I was signed up for my 8th consecutive Boston Marathon. We arrived a day earlier than we had in the past but stayed once again (3rd time) at the Copley Marriott on Huntington Ave. Silly me thinking that if we got to the expo on the Saturday, it wouldn’t be as crowded as Sunday. Like I said, silly me.
There were quite a few things about this weekend that were good. In fact, I was relaxed and positive in spite of the weather looking challenging. We have made it a habit to drive into Boston along the marathon course. At about mile 9 or so, we stop at Morse Tavern in Natick for lunch. It wasn’t as crowded this year probably because we were there on the Friday not Saturday. We were checked in and unpacked at the Copley by 4:30pm. On our way in, Ted went through a red light and was stopped immediately by an officer. He saw my marathon jacket asked if we were running and let us go.
Friday night we didn’t have dinner reservations. As we walked along Boylston, taking in the activity at the finish line and doing a bit of window shopping, we saw so many inviting places to eat. Stephanie’s on Newbury was our eventual landing spot. Very enjoyable, atmosphere, food, the whole shebang.
Saturday: Ted was going to run the 5K on the Saturday morning if his leg felt ok but it was acting up so he passed. I decided to go out for a very short jog just in case I couldn’t get out for a shake out run Sunday morning. The weather didn’t look good and I thought the roads might be slick. It was a quick 1 mile just to see the 5K runners getting ready and to shake out the legs. It was windy but turned out being the nicest of the weekend mornings. Lucky 5K racers!
We ate breakfast at City Table inside the Lenox Hotel. Very good! My order got messed up and was late. The waiter insisted on giving us breakfast on the house. Another good sign. What wasn’t a good sign was my phone battery decided it had enough. One more chore to get done before Monday. Since it was only 9:30 after breakfast, we decided to walk to the expo, about 2 miles from our hotel. It was at the Seaport Conference Center this year and was uncomfortably crowded. I picked up my number, shirt, bag, bought my jacket, etc. We waited in the check out line for close to an hour because phone scanners weren’t working in our cue. This put a major crimp in our day. Walking back, we stopped at Longs Jewelers to get my Boston Marathon ring resized. Got coffee then went to lunch. Now it was time to do something about my phone. What an agonizing, frustrating ordeal that was. Went into Apple and had to make an appointment. “Come back in 2 hours”. We got a notice once back at the hotel they were ready. It had been 45 minutes. Went back, met with a techy, answered a lot of questions and had to go back again after about 1 ½ hours when the phone would be fixed. Once I finally got my phone, it was off to dinner at Towne Stove and Spirits.
Sunday: Ted went for a swim and I went for a 2 mile shake out run. I found the Boston Common ducks. Not done up this year in blue and yellow marathon colors but still looking quite dapper. I met my friend Rex, the German Shepherd from last year in the Public Garden. He gave me a friendly kiss on the check and tried to steal my glove. What a cutie! Made me miss my pups. HELLO Z & L!!!
We had the day to kill and decided to see some sights. First stop was Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. If it were a nicer day, we would have enjoyed a walk along the Freedom Trail. It was so windy and cold, we didn’t last long at the monument but spent about an hour in the museum.
Next stop, Salem to see what “witchery” we could find. The info center, the Salem Witch Museum and lunch at the Hawthorne Hotel proved to be a fun morning. Upon leaving, we stopped at a tiny spot, Witch Trials Memorial.
It was a nice way to take it easy without a lot of walking miles on the feet. Once back at Copley, I went back and forth with what to wear in order to overcome the challenging weather forecast for Monday. I had my base layer picked out and hoped my waterproof wind jacket would be enough for running. I was more worried about my feet than my hands. Big mistake.
After getting my stuff ready for race day and reading over my motivations and other course material, we headed over to Sorellina for dinner at 6pm. It was fine dining perfection.
Sunday night, the weather for race day was unchanged with high winds, 25 -35 mph, cold temperatures with a high of 38 feeling like 28 and rain. A lot of rain. It didn’t look good. Not much I could do but hope the clothes I chose to wear would be sufficient. I would decide the next morning whether to bring the spare sneakers or not.
Next up is Race Day. I did not dress right for the conditions.
Joanne
