Saturday, April 24, 2010

It's over! I've officially conquered the Boston Marathon.


So this will be the final post for my blog. I've been waiting for a few photos of my finish to share with everyone. What a crazy adventure this has all been. The weather marathon day couldn't have been better - mid 50s, tail wind, partly sunny. All the havoc I wreaked on myself mentally the days prior to the race did catch up to me a bit and I felt tired, but the energy and the crowds more than made up for it.

My official time was 3:49:49 which I was incredibly happy with - never did I think I could run a sub-four-hour marathon. I've also never thought I could reach such a level of mental toughness. The Boston Marathon was as hard and intense as everyone says it will be. In training for beginners you never really go beyond 20-21 miles, and this is for a reason. The last 5-6 miles are killer and is the time that people usually "hit the wall". Throw in a little Heartbreak Hill and quad-cramping the last mile and you have a triple-whammy. Keeping my legs moving was the biggest feat of "mind over matter" of my life, and I was so proud that I kept going.

It was so wonderful seeing people along the way - Marianne, Erin and Jessica in Ashland, Kara and Alett in Framingham, Gaby at Cleveland Circle, Bryn and Andy at Coolidge Corner and Mal on Hereford Street. What was best of all though was seeing my family at the end in the bleachers. The photo above was taken of me waving at them right before I crossed the finish line. It was just the push I needed to get over that line.

Right after I finished people kept asking me if I would run a marathon again. On marathon day my answer was never again - it was one of the most physically exhausting things I've ever done. However, after waking up the next day, I have to admit the thought begin creeping in mind again, so the jury's still out on that one. Regardless of whether I do or don't, running the Boston Marathon has been a dream of mine for over 10 years and I have to say that it was truly one of the best experiences of my life, one I will never forget. Thank you to all of you that helped make this a reality and that provided so much support throughout this journey. It was nothing short of amazing.


1 comment:

  1. Great job and a most excellent effort Melissa!
    xo
    Alett

    ReplyDelete