proper corrals at the right time, and then send them off in waves, without any issues, is truly incredible. We always knew exactly where to go and when and it was flawless.
WE WERE ABOUT TO START THE BOSTON MARATHON! I had a really difficult time holding back my emotions, and I think Greg felt the same. We've seen the images of the race countless times, but here we were IN HOPKINTON, at the start, seeing it all firsthand! And THEY WERE LETTING US!! This girl who had once run a 5:09 marathon was going to run a marathon that she had to QUALIFY for with a 3:55 marathon. AND SHE DID! And on top of that, this was only Greg's second marathon because the badass qualified on his very first!
But damn, did I mention it was muggy? There was a lot of cloud cover and I hoped to God that it stayed that way. I could handle the temps with cloud cover, or at least it wouldn't hurt quite as badly. My plan was still to start the race with the thought of breaking 4 hours, even if barely.
I had to hold back even more tears when we crossed the start line and I started my Garmin AND OH MY GOSH WE WERE RUNNING THE BOSTON MARATHON!!
We've been warned countless times that the start of the race is downhill, and that if you get ahead of yourself and go out too fast in those first 5 miles, it will bite you in the ass when you get to the Newton Hills in the last third of the race.
Well, they weren't lying. It was downhill all right.
I settled into an 8:50-9:15 pace in that first 10K and I felt pretty decent. I didn't feel great, or light on my feet, or fearless, but I felt okay. I thought I could maintain this for the race, provided my quads held up in those hills and then in the downhill finish.
It seemed like the town signs were coming so quickly..."entering Ashland," "entering Framingham," and it was so cool to see them! All in all, we would go through seven towns on our way to Boston.
First 5K was in 28:10
Second 5K was in 28:24
We saw Greg's parents right where we thought we would by the train station in Framingham after the 10k point and that was really awesome! They were so excited and had signs made for us and everything.
I'm not quite sure exactly where it happened, but before we had even hit 15K, the sun came out and there was a collective groan from everyone running. NOT THE SUN, PLEASE NO.
I didn't totally panic, but I wasn't happy about it. I didn't feel good enough in that first 15k to feel comfortable with adding sun to the mix. It already felt like the temp had risen a few degrees and I estimated we were into the upper 60s at this point.
Third 5K was in 28:38
 |
| In Natick |
Before we hit the 20K point, I made the decision to slow down for a few miles. My heart rate was climbing to an uncomfortable level and my breathing was not as controlled as I had hoped it would be. My thought was that if I slowed down for a few miles, I could get a second wind, perhaps the clouds would return, and I would feel strong entering Newton and the four Newton hills.
Fourth 5K was in 29:25
Unfortunately, my heartrate continued to climb and I was uncomfortable and frankly, pissed. I had to make another decision. Slow it down, take the pressure off myself, and have a good time. We were in Wellesley at this point and the famous Scream Tunnel was coming up. I was still running under 9:30 pace, and that made me pretty pleased.
THE SCREAM TUNNEL!
All I can say is that it lived up to its hype! You could hear the roar about a half mile out and it was an exhilarating feeling. When you could finally see the girls with their signs and their screams, it was a huge boost! You couldn't help but smile the whole time you're running by them. We both got to kiss the girls and high five them and we had the best time! I don't think you can run through the scream tunnel and ever forget it!
I hit the halfway timing mat in 2:01:04. Not the sub-2 I had hoped for, but not embarrassing at all.
I wish the good feelings from Wellesley could have lasted, but that wasn't the case. In the 15th mile, after running a 9:53 for mile 14, I gave in momentarily to my defeated feeling and I walked.
I didn't walk at all in my last two marathons, and this pissed me off to no end that I would allow myself to do that in Boston. But walk I did. I ran the 15th mile in 10:40. It sucked.
Fifth 5K was in 31:25. That was rough.
BUT we were coming up on the Newton Hills, a series of four hills from miles 16 to 21, with the final hill being the infamous Heartbreak Hill. After this, the majority of the race would be downhill into Boston and the finish.
In order to get through these hills, I took them one at a time. They were not fast by any means, but I was getting through them. I walked through the water stops, rehydrated, threw water on my head, and kept going. Greg told me at one point I said to him "don't talk to me" but I have assured him that what I actually meant was "I can't talk."
Sixth 5K was in 32:19 and I suppose it could be worse.
When I got to the top of Heartbreak Hill I felt pretty triumphant! I turned to Greg and asked him it that was it and he said yes.
