Boston Marathon 2012

This is really long post.

But I wanted to capture the whole trip. It was really our first vacation as a family. We'll probably never be able to do something like this again- it's once in a lifetime really. We live usually on a strict budget and diet. We usually don't ever pay with a credit card at a restaurant. I mean we live just fine- I wouldn't change a thing, but you know how it is raising kids, one salary, etc... We just gotta watch things closely- not much splurging. But the next few days we're gonna splurge a bit (thanks some to some unexpected one time money that came in). My daughter loves watching food stuff on the internet and dreams of some day having a cafe of her own. So, we're gonna look up some places around Boston that she's seen.>> CLICK HERE to jump to the RACE

FRIDAY - the trip in

Here we go. All 5 of us going. First airplane rides for our kids Jamey(9) & Matt(5).

And first plane ride in a decade for our niece Alexis(15), Mo, and Pete.

We're all nervous... security checkpoint didn't help out either...

Guard is shouting,"Take off belts, Shoes, jackets. Take out your cash, trash, & tic-tacs!"

Geez things have changed.

Daughter Jamey walking down the airport terminal with luggage says, "I didn't know airports were so futuristic." I can tell, she's dreaming of flying into Paris, fashion models jetsetting, walking thru the terminals with fancy luggage, wearing nice clothes.

My wife Mo buys a $13 salad at the terminal, it's official we're on vacation- she'd never pay that much at home.

On the plane it's a bit bumpy, Matt cries at takeoff but then takes to it almost immediately. He's a traveler. Loves trains and buses- (just like me- i love public transportation and the freedom it allows. No pressure of having a car. We try to run and bike everywhere we can- hate cars and being dependent on them). As we climb in altitude, Matt's ears are popping cuz he says to me, "Dad why do you talk funny?" It's a long flight. I talk some the to lady next to me from Conroe. Her husband is competitive in the 65s age group. Going to his 5th Boston Marathon. There are runners thru out the plane. Saw that 100 mile Ultra lady Kim upfront. Got in lots of playtime with Matt. Whens the last time I had 4 hrs with nothing I should be doing? Foolishly I packed his matchbox cars in the big carry-on bag that's impossible to get out of the overhead bin. But no worries, we went old school pretending with plastic wrappers for an airplane and head phone jacks as machine guns. We had fun. The girls order up an $8 hamburger in from the in-flight cart. Looks like a Wendy's 99cent Junior Bacon Cheese to me. Hey we're on vacation...

Finally we land after a big, circling bank of the Boston Harbor. Jamey felt a little airsick- put in a few deep breathes in the seatback vomit bag- but she held on ok and landed the dismount... upon seeing this, I make Matt stop playing puppets with our bags- how often do they replace these?

We're in Boston. Crazy to get transported like that- so quickly. Dropped into another dimension. Dropped into other people's reality. I'm thankful for my parents sending me traveling to college and tennis tourneys, so I have some experience finding my way... but it's been a while now. We fumble around the airport and a guy finally points us to the right level to catch the SL1 Bus to the South Station. At the South Station, it's like Grand Central to us with the big digital board showing arrivals and departures. People scattering here and there as trains pull in. Lots of tracks. Looks like a Harry Potter book. We find where to get tickets. We catch our first Boston accent. The lady was nice but sounded mean? I asked for 3 tickets. "Hey, who the tickets f-ah?" as she tried to warn me that kids ride free. Which I knew, but I guess she couldn't tell we were all together- we get that a lot- we're lots of different colors.

We get on an old commuter train to Auburndale/Newton where our hotel is 10 miles out of downtown Boston. Unlike most of the runners, we're not staying close to the finish line and expo. We ended up staying here, probably due to some combination of a late change in plans from driving, my thriftiness(as usual), and my love of public transportation. So we have to travel out to our hotel. The train is old with curved metal and dim leather seats. The conductor comes for tickets once we're on- this could be the 1940's. She's nice but doesn't take no mess, better have the right ticket. She got into it with a lady two rows back who had the wrong boarding pass.

At the next stop, some loud Red Sox fans stumble on- coming home from the game(Red Sox beat Tampa 12-2 in home opener- 101st season at Fenway). They almost miss their seats as they sit down. They're loud. One of them, a kinda gruff but freindly drunk guy with a big mustache, keeps offering up candy. "Anybody want a Kit Kat?". A lady that's a friend of his across the aisle, takes him up on it- passing the candy over and ripping a few slightly melted bars off the already-opened Kit Kat. Next he takes out Junior Mints and accounces, "Who wants some Jun-yah Mints?" My 5 yr old Matt can't resist any longer, he pops his head up over the seat. The guy bellows, pleased with himself to have a taker, "Yeah, get that kid som Jun-yah Mints. Who doesn't like Jun-yah Mints?" But Mo ain't gonna let this happen, first of all it's candy, secondly it's candy from a stranger. Oh no, first show down in Boston. Mom says, "No that's ok." The lady steps in, "Oh it's fine I've known him from high school." This does nothing to soothe it over with mom. The guy goes on and on before announcing dejectedly, "Geez, what country is this? No one wants a Jun-yah Mint?"

We come to our stop finally. We step off the train onto a dark sidewalk next to 4 tracks and down below the Massachussets Turnpike. Middle of nowhere. No train station. Feels kinda like

the Twighlight Zone as our train disappears down the line. All by ourselves, we start to walk, lugging luggage on little wheels toward the hotel. We go on for about half a mile thru a dark hilly neighborhood with old new England homes till we turn the corner and finally see our hotel. We check in at about 9pm. Hungry. There is a New England Band Competition still going on at the Hotel, school aged bango's and accordian players being judged in the conference rooms. High school and middle school kids all about with their instruments- it's always inspiring to me to see people chasing their dreams. We order in from a Market Pizza flyer we found laying on the table; some wings, salad, and pizza. We're a happy crew in a new land, tired from travel but eager to see tomorrow.SATURDAY- Hills, Newton, Expo, Tourism One good thing about staying in Newton is that I can test run the famed Newton Hills. The toughest, most-fabled part of the Boston Marathon course. I head out early while the family sleeps. Wow what a beautiful place Boston-Newton is, but hilly, not a flat section anywhere to be found. It's like running on a roller coaster to me- a Houston flatlander. Gonna be tough to keep a steady pace here, just monster rolling hills. I see that I struggle to keep pace on the uphills, but fly on the downhills- I hope it evens out.

