Running the
Boston Marathon for the first time in 2017 was an amazing experience. I went into it completely “wide-eyed” and
totally excited….and totally overwhelmed. It didn’t take me long to realize
that this was “kind of a big deal.” I
didn’t know if I would ever get to run this race again, but I hoped that one
day I would return….mom kept telling me she wanted to return to that awesome
TJMaxx, in Boston and I can’t disappoint her right?! ;)
To rewind a bit, in March 2018 I decided
to have my first rib and scalene muscles removed on my right side. There was a very small chance that this
surgery would cause breathing problems for the rest of my life if fluid did not
drain properly from my lungs after the surgery. This would make exerting my
breathing…aka exercise..something that I would not be able to do. Knowing this
gave me a little push to do a marathon at the end of March that I was
considering up in Carmel, Indiana. I ended up qualifying for Boston at that
race a few weeks before surgery with a PR time. Honestly this gave me a little
extra motivation in recovery as I wanted to heal and get strong and run again at
Boston the following April—on my one year surgiversary. How cool is that?!
Anyway, I felt SO
much better going into Boston this time around. I knew the hotel, I knew the
surroundings, I knew the routine of race morning, I knew what to expect on the
course, etc. I just felt so much more comfortable with what was going on, and
it made it a lot easier to relax and enjoy it.
Deciding what to wear for the race was definitely the most stressful part. For 10+ days leading up to the race I kept packing and repacking thinking about the weather forecast that looked like cold rain, then hot rain, then scattered rain? Ay yi yi!
Deciding what to wear for the race was definitely the most stressful part. For 10+ days leading up to the race I kept packing and repacking thinking about the weather forecast that looked like cold rain, then hot rain, then scattered rain? Ay yi yi!
Friday morning before the race we arrived in Boston. That morning I woke up, went on a four mile run, took a quick shower, finished packing and got to my parents house by 11am (after stopping at Starbucks of course). From there we left for the airport and arrived in Boston around 4pm. We got the rental car and went to this yummy vegetarian place called “Walnut Grill.” Then we went back to the hotel. We were all pretty tired, so we went to bed early. They busy weekend was about to begin!
On Saturday we
woke up and went to the breakfast buffet-AFTER getting an iced coffee at the
hotel Starbucks J After breakfast I went to get my nails done—a
favorite pre race tradition! Priorities!
Blue and yellow Boston theme with some nail art 💖 It was nice to relax and get a little
pampered before the race. We headed back
from the nail salon around noon and I started to get a hunger headache on the
way back. We quickly went to the hotel’s restaurant so I could eat a veggie burger before heading to the expo.
Saturday
afternoon we went to the T station to go downtown to the expo….and it was a
ZOO-just as expected haha! We had to
wait outside for about 20 minutes before getting into the building because the
line went outside about a block. Everyone had to have their bags checked before
entering. Finally we got to the bib number pick up. I was SO excited because I
made it into wave 2 this year—my goal J (mainly because my
bib would be WHITE and white goes best with PINK!).
Next we went to the
shopping area where we hoped to buy some stuffed unicorns. But they ran out of
them on Friday night. Mom was devastated because “that’s why I’m here”
according to mom haha! It was pretty sad
news L Then we walked to the finish to take some
pictures. By then we were all pretty worn out from standing in lines and
walking around, so we decided to head back to the T station. The closest
station was just beyond the finish line. In my opinion it is bad luck to cross a
finish line before a race, so I stood there refusing to cross. (My poor parents
probably never anticipated having to coax a 26 year old into walking forward 10
ft with them…)
Eventually my mom
and dad offered to carry me across the line (and the best parents award goes
to___!!!). BUT I did not take them up on
this…I made a path of papers across the line so that my feet would not need to
touch the line directly. And YOU thought I was crazy before?! (but hey, crazy is what got me here to run
the Boston Marathon…that’s what gets most of us here. We don’t have Saturday mornings.
We either get up early or eat dinner at 9 so we can train after work. It is
crazy, but it is worth it! It is worth all 792 miles of training that got me to
the start line!)
