Monday, April 21, 2008

Boston in 4:15

I finished the Boston marathon. It was wicked awesome.

I'm sore, very sore. And tired, very tired.

I arrived at the Boston Common where 25,000 runners, give or take a few, were trying to load buses to head to Hopkinton--the start line for the race. It was amazing to witness a sea of runners file onto these buses. It was so efficient.

Hopkinton was electric. I had about an hour before my wave started and I enjoyed the time to relax, stretch, get a few last minute pieces of advice, and prepare for the mental battle ahead. The weather could not have been more perfect! Just as we were lining up to start the second wave of runners, the sun was peaking it's way out from behind the last of the clouds. The temperature was a perfect 52 with a slight breeze.

I was surprised how quickly I was able to cross the starting line with as many runners as there were, I think my delay time was only about 6 minutes. I started the marathon running 9:43 minute splits per mile and finished the VERY hilly last half of the marathon running 9:44 minute splits. I stopped to visit with people who had come out to watch, to stretch, to walk through the water stations--generally, I didn't push myself too hard until the end of the race. I don't know where my energy came from, but I had it . . . until mile 23.

I thought I'd be very emotional at the end . . . and I wasn't, I was cranky and couldn't believe that I had run so far and I still had to keep running . . . 3 more miles. My legs were killing, my feet aching and my body tingling. And there were still several hills to overcome at the end. I thought if I saw another hill, I would just swear . . . literally.

Once we finally rounded the street onto Boylston, the thousands and thousands of people in the crowds were just a blur in the backgroud. The finish line was about 700 yards away and I was behind a man who stopped. So I stopped. The way I was feeling, I was fine walking to the finish at this point. It's amazing to me how far I had come and with only 700 yards left, I felt SO justified in walking to the finish. I was convinced that my body could not start running again. And then, out of NO where, I found myself sprinting to the finish line. Talk about psycho. My mind was off and my legs were on and I didn't feel like I had any control over either.

Crossing the finish line was so relieving. I don't think I would have made it as far as I did, with the pace that I did, without Jhordan or Linsey there to help run me in. I was so grateful for their support on the course. Jhordan ran me in from mile 16 and Linsey joined up with us with 6 miles to go. It was great to be flanked with love and support for the last 10 miles. I loved that they were able to cross the finish with me too! The way the course is laid out, they have barriers to keep the crowds back for the last 2 or 3 miles of the course, so they literally weren't able to jump off the path anywhere. (Thank you both for being with me!)

I'm going to throw together some pictures of the race that my family and friends took, and I'll add a few more details . . . I just thought you might want to know how it was. So amazing. I even have thoughts about do it again next year, and I'm close to convincing Michael to join me!

Thank you for all your love and support. I can hardly believe that I just finished the Boston Marathon!!

32 comments:

Mandy said...

Aaagghh! I have goosebumps! You can't beat a runner's high! You did it Jen! I'm so proud of you!

bentanelle said...

Congratulations Jen!! That really good time too! Can't wait for the pictures!

Catie said...

Congratulations Jen, what a HUGE accomplishment. I was thinking about you all day and tracking you as you raced. I love you!

Julianne said...

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!! (there's nothing else to say!!)

The Larsens said...

I have thought about you all day, and looked for you on the news hoping to catch a glance of you somewhere! Since I never saw you, I decided to google you to see if you had a blog. Congrats on the marathon, it is such an amazing accomplishment. You are an amazing person Jen, I look up to you so much.

Hillary Larsen

Toria said...

woohoo! Jen, thats a great time! Amazing! I'm excited to see pics. You're inspiring! by the way. Are you guys staying in Boston?

Mimi said...

You are phenomenal! We are so proud of you. Way to race.

Kelly and Kimberly said...

Jen, way to go. I'm so proud of you. I can't wait to read more and see some pictures of the big day.

jenny said...

Jen,

Congratulations - you did it! Michael - congratulations - you survived training too! We were thinking of you and tracking you. How exciting and you can still say "running rocks".

