2012 Boston Marathon: CHECK!

I DID IT! Last Monday, April 16th, I completed the 116th Boston Marathon! It was far from ideal conditions, and the heat actually threw a huge wrench in my initial running plan (to beat my personal record), but I loved every minute of the marathon and cannot wait to run it again someday! In addition to receiving a LOVELY new metal to hang on my wall, I reached a new fundraising total (thanks to my generous friends who donated on race day). I have currently raised: $7,718.00! I'm not going to lie, completing the Boston Marathon is super cool, but raising that much money, and having that much support and love from family and friends truly makes me feel like a ROCK STAR!

This unfortunately will be my last post (this blog is about running the Boston Marathon after all), but please feel free to keep in touch via e-mail (valerie.valant@gmail.com). I have loved being able to share my journey with all of you and I hope you will also send me updates on your lives as they occur. Below is a recap of my "race day experience" as well as a few fun photos from the day (the 2nd to last is my favorite....note the completely exhaustion on my face!).

So, until the next Marathon adventure, PEACE, LOVE AND RUNNING!!!
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Race Day: The alarm went off at 5:05am and much to my surprise, I quickly hopped out of bed (I am not exactly a morning person!). I went to bed the night before at 9:30pm and had a great night sleep. I quickly pulled on my race day uniform, made some breakfast (bagel with peanut butter), grabbed my pre-packed bag and headed down Beacon Hill to our team bus (which was conveniently located 2 blocks from my house). At 6:00am sharp the bus pulled away and began the drive to Hopkinton. Let me tell you, this was one of the most entertaining and nerve racking parts of the day. Why you might ask? Well, has anyone every driven from Boston to Hopkinton? For those of you that have not, it's about a 45 minute drive, which is a LONG time to drive and an even LONGER time to run! It was at that point that we all took a deep breath, a big gulp and realized, this is the real deal....in a few short hours we will actually be RUNNING this route home!

We arrived at the MGH pre-race tent around 7:00am and were greeted by water, Gatorade, snacks and porta-potties galore! For those of you who read my 1st blog post on "marathon perks" you may remember my obsession with porta-potties. As any runner will tell you, there is nothing more satisfying on race day than an abundance of porta-potties (let's just leave it at that). After settling down, we had some time to kill since our wave (#3) did not head to the start line until 10:10am. We filled our time by decorating our shirts and bodies with sharpies, taking group pictures and completing a group stretch. Soon enough, it was 10:10am and we began walking the 0.7 miles to the Boston Marathon Start line! The crowd was very dense and the sun was already VERY hot. My teammates Delia and Dain and I passed the time by talking about our "race strategy." Basically we were all going to start running at our race pace and would adjust accordingly.

Well, for any of you who tracked me on Monday, you may have noticed that it did not take long for me to "adjust accordingly." I have run in the heat before, and know some decent tips to keep cool while running (wear a hat, splash yourself with water, etc), but Marathon Monday was pretty miserable. I think part of the problem was that for the past 4 months we had been training in snow, rain and overall cold conditions. We were not used to running in shorts let alone in 86 degrees! I felt the effects very quickly into the first 5K. I began running the race at an 8:30 min/mile pace but around mile 6 started feeling lightheaded and tired. It was at that point that I had a little mental fight with myself: This heat is absolutely horrible, I do not want to run ANOTHER 20 miles in these conditions and overall, I am NOT having fun. My counter-argument: Really Valerie? You're running THE BOSTON MARATHON! Sure, the heat sucks, but what are you going to do about it, drop out at mile 6? Get over it, enjoy the experience and stop being a baby! My counter-argument won this battle and I decided to slow my pace (10:30 min/mile) and enjoy the amazing race that I was so fortunate to be experiencing!

