A Day in the Life of a Boston Marathon Finisher

I am officially up a marathon and down a toenail.  A decent trade, so I'll take it. 

Our day started bright and early the morning of April 18, 2011.  The bags were packed and our clothes were laid out the night before, which made waking up at 5:15 AM that much easier.  MFNE sprung for a charter bus for the Running for Cover team so we were spared the long lines for the BAA buses to Hopkington.  Micah and I made it to the team bus 15 minutes before it departed.  (Note: Micah and I are never on time, especially for things like races (Sunday Morning) so this was a huge accomplishment for us.)  We climbed on the bus, picked our cushy chairs, used the restroom (because we could), and while enjoying the warmth of our bus we quietly snickered at all the marathon suckers who were stuck waiting in line to be packed like sardines into a cold school bus.  They may have been faster runners, but we showed up in style.  Once in Hopkington, we were taken straight to Athlete's Village where all the Boston runners waited for their waves to start.  I spent the majority of the morning curled up in the fetal position under a blanket to get away from the wind, but Micah braved the cold long enough to get a pretty good shot of our holding pen.

 

Micah and I were in the last wave.  The walk to the start line was about .5 mile away from Athlete's Village.  On the way, there were tons of water stations set up by the neighborhoods and volunteers along the road ready to donate all the "throw away" clothes left by the runners.  Spectators lined the roads all the way from Athlete's Village to the start line and beyond...

The support along the way was absolutely amazing.  There was not a single stretch of the 26.2 miles without spectators.  Micah and I wrote our names on the front of our shirts and people yelled for us the entire race. Allie is an easy name to yell for but Micah got some interesting versions including Meekah, Meesah, Michael, Mick, and Mich.  All attempts were greatly appreciated and extremely motivating.

 We coasted for over half of the race with the exception of one bathroom break (sorry Micah).  I may have taken the hydration thing a little too far...I've never had to pee so often in my life.  Hopkington, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, and Wellesley flew by.  Wellesley was the best thanks to the ladies of Wellesley College.  And no, Micah did not kiss any of them.  I was behind him for this section so I know this to be true.  I, however, cannot vouch for the other guys running in front of us.

  

 We started feeling the burn between miles 17-18.  Newton's hills were harder than we expected, even before Heartbreak.  Like many of the runners around us, we chose to walk the uphills and run the downhills.  By Heartbreak, it got harder and harder to start that running part...And yes, we looked as beat down as the folks in front of us at this point.

   

Our pace slowed significantly between 20-24 miles.  Despite the cheers and high fives, my legs refused to go.  Getting out of Newton was exciting (no more hills!) but seeing the "Entering Brookline" sign made me want to cry.  I forgot about Brookline.  I wanted to be in Boston.  We were able to muster our last bit of strength to finish out the race once we saw the "Entering Boston" sign.

 Finally, the right on Hereford, left on Boylston was right in front of us.  We came around that last left as strong as we could.  Our legs were numb at this point, so it didn't matter.  Lo and behold, my parents had squeezed their way up front and were cheering us all the way to the finish line!

 

We certainly didn't break any records by finishing at 4:56:10 but the Boston Marathon experience was out of this world.  I learned a few things that will help us the next go-around, like how you probably shouldn't beat your best half marathon time when running your first marathon.  And yes, I say first because there will most definitely be a second.  But what will I call my blog from now on...?

More importantly: thanks to everyone's support we have raised $4500 (and counting) for the Melanoma Foundation of New England!  Running the marathon was easy with so many people cheering for me.  I never thought I would surpass my fundraising goal by so much but it's clear that I have the best fans in the world.  Eat your heart out Geoffrey Mutai.

Just a Few Days Left!

Just a few days to go before the Big Day!  I'm practicing telling everyone "yes, I am ready for the marathon" with confidence.  To be honest, I'm not sure if I actually believed April 18 would ever roll around.  While the past 3 months of training have been fun, it's nice to know that the end is near.  It was hard to keep the thought of that final right on Boylston and the image of the Pru looming in the distance when running through a blizzard in the dead of winter.  But it's here, finally!  And right now weather.com is advertising good news for Monday.  Yes, I realize it's April in Boston and you can't ever count on the 10 day forecast but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Partly Cloudy doesn't turn into Rain in the next five days.

Now that training is winding down, I'm in my final push for those last minute donations.  It's not too late to throw some money in the pot to support my Running for Cover team to benefit the Melanoma Foundation of New England!  Just go to www.firstgiving.com/allisonsilletto.  To help you keep your eye on the prize, I will be here in just a few days! 

Boston Marathon Finish Line

Full Circle

It's official.  I've been running for one full year. 

