My 2009 Boston Marathon experience can be summed up into one word...FUN!! No, I didn't run as fast as I would have liked but I had a blast and soaked in the entire race atmosphere and experience. Here's a summary of my running of the 113th Boston Marathon!
Marathon Weekend: On Friday I met up with Janette and Steph at the Marathon Expo to pick up our numbers and do a little shopping. Its always so cool to see all the people, bib numbers, and goodie bags waiting to be picked up.....there is such a fun vibe at the expo! My parents got into town on Saturday afternoon and we headed out for a nice dinner in the South End before going to the Boston Runner's World Forum Event where I got to meet many of the people I had been chatting with online for the past couple months. Even though I hadn't met these people before, it was fun to catch up with other like minded people! Sunday my in-laws came over and we all headed back down to the expo to do a little more shopping before I settled onto the couch for the afternoon to relax. That evening we had my family and Bryan's family over for a carbo loading dinner.....it was great to have everyone together and getting excited about the race!
Monday morning: I slept pretty well Sunday night and got up bright and early to head into town to meet Janette and load onto the buses out to Hopkinton. I really couldn't believe that Marathon Monday was actually here!! The ride was long but we made it to Hopkinton and the Athlete's Village and headed straight for the porta-potty line! Last time I ran Boston we didn't really get to experience the Village because of the Noreaster so it was cool to hang out and watch all our fellow runners.
The Corrals: Finally our wave and corral number was called and we headed up towards the corrals (not without one last porta-potty stop!). The gun went off and Janette and I wished each other good races. Janette was dealing with an injury during training so she was planning to run at a slower pace than me. It was sad and hard to say goodbye to her at the start since we had raced so well together in Hartford last fall.
The Race: The first couple miles felt great.......I really tried to keep the pace easy and relaxed. I was hitting my splits and soaking in the experience. At mile 3.5 I saw my family and gave them all high-fives as I zipped by them. By mile six and seven, I was still hitting my goal pace but it was feeling harder than it should. I started to have flashbacks to last spring at the Vermont City Marathon where I felt a similar feeling but continued to push my goal pace......we all know how that turned out :( So after mile 7, I made the decision to slow down some, forget my time goal, and just have fun. In hindsight, I wonder if I gave up too easily or too early.....I will never know the answer to this. If I kept pushing, maybe I would have snapped out of it or maybe I would have crashed and burned.....one of life's mysteries.
Once I made this decision though, I had so much fun. I slapped all the little kids hands, ran through Wellesley College (the "screech tunnel") on the verge of tears because I was so overwhelmed by the crowd. I turned the corner at the fire house and started up the hills. Towards the top of the first hill, I came across my family again....this time joined by Bryan's aunts, uncle, grandmother, cousins, and family friends. It was so great to see them so I stopped for a second to give them hugs and more high-fives. They kept yelling at me to go but I wasn't in any hurry :) It was around this time that I passed Bill Rodgers, muti-time winner of the Boston Marathon. Granted he is 61 now but hey....I beat a Boston Marathon winner!
The elite women....Go KARA Gaucher (3rd place female!!!)
The elite men....Go RYAN HALL (3rd place male!!!)
What I've learned: I learned that not all races have to be about time goals.....some are about celebrating this wonderful gift of running that I have been given. About celebrating family and friends that support me mile after mile. About being thankful for the ability to run when so many are struggling. I know that my running has motivated many people to get out there and move their bodies....that alone makes all the pain worth it. Last but not least, I've learned that I definitely have a faster marathon in me and I am looking forward to the day that I can prove that to everyone else!!
One of the signs my family made!
The bling!