2015,  LONG RUNS

LONG RUN | Feb 7 | Like Shalane

Blueberry Pancakes, Blueberry Pancakes, Blueberry Pancakes

Miles: 14

Song playing in my head: Uptown Funk – Bruno Mars because why not (and Allie put it there)

Brunch Food Motivation: Pancakes

Reminder: We are $155 away from the $1,000 milestone! And as promised in my emails (get yours on the right), if we reach it by mid-February, I’ll put together a few lyrics or a jig just for you. Link here.

Woke up to this text this morning:

“Had a dream you and me were running with Shalane Flanagan! Great karma for the run!”

And Kate was right. As a quick aside, Shalane Flanagan is a kickass long distance Olympic runner and you can probably spot her in the elite field at the Boston Marathon this April. She grew up in Marblehead, MA and runs a 2:22:02 marathon. Yeah, she’s fast.

I was late as per usual, but Grace met me to huff it to Boston College on the B line again. Today’s route was the same as last week, down and back along the carriage road adjacent to the marathon route. It’s the only place that is semi-cleared of black ice and snow with relatively low fear of getting hit by moving vehicles. Up until now we’ve been hit with freezing temperatures, snow, and ice. And while the thermometer still read 20 degrees, that was a heat wave. I don’t know if it was the warmth, the company or a good night’s rest, but it was today that I finally felt that old excitement for being out on the road. Honestly, just being on the other side of zero made all the difference.

Today I ran with Grace and Kate. We passed by John Kelley’s statue along the course. A little more Boston Marathon and long distance running history for you – John Kelley was another long distance Olympic athlete who grew up in Massachusetts. He’s run in a record 61 Boston Marathons, winning 2 and finishing in 2nd and the top 15 in many others. 61 marathons means he was running in his 80s. The statue was decorated with beach-themed attire as that was what a handful of runners and waterstop volunteers were wearing, I’m guessing to honor this 20 degree heat wave.

IMG_3484We hit Heartbreak Hill twice today because Kate made us go 14 instead of the 12 I secretly wanted to do. I immediately begin internally and, as Grace can attest to, externally debating between salty or sweet for brunch. I landed on blueberry pancakes. Thank heavens I had my purple pants on as they always bring a little sunshine. I teased about these pants last year when my favorite Nancy Gould had on matching purple pants and we dubbed them our fast pants because long runs in the cold will do that to a person.

At the end of the run after much stretching I had my lusted after blueberry pancakes at Deluxe Diner and catch up time with Crystal. As you can tell from the picture above, they kind of hit the spot. I like to think Shalane Flanagan also enjoys a blueberry pancake every now and then and that we’ll see a few more days like today.

Bright tights and happy trails,

My purple "make us run fast" pants.
My purple “make us run fast” pants.

Elise

PS. Next week’s post will have more on the Barr program, which is the program at Dana-Farber this run benefits and will focus on the great work researchers are doing to take steps toward finding a cure. It will also have more on my fundraising updates! We are $155 away from the $1,000 milestone!! And as promised in my emails (get yours on the right), if we reach it by mid-February, I’ll put together a few lyrics or a jig just for you.

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