episode 2: the expo

Next on the weekend's frenetic agenda was making the obligatory stop at the 2010 Boston Marathon Expo to pick up my bib for the race. Laura, Erin, and I agreed long before my NYC bus tickets were purchased that hitting the Expo sooner rather than later would be far better for all three of our psyches. Since the Expo was open Friday through Sunday--and since I wouldn't return to Boston until noon on Saturday--it was decided that I'd go straight from getting off the bus to getting on the T in order to meet them for bib pick-up.

Brian, Chris and I stayed out fairly late our last night in the city, catching West Side Story on Broadway (wahoo!) and dinner at a hip/exotic/techno-beat-underwritten Vietnamese restaurant. We returned to the hotel dangerously close to 2 AM--where I set my alarm for 5:30 AM to make absolutely sure I'd find my 7:30 bus. Long day ahead.

By the time my bus rolled into South Station at noon, my body was convinced that it must be time for bed. Lucky for me, I have the greatest friends, period. Erin and Laura both greeted me at the Park Street station with tokens of marathon goodness and the loveliest of sentiments that made even the afternoon drizzle seem sunny. (Yes, I will be that sappy--they turned my nearing-cranky mood completely around!) We traveled together to the Hynes Convention Center, where we waited for a few teammates to join us.

Up until this point in this blog, I don't think I've mentioned that aside from running and fundraising for Boston Partners in Education, I also serve as the team's coordinator. Part of my VISTA position for Boston Partners includes attending BAA meetings, coordinating group runs with the other nonprofit teams in our Coalition, answering our other runners' questions, monitoring fundraising, etc.

Thanks to this position, I've gotten to know Laurelin--our out-of-town runner and a former employee of Boston Partners--quite well via emails back and forth, but I had never actually met her. As Erin, Laura, Todd, and I all waited at the Convention Center, there suddenly appeared a young lady with Jess whose Facebook picture I knew quite well. The spirit of marathon love continued, and Laurelin and I hugged each other as new friends united by this crazy undertaking. (Quick shout-out to her for being so lovely--you rock, Laurelin!)

Together, the six of us braved the crowds of runners who continued to filter into the Hynes. First up and most importantly, we needed our bibs! We navigated through the masses to the appropriate table.


Picking up our numbers felt very much like graduating--finally getting your diploma after months of preparation for such a moment. And to apparently make absolutely sure that such an analogy applied, Jess stood by each of us as we received our bib to photograph the moment with her iPhone. Below is my shot, which she snapped immediately before I snapped about having my picture taken looking like I just got off of a bus from NYC. (Sorry, Jess. I really do love you.) =)


Our number packets (mine pictured below) contained not only our bib, but the ever-important chip that we would lace onto our shoes to track our progress on Marathon Day, as well as illustrated instructions for attaching such chips. I mention this now because such instructions will likely make multiple appearances in my next post. It involves me looking comically foolish--you will be entertained.


Once each of us had a packet in hand, we moved on to pick up our complimentary, official 2010 Boston Marathon shirts--which Laura refused to physically handle because, as she will tell you in her pre-marathon blog post, Laura will not touch any marathon-branded apparel prior to the marathon. Very superstitious...

Number packets, t-shirts, and official Boston Marathon bags all now in hand, we imposed on a passerby to snap a group photo with our newly obtained treasure:

back row from left: me, Erin, Laurelin, Todd
front row from left: Laura, Jess

Adorable. =)

Now, as any Boston Marathoner can tell you, that's only the beginning of the Boston Marathon Expo Experience. There are giant rooms that follow the two required stops our group had just hit--rooms that are full of samples and merchandise and last-minute advice and fellow runners and preachers and cryers and circus clowns and kittens and banana cream pies. I'll bet.

Okay, so I didn't actually go to the rest of the Expo.

Quite exhausted, I excused myself from the group and made my way--for the first time since NYC--back to my apartment. I was tired. And more than any PowerBar samples, free water bottles, or overpriced Adidas merchandise, what I really needed two days before the 2010 Boston Marathon was sleep.

