Boston Marathon Photos: Athletes' Village

A little over a year ago, I posted how many runners had to hop off the Boston Marathon buses to pee on the side of the highway. During this year's marathon, I finally got around to using all of the film on the disposable camera I had with me last year. As promised, here's a photo of the scene:

Not sure if this photo was worth the wait...

Here are some other photos of the pre and post marathon scenes, or lines, rather. Most of the day is spent thinking about getting to and from various lines.

Here I am in line for one of the many school buses that will take us to Hopkinton.

The buses drop everyone off at the Atheletes' Village

Runners hanging out before the race (2008)

I took this shot while waiting in line to use a porta potty. It was a LONG wait.

Post race, waiting for my mom to meet Nick & I at Family Meeting Area "P". I was happy to lean on the hydrant for support!

Posing for the disposable camera's last picture: My new friend, the fire hydrant, me, and Nick

26.2 Miles Later...

After months of training, yesterday was finally race day! I woke up at 5:45 and made my way to Park Street Station where the BAA arranges for the school buses to bring us to the Runner's Village in Hopkinton. Once again, I was blown away by the BAA's organization and efficiency. By the time my bus arrived in Hopkinton and I spent close to 20 minutes in line for the porta potty, it was already time to check my bag and move to the starting line. Like cattle, runners are corralled by number and shuffled forward in an orderly manner until we cross the starting line.

My former company staffs volunteers at mile 5's water station, so I was greeted by several familiar face and friends. Two friends from my old department told me that there had a been a sign, but there was a small issue with it. I kind of forgot about that until this morning when they emailed me a photo of the sign and explanation as to what exactly went wrong.

It's a little known fact that my dad's side is from Western Africa

My favorite part of the course is mile 13 at Wellsley College, where hundreds of girls are screaming like crazy for everyone to give them a kiss. I saw signs that said, Kiss me, I'm Latina, and Kiss me, I'm Asian, as well as, Kiss me, I'm from Ohio. A guy looking to be in his 40's or so running directly in front of me took advantage of about 8 girls offering everything from a peck on the cheek to a wet one directly on the lips. He turned to his running buddy afterwards and said, "Now that was awesome!"

I was cruising along until mile 16 or so, until my legs started to feel like lead; however, I kept plugging along and crossed the finish line in 4:14:43. I felt so happy to finish; however, it was quite painful trying to remove my chip from my shoelaces. After two unsuccessful attempts to squat down and reach my sneaker, a helpful volunteer was able to assist me and give me my medal in exchange for the chip.

When we got back to my apartment, I saw Nick had a decorated the apartment with lots of signs congratulating me on my finish!

This was taped opposite a mirror on our wall

Taped to the coffee table

Recently, I have spent a lot of time soaking my feet in the tub, so this was taped to the shower curtain

Taped to wall over our pillows.

And taped to the toilet seat...

Thanks, Nick! And thank you to my parents for coming up, cheering me on, and then taking us out to dinner last night! Also, a huge thank you to everyone who donated to Team Eye and Ear! Now, I'm going to relax for a while..!

Back in the Saddle Again

I went running for the first time tonight since the marathon, and overall I felt pretty good. It was just a 4 mile loop around Castle Island, but a good start to post-marathon workouts. Nick and I are running Boston's Run to Remember over Memorial Day weekend, so I want to be ready for the half marathon. We've run the Run to Remember for the past 3 years, and have a tradition where we buy the photograph they take of you crossing the finish line even though we always look terrible.

Dealing with Major PMS

Post Marathon Syndrome, that is.

All in all, I've been pretty fortunate though in terms of common marathon ailments. I still have 10 toenails and retained complete control of my bodily functions during the race.

Depending on whom you talk to, there are different opinions as to when it's OK to start exercising again after running a marathon. During and immediately after the race, my knees were in the greatest pain. Don't mistake my facial expression in the post-race photos as a smile, as I'm really just grimacing. Of course my quads and calves were also sore that night as well; to the point where when I used the restroom at dinner that night, I had to throw caution to the wind and plop right down on the toilet instead of squatting to avoid cheek to porcelain contact.

Now, 3 days later, I can move around pretty well and my knees and feet feel fine. My legs, while not particularly sore, feel heavy. As in, someone replaced my femurs with 100 lb lead pipes heavy. I tried to run to catch the bus this morning and it was a real-life version of the dream where someone is chasing you but you can only run in slow-motion. I literally can't run 50 feet. It's an incredibly odd feeling that has left me slightly panicked that should I find myself in a situation requiring speed I'm dead meat.