[tweetmeme source=”luau” only_single=false http://www.URL.com%5D So this one is going to take some processing time for me to fully wrap my brain around what happened to me. Suffice it to say, at 3:37, I did not achieve my ultimate goal of 3:10 or even beat my New York City Marathon time of 3:26. I thought I was ready. I thought I had at least 3:15 in the bag. But you know what? Shit happens. And sometimes you just have to roll downhill with it. There will be a much more detailed race report to follow at some point soon, but right now I’m not exactly sure what happened. What I can tell you is that by mile 20 I knew I was cooked at had no shot at 3:10 or 3:15 so I changed my goal altogether and decided to take some pictures with people I knew. What follows are a few pictures from before the race and then some from mile 20 on (when I ran into my friend Alett, her husband and the Hash House Harriers – after snapping that shot, I took up their offer for a shot of beer – as I said in this morning’s post, “you never know when your next shot could be your last” – I just didn’t realize at the time that I was talking about beer). 
Also ran into another dailymile pal - Miss Maddy
Two dailymile all-stars: Mr. Cayman Islands Steve S & Andy O
Found my college buddy Mike, who I hope did not battle the Cat in the Hat again.
Think theyre cold maybe?
ran into Twitter pals @Speedysasquatch and @NYCe
Racemenu Chief thought he was crazy wearing the orange jumpsuit until we ran into this guy
At mile 20, with Alett, Hugh and someone remind me her name! My brain isnt working right now.
ran into my sponsor, Kathleen from mix1 near the top of Heartbreak Hill
Family friend Janice and her two girls Sidney and Jenny were there to pick me up at mile 24
Where I also ran into my good friend Bobbys daughter, Brit.
...and my friend Karen.
on the final stretch I ran into some of my favorite Twitterers and running bloggers
As I was heading for the finish line, my new blogger/twitter/dailymile friend Katie took this one! It may be my favorite!
through the shoot, I ran into Maddy again (she ran a 3:15 - rock star) and dailymile bud Blaise (who ran a 3:12 - A PR).
And that’s it. I’m cooked. I’m having a beer. When this all settles in my head, I’ll put together a real race report. 
Why do you run?
Another shot from the homestretch
My college friend Erica, who was there to lift me up as I came out from under Mass Ave.
Run Luau Run 
I guess I am getting repetitive but I still think you rock. 🙂
I took a fabbbbulous photo of you when you stopped to see us girls at mile 26.05, it’s on the twitter somewhere but I can send it to you. 🙂 I love that you took all these pics and didn’t get all super stabby and cranky when you realized today was not the day for goal A (at least not for the .2 seconds that I saw you). awesome race!
Would love it if you’d be willing to email to me at runluaurun at gmail dot com! Thanks Katie! You guys were great…and you know, sometimes you gotta make lemonade, right?
Nice work! Love the pictures too, they really add to the story. Glad you hit Goal E! 🙂
Amen Paula, I totally agree!! No hanging head here, in fact hold your head high!!!
Wow! 3:37 marathon and you managed to stop, chat and take photos along the way.
Absolute. Legend.
When I used to be a runner, the marathoners trained for one marathon a year. What has changed?! You are amazing, kiddo.
I LOVE all the photos that you took with friends and family cheering you on along the way! Sometimes, things don’t go exactly as planned, but you must know that you are still a speedy superstar!! Rest well and congrats once again!!!
Well done luau…from Scotland!! 😀
These are great. What a beautiful day for the race.
Despite not meeting your goals, you managed to run a great race Luau! I love all the pictures you took along the way! Congratulations, you are truly an inspiration to all of us!
I still think a congrats is due, regardless of anything… so congrats on finishing… that’s more than most could do!
You ran. And you ran with heart. As you said, yes, shit happens, but at least it didn’t literally happen today. I saw a top woman (like top 15) with crap all down the back of her legs. My dad said, “She must have fallen in mud.” My mom and I said, “It’s not an off-road race.” It’s another 26.2 under your belt. And you managed to finish with a smile. Proud of you!
Man. As usual I could really learn some lessons from you. It looks like you had such a great time. YOU are a “Rock Star” my friend!
Good job, by you!
It was sooooo awesome to see you at mile 26.something! I absolutely love all your post mile 20 pics. Looks like you had a lot of fans out there today. You are a rock star!! :-).
Matt, these pictures put a huge smile on my face. Here in Afghanistan, I couldn’t even pay to watch the race and was forced to “watch” on Twitter. After the elites finished I was tracking you and @operationjack. I was using a spreadsheet to track your pace and became really worried about you because I saw your pace had dropped from 7’s to 8:30 to 10:30.
The pictures say it all. I LOVE how your perspective, your attitude, and your perserverance! You rocked this marathon!!!
Well done!
I know you didn’t make your goal but I just loved reading this. Congrats on a great experience…even if it wasn’t great ‘running’ wise.
Congrats Luau!!! Great work out there! I know you didn’t meet your goal, but you should be happy with your performance!!
These photos are amazing!
I’m sssooo proud of you! I loved watching these pictures, you are so happy on them. Good job Luau!:)
You have amazing heart and grace with this one, Luau. We should all learn from your attitude. You are a winner in so many ways. Bravo!
You ran a fantastic race. No PR but great run. Every Boston Marathon finish is a reason to celebrate. You had fun, got some AWESOME photos. I’m so happy for you. Way to go!
We had a great day to run, didn’t we? 🙂
Man did you have some fun! Bummer you didn’t get your time, but it sure looks like you had a good day … nice to meet you, see you next year!
I absolutely love the way you turned what could have been a joyless trudge to the finish line into a chance to spend time with friends, and to involve your supporters in the race with you.
Your example gives me good ideas!
[…] @luau […]
It was a pleasure to meet you this weekend at the sorta meetup Saturday night and to see you all smiles despite a tough day during the race! I am still cracking up that you stopped mere tenths from the Finish to take pics with the girls!!!!! You rock Luau and I can’t wait to start following more of your adventures!
I didn’t carry my camera because I was hoping for a smokin’ good time. Of course, as fate would have it, my calves had a different plan. When my time goals quickly faded away, I wished I had the camera to take pix of the great sites along the way. I had a ton of fun (even thru the disappointment), but I only have mental images – which aren’t that ‘shareable.’
Glad you managed to enjoy the day!