Boston Marathon – The Official Recap

OK guys, so here it is… my official recap of the 115th Boston Marathon.

I really trained hard for this. I knew it was a big commitment, but at the same time, didn’t know exactly what I was in for when I signed on to do this. Honestly, I pointed and laughed at marathoners last year. I vividly remember it, which makes the fact that I ran this hysterical.

I woke up pretty early on Marathon Monday after a shockingly good nights sleep. Fixed my usual breakfast of coffee and a Clif Bar (I ate another before I ran too), what I tend to eat before long runs. I’d been chugging water and Gatorade for at least the past week, so felt hydrated. My mom picked me up so we could avoid the bus madness in Boston Common, then headed over to the South End to pick up Jake. Off we went to Hopkinton, where we went and chilled in the Hopkinton Town Hall with the rest of the Hopkinton Running Club. It’s worth joining the running club for the very reason of being able to wait inside right by the start line rather than Athletes Village (which Jake called, “a sea of piss and plastic bottles”). I’d like to avoid that. Inside, there was food, drinks, letters to decorate our shirts, and BATHROOMS WITH NO LINES!!

By the time 10:30AM rolled around, we went outside and took our places. I skipped ahead to the 5th corral to start with Jake and Patrick, my running buddies/coworkers/friends. All diferent types of peope surrounded us… “runners”, average Joes, middle aged heavy set Korean dudes. It was pretty funny.

OK, at this point, this could get to be a SUPER long post that no one reads, so I’m going to try to narrow this down by bullet point.

• Start of the race was super crowded and I couldn’t get the warmed up as I normally do. I was about 30 seconds slower than normal for the first three/four miles, greatly due to the fact there were so many people.
• It wasn’t “hot”, but going from training in 20 degrees to 40 degrees was tough. Thank goodness I wore shorts, although because I didn’t have on compression tights per usual, my shins and legs were really aching the first five miles.
• I never was able to get in a focused zone like I like to be when I run. I was never able to zone off into my music and “get it done.” To be honest (this sounds terrible), but I found the crowd to be almost distracting. So many signs, so many  unexpected cheers, things to hear, things to see. A lot of it was funny, a lot of it was great… but distracting at the same time.
• Because of the heat, I stopped WAY more than I would ever have. At least 7 times. I’d drink water and dump it on my head and back.
• The volunteer were awesome.
• The 21 miler that I did a few weeks back was MUCH easier than the first 21 miles of the actual marathon, I’m sure due to the fact that I couldn’t concentrate and I was also really fucking hot.
• There were so many times I wanted to walk, especially going up Heartbreak Hill when so many people WERE walking. I didn’t do it!

A friend of mine told me to keep note of all the funny sights and sounds on my route. Some of them:

• Tons of people wearing Staples Easy Button costumes in Framingham. I hit one. It was a joke.
• Bike bar in Ashland was awesome. At least 100 bikers hammered at 11AM singing Sweet Caroline.
• Stuff spectators were handing out that was AWESOME – ice, Freeze Pops, mini cups of water.
• The b.good burger passing me when I was running. I knew it was bad when that happened.
• Sonic the Hedgehog ran by me.
• So did Where’s Waldo
• Some shirts that read “are we having fun yet?” and “this seemed like a good idea… yesterday.”
• A legit runner with a number chugging a Naraganset with a bunch of BC kids.
• Funny signs about free beer, people being drunk, people handing out Jello shots.
• Lots of drums. Drum sets, African drums, bongo drums… drums.
• Seeing so many of my friends on the course which I totally didn’t expect! It was great!

I wouldn’t say I ever hit a serious wall like a lot of marathoners suddenly hit. Honestly, after mile 21 and ogoing into mile 22, it sucked… those last four miles were tough. But I never thought I had to stop, didn’t think I couldn’t finish, legs didn’t cramp up, I didn’t keel over, no need for any downward dogs or running/walking techniques. If I had to, I could have kept going past the finish line. I would have been slow as eff, but it would have been a run. I COULD have “run” 30 miles IF I really wanted to. Which I didn’t.

