BOSTON!!!

Our adventure in Boston began on Friday when we flew into Bean Town and met my parents. We were met with FREEZING weather which made us all a little nervous. We hung out in Quincy Market on Friday night to plan our sight seeing adventures for the next couple days. The next day we walked from our hotel to the convention center where I had to pick up my bib number and explored the huge sports expo they had set up. We bought some new goodies and then headed out to explore Boston. I loved walking here, along the Commonwealth. I could have lived in anyone of the brownstones lining the drive. We were a little too early for the trees to be in bloom, but I could only imagine how much more beautiful it would be with the trees filled out.


We walked through the Public Garden (the park where "Make Way for Ducklings" is set) and the Common, both of which were beautiful. But we didn't linger too long because it was so cold!

Our hotel was right by the State House. The balcony behind my parents and Eric is where the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time.

We took a harbor cruise to see Boston from the water...

visited Bunker Hill...

and the USS Constitution, otherwise known as "Old Ironsides."

We ate twice in the North End of Boston known as "Little Italy," once for pasta that was out of this world and a second time for pizza which was just okay. For both restaurants we had to wait in line outside for 45 minutes to an hour to get inside the door. I had the best hot chocolate of my life in Little Italy, and I didn't even have to wait in line for it! I'm still thinking about it and wanting more! On the walk back to our hotel, we walked by all these daffodils, which are my mom's favorite flower.

The next morning was race day. At 6:30 am I walked from my hotel to the Common where they were loading all the buses for the starting line. I waited in line for a bus for over an hour, freezing the whole time. After getting on a bus, we headed for Hopkinton. But our driver seemed to go a strange/wrong way because we didn't end up around any other buses and it took FOREVER to get there. Once we got to "Athlete's Village" in Hopkinton I got in line for a porta potty, but after waiting over 30 minutes I gave up and headed for the bushes. It was a good thing I did that, because immediately following my potty break in the bushes I heard the announcement for Wave 2 Runners (Me) to head to the starting line. I barely had enough time to check my extra clothes at the clothing drop and walk the .7 mile distance to the starting line before they started our wave.
When I originally heard that I had to catch a bus at 6:30 but not start the race until 10:20 I thought I was going to have all kinds of time to sit around and be nervous. But I didn't have any time at all! I didn't stretch like I'd planned or eat the extra food I brought because I was so rushed. I couldn't believe how all those hours got sucked away from me, but at least I never had time to get nervous.

I stole this picture from online to show the sea of people running through the streets of Hopkinton. The start was crazy crowded and it was hard to get in my pace because so many people were blocking the way. It eventually spread out a little bit, but I was always running in a crowd. What a really wish I had a picture of was all the people lining the streets cheering the runners on. It was unbelievable how many people came out to support the race. For all 26 miles, there were people on the sidelines. Kids were handing out popsicles and licorice and oranges and giving high fives. There were people with huge sound systems blasting music for us and live bands playing music. I loved it all! And it really helped me forget about all the hills I was running up. The Boston course is TOUGH! It was never flat, just constant rolling hills! And by the way, heartbreak hill is not the hardest hill. It's the last hill in a series of 4 hills and I think the second hill was the worst. But the name heartbreak hill isn't from a hill being hard, it's because some famous runner got passed there once in a race long ago.

At mile 25, I heard "Go Megan!" and turned to see Eric and my parents on the sidelines. I was totally shocked to see them because they had gone to a Red Sox game during the race and I didn't plan to see them until we met at the family meeting area afterwards. Now don't go thinking my family wasn't supporting me - I was all for them going to the game. I knew how exhausting it would be to fight crowds and stand around until 2 o'clock when I would most likely finish. And I thought it was a long shot that they would actually get to see me run by because of how many people there were. But it turned out that the Red Sox were killing the Blue Jays so they left the game in the 6th inning and came to watch the race. I was so glad to see them and it gave me the juice I needed to finish that last mile. If you are wondering why my shirt is around my waist like that, it's because I was cold when I started the race so I put my bib # on my LS shirt thinking there was no way I'd take it off. But I warmed up pretty quick and not wanting to stop to re-pin my bib, I tied it on my waist. But I had to keep the bib # in front because it's the rule and because the timing chip was on it. Looks lame, I know, but it was better than re-pinning.
But even with not stopping to re-pin, I stopped more in this race than I ever have before. I got a case of the runs that started at mile 12 and lasted the rest of the race. Good thing porta potty's were put out every mile! Plus my toes kept falling asleep, which I think made my calves cramp up. I had to keep stopping to adjust my laces and stretch my calves to try to keep my toes awake. I hadn't done too many long runs in these shoes and I think they were the reason for my toes falling asleep. Oh well, I still managed to finish in 3:43 which I was happy with. But I couldn't help but think what my time might have been if I hadn't stopped 10 times.

After the race, I got wrapped in a space blanket, got a medal and food, and then walked the 4 or 5 blocks (which felt so long after running 26 miles) to the family meeting area. I waited forever for Eric and my parents (the crowds made it so slow for them to walk the one mile to the finish) and once I found them we had to hustle back to the hotel because Eric and I were catching a flight that night. Before I got in the shower, I realized that I didn't get any pictures after the race, so here it is - my post race photo and the medal to prove I finished!

I was #15,514 out of 27,000 runners. Your bib # assignment was based on your qualifying time, so it was fun to look at people's bib numbers to figure out if they were some of the elite runners or not. Seeing someone with a number under 100 was a sure sign they were smokin' fast.
My girlfriends from Philly (well, we used to all live in Philly together, now nobody lives in Philly) sent me these "Rock Socks" to wear during the race. They were awesome and totally helped me rock the race! I love my friends!
Overall, Boston was an incredible experience. The city was beautiful, the race was awesome, and the energy was infectious. I don't think I will be back again, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Thank you, Boston!!!