Race Report: Boston Marathon
April 20, 2015
My journey to Boston started Friday afternoon when I boarded a plane with my sister to meet up with Ben and my parents for a fun-filled weekend. Friday was primarily a preparation/traveling day for the rest of our time in Boston.
We decided to tackle the expo early Saturday morning in hopes that we could avoid some of the crowds. Boy, were we wrong! The entire experience was exciting but also very overwhelming. There were vendors everywhere and people constantly bumping into you. I lost track of how much time we were even in there.
We spent Saturday evening watching the Orioles beat the Red Sox at Fenway Park! Despite the food and beer being extremely overpriced, we couldn't have asked for better weather.
Sunday morning I met up with the Wilmington crew to take pictures at the finish line and do a short shakeout run before race day. Almost 30 runners from the area ran in the race! The rest of the day was spent relaxing on the couch, hydrating, stretching and prepping for the next morning. I had a slight panic attack when I realized just how cold it was going to be and that I had forgotten my arm warmers. Thankfully, City Sports pulled through with some stock from 2 years ago for a whopping $4.95! I think everyone else had the same idea because I heard that the expo was a madhouse and all surrounding athletic stores were sold out of arm warmers.
Race day: Phew, what a whirlwind! My running mate, Mark, along with his wife Denise, and Frank and Sharon picked me up at 8:15 to head out to Hopkinton, MA so we could be shuttled to the start. For those who don't know, Boston is a point to point race from Hopkinton to downtown Boston. The ride out to the start is dreadfully long and makes you realize exactly how far 26.2 is! We got dropped off at the South St parking lot, where we were shuttled to Athlete Village. By the time we made it through the potty line, they were calling the wave for me and Mark. We made our way to the starting line, a very drawn out 0.7 miles from Athlete Village. Along the way runners were discarding extra clothes left and right to be donated to the Boys and Girls Club. My mom had the bright idea to purchase an old bathrobe from Goodwill in order to stay warm.
Around 10:50 am, with Mark by my side, water bottle in hand and nutrition on my fuel bet, I was off! The first mile is truly downhill, just as described in every Boston race review. Thankfully it was congested and prevented us from going out too fast. The rain was on and off but nothing I wasn't used to from training runs. I ended up wearing a trash bag for the first 6 miles, which was unplanned, because it was so cold.
The first half was relatively uneventful with some small rolling hills and crowds galore. It got interesting once we got to Wellesley College, where the screams from young girls are deafening and you can't help but laugh as they offer up kisses to all the runners while donning bright red lipstick and holding signs with messages such as, "Kiss me! I'm so wet right now!" By mile 15, I started to feel my quads tighten. This had never happened so early during any of my training runs that it made me nervous. Yet I continued on and was able to keep pace. Mile 16 started the infamous Newton Hills. The first one wasn't too bad but I knew the worst was yet to come. By the 4th one, Heartbreak Hill, I was toast! Mark's wife, Denise, had so graciously planted herself about halfway up the hill, which was much needed. Without Mark, I'm not sure I would have tackled the hills as successfully.
I had been forewarned about the hills, but maybe should have taken it a little more seriously. Running the "hills" of Wilmington 1-2x/week, I now know, is certainly not enough! Those hills are no joke! One race report I read leading up to the race stated "Heartbreak Hill is where marathon dreams go to die." Wow! Mark had just pulled ahead of me and decided to finish at his own pace. We agreed to run the first 21-22 together and then reassess how we were feeling. Just when I was feeling defeated, around mile 22, I came across my family. They gave me the little boost I needed after realizing I still had another 4.2 miles to go. I had just discarded one glove at the time the below picture was taken, thinking I would be better off with a cold hand than a wet glove. About a mile later I tore off the other one, probably one of the biggest mistakes of the race. (My hands became numb and I had trouble opening my last gel.)
At this point, I thought I was done with the hills. Little did I know I had 2 more small rises before coming upon what felt like a mountain at the end of mile 25! I kept repeating to myself "right on Hereford, left on Bolyston" as I made my way up the last hill. My legs were screaming in agony but I knew I was close. As I rounded the corner onto Boylston, I saw the chute! It was incredibly emotional and so exhilarating! After 26.2 miles, I had ditched a bathrobe, sweatpants, 2 garbage bags, and a pair of gloves. My hands were numb, my clothes were soaking wet and I was freezing! Despite all of that, I came out with another BQ and the opportunity to return next year.
