I know, I know,I slacked off!

Alright, so I haven't been the best blogger this month. It's been a pretty busy month with the tutoring after school, checking out venues, and preparing for my first half.  But, now that everything is winding down, I'm free to update again! Rejoice, rejoice.
Today was the Boston Run to Remember.  There were 10,000 runners, which was crazy.  Some people were only doing the 5 miler, but that's still a ton of people.  Last weekend I went for a 13 mile run alone, just to make sure I could do it this weekend.  A week ago, my time was 2:05.  The goal of today was really to break 2:00.  This is how close I came to that goal: 3136 707/1603 F1929 2:01:03 9:14 2:02:18 Allison Runyan 28 F 6528 Lynn MA. The official time was 2:02:18, my time, as you can see bolded and underlined, was 2:01:03.  I missed making the 2 hour mark by seconds.  Seriously.  I'm a little bummed about that, even though I know I shouldn't be.  2:01 for my first half is a fantastic time.  But, when I want to reach a goal, it's always slightly sad when I don't.
The weather for the run was actually pretty bad.  I originally signed up for this race because it was at the end of May so I figured the weather might be hot, but not overbearing.  Turns out, it was the exact opposite. Start time was 7:00 a.m. and the weather at that time was 41 degrees with a wind chill that made it feel like 33.  (I got that direct from the weather channel, I didn't make it up!)  Seriously, at the end of May.  Plus, it was rainy off and on.  Weather aside, the run was actually pretty good.  I felt great basically the entire time.  I went through a lot of sport beans, especially in the last four miles, but it was worth it.  My legs are a little sore, but nothing too crazy.  Overall, a wonderful experience for my first half.  Plus, Ryan came out to watch, so double bonus.
Earlier in the week, I volunteered to stuff packets for the race, which turned out to be more fun than I expected, even though I didn't win any prizes from the raffles.  What I did get was free pizza, and really, that's the best prize there is.  Yesterday I went to the race expo to pick up my number and get some free swag, of which I got none, but whatever.  Then I went over to Boyleston with Cynthia, Murdock, and some of her family.  We stopped by the marathon memorial and had lunch at the Pru, in the middle of an anime convention.  I told you I've been busy!
Other than that, not much happening.  Ryan's mom and sister came to visit, I checked out a couple of venues, and Ryan's dad is coming in two weeks.  Next weekend I also have the last race in the Will Run for Beer series.  I'll finally get my jacket and be done with that, which is really a long time, considering it started back in January.  Cynthia is trying to get me a bib for the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C. this October as well.  I'm not really sure how I feel about that.  In the meantime, I think I have to find another half to run, just to get that time down.  With the end of the school year SLOWLY creeping up, I might be able to get more time in for everything, running included.  We'll see.

Whoops

I guess it's been a few days since I updated.  Clearly my blog skills are not on par with what they should be.  Here's the thing.  I've been busy.  SUPER busy.  Not too busy to run, just to busy to write apparently.  So, let's just recap, shall we?
Last weekend I went for a nice 10 mile run in Manchester by the Sea with Cynthia, Murdock, and Jenna.  Overall I think the run was pretty nice.  The views were nice anyways.  I also spent some time ripping up the wild bamboo growing in the backyard.  Monday I went for a 5 mile run with Katie, up and down the beach.  That was also...nice. It was crazy foggy out, but worse than that, it smelled like Lynn beach. There's nothing to explain the smell of Lynn beach to you.  Just know that low tide smells like a combination of sulpher, rotten eggs, and porta-potties.  Yes.  Lovely, isn't it?  So, that part of it was, not so nice, but the run part wasn't too bad.
Some of Ryan's family came to visit during the week, so I didn't run on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.  Shameful, I know.  Friday I got in a nice little 3 miler in the morning, but the humidity was at 90%, so it was awfully sweaty.  I guess it's time to accept that the humidity factor is now something to take into account when running.  That means it's time to start trying for early morning runs, because the humidity is not going to be much help to timing.
Today I managed to get in 6 miles around the Wakefield lake.  Unfortunately, it started to rain on me about a third of the way into the run.  It wasn't a huge rain storm, and luckily it was warm enough that it didn't bother me too much, but I still did not enjoy the wet sneaker sensation.  My time was fairly good though, 6 miles in 54 minutes.  I am pretty confident that I can keep that 9 minute mile pace, which would put me under 2 hours for a half marathon.  Seeing that I only have about two weeks to ensure this pace, I aim to get in another 10 mile run at that pace.
Earlier I also mentioned the virtual 10K by Charity Miles.  I can say with full confidence that I have  definitely surpassed the 6 mile requirement and I am expecting my t-shirt to be shipped any day now.  That's a bonus for me and for all the charities I've been selecting. Once again, if you don't have this app yet, you really need to get it.
I think that's it for running news.  I'm signed up to stuff packets next week for the Run to Remember.  That should be fun.  Since Ryan's family was visiting, we did a lot of touristy things this weekend, so I shall share some photos of that with you, as well as a map my run photo of my 10 mile run.  I'm sure you're pumped.  Enjoy them!

