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.

A wonderful pre-marathon message

This week has been a roller coaster of nerves. My cold finally caught up to me, so I don't know that I'll get a qualifying time tomorrow that I got my hopes up for two weeks ago. I'm trying to keep in mind that I have run with a cold several times during my training, so I'm confident I will make it.

My neighbor, Faith, sent me the most wonderful message today that I'm going to try and keep in mind during my run. She said:

"I wish you serenity today and tomorrow. For me, the fantastic part is already evident: you committed to a difficult thing and underwent the training to achieve it"

Pretty great words. This has been a dream of mine for many, many years, and no matter what the outcome, the opportunity has been amazing and the journey has been even better. I've done things I never thought possible and for that I can be very proud.

Here's to a great day tomorrow!

Thanks to all my co-workers!

The support at work this week has been great. My co-worker Bob Potvin got me a delicious cake, baked by our own HR manager Sally Pelrine. Everyone also chipped in to write messages on these red feet that were lining the hallway for me when I arrived on Friday, leading to my office door. Pretty cool!

Keep an eye out for this shirt

My official ARL Boston marathon shirt is in (thanks rescue department!). It's bright red with big letters, so hopefully I will stand out in the crowd of people if you're looking for me. I'm still trying to keep this cold at bay - so far no runny nose, although I woke up with a sore throat this morning. Send good vibes my way!

Can't believe it's less than 1 week away!

I seriously can't believe marathon day is less than 1 week away - it's pretty crazy. I'm spending this last week doing some short runs, trying to rest and sleep as much as I can and trying not to think about the marathon.

I'm also taking Airborne like it's going out of style. My sister and her family came from California to spend the week and to come watch the marathon. It was great to see them and I'm thrilled they're here. However, they all were recovering from colds so here's keeping my fingers crossed that I hopefully dodge that bullet.

Marathon day tracking

This week has been the beginning of the "taper" pre-marathon, and as a result, there isn't much to talk about with my runs because they've been fairly uneventful. However, I did want to tell everyone about the AT&T Athlete Alert Program, which allows people to track the progress of runners throughout the course at the following checkpoints:

• Starting line
• 10K
• Half-Marathon
• 30K
• Finish

The info on how to sign up for this can be found at the following link:

http://registration.baa.org/2010/cf/RegAthleteAlert/pg_AthleteAlert.cfm?mode=preentry&snap=14851595&

You need a bib number to track a runner, so if you're interested, mine is 25709.

My official last long run (and boy was I happy)!

I had my very last really long run before the marathon today - 21 miles total, starting in Boston, running 10 1/2 miles out to Wellesley, and then turning back around. I really hope that I can duplicate this effort in two weeks because I was absolutely thrilled with my time - 2:52:55. If I could keep this pace up on marathon day, I could actually run the marathon with a time that would qualify me for next year's marathon! I'm trying not to get my hopes up and keep in perspective that the goal through all of this was just to finish, but I do have a competitive side to me that is acting up. But anything could happen marathon day - we could have a 25 mph headwind the whole way, or it could be 90 degrees so I have to keep this in mind.

In all though, I'm thrilled that all the big runs are over - I have two weeks of relatively light training and then it is marathon day!

I just need to vent...

Today was the day that I was supposed to get my new pair of shoes since I paid an extra $15 for 2 day shipping. When UPS arrived and my package was nowhere to be seen, I called the company to check on my order. What I got on the phone was: "Oh, we were going to call you, we don't have those in stock anymore. Would you like the Wave Inspire 6? We have those in stock".

Seriously? First, I specifically put in their "special comments" field to double check that they were the 5s, not the 6s - clearly this was not read. Second, why let me pay for 2 day shipping and then not even contact me that they didn't have the shoes to send! It was all very frustrating. Fortunately though, Jeff, one of the ARL volunteers, had found another link to a shoe company that carried the 5s and had sent it to me a couple days ago. I called them and they did have them in stock and I should be receiving them tomorrow. Thanks Jeff!

Success! My "Wave Inspire 5s" are on their way!

Thank you everyone who encouraged me to keep searching online. I found a pair of the Wave Inspire 5s at a running store in Colorado and they will be here in two days. I am thrilled. Now I just have to return the pair I bought today to Marathon Sports - pair #3 I've returned there. I feel like they'll want to ban me from the store...

Goodbye beloved Mizunos...

