The 2018 Boston Marathon {April 16, 2018]

The 122nd Boston Marathon

Boston, Massachusetts 

-3:40:39 (8:25 pace per mile)

-10935/25746 (*I had hoped to be in the top 50% - achieved!)

-3336/11604 Females

-2513/5783 in F 18-39 Age Group

(My 5th race of the 2018 season)
My 14th Marathon (15th time running the marathon distance - counting 1 Ironman triathlon)

Wrapping my brain around an event of this magnitude has been a challenge. As I am starting the writing the construction of this report it is sixteen entire days after the race. In some ways, it feels like it was a lifetime ago already. It is still so surreal to me that I actually did this - it is like my one and only Ironman race in that way. I look back on that day and think, "wait, I REALLY did that?!"

Our friend Holly-Rae keeps reminding Amber and me that this Boston will be one for the record books - one that people talk about for many years to come as a legendary experience. "Remember Boston back in 2018 when we swam from Hopkinton to Boston?!", etc. will be a way that those who were there bond for years to come. (Special shout-out at this moment to my friend Toddy who hooked me up with a sweet T-shirt that reads "I swam from Hopkinton to Boston" to commemorate the experience)

On the day of the event, I sent out a similar text to a number of friends who had texted their congratulations upon my completion....I wanted to get out some "stream of consciousness" thoughts right away, knowing that recording my then-fresh memories would help me later when I finally sat down to tackle my race report.  The following is the text that I sent out and it can serve as a mini-race report. Feel free to just read this and skip the rest. You'll get the gist of things :). And, Lord knows, this report is gonna be wordy...because that's how I roll (#sorrynotsorry #readatyourownrisk).

So, here's my quick-and-dirty "race summary" that I had texted out:

Uh it rained. A lot. 

And I lost my friend Amber in the muddy-muddy "athlete's village" which is where they make you hang before going to the start. We wanted to run together 😭. I literally almost cried but I pulled myself together. There's no crying in marathoning. Or something like that.

And then I changed out of my warm layers in a dirty porta potty because then at least I could be kinda dry for two minutes.

My feet were so cold I honestly didn't know what running on cold bricks would be like and if it would actually "work."

And then...all of a sudden...there I was at the starting line and I was OFF. Turns out you CAN run wth bricks in place of feet. 

And it was crowded and windy and rainy and there were lotsa puddles. 

And then there were some really big hills.

And at one point my tunnel vision was so bad that a spectator cheering on my left scared the poop outta me and I jumped. 

And then the rain got harder. 

And the hills got steeper. 

And then I saw Clint and our friend Amber's aunt Merry and Amber's daughter Sophia cheering to my right in the middle of a big crowd 😍 and THAT was a big mental boost. SO grateful I somehow spotted Clint's new green rain jacket we had purchased the day before and his beard and the umbrella he was holding above him.

And then I crossed the 20mile marker and thought HOW THE HELL WILL I RUN 10k MORE?!

And somehow, really, the infamous "Heartbreak Hill" didn't really seem as bad as I anticipated - because the wind was SO BAD.

And then it sucked more.

And then the wind picked up MORE.

And the rain came down harder. 

And then at mile 25 I threw off my poncho and put my head down and soldiered on. 

And BAM. 

Then it was all over. 

It's funny. Reading that text that I had saved to copy-and-paste into this report really brought it all back to me. The smells. The chills. The disbelief.  And, yes, the cold.  It was a pretty incredible experience.

Longer Version

Proceed at your own risk...

I kind of love marathons.  I don't really know why, exactly - but I am pretty sure the reasons vary depending on the season of life I am in.  One constant has been my love for having a challenge and big goals to chase.  I'm a firm believer that participating in "controlled challenges" (such as running) helps you be better prepared to confront other uncontrollable challenges that we all face in our lives at some point. Personally, running has seen me through some really hard things.  

My very first marathon was the Chicago Marathon in October of 2009. I ran a 4:01:04 and, in the moments after I finished, uttered the fact that I felt as if I would NEVER be able to run a faster marathon than I had on that day. I didn't understand HOW people could actually GET FASTER at running marathons.  I unearthed the blog post I wrote about that race (it's short and it is from a VERY different time in my life) - it was kind of fun to look back at my inexperience and smile (report HERE).

I chased that experience with my second marathon eight months later in June of 2010 in Minneapolis - 4:04:07 (I chose Minneapolis because it allowed me to go up to MN to visit and stay with my good friend Rosalee.  I REALLY wanted to get sub-4.  I remember being so hot during the last half of the race (it was around 90 degrees) that I felt like I might die - and craving Chipotle like MAD while I was running...#somethingsneverchange. I remember the 4:00 pace group passing me around mile 22 or something and a guy saying, "hang with us!" I tried...for a few strides...and then fell back. I was miserable!! You never forget that gloriously terrible feeling...).

Later that same year, I ran Marathon 3 - 3:53:51 (FINALLY SUB-4!) at the Quad Cities Marathon in September of 2010.  It was after this marathon that the whole idea of running a Boston qualifying time started to fester. At the time, the standard for my age group was 3:40 (a few years later is when the standards all got decreased by 5 minutes and my standard became 3:35). A 3:40 marathon is basically a 8:24 pace. Though I really knew NOTHING of the important elements that comprise a "real" marathon training plan - like tempo runs, hill runs, intervals, etc., (and don't even think about me knowing about recovery methods, etc!....it was all like a very foreign language to me), I decided that I was going to try to qualify for Boston at my next marathon.  Ahhhhh the ignorance I possessed was so cute ;).

I roughly used the Hal Higdon approach and followed the beginning/intermediate plans for the most part.  I did long runs on the weekends with the Lake Run Club Marathon Training Group (like I had done previous summers). I really didn't know how to train appropriately and thought that in order to get faster...I just needed to try harder and run faster/harder on all of my runs. Recovery runs? Easy miles? I had never heard of them so they were non-existent. If I ever ran "easier," it was simply because I was tired and I couldn't run faster than what I was doing.

My 4th marathon was, once again, the Quad Cities Marathon in September of 2011. I had decided that I was going to try my hardest to run a sub-3:40 at this race. Through mile 20, somehow, I had managed to run a 2:49:34. I had roughly 50 minutes to run the final 10k. This meant managing an 8:02 pace for the final 10k - not impossible, but difficult for sure. Well - and I remember this vividly - somewhere around mile 19 it had started raining. I don't remember what my actual average pace was at mile 19, but I do remember that by 20 it had fallen significantly from where it was (race splits on the website tell me my pace at the half was 8:17 and my pace at 20 was 8:29). I totally threw in the towel and just gave up. It wasn't even a cold rain - but it was still rain. And, in my mentally weak state I just gave up and finished.  I finished in 3:49:46, a PR at the time but no BQ. However, this PR would stand for four years (through 5 more marathons) until September of 2015....

Over those next four years I ran:
Marathon 5 - Virginia Beach/March 2012/4:52:01
Marathon 6 - Marine Corps/Washington DC/October 2012/4:33
Marathon 7 - Operation Jack/Los Angeles/December 2012/4:13
Marathon 8 - Run River City/Peoria, IL/May 2012/4:09:30
Marathon 9 - NYC/November 2013 4:14 (*2 months after IM Wisconsin where I ran the marathon portion in 5:07:34)
Marathon 10 - Last Chance BQ/Geneva, IL/Sept 2015 (3:33:16)
Marathon 11 - Chicago/October 2015 (4:56:50)

 

 

     

      

 

So, I qualified for the 2018 Boston Marathon on April 22, 2017 at my 12th marathon - the Illinois Marathon (report HERE). It's a story I've talked about many times - I qualified on Gabe's 1st birthday after working really hard at my speed and fitness post-partum (honestly January - August of 2015 and December 2016 - April 2017 were the two periods of my "running life" during which I worked the hardest).  This was actually the second time I had run a BQ time - the first time was in September of 2015 when I was (secretly) seven weeks pregnant. I ran a 3:33:16 (my standard at the time for my age was 3:35) at the Last Chance BQ Chicagoland (report HERE). Gabe's due date was April 28, 2016...so in spite of qualifying for the 2016 Boston Marathon, I knew there was NO WAY to plan on running that race. I was going to be approximately 38 weeks pregnant on Marathon Monday (or, heck, if Gabe came early - I would've been very early post-partum then)! Also, my time was just over the window that was accepted (2:28 under the qualifying standard is what ended up being accepted that year - and I was just 1:44 under, meaning I missed it by 44 seconds - somewhat disappointing, but like I said - I wasn't planning on going in 2016 anyway with the baby coming!).  

