Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Boston's Run to Remember Half Recap

Well as I was writing this post in my head during the race on Sunday, I thought of possible titles like "The Race of Technical Difficulties" or "The Race Least Prepared For" but as the race unfolded....I'm now thinking of titles like "Nancy Got Her Groove Back" or "Movin Momma"!

I got to Jill's house the night before and quickly realized that I in no way brought enough to wear for the race the next day!  It was not only friggin freezing but it was rainy and windy too!  Here was what I had brought for race day...
AMR Boston shirt, Under Armour capris and headband, and running skirt (Austin Powers is Jill's touch!)
Yeah I immediately started digging for more clothes and a hat!!!  I ended up with this...
Under Armour hat, Saucony jacket, Under Armour capris, running skirt, and Kinvara 4
The jacket was just a bit too tight (and it proceeded to ride up the whole race) and the water bottle that I had bought the night before (I couldn't find my Nathan water bottle at home) leaked the entire race and into my phone thus killing my music at about mile 8!  Either way I was warm enough and ready to run!

The race was dedicated to Officer Sean Collier, the MIT police officer who was killed by the marathon bombers, and everyone wore his badge number on their backs.
It was one of the many things that gave me goosebumps during the race!!!  A powerful reminder when I was ready to quit, to run for those who no longer could!  Pre-race there was a ceremony where many spoke on behalf of the Boston Police Department, Officer Ed Davis, and a man on behalf of the Collier family...about Sean and what an impressive person he was.
And then we were off!  The first three miles there were A LOT of people so finding a pace was hard.  There was stopping and starting...weaving...and keeping up with the crowd.  After three miles and consistent 9:10 min mile pace I motioned to Jill that I would probably need to slow down....and then I didn't!  There was so much going on all around us as we ran through the city that I was focused on everything around me...cheering as the T went by...finding friends and Jill's brother amongst other runners...whooping it up in the tunnels.  I was having a great race and no matter how much my mind continued to tell my legs to slow down knowing I would hit the wall and the wheels would fall off....they were choosing not to listen!  One of the most amazing sights was around MIT where there were about 25 police officers who had lined up their cars in the road and were standing and high fiving all the runners....It was a scene that caused not only goose bumps but tears...for what they have seen...for who they have lost!
Around mile 8 my phone stopped playing my playlist...ugh!  I expected the wheels to fall off...for the wall to come...but it didn't.  Mile 8 beeped and it showed 9:02...umm ok!  The next 4 miles I took one at a time.  Each time my Garmin chirped and I saw 8:45 or 8:32 or 8:27 I thought, "Well...let's try to do that again!"  It got hard but I was so close so I kept on pushing!  There was a woman in front of me cheering "Let's go Boston!" and getting the crowd excited!  I kept pushing and pushing and as 13 chirped in my pace was showing 7:46!!!  Huh???  I was elated with what I thought was a 10 minute faster race than March but after looking up my time on the website I realized I had a 12 minute faster finish!!!
2:02:59
Oh yeah!!!  Maybe it was the rain...the poorly prepped day...the atmosphere...whatever I feel proud of how far I have come and excited for what's to come!!!  Just closer to my goal!!


24 comments:

  1. What a great race experience! I love the officer's badge number on the bib! Reading this makes me want to go for a run :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Way to go Nancy!! I love the title "Nancy Got Her Groove Back" ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congrats! So awesome when you surprise yourself like that. What a great day for you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congrats to you. I love days where everything seems to go wrong but somehow your running goes right.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Awesome awesome!!! I just ran a 2:02 as well anytime u r up from the cape come run! U doing Falmouth?

    ReplyDelete
  6. So awesome!!! What a great race cause to have such a super run at!
    And, definitely go with Nancy got her groove back!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just amazing Nancy!! Congrats on a great, great run!

    ReplyDelete
  8. wooo-hoooo!!!!! You are amazing, Nancy! Definitely got your groove back on that course. I got chills reading it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great job, Nancy! I was so happy to be spectating and everyone was in such good spirits despite the freezing cold weather. The whole day was moving, I wish I could've seen the officers at MIT, I heard it was a beautiful sight.

    ReplyDelete
  10. You totally rocked that race!!! Isn't it great when the unexpected happens and it is a good thing?

    ReplyDelete
  11. So awesome! I'm working on my recap now. Such a great race - good job and congrats to you! You rocked it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Congratulations!! You took care of business!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I was there! 4 years ago, after being over 300 pounds for most of my life, I changed my life. Lost 110 and became a runner at age 54. Now, at 58, I have run a race in 15 states thanks to this wonderful Run to Remember. My time is not nearly as good as yours but I did a PR at 2:30:58. I loved the race and I love Boston. @eddierobbins, Cumming, Georgia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eddie that is awesome!!! Thank you for sharing your story!

      Delete
  14. 12 minutes, WOW!!!!! way to go!! I hate showing up for a race and finding the weather to be different than what i planned for...mostly because being cold makes me angry, ha!!!

    Congrats!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. What an awesome race recap! YOu should be so proud of yourself. I've never run this race and have always wanted to, perhaps next year for me. BOSTON STRONG BABY!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Fantastic job! and great pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  17. What an amazing experience! Congratulations on the awesome PR as well!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great job! Just a couple more minutes next time and you've got it!

    ReplyDelete