A blog about running, and thrift shopping! The first Thursday of every month I post my latest thrifting finds. I also post race reviews for the DC and Baltimore area.
It's almost fall! Yay! The heat has finally broken and fall PRs (and cozier thrifting finds) are just around the corner.
Terez leggings are awesome and the price point definitely reflects the quality. The printing on it goes through the fabric so when it is stretched out, the pattern remains and there isn't any sheerness to it.
Terez Leggings: Originally $82, paid $7
Ibex recently went out of business, but they were known for their wool base layers. (Fun fact: Last year, Oiselle actually bought the fabric Ibex was supposed to use before they closed. They ended up making a bunch of funnel neck base layers with the fabric that were a big hit.) Saw this in my size, grabbed it, and didn't let go.
Ibex Woolies Half-Zip: Originally $95, paid $5
I know this pattern is a little out of season (there are little flowers just below the hot pink strip of fabric) but who cares? I'm probably not wearing these out of the house anyways.
Lululemon Groove Pants: Originally $98, paid $3.50
So I discovered the trekkie line of pants from Athleta after they were discontinued. (Naturally.) The fabric is a little heavier, but more durable than some of the others they've put out. The inseam is perfect for me, and I always feel like joggers make life for me easier because I don't have to worry about hemming them later. (The elastic at the bottom makes it sit right at your ankle no matter your height.)
Athleta Trekkie Joggers: Originally $89, paid $5
Brooks makes some amazing athletic wear. (Their greenlight capris are awesome!) These I was never really quite sure about, so I was happy to grab these at a lower price point and still in great condition!
Brooks Streaker Capris: Originally $85, paid $5
ICYMI: My big summer trip was going to Italy with my family. One of the things I really wanted to do was go thrift shopping in Rome because I had never done it in a foreign country before. While we were out I found Fendi pants for 29 euro (about $32). However the fit was so weird (pleats right at the hip which meant they awkwardly billowed out) so they went back on the rack.
In the same, store I found this skirt. No indication of the designer, so I have no information about it other than it was made in Italy and how to clean it. (Washable wool? YES, PLEASE!) I have no idea how much this originally cost, but I paid 3.15 euro (about $3.50) for a beautiful wool skirt that is tea length and fit like a dream. Sometimes I don't find out any information about an item I find while thrifting. I'll see the company info all over it, but it's simply too old to still be out on the internet (yes, this happens. In order to save space on their servers, companies basically get rid of older pages of discontinued items.) Considering the item's pedigree from the information I could get directly from the tag, I was totally fine with it.
Wool pleated skirt: Originally $?, paid $3.50
Anybody have any good thrifting finds recently? Any fun races coming up? Leave a comment below to start the conversation!
The Dogfish Dash has been on my radar for awhile. This year when the Dogfish Head Brewery announced that registration would open on April 4th, I created a reminder on my calendar with an alert to go off so I wouldn't miss it. In previous years, the race has sold out quickly. This year it was open for awhile longer (a few days rather than a few minutes.) I even convinced my husband to sign up for the race, which is kind of a big deal.
Before the race in honor of their recommitment to the brand, Oiselle asked Bird Camp attendees to submit a short video of their recommitment. I submitted two. I knew it was posted when a friend reached out and said she'd be happy to pace me. At first I was really confused and then I saw it in Oiselle's Instagram Story. There I was saying to the world that I was recommitting to breaking 2:15 in the half marathon. Shit. So we started strategizing. Dogfish Dash would be my trial to see where I'm at and if it's possible. Baltimore would be test number two to see what I could do. With Dogfish Dash being such a flat race, it should be nice and easy, right?
Packet pickup was a breeze. We arrived to the Dogfish Head Brewery towards the end of packet pickup, and there was a bottle release so the brewery was really busy. We then headed over to the large tent, grabbed our packets and in less than 15 minutes we were on our way to the hotel. We stayed right on Route One which was fairly convenient for race day and visiting the beach, but it was a little tough to get in and out of the parking lot because at least on Saturday and after the race on Sunday the road was pretty congested. When we got back to the hotel we got a closer look at our swag.
A heavy duty drawstring bag, sunglasses, bandaids, lip balm, a carabiner and golf tees. (Kind of an odd combination TBH.)
The race shirt! I love it. It's a long sleeve cotton shirt. Normally I don't wear shirts like this too often, but I like this one a lot.
