Boston Recap

I don't even know where to begin.  What an incredible experience!  I'm still walking around in a post-marathon daze.  It always happens.  After a race, I always have that deer in headlights/'now what' look and feeling but this time, even more so.  Which shouldn't come as a surprise.  It was Boston after all.  The last two years of my life between training for a BQ in Delaware to then training non-stop for Monday finally culminated in one day.  Four hours.  No more run schedule.  No more panicking if I miss a run or feel a twinge in a muscle or body part.  This will probably last for the rest of the week then I'll be antsy for the next thing, the next race.  But nothing will be like Boston, that's for sure!

We arrived on Saturday to a windy, chilly Boston but with promises of a "perfect" Monday.  After dropping our bags at the hotel, we headed over to the Expo.

Banner in the lobby of our hotel - LOVE it!

One thing that made for a very smooth weekend was that we stayed at the Mariott Copley Place...blocks from the finish.  Yes, it's crazy expensive but we used my husband's points for the entire weekend.  Anyway, we were able to walk to the Expo and my husband was able to get to the finish line without any problems.  Oh, and the fact that we didn't have to walk for long after the marathon to get to the hotel was pretty sweet too!

View from my hotel room - that blue banner on the sidewalk is where the finish line is....a few more steps to the right!

I've heard a lot about how great the Expo at Boston is but to be honest, I didn't love it.  It was SO crowded.  People were pushing like mad to grab shirts and jackets.  I was over the entire thing 5 minutes after we got there.  I didn't buy the official jacket which had my running partners shocked.  They kept saying, "You HAVE to get the jacket!!!" I didn't love the jacket and I really don't think I would wear it...certainly not enough to warrant the $80 price tag.  Instead, I got the pull over which I love!  It was "only" $60 but that wasn't the reason.

Yup.  Didn't get the same jacket as everyone else but I love my choice!

I love pull overs and wear them way more than jackets.  Also, it has a really warm fleece like lining.  It's thick, warm and just perfect for me.  I also got a beer glass - I collect beer glasses at marathons.  Oh, and a t-shirt.  Had to get a t-shirt!  I could have dropped a ton of money, it's easy to get swept up in the moment but really, how much Boston gear does a girl need??

After the expo, we went back to the hotel to check in and chill for awhile.  We met my friends out for an early dinner then called it a night.

On Sunday, I woke up feeling worse than I had the day before which I didn't think was possible.  I was coughing even more and felt totally drained.  My doctor had warned me that I may develop bronchitis with the flu and gave me a Z-Pack for the trip just in case.  I have a feeling that was what was happening so I took the first dose and tried not to worry.   After breakfast, we walked over to the finish line for photos. 

It was a lot of fun!  By that point, I was coughing so much and felt so crappy that I decided to just try and enjoy the experience as much as possible because the run itself wasn't looking possible.  I'm glad we went to the finish and I'm glad I made an attitude adjustment (before that, I was in serious "why me!?" mode) because it really helped.

After the finish line, we went over to Nike Town.  They had official pace bracelets that were course specific.  Very cool!

They also had a cheesy photo booth that we took full advantage of.  We posed for a million photos and laughed our asses off.

Getting cheesy at NIKETOWN Boston

After Nike Town, we headed over to Feneuil Hall for lunch.  The weather was all over the place - sunny and warm one minute, windy and drizzling the next.  We kept hear that Monday was going to be beautiful though so we pretended not to notice Boston's fickle ways!  After lunch, I decided it was time to lay down for a while and let the antibiotics do their thing.

I actually slept pretty good Sunday night.  I woke up once at 12:30 but was able to got right back to sleep.  I got up on Marathon Monday at 5:45.  I was feeling bad health wise but I was super excited.  I had nervous energy and was bouncing around way too much!  We arranged for a car service to Hopkinton rather than take the shuttles so we were able to leave a little later (car picked us up at 8:00).  He got right to the state park with no problems where we jumped on the school bus and headed for the athletes village.  We got there in time to watch the elite women start.  Watching Kara Goucher gave me major goosebumps.  Imagine, little 'ol me running on the same course on the same day as her!  Pretty exciting stuff.  After that we found the Hopkinton sign and took a million photos.

At this point, I didn't care that I was sick, didn't care that my running partners would be way out ahead of me going for the 3:30 goal, didn't care that I'd be alone just trying not to walk....at that point I was full of adrenaline and happiness.

My bus! Clearly I had enough fluids and food for a 100 mile race!

When the race got underway, I tried to reign in some of that excitement and go out nice and slow.  The first mile was packed.  Elbow to elbow.  Makes it easy to stay slow.  A lot of people were sprinting while weaving in and out just trying to get out of the crowd but seriously...what an energy waster!  I managed to stay pretty consistent throughout the first half which was a much more rolling than I expected, arriving at the 13.1 mile marker at 1:58 which is exactly where I wanted to be for a 4:00 marathon.  The hills were nutty, but they were not any harder than the hills we spent so many hours training on.  I managed to stay on pace and had to stop thinking about how much better I could be doing if it weren't for the coughing and energy issues.  I tried to stay positive and appreciate the fact that I was still running at all!  The crowds were incredible.  They kept me going and kept my mind off how I felt.

Official sick girl stats

Garmin Stats

When I crossed the finish line, I was so happy!  I did the shuffle to the water and I must have really been hacking up a lung because the volunteer kept asking if I needed medical help and made me take a few waters.  It was pretty funny because at that point, I didn't even notice my lungs anymore!  I thought I was doing great!  When I finally found my husband, he told me about my running partners' times.  They got a 3:29, a 3:31 and a 3:39.  At that point, the tears started.  I've been training with them for a year.  I could have been in that chunk of time.  Why the flu?  Why bronchitis?  WHY the week of Boston did I get so sick??  My husband quickly talked me off the edge by reminding me that just the day before, I didn't think I'd be able to run it at all.  So.  I slapped a smile on my face and found my friends to give them their much deserved congratulations!

Me and and my fast friends

So.  To sum it all up, Boston was amazing.  A once in a lifetime experience and one that I will treasure forever.  Was it all it's hyped up to be?  Yes, and even more.  The entire city was bursting with excitement.  Never have I spent an entire weekend around so many runners....so many happy people.  I loved every second of it.  And, despite a few pitty parties, I'm pretty proud that I was able to not only get there, but to tackle the race and finish!