I had my fingers crossed that my qualifying time run on September 12, 2015 would fall within the 2017 Boston Marathon qualification window. A few weeks after I ran, they released the 2017 window - it started September 19, 2015. WAHHH! If I would've run just 7 days later, my time would've counted! AND - because I was turning 35 in 2017, I was going to be gifted with 5 extra minutes in my qualification standard....women who are 35 have to run a sub-3:40! My 3:33:16 gave me 6 minutes and 44 seconds to spare! It was just those darn 6 days that made me have to FOCUS on qualifying again in late 2016 or early 2017 after Gabe was born and then run the 2018 Boston Marathon! (I know, I know this was a lot of number-mumbo-jumbo that no one other than runners really cares about or understands :).)

After qualifying for Boston 2018 in April of 2017, my A-race for the year was behind me. I was SO exited and, while I obviously kept running, I backed off of the intensity and focus. With other areas of life being stressful, I didn't need running to add to the stress but I instead needed it to be an escape. We did our "usual" summer races, group runs with friends, and lived our lives.  When fall rolled around, we ended up signing up last-minute for the Indy Monumental Marathon which I ran with Holly-Rae. It ended up being one of my favorite marathon memories, ever (report HERE). It wasn't my fastest marathon, but it was arguably my least "trained for" marathon.  It was a great day - and I was pleased to cross the finish line in 3:43:57, smiling, just one step behind Holly-Rae (so I could take a pic of her crossing :)).

The day after Indy, we ran the Canal Connection 10k - maybe not my brightest move, but I still managed a 7:25 pace for the 6.2 miles and earned second in my age group (report HERE). After this - I was basically down for the count. I am not invincible - and I am really not very smart :). The rest of the month I too it easy - except for popping in to my 4th running of the Oglesby Turkey Trot (hey, I can't NOT run this one, right?!) and my 1st running of the FOLEPI 4-miler (one of the most fun races I have ever done - this net downhill is a blast!).

December was kind of spotty (December also boasts the end of the academic year's first semester which is always stressful for me as someone who is currently THREE times affected by the end of a semester: 1- as a college professor of one undergrad course, 2- as a doctoral student with semester-end projects, and 3- as a school-based pediatric speech pathologist!). Once Christmas break rolled around, I began what I like to refer to as my Winter Training Camp. I LOVE having this time off of work to workout whenever and however I want (well, whenever and however Gabe will allow anyway...with the weather, it meant lots of naptime treadmill runs!).  On Christmas Eve, Clint and I ran a snowy 10-miler together while Gram watched our boy.  On December 30, I was ecstatic to join a rockstar group for a 10.65-mile jaunt through the streets of Bloomington as AP endeavored to wrap up his "AP Runs This Town" adventure (during which he ran EVERY SINGLE STREET in Bloomington, IL - he started in August and wrapped things up in December!).  From December 24-30 (8 days) I ran a total of 54.35 miles. When I added this up last winter, I smiled to myself thinking, "Well this is a great kick off to my Boston Marathon training." Insert hindsight eye roll here. Guys, everyone knows that you aren't supposed to double your typical average weekly mileage in like a week. And I wonder why my body hates me/is uncooperative with my plans...

I "officially" started my Boston training on Monday, January 1. My training kicked off at midnight with the infamous Paul Bliss Birthday/Happy New Year Underwear Run (at the end of the Bliss New Year's Eve Bash). Anyone who was there this year can probably still remember how cold it was - a windchill of -32?! When we'd done this run in the past (we've done it twice) it was a mile. However, this time a few of us cut things short at 0.70 mile because of the extreme cold. Personally, I had some weird nerve pain coursing through my body because of the cold! I was simply happy to come away from that "experience" with all of my limbs intact!

About a year ago, I had purchased a Believe training journal but I had never used it. Over my Christmas break, I found it and decided that I was going to start recording all of my workouts during my 15 weeks of focused training. I love journaling, but seldom take the time to do it.  I thought that making a concerted effort to journal my training would help with the reflection and self actualization piece - the mental part of running is SO important and it is a definite area that I can stand to improve in. I started journaling my workouts, feelings, plans, and perspectives starting on January 1. I definitely didn't journal every day - some weeks I journaled everything at the end of the week (thanks to my Garmin app - all I had to do was go back and look at my workouts from the week). However, I did find that this practice was valuable to me throughout my training cycle and it is something that I hope to keep up in the future.

Later on on New Year's Day (post Party and Underwear Run after returning home and sleeping for a while!), I did an easy treadmill run of 4.3 miles in the evening to get in a total of 5 miles for my first day of training. I started numbering all of my runs in Garmin as "Boston Training Run #X" - it helped me stay organized and focused on my goal. Tuesday, my second training run was some intervals on the treadmill at sub-5k pace. The rest of the week involved a few more treadmill runs and then that Saturday was my first long run of the training cycle - a 12-miler with Amber and Holly-Rae at an 8:20 average pace run outside. Amber was also training for Boston and had started her own training plan earlier that winter - she was already killing it at this point!! My Garmin records tell me that it was 5 degrees and in my notes I had typed "Wow-ie it was cold!!!!!" I am certain that the "feels like" temperature was even lower than 5 degrees. I wrapped up week 1 of training with an easy 3.5 on the treadmill and had indicated in my Garmin notes that my left Achilles and right knee were "still being irritating." Guys - that crap was to be the story of my life throughout the training cycle.

My first really great run that made me feel like "YEAH! I am going to the freakin' Boston Marathon, baby and I DESERVE it!" was the second long run. On Saturday, January 13 I went out with Amber late morning to run a total of 16.65 miles. The prescribed workout on her plan was 2 miles warmup, 3x4 miles at 8:20 (with 3:00 recovery between each set), 2 miles cool down. We smashed the 8:20 goal, running 8:09, 8:04, 8:04, 8:03/8:00, 8:04, 7:51, 7:53/7:55, 7:52, 8:00, 8:05. BOO-YA! I remember getting back to our house and huddling in front of the fireplace with some Coach Clint-prepped pancakes. THANKS CLINT (both for the 'cakes and for watching the boy!)! (#ittakesavillage)

Two weeks down, thirteen to go...I can do this - right?!

The next week wasn't so hot. That weekend's "long" run on Saturday the 13th was only 9 miles and didn't feel good at all. The only positive was that I was able to get it in outside with the stroller (Gabe kept warm with a bunting and the stroller cover!).

Later on in January, we returned to the Frosty 5k with some friends and teammates (race report HERE).  I ran a 21:44...I was decently pleased with my ability to hold a 7-flat pace with the stroller at this point in the year, considering my uncooperative body. It was a far cry from the last 5k I had run (20:20 at the Evergreen Lake 5k in August of 2017), but it was a nice start to the 2018 racing year.