The next morning, we left our hotel at about 7am for the 9am gun time and we got to the brewery about 20 minutes later. We were the among very last people to get parking spaces in the lot directly beside the brewery. After us, the first overflow parking from the truck entrance was still on Dogfish property, just behind the building instead. We had some time to kill and we could smell the grains being cooked for a batch of beer over by the car. (If you've never smelled it, it's not the most pleasant smell.) So we headed over to the runner's village and explored a little bit. A few minutes later we just stood around people watching trying to decide how to kill the next hour. Then at one point I see someone walking with a really cute black lab. And then I see who is holding the leash--Sam Calagione, the founder of Dogfish Head!!
I nerded out. I messaged the one other person (besides my husband) who was at the race and told her. After that I checked out the swag in the main tent. There was nothing super exciting. I got a hot pink cooling towel with the race logo and a super soft lens cleaning cloth from a personal injury attorney. Then I put it back in my car and took another bathroom break since the lines were starting to get long. Right afterwards my husband and I started to head towards the starting area. I lined myself up right around the middle of everything and by the time I got settled, the crowd started moving a couple minutes early. (If there was a gun, a whistle, or an airhorn I didn't hear it!) And we were off!
Game face. I got this.
The route was mostly flat, kind of scenic. Most of it went through Milton, DE which is a pretty cute little town. I was laser focused on averaging below 10:17, which is the minimum average pace needed for a 2:15 half marathon. I tried to not let my watch phase me, and after that first mile I set it to just show how much time was left in the interval. No worries about pace, how long I'd been out there, just worry about now. And when I get to walk again. (There weren't that many actual walk breaks. Typically I take them on uphill stretches or if my legs start to feel tired. Neither really happened during this race.) During the fourth mile I saw Sam Calagione again cheering on runners before he headed back towards the brewery.
My splits were amazing.
That very last mile was just .02 short of a full mile. But still. I had done it. My average pace was 10:06. If I could manage to do something similar for Richmond, even just a little slower I could do it.
After passing through the finish a little girl handed me a reusable water bottle filled with water and I walked over to get my first beer (a Seaquench Ale) and drank it while I waited in the food line. It was surprisingly short (just a perk of getting faster.) I got half a bagel, an apple cider donut, and a banana. The apple cider donut didn't stand a chance and it was gone by the time I started watching the race from the very last turn. And had another Sam Calagione sighting. You know, NBD. And I saw this great group costume too!
That would be a dog riding on the top of the cart in front. He was available for pictures after the race.
After a few minutes of spectating, I decided to go see if my husband was at our meeting spot, and after a few minutes I saw him make his way through the crowd. I joined him in line but didn't take anymore food. (They were offering granola with yogurt and were out of donuts by that point anyways.) So after my husband ate his granola and yogurt, we got in line for our second and third beers. You'll notice we didn't get a stainless steel cup this year, but I think it was because all the beers were in cans this year. Every runner got three beer tickets on their bib. The first was supposed to be for a Seaquench basically right after finishing, and the other two could be Lupa Luau, Namaste White or Flesh and Blood. I opted for a Namaste White and Lupa Luau, one I've had before and the other was new. My husband got Lupa Luau and Flesh and Blood. Since the volunteers didn't insist on opening the beers, we took them with us to enjoy later.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this race. It threw a curveball compared to previous years with the weird swag (not much of it actually Dogfish Head related), but it was still a great race. It makes for a really nice weekend away since it's still kind of warm but not oppressively hot, and the race is low key enough that it's not stressful leading into it. You still get a lot for your race fee too which in my mind makes it worth the trip. Being able to go to the beach after the race is pretty awesome too.
So if you follow me on social media, you've seen me mention something called Big Bird Camp quite a bit. Bird camp is when members of the Oiselle Volee get together to reconnect through running. Usually there are several around the country during the summer. This year things got changed up and there was ONE and we all descended on a camp in Equinunk, PA for a long weekend to get to know members of the Volee from across the country. We also had the chance to interact with employees from the company headquarters in Seattle, Washington as well as Oiselle's Haute Volee (elite runners) and their pro runners: Lauren Fleshman, Kara Goucher and Allie Kieffer. There were also some great visitors that popped in for part of camp (Jenny from Salomon and their elite Ultra runner, Cat Bradley and a couple reps from Custom Performance.) But without further ado, here's what happened during my weekend at Big Bird Camp!
