Hi all. Just thought I would write a note about my Boston experience. This is going to be long (I can tell before I finish the first paragraph) so feel free to delete at any time. Before the race, I had hope to write "I came, I ran, I did great!" Now I have a whole bunch more to write!

My experience this year was quite different from last year. Lots of people must have fed the Bear because it stayed away from me. This year, I enjoyed the course and was aware of the crowds and even welcomed their enthusiasm. It was overwhelming still but I could better control my reaction to the crowds. And there is, of course, that small matter of training, which should not be overlooked. Yes. I decided an innovative approach to running a marathon... train and prepare.

My goal this year was simple: Finish better than I had last year. My good friend Pam Bashian of the NEPs pushed me to name my goals until I admitted that a 5:14 would be slightly sweet. She wasn't about to accept that at all since I had done that at Martian while walking 6.2 miles of it! So I told her that a realistic goal was 4:55 but I was going to be happy with 4:59:59. My "jump up and down goal" was a 4:50. And finally, my secret dream of dream, stretch goal was a 4:45. My long training runs had pointed to a 4:50 but I wasn't sure. My heart would burst with a 4:45 but it would mean I would have to run faster than I had in training. I know you are supposed to do this, but I never had, so this was merely a fleeting thought in the dark recesses of my somewhat deranged mind. Of course, I can rationalize almost anything but this was something I couldn't begin to fathom because I was sure that the gods were watching and if I had been so bold as to even consider it, they would have a good joke at my expense!

Monday morning, I got up at 5:15. HELLOOOO!!! What was I THINKING??? :o( I had slept lightly and I remembered upon waking that before I fell asleep, I was lying still listening to my heart beat ... trying to slow it down...trying to rest... Sigh... It was a good thing that JoeB had told me at the Saturday night encounter to get some sleep - that it was the most important night, not Sunday night but Saturday night. He was right. (He also tried to get me to eat - handed me a plate... checked on me 30 minutes later, found me with empty plate in hand, and admonished me to EAT! Okay! I heard you the first time!) I wore my orange singlet that Harriet had bought for me, my DRS hat that had given me good luck at the 5k the weekend before, and my favorite Mizunos I had trained the Newton Hills in.

Daniel Wellner from New York and I rode on the L-street club bus. We met up with Pam, Cheryl Link from Ohio and Nangel Lindberg from LA in the club bus parking lot behind Colella's Market in Hopkinton. Cher and Nangel were able to hitch a ride with Pam and her club. We sat there and chit chatted about the race, the run, training, and the weather. The weather was a favorite topic all weekend, in fact. The morning was gray but we were safe and warm on our bus.

Around 10AM I ate breakfast. Someone said that the weather was supposed to stay overcast, foggy, cold, until about 2pm. We were very happy about this turn of events.

Around 10:30, Val Burgos came to find me. She had a message for me from Harriet. JoeB had tried to call me on my cell phone to wish me luck :o)) but he had gotten Harriet instead. (I had given Harriet my phone in case hers ran out while she volunteering at the finish with Medical). I was bummed out at having missed him so I thought I would give it a shot and try to find a needle in a haystack and went looking for him. I found the BAA buses but no JoeB. :o( But I decided that it was still good luck even though I didn't see him in person that morning.

Around 11AM, Daniel and I took my bag over to the baggage bus. It was a long way away and the thought that corral 17 was the last one before the bandits was unreal until I actually saw it walking to the bus. Then it was extremely sobering. The distance from the corral to the start was almost a mile! I knew it would take me over 15 minutes to get to the start. Last year I had actually gotten into the corral. This year, I was waiting closer to the turn onto Grove Street and was going to jump in when the 17000 numbers showed up.

It was time to line up at the start.We made our way toward the bend onto Grove Street. At some point, Cher and I lost the others as we made our way up a little further - we were nervous about doing this so we thought it
would be a bit less conspicuous if we didn't wait at the 6000 corral!

By the time the race started and the time we jumped in, I had to go to the bathroom 3 times! Cher and I jumped in the second we saw a 17000 number. It took almost 17 minutes to cross the start.

