Back in Boston

Distance: 3.2 miles
Time: 33:43
Pace: 10:32 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment (me): GPS app fails, again
Most Challenging Moment (Abby): Monstrous dog in back seat of passing car wants to eat her, Abby gets distracted, runs into streetlamp
Most Inspiring Moment: The difference between a cow and a bean is a bean can begin an adventure!

We're back in Boston! Land of plentiful garbage cans, a thousand dogs, and open construction sites (today I passed underneath a chute full of wet cement).

It's nice to be home, mostly because the baby can get back on a semi-regular schedule. Last night she slept for six hours and this week, for the first time ever, she's actually taking naps. Naps! I never thought I'd see the day.

The downside to this new land of plentiful sleep is that I am greedy. When my alarm went off at 7am to get out and go running, I looked down at my peacefully snoozing baby and thought "I gotta get me some more of that." For the first time ever, I hit the snooze button. This is a risky move, because I am a champion snooze-hitter, and regular readers know I am on a schedule. I have to get out and get back before 8:30 so Dave can make it to work on time.

It was not fun, rolling out of bed 15 minutes later, but I did it. I got dressed. I bravely faced the 19-degree weather. And I decided I deserved a treat.

After years of ignoring those Spotify Premium ads, I decided to finally take the plunge and sign up for three months of Premium and it...is...AWESOME. I'm usually a pretty strict podcast runner, but that's also because my new iPhone has only one song on it (Jonathan Coulton's "Baby Got Back (In the Style of Glee)"). So having access to anything I want at any time I want is pretty nice. And what did I want today?

The new movie gave me a good excuse to reacquaint myself with the original, which was probably my favorite musical ever growing up. I can remember wandering around with my Walkman, listening to my tape of the Original Cast Recording until the batteries ran out.

Even though I probably haven't heard most of these songs in over a decade, I knew all the words, and it took all my effort to keep from belting them out along Mass Ave. (especially when the witch starts rapping about vegetables).

I've got Act Two to look forward to tomorrow, and in the meantime I'm staying cozy with my new under-the-desk foot warmer:

Energy efficient, runs on head scratches and Zuke's mini treats.

Long Run + Long Hill

Distance: 9.01 miles
Time: 1:50:44
Pace: 12:17 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment: That hill, man
Most Inspiring Moment: Cheering on Abby for the last few feet up the hill


Another long run done!

Nine miles is actually the longest I've ever moved in one go (a few years ago I hiked 9 miles in one day in the Grand Canyon), so I was excited/daunted by the idea. It went okay! I think because I tend to run these long ones tortoise-like (slooooow and steady), they actually end up being not terrible, even if it means I'm out there for a long time.

Of course, it might have just been that Dave took the baby the night before and I slept alone in the blissfully-sound-proofed basement. I got my first full night of sleep since the baby was born (since June-ish if you're counting all those third trimester nights when I woke up to pee). It was amazing.

"Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza," Dave said the next morning. "Happy Valentine's Day, Happy Mother's Day, Happy Anniversary..."

After taking two runs off, my running partner met me in the kitchen, rearin' to go:

And we set off!

For my last suburb run, I decided I wanted to tackle the big hill by my house, the one so high that on a clear day you can see Manhattan.

This is not a very intimidating picture, because the hill is so steep and curvy, it's actually impossible to get a shot of the whole thing. Here's the top, and here is the next curve:

 And the next curve:

And then the view from the bottom:

See how it looks almost flat? That would be an optical illusion, because it is so steep that I was forbidden to go near it with a sled and my elementary school bus would regularly get stuck on it.

Running up it took a good five minutes, and even though I wanted to scream obscenities for each of those five minutes, instead I looked down at Abby and cheered her on.

"Keep going! We're almost there! Just a few more steps!"

I looked like an idiot but we made it to the top. And this in spite of the weird marble lion with the inexplicably red eyes that equally freaked out both me and Abby (only one of us growled, though):

Nine miles, three podcasts, and four doggy pit stops later, we made it home. Then we got in the car and really made it home, back to good ole flat Boston.

