Race Report: The Boston

 For 26.2 (plus a little) miles on Monday people yelled "Smiley girl!" and "NRC!" over and over at me.  This was for two reasons.  1.  That Nolensville Running Club shirt I was wearing.  2.  I could not stop smiling.  In fact, even when it was extra hard and a little sucky (and there were some moments that it was definitely extra hard and a little sucky), I couldn't stop smiling because..well, there I was..AT THE BOSTON! 




You know when you are a kid and you can't wait for Christmas?   You are so excited it keeps you up at night and yet you are, you know...a little scared because you know somehow the reality could not possible live up to your expectations so you keep telling yourself to dial that excitement back (and it still didn't work)?   Well I'm gonna say Monday was like Christmas, my birthday, and ..well..all the good things and it was everything I ever hoped it would be.  It was like Christmas and my birthday had a baby and called it Boston.  It was that kind of crazy great.

I promise to try to not make this the longest race report ever. Never mind.  This is about to be the longest race report ever.  I wish I could edit.  It would have saved me many problems throughout the years.  But if you know me, you know editing myself is not a skill I have.  😜


So you get the Before, During, After...all 27,000 blogobits of it.  

ARE WE GOING TO DO THIS?

First off, I had this great support team.  Because this team has been crazy busy we didn't fly out until late Friday night, which ended up later because Southwest wanted us to have extra time in the airport 😬😏I suppose to watch the hockey game and for Jeff to do our taxes.

This meant we arrived in Boston, picked up our car and headed to our hotel (hour from the airport by the start line) and got there after 4 a.m.  This also meant we had to be out the door an hour later to make it downtown for Jeff to run the 5k he signed up for.   It was WINDY, cold, raining, miserable and I was just waiting for Jeff to say, "hey, let's just bag this thing and stay under warm hotel covers and sleep in and eat donuts."  He did not say that...so out into the miserable wind we headed (turns out later I found out Jeff was just waiting for me to say, "hey let's just bag this thing and eat donuts"...but it actually ended up being a lot of fun.  Jeff even got a PR out of his race despite being injured lately and the fact that he was stuck so far back in his corral he couldn't move quickly.

We headed back the hour to our hotel, grabbed the boys, grabbed breakfast and then a 2 hour nap and headed to the expo.

IT JUST GOT REAL

I know the second it got real.  It wasn't walking down Boylston  Street and seeing the race prep.  It wasn't when I was walking into the expo and saw all the signs and looked around at the freakishly fast looking runners.  It was the moment the lady smiled at me and handed me my bib and said "Welcome to the Boston Marathon" and I immediately teared up.  Because...They just gave me a bib.  MY BIB.  Like..one i would wear...when I RAN THE BOSTON MARATHON!!!!  

I had been warned the expo would be overwhelming and man...it was.  Suddenly I had the urge to buy all the things and none of the things because (buy all the things) everything said Boston Marathon on it and (none of the things) crowds and shopping paralyze me.  The boys went on a mission to load bags with free stuff and I just walked around telling myself I was at the Boston Marathon expo and just...smiling.

Each year one of the traditions is the Boston jacket.  It's this kind of ugly windbreaker you would never probably actually buy in real life but it has the boston logo big on the back and has a new design for each year and everywhere you go when you see someone wearing one of those you know they ran Boston.  It's like the letterman (lettermen?) jacket in high school that i didn't buy (which incidentally I only qualified to get because you had to place at a track meet and no one could run at one meet so I automatically placed, well that and I lettered in band and debate but can you really pull that off with any dignity?)  Anyway....😶😶  I GOT TO BUY THE LETTERMAN JACKET OF BOSTON!!!  I've never been so happy to spend $110 on a windbreaker (actually, I don't think I've ever bought a windbreaker) before in my life.  I was scared to try it on because of the bad mojo of wearing race clothing before the race.  It's a thing you know.

After the expo we found some food, some beer, went back and finally....got some sleep.