On way back to the Hotel, I hit the supermarket(Shaw's) for bananas(69 cents a pound - things are pricey here(48cents back home), not much in store less than $2) and water(Poland Springs is their brand up here) lug them back to hotel in a backpack. Then I run a mile to the other subway station(Riverside) just to make sure it's walkable for the family. Not too bad- perhaps they won't hate me for this.

Afterwards, we continue our walk to the Riverside subway, just looking at all the houses with basements and the different type trees and blooming tulip flowers... just taking it all in, a beautiful day, sunny and about 70 degrees- lots of people out early already gardening. We catch the subway downtown to get to the Expo at Seaport Convention Center just viewing the town all the way in. For all of us our first subway ride. It's really a train rail til you get downtown and go below the streets- the ride takes a good 30 minutes - i didn't comprehend that beforehand, it's only a 10 mile route- but all the stops. Once undergound, we follow other runners so as not to get lost. Transfer at Park St. Station, take Redline to Seaport, then a school bus to the Convention Center. The Expo is crazy, we pick up my racing bib number- gotta have that to officially run. Then we start looking around, this is a big expo. People, booths, and goods everywhere. We walk around and look for freebies while we wait for our cousins and native Bostoner's Ulumde and Melody to arrive. We find lots of free samples. And end up eating so many gels, and recovery drinks, and energy bars we're all hyper. We see elite marathoner Michael Wardian on a treadmill over on one side- he's is flyin fast, turning it over, 1hr and 23 min into a Treadmill Marathon World Record attempt. Then we see Team Hoyt, a famous father son team where the father runs while pushing his son who has cerebal palsy, my daughter really enjoys meeting them. Later we see USA olympic marathoner Meb Keflezki signing autographs- man is he tiny.

While we wait, Alexis and Jamey make some signs at the cheering prep booth, they're really good signs and artwork. Alexis make a 'Girl power, Beat Breast cancer' banner and holds it up and people keep looking at it... and one lady even asks to take a picture of her and the sign for her scrapbook. I sit down amongst the giant crowd milling about, I already feel my legs getting sore. I watch a mile by mile video about the course- which was really informative- but grim sounding... like a VH1 behind the music documentary, you know doom awaits. I learn about the downhill beginning that can mislead you, then the taxing Newton Hills, and after that it's back downhill for the finish... the film narrator says the course throw body blows at you the whole time!

We finally meet up with Ulumde and family, good to meet and talk to them. The expo is now bubbling with the news that it's gonna be HOT for the race on Monday. In fact, they are offering to let people defer til next year due to the historic 85 degree heat they are forecasting. Some people even say they may cancel the race- no way. This weather is not good news for a marathoner. You hope conditions like this don't arise, because you have to slow down your pace and rethink your race strategy, all those months of training and the weather of one day makes you have to dial it back and not get your best time possible. But the thought of not running? Please. I'm here from Houston to run the Boston Marathon, spending money I don't have... I'm running it whether they hold the Marathon or not. We talk for a long time to Ulumde and Melody and play with there one year old son who is running with our kids all about- just having fun. Great to see family I've never met before. I try to sit down as much as possible so I can save my legs... but I'm feeling tired. This is my first time traveling to a marathon- it's tough being out of your comfort zone and not relaxing and keeping it simple prior to the race. Everyone warned to not do the tourist thing too much before the race. Easier said than done.

We leave the Expo after many hours there and way too many free energy gels and bars. We head off across downtown Boston in search of their famous Duck Tours. We must have walked 3 miles. My crew is not happy with me their trip planner, as I keep saying we're almost there. Almost there to a distance runner can drive others crazy. We must have got off at the wrong subway station to have to walk this far. But we get there and book a 5:30 tour, the last of the day. Everyone is tired and hungry, I hope the tour is good... and man was it ever.

The duck tour is a tour around Boston's Historic landmarks in a World War II amphibous supply vehicle- nicknamed the Duck. It drives like a troop/cargo truck then plunges into water and slowy barges thru like a boat. The Ducks were built by the ladies know as the Riveting Rosies back in WWII when most men were serving in the war. You see these Ducks all over- taking Tourists up and down Boston. And the Conducktors are probably what makes the tours so popular. Our Conduckor was 'Disco Duck' an upbeat and funny history major out of Boston College, who as it turns out was raised in New Caney, TX about 10 minutes from where I grew up. He did a great job pointing out the landmarks and telling the stories of Boston all while driving this crazy tank vehicle thru busy downtown streets. Then we come to the Boston Harbor and just plow right in. Matt was scared but adjusts quickly and is loving yet another mode of transportation. It all slows down now as the Duck just trolls slowly thru the water. Disco asks people if they want to come up and drive the boat seeing as how we got some time to kill out here. Alexis and Jamey both take turns steering the boat as Disco Duck asks them questions- he was happy to hear we were from Houston, and tells us about his New Caney days. I talk some to a family in front of us from Baltimore the husband is up to run the marathon and turns out he played college tennis too, just like me. So we talk lots of tennis and running. I look over and see Matt cutting up with Mom and just enjoying the ride. Everything was really pretty as the sun was setting over the harbor and downtown. We get back on land then cruise back to the start of the tour and get off the tank and thank the Disco Duck for a great time. We'll always remember his yell of, "DIsCo DuCK!!" to which we had to reply, "Quack, Quack!"

on the subway again, i took this sneak picture of Mo and Alex. You were always lucky to get a seat.

Wrong subway home.

