Adventures in Europe: Part 1

I got back from London and Zurich last Sunday, and between recovering from jet lag and recovering from Thanksgiving, I haven't had a minute to sit and write out a post about my trip! So here goes...

London

Big Ben!

London was lovely. I literally did not stop smiling for the first 48 hours that I was there (and when I stopped smiling, it was only because I'd finished my scone). I had two wonderful hosts, Sarah (my friend and old roommate from college, who just moved in London not too long ago) and her boyfriend Ricardo.

Sarah and me

We wasted no time and as soon as I arrived, we set out for the nearest pub in search of fish, chips and ciders. We made our way to Trafalgar Square, the National Portrait Gallery, the Horse Guards, Whitehall (where the Queen laid a wreath to honor veterans the next day), the Winston Churchill museum and Cabinet War Rooms (SO cool...if you go to London, you really should go there!), the Thames, had mulled wine in Covent Garden, walked around Somerset House... I saw a lot, and absolutely loved it.

Christmas tree in Covent Garden!

String quartet playing at Covent Garden

Next day we had a traditional English breakfast (baked beans, sausage, bacon, toast, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, tea) and walked over to Portobello Market. We walked along the market, to the pastel houses, through Hyde Park to Kensington Palace, and finally to Harrods.

Notting Hill

Why yes, I AM a tourist, how could you tell?!

Monday and Tuesday I was on my own since Sarah and Ricardo had to work, but I definitely kept myself busy. Monday I visited London School of Economics and London Business School, and treated myself to tea -- a pot of tea, a scone, and clotted cream were all I needed to be in heaven.

Tea at Clifton Kitchen

Afterward, I went to Trafalgar Square, then walked along Old Bond Street and New Bond Street to get to Fortnum & Mason (this AMAZING specialty food store), then walked along Oxford Street to take in the holiday decor, which was definitely in full swing!

Department stores ready for the holidays

Pretty lights on Oxford Street

Before I knew it, it was my last day and it was definitely time for a run! I really lucked out with gorgeous weather during my trip (except at night, when I'd come out of the tube station to a misty rain...what's up with that?!), and went for a quick jaunt along the canal that was near Sarah and Ricardo's apartment in Little Venice.

A path along the canal similar to
the one I ran along

We'd done a lot of walking around, and it was lovely to get outside and run!

I hope you enjoyed this recap of my trip to London! Next up: Zurich!

Dear New York...

Dear New York,

We've been together now for over four (sometimes rocky) years. But you've always been there for me, especially last weekend when all I wanted to do was stop and you just wouldn't let me, teasing me with your crazy marathon course and making me leave my beloved park before going back to cross that finish line. Yup, you sure can be difficult sometimes, but I love you all the same.

This week, though, I'm leaving you. I'm leaving you for nine full days, jetting across the pond to spend four days in London and five in Zurich before coming back and leaving you all over again when Thanksgiving comes around. (Sorry I'm not sorry -- I love traveling almost as much as I love homemade apple pie.)

I promise I'll get some runs in while I'm gone, but I can't promise they will ever measure up to the awesomeness of Nov. 6, 2011. I'm really just not comfortable admitting that that could even be a possibility, so for now we'll just say that nothing can ever compare to that day, that race. I think my smile and crazed look really prove that:

FINISHED. 

Crazy face.

But thanks again for a seriously awesome, kickass weekend last weekend. I won't soon forget it.

xoxo
Margaret

New York City Marathon: If you can make it there...

...you can make it anywhere. So goes the song that serenaded us as we prepared to cross the start of the 42nd New York City Marathon!

Does my face show how excited I am?!

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!
And/or insane.

Seriously though, this was one of the best days of my life. This race and day was one for the books and one I will not soon forget.

Thursday night after work I went to pick up my bib number. I didn't have much time to linger though, because I was going to the NY Flyers pasta party where THE BART YASSO would be speaking. While the food was pretty boring, the company was lovely and Bart's speech and slideshow were a great way to kick off marathon weekend.

