That's a whole lotta running

I spent all day Friday and Saturday in a van with 6 other people, running occasionally. For those of you who have never done a 200-mile overnight relay, it's one of the greatest, craziest, most exhausting things ever. And those are only some of the positives. I participated in my third such event for the last two days. This one was the "easy one" because it wasn't the first and I wasn't doing the longest legs. I still lost it before the third leg for a few minutes but then went out and ran it faster than most would. Thank god for caffeine. I helped us be organized and enthusiastic and still managed to get the requisite hour and a half sleep. And, I may do it again next year, if something better doesn't come along ... like the 2014 Boston Marathon. Can't believe I haven't posted since Marathon Monday, the day that truly changed my world on so many levels. I was 3 blocks away from the second bomb that went off on Boylston Street, where they stopped the runners. Though I am lucky that my running family and friends and I are all safe and sound, every day I find out something new about it and it still makes me angry, frustrated and sad. And that order changes depending on what I learn. What all of this means of course is that I want to run next year. My qualifying time from Chicago 2012 still counts, but I am only 3 1/2 minutes ahead of the required 3:55 so it's possible that too many faster-qualified runners will register before I get a chance. The TIRs have a lottery for the 2 bibs we get and I will try that if I don't get registered on my own. Otherwise, I will work the mile 4 water stop and zoom to the city after and stand right where I did on April 15, 2013 and cheer and shout and take pictures of all those that get to run. And I will be proud to be a runner and a Bostonian. And what do I do with these? I pulled them out of the drawers and cabinets that they have been stashed in since I started seriously running in 2008 and want to do something purposeful with them. Though I am certainly proud of all the accomplishments (some age group winners I had totally forgotten about), the hardware isn't that important to me. If anyone has a suggestion about what I can do with them besides displaying them or making them ornaments, please let me know. And now, it's time to bike. I need to train for the MS Ride which is now just over 6 weeks away ... very scary. No intense running for me between now and then. I am going to try to ride and hour a day minimum 3 days a week, and go hard core on weekends. I am so afraid of getting on the bike on day 2, I don't know how to get over that except get on the bike a lot between now and then. And then, get back to running. Training for Dublin starts in July with the Boilermaker. Boom!