The rest of
Saturday was pretty uneventful. We had dinner at Panera and then went to bed.
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| My TJmaxx "throw away" clothes. |
Monday morning at
6:40 my alarm went off. I rolled out of
bed and put on some Arizona as I got ready. I put on my hot pink shirt and some
waterproof mascara (racing is no excuse not to look your best!). My parents
came to my room at 7:10 and they surprised me with the CUTEST cheering shirts
that were sparkly and pink and said “Kim’s Crew.”
My van left at
7:30, so we all waited in the lobby and then hugged my parents goodbye. I was
expecting to see them around mile 17 in the race. After the van ride we got dropped off at a
bus shuttle to the start. I sat with a group of guys from SoCal and somehow our
conversation turned to “why sharks WANT to bite you.” They did not seem that convinced, but I tried
to warn them and that’s all I can do. We got to athlete village and put our
garbage bags next to a text and closer to the port-o-potties. We hung out there
for a while eating bagels. Then we
decided to take turns going to the bathroom so that we could watch each others
stuff. Then they started calling wave 1. I knew I had about 25 minutes until my
wave would be called, so I started changing my shoes and filling up my water
bottle. I took off my extra clothing which made me sad because I was cold. As
my wave was called we started walking a mile to the starting corrals. Right
before the corrals there is another section of port-o-potties.
ANY runner that
sees a port-o-potty before a race will NEED to go. Guarantee. So of course
everyone was in line again while the wave was about to begin in 10 minutes.
Fortunately I was in the 8th corral, so I didn’t have very fair to
go. Even if the race did start I would
not get to the start line for another 10 minutes. Everyone else around me was
still pretty panicked. I’ve never felt so much pressure to pee so quickly! One of the guys behind me said, “man..you
train all these months and it comes down to THIS?!” LOL yup it totally comes
down to picking the fastest port-o-potty line! So be warned…
I got to my
corral with a few minutes to spare. The wave started and a few minutes later we
were walking toward the start line. Ready or not this race was beginning! Off
to Boston we go!
Last time I race
this course I learned the hard way-GO OUT CONSERVATIVE OR YOU WILL PAY! Boston is a HARD course. Respect it! The
start kills your quads and the hills are at your hardest miles towards the end.
Last time I did not hit the wall at
mile 15, I slammed into it. OUCH! ....This time was
different on so many levels. Starting in the back of wave 2 (as opposed to the
front of wave 3 like last time) was SOOOOOO much better. Everyone ran ahead and
I was perfectly content chilling in the back running and smiling. Of course I want to do well, but at the same
time I wanted to enjoy the race with no specific time goal…not my fastest that’s for
sure. But hey- I’m running the Boston marathon so I ain’t got nothin’ to prove ;)
I never looked at
my watch for pace the whole race-I just kept track of the miles so I knew when
to start looking for my parents. It was pretty hot and humid so that was a
challenge that I think many runners were not ready for. Not the best
conditions, but not terrible either. That’s kind of how I felt in general-not
amazing, but not terrible. Just “meh.” I put on the tunes and enjoyed all the
crowds of people cheering us on. I stayed in the middle of the road-not getting to close to the crowds. It can be kind of overwhelming, so I like to enjoy the crowds with some personal space by hanging out in the middle. At mile 6 there were some people giving jelly
beans. I was like, “heyyy meet me at mile 22 pleaseeee!”). People offer so much
food on the course. They have fruit, popsicles, candy, water, etc. It is so
awesome. I think I only took a cup of
water from a spectator at one point, but I can’t really remember.
My stomach was
feeling a little off. Not bad, but not great, so I started getting water at the
aid stations. Being in the back of the wave made it so easy to get over to the
side, and this was much easier this time. I had much more room the entire race.
Once I started having more water I was feeling a little better. I just kept cruising along loving life until
mile 16 when I started looking for my parents. Around mile 16.5 I spotted them
in their bright yellow shirts. I ran over to them and gave them both a hug….I
mean they came all this way to watch me race and see me for 10 seconds and I
can’t interrupt my running to give them a quick hug?! Of course I can! And I
did!
