Yesterday was the 114th annual Boston Marathon! A lot of Matt's friends who did track (and are now alum's) came back to Boston and were running in it. I went to the Marathon Expo the day before the marathon, where they were selling a lot of running clothes, energy drinks, and health bars. I wanted to get this year's snazzy turqoise and yellow Marathon jacket, but they were $90.00! Maybe next year, that'll be incentive for me to volunteer.
Matt ran "bandit" or jumped in at Wellesley without a number and ran 12 miles and veered off before the finish line. I woke up at 9 and headed down to the finish line at 9:30 to see what all the excitement was about. The race started at 9:17, (wheelchairs and handcycles, then women start at 9:30, then men start at 10:00).
It was a chilly morning even though the sun was out, but the huddled spectator crowd made it seem cheery. Very little happens for an hour or so until the first people in wheelchairs approach the finish line. Then you hear commotion down Boylston St and the wave of cowbells (handed out for free by race organizers) grows louder and you start to ring your cowbell before you even see anything! The tired but determined athlete sprints down to the finish line and you yell and yelp as loud as you can because what they've just accomplished is so awesome! On the big screen tv, you see the female runner in the lead, trying to shake off the Russian runner behind her. I wanted to capture her crossing my view with my cameraphone, and I was very anxious, because I knew it would be less than a second and I didn't want to miss her! (I didn't miss her, and the video came out great!)
The area around the finish line near the Boston Public Library became very crowded and I was snuggly surrounded in the barricades by cheering people. Two people from The Tech spotted me (I was wearing an MIT track sweatshirt) and they asked me if I knew anyone who was running. I gave them the names of the MIT alums I knew.
I even think the tv camera broadcasting the race caught my section of the crowd a couple times. I saw the top female and male runners finish! They were going so fast, even after 2 straight hours or 26.2 miles of running! Whew.... I was a little fatigued from standing in one place ringing a cowbell, too. I stood there until my friend Joe crossed the finish, and I headed to Commonwealth Ave for a more comfortable marathon viewing party in someone's posh apartment, to watch the rest of the 20,000 runners hustle in - some in funny costumes. Minnie Mouse! Cat in the Hat! Pirates, Canadians, carrying American flags!
What must you do before running (or spectating) a marathon?? CARBO-LOAD!!! The day before the marathon, Matt's runner friends had a pancake breakfast. I made Rachael Ray's "Only recipe you will ever need" Pasta Carbonara. It is simply pasta, egg, bacon, garlic, romano cheese, white wine, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. And it's delicious! I doubt it's the only recipe you'll ever need, since there aren't any vegetables in it. I brought it to the pancake breakfast, even though some disbelievers doubted its "breakfast quality." (C'mon - it has eggs, cheese, and bacon). By the end of breakfast, it was all gone! There were also blueberry, chocolate chip, and peanut butter chip pancakes which were scrumptious. Until we must meet again to load up on carbs next year - Great Eats! :)
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