Well here goes it..
My parents came into town a couple days before the race and we had a TON of touristy things planned. Salem, Rockport, Newport.. we were BUSY! Overall it was a terrific distraction from the stress of the big day.
Saturday we spent the day in Boston and walked around the runners expo for awhile... There is soo much running gear out there. I got my bib number and we ventured out so my parents could see the finish line.
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| Bib Number! |
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| Finish Line! |
Sunday we had Easter Lunch with Brian's parents then headed back into Boston where we stayed at a hotel for the night. My parents ventured out to grab dinner, but Brian and I took it easy, watched a movie and I went to bed early after laying out all my gear.
Monday morning I was up early.. but not because I had to.. I didn't end up leaving the hotel until 8:15 since I was in the last corral since I was running for the First Responders. Brian took a cab with me down to the common to board the bus and stayed with me until I was off!
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| Hotel room pre-race photo. Thanks MOM! |
I was totally nervous, people on the bus were super chatty but I didn't know what to expect and I didn't know anyone! I just tried to stay focused on what was coming up and I hoped my Dad and Birdie were watching from above.
Finally our bus pulled into Athletes Village! Very exciting. I was a complete ball of nerves. This whole time was kind of a blur... I got my picture taken, stripped out of my warm up clothes, ate my banana, used the bathroom (ok maybe I used it like a dozen times..) and called Brian to tell him I was there...
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| WAHOO!!! |
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| Holy Moly People! |
Next thing I know we are making our way to the starting line! (Which is NOT super close to Athletes Village.. we walked for EVER!) Once the crowd of people started running I couldn't stop smiling... this was it! The moment I trained for, the moment I've been waiting for.. We were off!
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| A friend from work captured this gem.. |
I won't go into detail for the whole 26.2 miles... its far.. I still don't think it's easy..(I now think 5k's are a walk in the park.. go figure) but I did it. It was TOUGH. My leg hurt.. really bad.... Heartbreak hill was NOT FRIENDLY... and I saw LOTS of people in the medical tents.
I didn't finish the marathon with some amazing time, but I finished. I had really bad shin splints in my legs, they were bruised up and down and my left leg was a borderline stress fracture. It was painful. I walked. I ran. I walked some more.
BUT this.. this sign... this was what I needed. When I saw the Citgo sign (a LANDMARK in Boston) I knew that I was getting closer... I knew I could finish this, that was all that I wanted, to prove that despite my ups and downs and my non-runner body I could do it.
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| oh sign.. how I LOVED seeing you... |
Despite everything, this might have been one of the greatest days of my life. Everything was amazing. From the crowds cheering "Boston Strong" to the people high-fiving me and yelling "You got this orange shirt!" (next time.. def putting my name on my shirt)
The greatest moment of the day was DEFINITELY taking that right on Hereford and left on Boylston. Despite me taking forever to get to the finish... there were TONS of people cheering me on.. I picked up the pace and pulled straight into the finish! :) I was HOME!
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| I'm pretty sure I was crying.. and so was mom. <3 |
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| Family! |
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| My Biggest Supporter! Brian xoxo |
Well that's it.. the greatest moment of my life.... so far.. :) I've spent the last few months recovering from the leg pain.. Happy to report we're all healed up and back to running!
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| CRAZY HAPPY FACE! |
Onto the next one right?
