Meb For President

Oh, my goodness.   Did you watch? Tell me you watched.  If you're saying "Watched what?" then obviously you don't need to be reading this blog.

The 118th Boston Marathon was held yesterday and OH MY GOSH, what a race.

I won't re-cap it, because if you care, you watched it (or read about it), and if you don't care, then me telling you about it isn't going to change your mind.

I will say that I'm sorry that Shalane Flanagan didn't win, because I know that she really, really, really wanted to, but man, she did a great job.  She set a record, both personally, and for American women, and that is saying something.

And Meb.  Oh, my.  Meb Keflezighi.  What an amazingly awesome and supremely gifted runner. I will be honest, I did not think he was going to win.  When the race started, I cheered for him but was kind of expecting him to get over taken.  Ha.  That'll teach me to doubt!

By the last 400 meters, I was on my feet in my living room, bouncing up and down, yelling at the television.  "Don't celebrate! Keep running! Faster! He's behind you! Faster!"  I can't remember the last time I was that stressed out. LOL

*sigh*  What a great day. 

And, as always, watching amazing runners run got me all fired up.  So I spent some time last night looking at the calendar and fretting and came up with a loose 14 week training plan for the Endless Summer 6 Hour Run.  It looks like a crazy amount of running.  I honestly don't know how it's going to go.  But I'm gonna try!  

2 weeks till my 5K, 4 weeks till my HM, 14 weeks till ES6, and 22 weeks till NC24.  I have a lot of running ahead of me, and I am seriously crazy excited.   

Did you watch Boston?  Does watching a race get you pumped up for your own running? 

One Year

There are different events over the course of a lifetime that you will always remember. There are certain tragedies that you will discuss with friends and the conversation will start, "I remember exactly where I was when. . ."

A year ago today, I was parked in the car loop at my son's elementary school, checking Facebook on my phone. It was there that I read the words "bomb" and "marathon" and I thought it had to be a horrible practical joke.

Then the reports started rolling in. 

Today, many have healed and attempted to move on. But we all remember, and a little part of our hearts will always belong to Boston. 

Special Delivery

I love mail.  

A  blogger I read posted awhile ago about getting excited about receiving mail, and today, for me it was quite true.  Packages from Amazon, Running Warehouse, and Gone For A Run all graced my doorstep and I did a happy little dance.  The Amazon package was a surprise - books from my mom for my kids (awww!).  The other stuff, I actually ordered and have been (not so) patiently waiting for.

First, the bras.  So freaking excited, it's almost actually a little sad.  I wanted to find sports bras that had actual clasps in the back, but I'm on the smaller side, breast-wise (yes, I just typed that), so mostly what I end up with are compression type bras.  They're fine, they do the job, but some days, they are freaking impossible to get in and out of.  After a particularly bad run a few weeks ago, I had to pitifully call my husband in to help me get out of one, and then wearily explain to him that I was not trying to come on to him, I was just stuck and had wrenched something trying to get myself ready for the shower.  (Poor guy LOL)

So when Running Warehouse announced this week that they had select Saucony products on sale which included bras with BACK CLOSURES I was thrilled.  I bought the only two colors they had - black, and a dark pink.

Of course it's sideways... Pfft. How did that happen?  Anyway.  Saucony Curve Crusader Bra

Have not tried them on yet since I just got them, but I'm sure I'm going to love them, if for no other reason than I'll be able to get my self dressed and undressed.... something that I have been proud to be able to do since the age of, oh, I don't know, THREE.  

Moving on.  The box from Gone For A Run held two items.  First, these puppies:

13.1 Flip Flops from Gone For A Run

I saw these and immediately had to have them.  My "debut" half marathon is next weekend, and I'm not the bumper sticker sort, but I wanted something to commemorate the event, since I figured people would stare at me oddly if I wore the medal everywhere I go.  Since I pretty much live in flip flops in the summer time, I figured these would be fun.

The next item I purchased just a few hours before I found out about the Adidas shirts.  Kinda bummed about that, actually, since I'm pretty sure that the shirt I'm bought didn't benefit anyone except the people who made it, but oh well.  I still love the message, and will wear it a lot.

Love this shirt! It came out of the package mighty wrinkled, though, didn't it? 

I'm still waiting on one more item that I've ordered recently - I don't know what got into me, but I've been on a running-related spending spree lately.  There must be something in the water.  

How about you? Any fun running related purchases lately?  