Today was a cross training day, and I'm counting the hour and a half I went walking with the baby strapped on my chest, burdened by four bags of groceries and/or one over-excited pup. Gotta get that cardio in any way I can.

Tomorrow: glorious, glorious rest.

CHRISTMAS BONUS RUN!

Distance Run: 5 miles
Time: 56:39
Pace: 11:19 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment: Convincing my brother to run with me
Most Inspiring Moment: Christmas carols!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I celebrated the day by waking up early and convincing my brother to go running with me. This meant my regular partner had to be left at home. She was not happy about it.

Photo from Dave. Apparently she stood staring at the door whining for 10 minutes.
"But...but...but... Abby likes to run?"

My brother actually proved to be a pretty good partner. He hasn't run in months but his long legs and natural ability meant he was about as good as I (total training time: 8 weeks) am.

He left me after three miles, so I finished out the last two by myself, solo and without headphones. I was getting bored, so I started singing Christmas carols and made it all the way to Joy to the World before I finally spotted this:

The rest of the day was spent opening presents and consuming way too much food. Even Abby got Christmased-out.

Of course, even though Christmas was over, I still had to get up this morning and get my daily run in. Three! More! Miles!

Distance Run: 3.02 miles
Time: 33:53
Pace: 11:13 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment: Post-Christmas slump
Most Inspiring Moment: Blue skies, bright sun

Today's run was pretty unremarkable except that the dog did not want to go, either, and it was so lovely and sunny that I seriously thought I should get myself some sunblock.

I get another day to sleep and relax before my next long run. Nine miles! That's almost the longest I've ever walked/hiked/ran in one go. Wish me luck...

I'm Dreaming of a Foggy Freezing Rain Christmas...

Distance: 3.04 miles
Time: 29:40
Pace: 9:46 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment: RAIN.
Most Inspiring Moment: My complete misery and desperation to get out of the terrible weather meant I had my fastest run ever!

The less said about today's wet, cold, miserable run, the better. The whole time I was running the only thing I thought was THE FASTER YOU GO, THE SOONER IT WILL BE OVER. Look at how fast I went!

I came home looking like this:

To enjoy some of this:

Sweatpants: on. Baked goods: ingested. Tea: drunk.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Sunday! Funday! Runday!

Distance: 8 miles!!!
Time: 1:40:42
Pace: 12:40 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment: Abby and I both needed bathroom breaks; only Abby could do something about it
Most Inspiring Moment: Felt great the whole time

I survived my first long run! And not only survived, but had a great time! I was pretty worried that around the one hour mark, I'd be ready to call quits, but happily, I got the whole run in and could have kept going.

My run prep started Saturday night, when Dave and I went out for some sushi. I have this thing with sushi. My whole life I thought I wouldn't like it, and then I decided to try it two years ago and oh man it is amazing. Since then, I've tried to cram a lifetime's worth of missed sushi opportunities into my daily routine, with the result being that every time that Dave and I actually go out, I tend to go overboard (cue boat joke):

WE ORDERED SO MUCH THAT THEY BROUGHT IT IN A BOAT. This was unexpected and also amazing. Halfway through our meal I stopped and said to Dave, "Did we order too much?" He said something back but I didn't hear him because I was too busy eating.

With my stomach full of delicious raw fish, I went to bed. Iris, who has responded to three weeks of traveling and a rotating cast of family members with all the grace and calm of a Chihuahua on uppers, woke up several times throughout the night. But thankfully, the Support Staff: Husband Level took care of things, so while I was woken up many times, my butt stayed between the sheets from 10pm to 6am...

...when I got up for my run! It was dark. In case you're curious what 6:30 in the morning looks like in the suburbs, here you go:

I thought I would show a steady progression of lightening skies, ending with a beautiful sunrise, but my little iPhone camera was not up to the task. Here are several blurry photos of the suburbs, ending with a shot of the sky when I figured "I guess it's daytime now."

