Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Spectating Boston -Congrats to all the Runners

What a crazy wonderful weekend!

First we drove 15 hours back from OBX on Saturday, arrived home, slept, and left for Boston Sunday morning.  My son went with me so it was a great catching up time too!  We arrived in Boston in time to go to the Expo and buy a few things. There were SALES since the Expo was ending.  Good thing since Mom was buying for both son and daughter!  I had to get myself a little momento of Em's first Boston too!  Then we (Em's friend, Tall Fella was with us too)found a place for dinner, (sorry I don't remember the name but it was near NikeTown) where I had absolutely one of the best restaurant meals of
At dinner  the night before
my life. It was pasta, chicken, gorgonza cheese maybe??? and butternut squash with a killer sauce!  Yum!  Then Em and I headed back to the hotel while the Young Men hit the town.  Before I knew it Em was up and getting ready to race her first Boston!!!!  I took some pics of her and off she went to catch the shuttle.


Ready to race!



The three of us - myself, my son and Tall Fella headed out. We ended up avoiding the subway and walking all the way. It was a beautiful day and the public gardens were beautiful!!
In Boston Commons
                                                                                                              
We found the place we wanted to stand near the finish line.  I texted Emily to let her know where we would be. We had some time to peruse the area with two of us staying put.  Tall Fella knew where the clean indoor bathrooms were, one of many reasons he made spectating this race so much fun!!! I got some free coffee, free Ben and Jerry's ice cream, a free latte and free hot chocolate. Good thing I knew where the clean bathrooms were!  I found a Lulu on the way to the bathroom but in spite of going through it 1 3 times I resisted!!! As it got more crowded all 3 of us decided to stay put.
Emily's cheerleaders walking to the Marathon
Before we knew it the first wheelchairs were coming in! Wow!  They were amazing!  Then the women and of course the elite men. Yes they were exciting for sure but I love seeing the "regular people."  I cheered and rang my cowbell for hours.  I have a cowbell blister but I didn't let that stop me.  We were surrounded by people that were really into cheering also. For some reason my text alerts weren't coming so the lady next to me texted her brother who was tracking people for her. From that point on he tracked Em for us!!! They were from Seattle - such friendly people just like all the bloggers from Seattle!  Emily was on track with her prediction so we had an idea when she was coming.  Thank goodness for Tall Fella who could see her a long ways off.  As he said he helped her pick out that running skirt for 4 hours at the expo so he would have known her anywhere!  She saw us and heard us and all the people around us going NUTS FOR HER!!!! It was an emotional moment for me seeing my daughter rocking Boston! I'll let you read her specific info in her race report.  We made our way to the finish area and collected our girl. We all went out for a congratulatory meal! It was very fun to be part of this huge crowd in Boston. So many people feeling so proud and so happy enveloping everyone in a huge feeling of good will!

With her proud brother


With the two tall guys


With her very proud mom



Now I Need to RACE!!


This coming Sunday I am running The Sweetest Half.  I am not tapering for this half and it is somewhat hilly.  The half that I am specifically training for is at the end of May. But I am looking forward to this race. It is a new race for me and should be fun. It is very close by and I have heard it is well organized and scenic. That works for me! Here is my favorite racer who ran it  last year.

31 comments:

Ewa said...

Glad you had such a sweet time at Boston cheering your girl and other runners too. I've been wondering how it went.

Claudia said...

Awww, as a mom I can only imagine how emotional it was seeing her running towards the finish line.
You must be so very proud of her.
She is very lucky to have such a great support system at home.
Congrats!!

Teamarcia said...

What a special, special time! Can just imagine how proud you are of your beautiful girl!

Jill said...

You must be such a proud mom. How exciting to see her cross the finish line in BOSTON. What a dream! Thanks for the report and the pictures. Have fun this weekend on your race.

Anne said...

What an amazing experience this must have been! What pride must have been felt by every one of you! How great for her and how special for you!

Monica said...

Wow! That is SO COOL that you and your children are all runners and are able to support each other in races! Sounded like a great day!!

Julie said...

Oh my gosh, that must of been wonderful to see your daughter finish the Boston marathon!! I can tell by this post how much you love her and how proud you are:) Thanks for sharing the pictures!

BTW: You asked about who took the pictures for my half marathon....it was me:) I run with my camera. I am surprised that the pictures turned out...I was thinking that they would turn out blurry. Once it gets closer to the fall and I really want to PR I will leave the camera behind:)

HappyTrails said...

Too much fun!!! It is so neat to read the love and excitement you show for your daughter - awesome! I thought she looked rather lovely in her pink running skirt - good choice! :-) Glad you had a great time and shared your weekend with us.

Hannah said...

I just love your family! Yay!!! How awesome to be at Boston together. Warm fuzzies!

I cannot wait to hear Emily's report...I've been thinking of her nonstop!

Good luck to you on your half!

Johann said...

That is so great! Thanks for sharing your feelings and emotions with us. You're an awesome family!

Amy said...

Great spectator report! Sounds like you guys had a wonderful time!

TMB @ RACING WITH BABES said...

Great report. I got all choaked up reading about how proud you were of Emily! Good luck this weekend!

Marlene said...

Congrats to your daughter! I LOVED spectating at Boston last year. What a race!!!

Molly said...

awww, that is so wonderful that you were able to see her finish! What a moment I'm sure!!

btw, I have written about my Mom's ghost....there are two links in my post from last friday "weekend and a winner"

Tara said...

Man, I wish I could have been there, it sounds so fun!

Congrats to your daughter, I'm sure that you are very proud!

misszippy said...

congrats to your daughter! So awesome you could be there with her--I'm sure it meant a lot to her. Good luck this weekend.

Pining for Pinterest said...

Congratulations to your daughter!! That is awesome! Good luck this weekend :)

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

Great race report on your daughter! Sounds like fun! Hope you have a great time at your half marathon on Sunday!

Anonymous said...

That had to be one of the best things ever...to see your daughter run in Boston!!!!!

Liz said...

I love that you have ' a cowbell blister'!!! Great supporting, and good to hear that your daughter ran well!

Heidi said...

Awww, what a special post. The pride you have in your daughter is so apparent. And boy ... is Tall Guy EVER tall! WOW.

Jess said...

Congrats to your daughter! What an amazing accomplishment!

Unknown said...

I heard a ZILLION loud cow bells and I'm glad you were one of them! It was really fun meeting Emily, she is so cute and sweet. I just loved her and I wish I could have met you! I can tell you're ready to race, watching everyone out there is so motivating!

LMC said...

Congratulations to your daughter Emily! That's such a special memory for the two of you, and your son, to share. You'll have that forever!! Good luck this weekend!

Tricia said...

congrats to her! what an amazing experience!

Michelle said...

Congrats to her! I can only imagine how proud you must be - amazing experience! Great pictures!

Anonymous said...

Haha...I'll count it :)

Lindsay said...

expo sales?!? i totally didn't know about that. will have to remember that... :)

congrats to emily!

Happy Feet 26.2 said...

I missed out on the sales too. Bummer! What a sweet report. So nice of you to be there for your daughter. I see you have a race coming up too. Good Luck! 60 miles last week - that is amazing. Congrats!

Suzy said...

Wow, what a great experience to be there to cheer Emily on!

Keri said...

How fun! What a proud moment for you! Congats to your daughter!