Boston - Day One

We arrived late last night into Boston (late in my mind — 9:30pm). I am happy we came in when we so that I could get acclimated to everything for 48+ hours before the race. Fell asleep around midnight, slept pretty well and now awake at 5:30am (one of these days I will learn to sleep in). Today is already a beautiful day and it looks like the rest of the weekend is suppose to be nice as well. In the years past (except for 2014), I always remember Boston Marathon weekend as rainy and cold. In 2014, the weather was perfect most of the weekend and ended up running a PR! This year, the weather looks similar to 2014 so I’m praying that this is a good sign for race day. I sign up to get daily emails from “Blessed is She” and today’s message was about being stronger than you think and recognizing that God is with me through every step of my life and has been with me through every challenge I have come acrossed. Although I don’t know what marathon Monday will bring, I am truly grateful for God helping me get to Boston healthy and safely. I have a big challenge ahead on Monday but I feel comfort in knowing the course, knowing that I have an awesome support system (on and off the course), and the crowds lining the course will help me along as needed as well. Now is the time I just need to relax and trust my body, trust God, and also the village of people who helped get me to the race.

Today Brett, Angela, and I are headed to the grocery and expo. Afterwards I plan on laying low and doing my usual pre-race prep of foam rolling, light stretching, and relaxing. Even though my race plan is set to be on of my slowest marathons ever, I am taking this race to learn as much as I can and stay healthy. Knowing that my body is not 100%, I will need to do more mental prep for this race in order to not get caught up in the race and/or run faster than I should. I also need to work on staying positive and listening to my body as the race unfolds. Dropping out of this race has been in my mind for the past few weeks and although it seems like a negative thought, I find it to be more comforting than usual. I do not want a DNF next to my name but if it isn’t my day, then I need to accept that. There have seen many elite and non-elite runners who have dropped out due to injuries and it has not stopped him/her from reaching their full potential in future races and has not defined who they are.

Despite this DNF thought, my only goal this race (besides finishing) is to be turning the corner of Boylston with a huge smile on my face!!! I will miss seeing my parents at the finish this year for sure but next year’s race in Boston will be even more exciting and hopefully my body will be back to 100% (or close to!).

Here is short photo recap of my "day one" at the Boston Marathon Expo...

Picking up my race bib!

Obligatory cheesy pre-race photo

We always have to make a stop at Team Hoyt. Great seeing you, Dick Hoyt! (Can you believe he is 76 years "young" and still is competing with Rick?! They will forever will be an inspiration to us!)