the marathon recap!

I finished!! 

 

Not just now.  It’s three days later and I’m just now really getting around to doing an appropriate race recap.  I put my legs up on Monday night as Matt and I were watching Dexter, relaxing after the whirlwind of a weekend we’d just had, and started to try and do a recap here, but it just wasn’t happening. 

 

I needed a couple of days to take it all in.

 

In a word?  Awesome.  The race was amazing.  From the million + spectators (no joke!), to the event itself, to the thousands of volunteers handing out water and Gatorade and bananas on the sidelines, the whole experience was hands down one of the most thrilling of my life.

  

I’m a marathoner!

  

(Picture of me dorking out when I saw Nilsa at around mile 23.  Hey, at least I’m smiling!)

 

What an incredible race.  I’m not sure that I’m really allowed to have any complaints at this stage of the game, first marathon and all.   Afterall, I finished! My only real complaint, was that it was HOT.  Super, crazy hot.  Not unlike the heat that I have trained in many a time this summer, BUT, when you sign up for a Fall marathon, you kind of hope and somewhat expect that it will be a nice, crisp, Fall day.  Well, not so much.  While I knew that the weather was one of those things I just had no control over, when I saw the reports of temps reaching near 80 on Sunday, I wasn’t too excited. But, I knew I could do it, given that I’d done training runs in much worse.

 

While the heat most definitely had a huge impact on my time, the fact of the matter is, I finished the marathon!  And I’m so, so excited about that. 

 

Heading out of Charity Village, where I checked some stuff in the Girls on the Run tent before the race, I was beyond excited to run into my buddy Kevin!  We had tried connecting the day before, both on our cell phones walking around downtown, SO CLOSE to one another but not able to find each other.  Then, out of a sea of 45,000 people, who do I run into?!  KEVIN!  (I have a sweet picture of us at the start that I’ll have to upload here… I’m still working on getting all of the photos from the weekend organized.)

 

It was so nice to be able to start with my Boston running buddy.  If I didn’t have to stupidly stop to pee at mile 3, chances are we would have continued the whole race together.  Kevin finished about 4 minutes before I did, just about the time it took me to wait in line for the porta potties, do my thing, and get back out there.  In the humungo crowd of thousands, I wasn’t able to find Kevin again to catch up.  But I knew he was out there… somewhere!

 

Speaking of starts, and sweet moments, one that has special meaning to me, and you will understand this more if you know the background story about Matt and his marathon journey, is that the two of us were able to start together.  I can’t tell you how meaningful this was for me.  To be able to start the race with the man I love, when I wasn’t sure up until just days before how that would all work out, well, it was really something, let me tell you.

 

Here we are AFTER the race…

 

(He was apparently planning to go hunting after the marathon!?)

 

Matt and I stayed together until about mile 5.  We were pacing really well, going under a 10 minute mile, which was my goal for a sub 5 hour finish.  I knew I wasn’t supposed to have any big time goals in mind, or any time goals AT ALL for that matter.  I’d been warned about that from seasoned marathon buddies.  But I think on some level, we all go into a race like this with some sort of goal in mind.  Anyway, at the end of the day, my main goal was to just finish, and finish happy which I totally did.

 

 

Matt and I smooched and parted ways at the 5 mile mark.  He told me that he was going to find the moms, who were there cheering us on.  This was our plan from the get-go.  If he decided he wanted to stay behind, or stop, he made me promise that I wouldn’t let this affect my race.  While this was hard for me to accept, I knew that it was the right thing for this race.  We’d talked about it in-depth many a time.  He knew how conflicted I felt about not sticking with him, the guilt I experienced.  How I felt that I would be “leaving”  him.  He talked me right out of that.  Matt is amazing that way.  He didn’t make me feel bad for a minute for any of that.  He reminded me of how hard I had trained for this race, and encouraged me over and over that when he decided he would hold back, that I was to go on.

 

And go on I did…

 

So turns out, Matt told me he was stopping at mile 5.  But he told me that so that I wouldn’t worry.  And obsess, and worry some more (worry is what I do best?).  Instead of stopping at 5, guess what this champ did?!  He went on to run half!  This came seemingly out of no where, for a guy who hasn’t been training for such a distance in months.  Though it surprised me on some level, at the same time, I knew Matt had it in him to pull something like this off.  What a great accomplishment for him; I am elated for him, and so proud of his strong finish!

