Boston Marathon Recap - Lisa Version

Boston Marathon 2012 

This will be one of those marathons that you will never forget, even though I wish I could. My story is not as dramatic as Miki’s but it is as painful and one of the worst experiences in my life.

The race weekend started out fine. Went to the expo, heard about the option to defer, but if you’ve traveled to Boston, you’re not going to defer.  On Sunday, Joe (my husband) and I went to a Red Sox game, which allowed me to stop obsessing over the weather for a few hours.

Everyone that knows me is aware that I don’t like running in hot weather.  When the forecast started to show temperatures in the 80’s, I got really nervous.  I was obsessing over the weather for a week leading up to the marathon.  Was hoping the forecasts were wrong, but it got worse.  Running a marathon in 90F weather, with no cloud cover and a course that doesn’t offer much shade (which I didn’t know until I started running), is that wise? The answer is NO!  However, I thought I could tough it out, which I almost always do. I also reminded myself that I had done two Chicago marathons in similar conditions. There were two big differences though; the start time of the race (7:30am in Chicago), and the fact that all training for Boston had been done in mostly cold weather.

Race morning – woke up on time, and headed to the buses (about a 1.5 mile walk). It took about 50 minutes before I got on the bus, and then we were off.  Like Miki said, there was an accident along the way so we were crawling to Hopkinton.

The waiting time in Hopkinton was pretty short; waiting in line to the porta johns, one final quick bite to eat and then off to the start.  I was already sweating and it was 80F at that point. If somebody had offered me a deferral at that point, I would have accepted and gotten on a bus back to Boston. 

The gun went off and it took a few minutes to pass the start line (very crowded in Hopkinton).  Decided to start at 5-10 seconds slower than my original plan. That held up for the first 5 miles, and then my body started betraying me.  I started walking at mile 6, not for long, but decided to take time to get enough water and Gatorade.  Most of the water was poured over my head.  Started running again, but the sun and the heat was just too much.  My body would not obey me and I felt nauseous.  I walked next to a woman who said something to me, and I told her that I didn’t think I would make it to the finish. That was at mile 8, and I had another 18 miles to go!!  She looked at me and said Yes, you’re going to make it, we both will.  I was too hot to even comment, but started running again.  I was looking for some sign of an offer of going back to Boston by bus, but didn’t see anything.  The medical tents were filled with people and I thought as long as I can move, and don’t pass out, I guess I will have to keep going.  So I decided to do a walk/run.  Run as much as I could between the mile markers and walk through the water/Gatorade stops.  I was too nauseous to take my gels, and the Gatorade was warm. Was developing a headache and my mouth was so dry, even though I had water at every mile.  Also took water from spectators along the course.  I was actually looking forward to the Newton hills because it would allow me to just walk and maybe cool down slightly. I realized afterwards that even though I was struggling so badly in the heat, I wasn’t really sweating. That is very unlike me, I usually sweat a lot (when running) but not on this horrible day. This was just another sign of heat exhaustion.

Along the way I saw one person getting CPR, many people down with cramps and people just struggling. Have never seen so many people walk in a marathon, early on, and this was Boston!  I ran next to miss Hawaii for several miles, and tried to get away from a lady that had poop running down her legs. I thought it was gel first, but no, that wasn’t it. I felt bad for the person meeting her at the finish line….

What kept me going was the fact that Joe was waiting at mile 25, and that we had to get out of the hotel room by 4pm and then catch the flight back to NY.  I had told him to keep an eye on his phone because I was really nervous about possibly passing out in the heat.

Once we got to Boston, I saw some familiar faces. I passed Julio Aguirre (who was walking too), and Marco from GNY.  Then I caught up with Kathy, John and Suleiman.  It was so nice to see some familiar faces.  I remember John saying; “it’s a matter of survival, but it’s only 2 miles to go”.  At that point, 2 miles was too much for me.  But I kept going, and then I finally saw Joe.  I ran up to him, gave him a hug (he has never experienced that before during a race) and just said ‘the worst marathon ever, not sure I was going to make it’.  The people around him started cheering me on and made me start running again. I was able to run all the way to the finish from there. The turn on Boylston Street was a relief but that damn Finish line is sooo far away.  200 yards is an eternity when your legs are barely moving.  But I did it!  When I saw the time; 4:17, I couldn’t believe it. I had stopped clocking the miles at mile 8 and hadn’t much looked at my watch. I really didn’t care. It was of course a huge disappointment, but during the circumstances I’m glad that I finished and didn’t end up in a hospital (like some other 250 people).  I have to say that the spectators were amazing.  So many people out with their garden hoses, water, Gatorade, oranges etc.  And they were loud and cheered us on even though many of us looked so miserable.  They were great!

My Boston streak is not good. Two bad marathons. I think I need to try it once more, but it won’t be next year.  It will be sold out before I get a chance to apply.  My next marathon will be in Philadelphia in mid November.  I think that will be a guaranteed cold day, but who knows…