26.2 miles and almost 5 hours later...

I finished! More recounts to come later- just wanted to let everyone know I survived (questionably, after mile 22) and to thank everyone for their kind notes!

Mean Streets of Boston, 1. Alicia, 0.

On my walk from Downtown Crossing to work this morning, I stopped at my usual Dunkin Donuts to get my morning coffee. (Nope, still haven't given it up yet.) There was a long line and a woman two people behind me sort of stepped out of line and said to no one in particular, "Does the line usually go pretty quickly?" Now, having gone to this particular Dunkin Donuts since it opened maybe over a year ago, I could have spoken at length as to how the turn around time ebbs and flows depending on who's behind the counter and how many construction workers with laundry lists of orders are in front of you. The guy behind me was plugged into his iPod, so I said, "Most of time" and left it at that. After I said that I saw the lady look at her watch again, and to be a bit more accurate, I followed up with, "Unless you're getting a sandwich. Those take awhile since the construction guys usually have big orders." I assumed she'd either say, "Thank you" or maybe nothing at all, but I definitely wasn't expecting her to step completely out of line, turn to me and say, "I'd love to give you a makeover!"
Now, like anyone else, I have my good and bad days, and while I generally don't wear makeup or the absolute latest fashions, I don't think I stand out, but rather, blend in with the crowd. To my embarrassment, she held out her business card and told me that she was a Mary Kay representative and she'd love to help me with my "look." She asked me where I lived, and I said, "Southie," which troubled her a bit. "That's a bit far from me, but hey, I'll come by anytime." With that she left the store and I was left with her card and a slightly deflated ego.
Today's encounter was not nearly as unexpected as time I was getting a manicure at a place in Southie, and the woman doing my nails asked mid-polish, "You want chin wax too?"

Comm Ave: the Place to See and Be Seen

A couple of people have asked how they can follow my progress on Monday, so I wanted to re-post this information from the BAA's web site: http://www.baa.org/ My bib number is 24833.

How can family members track my running from home?
The B.A.A. will broadcast every 5Km split to its web site and family and friends can track your progress by logging in and entering your name or bib number. The "face" of the Boston Marathon web site will change on race day and the process on how to enter the search will be clear.

If you have other friends and family running in the race, you can locate their bib number here. Here's a fun fact: Lance Armstrong's bib is 100, so keep an eye out for that number if you're watching along the course.

Flick Off the Old Block

I decided to go to Chacarero for lunch today even though when I made this decision it was quarter past noon. The best time to go is between 11:30-11:45, since an arrival any later than this usually means you'll be in a line out the door. A long line isn't going to stand between most Chacerero patrons and their sandwiches though, and 20 minutes is a small price to pay for this satisfying treat. When I got there the line was just almost overflowing onto the sidewalk and a group of guys got there right before I did.

They looked like they were in their very early 20's and were dressed in slightly too big suits, which made me think they were interns. The line moved forward slightly, and 2 of the 3 interns, who had been leaning against the door to hold it open were able to comfortably move into the restaurant. The 3rd intern, who was directly in front of me, decides that he does not want to hold the door open as everyone before him has done, and quickly steps aside and lets the door hit me in the arm, while he continues talking to his friends. I was annoyed by his behavior not because the door hit me in the arm, but because he opted not to follow the unspoken social rules for standing in long lines.

Once I managed to get inside too, I watched the intern create what I imagined him to think was a suitably carefree young professional look for himself by taking the shorter end of his tie and tossing it over his shoulder, while the longer part remained in place over his dress shirt. It took all of my will-power not to flick it off his shoulder, which would have been so satisfying. Instead, I took a photo.

This tie was just begging for a flick

I was so star struck you would have thought I met Brad Pitt

Except it was Alexander McCall Smith, my favorite author.

Yes, he's wearing a kilt. Yes, he's Scottish.

From the beginning of his talk, it was clear that Mr. McCall Smith is genuinely a nice person who loves being a writer and enjoys meeting his readers. He spoke for about half an hour and read from his newest novel, "The Miracle at Speedy Motors." Listening to authors read their own writing is such a treat, and in this case it was especially helpful to learn how some of the characters' names are supposed to be pronounced. I was most impressed with the fact that he took the time to meet with everyone who had a book to sign or wanted just to tell him personally how much they enjoyed his writing. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera at home, but my Blackberry took a pretty decent shot. If you weren't able to make the lecture, but are interested in what he had to say, I did see someone recording it and it will be made available on Harvard Book Store's audio site.

Tonight I'm going to the gym for a light workout and a nice, long stretch.

They Need to Make a Coffee Patch

I am so excited, because tonight I am going to a reading by my favorite author, Alexander McCall Smith. He's going to be reading from his newest book in the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series at the First Parish Church Meetinghouse in Cambridge. The event starts at 7, but I'll probably head right over after work because I want to get a good seat. Some people have the gift for story-telling, and Mr. McCall Smith certainly has it. It sounds silly, but I get so attached to the characters, that it's hard to believe they're not actual people.
A lot of people are asking me what I'm eating the week before the marathon, but I'm not really doing anything too differently. The important thing is to make sure I'm hydrated, so I'm trying to remember to drink water throughout the day. I start my day with a medium iced hazelnut coffee from Dunkin Donuts and usually just drink water or seltzer after that, unless I have a glass of wine or beer with dinner. Early on in my training I told myself that I'd kick the morning coffee habit with 2 weeks to go, and here we are with 4 days to go and my half empty (or half full) cup is cheerfully directing me to "try new Oven Toasted Goodness!" Booze I can do without, but kicking the AM Dunkies habit is proving harder than scoring Monster Seats during a Yankees series.

Big Day for the Blog!

One of my entries about the adventures of eating a durian was added to Universal Hub's blog this afternoon. You can check it out here. The same entry was also linked on Boston.com.

Keep scrolling... a little bit more... you'll see it...

Since I seem to be getting a lot more hits than I normally would, I'd like to ask visitors to consider making a donation to my marathon charity, the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary. You can make a donation via the First Giving widget on the right, or if you'd like to peruse my team members' First Giving sites, you can do so here. There are about 60 of us on "Team Eye & Ear" and we're raising money for one of the best hospitals in the United States. Thank you for your support!