How Cheryl Got us Kicked Out of Our Hotel Room. And Still Finished The Boston Marathon...

Me after Yelling. 

Hey!   What does a horse sound like?   ....   ME!   Why does my voice sound horse?  Because I spent 1.5 hours screaming at my faulty GPS on my Phone.  

At my Phone, Not the Runners.

A Quick note about Boston:  You need 4 eyes and two brains to navigate the highway system here.  I guess that could be said about any major city if you are unfamiliar with it.  But it does not help when BIG BEN is on your back and you have to reach a certain inner city destination with road closings thrown up to hinder your way.  

And then again....before she disappears!

I catch Cheryl as she lines up.

I had about 3 hours to find the finish line and park the car.   Several wrong turns, a google maps that had a mind of its own, and key exits closed forced me to waste most of that precious time.  And most of that time was spent screaming at an inanimate object.   Good thing no one was there to witness it.  Except that poor kid looking out his mom's back window.   (He must have been terrified!) 

Start Line.

But enough about me.    Just kidding.   (How can anyone get enough of me?)    Let me just sum up my Boston experience as:  Started off good,   progressed as planned,   and then fell to pieces....  But still managed to pull off the objective.   Meaning:  Park car,  Find Finish, Collect Cheryl,  Drive home.  

Lots of Runners!

Cheryl, on the other hand...  had a bit of a "Bad Day."   Similar to mine,  she started off good.   We found the drop off location and POOF!   She disappeared.   I did not link up with her until I had parked the car and took the shuttle buss to the start line.  

Wave Three Begins! at 10:50 AM in the Hot Sun!

There they kept the spectators and runners separated...  so I could not link up with her and give her her Diet Coke... (Which I carried all the way from the parking spot and on the bus) She was in the third wave so she had to stand out in the hot sun for about three hours before she could even begin!   

Where is Waldo  Er Cheryl.

To those who may not know this,  the Sun zaps your strength.   Never mind heat stroke and/or sun burn,  You simply feel depleted absorbing all that radiation.   Add in that her Water intake was limited as well as her caloric intake and she was being set up for failure.   I had a feeling she should have eaten more last night, but she had been feeling a little "off" since that train ride and did not want to eat anything that did not agree with her.  

Cheryl's Competition.  

However,   Dehydration can feel the same as eating something that was bad.   Cramps, side aches, muscle pain is all a form of early dehydration.   And once it starts,  simply drinking more water does not make it go away.  In fact, it may even make it worse!  ( Which it did.) 



Add in the heat!  Which I think was the biggest contributor for today's results, and you have a recipe for disaster.  Well,  almost disaster.

She was feeling bad at mile 6.   But chose to stay in it and slow down.   She said she began to get disheartened when the Tutu's began passing her.   And then the "Charity Runners."   Every time she took a drink it got even worse.   At several points she was forced to walk.  

The REAL Prize!   World Marathon Majors!

But the story does not end there.   Generals sometime have to take  the objective any way they can.  For Cheryl, the objective was simple:   Get that Finishers Medal and check the Boston box.   The ultimate goal here is to tick off another World Marathon Major.  And the path to that goal requires Boston to be finished.  

Nissan and I are friends now.

So Cheryl finished!   Over 4 hours, but a finish is still a finish.   Like College,  no one asks how well you did in English Lit.   They only see that degree.... And the Boston Jacket and medal prove that she came,  she saw, and she Finished.   

To be fair,   the weather slammed others as well.   Scott Jurek and Andy Burrfoot were also in this and logging in 4+ hours  ( and these are Legends in the running world!)  As Cheryl was propped up against the wall, with several runners next to her puking and passing out,  I noted that she at least finished on her own power and was able to keep things together.  

Cheryl at the Finish!

So  Hurray for Boston!    No lobster bake, but that is ok.   I'm happy to be done with this one.   I'm not sure when we will be able to tackle something this huge again.   She even noted that it was possible  that all the hype of this race did not meet her expectations.  It was huge, well organized and tough!   But lacked the "fun" of Chicago and Grandma's marathon.   

She does not look too happy.

As for me.  I found navigating Boston as the biggest Labyrinthian  challenge I have ever faced yet.  I'm impressed that I managed to find parking 1.5 miles away and did not have to pay for it.  (More Dumb Luck than "Frugal Skill" on my part.)  I was worried the whole time that the car would be stolen, broken into, damaged, or towed!   Thankfully none of those things happened.  

Can Marathons Produce "Shell Shock?"

The People, police, and volunteers of Boston were awesome!   It is a friendly city and beautiful.   Maybe someday we will return to simply take in the City Life....or not.   But it was an adventure.  Cheryl noted that it was highly likely we would NEVER have stepped foot in Boston if it had not held the Oldest race in the country.  And we both get to tick off Massachusetts off our State's list.   

Um,  Could you guys move?

Cheryl the Survivor!

Oh, and to answer the questions you all must be having:   How did Cheryl get us kicked out of our Hotel room?   She took a bath.   And the bathtub leaked.... sending water down into the lobby.    The Hotel staff "offered" to find us a new room that was more waterproof.   We took them up, but not before Cheryl voiced her disdain....  To ME! 

 Being the ever diplomat,   I "translated" her wishes and we were able to switch rooms without incident or physical confrontations.  They even threw in a free breakfast.... which we are never going to be able to take them up on.   But I recognize the gesture.  

So that is it!    Cheryl ran Boston.   Been there! Done that!   Now let's move along.  When the going got rough,  neither of us ever quit...  because we are both winners!   Even if the victory was marginal.   A Win is still a WIN!  And that is why I married her.  

And I like the way she looks when she is cleaned up.