“Power hugs” from
mom and dad kept me going for the next 3 miles. I saw the “Newton” town
sign-GULP! The hills are coming! The hills are coming!
I made it through
the first two hills with a rather pathetic jog. And then Heartbreak appeared
and Broke. My. Heart. I walked up most of heartbreak. That was definitely the lowest moment of the
race for me. When I got to the top I started to jog again and then started
committing to each aid station. In
triathlon I would always run mile by mile getting to the next aid station to
walk through and then keep running until the next aid station. It helps you
manage the miles when the going gets tough. You just focus on one mile at a time.
With 5 miles to
go the crowds got thicker and thicker. This is when you hear a lot of “good job you’re
almost there!” Which is something you
should never ever say to a runner. I want to punch those people in the face. I
know they mean well, but after 20+ miles of running even just a few miles is
tough. You’re pretty much over it at that point and being done in 20 minutes is
not soon enough. Better alternative—“you’re looking strong, keep going!” That’s right! Flatter my ego ;)
Soon I was
approaching the famous “Citgo” sign. I started to get excited knowing the
finish was getting very close. Crowds were going wild! As I turned to see the finish line just a few
blocks ahead I looked to the right and saw my mom yelling “GO KIM!” I smiled and waved at her and tried to finish
hard. I threw my arms in the air and
crossed the finish line. I had just completed my second Boston marathon!!!
When you finish
you have to walk another mile past the finish line to get your metal, water and
foil blanket (they wrap you like a burrito and put a sticker to hold it
together.). One table had cups of Gatorade and I decided to have a cup since
the race was over. BAD mistake. My stomach immediate started cramping really
bad = hunchback status. I was stopped and bent over when one of the volunteers
made sure I was ok. I said I was fine, but that my stomach was just cramping up
so they walked with me for a bit. Finally I reached the end where the closest T
(Arlington) station would take me back to the hotel. My parents and I would meet back at the hotel.
I walked down the stairs (…extremely hard after running 26.2…which is
really 28.2 when you count the mile to the start line and mile after the finish)
and asked if I could get to Riverside from here. I was told “no-you have to go
to the other side.”
I nearly had a melt down….
Hear me out
people. Telling someone who literally finished a marathon 20 minutes ago (and has
a cramping stomach) that they have to WALK back UP the stairs to WALK DOWN another
flight of stairs is basically like telling them to go run another marathon.
Thankfully I “put
my big girl panties on” and held it together. Soon I got to the correct side of
the station and was heading back to the hotel.
I shivered the whole way and another racer gave me his foil blanket so I
could have 2!
We took a few
pics when we got back to the hotel (it’s all about the hardware!). I was still
freezing cold and a hot shower felt amazing! I wasn’t super hungry, but I was
in the mood for FROYO!! We decided to go to the cheesecake factory for dinner
and then froyo for dessert. It totally hit the spot! YUMMMMMM…
Tuesday morning
we had breakfast and needed to get to the airport by noon. I was not very sore at all (I literally came
into the office Wednesday doing squats haha---NEW BALANCE 860’s are
AH-MAZING!). Some told my mom, “She RAN the marathon? Wow she doesn’t look like
it…she’s walking fine.” Bahahaha I’m glad I didn’t have the post race limp!
It all went so
fast and I can’t believe it was a few weeks ago already! I’ve started running again—just little 4-5
mile shakeout runs every few days. I also went to the pool and have been going
to yoga a few times a week. No formal training-just what I feel like doing and
taking it as it comes.
Will I run Boston again? I certainly hope I will have the opportunity to do it again!! Running has been really fun these last few years as my triathlon endeavors took a back seat for shoulder surgeries. I’m taking the next month to figure out where my heart is right now and that next challenge I’m ready to take on! To be honest part of me is itching to get back into triathlon because it has been so long. I’d like to train triathlon for the rest of the year and maybe do another marathon next year—mix it up a bit? I really don’t know at this point…and that’s ok. Right now I’m still celebrating the race and the journey of Boston Strong 2019!