 

The run itself actually was really nice! For most of the morning, no one was out but me and Abby, and it was so dark and peaceful. I'm beginning to understand that I actually prefer the long runs over the short runs, because while I eventually get into a nice groove and enjoy myself, I usually spend the first 20-30 minutes hating life.

Miss Abby seemed to enjoy herself, too. I wasn't sure how she'd take almost two hours of constant running, but we were going at such a leisurely pace that she had no trouble keeping up.

She did, however, have to make not one, not two, but THREE bathroom breaks. The suburbs not having an abundance of garbage cans, this usually means I have to carry around her little baggie myself, but by the third one I decided if she was going to make the mess, she could hold onto it until we got home.

The indignity...

I would have loved to say that I got home and relaxed in my maternity sweatpants all day, but instead I barely had time to shower, change, and eat before we rushed out again for the baby's baptism. (for the record: she did great. Took the water like a champ and only began to scream her little face off once we started taking pictures)

After the baptism came the baptism PARTY, and I stuffed myself with quiche, ham, and my mother-in-law's famous gingerbread cookies, which this year were literary themed:

Now today, I'm finally getting my cookie-and-sweatpants sleepy day, with cross training only thing on my agenda.

Mmmm...yoga...cookies...

Hey-o Hills

Distance: 3.06 miles
Time: 32:06
Pace: 10:30 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment: I'm still pretty sleepy, but actually today went really well!
Most Inspiring Moment: Finally getting the hang of those hills

When I woke up this morning, I wasn't sure if I would bring Abby with me. Maybe she would still be feeling out of sorts? And then I rolled over in bed and saw this:

Yeah, I think she's feeling better.

This was the first time I actually felt like I wasn't going to lose a lung running up those hills, which makes me think my idea of training for the marathon by running (flat, straight) loops around the Charles River is not the best plan. For the original City Upon a Hill,* Boston seems to be pretty plain-like.

I don't actually mind hills, and I wouldn't mind doing some actual hill training. In high school, during my short but fabled stint on the cross country team, we used to run up the hill on campus. Famous as the best sledding spot in the winter and the highest point in town, here is what that hill looks like:

We would run up, touch the tower, and run down again to the street, and that was one rep. And then we did it seven more times. It was not exactly the most ideal way to spend an afternoon. But probably really good marathon training.

I'll have to check out some hilly spots in Boston, but in the meantime, I'm still enjoying the suburbs and all the holiday decoration that goes along with it:

This week, I'd like to thank my once-roommate Nikki Wells, for donating this month's crescent roll budget to my running campaign. Anyone who knows Nikki knows that is true Christmas sacrifice.

Tomorrow I get to bask in an off day, and then it's my first long run on Sunday!
 

*I, a history nerd, cannot resist commenting on this. The "city upon a hill" phrase, as applied to Boston, was first used by Puritan settlers to describe their community. Since it was used by Ronald Reagan in his speeches, it's come to mean a place with great ideals that can be a beacon and model to others. But, that was not the original intention of John Winthrop in the 1600s. He meant it in the sense that they were being put under a spotlight by everyone back in England (who expected them to fail), so let's really keep it together, guys. The more you know!

Abby Takes a Sick Day

Distance: 5.01 miles
Time: 55:42

Pace: 11:07 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment: poor Abby :(
Most Inspiring Moment: Getting so sucked into Serial's season finale that the run flew by

My running partner is out of commission! After yesterday's run, the pup went to a corner of the room and didn't leave except to puke and/or poop all over the place. Thankfully, she's doing much better today and seems to be loving her vet-prescribed sickie diet of brown rice and cooked chicken (what luxury!), but as she was still a little out of sorts this morning, I decided to leave her at home for my first pace run.

