In the endddddddddddddddd, it doesn't even matter

There's a throwback for you.  If you know the song, I'm sorry if it's now stuck in your head.  So, as I mentioned, Adidas was giving away a free entry into Boston.  I don't know how they decided who got it, or how they even contacted that person.  Today though, a retweet showed up from some girl in West Virginia, about how she's excited to run Boston thanks to Adidas.  I guess that's it then.  I mean, it's March 4, just over a month before the marathon.  The BAA is being super strict about bandit runners and non-registered people running, which is understandable, given the events of last year.  As much as I hate to say this, I might have to just let it go.  There's no charity team to get in on, no way for a bib this late in the game, as far as I know.  I've tried every outlet, knowing I wouldn't have the time required to BQ.  It just didn't happen.  You know, I'm sure there are 100s of people out there who would like to run Boston this year.  Maybe they have good reasons, maybe not.  Though I imagine that most serious runners have already found a way in.  Like I said last time, there are a hundred reasons I want to run Boston this year.  Unfortunately, I think I have to just face the truth and move on.  With disappointment in my heart and lead in my feet....

March...EEEK!

Thankfully February is OVER.  See ya later Feb.  What a month.  Seriously, filled with snowstorms, wind chills, and a lot of not running.  I'm glad to be out of it.  Now, onward to March.  Hopefully the weather warms up...a lot.  I'm particularly tired of trying to run outside and having to dodge snowbanks, ice patches, and winter in general.  Seeing grass and sidewalk again is an exciting prospect.
Along with the *hopefully* melting snow, we're also basically at the two month countdown to the big wedding day.  Tomorrow is officially two months, but who knows if I'll have time to update this then, so we'll just call it today.  The other elephant in the room right now is the Boston Marathon.  It's coming up next month and I STILL don't have an entry.  Believe me, I've been trying.  I attempted every charity who had spots open with no avail.  Adidas running has a free entry their giving away, all you have to do is tweet why you want to run.  You better believe I did that.  My problem there is that I can't possibly fit into 140 characters all the reasons I NEED to run Boston this year.  There's just too many.  In no particular order, here are a few.  1) Because of last year.  2) It's Boston, it's the dream. 3) BOTH of my running partners are running it and it's likely the only chance I'll ever have to run it with them.  4.) It would be the 3rd marathon in 6 months.  How amazing would it be to have that accomplishment in my life.  In short, there are 100s of reasons why I want to run Boston, if only I could have the chance!  Plus, anyone who reads this knows my love of Adidas running gear goes deep, it seems only fitting that I would be able to run under the Adidas spot.  Seriously, it's a match made in heaven.  If only Adidas knew that.
On another note, we went for a 10 mile run today, because yes, I'm still training for it, even if I'm not in it yet.  I'm trying to upload my Garmin info and it's taking forever.  What the heck is up Garmin?  I've had to download extensions, re-work all sorts of info, and I still can't get my watch to upload.  I miss the old site, where you plugged in your watch and it uploaded.  None of this Garmin Express nonsense.  In an effort to make this all easier, I connected it to my Google + account.   Turns out, it didn't make it any easier at all.  Seriously, these updates are taking forever.  I just wanted to see my splits!  Sure, they're going to be slower than usual, but that's because we run pregnancy pace now, to stay with Cynthia.  But I still want to see them.  Sheesh Garmin. Get it together.

Hyannis

After two months of fairly solid not running, today I ran the Hyannis Half.  We were signed up for the full, but not one of us felt like going that far, so we stuck to the half.  I was very impressed with myself overall, considering I haven't done any race training in a while.  I've been boxing/kickboxing, but no actual training.   Obviously the core and endurance work from boxing pays off though.  I was able to finish the half in 2:10. Only 5 minutes behind my actual training time.  Of course I've had some much better PRs, but 2:10 for a half marathon with little to no running beforehand is pretty damn good.  Right at the finish, Murdock told me to go ahead, and then he decided to sprint his way up anyways.  I was determined to beat him, even by half a second.  These are our results.
2035 376/555 F1829 2:11:47 2:10:14 9:56 Allison Runyan       29 F   371 Lynn MA                                                                

