April 21, 2009

Marathon Monday

I spent the day avoiding blogs and the news, because I wanted to be sure to to hear how the Boston Marathon turned out until I had the chance to watch. New York does not celebrate Patriots’ Day (the alternate name for what runners know as Marathon Monday), so I had to work today, but I DVRed the live coverage on Universal Sports and planned to cozy up and watch from bed tonight.

Despite not getting into work until 10 AM due to subway delays (not my fault) and some oversleeping (oops), I still managed to be home by 7 PM. I am so not used to this 40 hour a week schedule – I keep thinking it’s going to end at some point and I’ll be back to my “normal” schedule of 65 hours or to Boyfriend’s schedule of 90 hours… but it seems to be for real. Amazing! I wonder if I’m ever going to get over the shock of getting out when it’s still light out and when it’s before dinnertime instead of after.

I made a light dinner – a non-marinated adaptation of grilled pork chops with an herb chimichurri sauce – and actually managed to cook two meals simultaneously, throwing together Rachael Ray’s Tomato and Bean Soup to pack for lunch the next few days. Both came out great, and I was really pleased with myself for getting two dishes together in such a short time. I really do not get why people (this includes Boyfriend) get takeout because they don’t want to take the time to cook… cooking is WAY faster!

*Warning: if you too are waiting to watch the race yourself, stop reading now – spoilers ahead*

Just before I sat down to watch, I checked my e-mail, and what did I see but a running newsletter with the subject line, “No American winner in Boston, but what a great showing!” I was devastated. I had worked so hard to try to avoid the media and running news and anything that might alert me to the results. I had several e-mails that indicated they would be talking about Boston, but I wasn’t opening them because I didn’t want to know. I was so upset that this e-mail came through and ruined the surprise! Dejected, I turned on the TV to see for myself.

When Ryan Hall dropped back fairly early in the race, I was kind of happy – it meant that the end of the race hadn’t been spoiled. Unfortunately, the women’s race was not the same; Kara Goucher was hanging tough with all the international runners.

At mile 20, I noticed that every single runner in the women’s lead pack was wearing either neon yellow or hot pink. Are those the hot colors for racing apparel this season? I thought back to my New Balance Fall preview, and didn’t think I had seen those colors much. I noticed that all the course volunteers were dressed in the same shade of neon yellow as the runners, so maybe that’s the official color of the Boston Marathon this year? But then why weren’t all the women wearing it, if it was a uniform? I was confused.

Even though I knew it was coming, I couldn’t help screaming “go Kara!” at the TV when she finally dropped back. So close to the finish, just so close. When I saw her crying at the end of the race, it was all I could do not to cry too. American runners everywhere were cheering for her, and she had made so many public statements about how she intended to win… I was just especially taken aback when I could see her crying, because so often you see people try to just suck it up and be a good sport. It’s not that sportsmanship isn’t important and good; it’s that today it’s so taken for granted that it’s surprising to see someone’s real emotions on display after not winning (I will not say losing here… Kara Goucher is not a loser).

I just didn’t find myself as attached to the men’s race or to Ryan Hall. he was given almost as much coverage and seemed to be even more favored than Kara Goucher, but somehow I wasn’t quite as sad when he didn’t win.

While I watched, I didn’t end up lying in bed and drinking wine as I originally planned. Instead I repeated what I did during the NYC marathon in November and worked out while I watched. Then, I went down to the gym and watched live on the televisions on the elliptical, but since this was taped and I had to watch in my room, I used my mini stepper. I can’t go quite as long on the mini stepper as I can on the elliptical, but I still managed to knock out 45 minutes while watching.

I need all the training I can get, because this time next year? I will be in Boston and running the marathon myself! Now I just need to qualify…

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14 thoughts on “Marathon Monday”

  1. I couldn’t agree with you more that cooking is FASTER than takeout half the time!

    Great attitude about qualifying for Boston next year!!

  2. Sheesh, cooking is so much quicker I agree! It’s so much better knowing exactly what is in your food too!

    I might be the sorriest excuse for a runner ever. I can’t believe I forgot today was Marathon Monday. Ugh.

    You’re so doing Boston next year 😉

  3. and you will with that attitude.
    A good friend ran yesterday and all the talk and stories about it has even this kindanonrunner ready to give 26.2 a shot.

  4. Found your blog through Erik, you did so well avoiding the marathon outcome… too bad it didn’t last long enough for you to find out on your own 🙁 Looking forward to watching your journey to your BQ!

  5. It’s not the cooking that takes long, it’s the grocery shopping, planning, and cleaning.

    Good luck on you BQ goal. Maybe you’ll get it this weekend.

  6. Laura, sounds like you’re getting lots accomplished! And the cooking…impressive! I agree, my bf loves just grabbing food, but i’d much rather make something. Although he does enjoy being in the kitchen with me and chopping things for the meal.

    I wish I could have watched Boston, but it was fun to read the articles and see the photos online. I was sad for Kara, but she did awesome.

  7. Oh my gosh, I thought my heart was going to break in two when I saw Kara crying at the finish. I was just devastated for her. But her marathon career is young–she’ll do it someday! 🙂

    Hooray for your goal of running Boston next year!

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