Thursday, April 20, 2006
The only complaint was that I didn't get to see my buddy Mackey, so I guess Smackalack I will just have to come up and visit you in Maine sometime soon before you leave. Oh yea, and runner's are officially the dorkiest set of athletes. What did I get myself into? They were all wereing there officiall Boston jackets and shirts and medals all over town and the airport! Humbleness is a virtue people.
Good times
This body is an amazing machine!!!!
Boston was an amazing experience. Beantown treated me right! It was so cool to have an entire city be filled with runners. The city celebrates what is called Patriot's Day. All businesses are closed and everyone just drinks and cheers people on for the marathon. Perfect.
Here are some play by play highlights:
Arrived on Sunday and went straight to the expo to pick up race number then went to a great little Italian restaurant with some other Orlando runners, most of whom I didn't know.
The next day the race started at 12:30 noon, which is weird for me since I was so used to waking up for races and running in the morning, so you have to eat a big breakfast to have enough energy to burn during the race, I call it strategic eating. So we walked from the hotel to the bus area where they ship you out to the starting line in a small town called Hopkinton and got dropped off to an area were they divide the different wave starts up into two different waiting areas. It was a pretty chilly morning, well at least for this Florida girl and we just put trashbags down and sat for about an hour and half, drinking gatorade and going to the bathroom, strategery! We then walked to the starting line and from there the race started out down hill, so you have to start out slow knowing that if you go as fast as you want you will burn your legs out for later. This is especially hard to do while going down hill. The first 5 miles I ran a 7:58 mile consistently. All I could think was "This is going be awesome!"
The crowds to me were amazing compared to the Disney Marathon. My favorite crowd moments are when we ran through Wellesley all girls college, they were screaming so loud!!! Guys were stopping to kiss them and one man beside me lifted up his shirt for them :)
Running through Boston college was cool too, I think it was around mile 15 or so and mile 20 was heartbreak hill. Which at the time I was thinking which one IS heartbreak hill because they were five hills during the second half of the race but this one is the most challenging for most people since it is usually the last hill, except for this year they added one after it. The whole course was either up hill or down it seemed. It was cool to see everyone lined up on the streets cheering for you. Families had set up water stations and some were handing out food like oranges, bananas and ice pops. At one point I saw cotton candy and I think that may be for the spectator crowd but who knows. My body and mind felt great the entire time for most part, mile 22 is were I really had to put mind over matter. I could feel my body shutting down but I just let my mind think of positive things and people. I thought about the crowd and how awesome this is to be a part of, and my Gammy, who I could just hear her shouting from heaven above saying "Go baby!", for those who don't know she is my pasted away grandma who came to just about every one of my cross country and track meets. At Fenway park at mile 25 I thought about Chris Quarles, since he is baseball dude and just thought about all the funny things he says and does to get my mind away from the pain in my legs. At the "1 mile to go" marker I picked up the pace and thought about my friend Jana, whom I looked up to so much in gymnastics and she is now paralyzed from the neck down. I finished strong and did it in 3:34.29, this was 7 minutes faster than I did Disney and I was really pleased since I gave myself a goal of doing it in 3:45. My school surprised me with posters and a gift cert for a message. I couldn't ask for better support and I can't wait til the Chicago marathon and doing Boston again next year.
Peace
Boston was an amazing experience. Beantown treated me right! It was so cool to have an entire city be filled with runners. The city celebrates what is called Patriot's Day. All businesses are closed and everyone just drinks and cheers people on for the marathon. Perfect.
Here are some play by play highlights:
Arrived on Sunday and went straight to the expo to pick up race number then went to a great little Italian restaurant with some other Orlando runners, most of whom I didn't know.
The next day the race started at 12:30 noon, which is weird for me since I was so used to waking up for races and running in the morning, so you have to eat a big breakfast to have enough energy to burn during the race, I call it strategic eating. So we walked from the hotel to the bus area where they ship you out to the starting line in a small town called Hopkinton and got dropped off to an area were they divide the different wave starts up into two different waiting areas. It was a pretty chilly morning, well at least for this Florida girl and we just put trashbags down and sat for about an hour and half, drinking gatorade and going to the bathroom, strategery! We then walked to the starting line and from there the race started out down hill, so you have to start out slow knowing that if you go as fast as you want you will burn your legs out for later. This is especially hard to do while going down hill. The first 5 miles I ran a 7:58 mile consistently. All I could think was "This is going be awesome!"
The crowds to me were amazing compared to the Disney Marathon. My favorite crowd moments are when we ran through Wellesley all girls college, they were screaming so loud!!! Guys were stopping to kiss them and one man beside me lifted up his shirt for them :)
Running through Boston college was cool too, I think it was around mile 15 or so and mile 20 was heartbreak hill. Which at the time I was thinking which one IS heartbreak hill because they were five hills during the second half of the race but this one is the most challenging for most people since it is usually the last hill, except for this year they added one after it. The whole course was either up hill or down it seemed. It was cool to see everyone lined up on the streets cheering for you. Families had set up water stations and some were handing out food like oranges, bananas and ice pops. At one point I saw cotton candy and I think that may be for the spectator crowd but who knows. My body and mind felt great the entire time for most part, mile 22 is were I really had to put mind over matter. I could feel my body shutting down but I just let my mind think of positive things and people. I thought about the crowd and how awesome this is to be a part of, and my Gammy, who I could just hear her shouting from heaven above saying "Go baby!", for those who don't know she is my pasted away grandma who came to just about every one of my cross country and track meets. At Fenway park at mile 25 I thought about Chris Quarles, since he is baseball dude and just thought about all the funny things he says and does to get my mind away from the pain in my legs. At the "1 mile to go" marker I picked up the pace and thought about my friend Jana, whom I looked up to so much in gymnastics and she is now paralyzed from the neck down. I finished strong and did it in 3:34.29, this was 7 minutes faster than I did Disney and I was really pleased since I gave myself a goal of doing it in 3:45. My school surprised me with posters and a gift cert for a message. I couldn't ask for better support and I can't wait til the Chicago marathon and doing Boston again next year.
Peace
Monday, April 10, 2006
Beantown or bust!
One week and counting!!!
I was reading this month's Runner's World (yes, there is really such a thing, and yes, I am a dork for reading it!) and they have a whole section dedicated to the marathon. An article was about two women who decided to dedicate each mile to someone in their life who has inspired them in some way. I thought it was a pretty cool idea, so I am stealing it. This way, I am not running for and by myself. I am really not putting any pressure on myself for this one, just being a part of the experience is enough. I have heard some stories about Fenway park and opening game for Red Sox, and how the girls at Wellesly college are screaming as loud as they can for you while running through it and the famous heartbreak hill at mile 20 (this year they have added another hill after this one) Thanks jerkstores, we really appreciate that. It is a mid day start so it should be fairly warm. I am ready -to feel like a rock star for 26.2 miles. Bring it!
I was reading this month's Runner's World (yes, there is really such a thing, and yes, I am a dork for reading it!) and they have a whole section dedicated to the marathon. An article was about two women who decided to dedicate each mile to someone in their life who has inspired them in some way. I thought it was a pretty cool idea, so I am stealing it. This way, I am not running for and by myself. I am really not putting any pressure on myself for this one, just being a part of the experience is enough. I have heard some stories about Fenway park and opening game for Red Sox, and how the girls at Wellesly college are screaming as loud as they can for you while running through it and the famous heartbreak hill at mile 20 (this year they have added another hill after this one) Thanks jerkstores, we really appreciate that. It is a mid day start so it should be fairly warm. I am ready -to feel like a rock star for 26.2 miles. Bring it!
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