Although Boston would be my 15th marathon, my anxiety over the race was intense. It had less to do with going the distance — I knew I’d make it — but the logistics of getting there seemed daunting. I anguished over what to pack/bring with me to Athlete’s Village. I had no idea how easy it would be to get around Boston (my husband and I stayed at a B&B in Brookline). I was also bummed my husband would not be joining me at the Village since he missed his BQ by a mere 18 seconds. (He kept threatening to bandit the race, but I somehow convinced him that wouldn’t be prudent. After all, I didn’t want my newfound friends in the RWOL Boston Forum to shun us. As it turned out, he ran his own version of Boston).
We spent Saturday doing the exact opposite of what’s recommended — walking all over town and the expo, eating and drinking far too much. I had to pick up a bib for a friend-of-a-friend, and at first it seemed a good idea to walk to his hotel to drop it off. But after walking almost two miles, I realized it wasn’t such a good plan. That evening we met up for pre-dinner drinks with Mary Jane and Richard from our Marathon du Medoc tour, then with folks from the Runner’s World forum at Beerworks, where — after consuming two, maybe three blueberry beers — I managed to lose my winter running coat. D’oh! (Thank goodness it’s spring and I won’t need it for several months).
The next day was much more reasonable. My husband ran the BAA 5K as a consolation prize, and I was there at the finish line to cheer him in (the winner came through in 14:28; Joan Benoit Samuelson was the third woman overall with a time of 17:43). I crashed after the race for a couple of hours, had lunch, got a massage, crashed again and then met up with some Taper Madness forum friends for a pasta dinner in town (we decided to forego the BAA pasta feed). As we were getting off the T at Copley I heard someone call out “Hey Maniac!” (I was wearing my Maniac jacket) and realized it was Frayed Laces! We hugged and I asked her how her back was doing; while it was still sore she was going to run the race, albeit extremely slowly. Just as we were saying our goodbyes I heard my name called again; this time it was Roger from the Disney Running forum (I’m SUCH the social butterfly!).
We got back to our B&B about 9 p.m. I had already set out all my running gear, so I immediately hit the hay. Despite the anxiety I had been feeling all week, I slept rather well. But I knew the alarm would be going off super early, as I decided to tag along with the other couple staying at our B&B. Paula Sue is a fellow Taper Madness forumite, and she and her husband were meeting up with their running club. One of the club members was a volunteer for loading the buses to Hopkinton and was saving a spot for us. Sweet! I figured I wouldn’t be as nervous if I were to hang around veterans.
More, I want more, what happens next, I want to know…oh wait, I know the results. But more, I want to take in the whole scope of the marathon, just as you would describe some sort of full-bodied soup, or is that wine, telling me every ingredient used to make it wonderful and delicious, which makes me think about that divine soup from Pigtails Marathon…I’m rambling now, but can’t wait to hear more!
Betsy, I knew you were a runner but certainly not a marathoner. But now the Boston Marathon?
I am so incredibly proud of you and very humbled.
God I hate running, but am so glad you enjoy it.
Congrats on running Boston! I was “watching” you using the infamous RWOL spreadsheet (yet another day of work wasted!). I am looking forward to part II of the RR.
Enjoyed reading about your Boston experience. Way to go, and I can’t wait to read more.
Great Report Betsy! Looking forward to part 2 tonight. See you Sunday.
I did the same thing…did the whole tourist thing on my feet. But, what the heck, live a little right?
oh girl, that picture of you makes me cry … its so awesome!!