Apparently next Wednesday is the last Lynn Woods Run of the season. What AM I going to do with my Wednesday nights now? Extra boxing? A new running club? The possibilities are endless. It's a little sad though, I'll miss the weekly woods runs and all the people around. Being part of a group is a nice feeling, even if you never talk to anyone outside of your little circle.
Marathon training is still going strong. There's a half on Saturday in Salem that I am most likely running. Someone from the woods club had a number that they can't use anymore, so if that works out, I'll be running bright and early Saturday. At least this time, I can aim for a PR and actually have a goal in mind that I know is do-able. If you remember my last sanctioned half, I was pretty nervous, and mostly unsure that I could ever finish it in under 2 hours. I'm still not sure if I can finish in under 2 hours, but I like my chances, as long as the weather stays cool and I take tomorrow as a rest day.
My week has been super busy with workouts, so I'm pretty excited for a rest day. I've been running or boxing since Sunday, which is not that fun, if you can believe it. Not much else to update about right now, everything is still chugging along nicely. Oh wait, I know, one more thing. Tonight I tried spaghetti squash for the first time and I was pleasantly surprised. What I was expecting was a gross mash of squash that tasted like regular old winter squash, but what it was, was so much more. At first, it was a bit of struggle to get over the crunchy-ness of the spaghetti threads, but after that, I actually enjoyed it. I'd eat it again if I had to.
Showing posts with label half-marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label half-marathon. Show all posts
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Back at it
Another long run is in the books. A real long run too, none of this 10 mile weenie crap. Sorry, that was uncalled for, and after this marathon, 10 miles will go back to being a long run, so don't be offended. I will regret that statement in due time, I'm sure of it. Tonight we did 14, following a familiar route. We started at Tides in Nahant, ran down the beach, through Swampscott, into Marblehead, and then turned around and looped back through Swampscott to Tides again. Since we went at 5 pm we got to enjoy an awesome sunset over the ocean and a lot of cool air. Fall running really must be the best. The air is perfect, the weather is fantastic, and soon enough, there will be awesome Halloween decorations out everywhere. Salem might be a bit too crowded for running, but it would be some great scenery.
I don't have many runs planned before the marathon actually. Just the Electric Run at Gillette Stadium the first weekend in October and the last few Lynn Woods Runs. There is a 15K or 5K for the running club, but I don't really want to risk that so close to the marathon. It's 2 weeks before, and with my luck, I'd break something running through the woods. Plus, from the sound of it, the 15K is a bunch of loops through the woods, which sounds awful because that's a lot of hills. Most likely, I'll stick to long run Sundays and boxing for endurance. Then, after the marathon, I can go back to running for fun, which I am really looking forward too.
Oh, one more thing, I made it through Once Upon a Time season 2 (in record time) and I'm pumped for season 3. And yes, I know the town was frozen for 28 years, but I still don't buy the Snow White, Prince Charming, Emma Swan family thing. It just doesn't fit with me. However, I do love Mr. Gold. My worry is that they're going to turn Peter Pan into something awful and he's one of my FAVORITE story characters, so I really hope they don't. Lastly, I feel like they could have held off on a spin-off for a few, but whatever.
Here's the route we ran tonight. We had a great time without all the humidity, it was the 3rd fastest half marathon I've ever run. The fastest still stands as the Run to Remember at 2:01. All of my running buddies have big races next weekend, so I'm on my own for that I guess. Two of them are running a half in Salem and the other two are doing the Spartan beast, which is just crazy.
I don't have many runs planned before the marathon actually. Just the Electric Run at Gillette Stadium the first weekend in October and the last few Lynn Woods Runs. There is a 15K or 5K for the running club, but I don't really want to risk that so close to the marathon. It's 2 weeks before, and with my luck, I'd break something running through the woods. Plus, from the sound of it, the 15K is a bunch of loops through the woods, which sounds awful because that's a lot of hills. Most likely, I'll stick to long run Sundays and boxing for endurance. Then, after the marathon, I can go back to running for fun, which I am really looking forward too.