Friday night my parents came in from Virginia and we went to dinner at Georgia's Cafe on the Upper West Side. I was sure to request an extra bread basket that was devoured in addition to the pita bread that came with my main dish. I also got a dried cherry pumpkin oatmeal cookie that played an important role in my carbo-loading for the race. I probably wouldn't have gotten through mile 20 if I hadn't had that cookie.

Saturday I laid low while my parents went to some museums. On top of relaxing and getting in a two-mile run, I also met up with Janae and 10 or so other bloggers/Hungry Runner Girl readers at 16 Handles (conveniently just up the road from my apartment!). (A big thank you 16 Handles for getting me through mile 21.) Let me just say that Janae is the sweetest, most hilarious girl -- we all had a blast talking about the race and running and everything in between!

Clearly I should not stand in the back row!
And I shouldn't wear a ponytail with a headband.
(picture courtesy of Janae)

Afterward my parents came to my apartment and we got ready to go to Uva for dinner. Dinner was super delicious -- we started with bruschetta and a killer bread basket, which I chased soon after with a whole wheat farfalle dish, filled with delicious sauce, mozzarella, and spinach. (Uva got me through mile 22, for sure.)

I attended to some very important business after dinner -- decorating my nails.

Disregard the accent nail - I ran out of zebra print.

I used Sally Hansen nail decal thingamajigs that were zebra print to remind me A) that I am an animal, and B) to run like a zebra running from a lion. I also wrote a mantra on my hand that I saw every time I looked at my watch -- "Think strong. Be strong. Finish strong." It helped.

I went to bed around 11pm, full and happy and totally ready to wake up and race the crap out of the NYC Marathon. I set three alarms and while I didn't wake up every hour on the hour like I'd expected I would, I did wake up once at 2:34am and checked to make sure that my iPhone had, indeed, fallen back with the time change. At 5am my alarm went off and I LEAPT out of bed, popped a bagel in the toaster, and threw on my race outfit, fleece throwaway pants and top, ear warmer and gloves. I grabbed my UPS bag and went outside in search of a cab -- of which there were none. Luckily I ran into two other girls who were also searching for a cab to Midtown (I took the 6am bus from the NYPL), so we headed to 3rd Ave. in search of a cab -- which we finally found!

The bus pickup at the NYPL was seamless -- there were a ton of people, but no pushing or shoving or worry that anyone would be late. As soon as one group of buses was full, they would take off and another group would file in. It took about an hour, but I made it to Staten Island around 7:15 and immediately located the portapotties and my start village (not to mention Dunkin' Donuts coffee). The whole thing was rather uneventful and quite solitary for me -- I chatted with a couple of people, but was mostly inwardly focused on getting my head in the game and trying to control my excitement.

At the Staten Island Half Marathon, I'd eaten my normal pre-race fuel, but I still felt empty and like I didn't fuel enough before that run. This time, I tried to stay very in tune with what my body needed. I had my traditional bagel with peanut butter on the bus and drank a lot of water all morning, but I knew I'd need more to eat. I had a banana at some point, then grabbed a free bagel that I nibbled on throughout the morning. My body felt strong and happy and not empty in the least throughout the entire race, so I think I did a great job of listening to it and fueling it well. I ended up drinking water and Gatorade every other aid station (note that running and drinking WILL result with Gatorade going up your nose), and taking a gel every six miles.

Before I knew it we were lining up in our corrals, and I heard "New York, New York" and the cannon sound for the first wave. Slowly we made out way up, and all of a sudden it was our turn to take the city by storm and run the biggest marathon in the world. I took a Gu and reminded myself that THIS was what I came for (a mantra that I repeated many, many times throughout the race). 

Sea of people

The race, according to my Garmin (which was a bit inaccurate, but hey, let's go with it):

Miles 1, 2 - 9:58, 8:45. I did well in the first mile, and let my legs fly running down the Verrazano Bridge. I did my best not to weave and just keep a strong, steady pace.

