Boston Information FOR You, FROM You! And Treadmill Contest Nuun Winner!

Almost two months ago, I asked you all for your Boston Marathon advice.  Since then, I've received comments and e-mails about all things regarding the marathon, sightseeing, and places to eat in Boston.  I'm sure so many of you could add to this list, but as promised, I compiled a list of all-things Boston for those of you that were interested.  Thanks to Adrienne from Running in Hingham, I was able to add to this list a ton!  


The Race:

• Miss Zippy:  Heartbreak hill isn't that big of a deal!  I remember having to ask someone if it was really heartbreak b/c it didn't seem like it could possibly be.
• Raina:  Wear shoes with room!
• Jenn:  One thing that worked for me well but is different for everyone is how I ate because of the late race start. I ate supper-pasta bread at 6:30 on Sunday night-not a ton-just a normal amount and then I ate half of a bagel at 3 am and then ate the other half of a bagel with peanut butter and a banana and coffee at about 7 am and then ate part of a powerbar in the start corral. I never felt like I had a ball in my stomach and I felt perfect! 
• Ana-Maria:  About the course--don't expect any flats.  It is all up and down.  Don't expect to run 26.2, you will run at least 26.5 (the course is actually measured long--there are some articles online about how this happened).  Don't break on the downhills.  Heartbreak hill is nothing compared to the hill at mile 15-16?
• Jim: Respectfully disagree with the Zipster.  HB hill just about killed me, it was legit!
• Jill:  Good place to stay is Marriott Copley Square.  It is a direct shot to the expo and over one of those enclosed bridges and therefore you never have to go outside to get to the expo.  Sooooo convenient. And the Marriott has a couple of nice restaurants.  LOVED taking the bus the the start.  LOVED meeting all sorts of cool people and their stories of how they got to Boston.  You miss out when you rent a private bus.  
• Nota:  Post race bag: flip-flops, first aid, peppermints to settle stomach, wet wipes

Food Suggestions:

• The Otherside Cafe--at the top of Newbury and Mass Ave.  Cute, funky place with good beer and good food.
• Bukowski's across from the Sheraton has good beer
• Stephanie's on Newbury--great for brunch
• Down near the expo, there is a Legal Test Kitchen that has great food.  
• If you're looking for an easy meal the night before the race, Joe's American has the full standard American classics.  
• In the North End of Boston, go to Modern Pastry (not Mike's). Mike's is good but Modern is better.  A Boston Secret.  
• The South End (near the finish line area) is a good place for food.  Coppa for breakfast, Stella for dinner, Myers and Chang, a bakery name Flour...it is all good over there!
• Mallory says that a good lunch spot is Boloco.  They have the BEST burritos there and they are super healthy!  There are a ton of them in the city.
• Ana-Maria: Good food:  White Elephant in Cambridge.  Any restaurant in the North End for authentic Italian food. Emma's pizza in Kenmore square.  Anything on Newberry Street.
• Katie: Mike's pastry: "They have amazing cannolis. Near Fanueil hall is an Irish pub called the Black Rose that I love."

Sightseeing:

• Top of the Hub or the Prudential Sky Walk for the View
• Stroll through the Public Gardens, at the bottom of Boylston bordering Arlington
• Harvard Square!
• Gracie:  She shared links:  Here and Here of a past Boston trip.  
• Jill:  If you have time before or after, take a trip to the North End and tour all the amazing history, such as Paul Revere's house. Be sure to stop and get a red velvet cupcake for $1 (and the size of your entire hand) at MIke's Pastry!!

Treadmill Contest

So, yesterday ended the treadmill stories contest.  I loved your comments!  Here are some of my favorites that were in the running for winner:

Marjorie (XLMIC) (Funny): 

I rarely run on a treadmill, though I have a few times in the past couple of weeks, so I'm not so competent as others in the "help pass the time" department. What I do to stay sane is sing. I turn my iPod up and sing. Usually I don't sing out loud, but sometimes I do...and that gets some really strange looks, I'll tell ya. I don't sing too well, but I do sing LOUDLY :P 

Petra (biggest OUCH and the rest of her comment about swearing like a sailor made me laugh!):

The dumbest thing I've done? Caught my shoelaces in it, been knocked down and banged my head into the mill. Nice move. Thank god the mill stopped...