Not much to mention on the run front this week. It was a light week due to my Achilles tendon acting up. However, I'm in a bit of a shoe crisis. As planned, I went to replace my current pair of running shoes - Mizuno Wave Inspire 5s - with a new pair so they were not so worn out for the marathon. I've had this pair for several months and they are starting to show evidence of too much wear and tear. My intention was to go out and buy the same exact pair for the marathon because I love the so much. However, Mizuno no longer makes the Wave Inspire 5. They now have the Wave Inspire 6. No biggie I thought - in theory they are essentially the same shoe with a few changes to material. However, in practice, I'm finding that not to be the case and for the past week they have been really uncomfortable. I got them from Marathon Sports so I can exchange them, even used, but now I'm panicking that I won't be able to find another pair of shoes for the marathon. I have looked all over the web for the 5s with absolutely no luck. What to do???

So far so good...

Keith Stiles just might be a miracle worker. I gave my new and improved Achilles tendon a test run today and I have to say it felt good. Perhaps slightly tighter than my other calf, but no pain to really to speak of. Can I say I feel cautiously optimistic?

Now that was a sports massage!

With my recent Achilles tendon issues, my coach recommended another deep tissue/sports massage. Since we're so close to marathon time, it was important to address this issue asap. The Boston Running Center hosts a sports massage therapist that comes up twice a month from New York named Keith Stiles and fortunately the timing was perfect because he happened to be in town yesterday. When looking him up, his credentials are pretty impressive, including 7 years doing massage for the performers of Cirque du Soleil.

The first massage I got to try and help my IT band issue was certainly relaxing, and did address some of the IT band pain I had. But it was not a sports massage. Yesterday he focused entirely on my right leg and did a lot of really deep tissue work. It was very painful, although in that good "really working out the kinks" kind of pain. My pain was not in the tough cord part of my Achilles by my heal, but was a combination of muscle and tendon pain mid calf where the two fan together. I'm still sore today, which he warned would be the case. I should be able to try running again tomorrow so we'll see how that goes.

My Achilles heel is really my Achilles heel...

The top 5 most common running injuries are:

• Achilles tendonitis
• Chondromalacia - Runner's Knee
• iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Shinsplints

We are less than one month away from the marathon and I now have my second of the top 5 most common running injuries and I have to admit I'm a tad panicked. I've worked my way through ITB syndrome and it doesn't really bother me that much anymore. However, now I have Achilles Tendonitis and it almost stopped me completely on my long run yesterday. I can handle most running pain, but it felt like my calf was going to snap. It was bad.

Once again, I'm so glad I have a running coach (thanks again mom, dad & sis!) because he's working closely with me to do what needs to be done to overcome this injury. I've been taking aleve, icing and have an appointment for a pt/sports massage tomorrow to help break up any scar tissue that has developed.

On a good note - aerobically I really felt good yesterday during my 19 mile run - so I hope that I've done enough work building my aerobic fitness that a few days off from running won't do me that much damage. Wish me luck through this one...

Official number 25709!

That's me, bib number 25709. They posted the official bib numbers on the Boston Athletic Association website this week, so you can search for your official entry number. The link is here:

http://www.baa.org/2010/cf/Public/EntryLists.cfm?mode=entry

Somehow they also state that the field is limited to 25,000 entrants, curious when I'm 709 over that. In fact, it seems like lucky Thomas Peterson from Massachusetts is the official highest number at 27625. I'm not asking questions though, I'm just thrilled to have a number.

A couple other interesting people to watch out for if you're at the marathon. Valerie Bertinelli is bib number 22503. She's running for Dana Farber, so have your camera's ready. I haven't heard of any other celebrities running so far, but if there is anyone, I'll let you know. Also, my co-worker Dr. Alett Mekler, one of the veterinarians at our clinic, is bib number 23616 - if you see her be sure to cheer her on too!

A "magical Disney" Tuesday run

Tuesday's run was short - just a quick four miles. But I had the most fun thing happen on my run! I was on Moraine Street in J.P. and all of the sudden the cutest little 7-8 month old black and white kitten had pounced out from behind a bush and was chasing behind me. He had a collar and microchip tag on so I didn't worry that he was lost. I stopped to visit for a minute and then started running again and he chased behind me all the way to the end of his property - he was so cute! Between that and the *finally* blue, clear skies it felt like my own personal Disney moment. Compared to Sunday, it was so nice.

