Final time: 2:56:19
I am a Boston Marathon finisher! That whole run was so incredible! That was the most fun I've ever had on a run! From the high-fives, to kissing the Wellesley girls- five of them to be exact... to the cheers from random people, to people calling my name, to being right behind the elites at the start, to my friends and family coming to see me. Wow. I couldn't be more thankful.
I felt great after I decided to lay off the sugary stuff and relax my pace. I enjoyed the entire 2nd half of that race probably too much as evidenced by my time. But, it was so worth every moment.
The race itself was one-of-a-kind. I took the first half or so of it pretty seriously, maybe trying to see if I could get to an arbitrary 2:42:00 time goal, but right about Wellesley at mile 12ish, we passed the girls with the "kiss me" signs and I just got caught up in the moment. A bunch of times. :) It was kind of fun to just pick out the most attractive ones and kiss them. How often in life would you get that opportunity? Never is likely the answer. Or at least only in Boston. After/during the Wellesley section, a bunch of runners near me either: laughed, congratulated me, let me know that they've never seen a runner do that, just told me "wow", or they just patted me on my back with grins. I suppose it may come off as misogynistic out of context, but it was in reality quite harmless. After that, I just relaxed everything, the oncoming marathon cramps subsided, and I went onto cloud nine for the race. It was the oddest switch. My mind-set just changed. I started high-fiving the crowd, whooping them up, flying up Heartbreak Hill (just because) and relaxing at the water stops. I felt like a running celebrity. What an experience, and I couldn't be more thankful to the volunteers and the crowd. They made a selfish experience (running a marathon) into a real, fun event.
Race-wise this was an experience like no other and I feel very proud. Time-wise, I suppose I should probably be disappointed, but I really am not. 3 months ago I was ready to bag the race altogether, so I was just happy to be running. That's the mindset I seem to be left with. Just happy to be out there. Although that clearly takes away something from my competitive nature, it may be a positive movement towards being a life-long runner as the speed diminishes. I suppose there are experiences that change you and this is just one I have been fortunate enough to realize was changing me in the moment it was occurring.
The camaraderie before, during, and after could take up an entire other entry, so I'll save that for another time I suppose. I'm happy I bought my jacket though.
Go run Boston.
Splits: First half 1:21:30, 2nd half 1:34:49 (approx)
