Take Me Out To The Ball Game

After the BAA 5K Rob and I got coffee and I started to get caught up on blogging. We then got ready and made our way to Fenway for the Red Sox vs The Rays.

One thing we weren’t aware of is you can apparently bring your own water into the ballpark. We will definitely be doing that next time! I am in major hydration mode because tomorrow’s marathon forecast is 87 degrees. It is going to be wicked hot (insert Bostonian accent here) and it’s not marathon weather at all. So much that the BAA has announced that those who pick up their packet may choose to defer the race if they don’t start the race. They will have to re-pay for 2013, but they will automatically get in at registration time. They issued a strong email warning about anyone who is not in optimal health that they should NOT race. I hope everyone considers their personal situation and makes good choices and if that choice is to race, to just take it as relaxed as possible. It is a dangerous thing and we will all need to be mindful of how we feel, fuel, hydrate and back off the pace. I plan to run now very relaxed and just get this one into the books.

Okay back to the game…

Well for starters we found lobster rolls at the game and it was really good!

The game was great! It’s hard to believe that it was 72 degrees out and that tomorrow could be another 15 on top of that, yikes!

The game was everything we could want: relaxing, eventful, doing the wave, singing “Sweet Caroline”, all good stuff. I even held up my jacket and got on camera for a nanosecond. 🙂 Red Sox won 6-4!! Yeah buddy!!

After the game we headed to Whole Foods for some light eats and then back to our room so I could organize my race gear, stuff to take to Hopkinton, and the bag Rob will bring when he meets me at the family meet up area. Now it’s time for some shut-eye! Goodnight and good luck to everyone at 2012 Boston Marathon!!

2012 BAA 5K – 23:25

This morning we got up at 6am to get ready for the BAA 5K race. The race was at 8am and it was very easy logistically to get some coffee, a banana and then get over to the start in Boston Common. The weather was about 60 degrees with the highs forecasted in the mid-70s for the day.

Heading out to the race.

We had time to get a few pictures while we waited.

The race size was about 6,000 runners and while they had suggested paces to line up to everyone just lined up where ever they felt like it. Since this was going to be a fun run for Rob and I it was no biggie to us. We were fine with having to run around people and weren’t worried about keeping a particular pace.

Looking towards the start.

Behind us.

Before we knew it we were off. We ran conservative and looked for openings to move ahead. We were able to break through the groups of people and find space after the first mile. There were some good inclines in the race that stayed made a sort of loop around the area. There were a lot of beautiful homes and historic statues to enjoy along the way. At 1.5 mile Rob said “I’m loving running this with you so much and it’s already halfway over”. I agreed, it was so nice to be out running through Boston and I’m so glad we added this event to our trip. We made our final turn from Dalton to Boylston just like the marathon will tomorrow. Rob got to see first hand the feeling of coming through the finish. The finish just gets you unlike any other race. We passed a few more people and were in with a 23:25 holding hands and smiling. 🙂

They handed us a nice medal and a goodie bag with G2, fruit and other treats, not bad for a 5K!

Stats:

23:25

7:34 Pace

Overall: 844/5253

F: 195/2973

F 35-39: 28/452

After the race we headed back for coffee and to get ready to go to the Red Sox game! More about that soon!

2012 Boston Marathon Expo

After a really good sleep Rob and I still got up fairly early to get in a run before our busy day began. We decided to check out the exercise room of our hotel since Rob will be doing a long run on the treadmill Monday morning while I am racing. The fitness facility was really nice and I got in 6 miles easy.

Then we got showered and headed out the door to the expo. We decided to walk the ~3 miles to the expo since it was so nice out and we could take pictures along the way.

We got to the area and realized we needed to get moving if we were going to make our lunch reservations at the Barking Crab. We hustled through bib and shirt pick ups for the Marathon and the 5K we would both be running on Sunday.

After collecting my bib and shirt we got our 5K bibs and shirts. The merchandise area of the expo was mayhem. They had a section set up right after bib/shirt pickup that was very tight. It seemed to have a limited selection and luckily a nice employee informed us that the major booth was at the center of the expo and this was just a smaller set up with limited stuff. This helped save us some time because we had a lunch reservation to get to. We made our way to the larger adidas store area and grabbed the few things I had my eye on.

Since we are tight on time we went to lunch and came back afterward to take a couple of pictures before leaving.

The Barking Crab was PHENOMINAL!!!! One of the best meals we have ever had!! We had a reservation, but if you are fine with getting there at open at 11:30 you may be able to get a sit with little waiting. This place is super popular and we see why.

The bloody mary was unique and was lighter in taste, but had bits of crab in it, which is an outstanding idea!

The chowder was very good!

The oysters were the BEST EVER!!!!

And then finally, literally the best food EVER EVER EVER. The naked lobster roll!! Holy crap is it good!!!

We met a nice couple seated at our picnic table. After chatting with them we rolled ourselves back to the expo for a couple more pictures.

