13.1 miles = my bitch

It was a brisk, cold morning. The sun wasn't up yet. I snuck into the bathroom, applied Vaseline to certain body parts, dressed in my running clothes, and waited for Jess to arrive. We drove over to Fenway with my mother and parked as close as we could. As the light began streaming through the buildings, we joined other people walking toward the starting line. The air puffed from our mouths in tiny clouds. There was a hushed murmur, a buzz of energy and excitement. It was race day.

Okay, really? I was as nervous as all get out. I didn't have my bib or my timing chip because Rose and Aren had picked it up the day before and we were meeting before the race. I kept feeling like I should stop and go to the bathroom one last time. Little did I know, I would have to make time for that later. We found the starting line and it looked imposing and just a little bit scary. We posed for pictures and listened to the peppy music that someone decided would inspire runners at 7:30 in the morning. Rose and Aren joined us and I attached my bib (911, can you believe it?) and timing chip. They had done this many times before and they knew we had to hit the dreaded porta potty line before race time. Well, we stood there and we stood there and then we stood there some more. Aren decided not to wait and went to line up at the starting line. I was tempted to go with him because it was getting to be that time and the line was moving so slowly. As I grew more and more nervous about not only the race itself, but also missing the start, we inched forward and finally it was 7:58am! I couldn't stand it any longer but just then, it was my turn and I was out and ready to race by 8:00am on the dot.

We joined the back of the pack and made it just in time to hear the starting gun. Of course it was another few minutes before we actually crossed the starting line. It was pretty tight at first, everyone crammed in together, trying not to step on each other, but by Mile Two we were able to move around and actually caught up to Aren. After that, I lost everyone. It was just me and a bunch of strangers, enjoying a beautiful morning in Boston. Oh and running. We were doing that too. I remember passing Mile Three and thinking that a few months ago, I would have been done by now. Three miles was pretty much it for me. Four if I was feeling especially chipper. "Only 10 more miles," I thought to myself. "What?!" my legs screamed in response! But really, I was actually feeling pretty good. I had run out this way before and I knew the course. There were random guys peeing in the woods and it was kind of funny to see. And there were people cheering.

As an avid cheerer of runners, especially Boston marathoners, I was excited to experience it from a different perspective. For once, I would be the one being yelled at instead of the one doing the yelling. Well, it turns out that people are a lot nicer than I am. Instead of screaming out individual's numbers and encouraging them to run faster or harder, people were merely encouraging us runners to keep up the good work. They weren't pressuring me to do better, they were merely saying I was fine the way I was. It felt pretty good. I think I'll have to remember that for the next Boston Marathon.... instead of asking more of them, I'll just praise what they're already doing. Oh and I'll also bring a cowbell.

Around Mile Five, there was a huge hill that I didn't really know about and wasn't expecting. I was feeling pretty good and so I didn't mind that much, and kept thinking of how great it would be to run down it on the way back. I ran by the Power Gel station at Mile Six and grabbed the first one I could..... Cafe Latte. Eww. I think that would have been the end of me. I grabbed the next one and threw the Cafe Latte at the poor unsuspecting volunteer. Vanilla. Not my favorite, but it would do. It did. I felt good running through the zoo at Mile Seven and looked around for Kevin James filming his movie but only saw some camels. Running down the hill and back over the overpass toward Mile Eight, my left calf started to cramp up, but I tried to ignore it and hit every water station I could.

It was around Mile Ten that my stomach started to betray me. I had been keeping up a good pace and was actually paying attention to the clock posted at every mile. At one point I had thought it might be possible to break two hours, but my stomach had other plans. I slowed way down and tried my best to just get through it. I looked forward to seeing Spike at Mile Eleven and just thought of how great it would be to finish. Somehow, I made it through, around the Fens, past the Rose Garden.... almost there. I was even able to sprint through the finish line, grab my medal, and kiss my mom before running off to the porta potties again. I had such a great feeling of accomplishment that it made everything worthwhile (even the crippling stomach cramps)! I was so happy to have successfully run 13.1 miles without stopping, so proud of doing it faster than I thought possible, so glad that it was over! I'm not sure I was cut out for long distance running, but now that it IS over, I'm already feeling kind of empty, like I need a goal to train for. Shhh... just don't tell my stomach.