Friday Night Vertical 2021

Friday Night Vertical 2021

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

2019 Doyle's Emerald Necklace

View in Snake Den State Park
This week was actually pretty busy with another deep tissue massage, traveling to pick up my new car, another baffling trail run and Doyle's Emerald Necklace 5-Mile Race. The week ended up being mostly fun...as long as you leave out work which has been pretty dull due to the slowness. Way too much of doing nothing which is why I write my blog posts at work. Passes the time. I do work on the employee State reporting compliance, too, but that only takes about 2-3 hours tops. I also workout here in the mornings, so that helps, but some days drag on. Summer will be busy, though, so I can't really complain.

Running was better this week, although the miles stayed fairly low at 38 miles. On paper, it looks like I'm tapering, but I'm not. The only marathon I've ever tapered for was my first one. Sadly, this is just preservation in hopes of finishing Boston. I'm trying not to overdue it on the tendons. Most runs still have to be on the road with our many feet of snow and continual snow storms so I'm limiting my road miles. I did, however, do two trail runs this week! Yay. One on dry trails in Rhode Island and the other on snow covered-trails here. Both weren't awesome, though, as they had their challenges.

The biggest surprise for the week was Sunday's race. I wasn't really nervous leading up to Doyle's Emerald Necklace since I didn't care how I placed. I cared more about how I would feel and set a reasonable goal of breaking 33 minutes. Although my splits would be more like 2017's race, i.e. all over the place, I still ran basically the EXACT same time as the last two years. My official time was 31:40 (31:39 in 2017 and 31:41 in 2018). I was psyched!! I never once looked at my watch during the race, and when I first saw the clock from a distance, I thought it had just crossed over to 32:00, but I guess I really am going blind because I was shocked to see 31:?? on it instead as I got closer! Yay!


I kind of wrote this backwards, but I'll go back to the beginning. I took Phoenix down to the race with me and left John at home. Bryan was around half the day so John opted for that plan. I liked it, especially since it would force me to leave at a reasonable time for once. I wasn't planning to hang out with the same crowd I had the last two years so that would also help me to get myself out of there no later than 2pm.

I was very well rested and had no problem getting up and even left a lot earlier than planned. The drive down was smooth with no traffic, and the day looked like it was going to be a nice one.


I got down there a little after 9am, checked in and then took Phoenix on an easy, slow 2 mile run. It was really warm out, even for her, so we made two stops for her to swim in a pond in Franklin Park. She seemed content to be back in the warm car after.


Waiting in the car pre-race. A Boston cop saw me in the back through the window and kept driving loops around the block to look in my car. I think he finally figured out I was probably part of the race. Haha.
Although I hadn't been nervous prior to getting there, I realized once I was there that I was feeling a bit of anxiety about the race. When I'm like this pre-race, I'm not very social at all and decided to go ahead and run towards the starting area and then find a place off in the park to sit and hide. I ran up to the top of the nearest hill where there was a slight view over the golf course and sat on a rock up there for awhile before I got too anxious and needed to move again. Instead of running, I decided to take a walk and stopped for awhile to listen to the bagpipers playing off in the distance. The Boston Police Gaelic Column of Pipes and Drums play for us during the first mile of the race, which is always neat, but you can't really stop and listen so I did now while I had the chance. It was nice. After making my way back to the start, I sat on a bench for awhile. Mimi Fallon joined me so we chatted, then I ran a short loop to warm up again. Back at the start, I ran into my friend, Tom Miller, and his daughter, both from Marshfield. That was a pleasant surprise since I haven't seen him in a few years. He's the RD for the Marshfield St Patrick's Day 5K, but we were first teammates at the Cape Relay (now Ragnar) in 2011. Tom would be the first of 3 people I would talk to today who I learned has the exact same injury as me...and with the same exact story. It was great catching up a little before it was time to get to the start line.