Arrival Day!
I arrived with one of my chapter leaders who drove us from central Maryland, which took about 4 hours. Upon arrival, we started seeing some familiar faces from our own chapter and I started nerding out because Rebecca, one of the frequent models featured on the Oiselle website pulled up right next to us! My friend gave her a hug and chatted with her a little bit meanwhile I felt like...
But I was definitely more reserved. Pretty sure I was more like this...
(Full disclosure, if we ever meet in person I'm very socially awkward.)
We then grabbed our first loads of luggage and headed over to check in, walking past Lauren Fleshman while wearing my favorite bird lion shirt that I got at the gear swap at last year's camp. (I nerded out again. I may or may not have jumped around behind her pointing at the shirt so a friend could see me but she didn't. Or I at least like to think she didn't.) At check in we said hello to Stephanie (who organized the whole thing) and Lesko (who is the head of corporate development) gave us our cabin assignments. My cabin was close to the pool and lake access, but also furthest away from the fun and called "The Rock Pigeons." So at least a couple times I had to make the "I got a rock" reference.
After dropping off our second load of luggage, my friend and I also checked out the drink and snack situation (all kinds of terra chips and La Croix, the latter of which was available all throughout camp!) and got to say hello to familiar faces from the previous year's camp. (And of course some ladies I had seen more recently!) We also got a view of the camp store with some interestingly placed black cloth covering up some parts of the racks. Naturally we started speculating what was underneath.
The slight disappointment in my cabin's name quickly faded when I got to see who I was bunking with and the swag bag! Each bed had a Bird Camp drawstring bag with a wooden medal with an extra piece with our Instagram handle and our name.
(I took the picture after the spandos leggings showed up! They weren't initially in the swag bag because of some shipping issues.)
My chapter (DC, MD and VA) then had a quick meeting and of course, a picture.
Once I got settled, it was time for a quick gathering at the flagpole to hear some announcements, meet people from the nest, and hear our camp song performed by Lauren Fleshman!
It was followed by dinner with our bunkmates and a goal setting exercise for what we wanted to accomplish at camp. During the goal setting we paired off and got to basically have an individual verbal stream of consciousness for 2 minutes about why we were there and what we wanted to accomplish. Once we were done talking and listening, we had to write it down in a word or phrase. I said I wanted to get some of my confidence back and rediscover my love of running. (A lot has gone on in the last year that's left me pretty depressed and feeling like "I have to" run rather than "I want to" run. It's led me to become distant with some of the running groups I've been involved with in the past, and I'm still working on getting the courage to get back out for group runs and even just racing again.) We also got to see the brand refresh, which was super exciting!
Essentially Sally's presentation of the brand refresh can be summarized in this blog post. We got to see the new logos and some of the new products in the pipeline, and we had a feeling some of it was underneath the black cloth we saw earlier in the day. At that point Sally told us that some of the clothing in the camp store had the new logo, but we could NOT post them on social media until after September 6th.
Afterwards I decided to call it a night and head back to the cabin. I got the chance to chat with my bunkmates and so excited to see familiar faces who were in the same chapter of the Volee but had never met at events. I was really excited for the next morning and wanted to get as good a night's sleep as I could!
Day One
The first full day of camp was amazing!! Breakfast with cold brew on tap, more announcements then we broke off into our groups. First up? A track workout with Lauren Fleshman and Kendra Chambers! It was pretty much amazing. It was a lot of guided warm ups (which really helped my sore glutes from a rough week at OrangeTheory) and then a couple quick track workouts. For one track workout Lauren stood at one side of the track, and Kendra stood at the opposite side. We essentially ran hard to one person, easy to the other for 5 laps. Then we did Ins and Outs where we basically ran hard for 30 seconds, recovered for 30 seconds six times. I couldn't believe it--I actually felt what a 7 minute mile pace feels like!
After track work, I swung back by my cabin to get my wallet to get to the camp store when it opened. And it was awesome. We got to see some of the products that we saw the night before, only in an additional color we had never seen before called marigold. I put my hands on a muscle tank with the new crest in marigold in my size and even though it wasn't a "usual" color for me, I decided to try it. I kept considering different items, but in that time a lot of it started to sell out. I stuck with the muscle tank and checked out also because it was time for yoga with Dr Melody Moore.