Miles 3, 4 - 9:13, 9:06. Oh man, it was SO GREAT to get into Brooklyn. The crowds early on were mostly people on their stoops and hanging out. It was also around here that I ran into two NY Flyers whom I'd met at the previous Three Bridges Runs, and they also happened to be aiming for a sub-4 hour marathon. (I ended up sticking with them through mile 17!)

Miles 5, 6, 7 - 8:55, 8:48, 8:51. Wow. A little quick there, Margaret. I got a little taken away by how great I felt and how wonderful the crowds were in Brooklyn. I was actually very blown away by the crowds that showed up, and the support that they showed; from signs to cheers to high-fives. This was one of my favorite parts of the race.

Miles 8, 9, 10 - 9:13, 9:06, 8:57. My legs felt good, the crowds were still great, and I was having a hard time not letting my legs go as fast as they wanted to go. I just let them fly! It also helped that I had two other people to run with and listen to and chat a bit with. Somewhere in here I also saw Johnny, who I met through the NYCM Facebook group and hung out with before the Staten Island Half Marathon! Who knew I'd run into so many people I knew among 47,000?!

Miles 11, 12, 13 - 9:12, 9:07, 9:10. This was somewhat familiar territory for me -- the Three Bridges Run had passed along here on the way to Queens and the Pulaski Bridge, so I felt comfortable at this pace. It was right around my goal pace of 9:09, too.

Miles 14, 15, 16 - 9:20, 9:21, 10:10. Unremarkable miles through Queens. I hit the halfway mark at 2:00:25, which would mean I'd have to negative split to break four hours. I suspected this was unlikely, but just kept trucking. Mile 16 was uphill on the Queensboro bridge -- I'd heard this was a terrible part of the race because it's just sneakers hitting the ground, so I focused on the views of Manhattan to my left and just putting one foot in front of the other and preparing to head into my borough.

Miles 17, 18, 19 - 9:29, 9:14, 9:26. MANHATTAN! Whew! I was definitely NOT greeted with the "wall of sound" that everyone talks about so much, so that was a bit of a letdown. My feet also started to HURT, so I kept repeating, "Your feet hurt because you're kicking so much ass!" to myself, which actually really helped! I knew that my parents and friends would be along 1st Ave. though, so I stuck to the left side and kept an eye out for them. At 17.5 I saw Becca and Portia who I know from college -- we were all in the same sorority and they actually made a bright pink sign with ∆∆∆ and "MARGARET" written on it. I couldn't miss it, and screamed out their names so they'd know I saw them! It was a bit before then that I lost my Flyers buddies so it was exciting to see people that I knew when I was getting a bit tired. At 103rd St. and 1st Ave, I saw my parents, which was SO awesome. They saw me, too!

So happy to see my parents!

Miles 20, 21 - 9:39, 9:30. Heading up into the Bronx I didn't really know what to expect. I'd never run up there, but I'd heard that Willis Bridge was a toughie. Since I'd lost my running partners back at mile 17 and I was starting to need an extra push, I put on my headphones, pumped my arms as hard as I could, and made my way through the Bronx. I thought the crowds in the Bronx were actually pretty impressive, and before I knew it I was back in Manhattan.

Miles 22, 23 - 9:29, 9:28. I unexpectedly saw my friend Eileen along 5th Ave., but completely missed two big old cheering squads of friends. They saw me, but I was on the other side of the street and completely oblivious. I think I had some sort of a marathoner blackout (which sounds bad, but trust me, I didn't feel dehydrated or sick or anything) where I just don't really remember much and was 100% focused on getting through the last few miles. 

Mile 24 - 9:58. Hello, 5th Ave. incline. I did not enjoy you. Not one little bit! But the PARK!!! Oh, it was so wonderful to enter my park. The crowds in the park were really wonderful, too. (I have a Powerbar gel to thank for getting me through this mile.)

