Training Log Archive: Bash

Heading home!

'Bent just posted his Boston marathon report including photos he took while racing.
http://www.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_921/pe...

Boston Marathon - awake at 5 a.m., then a busy day of running around Boston with J-Ro, trying to be good spectators. My throat is sore from cheering. There were all kinds of runners - some had written their names in big letters on their shirts, some were covered in Canadian flags, some were grandparents, some were raising money for charity, some had disabilities, some were in costume, some were filming us as we cheered for them... it was never boring and often inspiring. (Not that it made me any more interested in doing another marathon on pavement!)







At 16 miles, the leading men were going faster than I could run a 100 meter sprint. J-Ro and I arrived just in time to see the lead women go by, but not fast enough to get a photo.



J-Ro's Dad kept us informed of our husbands' location via text messaging. We were happy to hear they had been together at the halfway point because we figured they would talk sense into one another regarding the pace. They ran with Harper Forbes for awhile too (photo taken by 'Bent on the run).



By 16 miles, Superwes wasn't feeling as good, so it was 'Bent who came by first. My camera had gone into power saver mode, so I scrambled to restart it, and unfortunately (from a photographer's perspective) he came running over to say hi - and thus he is blurry. Sad to say, this is the best photo I got of 'Bent, but I got lots of great photos of people I don't know - and of Superwes, fortunately. Thank heavens for Marathonfoto.com!





After the boys went by, we jumped back on the subway and made our way to Kenmore station where we found a great spot below the Citgo sign at the "1 mile to go" point. This is what the runners would see there.



Some passing runners were ecstatic, high-fiving the spectators. Others were in horrible pain, walking with straight legs and tortured faces. Everyone we saw was near the front of the pack, so I can only imagine what it must have been like further back, but I expect there were even more people who were hysterically happy - and even more people in pain.

J-Ro's Dad texted us when 'Bent passed the 40K point. His fastest pace was in the 5K after Heartbreak Hill. (BTW, none of our first-time runners even recognized the hill until they were over it - it's just a small bump to an adventure runner.) Although we both looked hard for 'Bent, we didn't see him - and we didn't think we could have missed him. So when Superwes ran by looking OK (albeit not zippy) and tapped his abdomen, we wondered if he was trying to tell us that 'Bent was having stomach trouble. For a couple of moments I worried, wondering what could have been so bad that 'Bent would stop within 2K of the finish. But then J-Ro's Dad told us that 'Bent had already finished with a time of 3:17:58. He didn't achieve his goal of a Personal Worst Marathon, and he took about 20 photos too! (I'm leaving most of them for his log entry.) Woo hoo!!!!

It isn't easy to walk around downtown Boston near the finish line. There are almost 30,000 racers and their families and friends. And lots and lots of barricades.



It wasn't the race Superwes had wanted, but he was happy to have one of the beautiful finisher's medals.



'Bent and Crash were pleased with their results. Crash set a PB for Boston with a smokin' 3:42. 'Bent was aiming for 3:20 and did a little better. Looking at the results, his pace was consistent throughout the race - which can be partly attributed to Superwes keeping them steady in the first half of the race. I'm wondering if 'Bent's long layoff from running actually helped - maybe his body arrived at this race less battered than it usually is during running season, but still in good shape from skiing.



Rocky was dwarfed by her husband's coat - it was chilly! At 4:02, she had a good race - and took a bunch of photos too.



Back at our hotel, the boys went through their post-race rituals.





And then, of course, more seafood!! I think this will be our one and only trip to the Boston Marathon, but I'm sure we'll be back to Boston. I'm not much of a city person, but I like this city.

Woke up to a beautiful morning and walked through the Boston Common. Superwes and 'Bent did a LOT of walking today. If I were doing a marathon tomorrow, I would have been more of a wimp.





I didn't realize it until I saw this photo, but Superwes is married to Sarah Jessica Parker!



'Bent and I did some Tree Hugging.



MyNextRace.com put on a Team Canada breakfast where we met up with Crash, Rocky and their family and friends.



I made some new American friends.



We went to see the finish area, and there was a buzz of excitement and activity - even today.



We ran into Harper Forbes at the race number pick-up. He and 'Bent are starting in the same corral.



Race shirts are nice - long-sleeved tech shirts.



We spent a couple of hours at the busy race expo.



There was some nice race clothing, but I didn't feel right buying it if I wasn't running, and 'Bent just isn't a very good shopper! Superwes bought a jacket, as did Rocky.



Then we went to Starbucks to spend some enjoyable time with my university friend and grad school housemate, Pete, who lives in Boston. I had a chance to come down the road and cross the finish line. For me, that'll be a "once in a lifetime" occurrence!



After another too-large dinner, the runners are ready to use gravity to their advantage in the downhill sections tomorrow. J-Ro and I will be learning the public transit system and tracking down our husbands (if we navigate well). I wouldn't want to attempt to drive a car around here.

Good luck to all!

Long travel day! We picked up Superwes and J-Ro in Oakville, then drove the Bullfrog van through New York and Massachusetts to Boston. It was about 12 hrs from our place - and about a million toll booths.



For future reference, if you cross the border with British-born Superwes, you can expect to be pulled aside by U.S. Immigration officials and subjected to more intensive questioning. Luckily there were no body cavity searches this time.



The landscape got nicer as the drive went on. It looks like 'Bent and Superwes will be running through some pretty scenery. We're staying in the Beacon Hill neighbourhood of Boston, and we like it so far. It feels almost European in places.



Best of all, we've already accomplished our major goal at Boston. Not that we could finish all that! (Although 'Bent gave it his best attempt.)



More pre-marathon exploration coming up tomorrow.