I'm still a little iffy on the whole "pace run" concept. I think I'm supposed to be running at the pace I'd like to run the marathon at (which is 10:30-10:45), but I'm sort of always trying to run at that pace and mostly...not... Today I just ran like normal while thinking the whole time "GO FASTER."

Actually, I (along with the rest of the country, apparently) was really thinking "WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH SERIAL?!?!?" I will just say I'm on the Occam's Razor side of things, although I wanna know how that Innocence Project inquiry shakes out.

The good news is I was so distracted by the podcast that I basically shut off the running part of my brain (the part that's usually wondering how much longer I have to run).

The better news is Dave arrives tomorrow, so I'm no longer solo nighttime parenting! Because adorable is not adorable at 2 in the morning.

JK she's adorable all the time! But especially when someone else is waking up with her.

Marathon Training: It Gets Real

Distance: 3 miles
Time: ????
Pace: ?!?!?!
Most Challenging Moment: My iPhone battery dies
Most Inspiring Moment: Caught up to the garbage truck to throw away the poop bag

Up to this point, my marathon training has been what they call "building up a base." Although at my pre-baby peak, I was doing about 20 miles a week, post-baby I'd work up a huff waddling down to the mailbox. So when I decided to train for the marathon, I had to pre-train, getting myself up to a solid, comfortable 12-15 miles a week.

But with the marathon now 18 weeks(!!!!) away, it's time for me to step up my game and follow a real training plan.

I'm using Hal Higdon's Novice 2 plan, which combines short runs, long runs, cross training, and (my favorite) rest days. Today's run was supposed to be an easy 3 miles, but it turned out to be particularly challenging for a few reasons.

1. She's back! And pleased to discover that there are squirrels in the suburbs.

2. She hasn't established a favorite "business" spot, leading to an unscheduled stop near the beginning of our route, which was fine except no garbage cans.

3. The good news? There was a garbage truck ahead! The bad news? Garbage trucks go fast.

I did manage to catch up and throw it away, but just as I was feeling triumphant, my iPhone (which also tracks my distance and pace) finally died (possibly because I was busy taking pictures of garbage trucks).

Also, there are hills in suburbia, and apparently running up half a flight of stairs to get to a pedestrian bridge does not compare. I thought I was having a hard time, and then I looked down at my panting, heaving, tongue-lolling dog. Us city folk need some conditioning.

Five miles tomorrow!

Helloooooo!

I'm playing catch-up after a weekend away to watch my sweet sister-in-law get married to her sweet love (whom she has been with since before me or Dave or her older brother and his wife. This wedding was a long time comin'.).

Since the weekend featured not one BUT TWO nights away from the little miss, and since I'm still recovering from my turn on the dance floor/that cranberry vodka, and since the real official marathon training starts this Wednesday, I thought I would skip Monday's run to let myself recuperate. And good thing, too, since I'm in New Jersey and Dave's in Boston and as the only parent on baby duty last night, I was the one to take care of the baby when she woke up at 1AM. And 3AM. And 5AM.

But! I did get my run in on Friday, before all the madness began. Here it is!

Distance Run: 3.39 miles
Time: 32:17
Pace: 10:45 min/mil

Most Challenging Moment: So...hungry...
Most Inspiring Moment: Wildlife!

I'm at my parents' house this week, getting ready to celebrate some Christmas, and I've rediscovered the joys of running in the suburbs. No traffic, waving hello to the other runners, and, of course, wildlife:

It was when I spotted this lady that I was grateful I didn't have Abby with me. To be fair, Abby's never actually seen a deer in real life before, so it's not like I'm positive she would lose her mind in a mixture of excitement and terror, but given that she gets nervous around colorful bits of trash and the Charles River, it seems like a pretty safe bet that she wouldn't enjoy the experience.

That was about the only reason I was happy Abby wasn't there, because otherwise I could have used her towing capacity. I was totally exhausted from our drive from Boston the night before (that seat back. For real tho.), and due to a scheduling error, I went out on my run having not eaten for, like, 17 hours.