On Sunday Jeff and the boys headed back into Boston via the race course.  I tried to not panic as we headed over all the hills through all the towns and allI could think about was "Well CRAP, this is a LONG DRIVE!"  

The boys headed to the Red Sox game (ask Jeff about his free ticket score) and dropped me back at the expo to hang out and hear some speakers and wander around geeking out about running stuff. 

When I walked up and found Scott Jurek was up for this radio podcast thing I basically just stood right beside him to listen to him talk.  I was really awkward about it in a way that only I can be awkward but he stopped to talk to me after and was as amazing and adorable as I knew he would be.

We grabbed some pasta in the North End at a pretty restaurant, some pastries from Mike's (amazing) and then headed back to our hotel to watch hockey, get organized and let Jeff get more organized.  

PRE-RACE JITTERS

All folks talked about leading up to the race was how bad the weather was going to be and how they expected it to be like the previous year's.  This was kind of terrifying to me since I spent the previous year watching the race on tv and felt like I was suffering just watching it.  I decided to see if I could control the variables I could control.  So I bought a new rain coat.  Well, actually, I bought six new rain coats.  5 of these I bought online because I hate going to the store to buy rain coats..and other things:  Five were...not water resistant (i know, i tested each one by pouring a cup of water on it), too crunchy,  too hot and too ugly and finally I had to admit my husband was right and go to an actual sporting goods store and bought one (thank you to Kathy Sorenson who had the great pleasure of catching me in pre-race ramble freak out shopping mode and making that trip with me).  

So I had a rain jacket, hand warmers, toe warmers, multiple gloves, disposable plastic gloves to put over my multiple gloves, extra shoes, ponchos,  extra everything, all the things because like I always do...i had over researched and over thought it and I'm sorry, but when someone says "you shouldn't look at the forecast ahead of time because really you can't do anything about it" I think, "Oh yeah?? Of course I can.  I CAN BUY SIX RAIN JACKETS." 

So it was the night before and I'm thinking of the weather and the fact that I don't start until 11 and the fact that i have no nutrition plan at all or basically any plan and I remind myself that I'm going to go party in the cold freaking rain and it will be fun no matter what I have to do to suck up any fun I can get and then ...I just go to sleep.

THE PLAN

From the day I qualified for Boston I knew my plan for this race was just to go and have a good time.  Some people race Boston and manage to requalify or even PR but I knew I didn't want to do that for a couple reasons.  1.  I was scared of the course...the hills...all the hills....heartbreak hill.  2. It's the biggest party I've ever had an invitation to and I didn't want to miss it being freaked out about if I could go fast enough.  3.  My training had moved from a solid, disciplined plan to a month-long accidental taper so I was just praying to be able to make it the whole way on some wonky knees and a kinda jacked up back.  (BTW, did I tell you that I tried to use KT tape for the first time this race?  Did I tell you how it just started peeling off in a big disaster mess one mile into the race?  )  So my plan was to go run the first half at an 8:30 pace, which is not an easy pace for me but one I knew i could do on the first half of the course, which is notoriously easier and downhill.  Then, for the second half of the course, which is notoriously not easier and not downhill  I was going to party.  Goof off, drink beer--kiss some girls, make some new friends...all the things I am really good at.

RACE MORNING 

I woke up smiling.  RACE DAY!!!  My phone was full of so many encouraging texts and so much love it was all kinds of awesome.  This may have been my favorite text of all though.

 I looked outside and checked my phone and suddenly realized the weather was going to be my friend (ish).  It was 60 degrees and rain was coming at some point but not it a break-out-the -winning-rain -jacket sort of way. 

I must have been excited because when Jeff walked into the bathroom I was trying to talk to him as I was dressing and realized the reason why my running bra felt awkward is because I was putting it on backwards.  He also pointed out I had my underwear on inside out and he assumed that was not some sort of good luck thing.