So now Matt was off on his own, doing his own race (unbeknownst to me!).  Up until the halfway point, I was pacing pretty well.  I wasn’t even paying too much attention to my watch, I could just feel that I was running well. 

 

And then, the heat hit.  We’re talking upper 80’s here, whooboy, it was a hot one.  I kept plugging along, but I knew I was slowing down.  I was craving more and more water, but conflicted because I didn’t want to chug the water at the aid stations, for I knew that would make my stomach a mess.  I walked through every water station from 13.1 out.  Walked slow, real slow, at some of them.  And then you know how it goes, once you walk, getting back to it and running is even tougher.  But I didn’t have too much of a choice.  I knew I didn’t want to walk any of the race OTHER than the water stops, so this was my chance to kind of regroup.

 

 

The one and only time I walked besides the water stations was when I saw Nilsa and her husband around mile 23.  They ended up being the only people who I knew that I saw on the course (more on that in a minute), so I had to pull over and say hello for a minute.

 

And stretch.

The main “hurt” that I had during the whole race was my hips.  So weird, because my hips NEVER hurt.  I guess you just never know what will happen on race day! 

Speaking of cheering and all?  Having my name on my shirt?  Such a good idea!  People were cheering for me left and right the whole entire race!  While I’d heard that this could either be a good or a bad thing… could give me some great motivation, might get a little annoying, I loved it.  I figure I put my name on there for a reason, and you’re damn right I appreciated every single “go Meg!” that I heard on the sidelines.

So, the second half of the race was getting hotter and hotter.  And the course went from a “yellow” caution level to a “red,” “high” alert level.  There were warnings on the course to slow down, to walk if needed, not to push it.  And a lot of people did walk.  This is a part that I struggled with, seeing people hurting.  Not for nothing, because hell, I was hurting in my own right, but seeing people on the sidelines walking, or limping, or worse- at the first aid tent getting IV’s, that was tough to see.  I really felt so much empathy for them.  I can’t even imagine training so hard for such a big event, and having to bail out midway through because of a medical emergency. 

Some people say that the last 6 miles are the toughest.  Afterall, I had never run beyond 20, so yeah, I was pretty freaking nervous for 20-26.2.  But the worst of it for me?  Was roughly miles 17-19.  It was just so god damn hot out there.  This whole second half of the race was in the blazing sun, whereas the first half was at least in the shade.  While there were spectators everywhere, they kind of dwindled down a bit at around mile 17 or so, and I found these 3 miles to be the toughest.

Around mile 20, I kind of felt a burst of energy.  And I mean, that’s all relative because it wasn’t as though I was going into sprint mode here.  But I did feel like, holy hell, I’m six miles away from being a marathoner!  Something clicked then, and I knew I could do it.

Mile 20 was also where I was hoping to see the moms.  I knew there was a very likely possibility that I would miss them, or they’d miss me, and unfortunately that’s what happened.  Turns out, the moms were on the left side of the road cheering, and I was on the right.  I knew my mom was out there, nearby… somewhere, and though I didn’t actually see her, that kind of helped me get through another mile a little easier.

One of my favorite moments of the race was when I could have sworn that I was coming up on mile 21, and not two minutes later, I saw that I was actually at 22!  WIN!

When I say that miles 20-26.2 weren’t awful, they most definitely weren’t easy.  It’s that feeling where you know you’re close, but I also knew I was about an hour away.  My everything was kind of aching at this point, the sun was beating down like crazy, and damn, was I thirsty.

This picture is one of my favorites for two reasons.  First, look at how freaking happy I am, at mile 26?!  I did make it a point to try and smile every time I saw a photographer (but also have learned that I run with my tongue out a lot?, thanksverymuch marathonfoto.com).  Secondly, see this dude  here in blue?  He’s from Ireland.  I came across him right here, and he was walking.  He looked so strong and I don’t know, I know some people may find it annoying when they are walking, to have another runner to tell them to “be strong!, you can do it!”… but I had the sense that all this guy needed was a little encouragement.  I looked over to him and told him “buddy!, we’re almost there!  come on, run with me!”  And he said his legs felt so weak, he wasn’t sure he could do it.  I told him damn straight he could do it; we were SO CLOSE to the finish line.  He told me this was his third marathon, that he had come to Ireland for this race.  I told him how this was my first, and told it to him straight right then and there, that we were running to the finish.

