"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness....we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going the other way..." CHARLES DICKENS
A TALE OF TWO RACES:
As summer is (finally) easing its way in, I have been busy planning some summery activites for myself. Which means participating in some fun road races, swims, and hikes.
Over the past two weekends, I had the opportunity to participate in two very fun and very different races.
THE EVENTS
May 25: The Run to Remember: The Boston Police Department's yearly run to commemorate officers killed in the line of duty
May 18: The Bay to Breakers: San Francisco's biggest party of the year
THE COURSE
Bay to Breakers: A 7 1/2 mile long trek through hilly San Fran from the Embarcadero to Golden Gate Park.
Run to Remember: A 13.1 mile flat loop through historic Boston, across the Charles River and along Memorial Drive with the turnaround in front of Havaahd.
THE SIZE
Run to Remember: 6,000 participants
Bay to Breakers: Over 60,000 participants
THE WEATHER:
R2R: Sunny, clear, with temps of 68 at the start to 76 at the finish. Perfect!
B2B: Slightly overcast with temps of 60 at the start to 50 at the finish. Perfectly cold!
THE RUN TO WALK RATIO
R2R: Ideally, all running with only walking through the water stations.
B2B: Ideally, all walking with no running whatsoever.
THE PREPARATION
B2B: Several weeks of emails to determine the theme for the group, costume prep, float construction, alcohol purchasing, meeting time and place, and money collection. Oh, I was SOOO prepared!
R2R: Prep SHOULD have been a nice several week long schedule of increasing jogging milage and then tapering right before race day. In reality, I spent the weeks before the race first recovering from St. Martin, then walking to dog, then recovering from Bay to Breakers. I was SOOO not prepared!
THE RACE ATTIRE THAT MADE ME GO "HMMMM?"
R2R: The sheer number of running skirts. That does not look comfy.
B2B: The sheer number of completely naked people. That does not look comfy.
THE COUPLE'S BONDING EXPERIENCE
R2R: The couple that takes turns pushing the baby jog stroller.
B2B: The couple that dresses up as salt and pepper shakers.
HEATHER'S EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE
R2R: I always almost cry when running by the Team In Training participants. The ones who are running in memory of a loved one who's name is written on the back of their shirts.
B2B: I always almost cry when I get hit in the face with a flying stale tortilla.
THE SONG THAT EVERYONE SINGS AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS
B2B: "Don't Stop Believing" ----Journey
R2R: "Shipping Up to Boston" ----Dropkick Murphy's
HEATHER'S BIGGEST CONCERN OF THE DAY
R2R: Finding a place to pee. (the lines in front of the port-o-potties were really long)
B2B: Finding a place to pee (the secluded bushes in GGP were hard to find)
THE RESULTS
R2R: Faster than last year: 2:17:02 (I know. But what can I say? I'm REALLY slow!)
B2B: Faster than any year: about 5 hours (I know. But what can I say? We REALLY like to party!)
A TALE OF TWO RACES:
As summer is (finally) easing its way in, I have been busy planning some summery activites for myself. Which means participating in some fun road races, swims, and hikes.
Over the past two weekends, I had the opportunity to participate in two very fun and very different races.
THE EVENTS
May 25: The Run to Remember: The Boston Police Department's yearly run to commemorate officers killed in the line of duty
May 18: The Bay to Breakers: San Francisco's biggest party of the year
THE COURSE
Bay to Breakers: A 7 1/2 mile long trek through hilly San Fran from the Embarcadero to Golden Gate Park.
Run to Remember: A 13.1 mile flat loop through historic Boston, across the Charles River and along Memorial Drive with the turnaround in front of Havaahd.
THE SIZE
Run to Remember: 6,000 participants
Bay to Breakers: Over 60,000 participants
THE WEATHER:
R2R: Sunny, clear, with temps of 68 at the start to 76 at the finish. Perfect!
B2B: Slightly overcast with temps of 60 at the start to 50 at the finish. Perfectly cold!
THE RUN TO WALK RATIO
R2R: Ideally, all running with only walking through the water stations.
B2B: Ideally, all walking with no running whatsoever.
THE PREPARATION
B2B: Several weeks of emails to determine the theme for the group, costume prep, float construction, alcohol purchasing, meeting time and place, and money collection. Oh, I was SOOO prepared!
R2R: Prep SHOULD have been a nice several week long schedule of increasing jogging milage and then tapering right before race day. In reality, I spent the weeks before the race first recovering from St. Martin, then walking to dog, then recovering from Bay to Breakers. I was SOOO not prepared!
THE RACE ATTIRE THAT MADE ME GO "HMMMM?"
R2R: The sheer number of running skirts. That does not look comfy.
B2B: The sheer number of completely naked people. That does not look comfy.
THE COUPLE'S BONDING EXPERIENCE
R2R: The couple that takes turns pushing the baby jog stroller.
B2B: The couple that dresses up as salt and pepper shakers.
HEATHER'S EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE
R2R: I always almost cry when running by the Team In Training participants. The ones who are running in memory of a loved one who's name is written on the back of their shirts.
B2B: I always almost cry when I get hit in the face with a flying stale tortilla.
THE SONG THAT EVERYONE SINGS AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS
B2B: "Don't Stop Believing" ----Journey
R2R: "Shipping Up to Boston" ----Dropkick Murphy's
HEATHER'S BIGGEST CONCERN OF THE DAY
R2R: Finding a place to pee. (the lines in front of the port-o-potties were really long)
B2B: Finding a place to pee (the secluded bushes in GGP were hard to find)
THE RESULTS
R2R: Faster than last year: 2:17:02 (I know. But what can I say? I'm REALLY slow!)
B2B: Faster than any year: about 5 hours (I know. But what can I say? We REALLY like to party!)
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