You Can Do This

This post is long overdue.

I have started writing a post-marathon piece probably about once a month since April, but haven't been able to get one off the ground. Maybe I just didn't want to acknowledge the fact that my 2014 Boston Marathon journey is over.

The reason for this post, however, isn't about me. It's about you. Charities are taking applications for the 2015 Boston Marathon, and official training starts in about 2 months. 

One of you out there is looking for something new to take on. You're ready to do something big, and maybe you're not sure yet what it is. Maybe you've never run more than 3 miles before, but you're curious how far you could run if you really dedicated yourself to trying. Maybe you want to feel like a part of something bigger than yourself and do something small every day to benefit your community. 

If this is you, think seriously about volunteering to run for one of the Marathon Coalition charities. I promise you, it will change your life. If you have ever considered taking on a challenge of this magnitude, there is no better place to do it. Coach Rick will know your name and check in with you personally every week. You will never have to worry about bringing your own water or snacks on long runs. In a group of hundreds of runners, you are guaranteed to find at least one person who not only runs at the same pace as you, but can provide hours of amusing conversation. You will know the magic of having a group of friends who have only seen you at your grossest and smelliest. You will raise money for charities that change the lives of children and young adults all over the Greater Boston area. Most of all, you will be inspired every single week. I never thought I had it in me to complete the marathon once, let alone twice, but training alongside these folks made all the difference.

The 2-year experience I had with the Marathon Coalition completely changed my concept of what I am capable of as an athlete and as a person. I cannot say enough about the wonderful coaches and runners that I had the privilege of running beside week after week. Look back at this post for more examples of their awesomeness.

Watch the first couple minutes of this video and see how many different kinds of people you see represented on the team. There are so many parents. Some grandparents. Lifelong runners and complete newbies. At 2:22 you will see our teammate's father, who lost his leg in the 2013 bombings, but came to hand out water on a couple of our runs. There is so much positivity, hope, and inspiration concentrated in that small room in Newton and on those roads every Saturday morning. 


Yes, it's totally cheesy. I only apologize a little.

If this speaks to you at all, take the next step and reach out to me. Charity spots are going fast, but I will happily chat further with any of you about opportunities.

You can do this.

Another Starting Line

This morning I read back through some old blog posts and stumbled across this one. At the beginning of this year's marathon training, it felt as though I would never get here. Marathon Monday felt so far away, and the days in between promised to be full of cold and drudgery.

Some days really were a struggle. Many days the bitter wind blew through every layer of clothing I had on and left red patches on my skin. Some mornings my body all but refused to get out of the hot shower and head back outdoors to go to work. There was at least a month where I was positive I would never regain feeling in my face or fingers.

But, you know what? I did it. I remembered how I felt during the taper last year and knew that I would appreciate every single mile I put in. I did exactly what I set out to do, which was to get up those first tough mornings and suffer through the slow runs. My lungs burned. My head spun. But it worked. It got easier. I'm back at an 8:30 pace for my regular runs. Long distance feels easy when I pace it out correctly and keep a positive attitude. 

I have run over 1,000 miles since I started my official Boston training in December of 2012. The journey to Boylston Street is a lot longer than 26.2. As I have said before, working toward the accomplishment of such a big goal makes me reconsider what else in my life I have previously written off as impossible.

Tomorrow I will be back at the starting line of the Boston Marathon. But beyond the incredible chance to finally finish what I set out to do last year, tomorrow marks a new starting line for me - life without this big day looming ahead. Free Saturdays with the opportunity to sleep in. No reason to be outside when the windchill is below zero. 

Will I enjoy it? Sure. For a second. But there will absolutely be a gaping hole in my life brought on by the absence of my teammates and coaches. The lack of something big to propel me out of bed in the morning. So, as always, the question I will ask myself is, "What's next?"  

Logistics

Tomorrow is Marathon Monday! I can't believe it's already here. 

I have been receiving a lot of questions about the day-of logistics and thought I would put all the information I have in one place. Let me know if there are other questions I can answer, as well!

Tracking Runners

The AT&T Athlete Alert system is the best way to keep track of runners during the race. The easiest way to enroll is to text the runner's bib number (mine is 32046) to the number 345678. You will receive a confirmation text that includes the runner's name. Not sure of the bib number for the person you want to track? Click here to look it up by their first/last name.