We hit the subway back to the hotel. Oh no, tons of people, the trains are packed. The rule is you gotta fit inside the first stair so the train doors can shut, lots of cramming. We were warned about this- don't be at subway before or after a Red Sox game(Red Sox beat Tampa 13-5)... but here we are. Hey I think, tHere is a green line subway, we rush it and cram on to it like the locals do. All of us standing up, holding on, leaning on people. The trains go slow and come to standstills when crowded- due to stops and people trying to get on. We come to the next stop, tons more people at station. Everyone groans, saying I hope they don't try to get on we're already stuffed into the ailes and stairs, everyone holding on. But it's kinda fun or us out of towners to see the locals in action. Finally we get moving after lots of waiting time at each station we come to, even though no one else can get on, I guess trains down the line are loading. As we get going i peer through the people's arms to to look at the route map posted on the train wall. I'm not a smart man but the names being called out at the oncoming stations aren't matching the map. Crap, we're on the wrong train. Rookie mistake. We jumped the Green line train, but the Green line has 4 branches: B, C, D, and E. We needed D to Riverside. We're on B to Boston College. I talk to a young guy next to us. He works at Fenway Park and we ask him for help. He told us how to cross over to D line with a Taxi, but says it would cost about the same just to get a Taxi to Auburndale from the end of the line @ Boston College station. He was a nice guy, we talked some sports til the end of the ride and turns out he was a Buffalo Bills football fan- he gloated over getting Mario Williams from our Texans team... i didn't bring up that Mario takes lots of plays off and also gets injured almost every year- best of luck to them.

We get to Boston College, end of the rail line. And there are Restaurants still hopping of course, college town. It's about 8:30pm and we're hungry. Two restaurants right next to each other, Pizza place and Taqueria. Half of us go to each. I get a cab number and call. They say one will be right over. After 10 min, cab company calls and says a cabbie is at our location. I don't see one on our street. But way across the intersection I see one from their company so we run over figuring it's ours... we're tired and ready to be back at hotel. The cabbie acts wierd and says, 'yeah I can take you' like he wasn't expecting us. We get in. He seems to take some wierd turns and the meter is climbing in money. I only got $20 left on me.... i'm hoping it doensn't go over and there is some left for tip. The guy on the train said a cab would only be like $10 from Boston College. Midway, I get a call from the Cab company asking where we are again- our cab is there waiting. I said we got in one of your cabs. And then I hear "CLICK!". He hung up on me. The driver launches into how Dispatch is always screwing up, sending drivers from too far away.... ah man just get us home. Finally we get near the hotel. Rate is like $18 and climbing. My wife says hey we only got $20 bucks... the guy reaches over turns off the meter and we pull in to hotel. "$20 will be fine," he says and we're out and drag back to our room totally thrashed... man I gotta run a marathon in 2 days. This trip is killing me, I'm loving it, but its really tiring. Tomorrow's motto 'chill, and minimal walking' - but still have fun. What a first day in Boston!

SUNDAY - Take it easy, Marathon tomorrow, church in Cambridge, hippies in the park and STILTING!!

Wake up. No running for me. At a normal marathon, i'd run about 3 miles pretty ez with a few stretches of speed just to loosen the legs. But this is gonna be the toughest marathon I've ever done- it's gonna be brutal, it's all about conserving for tomorrow at this point. I'm think I'm more worried about the hills than the heat.

Sleeping 5 people in a double room is interesting. The kids have traded sleeping spots throughout the night- some head to toe, some toe to head, lots of shifting of spots- gotta watch youself at night or you can catch an elbow or knee to the face. While waiting for everyone to wake up and get ready. Me, Jam, and Matt walk a bit outside our Marriot Newton hotel on the Charles river. There's some big Canadian Geese or Swans out there- Jamey takes a picture of them. Then we get word the crew is ready.

Today we are gonna take the Hotel's shuttle van to the 1-mile away Riverside subway station, ahh much better than yesterday. Gonna take it easy today. $5 tip.

We get on Subway and chug into town on another sunny day. We're aiming for Church at The Greater Boston Vineyard in Cambridge @ 11:00 am. The area is home to many colleges: Harvard, MIT, Tufts. The ride is peaceful as the morning sun shines into the box car and we talk to a family taking their kids in early to a Red Sox game. outside the train we see parks with baseball and softball games going on. Seems like baseball much bigger here than back home. Lots of people out enjoying the warm weather.

family at the Boston Vineyard Church

At Park St Station we get on the Red Line subway over to the Cambidge area. We pop out from underground and try to find our bearings. It's always tough and the streets have lots of circular intersections of like 6 streets and it's hard to follow. After asking a few people, we walk for about 8 minutes through a very college area with duplexes and cozy little houses and shops. We finally come to the church and it's beautiful- must be an old catholic church converted, the doors are open and we walk in late as usual. Man. The sermon is going on and it's about the Gospel of John- right now we're doing a series on that back home too. Inside it a mix of new a/v equipment and digital screens and too bright spotlights on the pastor who is doing well dispite the heat lamps. He has a dry smart delivery. The congregation seems diverse with plenty of nerdy, introvert looking-types and lots of racially mixed couples so we fit right in. The pastor relays one story of how God interacts with us in simple ways and meets us at our level, saying, 'He doesn't come in usually and converse with us about Quantum Mechanics.' He then said "Well, maybe to some of y'all he does..." Then they did communion and played a few more worship songs. One I really liked and I wrote down some of the lyrics but lost them (if you know them i'd love to get them complete), here is what i remember:

help me give up

all my mistrust

fill me with innocence

Afterwards we walked back down to where we saw a strip of restaurants, clubs, and shops, and start looking for a lunch spot. A group of students came by with a bullhorn, drum, and signs protesting Racial Profiling. They didn't seem too mad- looked more like a school project rather something that had been done wrong to them.

We meander back, looking at the beautiful day, bicycles on the sidewalk, flowers blooming. A really nice place, maybe that's why it's hard to work up any heated protest anger. We were drowning in peaceful detachment here. We see Johnny D's a place that was supposed to have a Blues Jam later- my wife is a musician and i thought she'd get a kick out of playing Boston.

We continue on and finally settle on one of the many open doored restaurants- this one is called Orleans. It has some salad offerings that could satisfy our paleo momeo. The place was nice with sports on TVs, Red Sox were on and the Astros were up early on the Marlins. Plus the Heat were playing the Knicks too. I like this spot. I got a cobb salad while the girls got the all-American breakfast and mom got wings- it was nice. The kids raved about the food and pancakes.

