Boston Marathon Packing List

I'm flying out tomorrow to run my 6th Boston Marathon!  Here's what I'm bringing:

A Cranky Hamstring
I ran the One City Marathon 7 weeks ago. That was my goal race for the spring and I ran a PR of 3:14:42.
I am running Boston for fun and because I love connecting with all of my runner friends from around the country. The original plan was to run an 18 miler and a 20 miler in the middle of this seven week period, but that never happened. 

Two weeks after the marathon, I ran the NYC Half Marathon. Even though I ran that race "easy" it set me back because I never recovered fully from One City. I was sore for days afterward so I took about three days off. When I resumed running, my right hamstring, which was nagging me in between the two races, started acting up. 

It turns out I have some mild tendonitis in my lower hamstring as well as my upper hamstring. I have been going to physical therapy weekly and doing all the recovery things, but the hamstring has been up and down. Sometimes I feel like it's 100% better. But other times, it really speaks to me. 

I have run two really encouraging track workouts since the NYC Half. Both of these workouts confirmed that I have not lost any speed and in fact, my speed is as fast as it's ever been! Both workouts were 100% free of any hamstring pain! But the long runs have really irritated the hamstring. I have run 13.1 miles twice, including the NYC Half. My third longest run was 11 miles. So I feel quite unprepared from an endurance perspective. It could be that my hamstring really loves the flat surface of the track but doesn't like anything remotely hilly. That would be problematic for Boston.

As much as I would love to leave this cranky hamstring at home - it's coming with me. For better or for worse!

adidas Adios Pro 2 Shoes
Last year I took a gamble and ran Boston in a brand new pair of shoes-- the ASICS Metaspeed Sky Paris. I had never run more than three miles in them prior to the race. They ended up working out well, but I decided against wearing them again because they only have a 5mm drop, which irritates my Achilles. 

Over the past several weeks I have tried numerous carbon fiber plated shoes. My favorite was the Nike Alphafly 3, but I didn't have the opportunity to run long enough in them to want to wear them on race day. I also liked the Brooks Hyperion Elite PB, but they started to feel firmer than I would have liked towards the end of a 13-miler. In order to want to wear them in a marathon, I would like to test them out for 18-20 miles.

As a contrast to last year's risky shoe choice, I am playing it safe this year with the Adios Pro 2. The only remaining pair I have boasts my half marathon PR and my full marathon PR from December-- before I ran One City. Ideally my marathon shoes would have fewer miles on them, but I think the Adios Pro 2 is a true workhorse that will still perform well with 50+ miles. I did try the Adios Pro 4 and that was a nightmare. My big toe was hitting the top of the shoe in my normal size, so I sized up and that was a mistake. The fit was sloppy, my feet were sliding all over the place, I got a blister, and my Achilles hurt from the 6mm drop. Adidas ruined their best shoe, in my honest opinion. 

One of the reasons I am playing it safe with my shoe choice is that there is so much uncertainty in other areas of my life-- I don't need shoe uncertainty on top of that.

Tifosi Sunglasses and Light Horse Track Club Gear
The weather is looking pretty good! It might rival the 2022 weather for my best Boston weather. The current forecast shows that it will start in the low 50s and rise to the upper 50s by the end, with sunny skies. Sunscreen and sunglasses will be a must!

I'll be racing in my Light Horse Track Club crop top and rabbit shorts - which have so many pockets for my gels. This will be my first time racing Boston in a "club" outfit, unless you consider my McMillan shirt from 2018 to be a club. 

What I'm NOT taking with me
Now we get to the heart of the blog. There's something I am trying very hard to NOT bring with me this weekend: the emotional state that I've been in for the past four weeks. The past four weeks have been plagued with frustration, anxiety, and anger. I am working very hard to shake these emotions, but I haven't done a good job of it.

We put our house on the market on February 28 because the builder of our new home told us that we were obligated to close on the new house on March 31. We were in no hurry to sell our home. No hurry to move. We timed the sale of our house to correspond with the purchase of the new one.

As expected, we had a contract on our house the first weekend we listed it, with a close date that coincided with the purchase of the new house.  The contract allowed for a short rent-back so we would have two weeks to move. Everything was going exactly as planned.

11 days before we were scheduled to close on our new home, our builder informed us that they didn't get the Certificate of Occupancy, which is a permit needed for us to occupy the house. The reason they provided was that they failed to get a VDOT permit for the work they did to construct our driveway, and they didn't give us a new settlement date. They estimated 4-8 weeks, but no guarantees. They told us that the house itself was built and inspected and fully approved, the only issue was a driveway permit.

