'I can't be too disappointed in myself': Sutton's Jessie Cardin stays upbeat after not finishing at Boston Marathon
Twenty-four hours after her Boston Marathon debut dreams fell to misfortune, Jessie Cardin wouldn't let Monday's ordeal dampen her spirits.
"Weirdly, I don't feel as disappointed as I could be," Cardin said from her parents' home Tuesday in Sutton, a day after her Marathon quest ended at mile 23 in Brookline. "Because that's all that I had to give. My body gave out, not my mind."
Physically, Cardin is recovering, like most marathoners the day after. But the health of the former Sutton High and Westfield State standout presented a cause for concern after she fell at that mile 23 marker, prompting medical personnel at noon to rush Cardin to Beth Israel Hospital in Boston for treatment.
More Boston Marathon: Top finishers from Central Mass.
"I don't remember much between miles 22 and 23," Cardin said. "(Coach) Kevin Hanson told me he saw me fall."
Medical personnel also noted that Cardin's heart rate was "super low," so resuscitation pads were placed on alert as a precautionary measure. "They were afraid I may go into cardiac arrest. We really don't know what happened, but I guess it was serious enough to be concerned."
Cardin, the doctors and those around her could not pinpoint what may have been the cause, "maybe I was fighting some sickness."
"About two or three bags" of intravenous fluids later helped Cardin come around. She was released from the hospital at about 4:30 p.m., picked up her belongings at 5:30 p.m. at the Newbury Guest House in the Back Bay, where the Hansons-Brooks Original Distance Project team was headquartered, and arrived in Sutton around 8 p.m.
Cardin, who is gluten intolerant, is ever conscious of her intake of food and fluids and doesn't see a lack as directly leading to dehydration. "I know I was fit," she said, "and I did everything with my goals in mind."
The first half of the race started strong for Cardin, who was striding on pace with teammate Anne-Marie Blaney, her roommate on the trip. Blaney finished fifth among women in 2:31:32.
"We were right on, I felt incredible, we were hitting our pace," said Cardin, who passed through the halfway point at 1:15:09, primed for the desired sub-2:30 finish. "I felt amazing."
Cardin's miles were run in the 5:40s until around the turn onto Commonwealth Avenue in Newton. Just before that, in mile 17 near Newton-Wellesley Hospital, her family was watching. One member later noted to Jessie, "Sis, when you passed, you looked like a robot. When I saw you looking like that, I got worried."
More 'We didn't let them win.' Ten years after bombings, Marathon crowd is enthusiastic as ever
"I started to feel kind of funny, kind of tired," Cardin recalled. At Heartbreak Hill, Blaney twice waved Cardin to catch up, "but I didn't respond. I physically couldn't go any faster.
"Things got harder and harder, and I don't remember much after passing mile 22."
Cardin doesn't at all remember the fall at the mile 23 marker, between Cleveland Circle and Coolidge Corner on Beacon Street in Brookline. Medical personnel found no trace of trauma after the fall, though Cardin noted of Hanson afterward in the hospital, "I never saw Kevin look so concerned. He said, 'We're so glad you're home and safe.' "
Cardin said doctors will check in with her in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, she'll continue to relax in Sutton until Sunday, when she heads to Phoenix for a few days, then back to Michigan at the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project home base.
She's hoping to resume some workouts around the beginning of May, toward a summer schedule that will lead to training for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in February.
"I can't be too disappointed in myself," Cardin said. "I put so much stock in this race, but my body said not today."
Contact John Conceison at john.conceison@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @ConceisonJohn.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Sutton's Jessie Cardin stays upbeat after not finishing at Boston Marathon
