Boston Marathon Recap

Miraculously, I ran a 2:57 marathon. As my friends know, I have been suffering from severe plantar fasciitis in both feet since last July and recovering slowing since then. In fact, last October, I could not run at all because of the pain. But by taking some time off, pumping up the anti-inflammatories, and being fitted with great orthotics, I managed to recover and improve enough over the last 6 months to be able to at least endure 26 miles without collapsing in pain. It was only in the last 2-3 weeks that my feet started feeling OK but it wasn't enough to increase my speed enough to beat my 2 hr 48 min qualifying time from May 2007. My feet held out to mile 22, then blew up. So I just put my head down and shuffled to the finish. When I hit mile 24, I knew I was going to beat 3 hours so throttled back.
The highlight of the race besides beating 3 hours was running alongside Lance Armstrong for a couple miles during the first few miles. Eventually I pulled ahead, but he caught up to me at mile 20.5, Heartbreak Hill, and left me in the dust. Everyone was taking Lance's picture and cheering him on. A lot of runners got their 15 minutes of fame running alongside him. I hope to find a picture of him with me in it online somewhere. He was shooting for a 2:40. He ran a 2:51. Not bad.

The weather was 54 degrees, which was ideal, but the humidity was 87%, so it felt much hotter. It was supposed to be overcast, but the clouds cleared out right at race time and it got hot. Too hot really. But I always do relatively better when conditions are extreme. That's where the mice are separated from the men I like to say.

In the big finish line photos above, you can see me crossing the finish line on the right hand side, in the first photo with my hands up in the air, and in the second just continuing to run through the finish area. My favorite part of any race is seeing the finish line. You get such a feeling of accomplishment when you see it in the distance. I always put on a little extra kick to finish strong. And you really forget about the trials and tribulations of the first 26 miles.

I'm leaving on Friday for an 18-day vacation to China. I won't be taking my running shoes. I'll just enjoy the time off. Time to go soak in the tub.

Boston Marathon Tommorrow

Resting feet. Nice day. Watched US Womens Olympic Marathon Trials this morning. Wendy Ray from Sister Bay was running. Nice dinner with Marilyn and Jim in the North End last night. Will be happy not to eat pasta when this weekend is over.