Surely it couldn't take 4-8 weeks to get a driveway permit, and if so, surely that couldn't prevent us from moving in! Because the builder didn't give us any details, I contacted the government myself and they told me that the driveway permit was just one issue. The builder received a notice of violation a week earlier which included many more issues aside from the driveway. The notice stated that they violated the original site plan by disturbing land in the "tree protection" area. As a result, all five trees on our property (which are over 50 feet tall) would need to be removed and new trees planted. But none of this work could be done until they first provided a new site plan that complied with forest conservation standards.

We went back to our builder and asked them why they didn't mention the tree situation to us, and they said that they had no idea about the trees. It was unclear if they were lying to us to cover up the fact that they violated the site plan, or if they were just incompetent and didn't read the entire violation notice.

Since that date, the builder has sent us mixed messages about the process to get the certificate of occupancy (do the trees need to be planted or not?) and they revealed themselves to be completely incompetent, or inefficient at best. They received their violation over a month ago and as of today, we still haven't seen any tree work. 

The builder is being extremely vague with their communication. When we ask for an update we are told "we are working on a VDOT permit and we will update you when we have it." They don't even have a phone number where we can call them - they rely on WhatsApp messaging. Even more sketchy - they have forbidden us to contact VDOT or the county. They told us that we would be in breach of contract because it's considered "interference". 

The contract we signed with them protects them in every way, and is silent about protecting us. This delay has financial implications for us, and we could end up with no home if we can't close before our rent-back ends. We are literally living on borrowed time! We are forever grateful to our buyers for allowing us to rent back the house, but the end date is fast approaching. 

Where we are right now: the builder is not communicating anything to us aside from "they are working on it," we are in breach of contract if we contact the government, and there is absolutely nothing we can do about the situation. On the plus side, we did have a walk-through and ordered an independent home inspection. The house itself is in excellent shape, and is move-in ready. We are satisfied with the overall quality of the build. But we cannot purchase it and move in until the builder gets a VDOT permit (timeline unknown) and they remove trees/plant new ones.

This has led me to experience:

Anxiety: I have very little visibility into the situation and there are so many unknowns. I honestly feel like I am going to have all of my belongings in a dark, dusty storage area somewhere, including my piano while I live in limbo for God knows how long. The lack of control is very difficult for me.

Frustration: I had to un-schedule everything I had planned for the move (utilities, movers, address change, furniture deliveries, blinds installation, etc) and put it on pause and will now have to re-do it all. We're incurring lender fees (the builder agreed to pay half of them) - and they are steep. 

Anger: The builder messed up and they are completely unapologetic about this and do not seem to care or acknowledge that this is more than an "inconvenience" for us. When they first communicated the delay to us it was over WhatsApp and the message said "sorry for the inconvenience". They aren't transparent, they have forbidden us to contact the government, they are moving very slowly, and they don't care. We hate them. 

So............ where do we go from here? Greg and I have agreed that we need to make a conscious effort to NOT let this impact our mental health and our Boston Marathon weekend. We don't want to carry it with us. I have now unloaded it onto this blog and hopefully that's where it will stay. 

This situation is testing me and I am learning a lot. I am learning that I hold onto anger and anxiety because if I "let it go," it would invalidate my feelings. Like if I can just go about my life and be happy and shove this to the side, maybe it's not such a big deal. And I have this need to prove to myself and the world that it IS a big deal. So I grasp onto it tightly. 

This mindset is similar to how I used to approach marathons in my early 30s. If I didn't get REALLY UPSET about missing a time goal, then it would be like I didn't care. I had to get very upset to prove to myself and to those around me that a BQ mattered. The "oh well, I'll try again next time" attitude, to me, meant that I wasn't serious about qualifying for Boston. I was very serious, and my way of showing it was to get depressed and upset when I missed my goal. 

I have no control over the housing situation. I have very limited visibility into what is really going on. There's no resolution date in sight. I have to accept these facts, and realize that no amount of worrying and marinating in it will change that. I need to trust and remember that:

• The builder is financially motivated to move quickly because they want their money.
• If we are displaced from our current house, we can handle it. It won't be pretty, but we can get through it. 
• The builder is legally obligated to sell us that house - so we will get it at some point.
• Even though this has financial implications for us, it's not financial hardship or ruin.
• The best thing for me is to enjoy Boston - I shouldn't let the builder take that away from me too.

Right now it feels like we are not getting that house, but we will. We definitely will get that house.

What's on my packing list? Confidence. Positivity. Mental strength. Self-awareness. Self-care.

Track me on Monday with bib number 13694.