Yoga was a lot of fun. I go to classes once or twice a year to get a feel for different instructors. Melody was calming and super respectful of everybody's personal space. It was definitely relaxing and good to get to do some really deep stretching.
After lunch I had a little time to relax, so I spent some time lounging on the waterfront watching friends go down the waterslide. (It looked a little intense so I opted against sliding down.) Soon it was time to go to my next stop: Hearing Kara Goucher talk about her new book, Strong, and getting to meet her. (I preordered her book pretty much the minute it was announced, so I brought it along since she would also be signing books.)
It was a great talk about how the book came about and a little about her past history with running. She also answered some questions about her future in running. (She's not retired and we might see her running competitively again sooner rather than later!) To end the session, she signed everybody's books so I got to meet her!
Afterwards I finally took a shower since we had team pictures in our singlets.
After pictures, we had dinner. Then came the body image session with Dr Melody Moore (the same woman who taught the yoga class earlier in the day) who founded a nonprofit called the Embody Love Movement that runs workshops around the country trying to help people create a more positive body image. It was really eye opening to see the responses during the first activity where we had to walk into the circle if we agreed with a read statement. It really dragged up some things I hadn't thought about in a long time and at times I teared up. During some of the later activities, I couldn't hold back the tears. It was hard confronting my negative body image, but it was long overdue. Afterwards I felt emotionally drained and I was ready to decompress. I threw on my yeti (a Oiselle staple, and a must have for loungewear), walked outside by the lake and called my husband. Soon after I was ready to call it a night since I had another early morning.
Day Two
The day started with meeting at the flagpole because it was long run day for almost everybody. I had signed up for a trail running workshop with Cat Bradley who runs for Salomon and was getting ready to run UTMB the weekend after camp. (She flew back to the states JUST to spend a couple days teaching us about trail running!) I was also super excited to get to try out the trail shoes we got in our swag bag!
Even though I've run trails a few times now, I still learned a lot from Cat. (Like to run on the balls of your feet because it's less of an impact and safer if you land on some unstable or slick rocks.) Since breakfast was going to be later to accommodate people on their long runs, after the workshop and we did some quick drills Cat does to help strength train and keep her muscles loose. We still had time for breakfast, so we decided to go back out to try what we just learned. I paired up with a girl from Boston who was in training for her first marathon. By the time we started to get close to the lodge, the smell of bacon lured us inside. The potatoes kept us there. No idea what was in them. But a lot of us got seconds.
Afterwards I went to the Style your Flystyle workshop. I got some suggestions on how to style some of the new Oiselle gear that came out. One of the big takeaways I got (besides how to style a lux infinity scarf into a turban--the trick is to hold it so its looped around both hands, stretched out flat. Then twist one hand twice, put the two loops together and put it over your head), was that not every style is meant for every body. If something doesn't fit just right or can't be tailored to fit right, move on. Don't take it personally. There will be other clothes that will work better.
Then it was time for more food. After lunch, I took it easy. I hung out on the sand by the lake catching up with a few people I hadn't had a moment to just sit and relax with much. I think it was starting to sink that it was almost time to go home and we didn't want camp to end. It was such a nice afternoon, but with the reality of it already almost time to go home, I pulled myself away to start packing. And change into my spandos for the fashion show and dance party.
Before dinner, there was a happy hour with Sufferfest beer, wine and cheese and crackers. I must admit--the beer was pretty good but the cans were large enough that I was happy with one. Lots of pictures were taken of everyone in their disco spandos. I wore my galaxy spandos so I just enjoyed chatting with some ladies from my Volee chapter that live nearby but hadn't really gotten to know yet.
After our picnic dinner, it was time for one of my favorite events at camp: The Fashion Show! We got to see Oiselle clothing on our friends as they walked the "runway" down the aisle between benches. It was fantastic. Then afterwards was the other event we were all waiting for: The spandos dance party!!! (Sponsored by Goodr) This was probably one of my favorite moments of camp.
Yes, that's a banana. (It was from my volee chapter.) And Kara Goucher dancing on stage.
I danced with my chapter teammates and cabinmates and kept going outside to cool off. Suddenly people started playing tennis.
I think this is right after Rebecca (lower right corner) chanted "MORE SPORTS! MORE SPORTS!"