It turns out there's actually a school of thought suggesting runners not eat beforehand, to train your body into burning fat stores for energy instead of just relying on carbs and sugars. (And there is the extent of my running-specific knowledge)

Maybe for someone it would be a good idea? But for me it was like running through glue, I was so exhausted. I felt so slow that I wouldn't be surprised if I was actually moving backwards, but my pace was actually not super terrible. This is good because I've decided to try to run the marathon at a 10:30-10:45 min/mile pace, and my first pace run is Thursday, and I am not totally confident that I can do that without Abby (yet).

Speaking of Abby, she's back with me now and ready to hit the streets on Wednesday. I'm curious how she'll do with any deer she spots, although she's probably just as likely to freak out over these other suburban wildlife:

Finally, a quick thank you to Kristen Lippert-Martin for her generous donation last week! Kristen is also a writer, so if you're looking for some books to round off your Christmas list, check her out.

Leave No Squirrel Unchased!!!

Time: 52:24
Distance Run: 4.84 miles
Pace: 10:50 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment: Wtf with the squirrels, Abby?
Most Inspiring Moment: The dulcet tones of Benedict Cumberbatch leading me forward

Yesterday, when I looked out the window and saw this...

...my first thought was what kind of mess I'd be running in today. Sleet? Snow? I had to go out last night to deliver a pop-art pet portrait (order yours now!!!), and the wind transformed my umbrella into some kind of kinetic art sculpture, folding and flipping like origami that is also useless at keeping rain off a human.

So when I woke up and not only was it not raining but it was also above freezing, I was pretty psyched.

Unfortunately, also psyched were all the squirrels in Boston, and they celebrated by prancing all over the place. And I know this because Abby chased every single one.

WHAT IS THAT?!?

Usually Abby is pretty good when it comes to squirrels. She sees them but it's more of a "oh hey!" like you do across a party to a Facebook acquaintance. Today it was like "OH MY GOSH WHAT'S UP LET'S PLAY JK I PROBABLY WOULD EAT YOU JK BUT REALLY I WILL CHAAAAASE YOOOOU!!!!"

SQUIRREL!!!

As a result, I spent a lot of time zigzagging across the sidewalk, hoping that I would not step on/trip over the dog.

The good news is the squirrels are only on the Boston side of the river (Hold on. I just realized. Those squirrels don't cross the bridges, right? Are there, like, rival squads of squirrels on opposite sides of the river?), so once we crossed to Cambridge, things mostly quieted down (she did see ONE squirrel near MIT and flipped the f' out).

Today's run made me wonder if I should try to, ahem, cut out my running partner one or two times a week. It's a toss-up whether she makes me run faster--because she drags me along behind her--or slower--because I have to navigate other dogs, pee breaks, and, of course, squirrels.

Usually I'd say Abby would not stand to be left behind, except this morning when I woke up and got out of bed, she had on another one of her "Wait, really?" looks. I kept asking if she wanted to go for a run, and she just gave me shark eyes.

"Do you think I should leave her at home?" I asked Dave. We were watching her from the bathroom, and she was doing her if-I-don't-look-at-them-maybe-they'll-go-away thing. Dave was dubious, possibly because it would mean he'd have to take her out to pee, so I walked out of the bathroom and asked again and she popped out of her kennel with her little tail going nuts.

"What just happened?" Dave asked.

"I don't know, I just--oh. It's because I was in the bathroom. I think she thought I was luring her over with the promise of a run so I could give her a bath."

"I mean," Dave said, "it's happened before..."

Smart puppy.

No Sick Days

Distance Run: 3.66 miles
Time: 44:14
Pace: 12:04 min/mil (yeah, it was not a good day)
Most Challenging Moment: ugh...I have to pick just one?
Most Inspiring Moment: Made it through the run?

When I woke up this morning (at 5AM. Thanks, baby.) I felt a little...blech. Achy, exhausted, nauseous.* It also didn't help that my weather app showed me this:

Yipes.

