JG from the blog is in the middle! I missed Rattletrap at the expo by an hour! :( It was a MIRACLE that I was able to finish the Boston Marathon. I couldn't even go up or down stairs or do a slow run the day before the marathon without pain in my knee. I was heartsick the night before the marathon when I got a call from my sweet 11 yr old girl, Sarah. She called right before she went to bed crying and said, "Mom, I have been praying for you all weekend and I know that you are going to cross the finish line tomorrow, I just know it, I feel it inside." I cried as I tried to get to sleep. I kept a prayer in my heart. I know that it is not a important thing to run a marathon in the grand scheme of life and the fact that I can even run after being told by a neurologist that I had MS 11 years ago is a miracle, but to be able to qualify for Boston meant so much to me and was also a miracle. My friend that I ran some training runs with got a stress fracture one week before the marathon and I was aching for her since I know how it feels to train so hard and not be able to run. I thought I was going to have the same fate, but she reminded me that at least I was able to get out on the course and run a little of the marathon. I was planning on walking the whole course if that is what it took to be able to cross the finish line as I thought of my sweet daughter's face. I shared a room with MaryMary from the blog because she is my friend Cheryl's sister from Michigan and another one of their sisters Rebecca (who is going to get on the blog) from St. George. It ended up being such a great weekend and I told them that I was their adopted sister for the weekend. They were so much fun and so wonderful that I truly do feel like they are my sisters now! 
MaryMary, Cheryl(with a boot), Rebecca and ME! 
On our way to the bus! I thought I should start in the 3rd wave since I was injured and didn't want to get in the way of the faster runners. I went to get in line and realized that to drop my bag, I had to go back about a half mile to get to the second wave's bus. My knee was hurting and walking back and half running hurt even with the cortisone shot. I was feeling more anxious about starting. I finally got my bag to the bus and after about a half mile I realized that my Shot Bloks were still in my bag. I ran back and the busses were leaving. I did have one Gu and some beans, but my heart sank since it was so hot and I knew I needed the sugar and electrolytes. I had made a friend on the bus and ended up in the line with her and she gave me one of her Bloks and saved me! 
On the far right is my new friend that I made in line and on the bus and she is the one that ended up giving me one of her 4 Shot Bloks. Her mom was meeting her half way with more, so I didn't feel too guilty taking it. I love making new friends! I was in with all of the people that didn't qualify to be there. They were the ones that had donated to get a spot. Very few actually looked fit enough to run a marathon and they were all sweating and it smelled like a BO factory before we even got to the start. It was so hot and I was thirsty before we even started.  (
(Notice my manly calves!) :( Mile 1....it was so crowded and people were not even running after the starting line. I had never seen this before! It was a VERY slow jog. I quickly got to the side on the dirt and started to run fast to get past all of them when my knee started stabbing! I slowed to a really slow jog too and the thought came to me from a quote that MaryMary gave me earlier. ... Too soon we cross the finish line, too late we find the joy was in the running." Unknown. I was lucky that my knee was allowing me to even run a little. I was giving thanks up above that I could run and thought that I was going to enjoy the entire run.....every step.....and that I had been preparing for this and enjoying the journey of training and so why did I want to get to the finish line? I decided to enjoy it and share it. I got my phone out and started taking pictures of what it is really like to run a marathon. The crazy dressers, the people with their butts hanging out, the men off peeing to the side, the amazing bystanders cheering you on, the kids that want high-fives. 
I took it slow, if I needed to hit a POP, I did....a record 4X! Even taking it slow, I started feeling sick at mile 8. It was so HOT. I haven't been able to run for 3 weeks and i was hoping my previous training would have held out, but it didn't. When I felt like I was going to puke, I would stop and walk for a while. I didn't miss one person squirting a hose and not turn around in it. I didn't miss one aid station of water and gatorade. I didn't miss one kid that I could high-five. By mile 18, I stopped to walk with a guy because my stomach was hurting it was so distended. I lifted up my shirt and said that I looked 6 months pregnant and laughed. I just wasn't absorbing anything. I wasn't thirsty, I was sick! He gave me one of his pretzel stick and he said he was walking the rest of the race. That was his 3rd Boston and he said it wasn't worth running because it was too hot. I was shocked to see EVERYONE walking, no one was trying to pass anyone. I have never seen a marathon like it before. 
(I was not sticking my stomach out. It hurt so bad. It took two days to go back to normal. That is really what I looked like at 6 months pregnant! ) My husband called a few times during the race. About mile 19, he called and said that I was projected to get a 5:04 and it made me even sicker!!!! A 5 hour marathon???? I had to remind myself that it was a miracle that I was even going to cross the finish line. Something snapped in me though and I think I remember that to get a medal at Boston you have to run it in under 5 hours. Maybe I am wrong. I started to try to run faster, so that I could come in under 5. I was already sick though and it was miserably hot. About mile 21 I started to see spots in my vision and my fun of enjoying every step of the race stopped. My mom called me to see if I was finished yet at about mile 22-23 and I was in so much pain. My legs were charlie horsing. I thought my calves were going to rip in two! I started to cry because it was my mom. After I got off with her I felt some strength from her call and tried to finish the rest of the race as a race. I was swallowing puke in my mouth and trying to slow way down when I thought I was going to lose it. I started to go dark a couple of times and still kept running. I thought, they better not pull me off of the course and that I had wished I hadn't run back and forth during the first few miles to keep taking pictures! I crossed the finish line and my Garmin said 27 miles. I had gone side to side and back tracked taking pictures a bit too much. I have never done that before. I am usually cutting my corners to try to run even two steps less than I have to. After I crossed the finish line, Rick called about 5 seconds after and I started to sob! I haven't ever done that before. It was so wonderful to hear his voice. He said that he had been tracking me and waiting for me to cross. I came in at 4:55.....worst time by far. It didn't seem like it though. I had crossed the finish line and saw my daughter's face in my mind and knew her sweet prayers had been answered. It was a miracle that my knee held out and I was able to run 27 on a torn meniscus without much pain! I kept asking where were the medals??? They kept telling me to walk and walk. I finally got there and an old guy put it around my neck and I started to sob and grabbed onto him and hugged him and said that my family was at home and I just needed a hug. He laughed and squeezed me and said he felt privileged to be there for me. Sweetest guy ever! 
Everyone was so wonderful! What an amazing day. The signs all over Boston kept saying...."BOSTON IS ALL IN." Boston was all in ..... they were squirting us down, giving us ice, oranges, popsicles, pretzels, holding up signs, screaming for us. Boston was all in, the whole city was a part of that marathon and none of us could have finished without them! After effects of the marathon are rotating between chills and my teeth chattering and feeling hot and sweaty and about to puke. My legs are sore sore, even with a slow marathon and I am still hobbling around 2 days later. The crazy thing is, my knee isn't hurting at all! I can go up and down stairs without any pain! I don't know what running the marathon did....but, it was nothing short of a miracle in a lot of ways! You know me....I couldn't resist a good share! ha! This puts my previous butt crack pic to shame! haha! 
At first, I thought he must have pooped his pants and took off his shorts and kept running. If you get close enough, you can see he is wearing a thong. I went to pass and take a pic from in front, but he decided to stop and stretch and put his butt towards the crowd of runners! (no joke) I couldn't take a pic of that, I would have thrown up for sure! haha!!!!
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