It was weird but so cool watching elite runners suddenly go from a dance party to playing tennis. I alternated between being inside dancing away to cooling off outside. Around 11:00 pm I decided to call it a night. We had one more early morning before heading home. And because most of us were already back, we needed to take a group picture as a cabin.
Day Three
For the last morning it was pretty chill. After breakfast we had the option for one last run, but I ended up finishing up packing and spending some time at the waterfront relaxing. We had a couple more activities planned--a panel with the Haute Volee (Oiselle's team of elite runners) and a closing activity with Lauren Fleshman.
The questions were submitted in advance, but a lot of them had to do with coaching--like how to choose one (a few of the Haute Volee are coaches themselves) and what to do if you think it's time for a new one.
Afterwards Lauren Fleshman led a similar activity to the start where we paired up and listened to one another speak. I paired up with someone from my cabin and it was really awesome. After some reflection of our time at camp, it was time to have lunch, pack up and leave. I wasn't ready to go home yet and back to reality, so since almost all of us were in the cabin (one had left at some point on Saturday and another left earlier in the day) we had to take one more picture of the group of us. In front of our cabin's sign. (Which I totally tried to take, but my nail clippers were deep in my duffel bag at that point and my keys were NOT getting through the zip ties.)
And I had to take one last picture of all of our linens in the middle of the room. (The camp staff wanted us to do this.)
Overall, I really enjoyed my time at Bird Camp. I got to meet tons of new people from across the country, drink all the La Croix and cold brew I wanted, and learned a lot about myself and my sport. If you're interested in coming to Bird Camp in 2019, first you'll have to join the Oiselle Volee! Camp is an extra fee, but well worth it!
By the time I went to sleep on Sunday night, the rain had become pretty steady and still was when I woke up. I packed up the last of my belongings and turned on the tv to watch the beginnings of marathon coverage. They were saying nothing new, so I went ahead and grabbed all my bags and left them with the front desk of the hotel and headed towards the T.
I managed to get to the commuter rail station just in time to get my tickets for the day and sprint to the train, which was truly an amazing feat since I was wearing rain boots. (I pretty much immediately got a blister on my heel.) I sat down and after catching my breath I started eating breakfast (a picky bar) while the train chugged away towards Wellesley.
Once I got to the Starbucks, there were a few other members of the Volee so I went ahead and chatted with them before getting coffee. By this point a few of the pushrim athletes had already passed (I was a little disappointed to have missed Tatyana McFadden, a fellow Marylander, who went on to win her division.) Once the pushrim athletes were beginning to pass by more often, we stood at the fence and cowbelled and cheered for them. We were basically warming up until the elite women came through. It was just as I remembered last year, except even more exciting because we had the best chance of a woman winning Boston in several years.
Then the parade of vehicles began. First the police on motorcycles.
Then the pickup trucks, with the first one showing the runners gun time. Then the rain came down even heavier and all I could do was laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. I was already soaked and starting to get cold, but it was so worth it.
And then the first elite runners--the women!!
At this point, Mamitu Daska was in the lead, then Buzunesh Deba, Molly Huddle, Edna Kiplagat, and bringing up the rear is Desi Linden and Shalane Flanagan.
Shalane and Desi!!
They make running 6:00 miles look so effortless!
Soon after the women passed, a few of us went back inside to keep tracking their progress. Within a few minutes I said "the elite men should be passing by soon" just in time to look up from my phone and see the men glide past the window. From here we cycled between being in the rain, cheering on runners to drying off and warming up in Starbucks and checking on how the women runners were doing and how our friends and other runners were doing. This year since Meb was running for charity, he started in the second wave and it was great getting to see him really enjoy himself. (And he waved at us when he heard us yell for him.)
About an hour after the elite women passed I started refreshing the BAA app, we noticed that Desi was at the front of the pack. And with less than two miles left, she was the only one popping up in the elite women's section and that's when I realized "You guys! She's by herself!"
We started watching our phones like hawks and then we saw the news: DESI LINDEN WON! Our table in that Starbucks erupted in cheers, and I pulled out the poster board and sharpie from my backpack and I excitedly wrote "Desi Won!" and shoved the board into a clear plastic bag. I also opened up a bag of twizzlers and had the sign in one hand and twizzlers in the other by the fencing showing the runners my sign.