Well - the next few weeks were realllllllly bad, mileage-wise. Between body aches and pains and mental garbage, I just really didn't have it going on. My next run of any substance was the 2nd Annual Love Run at the Van Hoof home on Sunday, February 11. In spite of some initial drama with a clingy Gabe not wanting to stay behind at their home with the rest of the kiddos (thanks to Daddy Clint for stepping up to help out with him), I did get out for 8.5 miles. I had really wanted to be able to get out to this special event and was looking forward to running with good friends. It was cold and crisp but it felt so good to be out. My 8.5 miles were run partially with Holly-Rae, partially with a bigger group that we caught up to, and then partially solo. I was satisfied with my 8:39 average pace on those infamous Downs Hills.

The next week brought some fun runs, including a family run on Wednesday/Valentine's Day during which we uploaded a couple of short heart-shaped Garmin routes just for kicks (thanks to a challenge posted on the Lake Run Club facebook page). The longest run I was able to get in during the month of February was a 12-miler on 2/24. It was in an 8:36 pace with a few miles at a flat-8 pace so it was decent but not "spectacular" by any means.

I rang in March with the Miller Park 5k on 3/3. Clock time was 22:17 - slower than my January 5k. The next day, I did a solo 10k on the sidewalks around our home and ended up biting it pretty hard. It was a really bizzare-o situation that both ticked me off and kind of freaked me out. I literally felt like I just tripped over my own feet and wasn't sure exactly how it happened. I worried (hello, anxiety!) that there was something more serious that was "wrong" with me systemically - with all of my aches and pains that wouldn't go away in spite of rest and stretching and now falling over "air"/sidewalk, I worried that I was having sensation/nerve issues or something. It's fun how sometimes our brains just go quickly to the "worst case scenario." Thanks to everyone who listened to me vent about all of these feelings and didn't make fun of me (at least not to my face ;)).

I did decide, after some conversations with trusted individuals as well as my own reading, to try the AIP (Autoimmune Protocol) diet - basically this is a restrictive diet that requires you to remove gut irritants from your diet. There's a lot of interesting research about the gut-brain connection (we need a healthy gut in order to have healthy brain function, explained most simply) and the AIP diet may help improve this. Additionally, it may help those who have an autoimmune disease decrease inflammation in their body. Long story short, it doesn't HURT anything (well, other than your sanity - it's pretty hard to maintain) and I decided to go for it. My goal was to make it over a month in order to see how it helped. Please note - I made this decision NOT strictly for my running health but for my "general every-day health" as well.  I also started taking a glucosamine-chondroitin supplement (because this is something that is touted as being beneficial for joint health) and started adding more collagen to my daily diet.

On March 10 I ran my second longest (at that point) run of the training cycle - a 14.3-mile run that included miles with HR, a crying strollerized Gabe, some miles with people at our local ABC run, and a HR who "rescued" both me and Gabe by taking Gabe with her to her car when I was at mile 12.8 and let me run the final 1.5 miles of this run solo. While Gabe is really great in the stroller MOST of the time, the times that he is NOT really feel miserable in the moment. It stresses me out when he is sobbing and I start sweating and getting panicky because, for whatever reason, I feel like he won't be "ok." I know this is not logical - he is a toddler. They throw tantrums doing "normal" things and not just riding in strollers. It's not my "fault" that he he gets upset...but knowing these things still doesn't always help ;). So, THANK YOU for helping us out HR!

I had made a doctor appointment over my spring break in the middle of March due to my concerns regarding my body and went in for blood work the week prior to that. I was really concerned that there was something autoimmune going on because of a variety of signs and symptoms that I felt like I was exhibiting (joint pain, mental fogginess, fatigue, etc.). I had myself really worked up over it all which, of course, just made things worse.  I love my doctor and had a great visit with him. He went over my blood work results in detail with me and explained everything.  Nothing concerning was found. Some of the results did point to the fact that my body has autoimmune stuff going on - but this wasn't surprising because I do have a diagnosis of Celiac disease. Nothing indicated that I had anything else (a second autoimmune disease or anything else) going on. Actually, he did say that I was exhibiting mild anemia and recommended upping my B12 intake. Well, seeing as I had become a giant slacker and hadn't been taking my prenatal vitamins on, oh I don't know, like a year... I simply re-ordered those and started taking them a few weeks after this appointment. This was like a big DUH. I have had issues with needing more B12 in the past (common with people in general, and especially those with Celiac disease). I had a feeling that jumping back on this wagon would really help with my energy levels - and, heck, if it was just a "placebo effect" WHATEVER!!!

St. Patrick's Day weekend, Clint and I decided to have a little fun and do back-to-back 5ks - Saturday the 17th we ran one in the Quad Cities (report HERE) and then on Sunday the 18th we ran one at home in Bloomington (report HERE). Sure, back-to-back 5ks on a weekend about 4 weeks out from a marathon doesn't really fit with a "typical" training plan. But - nothing about my training this winter/spring was "typical" - so why not just have fun with it, right!?

These two 5ks were my 3rd and 4th stroller 5ks of the year (after Boston I ran another on Sunday, April 28th...which brought the year's total to 5). Being the data-nerd that I am, I have been keeping track of the year's stroller 5k performances on this handy-dandy graph...

Here's to seeing if I can make these times fall as the year goes on....

As these things go, I can't put my finger on when I started to feel "better"...but the important thing is that I did. I kept up with the AIP diet for about 40 days (toward the end of that I did start introducing things like rice and chia seeds back in before those 40 days were "complete"). If nothing else, I am sure the decreased sugar helped my body. Frankly, I should eat this way ALL of the time!

So, as many of you know, I love me some Instagram. Right, wrong, or otherwise I love posting pictures and stories and then later looking back on my posts (it's a journal of sorts for me). I also love looking at other peoples' posts. I am sure I am addicted - oh well ;). I know, though, that sometimes scrolling through other runners' posts can be detrimental. I find myself comparing myself to other runners and feeling inadequate about my training. It was pretty depressing, frankly, to see all of the posts other people were putting up about their 16, 18, and 20 mile runs. The longest run I had gotten in during this training cycle was a 16-miler back in January.

I made up my mind that I was going to get in a 20-miler, no matter what, the weekend of March 23-25. Well, a huge snow storm was forecast for Saturday, March 24. I don't think any of us Central-Illinoisians will forget the winter of 2018. It was terrible and so unpredictable. Cold...warm...unseasonably hot...freezing...freezing...freezing...awful.... you never knew what was coming next. Many of the runners in my life made plans to arrange their life in a way that allowed them to get in long runs on Friday, March 23. Well, since I work at 8 (and I work in a school so there's not really flexibility with that time) I knew there was really no way for me to get in 20 miles BEFORE work. So, after it was! I contacted our daycare provider to see if she was OK with keeping Gabe a little later that night until Clint got home from work - she said it was fine (THANK YOU RACHEL!! YOU ARE AMAZING!). I did feel a bit of mom-guilt over this one ("You already work full time and now you are leaving your kid at daycare EXTRA just so you can go RUN?!"), but I hurried home and headed out on the road.

I won't lie - getting out to run 20 miles on a Friday night after working a full week was mentally tough. BUT, overriding the difficulty of the situation was my determination to get in at least ONE 20-miler prior to Boston.  That day I knew it was truly a "now or never" situation - I was 25 days out from the Big Dance.

I was still in the thick of my AIP diet, so taking any sort of gel or sports drink was out of the question. I decided to try to fuel with dates.  I wore some long leggings because of the pockets they had (good for both the bag of dates I had prepped and my phone).  It was a little too warm for long leggings (at 50 degrees), but it worked out.  I was kind of "high on life" when I set out from home on the run. The novelty of running my longest evening "long run" and the adrenaline as a result of the reality that I was running twenty miles resulted in the first mile being an 8:21 mile.  I went into the run wanting to try to get in 8 miles at 8:00 and the overall average of the 20 miles to be sub-8:30.  I managed to get miles 3-14 (12 miles) in at just under an 8:00 average. YEAH!

