Marathon 2.0

You run a marathon, you get a full post to yourself. I'll catch up with the kids next weekend. Packing for a run is more than just shoes. A lot of thought goes into food, gear, and clothing - nothing new for fear something would rub somewhere it shouldn't.

I have been a wreck the past two weeks. There is a lot with school stressing me out, but my complete mental discomfort was due to the marathon. I was putting pressure on myself. It's hard to explain. But more than anything, I wanted to be happy with my run. After months of training, I didn't want to finish and wish for a different outcome (I did after my first marathon). So I literally made myself sick with worry/stress/mental angst. The closer the weekend approached, the bigger of a basket-case I became. I wanted nothing more than for the marathon to be over. Once Saturday night arrived, I was oddly calm.

Rachel & I arrived at the starting line at 7:15, it was 37* and we had 45 minutes to get set. 

Our spectators were getting set too.

I'm not positive my race pictures are in chronological order. But my body language and facial expressions let me know which happened earlier (smiles) and later (not smiles).

My goal was to finish around 3:35, I hovered with the 3:35 pacer until mile 21.5. That's a sucky spot to see him pull out and not be able to catch up.  At this point, I'm still with him, you can see the balloons with the 3:35 sign.

Spectating got long for some spectators.

Other spectators had a lot of fun. I was lucky to have friends come out to offer support. They had a pre-planning evening to map their course and make (hilarious) signs.

In the craziness from a runner's perspective, I only saw this sign on the course. And it was at the perfect time. I was in major discomfort, coming up a long-ass hill, with about .5-1 mile to go.

It was completely selfish to have my kids out in the cold, dragged in/out of the car multiple times. But I wanted them there. This year they held balloons and I constantly scanned the crowds for the balloons, knowing they'd be at the bottom.

Finally the US flag came into sight. This marks .2 to the finish, a welcome sight.

And after nearly two miles going uphill, it was finally downhill. My family was at the finish line, I didn't see them, but they spotted me. I was (kind of) looking around, but my eyes were set on the word FINISH. (I'm in the pink hat on the right)

I crossed the finish line and immediately found Rachel.  With smiles, we found someone to take our picture. (Rachel kicked my butt and clocked an impressive 3:31:09)

We got water, used the bathroom, and made our way to our families.

So, the stats. I finished in 3:35:37, that's 2:36 faster than two years ago (3:38:33). I did lose the 3:35 pacer (he was going faster than a 3:35), but was able to keep within my goal. I qualified for the Boston Marathon. Holy shit - I qualified for the Boston Marathon! Many runners try for years to qualify. The run felt better this year. The time went quicker this year. Was I more prepared? Maybe, maybe not. My mindset was different, and I'm not sure if it was for the better or worse. I knew what to expect (pain). I had more expectations of what I wanted, but didn't know if it was possible - that added a lot of self-inflicted stress.

I didn't do this on my own. The months of training were only possible with the help of Patrick, my parents, and Rachel. I wouldn't have done this on my own. It was fun to have someone to celebrate my training with. We also had people with their spirits in our hearts. Rachel lost her mom Sharon in May, we both lost our friend Cheri in September. They were with us too. 

The presence of my family and friends on Sunday was a huge part of the outcome. I looked forward to seeing them, my pace picked up after I went by.

They are what it is about.

I'm sore today. I feel like I had a kick-ass workout that results in a good-sore. My right hip and my left knee feel overused, I'm really hopeful it doesn't take more than a few days to recover. I didn't run for a month after my first marathon, I'm interested to see how long it takes this time.

Will I run Boston? It's not that easy. I did qualify, but due to the popularity of the Boston Marathon, that doesn't guarantee you a spot in the race. I beat my qualifying time by 4:03, but for 2015, they only accepted people that beat it by five minutes or more. BUT, I did earn the bragging rights that I AM A BOSTON QUALIFIER. That alone, will carry me for a long time.

And if I go by watch, I was an overachiever and ran 26.4 miles. Evidently I suck at cutting corners and added 2/10 of a mile zig-zagging the street, that's crazy right?