Also, I have to give a shout out to Linda Witt, my mother-in-law, to thank her for the shoe dryer she sent us for Christmas - boy has it come in handy! Yesterday morning my shoes were still just as wet as they were on Sunday (I thought two days inside would have taken care of it). Fortunately I had another old pair to wear, but I used the dryer and by night time they were as good as new. Thanks Linda!

No, that was the yuckiest run ever.

I know I could have waited to do my long run till tomorrow to see if this freezing rain, cold weather and terrible wind would subside, but my logic was that the weather come marathon day could be like this so I should just learn to tough it out. It was actually more miserable than it sounds in concept. What a debacle. My 14 miles included:

• Killing my ipod after 3 miles because it got too wet
• Climbing on top of a stone wall through prickers on Allandale Road because the water was a foot deep
• Trying, quite successfully I might add, to dodge the waves of water being kicked up by passing cars
• Trying, quite unsuccessfully, to avoid stepping in very deep puddles of water
• Watching the soap suds build up around my knees from my running pants (photo included) - there was so much water I was literally rewashing my clothes
• Getting off route somewhere around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir and hoping I would be able to find my way back
• Seriously contemplating how lame it would look to jump in a cab home

However, I persevered and I made it! Now, a few hours later, I did find one silver lining to this cloud. My training schedule today called for the run to be progressive, meaning that I was supposed to gradually increase my speed from start to finish. Also, my coach wanted to know my average pace for the run. I was so eager to get out of the rain that it gave me added incentive to run faster and I ended up averaging 8 minute 23 second miles, which I was incredibly happy with. Plus, I got to go to brunch afterwards which tasted all that much better.

Still no ice bath...

Yuckiest run ever!

I know I've run through some cold days, some snowy days, some windy days, but I have to say today might just take the cake for the yuckiest day ever. It was a combination of the weather - 30s, cold rain, wind - time of day (dark) - and the fact that it was a hill repeat workout, one of my least favorites. It was really hard to get out the door tonight, but I did.

ARL Boston President's Dinner

Not much to mention about my training run yesterday (just a quick three miles). However, Wednesday night was the annual President's Dinner and Jay Bowen, the ARL President, very kindly acknowledged the donations I raised to be able to run the marathon. In turn, it made me want to acknowledge everyone who so generously donated to help me run the marathon and for all the subsequent words of encouragement and support. Couldn't have done it without you all - for that I'm so grateful!

Also, the ice bath didn't happen.

I really wanted to see if it would help me with my post-run soreness, but I just couldn't make myself do it.

It was a long day Sunday, but I made it!

Sunday was a jam-packed day for me. I did my 16 (technically 16.77) mile run... after helping to spay and neuter 43 feral cats at the Animal Rescue League of Boston's first Sunday Spay/Neuter Day for Feral Cats of 2010. My day started at 6 a.m., so boy was I tired! It felt great though. The weather was beautiful and it was so nice to see everyone out and about.

The only down side to my run was that my ipod died several steps into my run. I like to use the several hours of running to catch up on podcasts, listen to music, etc. It was admittedly a little more boring than usual. However, there was an upswing - I did find that I was able to pay more attention to my run which was out and back on the course - so I will be more familiar with it come marathon day.

So happy it's warm outside!

It has been a long cold winter, and I cannot say enough how happy I am going to be tomorrow running in 50 degree weather. So far, I think I have felt better on all my runs this week than I have on any other week of my training, and it's been a tough one. With less than two months to go, my coach is upping the ante again. This week looked like:

Sunday - 12 mile run (felt good!)
Tuesday - 25 minutes easy pace and then 30 minutes progressive (which means you gradually increase your pace throughout the run)
Wednesday - swimming
Thursday - 40 minutes easy pace
Friday - 4 intervals of 1 mile easy pace followed by 1/2 mile of medium pace

The only thing on the agenda this week that I am not looking forward to is an ice bath. This seems to be gaining in popularity as I have read about it in many running magazines, but essentially you are supposed to soak your legs in very cold (using ice if necessary) water for about 10 minutes to aid with healing. We'll see if this actually happens. I can barely get into a pool that is less than 80 degrees.

Tomorrow's run is 16 miles, out and back on the course. Here's hoping it goes well!

Kind of a boring week

There's a bug going around work that, unfortunately, I have caught. Nothing that serious - just a cold - but a cold that lingers. Apparently it's going to stick with me for 2-3 weeks. Yuck. I've definitely been feeling it on my runs, so I've been taking it easy (per coaches orders) this week. I still have my long run planned tomorrow of 10-12 miles, so we'll see how that goes. I just hope this cold works its way through & fast!

