Race Time Again... Off to Run Ragnar Today!

It's race time again!  Today is the SoCal Ragnar Relay.
200 miles
12 runners
2 vans
Let's do this.

I'm packed and ready to run!

Boston: Part 3

These are all of the photos taken on my camera.

On our second day in Boston we had lunch at Whiskey's.  It was pretty good.  I noticed that it was hard to find healthy menu items.  So much was fried and fatty.  So different from Cali menus.  Fun atmosphere though!

This picture is crazy.  This was taken the day before the bombing, in what I think was the exact spot of where one of the bombs was dropped.  I wanted a picture of the finish line.

This was taken as we were walking in to the pre race pasta dinner

We could have sat down at a table but we didn't see any open seats right away (turns out there were tons around the corner).  We are used to standing and eating fast with the kiddos so it seemed normal :)

Heading back to the hotel to get some sleep before the big race the next morning.

Brad took these next few photos during the race.  An elite runner!

I think this was one street over from the race. 

This is towards the end of the race.  I think we had 1 mile to go at this point.

Cheers!  Breakfast and mimosas at the airport before flying home.

Picked up the hat - one last souvenir - in the airport.

Whoops - I forgot to add this picture of Katherine Switzer.  She was the 1st woman to run the marathon.  From what I was told, she registered as a male.  Around mile 9, the race director jumped in and tried to pull her off the course.  The male runners stopped him and urged her to keep running.  I need to google this to see if that is accurate.

LOVE this!

Brad and I feel so blessed that we were safe from the tragedy at the finish line.  I pray for all of those that have been affected.  Such a senseless act.  When I think about it I am speechless.  There are no words I can say.  I will pray instead.

Boston: Part 2

These are all of the photos taken on my phone.

I think I posted this picture on my last post, but again, this was the welcoming sign I saw upon getting off of the plane in Boston.  I thought there would be many more signage promoting the race, but surprisingly, this was it.

We landed Saturday morning at 5:30am Boston time, 2:30am CA time.  Luckily, we thought ahead and booked our room starting Friday night so that we could check in right away instead of waiting around till the 3pm check in time.  Brad went to sleep right away and I hit the hotel gym for a 4 miler taper run.  This was the view from our room - overlooking the Charles River.

Later that day we headed out to the expo.  We passed Boston University along the way:

The expo was very organized and easy to pick up your bib.

It was HUGE too!  There were so many vendors that it was hard to know if you actually made it up and down every aisle.

This is a shot of the outside of the expo building:

Of course I bought a few things :)

The next day we went back to the expo and got Brad a ticket for the pre race dinner.  It was nothing exciting, but at least we can say we tried it out and know the experience.  Carb loading!

It's race day!!  Here we go Boston!

Amy (whom I befriended at our hotel) & I while in line for the buses. The race started at 10:20am, but we had to meet at 6am in order to make it in time.  Crazy, huh?!  It is a point-to-point course, so they had to bus 27,000 people 45 minutes away to the start and get everyone organized in our corrals.  We literally only had about 20 minutes with nothing to do.

Not a good shot, but this is the area where everyone gets in the looong lines to load the buses.

This is too!

Once we get off the bus, we walk over to Runners' Village.  Here they have porta potties, food, water, coffee, announcements, etc.  We even had a moment of silence for the Sandy Hook victims.... ironic... who would have known that the finish line would be bombed and add another tragic moment in history.

It was a tough race, for sure.  I am VERY happy with my PR (personal record) of 3:15:47!  That is a 7:24 pace!

BOSTON Marathon!! We Are Here!

We made it!  I qualified almost a year ago (May 6, 2012 at the OC Marathon) and the BOSTON Marathon is now here!
My parents have the kids for 4 nights - thanks mom and dad.
Here is my partner in crime and me in the LAX airport.

Having a drink in the airport before taking off...

Upon landing, I saw this sign:

The view from our room.  Pretty cool.... we are right on the Charles River.  (I ran along it this morning with Amy, a girl I met yesterday.  We "friended" each other and plan to go to the race together tomorrow as well.)

After checking in and sleeping for a few hours, Brad and I headed over to the expo...

Boston University:

Charles River:

Ahhhh!  Time to pick up my bib and swag bag!

This pic is out of order, but we had lunch at this fun pub: The Pour House

 

 I'm a celebrity...ha!  These guys asked to interview me.  For all I know, it might be for a class project.... but I felt pretty cool.  Ha!

Part 2 will come later....