Boston Marathon

I woke up at 5 am and headed over to the Commons to catch the bus to Hopkinton. The bus ride was pretty quiet; you could feel the nervous tension. I was wearing two old sweaters and an old pair of breakaway pants. People were wearing robes, blankets, pajamas, and I even saw a hospital gown. There were some really creative pre-race outfits!

I had to have a Dunkin Donuts coffee, because, as you know, Kyria America runs on Dunkin.

I was not too nervous, except for two things: (1) I would freeze my butt off before the race. This problem was solved by wearing layers of throw away clothes. (2) I would have to pee during the race. The Dunkin did not help, but there were about 430,123 portapotties, so I got right in line, even though I didn't have to go yet.

I was in Wave 2, which started at 10:20. We started right on time and right away, there were so many spectators! This was different than I was used to. The only other highly spectated race I've run in the Nike Women's Marathon, and even it had some bare patches.

The course immediately went downhill. In the first 5 miles, we lost about 300 feet. I could feel myself starting off too fast, but the crowd was all around me and I was trying to pass people and the enthusiasm was hard to ignore. Mile 1 - 4: 7:29, 7:32, 7:33, 7:39

 I kept telling myself to slow down or I would regret it later. However, I felt fine, so I kept up the pace. At mile 7, which is Framingham, I saw Nancy's smiling face and it was just what I needed to give me a little pep in my step! Around mile 5, I swear I had a rock in my shoe but I didn't want to stop to take it out. I remember wondering how it got there, since I have been on pavement the whole time.  Mile 5 - 8: 7:38, 7:32, 7:36, 7:35

I take a few energy chews and think about my next "check point" which is my family, who will be in Wellesley at mile 13. Before I reach them I reach the Screech tunnel, which is a bunch of the Wellesley girls, yelling and yelling and all holding signs instructing the runners to "kiss me, I'm ____". I loved it! It gave me a lot of laughs! Mile 9 - 12: 7:40, 7:31, 7:40, 7:27

I pass by my family, who are good sports for coming all the way to Boston and then out to Wellesley to see me for 2.54 seconds. My mom is wearing a pink shirt to match me and on it are the words "Run Strong". As soon as I pass them, I start to feel some fatigue in my quads. I take a couple more energy chews, thinking this will make it go away. It doesn't. Mile 13 - 16: 7:32, 7:33, 7:50, 7:46

Around mile 16, the hills start. I have to be honest, the uphill felt great! The downhills were killing me. As I neared the top of one of the hills, I heard a guy say, "it's all downhill from here" and I was thinkin, "crap!" My quads were screaming. I was trying not to slow down but the downhills were really hurting. I keep thinking that as long as I try to keep it under an 8 minute mile, I can still acheive my goal of 3 hours and 30 minutes. It was difficult for a time though! Mile 17 - 20: 8:06, 8:04, 7:54, 8:12.

I don't know if I really hit a wall per se, but my quads were quivering and I really wanted to get to the finish line. I was limping along like Charlie Chaplin at this point. The only thing that kept me going is when I passed Dean Karnazes at mile 22. I was thinking in my mind, even though I am supposed to only be competing against my own time, "I must beat Dean, I must beat Dean!" I had to get him back for beating me by 49 seconds at the Skyline 50k! Mile 21 - 24: 8:12, 7:55, 7:54, 7:59

I saw my friend Pen at the 25 mile mark and man was I glad to see a familiar face. However, the other spectators were also awesome to have around me. There were all cheering for every runner, they were chanting my name (it was on my shirt) and there was such a great feeling of festivity in the air! It was so cool. And when I rounded the corner onto Boylston, I sprinted it out with all the gas fumes I had left in the tank. Jill was at mile 26, but I was so focused on finishing that I missed her, which is a bummer! Mile 25 - 26.2: 7:44, 8:22

When I crossed the finish line, the clock said 3:26:xx. I remember thinking, "I did it. I made my 3:30 goal, and I BQed at Boston!" I was so glad to be done. I hobbled across the finish and drank three bottles of water and inhaled a banana and then went to find my family.

Final Chip Time: 3:24:06 (7:47/mile)
Overall: 6,864 / 23,336

My immediate thought after I crossed the finish was that I had done it once I never needed to do it again. However, a week later, and in light of what happened, you may be seeing me again, Boston. I might be back before you know it.

Do you ever secretly compete with other runners or a runner in general? Do you check a bag or wear throw away clothes? Do you ever have spectators when you run or have you spectated for a friend's race?