I lined up pretty far back at the start. I had no intentions of finishing near the front of the pack and didn't want to go out stupid fast. I always question this move, though, when I see people lined up in front of me who I know I'm going to have to pass. I decided that it would be fine, especially since they had fixed the potholes and puddles we previously had to dodge. It meant more space to get around. I ran into a guy I know from the track meets and chatted with him before we started. Kept my mind off the race.

Once off the line, I found my starting place had been a good choice. I still had to pass quite a few people and ended up running on the cobble stones next to the pavement to get around at one point, but really it wasn't bad since I'm used to running technical trails. Haha. There were close to 8 or 9 women in front of me at first. I think I only passed two of them and another had to step off to the side to tie her shoe. So I was running 6th for most of the race with the 5 in front all close together until after mile 3. Mimi Fallon would end up the same distance ahead of me during the entire race. She never fell back and I never caught up. Meanwhile, I would pass 2 women who both caught me back in the last mile (one caught me just before the finish, but the results are only showing chip time with me ahead of her, and she beat me across the line. I hate that.) And then the woman who stopped to tie her shoe would catch nearly all of us except the first woman and even that was close. Had she not stopped to tie her shoe, she probably would have won. I recognized her as soon as she passed me. Kim Ionta, also from Marshfield. Kim is amazing. When I was at my fastest, I barely beat Kim, but here's the best part... she's 55! Her time today (31:02) is 2 seconds faster than my 5-mile PR. That's pretty awesome.

Anyway, the race was pretty uneventful. I actually felt great fitness-wise. I definitely put in 100% effort with this one, but I didn't feel like I was dying. I felt like I was racing to my full potential and also felt fit. That's not something I've felt often in the last year. And it was weird because I assumed that since I was running what felt like my max which must be slow, that I was for sure going to barely break 33 minutes. No way did feel match up with my pace, but it ended up being faster than I felt. This injury has thrown me for a loop.

Mile 1 was a bit quick, but then I slowed as usual from there. I played leap frog with this one girl until just past mile 4, and we actually laughed about it during the race. She definitely helped keep me in the game. I did struggle a bit on the inclines with the tendons in miles 4 and 5, but the hills are so minimal that it wasn't much of an issue really. I did catch myself slowing in the last mile after the tunnel. I realized I was daydreaming and had slowed down briefly, but I caught myself and picked the pace back up for the final push to the finish. Even though I got passed, I was really excited to see my time was the same for the 3rd year in a row as I crossed the finish line. What a nice boost of confidence! 31:40, technically 7th female if you go by gun time. 1st in the 40-49. Full Results

Photo by Scott Mason. It was hard to choose between the 2 he put in the album, but I liked this one best.
As you can see, Lily Corcoran finished ahead of me but is 2 seconds behind in chip time. She beat me fair and square, though.


Instead of going for post-race beer right away, I went to the car to change clothes first. I kind of regretted that when I saw the beer line when I got back there. Haha. I made sure to grab 2 beers once I did get up there even though it was a pain in the ass holding two beers. The post-race party was low-key for me this year. Although I had plenty of people to talk to, I wouldn't say I was very social. I did talk to Scott Mason for awhile. He would be person #2 I talked to who has the same injury. We've both probably had this same injury for awhile but didn't know each other had it. People who've never heard of High (Proximal) Hamstring Tendinopathy really don't know what the hell you're talking about so I often don't discuss it in any detail, but as soon as Scott elaborated on what he has, it was apparent we have the same thing. During the awards, I stopped Greg Picklesimer and chatted with him. He would be person #3 who has my injury. It was crazy his description of racing with it. Could have been spoken by me. Finishing races not out of breath as if you haven't raced hard, but you ran as fast as you could. Shortened stride. Constant pain. People beating you who never beat you (seems shallow, but if you are a competitive runner something like this will bother you to some degree). Greg was the most informed person yet that I've been able to talk to about the injury so that was helpful for me.