The Boston Marathon is truly an experience! The race course was filled with spectators along every inch of the 26.2 mile course and the spectators even became 4-5 people deep at some spots. During the residential towns of Ashland, Framingham and Natick, families were handing out a WIDE array of snacks for runners, which included pretzels, Twizzlers, freeze-pops, water, Gatorade, and my personal favorite, ORANGE SLICES! I usually do not like eating while I run, but holy moly, those orange slices were absolutely heavenly. But even better than the snacks were the water hoses and ICE! Almost every 0.25 miles (or more) you could find a garden hose, open fire-hydrant, sprinkler, or kids with super-soakers that were ready and willing to cool you down. I honestly felt like a little kid playing around my backyard, running in and out of the sprinklers. The pro: I was cool and wet the entire race. The con: my sneakers and socks were SOAKED! I luckily did not get any blisters, but I know quite a few runners who had some nice battle wounds to show off the next day. Also, having ice on the race course literally saved my life. I was handed a zip-lock baggie of ice around mile 12 and kept refilling it during the race for a constant supply of ice cubes that I would both chomp on and put in my sports-bra (which I must say is a GENIUS way to keep cool)!

Feeling great, I entered into Wellesley where I encountered the "screaming tunnel" of Wellesley girls! Talk about GIRL POWER! Since I had my name on my jersey, I received lots of personal shout-outs, screams of motivation and high-fives. I received similar enthusiasm as I ran through Boston College (mile 22ish) and Boston University (mile 24ish), but the BEST motivation came at Mile 20! It was here that I was greeted by the MGH Marathon Team cheering squad and my family! Below is a picture of my reunion with my Aunt Susan and grandparents, as noted by my attacking hug, I was very excited to see them.

Photo 1: The MGH Marathon Team party at Mile 20! My grandparents and Aunt Susan were awaiting my arrival, and as a thank you for their cheering efforts, I gave them all a nice wet hug :)

After a quick jog up heartbreak hill (mile 21) I was greeted by one of my best friends (Leigh!) who gave me a quick pep-talk as I ran through Boston College. After giving about a zillion high-fives and receiving some VERY enthusiastic cheers from the BC kids, I headed into Brookline and was greeted by another group of friends! My girlfriends Liz, Bethany and Katie were awaiting me at mile 23 and cheered me onward as I entered the last 3 miles! It was at this point that I began to get really excited. My legs were tired, but I was feeling great mentally! A HUGE part of what kept my excitement was knowing that I had another 2 groups of cheering squads at miles 25 and 26! My boyfriend and friends had made a HUGE "RUN VAL RUN" poster which awaited me at mile 25 and my mom, brother and co-workers awaited me at mile 26! However, by mile 26 I was tired. Luckily, I had convinced my brother to run the last 0.25 miles to Boylston St with me. In typical competitive, younger-brother fashion, I got a "suck it up, stop being a baby, you're almost there, push through the pain, it's not that bad" speech as we ran the last bit. Finally, I turned onto Boyslton St to run the last 0.37 miles and complete the Boston Marathon! See photo below:

Photo 2: I just turned onto Boylston St for the final 0.37 miles to the finish line....I was SO excited and COMPLETELY exhausted!

Crossing the finish line felt AMAZING both for the realization that I had completed this race in crazy conditions and because I knew I could finally stop running. See photo below:

Photo 3: FINISHED! I received a lovely "reflective" blanket and a SWEET metal, which naturally meant a photo opportunity!

After the race, I made my way to the FitCorp Fitness Center where I had an AMAZING shower and met my friends and family for a post-race party hosted by the MGH Marathon team! After receiving my complementary massage, I made my way home for an afternoon of lounging: napping, pizza and tv.

To recap: I ran the Boston Marathon and CANNOT wait to do it again! I had an absolutely amazing day and felt more love and support than I knew what to do with. I love running, but more than anything, love knowing that in running this race, I have been able to connect and share my passions with my family and friends. So, to everyone who tracked me, donated to my fundraising efforts, read my e-mails, or liked my numerous facebook updates, thank you - your encouragement means more than you will ever know.

Love, Valerie