Speaking of luck...I had lost one of my earrings the day before in the hotel room.  They are not expensive earrings but I always wear the same pearls and I was sort of worried that if I didn't wear them my race would not be good (Yes, I have issues).

So I elected to leave the one in...at least half the luck is better than no luck, right?  That was my logic.  Please note that if you see me in race photos with one earring--that's half luck.

So yep, I was ready.

One cool thing that happened leading up to the race is that Andy, a classmate  from high school,  saw a facebook post and told me he lives on the walk to the start line for the course and that he and his wife always host runners race morning and that I was welcome to use his house to hang out before the race.  This was such a great thing because I got to see him, meet his wife and their house kept me out of the mud of athletes village (where you wait until it's time to start) and also meant a toilet that flushed. That was a great thing because it made the whole waiting thing stress free. 

PLEASE NOTE THE TAPE ON MY KNEES AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHY I EVER THOUGHT THAT COULD WORK

LOOK AT WHERE ANDY'S HOUSE IS LOCATED.  HOW FUN TO BE ABLE TO LIVE ON THE COURSE LIKE THAT AND IT WAS AWESOME THAT THEY WERE MAKING SURE RUNNERS GOT SUNSCREEN AND ANYTHING ELSE THEY NEEDED.

RACE TIME

There I was, waiting for the start, looking around me and just breathing in and out.  Breathing and smiling and thinking I AM HERE.  I'M AT "THE BOSTON" MOM!   It was thick with people and the announcers were talking and everyone had moved in their conversations to talking about how muggy it was starting to feel and then next thing I knew, it was time to start.  And I went to start and realized, when I went to start my watch...it was still on my last run.😳  I quickly tried to delete it and move along and then...I was off and running.  

FIRST HALF

I could not believe how thick the crowds already were.  We started with a nice descent but no one was speeding out of there because there were people everywhere.  So we all just ran at whatever pace until a couple miles in, where we could settle in a little easier to our normal pace.  

I stopped to take a few pics. Because this may have been the best high five I got of the million I got that day.

  and because later I would need to remember this sign

I did not take a picture of all the men and women stopped right on the side of the road to pee.  Although I admired their efficiency and their carefree attitudes I found myself waiting for a porta potty at mile 4 because I had hydrated that well.  I then decided it was time to see where the guys were.  

The week before in my run I had practiced using my headphones and hey siri to call jeff and so out on the course I was able to check in to see how he and the boys were doing.  I was super surprised to hear they were waiting on me at mile six.  I didn't expect to see them until mile 20 or so but Jeff and Nick were working magic and managed to get to multiple places on that course, which is probably as incredible as actually running the marathon.  I was happy to see them at six and at mile 10 I knew I had a super cool surprise.  A friend of mine I met in an online forum when I was pregnant with Max (she was pregnant too) had reached out to me to let me know she would be at mile 10 because she lives in Natick.  I was pumped.  This would be the first time I would meet her in real life after being online friends for 14 years.  And there she was at mile 10!  I stopped to get a picture and hug her neck and it was all kinds of cool.

After mile 10 it was still work time.    I had not realized how tough it would be to get water on the course and how much energy it would take to get around other people.  I was starting to get a little freaked out in my head.  The first half of the race, I thought, was supposed to be fast and easier and you know what?  It wasn't all that fast or easy.  It was, however, all kinds of rolling hills and the heat started cranking up.  I was still good--straight on smiling and high five-ing every kid (and dog) and my pace felt just where I had been planning.  I knew I was going to start goofing off in a few miles.  And you know what was coming up????  THE SCREAM TUNNEL!!!