Oh, one more thing, I made it through Once Upon a Time season 2 (in record time) and I'm pumped for season 3. And yes, I know the town was frozen for 28 years, but I still don't buy the Snow White, Prince Charming, Emma Swan family thing. It just doesn't fit with me. However, I do love Mr. Gold. My worry is that they're going to turn Peter Pan into something awful and he's one of my FAVORITE story characters, so I really hope they don't. Lastly, I feel like they could have held off on a spin-off for a few, but whatever.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Rad Marathon Training
I've been so busy being RAD and doing summer activities that I've been slacking on the blog again. When I say being RAD, I'm not being full of myself, I'm merely referencing the Color Me Rad run I did this past weekend. Last year I did the Color Run, which was basically the same race. The only difference, besides location, was the efficiency of the race. Last year, the parking for the race was far enough away that people needed to be bused to and from the parking lot. Unfortunately, there was a major accident on 495 that day, which ended up holding up traffic for hours. A lot of people spent more time waiting for the bus than they did running the race, myself included. So while the race was fun, I wasn't really interested in going back to that particular course again. Color Me Rad was in Brockton and there were no parking or traffic issues. We got in, we ran, had some fun, and left. Since we ran as a team, and every team needs a theme, we decided to run as Jem and the Holograms. I must say, we looked fantastic. People were hating all over the place. We started off nice and clean but by the end, we were hardly recognizable. It was a good time though and I'd definitely do it again next year.
Marathon training is coming along. I don't really know if it's going great, or terribly. We did 13.1 last night, just over 2 hours, but I wasn't too happy by the end. My entire lower body was sore. I honestly had a moment of panic in wondering how I can possibly run another 13.1 after that, when I felt like I couldn't possibly take another step at the end. Today, in an effort to get used to running on tired legs, I went out for a 6 mile run. But I went at 1 pm, which was possibly the worst choice, as the weather was hot and humid, and the sun was out. Nevertheless, I made it 5 before I decided it was best if I walked the final mile. The 5 took me about 44 minutes. Not bad I suppose. Next weekend our long run ups to 15, so I need to mentally prepare for that. I think I also need to figure out a fuel for the middle of the run. The sports beans are good, but I feel like they're not cutting it for what I need. Burning sugar and carbs isn't going to be enough. I need to be able to sustain the muscle power for the other half. So any suggestions on that would be helpful.
The Wednesday night runs are still going strong. We've taken to having a little party in the parking lot afterwards, usually margs and chips. Don't knock it til you try it, it's fun, cheap, and a nice way to see everyone for a little bit. Ryan also bought me a Garmin Forerunner 10 GPS watch. I'm pretty pumped about it, because I was getting sick of using my phone for everything. I knew I'd need something for the marathon anyways, because I didn't want to use my phone and drain the battery. I'd prefer to have the battery at least halfway charged, in case of emergency. I love the watch and it's been great, but I did notice that I've already started a new habit that I need to break. When I know I'm getting close to the last mile, I can't help but keep looking at the watch every few seconds and watching the time tick away. That's going to make everything seem so much harder, so I really need to stop. If you want to view my new routes, you can check me out on Garmin connect, awwie15. Now you're all caught up, so here are some pics. Enjoy.
Marathon training is coming along. I don't really know if it's going great, or terribly. We did 13.1 last night, just over 2 hours, but I wasn't too happy by the end. My entire lower body was sore. I honestly had a moment of panic in wondering how I can possibly run another 13.1 after that, when I felt like I couldn't possibly take another step at the end. Today, in an effort to get used to running on tired legs, I went out for a 6 mile run. But I went at 1 pm, which was possibly the worst choice, as the weather was hot and humid, and the sun was out. Nevertheless, I made it 5 before I decided it was best if I walked the final mile. The 5 took me about 44 minutes. Not bad I suppose. Next weekend our long run ups to 15, so I need to mentally prepare for that. I think I also need to figure out a fuel for the middle of the run. The sports beans are good, but I feel like they're not cutting it for what I need. Burning sugar and carbs isn't going to be enough. I need to be able to sustain the muscle power for the other half. So any suggestions on that would be helpful.
The Wednesday night runs are still going strong. We've taken to having a little party in the parking lot afterwards, usually margs and chips. Don't knock it til you try it, it's fun, cheap, and a nice way to see everyone for a little bit. Ryan also bought me a Garmin Forerunner 10 GPS watch. I'm pretty pumped about it, because I was getting sick of using my phone for everything. I knew I'd need something for the marathon anyways, because I didn't want to use my phone and drain the battery. I'd prefer to have the battery at least halfway charged, in case of emergency. I love the watch and it's been great, but I did notice that I've already started a new habit that I need to break. When I know I'm getting close to the last mile, I can't help but keep looking at the watch every few seconds and watching the time tick away. That's going to make everything seem so much harder, so I really need to stop. If you want to view my new routes, you can check me out on Garmin connect, awwie15. Now you're all caught up, so here are some pics. Enjoy.
Wednesday nigh parking lot party
Enjoying our parking lot party
Before. So clean
Porta-potty shot, a race pre-req.