My main takaways from the marathon? I’m so happy I did it. In some ways, it was the worst day of my life (toughest physical challenge by far), in some ways, it was the best. The support I had was incredible. People I didn’t think cared about me proved they actually do. Some people I thought cared actually didn’t. Would I do it again? Not sure. I’m pissed about my time of 4:12:06… I’d like to beat it. I’m competitive. But to be honest, I didn’t get the energy from the crowds, the adrenaline rush from the cheers, the feeling of sobbing as I took a left onto Boylston Street. It was cool and all, it really was… but I don’t know if I “got it”.

From hereon out, I don’t know if Sara Runs Boston. I’m sure I’ll run again, but for now, I’m taking some time off. I can’t wait to do weights again, bike, take fun classes, and not have a running schedule control my life. It’s funny how the control I craved in the beginning with the schedule is something I am now dying to get away from. We’ll see what happens.

Best Cheerleaders - Molly and Steph

I SURVIVED!

I am happy to say that all the early morning Saturday runs, pain, wind in my face, blisters on my feet, horrific chafing all over my body (overshare) were worth it. I finished the 115th Boston Marathon yesterday! More on that in a bit, but before I give the full race recap, here’s the playlist I ran to yesterday… dedicated to my new favorite Twitter buddy and cheerleader, Laura!

My favorite songs are highlighted in blue. If you can’t find some of the songs on your regular music sites, let me know. I have a secret site that’s AWESOME 😉

The Bib Number Handoff

What a whirlwind of a week. WOW. TGI effing F!!

I am beyond exhausted and wish I had more energy to write, but I’ll do the best I can. This week’s traveling was a ton of fun on a professional and personal level – I’m a huge fan of Chicago; the people are so nice, the city is beautiful, and TONS of yummy food! We ate at yummy restaurants like XOCO and Girl and The Goat, both by Top Chef chefs. I don’t think I’ll ever have shitake gelato or pork fat donuts again. Both sound gross, but tasted amazing!

Today’s second flight was delayed so I ended up getting into Boston later than I had anticipated. I met Jake at the Hynnes Convention Center where we picked up our numbers. Apparently this is the big deal in the marathon journey, and people were snapping pictures during the “handoff”. We decided it was only right if we also documented this event (OK, honestly, it was weird).

I was a little disappointed with the expo. I’m not sure what I was looking for exactly, but I thought it would be more interactive, sampling, fun, demonstrative, rather than so sales-y. I didn’t end up buying anything, although I got a few samples of some fun stuff… can never turn down Lara Bars!

I’m sorry to say that I cancelled attending the brunch of the town I’m raising funds for. To be honest, I am so tired and will not allow myself to have trained so hard to be tired for Monday. The brunch is at 9AM and  I have a wedding to attend in Newport, RI at 3PM. I just need to sleep, relax, and not stress over timing and getting from one place to another. Perhaps this was selfish, but if you know me, I keep my commitments and I never cancel (except for, again, earlier this week… UGH, sorry Kim!).

Eyes are closing  and I’m ready to hit the hay. More tomorrow…

Days until the Boston Marathon – THREE!!!!!!!

Marathon Music

Music is KEY to my running… and while so many people have said that to “experience” the Boston Marathon, you shouldn’t listen to an iPod… well, don’t tell me what to do.

In all honesty, I’ll probably start out with music, see how it goes/the crowd is, and finish off with one ear bud in.

ANYHOO, I need some musical suggestions. Shoot! Anything upbeat, pop, trancey/rave/zone-OUT music. Please!

SEVEN DAYS!!

Pre-Marathon Goals

The marathon is in eight days. EIGHT DAYS! I can’t believe it. Finally, finally, all the training will pay off and I’ll achieve this crazy-ass goal I never thought I’d ever accomplish, much less attempt.

This week and weekend is not idea to prepare for a marathon. Work will undoubtedly be stressful, involve some travel, and then I have a super-busy weekend including a Saturday afternoon/evening wedding. Yikes.

My goals for the week include:

1.) REST as much as possible. To be honest, I am the priority this week. I already canceled social plans on Tuesday (I never cancel) and need to find ways to relax and save as much energy for the big day as possible.

2.) Nutrition. Just eat clean and healthy. No carboloading persay, but try and incorporate more carbohydrates into my meals.

3.) Booze. Just no more booze.

4.) Hydration. Drink water and watered down Gatorade constantly.

5.) Cry it out. I have a lot of emotions right now and I’m sick of bottling it up. So I’m going to cry when I want, as much as I want. BAM.

