With so many great Boston reports to read, I’ll not be offended if you just skim and run… Saturday we spent 12 hours in transit, due to mechanical difficulties and flight snafus (got a $200 voucher for our trouble, though), but got to our hotel around 4pm, walked the “just 10 minute walk” (9 blocks) to the Expo, wandered around, ran into Erika (woohoo!), then back to the hotel to drop our loot and find our way to Lou and Harriet’s daughter’s house for a great Boomer meeting. Finally meeting the Boomers that I have been posting with and reading about for several years was simply amazing. These people REALLY are extremely kind, funny, compassionate, witty, and charming in person – even my DH was impressed with how nice everyone was. And the beer was OUTSTANDING! Here’s Erika and Harriet (PDR): Here’s Dove: The Pro with Lou: Hugs from Bob (Btb), who brought flowers for Amanda: The next day we walked “just 10 minutes” (16 blocks) to watch the women’s Olympic trials, back to the Prudential Center to get Duck tickets (9 blocks) when the ticket booth opened, then back to the trials (9 more blocks), stood watching and cheering until the end (2 hours), then back to the Prudential Center for lunch (yup, 9 more), than did the Duck tour, then the Skywalk, then walked back to the hotel (9 blocks again). You getting the picture here? Here’s Perch, Bob, and me: Here’s Tim (wa5yom), me, and (Aamos) Amy (I am SUCH a huge fan of hers): Here’s Bob, the LongSuffering Mrs. PBJ, PBJ, and PBJ, Jr.(Isn't he adorable?): Race morning: I got on the shuttle with Lou and Harriet and Perch and babbled nervously the whole way (yes, I’m afraid that I’m a babbler). For whatever reason, our shuttles dropped us off at the 1 mile mark, and we walked back the start, separating in the crowd and going our own ways, then beyond that to the Athlete’s Village until it was time to get into the corrals. The weather was beautiful, and as the sun came out I peeled off my layers and left them in the growing pile on the curb. Here’s Perch and Spareribs’ BIL before we got on the shuttle: I started out well, but after 10 miles at MP, I started to fade. In the middle of mile #11, I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep it up, and so I made a decision and gave up my time goal completely: I took walk breaks, stopped to take orange slices from spectators and thanked them for being there, and I even waited several minutes in line for a port-o-pottie at mile #16. I didn’t care at that point – I was in no hurry anymore. I was disappointed in my performance, but on the other hand, I soaked up the abundant sunshine, reveled in the non-stop spectators, high-fived as many children as I could, offered an encouraging word and/or a smile to people I passed, and every now and then I would yell, “GO BOSTON!!” just to hear the crowd go wild. At one point a woman said to me, “Are you Holly from Ohio?” I was dumbfounded. “How did you know?” I asked. She said, “Your name is written on your leg, you’re wearing a running skirt, and you have a Garmin.” She said that she was a lurker, that I was one of her favorite posters on RA, and that if I qualified again I was welcome to stay at her house when I came to Boston again. (!) Ann - You are such a sweetie, and your kind words really lifted my heart. If you read this, I’d love it if you would e-mail me at hollys4874 at yahoo dot com to tell me how your race went. I overtook BTB and PJH during mile #20, and said to Bob, “You’re running pretty fast for an injured guy!” And then he took off ahead (those pesky fast guys can do that) so he could get a picture of me running. We ran together for a minute, and he went back to run with PJ again, and I continued on until I saw Hally all of a sudden. I waved and yelled hello as I went by, and within a minute or two PBJ magically showed up at my side with a bottle of water. PBJ, bless his heart, ran me all the way in from mile #20. He chatted with me, encouraged me, told me stories about the route, and didn’t make fun of me when I took several short walk breaks during a particularly bad abdominal cramp. He ran with me all the way till the end, helped me get the chip off my shoe, and stayed with me until I got my bag off the bus. PBJ – you are my hero! I was deeply touched by your kindness, and honored to have been able to share those last miles of my first Boston marathon with you. I cannot thank you enough. So what went wrong? Too much walking before the race, for one thing. After nearly 6 hours walking and standing the day before the race (I knew better than that, but still did it), on Sunday evening I was exhausted and my legs were literally aching from trying to keep up with my long-legged DH's stride as we fought the crowds. But even without the sightseeing, I don't believe I could have reached my time goal. I was already having doubts about whether this marathon training cycle worked for me. I worked much harder this time, including running more miles than ever before, but I think I did too many miles, not enough recovery and not enough tempo. I'll do things differently next time around. Like Karin (CNYrunner) says, we are all an experiment of one, and since I am relatively new to running, I am still learning about what works for me, and have a lot yet to learn. Next time around I won't kill myself with zillions of miles, but instead I will do a couple of high-quality tempo and LR's, and recover better. I’ve already picked out a plan to work with and am getting excited about trying it. Anyway, I met some fabulous people, had a great experience overall, and a great time in Boston with my DH. Plus I got a cool jacket. Thanks for reading...