2036 218/256  M3039 2:11:47 2:10:14  9:56 Murdock Smith      32 M   394 Manchester MA

As you can see, I did not manage to beat him.  We tied.  It was a nice course though, very typical Cape Cod.  We met some random people on the course that ran Philly and MCM, so we had some conversation to carry us through the last few miles, which was key.  I really did enjoy the half, even though now everything hurts.  The lesson I learned from this is, even if you CAN run a half without much training, the muscle aches afterwards probably aren't worth it.  Maybe keep up the training this time around.  The medals for the race were really nice and the food afterwards was great.  They offered soup from the 99 and hot chocolate, coffee, and donuts from Dunkin.  Seriously the best race food I've had so far.  On the downside, the t-shirts are cotton, not tech, so that's no fun.  At least it's a good bed shirt, if it's not going to be used for running/working out.  

Aside from the running, we had a nice overnight at the Cape.  We ate dinner at the Yarmouth House and then went to bed.  So maybe not a crazy nice weekend, but we enjoyed dinner.  Ryan and I also had our cake tasting yesterday and decided on our cake, so that was exciting.  Today we were going to pick up the suits that we didn't pick up on Friday.  Turns out, the lady I gave all the info to at Jos. A. Bank two weeks ago, got basically everything wrong.  Out of the four suits we needed, only one was correct.  And it was the only one that was in store.  Everything else had to be ordered.  So out of the three suits that were ordered, all were ordered wrong.  I felt bad for the guy working today, because he had to redo the entire order, but I was also super annoyed.  I couldn't believe someone could screw up so poorly.  How do you get THREE suits wrong, even after we went over the measurements twice?  On top of that, two of the suits were a different style.  I'm glad the man working there today was able to fix it, but it was super annoying.  

Besides the suits though, the wedding stuff is coming along fine.  Which is good, considering we're only about 2 months out at this point.    Anyways, here's a post race picture to enjoy.

Oooohhhh...

I just looked and saw the last time I wrote anything was actually one month ago.  Sorry friends.  I know you've probably been checking everyday just in case something new pops up and I apologize for making you wait this long.  Unfortunately for you, I have nothing exciting to tell you.  So I guess I'll just fill you in on some random pieces of what I've been doing.
Currently: I am watching the Beatles Grammy show and thinking about Ringo has surpassed Paul in the looks department.  Also, how weird is it to be singing your own songs, with half of your band missing.  Plus, what REALLY happened with John and the rest of the band?  Finally, if you say the Beatles are overrated, you're lying.  You can't overrate great music.  It would be like saying Pink Flloyd is overrated. Just because they were/are popular, doesn't make them overrated.

Recently: We went to Texas for Brittany's law school graduation.  Way to go Brittany!  I went for a short-ish run a week or two ago outside, but forgot my garmin, so that was sad.  More recently than that run, I went for 3 miles on the treadmill at the hotel last weekend and it was AWFUL.  I just can not run like that.  Even with a tv on the treadmill, I was so bored.  Running without scenery and not going anywhere is just no fun for me.  Some people love the treadmill, but I am not one of them.  While we were in Texas, a friend of mine had her first baby.  That was an exciting text to get.  I have yet to meet him, but he's adorable in all the pictures I've seen so far.  I've been keeping up the boxing and trying to get in at least three times a week.  My only problem with the boxing is that I feel like it has somehow gotten HARDER than it used to be.  That makes zero sense, but there you are.   However, the other day, a new member stopped me after class and told me that I was so good at it that she was watching me to get motivated.  That was a pump up moment for me.

Wedding: I feel like I've been blowing through this wedding planning lately.  I've sent out all the invites, I have the table numbers done, I purchased favors, and just bought suits yesterday.  A few weeks ago I picked out flowers, we've had our tasting, and our cake appointment is scheduled for next weekend.  I'm sure there's still a ton left to do, but it feels like almost everything is covered.  Mostly it's just alterations, gifts, and figuring out what to do with out of towners before/after the big day.

