Boston Marathon 2018
Well I think you all know the weather conditions by now. Now take the image in your head and it was 10x worst than that. I knew it would be a challenge going in and for the first time, wasn't looking forward to running Boston. The day before the race I was just generally pissed off. I was so angry that the weather was going to be what I remembered 2018 Boston for no matter what else I did over the weekend. I was sad for all the first timers--this is not how it should be. But in the end, I was going to go out there and run no matter what Mother Nature served up.
I took my jolly time catching the bus to Hopkinton. I was starting and wave one but did not want to be out there longer than I needed to be. DH always walks me to the buses and we say our goodbyes. As usual I am an emotional mess.
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Same old LONG ride to the start. I was glad it was long because the bus was warm and dry, but happy to get to Hopkinton because I really had to go to the bathroom (no matter how many times I go before, it hit me 10 minutes into the ride--stupid nervous bladder). Athletes Village is my least favorite place. Because of the rain and temps, nobody could lay outside on the lawn and everyone was forced into one of the two tents if they wanted to be out of the weather. This is where Boston failed this year--they put the tents over baseball fields and it was a disgusting, muddy mess.
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Choice: stay out in the rain and cold or trudge through the mud for no rain and not quite as cold. I chose to go inside on the other side. There were bodies everywhere and you could not move or walk. They have volunteers with some pre-race food and drink and I was behind one of their tables. I found a wooden pallet to stand on so I wouldn't sink into the mud.
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An English man eventually joined me on it. We both stood there, not talking, shivering, for about an hour and then they called our wave. Normally I sit as much as possible in Athlete's Village, but the wind was whipping under the bottom of the tent. My feet were soaked and so, so cold. I started walking to my corral and wanted to use the bathroom one more time. There is a huge bank of porta-potties in the CVS parking lot on the way. People were disrobing left and right. I think lots of people were questioning how much to take off. Made it to my corral (3) and went over to the other side, near the back. I made a last minute decision to ditch my cheap poncho--still don't know if that was the right thing to do. They dropped the rope separating us from corral 4 and everyone starts pushing up. It was the warmest I had been all morning. Announced some male elite names, sang the anthem, and we were off. It felt SO GOOD to be running. My feet were completely numb by now and felt so funny. I started to warm up and got the feeling back in my feet around mile 3-4. They did not feel good.
The rain. It NEVER stopped. I knew this would be a slow marathon for me because of my recent injuries. Regardless, I went out hard just like always and wanted to see how long it took before wheels started falling off. Around mile 8, it started raining so hard--the kind of rain you have to pull over in traffic for because you can't see. And then of course the wind. My spirit was quickly breaking. I knew I had 2 more hours of this. My legs were numb by now and I was cold. The one feeling in my leg that I could feel was my hamstring--it kept cramping. By mile 11, I was slowing down. I kept trying to live in the mile I was in and not think about how far I had. I set my goal to get to the half way point. Then it was to get to Newton and the hills. I wanted to quit so many times. I knew DH would be in Newton around mile 17. I saw him but he never saw me. I yelled his name but it is too loud to hear anything. OMG, I wanted this to be over. Every part of my body ached from the cold and wet. There was a strong headwind the whole way. For the first time ever, I wore a hat to keep the rain out of my eyes--good decision. I was worried it would blow off but it would have had to work itself over the clump in back that was my hair.
I did not care about time or place. It was all about survival and just finishing. I thought about walking but I cannot walk in a marathon. My legs would NEVER get going again. Then I would be out in this hell hole even longer. After I got to the top of Heartbreak Hill, I didn't care. I am usually elated at this point because it is all downhill from here. Nope, didn't care. By mile 22, I could feel my form really sucking. I was leaning way too far forward and was close to falling over. It was probably the numb legs. I started just getting through each mile. The crowd support was picking up again (this was about 25% of what it was last year--can't say I blame them). I did have one energy gel on course from the race. It was so hard to get down. I had to chew it because of the cold--it was so thick. The last 3 miles I was on the edge of throwing up--I don't know what shock feels like, but maybe something along that? Anyway, plodded through those last few. I had a happy moment when I saw DH at Kenmore by the Citgo sign. He never goes there because it is too crowded and it would take him too long to get to me when I am finished. He said the subway was empty (Red Sox cancelled their game) and it was not crowded. Finally, I made the 2 most glorious turns of any marathon, right on Hereford, left on Boylston. That will never get old. I crossed the finish line and could feel my legs giving out. I chose to crash into a wall to keep myself upright. Of course medical is all over you when you have trouble walking. They were awesome and kept me walking to the next zone and then handed me off to that person. After a couple minutes I could stand on my own and said I was fine.
You walk a bit to get your medal. Most people stop at the first person they see, but I like to go towards the end so those volunteers get a chance. Right when I was getting my medal, that hard, driving rain started again. WTH? Damn you weather! Got my goodies and cape and was shivering so badly by now--everyone was. Medics were being called left and right. I saw a few people go down. It took some time, but I found my way out and met DH (we always meet at The Four Seasons). This is my normal "picture" spot, but I told him I was going into the hotel. The hotel was so awesome!! They had a line of employees and whenever a runner walked in, would applaud. They were letting people camp out, change clothes, you name it. I took off my wet shirt and put on my dry clothes. An asian man came in next to us. He had his gear check bag but could not open it because his hands were so cold. I opened it for him. Then I had trouble getting off the floor and he and DH helped me stand. Then we started the wet, cold walk back to the hotel (about a mile).
A few highlights:
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I asked a volunteer in the tent at Athlete's village if they had any extra plastic gloves. She gave me some and I put them over my gloves to keep them dry. Eventually water got into the tips and I bit holes in them to drain it.
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These stands at the finish are normally filled. And the woman on the right? I saw so many people wearing shower caps. I have gotten so many ideas for the future from this race.
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Official time: 3:18:27. I am at peace with this. My goal was under 3:20 when it was just my injuries I was dealing with. I can work on fixing my time for a better wave/corral at one of the fall marathons.
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We normally celebrate Marathon Monday with a drink at Bell in Hand Tavern. No way was I going back out in that weather. I took a scalding shower, got a Lyft to the airport, and we had a drink there. I could NOT wait to get home. I had not seen my kids since Thursday and was ready to lose it. That was too long and I will not leave them that long again.
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A few things:
Yes it sucked. However, I like to throw myself into something like that every now and then to remind myself that I am a bad*$$ and I am stronger than I think. No matter how much I want to quit.
I obviously need to figure out what to wear in monsoon weather. I don't run in these conditions, so had no clue. I was at Boston in 2015. Weather was similar, but not as bad or as cold.
My stress reaction in my tibia seems healed for the most part. The fibula? Eh, not so much. I can still find the sore spot so I know it is still there. I have some swelling also. I can even feel my sacrum (the bone I fractured last August). I know it is fine, but I think I will always be aware of it.
My feet still feel odd. It almost feels like I have something foreign in my shoes, but I don't. It gets better each day, so hoping it goes away.
I went into this marathon very undertrained. I started well, but then got injured. My one and only 20 miler was in the middle of February. I replaced almost all my runs in the last 3-4 weeks with elliptical. While it is comparable to the cardio workout, elliptical running is NOT running. My legs were not used to the long pounding that you build up to when running. Besides my hamstring, my glutes were killing me!
I have resumed most normal activities (EXCEPT RUNNING). I went to the gym yesterday and today. Active recovery. Plus, I have another marathon in 18 days.
