Pain and Popsicles (2012 Boston Marathon)

It's been over a month since I ran the Boston Marathon and I have thought about sitting down to write this recap almost everyday.  Yes, I have been busy getting settled here in Utah, but I probably could have gotten to this sooner.  Here's the short version in case you don't have time for this novel: I ran the Boston Marathon, I ran it a lot slower than I wanted to, it was really hot, I had fun, I still love running, I still love marathons, I have the best and most supportive family, and I will be back for redemption.

I have wanted to run this race since I first heard about Boston and its status as running mecca.  It's truly an honor to line up at the start of the most historic and prestigious marathon in the world - and to know that everyone around you had to earn their spot there.  I knew that this might be my one and only Boston, so I trained really hard to line up ready to run a strong race.

Also, it's no exaggeration to say that we moved heaven and earth (okay, slight exaggeration) to get there.  When we realized our move was going to coincide so closely with the race, I considered backing out and finding another spring marathon closer to New Bern.  Josh reminded me that it might be my only chance, so we decided to just make it work.  We scheduled our move around the marathon, drove through ten states to get there, and my sweet mom (and my original running inspiration) took time out of her schedule to fly out and help us.  We got in the car to head up there only after spending three days supervising packers and movers at our house (probably not the best tapering strategy, but oh well).

And then the projected temperature started to climb up and up.  The heat warnings really started to freak me out.  They started offering the deferrals to run the race next year, which was unprecedented for Boston to do.  I honestly considered taking the deferral and finding another marathon to run.  Looking back, I'm SO glad I didn't do that.  We were already in Boston and it would have been really silly for me to not run it.  So I changed my strategy and decided to run slow.

Monday morning (race day) I walked out of my hotel and headed over to Boston Commons to catch the bus up to Hopkinton, the tiny town where the race starts.   Even though the race has a 10 a.m. start, you have to be on the bus by 6 a.m. in order to get everyone up there on time.  I had fun listening to all the accents and other languages.  We were all carrying our drop bags, which had our names and home city/state/country, so I looked around to see where everyone was from.  I saw people from Sweden, Australia, the UK, Germany, Brazil, and all over the U.S.  I started to get excited and boarded the bus.  On the way up, I sat next to a guy who was running his fourth Boston.  He gave me some tips and reminded me that having fun should be the priority of the day.  The buses pulled in to Athlete's Village.

This is the staging area and everyone hangs out here for a few hours before the race start.  They have music playing, free bagels and coffee, and 25,000 nervous runners.  It was already VERY WARM by about 9 a.m.  In fact, just sitting around, I started sweating.  I talked with Josh a couple of times, and texted back and forth with a guy I knew from the New Bern running club who was there (never did find him). 

Another iPhone picture of Athlete's Village.  Most of the time, the start is very cold and everyone huddles around in warm clothes before the start.  Not this year!

Finally, it was time to head to our corrals.  And we were off!  Right away, you can tell Boston is not your typical marathon.  There are spectators lining the streets the entire way, through Hopkinton, Natick, Newton, Framingham, Brookline.  And they cheer for you like you're the only runner out there.

It became apparent quickly that it was going to be a long, hard day.  It is not a good sign when you are sweating before you even start running.  I can honestly say that this was the toughest race I've ever run - and it was my second slowest marathon ever. There were times - especially during the early miles - when I honestly wasn't sure I would be able to finish. 

But it was still Boston.  The crowds were amazing and I tried to soak it all in.  I high fived every kid who put his hand out for me.  At the halfway point, I could hear the Wellesley girls screaming from a half mile away.  Running through the infamous "scream tunnel" there gave me the mental boost I needed to convince myself I was going to finish.  I grabbed the hand of a Wellesley girl with a North Carolina sign and she looked right at me and said "you go girl!".