Winter is coming, y'all.

It was probably the first time ever that I really, seriously thought I would not be able to get out of bed. This would not be good, because my live-in babysitters, aka parents, are back in New Jersey this week, which means Dave has to watch the baby, which means I have to be out and back before 8:30AM or I miss my running window.

So, I heaved myself out of bed, got dressed, and got the puppy outside.

It was cold.

I tried to snap this picture of Abby leaning into the wind with her little ears pinned back, a look of determination on her face, but her ears flipped forward at the last second. Nevertheless, it was chilly. I wore my heavy duty running jacket, which, when I bought it, I assumed I wouldn't need for two more months, and between feeling a little...blech...and the weather, the best I could do today was a brisk shuffle.

The only positive was that I was going slow enough I almost managed to get a picture of Abby nose-high-fiving me.

She tends to do it pretty much only when we're running fast and having fun, so I imagine the thought going through her head when this photo was taken was probably something like "I'm supposed to get excited about this now?"

I'm pretty proud that I did my full run and made it home before Dave had to get off to the office. Just in time, too! See that white stuff on the ground?

Snow!

*If, like Dave, you immediately thought that I might be pregnant, let me just leave this right here.

Running Under Extreme Baby Conditions

Distance: 3.61 miles
Time: 36:48
Pace: 10:12 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment: so...sleepy...
Most Inspiring Moment: Hey, I won some sort of prize!

Look at this face. So innocent. So unassuming. You would hardly think the night before she'd spent several hours screaming her little lungs out.

Usually, she's a pretty good sleeper. (I'm good at talking about this because the very first question people ask about Iris is, "How's she sleeping?") She's good! For a while there, we were going solid 10PM to 6AM. Eight hours! Such luxury.

Lately, though, she's rediscovered the joys of 4AM. And 3. And 1. And crying until someone picks her up and/or feeds her.

Somewhere online I found that these periods of regression and fussiness are called "wonder weeks," as in "hey your kid is a pain in the butt but they're growing and learning and isn't that wonderful?" But in our house, they're wonder weeks as in "I wonder when the baby will go to sleep. I wonder when her little lungs will wear out. I wonder if I will ever sleep again."

This, unsurprisingly, makes it tough to wake up in the morning and run. For everyone.

But as I've learned over the last month of running, so long as I get over the hurdle of leaving bed and putting on my exercise stuff, once I get out there I feel pretty good. And today, despite the exhaustion, despite my phone inexplicably punking out on me, Abby and I had a great run!

So good, we even got a prize!

(btw I still have not figured out how to redeem it)

I was blown away by how generous people were this week! Thank you to Natasha Sinel Cohen, Marisa Toniatti and Dan Wiggins, and my aunt Maureen Kenny! Thanks to your amazing support, I'm only $25 away from reaching my first thousand dollars! Are you the one to help me reach that goal? You can always check out my CrowdRise account or donate via the banner to the right -->. As always, thank you!

The Real Reason I Run: The Kids at Codman

As much as I write about getting lost and Abby chasing squirrels, every time I get out there and run, I think about the same thing: doing it for the kids of Codman Academy. I am one hundred percent positive that if I just decided one day to wake up and run a marathon, I would have quit long ago. Whenever my alarm clock goes off and I just want to throw the covers over myself and hit snooze, I remember that I'm helping support some amazing kids, and it just gets that much easier to hop out of bed and lace up my sneakers.

Which is why I was thrilled to accept an invitation to visit the school this morning!

First off, as a YA writer, I often meet teens at different events, and time and again, I am blown away by their intelligence, thoughtfulness, humor, and wisdom. The kids of Codman Academy were no exception.

I've heard a lot about Codman from my friend, Greg, a dean at the school and the person who said offhand to me and Dave several months ago, "Hey, if you guys are ever thinking about running the marathon..." I knew they have a tight-knit community that celebrates achievement in all forms, and this was a big reason why I wanted to run for them. It was amazing to see in person how this community operates, from the little skits the kids put on to a full-on a capella performance to--oh man--a beautiful and powerful speech by one of the school's seniors.

