Runner's World

My last two weekends have been all about running! Yesterday I ran a short four mile race in Central Park that benefitted NYC Parks. This was the first step in my personal goal of running the NYC Half Marathon in August, if I'm lucky enough to win a spot in the lottery that is. I want to run progressively longer races over the next few months, so this was the start of it all. I finished at 35:32, which is actually faster than I thought I would run. The last time I ran a three miler in Central Park, I finished at 31 or 32 minutes. Granted it was late July and we ran the nasty big hills at the top of the park, which we didn't get to this time, but I'm going to take it as an improvement anyway.

The weekend before was spent in Boston with Scott, who ran the marathon there on Monday the 16th. He's a champion, I'm telling you; this is his fourth marathon ever and he's already done Boston, which is the creme de la creme of marathons. I'm trying to talk him into doing NYC's in November. We hadn't seen each other in about a year and a half and needless to say, I had the best time with him. I also got to see two friends from Central, Mel and Kendra, and another friend who was in Salzburg teaching English as the same time as I was. Who knew I had so many friends in Boston? :-) Even I didn't know until last week!

Friday and Saturday were relatively pleasant, weather-wise. Scott and I both arrived on Friday and wandered around town a bit before eating dinner with Kendra at the oldest restaurant in the US, or some such thing. I find that just about everything in Boston is the "oldest" or "first". Kendra and I raised some hell together while serving on Student Senate and on the Campus Activities Board together. She also studied in Leiden, but before me. Saturday we met up with Mel (one of my good friends from Central who studied in Leiden with me) and her new fiance Xavier. They led us around the city, pointing out interesting places and sharing factoids. Here we are together with Old Ironsides in the background (the sails you see there):


We also stopped into the Old North Church, which is where the lanterns were hung to indicate one if by land, two if by sea. Nearby there was a statue of Paul Revere, one of many, many statues erected in honor of this guy who stole all the glory from the other riders:

Scott and I were also introduced to cannolis, which are so good! Actually, Scott may have had one before, but I never had and they are delish. My colleagues couldn't believe that I went to Boston for my first cannoli (why not Brooklyn?! why not Queens?!), but I take my desserts where I can get them.

Sunday was a lazy day that involved shopping for gloves for Scott, who came rather ill-prepared for the weather, taking in a movie and eating pasta. Scott had to be on a bus for Hopkinton, MA between 6-6:30 AM the next morning, so we hit the hay early. The crazy thing about the Boston Marathon is that it starts about 23 miles from Boston and the marathoners run toward the city and finish at Copley Square. I waited for Scott around mile 22, which is just after Heartbreak Hill, as it is affectionately known. I saw him there and managed to snap this one picture while screaming my head off:


This was my first marathon experience and Scott didn't disappoint...he was trembly and shaky and needed help walking, which made me feel important. And I also gave him my coat because all his stuff was wet from the rain, which looked very feminine on him. Hee hee! He got a massage and a pedicure that afternoon and I had a martini with Caroline of Salzburg fame.

Tuesday was lazy and we both left in the afternoon for our respective domiciles. I must say that my opinion of Boston definitely changed for the better.

You can read Scott's version of the race on his blog, which is linked off mine over there to the right.