My long overdue Boston Marathon Race Report

I made it my goal to get this race report written within a month of Boston....hey, the race took longer than I had planned so the blog should too :)

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!

Heartbreak Hill sucked.....really that's the only word for it. I was so glad when it was over and all the drunk BC kids pulled me along as I headed toward the long downhill to Beacon St. My quads screamed at me but I kept pushing. I saw some coworkers at mile 23 who greeted me with big smiles and cheers. Again I gave lots of high-fives! The last 5 miles of the race I was battling a side stitch that got really bad at about mile 24 so I took a quick walk break to work it out.....of course that is where a course photographer was standing and captured that wonderful moment on film for me!

Coming through Kemore and the last mile is almost an out of body experience. The crowds are at least 5 deep, you are less than 1 mile from finishing, and your body and mind are willing you to stop running. A right on Hereford.......this is it.......a left onto Boylston......the finish line is in sight.....pick it up and run damn it!!!!

The elite women....Go KARA Gaucher (3rd place female!!!)

The elite men....Go RYAN HALL (3rd place male!!!)

The finish line: Even though I was well off my original goal and about 8 minutes slower than my personal best, I felt that I had accomplished my #1 goal.....to have fun!!! My official finish time is 3:47:30. That's a 24 minute PR over my 2007 Boston Marathon time and my second fastest marathon.....not too bad for running the majority of the race not looking or worried about my pace. I shuffled down the finishing shoot to get my medal, food, and heat blanket and then met up with my parents and Bryan. They all commented about how much better I looked after this Boston compared to 2007!

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!!

Bottle of wine Bryan's uncle made for me!

One of the signs my family made!

The bling!