Expo. Check.

episode 1: nyc

Warning: The following series of blog posts is written with my mom in mind. I fully understand if most of you aren't particularly interested in the level of detail I hope to provide concerning this monumental day in my life. But Mom will. =)

To keep the details manageable, I'm going to tackle the day (and days prior) in parts. First up--my trip to NYC!

And one more quick note before I begin: Big thanks to all of my friends, coworkers, and fellow runners for sharing their photos with me! The series of posts to follow would be far less complete had you smart people who remembered to bring cameras not shared your wealth, and I thank you.


At 6:30 AM on Thursday, April 15--exactly four days and four hours before the start of the 2010 Boston Marathon--I closed the door to my apartment behind me, giant backpack strapped to my back and bus ticket confirmation email in hand. I was on my way to meet a friend of mine visiting from Montana in NYC to check out the Big Apple for the first time. Goodness gracious.

That marked the beginning of the most eventful weekend of my life. Thankfully, as hoped for, the sights and sounds of the city served as the perfect distraction/replacement for stressing out about the marathon. Some photographic, notable distractions included attending a live taping of The Colbert Report,

checking out Rockefeller Center,

exploring Central Park,

and looking like an utter tourist in Grand Central Station.

As predicted, maintaining anything resembling a normal diet was quite a challenge in a new city. (Finding a place to run my scheduled five miles Thursday would have been up there as well, but I decided early on that walking all over the city all day would suffice.)

Brian, Chris (pictured above in blue), and I went to a lovely Thai restaurant after the Colbert taping. I looked through the menu at a bunch of new and tempting items, vaguely thinking that I had never tried duck before, and surely it wouldn't hurt to try something new with a few days yet to go before the marathon... even if it didn't agree with me, I would have more than a few hours to get it out of my system... and I was finally in my very most dreamed-of city, after all... what better place to try new things...

But it was there. Looming over me. Over Chris's right shoulder--sitting on the bar that stood alongside our table--was a business card holder. And on the cards in that holder read three words that would have meant nothing to me six months ago, but now--they watched, cautioned, advised:

TEAM IN TRAINING

For anyone not on my marathon team, that requires more than three words of explanation. My coach--Coach Rick, who I've mentioned in this blog a few times before--is now the coach of a team that consists of five different nonprofits: Boston Partners, Bottom Line, the Boston Debate League, Museum of Science, and The Esplanade. Before coaching this group that has affectionately come to be called The Coalition, Coach Rick worked with one of the Boston Athletic Association's larger legacy charities, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. And the name of their team? Indeed. Team in Training.

Coach Rick was watching over me. And I played it safe with a chicken dish. =)

Friday morning arrived shortly after our Thai meal (actually, as late as we ate dinner there, it may have arrived during the meal), and with it came the start of my three-day pre-marathon carb load. Chris--Brian and I's personal guide to a whirlwind tour of the city--found out about my Carb Quest and did me the great favor of taking it very seriously.

When the time came for Friday lunch, Chris marched me straight to a delicious pasta bar where I got to choose my own pasta, my own sauce, and my own extra additions. (Shut up; it was exciting.) =)

Our lunches in hand, Brian and I took to our usual role of trusting that Chris knew where he was going, and we followed him for several blocks to some location which we would only discover once we had arrived. And Chris took to his usual role of choosing the perfect spot. He took us straight to one of the red tables pictured here:


And so I sat--in the middle of Times Square--and carb-loaded for the 2010 Boston Marathon.

Life is good.

more laurel outlook fame!

Marathon Post is still in progress, but in the meantime...

Larry Tanglen at the Laurel Outlook (my hometown newspaper) was kind enough to compose a follow-up article about my marathon completion--and then put it on the front page! Again!