My running career (term used loosely) began March 2010 when a friend of mine, Ronald (name changed to protect the innocent), randomly asked me to run the Cohasset Road Race by the Sea with him on April 11, 2010.  At first I hesitated because my limited running experience left me with only negative thoughts.  I only ran when forced to: high school gym class, basketball practice (suicides), marching band practice (yes, we ran), being chased by a lion while on safari in Africa...you know, only in dire circumstances...But we had just spent the winter learning to ski together so I figured I should give this running-for-fun thing a shot.  Plus, Micah jumped at the opportunity and there was no way I was going to let him have fun without me, even if chances were slim that it would be fun at all. 

Ronald gave us at least 4 weeks notice before the race.  We signed up immediately but in true Silletto fashion we decided we would start training "tomorrow."  Tomorrow ended up being 2 weeks before the race.  I found a 4 week training program online and split it in half hoping that would do the trick.  For the record, it is not recommended to go from the couch to running 10Ks in 14 days.  You should work your way up.  Don't procrastinate. Your body will hate you.  The first run out of the gate was a 45 minute run. It was pouring rain and neither one of us had appropriate running clothes.  We wore COTTON.  Silly newbies.  Minus the wheezing and the pain, running in the rain was surprisingly enjoyable.  The second time we ran, we decided to go for a distance rather than a time limit.  1 mile.  Sounded easy enough.  So easy, we decided to take the dogs along.  We split up because a) there were squirrels and Sota preferred chasing them over running with me and b) I couldn't make it.  I blamed it on Sota but the truth was I ran a half mile and felt like I was teetering dangerously close to death.  (I was in a very dramatic phase last year).

Needless to say, I was not overly confident that I would be able to run a full 10K in less than 2 weeks.  Luckily for me, I have a competitive husband who refused to take no for an answer.  We kept running.  We even ran a nice hill training route through Beacon Hill.  I hated it.
April 11 rolled around fairly quickly.  We got to the starting line and I was immediately intimidated by the fancy running gear everyone else was sporting.  Micah insisted he could maintain a 9 minute mile throughout the race so Ronald and I decided to roll our eyes at him and hang back to run it together.  If you've ever been to Cohasset, you know that it is absolutely beautiful.  It's the quintessential New England town right on the water.  Ronald and I were handling the course well until we got just over halfway to Forest Ave where the course turns left and goes straight uphill.  It was the most demoralizing sight I've ever seen.  There was a collective gasp in the small group of runners around Ronald and me but we managed to muster on through the last 3 miles.  Micah was there waiting for us when we crossed the finish line.  We rushed over to the registration area where they were giving out free hot dogs and saw a small ice cream shop across the street.  6.2 miles deserves a good ice cream cone - and it was SO good.  The feeling I had completing my first race was indescribable and I knew as I was downing my free hot dog that I would be doing this again.

So here I am one year later: 2 half marathons down, and two weeks away from running my first marathon.  I managed to slice 11 minutes 22 seconds off last year's 10K time.  Cohasset was just as beautiful as last year and the hills seemed significantly smaller.  We went to the registration area and there were no hot dogs left and the ice cream shop hadn't opened yet, but that didn't dampen my spirits.  Besides, no hot dogs meant we had to stop for lunch and there just so happened to be a McDonald's on the way home.

The Longest of the Long Runs

A few things we learned on our latest long run:

1.  Micah needs to limit his intake of Gatorade and other sweet drinks.  He dilutes the Gatorade so he can't taste the sweet but still gets the benefits, but if he has too much it upsets his stomach leaving him to contemplate how he will vomit on the T without anyone noticing.  (The conclusion was he would puke in his hat and wrap his hat in his shirt to avoid drippage - in case you were wondering)

2.  Allison will stop at EVERY water station whether she needs it or not.  There were tons of groups running the marathon route yesterday, which meant a water stop every mile or so in the beginning then every two miles past Newton.  In the first 6 miles, I think I stopped at 10 water stations.  Perhaps this is the culprit for #1.

3.  Throw your running shoes away if you've gone more than 300 miles in them.  I decided I was better off risking blisters and wore my new shoes on our run (New Shoes).  No knee problems whatsoever and the blisters really weren't so bad.

4.  Allison is unbelievably lucky to have a Micah.

5.  You DO NOT take Commonwealth Ave all the way into Boston before hitting Beacon St.  You take a right on Chestnut Hill Ave then an immediate left on Beacon which takes you straight to Copley Sq (the finish line). In the real marathon route, you should run by Boston College.  Not Boston College AND Boston University.

6.  There is a Raising Canes near Boston University.

7.  Kinesiology Tape is best if applied properly.  Otherwise it is just a nuisance.  Removal is painful, worse than a Band-Aid.

8. Chipotle guac tastes delicious after 20 miles.

9.  Running is one of the most unpretentious of all the sports.  I plan on walking Heartbreak Hill.  Nobody else running will judge me for this because they have/will be walking it as well.

