Wednesday I did another 6 miles along the Charles. Thursday I brought my stuff to run, but decided to rest instead. I was feeling kind of crappy and tired for no particular reason. Friday finally arrived and the work day went by relatively fast. It was quiet and not many people were there. Some people took an extra long weekend. Friday after work, I went back to the Seaport WTC to volunteer again. This time I wasn't really sure what they would have us doing. I showed up and they did a brief intro and divided the volunteers up. I ended up stuffing more packets, this time for the kids races. It was fine because I'm kind of good at it. And fun because I ended up chatting with the other two women the whole time. One was an Emergency room doctor in Boston, Denise, and the other was an ultramarathoner, who also worked at the hospital, Jenine. Both were fascinating and together we completed all of the kids race packets and stuffed them with t-shirts too before the dinner even arrived. It was a really fun night.
Saturday morning I got up and made some tea. Ate a little breakfast and then my friend Steve came over so we could head into Boston to run the last mile of the marathon course together. He was somewhere around mile 24 when the race stopped. There was an organized event at 10:00am starting in Kenmore Square allowing runners and the community to come out and experience that last mile. It was drizzling and cold, but that didn't stop over 2000 people from showing up to support the city and the race that means so much to so many. I bought one of the commemorative shirts to benefit the #onefund. Emotional tributes and speeches started us off and then we all ran the final section of the marathon course and crossed the finish line on Boylston. It was a pretty amazing thing to see and be a part of. I'm really glad I went.
Saturday afternoon, I had good intentions of going out and doing something, but I ended up napping on my couch instead. Woke up around 5:30pm and wondered where the day went. I was supposed to at least finish my laundry and fold it and put it away, but that didn't happen. I don't even remember what I ended up doing for the rest of the evening before I went to bed. I tried to get to sleep early so I could get up in time for the race in the morning.
Sunday I got up and got dressed. Got my stuff together and drove into Boston. I was thinking the race started at 7:30, but I found out when I got there that it started at 7:00 and I got there at about five of! I had to pee, but there was no time. I got in the start corrals and they did a moment of silence and the national anthem and we were off and running. I figured there would be port-o-potties on the course. Well apparently so did a lot of people. The first few had wicked long lines. I followed two girls into a Dunks and we got kicked out. Then we ran past a Fire Station. Thank GOD! Well, I think they must have removed all the TP as a cruel joke knowing that there would be desperate runners coming in. Whatever, pit stop done, I continued the race.
About 3 miles in I saw a familiar person up ahead of me. The very person that made me sign up for my first half marathon and helped me form this new healthy addiction to running, Jenine. I stopped to say hi and chat with her for a little and she wanted to catch up since I hadn't seen her in forever, but she was pacing one of her clients, so I threw my race plan out the window and hung back with her and her client for the entire race. Told her we had 10 more miles to talk and I was all ears. It may not have been my fastest half marathon, but I sure did have a lot of fun. I started singing and dancing and cheering for random runners. I high fived all of the police officers along Memorial Drive near MIT. I can't wait to see the pro photos because they will either be wicked awesome or wicked funny. After the race I went home and again fell victim to the comfort of my couch for a little snooze. It was rainy and cold so it's not like I could do much else anyway.
Sunday I got up and went for a run. I did 7 miles and felt great. I should have brought water with me because I could have kept running. I didn't really "run" the half marathon so it felt good to get out and just go. Plus, the sun was finally out. It was a beautiful day and I soaked it all in. Afterwards I went grocery shopping and then cleaned my house a little and did some cooking. It was a really relaxing day. I just sort of wish I had one more. I have been procrastinating folding my clean laundry forever and I finally did that and put everything away. I even purged some of my drawers and put things in bins to donate. Cleaned out my basement a little and then found my couch again in the late afternoon and fell asleep watching the history channel.
Overall it was a great weekend full of running and productive stuff at home and in the city. It was nice to catch up with Jenine and reconnect with her for 10 miles. It was nice to see my friend Steve finally cross the finish line on Boylston. It was nice to volunteer to support a race I have run many times and be a part of it in a year that runners and the city of Boston really needed a well organized event to remember those we have lost. And I am really glad I finally folded my laundry. :) And here is a random funny to finish with:
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