Boston 2010 Here I Come!

I did it.

Official finish time, 3 hours 39 minutes 43 seconds, 8:23/mile.

Words cannot describe hearing Chris hollering at me at mile 26 to "PICK IT UP, IT'S GONNA BE CLOSE, YOU'RE GONNA NEED TO MOVE". Then spotting Ma & Pa and hearing Dad yell, "YOU CAN DO THISSSSSSSSSS". I could see it on their faces, I was gonna have to GO. Finally at the last few steps I even heard Chris' "Aunt" Katie yell, "GO ERIN GO!".

It's amazing what words and sounds mean when you are spent and have nothing left. Even the look on a familiar face is enough sometimes. I kept remembering Seattle, getting ready to turn the corner and seeing Bubba in his red coat and knowing I was ALMOST there. Those moments of pain, joy, exhaustion, pride, pain, pain, pain (hehehehe) are forever forged into strong memories.

I am so thankful that they were all there at the end. Chris pushed me and even tromped along in his rain boots for several hundred feet pushing me to "STEP IT UP, GET ON IT!". Had he not, I am not sure I would've been able to push so hard at the end. According to the Garmin I was still able to muster out 7:07/mile for the last sprint.

What a run it was. It rained from start to finish with a relatively mild wind. According to my watch I pushed 8:18/mile nearly the whole race. However, you do end up running over 26.2, so at the end I was off a bit. I feel I did well with replenishing, ended up using 2 clif shots, 11 jelly beans (well 8 actually, I dropped 2), and 3 pieces of gum with very small water sips at mile 18 and 22.

Here I am at Mile 16. I was talking to Dad, "See you at the finish line!"

I think the look on my face was likely because just as he took this picture (at ~Mile 26) Chris started in telling me, "GET MOVING!!!!!!!!!!"

Gotta ♥ the blood on my shirt.....another post on that to come......