Afterwards we walk back toward the town square and there are lots of college hippies just waking up. Strumming guitars and some hula hooping while listening to head phones. And hippie carnies setting up a tight rope between trees and juggling was starting to occur. They encouraged the kids to join along, Jam is really good on hula hoop, Alexis and Jam did the tight rope- with some spotting assistance, and we stayed here a while. I just sat and chilled on the park bench- ahh I remember these times, Sunday in college with just time on your hands.... oh where does it go... did i appreciate it enough?

Then a little old russian couple with homely clothes come up to the carnie park with their little brainchild daughter on homeade stilts. My son Matt, was like cool a girl with big wooden legs- lets play. But she dissed him, asking him to back up off her so that she might do her "stilting". Then I hear her parents talking to the head college carnie with giant sideburns. Head carnie says, "he's never been employed at a full-time carnival but has worked at camps." - I'm thinking, I hope his parents aren't paying a fortune for college. And he continued on to the couple, that he himself, "had never stilted". Man I never knew you could do all this with the word "STILTS".

I'm just kidding around. To each their own. Us runners are plenty weird and self-absorbed. And when I was a tennis youth same thing. Musicians same thing. Programmers. We all have our weird passions that we get so into and isolate in... but somehow they allow us to connect with others in an odd way.

We finally waltz down a few more blocks and find one of Jamey's cafe's called Kick*ss Cupcakes. It's a small little shop with an open door and some college artsy types behind the counter. Each cupcake $3! They have different themes each day. Each handcrafted and beautiful. They had a small tray of Boston Marathon cupcakes, but I went for the Gatorade one... with a edible orange licorice lightning bolt and some lemon lime pudding inside. Yum. The girls got theirs after hours of deliberation. Matt went for the Vanilla one with lots of puffy icing and sprinkles. We sat outside on the sidewalk in salon pump up chairs and ate them at about 75 cents a bite.

Then we walk down and hit a kids park with a jungle gym and then even stopped back at carnie park- the kids really enjoyed it there. We walk into Johnny's D's to talk about the blues jam that's just starting to show up. The door man tells us there is a cover. And Mo says lets bag it and get back to the hotel and chill for tomorrow's race.

We head back on subway, of course we hit the obligatory post Red Sox game crowd again(Red Sox beat Tampa again 6-4). But we get on the right train, make it back to hotel prior to 8pm so we can call the Hotel Shuttle van. And then we get some pasta from Market Pizza again, for some final carbo loading.

Mo gets everybody to bed by 9pm. We all drift away. I'm ready. Finally. I'll get to wake up and partake in the most storied marathon in the world with over 20,000 other runners from all over.

MONDAY APRIL 16, 2012, The 116th BOSTON MARATHON

I slept pretty well. Way better than I do before most marathons. Probably cause all the sight seeing and stuff. I wake up and get ready. Gotta be in the Shuttle van by 7am.

Originally I thought I'd have to get up at 4:30am to go to Riverside station to catch a train downtown then get on the marathon buses to bus back out 26 miles to the starting line in Hopkinton, MA. The Boston marathon is not a circular course, it's a point to point marathon. It's basically a straight shot from the small town of Hopkinton. Run East 26.2 miles into downtown Boston.

But yesterday, when riding the Hotel Shuttle I overheard that a group of runners are chipping in to have a driver bring them out to Hopkinton so they don't have to get up so early and travel all the way downtown just to catch a bus back out of town. So I called and arranged to ride on the shuttle with them last night. The driver is an older italian guy- Tony of course. He says $20 a person. Geez that's kinda rough for like a 15 minute ride. But I finally figure it'll make things less hectic and there is less stuff to go wrong. I give in. But it's putting a lot of faith in this guy I've never met.

But I come out of the Hotel Lobby's Giant rotating glass cylinder door(the one my son has been playing in the whole trip- one time he exited too early and thudded his head into the last glass panel like a misguided bird- the whole lobby stared at us- as I said he's fine, while he walked it off in a crooked line) There I see Tony the driver and the van. Thank God. I see the other runners there and we pile in all thankful Tony showed up. THere are about 15-20 runners. I'm surprised at that, I didn't think there would be that many runners not staying downtown. We ride and runners talk. I'm quiet at first but then talk a bit to a Canadian runner next to me- he's scared of the heat, saying he hasn't trained in any heat. I tell him I'm scared of the hills, I've never run on something like this. Driver Tony winds all around the forested hills of Massachussets. Man I could never find this if I had to. Finally we get there to Hopkinton and Tony meets up with a marathon blockade, he backs out swiftly and says, "I think I can get y'all closer." My Canadian friend says, "Tony's getting a good deal from this, but I guess we are too." Tony does some more winding and finally comes to an intersection in the town at the bottom of a hill. It's blocked off, so he says, "This is as close as we can get." We get out and thank Toney and start walking up the hill not really sure where to go.

At the bottom we see tons of porta potties so we figure we're close. We keep walking, a 1/2 mile up the hill(gee don't need that before a marathon) and finally we see the high school and what must be Athletes village. We go in and there are tons of runners and school buses. There is a big field between the high school and middle school, with some music playing, a guy making announcements, and a big stadium screen with instructions and texts scrolling across. The school buses drop their runners off right at the village- that's nicer than our uphill climb. At one tent they have a ton of Power Bars at one station I grab a bunch and put them in my bag. There are about 4 huge tents set up, I go over to one grab a bagel and banana and sit on the edge of a tent in the shade. Some people are sitting out in the sun... i think no way, we're gonna get plenty of that.

Sitting there is nerve racking. But I'm determined to sit. I drain my 2 powerade bottles and some water. I know hydration is gonna be key today. I gotta go to the bathroom bad... but i'm not gonna stand in line for 30 minutes so I just hold it, i'm thinking the porta potties at the bottom of the hill will be less crowded. I try to stretch and lay down and chill, it's only like 8am the race starts at 10am and we don't go to start line til 9:10am. Finally time passes, I tried texting family and running buddies for some last minute advice but couldn't catch anyone. I tried texting cutdowns on the PA announcer so they'd appear on the screen but that didn't happen either. So i just close my eyes and wish my bladder was empty.