You can also track runners via e-mail or online here: http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/att-athlete-alert.aspx

Watching the Marathon

Mile 10 Fan Club: Many of you are planning to watch from Mile 10 in Natick. The group will be just a few houses west of the intersection of Rte. 135 and Washington Ave (NOT STREET). Many of my co-workers and Voices friends are planning to be there - look for the orange Team Beaston shirts and a Dora the Explorer balloon. If you are driving in from out of town, the Natick commuter rail stop is a short walk away, or you can park at the Sons of Italy on Washington Ave. Due to the restrictions described below, there will likely be fans on both sides of the street. I don't know exactly what time I'll arrive in Natick, but my earliest estimate for Mile 10 is just before 1pm.

Are you planning on watching from somewhere else? Let me know your planned location and what side of the street to look for you (my left or my right). If you will have a balloon or a sign, let me know! It will make it much easier for me to spot you.

If you are curious about the best places to watch the marathon, I will refer you back to this post that I put together last year. The only difference is that BOTH the Copley and Arlington T stations will be closed this year, but you can still use Hynes, Prudential, or Back Bay to get to the finish line area. Click here for more information about riding the T on Marathon Monday.

Race organizers are doing everything they can to preserve the energy and the community feel of the Marathon. However, you may find that in areas where you used to be able to cross the course on foot, there are now barriers in place. I'm not sure exactly where those extra barriers will be up, but I would recommend that spectators expect not to be able to cross the course at all. Plan ahead, and you can be pleasantly surprised if your area of the course isn't gated off after all. 

Lastly, just as runners have been restricted in what they can bring with them to the course, spectators are also being asked to follow specific rules. Most notably, no one can bring backpacks or coolers, which I know many people usually do, and there can be no liquid containers of more than 1 liter. See below for the full list of banned items and be aware that there will be a "significant" police presence, with both uniformed and plain-clothed officers.

 Celebrating!

I am very, very excited to cross the finish line for the first time this year. However, I'm just as excited about the "second finish line" at the Westin Copley Place that has been set up for our Marathon Coalition charity teams. Here, we will cheer for our fellow finishers as they enter post-race, covered in sweat and a Jedi robe (at right). This will be a very special experience for us, since many of us weren't able to make it to the Westin to reunite after last year's race. I plan to spend at least a couple of hours there after I'm done. Family, friends, anyone who plans to watch from the Boston area - you are welcome to join us! There will be food, a cash bar, and plentiful happy tears. Let me know if you want more specific directions about where to meet us.

Natick area friends - last year we had an impromptu gathering at Morse Tavern once I got home, and that is something I would like to do again. I don't know exactly what time we will get there, but come join me for a burger and a beer sometime after 7. Let me know if you plan to come and I'll keep you posted on the timing!

Thanks to everyone for their tremendous support. I can't wait to see you all tomorrow!

Gratitude

I am full of thanks today.

Thank you to my co-workers who showed me that non-runners can become marathoners.

Thank you to my parents for instilling in me the crazy little voice that told me I could sign up to do this.

Thank you to Bottom Line for the opportunity to run with the world's most incredible team, and to raise awareness for a cause that I feel so strongly about.

Thank you to my Marathon Coalition teammates and coaches, who are a constant source of positivity.

Thanks especially to Charlotte, Jess, Natalie, Ginnie, Meredith, Dan, Shaina, Holly, Sue, Sam, Dani, Pat, Lori, and Chad for being the reason I get out of bed on Saturdays and for their willingness to talk for hours about anything and everything.

Thank you to all the people in my life who have patiently respected my training schedule the last two winters, which often meant I was absent, or late, or distracted (or ravenously hungry).

Thank you to everyone who has cheered me from the sidelines during races and regular runs.

Thank you to everyone who has run with me, and those who have pushed me through the toughest days.

Thank you to every person who has donated a single dollar or single minute of their time to supporting our cause.

Thank you to the woman who draped a blanket around my shoulders as I shivered in the immediate aftermath of last year's attack.

Thank you to all of the volunteers, first responders, and law enforcement officers who helped restore our sense of community and safety in the following hours and days.

Thank you to the many town officials and coordinators who have worked tirelessly for the last year to preserve the spirit and safety of the 2014 marathon.

Lastly, thank you to everyone who will hang around the sidelines until we arrive this Monday. Those of us who were unable to finish last year will be at the very back of the pack, and I personally will appreciate every single spectator out there.

Thank you all. See you Monday.

