Boston Marathon Weekend “Race-Vacation”
This past weekend marks the longest time I have spent in Boston! I was there from Friday through Wednesday, highlighted by all the touristy stops, the B.A.A. 5km on Saturday, over 180 miles of cycling over 4 days, and, of course, spectating the 120th edition of the Boston Marathon.
Friday was very relaxing. I picked up Christina from Logan airport in the morning, then we spent the rest of the day checking out the sights and sounds of Boston. We did an easy 4 mile run and checked out the marathon expo. In the evening, we met up with Karen and Sean for Regina’s Pizza in Allston. It was great to catch up with them!
On Saturday, we walked from the hotel to Boston Commons for the B.A.A. 5km. The 2.5 mile walk took us just under 40 minutes. I’ve never warmed up for a 5km by walking 2.5 miles, but you know what they say…”always try something new on race day!”
[If you follow me on Instagram, you might remember my collision with a car on March 31st – the event left me with abrasions, bruises and a very tender right LCL. I went from running 50 miles a week to virtually 0 for two weeks. A few days before the 5km, the knee pain had subsided, giving me hope that I can restart running again. But was racing a 5km a good idea?]
In short, the 5km went well with a finish time of 17:31. That put me 96th overall in a field filled with a lot of fast professional runners.
We spent the rest of Saturday doing touristy things, checked out Quincy Market, went to the Sam Adams brewery tour and eventually had dinner at Stephanie’s on Newbury.
On Sunday, I woke up super early and headed out for a 3 hour bike ride out to Dover. Saw some turkeys on my way out and then some more on my way back to Boston. The ride got pretty chilly in Dover, with temps dipping down to 27 degrees. I was back at the hotel before 8am for a quick shakeout run with Christina. Good thing she was having breakfast so I had a generous window of time to shower and prep for the run.
Later that day, we did more touristy things – checked out Quincy Market a couple times, visited the New England Aquarium, and walked along the Freedom Trail.
Marathon Monday!
We got up nice and early and was out of the hotel by 6:30. We got shuttled to Boston Commons where we met up with Team Chocolate Milk teammates Dougin and Jill. They all got on the cheese buses around 7:30…so that left me with 4+ hours to kill before I could spectate the race.
I jogged back to the hotel – a quick 2.5 miles from the Commons. I got on the bike and did a quick 47 mile ride out to Concord. I had a route planned for 50 miles but once I got to Concord, there was a parade going down one of the main streets so I had to take some side roads to avoid the crowds. In the end, I still got some good sweet spot efforts on the bike and was back at the hotel before 11am.
I spent the rest of the day spectating and tracking the marathoners. It was an unusually warm day so everyone that I was tracking had faded on the latter part of the marathon (which allowed me more time to cheer along the course). Karen and I met up and cheered at Coolidge Corner. Christina was wearing a pink hat so that was the item to spot. And to our surprise, there were a lot of pink hats! Nonetheless, Christina passed Coolidge Corner (mile ~24) and looked strong. Later on we met up at the finish and had dinner & post-dinner night caps with Dougin, Jill and Christina’s parents.
All in all, I had a very enjoyable and relaxing time in Boston and Cambridge. I got to spend some quality to friends and experience the glory of the 120th running of the Boston Marathon. I look forward to running the 121st Boston Marathon next year!
Go Karen Go!