10.  In addition to Gatorade and water, a lot of the stops had gummy bears, swedish fish, cheez-its, dum dums, pretzels filled with peanut butter, pretzel rods, and starburst.  I wasn't sure if I was preparing for a third graders birthday party or a marathon.  I carb-loaded before the run; I crap-loaded during the run.

And now, here's some pictures from the Hyannis Half Marathon in February...

New Shoes...

So, I haven't been as diligent about my blogging as I would have liked these last few weeks.  A lot has been going on.  Training has been going strong for the most part.  I've had some knee troubles that I'm trying to figure out before the race.  And yes, I Googled it.  Google still says it's Runner's Knee.  I'm starting to think that Runner's Knee is a result of old shoes...

My shoes of choice this year are Adidas Supernova Sequence.  I tried my best to train in my Vibram Fivefinger Bikilas, but it just wasn't happening with all the snow, ice, and cold this season.  Overall I haven't had a problem wearing these shoes but in the last few weeks I've had to cut my long runs short because of knee pain.  It wasn't until earlier this week that I realized that I have run almost 350 miles in my running shoes!  They look fine - tread is still in good shape and the outside structure doesn't at all look like they are 1 year old shoes, but the support is COMPLETELY shot.

Luckily, Marathon Sports is awesome and they carried my exact same shoe.  Now I have to decide if it's worth risking blisters and sore feet running on new shoes in my longest long-run tomorrow to possibly cut out knee pain.  Micah and I are running the last 21 miles of the marathon course.  We will be waking up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday (ugh) to run from Framingham to Boston.  I'll be honest, it's a little daunting to have the start line in a town that I refuse to drive to because it's so far away...  But this is the closest thing we'll have to a dress rehearsal.  Wish us luck!

March Madness

It's that time of the year again!  March Madness is back!  Join my pool to benefit the Melanoma Foundation of New England.  The cost to join is $10 - $5 will go to the winner's pot and $5 will go directly to the MFNE.  To pay via Paypal, simply click the Buy Now button located at the right sidebar (sent to massmas4444@yahoo.com).  If you prefer to pay by check or cash, please email silletto.allie@gmail.com.  Everyone is invited so please forward this information on to your friends!

Join the pool by following the instructions below:

Please join my group, March Madness for the MFNE, in Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick'em! To accept the invitation, just follow this link. For reference, here's the group information. Group ID#: 7700 Password: allison Good luck!

The Golden Arches of the Finish Line

Sometimes I think my body is beginning to reject this whole running thing.  I'm not talking about the sometimes achy joints and sore muscles.  That comes with the territory.  No, I'm talking about my diet.  You would think all this running would make my body crave healthy, protein and carb-filled foods.  Nope.  Not even a little bit.  I want Chipotle, Diet Coke, and ice cream on a daily basis.  I am weak-willed, so my craving for Chipotle is constantly getting the better of me.  It's gotten so bad that the cashier at our neighborhood Chipotle refers to us as her "favorite couple" and the guy who puts our order together jokes that the guac is like our crack and an intervention is near in our future.  Should we be embarrassed?  Probably.  Will we be back tomorrow?  Absolutely.

We finally made it to the Hyannis Half Marathon - the right place, right time, right weekend, and everything! (Sunday Morning).  We had a delicious pre-race pasta meal the night before and a heart-healthy breakfast that we downed on our way to the Cape (complete with oatmeal and a peanut butter and banana sandwich - yum!).  Despite the snow/sleet that pelted us throughout the race, it was a wonderful run.  Micah and I were both at our best and we shaved 6 minutes off our previous half marathon time!  I even had enough energy saved up to kick it up a notch in the last few feet and beat Micah by a second.  There were professional photographers at the finish line who were able to capture this moment, solidifying my suspicion that I looked like a complete dork in those final seconds.  But I won, daggnabit, and that's all that matters.  After the race, we entered the expo where they were serving the usual bagels, bananas, granola bars, etc but also included some chowder and vegetable soup to help warm up the runners.  As we walked around from booth to booth, waiting for our official time to be posted, Micah looked at me and said "you know what really sounds good right now?"  Without hesitation, I answered "McDonalds?"  He answered "yes, absolutely.  That's exactly what I was going to say."  I don't think we have ever loved one another more than we did at that exact moment.  We gathered our free shirts and water and scampered to the car, desperate for some McNuggets and fries.  Is this our bodies telling us that while we may refer to ourselves as runners (term used loosely), we can never escape our deeply-rooted love for fast food and things that can be deep fried?  Why wouldn't I want to replenish nutrients and energy after a run instead of craving further depletion of my resources?  Perhaps my body thinks this whole running thing is actually a search for pain, and if pain is what I seek then pain is what it will give me.  Regardless, the McNuggets were a delight and nothing will ever beat a large fry and a large Diet Coke on the side.  Now, pass the salt and get out of the way of the TV.  Jersey Shore is on.