They call the first wave of runners to go out to starting line. We herd over and past the buses where we are supposed to drop off our bags with our phones, warmup clothes, hoarded power bars, etc... Finally(after figuring out the first bus wasn't at the start of the line, it was on it's own row) I find my bus and hand the my tagged bag up to the lady sticking her head out the window looking for bag numbers 450 - 500. I thank her.

At the Boston Marathon, they are all about your qualifying time. Your bib number is based on how fast your qualifying time was, my bib number is 467, so I have the 467th fastest time coming in of the 20,000 runners. They seed all the runners- this is a good way to run a marathon... as I'll find out when the gun goes off.

My goal for the marathon is to make the top 200. Therefore beating about 200 people that came in running faster than me- I also based this goal at looking at last year's finishing times.

My other goal was to timewise get into the 2:30's somehow, in Houston 3 months ago I did my best time to date, a 2:41:50 and had some left at the end... so I think it's possible. But in this heat and with the hills too. I know that it's not going to happen. I'm gonna try to run smart and crack the top 200 finishers.

So with my bag on the bus- I'm on my own finally. My favorite time, what I love about marathons. You get rid of all the possessions nothing to carry. Just you versus the course. Stripped down just the essentials. Bare. Let's get it on.

running in my Astros hat cuz it's hot

I will be running in my Astros baseball cap though. It's hot and sunny. Foolishly, I didn't pack my running cap- didn't think I'd need it in Boston. At the expo i thought about buying one, but the guy wanted $10, and i figured I'd prolly chunk it along the way. But I did have my old Astros cap, never worn it on a run. But with the sun so high in the sky for a 10am start- I figured my bald head would be baking.

So the herd of 1st wave runners are now making their way down the hill to the starting line corrals. I wanted to line up right behind the elite marathoners and see them take off in all their glory... But I had trouble finding my bag bus and now I gotta take the mother of all bathroom breaks so I can kiss that good bye. I try to run some down the hill to the porta potties I saw on the way, only thing is I can't run at all my bladder is killing me. Finally at the bottom of the hill i see the little porta potty community and head to the back. Wait for about 2 people.... And finally ahh yes.... and more yes.... and some yes, yes, yes... and yes.

the starting corrals

I emerge from the porta potty and spring down the hill- a new man, then I take a right on E. Main St. and go past all the corrals to the first one right at the starting line. Must be in the front row... ah yeah. I am at the back of the already crowded first corral- as I expected with my essential pitstop. I shoulda just stayed at the bottom of the hill and forgot about Athlete's Village- but I guess I needed bag check. They play the National Anthem; the armed services runners around me are at strict attention. Then cheers go up as they lead the elites through on the left side of the corrals... every body cheers for the world-class pros. They start announce the top elites, "Gebra Gebramariam" ... "Geoffery Mutai"... and all the others... this is amazing. I've seen the start on TV, now I'm here in the bright sunshine... antsy and ready to go. I can already feel the sun heating up my shoulders, it's 79.2°F. Thank God for this Astros hat. Gonna be a tough one out there today- toughest one I've faced yet...

MILE 1 6:18 (minute per mile pace)

Finally they count it down and shoot off the gun. We're off. The 116th running of the Boston Marathon. It takes me probably about 10 or 15 seconds to reach the true starting line. It's crazy downhill at the start. I've been warned by many runners don't go wild at the beginning you'll pay for it later, especially in this heat... but it's almost impossible to slow down. Just running in a a huge sea of people. But they are all at my pace, so we're not running over each other. The seeding and corrals is the way to do it- all big marathons need this. My game plan was to try to stick around 6:30 pace due to the heat and hills then give it all I got after the Newton Hills at mile 20. Watching my GPS watch- which gives me my current mile pace- I'm going too fast. I come through mile 1 at 6:18. This worries me. "But I'm hardly trying," is how I try to convince myself... My devil's advocates says, "It's hot and hilly Houston boy, you remember what it feels like to bonk in a marathon? Hunched over a bucket puking?" I hate his negative truths.

MILE 2 6:13

Really woody rural area, rolling and windy country road with rural houses every so often. Beautiful area.

Ashland

MILE 3 6:15

Coming into Ashland. More woods , curves and downhills and coming into small town area.

MILE 4 6:12

So I'm flying down the downhill just like I'd been warned against. I just can't slow down. But I'm wondering and worrying about what will happen later in the race. We go through forest lined streets. People are cheering us everywhere, even in this rural section of the course. I remember one country boy looking down on us as he had climbed up high in a tree for a good view. Into Ashland we I see a Dairy Queen, didn't know they had those up here.

MILE 5 6:34

More spectators here as we go through a bigger small town of Framingham. Finally we get our first big roller uphill. Hold on. I hit the mile in 6:34 and think no problem this is where I'm supposed to be. I'm not going to panic. But the other side of me is thinking these hills are no joke- what's to come ahead? I've never run a hilly course:(

MILE 6 6:18

Spectators are handing us nice, cold bottled water and the runners are passing them around the pack after they're done with it, take an air sip, pour on your head pass it on. Staying cool and hydrated is gonna be super important today. There's real 'we're in this hot thing together' attitude among the runners. Shared misery.

Hey right back to my mile 1 thru 4 pace, maybe I know what I'm doing?

MILE 7 6:23 (A little slippage, it had a steady rolling hill here)

MILE 8 6:31

Pretty good hill, now i'm thinking maybe I DON'T know what I'm doing? We're into the town of Natick. Someone is handing out little sponges I get one. I remember from Meb Keflezighi's book that he'd put cold water on a sponge or towel and apply it to his wrists and neck to help him stay cool while training for hot marathons. I keep this sponge for the rest of the race just holding it in my fist- it works great for keeping me cool.

MILE 9 6:27 (2 rolling hills)

People are bring out cold water from their houses... it's so much better than the hot water at the water stations. Also people are spraying hoses. It all feels great in this heat... i take my hat off for a few minutes and just feel cool water. Boston is giving us a shower, trying to help us all along.

