It’s getting so real! I get so excited for the whole packet pickup process that goes down at the expo. The best part about the expo for the NJ Marathon is that it’s right at the starting line.

Run the shore or run the whore? LOL

run the shore? or run the whore? =)

It’s at the Monmouth N.J. Racetrack (notice the little jockey’s flanking the entrance.)

First order of business was dropping of the sneaker and canned food donations. Thanks to my friends Cathy and Diana, we collected about 20 or so pairs of sneakers to donate and a big bag of canned food.

so many sneakers most used but some practically new going to good homes 

Next up, I headed over to the VIP booth to pick up my packet.

Most people paid $75 to be a VIP but I won it as a part of a giveaway on Facebook. Score! It includes things like a special VIP tent at the start and finish with our selected pre and post race food options. They offered quite a selection but I chose a bagel in the morning and cheese, fruit and pastries at the finish. I also get free VIP parking which will be a huge deal for sure tomorrow. =)

My friend Mitch is running too. He was late to make the decision and they had sold out but put him on the waiting list. He finally got the call there was room for him so he registered on site today at the Expo. Yay Mitch! And Jane went to the expo yesterday but I’ll most surely grab some pre-race pics of us tomorrow.

I almost bought myself a cute shirt that basically was a repeat pattern that said “I love running, I love it not”, but they only had S and XL left. Is the whole world a medium????!!!! So instead I bought this adorable iPhone case for 3 bucks!…

We stopped over at the Pace Group table and I spoke with the 2 guys who are pacing the 4:40 group. Matt and Brian are my guys! Matt is a 3:10 runner but this will be his first time pacing so hopefully he remembers he’s not pacing the 3:10 group! Brian drove up from Virginia to pace. He’s a very dedicated man. I asked what their plan of attack was. Apparently they are shooting to actually finish in 4:38 or 4:39. 2 minutes shouldn’t sound like a big deal but when I’m already shooting for an 8 min PR for 4:40 that means I’m potentially shooting for a 10 minute PR! Yikes! They said they will slow down through water stops but not walk. This worries me because I usually walk while sipping my water. So while I am starting out with them I’m prepared to bail and run my own race if I have to. I’d rather enjoy the race and not stress.

Once I got home I realized i had missed lunch so I ordered PIZZA!

PIZZA

I ate 3 slices already (around 3:30pm) and I’ll probably eat another slice in a few hours! And then I’ll save the rest for tomorrow when I get home! Win-Win! Gotta get that carbo-loading in check….The day before a marathon is better than Christmas! I had pancakes for breakfast too!

someone was hoping i’d share

So now i’m just chillin’ with the pooch (and his toy), and then I’ll get started with the whole ritual of laying out my clothes etc. I’ll spare you that this time. LOL!

So hopefully next time you hear from me I’ll have crossed the finish line in one piece with a smile on my face.

thanks for the great message Distant Runners!

My time goals are:
A goal is to stay with the pace group and finish in 4:38-4:40
B goal is to finish twice as slow as Shalane Flanagan’s Boston time coming in at 4:44:04
C goal is to squeak in a PR at 4:47:59
D goal is to break 5 hours

But my overall goal is to celebrate my 16 weeks of training and enjoy the run.

I celebrated the final training run with some shopping yesterday. I hardly ever buy anything other than running gear lately but yesterday I picked up a couple of pretty tops and a pair of cropped jeans at Macy’s.

I got this very summery Free People top:

Free People shirt beautiful model not included (photo from Macy’s website)

But I bought a purple cami to wear underneath instead of the one in the pic above. It’s a great style for my shape (apple!) No bargain here though 🙁

I also got this sheer, floral, long sleeve Lucky top.

Lucky floral shirt…god i love her hair! (photo from Macy’s website

Again, no bargain…but I LOVED how it tied in the front. Sometimes tunic style tops overwhelm my short 5′ 3″ body and I don’t like dressy button down tops that have to be tucked in because they get wrinkly and fussy. So this will be great. I’m going to wear this today so I’ll post a photo to my instagram later.

And to round out the bottom, I got these Tommy Hilfiger cropped jeans:

tommy capris- (photo from Macy’s website)

Then I went to the grocery store to get my pre-race fuel stash:

Super Pretzels and some fresh flowers just for kicks

I picked up these pretty carnations too. Don’t they look so pretty on my table?

fuscia and celery green carnations.

Then I got suckered into the half price Easter candy at the register.

half price Easter candy balanced out with organic spinach!

But I evened out the sugar with my “family size” container of organic spinach!

Tonight when I get home from work I’m taking this boy for a little shopping spree too!

Curl overload!

Well we’re just going to the pet store for poop bags and dog food but I’m sure he’ll score a treat at the register.

Hope everyone made it throught the week ok.

Question: What are you doing this weekend? Anyone have a race?
Last chance to suggest inspiring songs or quotes/mantras to me….

Hi everyone,

I hope you had a lovely weekend and if you celebrated Easter that you aren’t in a sugar coma.

Yesterday, Duncan tested out my running gear bunny ears before me. And then I turned into the Bunny Runner and set out for an easy 5K around the neighborhood.

hippity hop

bunny runner 5k

Duncan and I headed upstate to visit with my friend Sue and her family. Duncan’s partner in crime Lucy (a Jack Russell) was so excited to see him. They collaborated mischievously to devise a plan on how to score some of the pork tenderloin that was cooking. But next thing you know someone opened the screen door and said “squirrel” and they went out to the yard to investigate.

we want to come back in where that pork tenderloin is

They were so embarrassed that they fell for that old trick. But eventually, when we were cleaning up our plates we gave them a few pieces =) It was a really nice day.