The complete text can be found here:
http://www.laureloutlook.com/articles/2010/04/21/news/big_story/01big.txt

...and if you're like the folks who have already seen this, you'll get quite a kick out of one of my mother's comments... Mother... =)

Thank you so much, Larry! This article makes me impressed with myself! =D

26.2

Complete Marathon Experience post is pending--I don't want to throw one together while tired and short-change it. =)

In the meantime, please enjoy one of my favorite pre-race photos snapped in the Athletes' Village (from left: me, Erin, & Laura.)


Truly a phenomenal experience--details pending!!

6, 5, 4...

At some point, I stopped having to click the "Extended Forecast" link to obsessively check the weather on April 19, and it started to show up in the 5-day forecast. The countdown to Patriots' Day continues.

The following paragraph is the most important thing I have ever posted on this blog:

As the Day of Reckoning nears, let me sincerely thank everyone who has supported me through this adventure. If you sent me a text, sent me a check, stopped by my desk to ask about last weekend's run, stopped by my blog to leave a comment, donated to my Firstgiving page, helped with a water stop, ran alongside me in a weekday run, listened to me ramble incessantly about yesterday's weekday run, or encouraged me to undertake this crazy adventure in the first place--you rock. I couldn't have conquered the training and fundraising undertaking without the outpouring of support from family, friends, and new friends. As wonderful a circle of people with which I know I'm surrounded, your support has been even greater than I imagined. Thank you.

And thanks to all of you, I have raised $4,100.00 for Boston Partners in Education so far! That is truly incredible, and I can assure you that you're supporting a nonprofit with a wonderful mission--as well as supporting me! Double thank you for helping me to surpass my fundraising goal.

As I type, I am currently on my way to New York City for the first time (buses with Wi-Fi--who knew?) A somewhat last minute, pre-marathon weekend out of town is proving to be both a fantastic and terrible decision.

Fantastic! Speedy vacation-planning has done an incredible job of keeping my mind off of the marathon. Someone at work came by and asked if I was ready for Monday; I replied with genuine wonder, "What's Monday?" I even forgot to check the April 19 forecast yesterday until reminded about it by a friend! Though now that I've just reminded myself, perhaps I'll go check it again now...

I'm especially thankful for the unexpected blessing of distraction as I watch a few of my teammates... I don't want to say "freak out," but it's clear that the Boston is the prominent thing on their minds. Don't get me wrong, I'm at my highest point of freaking out (now I'll say it!) as well, but the anxiety is mostly for the NYC trip at this point. It will be switched back to the Marathon the moment get off of the bus in Boston on Saturday, get on the T, and go directly to the Expo to pick up my bib.

Terrible! There are certain things you need to do the weekend before a marathon, and being out of town makes many of them a bit more difficult. For example, Coach Rick's recommendation of sticking to foods you know will be nearly impossible without access to my kitchen at home. Carb loading three days prior to the race would also be easier if I was doing the grocery shopping, but I imagine ordering pasta Friday night should take care of that. It also helps that Saturday and Sunday will be spent back in Boston, so I'll be able to stay off my feet on Sunday as Coach also wisely recommended. And anyway, finally getting a taste of NYC = so worth it!

In case I don't have a chance to post again before the Marathon, another sincere thanks to everyone who has kept up on this blog! It always means a lot to me when folks ask a question about something I posted or leave a comment. So, specifically to you reader, thanks! I honor you with this creepy baby:


Wish me luck in the Big Apple, and I swear my mind will be much more focused on the marathon next time I post. (Read: don't you worry; we'll get back to the million-word posts again soon enough!)

=)

springsteen narrates the boston course

I don't necessarily recommend that my fellow teammates watch this, in case it has the same effect on their nerves that it did on mine... but here's a video someone created of the entire Boston Marathon course in high-speed. Very cool. And now my stomach hurts.

training pain & insane rain

Taper Tantrum

We are now in the taper period of training--our weekday short runs and weekend long runs are getting progressively shorter. The idea is to allow our muscles time to rest before the Marathon, although our coach encouraged us to incorporate faster speeds and hills into the shorter runs.