I spent a lot of my time talking to Fred Ross, who is always a joy. It wasn't until the next day that he realized the two beers I was holding were both mine. Haha. I might have horrified him a bit.

Fred wearing my degrading-to-women race shirt. Haha. Fred was the Dirty Dude at the Dirty Girl in 2018.

Seeing these photos really makes me hate my short hair even more.
I stayed through the awards and played Simon Says which was fun. I was out only halfway through. Once that was over, I realized I was ready to leave, even though it was well before 2pm, so I walked to my car and left, getting home almost exactly at 5pm as I had told John. Even stopped at Trader Joe's on the way.

My award. I still have $45 in gift certificates from last year's winnings...and thieving from Paul Hammond. Haha.
So, all in all, I was happy with Doyle's. If I can keep running close to the same time, I'm ecstatic. Sadly, I've never run there without this injury. I had planned to do it in both 2015 and 2016 when I was healthy and much faster. I think I would have easily broken 30 minutes both years. But in 2015, I got a last minute invite to join a Tuckerman Inferno team the day before and couldn't pull off both races then. (We'd end up winning the Inferno, even though I had to race Ryan Place in the run. He beat me by about 15 minutes, I think. My teammates managed to make up the gap, and we barely beat his team). In 2016, I wanted to go, but someone requested that I not come, so I didn't. Why I agreed to that, I don't know, but I guess I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. No going back in the past, but I still can't help wondering how fast I could have done this course either of those years. Who knows? Maybe I will be able to run it faster some day. Doyle's is now one of my annual races so there's a chance, right?

Monday, 4/1- Zero. As usual, just being lazy because I hate getting up before 5am. Plus, we had to do the monthly truck check which took us 2.5 hours so I wanted more sleep before that. Did glutes, chest & triceps and abs at work. Even though work has been quiet, we have been getting a 911 call every Monday between 8:40-8:50pm...right in the middle of The Voice! People need to wise up and call either well before or after it. Ugh. Haha. Obviously, I'm kidding. And tonight's 911 call was a bit more personal than most so we weren't just doing our jobs. We would have done it without getting paid.

Had a FB memory pop up that I made a feeble attempt to recreate. Only little things have changed in 7 years; less lines on my face (age catches up with you fast!), a longer necklace for the same pendant, an older shirt, no fancy nails and a wedding band. Otherwise, I still drive that ambulance; I'm looking at it right now. My hair is the same. The biggest thing NOT to change is that I'm still here!! I never pictured myself where I am right now, but it's pretty crazy how things work out. I'd appreciate not being sucker punched all the time, though. Haha. How about something awesome thrown in there every now and then? Thx.

2012 in 60A2. Age 35
2019 in the same ambulance, although its call sign is now 60A7. Age 42. 
Tuesday, 4/2- 8.5 miles. Went straight for my run after my shift ended at 7am. I had another appointment with Tina in Dover so I wanted to get this done. After mostly a week off from running, I was surprised at how good I felt. How effortless the run was. The tendon pain was there, though, always holding me back. I wondered as I ran just how much faster I would be running right now if I was pain-free. No memory of what that was like. I just ran a loop around North Conway from Redstone. Up North-South and back the strip. 1:01:08. 7:11 avg pace.

Tried out my new Nike Pegasus 35 Turbo shoes. I really like them. The color sucks, but I don't mind settling when they are a lot cheaper. Haha. I also wore them at Doyle's and they felt great. I'll do a few more runs in them before Boston just to be sure I want to race in them. They fit just like the Nike Free's I wore for years, but the forefoot isn't used to taking the brunt so with the skin so soft there still, I'm definitely a little concerned about a blister forming, especially if it's wet. So I'm actually up in the air with that one. I'll probably end up in either the Kinvara for ISO Ride (both Saucony) otherwise. I really, really want to wear the Nike's since I think the higher heel rise is actually better for me. It's actually the reason I sought these shoes out. Pegasus was also my first real running shoe ever! Used it for road and XC in high school. So it's kind of neat trying them out again after all of these years.

