My Boston Experience

Day 1 – FRI 4/15/11

My flight touched down in Boston just before noon. The banners at the baggage claim let me know I was in the right place.

I bought a 7-day transportation pass and hopped on a shuttle to get to the Blue Line T. Had a nice hour or so ride out to the last stop on the Green Line (Riverside), where my parents and brother picked me up – they had driven all the way from Michigan.

We went straight to lunch, which was really brunch since we had breakfast food at a place called “In A Pickle” – which was picked by Pat. It was a quirky little place that apparently was voted “Best Brunch on Boston A-List” so we were anticipating some good eats. It didn’t disappoint. I had a Belgian Waffle topped with what must have been a whole banana tree, strawberries, blueberries and a mountain of whipped cream.

After filling our stomachs, we headed over to the Doubletree Waltham to check in to our room. They were undergoing renovations that weekend to transform into a Hilton Embassy Suites, so we got a relatively new-seeming room. They also gave us cookies at the front desk, which I didn’t get to eat because I refrain from desserts the week before a marathon. The changes were happening real-time, considering they were literally changing the sign on the hotel while we were there, among other things, including the “sign” for our room number: which when we arrived was written in Sharpie on a piece of blue duct tape adhered to the door.

We headed back over to the Green Line to spend what was left of the day in the city. We got off the T and onto the Freedom Trail near Faneuil Hall (good luck pronouncing that – we had fun – I think it’s pronounced like the herb fennel?) and walked around a bit. Of course we stopped along the way and posed with several statues! :) We even saw some redcoats having a drink at the tavern.

It was rather chilly, so we got out of the cold for dinner in Little Italy. We were hoping to dine at Galleria Umberto, but apparently the family was off in Italy or something. I guess that means it’s pretty authentic! We passed on Little Italy favorite China House and settled on Bella Vista. Wasn’t that great, in my opinion, but it was edible.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel, noting that we should stop at Mike’s Pastry at least once while we were in town. It was recommended by several different people as THE place to go for…pastries, of course. Of course we utilized the hot tub before bed.

Day 2 – SAT 4/16/11

My dad got up (too) early to wait for my sister who was arriving at the airport early Saturday morning. They went for a run on the course before coming back to the hotel shortly. For me, Saturday started off with a trip downtown to meet with my uncle, aunt and cousin who drove in from New Hampshire to celebrate my aunt’s birthday with us. We had lunch immediately at City Place. I had my first experience with a pay toilet, though they give you the little tokens at the counter so I didn’t really have to pay...

We followed lunch with some more Freedom Trail walking. We started by some war monument (obviously) and wandered through some old cemeteries, which included Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and even Mary “Mother” Goose! Who knew Mother Goose was from Boston? We also visited the King’s Church, which is like everything else there – very old.

We headed over towards our dinner spot on the wharf, and partly as an effort to escape the cold and the fierce wind, we decided to check out the New England Aquarium. It seems everyone else had the same idea, so the line for tickets was huge. Luckily, we had some tech savvy people with iPhones, and we skipped the line a bit by buying our tickets online and doing the Will Call bit. It was pretty much like most aquariums, but usually I don’t see the Giant Tortoises (I was like whoooaaa). So that was cool. And everyone loves penguins. But maybe I got a little spoiled by visiting the San Diego Aquarium?

We left (around 5pm I think) to make our dinner reservation at Legal Sea Foods across the street. I had me a tasty swordfish steak. The broccoli got cold quickly, so it wasn’t the best, but overall a good meal and great service. On the way back to catch the T we stopped at Mike’s Pastry. It was a zoo in there like you wouldn’t believe. Everyone except me got something (again, the desserts rule), so I said we had to come back Monday night. I did partake in the hot tubbing and some crossword puzzling, though.

Day 3 – SUN 4/17/11

My sister stayed with her friend Saturday night and met us Sunday morning for Palm Sunday Mass at, where else, Our Lady of Victories. Not only is the name appropriate, they do a blessing of the runners after the service. The priest said we would all run 15 minutes with his blessing. Hey, I wasn’t going to argue!

After church we walked over to Charlie’s for brunch with some of the LVM crew. Or, rather, we tried to. Apparently there are two places named Charlie’s in the area and we go the wrong one at first (it was closed). Eventually we made it to the right place and had a nice, though it took forever.

After brunch we headed over towards the expo. First, however, we stopped over at a local store near the finish line where you could buy Boston Marathon merchandise (and where a fellow LVMer was nice enough to get us a discount). I got me the jacket (pretty much a requirement if you run Boston, no?) and running hat. Lucky we went there first, because apparently they had run out of jackets at the expo! I took a picture at the finish line and headed over to pick up my race packet.