My strategy for dealing with the heat was just to take it mile-by-mile.  Each water stop I convinced myself to run another mile and grabbed two cups of water, one to drink and one to dump on my head.  I carried a handheld water bottle, I ran through every single hose and spray station, I took orange slices from little kids, I ate a salt packet when my legs started to cramp up, and at one point (I'm sort of embarrassed to admit this), I ate a popsicle.  There were very fit people pulling off the road all over the place, and hoards of people walking starting around mile ten.  I think there were a lot of really good runners that were humbled that day.

Around mile 22, I met a girl named Arden from San Diego.  She was running her seventh Boston Marathon.  We started chatting and decided to run the last few miles together.  I was so happy to have someone to distract me.  As we got closer to the city, she pointed out the big Citgo sign which meant we were getting close.  At this point, the crowds are 5, 6, 7 people deep and everyone is screaming.  I was in pain here, but not the typical end-of-the-marathon pain.  My legs weren't heavy and my breathing was fine, but my feet had sloshed around in wet shoes for so long (because of dumping all the water over my head), that my toes were full of blisters.  My legs were also cramping up again, which is a sign of dehydration.  I took another packet of salt and Arden and I picked it up a little bit to the end.

Then, we turned right on Hereford and left on Boylston.  The crowds were just crazy at this point and I had a big smile on my face.  It was not the race I hoped to run - I finally crossed the finish line in 4:23, an hour slower than my goal - but it was my experience and I was very grateful for it.

Some more pictures:

With my girlies, who had fun playing at the park with daddy and Bubba while I was running.  

With my mom, in her Boston visor!  I was so glad she was there.  My mom inspired me clear back when I was 12 years old and I watched her finish the St. George Marathon. 

 

With Josh, my biggest cheerleader in his Boston shirt.  He was there for me at another marathon finish, with another bottle of chocolate milk for me. :) 

 All showered and done and we headed out for dinner. 

And a few more pictures from our trip:

Hanging out in our hotel room.  I forgot to mention that the week before the race (in the middle of the move), the girls both got a cold, which I got, and which then resulted in a massive case of hives all over Josie's body and a horrible ear infection for Piper requiring a shot of antibiotics and had our pediatrician warning us that we might need to find a good children's hospital in Boston.  Seriously!  They were troopers though and everyone pulled through it.  

The girls had their first big city experience in Boston and we rode the T all over town the whole trip.  Josie called it a "school bus" and was not down with riding it with us holding her standing up.  "Daddy sit down!" resulted in a couple of strangers offering their seats to us. 

 We also made it to the Children's Museum (Piper was in a mood and would not look at the camera). 

 Wearing Bubba's glasses

 

When I finished the race, Josh asked me if I wanted to run Boston again.  My first response was that I didn't felt like I needed to.  I crossed it off my list and could move on to other things.  But I think I've changed my mind.  I think I'll be back again at some point.  Who knows what the conditions will be like, but as a whole, you can't beat the experience.   This quote sums it up:


"You can never be sure. That's what makes the marathon both fearsome and fascinating. The deeper you go into the unknown, the more uncertain you become. But then you finish. And you wonder later, 'How did I do that?' This question compels you to keep making the journey from the usual to the magical."
-Joe Henderson 

Goodbye (for now)

I'm not quite ready to sit down and write a recap of the marathon yet and since running the race on Monday, we have officially left New Bern, so I thought I'd recap our last days/weeks there.  The girls and I flew into SLC yesterday after some final goodbyes.  To say that it has been one of the more eventful weeks of our lives is a huge understatement.  We've driven through 10 states (up along the whole east coast) and flown across the country.  Everybody is tired and out of whack and I'm not sure it has really sunk in yet that we are now Utah residents. 

We'll miss a lot of things about New Bern, but as with most goodbyes, it's the people we will miss the most.  A few weeks ago, some of my sweet friends planned a goodbye dinner.

We also said goodbye to Brooke, our babysitter who was with them almost every afternoon while I work for the past year-and-a-half.

I went on one last run with my buddy Cailin.  We have covered a lot of miles together since we started running together when the girls and her son Reed were both about five months old (very flattering sweaty post-run picture). 

