Boston Marathon

I still remember the elation I felt when I qualified in 2013, and then the added urgency to race this year with the tragedy around last year's marathon. I recall going on a run that day, over a year ago, with tears in my eyes asking how people could ever try to destroy something so innocent as a race. I was determined from that point forward that I would run with my heart come race day, not for myself, but for everyone who was affected by the past event and for those countless others that wanted to be in my shoes yesterday. It was an honor and a blessing to be able to step up to the starting line with 36,000 others as we were embraced by Boston and the world.

I flew in Friday night and my mom, sister, and brother got in Saturday morning. We went to the expo, and I was so ecstatic to share in the check-in process with my brother for our first marathon together. We explored the expo and then walked the finish line area. It was an emotional day, remembering the past, but embracing the future. Coming back to the hotel, we met an 82 year old man who would be running his 48th marathon on Monday, second oldest man in the race. The people, the stories, the journeys...wow.

Sunday morning we went to the church just past the finish line for an incredible Easter Sunday service with a blessing of the athletes, in which Kevin and I each received a scarf to give us love and courage. I was in tears during the service, emotions heavy, but knowing God was going to protect all the athletes on the following day. It was spectacular listening to the church organs, choir, and bagpipes. Once all the athletes received their scarves and were standing, the church silence broke with a loud applause and shouts of pure joy. I was overwhelmed with the beauty and unspoken bond between all the runners.

Monday morning, having fully loaded up on carbs and fluids at Olive Garden the night before, we drove to the start and Kevin and I said our goodbyes with hugs and kisses to our sister and mom before heading into athlete's village. The village was huge, and after a short while there, I parted with Kevin as he was in wave 1. When wave 2 was called, I started the walk to the starting line to toe up for 26.2 miles. On my right arm I had written 'Boston Strong' and 'Wolfpack' and on my left I carried a pace band and wrote 'Relentless'. The walk to the start was fabulous as locals were there to cheer us on and provide last minute sunscreen and vaseline. Others were there to add entertainment with signs for free cigarettes, beer, and donuts...I found it quite hilarious. As I was in corral 9 for my wave, I started off last and had ample time to get there.

The start...so many people!! It was beautiful and I could hardly believe that all that enthusiasm would exist for every step of the course, but it did. They say it starts with practically 10 miles of downhill, but to me it was more of rolling hills. I high-fived as many people/children as I could as I ran, often detouring to get the littlest of kids so they would keep their hands out for other runners. I even jumped for a couple high-fives. I tried to ease into a comfortable stride, not going too fast, just taking it all in. There were so many runners that keeping a rhythm was not very easy, but it was Boston Marathon and nothing affecting my run mattered. At close to 2.5miles we passed a biker bar on the left with a super boisterous crowd and as we approached each city we were greeted with people everywhere welcoming us in and embracing us. All the Boston Strong signs and thank you's made it impossible to think about the run. My thoughts were lost in the beauty, the support, the love.

My hip was sore towards mile 10, and as we neared a lake, I was thinking...great, so only uphill from here. But around the half marathon mark I rolled my ankle so the hip became less of an issue. Just after the halfway, we passed a shop where a man with a loud speaker greeted us and told us we could check ourselves out in his windows. I knew my brother would have gotten a kick out of that so it made me laugh. I don't recall too many times up to that point and beyond that I wasn't beaming or laughing come to think of it. The Wellesley scream tunnel with all the girls having signs begging for kisses was super entertaining. Most of the female runners kept left at this point as the males swarmed in for kisses. Signs read "Kiss me, I'm a teacher", "Kiss me, I'm still sexually frustrated", "Kiss me, I'm good at it", "If you run faster, I will drop my sign" (minimal clothes on that girl), "Kiss me, I'm a smart chick"...so on and so forth. It was hilarious. Other significant points along course were up every hill where 100s of people cheered us on, every time we passed a frat or sorority area where everyone was already plastered at noon, people screaming out for the Wolfpack and laughing that I was a "1-man wolfpack", seeing my mom and sister, and of course...the last 10k.

For me, I felt surprisingly great all the way until mile 20, despite throwing up a couple times. I conquered each hill fairly painlessly and knew my brother and teammate were both steps ahead of me doing the same. I relied heavily on the crowd after that point to keep me going. At mile 23ish I used the restroom before the final 5k in. As I am not the best at nutrition and only had one clif shot blok and half a gel the whole course, plus maybe 6 cups of mostly spilled gatorade...I felt super faint by that point and those last miles were just a mental battle to keep putting one foot in front of the other. For the first time ever, I thought I would pass out before finishing. But God and Boston carried me home. Upon crossing the finish line, I went directly to the med tent and then reunited with my amazing family.

Kev did a 3:06, Caryn did a 3:17, and I finished with a 3:19 (tied my PR from Disney). I am so proud of both of them on such a physically/emotionally challenging course. I couldn't be happier with my time, but this race wasn't about that. Had I ran a 3 hour or had I ran a 4 hour marathon, had I walked the entire thing, my heart was left out there on the course with all those phenomenal people. The time was just a bonus to the most beautiful day.

Finishing Boston Marathon, with all the honor and glory associated with the race, for my first time during such a monumental year, is very hard to describe. It was an incredible journey and every person out there made it into the easiest marathon ever. Until the last 10k, and really 5k, there wasn't even time to think about my body or stress over the sheer willpower it takes to complete a marathon. This experience was something I wouldn't trade for anything. Thank you so much to everyone who supported me while I was running and for every single person that made Boston marathon a priority yesterday. We are all Boston Strong. I will be back next year 

Thanks Nuun Hydration for keeping me hydrated, Trivillage.com Fan Club Page for gearing me up, Andreas Ultrabikexstudio for all my cross training help, SeeMeInTheDark.com for protecting me on early morning workouts,Hector Arana for group long runs, Wolfpacktri for constantly motivating me to be the best version of myself I can be. To all my friends and family, nothing is impossible, but everything seems a lot more possible with all of you.