Boston Marathon Recap: Part 2

Where were we?
Oh yes mile 16.8 where I stopped to hug and kiss my wonderful supportive family who waited patiently for me! They saved me.
This marathon, it was all about mental toughness. You know I have often said I can run at my happy pace forever. I stuck to my happy pace and stayed in the 9s most of the time. But mentally parts were tough.

Once I got those hugs, I felt renewed. It was like a burst of energy for me and I knew then that I would be finishing strong if for no other reason, than for more hugs because I knew that they would be at the finish line.

Miles 17-22 were tough. I was hot and the hills were rough. I did not stress it though. I had made the decision that this time for the first time running a marathon, time was not an issue. I walked sometimes when it got rough, I ran when it felt good.

I started taking water at every stop. I made sure I ran under every single hose or water sprinkler. This race was a whole new beast. As I got to mile 19 I got a terrible pain in my foot. I stopped and loosened my shoe a bit and kept going. I told myself at that point that at this point I had come too far to stop. I kept saying, Colleen you do not give up, you do not quit. Never give up. Over and over again until I really embraced it.

The beautiful part of this race, the crowds. By mile 23 the streets were packed. I did not even know where I was within the city, all I knew was the crowd support was incredible. People were cheering and shouting, I felt like a rock star :) I made sure all the out stretched hands I saw got a high 5. I was yelling and shouting woo woo and when people saw how pumped up I was they got excited. I kept hearing people say go pink go Colleen and it kept me strong.

I was grateful. All week long, thinking I would not be running this race, and here I was running, finishing strong. I felt so lucky. I thought about all of the people who dream about running Boston, like I had for the last year and I told myself this was worth it. The heat, the exhaustion, yes it was hard but it was also amazing. Being a part of the 116th Boston Marathon was an incredible experience!!!!

I finished right at 4 hours and 11 minutes. My slowest marathon ever but also my most mentally and physically challenging. I really think I did a good job of maintiainnig a steady comfortable pace and at the end of the race I still felt ok. As you can see coming into that finish line area I was clearly hyped up!! Thank you to my friend Gene for capturing some awesome pictures of me!!!

 I proudly took my medal and was smiling so big :) I took some pictures with it and then it was mission find my family time!!! I headed to the family meet up area to find them!!! And of course they were there smiling with me and celebrating. They even had Starbucks waiting for me :)

They ARE amazing!

Marathon #3 is in the books!!!!!

After the race we rested a bit and went out for a little celebatory dinner :) Of course I got to be with my Peanut too! I will post more on that tomorrow!!!!

Boston Marathon Recap Number 1

I say number one because this race was epic, it will most definetly require more than 1 post :)

Where to begin, tonight I am a sea of emotions. I wanted to write part of my recap now so I do not forget it.

The day began around 5:30am when I woke up, I got showered and dressed and then woke up Peanut. We got ready together and I gave her the Boston unicorn I got her the day before at the expo. I explained to her that mommy would be running in a big race while she was at school today and tried to get her to say marathon. I have her on video its too cute she says maracon. hehe close enough

 I wished she could have been there today, but she is just not quite old enough to battle those crowds at Boston, maybe next year ;)

So I dropped her off at school and headed to Hopkinton :) I got into the athletes village at about 730, and was well, bored. This is my first year running Boston and I wish I had known how it was I could have been better prepared waiting around. I would have had a disposable blanket and napped for a lil while. But we will save that for next year.

I ran into my friend Lauren there and hung out with her and it was fun once I had found a familiar face for sure! After what seemed like forever it was finally time to head out. By then the heat was glaring and it was obvious that this was going to be a tough run.

I walked to the start line in the long line of people and prayed. I was thankful for being there and asking for strength to get through. I knew this was going to be a struggle but I was prepared to tackle it head on and most importanly have fun. I wanted to enjoy my first Boston Marathon with some smiles and laughs. And as I crossed that start line that is exactly what I did.

There were so many people. I have never run in a race this big and I was blown away by the amazing crowd support. I was smiling the whole first few miles. I crossed the 5k marker and I blew a kiss. I knew my family and friends were tracking me and this would be the first update they got of me. I started doing this each time I crossed a check point like that, it was my way of remembering that I had a whole bunch of people counting on me to finish.

I took it easy and just settled right into my happy pace. A happy pace for me is 9 minute miles. I knew that if I ran in those miles that I would be OK. That is why I call it my happy pace. Ultra running and training has taught me that you have a happy pace that when you are running it is tough but not too tough and you can easily endure long distances at that pace. I like to call it my happy pace and I certainly embraced that today.

The crowds were amazing, did I say that, if not I will keep saying it. It was hot out there but people had hoses going, ice out and water everywhere. I never felt like I needed anything. You can totally tell the parents when you are running too. We are the ones who stop and high five every little kid who has their hand out. I always try to do that during a race I make sure to high five the kids, it reminds me of my Peanut :)

At mile 5ish I saw my dad! He made his way out to Ashland on his Harley and had a good stop. He was waiting with a big hug and ice water. It gave me a little boost to see him. This is the first time he has seen me during a marathon so it was nice having him there.

After I saw my dad I settled back into my pace. Today was not about time it was just about finishing strong and alive and well. I began to feel the sun and heat on my shoulders around mile 6 and by mile 10 I was burning up. It was hot. My feet felt the worst, the heat was radiating off the pavement and it was already hot out, my feet felt like they were on fire. At one point all I wanted to do was rip my shoes off.

I held on. I kept saying that all I had to do was get to mile 16 next. I knew my family would be there waiting to see me and that it would carry me through till the end.

I will post more tomorrow!!!!!

Miles 17-26.2 to come hehe

Miracles Happen When You Believe

What a week it has been indeed!

I have wonderful news, I recieved it today around noon time,

I will be running the Boston Marathon tomorrow!!!!!!!!! :)

I was jumping up and down for pure joy when I got the word that I would be able to do it. It was really great.

All I have to say is I am grateful to everyone who hung in there with me this week and helped cheer me up and get me through. I appreciate it. I prayed that I would get to run and my prayers were answered. I have to say, when God closes a door he always opens a window. It may take some time but the window does open :)

So today, after working at the expo all weekend it was amazing getting to walk into as a runner and go pick up my number!!! I was like a kid in a candy store, all of a sudden everything changed, I was experiencing it in a whole new way :)

 I was super excited to have that bib number in my hands!!!

 I was happy to see my good friends Gene and Damian there today!!! They will both be out spectating tomorrow!!!

I could not resist taking a picture in front of this sign hehe I am qualified already for next year so this will be a nice lil reminder until then :)

I cannot wait to lace up my shoes tomorrow and run in one of the oldest and greatest marathons of all! I know it will be warm but I will surely have a smile on my face the whole way. The road to Boston has been a bumpy one but it has all been worth it.

Tomorrow is not just about running the Boston Marathon. For me it is so much more. It really will be the first time I will celebrate with my whole family all of my accomplishments on my weight loss journey. They will all be there to cheer for me! And I really am looking forward to it. It will be the first race everyone will be at together and we will be able to celebrate after since it is local. And also it is my annual chance to remember the one person who will be with me in spirit.

I will be running tomorrow in rememberance of my grandmother, and have raised over $1000 for the American Cancer Society. I have to thank all of my friends and family who donated. And also all of the Fight Forever Race participants for donating!  I am thankful that I get to run tomorrow to celebrate her life and all of the joy she brought to it. I know she will be looking down on me and her smile will be as big as mine as we cross that finish line together.