Boston: Success!

Boston was awesome. AWESOME! I actually kept saying that over and over in my head as I was running. Never in my life could I have imagined feeling such excitement and happiness while running 26.2 miles. Here's a recap of race day:

Woke up at 4:45 and hopped in the shower. Consumed breakfast, dressed, checked out of the hotel, and made it to the Riverside T by 5:45.

Tom and I arrived in the heart of Boston and got in line for the buses. Don't tell anyone, but Tom wasn't supposed to be in there with me. After a short wait I said goodbye to Tom and boarded the bus. The ride was long, but was manageable. It gave me the opportunity to calculate how many buses were needed to get all 28,000 runners to the start: 584.

My first stop when I got off the bus? The bathroom.  I don't even want to do the math for how many port-a-potties were needed for all of us. That just gets gross. Moving on - it was a sunny morning, but the wind was blowing 20mph! Do you know how tired I am of running in wind?!

I found a plot of grass and camped out for a few hours. And shivered. Cold air and I just don't get along. At 9:30 I was allowed to drop my bag off and head to the start. I wasn't nervous or even thinking about the race. I was more excited about what was happening and how many great runners were around me.

Ryan Hall  - finished with a time of 2:04:58

Unlike Burlington I had no clue that the race had started. At 10:20 we began our walk to the start and were off! I am still in shock over how many people were in front of me. Oh - and that wind? Never felt it because we were running with it! For the first time in weeks it was working in my favor.

I saw the Wizard of Oz gang, Santa Clause, a guy in a gorilla suit and even Nacho Libre. I paced off of "the anorexic twins", a nickname I gave to two girls that had amazing pace. They got me through the hills and mile 18, where I usually experience a mental breakdown.

Tom's hangout point at mile 17

And Heartbreak hill? How about You-won-my-heart Hill? I actually loved it! Running Main Street in Montpelier is more difficult than that thing. In fact, a guy next to me asked the spectators if it was really Heartbreak because neither of us could believe it.

The coolest part? Well, there were three. Cool Part #1: Running through the Boston College cheering crowd after Heartbreak. Not only had I just found out that the hardest part was over, but I was now running through a high-energy-crazy-loud (-most-likely-really-drunk) crowd of college students. I found myself high-fiving spectators and unable to take the smile off my face. I was more than ready to tackle the few remaining miles.

Cool Part #2: Being able to recognize my friend Rachael in the crowd of millions as I got into the city. She clearly is an amazing cheerer if she was able to get my attention.

Cool Part #3:  Turning the last corner and seeing the finish line in view. Talk about adrenaline! That finish line was my water in a desert and my pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. My mind kept repeating "this-is-so-awe-some!" Usually it's "can I stop now?"

The hardest part was walking through the crowd to collect my food, superhero cape, medal, and belongings. It was pretty easy to find Tom. It was the first time he's been with me during a marathon and I can't thank him enough for all his help all weekend.

What I learned:

1. GU is amazing - I need at 1 before and 3 during a marathon. 
2. Not having to talk or see spectators that I know seems to work in my favor. So does not knowing the race course.
3. ALWAYS wear sunblock, especially if you're running 26.2 miles in ONE direction. One sided sunburns aren't cool. 
4. It's OK to eat lots of food the day before a race. And a cupcake certainly doesn't hurt either ;)
5. The only goal I should set is to finish and have a good time. Races are much more enjoyable when you're not worried about time.

Chocolate caramel cupcake and Peeps cupcake from Sweet

Boston: Marathon Weekend is Here

I think my mind is finally starting to realize that I'm running Boston in two days. I had a dream last night and in it I was running a good portion of the 26.2 miles on a treadmill with one of my co-workers (somehow that was allowed?). When I got off the treadmill I went into a Hannaford but couldn't get out. The store was so large that I couldn't find the exit. I was worried that I'd never finish the race.

Hopefully none of that will happen Monday.

Because I've never run or watched the Boston marathon I have no clue what the course looks like. Of course I know to expect hills at the end, right where it hurts, but that's about it. It was very helpful to find this site last night. It allowed me to visualize the race in only a few minutes. It was way easier and less painful to do it this way than actually running it. An it certainly got me excited for what I'll encounter.

Tom and I are heading to Boston this afternoon. I'm packing - trying to think of anything that I may want when I'm down there. I'm so set in my routines that I'm even bringing my toaster. I don't want to take any chances.

Wilson must think I'm absolutely nuts to bring it along. You see, I neeeeeeeeed toast with peanut butter and bananas every morning. Oh - and  I definitely can't forget a huge glass of milk. Monday morning may call for chocolate milk....

If any of you are into athlete tracking, my bib number is 14591. You can sign up for alerts here. Like I've said before, I'm not shooting for a PR. I just want to enjoy this experience. I'll let you know how it goes!

St. Patty's Day Oreos

Meet my sneakers:

And meet my legs:

(Yes, I intentionally put two different colored socks on before I went running.)

In 30 days we'll be meeting all 26.2 miles of the Boston Marathon.Yikes!

This time change and warmer weather over the last few days has made me feel so much more alive. I walked out of work Thursday and couldn't stop smiling. And as the photo shows - I got to break out my running shorts again. 

Not only did this week bring longer days, spring-like weather, daffodils for my desk, and geese flying north, it also brought Saint Patrick's Day!

A couple of weeks ago a co worker gave me a bottle of Mexican vanilla when she returned from Mexico. When she handed it to me I knew immediately what I wanted to make: oreos!!

The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen. To add a little holiday flair I added green food coloring to the frosting. I could easily taste the difference in the vanilla in the frosting. I love the crunchiness of the cookies and also the fact that they can't last on the shelf for months on end. Two separate people (Tom being one of them) said that they tasted like Lucky Charms.

It's a good thing I'm training for Boston because it's impossible to have only one of these little things.