At the finish line on Saturday, Apr 17, in case I didn't make it back there on Monday!
Meeting Bill Rodgers after a 2 hr wait
Bill signed my race bib
Bart Yasso tells stories fromhis book "My Life on the Run"
Boston is the "holy grail" of distance running it seems. A short year or so ago I am not really even sure I was aware of how many long distance runners had Boston as their ultimate goal. Not sure why I was not really aware of that but for some reason I don't think I really was. Yet after setting a goal in early 2009 of running a marathon by the end of that year and then joining a running group where other runners had similar goals I guess it was only natural that I'd have to look beyond that goal and set out to achieve the next one, which was not just to finish that next marathon in under 4 hrs but then to actually qualify for Boston.
2009 was a great year for running for me, setting a lot of PRs and winning a lot of age group awards in local races. I never thought it was possible and yet not only had I achieved all those things but also managed to qualify for Boston while running the NYC Marathon. I have to say I was not sure that anything could really ever measure up to actually running and doing well in NYC. The sheer fact of qualifying was really enough and to qualify in NYC, the race I'd really always wanted to run was just the best feeling. So it would really be untrue to say "wow, going to Boston was my big dream" because really NYC was that for me.
But how many chances do you get to run Boston? I'd guess not so many so I was determined to run it this year since I qualified and also registered just in time before it closed in record time (Nov 13th, I registered Nov 2nd, the day after NYC while still in bed in the hotel room!). Shortly after arriving back home I had booked a flight and hotel for Boston as well. Gee, now all I had to do was maintain my training through the coldest winter in a long time!
I have to say I did ok through January despite very cold temps (my hair actually froze under my hat once, as did my gatorade a few times) but when Feb rolled around, work and family commitments took priority and training fell behind. I toyed with the idea of postponing until next year. However in the end I decided that likely next year would not be any better than the present. When the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon was cancelled due to snow of all things, I was somewhat relieved but quickly that turned into concern as I felt still quite under prepared. I ran the Tobacco Road Half in late March and did quite well considering the lack of training. Still I recall finishing that and thinking OMG, how in the world was I going to do that times 2 in less than one month's time?! But it was when I had my last 20 mile run the week after that (I had only done a few this time and no 22 milers) which went terrible that I began to panic. I had not been running enough during the week and it showed. So I started to try to run a few times a week in the mornings before work to try to make up for this.
It was pretty late in the game for that (3 weeks to go) and while I am not sure it really helped much physically, mentally it made me feel a bit better to put some miles in aside from the long run. Yet these were quite slow and painful miles. Literally I could never get below 8:30 pace for 4 to 5 mile runs in the morning, no matter how hard I tried. And my knees would start to hurt at 2 miles and sometimes so badly I needed to stop for a few seconds several times during the run. This was not common for me so I wondered how I was going to pull Boston off. But as time went on and I didn't defer my entry, I was too far committed to do anything else but go and run.
A few weeks prior to Boston, Tom, a friend who was also running the race, emailed some ideas on things to do in Boston and some plans his running group had. As a project manager and natural planner, it was amazing that I didn't have any plans made and up until then was just going to "wing it" but I literally had no time to plan during those last few months. So when the opportunity came to join Tom and his friends for some events I was so glad to do that and not have to plan or think about it. It was so nice for a change for someone else to do that, so thanks to Tom and friends for that!
As Boston got closer, I did begin to feel more excited about it, but perhaps that was just the idea of having a few days away from work! I did kind of block out the whole marathon part of the trip. I was going to miss my family since they were not going, but on the other hand they would likely have been very bored with the things I wanted to do (running expo, seminars, etc). Before I knew it, it was Friday, April 16th and I was packing for my trip to leave early Saturday AM.
I got up really early and headed out, wondering what was in store. Would I have fun, would I finish, would I feel ok after the race, would it be as good as NYC, etc? At the airport it was quite obvious who the Boston Marathon attendees were. I talked briefly to a few folks but mainly just sat and observed who was there. I recognized some faces from local races but didn't really know anyone well enough to start a conversation. On the plane, however, I did chat a bit with a man who was heading there with his family to run his first Boston marathon. He had also run the Fall Second Empire series as I had so we discussed that a bit as well.