School: Lots of tests.  Lots of snow days.  Next week is vacation, which is weird, but whatever.  

Alright, you're all caught up now.  Here are some pictures of nothing.

Valentine's Day gift for Ryan.  Us in snowman form.  So romantic.

I asked for a sangria, I got this Sangrita monstrosity.

Only in Texas.

Groundhog day Punchbowl Party

Student notes

Sunset in motion

Waffle sandwiches and an elephant mug

Keep on running

I'll admit it, I haven't been running in a while.  A month, to be exact.  I know, I know, what the heck am I thinking?  Well, mostly, I've been thinking, I have no races coming up, what's the point?  Yes, that's a poor mindset, but that's just how it goes.  It's not as if I've been sitting dormant either.  I've still been going to boxing, even through Christmas break, so I've basically been keeping up with fitness, just in a different way.  The weather lately hasn't been great either, and really, who wants to go running in a polar vortex?  Ok, so some people do, but I certainly don't.  So, I didn't.  Today though, the weather was amazing.  A nice 50 degree day in January, you really can't ask for anything better than that.  So, after a month long hiatus, I laced up my running shoes and hit the beach.  I took Stella with me, because she looked like she could use a good run.  We went for a nice 5 miler up through Nahant and back down again.  At first, I was a little concerned that I had made a bad choice.  The wind heading up to Nahant was kind of fierce, even if it was 50 degrees.  But eventually I got used to it, and once Stella got her business done, we really got into our groove again.  My first mile was a 10:10 pace.  By mile 4 we were back down to 9:18, right around my marathon/training pace.  I know that I wouldn't be anywhere near that if I had skipped a month of running and DIDN'T do any cross-training (boxing), but thankfully, I was able to get right back where I started from.
So, there's thing thing going around the social networks called 100 happy days.  The basic point is that you're supposed to take a picture of something that makes you happy, one a day, for 100 days.  Supposedly, people that do this start to notice more about their surroundings and are just generally happier people.  I've been participating on Twitter, just because I liked the idea.  I think it's a bit tough to do the picture thing every day though, simply because there are some things that you just CAN'T capture in a picture.  For example, the smell of the ocean air when you haven't been to the beach in a while, or the way the sunset looks over Boston.  Sure, you can try to get a picture of the sunset, but it never comes out as amazing as it looks in real life, especially on a phone camera.  But, I've been finding other pictures to take the place of non-capturable moments that make me happy.  On my run today, try as I might, I couldn't possibly capture just ONE moment. The entire run made me happy.  Stella was having a good time, the sunset was beautiful, I loved being on the beach, and I loved running again.  I took pictures to use, but there was just so much more to it today, that I can never capture.  Maybe that's the point though.  In looking for a picture, I noticed so much MORE than the picture.  For a moment, I was able to look around and take in everything, including the (real or imagined) joy I saw on Stella as her ears blew in the wind and she ran happily beside me.  Since I couldn't pick just one image, I made a collage of our whole run.  By the way, if you aren't using Picasa for your photos, you are missing out.  That program is amazing. So, here's a collage of all the things that made me happy today.  None of these pictures do the sunset justice, but there you have it.  Day 9 of 100 happy days.

And now for something completely different.  (I've decided to adopt this as my own, thanks Monty Python!)
I've been looking around for a better body wash/face cleanser.  My skin isn't overly oily or anything, but I felt like the regular Dove Bodywash was actually giving me acne, which I didn't appreciate.  So, I went on a search for a product that a. cleaned well and b. smelled good.  Luckily, I found these two amazing products.
Neutrogena's Body Clear Body Scrub, which smells lovely AND scrubs clean.  I can already see a total difference and I'm positive that it works far better after a workout, than the regular Dove did. Sorry Dove, but for intense cleaning after intense sweating, I'm all about this scrub now.  Hopefully I don't regret this post in a week or two.

My other amazing product is the Biore Charcoal face cleanser.  I just read someone else's review and she hated it, but personally, I love it.  Once again, it smells awesome and it really seems to work.  My face seems so much softer and clearer than it was two weeks ago.  But, then again, like I said, I don't have overly oily skin, so I'm not sure it would work for everyone. Just thought I'd share this little review, you know, in case you're in the market for some new body wash/face cleanser.

