Day 6 and 7

You get a combined post today because I was too busy drinking beer at the Tin Can yesterday to report my run on this blog :)
On day 6 I ran 3 miles with my Running 102 class.  I could write week after week about how this class inspires me, but this particular day it was a group of 8th graders that blew me away.  Not because they were fast (in fact, there was a more "mature" runner that blew past a couple of them during our repeats), but because of their enthusiasm.  It was a balmy 13 degrees and this group of kids could have been home eating pizza and playing xBox (which is probably what my little guys were doing).  Instead, they are with a group of strangers running 800 meter repeats behind the YMCA.  And smiling. Even a few of them  (2 boys!)stayed for my yoga class after. It was a pretty cool way to end my Monday.  Although the beer(s) at Tin Can didn't hurt.
I turned around and ran 4.5 miles in the bone chilling air with Kara and Kris. I so appreciate their company and camaraderie!   A fresh snow fell and it was hypnotic to listen to the crunch of our feet underneath.  It's New Year's Eve so a shot a selfie to celebrate (no, I didn't not run in the tiara. I would have if I knew it would stay on).

Until tomorrow (I am sure a small hangover will accompany me on my run), run happy friends!

With a little help from my friends

Holy crap have I only been at this for 5 days?!?! 
Thank goodness I have a slew of running pals that (whether they know it or not) are going to help get me through this. I've got my Sara already concocting a New Year's Eve/Day combo run for us (more to come on that if I don't drink too many gin and tonics before ringing in the new year), Kris ready to keep me company whenever she can, Sarah that is running our duo 40th bday half marathon (right friend???), and my Boston buddy Kara who has hoofed countless miles with me through it all. 
We experienced something this year at Boston that I won't ever forget. And I am so proud of her for getting back out there in 2014. Looking forward to many more training miles with you friend! 
Thanks for the 6-plus miles this morning...and thanks for being such a great friend xoxo

Until tomorrow, run happy friends!

my foggy

a beautiful morning for a run!

5ish miles and 33 degrees seemed like a heat wave. 

after seeing the fog i decided this run is for my dad.  a quiet, gentle soul that is my everything.  when i was little, i called him "foggy".  not sure why...and i didn't start calling him "dad" until i was too cool to do so.

(Yes, that is ice under my feet from the trees!)

until tomorrow, run happy friends!

it's called getting old people

my lower back aches.  there's a good possibility I have whiplash.  my tailbone feels like it has broken off. 
no, thank goodness I have not been in a car accident.
I just went sledding with my kids. 
I don't remember it hurting so badly.  my jaw rattled.  my head bobbed up and down. and my face hurt from laughing so hard. 
we (all) need to unplug and careening down an ice covered hill at speeds that this (old) body is not meant to endure was the perfect solution.

as I trudged up the hill with my 8 year old I lamented that I still needed to do my run for the day. sam (ever the negotiator) told me that I should count each climb uphill towards my run.  creative...but not quite meeting the 365 streak standards. 

but i have had enough of the great outdoors for the day.  so i took it to the treadmill, getting in the bare minimum of  miles in between lifting some weights in hopes to toughen up for my next downhill adventure.

sam, this run's for you today.  thanks for forcing me to unplug for a little while today while enjoying the company of two of my favorite little people.

Epsom salts...take me away.

until tomorrow, run happy friends!

go your own way

A few inches of snow fell last night, leaving me to do Day 2's run slip sliding away. Instead of following the road to pick my friend Kris up who braved the white stuff with me (thanks girl!), I took the short cut through that hadn't yet been cleared.   I slipped, teetered, and looked in general super clumsy.  But I felt my inner kid coming out as I bound through the snow, and kind of felt disappointed when the sidewalk became clear.
After Kris and I did our 3ish miles I headed back that way, to have one more frolic.  I really didn't care if any of my neighbors saw me looking at my least graceful.   It was fun.

And that made me decide to dedicate my run today to my 10 year old Tyler.  He beats to his own drum, doesn't care what anyone things, and goes his own way.  I admire that about him. And I love it.

Until tomorrow...run happy!

Merry Merry

Merry Christmas! I have started my crazy 365 day running streak by...well...by hitting the ground running (badabadabada).
I thought today would be a good day to dedicate my 4 mile jaunt to Jesus himself, since he is the reason for celebration today.  I am not a super religious gal, but I love my usual 4 mile route that winds me through a retreat center. It greets me with large overhanging trees that seem to wrap me in a warm embrace despite the winter air chill.  I typically take this route 3 times a week, giving me a chance to say a quick prayer of gratitude or a plea for guidance. 
Today was no different as I stopped before the retreat's beautiful manager nestled in a blanket of snow. I reflected on all I have and said a prayer for those who have not. 

And as I ran home, I wondered how in the heck I am going to do this for 364 more days in a row.

Until tomorrow...run happy friends!

 

Streaking the Christmases

 Everyone loves a challenge. And when a friend of mine told me he was doing a 365 day running streak starting at the New Year my ears perked. I could SO do that.

I hope.

Truth be told, I have lost my running mojo. Not sure exactly when, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I left it just beyond the finish line on Boylston Street after the second explosion in Boston.

