I know you're all dying to know how Monday went and now that I have a free minute, I can actually tell you about it. Really though I could sum it up in just four words. It was super fun. Or just one. Amazing. Nothing I write will ever be able to compare to the experience of being there, but I'll do my best to bring you along for the ride.
Of course it started with a busy weekend since a lot of Ryan's family was coming into town. Saturday morning we went into Boston to get my number and the infamous marathon jacket. Since the expo opened at 9 and we had other events to attend in the afternoon, we got there bright and early. We even managed to catch the end of the BAA 5K that was being run. It was a nice start to the weekend that's for sure.
In the expo, since we got there so early, there was no line and bib pick up was quick and easy. I will say that for the price they charge to get into this race, they do give you a lot of swag in that bib packet. You'll see the photos at the end of this post. After packet pickup, we went into the expo and of course the first stop was the Adidas center. There I got a free poster of the name wall, which I intend to frame and hang up later on. I also bought the jacket there. Once we left Adidas, we stopped by the other little stalls and booths and picked up lots of free samples. Some were good, some were bad, and some I just took because I knew I liked that brand. The only other purchase we made there was something called race dots. These are magnets you use in place of safety pins to hold your race bib on. They're very strong but also heavy, so I decided to wait until the next race to use them. I didn't want to be weighed down or have some unfortunate chaffing during the marathon! All in all, this expo was fairly similar to every other large marathon's expo. I can't think of anything that made it stand out much more, except for the free poster. I would definitely make sure to get that every time. As for the rest of the expo, if you're short on time, I see no reason why you couldn't skip it and still feel like you had a fulfilling marathon experience.
After the expo, we went home and split up for different events we had going on. I had the Respite Center team BBQ and Ryan had family to go pick up from the airport in New Hampshire. At the BBQ I met most of the team members and a few of the families that use the Respite Center. Morty and his family came too, so that was nice. We even got a sign language performance done by members of the Respite Center, as a thank you for raising money. I've never been a part of a charity team before, so I don't know how others do it, but the one I was at was fantastic. I had a great time meeting new people and seeing families who are actually benefiting from the money I helped raise. . In the end, our team raised $358,000 for the Respite Center, which is amazing.
Once the BBQ was over, I went back to have dinner with Ryan and his family, and we went home to bed. Sunday was a huge do nothing day for me, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Ryan and his sister went apartment hunting and I stayed home and watched the dogs. We all went out for a lovely pre-race dinner at Davio's and I'm pretty sure we were in bed by 9:00 in preparation for the next day.
Finally, it was Monday. My alarm went off around 5:00, but I was ready for it anyways. I got up, got dressed, grabbed a coffee, and was ready for the ride into Hopkinton. I opted out of driving into Boston to take a bus to Hopkinton, because it was only about 10 minutes longer to just be dropped off in Hopkinton. So Ryan dropped me off at the South Street parking lot at 7:00 a.m. and I hopped on the shuttle to Athlete's Village. That mile bus ride took about half an hour but conveniently dropped us off right by the Respite Center. Instead of going down to the Village and laying around on the grass, waiting in port-a-potty lines, I went into the Respite Center and hung out with the team. They had breakfast available, gatorade, clif bloks, clean bathrooms, and the marathon pre-race festivities on TV. It was a lot of fun getting to know people and talk about all the different running experiences. People from other teams were stopping in too, so I got to meet people that I wouldn't have otherwise talked to on a regular day.
Waiting for the race to start was the hardest part. We watched the wheelchairs and elites go off on TV and I think everyone was getting antsy. Around 10:00 people started wanting to walk down to the start, but first we had to wait for the rest of the team to get out of Athlete's Village so we could take a team photo. For whatever reason, the officials weren't letting people out, so as it turns out, it was a real good thing I didn't decide to go there first. Once we finally got everyone together for the official picture, it was around 10:30, so we were ready to go. We all walked down to the start talking about how warm it was and how it was going to affect our running, but still very excited to get going. At the start line there still seemed to be thousands of people streaming out into their assigned corrals, which surprised me. Even with 3 waves already gone, we were still jammed up. At exactly 11:15 the last wave started and everyone just started moving. For the amount of people around, we moved faster than I expected, with minimal pushing or tripping it seemed.