At mile 12 I ran into our friend Steve Laning who "kept me company" (read: made me run hard!) for two miles. This was both great and terrible all at once. Thanks Steve ;).

When I got into the later miles of the run, I decided to keep my route close to home in case I needed to call it quits. While I didn't WANT to throw in the towel, I also knew that there was a very real possibility that I would need to. My training the past couple of months was NOT ideal marathon preparation and I wasn't sure what I would be able to handle.  Mile 16 was an 8:40 mile - I was really starting to "feel it" at this point.  The final 4 miles were a flat-out sufferfest (8:46/9:07/9:02/9:07).  It was a definite mental battle to wrap things up and I found myself working really hard to stay positive.

I was THRILLED when I hit 20 miles and ecstatic to see that the average (in spite of the slower final 5 miles!) was 8:17. This run was the mental boost that I needed. Sure, the past 3 months had been full of many physical and emotional ups and downs but I truly was stronger than I thought I was. I decided, #comewhatmay, I was making it to that Boston starting line AND the finish line (this became my mantra).

I spent the weekend of April 1 sick.  UGH - I was utterly miserable.  This was a great way to spend our anniversary and Easter!  I didn't get in another long run until my infamous Flat Tire Half Marathon.  On Tuesday, April 3 I ran some morning miles with Gabe (7 miles) and then decided to do some evening miles as well.  I didn't do any "two a days" this training cycle (guys - there were many days that I didn't even get in ONE run, there was NO way that TWO was happening...HAHAHA!) and decided that getting in a split up long-run two weeks before Boston was better than not getting in a final long run.  SO, after work, we set out for a family 10k.  It was rainy and UCK, but we had rain jackets and a cover for the stroller so we made it happen.

About two miles in, I commented to Clint that I thought something was dragging on the front wheel. The stroller just started to feel extra-heavy or something. He checked it out and said things were fine, so we soldiered on. We hit our turnaround at the 3.1 mile mark and headed back. It was cold...rainy...and the stroller felt awful. Around mile 4, Clint looked at my BACK tires and saw that the right tire was flat as a board.  AMAZING!!!!

Well, there was really no option but to carry on the final 2.2 to get home. I had likely already pushed the stroller on the flat tire/rim for 2ish miles (we were pretty sure that the reason the stroller felt like it weighed a million pounds and I thought something was caught in the front wheel was actually because of the flat tire).  Once we made it home, I actually had the audacity to comment that Boston would be "nothing" compared to this run! I even titled my Garmin post about the run, "Boston Training Run #45.5 - Boston ain't got nothin' on this...").  Girl. NO.

The next two weeks involved some easy miles, a 4x quarter mile track workout one week before the race, and a whole lot of travel prep.  Truth be told, I had allowed myself to get a little too worked up/anxious over the logistics of travel - the biggest factor being the whole "leaving my baby" thing. Back in the fall I went through a few-week period where I wasn't sure that I would actually register for the race because I didn't want to leave Gabe and felt guilty taking a trip without him. My parents had offered to watch him while we traveled and, while I trust them completely, I just felt wrong leaving him.  Of course we could've taken him with us, but that would've just added a bajillion complicating factors to the trip and we definitely didn't want to do that.

Once I actually registered for the race in September, the whole "purchasing plane tickets" thing was another stressor. I couldn't even bring myself to look at flights. Clint took matters into his own hands and booked our tickets. Thanks, Clint :). You take care of me in more ways than one!

Once we had plans for Gabe, I had registered for the race and received my number and related info in the mail, we had purchased our plane tickets and booked our hotel - I STILL wasn't convinced we would actually make it there.  Between leaving Gabe and all of those related unknowns and then learning Clint's mom was very sick in March - traveling to Boston for a silly race just seemed, well, silly.

However, somehow, things came together and we made it happen - thanks, in big part, to the many people who comprise our "village."  I am so grateful to all of the amazing people we have in our lives who came together to help us make this adventure take place.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the bit of, err, retail therapy that took place leading up to the race. Shoe companies really go all-out making special edition Boston shoes. I could NOT resist the Saucony Boston-edition kinvaras. Donuts and sprinkles on shoes?! In pink!? Come on now...

Clint also surprised me with the iconic Boston "celebration" jacket (I did NOT allow myself to wear it before crossing the finish line, other than to try it on one time!), a cute Boston tee shirt, and some utterly incredible blue and yellow Adidas Boston-edition Boosts as anniversary gifts. Totally not critical for life, of course, but SO much fun!

Our friend Paul organized a send-off lunch at Chipotle the weekend before the race. It was great to have so many people who comprise our "secret running society" hang out! Rarely do we get to have (almost) everyone together in one place.

BRRC! These are some amazing people

The weekend before our Boston weekend, I made some blue and yellow frosted cupcakes to share with friends. As my fellow Boston runner Amber and I said said leading up to this experience....blue and yellow errrrrthing!!! The excitement of what was to come really did start getting to me about two weeks out from our departure.

Someone likes frosting, just like his mama

Ok, so the colors weren't the most vibrant because I used my natural/plant-based food dyes instead of artificial food coloring, but you still get the general idea. Boston, baby!

The Monday prior to the marathon, some of my coworkers put on a little lunch for me, complete with gluten free peanut butter brownies (THANKS MARILYN!!) and other goodies (thank you to the rest of you!! :)). I love these ladies!!

I still have this sign in my office!

HILARIOUS! Yup, (Annette)...I'll "Kick booty and win". HAHA!!!

I was astonished by the number of well-wishes I received the rest of the week, in person or via text or e-mail (or via surprise office delivery like this "lucky bamboo" from my friend and co-worker Laurel!).

Friday night after I got off of work, we drove to Peoria (about 45 minutes from our home) to meet my mom for dinner. Our plan was to send Gabe with her and then drive back to our home where we would finish packing, sleep for a few hours, and then get up EARLY for our 6:30am flight out of Peoria.  Driving away from Gabe as he sat in my mom's van was difficult (ok, Clint had to do the actual driving...all I had to do was sit there:)), but I didn't cry.  The feeling of a complete lack of control over my child's life swept over me in that moment - but, the truth is, I'm never in control...as much as I might like to think I am. Frankly, I had to just give it (him!) over to God and trust that things would be OK. And, heck, things might even be GREAT! Some time apart is good for us, right? #parenthood

At o'dark thirty, we trekked back over to Peoria on Saturday morning.....

Clint boarding our tiny plane out of Peoria. Wave Sayonara! Ha!

Our first flight was a tiny plane that took us to our connection at O'Hare. Clint had a seat that was directly behind me three rows back. It sucked not sitting together - especially considering the fact that this was one of the worst flights that I had ever experienced. The turbulence was awful and the landing was downright scary. There were a few times during this flight that I actually felt as if we were going to crash and I would die, leaving my child parent-less. When we got off the flight - turns out, Clint had similar thoughts. Great.  Thankfully the next flight wasn't nearly as bad.

Waiting for Flight 2 at O'Hare!

On the flight from O'Hare to Boston, Clint and I were in the same row but separated by the aisle. I was seated next to a man who was wearing a 2007 Boston jacket. He shared with me that he had run the Boston Marathon 14 times! He talked to me for most of the flight and regaled me with stories of his experiences, advice for me as a first-time Boston marathoner, and advice for Clint as a spectator. He was really great! It was fun to feel this "connection" to a total stranger.

My Boston-edition "random stranger" is pictured here waiting for his bags in Boston. He is wearing the navy and white Boston jacket! Yes - I am aware I am a bit of a creeper ;)...but I never want to forget this sweet man's kindness!