MILE 10 6:28

Good steady uphill climb, I feel okay. But now I'm wondering if I'm tiring... the splits are trending higher, in the upper 6:20's. Me an a guy from New York are running together now... we talk a bit and our pace seems the same.

MILE 11 6:21

A really uphill mile so i'm happy with this one. Maybe i'm where I need to be. Still with my New York buddy.

MILE 12 6:17

Had a nice downhill in this mile, so I'm feeling good and coasting. But I hear a sound in the distance, a faint high-pitched buzz getting louder. I ask the New Yorker I've been running with, "Do you hear it?" "Hear what?" he says, then it dons on him and he smiles and says, "Wellesley."

Wellesley Scream tunnel

MILE 13 6:20

The girls of Wellesley College are a Boston Marathon tradition. They come out and cheer and have what is known as the Scream Tunnel. It is really cool to run through. So much energy. And it comes at a great time- the mid point of the marathon. It picks you up. I see the girls are lined up on the right, so I stay on the left since the congestion could be dangerous and cause a collision. I figure lots of runners will be Hi-fiving them and .... going for the traditional kisses... as the girls hold up signs saying, "Kiss Me". And many runners do.. Eww nasty sweaty runners. I just keep going laughing at some of the young runners cutting across for smooches. I'm an old man and besides happily married;) As we came to the end if the Wellesley Scream tunnel, there was a lady with a sign that said, "Kiss me too. I'm middle-aged, but still hot" I just laughed at it. And started to pick up the pace for the 2nd half of the marathon. This Mile had 2 uphill climbs and one drop so 6:20 seems right on time. Good-bye Wellesly and good-by my New York pacing friend... he seems to have fallen back, perhaps lost in Wellesly. But at Boston you're never alone lots of people running around you.

MILE 14 6:16

Fairly flat by Boston standards, so I got a good measure of where I'm at here. Beautiful tree lined park area.

MILE 15 6:28

Steady climb throughout the mile.

MILE 16 6:15

Huge downhill helped me here.

MILE 17 6:25

Entering the town of Newton, gotta pay the piper - back uphill on this mile. Looking for my family, the crowd is like 4 people deep. I figured they'd be on the left... but no wait, there they are on the right. Mona yells out. I'm already about 10 ft past them but I see her jump and wave. This gets me going, knowing they're okay and enjoying the day- just like me. I keep going with a smile on my face.

Later they tell me they had quite a time... some college guys around them were making sure everybody cheered and had a competive competition to get hi-fives from the runners. When the kids would get a hi-five they'd yell to them, "That's how you do it, now go get some more!"

hydrate

MILE 18 6:32

Okay now the test.... First of the three infamous Newton Hills, we turn at the Newton Fire station. This is where I did my practice run the days before so this really helps mentally. It's steep though and people are struggling. I'm passing them. Thank God I got to see this before hand, this might be the steepest incline on the course. But there are 2 more hills to come- and I haven't ever seen them but I'm getting into game mode now, I'm getting close to mile 20, I'm ready to fight and show what I've got.

MILE 19 6:27

Finish off the first Newton hill and go on a downhill portion.

MILE 20 6:25

Here comes Newton Hill #2- not as bad.

MILE 21 6:29

Heartbreak Hill Here I come... this is the one I've been waiting for. The last big hill of the race. After this it's time to let her rip. I grind up Heartbreak Hill. Looking over to my right and left, people are dying on it, like cars breaking down and pulling over. I remember looking up and and just seeing the top of the hill and the sky. Crowd is cheering. Cheering us on. Ahhh, finally to the top, curve to the left... Lets rock. Time to show the people of Boston that Texans have heart. Rip it open, time to bleed.

livin' a dream

MILE 22 5:53

Downhill- I let it go. I wanted to hang at least one sub-6 minute mile on this course. And this was my best chance. I was feeling great so I let it rip... Just having fun and hustling on my leg turnover. Popping my legs as the touch the ground. No more holding back and conserving. Floating on air. Cheered on by the Boston College students. People are yelling at me, "Let's go Houston!" since I have it written on my shirt. I'm yelling back "Let's go Boston!" People think i'm crazy, but I'm loving it, this is what i've come to do, give it everything i got. Once in a lifetime... And I think the fans love it, this is what they want people to come and do. I see them elbowing their buddies saying like- 'look at this nut, it's only mile 22.'

MILE 23 6:12

Ahh man maybe I overdid a bit on that last one. Got too emotional too early. Seems like I gotta refocus a bit. Feeling some pain.

MILE 24 6:16

Slipping a little bit- had some good downhill on this mile too, but I'm tiring. Gotta rally now. Don't go down like this.

MILE 25 6:04

Largely a flat mile at sea level. Feels like home. Feels like Houston. I'm at the big CITGO sign now that's by Fenway Park. Just grinding trying to finish this thing. I still got heart.

MILE 26 6:11

A couple of small up - downs now, and this mile hurt. I'm spent. I'm passing everybody still- I haven't been passed by anyone I think since mile 15. Ahh and there goes one young guy by me now, got me in all his long hair and tattoo glory he breezes by as I've been doing to all the others over the past miles. So it goes... I haven't seen any fellow oldies(over 40s) for a while, I'm starting to wonder if perhaps on this hot day, maybe my time might be good enough to get me a top 10 in my age group? At the freaking Boston Marathon... forget about it. Finish this thing off.

suck it up time!

LAST .2 in 2:25 (6:13 mpm pace)

Ouch. Ouch. and More Ouch. Make it stop. 86°F now. Finish line... please get here. Yet it seems so far away. I hate the doubts, the negativity, damn you finish line. Can I finish? Running on fumes. Trying to hold on. Finally I cross it. Instantly things change. Awesome day. Just to finish it out tough. Ecstatic. Higher than a kite. I poured it out on the streets of Boston.

Here are the results:

5k 0:19:49

10k 0:39:50

15k 0:59:58

20k 1:19:50

Half 1:24:07

25k 1:39:40

30k 1:59:55

35k 2:19:33

40k 2:38:53

Finish: 2:47:25 Pace: 0:06:24

Place

Overall: 167 / 21616

Gender: 156 / 12621

Division: 17 / 2019

So I missed the TOP TEN in my age group

by 7 spots or about 4 minutes.