While I'd love to explain every mile to you, that just isn't possible. Every mile was amazing in it's own way. The first six seemed to be filled with people on every side and I remember thinking, "didn't I read that this was the relatively quiet part?" It was also a bit strange to run the roads I used to drive all the time when I was in college, and I had a few laughs about old memories that popped up in my mind while I was on those roads. In Natick I stopped for photos with Morty and high fived a bunch of kids, though that part was pretty consistent the entire run. I also took a quick bathroom break and thought about the fact that even though it was very hot and I was drinking all the water and gatorade offered, I wasn't sweating. Then there was about a mile section that was actually quiet between Natick and Wellesley, but true to everything you've heard, the Wellesley scream tunnel is no joke. You could hear those girls well ahead of where they were and it was so loud when I got there that you would have thought they just saw a celebrity run by. Shortly after that I found my family for a quick high five, and further down the road, Cynthia, Murdock, and Madilyn by the town hall. Well, technically, just Cynthia and Madilyn, Murdock was in the bathroom! Of course I stopped for another photo, got a bottle of water with some Tailwind from Cynthia, waited for Murdock to come back, said thanks, and took off again. I figured this would be the point where I would stop having fun because it was the half-way point. Usually those middle miles are the ones I have the hardest time with because it seems like there's just so much more race to run. Plus I knew that I wouldn't see anyone else I knew on the sides until I got to the finish line, which still seemed awfully far away at that point. What surprised me the most was that I never actually hit that point this time though. Even when my knees hurt from going down hill so much and my stomach hurt from not having enough water, I never stopped having fun. People always talk about Heartbreak Hill being the worst part of the run and I found that wasn't the case in my run. In fact, I was so sick of running downhill at that point that I was excited to go up! I see why the hill might throw some people, because it is a long incline and there are shorter, steeper hills around it, but I think I liked that part the best in those middle miles. There were so many spectators and so many people cheering you on that you couldn't help but run up that hill like a champion. I'll probably be hated for saying this, but I think that was actually one of my favorite parts of the whole race!
Of course once I made it up the hill, it was all downhill for a while again, which was not as fun as it sounds. My knees were toast by that point, and it actually hurt to run downhill. Then I got to BC and let me tell you, they give Wellesley a run for their money. There was a point where I was running through the crowds just thinking that it was crazy! Nothing can capture that moment except being in it, so I'm not even going to try.
Those last five miles were short but long all at the same time. I knew it was going to take me awhile to finish, but at the same time, it didn't seem like it was. I think I was just having too much fun to think about the time going by. I was still really hot though and the water was still giving me a stomach ache, but someone at mile 24 gave me a popsicle and that really made a huge difference for the last two miles. I had actually planned on walking the 24-25, just because I was so hot, but the sugar and juice managed to help me finish running. When I got to 25, everything was just crazy. I could see the Citgo sign, I ran by Fenway Park, I ran through Kenmore, under the bridge that said Boston Strong, and made that infamous right on Hereford, left on Boylston. I have crossed many finish lines in these past few months and yet nothing compares to this one. There were people EVERYWHERE screaming, cheering, high fiving, having fun with you and for you. I saw Ryan a few yards before the actual finish and just kept running until I stepped over those timing mats and across that famous blue and yellow line. Even though I had to walk another quarter of a mile to get my medal and foil sheet, and even though I finished at a fairly regular time of 4:27, I had the time of my life. Before this, I wanted to run Boston, but I never understood why everyone hyped it up so much. Now I know. I have never seen a marathon where there are people cheering at EVERY spot on the route. It makes a huge difference in mentality, knowing that there are always people watching, cheering, and high-fiving. Out of this whole experience I only had one real disappointment and that is that I don't have a finish line picture. I thought the official photographers got one, so I didn't bother to take one as I walked off, but I just looked through the official photos and there isn't one of me crossing the finish. Other than that, it was a great day, well worth the wait, and I would definitely love to do it again next year, if I get the chance!
And now, all the pictures from that weekend, mile marker selfies included. Be aware, the race time photos are in reverse chronological order, from finish to start, so start at the end and work your way up once you get past the ones of me and Morty!
