The pre-race: I went to bed at 9:30 last night and got up at
5:20 to catch the bus over to Hopkinton, MA where the Boston Marathon starts.
The BC team got there rather early and everyone was amazed at the amount of
port-a-potties on the scene. There must have been hundreds! Matthew and I were resting out legs for a few hours and having a wonderful time asking
each other if we would rather have muffins for feet or pickles for fingers.
Before heading on out we partook of the free water, bananas, gatorade, and
aforementioned port-a-johns. We walked 3/4 of a mile to the starting line,
awkwardly without a numbered bib. On the way, we very luckily ran into three
other folks from our BC "team", Mark, Gina, and another male whose
name slips my mind. Anywho, we tried to start a
little earlier than 'fake' runners do, so as to avoid the heat. The
Boston Marathon staff were silly and wouldn't let us through. So instead of
starting the race at 10:20 with people running at our pace, we started at 10:50
after all the old folks and costumed fools had left.
The race: I thought I started out slow, and instead I ran a
6:45 first mile. This was no good, and I slowed it up so that by mile three (3)
I averaged about a 7:15 pace. I also must mention that Mark, another friend
named Roberto, and myself all had to zig-zag our way past the silly slow
people. Back to running, this pace was still a little quick, but I figured that
I should run a little quicker while the heat was still manageable. Wall #1 came
at mile nine (9). Having coasted my way to this point during shorter runs, the
acids in my legs were used to my stopping and showering. Instead, I ran more in
the hotness. So my legs got stiff and my energy went away. BUT. I inhaled a
strawberry-banana "Gu" and got a boost of energy and carbs and sugar!
So I actually felt very good up until the half (1/2) marathon mark at mile and
then Wall #2 came. This was a psychological wall. We ran by some lakes. I
thought how nice it would be to jump in and end this madness. Then there were
those thoughts that go something like, "You can stop now. It's ok. No
really, you can." and then the counter, "No, Self! Not today! You are
running a marathon and you are gonna like it! Now go." The latter won. It
also helped that I told basically the entire BC community I'd be running by
campus at about 1:00... couldn't let them all down! So yes, mental warfare was
fought from about mile thirteen (13) to mile eighteen (18), upon which Wall #3
hit: my small cows started cramping (known as calves to normal people). This
was the start of the dreaded Heartbreak Hill. This hill is doable in normal
conditions. But my legs were really hurting from the heat, so I would stop and
walk at each water stop, and also stretch the occasional cramp or onset of a
cramp. The third wall lasted until I crossed Centre Street in Newton, the
street on which I live this year. I was excited to see my friends cheer me on,
and this was the hardest hill on the course, who(m?) I wanted to show who was
boss. I did, in fact, show the hill that I was the boss, contrary to what he
might have thought, with his being a mean big hill and all. As opposed to the
three walls, the mile or two running along BC was fantastic. I was cruising at
a great pace and I didn't cramp at all. Pat and Alex ran about half (1/2) a
mile with me, and so many awesome people I knew and didn't know were yelling at
me! It's an experience, I can't really describe it in words, because words
usually just beat around the proverbial bush of the experience. However I will say
it was awesome and fun and great and worth the training. Wall #4, however, was
not part of my training. The last five (5) miles were painfully slow. Both
quads, both calves, and my left hamstring all cramped up very frequently. I had
to straight-up STOP about five (5) or six (6) times to stretch and yell out in
pain. After stretching I would walk, and slowly jog some more, because my
cardio system was in tip-top shape. I just ran out of water for my muscles
(despite stopping an every official station and grabbing random other people's
stations' water!). This was frustrating, because I wanted to just finish, but I
could not, and it was a pain-filled "could not". I managed to run the
last full mile without stopping. That was a great feeling. I got through the
downtown finish line, and gave a fellow runner a high-five because we knew we
were both awesome at that moment for finishing.
Final Time: 3:47:19
The post-race: I
rather delusionally made my way down the stretch of free things given to
runners. These things included an aluminum-looking blanket, a medal, endless
gatorade, and a pack of snacks and food. Then I, again, made my way rather
delusionally to the Marriot hotel to meet Matt and his parents. As it turns
out, Matt did not have the best time out there. He finished, but after he
vomitted quite a bit and was taken to the infirmary for an IV and other safety
precautions against heat induced dangers. So I took the subway (T) home to
Newton instead of getting a ride with Matt and company. But Matt just called
about an hour ago and he's good!
Fun fact: I beat the defending Boston Marathon champion,
because he dropped out at mile 18 with leg cramps.
Thanks to Angela for
the photos!
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