A few fun tidbits

A few fun things have happened recently…

First, last week I entered the lottery for the 2013 New York City Marathon. The race is in November. I wasn’t going to enter this year because I already have two marathons planned this Fall, but I said what the heck! If I happen to get in, I’ll be doing three marathons back-to-back, but it’s hard to get into NY so I’m okay with that and I will run it for fun, not for time. This will be my second time attempting to get into this race. I will find out on May 29th if I got in. Wish me luck!

SotMIISecond, with the Spirit of the Marathon II movie coming to theaters in June, the producers posted on their Facebook page that they were looking for some help with promoting it in the different cities it’s showing. The perk to helping out is two complimentary passes to see the movie on June 12! So, I totally got on this and emailed with my information. They responded a couple days later with more specifics and what they needed in this grassroots effort. Not only that, they gave information on a tiered incentive based on how many locations or leads you can give them which included movie tickets, t-shirts, autographed DVD of the movie, and a free entry into a Rock ‘n Roll race. Pretty sweet! I hope I get some fabulous prizes!

Here’s the trailer to the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYDiAnNlHPQ

Third, I entered the lottery for the 2014 London Marathon last night (on London time, of course). Yes, they open it almost a year out and you don’t find out if you actually get in until October. I entered the lottery last year and basically put it out of my mind for almost six months. This is a sought after marathon like NY and I found out this morning the lottery closed in about 8 hours. So, cross your fingers on this one too. It’s unlikely I will get in, but I guess you never know.

Forth (you like how I’ve numbered my paragraphs?), I have bought a few t-shirts in the last week in support of the Boston Marathon bombings, with most, if not all, proceeds going to onefundboston.org. I picked up these cool “Unstoppable” shirts from the local Fleet Feet down the street in Midtown (pic on the left). I wore the navy tech shirt out for a run on Saturday morning. I love it! The other shirt (on the far right) is in the mail and should be here any day. It says “Boston We Are Strong” and I found it on www.goneforarun.com. The picture in the middle is the amazing cover of the May issue of Boston Magazine. It’s pretty cool! #runforboston #bostonstrong

Here’s the story of the making of this cover: http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2013/04/25/behind-our-may-boston-marathon-cover/

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And lastly, I moved into a new house this weekend. I’m excited because it’s a house (a rental) with a great big yard for my dogs. They love it! And I won’t have to share walls with my neighbors. This will be an amazing thing for me…to not have to hear my neighbors play video games, listen to loud music, and other unmentionables. It will also be a new neighborhood to find new running routes and walking routes with my dogs. Home Sweet Home!photo

Congratulations to my friends and virtual running buddies who ran races this weekend!! That’s you – Brian, Jenny, Casey and Taylor!

It’s electric!

photo(5)Yesterday evening I got together with friends to run in the Electric Run! It was great to get together and forget about all that’s happened this week and just enjoy the crazy glow party and run a 5k fun run. It was pretty massive and it took a while for our group to start as they only let a couple hundred participants go in each wave. But while we waited, we listened to the music and cheers from the crowd, and took pictures as the sun went down. We could see our glowing selves even better as it turned into night. And of course, it was great people watching – lots of people with very creative outfits.

I wore a bib on my back in support of Boston and I saw others who did the same. For me, it was the first organized run since Monday’s tragic events so I wanted to show my love and support. It was nice to see others doing the same. Our friend Liz made stickers for us to wear as well.

boston strong

The course was a wild, looping route all through Cal Expo. We came upon big, colorful arches, graphics projected onto walls, a large fountain lit up with colorful lights, glowing water cups, interesting trash receptacles for the empty cups, umbrellas and
white beach balls hanging from the sky, glowing bubbles, and just an excited crowd of people wearing as much glow-in-the dark paraphernalia as possible. The after-party was like a big rave with a laser show and great house music. (There was house music bumping the entire time on the course as well.) I could have stayed longer to dance, but we left a short time later.

photo(9)Even though this wasn’t a serious timed run, it felt good to be apart of a large group of people running and having a good time. I always like themed events so it was even more fun getting ready and getting excited about our evening 3.1 mile run. And I burned some calories and sweated a little too even though it was hard to actually run the course (too many people to run fast).

If you ever get a chance to participate in an Electric Run, I’d recommend it! Definitely a fun time!

My heart is broken

I’m not even sure what to say.

I actually started writing this yesterday but wasn’t sure what I needed or wanted to say.

Hours after I posted a great tribute to the Boston Marathon, how magical and amazing it is, tragic events brought this race to an end. I sat in bed early yesterday morning listening to the excitement and the cheers, while watching the race on my laptop. I wore one of my Boston shirts, an urban-style subway route shirt, all day in support. I wanted to show my spirit and love for the city and the race all day.