The flight went well and I was able to get to the hotel pretty quickly, check in early, and unpack. Although I was tired I got over that fast, same as in NYC, and was excited to head directly to the race expo to get my number, shirt and buy some Boston Marathon stuff. I figured out on my iPhone that the hotel was less than 2 miles from the expo so I decided to walk even though it was chilly and starting to rain. I dressed as warm as I could and headed out. I had been feeling like I was getting a bit sick a few days before leaving so had gotten some antibiotics just in case, since I had some fluid in my ear that could possibly turn into an ear infection. I also discovered Afrin nasal spray, recommended by the urgent care doc, which is amazing but because several MD friends have since warned me not to get hooked on it, I have stayed away from it since Boston. Still, can't believe how well it works! Ok so enough about Afrin. While I wanted to rest and not really run on Saturday I figured a walk would be ok as long as I dressed warm, so off I headed to the expo.
It was, in the end, a good idea to walk since it helped me to get to know the area better. I passed the finish line area and took some pictures (in case I didn't ever make it there on Monday!) and then found my way to the expo where I got my race bib and t-shirt. I headed into the expo which was quite crowded but I knew to expect that after being in NYC. It was literally hard to move through the crowd but I was focused on buying a few key Boston items. I felt, while it was quite bright, I had to have the official Boston jacket for that year. I also found one that was black with a silver logo on it and debated on whether to get both or just one. In the end I convinced myself I only really had one running jacket so could really use a few more, so I got both. Since the race shirt we got as a part of the entry fee was long sleeve, I found a short sleeve one that I liked and got that. And finally I couldn't resist the teddy bears with the Boston t-shirts and in fact got 3 of them (one for each kiddling and one for me!). The line was crazy long but moved incredibly fast. On the line I also got a free poster which was pretty cool. Later I found out that the fine print background of this poster actually had the names of ALL of the entrants of the race on it. Wow, the print was very light and tiny, but I did eventually find my name on there.
After exiting the Adidas store section of the expo I wandered around a while to a variety of booths, only to find I went in a small circle and saw a t-shirt I had forgotten I wanted to buy ever since I saw it in a catalog for the marathon. It was a green cotton tee with the Boston logo and some shamrocks across the front. So I did the dreaded thing of getting BACK into the long line which again went fast.
After this I noticed a line of people that were just hanging out and not moving so I asked what the line was for and the guy at the end said it was to get Bill Rodgers autograph. That sounded great to me so I got in line. Little did I know that while the line seems pretty short, Bill Rodgers is quite a friendly guy and likes to talk a lot to each person. Great if you are that person but perhaps not so much if you are at the end of the line. Still I didn't really have any agenda or plans so I stayed put. After about 2 hours I finally got to the front. It was so great to meet Bill Rodgers and to chat for a bit. He really seemed to want to know about each runner that waited in line for him. We talked about NYC and he told me that NYC was much harder than Boston, which I wanted to believe but was somehow still skeptical. Bill signed my poster and also my race bib and I had a few pics taken with my iPhone. It was pretty cool! As I am writing this I just remembered I also have the business card of a woman from Australia that I met while on the line to see Bill and I have yet to email her so I need to do that tomorrow. She also took some pictures of me with Bill.
By this time I had not had lunch but realized that the Runner's World seminar that Bart Yasso was giving was about to start. Right around this time Tom and his friend Darren also tracked me down so we all headed to Bart's seminar. He talked about his book, My Life on the Run. I had bought the book at the expo in NYC and he had signed it, but even though I had read the book the seminar was still very entertaining. His story about his Badwater experience was hilarious. I was so glad I went. After that I was torn between attending the next session on Chi/barefoot running OR going a few stops on the T to Brookline to the Publick House pub. It was a tough decision but in the end I chose the pub. Darren stayed for the seminar and Tom and I met up with his running group friends Dan and Robert and headed to the pub.
The train ride was good as was the pub. We tried several beers and appetizers and timed it perfectly to get back for dinner at the Atlantic Fish Company. Dinner was also very nice. Robert, Dan and Darren were fun to hang out with. Tom got to meet up with his cousin who was also running the race so that was pretty cool. After dinner I turned in to get some rest with no real firm plans for the next day. That is really unsual but I decided that keeping my options open and not committing to anything may be good for a change!
To be continued in part II...