Mile 25 - 9:35. Big downhill along Cat Hill. I'd been warned about this hill, not to take it too fast so as not to thrash my quads (oh, but my quads still feel quite thrashed today!).

Mile 26 - 9:38. Slight uphill exiting the park, followed by a great crowd on 59th St. I remember thinking that Columbus Circle looked so. far. away. But I don't remember much else. Other than being SO HAPPY when I was suddenly AT Columbus Circle and making the turn back into the park for the final 0.2 mi. I might not remember the last couple of miles terribly well, but I do remember making that turn.

Last 0.2 - 9:15 pace. Thank goodness I picked it up, but let me tell you, it was NOT easy to do so. I was struggling at this point, begging my legs to go faster, take me closer to the finish, complete the marathon that I'd spent the better part of two years mentally preparing for. Crossing that finish line was indescribable, and I almost cried, I was so happy. 

Final time: 4:06:31, for an average pace of 9:25! A personal record by 6 minutes and 41 seconds. A personal record I am so, very, incredibly proud of. A personal record I set in my city, New York City, among 47,000 others (not to mention the 2.5 million spectators). 

It is a feeling I will not soon forget. It is a race I will always remember. It was my first New York City Marathon, but it will not be my last!

Full of pride, happiness, and beer.

I'm a New York City Marathon finisher!

Medal on. Beer in hand.

AND I PR'ed -- 4:06:31!!! (A 7-minute PR! Which is also how much I PR'ed by in the Staten Island Half Marathon! Lucky number 7 indeed!)

More to come in an official recap, but suffice it to say that this was a race of a lifetime. I had an absolutely amazing time (even when I was hurting!) and wouldn't change anything about this race.

Fittingly, this is also my 100th post here on Have A Good Run -- and the NYC Marathon is a perfect way to celebrate it!

Thanks to all for your supportive tweets, comments, texts and cheers along the course! I appreciate every single one :)

NYCM Training: IT'S ALMOST HERE!!! aka Week 17 of 18

Holy moly! I'll have run the NYC Marathon by this time NEXT WEEK!!! With any luck, I'll have also stretched, taken an ice bath, showered, downed a beer or two (accompanied by loads of food, DUH), and hopefully have kept both of my legs intact following the marathon. I'm really hoping to be able to walk down the stairs with minimal pain after just one day instead of last time's two days...

But first! Week two of tapering, aka week 17 in the training:

• Monday: sick day
• Tuesday: 4 mile run
• Wednesday: sick day
• Thursday: 5 mile run
• Friday: rest
• Saturday: 3 mile run
• Sunday: 8 mile run

Total mileage: 20. Pas mal, as the French would say. I'm quite all right with it considering I was sick. As I mentioned in my last post, as fun as Boston was, it decided to give me a lovely cold as a souvenir. Really, Boston, the 2011 HOCR shirt was enough, but thanks for being so considerate! Ugh. Needless to say, I felt quite awful for a number of days this week, but I wasn't hacking up a lung (the cold seemed to just stay up in my head, which was very nice of it) so I kept running. I'd planned on running four times a week instead of five during the taper when my leg started acting up, and with a cold on top of it, it all kind of seemed to work out. 

The weekday runs were unexciting and were all done on a treadmill -- not ideal! I went home to Alexandria, Va., for the weekend, and while Saturday's run was also done on a treadmill, the day was made more exciting by a Halloween party my friends Lani and J threw in Northern Virginia. Naturally, I dressed up as a pirate:

I'm MARRRRRgaret!

I've never been a pirate for Halloween. As my brother Tom remarked, "Amazing that this costume took 20 some years to figure out." True. I actually figured it out in May when I was on my annual girlfriends trip with Lani and Emily, and they suggested it! Clearly, I am not the most creative when it comes to costumes, which is why I leave it to my friends to help me out. I'm not usually one to love Halloween, but having a costume that I liked did make it more fun!

