My Boston Marathon Top 10

I've probably said this before, but I don't like crowds. At all. I don't go to busy places. Like you won't catch me shopping on Black Friday, or squishing between people at the Farmer's Market trying to buy organic kale at noon on a Saturday. Busy Max Train=Nope. Mosh pit? No, Thank You. And, I don't run the Shamrock Run in Portland either because I hate tripping over people, getting boxed in or having strangers touch me. Gross.

But, I was willing to suppress all my neurotic feelings about crowds in order to run the Boston Marathon this year. Why?

Because the Boston Marathon is special. People spend years trying to run a BQ just for the chance to run the oldest marathon in our country. The selection criteria are pretty simple: run a time at or under the qualifying standards (a little stiffer this year with people needing BQ -1:38 in order to run in 2014). Still. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone in order to run THIS race.
 

I haven't run the Boston Marathon before, so I really can't compare this year to any other. Maybe the crowds were bigger. Certainly, the number of runners was bigger. This year, 31,805 people managed to run from Hopkinton to Boylston street. That was about 10,000 more runners than finished in 2012. Of course, 2013 had a low finishing rate, since 5,633 runners were not able to finish due to the bombings near the finish line. Crowds? Yes, Sir. Everywhere.

I won't bore you with a long race report where I hash the marathon mile-by-mile. How about at Top 10 List? We can pretend I'm like a long-winded David Letterman (I do have gapped front teeth, so maybe we're related?).

Here are my Boston Marathon Top 10 Highlights:

1. Fortunately, the night before the race, I read this article about the race course. Maybe it was a bit like cramming for a test the night before, but I prefer to think that waiting until the last minute made certain that the tips were still fresh in my mind. I also didn't want to overwhelm myself with too many statistics. Wait, what was the elevation profile on the first mile out of Hopkinton? Where was I supposed to see the Citgo sign? Instead, I had an overall knowledge of the course, and took heed of the strategy the article outlined for making it through all the rolling ups and downs along the course.
   
   
2. Since the Boston Marathon is so huge, you have to get to the start like 2.5 hours before you actually get to run. There were people everywhere sprawled on Mylar blankets. Had it been warmer, sandy, and had an ocean, it might have looked like a scene from the stacked spots in Venice Beach, CA. The announcer kept saying, “make friends, find a place to relax on the grass.” I was clad in my sweet “Goodwill Sweats”, prepped for the 40-degree weather. The sweatshirt was from UW, so I got asked if I was from Seattle, and some guy wanted to talk about how good the Huskies were at Basketball. UConn? Dunno, peeps, I got it at Goodwill for $4.99. When I wasn't spending time stretching, and soaking up the sun in supine, I spent a good hour and a half (two trips) in line for the potty. Good times.
   

   

   Just like Venice Beach minus the sand and ocean.

    
3. I knew going into the race that the first 4-5 miles were downhill, and I needed to be VERY conservative. Run the pace. Don't let yourself get seduced by how easy it feels going down hill. I reined it in and was really glad I did. It's true that you end up seeing A TON of people on the flats and hills afterward, who were hurting and clearly hating life after they had just dashed speedily down those smooth 5 miles.


4. About mile 7, I realized that I had a blister the size of Connecticut on my right forefoot. It hurt like a Mother Farker! My kids don't like my potty mouth, but dammit. I noticed at some point it didn't really hurt as much, just a little burning, and that's because it had popped. Fantastic. I'm still nursing that bad boy today.
   
   
5. The crowds along the route can be summed up in one word: A-MAZING. I know, I almost made that two words, huh? I've never seen anything like it. The cheers, the signs, the music, the random people with bull horns telling everyone how good we all looked....ALL of that was inspiring and encouraging. The buzz of energy was so thick, you could almost smell it. Or maybe that was the smell of beer and burgers on the BBQ, I get confused. At some point, they were playing YMCA, and I found myself unconsciously raising my arms in the air to make the letters. At some point while climbing the Newton Hills, I found my self singing along with Neil Diamond's, “Sweet Caroline”...“Buhm, buhm, buhm....so good, so good, so good.” I heard myself spew as the music went quiet.
   
