Finishing Boston

Finishing Boston

It was an incredible feeling to be a finisher of the Boston Marathon. My knee buckled at the 10k mark and I could feel the tape holding. So kept going. What kept me in it was all of the little kids with their hands out for a high five. I must have high fived 1000 children. It was an amazing feeling. Next thing I remember I was in Wellesley around mile 13. Students screaming and holding signs. One place was handing out beer to runners. ugghhh...I zoned out again till about mile 18 when pain started setting in. I then pushed up heartbreak hill. I remembered seeing mile 24 and about a half mile later, my knee just seized. I had to walk. I walked for a little bit until I got a indication in my knee that I had 2 more miles left. Around this time I ran up to Dick Hoyt. It was incredible to get to see his son and him out on the course. It was such an inspiration watching him push his son towards the finish. Then the next thing I knew I rounded a corner and saw the finish line. I did my penguin waddle to the finish because by this time my knee was gone.

The hardest thing for me was trying to touch my toes to get my timing chip off. Then I handed it to the man and was given the famous Boston finisher medal. It was a great feeling. It wasn't as hard as our children's marathon we ran but it hurt me bad because of my injury. I would have done it all over again! I was then wrapped in some foil to keep the body heat in and handed some food. It was hard to walk the quarter mile to get out of there. I could barely walk but I refused treatment. Which was dumb! I walked the wrong way and ended up walking another mile to the Westin Copley where our bags and team function was. I then needed treatment there as I couldn't walk no more. Everything seized up and the swelling was bad. I received treatment for about 30 minutes and then walked out on my own. It was the most incredible experience I have ever felt and very overwhelming.

I want to thank everyone for their donations, support, text messages and phone calls. All of the love really made it easier to finish! I thank all of you!