Another Glamor Shot to Add to My Portfolio

MarathonFoto takes your picture about 100 times before, during and after the Boston Marathon. Photos are posted to MarathonFoto's site & runners have the option of ordering prints and plaques commemorating their accomplishments. This is a good idea in theory, and they do a great job of capturing your race throughout the course; however, most of the shots serve as a reminder that it's hard to run 26.2 miles and look good at the same time. Sadly, the one below was taken before the start on the race. I think I'll use this for our holiday card this year... Gah!

(photo from MarathonFoto.com)

They really only get worse from there... I think I'll pass on the $124.95 Collector Edition Plaque.

26.2 Miles Later...

After months of training, yesterday was finally race day! I woke up at 5:45 and made my way to Park Street Station where the BAA arranges for the school buses to bring us to the Runner's Village in Hopkinton. Once again, I was blown away by the BAA's organization and efficiency. By the time my bus arrived in Hopkinton and I spent close to 20 minutes in line for the porta potty, it was already time to check my bag and move to the starting line. Like cattle, runners are corralled by number and shuffled forward in an orderly manner until we cross the starting line.

My former company staffs volunteers at mile 5's water station, so I was greeted by several familiar face and friends. Two friends from my old department told me that there had a been a sign, but there was a small issue with it. I kind of forgot about that until this morning when they emailed me a photo of the sign and explanation as to what exactly went wrong.

It's a little known fact that my dad's side is from Western Africa

My favorite part of the course is mile 13 at Wellsley College, where hundreds of girls are screaming like crazy for everyone to give them a kiss. I saw signs that said, Kiss me, I'm Latina, and Kiss me, I'm Asian, as well as, Kiss me, I'm from Ohio. A guy looking to be in his 40's or so running directly in front of me took advantage of about 8 girls offering everything from a peck on the cheek to a wet one directly on the lips. He turned to his running buddy afterwards and said, "Now that was awesome!"

I was cruising along until mile 16 or so, until my legs started to feel like lead; however, I kept plugging along and crossed the finish line in 4:14:43. I felt so happy to finish; however, it was quite painful trying to remove my chip from my shoelaces. After two unsuccessful attempts to squat down and reach my sneaker, a helpful volunteer was able to assist me and give me my medal in exchange for the chip.

When we got back to my apartment, I saw Nick had a decorated the apartment with lots of signs congratulating me on my finish!

This was taped opposite a mirror on our wall

Taped to the coffee table

Recently, I have spent a lot of time soaking my feet in the tub, so this was taped to the shower curtain

Taped to wall over our pillows.

And taped to the toilet seat...

Thanks, Nick! And thank you to my parents for coming up, cheering me on, and then taking us out to dinner last night! Also, a huge thank you to everyone who donated to Team Eye and Ear! Now, I'm going to relax for a while..!

Let Me See that (mara)Thong-tha-thong-thong-thong

The Boston Marathon Running Expo (I think) is the world's largest. There's so much to look at, that I get overwhelmed and don't spend too much time exploring the vendors. It's the same feeling I get in IKEA. Also, much like IKEA, it took me a little while to find the exit. Here are some photos I took; you can find everything here... Even a "marathong."
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Will Work for Fish

I'm at Park St waiting to meet up with some BU students that I'm assisting with a project, and I see a polar bear before I see them. He's walking with a woman holding a sign that says, Will Work for Fish. There're definitely no shortage of characters on the Common. I also see a lot of tall, lean people with Boston tour books and/or running gear. I bet the out-of-towners didn't expect to see bears in Boston.
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Bib Number Update- Corrected From Last Post

Whoops! So, my correct bib number is 25654 (not 25645) Thank you to Bill (my esteemed teammate) for pointing that out!

Click here to set up the AT&T Athlete Alert on your phone! If you're looking for a particular person, you can search the registered athlete database. I searched 06033 and see there are 9 others from my hometown that are also registered! Go Glastonbury, CT!

Bend Me, Shape Me, Anyway You Want Me

Marathon Monday weather watch continues.

Raindrops are back in the picture...

Also, if you're going to be keeping an eye out for a particular athlete, you can sign up to receive text or email updates via the AT&T Athlete Alert. If you want to follow me, please do! I'm bib 25654. (My bib number helps put into perspective just how many entrants there are, not even including the bandits.) Wow!

This post's title is a line from the American Breed's 1968 song, "Bend Me, Shape Me." I started singing "Track me, follow me, anyway you want to" after reading about the different ways you can track runners via the AT&T Alert...

Weather & Karaoke

Well, things are looking a bit improved from yesterday's forecast for Marathon Monday!

At least the raindrops have been edited out of the clouds.

Also, unrelated to Monday's weather forecast, I was thinking the other day that my next 3 karaoke song selections will be:

*Under My Thumb

*Squeezebox

*Big Man on Mulberry Street (I've tried singing this one before, but it's never in the song selection books...)

I love to sing karaoke, we even went for my bachelorette party.

Once in a while, I like to relive my crazy days as a single lady & wear my hottie whistle & sash around town

Despite the fact that I love to sing karaoke, I am a TERRIBLE singer. I've been practicing each of the above-mentioned songs on Dwayne though, but my singing is so poor that even he goes running for the hills.

Seeking refuge in the Lazy Susan