   
6. It was starting to get hot out, and about half way, I felt like I had to pee. I had been inhaling water and Gatorade like a whale swallowing krill. I told myself that I could wait 90 minutes to go pee. I hope this doesn't make me incontinent when I'm an old lady. Besides, I noticed there were short lines for the potties. Lines? Nope, not going to stand in a line when I could be running. Run now, pee later. I started getting hot enough to pour water on my head, back, front. I think I looked a little like a nursing mom who forgets about breast pads. No one cared...not a single person.
   
   

   

   Wellesley Scream Tunnel: My girlfriend is in there somewhere. :)



7. About halfway you get to Wellesley College where there are what seems like 1000 women screaming and holding signs offering kisses to all takers. Shoot, why not? So, I just ran over, grabbed a young lovely by the shoulder and kissed her cheek as she did likewise. She even whispered “Good luck!” Simple and sweet, just like pie. That reminds me, she smelled nice, too. I am sure I was impressive with my wet shirt, and frizzy ponytail. Never mind all that. My beloved friend, Esther, who passed in 2001, was an Wellesley College Alum, and I know she would have been proud of me for taking the time to stop here. Miss you, Babe.
   
   
8. You want me to dish about Heartbreak Hill? I knew all about the famed “Newton Hills" from mile 17 to mile 21 after my quick study the night before.  At mile 21, you get to the top of “Heartbreak Hill.” Sigh, I wanted to dash up the hills, but again I listened to the inner voice tell me to stay steady. Heartbreak Hill was long, but not really that steep. When I got to the top, I felt FREE! Hurray. Now, I could just go. My legs were still feeling OK, so I just took off as fast as I could for the finish. The last five miles, I weaved in and out of people like a mugger in New York City.
   

   

   Squeezing through the crowds.

   
   
9. About a mile and a half from the finish, the Allman Brother's Band song, “Melissa” came on my iPod. Odd, I didn't remember putting the song on my Playlist. At this point, I was overcome with emotion. I knew I was going to run a PR. I knew I was almost done running this marathon. I knew I was going see my husband and my mom really, really soon.
   
   
10. I turned onto Boylston Street and I thought, “Jeez, that's a really long way, still. Frack.” Obviously, I ran as fast as I could for that finish line. I finished in 3:26:21---over 4 minutes faster than my previous PR. As I crossed the finish line, I thought about the events that took place in that very spot last year, and how many people were impacted by the inhumanity of two people. Disgusting. But, this race is special. This town is like no other, and the people who live here were more determined than ever to prove that this finish line belongs to the runners, and not to the bombers. Period.
    

    

    Post Race: tired, happy, sweaty.

We came home the next day, and life went back to normal. Work, kids, laundry, making my own lunch---all with a slight limp now thanks to all those ups and downs. Honestly, those hills left my quads on fire and that ginormous blister killed me for days. Yesterday, we got a long slim package from Amazon. It was for my husband, so I had no idea what was in there. My son commented, “Maybe, it's a cane, for you.” How sweet of him to think that.  Little does he know, he'll be helping me into the shower when I really DO need a cane. Tee..hee.

My family understands why I run. Whether they realize it or not, they know that I am a better mom, wife, and person because I can get out there and run. They are very supportive of this sport which, for the most part, is done when I am alone. My mom and husband were great supporters during the marathon, and I couldn't have begun to navigate the crowds, streets, and race events of Boston without them. Bless them both.

Like I said, I don't like crowds. But, this “crowd” was different. Everyone running on April 21st 2014 was coming together for a single purpose: RUN BOSTON and LOVE BOSTON.  I am proud that I survived suppressing all my mob-phobic feelings in order to participate in this race. Thank you, Boston Marathon for testing my limits of endurance, but also for pushing my patience level, the boundary of my inner space bubble and for showing me the true spirit of resilience.