It was so amazing and inspiring to hear this young woman speak about difficult moments that shape her life and her perspective. I saw her passion, hope, anger, and wisdom as she shared her experiences, seeing herself as both "an African-American scholar" and "a black girl from the hood." It was an eloquent and emotional speech that touched on so many difficult topics--race, privilege, gentrification, culture, history, identity.

She had a wisdom and presence well beyond her years, and she finished her speech by pointing out that the moments that make you uncomfortable are the moments that change you, make you learn about yourself, and grow.

I've sat in a lot of school assemblies and witnessed a lot of half-asleep kids barely paying attention (and I've been that half-asleep kid, too). But as she spoke, you could practically feel how much her fellow students were soaking in everything she had to say. It was truly amazing to witness, and I could see why and how Codman was a place where this young woman--and students like her--could flourish. It's a special place.

By the time I was called up to speak, I was pretty nervous, and I'm pretty sure I babbled something about my book and the fact that I was running for them, but public speaking being the literal opposite of what I do every single day, I'm not sure I was super articulate.

The one thing I did remember to do was pull out my camera and take a photo of them. As soon as I said "This is going on my blog!" a dozen kids ran up to get in the shot--and here they are!

I try not to talk too much about fundraising on this blog, because I get it--people have a lot of demands on their time and wallet. But I think it's important for you to see the community that you could help support. These kids are truly amazing, and it is such an honor to be running for them, spreading the word about them and everything they achieve.

This school dreams big and pushes its students to dream big, and I believe so strongly in their goals and vision. Your dollars would play a vital role in achieving those goals and supporting this community.

One of the reasons I write YA fiction is because I believe inspiring kids, opening them up to new ideas, and challenging them is some of the most important work a person can do. And I'm running for the same reason. Want to be a part of that?

Observations from the Long(fellow) Run

Distance Run: 4.9 miles
Time: 53:18
Pace: 10:52 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment: The treat bag burst open, raining Zukes mini training treats (peanut butter flavor) all over the Harvard Bride (note: this is also Abby's Most Inspiring Moment)
Most Inspiring Moment: I hit a stride!

The first time I ran the Longfellow Bridge, I was so confused by the various detours and open construction sites that I didn't pay much attention to my actual surroundings. Which was a shame! Because the Longfellow Bridge is adorable.

Look! Poetry! Even Abby was intrigued.

I love a bridge that provides reading material.

In the underpass on the Cambridge side, I spotted this colorful dog graffiti that seemed a little risque for the blog (hence the privacy bar). But still! Giant dog cartoon! Poems! And I didn't even get photos of the salt-and-pepper columns or the charmingly rusted balustrade.

On the other side of the bridge, I decided to skip trying to cross Memorial Drive to get to the river and instead run to the Harvard Bridge on the MIT side. It was...a change of scenery?

Even the construction sites are intelligent!

It was about this point where I remembered Abby's aversion for heavy machinery and two seconds after this moment that a bulldozer charged down the street to our left while a crane fired up on our right. Poor pup. It was like I'd shoved her down some sort of narrow chute of inexplicable terrors and loud noises.

We finally made it past the construction unscathed, and when we reached the Harvard Bridge, we both flew. It was great! Usually I sort of shuffle-shuffle-run while Abby bobs aimlessly around me, but for a few seconds there, we were in total sync, feeling great, running fast. My favorite thing about this moment was how every now and then Abby would turn and look back at me with a huge puppy grin and do this little hop like she was trying to give me a high five. I imagine her inner monologue went something like this:

"YEAH WE'RE RUNNING!"

[hop]

"LET'S KEEP DOING IT!"

[hop]

"I WILL NEVER STOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPP!!!"

[hop-hop]

Then I spilled the bag of treats everywhere and she was like hold on, gotta eat this stuff.