This Weekend

Here it is, a Friday evening, and I have so many blog topics bouncing around in my head, it should have a warning sign like this (from Ryan Sullivan’s FB page) as seen on a bouncy house. I mean really. How can you have fun with so many “don’t do this” rules????

Here is what popped out:

This weekend has become one of my favourite weekends of the year. How favourite? Let’s just say it is in the to 50. What is so special about this weekend? well, the Boston Marathon, of course! Half a million people are expected to line the 26.2 mile route, and I will be one of them!

This is the 3rd year that I have been down there. The first time, I really didn't quite know what to expect. I got into town around 730, staked out a spot around 200 meters from the finish, and waited. And waited. As the crowds started to gather, I was very happy that I had gotten there when i did; by race time, we were 7 deep at the fence, with me right up front! I got to see my favourite elites fly by, then stayed to watch wave after wave of finishers. The emotions were palpable. Never before had experienced anything like it, and then and there made the decision to try my best to come back to watch every year.

Last year, my second year, I was fortunate to meet up with a bunch of really cool runner/bloggers! We watched from in front of Trader Joe's, which was cool because it was like having a private snack bar! Red introduced me to "ghetto mimosas". At the expo (which i went to with Tracey and Bryce), I met Carol, CEO of ArcticEase. We'd become friends online, but this was the first time we'd met. Oh! At the expo, I also literally ran into Mel, from Tall Mom on the Run. She was very gracious, said "Hi" and smiled her famous smile, and went on her way. Back to race day....I stayed for a while after the elites finished, then Carol invited me to join her at a reception for the youngest person to complete a marathon in each of the 50 states. After that, I raced back home, as my stay in Bean Town was a bit longer than originally planned.

This year I will be going to the expo again, but unfortunately I will be alone. Too many other things are happening around the house, and (as far as I know) I'll be solo. I will get to see some friends who I haven't seen in a while (yay, Colleen! yay Carol!). Red won't be there on race day, so I'll guess I'll have to enjoy a mimosa alone. I will be sure to pour some out for my homie, though. AHAHAHAHAHAH......

One sad aspect of this year's event is that Colleen won't be able to race. She'd been asked to help out a charity, and had agreed to do it, but some things changed (not with the charity) in the past few weeks and it doesn't appear as though she'll be running the marathon this year. Luckily, she's already qualified for 2013 (WAHHOOOO!), so she'll be there next year. I can't wait!!

There you have it. The reasons that I really look forward to this weekend. I just wish that the rest of my family would enjoy the trip as much as I do....maybe someday. For now, we've got some other excitement going on this weekend (Mike is home!), and I'll be going back and forth (I think) alone. I am thankful that I get to go!!!