He cooperated.  😉

He was so gracious and such a cool dude.  At the last couple seconds, when we could see the finish line right there, he pushed me, “go ahead girl, you go for it!”  And you can see above, we finished pretty much right together.  Kind of fun, and definitely memorable, that little encounter.

And so, I finished!  I’m a marathoner!

(I had one sip of that beer, and then tossed it.  One of those things that seem like a good idea at the time.  And who am I to pass up a free brew?  Remember, it had been a week since any alcohol consumption over here.)

What a race.  To say I had an incredible, amazing, wonderful time, would even be an understatement.  I’m just so, so excited about it all.  I trained hard for this thing, put in some serious time and energy into this, and I achieved my goal!

I’m totally loving the marathon.  Would you think I’m crazy if I told you I tried to sign up for another one in about a month in NH, but found out that it’s on a weekend I have clinical? 

I’m already addicted!  I want more!  More of the rush, more of the energy from the whole experience.  I loved most everything about it, and I am so, so happy that I’m able to say today, that I am a marathoner.  No one can take that away from me!  Woo!

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And we’re off!

Hi friends!

We’re off to Chicago in just a few minutes!

If you want to track me on your phone on race day, you can sign up to do that here!  My bib # is 22319.  I think that sounds like a lucky number, no?

Wishing everyone who is running this weekend the best of luck!!

Catch you on the other side of 26.2!!

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grab the tissues and get ready for the journey

Tomorrow afternoon, we’re leaving on a jet plane, headed to Chicago for a long weekend.

We plan to stay with friends, spend some time with family who are meeting us there, hangout with 45,000 other people, and run a marathon on Sunday.

On Sunday, I’m running a marathon!

Wow. I remember training for my first half marathon last year. My boyfriend Matt and I would talk about how maybe if we were really out of our minds, one day we would try and run Boston. We laughed about it and joked about how crazy we’d be, to ever even want to run more than 13.1 miles, just for the hell of it. We thought the half marathon training was quite the feat (and it was!), but I’m not sure either of us seriously thought that a marathon was in the cards.

And then my first half came and went, and I really really loved it. I fell in love with the idea of training for a specific goal, coming together with a huge mass of people who each have their own individual journey that brings them to race day, but that share one thing in common: the will to run.

There was another half marathon, and various other 10K’s and Thanksgiving Feaster Five races, and then come the middle of last winter, came the notion that I wanted to run Chicago on 10-10-10, as my first full marathon.

And since then? It’s been a whirlwind of a journey. Many runs (many of my favorite runs) towards the beginning were shared with my partner in crime, my love, my Matt. As his specific training took some different twists and turns than mine, over the last several months I have been running more on my own.

Running on my own has had its own ups and downs, as you might expect. When it’s only you yourself and… you, out on the road for 10+ miles, you end up having to look inward for your own inner voice to push you onward. There’s no one there to cheer you on, to push you to keep on going when you’d rather be at home watching the Patriots opener with friends and drinking a beer. There’s no one there to tell you that it will be okay, that you can do this. It’s just you, and the road, and your crazy mind running wild.

But there were so many good things about going it solo too. So much time to think has been both a blessing and a curse, for my good friends and family can attest to, by nature I’m an overanalyzer. I mean, I’m a woman, but I take this thinking and overthinking and bring it to a whole different level that believe me, you don’t even want to know. So I mean, I guess being alone for two, three, almost four hours at a time, just me and the road, offers a girl a lot of time to just… obsess.

