Boston - final words

What helped:
1. Training on hills.
2. Doing five 20 mile runs, with one at what (per Garmin) was my marathon pace (8:27).
3. Eating and sleeping (can't stress these enough; my weight did not change during training, and I think that is a sign that I gave my body what it needed to function well).
4. Doing Pilates/strength training/core work. Those rock hard mommy abs look great, but more importantly they helped stabilize my back during those grueling last marathon miles.
5. Loving the combo: Ice baths, rolling, icebaths. Enough said.
6. Having company during the long runs. For me, there is nothing like getting together with friends to do a long run. Many times, I ran the first 1/2 of the run slower, so that I can hang out with my friends, and pushed the pace toward the end of the run. This has proven to be a great strategy for both my mind and body.
7. Getting my premarathon anxiety/paranoia out of the way in the last weeks before the race. I was calm as a clam the day of the race. Not a bit of anxiety.
8. Accepting and being OK with the fact(s) that: 1) I will not be able to sleep the last few nights before the marathon, 2) I will get nauseous, and lightheaded, 3) I will be in pain, 4) I will hate the last few miles of the marathon, and 5) I can't predict how my body will react during the race.
9. Listening to the veterans and keeping my pace in check and slow for the beginning miles.
10. Listening to my body and not overeating, just because it's carboloading time. The 3 weeks of taper with v low mileage combined with my normal diet were enough to replenish my glycogen stores.

What I will do differently:
1. Train more on downhills.
2. Add hills both at the beginning and the end of long runs.
3. Run the course from mile 0 to 20, not only from 6 to 26.
4. Run on the middle of the street (yellow line) so that I can run closer to 26.2, rather than 26.7.
5. Write my name with bigger letters so that people can shout my name more.
6. Go to the post marathon celebration.
7. Wear anti blister socks and tape my toes.

What helped with recovery:
1. Having a work conference to go to the day after the marathon (OK, I had nothing to do with this, it was just luck!) where I had to walk a lot and also have a more relaxed schedule compared to work, and thus be able to take daily naps.
2. Sleeping a lot.
3. Swimming, biking and walking a lot.
4. Rolling and icebaths.

What I will do differently in terms of recovery.
1. Be proactive in terms of the postmarathon depression. Look forward to it, accept it, embrace it, and know that it will go away.
2. Do not sign up for another marathon or other such time consuming races just because your endorphins are overflowing and you feel invincible. (ha, ha).
3. Plan more non running related fun things for the week(s)/month after the race, and wait until you can think straight again before figuring out your race schedule.
For others:
Know that after qualifying for Boston and running Boston, there is a huge letdown as there isn't anything else (in my book)* that can top running Boston well. Be happy if you had to work hard to qualify, or your race did not go as planned, because you have something else to work toward, and that is a good thing!

* OK, maybe Comrades, on an uphill year.