Boston Part 1: Getting to the Starting Line

Having your local newspaper do a write-up on your years-long goal of completing all six Abbott World Marathon Majors, one week before the last race is not a way to calm your nerves. But, it totally happened before I was set to run the B.A.A. Boston Marathon as part of Meb's Team. I mean, I didn't think I would not actually finish. My race plan was to soak it in and run slow anyway, after PR'ing 7 weeks prior. But, as usual no matter how many of these I do, my pre-race nerves started kicking in. And the article in the Lansing State Journal added some additional considerations. "What if this is the ONLY marathon I somehow can't finish?" I mean, wow. That would really suck. Not only was my whole family coming to Boston (presumably to see me actually, you know, finish) but now I had a LOT of other people who were suddenly very aware of this goal of mine. Being an Abbott WMM Ambassador has pushed me out of my comfort zone in that respect, in order to help spread the word about how great this series is, but it's not typically my M.O.

Alas, I had a busy few days at work, and a little soiree my running buddies had for me at a local restaurant. This all helped keep me relatively sane before I flew out to Boston early Friday.  I left a day before my husband and kids because as part of the Charity Teams family, I wanted to attend our party at the Harvard Club with all of our charity VIPs, meet my teammates who I've gotten to know online, and get my singlet.

We call ourselves the EL bad ass racing mamas

From the time I landed Friday morning in Boston to the moment I started running Monday, the name of the game was keeping it together. Walking into the airport hit me in a very emotional way. There were banners hanging everywhere and runners wearing past years' jackets all over. This was it. I was a roller coaster: thankful, proud, terrified, confident, intimidated and back again.  The whole city was adorned in blue and yellow - the colors of the marathon. Everyone was talking about it and celebrating. Everywhere I went I was asked "Are you running Monday?!?" followed by loads of hearty high fives, well wishes, and praise. The people of Boston completely embrace this event. It is as if this event is indistinguishable from the city. It IS the city. And my participation made me part of it, too. And wow, was that cool to experience.

Friday's Charity Teams Party was, without a doubt, the highlight in the days leading up to the race. I went with a woman whom I met from another charity team, after she and I met up to run 3 easy miles together earlier that day. It was a dress-up kind of event in a beautiful space, with all of the runners who helped raise over $3 million for smaller charities.

Swanky

One of my favorite moments was when Tatyana McFadden, a pro-wheeler champion many times over, arrived. I met her in Tokyo because we were in the same hotel and my kids became huge fans because she is amazingly kind and open. I didn't want to embarrass myself and rush over to her immediately, so I waited til she got closer and started with "Hi! I met you in Tokyo!" And do you know what happened next? She said "Yes! This is IT! You're finishing the circuit! Congratulations!" My mouth dropped. She remembered that? Two thoughts flashed in my mind: she recalled this because I was an annoying slightly-stalkerish fan, or we're totally going to be friends. I'm still not sure which it is. But she DID like my tweet of our picture after we talked a few times more that night...just saying.

Don't we look like friends?

MEB!!!

As if it couldn't get better - Meb came in. When you run for one of the VIP's, you get to go into a private room and just hang out with them for a while. Its pretty much fantastic. Mark Wahlberg was there, Gronk from the Patriots and others. One of my teammates said, "Meb, Summer trains in the cold and she's worried about the heat." So he took my arms and showed me where to put cold water and gave me some pointers. It's not every day you get advice from an Olympian. We took a lot of pictures, talked about how his training for Rio was going and what he was planning after the Olympics (two more competitive marathons, but he would only tell us one of them). Before I knew it, it was 11pm and time to get some rest before my family showed up on Saturday.

Team MEB with the man himself and Boston Marathon Race Director Dave McGillivray

Saturday and Sunday sort of blend in together but the best thing was my crew-run-run arriving into town. First was my husband and my 3 girls, followed a few hours later by my parents, my sister and two nieces. I was so happy they were there. Every minute. I told my sister I needed her help because I was on the verge of spiraling with nerves, and my husband had reached his saturation point with positive vibes. She delivered with a barrage of texts and hugs and smiles and basically kept me on the straight and narrow.

Duck Boat Tours, obviously

We went to the expo, but honestly that was a blip in the weekend because it was such a madhouse, we had to get our kids out of there. The only thing we did after getting my bib and some swag, was go to the Abbott booth to meet some other Ambassadors and staff (which was great). There, I had another moment of emotion when I saw the "wall" they created. As part of their booth, they had a list of all the Six Star Finishers with their countries next to it. Oh boy. More excitement. More reality. More tears welling up. I am really doing this.

The Wall

Ian Hook, London Marathon Board Member also finishing 6 Stars!

As the weekend went on, the finality of the forecast was sinking in. Full sun and 70 degrees at the start time of 11:15am. On a course with no shade. For someone who ran in snow with pelting ice balls in her face on her last long run 7 days prior. I truly believe this was the bulk of where my nerves were coming from (my husband would vehemently disagree). But I've thrown up in 3 marathons from overheating and let me tell you - it is NOT fun. The good news was that the temp was supposed to drop  5-10 degrees for the last 5 miles as we got into Boston, so I started thinking" ok, if you can prevent yourself from overheating the first 20 miles, you'll be fine after that." And then I realized - that just sounds so crazy. But it was true. That was my plan.