The 2012 Boston Marathon would prove to be one of the slowest Boston Marathons of the past 35 years. The winner's time was almost 10 minutes slower than the previous year. The heat and sun took it out of everyone.

Afterwards i'm on cloud 9. Thanking all the volunteers and Bostoners as I walk down streets they have sectioned off for after the race processing. At one stand they hand you a bottle of water, at the next a medal, then some bananas and snacks, then a foil blanket - too hot for that! Around the corner on the next street are the bag buses. I get my bag, find my phone and call the family. They congratulate me... I tell em I'll be back to hotel as soon as I can catch a subway. I talk to a few runners at the end of the sectioned off streets, one guy was telling me how much he loved the Houston marathon. We couldn't talk long because the volunteers told us to keep moving. That's one thing that I like better about Houston is the post race- they have GRB Convention Center right there and people stick around and talk and enjoy the finish more. At Boston they have a post race party later at Fenway Park baseball field @ 6pm, it's like 1pm now.

packed subway after marathon

So i head down and get on the subway. Boom it's packed... wouldn't you know it Redsox Game is just finishing(Sox lost to Tampa 0-1). The train cars are full. I pile on still in my race singlet and running shorts. I'm standing packed in with all the people, holding onto the overhead bar- sorry for the way I must be stinking. I'm right next to the driver and she ask me and another runner how we did. We talk, the other runner, he's from Colorado and runs ultra's and Leadville, he's real level headed and matter of fact, I like that, because no matter how good you get- there are tons of runners better than you.

After about 20 minutes and a bunch of stops, the bus gets less packed and I finally get back to the Riverside station. As I'm waiting on the hotel shuttle, everyone that comes by congratulates me, asks me my time, and says that's amazing... saying that cuz i'm from Texas I'm used to the heat. This is the people of Boston's race- they love it. All of them seem related to it- saying my uncle ran it, or my brother did it a few years back... They want to know your race time and know what the times mean. Actually Boston is a sports town. Even the moms on the trains are knowledgeable RedSox fans. This is my kinda town - I'm sports crazy.

So I finally get back to the hotel room and see the family. They yell a <em>congratulations</em> as I come in the door of Hotel room #364. We're all excited. And it's celebration time. I shower and we get ready. Oh man I got a sunburn in Boston!!! Then we hit the subway, back to downtown for another day in Bean-town.

I promised the kids after the Marathon we'd all get a Dunkin' Donuts- not hard to find one, there are more than 100 of them in downtown Boston(Disco Duck told us that). We never let the kids have donuts. So this was a treat. We all got one (except Paleo Mom). It was so good. I got just plain cake- i'm always a sucker for those, Matt got a giant one with sprinkles.

Then to continue the celebration and sweets. We found one of my daughter's bakeries that she watched on a foodie show- it's called Modern Pastry... it was actually only about 4 blocks away from where we were but we didn't know and we went back down and took the subway anyway- only to come up basically on the other side of the square!!

@ Modern Pastry

Modern Pastry is in Little Italy section of Boston. Supposedly named 'Modern' because it was the first bakery in the area with air conditioning way back when. It's just a little shop, but constantly has a line out the door. Inside there is a group of 4 old Italian men sitting with coffee, telling animated stories, we all laugh- Alexis sees one of them in the pictures on the the wall and thinks he's the owner. We order up Canolies, Cupcakes, and Jamey gets the nougat candy... the prices are reasonable. We are one of the few people who eat inside. Everyone else just gets them to go it seems. You see everyone walking around in this area with little pastry boxes with red and white string. Their rival up the street is Mike's Pastry who also has boxes being walked all over town.

Fenway - Green Monster

Afterwards we get on the subway to hit the post race party at Fenway park. This is a must do on my list. The oldest park in baseball with the famed giant Green Wall dubbed 'The Green Monster', after a bunch of walking we get there- i think we missed the best subway exit point by one station... apparenlty Fenway station is not the quickest route to the park? But the weather is great now with the sun going down and all the runners treking to Fenway, the mood is very festive. Once we finally get to the park, we look around it's nice and old timey, but has been renovated to keep it functional... I see the field and Green Monster but without the fans passion and the game action it's not all thatexciting. We look around some. They have music playing loud... Maroon 5's "Move like Jagger" song is bopping along- we've heard it everywhere, I guess it's become the official song of this trip. We don't stay long... and leave quickly and start walking around the Fenway park area.

For dinner we look around a bit, always checking the menu for salads and meat offerings for Paleo mom, and finally we find/settle for a little French restaurant. No one else is here at least in the small upstairs portion but the manager or perhaps owner is super nice and talks marathon with us. The menu is a bit foreign to us but we all make different selections and I think this was probably the best dinner we had in Boston. The dim candle-lighting in the downtown area was very comfortable, quiet, and relaxing. Everyone is happy and enjoying each others' company. We came to Boston, explored, and did the Marathon.

We head home to the hotel and even took the right train this time. We get back to Riverside station about 9pm, so we have to walk the dark neighborhood streets for a mile to get back to the hotel. We all hit the pillow and go directly to sleep. A beautiful day. So thankful.

TUESDAY- Walking Boston, Aquarium, Losing it

I wake up on Tuesday morning and go for the old "hair of the dog that bit you" run. The day after the marathon I've read it's good to force yourself to run to break up some of the soreness you have. Plus I'm in Boston, man I wanna run all i can. I go a different route this time, trying to see different things and maybe make it to the next town. The streets are busy, Traffic thick. Back to work for the people. Kinda sad, I liked that vacation feel of the weekend and Patriots day. I get lost and have to ask directions but finally make it back home.

We shuttle and train into Boston. I think today I planned too much stuff and nothing specific, so it turned out we kinda missed out on stuff and did a bunch of walking again. We missed the kids tour of Independence Trail that started at the Boston Commons park... so we started going down trendy Newbury St. I cannot figure out Boston streets for the life of me. There is no grid, it's all curvy and the block numbers mean nothing!! It seemed like we walked 10 blocks down Newbury and were still in the 200 block is seemed... it just kept going- so you have no idea how far you have to go.

