It's Monday, April 16th and I'm up early. My alarm goes off at 5:30 and I jump out of bed. I get dressed in my gear and head out to where the buses are parked to ship us all out to Hopkinton, where the start of the Boston marathon takes place. I am in wave 2 so they recommend we board the buses that are taking off between 6:30-7:00am. I am always early with everything I do, so I am there a few minutes before 6:30!
On the ride over, I sit quietly and go over my race plan in my head. The nerves are high but I just keep repeating silently, stay calm, you've got this, stay calm. Continual deep breaths help me to relax. We arrive at the start and everyone unloads. I seek out the port-o-potties and jump in line. I take care of things and then we wait.....
At 9:35, I exit my corral and head in the direction of the start line. Then....BANG! The gun goes off and we're on our way! I expect mile 1 to be quick....surprisingly, I am disciplined enough to roll through mile one only 5 seconds quicker than I should be. I tell myself, this is still too quick, so I ease back on the pace a bit. The downhill pulls me but I resist enough to keep my pace in check. As I coast through the miles, I'm feeling good...I check in around mile 5 and realize I am calm and collected. At mile 7, I take in some fuel and continue on. I come through the half way point in 1:40:15, only about a minute slower than I need to be to hit that goal time. I am not worried though because I know I am pretty good at picking up the pace in the later miles of the race.
I begin to slightly notice the rising temps, but quickly push this out of my mind. No time to focus on the weather, I'm still feeling great. Training in the Texas heat has definitely helped in preparation for this. As I continue on and approach mile 15, I check in with myself and smile knowing I am still feeling good. I focus on sticking with people around me. By mile 20, we're approaching Heartbreak hill, and I'm ready. I think back to that tough "Run from Hell" that I endured a few weeks before and know I'm strong enough to get over these few hills that stand in the way of me and the finish line.
I crest the hill and settle back into my rockin' 7:38 pace. A 10k to go and I'm there! I now focus on picking off those who are hurting in front of me. This helps take my mind off of the pain I am also feeling. I hurt and I feel like I want to slow down, but I push that thought right on out. I will NOT slow down, I've worked too hard and want this too bad to let my body give up. Crowds are cheering and the energy is high. It helps lift my spirits and push me forward. As Coach James said, nothing else matters in this moment, except for how I'm feeling and what my goal is for this race.....I WILL hit that 3:20 mark....
The last few miles of the race are the toughest. I just want to be done. The thought of walking creeps into my head. NO...NO NO NO....I will not let myself think this. It'd be too easy to walk, and marathons aren't easy. If they were, everyone would do them. I came here to work, and that's just what these last few miles are....pure, painful work. Plus, there's NO WAY I'm walking at this point in the race. I know Coach Cane and NSQ are stationed between miles 25 and 26 and after my poor showing in NYC when I was walking in the race right past Coach Cane, I'm not letting that happen again. I focus on the person in front of me....I focus on how amazing it will feel to run a 3:20, how proud I'll feel when I call my boyfriend and family and tell them, "I did it". I accomplished the goal I set out to do! As I thnk these things....I'm down to a mile to go. I see Coach Cane and NSQ, I smile and give a small wave.....half a mile......1/4 mile.....800 meters......400 meters....I sprint.....I cross the finish line!!!! ( I remember not to look down and stop my Garmin!) I realize, I have done it....I have run a 3:20:00.....right on the dot!! I feel amazing!!!!! And now, I deserve a beer!! :)
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