I ended up wearing that same shirt the rest of the day to commemorate what happened and show my support in a different way. I wore the same shirt to bed. I don’t even know how to describe what I felt. I was incredibly shaken and in shock when I found out. I cried. I could not believe what I was hearing and seeing on TV. Many people texted me, emailed me, and found ways to communicate their concerns. Most of these people were concerned that I was there, knowing I had been before and could possibly be there this year. People I hadn’t talked to in years contacted me.

All the joy and inspiration I had felt earlier in the day, went away. It was like someone blew out a candle. It was just gone. This didn’t seem real. It still doesn’t.

It really hit home when I looked through my Boston Marathon pictures from 2011 and came across the one of me running towards the finish line. It was taken by my friends on the same side of the street where the first bombing was. My friends were standing in the same exact area where the bombs went off. It gives me chills.

This is tragic. This is truly horrible. My heart is broken…

But my broken heart still loves the city of Boston tremendously and we will all get through this. The running community will get through this together.

Today is a special day

Today is April 15. Most of you know this day as Tax Day. Yes, I think we all dread this deadline. Today is also the Boston Marathon and the same day, one year ago, that I ran the Paris Marathon. Both these races hold a special place in my heart, but Boston is at the top. The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon and a race you have to qualify for.

This morning I woke up at 6:25am to watch the live stream. I plugged in my headphones into my laptop so I could listen and not wake my sleeping boyfriend. It’s a very exciting race to watch.

Boston 1

2011 Boston Marathon

I ran the Boston Marathon in April 2011. What an amazing adventure and journey that was. To be a part of a group of such outstanding athletes. For 3 hours and 51 minutes I got to run with all those elite runners…it was such a great feeling. These are some of the best in the world and I was part of history with them. This particular year, Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya set the course record with a time of 2:03:02!

This adventure to the Boston Marathon was something I never thought about until after my first marathon. I ran a pretty good race at the CIM in 2008 and then I put a lot of pressure on myself to try and run a qualifying race at the Rock n’ Roll San Diego Marathon in 2009. I ended up getting really sick with a sinus infection and had a horrible race. I told myself after that to not put that kind of pressure on myself. And at the CIM 2009 is where I qualified for Boston!

I was pretty excited. But the next step was entering the race. I had to wait til October 2010 to actually enter the Boston Marathon. I was on vacation with Clint in Playa del Carmen and the day the entries opened we got on the hotel lobby computer to fill out the form. For some reason it kicked back and I wasn’t sure if my info went through. So, we decided to do this on my phone, but we had to rush to get on a ferry to go to Cozumel. While on the ferry waiting to take off from the dock, I realized I had wi-fi, so I hurried to get it done. As we took off from the dock I saw the wi-fi bars slowly starting to fade away…I had to hurry! It seemed to go through! I felt better and relaxed.

Then I got an email from my running partner, Brian, that the entries had closed in a record 8 hours that day! Holy moly! When I was having difficulty entering on the hotel lobby computer, it had crossed my mind to wait til we got home in a couple days to enter. I am so glad I didn’t wait, because I wouldn’t have gotten in and I would have been really disappointed.

The race wasn’t for another six months, so this seemed to be a long process. I booked hotels with my friends and trained well before the race. Clint couldn’t come along for the journey, but as we had our last dinner together before leaving for the race I became really emotional. I had been having dreams that I wouldn’t be able to run, that my legs literally wouldn’t work, when the gun went off at the race. I was a little anxious and had no idea what was in store for me. And I wanted him to be there.

Boston 2

At the chilly and windy start line

Fast forward a few days to the Expo. This was truly exciting! I got my bib and my long sleeve Boston Marathon participant shirt. This is the coveted Boston jersey in yellow and blue. I was emotional. My friends were there to support me on this journey and I was happy they could share this with me.

The race is held on Patriot’s Day each year, which is also the third Monday in April, and is also known as Marathon Monday. There is a lot of history behind this race. There is also a Red Sox game on the same day. A lot is going on in Boston on race day and hundreds of thousands of people come out to cheer on the runners. The morning of the race, we hopped on the subway to get to the area where the buses were to take all of us runners to the start line. It’s 26 miles away so we were in a caravan of yellow school buses on the freeway, escorted by a police motorcycle motorcade. I felt so important. When we arrived at the start area, it was windy and cold and I had no idea what to do. I had to go to the bathroom one last time before my 10:30am (yes, it starts this late in the morning) corral time. I was actually running late now, so I had to run to my corral.