I’m kidding, mostly. What the open road and my going it alone really offered me was a chance to clear my mind, a chance to declutter a lot of thoughts going on up there, stuff loaded up from a hectic as hell schedule I’ve held these days, with working full time, nursing school full time, and marathon training full time. Running has given me a chance to decompress, to regroup. To center myself. To find balance in my life. And while I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t miss having some company on some of these days, it also forced me to look within, to really dig deep and depend and rely solely on myself. It was me that had to encourage me. It was I, who had to tell myself to man up, to stop whining, to just do it.

And I did. I did do it. I’ve been running, training for one thing or another since March, when I got back into it after a bit of a winter break. And now, in three days, I’ll be running a marathon.

I would be remiss if I didn’t take a minute to tell you that I didn’t get here alone. There are some significant people in my life, without whom, I would absolutely, unuquivocally not be here today, ready to run a marathon on Sunday.

Matt, my wonderfully supportive ManFriend, has been such an amazing support to me. He’s encouraged me all along, he’s been on endless trips to running stores when I would decide that right this minute, I needed new socks or a new water belt. He’s been patient with me when I’ve been grouchy and frustrated after a lot of running and a lot of life, and not too much sleep. He’s been my chef, my water boy, my cheer leader, my course mapper outer, my pillow (literally, on more than one occasion), my fan club, and always, at the end of every single day, the person that I want to come home to. I am lucky.

My mom, who has not only been my personal masseuse, and Reiki Master, but also my very best go-to for inspiration, and positivity, and love, and support. It’s not without extreme appreciation and gratitude, and blessing, that I reflect upon our relationship. For no other closeness in my life compares. Not only my mom, but my very best friend, I wouldn’t be where I am in this journey without her.

My stepdad, my dad and stepmom, all who have been supportive of this journey from the start. My stepdad once picking me up at mile 16 of a long run because that last mile just seemed too much to handle at the time (I gave up). My dad, who has helped me map out 19 mile routes in Reno, Nevada, so that I could get my long run in on our trip out to see him this summer. And my stepmom, who biked alongside me during said 19 mile run, to keep me company that day.

Of course, there are my friends. I’m a lucky and blessed girl in this department, as those nearest and dearest to me have been amazing cheerleaders throughout these last several months. Nilsa, my friend made through blogging, has been not only the girl who inspired me to sign up for Chicago this year, but the lovely gal who with her husband, will be hosting us this weekend when we’re in town for the race. Not only that, Nilsa has gone out of her way, on the regular, in helping me to prepare for this race. She’s calmed my nerves more often than not, she’s encouraged me and cheered me on from afar, and has been much more of a support than I think she will ever even realize or give herself credit for. I’m beyond excited to spend some time with this girl who holds such a special place in my heart, this coming weekend.

To all of my other friends, thank you so much for the phone calls, the emails, the running tips, the beers after races, you name it. It all means so much to me.

And Kevin, and Thor, and John, and Egan (my dude running friends!), I have not forgotten about you. Kevin, I will always remember that my longest run in life thus far, was first run with you (our 18 miler), and then again, on our 20 miler a couple weeks ago. Now those are two long runs that I’m glad I didn’t have to go alone. I love that we were able to reconnect through our training for this marathon, and I can’t wait to see you on the course on Sunday (if we can find each other!). Thor and John and Egan- you guys have been like my big brothers through it all. I can’t thank any of you enough for your running words of wisdom, and frankly, your words of wisdom on life in general. I have the utmost respect for you all, having run your own fair share of races for sure, but also respect and admire you for the way that you live your lives with passion, and drive, and love for those around you. Thank you all so, so much.

I could go on, and on, and on with thanks here. On Sunday, I will mindfully take the time to think of each and every one of you who has been there for me in ways big and small throughout this journey. I mean it when I say that I would not be here today, ready to run 26.2 in just three days if it weren’t were those of you in my life who have supported me along the way.

Before I go on (and get any more emotional, as I now sit here with tears in my eyes, trying to think of a way to wrap this up), I will end where I began. On Sunday, I’m running a marathon. My very first freaking marathon ever!, and I couldn’t be more excited. Thank you to everyone who has been by my side throughout this endeavor, who has cheered me on in ways that you can’t even begin to imagine. Your good thoughts, good vibes, emails, facebook messages and comments, hugs, cards, meals, massages!, getaways, donations!, words of wisdom…. they have all moved me so deeply. Thank you, thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart. I feel rested, excited to EAT CARBS!, and I feel ready to tackle this race this weekend, and enjoy the experience as I reflect on how far I’ve come to get here.