Sunday I had my last long run of training. It snowed on Saturday in Alexandria, so I was a little worried about the weather for the weekend. But Sunday was absolutely beautiful -- and ideal for a marathon! Let's hope NYC gets the message and delivers perfect race conditions on Sunday!

I planned on taking this run easy and getting in a few miles at race pace, but I felt way too good and ended up having a pretty speedy run:

• Mile 1 - 9:15
• Mile 2 - 9:07
• Mile 3 - 8:50
• Mile 4 - 8:41
• Mile 5 - 8:31
• Mile 6 - 8:38
• Mile 7 - 8:40
• Mile 8 - 8:57

Total time: 

1:10:39, for an average of 8:50/mile. AWESOME.

The views weren't too bad either:

Falllll foliage!

Pretty colors

Seriously, how gorgeous?!

It's kind of funny, almost all of my 8-mile runs have been in the 1:10-1:11 range during this marathon training. Which is good, of course, but also kind of frustrating -- am I just running at a comfortable pace? Should I be pushing myself more? This close to the marathon, pushing myself definitely NOT a very smart idea, but it's giving me something to think about next time around -- I think I can improve, and could spend some more time on speed rather than running along on what's comfortable.

ANYWAY! Last week of training! Big plans? Nope! Tomorrow I'm taking it easy, Tuesday I've got a deep tissue massage session, Wednesday is girls night with college friends, and Thursday is the NY Flyers pasta party! I've never attended a pre-race pasta party, but BART YASSO is going to be at this one and I think it's going to be worth it just for that! (However, I had a dream that he canceled at the last minute and was replaced by some "famous" coxswain...this is what happens when two sports collide!) Oh, and the pasta. Duh. Carbo-loading is KEY in the last taper week. 

So, goals for the week:

1. Sleep. Get lots and lots of sleep. Rest as much as possible.
2. Hydrate. Drink loads of water, keep taking Emergen-C, etc.
3. Eat well. Complex carbohydrates are important, but so are fruits, veggies, etc. I'm going to try to eat realllly well this week!
4. Stay positive. Corny as it sounds, I plan on visualizing the race as much as I can. And filling my week with fun (but not too rowdy!) events and activities. 
5. Did I mention sleep?

A little more about staying positive -- on my run on Sunday I thought a lot about the marathon. I kind of took the 8 mile run as a mini-practice for the race -- I tried to keep my face relaxed (i.e. no squinting) when I ran in the sun; I reminded myself to keep my shoulders back and loose; I reminded myself to ease into the pace and start out a bit more relaxed in my pace; I reminded myself of how good it is to just RUN and how much I love it. 

Notice a pattern with any of these reminders? There's no use of negative words -- slow, don't, shouldn't, etc. Something I learned as a coxswain was to reduce the amount of negative words in what I say because the rowers won't hear the "don't"; they'll hear the "dip your hands at the catch". So instead of saying "DON'T start out too fast," I'm going to tell myself "DO start at a more relaxed pace." See what I'm doing there? Tricky, tricky!

With that, I should probably follow my own advice and hit the hay. I might even pop in with a midweek post to keep my mind occupied and not filled with nerves. 

If you have any awesome race mantras, I'd love to hear them!

Here's to the very last week of training for the New York City Marathon!

NYCM Training: It's Taper Time!

Not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited about the fact that it's TAPER TIME! over here. My running has been OK, but I'm finding the motivation to get up in the morning to actually get a workout in is definitely lacking. I'm still getting (most of) the workouts in (I ran four times last week instead of five...), but I'm just so TIRED lately. Anyway, here's how last week (week 16!!!) shaped up:

• Monday: walking
• Tuesday: 5.6 mile run
• Wednesday: walking
• Thursday: 6.3 mile run
• Friday: walking
• Saturday: 4.3 mile run
• Sunday: 12 mile run

Total mileage: 28.2. 