But dreams come slow, and they go so fast

I'll say this about the One Fund, they are efficient.  They said they would decide on a Boston Marathon team by January 10, and they did.  If you can't guess, I didn't make the cut.  But you know what, I'm mostly ok with that.  I think if I had, I would have had to turn it down anyways!  Thinking about it logically, it's $325 for the bib alone.  Then I would have had to go find a way to raise $8500.  Assuming that I didn't raise the full amount, I would have to pony up whatever I didn't manage to raise.  Considering the fact that I'm not sure I could raise $4000, let alone $8500, I'm sort of relieved I don't have to worry about that.  There's no way I could have paid that extra money, in any amount of time.
 (Sidebar: Thomas is a HUGE jerk.  I thought maybe the writers would have made him less of a jerk after the end of last season, but nope, carrying on in his terrible ways.  I would be ok if he left Downton for good.)
Anyways, so, all in all, I'm more relieved that I didn't get accepted, than I am disappointed.  Actually, I am in no way disappointed, just relieved, so I guess that right there tells me that I shouldn't have even bothered to apply for the team.  Live and learn.
And now for something completely different!
I feel accomplished in the way of wedding planning, for the first time in a long time.  I finished up our table numbers and they look awesome.  Using an idea from Pinterest, I up-cycled someone else's old numbers.  Today I also finished all the invites for the out of town guests, so I'm going to mail those this weekend.  I know it's a bit early, but I need counts for ceremony attendees.  Right now, I feel like the biggest problem I'm facing is the veil and undergarments.  I don't know much (ok, anything) about petticoats.  Plus, I haven't even looked at my dress since I bought it in July, except for the occasional picture.
Aside from that, sometimes I really feel like I relate to all the wrong fictional characters.  Scarlett O'Hara reminds me of myself all the time, and I tend to feel like I act much like Lady Mary in Downton Abbey as well.  That's not right! You're supposed to relate to the happy, friendly, bubbly characters to everyone loves, not the stubborn, pig-headed, grumpy characters.  I've been doing the 100 Happy Days challenge on Twitter, so maybe by the end of that, I'll find myself relating to a new group.  Who knows!

I want to be a part of it, New York, New York!