Erin and I took that advice seriously. I joked with her that since we're now down from 8-mile morning runs to 4, she made it her business to design The Most Difficult 4-Miler Possible. After running back-to-back Somerville hills in the pouring rain at a pace quite quicker than our usual AM jog, I feel pretty entitled to capitalize the title of that route! =)

According to my coach and several other folks who have run a marathon, the taper is tough on your brain. Our coach's wife told us--perfectly deadpan--that during the final weeks before the marathon, we should (I quote) "get a hobby." Otherwise, we would drive ourselves crazy worrying that we hadn't trained hard enough or, worse yet, act on that worry by running more than we should. The rest is the most crucial thing at this point.

Happily, the taper comes at a time in my work-life where this is a non-issue. We've been busily planning the Boston Partners in Education annual Gala, so work has been occupying the place in my mind that might otherwise stress over training.

It was my body--not my mind--that decided to throw a tantrum.

About a week after the 21-miler, Baby-Runner [read: me] got her very first injury. Anytime I either walked or ran on it, my left leg hurt. This, I did make time to stress about. How could I possibly get hurt now, so close to the April 19? What I don't have time for it to recover? Should I stop running for a while, and deal with the fear that I'm not training enough in the final weeks right before the big day? Or should I continue running through the pain, and deal with the fear that I'm not giving myself a chance to get better before the big day?

My first major frustration was that this came during the taper. Never mind that pain during tapers is apparently common. If my injury was the result of a blistering long run completed in record time, I could deal with that. It would be a badge of honor, one of those well-earned bruises you want to make sure people see. But what pride could I possibly have in an injury that had apparently resulted from a couple of four- or five-mile runs?

The second (and more practical) frustration was my lack of vocabulary to describe what was wrong. I knew that my left leg hurt, and I knew it wasn't shin splints--thanks to my old pair of Nikes, that was the only runner's ailment I could put a name to.

I walked into Erin's office one day and said, a bit defeated, "I am asking you this because you're smarter than me." I described what hurt, when it hurt, and approximately how much it hurt. She diagnosed the problem to be with my left IT band.

Once I knew what to call it, I emailed my coach to see what course of action I should take. He recommended to eat fresh pineapple and papaya (natural anti-inflammatories), take more rest and cross days, avoid hills and speed for a while, and ice the leg in question.

This leads me to my third frustration--forcing myself to actually take that advice. I secretly planned to listen to the icing and pineapple parts (I love pineapple anyway--no downside there!) and push the rest aside for awhile, hoping that just those two things would make the pain go away. So when the time came for last Saturday's long run, I told Erin and Laura I would meet them as usual. My IT band had other plans: Just the short jog over to our starting point was a painful one, and I gave up and turned around. The rest of my boring Saturday consisted of a couch, a bag of ice, and a marathon of Seinfeld.

That was four days ago. I'm happy to announce that since taking another day off, cross-training at the gym a bit, and finally taking the time to properly stretch out the muscle (again, thanks to Erin for showing me how), the left leg is healing nicely. It's already gotten to the point that it no longer hurts to walk, and I was especially encouraged after yesterday's run to work, when it didn't ache any more intensely at the end of the run than it did at the beginning. I'm hoping that with continued proper stretching, I'll be back to 100% by the end of the week.


Early Morning Swim

In other news, you may have heard: There's been flooding in Boston.

Last week, the clouds clearly didn't want to stop raining--and most days, I can assure you that it was not particularly light rain. That didn't stop Erin and I from running to work per usual, and we've got post-run photos in my new favorite Central Square coffee shop to prove it!

Erin's water-resistant coat shows the water droplets better,
but my jacket isn't usually this dark a shade of purple...

The picture both Erin and I wish we had is a snapshot of one girl's face during the very same Most Difficult 4-Miler Possible run. We were descending Walnut St. in the midst of that day's downpour, and we passed a girl that gave us the most blatant "ARE YOU COMPLETELY INSANE?!" look ever.

The short answer, Dearest Walnut St. Girl, is yes.