It wasn't much, but the reactions were priceless. You could tell who the running nerds were, and generally the reaction was "REALLY?" then as they kept going you'd hear "Yaaayyyyyyy"
Occasionally I'd pass out twizzlers to fellow spectators as they got water logged (it turns out we were basically right after an aid station with gu, so not many runners were interested.) And we enjoyed seeing people's reactions to Desi's big win, and giving hugs to friends who needed the extra encouragement. Soon the group of us trickled down into just Sally Bergesen, Lesko, and myself. I couldn't leave yet and not just because the next commuter train was scheduled at 2:50 and it was only 1:00. My DC Volee teammate, Jill, hadn't passed yet. I told her I would be there. Then she finally got to us at 1:38 and her face said it all.
All I remember her saying is "It's so hard!" And soon she was on her way and the three of us went back into Starbucks for one last cup of coffee.
I still had time to kill so I said bye to Sally and Lesko and waited inside Starbucks until it was almost time for the train. This year it was slightly easier getting back to the train, because by this point the packs of runners had almost completely passed through and the spectators were pretty much gone. It was so hard to get the motivation to go back out in the cold rain because I was freezing and completely soaked, but I found it in a little Italian market up the street that also had a deli. (I had only eaten my picky bar and twizzlers so I was a little hungry.) Walking in the place looked amazing. But I only had eyes for the deli counter.
MUST EAT ALL THE CHEESES!
Okay it only ended up being one: Fresh mozzarella.
I ordered my sandwich and was practically drooling as the woman pulled out the leg of prosciutto and started shaving off pieces for my sandwich. I was running low on time so I shoved it in my bag and went back out in the rain to wait for the train. Once I got to the station, everyone was gathered under the overpass to try and get some shelter from the rain. And naturally the train was running late. I kept reminding myself that soon we would be on the train and this was only temporary. And people are doing something much more difficult in the rain right now. I'm just waiting for a train to get back to the hotel to get my bags before heading to the airport.
Once I got back to my hotel, I retrieved my bags and went to the bathroom to change into some dry clothes. (I have never been so thankful to overpack by one whole outfit.) Then I took a seat in the hotel lobby and took out my sandwich and bottle of sparkling water. And they did not disappoint.
Prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil leaves. It was perfect.
After inhaling my sandwich, I started checking my email and there was one from my airline saying my flight was delayed from 7:15 to 7:55. That was fine, I could just relax in the lobby a little longer. Soon it jumped to 11:15. I still had my can of White Claw hard seltzer from the Runner's World pop up hoping to drink it at some point. I look over and see someone getting a pizza delivered. Seconds later I see another email saying my time was bumped up to 9:40 and it was almost 7:30. I grabbed my bags and went to throw out my trash. I saw the person with her pizza at the elevator and offered her my remaining drink.
"This is going to sound really weird. I'm about to get on a plane so I can't take this. Do you want it?" (Show her the can of hard seltzer)
"SURE! Thanks!"
And feeling like a magical booze fairy I run out the door to catch the next train to the airport shuttle.
And then by the time I got to the shuttle, my flight got bumped to a later time. After a few more bumps, I was flying home at midnight on what should've been a 7:15 flight.
I finally got home at 1:45am. And when my head hit the pillow, I crashed hard. I was exhausted by the amazing weekend, but as always it was oh so worth it.
I went into this weekend swearing next year I'll spectate from home.
By the time I started to head home I began making plans to come back next year. This time with some of my Badass Lady Gang in tow for the ultimate running nerd weekend in Boston for Marathon Monday.
As I walked over to the Thinking Cup for a meet up with the Oiselle Volee, I was pelted by little pieces of sleet as I walked from the T stop. I was definitely thankful for a good cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich with the Oiselle Volee and Oiselle Founder, Sally Bergesen and Dr Sarah Lesko (known just as Lesko to the birds) who is Sally's BRF (Best Running Friend) and Oiselle's head of Corporate Development. I met them both for the first time at the Women's March in DC and spent time cowbelling with Lesko in Boston last year. It was great getting to connect with birds I hadn't seen since last year and meeting new birds who were running on Marathon Monday.
From the Thinking Cup, I headed over to the Make Way for Ducklings statues in Boston Common since it was right across the street. I was so excited to see that they had spring bonnets with flowers and that pots of daffodils were placed by each of the ducks.
