Boston Strong SF

When I saw this post over at Pavement Runner's site, I knew that I would have to join in.

Little did I know, I would not be the only one. According to the press release, there were over 80 cities worldwide and over 2,500 participants. I know that about 250 people RSVPed for the San Francisco one, and although I don't think they all made it, there were at least 100 people.

We ran from Crissy Field down to Fort Point (the foot of the Golden Gate bridge) and back and we took it nice and slow and people talked and ran and had a great time. It was such a show of solidarity and support of other runners, the victims and their loved ones, the running community and the community in general! It felt great to be a part of it. There are so many feelings swirling around regarding the race and the events surrounding it, that it is nice to feel like you are part of a group of people that have your back, and that you ARE strong.

I wore my Boston shirt and was one of 4 people at the event who had been at Boston this year. There were also people in Celtics, Patriots, Bruins and Red Sox gear, people wearing yellow in general and people wearing any other race or Boston tops and hats. It was awesome. In fact, the news was there and they interviewed me, so I have last night's 11 o'clock news on tivo (since I will not be up!) and will watch it tonight to see if it aired (ABC and NBC were there!) Here is a little clip they put on the internet.

Did you run Boston Strong in your city?  Do you like to surround yourself with people when times are tough, or do you like to be alone?

No Words, Just Pain

I don't really have any words.

This week has been one of many emotions and I am not really sure that I am done sorting them all out. As you know, I went to Boston to run the marathon last weekend. My whole family was there. My friends were there. Their families were there.

I crossed the finish line at 1:46 pm. My phone had died about halfway through the race, so I slowly made my way to the family meeting area, which is about a block away from the finish line. I waited there for about a half an hour until they came, when we then went a few blocks away to find some food. We were just sitting down when the waiter turned on the TV and told us that there had just been an explosion at the finish line of the marathon.

As we sat there, aghast at what we were seeing, several ambulances, fire trucks and police went by on the street outside our restaurant. As we watched them go by, one after the other, we could only imagine how bad it was, as we also hoped it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

The first thing I thought of were my friends, some of who were behind me in the race, several others who were spectating and finally, members of their families that we knew would be reaching the finish right around this time. I charged up my phone and when it finally came to life, I was trying so hard to find out if my friends had made it out of the area safely, that I almost didn't notice all the messages from everyone trying to find out about me.

It was bittersweet. The first messages shouted congratulations; the later ones voiced concern.

My running friends made it over the finish line and out of the area in time. My spectating friends are okay, although one of them was right at mile 26 and not only saw the blast but had a very stressful time trying to find her brother, who hadn't finished the race yet (he made it to mile 25). A few people I know did not get a chance to finish the race.

My heart goes out to those who were in the area, who were wounded, who were witness to or who had to experience such a horror. I get emotional when I see the bravery of the folks who rushed to their aid. I feel sorrow and pain for those who did not get to finish the race when they worked so hard for this day. My emotions are still near the surface and I am not really sure I can articulate clearly how I feel about the experience as a whole.

Thanks to everyone out there who sent texts, Facebook posts and emails and made phone calls to find out if I was okay. I am so touched by all the concern that was shown to me.

Where were you when you heard about the incident? Have you ever been really close to an highly emotional event?

Bean Town, Here I Come

 After running Santa Rosa on August 26th, I went straight to the BAA website and did this:

Then I waited impatiently for September 14th to come.... On the 14th I went to work early so I could make sure to be ready for the 7 am opening time (that's 10 am ET). I was afraid it would fill up before I could register. I was afraid I would miss the time and it would be too late. I rushed to work and got there at 6:59 and it wouldn't let me register. Then it was 7 straight up and still...no reregistration! Finally, it worked....but... it was not a confirmation of acceptance, only a confirmation of attempt.

But no. Several hours later, I got this:

So, unless I lied about my qualifying time, which I didn't, then I am in! Hurray! Who else is going!? Let's have lunch!

This is exciting for me, because, as you probably know, my family hails from Massachusetts, and so it will be a weekend of fun and family and running and fun! Also, I have been to Boston several times, but never in this capacity, so it will be a fun change for me in that aspect!

Have you ever had to wait for something you really wanted? Who else is running Boston 2013? Have you ever been to Boston?

Do You Know the Way to Fenway?

I flew into Boston on Saturday afternoon, arriving just after lunch. I met my friend Garret downtown and we quickly set off to explore the city. I have been to Boston a few times before. I have flown in and out of the city a few times, went to visit fiends and stopped by on the way to grandma's house. However, usually someone leads me along and I follow. This time Garett and I were on our own.

We started off (of course) at the Commons, and after seeing a duck tour, decided that that is what we wanted to do. Why not be a cheesy tourist? After all, that is kind of what we were anyway (you should have seen Garett handling the map and me with my camera). So, we decided to ride the duck. However, the day's tours were already sold out, so we would have to check back the next day. We decided to stroll along Boston's "Rodeo Drive" (Newberry St.) instead. As we were walking, we noticed many, many people wearing Red Sox gear. I though, "Wow, they really do love their Red Sox here!" Personally, I am an avid Giants fan, but I rarely see this many people wandering around the city with SF gear on. After a while, we started noticing that everyone was headed the same direction and we finally came to the conclusion that there must be a game today.

So we headed that way. We thought, what the heck, maybe we can get tickets to a game. We did not realize how competitive the ticket-getting process actually was! The line for game day tickets was about 4 miles long. However, after talking to some seasoned fans at the front of the line, we decided that we may just have a chance (in hell) of getting tickets to the game. The tickets went on sale at 5. At 7 we had FINALLY gotten to the front of the line. We thought - this is it! Our chance! We are in! And then...they stopped selling tickets. There were only 4 people in front of us; we had waited for almost 3 hours! They couldn't stop now! But they did. The only way we could have gotten in is if we would have paid 150 a ticket and not been able to sit together.

So we thought...we would try again the next day. I don't know where this obsession to get in and see a game came from. It may have been that Garret had NEVER been to a game (any game). It may have been that Fenway Park is a legend (it was opened in 1912 and was home to legendary great, Babe Ruth). It may have been that we already waited long enough and gosh darn it we were GOING to get in (we are both stubborn Taurus)!

The next day we went early and rode the duck, then went to the park, where the line was about a 10th of the size it had been the day before (we also got there 3 and a half hours early). When tickets went on sale, we were there, at the front of the line with Visa in hand. And we got in!

The Red Sox lost to Texas that day but in our minds the day as a whole was a winner!