This morning I put on a blue shirt and pinned my handmade Boston Strong ribbon to it and headed to work.

Boston Strong

I worked while simultaneously watching the live stream of the Boston Marathon.

This is awesome!

Shalane Flanagan sure set pace for the elite women to blaze a trail. The course record was broken by Rita Jeptoo who crossed in 2:18:54. While Shalane actually placed 7th, she had a 3 minute PR finishing in 2:22:02 and really ran an amazing race. While I’ll never come close to that type of running I can’t help but be incredibly inspired. So inspired that I’ve decided my goal for next weekend is to take twice as long as she did. LOL! Yup, I’m shooting for 4:44:04!!!

And MEB!!!! What an amazing finish. He became not only the first American to win Boston in 31 years but he is also the only person in history, man or woman, to win Boston, New York City (2009) and an Olympic marathon medal (2004)!

I also want to congratulate 2 of my dear running peeps.

Back in 2008 Roger weighed quite a bit more than he does now. He was determined to run the Boston Marathon as his dad did years before. This video shows how he made that happen. And Carey is an avid supporter for Every Mother Counts. She’s always strong and steady with every finish. Last year she was just a mile away when the bombs exploded and she was pulled off the course unable to finish. So this year she got to finish what she started! She’s now run a marathon in 24 states! And a big shout out to camera shy Jorge too! I’ll see him next weekend in NJ so I’ll make sure he lets me take his pic. =)

My Monday was moving along quite nicely and while I was waiting to hear back from a few people at work I took the opportunity to sneak away to the NY Auto Show on my lunch break. I’m quite partial to Jeep if you haven’t figured that out by now….I even took a ride in one at their Camp Jeep Outdoor Off Roading Ride Along.

secretly more stoked about the FREE reusable tote-bag they gave!!! But it was fun to go up and then down the big hill =)

a view of the stability part of the ride along from outside the vehicle and inside the vehicle

what goes up…

pretty color options

my requirement for a vehicle is spare tire on the back. So by process of elimination it looks like I’ll be getting a Wrangler in the future.

And now I’m downloading some new tunes to put on my playlist for Sunday and reading the handy dandy NJ Marathon handbook and reviewing course elevations etc. I’m so excited! Never really did get the marathon taper crazies. But I also still don’t feel those fresh legs yet. (FREAKING OUT!)…

What was your favorite thing today? 

First let me say I’m not the only one who is so happy the rain is gone and the sun has returned

Do you want to know what made me happy after a very nasty day at the office? It isn’t rocket science…Well ordinarily I would say a run. I didn’t run today, but it was a running related field-trip that did the trick.

OK let me back up. My company is working on updating our website and with that comes new headshots of the team. We were all tasked with choosing a location somewhere in NYC that meant something to us. So me being the NYC Marathon nerd that I am, chose Engineer’s Gate, the entrance into Central Park where the Fred Lebow statue is. (For those who don’t know, Fred Lebow was the founder of the NYC Marathon and Engineer’s Gate is a very big milestone along the course. It’s at about Mile 23 and it’s where you re-enter the park for the final few miles where the spectatorship is out of this world! It’s also where I gave this mugshot to the camera this past November =).

i was falling apart and cramping up everywhere and just couldn’t smile.

The shots that will be used for our company website are still under wraps but i had a coworker snap this shot for me since I shlepped my medals into the office and wore my 2013 NYC Marathon finisher’s shirt, I figured I might as well!

just me and Fred.

Back in December I was having a bad day and ended up visiting Fred’s statue after picking up my bib # for a race I was running that weekend. And then this past January I ran the Fred Lebow Manhattan Half Marathon. It’s a special spot.

After the shoot it was 5pm but I still had to go back to the office to tie up a few loose ends. Everyone planned on hopping in a cab, but I knew I needed to decompress. Had I been in running gear, I would have run the 3 miles back to the office. But since I was in jeans and carrying 2 heavy medals around my neck, I decided I’d walk.

I walked along the edge of Central Park… and passed Radio City…

I walked 3 miles in 52 minutes and by the time I was back at the office I was feeling much better!

So I mentioned back in this post about buying my first pair of Brooks Ghost running sneakers after being an Asics Cumulus girl for so long. I loved the Asics Cumulus 13s, but hated the 14s and 15s….well…..I just saw that the Cumulus 16s have been released.

Not gonna lie…I’m tempted!! =)

Meanwhile, on Sunday, since I knew it was going to be pouring rain, I wore an older pair of Cumulus 13s that had a few hundred miles on them because I didn’t want to ruin the Ghosts that I’m planning on wearing come 4/27 for the NJ Marathon. Today, those sneakers were STILL WET!!!! That’s over 48 hours and they’re still not dry even with the newspaper stuffing trick!.

It’s April Fools and I totally fell for Monica’s Tattoo post. Bummer, I was really excited to see it.

Questions:

• Are you a prankster? Did you trick anyone today?

• Running a marathon this Spring?

• What sneakers do you run in?

• If you were having your pic taken in Manhattan what location would you pick?