Below is a recap of how I reached the finish at the Boston
Marathon (3:34:33). It was the slowest and longest two hours of my running life
after my first calf cramp one hour and forty one minutes into the race (around
14 miles?)
4:30 - alarm goes off after waking up every 90 minutes to urinate
water consumed all night
5:29 - Krissy takes me to Wakefield to pick up a bus ride with
other North Shore runners
5:34 - realize I did not bring a running hat, start to pound
Coconut water for the first time in months.
7:20 - arrive and park among the buses. GLRR has a massage table
out next to their bus. Must be nice.
7:30 – go hunting for the CMS and SRR buses after a United
Services porta john visit
8:30 - a lady in the Hopkinton Village fell in love with my
Amherst 10 mile shirt from two years ago so I took it off and gave it to her.
9:25 – no hat to be found, Arthur Besse comes through with his
Brooks running cap for me back on the North Medford Club bus
9:30 – walk to the start through the village
9:34 – Eric Narcisi flies up with his bib on, going to race after
months off from running (photos are taken with the three of us). His Six03
singlet cries beer stop at mile 18. Turns out I was right, but had the wrong
mile.
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| Arthur, Eric, and I on our way to the corrals at Boston |
9:40 – in corral 8 with Thomas Bok (SRR), Brian Tinger (SRR), and
Ephram Ezekiel (Whirlaway)
10:00 – gun goes off, and go nowhere, waiting for 7 corrals of runners
to move ahead
10:05 – cross the start line and start my Garmin
10:20 – when will these down hills stop?
10:22 – where is the shade?
10:40 – “Hey, that is a nice 1967 Volkswagen Beetle!”
Dude in the chair behind it says, yeah, that I am correct.
Of course I am J It was a sweet looking Beetle too.
10:40:09 – turn right to brag to Regina Loiacano about the ’67
Beetle and I run into another runner who was slowing down. Apoligies, red
faced, disaster averted for the time being.
10:45 – get a contact high in Framingham as they light up freely
on Patriots Day with crowds now 4 deep
11:00– still running mostly on the left side opposite Thomas Bok
and occasionally in the presence of Regina
11:10 – over an hour of running and feeling beat up, want to throw
middle fingers up in the air to the photographers in the bucket truck over the
course
11:20 – “hey buddy, get ready for the scream tunnel on the right
here in Wellesley”
“Huh?”
“Oh, first timer eh? Go to the right hand side when you hear the
girls screaming up ahead. Go get a hug or a kiss”
The guy does as I tell him. Sweet!
11:25 – I hear someone behind me ask someone on the side of the
road “hey, you got a cell phone?” Not sure if the dude dropped out.
11:30 – I notice Thomas Bok is not taking Gatorade or Water.
Meanwhile, I have not let a water stop go by without a visit.
11:35 – this Nathan waste band is the bees knees. Get me ready for
an ultra. I have everything but the kitchen sink in there. 3 GU's, 6 SaltStick
tabs, 8 Hylands Anti Muscle Cramp tabs……
11:41 – oh shit, a calf cramp on the right. WTF. Slows down the
pace….
11:45 – hate running into Newton Lower Falls and I am holding
back, another cramp ensues crossing Rt 95.
11:50 – looking forward to the Clif Shot station at 17 miles where
Krissy is. I think I will bail out of the race there.
11:51 – I can’t bail, I have a bag waiting for me at the Park
Plaza with the CMS crew. I can’t tell peeps the next day that I dropped out.
Not an option today, slow and steady Jimmy.
12:10 – Clif Shot station and Krissy misses me (for a photo) and
my high five, low five, staggering past, see ya. She does take note of my sign
language of the hand of a gun to my head and frown (not my day, just shoot me
now).
12:11 – Krissy is sprinting past me, phone in hand, I am like
WTF?! She stops and points the vertical phone at me. I am now on video, I
better smile. I do, and shuffle onward.
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| Krissy took this photo after 17 miles |
12:20 – right turn at the firehouse, yay, some hills, better slow
down some more Jimmy, more cramps are firing in these calves.
12:35 – in the hills, struggling, but not enough to deny a kid
handing out popsicles. Best darn blue popsicle I had in 33 years. I aced the
intake in 4 squeezes but man that brain breeze is real.
12:40 – I see a Naughty Seltzer on the left in the hand a
sunglassed lady. I reach out and ask if I may. She pulls it back with a dirty
look even behind the RayBan’s. I pass, parched. She smiles “oh my god, Jimmy, I
did not know it was you!” Too late Yvette, I may cramp if I stop and come back
for that. Thanks anyway.
12:45 – this downhill past BC is hurting, more stress on my quads,
if these cramp, I am in serious trouble. Just six more miles Jimmy.
12:59 – afraid that I am going to fall over the Green Line trolley
track, seriously. Also note that the air temp is cooling.
1:05 – shade and a lot of drunk students. Gregory would call these
college co-eds. I am so tempted to stop for Jello Shots but can’t see with my
head down and shuffle through. This is my mile 23 shuffle of shame.
1:10 – notice some back and forth with a few run, walk, run, walk
yo yo’s. I still shuffle, not giving into that or walking. Meanwhile, calves
cramp up every now and then.
1:11 – good news is that the Citgo sign is on the horizon
1:16 –a dude with a “Big Bird” costume, is now kicking my ass.
Nothing I can do about it. He gaps me 100 yards in about 45 seconds. Shoot me
now.
1:25 – Kenmore Square is good, my last water and Gatorade stop. I
do not want to see another cup of Gatorade for about six years.
1:31 – right on Hereford, left on Boylston. Nice t-shirts. I
follow those instructions. It is a wind tunnel. People screaming. I smile.
Can’t help it. Ear to ear. Just grateful to get here. No joke. I pick up the
pace, daring a cramp to trigger. It does not for my last quarter mile. Must
have gotten back down to 7’s.
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| With Krissy back out on the course at 17 miles hours later |
Loved this!
ReplyDeleteThanks Leslie!
ReplyDelete