Boston 2 Big Sur Challenge

Holy smokes! First, I didn’t know if I was going to get in. I was on a waitlist for several weeks. Second, after I got in, I wasn’t sure I should do it. Third, I did it!

Here are just some things I experienced during my second marathon in 6 days -

-High-fived Bart Yasso at the Start
-Saw a guy running in a cotton Misfits shirt (kinda awesome!)
-Cows grazing
-Lots of picture stops (beautiful scenery!)
-Orange slices were like heaven in my mouth
-Lot of great music
-Gorgeous views
-When will this hill end??
-Another hill?
-Beautiful sandy beaches
-Hello wind!
-The most amazing strawberries
-Are we there yet?
-I’m so glad I am done!
-Well, I did it! And I now know why they call that a “challenge”.

After the race, we got our medals and our awesome finisher jacket. We also got a special tent with free food and beer and our families could join us as well. That’s it folks! That wraps up 5 marathons in 6 months. It’s time to rest and recover for a bit!
11182738_10153849664408484_5630457525558394141_o11194614_10153849669343484_7348321529291648561_o11187364_10153848358773484_7799561391509473655_o

Boston Marathon 2015

How did it sneak up on me so quickly? April crept up on us and it was time to start packing for the Boston Marathon. It had been 494 days since I qualified and now it was time to fly to Boston!

The week leading up to the marathon I had a beerfest to organize and manage. I had to wrap up the event and take care of returning equipment and calculate number of participants and figure out expenses. I had to get a check sent out to our beneficiary. So, I was pretty busy in those days before leaving. But, I still managed to have relaxing runs and all I could think about was being on the Boston Marathon course. There’s just something about it that can bring me to tears.

As I boarded my flight from Phoenix to Boston, I saw fellow runners. Some wearing Boston marathon jackets or sweatshirts or other items that signified they were on their way to Boston to run this great race. I ended up talking to a gal in line who was heading back to Boston where she lives. She was so excited for me to run the race on Monday and said they, meaning the city of Boston, had already started putting up signs like “Boston Strong” and other meaningful items to get ready for this amazing weekend. Turns out the bombing happened right in front of her office. She said she has kept close tabs on the trial of the bomber and how emotional it’s been. I couldn’t helped but get choked up. She also told the boarding agent that I was running the marathon after I was asked to assist in the Exit row, which was pretty funny. She made it sound like I was a superhero and if anything happened I could help everyone with my magical superhero powers. As we boarded the plane she wished me luck.

Being in Boston is just so magical. It really is! I’ve said that before and I mean it. The energy of the people, the energy of what’s going on all weekend, and being around all those amazing athletes from all over the world is just so awesome.

We stopped in a small dog boutique near our hostel and ended up chatting with the owner for a while. She was really happy for me and thanked me for coming all the way from California. She said that a lot of people are afraid to come back. I told her I wasn’t afraid at all and was very happy to be there. We had a great conversation with her and it made our trip to Boston even more special. We love talking to the locals and hearing their stories.

Marathon Monday came very quickly…and the weather went from sunny and beautiful to rainy and cold. But, there’s not much you can do about the elements so we had to just suck it up and do the best we could. As I got on the bus with my friend Jen, I knew this was it. I was heading to the start of my second Boston Marathon. How did this happen? It was so surreal!

We waited in the Athlete’s Village for our turn to line up behind the start line. It was pretty cold but we huddled up under a large tent after using the port o’ johns (as they call them there). As 10:50am approached it literally started raining as the gun went off. And we were off! It was speedy and so cool! I didn’t wear my headphones this time so I could hear everything along the course. I heard screaming, chanting, a lot of “Go Jen!” and “Boston loves Jen!” because Jen wore a shirt that said “Jen Heavy black heart️ Boston”, I high-fived so many spectators, and just enjoyed as much of it as I could. Since I was wearing my Timex shirt several people said “Go Timex!” or “It takes a licking but keeps on ticking” and even an older runner ran by me and showed me his Timex watch that he’s had for 30 years.

So many spectators lined the sides of the street, even in the rain. Spectators had beers, water, licorice, oranges, and Swedish fish, which I took a few cuz I love those little candies. The spectators are what it’s all about. These amazing people from town to town have such a great time cheering all us runners on and getting us to the finish line. The Wellesley girls were “wicked” loud! We could hear them wayyyy before we ran by them. Jen even got a kiss from a British fellow (I think it was a guy). Those girls did not stop screaming! It was pretty insane!

I had a moment between miles 15-16 where I felt a bit of fatigue come on, but I was able to snap out of it. The “hills” came about mile 17 and I just busted through those! I literally chewed ‘em up and spit ‘em out! They actually gave me a ton of energy and adrenalin.

Soon, we saw the Citgo sign and I knew we were getting close. Then I saw the Prudential Tower and knew this was it! As I turned onto Hereford, I was pretty darn excited and popped in another Shot Blok and started sprinting. I looked for Jen and said “Let’s go!!” I saw Boylston ahead and started to tear up. It was then time to turn left down to the finish. I just couldn’t slow down. I looked around trying to find Clint and Katy but couldn’t spot them. I then just focused on the finish line and heard my name called and it was just such a special moment. The whole day was so extraordinary. I felt so lucky to be there again. I also felt so lucky to run with Jen who is just an inspiring and fast runner.

