BAASTON EPIC LENGTH

(BAA= Boston Athletic Association, get it? heehee!)

Wow. I cannot believe it has been almost 2 weeks since the race. We had such an amazing time, and it was a very memorable experience.

SATURDAY APRIL 18TH

We left Phoenix on at 11:00, of course we were at the airport 2 hours early. (I am very type A about those types of things) Our friends Jason and Sharon were with us and a gal I know from Roadracers was also on our flight. (I almost didn't recognize her in civilian clothes!) Yes, I was wearing my bright blue jacket on the flight!

We got into Boston at 9:30pm and went to our hotel- Embassy Suites Logan. The hotel was great! After we were settled, we decided that the 4 of us would walk around the neighborhood at 11pm to find food. Probably not a good idea as you may know that airport neighborhoods are not known for being the best areas. When we saw it in daylight the next day, we were really thankful that we were safe! We ate at this old dingy place that apparently is favored by the likes of Jay Leno, Seinfeld, and other celebrity Boston visitors. Really good Pizza. Santarpios

SUNDAY APRIL 19TH
We woke up pretty early Sunday morning, I got 2 miles on the treadmill in, and we enjoyed the fabulous free breakfast. I was making sure to eat a ton of carbs!
We went to the expo to pick up our race bibs, goodie bags, and to SHOP! It was SO fun! I purchased a "Lepracorn" shirt, hat, engraved charm (Should be here in 2 weeks), and a pair of bright blue running shorts! We also watched a movie that they had showing the race course and giving tips. I of course got teary-eyed. It was so cool! I got some free swag too- a Boston Marathon Bumper Sticker, a poster with every runner's name hidden in the picture, and a SUPER bright yellow tech shirt. It almost glows in the dark, I kid you not!
Expo!


Me with my bib!

Me and my running faves- Kara and Ryan.



We ate lunch in downtown Boston at Joe's where our waiter actually was in Jason's graduating class here in AZ! Small world. I of course got my favorite food, PANCAKES!
This is a pic of the BAA flags being flown at a church!


After lunch we went back to our hotel and met my parents. I was so excited to see them and was so happy they were able to come out! We chilled at the hotel the rest of the night, I packed my check-in race bag and set all of my things out for the morning. I attached my running angel pin to my shorts and checked my black nail polish. As many of you know, I hate painting my nails. Chemicals creep me out. But I bit the bullet and did this to remind me to stay tough! I also obsessively watched the weather and it was NOT looking good. Windy and high of 46 degrees. yay. I took a shower and then read in bed and TRIED to get some sleep. I was so nervous and excited, I probably slept 4 hours that night!

MONDAY APRIL 20TH
PRE-RACE
I woke up at 4:30am ready to go! Made my coffee, ate my 2 packets of plain oatmeal with honey, drank my glass of water, then a glass of gatorade and got dressed.



On top of my running clothes, I had on throw away warmies and I looked like a snowrunner. We hired a car to take us to the buses in downtown Boston as we were not sure how long the Train would take. Matt, Jason, and I arrived at the buses at 6am.

Jason and I boarded the bus and were on our way to Hopkinton. This is where that start line is. It was a nice 90 minute drive, luckily I made myself stop drinking 30 minutes before or it could have been a very uncomfortable ride.

We got to Hopkinton, found a place under a tent in the athletes village (shoulder to shoulder room!) and took turns standing in line for the port-o-potties. We put garbage bags on to help stay warm and tried to eat a little bit of power bar. It was SO COLD. My puny Arizona blood was in shock. My stomach started to get really nervous too. I met some of my AZ Roadracer friends in the tent and at 9:00, we got ready to head for the corrals.
The energy in the village (really just a large open tent) was amazing. So much nervousness and just overall a "let's go!" feeling. Runners sure are nice people. Everyone was so supportive of each other.

RACETIME
Jason headed off to his corral- corral #1, he is speedy. My friend Terri and I were in the same corral and were planning to run together so we went to visit the port-o's one last time and got to our corral #13. We shed our warmies and just waited to start. It was so chilly! The wind was starting to pick up too. My plan was at first to try for 7:30's, but then I decided to just enjoy the race. Looking back, the first 10 miles were so crowded, 7:30's would have been an effort. I kind of wish I would have tried it, but EVERYTHING written about the race and EVERYONE who has ever run it says to go slow the first 10 miles or you will burn out at the hills. Who knows, maybe that is what kept me from not collapsing!(FYI, this is the first full marathon I have not walked in!)LOL!

So here are my splits, I will try to comment as I go, I tried to enjoy the scenery, but I had to keep looking forward as not to trip on anyone! I also dedicated each mile to someone/something to keep me motivated. I really took out a piece of paper from my pocket at every mile. People probably thought I was so weird!(Some are personal so I did not list all of them)I told myself I would not walk in anyone's mile.

Miles 1-4: 7:58, 7:35, 7:32, 7:31- This part of the race was so crowded. By mile 3 I had tossed my gloves, taken of my arm warmies and tied them to my top, and put my earband in my pocket. For the record, they say that this part is mainly downhill. I disagree. The entire race was rolling hills. Thank the Sweet Lord for South Mountain. The crowd is 4-5 people deep, it stays this way the entire race. Amazing.