And, on our last night there, we had one last dinner with the Hall family (at least for now!).  The Halls were the first real friends we made after joining the Marine Corps.  Patrick and Josh were in the same OCS and TBS class in Quantico, VA, our very first duty station.  Kenzie and I were two lost souls who were, quite honestly, kind of miserable.  I knew when I met her that I would be okay in this community - as long as there were more people like her.  We moved apart for several years for different flight school duty stations, but luckily we came back together in New Bern.  It was very hard to say goodbye, but we know we will see them again soon. 

And then we went by and said goodbye to our house.  It was so weird to walk through it and know that someone else will be living there.  It's the house we brought the girls home to, so it's hard not to feel some sentimental attachment to it.  One last shot in front of it, with that huge yard Josh wanted so badly.  We won't be doing that again. :)

Goodbye New Bern!  Thanks for a great five years! 
Hello Utah!!!

Boston: Aquarium, Expo, and It's Gonna Be Hot

For the last 13 weeks, I have been training to run the Boston Marathon.  I had the best training cycle I've ever had.  My goal was 3:20 - 3:25, a finish time I thought was a realistic possibility.  Over the past few days, I have been watching the projected temperature go up and up for Monday.  They are now projecting the temperature will get close to 90 degrees - breaking records for Boston and making marathon-running quite tricky.  Does this look like good marathon-running weather (the race is on Monday and I start at 10:20 a.m.)?  Note the temperatures for the rest of the week.  Perfectly pleasant running weather! 

Here's what the BAA (marathon organizing group) is recommending for runners tomorrow (they are also offering automatic deferral for next year's race for those who decide not to run):

We are looking closely at the current weather situation which is projected  to be quite warm. The B.A.A. is closely monitoring this situation for for race day decisions. If the temperatures reach certain levels, running will put even the most fit athletes at risk for heat injury.

We are now making the recommendation that if you are not highly fit or if you have any underlying medical conditions (for example-cardiac disease, pulmonary disease or any of a number of medical problems), you should NOT run this race. 

• Inexperienced marathoners should not run. 
• Those who have only trained in a cooler climate and who may not be acclimated (for at least the last 10 days) to warm weather running conditions should also consider not running. 

For those very fit athletes who decide to run, you should take significant precautions:

• Run at a slower pace and maintain hydration.
• You should frequently take breaks by walking instead of running.
• This will not be a day to run a personal best.  If you choose to run, run safely above all else. Speed can kill.
• Heat stroke is a serious issue and is related to intensity of running as well as the heat and humidity.

So, tomorrow is going to be a slow marathon and I've decided I'm okay with that.  It is a big bummer that I have worked so hard over the past 13 weeks, but ultimately the weather is out of my control.  I'm going to have fun and be grateful that my family is here with me.

We've been having a good time so far.  Yesterday, we took a trip to the aquarium and played at a park on the Boston Harbor waterfront.

On the way back to the hotel, I left my bag in the subway.  We were juggling purses, bags, cameras, and strollers and somehow I left my bag with my wallet sitting on the seat.  Josh ran back downstairs and hopped on another train after it and somehow managed to track it down within an hour, officially saving this trip! There were some very helpful Boston locals who helped him find it before it was lost forever.

This morning we headed over to the marathon expo to pick up my number, bag, and buy some Boston Marathon gear.  My mom and Josh got t-shirts for tomorrow and I got a few things.

My number

 A dork with a marathon shirt and number

 Pictures outside with the city behind us

The girls are napping now and when they wake up, we are headed to the children's museum.  But first, I need to back up and write a little about how we got here (separate posts on all that).  It's been an eventful week and all our household belongings are currently on a blue semi headed across the country.

In the mean time, please pray for an unexpected cold front!