But WAIT.
As I hit the next water stop and walked a bit to recharge, I realized we were on another hill. I looked at my watch and saw that we weren't at Mile 21 yet.
OH SHIT. We had miscounted the number of hills we had already run up. We weren't done.
I WAS WALKING UP HEARTBREAK HILL.
Dammit all to Hell.
AND THERE WAS A PHOTOGRAPHER RIGHT THERE.
 |
| We call this my "Petulant Child" face |
Shoot me now.
So I guess you could say this was my low point. But it was also what spurred me to start running again and not look back. There was a dude at the top of the hill holding a sign that said "Heartbreak is behind you now." YES IT WAS!!
Now the race was going to be epic. I had 5 miles left of the Boston Marathon and no way in hell was I going to let it be anything other than incredible. It was time to run my ass off.
Seventh 5K was in 33:00...with an 11 minute mile up Heartbreak.
Did I mention that the last 5 miles are pretty much downhill? And that I had just climbed a bunch of hills?
So my quads were freaking trashed. But thank you baby Jesus, my lungs felt awesome! And I felt exhilarated! It's really too bad my legs could only muster up 10 minutes miles, but holy crap I felt so much better and I didn't even care. The one thing that I didn't want to happen was that I had overdone it so much leading up to the last 10K that I would hate it and want it to be over. Being so cautious had paid off and even though I was running slowly, I was feeling good and was so happy to be there.
With about 5K to go, THE CLOUDS CAME BACK! We had just ran through 14-15 miles of sun and nearly 70 degrees and gross humidity, but the clouds were finally back! It was exactly what I needed to get some spark back. I was having the time of my life now, with the last miles flying by. Each one was faster than the last.
 |
| In Brookline |
I had been told that you could see the Citgo sign for a long time before you actually passed it, and that's definitely not a lie. At about 24 miles, there it was ahead of us, and it was way bigger than I thought it would be. And it definitely felt like it wasn't getting any closer.
Eighth 5k was in 31:07. Not a lot faster, but faster miles nonetheless.
It was surreal to be running the last couple miles of the Boston Marathon and to finally see 9:30s on my watch again. The crowds were insane going through Brookline and Kenmore Square. Everywhere we stepped there were people screaming that we were awesome, that we were almost done, to keep on running, to not give up AND IT WAS GLORIOUS. I just can't say enough about the spectators. I have never seen anything like it! When we finally passed the Citgo sign, I knew we only had one more mile to go.
Sure enough, painted right across the road was something to the effect of "one more mile." And by now, IT WAS POURING RAIN!!
I didn't think it was possible, but the crowds were even louder now. The rain was falling harder and I was feeling incredible.
Before we even got to Hereford Street, I started getting emotional again. There had been a few times during the race that I had to catch myself as my eyes were welling up with tears. So many moments had struck me as just being totally surreal, that I really was running these streets. It was hard NOT to cry. Knowing that I was about to make the famous "Right on Hereford, Left on Boylston" was overwhelming.
And then we did.
 |
| Right on Hereford |
I didn't even know there was a photographer there, and he captured perfectly every emotion I was feeling.
I can't describe the feeling of turning left onto Boylston Street. It's really something that has to be experienced firsthand to really understand it. We saw the finish, we passed the site of the second bombing, I said a prayer, we kept running, passed the site of the first bombing, Greg grabbed my hand, and we ran through the finish line.
 |
| Left on Boylston |
BOSTON MARATHON FINISHERS.
I think I was so stunned, I couldn't even cry.
4:15:15
I had run my 15th marathon on 4/15, 15 months after I qualified and made the cut off by 15 seconds.
4:15:15!!
It was my third fastest marathon, and although 25 minutes off a (a new and tougher 3:50) Boston Qualifying time, it was a perfect finishing time in my book.
I can't finish this post without mentioning that one of my best friends was also running this marathon. My Bahston girl, Karen, ran her heart out, with two Starbucks stops, and a beer up Heartbreak Hill, after raising an insane amount of money for a local charity near and dear to her heart. It couldn't have been more perfect.
You would think that after running a difficult marathon, I would enjoy a nice long break. And while I am taking some time off from running, I am also eager to get back out there and chart my next adventure. I want to run Boston again. It's by far my favorite marathon so far. My next attempt to qualify will be on December 8 in Sacramento at California International Marathon.
I can't wait.
No comments:
Post a Comment