Boston 2008

Tim, Walt, and Patti- TNT crew at shuttles
Tim, stylish in his Buff Headwear before race

Tim and Marie- made it! Both of us in disbelief.

Well, everyone, the Boston Marathon 2008 is officially over! Phew!

This was probably the hardest marathons I have EVER run. The day started off nice and cool in the 40's, with overcast skies. Our great friend Chris drove up from NY the day before with her dad and drove us together with Walt and Patti to Hopkinton, where we boarded shuttles to the athlete's village. As always, it was an exciting bus ride as people spoke about their various goals, other marathons, and traded tips about the course. I met a British runner who had run 6 London Marathons for charity and interestingly enough, had an Original Buff Headwear around his neck, which he swore by. There is still time to buy, everyone!:-)

By the time we made it to the village, we had only time to line up for the facilities, followed by a quick trek to the baggage buses and on to the start. During that time, the sun decided to make its way out in full force. Quick decisions were made by those wearing heavy gear and sunblock lotion was passed round. We had decided to run in shorts and short sleeves after examining the weather channel earlier that morning.

Our herding to the corrals ended up placing us a bit behind, and we ended up crossing the start about 15 minutes and change past the gun time. Maybe I'm just getting older, but the numbers of feet, people wearing iPods, runners in groups traveling 3 or more across were quite a bit to contend with this year and a little frustrating. I think Boston could benefit from lining up 2nd wave runners with pacing times, as the full first half of the race made a lot of work and distance to shimmy past people who were walking, jogging or a combination of the two. We even saw a runner in costume with a FULL PARCEL DOLLY(cartons taped onto the dolly)- I think dressed up as a parcel delivery person and all I thought was 'DON'T let me trip over this person's dolly!'.

I realized 6 miles into the run that the ankle injury would be problematic. I had some dull aching in the foot and thought that this would not be my day to make records, but my day to deal with challenges and make it through the race as best I could. Lucky for me, I had an excellent running partner with Tim- he realized what was happening, and we adjusted our stops both for the weather- our original plan to hydrate every 2 miles changed into every mile or so!, and for the foot- stopping as needed to walk.

We were doing okay for the half at 2:01, but had to slow further after that. In retrospect, I saw a number of runners on the course with issues that day- people vomiting, cramping and pulled over to the side of the road, and I read later that 3 people had heart attacks on the course and 900 more treated at the first aid tents. I even saw a runner exit a porta-potty and keel over at the finish. Our time of 4:20 was a full 5 minutes slower than last year! But given the day, and the injuries, I think I learned alot from this race, which really felt like my hardest effort ever!

We had a great dinner at our fave pizza joint and got to give Kathleen my finisher's medal. I am so happy to have had the chance to run for Kathleen's mom and raise funds to continue blood cancer research! Kathleen and her sister got Tim and me deep tissues massages at a spa. I cannot wait!!!!!! Thanks, Kathleen and Karen!
Asako and Kathleen- two great friends

Of note: I hadn't realized that an athlete I really respect- runner Gordon Bakoulis, ran the marathon and finished in 3:15:53. She is an amazing athlete who has written 3 books including one of my favorites How to Train for and Run Your Best Marathon. As she told the B.A.A. for their official race program "I tell people that they must make time for running, no matter how busy they think they are. Running is such a healthy lifestyle for parents of young children because it's such a simple and efficient way to exercise. Kids don't necessarily want to go out and jog five miles, and that's not what young kids should be doing, but they should see that running is fun and life-enhancing for mom and dad." Her interview continues as she talks about writing about top athletes: "There are no 'secrets' to their success, but the themes that come up again and again in interviews, articles, etc., are the value of rest and recovery and the need for patience and taking the long-term view".

Congratulations to everyone who ran yesterday! I will be at our Team party this evening and look forward to giving our coaches and volunteers thanks!