Once we landed in Boston, we took a bus to a train and then took an Uber to our hotel (it took us small-town folk a little bit to figure out how to successfully maneuver this - it took a text to Amber, who had gotten in town for the race earlier in the week, who consulted her Boston-residing Aunt Merry (with whom she and he daughter Sophia were staying) as well as a call to our hotel and a chat with a man at a help desk in the baggage claim area of the airport). We dropped our things off in our (awesome!) room and then took our second Uber of the weekend to the race expo.

This was a bit...adventurous, to say the least. We had a super chatty (FUNNY) driver. However, he got SO chatty that he ended up missing a turn and then started going OFF, verbally berating himself for being an "IDIOT," among other things. We were kind of nervous (at least I was!), but I was never really scared. He ended up turning off his Uber app ("so you guys won't get charged more!") and got us to the expo center. He informed us that he had a great gift to give us as an apology. He got out of his car and frantically threw things around in his trunk until he unearthed his gift - a bottle of orange peel vodka that he informed us had been purchased from a clearance rack. He was very proud of this gift and we felt as if there was no choice other than to accept it with a smile and then to go on our way.

As we walked toward the convention center I told Clint that there was no way they were going to let me in with a huge bottle of booze in my purse. Sure enough, there were people searching bags in front of the entrance to the expo center. I had a large purse and put the bottle at the bottom with other items covering it, thinking that perhaps we would get someone who would merely glance inside before sending us on our way.

Wrong.

We got a nervous younger guy who, upon discovering the bottle, looked at me a bit incredulously and said, "uh, you can't take that in there!" I quickly said, "I know!" and went on to explain our wacky Uber driver, getting lost, and then the driver giving us the bottle as an apology. I also said that I would just throw it away if he showed me where I could do so. There was a garbage can not far from where we were standing, but the kid just said, "it's fine, you can have it. Just don't drink it here." HA!!! So, we went on our merry way.

Can't make this crap up! We ended up leaving it in our hotel room when we left. You're welcome, hotel staff! HAHA!

The expo was insane. We collected my number from one room and then went into the main convention room where we meandered exhibits for about an hour and a half.  We made a few purchases, including a shirt for Gabe ("Future Boston Marathoner"!) and sampled some different sports nutrition items. While the expo was amazing, it was also kind of overwhelming with the number of people all crammed into one place. I was so grateful that we had dealt with this right away and didn't keep it until Sunday/the day before the race!

OF COURSE we waited in the long line to take a pic by this iconic sign! Thanks, Cleent ;). You were such a great sport throughout this entire crazy experience!!

Public transportation...lots of time on trains and in Uber cars!

We went back to our hotel in Watertown (which was nicely out of the hustle and bustle of the race action) and decided to head to a Latin restaurant down the road, La Casa de Pedro. This ended up being a VERY good decision. It was SUPER yummy.

We also spent lots of Saturday getting texts from one of my sister Megan's friends with updates regarding Megan's race that day. Megan was doing her very first ultra marathon - the Hawkeye 50k in Iowa! Clint coached her for this race and we were both pretty disappointed that it fell over Boston weekend so we were unable to go support her in person. It RAINED during her entire race and the conditions were pretty miserable. She, however, powered through and crossed the finish just under 6 hours. We are SO proud of her! That night she posted on Instagram, "Sometimes we do hard things because we have to. Sometimes we do hard things because we CAN." This really hit home for me and I let the words sink in - as hard as my race might be, I was going to own it. I was going to do that Hard Thing...because I can.

ULTRA MEG!!!

Lazy like Sunday morning...

Sunday morning we woke up without an alarm and made our way back to the downtown Boston area via Uber. I wanted to find the finish line and run a shakeout of two miles or so from the finish line.  Amber had also told us that she was attending the Blessing of the Athletes service at a church near the finish line. I thought this would be a neat thing to attend (another friend who did Boston a few years ago told me this was something I should check out), but I also didn't want to over-schedule us and risk getting stressed out so I hadn't planned on attending.  Turns out - the church is LITERALLY situated on the finish line! So, when we made our way to the finish for my shakeout - the church was right there! I texted Amber, who let me know she was inside. Clint ended up going inside to catch the service while I went out for my quick shakeout.

The finish line area! WILD!! "See ya tomorrow!"

The weather was not amazing (though not as terrible as the next day, of course!!), but it was still really neat to be running my first miles in the beautiful city of Boston! It was so cool to run past things that I had only read about previously 

I was shooting for 2 miles, but ended up getting in 2.25 because I got a little lost. Oh well ;). After my run, I met up with Clint in the back of the church and caught the end of the service. We met up with Amber, Merry and Sophia after it was over and walked around for a bit with them. It was great to see some familiar faces! Clint and I went to a little Mediterranean restaurant so I could get a little lunch (grape leaves, hummus, and veggies) and then we made our way back to the hotel. First, we stopped at a Runners World pop-up shop where we happened upon Neely Spence Gracey giving a talk on a panel (I had recently listened to a podcast featuring her and really enjoyed it!). I also bought my favorite Boston attire of the trip - a cozy sweatshirt that proclaims, "Mondays are for Marathons."  We also hit up what is apparently the "World's smallest Trader Joe's" where we bought items to make dinner in the kitchen in our hotel room.

We stopped at a Pressed Juicery (I had LONG wanted to go to one!) where we got some juice and some juice freezes.

Vegan and gluten free frozen deliciousness!!! I can't wait to return to Boston so we can just eat our way through the city. There were so many great places for yummy Clint-and-Rachel-approved eats! 

We then caught a shuttle back to our hotel and spent the rest of the day from about 4pm on relaxing, eating, talking on the phone with some friends, and watching episodes of Breaking Bad on Netflix. Sunday was a pretty amazing {relaxing} day!

My pre-race dinner was some awesome gluten free Trader Joe's fettuccine with marinara and fresh Parmesan.  SO tasty!! Honestly, I liked eating in our quiet hotel room a lot better than in a noisy restaurant. It was nice to just relax a bit - and to be in total control of my food/preparation and not worry about any accidental gluten contamination.

As we got ready for bed Sunday night, we chatted about the weather. It had become obvious that it was GOING to rain. There was basically a 100% chance of rain forecast.  It was GOING to be windy - the only question was HOW windy. Some forecasts said gusts of up to 30 mph or so! I mean, the whole thing sounded scary and awful but I knew I was going to do it, #comewhatmay.

Before bed....I had a little nightcap...

Beet juice!

Monday morning, I woke up to this gift...my amazing friends Jillian and Susan had collaborated with Clint and my mom to make this happen. Oh my heart!!

RAIN RAIN, go away!!

One of the great things about the Boston Marathon (in my opinion) is the later start time. Generally, I like an early start time for races...but when a race requires a lot of pre-race travel (like Boston does) it is nice to not have to get situated super early.  I had been assigned to Wave 2 (10:25 start time), but Amber had been assigned to Wave 3 (10:50). I had decided that running with a friend far outweighed starting a little earlier and had decided to go back to Wave 3 to run with her (runners are allowed to go back to a later wave if they desire, but they are not allowed to move to an earlier wave).  Amber and I made plans to meet at a hotel in Boston not far from the gear check tents (which are near the finish line) and not far from the buses that runners take to the start in Hopkinton.

Getting ready to leave the hotel...