Boston 3

Getting through those hills

This is it! I was having trouble with my iPod but scrambled with that for a few. I also started off being a little conservative in the beginning because people kept saying that the race starts off going downhill and you will take off pretty fast. I actually felt my heal rubbing on the back of my shoe so I needed to stop at an EMT booth to get some tape to cover my heel. And off I went again. There were so many people along the course the entire way. In small towns and big towns…all types of people. It was really fun! Brian mapped out the course to hopefully meet up at different spots along the way to see me run. And as I hit the dreaded uphill miles around mile 17-21, Brian showed up! Right when I needed him.

I plowed through those last miles and I felt the crowds getting bigger and bigger. It was starting to become a reality that I was about to finish this race. I saw the tall buildings downtown and knew I was close. As I turned the last two corners I started to cry. I gave all I had that last mile. I turned onto Boylston Street and saw the blue finish arch and looked for my friends between the tears. It was an amazing feeling crossing that finish line. I still cry thinking about this race. I don’t know why, but this race was like going to the Olympics. It’s probably the biggest accomplishment for me.

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Acceptance and Congratulations certificates

Some people get to go to the Boston Marathon once in their life; some get to go several times. I envy the latter. But I do hope to go again someday. However, if I never get there again, I won’t be disappointed because this experience was one of the best in my life.

See below for some tips for running the Boston Marathon -

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/11-Golden-Rules-for-Running-a-Successful-Boston-Marathon.htm?

Bart who?

bart yasso 2009

Brian, Bart, and Me – 2009 CIM Expo

To most people, the name Bart Yasso may sound like a cartoon character. Or to my boyfriend, it’s Bart Lasso. But to the running community, this guy is well-known, and even called the “Mayor of Running.”

Bart Yasso is a prominent figure in the sport of running and is also a columnist for Runner’s World, created the Yasso 800′s marathon training plan, and has also run races on every continent. Pretty impressive!

Brian and I were lucky enough to meet him in 2009 at the CIM Expo. Brian was way more excited to meet him than I was. I really didn’t know who he was then. But as I continued with my running adventures, I started to hear more and learn more about him.

So a couple of weeks ago, we found out Bart was coming to our local Fleet Feet store to do a short run and a small presentation. We jumped on it and RSVP’d!

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Brian, Bart and Me – 2013

Today we were lucky enough to meet him again. I asked if he would take a photo with Brian and I, just like he did in 2009. He was laid back and happily obliged. He also was very approachable and talked one-on-one with anyone that came up to him. After a short mingle period, he took a group photo with all of us (about 30 runners?) and then we took off on a 3 mile run. Brian and I left with the others in the front of the group while Bart was bringing up the rear of our run through Midtown, around McKinley Park, and back to the store.

It was a fairly warm 84 degrees out this evening, but it was totally worth it. We got to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s not too often that you get to run with one of the best. It was actually kind of cool. It made my Wednesday.

http://www.bartyasso.com/

I wish I was in Paris

If you didn’t know, I love Paris. I mean, I may be a little obsessed. Or just call me a Francophile. (Is that a creepy word??)

picstitchToday was the 2013 Paris Marathon. I always wish I was in Paris sipping coffees and eating macarons, but after looking at the race pictures on Facebook, I really wish I was there today among all those participants in such a beautiful city. The weather looked perfect and the finisher medal looks a lot prettier than mine from last year. (I’m a little jealous.)

I guess, for now, I’ll have to live vicariously through Facebook. But thank you Facebook for reminding me that I need to go back and run this again someday!

You ran 50 miles, girl!

That's Heather on the right with her finisher medal

That’s Heather, on the right, with her finisher medal

On a side note, yesterday was the AR50. It’s the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run, that starts at the Guy West Bridge in Sacramento and ends in Auburn. An amazing gal, Heather Monahan, ran it and finished it! I have only met Heather once by chance in the porta pottie lines (it was like finding a needle in a haystack) at the LA Marathon a few weeks ago, but we’ve kept in touch on Facebook for a while now after finding each other through a mutual friend, Manny. I guess you could say we’re virtual running buddies.

I followed her training for weeks before the race and peeked at her progress all day yesterday. She had so many supporters and friends rooting for her then entire way. She ran this in memory of her father that passed away last year. She also raised money for charity. The training and fundraising are both huge tasks. But she did it!

50 miles is quite a distance and she accomplished an incredible feat. Pretty inspiring if you ask me. Congratulations Heather, you inspire me!

Here’s her blog if you’d like to check it out: www.runfordad.tumblr.com