Donna G (Most embarrassing and then funny afterwards): 

My treadmill story is kinda scary and funny. It was a Sunday morning and I was at the gym because the weather was crappy, so I hopped on a treadmill and was determined to do 10 miles I think. Half way through the run, I really had to let one "rip" so being a lady, I tried to hold it in for the sake of others around. Well, that only worked for a few minutes until I decided...maybe I can blame it on someone else. In the process of letting it go, I literally thought I pooped myself because I felt something down my leg. I nearly screamed and hopped off the mill so fast, only to realize it was sweat dripping down. LOL....what a scare!

Sunny 2 Runner (Most Inspirational to me):

I had to do a 16 miler once on my treadmill. In order to get through it, I took a pad of post it notes and wrote mile numbers along with a motivational quote to get me through that mile. When the mile was done, I would peel the note off the pad and throw it across the room.

Tia (Scariest):

2.) Worst thing to happen on a treadmill- One event comes STRAIGHT to memory and I feel sick to my stomach even thinking about it. (Basically every running mom's worst nightmare.) Last spring on my very first run back after having Ashton we had a very traumatic treadmill incident. I was on the treadmill finishing a run and my kids came in the room. I told them NOT to go near the treadmill. They were sitting on the bed watching a show and one second later I hear SCREAMING and my 4 yr. old son ran out of the room hysterical. He had touched the belt while it was moving and burned off the skin on two of his fingers. It was awful. I had to deal with him and clean and bandage the wound. Looking back I probably should have taken him to the emergency room but I thought I could handle it. (It took one month for his fingers to heal. We had to change out bandages a few times a day.) Fortunately, Ashton (4 weeks old) slept through it all. This was also the day Anna (age 2) decided to cut her own hair with scissors while I was busy with my son the burn unit victim. All around very bad parenting day. Not a good first day back into running at all. I should have known my Boston training was doomed to failure!
That treadmill day was the WORST. After that we made a strict rule- NO KIDS IN THE ROOM WHENEVER I'M ON THE TREADMILL!! Of course, after that incident they didn't want to go anywhere near the treadmill!

Honestly, if I wasn't about to get on a plane and head to Boston where I will surely be spending way too much money on hotel, eating out, etc., I'd send you all a little something.  But as with most contests, there has to be a winner.  Right?  So, I'm going to go with the one that stuck in my head the longest and the one that I kept coming back to when I thought of this.  The winner is.....

Sunny 2 Runner!  I liked her passing the time trick because it is something that I know would really work for me.  I love the idea of having quotes, collage cards or mantras on a sticky note to read every mile.  Having that visual...you know, something to focus on for each mile just sounds powerful.  Useful mental work too!  I like the idea of even writing different goals or affirmations on each sticky note.  Thanks for the inspiration girl.  Please send me your address and full name so I can get you your mail.  Oh, and include favorite Nuun flavor and maybe your favorite energy bar, racing fuel, etc.  

I hope taper time is going well for everyone who is running Boston.  And it is almost time for taper for all of you Eugene Marathon runners too!  So exciting and maddening all at once.  

Anyone have a suggestion for a good place to have a casual blog meet up sometime on Monday evening??  The kind of place where we can just pop in, grab a beer, say hello and maybe eat something if we feel like it??  IDEAS WELCOME.  Otherwise, I'm just going to meet up with Miss Zippy and friends right after the race at McCormick and Schmick's and call it good (planning on that anyway).  

Amanda

Boston Marathon Advice! Your Comments, Memories, Tips, Strategies, and Thoughts are WELCOME!

