Official Time: 4:36:20
Black and White
When friends, family, and even perfect strangers gather together and head off in the same direction it is, without question, an awesome thing. It matters not whether this journey is, in your experience, a short jaunt or the farthest you’ve ever journeyed by foot. Pace does not matter either. You go your speed, and I’ll go mine.
Leave all the trivial and customary behind: the ways we are often “sized up.” They have no place here. However you choose to experience this journey is your deal. Smile or grumble, whichever if you like. Take in the view, or turn your focus inside.
I hate put it all “black and white” but there it is. Mile by mile, and step by step, we are all striving for our own level of greatness. We define it for ourselves, decide if we will chase after it, and jump (or run around) the hurdles that try to trip us up. And we keep going. We do not give up. We are awesome!
We deserve a huge congratulations!
Eat, drink, and dream Boston
After a bit of night time reading, I fell asleep dreaming of Boston. 
I guess it’s no surprise, after 9 years of chasing down this goal, that I have quite the collection of tid bits on the race. Last night’s article from the March/April 2000 issue of Marathon & Beyond was on recovering from Boston. It noted the excessive downhill of the race, something I must admit that I am not as prepared for as I’d like. Not surprisedly, the article also went into a long bit on injuries. The main point of the article, however, stressed the importance of having a post-race plan to minimize the feeling the blues and and losing focus after leaving the Patriot’s Day hype.
I awoke to find my usual smattering of SPAM and greetings from folks in far off places (listed in order of deletion, not importance). And of course, in the mix was a few treasures: emails from you, my dear readers. I treasure these. Did you know that? My comments and blog love mean so much.
The connections I’ve made over the years after my entry into the wonderful world of blogging has been phenomenal. We share so much with each other that it’s sometimes hard to believe that we’ve never actually met. And when we do meet, it’s fabulous! She Do Run Run, Greg F, Runner Susan, Magazine Smiles, Debbra, Running Stitch and the Family Stitch, Mia Goddess, 21st Century Mom, and The Amazing Hip: Wouldn’t you agree? If I’ve left you off the list, I assure you it was in error. Give a shout out, please.
This morning, I was greeted with a bit of Boston remembrance from long-time reader, Vince. Reading this email brought tears to my eyes. Yes, I am a blubbering fool. I immediately wrote back to thank Vince and ask his permission to share with you.
Vince is not a blogger…yet. I’ve been working on him for years. Anyhow, every so often he sends me wonderfully written pieces of advice, encouragement, and what-have-you’s.
This “Boston primer” was one that just had to be shared. If you have one you’d care to share as well, please feel free to post in the comments field. Alternately, you can email me: julskeepingpace@me.com
And now….
Not as-planned
When plans fall through it can be hard to see the other side of the equation. Especially when the plans are ones for which you’ve had your heart set on seeing through to the end. But alas, plans do occasionally do just that. Because, after all, life happens.
In my case, it was the plans for staying at my nursing school buddy’s home for marathon weekend which fell through. I had to remind myself that I knew from the get-go that her daughter’s out-of-state basketball tournament might be an issue. Why wouldn’t she go? Because of me? I guess I wanted to believe that there would be other reasons why she would need to stay in the Boston area. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
I kept looking for the follow up email that said “April Fool’s” but I knew I wasn’t coming. My friend is just not like that. Still, I cannot fathom how we could go wrong in the communication here. I can’t dwell on it. It wasn’t all her fault; I am partly to blame as well.
It was hard for me not to take on the victim mentality. I was fighting the urge to curl up in a ball and murmur “why, oh why me?” It would do me no good. I had to get a grip.
Certainly, I’m not the only one to encounter things not going as-planned. The Big Sur International Marathon organizers had to come up with a Plan B when a significant portion of Highway 1 fell into the Pacific Ocean last month. The decision to change course and have many of the events run an out-and-back course instead of the planned point-to-point was communicated to registrants 2 short days after the fall. I can only guess what sort of murmuring must have been going on in the race director’s mind (if not out loud) in those short 48 hours. “Why, oh why…”
Time to relax
The number of days ‘till Boston is dwindling down to nothing and I’m beginning to feel a level of nervousness like none other. If you’ve been around me before a marathon, you know that this is saying a lot. I tend to be an emotional bundle of nervous in need of much reassurance – mostly on my part.
In the days before Portland, I cried hard and often. I found doubt in my ability to push past the pain and go the distance. Fortunate for me, I was surrounded by a few great people who loved me unconditionally but still urged me to believe that I was capable of more than I’d ever been able to deliver. And we all know how well it all turned out.
It feels odd to be entering the biggest race of my life with no time goal what-so-ever. Although at one point, I did entertain “racing” in Boston, I have since decided to adhere to my original plan of just taking it in:
· high-fiving the kids,
· taking in the crowds,
· kissing a girl from Wellesley College just so I can sing the song,
· stopping to give YaYa a sweaty hug of appreciation for years of support,
· experiencing the deafening roar of the crowd in the final stretch towards the finish,
· and finally experience firsthand the glory of the Boston Finish-line.