I am an infrequent flyer
Air travel is awesome, but seriously, who knew cottage cheese couldn't be brought carry-on?
Lunch was eaten at PDX at 8 am. Second breakfast...
Looking pretty nerdy in my glasses and sporting my Eugene Marathon race shirt. I'll tell you that I was only dressed like a bum because I was going to be comfortable for the flight...but ..I love my yoga pants and they hide the coffee stains well. =D
Wearing the Eugene shirt was actually a good decision- not just a "geeky mom" thing; I met some other racers in the airports because of it.
Anyone know what city this is??
Layover #2 where I met Sarah, a runner who was headed to both Providence, RI, to run Gansett marathon (formerly Exeter) 4/16, and Boston 4/19. She finished both in the 3:20's. Incredible.
In Boston
Saturday morning, I ran a 3 mile shake-out run with a brand new Garmin 305.
My husband bought it as a surprise for me right before the trip. It was exactly the one I had been wanting and was so overcome that he got it for me- even though we had discussed it earlier as an unnecessary expense. He also stayed back to take care of the boys, since it would have quadrupled the cost of the trip for us all to come. They were missed. More on that in another post, maybe.
Later that day, I headed from my friend's house (45 minutes from Boston) to the EXPO!
The expo was very organized and not too busy on Saturday. I picked up my packet, jacket and a few powerbar gels.
The adidas Boston gear lined up the entry to the expo, but every other running shoe manufacturer you can image was there...and many other running related booths.
The adidas line for jacket/ official Boston gear purchases ^
Sunday, I headed back to Boston to see the 5k, the middle school 1k, and high school mile races.
What started off to be a wet morning (after thunder and rain the evening before), turned into perfect race weather..cool but not COLD. Of course we were all still speculating how the weather would be for race Monday.
The first wheel chair racer finished 5k with no one else near!
The men's 5k winner- Ben True- finished in 14:07 (official)!!! Amazing!
And the first woman to cross, Lineth Chepkurui 15:52
The rest of the racers continued to come into the finish line over the next hour. Many women finished under 18 minutes...
Women's winner of the 5k. ^
Men's 5K winner ^
Then it was time for the middle school 1K races. Two boys and two girls represent each of the towns on the Boston course.
And then there was the girls' high school mile...
And a boys' high school mile...
(can't find the photo, but he finished in 4:30)
It appeared that adidas furnished the high school participants with new shoes, shorts and singlets.
The races were fun to watch and really helped get the mood charged for the next day!
Following the races, I went back into the expo to get a little information about the race day shuttles and drop off. I also got to see a race preview video that helped me visualize the course. And I had a celebrity moment.
He was a great sport about jabbing him in the ribs like that.
Nothing could really prepare me for what I was going to experience the next day, though!