i want adventure in the great wide somewhere - running journal! (comments welcome)

[dis_or_dat]

I was going to ask if you're volunteering this year - you're running!?!? CONGRATS!! I'll be running it too!! So jealous of that marathon beer.

 

[jmasgat]

I was going to ask if you're volunteering this year - you're running!?!? CONGRATS!! I'll be running it too!! So jealous of that marathon beer.

Ooh boy, another Dis-er to cheer for. I will be working finish line bag check, but will be cheering while I work.

 

[xjillianpaige]

I was going to ask if you're volunteering this year - you're running!?!? CONGRATS!! I'll be running it too!! So jealous of that marathon beer.

Thank you! So excited to have another DIS-er out there. If you're comfortable DMing me your bib # I'd love to track you and cheer as I run!

Ooh boy, another Dis-er to cheer for. I will be working finish line bag check, but will be cheering while I work.

I'll definitely be stopping by to say "hi" even though I'm not checking a bag because I'll walk by gear check on my way to the hotel to shower!

 

[jmasgat]

Thank you! So excited to have another DIS-er out there. If you're comfortable DMing me your bib # I'd love to track you and cheer as I run!

I'll definitely be stopping by to say "hi" even though I'm not checking a bag because I'll walk by gear check on my way to the hotel to shower!

If it's the same as before, I'll be on a bus corresponding to some range of bib numbers. Will let you know.

 

[NYC_MW]

I was going to ask if you're volunteering this year - you're running!?!? CONGRATS!! I'll be running it too!! So jealous of that marathon beer.

Will be tracking and cheering both of you from afar! Happy one week countdown

 

[xjillianpaige]

If it's the same as before, I'll be on a bus corresponding to some range of bib numbers. Will let you know.

Amazing! I'll send you my phone # and I'll check for a text from you tomorrow!

Will be tracking and cheering both of you from afar! Happy one week countdown

Thank you!

 

[azrivest]

Enjoy your race tomorrow @xjillianpaige! That is literally a unicorn race

 

[xjillianpaige]

Boston Marathon Journal
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Oh my God. I'm running the Boston Marathon tomorrow. I have a lot of thoughts but I'll save those for tomorrow. Let's just say, it's been a long time coming (- Taylor Swift).

April 9: 5.00 miles • 55:21 • 11:04 avg pace
Easy miles on a Tuesday night followed by my last salad until after the marathon. I was pretty steady here, with miles at 11:00, 11:03, 11:14, 11:04, and 10:58. It was colder than I expected, and I had worn a tank top and capris and ended up changing into a long sleeve that was sitting in my car.

April 11: 4.00 miles • 43:07 • 10:46 avg pace
Tuesday morning before work. We're back in the office 4 days a week so I didn't stay long after the run. It was another cold morning - why couldn't this be the race weather? Miles were 10:55, 10:48, 10:54, 10:28.

April 13: 3.00 miles • 32:15 • 10:44 avg pace
Saturday group run and my last run before Boston! A shakeout, if you will. "Laps" were 11:11, 10:34, and 10:27. It's fun ending on a downhill. I really should race a 5k while I have this fitness... but I did swear to taking off a whole month. Anyway it was a bit warm but I stuck it out in long sleeves and long pants. I wore literally nothing I ever run in and it was all terrible. Leggings wouldn't stay up so I had to carry my phone, the shirt was cotton. Just a mess.

I'll report back tomorrow! I went to the expo on Friday and Saturday so lots of photos to come!

 

[superchime]

Have a great race!!

 

[Naomeri]

I’m excited to read all about your Boston Marathon experience!! Good luck!

 

[GollyGadget]

Have the most fun tomorrow!

 

[azrivest]

Congratulations on finishing your marathon

 

[Naomeri]

 

[superchime]

Congratulations!!

 

[michigandergirl]

Congrats!!

 

[nancipants]

 

[xjillianpaige]

Enjoy your race tomorrow @xjillianpaige! That is literally a unicorn race

Have a great race!!

I’m excited to read all about your Boston Marathon experience!! Good luck!

Have the most fun tomorrow!

