I can’t believe tomorrow is race day! I picked up my bib yesterday at the expo and had this surreal experience as I waited and waited while the volunteer searched for my bib number. She started to get a worried look on her face and I actually had an irrational moment of panic where I thought she was going to say there was a problem and I wasn’t going to get to run the race (this is leftover anxiety from when I qualified for Boston 2015 but found out a few weeks later that my time did not meet the registration cutoff). But then she smiled with relief and handed me bib number 20130 and wished me luck! I confess I got teary when I finally held the bib in my hands (you all know it doesn’t take much for me to get emotional about these things).
Speaking of emotional, I got pretty excited when I rode in a car on part of the marathon course (not on purpose, we just happened to be going that way) and I saw this:
I’ve gone through waves of nervousness and excitement and now I’m just looking forward to tomorrow and ready to start taking in the whole experience. I trained hard but do not have a goal time in mind. The goal is to enjoy the race while running strong (I have a lot of respect for the history of the Boston Marathon and the course itself, so I want to run strong and well without pushing myself so hard that I miss soaking up the whole atmosphere). I hope that makes sense. I anticipate coming in around four hours or less but who knows how I will feel on race day. I am recovering from a cough and congestion that plugged my ears up on the plane. I’m just grateful I can hear again and am well enough to toe the line for the 2016 Boston Marathon!
Bushels of four leaf clovers for luck during the race. We couldn’t be prouder of you for your efforts to get there. Enjoy the plethora of experiences you will have. Hugs and kisses👏😘👍🎽🍀
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Thanks Mom! It was fun to think of all the people cheering for me from afar during the race!
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How exciting! Have a great race!
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Thanks Tina! I’ve enjoyed reading about your adventures so much and I appreciate your following along with mine too!
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I never doubted you would someday run in the Boston Marathon. This is another wonderful accomplishment among many. Enjoy your 7th full marathon!
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Hard to believe it was my 7th! It was a long journey from 1 to 7!
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Good luck and enjoy!
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Thanks again Gareth!
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Angela, enjoy every second. I’ll watch for you!!
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Thanks Jennifer! You’ve been such a thoughtful cheerleader for me, assuring me that I could qualify when I wasn’t sure myself. I especially appreciate your cheering from the injury bench this year. I hope this tough time passes relatively quickly and you’ve got a wonderful year in store for you after that!
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I’ll be thinking of you tomorrow Angela! Have a wonderful run that’s memorable for all the right reasons!
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Thanks Holly! I think I managed to accomplish that goal of having an enjoyable, memorable race!
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Have fun and good luck! I am setup to receive text messages about your progress and will be cheering you on from here.
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I appreciated all the cheering on from afar! The tracking system seemed good for this race. My family got notice just in time to realize I was coming up on mile 20 and my husband had to hang up the phone: “My wife is running the Boston Marathon and she is going to run by soon. I have to go!” 😀
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