Sunday, April 15, 2012

Reminiscing about Boston

Well it appears that Boston is making a lot of news this year! Part of me is thankful that I am not there this year, but the other part of me is still bummed. I don't run well in heat AT ALL. I am a Pac NW girl! However, I would never take the deferment option after having spent countless hours training. Not to mention the cost associated with getting there!

Due to the whole fiasco this year at Boston I am not going to lie. I am freaking out about being able to get in next year!!!! To be able to register on the first day I need to run a sub 3:20. I ran a 3:21 in December so this could be doable. All I know is that every single second in Eugene is going to count and could determine my fate for 2013. No pressure. No pressure at all.

Two years ago when I was in Boston I was massively under trained due to an unexplained illness that I got in February. If I had gotten the chance to defer I would have taken it and not thought twice about it. I actually almost thought about not going, but by the time everything headed south training wise our whole trip was paid for and planned. Not to mention my best friend who was also going. Mr. Healthy Diva devoted an ENTIRE day to the Red Sox ticket lottery so that we could get some good seats at Fenway.

I also didn't want to miss out on my Boston experience because I didn't know if I would ever make it back.  Everything you can do wrong before I marathon I did. We took the red eye flight and got into Boston Saturday morning. No sleep and me aren't a good combo and I can't sleep on an airplane- especially with the time zone change. As soon as we landed it was off to find the hotel and meet Cass at the expo. We had some time to kill before the Red Sox game so we decided to take the Boston Duck Tour. This turned into a complete fiasco as we ended up walking ALL OVER Boston to find the damn tour when in reality it was maybe a block away from the expo. Yes, the map was wrong!!!!!! To recap day 1 has just started I have walked all over downtown Boston on zero sleep in freezing cold rain. The Duck Tour, however, was fun and I would recommend taking it. :-)

We arrive at Fenway on day 1 not knowing if the game is going to get called off or not. It was pouring!!!! The Friday night game was called off and since they were tied they had to finish that game before our game would start. So, our tickets were actually good for two games. Yes, Mr. Healthy Diva was in baseball heaven. Our awesome seats? Well they weren't so awesome because they weren't covered! Yep, we got drenched. I guess paying for baseline seats sometimes isn't so smart. The Friday night game started at 4:30 and then our game eventually started at about 8:00 pm. It seemed like every 15 minutes there was a rain delay. By the time we made it back to our hotel it was after midnight. We figured we had been up for over 36 hours straight.

On Sunday morning guess what we got to do? Another Red Sox game at Fenway!!!! This is even better. Since Mr. Healthy Diva had forked over a fortune for our seats the night before he bought the cheap "standing only" seats for Sunday. Yep, I stood through a Red Sox game less than 24 hours before the marathon.

Did I mention that we did EVERYTHING wrong in Boston?!

Race day came way to early for me. I was exhausted, under trained, and out of shape. On the bus to Hopkinton I sat by Valerie who I had met at our hotel. I don't know what I would have done without her on that bus ride! Val is the most amazing and inspiring woman I have met. Her drive and motivation are incredible. I feel so fortunate to be able to call her a very dear friend of mine. Thanks to technology we still keep in touch. We are both hoping to see each other in Boston next year. :-)

I get to the athlete's village and I am kind of thinking I am very out of place, but I go with the flow. It is chilly and I didn't bring any type of "throwaway" lawn chair like a lot of people had. I find a spot that seems to be sunny and park my little butt there. The guy sitting next to me also happened to be from WA state. The problem with him was that he was ducked out in Oregon State gear. Go figure, a Duck would have to sit by a Beaver in the Boston Marathon athlete's village. Yuck. :-)

Fast forward to the race itself. I will tell you from experience that "hitting the wall" at mile 8 IS NOT GOOD. To make it the halfway point and feel like death is no fun. Mr. Healthy Diva said he would be by mile 20. He wasn't. That is when the tears really started to flow. I thought about giving up. I thought about how much I hated running. BUT...I kept putting one foot in front of the other. At Boston they have had stations at every mile. I would just try to run from mile to mile...stop...take a breather...hydrate and then move on. My feet hurt & my body ached. I was miserable! Coming up on mile 21 I saw my name written in yellow chalk across the road. If I wouldn't have seen my name I still probably wouldn't have seen Mr. Healthy Diva. After that I was in pure survival mode to cross the finish line. I ended up finishing in 4:17:xx. Yep that was painfully slow!


@ the expo

It was more like the most PAIN between two points for me

Had to find the Cheers Bar

Cass @ the Duck Tours- totally fun!

We spent A LOT of time here- 3 games in 2 days!

You are welcome Mr. Healthy Diva

It was cold--it rained A LOT. Our seats were NOT covered

Love her! She was a sport being a Yankees fan & all 


This place was pretty cool


No, we didn't buy the lobster hats!

Ready or not!

Pre race breakfast- gosh I was chubby & out of shape. Ha!

Getting ready to board the bus....

This made me cry

Fugly race photo!!!!! I have never hurt so bad in my life!

Thankful to be DONE!!!

