•1:43 PM
Over $3,600 raised + 26.2 miles + 5 hrs, 30 minutes, and 51 seconds = just the beginning....
I can't even begin to tell you how amazing this whole experience has been. I never in a million years thought that I would run a marathon, much less want to. There were a variety of reasons that I chose to apply to the Dana-Farber Team, and those reasons have only continued to multiply over the past few months. I haven't really managed to process everything just yet, but a brief rundown on Marathon Monday.
Couldn't sleep. Couldn't sleep. Couldn't sleep. I "woke up" at 4:00 am after about 3 hours of dozing and couldn't wait for the day to start. Riding the bus out to Hopkinton I started to get really nervous. Getting ready in about 5 minutes at the church beforehand (due to a nazi school bus driver refusing to let any of us out of the school bus while sitting stagnant in Hopkinton for TWO HOURS after a one hour ride out to Hopkinton!) I got even MORE nervous. And standing in the corral waiting to start I thought "what did I get myself into." Pretty much every race I do I look like I’m about to jump off a cliff. My husband always say to me,"Sarah, what's wrong? You look awful. SMILE!!!!!" So before bidding me farewell at the Common on Monday morning, the Hubs instructed me to specifically remind myself throughout the day to SMILE. I really did try and make a concerted effort – despite the inevitable anxiety involved with running the grand-daddy of all marathons. Even after we started I kept having to say to myself, "Smile, you're running a marathon right now!" I couldn't believe I was actually doing it! It didn't take long to loosen up and really have fun. I saw my first "friendly faces" at mile 10 where I met up with the Moore family – my in-memory partner’s family. They showered me with jelly beans and hugs, wished me well and told me they’d see me at the finish line. What more could I have asked for – I was so elated to have seen them and to have their support as I thought of their daughter and the strength it took for Andrea to battle cancer for so many years. I don’t know how many hands I high-fived throughout the race, and how many randomn goodies I willingly grabbed: milky way, orange slices, twizzlers, jelly beans … you name it, I consumed it! The Scream Tunnel (a/k/a, an extremely large crowd of Wellesley girls screaming) was unbelievable – everything I thought it would be and then some. I laughed. I smiled. I cheered and did a little fist pump every time I saw a Dana-Farber sign. I caught up with my husband at the Newton-Wellesley Hospital where I reminded myself, "there's just a few short ‘speed bumps’ over then next 4 miles or so, and then I’m done." Yea, totally. Only a few hills to get up and over … and down the backside – hopefully with my quads not torn to shreds! I was feeling pretty good so I decided to tackle the hills, and Heartbreak, as hard as I could. Slow and steady, I killed the hills, which didn't seem nearly as bad as I thought they would. I thought I was in the clear. Coming down the backside of Boston College, I thought only 5 more miles. That’s an easy morning run at 4am – a mere warm-up on most days. Five miles is nothing! Having said that, all I kept telling myself was just get to mile 22 where one of my co-workers was to be waiting. But when I got to mile 22 I tried so hard to look for Leah but to no avail. So told myself, that’s fine … if I can just get to mile 24 where I should see another one of my co-workers, Eric, then I’ll be homefree. Just get me to Coolidge Corner. So of course, I got to mile 24 and didn’t see Eric. At that point I first saw the Citgo sign. Words cannot express the elation I felt upon seeing that sign. Wow. Boston, here I come!!! My pace slowed considerably through the last five miles, going from 11 minute miles to 13+ at some point. But I wasn't going to stop. In fact, for the first time ever I did not stop to walk (with the exception of the 10 second walk through the water stations while guzzling Gatorade) – what I am most proud of myself for accomplishing. When I made the turn onto Boylston I knew I was home free. I saw my husband and mother-in-law who seemed to stick out from the crowd. I remember instantly bursting in to tears and then trying to suck in enough air to breathe – all the while blowing kisses to them both. What an emotional moment. Until that time, I had run two marathons and neither were especially emotional. In fact, after finishing my first marathon last May, I remember feeling quite apathetic; it was a weird, calm and quiet feeling that is difficult to explain. But taking the right turn on Hereford, then the left turn on to Boyston and immediately seeing my husband was something I will never forget. Seconds after that I was running the last 285 yards of the Boston Marathon, with the finish line finally in sight. Just 100 yards from the finish, Laura Moore, Andrea’s big sister, popped out the crowd and gave me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers and great big hug. Again, I burst in to tears, laughing and crying at the same time. We crossed the finish line at 5 hrs, 30 minutes, and 51 seconds – hand-in-hand, in Andrea’s memory. Not under five hours as I was hoping, but at that moment the time was not what mattered. It was enjoying the completion of a difficult journey that started 6 months ago: of asking many friends and family to donate to an incredibly worthy cause, of countless hours spent training, enduring excrutiatingly cold ice-baths in the middle of winter, sticking it out through hours of boring treadmill runs, nights spent envelope-stuffing and newsletter writing and daily 4am morning runs … a journey that ended in the arms of Laura Moore, a young woman with whom I was honored to share the experience. My one and only thought the second I crossed the finish line: “Andrea, this was for you – I hope I made you proud!”
So here I am, five days later, and feeling great. My “rest” didn’t last long – the withdrawals of the workouts kicked in almost immediately, so I did a full body workout (thanks to Jari Love!) on Thursday, and Kenpo (thanks to P90X!) yesterday. Not really sure what to do with myself now that all this training/fundraising/crazy running is done. I'm 100% sure I will be running another marathon, without question. But you only experience your first Boston Marathon once. And this was it. And it was totally worth all the pain. I came away with some great memories, some great friends, and a sense of accomplishment. I hope that I don't forget this feeling because if I can put my body and mind through 26.2 miles of this, I pretty much can get through anything. Thank you to everyone for all of your support – I could not have completed it without you! :)
