Boston Trip Report Day 2 & The B.A.A. 5K Report

Haven’t read part 1 yet?  Don’t miss out on the fun and photos- go read it here.

Sunday morning was a super early start in the POURING rain!  I got dressed, had a granola bar and water and was on my way.  Thankfully by the time we got off the T-line and to the start, the rain had tapered off!  It was still quite cold, but I knew I would appreciate it once I was running.  (I don’t think my mom appreciated it at all!)  This was not “just” a 5K…it was the BOSTON 5K…that meant lots of spectators, a great atmosphere and a medal!  Yes, a medal!  SCORE!  And lots of bloggies 🙂  We met on the steps for some pre-race conversation; it was a great way to pass the time before getting to the start line.

The 5k was crowded at first but as the first 1/4 mile went on, I was able to get into a groove on my own.  I started out fast- way too fast- and hit the first hill with gusto!  I knew if I wanted to finish strong, I needed to slow down.  I hit the first mile at just over 10 minutes.  The second mile went relatively fast- the crowd support was amazing, the best I have ever witnessed for a 5k and I was loving all the cheers.  After passing the 2nd water stop, I decided to slow down because my shins were on fire.  I didn’t want to come away from this race focused on pain, I wanted to come away from this race being happy and having had a good time.  I took it down to a slow jog, but that ended up actually hurting more.  I struggled to get comfortable for the entire last mile- but thankfully, I had come across Morgan and Spike spectating and their cheers gave me a nice push to the finish.  Even though it was “just” a 5K, it was by far the coolest I ever ran!!! 

My official time was 31:42- I am very happy with that because I really did get to enjoy the race and take it all in.  I had thought about pushing for a PR, and I probably could have gotten it, but after rethinking it just before go-time I decided to just have fun with the run since I wasn’t sure I would ever get to do it again. 

After the 5K, my mom and I headed immediately for coffee which was much needed!  before we headed over for bloggy breakfast we stopped to watch some of the invitational mile.  It was pretty cool to see some young runners out there and made even better by the funny commentary provided by Spike!  By the time 10am rolled around there were some seriously hungry runnnahs out there!  We headed over to Stephanies on Newbury for breakfast- and while they didn’t have our confirmation (Morgan was in charge of this…the most organized person EVER…something tells me this was a problem on the resturants behalf and NOT Morgan!) they were quick to accomodate our group.  After getting settled in with our coffee’s and Mimosa’s, it was a total chat-fest!  Next to being THISCLOSE to Kara Goucher and Ryan Hall, this was honestly, one of my favorite times all weekend!  Plus, I had just about the best waffle EVER!  Stacked high with strawberries and whipped cream.  (Katie managed to have whipped cream with a side of waffle!)  I was definitely sad to see the breakfast end!

 

From breakfast, it was back to the hotel to get ready to meet up with my Mom’s friend Lorna!  Back on the T-Line…back to the hotel…back to the T-Line…and into the Financial District we went!  We enjoyed a great dinner at Red Sky and then went for some ice cream.  We ended up back at Lorna’s house until quite late and by the time I got home, I was beat!

Up next…Marathon Monday ♥