Mission Accomplished!

Finished! 4:25:27. Pace 10:07.

The finish line is on Boylston Street in downtown Boston. Last year, as I turned on to Boylston the band started playing "Sweet Home Alabama" as if on cue just for me. This year, the "Sweet Home Alabama" tune was playing, but the band was actually playing a new song (I've been told its called All Summer) from Kid Rock that uses the Lynyrd Skynyrd tune.

It was good to be done. I battled nausea from mile 19 on and it did not get away, even after the finish.

The reward (actually, just part of the reward) for finishing the Boston Marathon (and for every marathon I've run) is receiving the finisher's medal. I crossed the finish line, picked up a heat blanket (just like the blankets in pictures from this morning) and headed to have the timing chip removed from my shoe and receive my medal.

Once the medal was around my neck, I remembered I was freezing. It was so cold and windy that I headed straight to pick up my gear from the shuttle bus. I struggled to put on my sweats and jackets, as my balance is not so great after running 26.2 miles.

As much fun as it might be to hang around the finish line, I was cold and tired. My sole focus was finding a warm "T" (subway) station that would take me back to my hotel. At the T station, I bought a Pepsi, which finally helped relieve the nausea during the ride back to North Station, which was near my hotel.

The final challenge of the day is attempting to stand up after sitting on the subway, and then walking half a mile back to the hotel. I made it, and immediately laid down on the bed...not moving for about an hour.