Finally we came to some destinations. Another Cupcake shop for the girls called Sweets Bakery, it was housed in a Brownstone and very neat and pink and the girls love it. But it seemed stuffy and sorta un-kid friendly to me... which is not a good vibe for a cupcake shop. Sorry we can't all be 20 something hipsters with a pension for overpriced cupcakes.

otherside cafe

Then we walked seemingly another 2 miles and had a proper lunch at artsy Otherside Cafe. The place was chaotic and packed and not really clean but the food was great. And the waiter was a zen-like little dude with a 70's mustache and nothing phased him. The kids all got a scare/kick out of the black day glo bathrooms with inappropriate graffiti... Jamey was scarred at seeing the ghostlike figure drawn on the wall with the caption lamenting, "All the poos" and had an arrow to the toiley. Just typical bathrooms you see in dive clubs but funny to see the kids reactions.

We go into a few shops. Our first Trader Joes experience. A little super market but really with most of the stuff we buy. It's all decorated in Red Sox paintings 19 cents per a banana... that seems more expensive than by the pound. We hit the Marathon sporting goods store, but we don't buy nothing too crowded and expensive.

We hit the subway and head over to the Boston Aquarium. We pick up some cheap Boston souveniers to remember the trip by. At the Aquarium we saw a cool seal show, but were too late to see the last penguin show which is supposed to be the best thing there... shucks... all that walking and my lax scheduling and planning.

We watch the IMAX about the Under Water Sea, it was good. The only part I remember was all the sea snakes dancing on the ocean floor acting like grass until something gets close. Scary how they could organize that kind of group hunting. But like most movies I start snoozing. Jamey is looking at me like I'm an old fool. But soft chairs, dim lights, and kids taken care of... ah yeah snooze time. Really better than any movie to me. The kids like the movie.

We leave and it's starting to get dark. We realize we lost a phone in the theatre and go back to find it. But no joy. The only bummer was that it had some great pics on it. It was a Samsung phone with stupid windows os, but man it could take some pics.

For dinner we hit the popular Legal Seafood. It was good. But I'm tired now and it seemed a bit forced there like a tourist trap... which it is. But on the plus side Mo got some fish she liked and the rest of us had some good New England clam chowder. The service was awful only because a huge soccer team came in and took up all the waitstaff.

The original plan was to hit up Harvard and an open mic club over there. But we were tired and feared tangling with the RedSox train crowd again. So we just dragged ourselves back to the subway and got back to Riverside station. We were again too late for a hotel shuttle, but instead of walking took a cab. This cabby was better and again we hit the bed and fell quickly asleep.

WEDNESDAY - final day, Hit the Faves again, and airplane home

I wake up. Last day of Boston. That end of the vacation, that back to reality dread is hitting us all I think. But hey my last day in Boston I gotta run right? So i run into town and over the Newton Hills one last time, I see some locals doing it too, they're drudging up the hills, and they look over at me like I'm a crazy madman. Then I go back the other way and go down along the Charles River, really nice run. I love running in different places and just exploring, taking chances, getting lost.

The crew gets ready. They wanna go back to the Knotty Pine Lunch for breakfast so we walk a half mile into Auburndale. We notice the tulips the were blooming when we got here 5 days ago are now wilting- I guess because of the abnormal heat they been having. We say that signifies the end of our Boston vacation.

mo goes local

The Knotty Pine Lunch is packed even on a weekday-workday. We get a table and the Russian grandma takes care of us. She explains that she was the owner long ago, but now her boys run it. She always served my 5yr old son Matt first, saying, "Usually ladies first, but not with this cutey!" Mona comes in late to join us after going over to the supermarket. She has green tea up at the counter, chilling with all the retired locals. I always admire her ability to blend in when seemingly she should stick out- I think that's a gift of hers that sorta brings healing to the world.

The girls stop again by Auburndale Library but their art bottle caps aren't finished yet, the girls say they they'll mail them to us... and the Library does! We got them in the mail a week after we got home. The people of Boston were so beautiful to us.

After packing up, Jam gets a quick swim in @ the indoor hotel pool. Me and Matt hit the treadmills in the little Gym overlooking the pool. I see my Canadian marathon van pool buddy at the pool with his kids. His family ships out today too, at 11am (in 30 minutes). They're gonna drive down now into New York and see some relatives.

abbey road

Checked out and back on the Subway, the girls plead for another quick stop at Modern Pastry- their favorite of the trip. So we go up. And they trek over to the bakery while Matt and I watch the luggage in the park. This time we all get the huge Red Velvet cupcake. It's so good. Then we get some mini-canolies to take home for Nonnie and Gramps who drove us to the airport back in Houston.

We get to the Airport and go thru hectic security again... not easy with kids. The plane ride is smoother. Me and Matt play cars. And I take a look at Alexis' Algebra homework... jeesh gotta shake out the cobwebs... Matt likes flushing the airplane toilet now- no longer scared. We land and get back and see grandpa waiting for us. The kids are excited to see him and go back and tell Nonnie, Grandpa, and Gracie all about the trip and share the canolies with them.

Then we trek back across town back to see our dog Reesey whom our neighbor Paul took good care of. And to get ready back to school and work tomorrow... everyone has their Boston shirts ready to wear.

What a great trip we had. We're very thankful for it. And know we'll probably never again go on a trip like that. Jamey says hintingly, "It took 9 years of my life to get a vacation... I guess It'll be 9 years till I get another one!"

Na. This trip taught me many things. Like setting something up and letting the family look forward to it and plan and dream for it. And going places and learning and exploring as a family. We do that, we're very close knit... but to do it more. And do different things. The kids will be grown and go off on their own too soon.

Also I was reminded to be friendlier, more outgoing, and helpful- like the people of Boston who invited us into their city with open arms and interest.

One of the high points to was to see our niece Alexis(who has been staying with us this Spring semester of High School) smile and laugh and talk more and open up and be happy.

It was just a beautiful time to see the kids(and parents) escape and have so much fun.

Thank you Boston.