Then we took advantage of Nike’s free trolly rides back to Niketown in Back Bay.

After a little shopping we got back to the hotel at 3pm to chill for an hour. Here is the BAA 5K and Boston Marathon gear.

And the item I bought. The Supernova Sequencials Jacket. Rob spotted this and said it would be a sweet jacket, I agree!

Supernova Short, I normally wear small in shorts, but these just seemed tiny on the hanger. I panicked and bought medium without trying them on and they are way too big and floaty looking. I will try wearing them with the waistband rolled, but the style just doesn’t work for me after all and I probably won’t by this style again. I do like that they feel very light weight.

The adiZero singlet. I love the lightweight feel and the design. The singlet is longer than I’m used to, but I think I like that. The arm area is cut and looks funny on me, but I can deal with that. Overall I’m happy this singlet.

I LOOOOOOVE the Climacool Speed Backpack and would say that other than the official Boston Marathon Jacket, this bag was my favorite purchase. The bag has so many pockets and compartments. It is streamlined and smaller than past adidas bags that I’ve had. This is just a great bag with well thought out design and is something we will carry for years to come so it seems like a great investment.

Last year I got a water bottle and I used it often. Unfortunately I dropped it in a parking lot and it caused the aluminum to dent on the bottom so it doesn’t sit flat anymore. This time I thought I would try out the coffee mug since my water bottle still technically still works.

And the pilsner glass. Maybe in the future Rob and I will have a larger set of these. I would like one for every year we get to race. I also got a pin and patch (not pictured).

After a quick rest, we met up with Alaina and David for a walk and some pastry at Modern.Rob and I got to take the train for the first time through Boston and I’m glad Alaina was there to navigate for us.

Then Rob and I took a walk before having dinner at Union Oyster House. The oysters were good as usual and then we tried something new, the Union Lobster Special. A baked lobster stuffed with seafood stuffing. Delicious, as expected!

Then it was time to head home to get to bed early so we could get up for the BAA 5K and then to the Boston Red Sox game.

Sweet Caroline

Ah we are finally in Boston!! We left Thursday afternoon and if you follow me on twitter (and if you don’t, please do!) you saw some of my random posts of our travels and our time here so far. It’s been challenging getting time to get online and sit down to post.

During 18 hours of driving I get to learn new things about my husband, like that he knows the lyrics to this random song I’ve never heard. I was a bit scared and sad for him that he had used up precious storage space on that song.

After our first leg of 8 hours we stopped for the night and were asleep by 10:30pm EST and up again by 4am to get back on the road. Singing along to Dave Matthews doing “Sweet Caroline” live in Fenway was getting me amped to get there. On the way we stopped in Montgomery, NY to get lunch, gas and to take a quick picture in front of Paul Jr. Designs. Paul Jr. is the star in the show American Chopper, which we love to watch.

11 hours of driving and we were finally here!

Rob and I quickly got changed into our running clothes for an easy run around the area. We took time to take a couple pictures on our run.

Afterward we stopped for a little Pinkberry. Mmmmm….small salted caramel with berries.

Then we headed back to the room and got showered and headed out to 5 Napkin Burger for some eats. We split a sushi roll and I had the fish tacos. They were good, but I probably wouldn’t order them again since they weren’t anything special.

After dinner we walked over to Fairmont to say hi to Alaina. Then it was time to head back to our room to pass out, it was a long day!

#BostonMarathon

My Boston Marathon packet arrived Monday. It’s exciting to get because it’s a sign because it’s getting close to time to go! I cannot wait to get out there and enjoy this race again. While we are there we plan to enjoy the town as well.

1) Rob and I hope to meet up with the ladies I met last year. Alaina is such a sweet person and knows the area like the back of her hand, like it’s her job or something. Okay maybe it is. 😉 I met Natalie on the bus to Hopkinton and she was so cool that I felt like we had been friends for years. Plus she was uber prepared for our 2 hour wait and shared everything she had with me since I was definitely under packed for the long wait. Natalie, I promise to come with provisions this year so we can enjoy our camp out. 🙂

Me and Alaina last year.

2) The expo is in a new location this year, the Seaport World Trade Center, which means we will get to see another side of the area and we have a couple new restaurants picked out to try.

3) We are definitely going back to Union Oyster House. The oldest restaurant in the USA and the seafood is so amazing that I can’t compare it to anything else. If you have other restaurant suggestions for our trip, please let me know! 🙂

Us at Union Oyster House last year.

4) We are running the Boston 5K Sunday morning together! It will be so nice to run some easy miles the day before the marathon. Rob and I are excited to add this to our trip this year.

5) We will be going to a Red Sox game Sunday! We had such a good time last year.

6) We will be driving to Boston again this year! It’s quite the road trip, but so much fun! Rob and I enjoy the time together listening to music and seeing the sights as we go. 🙂

I seriously can’t wait for the whole trip!! Not much longer now!!