This Christmas, as a throwback to our first Christmas together, Ryan and I went to New York City for the night.  The first time, we went down on Christmas day and spent the day looking around at all the Christmas decorations in the city.  It was nice because, being Christmas day, there were no crowds anywhere, including the ice rink at 30 Rock.  Even if we didn't go skating, it was nice to be able to look down and see the whole thing unhindered.  This year, we went down on Christmas Eve day and spent Christmas Eve/Christmas morning in NYC.  Unlike the year we went on Christmas day, on Christmas Eve night, NYC is PACKED.  At least, midtown is.  Where we stayed, at the Gem Hotel, down by 1st and 2nd, there was essentially no holiday cheer and you couldn't really even tell it was Christmas.  But, you could see Katz's deli from the hotel, so it all evened out for us.
Of course the first stop once we arrived was Katz's.  You really should get a sandwich from Katz's at least once in your life, if you can.  The pastrami is AMAZING. Buuut since the last time we went, last November,  I got a pastrami sandwich, I figured this time I would get a corned beef sandwich.  Bad choice.  Not that the corned beef was bad, it's just that the pastrami was better.  Lesson learned there. Next year, it's back to pastrami for me.  I will make a sandwich trip to NYC a yearly tradition, I'm 100% certain Ryan will have no arguments on that.  As a fair warning though, the sandwiches are a biiiiiiiiit expensive.  Worth it, but expensive, and they are cash only.  So, take heed before you go in.  To be safe, if two people are eating, bring at least $50 in cash.  Obviously more if there are more of you eating.  Then again, if you're not big into eating piles of meat, you can share one sandwich between two people and safe yourself a bit of money there.  Enough about the sandwiches though, I know you're DYING to know about the Christmas displays.
First, we decided to walk from the hotel to midtown, because, well, why not?  It was only 3 miles and, in the words of Ryan, "if you can run a marathon, you can walk 3 miles."  Point taken, so we did.  The walk wasn't so bad actually, even if it was a little chilly.  On the way we saw the Empire State building all lit up red and green, but I didn't take any pictures of that.  Sorry.  When we got up to all the good stuff, we checked out window displays and 30 Rock.  I really like the Lord and Taylor's window display, even though I didn't get any pictures of that either.  They had different scenes made out of cardboard cutouts, totally vintage and totally cute.  Bergdorf Goodman's display was all the different seasons, which was really neat.  Saks had a story of a Yeti, (apparently it's a thing), and a video that was projected on the side of the building every 4 minutes.  Rockefeller center was amazing, as usual, but so crowded we only stayed long enough to get across the plaza.  It was seriously over-packed.  Then on the way back to the hotel, we trekked through Times Square and stopped by Macy's to check out their display.
The next morning, we went to breakfast at a little bakery that happened to be open.  The food was nothing exciting, but we did get some red velvet cupcakes to go, which ended up being delicious.  We left the city around 10 am on Christmas day in order to get home and eat dinner with the family.  We unwrapped our gifts and wrapped up the night by watching Love, Actually.  Overall a great trip to NYC and a great Christmas.
If you were wondering what I got, don't worry, I'll fill you in now. If you're expecting me to tell you all about the new running gear I got, you're going to be highly disappointed, as I got 0 in the way of running anything.  Believe me when I say that's quite alright though.  Ryan got me an amazing bracelet and necklace set that I absolutely love.  I was really surprised by the gifts too, as I wasn't expecting jewelry of any sort.  The only thing I said I wanted for Christmas was a Jimmy Graham jersey, so to get a bracelet and necklace was completely surprising.  I'm doubly happy about the jewelry though because they're perfect for wedding jewelry.  Don't worry, there's a picture at the end of the post.  Ryan and I also got two camping chairs, which were straight off our registry, and perfect for the summer.  For now, they're hiding in the back of our closet though.  We also got a pizza stone (SCORE!), some baking sheets, and of course, a ton of gift cards. Oh yea, and back in NYC I bought a great new Adidas sweatshirt.  It's tough to find the NEWEST Adidas gear around here ever since the Originals store in Cambridge closed.  Anyways, today I decided to hit the after Christmas sales at Target and the malls and see if I could score anything.  Mostly I went for the wrapping paper.  My trip was a definite success though, considering everything at Target was 50% off.  I got the wrapping paper, some bows, gift tags, a cute little wooden Merry Christmas sign, and best of all, two rolls of FAT lights.  Then I went to the mall and got some workout clothes from Old Navy.  You didn't expect me to go shopping without getting at least something to wear during running/boxing did you?  Now I'm busy drooling over a pair of North Face boots that I desperately want, but really shouldn't buy.  But since this post has spiraled out of control, I'll just leave you with a thousand pictures, some from now, some from our first Christmas in New York, we'll see where this goes.  Enjoy.

Ok, the first two, I feel the need to explain. Having Picasa on my phone, I have my photos auto-backed up to Google.  As part of Picasa, there is a feature called Auto-awesome.  This feature puts different effects on pictures, depending upon the picture.  Sometimes it collages, other times it puts a burst of photos together to make them move.  In this case, it added snow and twinkles to this picture.  I LOVE this feature, so I had to share both photos.

Corned beef and pastrami. And a plateful of pickles.  TOTALLY WORTH IT!

Gorgeous jewelry set from Ryan.  LOVE IT!

Halloween - Bergdorf Goodman, or BG from here on out.

Valentine's Day - BG

April Fool's Day - BG

Rockefeller Center Tree

Macy's

My Target 50% off scores. (Well, minus the centerpiece and The Little Drummer Boy.)

Obv Frosty is wearing my Philly Medal

and the penguin gets the Marine Corps.

Nutcracker parade

Jiggity - jig

Awesome new sweatshirt.

And some from 2009.