Congratulations on finishing your marathon

View attachment 852125

Congratulations!!

Congrats!!

Thank you all for the well wishes in advance of the race and the love since finishing! <3 Recap coming sooner than later!

 

[dis_or_dat]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I can't wait to read your recap!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Boston Marathon Race Recap
Part 1: The Expo

Friday​

Let's rewind to Friday and start there! I woke up around 7 after a good night's sleep and started my carb load. I have never done a true carb load before, but on my long runs I was practicing some nutrition to mimic pre-race with big carb heavy meals the day before. So this time I really dove in. In previous races, I'd have a bagel with cream cheese and pasta and call it a day, and this time I did that and added some snacks and other foods.

So for breakfast on Friday I had a bagel with cream cheese, two cups of apple juice, and a banana. As I reached my final few bites of bagel, I really felt like I was forcing it, but I tried to eat my banana anyway. I had no problem with the banana, so I realized that I'm just not someone who will have bagels as part of my carb-load diet.

​

After breakfast, I packed a bag of snacks (graham crackers, pop tarts, and a Rice Krispie treat) and a giant water bottle of lemonade for the expo! Kayla and Kristin met me a little after 10:00 and I drove us into Boston. The original plan was to park at my office a mile away, but it was very rainy in the city, some downpours expected, so we parked at a garage next to Hynes Convention Center and made the short walk to the expo.

Once we got there, we went right inside and got into a winding line, not dissimilar to Disney, and went for our bibs first. The building where they hold the expo is pretty old, and it's lots of winding and walking to get where you need to go. I wonder if there's a better way to move people but I'm not the one with years of experience hosting 30,000 runners and their friends and families. At one point my friends jumped out to go to the bathroom (which was in the space of the line - they didn't really have to leave) assuming they could catch up with me, but they made everyone stand single file, so they had to rely on someone being nice and letting them back into the line, and they weren't allowed to walk along the line to find me.

I got to the hallway for the yellow wave of bibs first and this is where it got dicey. The lines weren't clear and they were so long they were bending and getting jumbled. I found my line and it was just me and 4 others, so I quickly moved up and got my bib. Kayla had caught up to me and I directed her to her line next to mine and she jumped in behind a man with a blue camouflage shirt on. Kristin and I pulled off to the side after I got my bib and a photo as I received it, and waited for Kayla.

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I kid you not, I think we stood there for 20 minutes. Her line was NOT moving and I can't figure out if it was a slow moving volunteer, or people cutting in line, or something else. The man in in the blue camo shirt went up to ask people what was going on, and then he finally talked to a volunteer and was pulled to another booth where no one was in line and was helped. A few other people had this happen, and finally Kayla was pulled and someone helped her get her bib.

​

After that we went into the expo to shop. We started with pictures of the name wall, and then we were dying of heat and were done battling crowds and bodies so we went to the expo side to see what was happening over there, stopping along the way to check out some of the displays from marathons past. We did a lap and cooled down. I stopped at a booth for a sticker from a vendor who I bought my Chicago sticker from last year. Turns out she's also a client of Kayla's for online paid marketing! Then we decided to go back to the Adidas section for shopping.

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We get over there and there's a ton of volunteers/employees blocking the entrance and it looks like the line to check out is winding through, so we look to see if there's another way in, but everything is blocked. Turns out it got so busy that they shut it down for new entries. Seems like they could use a virtual queue for day 1.

We decided to head to Marathon Sports to shop since we couldn't get into Adidas. As we were leaving, we ran into Jill and Carmela walking in, and then Denise was also around. So we stopped to take some photos and told them where we were going and they said that made sense because the other stores would have a lot of what Adidas had.

So we headed out and while we walked we snacked on the grahams and Rice Krispies and pop tarts. Carbs forever. It was a little drizzly and the road wasn't closed to cars yet so no attempt at the finish line for a photo.

We got to Marathon Sports and they had some shirts and B0ston themed gear outside, inside they had more and they had Adidas stuff. I grabbed a limited edition shirt that said "Marathon (Boston's Version)" and the classic "Right on Hereford Left on Boylston" shirt. I also grabbed a Spike Stuffed animal, a magnet, and an Adidas t-shirt with all the towns and some landmarks listed on the back. (I'm going to do a separate post with all the swag I bought at the expo and stores). I get 10% off for being in my running club, but it didn't apply to Adidas merch.