No grief about it Holly my dear friend---Your report is great and we've been waiting!! I am so glad you had a great weekend and enjoyed all that Boston (well most) and the marathon has to offer. Your upbeat attitude and strength of character show up in all that you do Holly. Don't give up on the longer miles completely (more on that when I see you next ) and I know there are all sorts of PRs out there for you. As you noted, you are relatively new to running and you will have many years ahead to experiment! Your focused dedication (in the wee hours of the morning and solo) is tremendous and I know there are many who post and lurk here who cheer for you. Congratulations Holly on running your first Boston and savoring each step. Karin

Thanks Holly for a great RR and wonderful pictures....I absolutely love to see the faces of the fine people I have met here at RH. I am so impressed that you realized you were not going to meet your time goal, but decided to make the best of it and have FUN....I personally think I would have a hard time having such a great attitude, and I would be beating myself up....you are a strong (and pretty woman) Best of luck to you with your new training plan for your next Marathon...I will be watching your new plan too as I am new to Marathon training myself. We seemed to go through a "funk" about the same time, and I think I was probably doing and feeling what you were. Thanks again Holly.....you ROCK Tim

I will add to the "rest of the story" tonight, but I can't resist saying that PBJ Jr. sure looks like Opie in your pic.

Hi Holly, Another terrific Boston RR! Thanks for sharing your Boston weekend. Even though you didn't have the race you wanted, it seems that you had a great weekend, and still found a way to make the most of your marathon, even though you were off your goal. I'm so impressed with how you and so many other frequent posters on this forum can take an off day at a big race and find a way to turn it into something special. To have that much heart and spirit, and such a positive attitude is a wonderful gift. With your attitude and your running abilities, you have many great races ahead of you, including as many more Bostons as you want. Congratulations! Jay

Another? Been waiting for this one, it's about time It was fun meeting you and your DH! Great report, of all the goings on and the race. You made the most of your weekend and you finished the race, got to run with PBJ and experience all the good things about the Boston marathon fans and sites. Sounds like you have no regrets and you learned some things in the process. (STAY OFF YOUR FEET) I just want to tell folks how hard it is to pick people out from a crowd when you are either running or looking for a runner. Holly must have been thinking, that damn hally doesn't recognize me! But what really happened was I was torn between saying hi and getting PBJ to turn around from searching the crowd. Guy doesn't answer to 4 people yelling his real name repeatedly! Finally....a loud PBJ! got him turned around and off we went at a pace way too quick for me till I was sure he spotted Holly's giant pony tail, now a good 200 feet or so away amongst a crowd of runners. How about that lurker? ANN come out come out wherever you are, having all these virtual friends sure makes for some fun times when we finally get to meet. Barb

woooooooohoooooooooo Holly!! sooooooooo glad to FINALLY hear your race report!! i was so hoping i'd see you at the end, but i have to tell you guys --- all you runners start to look alike from the banana triage perspective - lol!! sorry the sightseeing got the best of you - so hard not to do in a place like this, but you worked so hard to get here and you can say the 3 words many people will never get to say: I FINISHED BOSTON!! congratulations friend you are awesome!!

At last, the RR from Holly! Honestly, your experience at Boston is exactly the way I would go into it if I were ever there: save the BQ attempt for an easier, saner event and just enjoy Boston for what it is. Everything you saw and did while there before and during the race will be a much more lasting memory than what your chip registered at the finish. I'm really happy for you that you were able to do all of this. But what was that comment that "even your DH was impressed" with how nice RA Boomers are? Is he some sort of grouch or something?