Run on.

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They say at this point, we’re ready. Also? I RAN 20 MILES!

They say at this stage of the game, to trust your training. Easy for them (who are “they” anyway?) to say. I’ve never trained for and competed in a full marathon, so I guess I have to trust and believe in THEM.

My other running buddies, who have done marathons before, tell me that I’m ready, that I’m prepared. That if I can do the 20 miler, I can do 26.2. They tell me that those last 6.2 are going to hurt, but they say I can do it.

The scary, freaky, holy hell what am I doing God’s honest truth here is, I believe them.

I do think I can do it. I think I am ready. I think I’ll finish.

But I’m scared as shit right now. (Am I supposed to admit that?)

I’m nervous! And I know, I know, it’s normal at this point. If I was going into it all confident and without a care in the world, that would make me nervous. I’m questioning it all. Have I trained enough? What if I crap out after mile 13? What if I go out too fast? What if I trip and fall in my high heels this week and sprain my ankle? Will I wear the right outfit? Will I be too hot? Too cold? What if I fall apart, where will I get the strength to finish this thing?

I know it’s normal. And that’s the scary part too! Because I have a feeling this is all par for the course here, and these nerves, this pre-race anxiety isn’t going to just go away. And I know damn well that a good dose of it is good for me! I just fear that I’m not ready. So many people know that I’m doing this. I don’t want to fail.

But, how about that 20 miler yesterday? Kevin and I totally crushed that run, and no, not without some complaining throughout. But we finished! And we didn’t drop! And we finished in pretty good time. And it was hotter than expected and we were sore and we would have rather been watching football with our friends or out sitting by the Charles which we were running by having a picnic instead of hoofing it by the picnic-ers, but… we did it.

We did our 20 miler, and “they” say, we’re ready.

Now I just need to believe THEM.

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Girls on the Run!

Last year, when I trained for my half marathon, I decided to run for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute team.  With the generous donations of friends and family, I ended up raising over $2,000 towards cancer research!  This was such an accomplishment for me.  Not only to train for, and race in my first half marathon, but also to raise so much money for a cause that hits so close to home for me.  Both of my maternal grandparents fought a heroic battle with cancer in 2008.  There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of them and the wonderful people they were.  They are my true guardian angels and I miss them like crazy, every day.

This time around, when I decided back in February that I was going to run the Chicago Marathon, I decided to run not affiliated with a charity.  Since this race was coming pretty quick off the heels of my half marathon that I had just raised so much for, I didn’t want to ask people to donate again.  I didn’t want anyone feeling obligated or like they had to donate, thinking “geeze, all this chick does is ask us for money!”

So for five months, through July or so, I had been going along in my training, supporting friends who were running for charities (check out Kevin’s blog too!), and enjoying the process.

Then in mid-July, I came across Girls on the Run.  Girls on the Run is a program developed for young girls, between the ages of eight and thirteen.  It combines training for a 3.1/5K race, with self esteem enhancing activities and workouts.

“The goals of the programs are to encourage positive emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical development.”

The goal of this program is to empower girls at an early age, in order to prevent at risk activities in the future, like drug and alcohol use, eating disorders, and the early onset of sexual activity.

The more I read about this program, the more I fell in love with the concept!  I had to get involved!  So I searched around, and found that guess what?!  There’s a Boston chapter of Girls on the Run!  Check it out!

Girls on The Run also has this really great program that I have gotten involved with, called Solemates.  Solemates is the adult portion of the Girls on the Run program.  As a member of the Solemates team, I am raising money to help support my local Boston council.  By doing this, I’m helping raise money to help young girls compete in train in their own 5K in Boston!

I know that my intention was to run the Chicago Marathon not affiliated with a charity, but hen I found Girls on the Run, something about it really caught my attention.  I used to volunteer with Big Brother/Big Sister a few years back, and I really enjoyed it.  I think there’s something really wonderful about working with young girls, teaching them the importance of a strong self esteem and confidence and self worth early.  And to combine all of that with running?  Hell yeah!