Any other pre-marathon goals I should keep in mind?

 

Ready to Run

My “taper” has officially begun, and while I’m psyched not to be running as much, I’m eager to just get the marathon DONE. I know I can do it, and the fact that I have to wait another 2.5 to complete it is tough! This week, I’ve really been focused on getting in some solid, mid-length runs and focusing on nutrition and eating more wholesome, nutritious foods. Yesterday and today I ran six solid miles at a good pace and felt pretty tired afterwards.

As I mentioned before, I was using the excuse of “running a marathon” for eating poorly… like the most nachos I’ve ever consumed in my life. Honestly, I know carbs are important, but the more carbs I eat, the more SUGAR I crave, so I’ve gone back to eating fewer carbs, which has had a positive impact on my general cravings and overally eating habits over the past few days. Would love some suggestions as to how to get my fill of carbs without craving sugar… because honestly, whether it’s white or wheat bread, brown or white bread, it doesn’t matter… I want SWEETS.

This week has been mentally exhausting and I’m ready to turn in and be done. With that, I’m signing off…

21 Miles (Away)

I was very, very nervous about today. So nervous, in fact, that I nearly started crying in the center of Hopkinton. One guy even asked me, “What’s wrong? Are you OK?” Um, no… serious, serious anxiety going into this run. 

But guess what? It went AWESOME! The energy of the run was great, and the water stops were really helpful. It’s true when they say that the marathon doesn’t really start until mile 16, because before that, there’s not a ton of elevation change except for a lot of downhill. In fact, the first few miles are nearly all downhill. There’s also quite a few areas of flat road which were nice for a change. I’ve been training on nearly all hills compared to the marathon, so it’s a nice “surprise.”

I’m still adamant that the hill by the Newton firehouse should be changed to Heartbreak Hill, because that by FAR is harder than the actual Heartbreak Hill. This run, there was no walking and I was able to make it up Heartbreak Hill without feeling like I was going to die.

It was great running with the Hopkinton Running Club, as they provided tons of food after the run (Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies, amazing… for some reason I crave chocolate chip baked goods when I run!), as well as transportation back to Hopkinton. It was crazy sitting in the bus, thinking we’d just run ALL THAT WAY. I’ll never think of the Mass Pike beteween Boston and 495 the same again!

Following the run, Jake and I made the most of our Zip Car and had an awesome lunch at Met Bar and Grill, followed by some suburb activities… you know, grocery shopping, buying linens (that was HIS doing), and other random shiz you just can’t do that easily when you live in Beacon Hill or the South End.

We did it!

My goal for the marathon is not to walk. My second, and very lofty goal, is to finish at 4 hours. Seeing as I finished my half marathon in under 2, I should be able to do this… yes? I will admit that I haven’t been as aggressive on my downhill running as I could be, as I’m trying to save more energy for the flats and hills… wondering what would happen if I pushed the envelope a little more? Thoughts on what I can do to increase my speed just a bit between now and April 18th?

Oh and can I just mention that I run up Heartbreak Hill listening to “…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears? This is somewhat significant ONLY because I’d listen to this on repeat over and over on the bus in high school on our way to gymnastics meets to get pumped up. Just sayin’

Days until the Boston Marathon: 22

20 Miles Away (Again)

Let me just tell you, yesterday’s run REALLY sucked for the following reasons:

Horrible Splits 😦

1.) I completely overdressed for the temperatures and was really hot the entire time.

 

2.) I ran four miles on Friday. I don’t normally run more than two miles before my long runs. It didn’t help my situation.

3.) My diet the past week has been a mess – less than nutritious, and I could tell by how slow I was. I need to stop using the excuses of “I’m running the marathon” or “Oh, I ran 10 miles today” as a reason to carboload, eat lots of sugar, etc.

4.) I poached water from TWO charity stops. THANK YOU a million times over, but I felt bad for taking their water.

5.) Why was my run so horrible? Well, this may not sound like a huge deal to you readers, but it is to me. My #1 goal when I run? Not to walk. Not to walk a mile. Not to walk 10 feet. Well peeps, I walked. I walked for about a minute. Maybe I’m being too hard on myself, but when this is my one and only goal, something that should NOT be difficult (because, it’s pretty easy to job really, really slowly), I felt terrible.