I do have to say, I had a moment while running down Boylston where I thought about the bombings. I looked left to the spot where the first bombing happened. I couldn’t help but not think of that moment in time two years ago. I finished this race for this wonderful city. And even though I wanted to thank everyone along the course for helping me, the volunteers all thanked ME for running! Every single volunteer was genuine and so sincere and they all appreciated what every runner did on Monday. We weren’t afraid to be there.

In 2008, I had no idea what the Boston Marathon was. I qualified a year later and went to my first Boston Marathon in 2011. I was so happy with that accomplishment and never thought about going back because I was satisfied and loved the experience. I qualified at the 2013 California International Marathon because Clint’s cancer battle gave me the motivation to get to Boston again. To be able to go back this year was just more than I could have ever dreamed of. Having Clint and Katy there, to run with Jen, and to know so many people from my training group and other runners from Sacramento made it so memorable. This was my 19th marathon at the 119th Boston Marathon.

I don’t know what the future holds and if I’ll go back, but I know without a doubt that this race was so incredibly special and I’ll never forget it. I came back to chase those unicorns and now have two hanging in my house. It’s just such a great feeling and almost indescribable.

Thank you to everyone for all your support and love!

photo(39)

Tips for a “racecation”

For some of you folks that may be interested in traveling out of state (perhaps, to Boston) or country for a race, I thought I’d put together a list of tips that could be helpful in planning and packing for a racecation.

I’ve learned a lot in my travels, so maybe this will keep you from making some mistakes I’ve made along the way.th

1) Make a list of everything to bring: A list is super helpful and will keep you organized. I’m a huge list maker and this makes things a lot easier to check off as you are packing. Sometimes I start this list months in advance. I use the “Notes” section in my phone so I can add to it easily and it’s on me all the time when I remember something.

2) Accommodations near the finish or close to public transportation options like subway/metro: This is ideal because then you don’t have to go far after the race. After you’ve received your medal, water/drinks and goodies you want to locate your friends/family. Then you’ll be hungry. After all this time, who wants to travel super far for food or shower or your bed? I don’t.

3) Don’t worry about overpacking: With the inconsistent weather we have nowadays due to global warming (those experts say), it’s always good to bring all types of running gear with you. You never know when it’s going to be warm or when it’s going to be cold. It’s happened to me a couple times where it should have been cold and then it ended up warm and I wished I had worn a tank. Or I thought it would be a bit warmer, but it was drizzly and cold and I could have worn a long sleeve shirt to tear off mid-race. Just be prepared for anything.

4) Don’t forget your race gear: While this may seem obvious, I’ve heard of people forgetting their shoes (super important) or other items they need for raceday. Now, there usually is an expo with lots of vendors selling items that you could buy to replace that missing item, but after training in a pair of shoes that’s perfectly broken in and ready for race day, a new pair is not the most ideal. You really don’t want to run your race with any new apparel that could chafe or ride up on your body in a weird way.

5) Pack your race items in your carry on luggage: This is something I’m overly paranoid about. I never pack my race gear in my checked in luggage just in case it never makes it to my destination. I always carry it on me. Because if it does get lost, you don’t want to resort to having to buying all new gear (as mentioned in #4).

5) Bring snacks and food from home: Seriously, if you can bring snacks with you, you will be glad you did. When you travel to another country, you never know what they have at the corner store or grocery store. You may think they will have something similar to what you eat before a race, but you can’t guarantee that. Bring bagels, KIND bars, or whatever pre-race foods your body is used to. I bring a large zip lock bag full of treats just in case I’m hungry when I’m traveling, because we all know runners are hungry ALL the time. I will bring trail mix, almonds, KIND bars, protein bars, pretzels, and I always pack some packets of Emergen C.

7) Research your carb loading places before, if you can, or in the first day or two of your trip so you aren’t scrambling on the night before the race: Whether you like pasta or pizza or whatever it is you prefer the night before a race, do a little research on what restaurants will be in the area you are staying. You don’t want to travel too far from your accommodations, if you can help it, and you don’t necessarily want to go where everyone else is going. There will be long waits and who wants to wait to carb up? Not me! Doing the research ahead of time will definitely help.

9) Go to the Expo on the day it starts: If you can get to the Expo on the first day it starts, I suggest this for a couple reasons. One, you can get it over with early on in your trip and not have to stress about it right before race day. Two, if you go on the first day, there are generally less people to have to walk around. Three, if you are looking for merchandise to purchase from the vendors, there will be more sizes to choose from on the first day.

8) Stay off your feet, if you can, for most of the day (or at least half the day) on the day before the race: I know you’re on vacation too and want to sightsee, but you still need to stay disciplined. This will help with fatigue. You don’t want to tire out those legs the day before a race. This could make your legs feel tired on race day too. Keep those precious extremities rested and ready for a good race!

10) Safety pins: Bring some extras in your toiletry bag or somewhere in your belongings just in case you forget to pick up some at the Expo or THEY forget to give you some. You need to pin that badboy (your bib) to your shirt, so this is an important item to have handy. I’ve been to race expos where they didn’t have safety pins out and was scrambling later looking for extras.

11) Game plan for meeting friends or family at finish: With a race of 20,000-40,000 there is going to be chaos at the end of the race. If you can come up with a plan on where to meet (a coffee shop, a bar, a “family meeting area”) then you will be better off and feel less stressed at the end of the race. Sometimes, it can be overwhelming trying to get through all the masses when you just want to find a familiar person and you are hungry. Make it easy on yourself and your loved ones after the race. I’ve been in situations with no cell reception or I couldn’t find the person(s) I was looking for and it can make for a depressing couple hours.

12) HAVE FUN!!: Uh, duh!