Thanks for listening to my little shtick here.  But don’t just take my word for it!  Check out the links for yourself, and see what a great program Girls on the Run and Solemates are!

If you’re interested, you can check out my fundraising page, and donate here!  THANKS!

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i’m lucky

Why do weekends away have to go by so fast?!

And look at my lovely personal massage therapist, by the way!

Not only am I completely spoiled that my mom is a massage therapist as I’m in the throws of training for a marathon; that’s not even the best part.

The BEST part of my relationship with my mom, is that she’s my best friend.  I consider myself really blessed to have the relationship that we do.  We’ve always been close, in that mother-daughter kind of way, but we’re also fortunate enough to have a really sweet friendship as well.  My mom is one of those people who oozes good energy and positivity when she walks into a room.  She’s beautiful and kind.  She’s thoughtful and inspirational.  She can ALWAYS make you laugh, and she’s always encouraging me, and others, to pursue their dreams and passions in life.  I look up to her in so many ways, and consider myself uniquely blessed to have such an amazing woman as a mom.  My life is infinitely better because of all of the good she adds to it.

So.  As you can imagine, a weekend away with my mom is nothing short of fabulous!

(don't ask)

Beers, and walking, coffee shops, seafood, laughter…. before we knew it, it was Sunday morning and time to head back so that I could get in my 17 mile run.  The weekend flew by!  (I wish my run did.)

The run was actually really good.  Another personal distance milestone for me, even though the run only ended up being 16 miles instead of 17.  16 miles of rolling hills, and come the tail end of it, my legs were screaming.  I was pretty beat, and also, out of water.  And also, kind of felt like I was going to hurl.

But all things considered, I’m pretty happy with how the run went.  Since I wasn’t running right near home, I wasn’t familiar with the area so much, and didn’t expect the hills here and there.  Not that I can’t do hills- Heartbreak Hill is part of my training runs some days, but it wasn’t really in the agenda this week, so I wasn’t really prepared.  Mentally, mostly. Physically, I was okay…but I was sure ready to get home for the much anticipated massage I had on my mind the whole entire run!

The massage was so, SO good.  It was exactly what I needed after the longest run I’ve done ever.  And I can say that even more so now, two days later, when usually my legs would be feeling the soreness of that many miles, and wouldn’t you know?  I have not one ache or pain to speak of!

If you can get your own, personal massage therapist, who will treat you to a wonderful weekend away in NH, then give you the best massage ever, and send you home with a bottle of wine and fresh ears of corn for you and your ManFriend to enjoy and also, homemade blueberry jam?  I would highly recommend it.  It’s pretty damn good.  I’m just sayin’.

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long time no talk; I think I have the wrong size shoes

Seven weeks into marathon training probably isn’t the time to figure such things out like, YOUR SHOES NOT FITTING correctly.  But leave it to me and my blisters to tell you that something is decidedly not right with my feet these days, and I think it all goes back to the sneaks!

Tell me, do you go up a size or a half a size in running sneakers?  I’m normally a size 8 high heel regular shoe.  Last year when I did my half, I went up to an 8.5, and that seemed to work pretty well.  There’s always been slight blister issues, but not so much that I had any issue while running, more that my feet just hurt afterwards.  Enough that I could deal.

So I figured, why not try going up another half a size?  When it was time to get my new sneaks this time around, I explained to the friendly runner gurus at Marathon Sports my whole blister debacle, and the nice chick there suggested I try going up to a 9.  I tried them out that day right then and there, ran up the street and back, and they felt fine.  They were the same brand as before (Asics), just the 2010 version.  Marathon Sports is cool in that they let you try out the shoes for something like two or three weeks, and if you’re not satisfied, you can return them and switch to a different pair.  Well I did try them for a few weeks.  And they were fine!  They felt good, there really wasn’t any huge issue.  I was still getting blisters but I just figured, apparently I have blister feet, or something, and kept on going.

I ran a half marathon in them, and I’ve been training with them ever since.  But the blisters, they’re getting worse.  I’m down three toe nails at this point and still have the pedicure question, but now want a 30% discount since I’m DOWN THREE TOE NAILS!

