Boston in Pictures

Oh Boston. I am still in immense amounts of pain. Looking back through the pictures, I realized my Garmin was a little off (maybe it paused when I was running slower? IDK) so I only PR'd by about 20 minutes, not 30. NBD. That is still a huge PR.

I realized that I have a lot of potential (look at my early splits here bib #26525) and with some convincing have accepted the fact that if I had proper training (ie a trainer) I could BQ if I put in the time and effort. I just need someone to help me develop discipline. I am going to toot my own horn here: 2 marathons in 6 months. Not too shabby for a chick who couldn't run a mile 3 years ago.

Boston was short notice: 8 weeks to train, in a time where training was not ideal (finish MA, pink slips at work, blah blah blah). I didn't get the training miles in I wanted, I lost track of my fuel intake during the race and under-fueled, SUNBURNED (I did have sunscreen on fyi), and was not disciplined enough to take it slower (although I did slow myself down).  Despite all this, I still got a PR. Did I mention I got a PR? Still pretty stoked on my PR (ok, I am done).

Now, as promised by the title of this post, the best of Boston, in pictures:

Waiting in line for the bus with Charlyn, who also won an entry

I have always wanted to meet up with another blogger/runner. So happy I was able to meet Charlyn, who is just plain amazing, as is her dad. Talk about good people :)

Like a kid in field trip mode, super excited to be on the bus

So many people waiting to start.

Waiting for our turn to start

Fast food. Well, faster than me. Not Charlyn.

  

Boston is all about the fans. Everyone is so supportive.

If I would line my classroom with people like this, all my kids would feel like winners.

Not sure who these ladies were, but they were awesome.

Haven't tried the number yet. Wonder if she has changed it by now.

...before the hill kills you.

I loved these guys. They gave me extra push when I needed it.

Drinking on the roof. Good thing there were tons of medics everywhere. Boston Marathon=just another reason to tailgate. But on your roof.

If my legs and back weren't busy breaking, I am sure heart would have been too

Don't tease me.

yeah right girlfriend.

Wellesley was overwhelming, but in a good way. So much love.

if you like making love at midnight....

Smiling, because I had no idea how miserable I would be the next time I stood in that place.

Me at the finish the day before. I was a hot mess at the finish, so I am glad I took these shots before the race.

Socks! Socks! Socks!

Not to be confused with shots, of course. Todays workout: 6 miles in 1:03:33, with a best pace of 7:43 and average pace of 10:36. Not too shabby for beginning of training!

Today I looked ridiculous. My running clothes don't fit because I packed a few on since the marathon, so I looked like and overstuffed sausage. Add a hydration belt (very cool) and a garmin (the big, even cooler one) and an iPod, and you bet people were lining up to be my friend/running buddy. No wonder I run alone. Not sure if getting dressed to run and discovering nothing fits motivates me to get out of discourages me because I look like a fool. Let's hope I tighten up quick before I make up my mind on this one!

So, as promised, I wanted to give a review of my new Thorlo Experia socks. My mom got me a few pairs for Christmas, and I am already in love. Before I was running in Zulu socks, which the overpriced running store peeps said would reduce my blisters at the best value. And they were right. But they didn't hold up for long, lost their elasticity, and now they do nothing for me.

These fancy pants socks are padded in all the right places (toe, heel, back of foot) have a snug fit on the arch, stay in place, and breathe really nicely. I have them in pink and blue, but they come in a ton of different colors. They are not too bulky and make your feet super happy. They are considerably more expensive than my Zulu's, but since they were a gift I am not going to think much about the fact my mom probably spent around $14.00 a pair. I hope they were on sale. I am following the instructions to wash inside out to keep the padding fluffy and use fabric softener to lubricate the fibers so they last longer (who knew?). Oh, and they are some official sock of Runner's World (or so the package says) if that means anything to you (which it probably doesn't).

If you are looking for new socks and take your socks very seriously, I would highly recommend these! (Maybe they will send me a free pair, lol).

So in Love...

Todays Workout: 3.5 miles @ 10:39 pace. My first run with the garmin. The second half of my run was faster probably because I eventually focused on running and not checking my wrist every 5 seconds to check my pace and distance. This thing rocks. I am in love.

Good news: the Garmin is already helping me run faster by making me more aware of my pace. I also think my paces will be more accurate now I am not basing it off google maps. I've run more in the last week than I did in all of November!

Bad news: I am slow, lazy, and out of shape. I finally got on a scale and discovered I have packed on 10 pounds since I started teaching. Pretty sure most of it was done in the last 2 months since the marathon. Yikes. I am way slower and my stamina is way down. Better take these lemons and make some new years resolutions out of them (or limoncello, whatever works). And stop eating cookies and gravy with every meal. Sad news, I know.

Although I was tasked with thinking of a name for the Garmin during today's run, I was too busy messing around with the settings, adjusting the wrist so it wasn't so annoy (still annoyed, btw), or thinking about those 10 lbs. I knew I was packing them on, estimated it was around 10, but I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised by only seeing a difference of 8 on the scale this morning. I have passed the point I swore I would stay under unless I was pregnant or something (I am NOT pregnant, btw), so I am very disappointed with myself today. This makes for a lot of work before Tahiti. Sigh.

Weight gain is a slippery slope. A pound here, a few pounds there, and before you know it your doctor is telling you that you are medically overweight and pre-obesity. People tell you it isn't a big deal and that you look fine. Many people won't say anything to someone when they are starting to put weight on because they do not want to impose society's bias about what is a healthy body type. We combat the pressure to be ultra-thin by looking away when someone is starting to stray away from a healthy body type. I am not about to tell anyone they look like they are gaining weight. I am afraid to hurt their feelings, send them into a spiral of depression, etc. I will try my best not to enable poor choices and try to make it easier for them to make healthy choices when they are around me, but let's face it, these are the same people that are enabling me to indulge in my guilty pleasures, so most of the time I am of no help to them or to myself. Long story short, you are the only person who can be on top of this, you can't blame others for your unhealthy habits, and you can't depend on anyone but yourself to make change happen.

I originally wanted to write a post about why boyfriends make you fat. But then I realized he could just change "boyfriends" to "girlfriends" to make it about what I do to him. I can't blame the BF for the past 6 months of weight gain (although, I had never had a double stack from Wendy's until I met him). As I ran today and thought about those 10 little devils jiggling all over, I thought about sitting on that exam table, hearing the words "pre-obesity" and promised myself to make better choices. Not in 2011, but now. I know my blood sugar counts are wacky and put me at risk for diabetes, and I really need to stay on top of my fitness. So, off to sushi I go with my mama to get the most out of the 414 calories garmin told me I burned today. That goes a long way on a sashimi platter!

I was on the good list

Guess who is officially part of the Garmin cult!!!!!!!! Training just got a little more intense. I'll need that to balance all the baked goodies I am going to be making with my new kitchen gadgets (omg, they are so amazing....I can't believe what my mother bought me!). Looks like last summer cooking for the family is going is getting me a fully stocked gourmet chef's kitchen in no time. Summer is going to be dangerous folks!

I can't wait to post my first run with the Garmin (pet name for this little sucker coming soon) and inundate you with over-analysis of every step I take outside the house. You know you are excited (or about to stop following me, it can go either way).

Here's hoping that santa brought you lovely goodies and that your day with blessed with the love of family and friends. Merry Christmas!