I took an Uber from our hotel around 6:30 that morning and met Amber and Merry and Sophia at the Taj hotel at 7. It was POURING rain at this point. We walked together to the gear check area where we deposited our bags of dry gear to retrieve after the race.  I was holding a pair of dry shoes (in addition to the shoes on my feet) that I was bringing along with me to put on right before the start of the race (anticipating that the shoes I was wearing would become wet and muddy in the Athlete's Village prior to the race) and a kind woman in the gear check area offered me an extra big clear bag to keep my shoes in - awesome!  Next, we walked together to the bus staging area.  At this point, Amber realized she hadn't eaten breakfast so Merry ran into a Starbucks to get her a bagel while we waited outside. Due to the rain we actually didn't see Merry come back out...and somehow she ended up across the street from where we were before we saw her again!

We said good-bye (and THANK YOU!) to Merry and Sophia and walked to the buses....lines and lines of big yellow buses lined the street. It began to sink in just HOW MANY people run this race! It was crazy to see all of those buses in the same place.  It also began to sink in how many volunteers it takes to make an event of this magnitude go off! Volunteers lined the street in front of the buses and helped runners make their way onto the buses. The volunteers were absolutely soaked to the bone, thanks to the rain (and likely freezing!), but they were smiling and happy and so helpful.

We boarded our bus and were greeted by WARMTH. We found a seat in the back and settled in for our 40-minute ride.  I drank a bit of the beet juice I had purchased the day before from Pressed Juicery and started some self-talk to calm my nerves.  I made myself savor the warmth and DRY feelings during the bus ride.

Around 9:30, our bus arrived in Hopkinton and we were deposited into the Athlete's Village area. Talk about a cluster! It was a mess of people and ponchos and tents and porta potties and mud and long tables with coffee and water and snacks.  Amber and I made our way to a large tent and walked as carefully as we could through the mud, both of us clutching our big clear bags with dry shoes and a few other items.  Amber told me that she needed to go to the bathroom and I told her that I did as well.  In this moment, we turned in opposite directions and lost one another.  As I started to walk to the left I bit I noticed that I couldn't see Amber.  I whirled around. She was nowhere to be seen. There were porta potties to my right up a little grassy (muddy!) hill and there were porta potties to my left. Where had she gone!? I decided I was just going to stay put and stand in the last place where we were together for a bit to see if she, too, was thinking about that spot and would return. After a few minutes, she was still nowhere to be seen. I won't lie - I almost cried. I forced myself to suppress the freaking-out-ness and went to the porta potty lines to my left. Regardless, I needed to pee and get to the starting line.

It's quite funny to me that the race photographers snapped a photo of me in the very moment that I was staring around, looking frantically for my lost Amber. HA! This picture, in my opinion, is priceless and was therefore totally worth my buying the over-priced race photos to secure possession of.

After waiting for too long in the line, I peed and then made my way up a muddy hill OUT of athlete's village and made the half a mile or so death march to a CVS parking lot not far from the starting corrals.  As I walked, I marveled over the fact that my feet felt like giant cold BRICKS and wondered how, exactly, I would run 26.2 miles upon them. CAN one run a marathon on feet that you can't feel?! As I continued along my way, I looked for white hats - Amber had a white hat on and I was holding out hope that I would find her so that we could start together!

HAHAHA - this one was for Annette ;). 

I arrived at the CVS parking lot and was greeted by like 50 porta potties. Mountains of discarded clothing were every few feet.  I made a plan - I was going to go into a porta potty, change my shoes, and remove my extraneous layers. It would at least be somewhat dry inside a porta potty (the dryness appealed to me more than the unsanitary nature of this plan disgusted me).  I waited in line before entering my little dry haven. I removed my leggings and sweater and changed my shoes.  I gathered up the leggings, sweater, and shoes to discard and exited the porta potty after efficiently layering my poncho over my raincoat (with my race number pinned on it) over my Often Running jersey and arm sleeves.  I felt a twinge of guilt as I dumped my sweater and leggings and shoes on a growing mountain of clothes (I hate feeling so wasteful!), but I cast those things aside along with my bag.

One of the many Clothes Mountains

I walked to the starting corral area with my bottle of beet juice, my phone, my Flip belt around my waist (with my debit card, a twenty, and my ID inside), and my Huma gels in my left pocket.  As I approached the starting corral around 10:50, it became clear that there wasn't much rhyme or reason at this point as far as "releasing" the corrals to start goes.  Literally people were just kind of walking around and then running once they hit the starting line. Whatever!  I joined in, walking toward the starting line, and...suddenly my Boston Marathon was underway!

I had been warned that the first four miles are a decently significant downhill and it would behoove me to NOT get carried away and to rein things in the first few miles so as not to trash my quads.  I heeded this advice and did my best to run comfortably while also doing my best to dodge puddles - a futile effort as, really, I was already totally soaked to the bone.  I took a few last swallows of my beet juice during the first quarter mile and then tossed the bottle off to my right when I saw a garbage can.

Mile 1 beeped in 8:05. Just fine. Things felt comfortable, though wet, and Mile 2 was nearly identical to Mile 1 in 8:01. I was really happy with my attire choices. I wore some new Saucony capri-length tights and Pro Compression knee socks, along with my fav Saucony Liberties on my bottom half. I had a skull cap on my head under my Saucony running hat - we actually had gone out to a Target near our hotel on Saturday to get the hat because I hadn't packed one! I was SO grateful to have my ears covered and to have a hat with a bill on it to help direct much of the rain away from my face. Additionally - I was SO thankful that Amber's aunt Merry had gifted each of us with a fuzzy neck gaiter thing. Frankly, it was so thick and woolly that it NEVER would've caught my attention as something I would want to wear while I was running a few miles, much less an entire marathon. However, the comfort this thing provided was like a tiny slice of heaven. I'm serious. Amber, what would we have done without Merry!!?? (Note to self - you still need to send the incredible Merry a thank-you card and gift!!) Merry also gave me some gloves.that I wore until the race started but then ended up casting them aside since they were completely soaked. They were great for a while, but once they got to the point of no return cold/wet-wise, they were probably more of a hindrance. RIP, sweet gloves!

Mile 3 was over in 7:56, my first of only two sub-8 miles.  Mile 4 beeped in 7:55 - marking the end of what I had been told was the initial "four miles' worth of down hill" portion of the race. I felt good here - as if I had checked the box on completing the first "section" of the race.

Mile 5 was over in a still-comfortable 8:04, with a matching Mile 6 in 8:04 as well.

Honestly, the first half of the race was't bad at all. Yeah - it was raining. Yes, I was cold. Of course the wind was moderately annoying. But - I was STILL running the Boston Marathon! It was am amazing feeling just to be there and to be a part of the history of this event.  The whole thing, from start to finish, was pretty darn surreal.

Mile 7 slowed down a bit in 8:10, with Mile 8 slower yet in 8:16.

Mile 9 was a bit quicker in 8:06 and Mile 10 was in 8:08 and Mile 11 in 8:07.

Mile 12 beeped in 8:04. Things were still nicely under control, in spite of the weather and in spite of any aches and pains that had plagued me the previous months.  Somewhere after mile 12 is Wellesley College. Supposedly there are usually girls who are super loud and yell and offer kisses, etc.? Somehow I missed all of this madness. Maybe it was my poncho-blinders, maybe it was too rainy and they weren't out - whatever it was, I didn't see them.

Mile 13 beeped in 7:59 and, shortly after that, I crossed the halfway mark!  1:46:24 - not too shabby.  At this point I wondered if a sub-1:40 was actually within the realm of possibility. Crossing the halfway point, naturally, was a great boost. Halfway done! This is really happening!

Mile 14 slowed down a bit and beeped in 8:07.

Mile 15 slowed down a LOT and beeped in 8:27

I pulled it together a little for Mile 16, which was over in 8:03.

Lookin' a little down-trodden

However, Mile 17 was slower again - 8:34.

While it never stopped raining and it was never NOT windy, I remember the wind really picking up after mile 16. I had also been warned by my new friend on the flight from O'Hare to Boston that miles 16-21 of Boston were hilly and I just needed to accept and embrace it.  I willed myself to just get through the miles, telling myself that things would get better after mile 21.  Mile 18 was over in 8:40.