When I really decided to pursue this goal, it was because I wanted to be an example to my daughters. I genuinely believe that they will learn 10 times more from what you do than what you say. And I want to raise 3 women who are capable of setting big goals, facing the fears that come with those, and taking on the challenge anyway. I starting thinking that maintaining my training for years to run marathons around the world seemed like an extreme way to model bravery - but I was down to 24 hours to completion, there was no going back now.

Sunday evening I struggled to eat my pasta, though I loved being at dinner with my family.
A decent nights sleep was interrupted by a very early alarm, and I started feeling normalcy as I put my running clothes on to head out to the Charity Teams buses at 5:30am. We loaded up at 5:45am for the drive out to Hopkinton, 26 miles outside of the city. Being around other runners is always fun on marathon mornings, but this was a little different. We had 5 1/2 hours before our wave started. The roads close early in the city where the starting line is located - so we had a lot of time to kill on the bus and I had to adjust my fuel intake because that was time for two small meals, rather than one.

6am and cool. A GOOD time to run a marathon.

I had some great people next to me, including a young woman from New York, Jenna, who I adore because she's totally kick-ass. This was her first marathon and her attitude totally helped me de-stress. She said (completely seriously) "yeah, my biggest problem is...I don't really like to run very far." What?! I couldn't stop laughing. She admitted she got through her 20 miler with running like 2 days a week (though she's an avid weight lifter), so she figured "what's 6 more?" Honestly. It helped me remind myself that I wanted to enjoy this race. I wasn't sure I'd ever get the chance to run Boston again, and I was going to soak in everything I could. I reminded myself, I've never regretted starting too slow, only too fast. After writing our names on our arms (and a small reminder on my wrist) we looked at our watches. It was 10:45. It was time to do this.

Pump up the Jam

It's about that time for me to start getting my race day plans together. I'm down to less than 2 weeks until the B.A.A. Boston Marathon and getting antsy in my taper, so I try to occupy myself with starting to prep. This includes a long list of things ranging from painting my toenails if they are bruised, to getting my haircut if my pony tail is too long and is chafing the area between my shoulder blades (yes, that is a real thing), to deciding if I'm going to listen to music and selecting my playlist.

If you are new to this hobby, you may not know that this topic can be quite a hot one among marathoners. Some people feel strongly that listening to music completely detracts from the race experience and puts yourself and fellow runners in danger since you can't hear pleas to watch out or other instructions or alerts. Others feel that music can really provide you with a boost of energy when you need it and be a comforting part of your routine that helps you stay calm and focused.

I have run the gamut on this issue from not even taking music, all the way to hitting "play" before I even cross the starting line. For me, it completely depends on the race and how I foresee it playing out.

But let me get this out of the way: Check the rules. I always obey the rules. Never take music if it is not allowed. Okay, moving on....

I didn't take music to my very first marathon because my husband was running it next to me, and that would just be rude. I also never considered it when I ran the 2015 Big Sur Marathon for two reasons. First, I was pacing my best friend in her first marathon (again...rude. Although it would have been funny to see her reaction if I would have just popped in some ear buds in the middle of her talking...dang it, missed opportunity).  And second, that race is an experience of unparalleled natural beauty. I really wanted to soak in all the sights and sounds of that course. I'm so glad I did. The classical piano you hear through the valley  once you crest Hurricane Point is one of the most memorable marathon moments I've had.

But there have been times when I know I needed some beats and I didn't hesitate to bust them out early. One of them was the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon. I was injured for this race and I had been practically living in my Doctors office for days getting stretched, taped, iced - you name it -leading up to this thing. Prior to the race I wasn't able to run more than 2 miles without needing to stop. I was worried I was going to be out on this course All. Day. Long. I put the world's longest playlist together and right after I heard the classical "New York, New York" play at the start, I started up "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" and all the rest to get my mind focused on getting to the end. I needed the company.

Me, at the NY Finish, thinking "Oh thank God I made it!" It actually went much better than I expected, but do you see the suitcase of gear I am sporting around my waist? I had packed for an extended stay!

I also used music through the entire Paris Marathon in 2014 for a completely different result. That was my first back to back experience (running two marathons in a short amount of time). I was doing the Chunnel Challenge, running Paris one Sunday and the Virgin Money London Marathon the following Sunday. I had a strategy to run that first race 1-2 minutes slower per mile than my normal pace. I know this sounds like a dream, but I assure you it's actually a tough task. I experimented at home and realized that if I listened to classical music, I naturally slowed down. So, I fired up some french classics and Vivaldi and I ran past all the sights of Paris in bliss. Really, I can't imagine not having done that. It added so much richness, and to this day it remains my favorite marathon experience start to finish (and it worked, btw).

Now, usually I land somewhere in the middle. My preferable habit is to create a new playlist for each race (it personalizes the experience, which I dig) and take it with me...only to pull it out when I really need a boost. The truth is, I do find my pace picks up when I'm listening to one of my fav's (Madonna's Ray of Light has to be #1 and it is on every playlist) so if I'm noticing a dip in the second half of the race - I don't hesitate to put in the ear buds. But I do try to only use one side. I find this helps me pay attention to crowds or "pardon me" moments and I still get to absorb some of the crowd. And, the crowd is a huge part of why I love doing the Abbott World Marathon Majors, so I definitely wouldn't want to completely short change that part of it.

So if you are deciding whether to pump up your jam, think about how you envision your race day going and whether you've relied heavily on music in your training or not. Consider trying out just using one side of your ear buds. You will want to practice though, because it takes time to figure out how to wrap that extra chord around your race outfit!

Until next time....