My thoughts on running. Also the Boston Marathon.

My roommate has a shirt that says, "Life is short. Running makes it feel longer."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

So, the day of the Boston Marathon is a holiday around here (mostly because it's patriot's day, but they intentionally put the marathon on that day so the whole state has the day off). I was pretty stoked since I've never been a part of the marathon before. And, to top it all off, some of our good family friends flew in for the marathon since their daughter was running in it, so I got to spend time with some familiar faces. Good times all around. I have a depressing lack of pictures since my camera is broken (still. Good heavens, I really do need to do something about that because at the moment I have little-to-no proof of my life here in Boston), but I do have a few gems. The only photos I have of me or my visitors are from Mike's phone, so a huge shoutout to him for that.

Here is the starting line on Saturday before the race.

Annette and I at Cheesecake Factory for dinner on Saturday night.

In Boston Common there are these duckling statues from the children's book "Make Way for Ducklings." The day of the race they were all dressed up with masks and capes in celebration of the marathon. I wish I could have gotten a picture of all of them, but there were too many kiddos in my way, so this will have to suffice.

This is at one of the T (Boston's subway) stops. The T was out. of. control. on marathon day. Seriously, every single car was like a game a sardines, trying to see how many people we could fit in the tiniest space possible.

 My favorite sign I saw that day was a girl who, for every male runner that went by, held up a sign that said, "With that determination and stamina, you can call me ANY time" with her number on the bottom of it. I really wanted a picture, but, alas, was unable to get one.

Also, a note on the marathon. Despite being blazing hot and the fact that I got a sunburn, I absolutely loved it. It was such an amazing experience to be surrounded by thousands of people who were cheering other people on. That's all they were doing. We were all supporting thousands of runners that we didn't know, but appreciated anyway. I was near the finish line and if there was ever a runner who was struggling or who was walking when they reached us, everyone would cheer just *that* much louder to show them that they really had come so far and we just knew they could do it. And then, when anyone from the army ran by, the crowd cheered even louder. And when someone ran by who was pushing someone else in a wheelchair, the crowd absolutely erupted. It was such a special experience to be a part of something so big and so supportive. I don't think I've ever been somewhere where so many people were joined in a common, selfless cause to encourage and cheer for everyone they saw. Suffice it to say, I'll be participating in Marathon Monday again. Specifically as a spectator. Don't get any crazy ideas (Linds, I'm talking to you.)

Burnt. (Don't worry Mom, it wasn't that bad.)