The Boston Marathon!

I successfully completed the Boston Marathon yesterday! I finished in 4:53:05 with the crowd going wild the whole way. The Boston Marathon is an overwhelming experience, with over 500,000 people cheering you the whole way.

Let me start from the beginning and give you the beginner's guide to the Boston Marathon.

1. Wake up by 5:30 a.m. and eat your runner's breakfast. Mine consists of two scrambled eggs, two slices of toast with butter and jelly, and some grapes. I also drink a small cup of coffee and a big glass of water. The toast and jelly gives me the carbs I need and the eggs provide me with the protein to keep me full for a while. I drink the coffee because 1) it's part of my daily morning routine and 2) it helps "get things going" if you know what I mean. I find I'm always a little dehydrated in the morning after my long slumber, so the water helps to rehydrate immediately.
2. Shower and put on your running duds. Mine consisted of black running capris, my Melanoma Foundation of New England tank top, New Balance socks, and my beat-up Mizunos. I also covered up with a Nike technical long-sleeve, and a "throw-away" sweatshirt and wind pants. I ended up ditching the wind pants at the start line, and tossed the sweatshirt 3 miles in. I was glad I had it, though, because Hopkinton was cool and windy!
3. 6:45 a.m.: Leave the house for Hopkinton. We headed to the EMC industrial park and I jumped on an official BAA shuttle bus to get to Hopkinton High School, the official Athletes' Village. Unfortunately, the bus took us a very roundabout way and it took us an HOUR. Some of the elite runners were very upset because it screwed up their stretching schedule. This long bus ride prolonged my trip to the port-a-potty and my bladder almost exploded. I was ready to cut bathroom lines, but didn't feel like getting in a fist fight before the race. Needless to say, it was a relief when I finally reached the front of the line. This was almost as good as finally getting to the start line.
4. 9:30 a.m. Find a nice spot at the Athletes' Village (preferably not downwind from the port-a-potties) and have your pre-race snack. Relax and take it all in. Then, get BACK in line to revisit the restroom for the final pee.
5. 10:00 Begin the 0.7 walk to the starting line corrals. Be happy you don't live on this street in Hopkinton. Find your corral and squeeze in behind others in the "25001-25999" corral who are also running for the Melanoma Foundation, Dana-Farber, Mass General, and the other charities.
6. 10:30: The race begins! But, it takes you 14 minutes to even get to the start line. As soon as you get to the start, you start your own watch, begin jogging, and a huge grin crosses your face.
7. 10:50: Haven't the police taken notice of all the men skirting off to the side to pee in the woods? This just seems kind of unfair. I have to pee again.
8. 11:20: You feel pretty amazing and have completed 3 miles without any trouble. I was high-fiving any kid within arm's length. Everyone was chatting and getting excited.
9. 12:20: Wellesley. Seriously, you can hear the Wellesley women screaming from a good mile before you get there! This was one of my favorite parts of the race.
10. 1:00: I've passed the half-way mark! I was feeling pretty decent, and busting out a 10 minute/mile pace. I was right on track to a great marathon. In the back of my mind, I remember thinking that someone told me the race doesn't even start until mile 17.
11. Mile 15: Starting to struggle. I've been right on time with taking my energy gels and have stopped at every other water station for either a water or Gatorade. My only two complaints were that they were filling the cups too full, and each Gatorade station you passed through left you with very sticky sneakers.
12. Mile 17: The pain has begun, but my Tuesday running partner saw me and jumped in for a mile! I really needed this boost of support, and we ran right through the Power Gel station together!
13. The Newton Fire Station/right turn onto Commonwealth Ave: This is where the series of hills begin, after a long downhill from Newton Wellesley Hospital. As soon as I started heading up the hills, I could feel a twinge of cramping in both quads. I had to stop, massage it out, and continue forward.
14. Mile 20/21: ELIZABETH! Another friend joined me on the course and carried me to mile 24. I would have done a lot more walking if it had not been for her. She got me through the Boston College stretch and didn't push me harder than I could go. This was extremely wonderful! We also saw two of our favorite food bloggers on Beacon and waved!
15. Mile 24: I'm so glad my family and friends positioned themselves at mile 24.1. It was nice to anticipate seeing them, and I knew I only had 2.1 miles left at this point. I said farewell to Elizabeth and picked up Tim. My quads kept shaking and cramping, and I'd have to stop every half mile or so to massage them out. I could feel that I was hitting the wall. Tim was great at cheering me on. He had a sign he carried for the last two miles that said "Run, Jess, Run!" EVERYONE on the sidelines saw it and cheered me on. This was extremely empowering and made me power through even when my quads had totally seized up.
16. 

This photo pretty much says it all...

Mile 25.5: The turn onto Boylston Street was one of the most amazing moments of the race. The streets are piled high with people cheering you on, and the end is in sight!
The Finish: I crossed the finish line in 4 hours, 53 minutes, and 5 seconds. I was thrilled to have finished and thankful I was still standing! Tim raced ahead and snapped a great photo as I crossed the finish line.

I was feeling a little queasy at this point...

Post-finish: I received my blanket, medal, and some food and water. Although I felt a little disoriented, I couldn't help but continuously take mental snapshots of everything and everyone at the finish. I even saw Mary Ann, the nurse I used to work with at Head Start! She gave me a blanket and a big hug! Thanks Mary Ann!
After we reconnected with the family, I limped to the T station and we headed home. Only then was I ready to eat something, and can I just say that a bagel has never tasted so good! I was ripping off huge chunks and shoving them in my mouth with the ferocity of a lion! My post-race shower also never felt so good, and I'm sure everyone around me on the way home probably felt the same way. That blanket really keeps the "flavors" in.
The Bottom Line: It was amazing, and although I told Tim as I crossed the finish, "I NEVER want to do this again" I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. I felt like I did enough training and stuck to my plan of hydrating just the way I needed to. I used the words of support and acts of contribution to my cause as fuel to get me through to the end. I really couldn't have done it without the support of everyone along the way.

Boston Marathon 2011?

We'll see about that.