Mental mile markers

In preparation for the big day, Coach Rick advised the Marathon Coalition to mentally break the course down into manageable segments. He focuses first on miles 0-6 to get into the groove, then miles 6-16 he picks up the pace. Miles 16-21 are, "where you realize what kind of day you're going to have." Miles 21-26 are relatively downhill and, as I'm now finding, indescribable.

As a Boston resident, I was lucky enough to have family and friends positioned throughout the course to cheer me on at key points. Going into the race, I knew I could easily break the course down mentally simply based on which familiar face would be at which mile marker. What follows here is what got me mentally through each mile of the course last week.

If you would like to follow in real time to simulate this experience, simply allow ten minutes between each below mile marker. Not interested? Don't blame ya. If you can imagine a half a million different voices cheering you on throughout below mental journey, maybe you'll understand why the Boston Marathon is so addictive. Otherwise, you'll probably just think I'm crazy. But that's okay.

Mile 1: Entirely focused on not going out too quickly.

Mile 2: Still allowing all other runners to pass me as I feel like the slowest person in the pack.

Mile 3: Hugely amused by a trio of runners in front of me. One tee read, "Bill needs a date." Another read, "Bill needs a new job." The third read, "I'm Bill," and listed his phone number.

Mile 4: Relieved that Nora and I stuck to our goal pace; began to get excited to see family at mile 6.

Mile 5: Fan offers me beer from his Solo cup.

Mile 6: Spotted a large bouquet of purple and gold star balloons with a large cow! Stetson family! Whipped out one of three green cloth signs I made for the day to hold up for the crowd. This one read, "I love you Stetson fam!"

Mile 7: Pumped to be feeling good with already an hour of running under my belt. I actually don't want this experience or this day to ever end. But I recognize that at some point in this run, I will want it to end. Badly.

Mile 8: Heard, "Celebrate good times, come on!" and then ran by a line of a dozen trampolines with jumping and cheering kids. Awesome--but I hope they didn't jump for as long as I ran for. Yikes.

Mile 9: Still feelin' good. No aches yet. Broke out the Clif Shot Blocks for an energy boost.

Mile 10: Pumped that so many awesome students will benefit from this fundraising venture. (Thanks again to you, donors!)

Mile 11: So close to halfway there, but trying not to count down yet. Savoring every minute.

Mile 12: Pink Disney Princess balloon spotted! Jen hopped in to run for a minute to give us some of her palpable energy.

Mile 13: Wellesley scream tunnel. Spotted "Go Stets Go!" sign that my sister had a Wellesley undergrad make for me, via a facebook group. I <3 you, social media.

Mile 14: So close to seeing Coach Rick and Mr. Worrall, long-time Williams basketball fan. Feet starting to swell and hurt.

Mile 15: Coach Rick! He joins Nora and I for a few strides and a brief but powerful pep talk. "You've only got 2 miles to go before you're in single-digit miles remaining! Two and a half miles until you turn right onto Marathon Coalition home turf! You know the course." I give Coach Rick another green sign. "We love you, Coach Rick!"

Mile 16: Still pumped from Coach Rick's pep talk.

Mile 17: Nora's family! All donning t-shirts that read, "All the way with Nora J!"

Mile 18: Second Disney princess balloon spotting! Jen hops in again! Passed the Newton fire house already, landmark on many Saturday runs throughout the winter. Feeling at home as we crest the second of the Newton hills.

Mile 19: The calm before the storm. Feeling significantly better relative to previous longest training run at this point, though. What hills?

Mile 20: What is Heartbreak Hill? I know I'll make it. I've run this hill how many times since Thanksgiving?

Mile 21: Heartbreak Hill o-vah. It's all downhill from here, right? Oh right, except each mile now marks my farthest consecutive run in life. BC fans bring me from Chestnut Hill to Boston. "Megs! Megs! Megs!"

Mile 22: Interesting pains develop in my legs. Had never previously felt pain in these spots. Going to make it, though.

Mile 23: Holy crap! Only a half hour to go. Sydney in one mile. She tells me I won't be able to miss her. What am I about to witness?

Mile 24: Sydney and purple and gold balloon display, along with Swedish Fish and M&Ms (you rule) greet me in Coolidge Corner.

Mile 25: Chills running through my entire body. Boston like I've never seen it before. And holy crap I actually spot Suzanne, Sheryl, Karen, and Kathleen in Kenmore Square! Final green sign is brought out: "We love you Boston!" And we do. Wouldn't have made it this far without looking forward to seeing all of you. I spot a few, "No. We love YOU!" cheers from the crowd.

Mile 26: Sustaining said chills. This is awesome. Right on Hereford, left on Boylston. Home stretch. Family in finish line grandstands. Still coherent. Still functioning. Hi mom.

Mile 26.2: Ow. Not running hurts more than running. Hello, lactic acid! Cruel and unusual punishment that I am forced to walk all the way around Copley Square to get to the Westin for our team gathering. Pain is real, people. Pain is real.

But would I do it again? Absolutely.

Boston is abuzz!

I live in a part of Boston called Jamaica Plain, which is about two miles south of the center of the city where the marathon finish line is. I love JP because it has a lot of green space and doesn't necessarily feel like it's part of a city. My daily routine involves nothing outside of JP, since I can walk to work and the gym I belong to is in between my apartment and office. So, it can be kind of easy to forget that I live in Boston during my Mon-Fri routine.

Yesterday in JP, there was no mistake that I was in Boston, and that the marathon is on Monday. Green and black, the 2011 Boston Marathon colors, abounded! At the Stonybrook T station, about half of the people waiting for the next train had on an official marathon jacket. The other half were accompanying a runner who was wearing said jacket.