After
I was caught mid-color bombing!
Sunday, May 26, 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Halfsies
As of 5:30 pm today I am officially registered for a half marathon. I'm still on the fence about being excited for it. The farthest I've gone so far is still the 9 miles back in February. Sure, I've increased some of my weekly runs to be 5 or 6 miles, but mostly I've still been sticking to 5ks. But on May 26, 2013, like it or not, I will be running a half marathon through Boston.
Registration for the Disney Marathon opened up today too and I really want to register. The problem with that is being able to make it down there next year. Plane tickets can be expensive, plus the stay in Disney. This is one that I have to think about and really consider, but I REALLY want to run it.
I've also signed up for the Color me Rad, coming to Massachusetts in July. I did the Color Run last year and it was fun, so I'm pretty excited for this one. I think that's about it for races I've signed up for recently. Other than that I've just been running the Will Run for Beer Series and working on improving my time. I really wanted to get it down under a 27, even if it was just a little bit down. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do that yet. I ran on Sunday and I felt like I was going along great, but the finish line time told me differently. Yesterday I did some speed training at the beach, but it actually increased my time overall....WTF? While I was at the beach though, I did happen to see the new David O. Russell film being made. It was a star-filled afternoon, I'm pretty positive that Christian Bale was there, and I know Bradley Cooper was. I wasn't expecting to run into a movie set so that was pretty neat.
Since the weather is getting nicer, which means no more pockets :(, I've been looking for something to wear while running to hold my stuff. Usually I need something to hold my phone, some gum or energy beans, and keys. I found a running belt pack at Olympia Sports so I bought that, but after seeing pictures of it, I'm not sure I want to keep wearing it! It looks like I'm wearing a fanny pack!!! Embarrassing. I'm going to continue using it for now though, and just keep an eye out for something smaller but just as functional. I'll leave you with a picture so you can see what I mean.
Registration for the Disney Marathon opened up today too and I really want to register. The problem with that is being able to make it down there next year. Plane tickets can be expensive, plus the stay in Disney. This is one that I have to think about and really consider, but I REALLY want to run it.
I've also signed up for the Color me Rad, coming to Massachusetts in July. I did the Color Run last year and it was fun, so I'm pretty excited for this one. I think that's about it for races I've signed up for recently. Other than that I've just been running the Will Run for Beer Series and working on improving my time. I really wanted to get it down under a 27, even if it was just a little bit down. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do that yet. I ran on Sunday and I felt like I was going along great, but the finish line time told me differently. Yesterday I did some speed training at the beach, but it actually increased my time overall....WTF? While I was at the beach though, I did happen to see the new David O. Russell film being made. It was a star-filled afternoon, I'm pretty positive that Christian Bale was there, and I know Bradley Cooper was. I wasn't expecting to run into a movie set so that was pretty neat.
Since the weather is getting nicer, which means no more pockets :(, I've been looking for something to wear while running to hold my stuff. Usually I need something to hold my phone, some gum or energy beans, and keys. I found a running belt pack at Olympia Sports so I bought that, but after seeing pictures of it, I'm not sure I want to keep wearing it! It looks like I'm wearing a fanny pack!!! Embarrassing. I'm going to continue using it for now though, and just keep an eye out for something smaller but just as functional. I'll leave you with a picture so you can see what I mean.
Seriously...basically a fanny pack. It didn't help that I was loaded down with chili, free waters, and a t-shirt. This is post-race as we were check our results.
This is just a good picture.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Good Friday
Even though this day is titled for a religious holiday, it just fits so perfectly. I'm not sure what it was about the past few weeks at work; partly MCAS messing up schedules and partly snow days but by today I really need tomorrow off. I realized this today when I was walking the dogs and some middle schoolers started yelling things at the dogs. You know how middle schoolers are, they're tougher than the world, so of course they thought it was hilarious. It was the moment when I was getting really irritated that I realized it was definitely time for a break. One of the first rules of teaching is to NEVER let what the students say get to you. These kids weren't even my students and I was letting it get to me. If you're not a teacher, you can't possibly understand this, and may even be sitting there thinking how lucky I am to have days off like this, stop complaining....I know, I've heard it all, and I'm not up for defending my job to anyone at the moment. So if you haven't done it or can't understand it, just move on.
