Since other people are writing their Boston stories, I will post mine.
I ran my first marathon in Dec. 2009, and barely qualified for Boston (by 45 seconds). Then in October 2010, I spent a few hours on the keyboard on the first day of registration. (After this fiasco, BAA changed their registration procedure.)
Two days before the race, I was stuck in LaGardia after Delta cancelled my connecting flight to Boston. After several hours of wait, we finally got on a bus that Delta chartered. It took about 4 hours on the road to get to Boston, and we were given bottled water and Whoppers (from Burger King) to avoid hunger. Finally, got to my hotel about 2 in the morning.
The next day, I almost missed the bus for the course preview tour that I had reserved for months before. After the tour, I had lunch, went to the Expo, had dinner and went back to my hotel.
On the race day, I started having stomach upset on the school bus to the start line. As soon as we got to Hopkinton, I cut the lines to get to one of the porta potty, and then went there again shortly after (this time by waiting in the line).
When the race started, I was more worried about my stomach than anything else. But the race went surprising well. There was 20mph tail wind, and I was passing many people with ease... until Mile 21. When I got to the top of Heartbreak Hill, I thought "okay, five more miles of downhill and flat." And that's when the problem started. I started cramping on the front side (quad and shin), which I had never experienced before. (I always have more problems with my back side.) The cramp became worse after Mile 24, and I was reduced to a 9+min/mile pace. Then, I finally stumbled and fell with about 1/2 mile to go. I heard people cheering me up, and when I got up, I heard loud ovation. I was like "Seriously? They are cheering for me?" I managed to collect myself and finished the race with unremarkable time. I later learned that Paul Ryan's brother had finished 12 seconds ahead of me.
I am glad that I had the experience, but I have no intention of going back any time soon. It is not a record eligible course, and I have no chance to win an AG award there. I'd rather chase either the clock or a trophy somewhere else. And strangely enough, I don't get the sense of "competing" with other people because there are too many people around.
My week.
M: off.
T: 7 miles.
W: 8 miles.
R: 7 miles.
F: 7 miles.
SA: 7 miles.
SU: 8.8 miles.
A half marathon this Saturday, and I don't have much expectation, given the way things have gone in the last 7 weeks. But I will enjoy the competition no matter what the level is. And since this is not a local race, I don't have to feel embarrassed about running too slow.