running: the dawn

Oh man.  Now that almost a week has gone by and I’ve been able to process…I still feel like I don’t really know where to begin.  To describe the event in a nutshell, I’d have to say that it was the most amazing race experience that I’ve ever had.  I knew, every step along the way, that there would never be anything like this…my first Boston Marathon.  It was all I could have ever imagined AND MORE.  I seriously think that there’s no WAY for people to exagerate or over-hype the Boston Marathon.  It’s all that everyone says it is and more.

Let’s take it to the beginning.  I did NOT sleep well at all.  Tossed and turned all night long.  I ended up getting out of bed before my alarm went off.  The plan was to be down in the lobby by 6am, to catch the shuttle that would take me to the T station, and I would head into town.  Executed flawlessly.  Now, I know that there are probably a lot of advantages of staying near the finish line, but financially…that just wasn’t possible for us.  And it worked out fine without forking over our life savings.  Cause this town revolves around the marathon.  Even where we were staying there were dozens of people who were running the race.  Everyone who worked in the hotel said, “Good luck!”  and “Run fast” as we were eating our bagels in the lobby.

I had decided to purchase a seat on a charter bus, rather than to ride the school buses down.  Mainly for the bathroom.  I didn’t want to be hydrating for a marathon whilst trapped on a bumpy school bus for and hour and a half.  Once again, there are people who say that the “experience” is diminished if you skip the free shuttles, but I was surrounded by just as many runners who were all just as jazzed about running Boston…we just had a bathroom to use.  Oh, and our bus driver got lost, which was really fun.  But, in reality…the more time we spend driving on the back roads around Hopkinton, the less time we had to sit in the cold wind at Athlete’s Village.

I ended up meeting someone that works for the running shoe store where I buy my shoes!  It was so amazing.  His name is Andy and he qualified with a 2:49 marathon at Grand Rapids!  Talk about an amazing connection.  So we ended up hanging out until it was time for him to line up in corral 1 of wave 1…yes, that’s RIGHT behind the elites.

After Andy went to line up, I made a last pit stop at the port-o-johns, dropped my bag off, and headed to the start.  One thing that I will do differently–keep my throw away clothes until the start.  There were donation bags everywhere with volunteers collecting the clothing.  I thought that they were just at the bag drop off, so I got rid of my snuggie (yes I took a snuggie and it was AMAZING!) a little sooner than I should have.

Without much ceremony (since I was near the back of wave 2, I didn’t expect much) we were off!  Crossing the starting line and recognizing everything from last year when I was just watching the marathon on TV was the first (of many) times when I was overcome with emotion.  Tears welled up and I started to cry.  I was thinking about all the people who had made that moment possible: Mr. Dawn, my mom and dad, the Gazelle, KT, Andi.  And I thought of all the supporters who have cheered me on near and far: Aunt Mary, Grandma, Mom and Pop C, Supernub and the Sis… I was overcome with gratitude.  From the very first steps across the starting line through the scream tunnel and over the Newton Hills, I thought about how incredibly blessed I have been.

Ok, but enough of that emotional stuff…time to talk numbers.

The plan I had was simple: be conservative.  Miles 1-5 run intentionally slower.  Miles 5-13 enjoy the ride.  Miles 13-16 prepare for the hills.  Miles 16-21 survive the hills.  Miles 21-end celebrate!!  And I must say…I followed through on that plan, almost to a t!

Mile 1–9:17

Mile 2–8:85

Mile 3–8:57

Mile 4–9:01

Mile 5–9:11

By this time we were running through Ashland.  I was blown away with how many people were in the center of town.  It was unREAL.  I’d worn my name on my shirt and this was the first place where I couldn’t keep up with all the people shouting out their encouragement.  And yes, this was the #2 location of tears for the day.  I just felt so overwhelmed with the joy of the moment.

Somewhere else along the way (no clue where) there was a blue grass band.  I thought of Mr. Dawn.  He would have stood there and listened to them all day.

Mile 6–8:45

Mile 7–8:42

Mile 8–8:55

Mile 9–8:51

Mile 10–8:55

Mile 11–9:03

Mile 12–8:58

Mile 13–8:54

And here is where I met the Women of Wellesley.  They showed up in full force.  I heard their screams before I even saw the sign for the college.  For anyone who’s keeping track, this would be the location of tears #3.  I loved how the girls actually had to be fenced off the course.  They could tell that their screams are world famous and they didn’t disappoint.  True, I could tell that they were screaming more for the guys, trying to earn kisses…but I appreciated the volume just the same.

Mile 14–8:55

Mile 15–9:10

Mile 16–9:02

Mile 17–9:19

It was here that I faced the decision.  I knew that I was walking a fine line between being under four hours and being over four hours.  If I REALLY wanted to come in under 4, I would have to push it.  But really, I didn’t want to sacrifice how much fun I was having just to reach an arbitrary time goal.  I stopped to walk for a second so I could text Mr. Dawn, “past mile 17.  slowing, but having the time of my life! best race ever!”  I knew that he was watching my splits and waiting for me at mile 21, I didn’t want him to get worried as he watched my splits slow down.

Mile 18–9:39

Mile 19–9:10

Mile 20–9:42

Mile 21–10:09

Yes.  That mile 21 is nasty.  True, the last part of it is a gorgeous downhill…but wow.  Those hills of Newton are serious.  Mr. Dawn, my mom and dad were all waiting for me just after the last uphill.  They were nestled in to the Boston College volume tsunami.

I couldn’t even hear my own footsteps or breath.  The noise was so intense.  I finally pictured them down the hill and off to the left.  My dad had found his way past the barricades and was practically standing in the middle of the road.  Each one had a camera in hand and were screaming as loud as possible.  Yep.  Cry time #4.  And this one was caught on tape.  Awesome.

Mile 22–9:06

Mile 23–9:45

Mile 24–9:35

Mile 25–9:53

Ok, so there were a few more moments of weakness where I slowed to a walk.  It never lasted very long…especially with my name on my chest.  As soon as I would stop to stretch everyone around would start shouting to me that I could do it and to get going.  Blessing and curse.

Mile 26–9:31

Last bit (0.4)–3:20

As I rounded that corner on to Boylston Street, I could see the finish line.  Even though there was pain in my legs, I just kept looking around at all the people that had gathered there.  I couldn’t believe how amazing it was to be a part of this day.

The finish line was awesome!

The chaos after it was less awesome.

First: water.  Then: space blanket.  Then: medal.  Then: gatorade.  Then: bag of food (I love that they had already filled bags of food!).  Then: bag pick up.  Then, finally we could exit the finisher’s chute.  It took awhile and a few phone calls to actually figure out where I was supposed to meet up with my family.

I had told them that the greatest gift they could give me was to already have a place to eat in mind, so that I wouldn’t have to make any decisions after the finish.  So we hoped on a train and got right to a place where I could enjoy my favorite post-race meal: pizza with root beer.

After our meal, it was time to head back to the hotel.  I really do think that it was good for me to do some walking and stretching before I got back.

So, there it is.  The day…or at least as much as I can remember right now.  I’ll put all my tips and advice in another post as I remember more things…

Thank you so much for being a part of this day with me!  I cannot tell you how supported I felt while I was out there running.  Every time I crossed a timing mat, I would think of all the people getting text messages and watching the splits online.  I truly felt that I was a part of something much bigger than myself.  Which is why I love running in the first place.