The only thing I didn't get that I wanted was a white baseball hat from Adidas. My friend Michelle was going later so she was on the lookout for it and ended up grabbing one for herself and for me.

Because the weather was crap and because Kayla and Kristin both had to get back to the suburbs, we headed back after some photos outside by the course. Traffic was nuts leaving the city, but we made it home in time! In terms of the rest of my day of carb loading, I had a poke bowl for dinner, and a cup of rice is 50 grams, plus all the snacks/drinks and my breakfast, and a lunch of Mac and cheese I ended the day with almost 600 grams of carbs in my system.

Saturday​

On Saturday, I felt like I needed to go back and get some more photos from the photo ops and finish line, as well as some shopping at Adidas.

But first, I had a 3 mile easy shakeout run! I ran with Minda who was also running Boston for a charity team. After we finished I went right home to continue my carb loading. I think I had cream of wheat for breakfast with brown sugar plus a banana and apple juice again. I'm realizing that the liquid carbs make a huge difference and I didn't feel bloated at all. Plus doing snacks like graham crackers and pop tarts, I was able to do a large breakfast, lots of snacks/drinks/a light lunch, and then a big dinner. I also focused on adding protein to my dinner so I wouldn't wake up hungry since all the high carb foods didn't fill me for long.

Okay, long ramble about food over. After my run and food, I had my nail appointment and went with a light blue that sort of complemented the finisher jacket and lots of the shade of blue used in other official merch/gear. I was very picky as I did my nails and the owner of the salon even teased me for it, so I had to explain that I was running Boston and needed the perfect color.

After my appointment, Eric met me so we could drive into the city for another go at the expo. I went with him last year so he was willing to join me this year. My focus for this trip was the Adidas section and some of the photo ops. It was still crazy busy, but way less busy than the day before.

​

I bought a sweatshirt that had the same design on the back as the shirt from the day before. I also got a tumbler, a shot glass, and a pair of sweatpants. They had plenty of the jackets and sweatpants and t-shirts. They didn't have the crew neck I wanted, but I'm hoping it eventually turns back up on the website or in outlets.

​

I got a photo with the green monster and a unicorn-themed make way for ducklings. We also went outside for Finish line photos. And of course, I had to stop into Marathon Sports where I ended up getting another t-shirt - this time a Boston Strong shirt.

​

After getting home, I went for dinner with my parents and got chicken parmesan, plus bruschetta and lots of bread. I finished this day with over 500 grabs of carbs again, though not quite as high as yesterday.

Sunday
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I had nothing to do on Sunday, and that was what I wanted. I slept in a little bit, had pancakes with maple syrup and chocolate chips for breakfast plus a banana and apple juice for a nice carb heavy meal of over 200 carbs.

Again, I ate lots of snacks and high carb drinks to get me through the day. My grandparents came over for dinner and my mom was grilling, so I made myself a nice high-carb meal of cheese tortellini with a tomato-cream sauce and spinach. I wish I had made some chicken cutlets to go with it because this was the only dinner without protein and sure enough I woke up at 4:30 am and was feeling hungry.

But before that... I laid out my flat me and packed my bags for the race. The logistics were all taken care of and nice and easy for me with the club bus (with a bathroom). But even with all of this, I was highly emotional. At one point, I was just sobbing. And I think it's because this race just felt so big. Larger than life. It feels like it's been 2.5 years in the making, if not more. It's iconic, historic, etc. etc. I was so excited and so nervous and my feelings were just a lot.

​

After a good cry, I spent time with my family, watched tv, made a list for everything I needed to do in the morning, and eventually went to bed. My carb count ended over 500 again. And this was the third night in a row where I slept great. I did wake up like I mentioned, but was able to pretty much fall back asleep or at least keep my eyes closed and rest.

And my alarm was set for 5 am because I had a bus to catch a 6:15 am.

But that's a story for another day.