So, the Boston Marathon. I'm sitting in the lobby of my hotel room in my finisher's shirt. There are six other people sitting in close vicinity wearing the same shirt. I don't think anyone wants to hear a play-by-play of every moment, so I'll provide some highlights (and lowlights, just for good measure.)

• I discovered that Dan's cousin Katie, whom I've only met once before, would be running just about the same pace as I planned to.   We decided to meet up in the Athlete's Village (where you had to report about 2.5 hours before your start time) and try to run together.  By some miracle, our meet-up plan among 36,000 runners worked and we did end up running together for all but about 2 miles of the race.  Pretty cool. Katie rocks.
• When we walked the mile or so to the start line, we passed an awesome sign that said, "Beer, Food, and Cigarettes." That made me laugh.  Other signs that made me laugh: "Run faster, I just farted," and lots that said, "Go Random Stranger Go!"  And others that I can't remember now.  I tried to remember everything, but it blurred by.
• At mile 13ish, we passed the so-called Scream Tunnel of Wellesley Women hollering their heads off.  You can hear them for a half-mile before you get there.  They hold signs that say, "Kiss me, I code," "Kiss me, I'm Minnesotan," "Kiss me, I'm queer," etc. etc. etc.  Some people actually run over there and get kissed.  It was crazy.
• In Wellesley, we also passed Katie's kids.  They were thrilled to see her.  I tried to high-five them, but they were like, "Who the hell are you?"  Katie said she would explain later.
• Heartbreak Hill is the last of a series of hills in Newton.  The uphills were hard, but the downhills (all through the course) were harder.  My quads felt shaky even before I got to Newton.  The top of Heartbreak is mile 21, and the rest of the course is downhill.  That was cool, but it also hurt.  If I ever do this again, I'll do all hills all the time.  One could never do enough hills.  This winter, I did 100% of my hill workouts on the treadmill, which means I never ran downhill.  So, I wasn't prepared for how hard it is to run downhill for 16ish miles.  I was actually unprepared for how difficult the course is.  I totally underestimated that.  Not that I would have done anything different to prepare, but still.
• Around mile 23, I started thinking I would walk some.  But, then I realized that there was absolutely no reason to walk.  The desire to walk was 100% mental and 0% physical.  I kept running.  I played the mind games that always work for me - I have 30 minutes left of this.  I can definitely run for 30 more minutes.  Then, I have 20 minutes left.  That's all!  20 minutes!  Then, Only 4 laps around a track!  4 laps!  Then 2, then right on Hereford, left on Boylston, and I could see the finish line.
• It was surreal.  I have been dreaming of this exact moment for 25 years.  "This is happening," I said to myself a few times during the last few miles.  It was hard to believe it was actually happening until I actually had the finish line in sight.
• At the finish, I felt slightly dizzy and confused.  I had a hard time orienting myself to where Dan would be.  The sun was strong and sort of punishing the entire time - a shock after a winter of frigid temperatures and no sun.  I was suffering a bit for sure. Eventually, I found Dan.  I was overwhelmed by my horrible smell.  If Dan was, he didn't say anything.
• Later, my nausea intensified and the real low was vomiting repeatedly on the street outside the restaurant where I tried and failed to eat dinner.  This has only happened to me in sunny marathons, and sure enough, I have a wicked sunburn all down my right side. The plus?  I've burned off several psoriasis lesions. Hooray! I did apply sunscreen, but I ended up dumping water on myself at every water stop due to the "heat." It was 68 degrees by the end.  I can't believe how hot that felt.  Minnesota is too cold.

Okay, I think that's enough for now.  I'll have to think about this a bit.  It was marathon 7.  I think I might go for 10 marathons?  I'm not sure.  This was the 3rd fastest and the most epic.  I'm really happy about it.