After mile 18, I started trying to pay attention a little more to the crowds. I knew Clint and Merry and Sophia planned to spectate around Heartbreak Hill, but I wasn't sure where exactly to start looking for them. I did know, though, that I was really looking forward to seeing them!  Mile 19 was over in 8:30.

A little before reaching the milestone of Mile 20, something made me turn my head to the right a bit to study the crowd. THERE he was! I saw Clint, standing in his new green rain jacket, holding an umbrella over his head. I yelled, and then yelled again, and he saw me and smiled! I saw Merry and Sophia standing to his left and waved at the three of them while surging onward.  This was SUCH a boost.  And - Clint snapped some great pics as I passed by. It truly is a small miracle that I actually saw him. The wind and rain forced me to run most of the race with my head slightly down. I am so glad I picked my head up at this point and saw him!

Me in my cape, passing by Clint just before Mile 20

Shortly after seeing them, I crossed Mile 20 in 8:45. I am sure I managed to get that mile so far under 9:00 because of the last tenth of a mile or so after seeing Clint I definitely felt mentally higher than I had for a long time. Shortly after the 21st mile begins, I hit Heartbreak Hill. I won't lie - this was underwhelming.  I am sure the fact that the rain and wind was just SO terrible helped the hills seem like nothing too terrible in this race. I was really expecting Heartbreak to be awful, though. The way people talk about it - it sounds like a mountain! Maybe the rain and wind was a "gift" that made the hills seem like molehills? Who knows. Regardless, the hills really weren't the biggest issue during this race - and I was kind of confused as I made my way through the 21st mile and Heartbreak Hill and things didn't get as hard as I expected. I honestly wasn't even sure that I had run up Heartbreak Hill and thought that maybe it would come later...

I was disappointed when Mile 21 beeped in 9:05 (yeah, yeah, Heartbreak Hill, whatever).  Somewhat angrily, I forced my body into submission in order to get my pace below 9-minute miles.  Somehow, Mile 22 beeped in 8:47. Better, Rachel. Better. Keep fighting! (Thankfully, for my stubborn mental state, Mile 21 was my only over-9:00 mile.)

Mile 23 was over in 8:59 - sub-9 by the skin of my teeth. Things were definitely hurting by this point.

Mile 24 - 8:54. Getting SO CLOSE, but my work wasn't over yet. I was definitely feeling terrible but I was also still riding the high of "I am running the Boston marathon," which I am sure helped me and so many get through something that we maybe would've have been able to get through on a "normal" day. It's hard to say. I mean, really, we don't know just how strong we are until it's the only option we have.

Around mile 24.8, I turned a corner and then the famed Citgo sign emerged from the clouds like some sort of weird "you're doing it, you're really doing it" symbol. This was a moment that got me momentarily involuntarily choked up.  I pulled it together and pushed forward.

When Mile 25 beeped in 8:50, I reached to my sides to grasp the poncho that had run with me for three and a half hours and wrestled it over my head. Without slowing, I crumpled it into a ball as best as I could and threw it down onto the road to my left. I put my head down and pressed onward - the finish line on my mind. I KNEW, in this moment, that I was finishing this race.  Mile 26 beeped in 8:13 - my fastest mile since mile 16.  I still had it in me!

The finish line had to be within my sights here...

As I powered through the final bit, I smiled to myself at the sight of colorful ponchos littering the street. Clearly people other than me had the same idea - get rid of the poncho for the finish line photos!

As soon as I crossed the finish line, my legs automatically came to a screeching halt, my legs went down to my knees as I bent over, and a very strange gasping sound began escaping from my throat. I silently (I think?) told myself to pull it together. I was FINE. I had survived this thing. Now, I just needed to keep moving forward to collect my medal, the wonderful blanket, find Clint and Amber and WARM UP. I stumbled forward and somehow got my breathing under control.

I fumbled with my phone to take a selfie with the finish line in the background (hey, maybe a bit dorky - but I am sure grateful for these pics!). A stranger who had also just finished offered to take my pic in return for me taking hers. I remember my phone case was so wet that the screen wouldn't respond to touch. Some rain had gotten between the case and the screen because of a small broken area in the bottom area of the case. I took the case off the rest of the way, breaking it more with my freezing and minimally-responsive fingers.

I DID IT!

I gathered my medal and excitedly accepted a mylar blanket from a kind volunteer who fastened it around my shivering body.

My official race time was 3:40:39 - in spite of the heinously awful weather and my less-than-ideal months of training leading up to the race, this was still my 3rd fastest marathon - it was just over three minutes faster than my Indy Monumental performance last November (though it felt like 10x the effort for those mere 3 minutes I have to say!!). It is, however, a full 17 minutes off my PR. It's funny - even though I KNEW I wouldn't come close to my 3:23, a part of me still felt like a failure with this time! However, an even bigger part of me was pretty darn proud of this accomplishment.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and tried to Google what I THOUGHT was the name of our meeting place...."Lupita's," right? Nothing was coming up except things that were like a bajillion miles away.  Sometime during this struggle, I also received a text message from Holly-Rae that read something along the lines of, "Way to go mama, you are amazing!! Boston Qualifier!" GIRRRRRRRL. I responded, "LOL no -not sub 3:40, I am happy just to survive. That was the hardest one I've ever done." I won't lie, after receiving that text part of me in my stupor was like, "Wait...is my qualifying standard 3:45?? I thought it was 3:40..." Though re-qualifying wasn't my goal (it was literally just to survive the experience)...I would've been thrilled if it happened. Nope - I was right - 35-39 year old women have to run a sub-3:40. I continued shuffling along to the gear check area to collect my bag with a dry sweatshirt and pants (AND NO SHOES - I cursed past-Rachel for not packing dry shoes in this bag!!) while mulling the name Lupita's over in my head. That WAS the name of the place I was supposed to meet Clint and Amber and Merry and Sophia...right?

After gathering my bag, a very kind volunteer somehow (HA!) sensed that I looked confused and asked if he could help me. I said, "I just need to get out of here!" He asked where I was trying to get to and I told him that I was meeting people at Lupita's but I couldn't find it on my phone. He pulled out his phone and was unsuccessful as well. We both decided that I must have the name wrong. Frustrated, I stumbled over to a Starbucks on the corner of Boylston and something-or-other.

I walked in (IT WAS PACKED!) and found myself a corner in the back next to the bathrooms. There was a LONG line of runners waiting to change/use the bathrooms, including one girl who just stood there silently sobbing. I breathed a prayer of thanks that I was feeling better than her at the very least and got my phone out to call Clint.  I was able to tell him where I was and he told me just to stay put and that they would find me.

Waiting at Starbucks...

Shortly thereafter, Merry and Clint made their way to the sidewalk across the street from my Starbucks and were able to coach me through making my way out of the barricades to get over to them. Then, we all walked together to LOLITA'S. Freakin' heck. Not Lupita's....I was WAY off. HA!

I was SO excited to see Amber at the restaurant (who somehow managed to look like she hadn't just run a marathon in a monsoon...she sat at the table in her Boston jacket, medal, braided hair, and looked awesome. HA!) and to congratulate her on an amazing race. She had done incredibly well and SO deserved to. She worked her butt off and had an amazing training cycle. She PRed in a major way (and re-qualified for 2019!) with a 3:33:03. Amber, you are AWESOME and so strong, girl!!!!

I then visited the bathroom where it took me an eternity to work my way out of my wet clothing. I was disappointed in myself for only packing a dry sweatshirt, socks and leggings. Not nearly enough clothing to really warm up! I somehow got out of my wet layers and put on the dry clothes. I ended up walking back to the table in just my (dry!) socks with no shoes on - no way was I putting those wet/COLD things back on my feet until it was time to leave!