I got off the T at Back Bay and -- whoa! Crowds of people and a green and black explosion. I am officially a ball of nerves, excitement, and anticipation. Agh!

I have prepped this week by watching motivational movies chosen by you (The Mighty Ducks, Miracle, Rudy, and Remember the Titans), checking weather.com more than daily, chugging water, getting lots of sleep, and -- oh yeah -- following the final week's training schedule.

This weekend has already been action-packed and my parents and sister are in town to enjoy all of the festivities.

Yesterday, I went with two other Bottom Line runners and good friends -- Nora and Rebekah -- to pick up our bibs and check out the expo. After that, we all headed to the Marathon Coalition's pasta dinner. Today is a fantastic food day with the fam, and we'll scope out a spot for them to watch along the course.

Only 25 hours until I cross the start line!

The perfect anxiety release

Weather.com's 10-day forecast: a refreshing frenzy and the anxious marathon runner's dream.

(If the temps would stop rising, that would be lovely!)

Race to the finish!

Just $154 to reach my goal of raising $7,000 for Boston's students via Bottom Line.

If you haven't already donated, now is the time! Whoever puts me over $7,000 gets an extra-special high five next time I see them!

Time to vote: motivational movies

It is certainly largely due to the generosity of others that I have made it this far in marathon training (ahem ... and fundraising). From supporting me financially, emotionally, mentally, and even reading this blog, everyone has been amazing!

I have one final request from you all: I need help choosing a week's worth of motivational movies to ensure that I am properly pumped for the big day (just nine days away)!

Please choose what you think are the best five movies listed in the poll to the right. If I have left anything off of the list, leave it in a comment. Don't be shy!

In case you need some inspiration today, here are some words from the late Jim Valvano:

Hurrahs and blahs

We have finally entered the tapering stage of training. Hurray! Today we ran "just" 12 miles. (But, no, it was not really easy, sadly.) Next weekend is an 8-miler, and the following is a brief 2-miler to keep our legs fresh for Marathon Monday! Reaching this exciting point has led me to contemplate the ups, the downs, and the ups and downs of training thus far. Yes, tapering is still a very important time during training. But, most of the extreme aspects of training are in the past ... for now. I expect Marathon Monday to be an explosion of most things listed below.

Hurrah for:

• Everyone who donated to Bottom Line! (Or will still donate ...)
• Supportive family and friends
• Coach Rick
• Mike, Bottom Line's Director of Development who organizes all team functions AND is running for BL
• Swedish Fish and Twizzlers
• Soy Au Laits
• Peanut butter M&Ms, pretzels, and peanut butter M&Ms with pretzels
• Ice baths
• Spending Saturday afternoons in my bathrobe and LL Bean slippers
• Bread
• The stick (thank you, Jen)
• Party in the USA, Madonna, and Lady Gaga (please note selection of song-v-artist)
• Water stop volunteers
• Head-sized cookies
• Great preparation (by running along Heartbreak Hill every week)
• Feeling incredibly accomplished by 1pm every Saturday
• Spandex
• Sundays
• Ellipticals

Blah for:

• No-wine Fridays 
• Training along Heartbreak Hill every week
• The first 15 seconds of ice baths
• The first 30 minutes after finishing a long run and not knowing whether I am nauseous, starving, about to collapse, or any combination of the above
• My Saturday morning alarm
• Lifting my legs into the driver's seat of my car after a long run (solution: sit down first, then pick legs up with hands and place them on car floor)
• Inner voice during a long run that wonders if life can ever be lived the same again
• The week after our 21-miler
• Noted lack of ability to move laterally with any speed or strength (and not playing basketball since Thanksgiving)
• Boston's winter, 2010-2011
• That stupid curb that clipped Nora this morning
• Cheese fondue (not a suggested pre-run meal, despite inclusion of bread)
• Ellipticals

A marathon appetite

Yesterday, I burned over 2,000 calories by running 21 miles along the Boston Marathon course.

Don't get the wrong idea here--I am not running a marathon to lose weight. What a horrible, horrible endeavor that would be. My guess is that people who go into marathon training trying to lose weight often do one of two things: 1) Pass out, or 2) Quit.

However, after running a huge amount of miles and testing the limits of your body, it is certainly important to have an idea of how much energy you've spent and need to restore--which I could tell yesterday by the good old "when-I-stop-shaking" test. I reached that point after a muffin and banana, a rice and beans burrito, and a slice of pizza (literally a breakfast, a lunch, and a dinner). But, hey -- as coach Rick emphasizes each week, eating is an important aspect of recovery -- along with the ice baths, stretching, foam rollers, and rest.

Yesterday, the Marathon Coalition bused out to Hopkinton to run the first 21 miles of the course, though Heartbreak Hill and ending at the BC campus in Chestnut Hill. We were not alone--hundreds of other charity runners were there, too, and the run was moderated by police officers directing traffic, and volunteers handing out water (and pretzels and Twizzlers and Swedish Fish and M&Ms!) every 2-3 miles.

For me, this was the first run that I really, truly struggled with. Yes, the mileage in the teens was tough and certainly tested my limits. Logging week after week of high-mileage training has taken a toll on me, both mentally and physically, and I could feel my legs lock up at just mile four yesterday. Usually I only have to really push through on the last two or three miles of a long run. This time, that feeling lasted for 17.

But I made it and I did it and hopefully I can attribute the difficulty of the run to fatigue from the past few weeks of training.

And now I can focus on the finer things in life, like carbs and peanut butter and chocolate milk. Oh yeah, and tapering.