OK. Sorry. Just had to get that out. Lots on my mind today! Yesterday was a bit of an emotional day. I boarded a 6:55am train to get to Boston to cheer Nicole on in the marathon. Growing up in Massachusetts, I have the fondest memories of watching the race on TV every year, and then as a college student boozing my way through the race. Such good times :)
This year the marathon meant something different, because a) I'm getting ready to run my first, and b) Nicole had qualified, and I was going to cheer her on! I was stone cold sober, which is interesting when you're surrounded by gajillions of college students who have been boozing hard since about 8am... but anyway, I got into Boston and made my way over to Heartbreak Hill, with my "WHERE'S GAIN?" sign, prepped and ready to get her ass up that hill (she ran the race dressed as Where's Waldo - that's a helpful tidbit to understand the sign). While I waited for her to get there, I cheered on the other runners, as I am forever a cheerleader. I was yelling things like "Lookin strong after 20+ miles!!", or "You've made it this far, don't give up now!", or "This is the LAST big hill, you can do it!!". Some runners were thanking me for being there, others really liked my sign, though I'm not convinced they understood what it meant, and others were pissed off at that point, saying things like "Oh really? The last big fucking hill? Cuz we haven't climbed enough goddamn hills already!!". Their anger and frustration was a reality check that I might feel that way during my race. I could also physically feel their exhaustion, anger, frustration, their wanting to give up. A lot of other runners were injured, barely hobbling along, wincing with every step. I can't imagine having worked that hard for that long, to get injured and not be able to run like you want to. I just can't imagine the disappointment and sadness that comes along with that. It was intense.
I then saw Team Hoyt approach, and THAT was an intense experience too. Dick Hoyt has been pushing his son Rick through marathons and triathlons for years and years, and he does it faster than the majority of the runners out there. Simply put, the man is BANANAS, and if he and his son don't inspire you, I don't know what will.
Shortly after seeing the Hoyts, Nicole made her way past Grant Ave and finally I saw this red and white hat bobbing up and down and THERE SHE WAS!!! That moment is always so fun! We hugged, took some pictures, and then I ran with her up to the crest of Heartbreak, carrying my sign, cheering her on, and talking her through the hill. I felt a really strong connection with her in that moment. She has been such an amazing friend to me throughout this whole process - incredibly supportive, she's made everything so much easier on me - so it was really great to be able to experience part of that magical race with her, however brief it may have been.
Post-race we headed down to Lansdowne (via PediCab, no less!), where we sat outside at the Lansdowne Pub and I had my first Sam Summer of the year. Again, being from Massachusetts, this is a very important moment every spring, right up there with Opening Day. It felt WONDERFUL, and it also made me very nostalgic for Beantown. A few beers and a tequila shot later, it was time to say goodbye, and I headed to catch my 9:30pm train back to NY. It was a long day, a great day, and a day filled with emotion-overload for sure.
Then, there is today. Today I learned some interesting information about a situation that transpired last fall. I won't divulge the details, but I'll just say that someone was less than honest with me, and that person is an idiot. Despite my best efforts, I've been over analyzing since learning that tid bit, and I cannot WAIT to run it off tomorrow. We're doing up and overs - aka sprint up a bitch of a hill, sprint down the other side of the bitch of a hill, then turn around and do it again, and keep repeating it until you feel like you might die. That should be sufficient to clear my head, and if not, a few post-practice brews should do the trick :)
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