Boston Marathon...Check!

I did it!  I completed the Boston Marathon yesterday and though I've only run 2 marathons, it was by far my slowest with a finishing time of 5:00:19.  That's not the most impressive time but running yesterday's Boston Marathon, one of the hottest ever (temps in the upper 80s), I had no plans for a fast race. I'd characterize this as more of a training run/survival effort.  My goal, perhaps a bit conservative, was to finish and not hit the medical tents.  Goal accomplished!

Today I feel good overall; legs are a bit sore and stairs a little slower, some blisters that will disappear, but considering the difficulties and challenges that others experience in life, these are temporary aches achieved while doing something that I enjoy.  Running in the Dana-Farber singlet and everything it represents was the most motivating and memorable aspect of the day.  The entire length of the course people were thanking and cheering for me and other DFMCers.  The thoughts of those that I was running in honor of and in memory of spurred me on as much as my body would allow yesterday.

In addition to the DFMC experience, I tried to take in as much of Boston as possible. Aside from remembering the heat and large amounts of water that I dumped on myself, the many times I filled my hat with ice cubes and running through the numerous hoses, fire hydrants and other spray stations, I have many other positive memories that I'll carry with me.  The first 11miles of course were all new for me, and some surprising aspects along the way.  The biker bar in Ashland was an enjoyable sight at mile 1-2, the fan support as we hit Framingham and Natick and of course the girls of Wellesley College around mile 11-12.  I figured that it was only appropriate to get 2 kisses for the 2 marathons I had/hoped to have completed by the end of the day.  Really I was only going to get one, but the science geek in me wanted to make sure that the girl holding the "Kiss me, I'm a chemist" sign wasn't left out all day :)  Unfortunately no biologists were out or else a 3rd kiss would have been in order.  After that it was great to see the fan support throughout Wellesley and the familiar territory as we hit the roads we had trained on so many times.

Coming into mile 15/16 I felt pretty good and tackled the first hill (95 overpass) head on.  After that, I continued to feel good and made the turn at mi 17 to tackle the Newton Hills, which is where my energy waned.  I started to feel the exhaustion that comes with 3+ hrs of intense activity in the heat, sun beating down, etc.  I made it over the Newton Hills, though at a much slower pace.  Around this time is when I also got my first experience with beer during a marathon thanks to the Boston Hash House Harriers...A few quick sips and it was onward.  The sight of BC and approaching college kids was great; they were out if force supporting us runners. From BC onward, every time I slowed to walk, someone was cheering me on and trying to motivate me.  Honestly, by Coolidge Corner (mi 24) my brain kind of turned off and was on autopilot - yes I ran it, but I think my head was down most of the way and I was just trying to power through it all.  The best and most disappointing part of the marathon awaited me at mile 25.  As I hit the I-90 overpass, I was looking for the DFMC cheering section and saw some of it.  I was looking for my patient partner RJ and so focused on looking for my sign that I ran by RJ.  As I slowed to find him, his sister jumped out and said something like "Let's go Chris."  My first thought was "Great, Robin is taking me to RJ and everyone else" but as we ran off the bridge, I was confused and talking with Robin realized that I ran right by everyone.  I was so disappointed at 25.25mi with everything I had worked for, a difficult day and all the support RJ and others had given me.  As disappointed as I was, having Robin run 1mi with me spurred me to the finish.  Without her support, without thinking of RJ, my grandmother and everyone else that I ran in honor or in support of, the last mile would have been a mixture of running/walking and trying to survive but I finished the last 1+ miles running at a pace faster than I thought I could.  It was a very bittersweet ending, but the inspiration that I needed over the last 3+ miles to finish a brutal Boston Marathon.

Thank you to my family, RJ and his family, the 130+ donors, DFMC teammates and all who supported me and making my first DFMC experience possible!  Not sure if I have the "marathon bug" but I also don't want to finish my marathon career with a 5hr finish...hmmm, what to do? :)