A different kind of Shock and Awe

After dropping the kids off at school yesterday, I went to Panera, grabbed some breakfast, and hightailed it home to watch the Boston Marathon.  I used my cellphone to chat with friends on Facebook as I watched the race on my husband's laptop.  After the elite women had finished, my mom made a comment on Facebook that made me realize that she, too, had been watching.

I called her and we chatted a bit, laughing and happy, in awe of what we'd seen.   It was a great day.

Fast forward three hours to me sitting in the car loop line at my son's elementary school, my daughter sleeping in the backseat as we waited for school to get out.  I checked Facebook (I'm slightly addicted) and saw the words "marathon" and "bomb" in the same sentence. It made no sense.  I Googled and found nothing.  I went back to Facebook, and there were more posts.  I Googled some more, and there it was.  Bombs had gone off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Immediately, my feed was filled with "The girls were at the finish line - have they checked in?" and "Oh, my god, B was running, what time was he expected to finish, has anyone called him?" and on and on.  I sat with tears in my eyes, not knowing if runners, volunteers, and spectators that I knew had been hurt in the blasts, or if they were safe.

A few hours later, after everyone that I know had been (thank heavens) accounted for, I started thinking about the victims of the explosions.   Not just those who had  been killed and injured (though, obviously, my heart went out to them and to their families, and I cannot even imagine the horror that they all endured), but the runners, volunteers, and spectators who were there.

The Boston Marathon is a Big Deal.  It's a great day for Boston, and a great day for runners. Qualifying for Boston is a life-long dream for some, while others work tremendously hard to raise money for charity so that they, too, may be allowed to run along the same streets as elite athletes.  Boston aside, Marathons themselves are a Big Deal.  Hours upon hours are spent training for a marathon.  Hundreds of miles are logged, injuries are sustained, sleep is lost.  People who run marathons endure so much for the chance to cross the finish line, their arms raised in triumph.  To be able to say I Did It!

For thousands of people yesterday, that moment of glory was taken away.   OF COURSE the main focus should be on the actual victims of the bombs.  OF COURSE the runners who were not injured are grateful for their health and safety.  OF COURSE.   But I can't help feeling sad for those runners who trained so hard and fought for so long, only to have their happy ending taken away from them and replaced with unspeakable horror.

Fortunately, the general consensus seems to be, "We will run again."

My thoughts are with the people of Boston, the victims of this horrific incident, and runners all over the world.  God Bless.

I do what with my feet?

When I decided that I was going to start running last year, I went to a running store that I’d heard about to talk to an “expert” re: shoes.  A nice woman watched me walk barefoot, pulled out 4 different boxes of shoes, told me I needed inserts, and $160 later, I walked out the door feeling like a “real” runner.  I’m an over-pronator! I need “guidance” shoes! And inserts! And I know all this because some lady told me so! Yay!

Fast forward to three months later, when I had shin splints and had been pointed in the direction of a different running store where they did “gait analysis” and all kinds of fancy stuff.  After running on a treadmill in front of a camera, having my arch analyzed by some high-tech gizmo, and talking at length to another nice lady, I walked out the door another $120 poorer, feeling like THIS time, I had it right.  I don’t need “guidance” shoes! I need neutral shoes!  Yay me!

Fast forward yet again, to present day.  Err, today.  Took a short run this morning in my good ole “guidance” shoes (I returned the “neutral” ones after about a week, thinking that they didn’t feel any different than the “guidance” ones… because I still had shin splints.  Never occurred to me to take care of the shin splints BEFORE trying new shoes…  DUR.), and started thinking back over all the various aches and pains I’ve had, and how despite stretching and warming up and blah blah, my really good runs were few and far between.  I seem to have more aches and pains than other runners I know, even “newer” runners.  Maybe I’m not cut out for running.  Maybe I’m too fat.  Maybe I just suck.

Or maybe…….  Maybe I need different shoes.  Hrm.  Could it be?  Could the second lady with the fancy technology have actually been right?

So I finished my measly 3 miles, went home and cleaned up, and headed to yet another LRS to get a tie-breaking opinion.    ANOTHER very nice lady helped me, and guess what?  I’m back in neutral shoes.

I ran two miles in them tonight, just to test them out, and it was amazing.  No foot pain.  No shin pain. No calf pain. No ankle pain.  NO PAIN.   It was – and I don’t use this word lightly –  AWESOMESAUCE.

So. Moral of this story?  I *heart* Brooks! No, actually, the moral of this story is to not try new shoes when you have shin splints!  Also, don’t wait nearly a year to try new shoes again!  Dur.  =)