2010 Boston Marathon Race Report

3:38:30

Karen Wood

Wow, from start to finish this was truly a unique marathon experience for me.  I’m usually very excited about training and competing however this year life just got in the way and training took a back seat.  My attitude towards training and running this race wasn’t really good, especially towards the end.  It was like one more burden to manage.  Before going too much further I have to say that the program I had, which was written by Cari Setzler, was great and had my head been in the game I would have been much more prepared for the race ahead.  I ran about 85 – 90% of my plan however I did nothing other than run – no strength training, no supplemental biking or swimming, etc…  It was the bare minimum for me this time around.  Heading out to Boston I found myself just wanting the race to be over; not a normal thought for me at all.  A few weeks back Coach Chris gave me a Bible verse that’s been a great help to me, Joshua 1:9 reads “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”  Thank you Coach Chris!  I’ve repeated that verse over and over these last week’s!

My husband was supposed to go with me but when his mom started having back troubles we decided it wouldn’t be fair to dump a set of busy 4 year olds on her and I was looking at the possibility of going out there alone.  Fortunately my good buddy, and fellow MSM’er, Trudy Wakeman came with me and I’m so thankful to her that she did.  Trudy is the ubberist of all ubber-fans and a terrific friend. 

The Monday before the race I was doing my final long run and was 2 miles from home when I started experiencing really sharp pains on the top of my left foot.  In addition to that I’d started out the run with pain in both heels (that had been going on for a few weeks actually) which was getting more intense as the miles clicked by.  The pain in my left foot was so bad that I contemplated stopping but I figured it was only 2 miles to home, couldn’t hurt me that much just to suck it up and finish out the run.  Right?  By Monday afternoon I could barely walk.  I got in to see my buddy Doug Cain (if you ever need a great Chiropractor he’s the guy!) who basically laughed at me when I told him I had a marathon to run in 7 days.  His diagnosis was Achilles tendonitis in my right foot, and flexor tendonitis and plantar fasciitis in my left foot.  Great! 

Throughout the week I saw Doug several times for ultrasound and acupuncture treatments.  By Thursday I was just limping. (That was actually big progress.)  I also got some cortisone patch treatments from Geoff Gentry (MSM’er) to help with the pain.  I tried a run on Saturday morning and felt every step.  I limped the rest of the day and at that point resigned myself to the fact that it could be an incredibly long day for me in Boston. Joshua 1:9, Joshua 1:9, Joshua 1:9…  I was prepared to walk if necessary and knowing that my race was pretty much shot I quit worrying about it and started to focus my prayers on some fellow runners that I knew would be out there. 

Race morning was cold but with the promise of warmer temps come start time.  I have to say that the late start for Boston is kind of hard to plan for from a nutritional sense.  The race doesn’t start until 10:00AM which for most of us is 2 hours past the normal start of a race.  Even with the late start you still have to be up by 5AM in order to be ready to catch the busses to Hopkinton  (26.2 miles away).  I was a little thrown by that having been looking forward to sleeping in.  I’ve also just realized that I don’t have any way of carrying my gels so I literally have to carry three of them in my hands throughout the race.  (Can you tell I didn’t do much homework preparing for the race?) 

I head to Boston Commons to catch one of the many school busses lined up to take us to Athlete Village.  While on the bus ride out there I got to meet a group of young men & women from the West Point Marathon team who were competing at Boston.  What a really neat group!  I spent the rest of the time on the bus reflecting on the past several months and asking God to bless this race for all those participating.  After about 45 minutes we arrived at Athlete Village which is set up in the clearing area behind a local school.  It was cold.  You could tell the veterans from the newbies as the veterans of the race had brought tarps, yoga mats or towels to sit on while waiting for the trek to the start.  The rest of us stood and shivered…  I ran into Matt from the West chapter of MSM and we chatted for awhile before the race.  I’d also connected with Kelly who is a friend of Laura Wrango’s and of course Peter Sexton my running buddie.

After about 30 minutes of shivering Peter, who had wisely paid for a seat on a tour bus out to Athlete Village, offered to sneak me aboard to wait out the remaining time till the start.  I eagerly agreed and off we went.  After the race Peter headed back with Trudy and I to our hotel for a hot shower since his hotel was quite far from the finish.  Worked out to be a good trade for both of us – his warm bus for our hot shower.    Soon it was time to head out so we took off our layers and packed up our gear bags to hand off to the volunteers to collect after the race. 

As we walked to the start and to our corrals I realized that I really had no emotion what-so-ever about the race, no butterflies, no excitement, not even dread.  I just had this attitude of “let’s get this done and over with”.  I said a quick prayer for my buddies and then the gun when off.   The first few miles were a constant struggle to maintain a relaxed and steady pace.  It’s downhill for the first 5 miles so add that to the typical adrenaline rush at the start and you’ve got a recipe for disaster later in the race!  I kept it comfortable and found my pace just under 8:00 minute/miles. 