From the beginning, I knew it was going to be different this year. First, I had Cher with me. She was right there. If I felt any anxiety, I could look to my left and she was right there. It was cool! I also knew the crowds were overwhelming so I could control my response. I decided that attitude was going to be important right away and decided to smile and wave and have a great time. I had a minimum goal and that was to finish with a smile on my face. If nothing else happened for me that day, this was an admirable goal and I was going to do it. I also knew I had trained and I had a lot of people pulling for me.

I hear Joe's voice. I look over my shoulder, he's not there. I know that. But I hear him. Enjoy this day.... It's yours... you trained hard... It's like he's there, glued to my shoulder.

Cher and I stayed together for the early miles. The weather held for us - the gods were smiling. The early mile splits were too fast. I was taking a 1:30 walk break through each mile marker because (1) it's what I do (2) I drink (3) and I rest my legs a bit. So, the early miles of actually RUNNING was way faster than I had done before... it was like a series of sprints. I had also worn my HRM but it zoomed up right away. Toward the end it said that I was running around 87% of max and I was so annoyed that I shut the sound off. Phew! Much better. But in the later miles, I was closer to 90%. I think the stupid thing is broken. Sheesh.

The miles splits were as follows. If you aren't a detail person, you can skip it:
1 9:48 - I look at Cher and we don't say anything but we know what the other is thinking. Sharp downhills... arg! Slow down!!!
2 9:55 - Tried to slow down... too fast too fast - need to slow down! Legs are not cooperating though.
3 9:52 - too fast, I think about Joe... he's where? Mile 5?? Mile 6 almost? Jeeeze... I hit 5k and I think about my split being sent over the wire to the internet. I think that some people may be tracking me... I am thinking that someone might see that I am doing better than I did last year.
4 9:51 - too fast
5 10:15 - better but still too fast...What the hell...
6 9:53 - shoot. Maybe we should just flow and see what happens, take advantage of the weather. I hit the 10K in Framingham, I count down the towns... 6 towns to go...
7 10:07 - better...but, left knee is hurting... WHY??? I am running on the right side of the road. I trained on the left side of the road - switch sides... knee pain goes away
8 10:23 - I am way ahead. This is okay. It's still cool and overcast... Supposed to take a salt, I'll wait. It's cool...
9 10:29 - Still ahead... fog looks like it's lifting... uh-oh... when should I take salt?? My left Gluteus Medius is tightening... uh oh... never happened before... shoot. I hit the 15 k split... It's looking good...
10 10:29 - Cher and I are still hanging within sight of each other.. she looks GREAT! My stomach feels funny... time to take a salt.
11 10:40 - stomach is distending.. what IS THIS?? OMG! It looks like I have a beer belly!
12 10:20 - I am thirsty by I feel sloshing... uh-oh
13 10:29 - Half marathon PR! ACK!!!
14 10:57 - It's getting HOT! Sun is out, clouds are clearing.
Shoot. Take a Salt... my gut is not emptying... not a good sign.. I start washing down at the water tables. Once cup for one arms, one cup for my head and neck, one cup to drink. This takes time but I feel better. It's a ritual at every water table.
15 11:43 - I feel good except for my gut... still sloshing around. Slow mile. Shoot. And I was doing so well...
16 10:47 - Time is better. I see Lauren and Milt (friends from Ohio). I stop and tell Lauren my gut is not emptying... I don't know what to do... Lauren offers to walk with me a bit, I tell her no, I can't deal with that...It's almost to the hills...I start drinking just water... what was the matter with me! What was I thinking??
17 12:24 - Slow mile but there was a big fat hill in it!!! I run around the corner to the firehouse...What time it is? Can I still make a sub-5?? I think of Joe. Is he finished? I hear him... don't worry about me.. keep running! Use your arms! Ok! OK OKOK !!! What a NAG!!! It works. :o)
