Race Report: Boston Marathon 2012
Here is a race report from Boston Marathon 2012. It's a bit late, considering it's 2013, but the blog didn't exist back then! My prayers go out to all of the victims and their families in the 2013 Boston Marathon tragedy. Any struggles that happened in the heat last year are trivial compared to this year's horrible experience. With my mom waiting for me at the finish line last year, I can't even imagine having something like the occurrence this year happen.
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Results:
Finish Time - 03:43:25
Average Pace - 8:31/mile
Placing - 5,167 out of 21,568
Weather: Hot, hot, hot! It was a hot and humid 87°F. I had NO clue they had April weather like that in Boston!
Race summary: I trained for the Boston hills, but definitely didn't train for heat and humidity. Overall, the race was an awesome experience - tons of people and things to look at, though I did need to change my race strategy due to the heat. I was glad to make it under 03:45 (barely!).
Before the race, my mom and I toured Boston and had a great mother-daughter trip before Leo and I got married about a month later. The touring was amazing and so was the Boston food!
The Boston Marathon was definitely a challenge; not so much the hills, but definitely the heat! I ran through sprinklers, sprays, put ice cubes in my hat, dumped water on my head; anything to keep my body temperature down.The spectators and volunteers were amazing. Cute kids handed out water and ice as we ran by certain areas of the course.
Overall, the worst "battle scar" I had from the race was majorchafing on the inside of my legs. Lovely, I know! I always Vaseline my legs to prevent incidences like this, but it was washed off by the countless sprinklers and water I dumped on myself. I didn't realize how bad it was until after the race and all of the endorphins and adrenaline slowed a bit. I ended up with a frisbee-sized area of raw skin, which didn't feel too glorious in the shower. Oh well, 'tis a mere flesh wound!
God carried me through the entire race and kept me from passing out, especially in the final stretch to the finish line. I saw many people in the med-tents and heard some passed out from the heat. My heart rate was so much higher than in training due to the heat, my main focus was to finish the race. Pace wasn't too important anymore, if I didn't finish, no medal! For the final stretch of the race, I somehow had energy left for one last kick (and thank God I didn't fall on my face in front of all those people!).
I was really happy with my finish time, though it was slower than my goal of 03:30. No one could predict heat like that in Boston! Only God knows. After the race, it took a week or so for my heart rate and body to mellow out. Clearly this Scandinavian girl wasn't meant for heat and humidity! It felt great to return to Minnesota afterwards and this was definitely a once in a lifetime race; mainly because it's too spendy to run every year.
My mom and I celebrated our Boston journey with a nice supper; Coffee and clam chowder with Boston cream pie for dessert. Don't worry, I drank plenty of water to offset the coffee and dehydration! Coffee is always good.
I was reading Ryan Hall's book, "Running with Joy", on the way to and from Boston. He's a really solid man of God, an a kickin' marathoner! Sometimes the worries of this world make it hard to keep your focus on God, but nothing is more freeing than keeping an eternal perspective focused on God and His Kingdom!
"Finding your identity first and foremost as a child of God, completely loved and accepted is the starting point to great things." Ryan Hall
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| Crossing at 03:43:25 |
Results:
Finish Time - 03:43:25
Average Pace - 8:31/mile
Placing - 5,167 out of 21,568
Weather: Hot, hot, hot! It was a hot and humid 87°F. I had NO clue they had April weather like that in Boston!
Race summary: I trained for the Boston hills, but definitely didn't train for heat and humidity. Overall, the race was an awesome experience - tons of people and things to look at, though I did need to change my race strategy due to the heat. I was glad to make it under 03:45 (barely!).
Before the race, my mom and I toured Boston and had a great mother-daughter trip before Leo and I got married about a month later. The touring was amazing and so was the Boston food!
The Boston Marathon was definitely a challenge; not so much the hills, but definitely the heat! I ran through sprinklers, sprays, put ice cubes in my hat, dumped water on my head; anything to keep my body temperature down.The spectators and volunteers were amazing. Cute kids handed out water and ice as we ran by certain areas of the course.
Overall, the worst "battle scar" I had from the race was majorchafing on the inside of my legs. Lovely, I know! I always Vaseline my legs to prevent incidences like this, but it was washed off by the countless sprinklers and water I dumped on myself. I didn't realize how bad it was until after the race and all of the endorphins and adrenaline slowed a bit. I ended up with a frisbee-sized area of raw skin, which didn't feel too glorious in the shower. Oh well, 'tis a mere flesh wound!
God carried me through the entire race and kept me from passing out, especially in the final stretch to the finish line. I saw many people in the med-tents and heard some passed out from the heat. My heart rate was so much higher than in training due to the heat, my main focus was to finish the race. Pace wasn't too important anymore, if I didn't finish, no medal! For the final stretch of the race, I somehow had energy left for one last kick (and thank God I didn't fall on my face in front of all those people!).
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| Mom gave me a flower at the finish! |
My mom and I celebrated our Boston journey with a nice supper; Coffee and clam chowder with Boston cream pie for dessert. Don't worry, I drank plenty of water to offset the coffee and dehydration! Coffee is always good.
I was reading Ryan Hall's book, "Running with Joy", on the way to and from Boston. He's a really solid man of God, an a kickin' marathoner! Sometimes the worries of this world make it hard to keep your focus on God, but nothing is more freeing than keeping an eternal perspective focused on God and His Kingdom!
"Finding your identity first and foremost as a child of God, completely loved and accepted is the starting point to great things." Ryan Hall
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