Left early enough before my deep tissue massage to stop at Plummers Ridge in Milton to take a walk with Phoenix. This would be the new site of the Dirty Girl Trail Race if I decide to continue it after this year. It was a nice place and would make a fun course, but with the way the trails are set up, I'd have my work cut out for me in making a course without too much overlapping. Right now, I'll be honest. I'm not feeling the Dirty Girl after this year. The whole incident with Tin Mountain just left me drained and less enthused. I'm still looking forward to this year's race, but not with the same excitement I had before. Maybe my attitude will change, though. Part of me hopes so. The other part of me is done.

Phoenix and I walked 2 miles. Such a beautiful warm day. Wore my "new" pair of Hoka Speedgoat 2s which I love as my hiking shoes. My old pair finally tore too much to be of use anymore. After watching eBay, I finally found a pair for $38. They are basically brand new. If someone did actually wear them, it was probably just to try them on. There isn't a mark on these. Total score!




My massage with Tina went really well. She worked out my hamstrings again and really worked on my back and neck that have been in pain since Eastern States. She did cupping on both the legs and the neck. Overall, though, I was in pretty good shape. She was able to massage into the tendons somewhat, and that felt really good, but they are so deep that she really can't work them much. I never bought that massager thing I mentioned a few months ago. After thinking about it, I'm not sure I'd be able to really get it to work right without help from someone else, and I'm not going to make John do it. Haha. So I gave up on that idea.

That night I cooked up the Orecchiette pasta that John's cooking elective class at school made the week before. Sad that this would be the last week of cooking class.


Wednesday, 4/3- 3 miles. Go me for getting up to run on the treadmill! The only thing that got me up is that I knew I wouldn't be running again until late on Thursday. I would have really regretted not running on Wednesday. 22:28. 7:29 avg pace.

Did glutes, back & biceps and extreme abs at work. I'm starting to not like the results of the upper body work. It's just making me look big. No actual definition. Just BIG. I don't want to give up the abs, but I'm considering quitting the rest of it. Seriously. I can't think of a good reason to keep doing it. It makes me look ugly.

Thursday, 4/4- 5.4 miles. A day of adventure! Although it was easy to drive down to Rhode Island and test drive the Kia Sorento I bought, going to pick it up was a different story. I got up early at work to shower ahead of time since I had very little time once I got home to get my stuff together and walk to the Concord Trailways bus stop in Conway. I didn't even have time to make food or coffee so I swung by Starbucks on my way home from work. Surprised John with a breakfast sandwich just as he was leaving for school.

I had packed most of my stuff on Tuesday night so I made it out the door on time. Instead of walking Rt 16, I decided to walk the old railroad tracks instead. All of these years, I assumed the tracks would be a mess and not fun to run on. Well, I was wrong. I can't believe I've been running on scary Rt 16 to get to other roads all of this time. The tracks were awesome. They're right across route 16 from neighborhood so I was able to stay off-road the whole time. The 1.8 mile walk felt great after my 24 hour shift and knowing I had a LONG day of traveling ahead of me.


The bus arrived exactly at 8:45am. The ride to South Station would be about 3.5 hours. It was surprisingly really comfortable and didn't seem to take that long even with the 15 minutes stop in Concord. I read a library book almost the entire way to pass the time. Where You'll Find Me is about an incident that occurred here in 2015 when a woman died up near Mt Adams. I remember it in real time so it was often hard to read, as it's a tragic story. I couldn't put it down, though. Highly recommended.


Other than the jacket, I was actually wearing clothes I normally sleep in. Haha.
I had over an hour to kill in Boston so I grabbed a coffee then took a mile walk around Boston, stopping in my favorite spot to sit in the sun for awhile. My pajamas definitely didn't fit in with all of the dressed up workers out for lunch. Haha.

Must be a marathon coming up soon.