18 11:56 - It flattens out a bit and I am tired tired tired. But I've done this part a hundred times! I know these hills... My gut is full of water so I am merely sipping now. I also decide to walk more because I did something stupid (like not take the salt when I should have) and now I can't make it up these hills and finish strong too. My fingers are swollen. Hot hot hot...I am tired and I forget the arms.
19 11:02 - New strategy. I run half way up, and then when I get tired I walk up the hill and at the crest I run all out down and through the flat portion...Still hot...Right at Newton City Hall. I think about the Crude Run... and the fun we had...
20 12:23 - ARG! I hate this hill!!! I hear Joe... USE YOUR ARMS! OKAY!!!! I am TRYING to remember! For crying out loud!!! I see the house I used to party at on Marathon day - I have reached the top and give a deep sigh of relief... I've done at least this far in training... piece of cake...
21 12:55 - Feeling okay but I walk a little longer - I start walking for up 3 minutes... very tired... take another salt, it's hot hot hot... I have sweat dripping off the brim of my hat... I just notice it... I was vaguely aware of it from about mile 10 but I am counting the drips.. I think to myself that I am losing a lot of fluid. I hear Harriet... are you taking your salt? Shoot.
22 11:23 - I run down Chestnut Hill ... I see Lauren and Milt again. She says something... I wave and say I have to go...I take another salt right before mile 23. Stomach feels better but not much... I am still drinking.
23 11:10 - This is it. I hate this part. It's a killer. I try to calculate my finish - I can still think. Phew!!! Hmmm... Okay. I can still take it easy and make the 4:59 cut off. Good. I run a bit more... I skip a walk break... just because I feel like it, just because I need to feel human...Just because I can...
24 10:52 - A brief calculation... wait. I can make 4:55 if I walked most of this. Life is getting better. I see the Citgo sign. I know that the Elephant Walk is on my left at Park Lane, right before 40K, right before 25 miles...I am going to run... gonna run through Kenmore. I died there last year...If I do this, I would be so happy happy happy!!
25 11:50 - I am swept away by the crowd. I realize that I can make it before 4:55 - ACK! A 4:50?? Is it possible? This puts me in good spirits and I cheer the crowd. They cheer me back! I see Bruce and Luke and Joanne (Luke and Jo are our extremely dear and close friends- Jo is my "twin" - separated at birth - only she is way nicer, cuter, thinner, and smarter than I am... hey... we all need balance right? I am her balance. LOL!) I tell Bruce I am doing better than last year. He laughs and says Yes you are! Joanne is laughing and clapping. Luke is shaking his head and gesturing, "Go on, go on.." OKAY! BYE!! SEE YOU LATER!!! :o)))
26 11:43 - I have a confession. I turned the corner onto Hereford, ran a block, stopped and walked the second block.. it's a FREEAKING HILL! I am infinitely glad that Joe isn't there with me... he would have made me keep running! Sheesh! I turn the corner, the crowds are shouting... I start jogging...
26.2 2:00 - I am slowly jogging until the second light. I see the clock. ACK! OMG!!! 4:45:14!!! If I book it I can make it with 4:45 on the clock...I can hear Joe... RUN IT IN!!! I was running on fumes and I decide to use it up. I sprint it in. As I cross the finish line, I vaguely remember thinking to myself that if I could sprint it in, I conserved too much...ARG!!! Did I do it??? WHAT"S MY TIME!!! ACK!!! I CAN"T BREATHE! Uh-oh...

I double over, catching my breath. A complete stranger in white comes up and talks to me. I am FINE! GO away!!! I just have to breathe!!! Stranger talks to me... he keeps talking. I want to yell, SHUT UP!!! I can't breathe! He calls a Friend over... he says he will walk with me for a little bit... He kind of grabs me. I think to myself, I HATE BEING TOUCHED! GO AWAY!!! ARE YOU CLEAN??? But I just say, I am just a little dizzy...nothing serious...