Is it really only 8 weeks until the Boston Marathon?  Wooo weee!  I remember saying that it was only 20 weeks to go and that just seems like yesterday.  However, it seems like forever ago that I ran Boston in 2004.  And I don't remember much AT ALL.  People ask me about the course, what I did before the race started, good restaurants and hotels, the expo, etc. and I really can't tell them much.  This is pretty much all I do remember:

• I didn't know anyone else running.  
• It was my second marathon.  
• I had just found out what the Boston Marathon was only a year prior to running it.
• The expo was really cool.  I had never seen so much running stuff on sale.  And it was like a world created entirely for people like ME.  In fact, there were tons of people there that looked just like me...the runner look.  So exciting!
• Some little kids handed me orange slices and some college girls yelled really loud when I passed their college that started with a W.  
• I took a bus ride on the way to the start and talked to an old man who had done this ride many times.
• I was handed a sharpie marker while sitting on the grass waiting to start the race and was told that the cool thing to do was to write my name on my legs and arms.  It was similar to what I imagine it being like at a concert when a joint is passed around.  Only it wasn't a concert and we were passing around a marker.  But everyone was really cool about sharing the black ink.  Ha!  
• It was 80 degrees.  Record breaking heat for the Boston marathon.  
• I had NO plan.  None.  I was there to have fun.
• I could barely hit what felt like a 10 minute mile pace when I was finishing but I didn't keep track of my splits then and I surely didn't own a Garmin.  
• Instead of an ice bath, I took a hot bath and then went out and partied after the race.  My husband almost had to get me a wheel chair in the airport the next day in order to make our flight.  But I got really pissed and yelled at him not to even DARE. How embarrassing.  Took me at least 5 minutes to sit down in my seat on the airplane.  
• When I got back to my third grade class, they all cheered and told me that they taped the race and hoped to see me.  They asked if I won.  They thought I was a superstar.  I loved them for this.  
• I bought a really expensive jacket in a size or two too big since apparently I thought I was a medium or large back then or maybe it was the style to wear oversized clothing.  Anyway, I never wore the jacket because I always felt funny about wearing a jacket with really big lettering that said BOSTON MARATHON 2004 on the back. Or at least it felt very big.  Not subtle.  I felt silly wearing it to races and stretching out and doing drills  so I would save it for when I'd run around my neighborhood. But now I would wear it with pride and plan on getting another one.  Luckily, it seems that they make the jackets a bit more on the modest side now.
• I don't remember the race really.  What is happening to my memory?  I remember one mile before the finish line but not the finish line.  I remember being at the top of heartbreak  hill.  And I remember the start and some random parts of the race but not much more.  Oh, and I remember starting with a woman with a really nice body and being in Absolute AWE that she had three kids at home!!! I didn't understand how someone with three kids could be running the Boston Marathon and look like her.  

Well, that's about it.  NOT very helpful information if I were to be giving advice to someone who was heading to the Boston Marathon for their first time.  In fact, I'm hoping some of you have some helpful tips, advice, or useful pieces of information to share!  Even if you've never run the Boston Marathon but know about it.  

What Will I Do With Your Information??

I thought it would be great to get as many useful comments about the Boston Marathon as I can and then compile everyone's comments into one post that can be used by everyone that is heading to Boston this April or in the future. Even the funny random ones that have nothing to do about the race itself but might be fun to know while we are in Boston.  Like a certain stop light that drives you nuts or a good place to get bagels and cream cheese.  Or the best place to drink a nice cold beer after the race.  Or what NOT to do on the Newton hills. So....

• What are some great places to stay? 
• Where are the most affordable places to stay?  
• Tell us about the most ideal spots to be near.
• Tips about public transportation.  
• Where are your favorite spots to eat? Drink?  Shop? 
• Where do you run before the big day?  
• Do you go early?  
• Favorite mile in the race?  
• Race strategy...this one is BIG!  
• After race ritual?
• Good place to celebrate?
• Fun restaurant to carbo load before the big day.  
• Things to PACK in your race day bag to take up to the starting line!!! I want to know this one.
• Whatever else you can think of to share.  Even your favorite kind of bra to wear or some kind of superstitious routine.  

Please share as much or as little as you have to share.  Contribute to this bloggy conversation!  I want to hear from you way more than I want to spend time googling Boston Marathon tips and advice and reading long articles by people I don't know.  I want to hear from the people just like you, you and you that have, want to, or will run the Boston Marathon!  I hope to get lots of serious, funny, fun, useful, and wise words that I can share in one big post in a few weeks that we can ALL enjoy.  So, send your running friends over so they can contribute to this too.  

Happy Tuesday,

Amanda