So I did it!!!  

I reached my goal of compleating two marathons in a week, infact within 6 days of each other 🙂  I have to say that  the total experience was pretty epic and I am felling really proud of myself, and also a little bit exhausted!!

BostonMarathon……..

Marathon is a tough cookie, and turns out that Boston is not the easiest challenge that I have tried!!

The day started early and seeing as I’d been waking up at 3am, because of the time difference, this wasn’t a problem 🙂

After breakfast, and heading to the subway I was greeted by a line of school buses waiting to take all of the lucky runners to the start. After my first visit of many to the portaloo I jumped on board to be driven to the start.  It seemed a long way, mainly because I guess we weren’t just driving the direct marathon route but taking the highway to get there. Everyone seemed in good spirits, I had a good chat with the lady sitting next to me until finially we arrived. 

                        

Then there was the enevidable bit of hanging around in the cold waiting for my start, tea, coffee and bagels were being served and there were tents for shelter. It felt a little like we were in a refugee camp!! The weather was taking a turn for the worst and I was keen to keep as warm as possible, so I just found a quiet corner, popped my headphones on and tried to focus on the task ahead.



Within no time at all it was my time to go to the start, so after a last visit to the portaloo I headed up.

The start was very organised, I was in the front wave 1 so had a good view of the road ahead. Pretty much everyone at my start was female, I guess because of the qualifying times most of the men had left in the previous start.

And then we were off…… things started well. Except the fact that it was now pouring with rain I was feeling strong and my foot issue seemed to be under control. The miles rolled past and it seemed in no time, I crossed the half way mark and I was feeling very happy.



Things continued like this for a few more miles, the crowds had been really great and they were cheering us on. When I got to 16 miles things started to get a bit tough. The wind and the rain had been relentless and I was starting to get cold. My clothes were soaked through and not giving me any warmth. My hands were frozen and becoming quite painful. The next few miles were not easy and as I approached 20 miles I was really beginning to struggle, and I still had heartbreak hill head of me.

Heading up the hill I had to give in and walk a little, trying to keep my pace as brisk as possible I headed up the hill, to say it was tough is an understatement. mentally things were not good, I had never had to deal with these conditions in a marathon before. I could feel  my time slipping away and it was obvious that I wasn’t going to make my goal PB 😦 I clocked a 10 min mile, which was definetely not in the plan.

Dealing with this and still coping with the physical challenge ahead of me was hard. I decided that heart break hill is called that because it’s where you realise your not gonna make your time and your heart literally breaks.

I remember at 22 miles, 4 miles to go, I heard a guy yelling at me, “you’ve got this, come on, give me 4 more miles!!!!” I literally wanted to cry, stop and give up!! I had started to get cramp in my left quad, and it was becoming a real problem.  At mile 23 I stopped.

The cramp in my left leg was a real issue, I tried to stretch but then my hamstring cramped up.  It was time to really dig deep, re focus and remember what I had invested in this marathon, all the hours of training I had put in. Basically I gave myself a real good talking to!!! 



Starting up again, I was feeling more positive. I had come to terms with the fact that I wasn’t going to get a PB, infact I was definetly going to clock a PW (personal worst!!)  I kept reminding myself what a privilege it was to even be able to run this marathon, most  people only dream of qualifying and here I was Running the streets of Boston and I was so near to the finish.  The last stretch is mainly downhill or flat thank goodness!! I took It steady and then I saw the 1 mile to go sign. JOY!!  I took out my ipod and took a few pictures of the run into the finish. I was feeling elated. Seeing the finish ahead of me and the crowd all cheering I really wanted to saviour the moment.



Crossing the line was an amazing feeling. I was so happy. Taking my medal I had tears in my eyes!!! Instantly forgetting all those painful miles for this it was really worth it.





Next I had the callenging task of getting myself to  the bag drop area to pick up my dry kit and then getting myself home. This was quite a challenge as I had become very cold and  my hands were not moving or working at all!!!

We also had to walk quiet a distance to get our kit, which on a dry day would have been  fun, but as everyone was very cold , this became another real struggle!! We all filtered down taking food, hydration and warming blankets until we finially got back to the kit tents.



I got changed, which took an absolute age with the hand issues!! It was so nice to put on dry clothes and then I headed down to the subway which was nice and warm. A short subway ride and I arrived back at my B&B.  Feeling really happy with the achievement I was ready to soak off the day in a hot bath.



A very challenging, but totally amazing day!! I will definetly try to go back next year to hopefully try the route again in the sunshine!! I can hope 🙂