Williamsburg Visit (enroute to Boston)

Wednesday night, after a long three days with packers and movers at our house, we pulled out of New Bern to head up to Boston.  We decided to stop in Williamsburg to see Barb (Nana) and the Koupal family.  We weren't able to get up there earlier this year with all the moving activity and the condensed timeline, but we did want to see them one more time before we headed out west.  It was a fun afternoon and went by way too quickly. 

We had lunch in downtown Williamsburg.  Look at all those cute kiddos!  Alden and Kleigh got out of school a little early to hang out with us.  I think they were bummed about that. :)  The girls have been talking a lot about their cousins. 

Thursday was my birthday.  It was so nice not to spend all day on the road traveling.  They all made it a fun day! 

I wish we had had more time to hang out.  We are going to miss seeing them.  We hope they'll come out to Utah for a visit SOON! 

Garber Preschool Easter Party

Today we got together with all our preschool friends for a fun Easter party at the park.  The kids played, ate a yummy snack, then hunted eggs and came home with their very own Easter baskets with treats.  They have been talking about the Easter Bunny nonstop for the last week and I'm sure will be talking about him long after Easter is over. 

Davis pushing Piper on the swing and Piper sliding with Emma.  Davis was our class helper for the day.

 Water bottles, fun! 

Emma pushing Josie and all the kids having circle time.  Josie and Piper definitely have not caught on to this yet. :)  

Eating yummy treats, including cupcakes, which Josie keeps calling her "birthday cake".  

 A bunch of the kids checking out all the eggs they gathered and brought back. 

22 Days

Ahhh, moving.  We were so close for so many years.  One move every year for five years.  Since then, we have slipped away from each other.  Grown apart.  Gotten comfortable and settled in somewhere.  We have been in New Bern for five years - the same amount of time we lived in Quantico, Pensacola, Meridian, and Washington. 

Over the past few weeks, we have been like old friends becoming reacquainted.  Every closet has been cleaned out, cars have been sold and purchased, goodbyes are being said, and plans are being made.  We are pulling out of New Bern on April 20th - just 22 days away.  I remember pulling into town on April 12th, 2007, my 30th birthday.  We are pulling out of town to head up to Boston on April 12th, my 35th birthday.  It's been quite a five years for us and we're excited and anxious about what's to come. 

A Visit From Friends

As is often the case in this crazy military life, we are doing a kind of switcheroo with our friends the Cromwells - just missing each other as we move on to the next place.  They are moving back here to New Bern right about the time we head out and we were lucky enough to get a visit from them when they came to house hunt.  The girls really had fun playing with Gavin.  They are old enough now to play together and Gavin didn't have any trouble hangin with them.

 It was a quick trip, but they are going to come visit us in Utah! 

The dogs were not left out of the fun.  Adam took them out for a trail walk one morning and practiced his photography skills.  I love these pictures he took so much!  This one is definitely going in a frame.

 Blue was worn out for a whole 30 minutes after this walk.

See you soon Cromwells. 

Say "Ahh"

Josie and Piper had their first trip to the dentist last week.  The plan was to visit my hygienist, check out her "tools" and play it by ear on whether they actually got their teeth cleaned.  Surprisingly, both girls were pretty excited about it it.  Piper took to Ms. Teri right away, most likely because of the penguin on her brush.  Josie wasn't quite so sure, but she eventually warmed up too.  They both got their teeth cleaned and polished.  Over the past week, they have occasionally said "dentist?" when we're in the car headed somewhere.  Next time we go, we'll visit Uncle Jim. 

February in Pictures

As I wrote last week, February was crazy, but I didn't want to end the month without some pictures. 

These pictures were taken a couple of weekends ago when we took a day trip to Raleigh.  The girls were troopers and went all day without a nap, including a 2 + hour drive both ways, and then a visit to the mall and Trader Joe's.  They entertained themselves with our sunglasses and Elmo on the DVD player (their new favorite). 

Also, this is Josie's new "smile for the picture" face. 

 And finally, a couple more of Piper playing over the weekend.

 Happy soon-to-be March!  Next month will feature a big move and a big marathon!