All in for Boston: Part 2

MARATHON MORNING 

I met a bunch of MN friends to ride the bus out to Hopkinton together early in the morning.  My wave didn’t start until 10:20, but we have to board the buses at about 6 am, so it definitely makes for a long day.  Watching all of the runners converge on the Boston Common with their BAA issued yellow bags slung over their shoulders, clutching coffee, Gatorade, snacks … all heading toward an endless line of school buses truly is spectacular!  Our group ended up squishing together at the very back of the bus which of course led to many stories about mischief on the bus as we made our way out to Hopkinton.

We arrived at the Athlete’s Village, which is like a big party … music, food, announcements and an excited buzz in the air!  We settled down with a big group of friends from my online Boston group .. sharing hugs, race strategy and goals, hugs and smiles.  The announcer reminded us not to pet the dogs “working” the village and informed us that there was one yellow Labrador there that we could pet.  We joked about us all being so nervous pre-race that the B.A.A. had arranged for a therapy dog for us!  Little did we know how prophetic these announcements would be.

Before we knew it, our wave was being called to the Start corral.  I ran into several friends as my MN buddies and I walked to the corrals.  My friend Leah commented, “Do you know everyone who runs this race??”  It does truly feel like a family reunion as I have come to know more people each year! 

The gun sounded and we were off!  I ran with Mike and Leah for awhile, but soon they were hitting paces that were a bit fast for my comfort level early in the race and I was determined to stick with my plan to go out slowly for fear of my tibia bothering me.

This is the greatest race because the spectators have a block party for 26.2 miles along the course.  I

Oldest Fire House in Boston
(just down the street from the Finish)

high fived little kids, cheered for the huge mass of bikers at the biker bar at about mile 3.  When we arrived in Framingham, the Fire Department had extended their huge ladder over the course and two fire fighters were sitting atop it waving and smiling at the runners!  It was so fun to catch their eye and wave at them for a big boost!  All through these miles I was sticking pretty close to an 8 minute pace and feeling good.  My calves that had been super tight all weekend weren’t complaining, my tibia felt fine, and I was feeling pretty confident. 

I wore my new monarch butterfly InknBurn tank and shorts.  So many people complimented me on how colorful my outfit was.  I wore this outfit because when you see a monarch butterfly, according to Mexican legend, it is the soul of someone you love who has died.  I knew this was going to be a tough race for me with my leg, so I wore this outfit to share the race with my little David, to honor my great friend Lena, and simply to gather what strength I could to endure 26.2 miles! 

The Wellesley co-eds were hiliarious!  So many fun signs, “Kiss me, I’m already pregnant,” “Kiss me, it’s my first time (marathon)” etc.  Watching the male runners vear over to the side of the road to kiss a coed is very entertaining and their screams are deafening.  My friend Leah had written Mom of 5 Boys on my shoulder blade in the Athlete’s Village … so it was very fun when runners came up behind me and commented on it.  One mom said, “And I hope those boys know their mom is kicking some serious ass out here!” 

I then started gathering strength and resolve to deal with the Newton Hills, which, in the past, have been a struggle for me.  All of the sudden, around mile 14, my right calf (opposite leg of my injured one!) started barking at me.  I could feel it seizing and started worrying the hills were going to be ugly.  As the first hill approached, I tried to increase my turnover but slow my pace to baby the calf.  The pain wasn’t bad on the uphill, but holy cow, on the downhill, it felt like a hot knife stabbing into it.  At this point, I started getting really cranky.  I thought back to last year, when it was 90 degrees and I had to walk/run the remainder of the marathon from about mile 17 and was ticked off that it felt like that was the direction I was heading.  I vowed to slow way down but refused to walk a single step. Plus I was terrifying if I started walking, the calf would complete lock up and I wouldn’t be able to start running again!

Finally I made it to the base of Heartbreak Hill…. The notorious last of the 4 hills in Newton.  I was bound and determined to run up it but my calf was saying otherwise.  I was searching desparately in the crowds for my friend Lena and her family as I knew they’d be out there cheering.  I saw them and ran over for a quick but awesome hug from Lena, shouting at her, “This f-ing sucks, don’t ever do this!”  She laughed and said, “love you babe” and sent me on my way.  Seeing her was just what I needed … I calmed down and said to myself, “ok, Mia (Lena’s daughter who died) and David are going to get you up this hill.”  I pictured two little butterflies grabbing the straps of my monarch tank top and flying me up the hill.  I have not felt David’s spirit that closely in such a long time, but I truly did feel him and little Mia bringing me to the top of that hill, and more importantly, making me realize how grateful and blessed I am to be able to run this amazing race that so many only dream to run.  At that moment I decided I could be a crabby bitch and piss and moan my way to Boston with legs that were hurting like crazy or I could have fun and squeeze every ounce of joy I could out of this race…. I chose the later!

Boston college was up next – even more special because Bailey and I had just spent the day there on Friday.  I high fived every college kid along the fence line – almost getting knocked on my butt several times by the guy athletes as they were giving some vigorous high fives.  One girl yelled, “Awesome arms” to me as I passed – which of course put a little spring in my step!!  I had hoped to grab a beer to enjoy on the course since I was not longer racing (and maybe it’d dull the pain) but I didn’t see any of the kids holding one out!

Next up, the Citgo sign by Fenway park! I knew the Sox fans would bring me energy to get me to mile 25.5, where I knew my friends would be waiting with cannoli at our infamous Canolli Corner!  I was searching the sky for the orange balloons they had talked about using so we could find them more easily … struggling on really really crabby legs at this point … when all of the sudden I saw our group.  It think I was just barely able to focus on seeing Amy and then I think it was Troy who shoved a cannoli in my hands.  I was barely coherent enough to process all of this at that point, but I (hope) I said THANKS and kept on going.  Despite my calf being on fire, my quads screaming at me and generally feeling pretty exhausted, I approached the turn from Hereford onto Boylston, with the deafening roar of the crowds and raised my cannoli high in the air to pose for a photo by the professional photographer!  Shortly after turning onto Boylston, I realized I could still go sub 3:40 and make a BQ-5 for next year so I sucked it up and tried to pick up the pace.  I heard friends screaming “CHRIS!!!” on my left – and turned to see Adam and gang cheering for me!  They were exactly what I needed and I muscled through to the finish!  Crossing the line was, once again, the biggest thrill, even if I had not run the race I hoped.  Don’t get me wrong, I was thrilled I finished, that my tibia had behaved, but of course, there is always that part of you that wants to run hard and feel good at the finish.

I ran into another friend from our group in the finisher’s chute, which was fun.  Several medics came up to me as I limped my way through the chute, trying to convince me to take a ride in a wheelchair to the medical tent.  I finally smiled at the last one who was trying so hard to get me into a wheelchair and said, “Thank you, really I’m fine, I’m just hurting .. save that for someone who really needs it.”  (Now I shudder when I think of those words).