Diary of the Marathon

When I was a little girl my father would say, "Stace, come run with me." Sometimes that would mean biking alongside him. Other times it was going to the track and riding laps while he ran. As I grew older I began to go on my own accord, asking him to meet me downtown on the quiet streets of Portland at 5:30 a.m. for a predawn run. After my first baby came an urge to set a lofty goal, thus was born the desire for the Marathon.

Now after 11 years 4,000 miles of running (counting only marathon training runs), 34 pair of running shoes, 9 Marathons and a few foot injuries I have reached the Holy Grail of Running, something I thought impossible when I set my goal back in 1998. The Boston Marathon.
Twice I had qualified only to be set back by a foot injury or the choice of having another baby. What kept leading me back was the will to drive myself, push beyond my limits and most of all....have alone time to clear my head! Focusing my thoughts and releasing energy has helped me to be a better mother and wife, giving time to myself on the most glorious mornings.

I am inspired by what the human body and better yet, the human mind can accomplish. I am inspired by what those who without much natural athletic ability can accomplish when they've placed a goal in their path. It is to these athletes that I applaud. To the first woman, who against the odds had the courage to run in a Marthon led only by males trying to shove her off the route, but kept her course.
It was at the starting line of this, my 10th Marathon that I felt the thrill of all of the miles I had run come together for one glorious day of celebration.

From Hopkinton to Boston the residents and spectators came out to cheer each and every individual who, with their own story had made it on the course that day. The route weaved through the campus of Welsley College and Boston College where the cheers from the students could be heard half a mile away!

Though the miles took a more painful turn for me at the half-way mark, it was this cheering from thousands of supporters that kept me from walking and helped me relish the experience. Local residents came out with orange slices, licorice, popcicles, and newton's. Little children would say "please take my water" as they held out small cups to the runner's. I have never experienced a community come out to support an event in this magnitude.

Without the support of my parents, especially my father....who used to "make me" exercise. I would not have had this experience.

It seems appropriate to me then that they were there for my Start 1998 and were there for my Finish a decade later........

Our Hotel the Marriott Long Wharf.

Boston's Beacon Hill District was so charming.

Although it was cool out, it was sunny AND not raining!

Who wants to rest while on vacation. Certainly I never have, so why start now? We walked for 6 hours on Sunday.

Toured many historical sites, cemetaries and monuments.

This looks like a scene right out of a movie set in England.

The Expo was enormous, and run like a well oiled machine. Got my registration packet and on our way.......
....across the bridge we walked to Cambridge. Ate lunch at a cafe outside Harvard and M.I.T.
Harvard wasn't what I'd expected. I thought it would be more grand and lush and large and really look like an Ivy League School. I didn't even see any ivy!
That night we dined at the Living Room with my cousin Jenni Skeen and her parents and friend from college. Jenni had told me she was running last summer and we both thought it would be fun to come the same year. She's a talented, smart 7th grade math teacher in Washington D.C. who also happens to be a fabulously fast runner. I can't keep up with her in my old age. Maybe she'll catch up to me (or catch back to me rather). Marathon morning I happened to be staying at the same hotel as some friends from Camas and we all walked over to the Common's togther to catch the caravans of buses going to Hopkinton. As we kept driving and driving I commented on the fact that this is going to be a long run back!!!
Comrades from Lacamas.
Jenni Skeen and myself.

We were trying to stay warm inside this tent........
My teeth were chattering all morning that later that night my jaw was sore when I went to eat something.
The sun came out for an hour and although it was only maybe 50 with clouds and 15 mph headwind, I still got sunburned.

I've cried after a few marathons for different reasons. Pride, happiness, accomplishment, and pain. This one was for all of those reasons.
After a soak in the hottub and lite dinner I was good as new (we were pretending this is what I wanted to do).
The next day Trace had to leave on business so that left Annie and I to tour and shop and eat cookies at our own leisure. I do say, Annie may be a bigger cookie moster than me!
We were out walking with a few rides off and on the trolley for 6 more hours that day and 2 hours the next! Annie and I walked from our hotel to the North End Italian district which was so adorable with it's outside cafe's and blooming windowboxes. There was much history to see so we set ourselves on that. The North Church where the 2nd candle was lit to warn that the British are coming!
Mom wanted to add this to her garden.
There was a little bit of rain. I didn't mind in the least. I have come to terms with the fact that I like rain and anything over 70 feels hot to me. How did I grow up in Arizona?!
Now this is a fabulous idea for church. Each family gets their own box! The door closes and the punks can do as they please at your feet and no one will see them eating cheerios.
Truly my dad has made several sacrifices in his line of work so that we can enjoy traveling at his expense. It was known among all my friends who stayed here how much hotels in Boston range during this weekend. $500 a night for the hotel we stayed in right behind me! Needless to say I may not be seeing the beautifully clean city of Boston in the near future.
It has made me want to come home and transform my porch into an better kept garden bed. As all trips must come to an end, so must this lengthy narration.
Remember those things I was thinking during the end of my run mom and dad? I was just kidding :>