My First Boston

On Friday we flew to Boston. I was imbetween Noah and Dawn. She was, like me, reading Runners World Magazine. We didn’t start up conversation until we were asked to buckle up in preparation for landing. Then she piped up to tell me that a friend of hers on the plane was friends with Scott Jurek, who I was reading about in my magazine. In our short conversation that followed, I learned that she has done 44 marathons, and 5 hundred milers. I guess she didn’t start conversation with me until the end because she probably knew Id make her talk the rest of the time. A person with her race resume could’ve kept me entertained for the whole flight!
On Saturday we got our first taste of Boston. The city was full of colorful jackets with striped sleeves. Apparently there is an Addidas jacket made every year for the Boston Marathon. So walking around Boston you can identify who the runners are. And you cant miss the recent jackets- they are very bright blue and yellow. Some of the previous years have different colors- navy, orange, etc…it was kind of fun to look at the year on people’s jackets. I assumed this was probably the year of their “first Boston”. I didn’t immediately want one of these bright jackets, but I am easily influenced by trends, and now I am thinking that this should perhaps be my birthday present to myself in June.

Saturday was very cold and rainy. Noah and I were not prepared for this weather and were huddling together to try to stay warm. In the expo I looked for gloves to wear in the race. I didn’t see a single pair of gloves for sale. There were lots of arm warmers this year. On the way back to the hotel we found a Dick’s Sporting Store and purchased some Nike running gloves. At the expo Noah wrote a nice note to me on a whiteboard.

We took a duck tour which was a nice rainy day option. We were warm and had a roof over our head while we got a tour of the city and drove right into the Charles River.

Saturday night we dined at the Omni Parker Hotel- where Id read that one should go for good Boston Clam Chowder. After we walked in we realized this wasn’t the place to go for just a bowl of soup. It was pretty fancy, and for us, a higher end restaurant. I stuck to my plan of soup, salad, and rolls. But Noah ate Salmon. The chowder is creamy and the rolls are yummy, but a pretty pricey option. Next time we may look for chowder somewhere else. Or try the Italian district.
Sunday was a little rainy, but allot nicer than Saturday. And by Sunday we felt we had a better grasp of how to get around in the city. We were learning how to get around on the subway. We walked around following the freedom trail and walked through Quincy Market. We noticed a Dunkin Donuts on almost every street! So we decided to eat some quick sugary carbs- yum! Sunday night was the pre-race pasta party. It was really fun. The volunteers are super excited and fun. The music was loud and the volunteers were dancing and the food was just right for pre-race night. We were even given a bag of Lindt chocolates to complete the meal.

Monday morning I dressed with my Blinged out arm warmers from my running girls. They say “Run” down the side- in crystals. I wore my Boston 2 Big Sur shirt over the top- in hopes of meeting some of the other runners who would be in Big Sur with me next week. It worked- I talked to several people who said they’d be there with me next week. One gentleman talked to me along the course, advising me to just have fun next week. He did both races last year. He said it’s the marathon where lots of people stop to take pictures and enjoy the scenery. Sounds Great!!!

Hopkinton was a close drive from our hotel. Noah was easily able to drive me into Hopkinton State Park where there were school buses available to take us to the start. Athlete’s Village was the start where we all waited for kind of a long time. Especially those of us in the second wave. We were all numbered by our qualifying speed, and the faster people started at 10:00. I aspire to be a first wave person some day:) Waiting was okay, but I was anxious to get going.

There were lots of inspiring runners along the way. I saw a blind fellow with a small rope attaching himself to a guide. It wasn’t his first Boston either.

I had a rough start because I dressed too warm. This over dressing resulted in 3 lengthy stops. 1. to remove leg warmers which required taking off shoes. 2. taking off arm warmers which required taking off watch and music arm band 3. looking around for noah at mile thirteen so I could give him all the clothes Id taken off and couldn’t part with.

The first time I pulled off was not easy. You have to gradually merge to the side because you are tightly packed with other runners who are your same pace. They make you start in order so you are right with others of comparable pace. This is nice and I wish I could’ve stayed in my spot. After Id stepped out of my spot, I had to spend the rest of the race weaving around people. Which resulted in me running .3 miles more than necessary.

I knew that Noah would be in Wellesley to see me. He texted me that he was right about the half way. So when I got to 13.5 and still hadn’t seen him, I totally stopped and called him and was trying to tell him that Id leave my stuff with someone in the crowd, and he could come find them and retrieve my possessions. He told me to start running again. After I told him my scenery, he was convinced that I hadn’t actually passed him yet. I was glad to find out that he was right. When I stopped to give him stuff, there was a porto potty there, so I let him refill my water bottle while I relieved my small bladder.