Alright, now that I've gotten that out of my system, let's carry on, shall we? Last night I went for a nice 5/6 mile run with some friends. There were four of us and it worked out nicely as two were super speedy and myself and the other girl managed to keep pace with each other. All of our timers and speed calculators had different times, paces, and mileage, which, considering we all started at the same time and ran the same route, made no sense. That's why I'm calling it 5/6. I know it was somewhere between the two. Definitely more than 5, maybe exactly 6, maybe a little less. I don't know for sure though. I didn't feel too bad though, which I was happy with. I think I've figured out the key to successful running. Coffee and BelVita a half-hour or so before the run. The BelVita gives me the exact amount of energy I need to start off, without feeling like I'm loaded up on food or going to puke. Basically, everything you could ask for. The run was a nice course through Beverly, not totally flat, but not too hilly. Plus the weather was lovely. I think I'll be running that one more often. Here's a Charity Miles shot, but I forgot to start this at the same time as the other running app, so there's a bit of a gap from where I started running to where I started recording.
Tonight I purchased a new pair of running shoes from Bobs. I had a gift card, so they ended up only costing me $13. Sweet deal. I'm hoping that I like them as much as I like the ClimaWarms. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I realized that my knee problem was coming from wearing my super light climacool shoes, so I had to give them up for running. I've been looking for a pair of shoes with some more support, but without the huge price tag. So these new shoes are Adidas, but they're the Clima Aerate, which is what my ClimaWarms are, so they have a little bit more cushioning on the sole. Did I mention they were only $13? I think these will be good, though I may consider some running insoles as well. I saw a pair while I was shoe shopping, but I decided to give the shoes a try on their own first. We'll see where that takes me. I also found a great pair of running capris, but they were bright pink and slightly see-through, so I passed over them as well. At home I tried to find them online in a different color, but of course, because I really wanted them, they don't exist in my size. LAME!
Here are the shoes (or very close to the shoes) that I bought.
To wrap it all up, I just had a conversation about running a half in May. The plan is to sign up next week, so it looks like that might actually be happening. All I have to say to that is, ULP. This always seems like a good idea until the time comes to do it. Then, it never seems like a good idea.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Truck Day
Not really a day at all, but sort of a big deal here in Boston, which is actually kind of silly. If you're not from around here, truck day is the day when all the trucks pick up the equipment from Fenway and bring it down to Fort Meyers to start Spring Training. I honestly don't know why it's such a big deal here actually. I think it used to be that it signified the start of a new season, which meant renewed hope to win the World Series. But now that we've won two in the past ten years, I don't think it should be such a big deal. Then again, with everything that went on last year, any new start is a good thing for the Sox. I will admit, I'm pretty excited for baseball to start again. Last year I was pretty unimpressed with everything that was going on with the Red Sox. Many of the players were acting like idiots, (not the lovable Millar idiots either), and everything that went wrong was blamed on Valentine, which I felt was unfair. After all, he inherited a team that was falling apart, he couldn't be expected to rebuild it in one season! I think the general feeling around Boston last year was that the Sox were digging their own grave. I know you're not supposed to say that about your team, but when the team is acting foolish, sometimes you have to.
This year though, I am excited for the season to start. They have a new manager, a former bench coach who worked with Francona, and some new players to freshen up the team. I think reading Francona's book helped bring the spirit back too. It was nice to get an inside (although biased I'm sure) point of view about the 2004 - 2012 seasons. Now, Ryan moved here after the Sox won the World Series in 04 and he has always told me that Sox fans are the most annoying sports fans ever. Generally I don't agree with him on issues about Boston sports fans, but the more I paid attention to the behavior of the fans in Boston, the more I had to agree. Many Sox fans are extremely arrogant, rude, and let's face it, way to full of themselves. I'll probably be shunned for this, but I think they may be equal to Yankees fans at this point. In fact, I think Francona said it best when he said "The Red Sox were no longer the little engine that could. They were not lovable losers. They were not Cub-like. Their fans were not needy. Hubris and arrogance became the trademarks of the Boston baseball fan". You can argue about this all day long, but the fact is, when people, including the sports writers and team managers are noticing it, there is a problem.
So hopefully this year will be different. If not, then maybe the fans and the players do need to take a good look around and realize that winning two World Series does not make you a God.
Believe it or not, I did not come here to write about the Red Sox, but once I got started it kind of got away from me. Originally I wanted to write about my next big running venture and my follow up from Sunday. If i I didn't already say it, I think my next big race is going to be a half-marathon. There's one in Newburyport in May and I think I'm doing it. I read the description and it's a flat course, which is really the only important part of the description. I'll be running 5/10Ks in the mean time, but I think that will be my next BIG event.