After that, I hopped on the T again to get closer to the Goodr/Rabbit pop up shop on Newbury street. I couldn't decide on a color for sunglasses, so I moved on to check out the Runner's World Pop Up on Boylston where there was a panel of experts offering advice for Marathon Monday. The main concern was just how to prepare for the cold rain. One great tip was to keep nutrition close to your body so it doesn't freeze up. Basically keep it in a pocket in your leggings rather than a running belt so your body heat can help keep the gu and chews. I also picked up a can of White Claw hard seltzer for later and some free sunglasses and a headband with their logo.
Afterwards I headed over to Trader Joe's to grab a quick lunch (I settled on a turkey club wrap) along with some of their Raspberry Lime Sparkling Water. I shoved the bottle of water into my backpack and ate my wrap as I headed to the nearest T stop. It was finally time to experience the expo in full. And unsurprisingly, it was a lot better than Saturday in terms of crowds because the marathoners were at home resting for the big race the next day.
I managed to get away only buying a couple pieces of merch--a hat from Right on Hereford, Left on Boylston and I finally settled on a pair of Goodr sunglasses in Swedish Meatball Hangover (yellow frames, blue lenses.) However the swag was much better since vendors wanted to get rid of as much as they could. Here's my haul for day 2:
I got a 5oz sample from Vital Proteins, 2 full sized samples of Mighty Muffins from Flapjacked, a pack of mints and cups of brown rice and quinoa from Minute Rice, a full sized Trimino protein water, a Pure Protein bar, 2 lara bar samples, a copy of Women's Running magazine, a can of White Claw hard seltzer (which I tasted at the expo) along with a headband and sunglasses and a poster board from John Hancock that you could decorate at the expo. (In this case, I didn't decorate it and intended on writing the American winner for the Boston Marathon to show to the runners.)
After a little bit of a break I headed back to Copley Square to meet up with a DC Oiselle Volee teammate to Uber to the team dinner at a Boston Volee member's house. It was super simple--pasta, meatballs, salad and cookies and good company.
It was fun getting to know other team members and getting to meet one of Oiselle's Haute Volee (their elite running team), Sasha Gollish. My fellow DC teammate wanted to get back early since she was running the next morning and we ended up Ubering back to downtown Boston with Sasha! (That was kind of cool.) After getting dropped off, I still had a little bit of a walk to get to the T and back to my hotel. The path to the T took me right past the Finish line. It was only 8:00 and the drizzle had started. I could see there was barely anyone there. I had to go check it out. And I am so happy I did.
It was absolute pure magic. I had chills just thinking about how history could be made in this exact spot in less than 14 hours.
I was so excited to see what would happen the next day. The forecast couldn't keep me away. Not a whole lot could. I had rain boots, a rain jacket, waterproof pants, and twizzlers, a blank piece of posterboard, a clear plastic bag and a sharpie packed away in my backpack. I was in it for the long haul even as the rain started.
Last year after going to Boston, I really wanted to come back for Marathon Weekend. After Shalane Flanagan won the NYC Marathon, I just knew she would soon announce that she would be running Boston. That clinched it for me. I had to come back. (She was supposed to run in 2017, but a back injury sidelined her after the Tokyo Marathon.)
I started looking at hotels and flights immediately and settled on a schedule similar to last year where I would arrive later on Friday, run the 5k on Saturday, then fly back Monday evening after watching the Marathon.
Shortly after arriving on Friday night I finalized my outfit for the BAA 5k the next morning.
The next morning, the 5k race conditions were very similar to last year, except maybe slightly cooler and so sunny. It was the perfect morning for a race! I grabbed my race shirt then walked over to a meeting spot with my Oiselle Volee teammates. On the way over, I noticed someone was being followed by a camera and boom mic and realized it was Scott Jurek! It looked like he was doing a quick shakeout before the 5k.
I kept walking while eating my usual Smooth Caffeinator Picky Bar and took a quick picture with the Volee then we were off to the start. After dropping off my race shirt at bag check, I got separated from one of my teammates who was also running the 5k so I just went ahead and bypassed the lines for the portajohns (my hotel was close enough that I didn't need them, and it was just a 5k. That's a really short race for me now after my first marathon this past fall.) Then on my way to a corral I ran into a DC Volee teammate and stopped while the National Anthem was being sung. After it was over we ended up seeding ourselves further back past the pace signs...next to Scott Jurek? (That's not intimidating at all.) It looked like he was guiding a blind runner for the 5k. (Scott is in the yellow shirt.)
