Sunday, April 8, 2012

Sweating the Details...The Final Countdown Begins

This is me "On Boston" (it's like a drug):
 
I have spent two solid days (thus far) making and canceling motel reservations - really and seriously. I have probably made, and canceled, at least 10 at this point!

The original plan was to stay with my sister-in-law and family. This sounded like a great idea back in September, 2011. But now it's April 8th, 2012, 8 days from the Boston Marathon and the thought of seven of us (4 adults and 3 children) in a small apartment in Boston is starting to making me nervous. I wonder:  How can I commandeer the kitchen? How will I get ANY sleep? Will anyone and everyone expect me to be sociable??... Because I won't be, as much as I wish to believe otherwise, I won't! This is going to be a stressfest!

I gotta chill...I gotta get a grip...I gotta learn to roll with things. I gotta get my Tao on: Go with the flow, ride with the tide...become like soft and peaceful water that shapes stone and carves canyons from the hard earth...Gaaaa...

So, I say to myself, is it worth it to just suck it up and get a room somewhere outside the city? We're already planning on having a car (gotta take our Colorado kid to the ocean at least once on this trip). So I start investigating the options.

After hours of searching I Find the perfect place in Framingham - reasonably priced with a kitchen (gotta have it because I am a picky eater before a marathon!). I reserve it online - the pictures look decent (clean and bright but no bells-and-whistles) - the location is cool - it's a mile from where the race goes so my husband has no excuse for not finding me. Right? And then I do some more investigation - I start reading review: tripadvisor, Expedia, Booking.com...etc... And, the place is basically a crack-house. Reviews complaining about "blood stains on the walls", "bed bugs" and "stained sheets" are so totally deal killers. I'm fine with spare and simple and no frills - but not bodily fluids - yeah, not going there.

So, I find a decent, not too overpriced place about 10 miles from the start. The reviews are generally good. I feel a little better.


Now there's the issue of getting to the start. Do I take the T into Boston and then jump on a BAA bus back out to Hopkinton? Or, do I get my husband to drive me to the Hopkinton State Park, drop me off since all the roads are closed at 7:30, hop a shuttle which drops me some distance (I know not what) from the Athlete's Village? And then there's the 0.7 mi walk to the start corals. Yeeha.

I'm sure one option will make more sense once I get there and have a chance to talk with others about it all. It's hard for me to relax about things like this. Having imposed some order, real or imagined, has helped. But it's hard to separate the logistical stresses from the running stresses. I think this is why I usually avoid big races. Well, I guess this is a good warmup for New York in November!...

Now I must focus my energies on the following:

This is me in one week and a day!

 Athlete's Village

This is what I'll be thinking about while stretching, pacing, hopping from foot to foot, eating marathon bars, drinking water et al, peeing, peeing some more, and then peeing again...for hours on end, champing at the bit, itching to move, let's go go go...:


And then...I hope...to make it here because, after all, I do want wear that bright orange jacket.

To be continued...


4 comments:

  1. You are going to be fine. Stay with the family. Bostonians know how big a deal this is for runners and i don't think even your family would expect you to be all chatty and friendly until after. You can easily commandeer the kitchen. I mean, you aren;t planning on living in the kitchen.

    Soak it all in! Quiet your mind.

    My friend listened to this at Kona (when she came down with the flu and knew her dream of winning the thing was done.) Maybe it will help you too...though it probably isn't your musical taste...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ty4TsRJQ_M

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  2. LOL, Caolan. The logistics associated with Boston can be super challenging since it's point to point. But, I'm confident that things will work themselves out as you go along. At least you found a place to stay. Once you go to the expo, pick up your packet and get settled, you'll be more relaxed. :-)

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  3. This whole post rings with taper madness! Don't worry--you know it will all come out right in the end and you will cross that finish line. Enjoy the Village and the hanging out before hand.

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  4. I'm looking forward to reading your race report and how you kicked butt at Boston.

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