The Scream Tunnel is this line of girls at Wellelsey College--They offer kisses to runners and encouragement and scream so loud it can be heard a mile away.  It's this amazing thing that I can't describe and it was so much fun.  It is such a part of the Boston Marathon tradition and there I was running through a tunnel of screaming girls with signs saying things  like, "kiss me if you're chafed" and "kiss me, I'm from Ireland" and just "kiss me" 

SECOND HALF

After the screams of the Wellesley girls died down it was time for the second half and it was time to party.  The sun was bearing down now so I was ready.  I was able to see the Mucci guys past the Wellesley girls and I was so happy to see them because 1. they are awesome  and 2. they were bringing me pickles and pickle juice, which i decided i desperately needed since my nutrition plan was random gus, random gatorade on the course and i needed that salty pickle juice.

I will say, however, that shortly after that shot of pickle juice my stomach did it's normal "i hate you wendy and I don't know why you run thing."  I promise you it had nothing to do with the pickle juice and everything to do with the fact that my stomach hates me and doesn't know why we run.  But this meant a 2 minute porta potty stop, which I didn't care about because I was in party mode.  

And It was time for party mode.

Except

no

one 

was 

partying.

Seriously, I think those rolling hills and heat crushed everyone's soul around me.  I kept trying to run up beside runners to start a conversation and it always looked like this

No one wanted to play.  The crowds were amazing...Everywhere.  They were partying.  The runners, however?  They were ..well...running.  We were headed into the toughest part of the course and Sweet Caroline was blasting and there was me singing and screaming away and there are the runners around me giving me the "you better shut up before I make you" stare at me.

 I kept trying.  I scanned  the crowds looking for someone to offer me a beer.  I high fived all the little kids that none of the other runners would  high five because they were busy..running. And I just kept smiling because I'MRUNNINGTHEBOSTON!  I also couldn't  take pictures really at that point very easily because I was dripping in sweat.  I saw Jeff and the boys at mile 20 ish and drank more pickle juice.  I knew Jeff wanted to talk about my time with me but is holding back because i had told him I was partying on the course but then it was mile 20 and  I realized three things:  1. no one on the course is offering me beer.  2.  the other runners are busy running.  3.  If I could kick it in, there is a slight chance I could qualify for Boston for next year.  

So I tried to kick it in.

It was a challenge.

My feet were hurting.

Plus there were hills...more hills even after the hills were supposed to be over.

Plus, it was hot.

Don't get me wrong. It was crazy amazing.  People were screaming their guts out everywhere! 

"Go smiley girl!! Go NRC!!!"  

I just kept trying to put my pace a little faster.  At mile 21 or so I was getting a little panicky so I put my music on for the fist time of the day, tuning into that Boston playlist friends helped me put together.   Suddenly, there was the CITGO sign, which meant...well...it actually meant I still had a long, freaking way to go but somewhere beyond that Citgo sign was a finish line.  The bottoms of my feet still hurt but I just kept thinking of the finish line and watching my watch.  I knew for sure that I didn't want to miss the finish line experience.  I knew I had worked too hard to waste the chance to soak in right on Hereford, Left on Boylston.  And so when I got there...I just ran and cried and cheered and smiled and thought about all the people and runs that had put me in that moment and that of course made me cry as well.  

And then it was over and they were giving me a medal and putting a space blanket around me and the sky tore open in rain and wind and I looked at my watch and realized.

OHMYGOODNESS

I had ran the time that I needed to qualify for next  year.  Not by a huge margin. But maybe.  Turns out...when no one will play along with me I can just make myself run.

But I will still be smiling.  Look at these bootlegged race images and you can hopefully get the idea of what that day was like for me:

If you've hung with  me this long through this blog, you get the idea.  It was everything I dreamed it would be and more.  It was this:

and this:

and this:

And I can't even write without crying about all the people and all the things that put me on that course on Monday.  Shared sweat, shared tears, a family that sacrificed lots of times where I was heading out the door to run, a running club that just is family, friends that let me be my over-thinking, over-sharing, over-everything self and have cheered me on like crazy.  I can't even begin to pour out enough thanks for all that.

I didn't want to waste one second of the Boston Marathon.  And I promise, I didn't.  That day will be in my memory forever long after my legs won't carry me miles.  And when I think of that day?

You can bet I'll be smiling.