I saw the Wellesley girls Id heard about- a long long line of college girls holding signs saying “Kiss Me!” I ran slowly past them, hoping to see some action- but these runners were not taking the time. I didn’t see any kisses.

My race really picked up after seeing Noah. Seeing him gave me a big boost. Freeing myself of extra gear gave me a boost. I now felt light and fast. I’m sure I must’ve had negative splits for this race.

I was slightly annoyed with runners who would be running along, seemingly fine, and then suddenly stop to walk. Right in front of me. I ran right into a couple of these. Literally. Race etiquette is to run off to the side before you abruptly change your pace.

I wasn’t counting the hills so after a few of them I started to wonder if I was on Heartbreak yet. Id ask myself “Is this it?” but then there’d be another one. Heartbreak didn’t seem to be much bigger than the others that led up to it. I was not humbled by the hills, but then I wasn’t running a really challenging pace either. I can see the elites being hurt by the hills.

I had pre-memorized certain mile markers in the race, and I was surprised by how fast they were all coming. When I turned onto Commonwealth I was really surprised to already be at that point. Maybe the race was going so fast because of all the wonderful people I was thinking about. It made the time pass quickly. I pre-made a wrist band with 26 names on it. I borrowed the idea from Kristen Armstrong. So every mile I thought about someone different who I really cared about. Someone who is a big part of my life now, or a few who were a big influence on my life earlier. Some of the names led to a faster pace- some were more emotionally charged. Mile 15 was for my brother Clint who was killed right before he turned 15. That was a fast hard mile for me.

Now in the races I’ve done before, the crowd gets really charged, loud, crazy for the finishing stretch. The finishing stretch lasts about 2 miles- maybe less. This was a much bigger Marathon than I’ve ever done before. The finishing crowd was the last 5 miles! Thick crazy cheering for the last 5 miles. This makes your mind think you are almost done- like the finish line is right in front of you- good thing I had a watch to tell me that I still had 5 miles to go! The crowds and cheering made me feel good and I was spurred onto faster paces by the support. In previous marathons when I’ve felt depleted- the loud crazy cheering has been a little painful. On Monday I was really greatful for the cheering crowds.

In the last few miles I realized that I was close to a re-qualifying time. This is 3:45:59 for me at this point. Though I wasn’t running with a goal time- I still didn’t want to miss a qualifying time by seconds. So I really kicked into gear and the last couple of miles were as fast as the crowded course would allow me to go. I really had to do some weaving though to get around runners who were suffering in these last miles.

I crossed the finish line and forgot to look up. So I didn’t see my clock time. Knew it wouldn’t be accurate any way, because it was 2 minutes in the beginning before I even got to cross the start line. I was anxious to see my “net time” from my chip to make sure I got under 3:46. Unfortunately there would be no available “net time” for me. I was one of 143 runners affected by a “glitch” in the finishing line. So I’m still hoping to get an official finish time. Kind of a bummer.

I felt good until I stopped to let them put the medal on me. Then I felt dizzy the same way you do when you spin a hundred circles as a child.
My stomach was quickly able to tolerate food. I ate half my finish line goodies and then we went to find Bukowski’s Tavern where I ate a whole Peanut Butter Bacon Cheeseburger. Yes- Peanut Butter! I heard of this strange combination in an article written by Editor-in-chief David Willey of the Runners World Magazine. I didn’t feel right about creating such a thing at home- but logged it in my brain as an experience I might want to have in Boston. I will say that I really enjoyed it! And I would do it again. Only on Marathon day. I can only feel good about eating that combination on marathon day. Sometimes I wish everyday could be marathon day!!! My husband justified it for himself by thinking that it is okay to eat a burger and then a peanut butter cookie for desert. So why not just smash that all together?

Then it was back to the hotel for the ice bath that Scott Dunlap had prescribed on an earlier occasion. I followed his formula- 5 minutes in cold-as-it-comes bathwater, then dump in ice for another 5 minutes of fun. Okay- it is super painful in the beginning, but by the end it actually feels kind of good. And by the time you get out your legs are all tingly. I like that. And then if you add some Dr. Hoyt’s after that- my legs were in heaven. And it must’ve worked, because today Wednesday I would expect to be the most sore, and I’m not!

I can hardly wait for Sunday and Big Sur!