Bouncing Back from Boston

Ever look forward to something for days, months, or even years? One of those events or moments that wakes you up in the middle of the night or makes your heart beat faster even thinking about it? Most recently, that moment for me was the Boston Marathon.

The kicker here is how do you react when that moment ... that day you've imagined in your head for years ...  doesn't go exactly according to plan? Does it define you? Does it change you? Define? Please. Change? That's a given (unless you're not being honest). e change is usually a positive. 

For those of you who witnessed my 3:29 Boston Marathon finish. You probably understand what I'm talking about. Not a single negative split the entire race. 40 minutes slower than my marathon PR. Yes, it was one of the hottest Boston's ever. Yes, my foot still wasn't 100%, but does that mean there's no positive change here? As I've said in the past, running and competing is where I learn about myself. It's where I'm able to think about what's important and live within my own head. That day showed me that I can push through a difficult situation, I can gut out a tough time and I can learn from that tough time. So here's what I learned:

1. If the foot you stress fractured 6months ago is hurting touring around New York City 2 days before a Marathon it's probably not going to be a personal record or very enjoyable run
2. When the temperatures reach 82 degrees at the start, have SaltStick!! 
3. Temps over 80 degrees 20 oz of water per hour not sufficient. Check www.gssiweb.com for adequate hydration levels before every single race *Water consumption
4. Review WHAT YOU KNOW and IMPLEMENT on race day (I had the info at my fingertips)
5. Learn from your MISTAKES, MOVE FORWARD, and REMAIN HUMBLE.  

 
SO from the Boston Experience... now I know how to not end up in the medical tent post race for 2 hours trying to get your fluids back. Now I know how to not have to drink 10 bottles of water to go to the bathroom again.  Now I know what it's like to be severely dehydrated and suffer through 26 miles. But the biggest now I know is that you'll always bounce back. Usually in more ways than one :)

I cam back from Boston a little beat up. No much time to get back into the groove of work and having to answer that question "How was Boston?" at least 100x not enjoying telling the answer. What I found though is that the more I talked about it and the more I do talk about it the more Positive the experience gets. Millions of spectators, fulfilling a dream and finishing with five huge learning experiences how can I not be happy or proud?

The people who are successful in this world take their screw ups and learn from them. They use them as fuel to do better the next time around and to become a better person. There's NEVER nothing left to learn and you never know it all. The opportunity to learn from these incredible experiences and is gift were blessed with and when we lose sight of that we've stopped living.

So in a nutshell, "How was Boston?" It was incredible. It was an experience I'll never forget. It was a privilege to be out there and I'm grateful for people around me, my friends, family and the continued opportunity to compete :)