Not terrible, but not the 32 I was shooting for. I've come a long way from when I first started running and felt that I had to get in every single run OR ELSE... (not knowing what that OR ELSE... really was) so I'm definitely not going to beat myself up over "missing" a run.  My mileage was strong, the runs were solid, and I was experiencing some not-so-fun muscle pain in my left leg...the same leg that suffered a stress reaction last summer, an injury that sidelined me from running the Chicago Marathon. 

Needless to say, I was a little worried. I mean, it didn't feel like a stress fracture, but I didn't know I had one last time either! At first, I was just going to ignore it. The marathon is so close, there's no WAY my doctor will be able to see me, I've put in months of training, and I'm not going to NOT run this marathon! But after more than a week of nagging pain, I called my doctor's office, pleading for an appointment with Dr. Jordan Metzl, whom I saw last year about my stress fracture. When I mentioned that I was running the New York City Marathon in two short weeks, I had an appointment on the books for Monday!

I went in, mentally prepared for the worst, ready to be told that I'd have to defer to 2012 because the worst had happened and I had another stress fracture. But no! A little hopping up and down on one foot, then the other, and some poking and prodding, he diagnosed me with a weak butt (must step up the strength training), minor sciatica, and muscle pain in the calf. A prescription for deep tissue massage and an NSAID should put me back together again in no time. I took that NSAID as soon as the prescription was filled, and I swear that within a half hour, I was a completely new person. Walking down stairs didn't hurt! I could walk pain-free! There was no limp! A trip to Eastside Massage Therapy for an hour of intense deep tissue massage was the icing on the cake. As soon as I said my doctor had mentioned my poor, weak piriformis and sciatica, the masseuse said she was going to "go to town on this left butt cheek", which she did and I cannot thank her enough. Since yesterday, my leg has felt great. I even went out on a run today, and noticed a massive improvement! Needless to say, I'm a very happy runner :)

Back to last week! It was a good week. My "walking" workouts are really just me walking to work from the subway and back, a 1.5 mile roundtrip. I've been awfully lazy about cross training...maybe that's why I've got a weak butt and sciatica... Anyway. On Tuesday and Thursday I changed into my running clothes at work and ran along the West Side Highway. My office is literally a block away, so I took advantage of the great temperatures and close proximity, and just ran from the office! The track on our roof is only 1/10th of a mile, and running around that thing 50 times is just not appealing (though I'm sure the views would be amazing!). 

On Saturday and Sunday, I was in Boston, coxing Head of the Charles for a team from Sacramento. It's a long story of how I got involved with them, but I coxed for this team two years ago and they needed a coxswain again this year, so they got in touch with me and I said I'd do it! Here are a few photos from the weekend:

Saturday morning I ran from our hotel to the start line before
our race - here are some crews getting ready!

A nice trail along the Charles

The one-mile marker on the three-mile course

My setup in the bow of the boat - cox box to the left,
steering mechanism on the right 

Nice and comfy in the bow! 

My view during practice on Friday afternoon

It was a great weekend in Boston, and my boat even qualified for automatic entry into the same category for next year! Just to give you an idea of what my job is in the boat, I am basically the coach in the boat, and I steer the boat. I tell the rowers what to do when, motivate them, and keep them going. Head of the Charles is the biggest headrace in the world, with crews coming from all over the world to participate in it. It's also one of the most difficult races for coxswains to steer, due to the curvy course and six bridges you have to navigate. Not to mention the many boats that are involved in each race (our category, women's club 4+, had 45 crews racing). Here's the course to give you an idea:

This course is not straight.

It was a great race, and I really hope I get to go back again next year, if not to cox then at least to volunteer.