6 miles in the half rain.

Old Ironsides

Ryan and I on the deck of Old Ironsides herself.

Ryan and Britney down below.

Got my ring back, FINALLY!

Emerson's grave

Bridesmaid dresses FOUND!

Fenway <3 nbsp="" p="">

Jacoby

Nothing says Summer like Fenway and the Sox

Just one of them days.

Someone in the land of the internet will be able to make sense of my title and understand that I'm not a total whack out when it comes to grammar. The rest of you, well, you'll have to take my word for it.  Even though it's Friday, it was a LONG day.  We had lots of teachers out today and only two subs, which meant a lot of room covering and running around.  In the midst of covering a 1st grade room, right as I was about to give the math test, I had a puker.  You can imagine how the rest of the class reacted, as this poor child was spewing liquid all over her desk and the surroundings.  Needless to say, it took a few minutes, a bucket of sawdust, and some open windows before we could actually get on with the test.
As you might imagine, it was a good day to run.  Sometimes work causes problems, and running them out is helpful.  But, I wasn't exactly in the mood to run.  In fact, I would have preferred to sit around at home with the dogs and watch tv/nap.  Instead, I begged my facebook friends for motivation, which I got.  After a few encouraging words, I headed to the beach for a 3 miler.  The run itself was ok.  My mile splits were all in 8s, and that includes an elevation gain of 95 feet.  When I got to 3 miles my time was 25:57 and I threw in the towel right there, even though I had another mile before I was back to my car.
The odd thing about running is, no matter how often you do it, some days you feel awesome, like you could run for miles.  Other days, two seconds in you're out of breath, your legs hurts, your lungs hurt, and all you want to do is lay down where you are and beg someone to carry you back to the car.  Today it was the latter.  It truly felt as if this 3 mile run was taking hours.   My shins were burning, my knees were killing me, and I had major cramping.  I think it was the sausage and pasta I had for lunch.  But I made it through the 3 miles and really, that's all that matters.
I've actually done a lot of miles this week, 20 total.  Wednesday we did a nice long 6.5 and this coming Sunday I'm attempting a 10 or 11.  Only 3 weeks until Boston's Run to Remember and I'd like to get up to 13 at least once before that.  I'm excited for the run, I think the crowd energy will be awesome and hopefully it's a nice day out.
In other news, I think the WDW marathon may be out of the question now.  It's expensive to get down there and I need to save my money for a wedding.  Maybe I can find a marathon closer to home. Or maybe I don't want to do a marathon at all.  We'll see how the half goes first.  Since we're going to be running long distances anyways, I decided to join Charity Miles Boston Strong 10K.  It's a virtual 10K, but all the proceeds go to the One Fund. If you register here you get an awesome t-shirt after running. You can also win some great prizes, according to the site, but it doesn't say what the prizes are.  It's $25, which includes the t-shirt.  You also have download the app, which is free, and you should be using anyways, if you're a runner!  I'll probably put my Sunday run miles towards it and be done, but you have the option of extending, doing some shorter runs that equal a 10K, as long as you're done before May 13.
Well that seems to be everything of importance this week.  Here are two more routes for you, and a picture of the t-shirt I got from the b positive project, which is a local company that you should check out.  Enjoy!

yes, I took a selfie in my bedroom, after a run. Judgement free zone people!