My favorite spot in Boston in Seaport.
The train to Providence was on-time and also a really nice ride. It was fun since this line followed the Warner Trail for a bit. We arrived in Providence right on time.


Stepping out in the sun to catch my Uber felt so nice. My journey down was almost over. The Uber driver was a pretty nice kid from Fall River. I don't usually like to chat with the drivers, but I didn't mind with this one.

I made it to Dijie Auto Sales in Johnston finally! Just before 3:30pm. It was a long day but really not that bad. It was all worth it to finally have my new car! Yay! The dealer had everything all ready to go so the transaction was quick and I was out the door on my way in about 20 minutes. The only thing I was a little concerned about was the temporary plate. It was just a piece of paper that the dealer guy taped to the inside of the back window (which it states not to haha). Made me nervous I was going to be pulled over on my way home. Honestly, though, it wouldn't matter. I had the paperwork that it was legit so if I did get pulled over it would be quick before I was on my way.

See? Hard to see.
Since Snake Den State Park was close by, I had decided to do a trail run there. I printed out the map and compared it to one of Dave Principe's many runs there thinking this would be a piece of cake. Hahahahaha! It was worse than the Warner Trail! So funny. I started at the northernmost lot and found that upper loop no problem, but goddammit, I couldn't find the connector trail to the lower part of the park anywhere. There were trails everywhere. I tried to follow them all, but they just fizzled out. I ended up literally just running through the woods not on a trail at all just hoping to run into one. I did this for about 2 miles before giving up and doing the upper loop a second time. Luckily, I was treated with a sweet view and an owl! Although it didn't go as planned, I still enjoyed it.



My new car! I was so excited.

See the third row of seats!! That's my dressing room at races now!
The car was so much easier to change clothes in so it didn't take me long to clean up and head to Providence to meet Steve Brightman at Bayberry Beer Hall. Traffic was a little bad so I was about 30 minutes later than I thought I'd be, but Steve had beer so he didn't care. I was supposed to be meeting Steve and Jennifer, but she went to one of their kids' things at school instead. We still had a good time. A few beers and a hot chicken sandwich.

Fox Farm Porter

Aeronaut's 4th anniversary DIPA
This was a great way to end the day before my long drive home. But oh what a wonderful drive it was! An automatic with cruise control!! What a dream! And one thing I didn't expect was that the heated seats took away all of my tendon sitting pain!! All this time! Ugh. I love my Kia Soul, but it was time for a change. This car is wonderful. Same year (2012) with less than half the miles of the Soul. It seems so much newer, though, and way fancier than my base model Soul. Bluetooth! I'm so caught up with the now! Haha. Although, just before starting the drive, I called John using the bluetooth and this came on the screen....


OH COME ON, CAR! WTF!

Hahaha. The only reason I can think of for this is that my Verizon account still says "Beckwith". Some companies were just a pain in the ass about changing my name back. Verizon was one of them so I just left it. Now, I need to rethink this. Haha.

The drive home was great. I haven't driven that comfortably in years. Smooth sailing until I hit the West Ossipee/Tamworth line only 20 minutes from home, and just as predicted, here come the blue lights. Haha. I was so close. I lucked out though since it was one of the Ossipee cops who knew me from working together on 911 calls. He came up and said, "Where's your plate?!" I told him it was in the window so he saw it then just verified it was accurate and sent me on my way. I apologized for ruining his fun thinking he was getting someone without a registered vehicle. Haha. I honestly don't know how I didn't get pulled over sooner, but I'm really glad it was someone I knew. I fixed the plate the next morning by putting it in a ziplock bag and duct taping it to the car. Haha.