Yeah, ew. I know.

And this from me, a girl who used to LOVE a good, relaxing, soothing pedicure!  But no more.  I haven’t been in months, and my feet, they’re-a-hurtin’.

(Sidenote: Don’t ever, ever google “woman + blisters” if you don’t want to fear for your life, OR, if you’re eating dinner at the same time and don’t want to totally lose your meal. I’m just sayin’.)

ANYWAY…

So other than my poor little tootsies, things here are going just swell in the way of training.  Last weekend I set a personal distance record, racking up 14 miles!  Besides the hot as hell hot and humid weather we’re having here, all things considered, the run went really well.  I finished in 2:20, running about a 10 minute mile.  Given this extreme heat, I was pretty happy with that.

Oh and also?  I’ve finally decided to smarten the heck up, and I’m using a water belt!  Who’da thunk that this little sucker would be such a lifesaver?!

I swear every time I come here that I’ll come here more often.  And life just seems to be getting away from me these days.  I have been reading all these great running blogs lately, and yummy food blogs, all these in addition to the filled to the brim google reader I constantly have with hundreds of my favorite blogs that I’ve known and loved for several years now!

What’s your favorite blog to check out for running inspiration or advice?  Or, your favorite blog that has nothing to do with running, but that you love just because?

In no particular order, here are a handful of my go-to blogs for both running related things and not so much running related things.  Check them out!

• SoMi Speaks– I’m lucky enough to know this lovely lady in real life as well as through our blogs.  She’s run multiple marathons, lives in Chicago, and she and her husband “Sweets” are going to be our gracious hosts for the marathon this October!
• Life According to Mel Heth– This newly engaged gal is also a runner!  She lives on the West Coast and writes about her daily life, enjoying the everyday (including wine and cheese!) with her Mr. Wonderful, and the running she does near wine country!
• I Run, You Run– This chick lives in DC and is battling some serious heat these days on her long runs! And I think we have it bad in Boston!  She’s also newly engaged, and likes to race with her cutie fiance Karl!
• JustRunJustLiveJustBe– Aww Lesley.  I just have so many wonderful things to say about my Colorado running mentor of a friend.  Though we’ve never MET in real life, we’ve known each other for … almost FOUR years now?  She’s run more races than I can count, she’s an amazing writer, and a fabulous photographer!
• Skinny Runner– She’s funny, she’s fast, she dishes about celebrities, she busts out 10 miles like it’s her job, and her JOB job is pretty effing sweet!  She’s a chick version of Deadliest Catch, heading to Alaska in the summertime to do that whole dangerous fishing thing.
• running, eating, living in the real world– We share the same name! I don’t think she knows who I am, but I google stalk her blog on the regular.  She’s a college graduate also training for the Chicago marathon!  And she’s battling some nasty heat these days in Florida!

Tell me some of your go-tos!

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it’s gettin’ hot in herrre

These long weekends always seem so long at say, 2:00PM on a Friday afternoon as I’m staring at the clock hoping to get out early, but by the time Monday night rolls around, I just never know where the time went!

This weekend was HOT hot blazing hot here.  Friday night Matt and I ate a really yummy dinner at Post390, a newer restaurant in the city.  Really good!  The post hard lemonade went down really smooth- strawberry ruharb a perfect summer flavor.  We started with the pecking duck [potstickers, which were the perfect portion and really yummy.  Not being a big fan of duck, I was a little leery about this one, but they were really yummy.  Matt went with the soft shell crabs for dinner, and for training purposes only (ahem), I decided to carbo-load and get the four cheese macaroni with fire roasted jalapeno.  I opted out of the duck ham (again with the duck), and added grilled chicken instead.  You know, to make what I can only imagine a 1,000 calorie + dish a teeeeensie bit healthier.  Right.  And yum.

The rest of the weekend was really low key.  We spent a lot of time deep cleaning our little apartment, switching around some furniture, talking about new room decor and paint colors.  Saturday night we went to the Sox game, a PERFECT night in the city for a game.  When we left at the bottom of the 8th, they were winning 9 to 1!  Sweet!

Our seats were awesome!

