Driving the Boston Marathon took us more than an hour

So how is it that today we have a wintery mix, and on Saturday, I was able to get a pretty weird, iPod tan (I have one of those iPod bands that you put around your arm- which is a huge mistake when it is sunny outside!)? The only answer is that I happen to live in Boston!

On Saturday, I was feeling pretty unmotivated to run. We didn't have a planned DFMC run so I was on my own. After about an hour of procrastinating, I finally decided to head out to Memorial Drive. And boy was I glad that I did! It was fantastic. I couldn’t have asked for better weather! The sun was beating down pretty hard (remember where I live again) as I headed toward Harvard University and the boathouse on Route 2. I usually feel great in the beginning, but this time, I was really having a hard time getting through the first mile. I would constantly check my iPod (with a Nike tracking component) and stare at it in disbelief when it told me I had only reached 1.3 miles. I knew I was going to have a hard time. Reaching 5 miles was a feat for me this time, but after that, I felt much better. I made my way around Memorial Drive onto the side closest to BU. I headed to the Hat Shell and kept on running until I got to the Museum of Science. During this time, I ate my GU which I can say was a huge pick-me-up. At that point, I had reached about 7.3 miles.

I then proceeded to turn around and head back on the route that I had come on. As I got to mile 10, I was feeling pretty good. I had been taking smaller walking breaks throughout my run which I have learned really helps with the pain in my IT band and shins. I have been trying to walk about a minute for every 30 minutes that I run. This seems to be the method that I will following come marathon day. I finally made it back home after about 14.75 miles. I was proud at what I had accomplished but definitely found it much harder than last week!

On Sunday, Kishore and I drove out to see our dear friends Lauren and Brian (and their new baby August!). By shear happenstance, they live in Hopkinton, about a half mile from the start line of the Boston Marathon! We then decided to drive back the route of the Boston Marathon. As the odometer slowly indicated the miles, I started to get really nervous. We seemed to be going a really far distance and through various towns- Hopkinton, Ashland (passing the Hindu temple- I will definitely be praying as I pass the temple come race day!), Framingham, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and finally Boston. There were so many hills that I didn’t expect (obviously I knew about Heartbreak Hill but there are SO many more!). Driving the distance of the Boston Marathon took us over an hour (we did stop at the temple, managed to get lost, hit a lot of traffic signals and were behind some very slow-moving cars), but you can imagine the state I was in when I got home. I am just hoping that I can keep it together come marathon day and think about it in smaller segments than the 26.2 miles that it is. What did I get myself into…