We began by heading out to one of our favorite lunching spots: Life-Alive! I am what I consider a flexitarian, mostly vegan but I do enjoy fish and dairy on occasion. Life Alive is fully vegan, and I had the Explorer Wrap that was insanely delicious. We spent the rest of the day walking around the entire city, I kid you not at least 6 miles of walking. Our packet pickup for the Run to Remember was at the World Trade Center out on the wharf. Immediately after walking in I spotted the Oofos booth and took off my Birkenstock and sunk my feet into them. Ooooohhh is all I can say. I opted for the black pair with a shiny grey-ish strap. These shoes are amazing for post-running, and they help to speed up recovery time. As someone that suffers from shin splints, I will try anything and so far I can tell you these do the trick! We perused the rest of the expo, got our packets, and headed to dinner for oysters, and a nice vegan Italian meal in the North End.
Since we have visited Boston so often, we rented a car and drove up the coast to Beverly, and Gloucester to hike and enjoy the seaside villages. It was a beautiful and chilly day so coming from Florida it was a breath of fresh air. After we got back to the city, we settled in to carb load my favorite way: sushi. I had the Caterpillar roll and it was so darn cute!
Finally, race day. I woke up along with my sister and dad who would be running at 4:45am in order to get in some food and wake my body up in time. My sister ran cross country in High School and College, and is a pretty experienced runner, and my father has ran many marathons and a few half's with me! We had bananas, some cold brew coffee (I need it to function), and walked to the start. We decided we would each run our own races, so when the gun went off we set out at our own paces. The course was beautiful, starting out at the wharf and heading through downtown out to Memorial Drive along the Charles River. I felt amazing, the weather definitely helped and I couldn't even feel my legs! Checking my Garmin I knew I was going faster than I usually even train for, and I knew I could PR. The race even took a little turn down Boylston Street, and I got very very emotional there (as well as countless other occasions.) I dream of one day running the Boston Marathon, so for now it was my own little "Boston." We finished back out on the wharf where I reunited with my dad and sister, took some race pictures and showered and spent the day at the Franklin Zoo and recovering our legs.
Overall, the trip and the race was more than I could have dreamed of. Boston is my favorite city I've ever been to; the culture, the art, the accepting of the people, and the overall city pride is like nothing I have ever experienced. I hope to find myself living there or somewhere very similar in the near future! (I am a dreamer, and have a huge case of wanderlust!)
Also, this post wouldn't be complete with a tribute to all those have served. We got to visit the thousands of flags placed in memory in the Boston Common. Our race was also a memorial to law enforcement and those who have served. Thank you to all those that have fallen for our safety and freedom!
Keep running friends :)
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