Boston: Professional Post-Race Area

After I crossed the line, I walked on my jello-like legs through the chute. Before I made it very far, I was pulled into the VIP area. I hadn't received my finisher's medal yet, so when I was diverted all I could manage was, "Do I get a medal?" haha! I had not nearly killed myself to finish my worst marathon in years to walk away without a Boston medal. They had me continue walking to a medal and space blanket area, then grab a bag of food and head into the pro area we'd started the day in.

Someone gave me my bag after I walked in, and I reunited with Jen, who had also had a rough day (3:08) and was sitting on the floor. I am currently in a clinical study for a performance glucose monitor, so I had a glucose monitor on my arm and one of the medics started asking me about my blood sugar levels and telling me I needed to eat right away. I tried to explain that I wasn't diabetic but he never seemed to believe me. I also connected with Nick, who was in the room with Mary who he currently coaches, and the medic kept yelling at him to make me eat my sandwich. The medic then wouldn't let me leave the room to change so I had to go behind this half partition thing to get into dry clothes. Later he went on to give me and Jen lectures about how you should drop out if you're having such a bad day and find another marathon to nail [facepalm].

Nick was the first person I said more than a sentence to, and I ended up bursting into tears while talking to him. I've had marathons that I thought were bad before, but nothing compared to this one! It made laugh at 2015 Sara ("You thought 3:01 was terrible when you were aiming for 2:59?!"), 2020 Sara (2:58 with bronchitis), and really at the Sara who ran 2:46-2:47 thinking it was terrible - and sometimes you do just have to laugh so you don't cry! I know it was because my body was wrecked and weak from being sick, but it's still quite heartbreaking, especially on this stage (although if it would have been a local race I would have DNSed).

There were a few pros left in the room, including Steph Bruce getting a massage. Since Jen was also getting one, I had a short one before we walked back to our hotel together. The masseuse tried to get me to see their podiatrist if I had blisters, and when I declined she tried to pull my socks off to check but couldn't manage to remove the compression socks (I had on pants at this time too). The medical staff were pushy! They didn't have Ibuprofen either, so I had to grab some at Walgreens since I'd forgotten to pack it.

Jen and I met Colin back at our hotel, and celebrated his 2:48 PR! I definitely need to keep running the same goal races as athletes I coach, because it gives me something to be proud of if my own race is crap. Jen was flying out that evening, so she rushed to shower and pack up. Amy eventually returned from her post-race Unicorn Club area and we celebrated her 10th consecutive Boston and 3:32 finish - she was hoping to slide under 3:30 but was overall happy. Then I pretty much just laid in bed while chatting and answering messages until we decided to go buy some wine before heading to dinner at Atlantic Fish! 

I wore my pro athlete lanyard around
instead of my medal and jacket

We got lost and walked what felt like miles to find the restaurant, then service took forever but we enjoyed ourselves. We then had some wine, told a lot of stories, Colin headed back to his hotel, and Amy tried to go to sleep while I was still wide awake. I typically struggle with sleeping after marathons, and wine seems to help (post-marathon is the only time I drink anything alcoholic) but I think I was just so wrecked from this one that nothing really helped. I managed about 2 hours worth of sleep but chalked it up to better than zero!

Wine & spirits

The story continues here.