Sister Abby Bowler said...

Congratulations! You did it! My Dad didn't get too much work done yesterday as he was tracking the few friends he had running it--including you! Lizzie and Ann had a great time as spectators, too. I am so proud of you! Love and miss you TONS!

Ali Howell said...

Congratulations!!! What an amazing accomplishment!

Lizzie said...

You are amazing! Congratulations! My sister Ann and I watched near the finish line and cried our eyes out watching all the runners spot the finish line and give their last push. I still get choked up when I think about. I'm so proud of you!

jane said...

You are amazing! I loved tracking you on the computer! Goosebumps is a great way to describe when I hit refresh and you had finished! Way to go! You are wonderful! Pamper yourself now!

Love,
Jana

Wing and Alli said...

GO JEN! I am so impressed!! REALLY REALLY impressed!! What an accomplishment to say the least.

Are you going to be okay to entertain my husband for a weekend? I'll make sure Michael and Wing take care of YOU. Wish I could be there . . .

Lauren said...

congratulations! what a HUGE accomplishment. i hear marathons are addictive ... that would be fun to do with michael.

Catherine said...

I'm so excited/proud of you!!! I loved tracking you on the computer yesterday, but wish I could have been there cheering you on from the sidelines. It sounds incredible!

Elizabeth said...

Aahhh!!! Jen, I thought of you so many times yesterday. I love it!! I'm so proud of you! What an incredible accomplisment, and you even sprinted in! Crazy! Congrats and great work! I can't wait to see pics.

Christine said...

Yay, we cheered you on (Anna Low and fam and I) on the corner of Commonwealth and Hereford but there were so many people you couldn't hear us, too bad! But you looked really good and you were smiling at that point. Way to go!

Ryan and Amy Nelsen said...

You did it!! Good job!! You are amazing!! I thought of you all day...especially as I went to go on my run that day...

Ashleigh said...

congrats Jen. We were waiting to see how it went and are very excited to hear the good news. You are amazing. Tell Michael hi.

Spencer (I am signed in with Ashleigh)

RSP said...

That's pretty amazing. I could never do it. I totally admire you for it.

Jenny at LGN said...

Congratulations, Jen! What an INCREDIBLE accomplishment! Can you believe it's over? You did it!

Julianne said...

I just have to comment again... WAY TO GO!! You are UNREAL!! I can't wait to see the pics. I REALLY CANNOT GET OVER THIS!! YEAH FOR YOU!

Johanna said...

Wow, congratulations, I can't even imagine! You did it!!!

Sarah said...

You looked like a rock star out there!!!! I was so proud of you. We were at mile 25 right as you crossed under Mass Ave. Eric cheered for you, but I got teary seeing you. (so I got emotional for you at the finish line!) Congrats for all of your hard work. You are my hero! love you

Emily Leininger said...

Awesome! You're awesome. Such an inspiration. Wow!

Anna Packard said...

So, I didn't want to comment cuz you had 26 comments already and I thought that was perfect for a marathon! But I have to say you amaze me!!!!!! You are so awesome Jenn! I am going to run my first 5k this summer and maybe 10K but wow!!! a MARATHON! You inspire me!

Ashlee said...

You are a champ! We are all so very impressed! Love the story with it.

MamiJo said...

congratulations Jen!!! We're so proud of you!

Nollie said...

Way to go, Jen! You are so much fun to run with - I will always remember our HBS Girls Run last year together after Jacob was born. Can't wait to see your pictures and I wish we could have been there to cheer you on.

Melanie said...

Way to go, Jen! You did it! I'm so inspired by you!!! And I loved the play by play account! Way to achieve your goal!

Kristen said...

As if you needed any more comments (31...whatever, that is what I have if you count ALL of the comments on my blog) BUT...you are awesome. It was so fun to come out and see you and cheer you on. Ty and I really loved being with you guys and wish we could have just spent more time together. Soon though! Love you!