Friday, 4/5- 7.3 miles. I decided to risk driving over to Thomson Rd to attempt a run up Middle and Peaked Mts. It was a cold morning so I hoped the trail would still be solid. I had a plan to do two passes over both Middle and Peaked today if the conditions allowed it. I was actually in luck! The footing was solid and perfectly runnable with microspikes. The only downside was that it was really rough with the hundreds of footprints that were in the constant cycle of melting and freezing. They weren't bad on the way up, but coming down made it pretty slow-going. Frozen footprints are potential ankle breakers so I'm way more cautious on this stuff going downhill than I am on a super technical trail. It didn't matter, though. I was just super excited to have a runnable trail. The trail up Middle was perfect. I stopped briefly at the summit then ran back down to the Peaked Connector Trail which sees a lot of sun. A lot of this trail was just messy. Some soft and not fun to run on so I already made my mind up that I wouldn't be doing a second pass of Peaked. Stopped again at the summit of Peaked before heading down the Peaked Mt Trail.


Mt Washington and other Presidnentials
I wasn't really a fan of the condition of the Peaked Mt Trail on the way down either. While solid enough, it was much rougher than Middle Mt. Back at the intersection, I turned left to go back up Middle Mt again, but this time, I came back down the way I came up and then ran back to the car. Less miles and elevation than planned, but it was fine. 1:49:54. 2,762ft of elevation gain. I so can't wait to be running mountains and trails all the time again!

That afternoon, I took the dogs on a short walk of the Brook Trail in Wonalancet. This trail was anything but solid so we only walked a mile. The dogs still enjoyed it.


Chill has snow in his nose.
Before picking John up at school, we stopped at the spring to fill up our jugs, and I noticed a stop sign emerging from the plowed snow. I guess a plow hit it and dragged it at some point over the winter. I'm just wondering how far it dragged it since there's no road close by that had a stop sign. Kind of funny.


I picked John up after. This would be his first ride in the Sorento! He was so excited. His seat reclines, and he has an armrest/cupholder now. He actually said, "This car is too nice for us!" Haha. Kind of sad that a 2012 Kia seems like a luxury car to him, but it definitely made it more fun. Now, he's not going to want the Kia Soul when he turns 16. Haha. And speaking of the Soul. I predicted I'd get a text from Bryan as soon as he found out I got another car either asking to buy it or to sell it for me. And like clockwork, I got a text from him asking me if I want to sell it. Haha. I wrote, "Nope." He thinks the Soul will be messed up from sitting for 3 years. Well, that would be accurate if it sat for years like he let the Dodge Sprinter sit, but I'm still going to drive the Soul around town. My main goal was just to stop putting so many miles on it with all of our traveling. Sure, it's costing me a little more in car insurance, but it's worth it to have a second car available and then to have one for John when it's time. Plus, he'll learn how to drive a standard. 

Waiting for John at school

Phoenix all fired up

John brought home quiche from cooking class!!
We got home to find two 5lb bags of coffee had been delivered. One never made it originally so I contacted Amazon. I thought they would try to track it down but just gave me a refund on the spot. I had ordered a different bag in the meantime. Well, they both showed up! So I guess I got a free 5lb bag of coffee. I liked the name of this one...


After waiting 4 weeks to get my nails done, I finally went later in the evening to get them done. Crazy how one little inexpensive bit of pampering can make you feel so good. For me, that's getting my nails done. I love it. I may have ugly hair and skin, but don't my nails look nice? Haha. A girl has to find her one good thing even if it's fake nails. (The haircut itself is nice and cute. The hairdresser cut it just as I asked. I just hate having short hair.)


Saturday, 4/6- 5.6 miles. I slept in late. After not getting much sleep the night before, I really needed to catch up. I made it a lazy morning then went out for an easy run through Cranmore Shores. 43:41. 7:43 avg pace. Seems like forever since I've done this run without running on snow or ice. Yay! I felt pretty good in general. Tendon pain is always present. It's the degree of pain that matters, and it wasn't too bad today. My quads were a bit sore from the mountain running the day before.