Yep. Pretty sure that's where it is.

I hoped a 2nd (and 3rd) marathon would have brought it back but both offered false alarms. 

So, a running streak you say? Running everyday for 365 days in a row? In Sickness, Heath, Ice (ahem), Heat, Sidewalk Sales, on and on? And that is going to bring the mojo back?

Don't know unless I try. 

But what I am most excited about is this: 

Every day I will run. I will blog each run. I will dedicate each run to someone as a way to express gratitude to him/her. Consider it a year long series of thank you notes since I am so terrible at writing them. 

My friend starts his streak Jan 1. Mine starts Christmas Day. 

Why not? Hope you will follow me here 👣👣👣👣

and so it begins

Today starts out the same as it did last week.
The alarm goes off around 5.  Just like last week.
I clear the fog in my head, drink my Starbucks and thumb through FB.  Just like last week.
I lace up my running shoes and put on my Garmin. Just like last week.

The difference is today I run with a heavy heart (and heavy legs).
Last week I set out to run the race of my life.
Three hours and forty nine minutes go by of pure exhilaration, joy, tears, sweat and determination.
I cross the finish line feeling something I can't quite explain.
It was my moment.  It was our moment.

Then in an instant it was taken away from me.  Taken away from all of us.  What gave them the right?

This morning I will run and remember all the runners that couldn't finish the journey they started last Monday morning.  This afternoon we will run and remember the innocent people that were hurt just because they were cheering us on. Their lives forever changed in a way I can not imagine.

I will be back Boston.  Whatever it takes to get there I will do it.
I am strong. We are strong.

Go Runners.  Go Boston.

*when the time feels right, i will tell you the tales of my boston adventure. it is something i'd like to write about because i never want to forget it. i will be back to boston to create new memories. and to honor those that cannot do so.

the last long run

T minus 6 days until the big dance.  The big dance of running, that is...the Boston Marathon.  As I struggle with a myriad of emotions ranging from nervous to downright frightened to confident to skeptical to excited, I try to find ways to occupy my time that I'd otherwise either be a) running, b) obsessing about race day weather, or c) obsessing about everything and anything.

So I blog.

I'd like to share a little pictorial of my last long run before Boston.  This took place on our Spring Break to Washington DC...just me and Siri on my iPhone.

pre run shot in the bathroom at our hotel.  trying not wake up the rest of the family at a stupid early hour, i hung out in here, drinking my coffee, checking facebook, texting friends.  you know, the usual things you do in a hotel bathroom at 6am before a 12 mile run.

mile 3: the capital.  i love how the sun shines on the building. i don't love my shellshocked look here.

mile 4ish: washington monument. there was a freaky homeless guy steps away from me hence the scary looking expression on my face.  ok.  no freaky homeless guy.  just a scary look on my face.

around mile 6-7 I crossed over the Arlington Memorial Bridge to Arlington National Cemetery. Breathtaking. No "joggers" (ahem.  i am a runner) allowed in the Cemetery but I sneaked in to grab this shot of the tombstones in the distance.

just shy of 8 miles I cross back over the bridge to head back to the monuments.  i love looking at all the crew boats (i used to row in college) glide their oars through the Potomac. they all look effortless.  i too feel effortless, graceful...until...

OUCH!

 my collegiate nostalgia abruptly ends as I face plant on the middle of the bridge. and I went down HARD. I am pretty sure part of my elbow skin is tattooed on the ground.  but, it's all good:  my new North Face coat didn't rip, my favorite Nike 3/4 pants are still intact and the blood stains eventually came out of my Smartwool shirt.  Pressing on...

a little sun in my eyes and a bruised ego i hit (not literally thank goodness.  but the way my luck was going...) the Lincoln Memorial around mile 9.

my path back.  reflecting pool and monuments in the background. breathtaking.

and no, i did not fall into the reflecting pool as i looked at the landscape.  smart ass.

white house in the background.  mile 10. homestretch. i wish i could tell you that is obama and michelle  playing football behind me. it would really put this story over the top.

ah.  the piece de resistance. grande americano. please and thank you. 

12 miles down.  26.2 to go.

See you in Beantown friends!

The road to Boston

It's been a journey, really.
Me and the road that lies ahead.
Sometimes that road is smooth sailing.
Other times I can't bear to put one foot in front of the other on it.

2013 marks a significant year for me.
Sure, I have had years that have been more memorable than this year will prove to be, but none of which have really been for myself and controlled by myself:

1992 and 1996: graduated high school and college, respectively. Don't we all do this for our parents?
2001: got married. The beginning of sharing myself with the love of my life
2003 and 2005: had my babies with the love of my life. It has been all about these little beings from this point on.

Last year I proved to myself with hard work (and a little selfishness) I could be the athlete I always saw myself being. And I did it for myself. By myself.

And today, just 3 months shy of fulfilling that dream and running in the Boston Marathon I have only one person to prove myself to: me.

I hope you will join me on my journey to Boston on this blog. I hope to get my iPhone on my training runs, taking shots during my training, attempting to capture as many moments on the road to Boston as I possibly can!
Follow me :)