I'm Official!

I thought I would celebrate my return to blogging by sharing something very exciting - my official 2010 Boston Marathon Entry confirmation! This, and the two 16 mile runs I had to the past two weekends (including my first jaunt up the dreaded "Heartbreak Hill"), are making this all very real.

A week of ups and downs

So after the last post about the massage, by knee felt great for about 1 - 1 1/2 days. Then it started bugging me again, worse than before! I actually think it might have been self inflicted from improper stretching & foam rolling, but I'm not positive.

During that time, on Friday and Saturday I was supposed to go swimming. I had a great swim on Friday and then on Saturday, really didn't want to go but was proud that I managed to drag myself to the pool after a long day of work after all. However, just as I was about to get in, I learned that a child had puked in the pool! Yuck! Needless to say, the pool was closed and I had to forgo the swimming.

So onto today. My coach created a revised training plan for me this week after the knee pain. So, I thought it said 6 mi. easy, stretch, then 2-4 more miles, only realizing after I had completed my run that it was 6 min. not 6 mi., so I ended up running 9 miles today instead of 2- 4 miles. Whoops! The strange thing, however, was after about 1/4 mile of my run, the pain pretty much went away. It came back again slightly towards the end but even now a few hours after the run, I feel better. Not sure what to make of all this.

This past week has definitely been frustrating since I felt like my progress was going along well until this past week. This week was the first time I had moments of wondering if I could do this, but I'm sure I'll get my confidence back once I start feeling 100% on runs again.

Absolutely amazing...

Yesterday was a rough day - my knee was hurting. All throughout work it hurt, even just walking. I was getting very concerned that something more major was going on. However, I went to my sports massage (as planned) and once I got up off the table, my knee pain was literally gone. I still am in disbelief. That knee is about 90% better which is certainly an improvement over the stiff hobbling around I did all day yesterday. Now I just have to figure out a way to rig the lottery so I can go get a sports massage every week :-).

An exciting day today.

For the record, I am not a fan of very early morning runs, like the 5:30 a.m. run I did today - I'm fine with pretty much anything after 7:00 a.m. - but 5:30 a.m., yuck. I envy those other runners who seem to be able to so easily get out on the road before dawn.

That said, it was for a good cause because I am getting a massage tonight!!! I am still feeling the residual effects of this weekend's 15 mile run and my hip has been so tight and I just can't seem to loosen it with any amount of stretching. Tight hips are a big factor in the knee pain I've been having on and off, so my coach recommended a sports massage. Wasn't going to say no to that. So while 5:30 a.m. today wasn't that great, at 5:30 p.m. should be much better! I'm certainly not in a position to be getting a massage regularly, but I figure I can treat myself every now and again.

This week's long run was awful...

This week's long run, which was yesterday, was 15 miles. To give those of you who might be reading a idea of just how long that is, in 15 miles you can get from:

• Bristol, CT to Meriden, CT
• Walnut Creek, CA to Berkley, CA
• Menasha, WI to Oshkosh, WI
• Somerville, MA to Braintree, MA

Bill, my husband, has been doing all my long runs with me since he is signed up for the Martha's Vineyard 20 miler in two weeks. We both felt great after last week's 12 mile run, and were really looking forward to this week's run. However, we were both sorely disappointed. I think a big problem was that it was really cold yesterday - colder than it's been for most of our runs. We both ended up being slightly underdressed and never really warmed up. My hip kept cramping up the second 1/2 of the run and I had to stop and stretch it out every 1-2 miles. This week's work-outs were harder than normal, and my legs felt like bricks. Needless to say, we were both glad when it was over.

Just have to say it - glad there's no run today

It's COLD, COLD, COLD outside!

Today's run - done

Not much to say about today's run. My coach has me doing slightly longer distances during the week, so today was 1 mile warm-up and then a 7 mile run. Not so bad. On tomorrow's agenda - yoga!

Hill repeats - round 1

My coach definitely upped the ante this week. For any of you who have been part of any type of running team, I'm sure you understood my dread when hill repeats showed up on this week's training schedule. For those of you who haven't run, it is exactly what it sounds like - running, usually at a faster pace, up a hill, multiple times. The Boston Marathon is a hilly course, so I knew this day was coming. Above is the hill I ran today, although the picture doesn't really doesn't do it justice, if you ask me. It starts gradual and then what you can't see at the top is the place where the incline gets markedly steeper. It's also 0.2 miles long, which doesn't seem like much except when you think that it's almost once around a track. I had to run this hill four times, and by the end, boy were my legs hurting. You know what they say - no pain, no gain - that was the truth today.