Earlier that day, and I mean earlier, as we tried to get out there to beat the heat, we got in a 12 mile run.  This is the first time that I’ve run with water, and woamygod!  I totally noticed a difference!  I had one small bottle with just water, and the other with gatorade.  On a 90+ day with extreme humidity, it’s stupid to run without hydration.  I really noticed a difference in my energy level, even after sipping just a little bit of water.  It helped a whole hell of a lot.

Yesterday for the 4th, we of course hit a BBQ with some family:

hi mom!

Hope you all had a Happy 4th of July and are staying cool out there!  Bachelorette time!

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bonjour!

First let me fill you in on the fact that Matt is back up and running again! Literally.  After a good dose of steroids over the past couple of weeks, his legs are back to normal and we’re back in action on our marathon training.  This my friends, is super exciting and in fact, cause for celebration!

So when Matt got the feeling back in his legs, we decided to celebrate with a weekend away in Montreal!

Not really.  Well, yeah really.  We DID go to Montreal for a little getaway last weekend, but it’s been a trip planned for months.  Just so happens that it came at a perfect time, as we were really able to enjoy every last drop if what the city had to offer.

Last drop?  Does that make you think of beer?

Lots of beers.  And lots and lots of yummy, indulgent, write-home-about food:

poutine!

mmmm crepes!

We headed up to Montreal for a wedding.  Matt’s buddy from lacrosse tied the knot, and we took the opportunity to make a long weekend out of it.  It was so, so much fun!  There’s so much to tell you, from the indulgent desserts that we ate, all of the walking and exploring we did of the city, the relaxing, the quality time we had together.  It was just perfect.  Just what we needed.

enjoying a beer and cigar outside at jazz fest!

we really don't clean up too bad when we're not running, eh?

I don’t know why it looks like I’m going to fall towards the camera.

making friends with other couples at our table who, like us, knew no one but the bride and groom at the wedding!

We had so much fun.  Montreal is an interesting, and eclectic city for sure.  Lots to see and do, eat and drink, lots of opportunity to laze around, explore, eat and drink, check out the culture, speak French!, and did I mention, eat and drink???

cornucopia of deliciousness!

i died last weekend. and went to HEAVEN.

If you haven’t been to Montreal, I totally recommend checking it out.  It’s a fun little city with so much to see and do. We enjoyed every little bit of our three day escape there!  Can’t wait to go back one day again!

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birthday-ing, cupcakes, cheese, and chomps

You guys, tomorrow I gotta do a long run of 12 miles, and I won’t have my favorite running buddy by my side because he’s Philly-bound in a couple of hours for the Bruins/Flyers game tonight!

Hmm.

It’s tough having such a divided relationship!  Of course I stick to my roots and cheer on the Bruins whereas Matt is a gung-ho Flyers fan. 

While any other time, it would be nice to see the Bruins or any Boston sports team do a nice sweep, I’m hoping for Matt’s sake that tonight the Flyers pull through.  Especially since he’s going all the way there with a few of his buddies!  I hope they see a win! 

Speaking of moments of win and all, my surprise birthday dinner was one of them.  We went to one of my favorite restaurants that we’ve been wanting to go back for a while now.  Look how happy I was!

mmmm wine!

And here’s us… and YUP, that’s a birthday candle in the cheese!!  Such a good night!

Everything was wonderful on my birthday.  How birthdays should be, yes?  My mom met me at work for lunch.  We split a turkey wrap, and she brought homemade chocolate cupcakes!, which we ate by the water.

And to cap off my birthday week (I’m milking this whole thing as much as I can!), I’m heading out tonight with some good fiends for a couple of drinks, then celebrating with my parents tomorrow night AND THEN my family on Sunday!  Birthday wins for me all around! 

On a totally unrelated but should be related note (since this blog is kinda sorta supposed to be about running?), I picked up some of those Gu Chomps to bust out on tomorrow’s run.  Film at 11 on how I feel about these puppies.  (Does anyone else say “film at 11?”  My mom and I always say it, but I’ve never heard a single other person use the phrase so hell if I know if it will make sense to anyone other than us!  I guess it just means… “I’ll update you all… at 11 at a later point.)

Happy weekend!

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