Dinner after the race. Subway stairs + marathon legs= disaster!

Dinner for my BFF's birthday that happened to also be on marathon day. Notice the SWEET farmer's tan from my arm sleeves?!

I earned that medal!

MIT

Harvard

Totally rocking the finisher's shirt & my jacket

After I got back from Boston I hung up the running shoes for 9 months. Yep, for 9 months I didn't run. I didn't even want to think about running- I HATED IT. My downward spiral really started in February of that year, but it was official after Boston. I wasn't happy with myself for a multitude of reasons and coupled with career stress it just wasn't good for me. 

I am hoping, keeping my fingers & toes crossed to be back in Boston next year. 2013 I will be there. I have some unfinished business!

--Tasha



24 comments:

  1. You are an awesome wife!! I think baseball is sooo boring because of all the waiting, I'm not very patient so that's probably why. Next time I think no baseball is a good idea, or just one game and fly over on Friday :) I believe you will make it next year and have a redemption race! Your training has went well with only a few bumps and I believe your race in Eugene will be AWESOME!!! BOSTON BETTER WATCH OUT FOR YOU IN 2013 BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO KILL IT!!

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    1. Lol, thanks! I already told him he only gets ONE game next time. Next time it is MY TRIP. I really wanted to go to Cape Cod, but since 90% of our time was spent at Fenway we never made it. Boo!!!!

      EYE OF THE TIGER!!!!!! :D

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  2. Awesome job! I ran in my 2nd half marathon today! Good for you and the pictures look like yall had lots of fun!

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    1. It was a very fun trip. Just wished that I had been more prepared. Oh well, there will be a next time.

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  3. Wow, I think that's a great time especially after all you went through. You are going to rock Eugene!

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  4. Great pictures! :) I think it's great (and motivating) to hear how dertermined you are to get to Boston in 2013. Rock on!

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    1. Thanks Brandi. I know Boston really is all about the experience, but my experience was pretty painful! :-)

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  5. What an amazing recap - good luck for next year and I hope you can keep the stress about it at bay in the lead up! It must be hard with such pressure on the qualifying times.

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  6. Great post!!! Learn from the past, move on, and work toward the future!!

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  7. So interesting to read about what being a marathon runner is like :) I hope you're not getting sick either! (I'm feeling a lot better today, thankfully)

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  8. Oh, I love these memories. Red eye= no good!

    I am sure you'll be back there. No problem. Taking care of business will be easy with another race or two's experience.

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  9. I love this post! I went to Boston in 2008 and did many of those same things. Well, except for run a marathon. :P

    I can't believe how great you look for the finishline photo! And I really can't believe you were in such good shape afterwards to go to a birthday dinner! That's amazing.

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  10. Love this post - and it's actually exactly what I needed to read since my first marathon is Saturday! I'd already decided that I couldn't qualify for Boston (I'm not even sure that it's possible) - but I needed to focus on finishing and making this race positive! I'll have plenty of time to focus on Boston! Love the pictures!

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    1. Yay!!! Congrats on your first marathon!!! I remember every step of my first. Have fun!

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  11. How cool! You will make it in 2013 :)

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  12. I am glad to see i am not the only one who does everything wrong before a race (what?? red wine isn't a carb???) I don't know if i will ever qualify for boston, but i think the fun for me is in trying :) Maybe i will see you there in 20 years??? :D

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    1. LOL. Red wine and me are very good friends. However, I try not to drink any at least 2 weeks before a marathon. Of course last night I really wanted some, but I was good.

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  13. I caught a lung infection which turned into a lung fungus about 8 weeks before I went to Boston in 2010, and ran it in the worst condition ever....but like you, earned that medal big time. Those of us who have to endure those miles ill-trained I think deserve double medals ;). I have mixed feeling about the deferment this year, to me it just doesn't see fair ... there are no guarantees on race day, seems not right for those who are working their tails off to get in for next year and will now probably have to qualify by many minutes since many slots will not be available with the deferment. There rules so not much you can do, but it just doesn't sit well with me.

    I am hoping and praying for you girl....you so deserve to run Boston 2013!!!

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    1. Jill I agree with you on the double medal and I also have mixed feelings on the deferment. I guess we will see how it plays out. Runner's World had a great article on it: http://bostonmarathon.runnersworld.com/2012/04/boston-marathon-deferrals-heres-the-deal.html

      Thank you so much for the well wishes. I already have a countdown for 2013! :-)

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  14. love your boston reminiscing!! how fun...hope i can get there someday...ya, the deferment thing has me bummed out. Thinking waiting another year until i'm 35 is going to help me in two ways, 5 minutes more time and 4000 spots won't be taken. More time for me to get faster and stronger!! Would suck to work so hard for my 3:35 and then still not get in. I can't believe you were next to a beaver fan in athlete's village. Hilarious. Go ducks! Boston is about the experience---I'm sure I'd do everything wrong too. You'll be back with a vengeance next year!! go tasha!

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    1. thanks for that article above, tasha. just read that it wasn't 4000 but more likely 400. That sits a lot better for next years registrations!!

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