12 mile run - done!

Long run was yesterday, Sunday, and it was a great day for a run - sunny, mid 30s, no wind. It was great! Glad today is an off day (as it currently is pouring rain with 50 mph wind gusts). One of the things that I think I'm enjoying most about training for the marathon is the gratification I get each time a new distance is conquered. Twelve miles is now officially the farthest I've ever run, and remarkably, I felt good. I finally broke down and got a fuel belt which I've used on my past two runs. Fueling up while running is an important part of marathon, so I'm starting to practice that part. Honestly, I feel like a dork wearing one, but I haven't experienced the complete burnout that I felt after the first 11 miler. I guess my pride is a small price to pay for not feeling like a zombie for the rest of the day.

Easy day today - I'm thrilled!

At the risk of jinxing myself, I've been very happy with how much easier running has become since starting this journey. Today's workout called for 6 miles (the route ended up being 6.2 miles to be exact) and it was a breeze. Everything felt great, knees included. This distance used to be at the upper end of what I would run, and now it feels like a piece of cake. So knock on wood everyone - let's hope this trend continues!

One soggy run!

YUCK! That's all I have to say about the run I just finished. The light snow that I was so looking forward to in my last post turned to freezing rain shortly after I started running. It's done though - 5 miles, check! Now I can look forward to hunkering down indoors for the rest of the day.

This week's training log

Monday was an off day, which was very relaxing. I love a well deserved off day! I felt remarkably well after the previous day's 10 mile run, which was uplifting since my last long run of 11 miles was so difficult.

Monday was also exciting because it is the day that I get the week's workouts from my coach through my page at the Boston Running Center. I love my training schedule! Not only does it indulge my love of check lists, it has been a great tool for keeping me on track since I have to report back what I actually did each week.

So today calls for a 5 mile run, which I plan to do a little later in the afternoon. It is snowing out, but lightly - I bet it will make for a very pretty run!

Back on the blogging bandwagon

It's been a while since my last post - sorry! There's a lot of catching up to do, so this may be a long one, but I'm back up and running now (no pun intended) and will do a better job in the future.

After the last posted 11 mile run, things went a little haywire with my training. I had my first meeting with my running coach that Monday (thanks again Mom, Dad & Sis!) which was fantastic. He helped identify some weaknesses in my stride that are likely contributing to some of my knee pain, and in addition to planning my weekly running workouts, he also plans out strength training exercises to work on these weaknesses. It's really been one of the best Christmas presents ever.

However, the day after that 11 mile run I started having pain on the inner thigh of my left leg. It felt muscular, but after three days it still did not go away. Normally I wouldn't have been that concerned, except that back in High School while running X-Country I developed a stress fracture in my left femur, and the pain felt very similar to what I recall back then. Stress fracture = no marathon for me. This would have been devastating. Needless to say I wanted to get this checked out as soon as possible. But as timing would have it this was right before New Year's Day and my doctor did not have any appointments for over a week - not very convenient when I had a 12 mile run planned that weekend.

This led to a trip to the urgent care center on New Year's Eve- they did x-rays & found no stress fracture. I was elated! However, the doctor there said she wanted me to go to the emergency room because the location of the pain was consistent with a blood clot in my leg, and she said I needed to have it checked out immediately. So onto the emergency room for me. I learned a few things at the emergency room:

1) I did not have a blood clot in my leg.

2) Even if you are able to walk perfectly fine, they still have to push you around the hospital in a wheel chair but cannot explain exactly why, even when asked.

3) X-rays do not always detect a stress fracture so the trip to the urgent care center was irrelevant. I was back to square one.

The next week I had a series of three doctors appointments, including 1 MRI, and it was finally determined that I had a strained inner adductor. Not a stress fracture. Great news!

Throughout this time my coach was a huge help for me. I couldn't run until I got a diagnosis, and he helped create workouts for me that would set me back as little as possible. It was also great getting advice on how to ease back into running. I'm happy to report that I am now officially back on track, completing a 10 mile run with relative ease just today.

So that's the last few weeks in a nutshell. Talk to you all again soon!