Okay.... Stranger tells Friend to walk with me a bit... Friend starts to talk to me. I hate talking to strangers. Ugh. He calls over a wheelchair. HELLOOO!!! I am NOT an invalid. GO AWAY! I can't sit in a
chair.. EVERYONE IS WATCHING! HOW EMBARRASSING IS THAT!!! No, you have to sit in the chair. No, I don't want to. Yes, you have to. Next thing I know I am sitting in the stupid chair. Shoot. I should have taken the salt like I had planned. Dang. I shouldn't have stopped drinking my GU2O at mile 16...I should have drank the Gatorade... shoot shoot shoot...

I ask for my medal. Friend says, I will get my medal. I tell him I don't believe him. I want it NOW! Sheesh! He doesn't listen and takes me over to the Medical Tent. Ugh. I am so bummed out. I am supposed to meet people.. I have places to go, things to do... What is this all about?? And I
WANT MY MEDAL NOW NOW NOW!!!

I get wheeled to section 7. I get dumped unceremoniously into a cot! He's probably glad to unload me. :o) Uh oh... I see a pink hat. It's Harriet. She's gonna KILL ME! Maybe if I lay here really quietly she won't notice. I will do that. This won't take long. How long can it take?

They come over and massage my legs (nice), I get lots of blankets thrown over me. I get doctor's poking and prodding and asking me lots of questions... Next time I know, they are poking needles into me... can't find a vein.. I am kind of really dizzy... I have a bad feeling about it... my skin is vibrating... I close my eyes... I hear the doctor tell the IV nurse, "oh... little veins... this is a fun one..." uh-oh...

I open my eyes... ACK! Harriet is smiling and looking down at me. She says "You know what I am now going to say to you, don't you?" I make a lame guess. She laughs and says, "So, How did you f**K up?" Not amused! :o| She stops smiling when she notices that I am shivering. She makes some comment "Oh, my. You are shivering." I say that I am NOT shivering. My skin is vibrating a little, that's all. They take my temperature. It's low. Not good.

And... WHERE IS MY MEDAL??? HELLLOOOOO!!!! I hear an announcement... Medal to section 7. The nurse smiles and says it's coming.

I get a bag of saline. I get two cups of hot broth. I get Gatorade. I can't get warm...The nurse says it's 6pm. WHAT??? I HAVE TO GET MY BAG!!! She sends someone over I get my bag. I get changed right there into some dry clothes (I don't care who's watching.. they're a bunch of doctors anyway) and they get a bear hugger :o)) Very warm and I am happy. Happy Happy Happy...My body temperature is coming back up.

Two hours after I entered the tent... I am better. Happy and smiling, changed into dry clothes with medal around my neck...I give the nurse a hug.. she was so awesome!!! She is much happier now that I am happier. She said that the last 25 minutes showed a dramatic change... She said that when I came in, I was not alert. I tell her feel much better and thank her very much.

I find out my time.

Chip time: 4:45:48
Clock time: 5:01:13

This is a PR. It's TWO PR's... clock and chip time! I am amazingly happy. This was also the first time that I was aware of being in a crowd of runners the entire time. What a difference between the 4:45 marathoners and the 5:30 finishers from last year. Last year, I felt very alone. But this
year... I was physically in a crowd!
I thought of all my sponsors. I thought of all my friends. I thought of the penguins cheering for me. I thought of the Deads giving me training advice and answering my questions... making me feel my goals were just as important as the next person's. I thought of MaryD and how she would like to hear me say she was right. :o| I thought of all the notes of encouragement I had received and the people who put up with my crankiness and nervous energy right until race day. I thought of the training.. how it really does work. :o))

And I thought of JoeB, jogging along beside me, chatting in my ear... giving me advice... and not putting up with any nonsense...ahem.

Next time, Cher and I are gonna run up all the hills! :o))
I wonder what some real speedwork and another 10 miles added to base
would do for my finish time. Hmm...

This was the best race I have ever had in my entire life.
It was a very good day.

P.S. I still have a big ole bruise on the back of my hand from the stupid IV. It's healing because it's starting to change into different colors. And Saline is the miracle drug.. I have residual tightness and achiness in my thighs from the microtears but no cramps! I feel surprisingly
good. Unbelievable!

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