There’s only one long run left until the actual marathon, and I’m going it next Sunday with the group that I wrote about before. We’ll be covering the first 21 miles of the marathon and ending at Boston College. I’m now learning the importance of being properly hydrated, and how much faster I am without my fuel belt… so having those water stops will be great.

FYI – Mile 14 was where I walked. Mile 17 was when I stopped and downed a ton of water at a water stop.

LESS THAN A MONTH until the Boston Marathon!!

Product Review – AromaGo

A few months ago, I met Kyle, a co-founder of a company called AromaGo. Kyle is an athlete and runner just like me (wait, did I just call myself a runner? I’m not a runnER. I just run), and has combined his passion for business, athletics, and healthy living into this aromatherapy product. I’m pretty neutral when it comes to aromatherapy products… I’ve bought some in my life and never been able to pinpoint a new benefit, but if something smells good and has a claim… I’ll give it a shot.

AromaGo comes in a few varieties, considering I do my long runs at the ass-crack of dawn on Saturday mornings (I have a fear of getting hit by a car, among other things… avoid traffic), I thought it was appropriate for me to bring along my Revive stick. It was really small and fit perfectly in the pouch of my fuel belt. Sweet.

Truthfully, I forgot about my AromaGo stick until I went for my Clif Shot Bloks at about mile 10. I decided it wouldn’t hurt to add a little excitement to my run in the form of scent. I awkwardly unscrewed the cap (it was a little tough to do while running) and took a big inhale from the top. Initially, an overwhelming smell of peppermint, followed by eucalyptus. Apparently there’s also “borneol”and “camphor” but… I have no idea what those are so I am unable to identify them.

Did I feel an immediate jolt of energy after I inhaled the AromaGo? Not really. Did it make my run more enjoyable? Yes. Did I find myself going for fewer Clif Shot Bloks and instead, inhaling my AromaGo? Absolutely. To my knowledge, there’s inhalable substitute for electrolyes (and I probably should have been more careful), because I found myself keeping the AromaGo clutched in my hand and inhaling it every few minutes. It certainly didn’t hurt my run, although I wish that when I tried to apply it to my upper lip and nose, it actually stayed there (I sweated it off… what can I say, I sweat a LOT).

There you have it, folks. If you’re  fan of affordable, compact aromatherapy products that can either wake you up (Revive) or help you relax (Relax), this is the perfect product for you. AromaGo is mainly available in NYC, but you can also place orders through their website… and if you’re nice, I’ll give you Kyle’s email address, and he can likely arrange for in-person pickup and payment in Boston.

Days until the Boston Marathon: 33

 

Fundraiser Recep!!

My and Jake’s fundraiser party was not only a ton of fun, but a great fundraising success! We’re both much closer to our fundraising goals than before, and it was absolutely amazing the friends who came to support us and how generous they were with their financial contributions. A very informal THANK YOU to everyone who came… formal thank-yous are coming in the mail shortly!

Tom, one of my coworkers, is also a very talented photographer, and his donation to us was his photography for the evening. How amazing is that?!

Karen and Alaina were amazing helpers with the raffle prize process. They’re inspirations themselves – double digit weight losses for each of them, and half marathon runners. Go Alaina and Karen!

Karen & Alaina

For the raffle, we ended up giving everyone 1 ticket for every $5 they donated, where they then got to choose where to place their ticket(s). We had so, so many great raffle prizes, and I swear I didn’t rig the raffle drawing, even though most of my close friends won at least one of the raffle prizes… including my mom and Steph, who both agreed bring me along to their tasting dinners. Woohoo!!

The food was so, so good. Everyone was raving about it, especially the cornbread (per usual!). Brian also prepared these really delicious fig and cheese crostinis… “off menu” specials just for Jake and I. Thanks again, Brian!

The funniest part of the night was certainly Steph’s horn helmet that she got with the beer crawl tickets she won. The best part was when we discovered the horns LIT UP. Woohoo!

Pretending to be tough guys

Oh yeah, and then I decided it would be a lot of fun inhale the helium and sing early 90’s pop hits…

The party alone was so fun that I’d consider throwing another one just for the good times, great company, and delicious food! Or, on another hand, maybe I should just throw an AFTER-marathon party to celebrate my crawl over the finish line?

Thanks again, everyone!

Days until the Boston Marathon: 36