The first thing I noticed was that as far as I could see ahead of me there was this sea of heads running.  This is the largest race I’ve ever run (26,000 participants) and there was never a time that I looked up and didn’t see that sea of heads running before me.  That was really cool.  The second thing I noticed was that the crowds were amazing.  Except for IronMan I’ve never seen crowds like this at a race.  Honestly there wasn’t one part of that race that wasn’t lined with cheering fans.  It was incredible!  Although the race seemed to be dragging along I was actually having fun with the crowds.  I high-fived every kid that I passed, stopping even to slap hands with the toddlers and eventually I’d noticed that the kids were counting the number of runners who high-fived them so I made it a point to get every kids hand I could.  That was a lot of fun.  I played with the crowd, cheering back at them when they cheered for me and encouraging the quieter sections to make some noise.  (Note to any runners out there about this; don’t do that if you’re actually racing the marathon, it takes a surprising amount of energy and many times I found myself pretty winded after an especially exuberant stretch of fans.  Lots of fun though I’ll tell you that!)  I’m getting my head into the race and my empty feeling is being replaced by joy.    

I’d settled into a nice easy pace and although I felt each step throughout my feet it was bearable and I was happy to be there.  A couple great songs played constantly in my head – Your Grace is Enough and Oh God you are my God.  Such a great blessing to be able to praise God in any situation!  Ahead of me there was a girl in red who had written “For the Glory of GOD” on the back of her top.  What a great reminder that the whole reason I do this is to bring Him glory and praise.  I caught up to her and thanked her for the message then asked that God would use me in some way today to bless another. 

About this time we were heading into Wellesley.  If you’re not familiar with the Boston course Wellesley is where the women’s college is located.  The men have been looking forward to this spot since they qualified!  I still cannot believe that someone didn’t fall during this stretch.  I kid you not men were tripping over each other to get to the sidelines to kiss the co-eds!  Hilarious!  Now we are just past the half-way point.  It’s still a lot of fun and I really feel more like I’m playing than running a marathon. 

Shortly after the half-way point I started to get really sharp pains in my left foot.  It wasn’t bad enough to stop me from running but I knew it was coming.  I’d hoped to make it to 20 miles before I had to walk but after several very intense jolts of pain I realized it was time.  I’d made it just over 15 miles.  I was a little disappointed, worrying that this run could now take many extra hours.  I heard someone shout out from the sides that I was still smiling - even with this disappointment I was feeling and the pain I was in I was still smiling and still thanking God for this really incredible experience.  I passed Mark Dzuiban and stopped to talk to him for a minute.  He was the only familiar face I’d seen on the side-lines and although I don’t know him well his smile and encouragement were a blessing to me.  Thanks Mark!

I’m coming up on mile 16 now and just limping along when out of the blue I had this clear thought and I prayed, “God, I know you carry the weight of my sins, would you carry this pain for me for a little while?”  Not long after that I began to run again and as long as I kept my left foot flexed throughout my stride I was okay. I looked a bit weird but who cares right, I was running Boston!  About a half mile after that I felt like I could run a normal stride so I tried it out and very quickly was right back at my pace.   What a boost to my spirit!  More prayers for my friends out there that they were having the race of their lives. 

I was able to run for a few more miles before I had to walk again.  This is how I finished the remainder of the race – running, limping, running funny…  My quads are starting to really talk to me at this point and I now understand what everyone means when they say “watch out for those early hills!”  Heartbreak Hill comes and goes and I can’t believe that I’ve climbed it.  Seriously though, it’s not that big!  I think it must be the placement that has everyone up in arms.  I didn’t even know I was on it until someone told me and at that point I was ¾ of the way to the top.  Looking back it could have been the crowds that carried me up that hill but my impression is that it’s not so bad at all.  Unfortunately I missed Trudy, she was somewhere on Heartbreak Hill.  We didn’t coordinate what side of the road she’d be on, etc…  In hind-site that was a little naive on my part – I just figured I’d see her.  I didn’t expect the crowds to be 4+ people deep along the course.  Again, the fans were awesome!  Just after this a man in front of me fell so I stopped to help him up and make sure he was okay.  My attitude really was just to have fun on the course – my time had no meaning to me.  That was another miracle from God – I never, never, feel this way :  )

Boston College is another area that’s just crazy with cheering fans and what a good place for them!   Lots more hand slapping and arm waving and playing with the folks out there.  I’m getting pretty tired by this point and the continued downhill after Heartbreak Hill is raking havoc on my quads and my foot.  I had to spend some time walking here – the downhill was the worst part for my feet so I’m afraid the last 6 miles or so are a bit of a blur of pain… 

 The whole course is neat because you run through all these different towns and there is so much character in each of them but, running into the city and seeing it spreading out before you is really a site to see.  That might have been my favorite view of the entire race.  The crowds are getting louder and more excited and so am I.  I actually ran the entire last two miles of the race and as I looked down at my watch I couldn’t believe that I was going to re-qualify for next year’s race.  Wow!  Even though I didn’t put my heat into training this year I obviously had a good plan to follow and I have Cari Stezler to thank for that.   Above that however what a testament to the power of God and the strength He gives us. 

After finishing the race, getting my medal, some food and my clothes bag the wheels started to fall off.  I was struggling to walk and every step was painful.  I was several blocks from my hotel and I honestly had to stop and think about how I was going to step up to get onto the curbs when I’d cross the street.  It was, I admit, pretty funny to watch.  Just ask Peter Sexton who thought it so funny he took a picture of me going down a flight of stairs backwards yelping with each step! 

For as much as training for this race just felt like a burden and I actually just wasn’t excited to be out there I honestly had a blast and am so glad that I was blessed with the opportunity to be there.  Boston is an experience like no other!  I’m not sure I’ll be making the trip there again next year but I definitely will plan to go back and run it again.