This is a cool picture of the turn onto Boylston Street.

(Sunday Paper, Year VII, Issue 18)

I think back in October I planned on doing a picture post after the marathon and then once I saw the pictures I was like, “Yeesh, I probably shouldn't.”

I told you last week - the pictures did a pretty good job reflecting how hard the Boston Marathon was to get through six months ago.

Instead, I posted a little recap of each part of the race.

This time, though, I definitely trained better.

I definitely felt better the morning of the run - my legs were well-rested.

And I definitely enjoyed the run more.

I think the pictures reflect that as well.

So today, instead of summarizing the race, I’ll just share some of the pictures and a couple of the videos, and that will probably be my last word for a bit on the 2022 Boston Marathon.

This was the big picture, with less than a mile to go, that I wanted to pose for and then frame it or something…in October I ran too far to the left so I didn’t have a good picture. I was in the perfect spot in April….but I did not account for how close behind this woman I was. Oh well. At least I smiled nice.

I know. Some of you are like, “Finally.”

The marathon has been all I’ve been writing about for just about the past couple of months - maybe the past six months if you go back to the last one.

Sorry about that.

But I don’t have a whole lot else going on, to be honest. (And right around now - Friday, specifically - is when the high wears down and I start missing the routine of the training. So this is also nice and therapeutic.)

But also, it’s weird to think that a little more than a year ago I was about ready to give up on the idea of running the Boston Marathon because I didn’t think it was ever going to happen (and I wasn’t getting any younger)…and now I’ve run two.

So here are some pictures, and I’ll put some comments in the captions. I mentioned last week that it wasn’t until I ran April that I realized how scaled-down October was - one of those realizations was with the pictures.

In October there wasn’t a camera trained on Hereford Street to catch the turn onto Boylston…and there also wasn’t a Coolidge Corner shot like the one you’ll see below.

Also, these pictures (like the Citgo sign picture there) were much more crowded than last time, speaking to the density of runners.

But, again, I think you can get a sense of how much I was enjoying myself.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Lest you think it was all running…anyone who saw my second-half splits knows I walked a bit in those last 7-8 miles. Also, this is a good look at my number: every time I see it I read it like Jean Valjean sings at the end of ‘Who Am I?’ in Les Mis:
2-7-0-4-1!!!!!

A couple more from Boylston Street: This was after I heard my name over the loudspeaker, just steps from the Finish Line - I gave a little hands in the air cheer. By the way, it’s very funny that I spent so much time worrying about what shorts and t-shirt combo I was going to wear for this race and after I had settled on blue shorts and a yellow shirt I ended up needing to switch to these shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt…and a hat, which I wasn’t planning on at all (I never run in a hat) but which ended up being great to keep my head from getting sunburnt. OK. The other Boylston Street pic…

…This is the moment I heard Kathy call my name and I saw her and the girls. I’m really glad they were there. In October I wanted them to wait by my old apartment, which is a little over a mile from the finish line and I was just cooked when I saw them there. This time they got to see me finish more strongly, and it’s just much more exciting on Boylston Street. Also, THAT GUY IN THE FOREGROUND IS WEARING THE EXACT YELLOW SHIRT I ALMOST WORE! Anyway, below is a link to something I posted on Instagram - I’m having trouble embedding the video here, but the video at the Instagram link shows this moment and you can hear Kathy cheer and grab my attention.

Click here for the Instagram link to the video I mention in the caption above.

Notes

*As unpopular as I fear writing about running can be at times I do think the Boston Marathon pieces have driven some new traffic to the site. So allow me to tell you that I do this every week - the Sunday Paper. It’s a way for me to exercise the creative writing side of my brain on a weekly basis. So I hope you keep coming back. You can keep tabs on me otherwise at the social media links below.

*Hey look at this cool thing I figured out how to do so I don’t have to tell you to go to all the various social media pages - you can just click the buttons below. The social media is a constant work in progress - the one I use most right now is probably the new-ish running Instagram, but I think they’re all worth a follow. Just click the button(!).

What I’ve Been Enjoying

I’ll leave this here at the bottom because it’s a couple of weeks’ worth of stuff to catch up on. I didn’t do as much as I hoped with my week home alone recovering from the marathon, but as I keep reminding myself, this is about taking more in than I did previously, and I am doing that. (If you’re new, I’m trying to set aside time this year to take in some media I’ve not seen or heard yet - movies and albums I should have probably watched or listened to years ago.)

“Tuesday Night Music Club” - Sheryl Crow
“Madman Across The Water” - Elton John
“Songs In The Key Of Life” - Stevie Wonder
“Tigerlily” - Natalie Merchant
“Earthling” - Eddie Vedder
“Funeral” - Arcade Fire
“Remain In Light” - Talking Heads
Sherlock Holmes
Deadpool 2
Sword of Trust
The Adam Project
Brittany Runs A Marathon