Sunday I woke up a bit later and set out on an exciting 12 mile run through Boston. I checked out Tina's blog to see if she'd done any 12 mile runs with routes, and I found one that I adapted to meet my needs. Here's the map:

And the splits:

Super impressive? No, especially since I recently ran 21 miles at a quicker pace than this. While my leg did hurt for most of the run, it was the kind of pain that I could run through and I felt pretty decent for most of the run. I also spent a lot of time with my iPhone making sure I didn't get lost and end up in Roxbury. And one guy even mentioned I had a "nice pace" going when I passed him, which is always a nice thing to hear, even from a 60-year-old man. (Note: That was when I was in the 9:07 range.) There were quite a few hills in this (mile 10, I'm looking at you), and a lot of running through somewhat crowded sidewalks (miles 2 and 11), but overall it was a really fun run with some interesting sights!

Beautiful day for a RUN!

A run through Boston Common? Why not?

This Colonial re-enactor also thought it was a great day
to be in Boston Common

A beach! In Boston! I never would have known!

This was my trail for a few miles

Near South Station - note the lack of blue sky...it got chilly!

And this would be an important building of historical significance, obviously...also known as the Statehouse

I had a great time running through Boston. I always enjoy running through New York, but it's so great to test out a new city and see how its running is. I give Boston two big thumbs up for being awesome in general (seriously, I have such a huge crush on this city...can you believe I never even looked at a single college here when I was applying?), but also for being hospitable to both rowers AND runners.

While I had my foot in two sports this weekend, I had quite a few realizations. First off, the race that the rowers did? It was three miles long. It took us 21 minutes. And then we had to keep rowing to make sure no other boats crashed into us. I know it's completely different from running, and uses all sorts of muscles we don't even think about when we run, but it just seemed like...really? Only 21 minutes? I mean, I ran for over three hours just two weeks ago. And tomorrow? I'm going to run for two hours. It's not all about the amount of time that you spend doing a sport or a race or whatever, of course, but I just thought it was so interesting. In rowing's 2k sprint races, done in the spring, you go ALL OUT for 7 minutes -- I guess that's a runner's equivalent to the 400-meter dash or something along those lines. And afterward, you're EXHAUSTED -- you put everything you had into those 7 minutes. It just doesn't seem like that much time! (Rowers -- don't get my wrong, I have intense, insane, ridiculous amount of respect and love for the sport. But compared to a marathon? It just seems like such a small amount of time!)

I also noticed that just as runners LOVE to talk about running when they're around other runners, rowers LOVE to talk about rowing when they're around other rowers. It's just a thing that athletes do. (OMG did I just refer to myself as an ATHLETE?! Well, I mean, I didn't do any physical activity, but I did gain a varsity letter for rowing at UCLA...just sayin'.) Since I'm a ways out of the rowing world, I didn't have much to contribute to this conversation, but people were talking about split times and erg times and their last races, and if I could have talked about running instead of rowing, I would have fit right in!

There's more to mention, but this post is getting wicked long (I'm so Bostonian!) and I'm tired.

Do you do any other sports?

For Your Amusement

I thought these pictures were just too hilarious not to share...usually I'm pretty good at spotting the cameras and putting on a happy face, but that just did not happen this time!

Clearly displeased with my time

Squinting and sweating.
At least my arm looks good.

No idea what this face is...
I think I mostly just look confused

SO glad to be done-slash-
possibly dying

I'm off to Boston for the weekend before the sun even rises. I'm coxing Head of the Charles for a friend's old rowing team that's coming in from Northern California. They needed a coxswain, I was available, so I'm helping them out. I coxed a 4+ for this team two years ago, and hadn't coxed in five years, and had never been on the Charles, which has many turns (and while we all know I'm not good at running tangents, I can steer a shell around the tightest corner if needed!).

It was my first time in Boston, and while there was a cold snap that made me have to wear a zillion layers at all times, I completely fell in love with the city.

This weekend's weather is looking good:

This was my view from the boat:

Bow-coxed 4+. Ready to race!

Along with this:

The beautiful Charles River. It was beautiful this day, but
the rain and cold (and SNOW!) came soon after!

Ahhh and this:

Fall foliage!

I can't wait!

Have you ever been to Boston? Any fun plans for you this weekend?