The winter weather was amazing this year. I kept saying, "I've got to run today because this weather is not going to last." I kept saying it and saying it. I even ran when I knew I shouldn't. The result of that was a mild hip strain that took about six weeks to work its way through. Thankfully it happened in early January.
Once training started up again I had to start slow, but everything worked out and I felt ready to run Boston this year injury free.
Wayne was amazing and took vacation to watch the kids while I flew to Boston. I don't think he knows how much that meant to me.
We all went to The Machine Shed on Saturday morning. My friend, Rachel, had told me multiple times how good it was. The kids thought it was awesome. Right after we ate Wayne dropped me off at the airport. I saw them drive away and there I was. All.By.Myself. I went through security and made my way to the gate. It was a lovely time to sit and read.
My wonderful friend, Kristin, met me in Boston. Her husband, Nick, and Wayne were the same year of medical school at UVa. I couldn't ask for a better friend. We were ready to hit up the town. Her flight arrived 30 minutes after mine. It's been two years since we've seen each other. It felt more like two months. Yeah, that's the kind of friend she is.
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| Kristin and me at the hotel |
We asked the front desk of a good place to eat. They directed us to a place called Fours. When we walked up there was a guy (that we thought) was greeting people. We said hi and started walking in. We were immediately stopped as he asked for our I.D. This was a first. I pulled out my ID and had my hand stamped. We looked at each other and kind of giggled, then headed inside. I will say, the food was really good.
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| Trying to get a picture of Fours behind us. |
The next morning we went to the Expo. It was busy to say the least. I bought a good amount of stuff. The best new purchase: Newton shoes. I've been eyeing these for awhile and decided to finally try them out. I love the concept and have really liked the two runs I have had on them. :) Frankly, I was a little worried about how I was going to get everything home. I made it work, oh yes I did.
After hitting Atonios for lunch we went to catch our Segway tour. That was a BLAST!!! It was a two hour tour of Boston. We went through Beacon Hill, Newberry, Boston Commons, the North End, and other historic areas.
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| Segway tour . . . don't tell, we broke the rules. |
We ate a delicious dessert for dinner (you read that right) and then headed back to the hotel. I was in bed by 9:00 and actually slept like a rock.
There was a lot of talk about the heat that we would be experiencing on race day. The Boston Athletic Association encouraged people to defer. They even discussed cancelling the whole thing. The average temperature on race day is normally 57 degrees. This year the high was 87 degrees, a new record. I was texting my running friends from New York all morning. They were wondering if I was actually going to run the thing. I totally thought about deferment, but I was already in Boston. I'd have to get back to Boston. I wasn't injured, which was a welcome change from last year. I decided to go for it.
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| Getting ready to take the T to the shuttles |
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| Looking at the long line of buses and runners waiting for the hour ride to the start |
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I was definitely hot. I walked through most water stations then slowly picked it back up. After the Newton Hills I knew that it was mostly downhill. I said out loud, "Free energy. This is free energy." I was really tired, but my legs felt decent.
When I saw the finish line I thought I was going to cry. This was the most emotional I have been at a race. I think everyone coming together to make sure people ran this one safe made me feel that way. I finished in 3:49. I was thrilled to finish under four hours with that awful heat. I mentally prepared for 4 1/2 hours. About five minutes after crossing an older man came up and patted me on the shoulder. He said, "Way to go! Great race. I've been following you for miles and lost you on the downhills. Great, great job!" I said thank you through near tears.
The longer we had to walk the more nauseous I became. I thought I was going to lose whatever was in my stomach, which wasn't much. When I finally reached the bus that had my bag I had to sit down. I sent a text to Kristin and said that I wasn't feeling good and needed to sit and stretch. I thought she would be waiting forever. She replied that she was still on the T and on her way. That made me feel better. A medic came up to me and asked if I was ok and if I needed to go the medic tent. I told him that I was just sick to my stomach. He got me out of the sun and told me to nibble on potato chips and sip down some water. He also said that if I had to throw up it was no big deal. They'd clean it up. I smiled after he said that. I slowly ate some potato chips and after 15 minutes felt a bit better. I started to walk to our meeting point, stopped, threw out my stuff and leaned over my bag. I thought I was going to lose it all. Thankfully putting my head down helped and I was able to get to where I needed to go. Sitting in real shade helped a lot. Kristin made it. She waited for almost four hours at mile 20 we didn't even see each other on the course. She is such a great friend. She had a soft pretzel and orange slices ready for me. After another 15 minutes I felt ready to go. I hobbled to the T. Thankfully the hotel was only two miles away from the finish line.
I took a nice long bath, then got ready. I didn't really want to eat, but knew I should. We went to a close Italian restaurant in the North End. I had some chicken noodle soup and was happy that it was a tiny little cup. Why can't I feel like eating is a chore everyday?
On Tuesday we walked to Whole Foods and grabbed some fresh fruit. We looked at each other and decided to take it easy. We went back to the hotel and took a nice long nap. After that we were ready to go. We went to check out Harvard and the Natural History Museum there. It was awesome. As soon as we excited the T we saw a long line at a frozen yogurt place named Pinkberry. We were totally game. It was divine. We went to Bertucci's for dinner. I was so excited to see that restaurant. Wayne and I ate there last year when we were in Boston.
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| Pinkberry |
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| Natural History Museum |
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| Natural History Museum |
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| Natural History Museum |
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| King and I |
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| Swan Boats at Boston Common |
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| In front of Massachusetts General Hospital. This one was for Wayne. :) |
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