Miles 5-10: 7:48, 7:36, 7:43, 7:46, 7:49, 7:50- Mile 6 dedicated to my first grade family at Wildfire, Mile 7 dedicated to Matt's family (I thought about all of you!), Mile 8 dedicated to Matt's Grandma, Mile 9 dedicated to my friend Alissa and all of my other inspiring running friends at ARR and Dailymile.com, mile 10 dedicated to my Grandma Elsi.
Got really bad stomach cramps but ran through it. I think nerves, being so excited contributed to this. I honestly did not think I was going to finish for a while there.I tried to get a drink at every other aid station. No easy task. It is amazing how people will just stop right in front of you instead of moving to the side. Yikes. Terri and I still stayed together. She was carrying a waterbottle. I chucked mine back at mile 4. I love throwing things while running!

Miles 11-16 7:51, 7:47, 7:59, 7:56, 8:01, 7:49, Mile dedicated to my Tank dog- entering Wellesley, he loves the ladies. I had heard that you can hear Wellesley a mile away. I didn't believe it. But you sure can. I got goosebumps, you just hear this roar. It is truly unbelievable. I got teary eyed and gave out high-5's! Mile 13 to Buddy, Mile 16- To my Latvian heritage and the amazing experience I had there over the summer. (I got really choked up here) As I began mile 16, I knew that it would only be a 1/2 mile to the Newton Hills. I started to prepare myself mentally. They say at Boston, you are not half done at mile 13.1, but at mile 20. That is how tough those last 6 miles are.

Miles 17-21- NEWTON HILLS
8:03, 7:54, 7:56, 8:05, 8:23
Mile 17 dedicated to My Grandma and Grandpa P., Mile 18 to My Grandpa Z, Mile 19 to Aunt Denice, Uncle Rudy, Sam, Mile 20 to Shannon and Mike, Mile 21 to the love of my life, Matt

So, they tell you there are 4 hills. No, no. There are 5 my friends. 5 big ones. I thought I was up and over heartbreak and was surprised because there were not any signs or hullabaloo. Well, that is because after that hill, heartbreak was blaring right into my face. The nickname "Heartbreak Hill" originated with an event in the 1936 race. On this stretch, defending champion John A. Kelley caught race leader Ellison "Tarzan" Brown, giving Brown a consolatory pat on the shoulder as he passed. His competitive drive apparently stoked by this gesture, Tarzan Brown rallied, pulled away from Kelley, and went on to win—in the words of Boston Globe reporter Jerry Nason, "breaking Kelley's heart." People were dropping like flies. I have never seen so many anguished runners before! I "brought it to my arms" and powered up. I thought about Matt and how much he has given me to be able to run this and I pulled through. Many say that the next miles are tough because you have a steep downhill followed by some short little hills to the finish. I have decided that my legs like downhills. I did not get the "icepick" feeling Amby Burfoot talks about. I liken myself to Boston Bill Rodgers- we are kindred spirits in downhill running!

Mile 22-26.2 HOMESTRETCH
7:50, 8:11, 8:22, 8:01, 7:48, 6:52 (How is that for some kick?)
Mile 22 to Lukas, Mile 23 to Marisa, Mile 24 to the best Mom in the world, Mile 25 to the best dad in the world, Mile 26-Matt, .2 GOD!!!(The Big Man knows he was a main thought throughout the entire race, I was so thankful to be running)
The headwind started to pick up at mile 15 and was very strong and cold through these miles. The crowd was unreal. I saw my mom and dad as I turned the corner to do the last .2 to the finish line. I immediately started to cry! I looked at my watch- I was going to break 3:30!!! I pretty much gave it all I had and sprinted to the end! (Many say that is a sign that you didn't push your hardest throughout the race. hmm...)
It was amazing.

MY OFFICIAL TIME 3:28:09 A PR FOR ME ON THE HARDEST COURSE OF THE TOP 5 MARATHONS!
OVERALL PLACE 6,691 OUT OF 22,849 (I'll take that!)
GENDER PLACE 1013 OUT OF 9302
AGE GROUP PLACE 827 OUT OF 5023


POSTRACE
As in during the race, many people cross the finish line and just STOP. I had to push through so many people to get through. My legs seized for a minute, but I walked it off and they were fine. I took off my own chip, got my food bag and mylar blanket, and headed to get my medal. By this time I was a shivering mess. I was so, so cold. I went to find my bus to get my check bag and found out that I walked in the complete wrong direction. I was so cold, the wind was whipping my blanket around, people were everywhere, and I just started crying. Luckily a Boston Marathon volunteer pointed me in the right direction. I must have looked bad, she asked me if I was sure I was ok!
I finally got to my bag that had my phone in it and called Matt. We met at the family meeting area, I was so happy to see him! He then informed me that my lips were bright blue! No wonder that woman asked if I was ok! My parents were on their way with some clothes for me, so in the meantime, I had Matt's jacket on. They got there a few minutes later and it was so awesome seeing them. I am so, so, happy they came! My mom told me that she has never seen me shiver so much. It took me about 2 hours and 2 beers to get that chill out!



We met Sharon and Jason (He ran a 2:58 and it was an off day for him. Geez!) for a post-race lunch at Legal Seafoods.


Then we went to an Irish pub where many a marathoner was celebrating. It was so neat! We ended the night at Cheers. We made some new friends and definitely celebrated. Perhaps a tad too much...

We had so much fun! Totally worth the headache!!



Sharon and I.. celebrating!!


My legs hurt way less after this marathon than after any others. I think all of the walking around we did in the following days really helped.

The race was amazing. The whole city is so supportive and genuinly interested in your race story. If you run, my suggestion is to make Boston a goal at some point in your life. It is hands-down the neatest running experience I have ever had.

Next up- San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon May 31!

Runningly yours,
Ariana

p.s. If you are still reading this, you rock! (and have a ton of patience!) We will put up our non-running related Boston pics next week.
p.p.s. I will also post a few more marathon pics without long winded commentary soon!