John and I took a 2.3 mile walk in the afternoon on Corridor 19A. The footing was kind of crappy, and we had some flooding to go around, but it was still an ok walk. John made me go in one of the old quarry buildings. Those skeeve me out since I know people hang out in them doing drugs and shit, but after looking in, it seemed alright.








I did tell John while we were in there to watch out for needles and weird people when he's out here. I'm not sure he believed me until 10 minutes later we literally passed some dude all fucked up on something carrying a 30-pack out to one of the buildings. "See, John? That's what I'm talking about. I don't make this shit up." And I really don't. I've worked in 911 long enough to know what these types of people do. Maybe I've become hyperaware to it that it's had a negative impact on me in dealing with all people, but it's what happens when you constantly see humans at their worst. I trust no one, and my dumb blond act is just that. An act. 

Stopped at my all-time favorite store on the way home. Walmart was surprisingly not so entertaining like a usual Saturday, so I was pretty disappointed. Haha. It was so nice fitting my bags in the back with Chill. Poor Chill has been riding in this small space in the back of the Kia Soul for years, but now, he can spread out.

Yes, the car is already dirty. Ugh.
Sunday, 4/7- 7.9 miles. 5 miles for Doyle's. 2 miles with Phoenix and another .9 miles pre-race running around. My body actually felt really good after Doyle's and even after the drive home so I was happy about that. Confirms that I should be able to continue short-distance road races without an issue. 


So I guess this is it. My last blog post before the Boston Marathon. I'm surprisingly not nervous about it. The weather looks like shit, but I don't care. I guess you could say I'm apathetic about it. The only thing I'm excited about is the singlet Tom Hooper sent me yesterday to wear for the race. I had no idea he was going to do that so it made my day better, especially after a couple of bad days.


I'm really trying not to worry about the weather. I already have my base layer clothes for pre-race set. For the actual race, I'm still unsure. I may end up with something under that singlet. As far as bottoms, well, I have no idea. I tried on all potential items last night, and it's not looking good. And I mean that literally. It doesn't look good. Haha. I know I shouldn't care what it looks like, but....I do. And I'm so disgusted by my body right now that I just need something I feel good in...and I don't own it. So I'm going to hit the outlets and TJ Maxx tomorrow. I'm not paying for anything pricey, but if I find something that fits right and is cheap, I'll buy it. If not, I'll peruse the Expo on Friday. I have to buy gels there anyway so might as well look.

 I've run Boston 4 times. Twice in perfect weather (2011 & 2014) and twice in hot weather (2012 & 2016). This will be my first Boston experience in cold/wet weather, so it should be interesting. It rained the entire Hartford Marathon last year, but we didn't have the wind they're predicting! I imagine this will be similar to Mount Desert Island in 2012 so at least I've experienced something similar. Blah, blah, blah. I should really just start thinking about post-race beers instead. Fuck the running part.


2 comments:

  1. Congrats On Consistency , The New Wheels , Placing Yourself In A Position For Owning Two Autos , And For Adjusting Your Social Projections. Many Thanx For All The Doggie Photos And John Sure Seems To Be Growing In Every Post. So Cool

    Stay Strong, Be Well, & Keep Those Nails Flashy,
    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  2. Although your experience at Boston this year probably had almost nothing to do with the setting, it makes me hate the Boston Marathon all the more. I'm not sure why I suddenly decided the race is shit. I assume it's not certified, or not accurate, because I set a PR there. And of course every fucking starry-eyed newcomer to the "sport" is desperate to take part in this ugly, 26-mile fist-fucking and floor-humping extravaganza.

    I got up and looked in the mirror today, said "That's bullshit" and destroyed the reflective surface with a violent head butt that could be heard up the street. At least it's not my bathroom (I'm visiting my cousins in Virginia right now and heading slowly toward New England, bringing every bit of the good cheer that is evident here).

    Nice wheels. I like having a car so that Rosie I can burn gas all day every day and hasten the demise of this morbid human circus.

    Have a nice weekend!

    ReplyDelete