The Boston Marathon was a dream experience. Seriously. My love for running is renewed and I am so happy. I feel so effusive that if I kept typing, I’m sure the average (sane) person would think, “Is she for real?” Yes! There are some reality checks in this recap so I promise, it is a balanced perspective with several highs and a few lows. Also, I don’t know why I’m finding it now, but this article has the best mile-by-mile analysis of the course itself if you want a more “objective” overview.
Ok, but I’m going to stick to Marathon Monday. I slept until 6:45 and then I was awake! My training partner had noted the day before that, as Wave 3, we didn’t have to get on the buses until 8 a.m. Sweet, sweet sleeping in….yeah right! Too excited!
We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard downtown, which was about a 1/2 mile from the bus loading area. I went to the Hilton around the corner, picked up to Starbucks, picked up Jyotsna and then headed over to Charles St. Jyotsna had a gear check bag, which was about a 1/4 mile in the other direction on Boylston St. The gear check was very smooth, both drop-off and pick-up since at the finish, you just kept walking ‘till you reached your stuff. The Adidas plastic bags were fairly thick and had drawstrings, making them pretty secure.
We both had our little plastic baggies approved for the start line area/Athlete’s Village in Hopkinton, filled with snacks and water. There were freebies in Athletes Village (Clif, Gatorade, bananas, water, sunscreen) but we felt better having our own stuff, especially our breakfast of choice. There were donation boxes for castaway gear which filled up fast because, unfortunately, it was very warm. Very, very warm.
Oh, the weather. Forget heartbreak hill, the weather was the heartbreak. The average course temp was 74 degrees and I know! It makes me sound like such a whiny baby to say it was hot! But I once read that in long-distance running, a runner should dress for 20 degrees warmer because that is how it feels. I would definitely agree with that ballpark estimate. Continue reading “Boston Marathon 2017 Recap”