I ordered myself some pulled pork nachos and ate the crap right out of them. They were incredible - chips and cheese and pulled pork and radishes (?!) and a bunch of other "crap." They tasted like heaven! Lolita's also brings your table cotton candy (?!) at the conclusion of your meal. This particular cotton candy had POP ROCKS in it! The novelty of it all was pretty fun.

Cotton candy!

Me + my Boston girl!

After our meal and some serious relaxation, we went our separate ways. Merry, Amber and Sophia left to go back to Merry's place and Clint and I set out in search of a Pressed Juicery. I wanted a warm drink (they have a beetroot latte that had caught my eye and I wanted to try it!). While walking was definitely not comfortable, we made our way there with a quick pit stop at a Lush along the way. I wanted to buy Auntie Megan a Lush bathbomb as a little "congratulations on your ultra marathon" gift and a face mask for myself. I ended up also getting Gabey two bath bombs (a new experience for him!) and the very sweet cashier gave me a little present. She asked me if I had ever tried a Lush massage bar. I told her I hadn't and she asked us to wait and she went off to go get something. I assumed she was going to bring me a little sample of something. She returned with a full-sized peppermint massage bar and gave it to me as a congrats on the race! How fun and sweet!

We went back outside where THANKFULLY the rain had stopped (other than some minor drizzles). We found the Pressed Juicery and I got my beetroot latte (YUM!) and Clint had a frozen dessert (they have these amazing frozen juice concoctions that are ice-cream-like and SO GOOD). We then headed back to our hotel - we walked for a bit and then we ordered up an Uber. We spent the rest of the day lounging around...eating more food (Clint walked to the amazing latin restaurant not far from our hotel and brought us back a ton of food)...packing....and FaceTiming Holly Rae and AP to fill them in on some of the race details.

Resting for a bit at Pressed Juicery with a latte and a chair

Tuesday we took an Uber to the airport and began the trek home. Guys - let me just say: sitting on a plane with marathon-sore legs the morning after a big race was pretty awful. It was so hard to get "comfortable" and I truly had to mind-over-matter myself not to cry. I distracted myself by consuming an entire large box of gluten free cheese sandwich crackers.

After landing in Peoria, we drove to Core Life Eatery where we had planned to meet my mom, Gabe, Auntie Megan and Gabe's cousins Macy and Charlee. Gabe was SO excited to see us - and we, of course, were thrilled to see him. I am so grateful that our first "big" trip away from him went so smoothly and that he (reportedly!) had such a great time with Gram and Pa. We had a nice lunch together - and got to learn about Megan's ultra marathon adventure while I also shared some about my race.

Gabe always loves an opportunity to be silly with his cousins... 

 

And thus...life "post-Boston" began. I did experience a bit of "post marathon blues"...anyone who has done a big race can probably relate to this kind of bizarre feeling. The only real cure is to find the "next thing"...

WHAT'S NEXT?! Oh guys. I don't know. Part of me is like, "run another marathon this year and try to qualify for 2019!" And then part of me is like, "no no no, it's time to see about having another baby to give Gabey-boo a sibling!" And then part of me is like, "try something you've never done before...like an ultra-marathon!." And then part of me is like, "you spend so much time planning so much of your life - and CLEARLY the past year has exhibited the fact that your anxiety isn't always under control, maybe you need to take a few steps back and just run for FUN and not always have a strict plan!" And then part of me is like, "BUT last August I was SO CLOSE to a sub-20-minute 5k with a 20:20, maybe I need to work hard to try for that sub-20!" And then part of me is like, "But stroller running is so much fun, maybe I need to work hard and try to get faster with stroller running." Who knows. I (like my husband!) have running ADHD (truth be told, I have real, actual ADHD as diagnosed by my physician sooooo having "running ADHD" is probably actually true as well.).

ANYWAY...I say all of the above to say I don't really know what is next for me running-wise and I am allowing myself the "luxury" of being OK with that. No goals (at least not today). No plans (at least not this week). I am just going to run for the joy of it. My running has been very goal-driven and outcome-oriented since January of 2015 when I started working toward my half marathon PR and my first BQ marathon....and I just need a minute to refocus. And, let's be honest, I really need to get stronger and start some more regular weight training and get reconnected with yoga, my old lover, again.

I am SUPER excited about two of my favorite things that will start up again soon - Heat Wave (this will be my 4th year as a leader in this awesome women-only summer running group!) and the Lake Run Kids Run For Fun events on Friday evenings (I am excited both to help out and for Gabe to run!)!  Come what may, here's to a great next 7 1/2 months as 2018 marches on!

What a difference two years can make!

The day after the race, I had to wear my "Run Bean Town" shirt to work :).
Hey the cardigan makes it look professional, right?! ;)

THANK YOU to everyone in my life, really, in one way or another. I am sure I will accidentally leave someone out from my list - so know that I appreciate you all, dear readers, for your support!  The love and well-wishes and support I had leading up to this big race was overwhelming, so sweet, and frankly surprising (of course I already knew and appreciated the fact that I have a ton of amazing people in my life - but I had no idea so many people thought that running the Boston Marathon warranted such an outpouring of support. Thank you all...)

Thank you (in no particular order) to:
Clint, for being my coach and travel companion and the best supporter imaginable and for standing in the rain to cheer and for using vacation time for my silly race and far a million other things.
Gabe, for the endless stroller miles and for being my biggest little inspiration.
Mitch, for allowing me to be part of the Often Running Racing Team and granting me the opportunities for having a ton of awesome running experiences with other like-minded people as a part of this team.
My ORRT teammates and friends, for the camaraderie and support.
Amber, for the company and advice in Boston (she had run once before - in 2016 - so knew the lay of the land, so to speak!).
Amber's aunt Merry for her company and advice in Boston - we would've literally been lost without you (and don't get me started on the irreplaceable gift of that wooly neck gaiter!!).
Auntie Megan, for the runs (and, really, for forcing me into running years ago) and support and for the awesome good-luck goodie bag.
Jillian and Susan, for the amazing "cheerleading" from afar. The pictures/race signs that they posted on social media the days leading up to and the day of the race were seriously incredible. You know I'd be lost without my Reverend Mothers.
Gram and Pa, for taking care of our precious Gabe and for all of the support.
Grandma Nance and Papa Wells, for helping with the hotel $ and for all of the support.
Holly-Rae and Tanya (and Amber again, too), for the many shared training miles and friendship.
Rachel, for being a second mama to Gabe and for keeping him late so I could get in my all-important longest training run before the big day.
My Metcalf colleagues and friends for the good-luck lunch and GF brownies and snacks and signs and cards and gifts.
Shelly, for being an amazing substitute SLP who took on my caseload while I was gone from work for two whole days (and Kelly and Kiley, my interns who kept things rolling!).
Everyone who has run Boston before me who offered advice and details about the event.
And, of course, thanks to Saucony for the amazing gear. NO chafing in spite of the layering and in spite of the fact that I literally never wore the capris I wore during the race prior to the event! And, the Liberties are my current fav shoes, ever!
I could NOT have done this alone - thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart.

And...speaking of shoes...I'll close with this:

Big thanks to Susan for my awesome shoe tags..."Mother Runner" and "Boston 4/16/18"

I came away from this experience with a new appreciation for the Boston Marathon and for all who have run it before me. Honestly, I went into this race saying I was going to be a “one and done” Boston Marathoner. However, I am singing a different tune today. I can’t wait to return sometime in the future. Hopefully - I can return with a big group of teammates/friends - like our big team contingent that went together in 2016! Until then...I'll keep having as much fun as I can with this running thing!