Laurie Phenix on the 2008 Boston Marathon
The day before the race, we went to see the Olympic Marathon Trials and looked over our shoulders and saw Doug and Bonnie!! Small world. I really enjoyed watching the pros and it took my mind off of the “Taper Tantrums” that I was suffering from: both knees hurt, my left Achilles tendon was aching, I had a sore throat, a headache, my right hip was aching, and I had a pretty bad gut ache.
That evening (Sunday), we went to the “North End” and had some of Boston’s famous Italian food. Then, we went back to our room where, from our window, we could see the Prudential Building hovering ominously! In order to fight off the pre-race jitters, I had a glass of scotch and slept like a baby!
The next morning, it was cool and slightly overcast. It was much more pleasant than the Nor’easter we had the previous year!! I hopped in my clothes, grabbed my Fig Newtons and got on the bus for the long ride to Hopkinton. I heard another bus driver come on the radio. She said, “Seeing all these skinny people run is making me hungry.” 🙂
The course is very nice, the first several miles are down-ish so I had to keep that in mind and also save something for the Newton hills which come late in the race. I had my splits with me, so I knew what I had to run to qualify for 2009. At mile 8, I was three minutes ahead of my time, so I stopped at a medical tent because I was getting a stupid blister (!) and needed some moleskin. It got a little warm at the half marathon point, but the closer we got to Boston, the cooler it got. Thank Goodness.
The crowd support was awesome. They really get out there and support you. I wrote my name on a piece of paper and pinned it above my bib, so people were screaming my name the whole way. Whenever I felt like walking, someone would yell my name – and I kept running. The girls at Wellesley are nuts. They are very funny and encouraging, but the crowds at Boston College rival them.
I had a blast in Boston. I needed 4:05:59 to qualify for 2009 and, in typical slacker fashion, I finished in a 4:05:36. Twenty three seconds to spare!!!! AND I took over 15 minutes off of my 2007 Boston Marathon time!
I ran a relaxed race and felt terrific at the end. Other than a dumb blister and one black toenail, I felt great. I just thoroughly enjoyed myself. If you check out the photos, I’m smiling in each one: www.marathonfoto.com, 2008 Boston Marathon, Name: Phenix Bib: 20013. At the end of the race, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much.
It’s an amazing event. I can’t believe how blessed I am to be able to run it. And that night, we had lobster dinner, with steamers and chowder!!!!!
By the way, at about four blocks into the race, everything stopped hurting… Odd how that works! 