KristenBegins...

My quads still haven't recovered from what I put them through on Saturday. But alas, I write this having crossed the finish line... uninjured!

The morning started with a cold, light drizzle which would have made for a miserable run had it lasted all 2 hours. Luckily it didn't. I decided to try and start a little closer to the front since I knew I would quickly fall to the end of the pack in no time. It was my brief moment of being at the front. The crowd seemed smaller than last year and as I looked around it seemed like everyone there were "runners" - a word I do not call myself. My legs felt funny when I started and all the self doubts that should not run through your head when starting a race were screaming at me. After mile one I looked down and had logged a 9:45 mile. OMG, did I really run that fast? Now, many "runners" would laugh at this time, but for me, this was like lightening speed. I am a slow runner. Let me repeat... a sllllooooowwww runner. When I run an 11 minute mile that is a good day. Usually, I keep it around 11:30 (Ya know, for modesty sake). So you can imagine my disbelief when it was almost 2 minutes faster than my norm. I kept telling myself I needed to slow down. Everyone says to run your first few miles slower than normal, but with people coming up on my left and right, I couldn't make myself slow down to my normal pace.

So this is what I ended up logging for the next 13 miles:
Mile 2 - 9:52
Mile 3 - 10:08
Mile 4 - 10:13
Mile 5 - 10:37
Mile 6 - 10:25
Mile 7 - 10:50
Mile 8 - 10:36
Mile 9 - 11:19
Mile 10 -10:56
Mile 11 -11:12
Mile 12 - 11:42
Mile 13 - anywhere from 12:45 - 13:17. I am not sure at what point I hit my watch. As you can tell, I was struggling at that point.

I had hoped to beat my time from last year but ended up being about a minute short. By mile 10 I was so friggin tired that I didn't care how long it took me. I cursed every hill I had to go up and had conversations in my head where I contemplated if it'd be weird to ask other runners if I could pace with them just so I could have someone to talk to and keep my mind off the last 3 miles. I didn't walk up until mile 10 except to get water but I had to implement a run/walk strategy to get through the end. I need to practice that more because I think I struggled to get going every time I resumed running.

It was so nice to see my little cheering section as I approached the finish line. I worried about them having to sit there for the 2 hours and 20 minutes it took me, but it really is nice to have people waiting there for you when you are done. Especially running in a small town like Boston where the crowds are slim and ending is a little anti-climatic.

Matt took some pics of me running as well as the built up salt on my face afterwards but I think I'll save you all the disgust by not posting those. You know I like me some pictures, but every girl has her limits. Although I must say, my paparazzo skills are rubbing off on him well.

So the final time was 2:20 and something seconds. And I wasn't last. Or even close to it.