Pretty sure I nerded out more this year than last because I recently read his book, "Eat and Run" and he just released a new one about his run through the Appalachian Trail, "North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail." I didn't approach him though because it looked like he was pretty occupied and from what I've heard guiding blind runners is fun but sounds a little stressful. Essentially the guides have to guide blind runners through a race and warn them about passing people, any sort of change in terrain including potholes, manhole covers, grates, etc. so they know they need to step a little higher or move to the side. There are teams all over the country, but the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired offers the opportunity to match blind runners with sighted runners for the Boston Marathon.
Just like last year, it took some time to get to the start. And once again I got to see the elite runners finish. This time, my DC friend and I got to see Michael Wardian finish. We called out his name and he started to head in our direction. It would've been nice to finally meet him, but we had a 5k to run!
The course was exactly the same as last year so there weren't any surprises. The course is flat for the most part and close to the halfway point there's a little bit of a hill but nothing terrible. This year I actually ran the hills even though my mind kept screaming for me stop. I have done some difficult things in the past year. This is nothing. After that hill, you join up with the three lines that measure out 26.2, run across the finish line and back to the start in Boston Common. I took a couple walk breaks, and after seeing my official time I was kicking myself for the last one. This year my time was 31:20. Exactly 19 seconds slower than last year. Considering how I was/am coming off of a bad case of IT Band Syndrome from my fall marathon, I am mostly happy with the time.
After the race, I headed over to the Thinking Cup to grab a cup of coffee before getting on the subway back to the hotel. Once I returned to the hotel I changed into my race shirt, threw a few things into my running backpack and headed back out for the Nuun Ambassador (or Nuunbassador) meetup. After getting a swag bag (containing this year's Boston water bottle, two tubes of Nuun Immunity, temporary tattoos and a decal) Mike Sommers, the Chief Field Marketing Manager, said a few words along with Chris Heuisler, the lead Run Concierge for Westin Hotels. (Kevin Rutherford, the CEO of Nuun, was unable to make it this year.) Then after a filling the elevators of the Westin Copley Square a few times, we were all down in the lobby and we went for a run towards the Charles River. And seriously, these runners are fast. I managed to keep up for the first mile or so, but then quickly dropped back because my legs were a little tired from the 5k. I couldn't believe that the first mile was 9:04! The second and third miles were a little more my speed (10:45 and 10:54.)
And naturally we had to take a picture at the halfway point.
I'm off to the right in the orange jacket and the purple running backpack. After we took the picture I hung back a little more because I at least wanted to get a picture of the scenery. (It was basically the best day of the whole weekend weather-wise even though it progressively got colder throughout the day.)
Originally I totally intended on heading out from there, until Mike Sommers came back and met up with me just as I was headed back into the city. He ran with me all the way back and at that point, I might as well go back to the meeting room! I was glad I did because I got to meet other Nuunbassadors (including fellow Marylander Lauren of Breathe Deeply and Smile, another blogger who I've kept crossing paths with but never really had a chance to say hello.)
From there I headed towards Eataly with a quick detour to check out the finish line area.
Because when you get the Saucony x Dunkin shoes, you gotta take at least one picture on the 3 blue lines signifying the exact 26.2 miles of the marathon.
At Eataly I got a sample plate of 3 dishes to go since I was running late for an unofficial, last minute meet up at the expo with some ambassadors for Balega. I was so excited for the caprese salad, caponata, and a fragola salad with tuna. (Fragola is a kind of pearl shaped pasta.) The whole train and bus ride over the food was just taunting me. (By this point it was about 2:00 and I was feeling ravenous!) Once I got to the expo I stopped by the Nuun booth to say hello en route to the Balega booth. I met several of the employees, received a bag of swag and after a few minutes continued through the expo. Since it was Saturday, the expo was crazy busy and in the new venue it felt extra crowded. I made it to the Kodiak Cakes booth to try some of their buttermilk pancakes (yum!), over to Flapjacked to try their probiotic microwave muffin. I also stopped by the Sparkly Soul booth and got a couple new headbands. By then I was about done with the crowds and ready to sit down and eat my food from Eataly. So I hopped back on the bus to the T and to my hotel.
Where I promptly inhaled the food that was taunting me for 2 hours. And it was amazing. And I relaxed for the rest of the night because after over 30,000 steps I deserved it.
