Chasing Unicorns: What I Choose to Remember about Boston 2013

The Boston Marathon 2013 was left in a wave of tragedy due to two bombs at the finish line that killed 3 and injured over 170 runners and spectators. In order to heal from the emotional trauma, I have chosen to focus on the positive, to focus on the joy of my race, the joy of running my first Boston Marathon, which in my opinion is the best marathon in the world. I cannot remember a portion of the course where people weren't cheering. The energy of the city of Boston on marathon day is contagious!

I never knew much about the Boston Marathon, or marathons for that matter, until I joined my running club, VCTC. Always up for a challenge, and inspired by my teammates, I vowed to qualify, and began mapping out a plan on how to obtain a BQ (Boston Qualifying time). I trained hard and was fortunate it only took me two marathons prior to qualifying. Despite injury and being undertrained, I was beyond excited to run this incredible race. My friend Elena and I arrived the day before the race and headed straight to the expo. All I could talk about was buying my first Boston jacket. I couldn't wait to proudly wear it after crossing the finish line.

Giant Meatballs...RRRRUUUNNN!!! 

That night was filled with normal race preparations. Setting aside our race outfits, packing our post-race bag, eating a carb-hearty dinner. We went to bed early and got up even earlier in order to catch the bus to the Athlete's Village. I was tired from not sleeping well and cold from lack of packing warm enough pre-race attire, but so excited it didn't matter. Surprisingly, despite the huge crowds, I found my teammate Carlos, with whom I had planned to run. We never found each other at the NYC Half, so I was elated to see him knowing we would head to the start together. It was nice to hang out with friends for a while. Even nicer was the small moment of silence the entire Village took in memory of the Newtown victims. In fact the race was dedicated to them, and out of respect, instead of a starting gun, the race was to begin with the blowing of a horn.

Athlete's Village and ready to go!!!

When it was time for the first wave of runners to head to the start, Carlos and I said our good-byes to Elena, who would be starting 20 minutes later, and walked over. The butterflies in our bellies began to flutter and our hearts began to race with nerves. But we didn't have long to wait before the horn went off and it was time to run. Our goal was to attempt a sub-3, something that we decided only the week before. Up until that point we had planned to run easy so I didn't really take the time to taper. Now we were trying to run at a 6:52 pace. Knowing that the beginning of the course was quite downhill with some hard hills, the famous Newton hills, starting at mile 16, we decided we could run a bit faster, but not so hard to blow out our quads later in the race. So, we set out at a 6:45 pace. I had a blast from the beginning. It was quite crowded, but after a couple of miles it opened up and we didn't have to weave through the bottleneck.

There were so many people out cheering, it was unbelievable. So many ecstatic children. To see their excitment as you slapped their hands. The little girls cheering "it's a girl!". Little runners in the making. It was incredible! One of my favorite parts was running past the Wellesley girls at mile 12. There were so many signs. The cheering was unreal! I got so caught up in the excitment, I even thought about stopping for a kiss...

• Kiss me! YOLO!
• Kiss me! I'm a black belt!
• Kiss me! I play lacross!
• Kiss me! I'm sexually frustrated!

We held onto our goal pace until about mile 14. At that point, I was starting to feel low on energy. Whether is was due to my one week taper, lack of sleep, lack of fitness, or inadequate nutrition, I don't know. Carlos was also hurting as he was completely dehydrated from testing out the 26.2 beer the night before. Yeah, only Carlos would drink in excess the night before his first Boston...silly boy. He slowed down more than I and told me to go ahead, so I did. As the miles ticked by, I knew I wasn't going to make it in sub-3 anymore, and I knew I wouldn't beat my PR of 3:01:25. So I decided to just run what my body wanted, to run comfortably, to enjoy the Newton hills and the experience.

I had mentally split the race up into 3 sections: miles 1-16, then 16-21 with the Newton hills, followed by 21-26 all the way to the finish. I had a friend from another running club waiting at mile 17 to take pictures and then my club was at the top of Heartbreak Hill at mile 21. Those were my points of focus to get through the hills. On top of my new favorite quote thanks to Elena "Hurts doesn't mean you're going to die". Anytime something ached, because at this point my left arch and knee were hurting for some reason, I repeated this mantra in order to keep my legs moving.

Smiling around mile 17! Running Happy!

I was definatally exctatic to see Bob Cowin from the NY Flyers shortly after mile 17 with his camera. As requested, I flashed him a great big smile. He captures some wonderful moments through the lens! Thanks Bob, this is better than any of the professional pics! Then it was time to focus on getting to mile 21. I crested Heartbreak Hill and couldn't find my team. They ended up sitting a bit farther down. When I saw the purple sweatshirt on a pole and Coach Ken standing on a chair I began to smile with excitement. Then I saw the ladies, Jill and Bette. I beamed and sped up. I flew down the next hill. As I flew I passed a teammate, a fellow speedy runner. We both exerted words of encouragement to eachother. I kept running. The miles ticked by and the finish line was getting closer. I cannot verbalize the excitment I felt as I turned onto Boylston Street and saw the finish line standing tall. The streets lined with people. The cheering louder than ever. I ran with tunnel vision to the finish, speeding up with excitment, focused on that moment of victory. Crossing that finish line was pure joy! Some people cry, I just smiled from ear to ear. We got mylar blankets to keep warm in the cool breeze, then the famous unicorn medal. The photographers were out in full force. I was stopped 3 times for a finishing picture. Felt like a star! 

As with most marathons, we had to walk a great distance to get our bags. I was lucky to run into other teammates and have company through the torturous journey. My legs were a bit stiff, but loosened up quickly. I know I didn't push as hard as I could have, but I enjoyed my race and still ran an amazing time. I am always so serious about my race times, but have realized that time isn't everything. Sometimes it's about the experience, the lessons learned. It all makes you a stronger athlete. In the end, I am very proud of my accomplishment, especially in light of my resent illness and inadquate training. This was my first Boston and I will relish in the glory of crossing the finish line! As soon as I did, I knew I couldn't wait until Boston 2014. See you in Hopkinton!