Thanks to my posse, as it turned out, I got lots of fun pictures of my first Boston experience (and not just at the expo), and thanks to RJ’s shenanigans, I was on the news later that night…

I picked up a normal t-shirt at the expo. We ran out of time before dinner, so I didn’t get to see it all (quite large), but that’s okay. Time for the pre-race dinner! We took the Green Line back to Waltham to meet up with LVMers again at The Chateau for some quality carbs. I strayed from the usual Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo... a little bit: I had a trio of pastas, one of which was Fettuccine Alfredo. Pretty good stuff! After dinner we went back to the hotel to relax before bed. I took a dip in the hot tub and laid out my stuff for the morning.

Bed time!

Day 4 – MON 4/18/11 – Race Day!

Good morning! I lumbered out of bed early Monday morning to get ready for the race. I made sure I had everything before I left and went downstairs to meet Jon & RJ to drive over to the start (thanks Helen!). Shortly after we left I finally woke up – I was on my way to Hopkinton!!

We arrived at the famed Hopkinton around 7am, well before the start because, well, we pretty much had to. Sooooo many people. After taking it all in and getting the obligatory picture by the Hopkinton sign, we settled down on the grass. We happened to plop down next to another Bucknellian, who is now living in Michigan. Small world!

I made a porta-potty stop, dropped my bag off at the buses – it was slightly chilly at the start – and was herded down to the starting line with the rest of my wave. It was almost a mile walk just to get there – which, for me, built up the suspense and excitement a little bit. We hadn’t even started and people were cheering us on! Haha.

After the national anthem, the Elites headed out, and then shortly after 10am, my corral (Corral 6) was off and running. Running the Boston Marathon!!

I started off a little slower than my goal pace, which I expected and planned, but apparently I guess I got caught up in the excitement too… I ended up running the first half a little faster than planned but whatever…I was having a good time! The crowds were fantastic pretty much start to finish. To be honest, Wellesley was a little disappointing – like it had lost a little luster or something – but it was still pretty cool. Maybe next time I’ll get the guts to kiss some girls ;)

Once I hit the Newton Hills I started to slow down, but not drastically. I still felt pretty decent and was able to run through the hills, and not stop until about the 22.5-mile point. I have a feeling it was actually more the rolling hills in the first half of the race, which I probably underestimated a little bit (there were more than I thought there would be), but I’m sure it was also that I ran all of Newton. I decided not to push it because that’s not why I was there. I was there to enjoy it and not be miserable. That misery is saved for all the work I put into getting there :)

I took my time getting through the next two miles or so before hitting the big crowds (spectators) towards the finish. Along the way it was kind of neat to wave to all the people riding the T, haha. Again, crowd support was great throughout. And then I saw the famed Citgo sign. And got a little choked up (yeah yeah, and there was still over a mile to go!). From the time I saw that to the finish, the crowd was unbelievable. I’m getting chills just typing this! That crowd pushed me from a sort of walk/run 11:00 pace, to around a 9:00 pace for the last mile and a half. I thrive on adrenaline, and that’s what helped me finish a few minutes faster.

I got choked up again as I approached the final turn, and as I made that final turn onto Boylston and saw the finish… part of me didn’t want it to end, but the rest of my body wasn’t all that sad about it. I came in at 3:34:45 (8:12/mi pace), which is about what I figured I’d run. I was tired and happy - satisfied with my run and happy to be done. I FINISHED BOSTON!

I met up with my family, who were awesome and made the trip to support me, and my friend Karen, who nearly PR’d the thing (what?). The weather was perfect – including a little bit of a tail wind, but the sun disappeared at the finish and I was a little chilly. And what would a marathon be without a nice, big juicy burger to follow? :)

Overall, I’m very happy with the experience and would love to do it again. Sure, it’s a little tougher logistically and there are a lot of people, but it is pretty darn cool. The crowd support was by far the best of the ones I’ve run, and I think the aura of it being Boston helps. The course is nice, and actually pretty scenic – which was a pleasant surprise. But watch out for those hidden hills! Thanks to everyone who supported me along the way, and to everyone else in Boston that helped make this a great experience.

A lady from the Boston Globe called me to follow up on a story that was written a few days earlier. I definitely picked up a copy of the Globe Tuesday morning! I got two things from Mike’s Pastry that evening, for those of you wondering ;)

Day 5 – TUE 4/19/11

Slept in! My parents left Tuesday afternoon to start their journey home, and I wandered around Boston (with my luggage, but oh well) for a few hours. I walked through Boston Common and saw Fenway, mostly, but unfortunately didn’t have time for a tour of the stadium. Once I got to the airport I noticed my flight was not just delayed, but cancelled (thanks in part to bad weather, though the lady at the counter told me something about “maintenance”). Ugh! I spent the next couple hours trying to figure out how to get home and settled on a paid night at a hotel and early flight in the morning.

Day 6 – Wait, there wasn’t supposed to be a Day 6!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig. Time to rest!