It's funny though, what happens when you start running longer distances. When I started, 13.1 miles seemed like an insane amount of space to cover. Who runs 13.1 miles anyways??? But, that was back when I could barely run 3 miles without feeling like I was about to die. Now though, after running 9, 13.1 doesn't seem so long. After all, it's only a few extra miles right? That's the funny thing about running. Once you start, it is easier to keep going longer and faster. When we all started running together, it took us roughly 50 minutes to run the 3 miles around Wakefield. I think, aside from Cynthia, none of us had any intentions of running anything more than a 5K. Yet, here we are, 3 months later, and I'm actually planning on running a half-marathon. And you know what else? Running those 3 miles now is a piece of cake. Suddenly it seems silly to ever say, I don't have time, when really, all I need is 30 minutes to get in a short run. It's strange enough to think that 3 miles now is a short run to me. A lot of people say this, but I really can't wait for the warmer weather so I can run along the beach. It would be nice to run from here to the Willows, but since it still gets dark so early here, it's still not doable. Soon though!
One more thought before I go. I've been on Twitter lately, but I just can't get into it. However, I have noticed that a lot of people use it to attempt to talk to celebrities. It must be so strange to be a person being bombarded by awkward pictures and messages all day long. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this thought, it just seems really odd to me, that's all. I have no great pictures for you today, so here's a picture (or 2) of Jacoby Ellsbury, in honor of truck day. (And before I get attacked for violating internet copyrights or whatnot, yes, I took one of these pictures from a website. Here's a hint. It's not the one of his back.)
This year though, I am excited for the season to start. They have a new manager, a former bench coach who worked with Francona, and some new players to freshen up the team. I think reading Francona's book helped bring the spirit back too. It was nice to get an inside (although biased I'm sure) point of view about the 2004 - 2012 seasons. Now, Ryan moved here after the Sox won the World Series in 04 and he has always told me that Sox fans are the most annoying sports fans ever. Generally I don't agree with him on issues about Boston sports fans, but the more I paid attention to the behavior of the fans in Boston, the more I had to agree. Many Sox fans are extremely arrogant, rude, and let's face it, way to full of themselves. I'll probably be shunned for this, but I think they may be equal to Yankees fans at this point. In fact, I think Francona said it best when he said "The Red Sox were no longer the little engine that could. They were not lovable losers. They were not Cub-like. Their fans were not needy. Hubris and arrogance became the trademarks of the Boston baseball fan". You can argue about this all day long, but the fact is, when people, including the sports writers and team managers are noticing it, there is a problem.
So hopefully this year will be different. If not, then maybe the fans and the players do need to take a good look around and realize that winning two World Series does not make you a God.
Believe it or not, I did not come here to write about the Red Sox, but once I got started it kind of got away from me. Originally I wanted to write about my next big running venture and my follow up from Sunday. If i I didn't already say it, I think my next big race is going to be a half-marathon. There's one in Newburyport in May and I think I'm doing it. I read the description and it's a flat course, which is really the only important part of the description. I'll be running 5/10Ks in the mean time, but I think that will be my next BIG event.
It's funny though, what happens when you start running longer distances. When I started, 13.1 miles seemed like an insane amount of space to cover. Who runs 13.1 miles anyways??? But, that was back when I could barely run 3 miles without feeling like I was about to die. Now though, after running 9, 13.1 doesn't seem so long. After all, it's only a few extra miles right? That's the funny thing about running. Once you start, it is easier to keep going longer and faster. When we all started running together, it took us roughly 50 minutes to run the 3 miles around Wakefield. I think, aside from Cynthia, none of us had any intentions of running anything more than a 5K. Yet, here we are, 3 months later, and I'm actually planning on running a half-marathon. And you know what else? Running those 3 miles now is a piece of cake. Suddenly it seems silly to ever say, I don't have time, when really, all I need is 30 minutes to get in a short run. It's strange enough to think that 3 miles now is a short run to me. A lot of people say this, but I really can't wait for the warmer weather so I can run along the beach. It would be nice to run from here to the Willows, but since it still gets dark so early here, it's still not doable. Soon though!
One more thought before I go. I've been on Twitter lately, but I just can't get into it. However, I have noticed that a lot of people use it to attempt to talk to celebrities. It must be so strange to be a person being bombarded by awkward pictures and messages all day long. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this thought, it just seems really odd to me, that's all. I have no great pictures for you today, so here's a picture (or 2) of Jacoby Ellsbury, in honor of truck day. (And before I get attacked for violating internet copyrights or whatnot, yes, I took one of these pictures from a website. Here's a hint. It's not the one of his back.)
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| This is clearly an old picture, he has since changed his number, but that's him, 46. |
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