We Are All Here

With less than two weeks to go until the marathon, the topic of conversation seems to have switched from travel logistics and ensuring safety to the emotional aspects of taking on the 2014 Boston Marathon. Journalists speculate what the day might be like for runners and spectators. Runners make decisions about what kind of day they want to have—will I go all out and hope for a certain time? Will I take it all in and just enjoy the day? Will I allow myself to get emotional and cry for the last four miles if I feel the urge?

This time last year, I felt completely unprepared. I wasn’t sure I had done enough to get where I wanted to be, and I felt like there were so many unknowns about the day. This year, I am back with a vengeance. I truly committed to my training schedule this winter and I feel that I have done the work. I’ve been forced to think through every piece of Marathon Monday. What I will bring with me to Hopkinton and what I will have to give someone else a few days before so that it will meet me at the finish line. Exactly how I plan to carry my phone with me. How to pace out the first 5 miles.

Still, I am anxious. We are all anxious. No amount of planning and rehearsing can take away the fact that we all remember last year, when any planning and rehearsing we had done went out the window in an instant. It’s hard not to worry that something could happen again. I may not sleep the night before we run, but I am adamant that anxiety will not consume me once I get to the Athlete’s Village. This year we will make a statement so much louder than fear and worry.

I want to spend April 21st focused on courage and tenacity. I want to celebrate every morning that I got up in the past two years and hit the road, even when I really, reeeally didn’t want to. I will remember everything my teammates have overcome in the past year, especially those that are running with new injuries or chronic illnesses. I think of all the people on our team who run because they were at the finish line last year, and I look back on all the runs where I passed someone running in a 2013 Boston Marathon Volunteer jacket. I imagine the spectators who will come out in droves, despite their own anxieties about what the day will bring.

I will look around me at the starting line, and Natick Center, and Wellesley College, and Heartbreak Hill, and Boylston Street, and I will think, “I am here. We are all here.”

Perspective

Last week, I announced to my friends, family, and co-workers that I will be taking a promotion this spring and moving to the Bottom Line office in New York City. This is obviously a very exciting opportunity, but it has really made me think about and appreciate all of the people I have met and experiences I have had in the nearly six years I have lived in Natick. There are so many things to miss.

As a runner, I've begun to feel as though parts of Natick belong to me. I see the same people walking the same dogs every morning. I recognize the people power-walking to the train and the old man who always grins at me as I pass him on his morning walk. Natick isn't just a place where I have lived; it's a place where I have changed and grown. I drove here on a whim one day in June 2008 and signed a lease on the first apartment I had ever seen. Since then, these hills have watched me shuffle, struggle, and sprint. I have learned to challenge and push myself as a singer, and as a friend. I know the names of the people who work in the local businesses, and they know mine.

There is something special about Natick, and I was reminded of that this Monday when I set out to run and noticed that something unusual was happening. I encountered at least three police officers walking on the sidewalk within the first quarter mile of my run, and all of them said hello to me. There seemed to be a lot of traffic at the big intersection downtown, more than usual for a Monday morning. As I continued down Route 27, I saw a long line of fire trucks, trash trucks, and DPW vehicles, all flashing their lights, and realized that I was running alongside the funeral procession for DPW worker Michael McDaniel, who was killed on the job the week before in a tragic accident.

A commemorative flag suspended in Natick Centre

Even though the trucks had traffic on 27 backed up for miles, no one was honking. No one cut them off. No one pulled a U-turn and took off in the opposite direction. Workers waved at me from the cabs of their trucks. It was as though the whole downtown stopped in pensive silence in honor of a man who had quietly served them for so many years. I turned at West Street and ran past the high school, and then cut left onto Pond Street. I ran by the cemetery, where a group of workers were clearing the snow away from a plot right next to the road, presumably for the same funeral. It was a quick but powerful reminder that my time with the people I love, my time as a runner, my time in this world--is limited.

In one of the many articles I read about runners getting ready for this year's marathon, someone was asked, "Why are you running again this year?" and she said, "Because I can, and so many others can't." Sometimes, it takes something big to remind us of all the things we are blessed with, big and small. Being a "regular" somewhere. Having a support system of loving friends who all live right down the street. The fact that the hardest part of my training is willing myself to walk out the door in the morning, while others are learning to walk and run on new prosthetics.

This article said it best, in my opinion:

Hawkins has battled injuries in recent years, but said he is doing everything he can to take part in this year’s race. Compared to those directly touched by the bombings, a little cold seems trivial, he said. “You think of the people who lost limbs and how much they have to overcome,” he said. “You just run it.”