Entries in Boston Marathon (4)

Saturday
May152010

Beantown Wine

Yesterday I received an e-mail from my sister. "You have a package arriving today from UPS." I'm glad she gave me the heads up. When the doorbell rang I was sweaty and smelly from exercise and may not have answered, but the thought of "surprise gift!" lured me in. 

I signed for the long narrow box and took it back to the kitchen where I ripped clawed chewed carefully opened it. The box had "fragile" marked all over it and as I slid the contents of the box out I could tell it was a wine bottle, even through the layers of bubble wrap. Wine? Why was my sister sending me wine? I like wine, but I'm hardly a connoisseur. I can't tell the difference between a $3 bottle and a $300 bottle. Maybe they visited a vineyard (in Chicago?) and wanted to share the experience. I hoped they hadn't spent too much. 

Then I rolled the bottle over to read the label. Oh my God. New contender for BEST. GIFT. EVER. It's a wine bottle with a customized label celebrating my run in Boston. "Beantown 26.2 Winery." How fun is that? I'm going to find a special place of honor in the exercise room for the bottle. Wine and a treadmill all in one room - that's how you can tell I'm a serious runner. 

Thanks Nicole and Grant! I love the gift!!!

 

DateSaturday, May 15, 2010 at 6:20 AM | AuthorDena Harris | Comment5 Comments | | | Print ArticlePrint Article | tagged , , , , in ,
Sunday
Feb282010

Looking for Title Suggestions for a Book on Running

Ran 20 miles this morning. By myself. Turned into the lunatic who talks to themselves around mile 18, muttering, "Two more miles. I can do two more miles. C'mon, hang in there. One mile and 8/10's left. Don't quit." People gave me a wide berth. 

Driving home, Blair asked why I hadn't written anything for publication on my running. "You went from being a non-runner to qualifying for Boston in three and a half years," he said. "That would be inspirational to someone."

"Oh, sweetie," I said, love pouring out from my heart.

"Plus, it seems like you should be able to make some money on that," he finished.

Aaaaaand, the moment is over. 

Anyway, we came up with a few potential book titles for my as yet unwritten memoir on running: 

  • Obsessed (This was Blair's contribution)
  • I Lapped His Ass (my contribution)
  • How Running (Nearly) Destroyed My Marriage
  • Finding God at Mile 19
  • I'm Too Old For This Sh**
  • Greetings From Planet Badass (or is that "Dumbass?)
  • Head Up, Breath, Baby Steps: How Running Imitates Life

 Blair also suggested something like, "A Woman's Journey" which I vetoed for sounding too much like a tampon commercial. 

I'm now on the couch, feet up, and slightly bummed because all the books I'm reading right now are non-fiction and I'm really in the mood to curl up with a good story. I'll search the house but I'm pretty sure I've read everything here with the exception of some Agatha Christie novels and I'm just not that desperate. 

Let me know which title you think I should go with, or feel free to suggest one of your own. If I select your title, I'll mention you in my interviews on Oprah and The Today Show, if there's time before the commercial break. 

DateSunday, February 28, 2010 at 12:19 PM | AuthorDena Harris | Comment9 Comments | | | Print ArticlePrint Article | tagged , , , , in , , ,
Wednesday
Dec302009

New Year's Resolutions for 2010

Long time readers of this blog know that I LUV ME some New Year resolutions. Really, anything in list-format gets me excited and New Year resolutions are the mother of all lists. So without further adieu, here are my resolutions/goals/hopes/dreams for 2010:

REDUCE TV VIEWING. This is a carryover resolution from last year. It worked beautifully until about October, when we slid off the wagon. But we're back on and more strict than ever. We'll record So You Think You Can Dance, Glee, and Modern Family and watch back with no commercials. We're cutting out Biggest Loser (maybe- I waver on this) and Big-Bang Theory. Otherwise, no TV except to watch the occasional movie or football game (Blair) and absolutely no channel flipping. 

SOUP. Yes, you read that right. Soup. Soup is my goal for the new year. I have a Vita-Mix which is the world's coolest blender/food processor all in one and I want to start using it more. Specifically, I want to make healthy, homemade soups to eat before each meal, ideally filling myself up so I eat smaller portions at lunch and dinner. It's also a great way to get in my servings of vegetables, which I'm bad about eating. So, 2010- year of Soup. 

Click to read more ...

DateWednesday, December 30, 2009 at 7:34 AM | AuthorDena Harris | Comment2 Comments | | | Print ArticlePrint Article | tagged , , , , , in , , , , ,
Saturday
Oct172009

Rethinking Boston...

I don't think I'm going to run the Boston Marathon in April. I've been going over and over it in my mind. As excited as I am to have qualified for Boston, I just cannot muster any enthusiasm at the moment for the race itself. I looked at a calendar and training for Boston would begin on December 27th. The thought of diving back in to full-blown training two months from now is enough to move me to tears. I don't think I could make myself do an interval workout, even if you held a gun to my head. I didn't realize how tightly wound I was until my marathon was over. Now, I just want to relax for awhile. 

Click to read more ...

DateSaturday, October 17, 2009 at 11:31 AM | AuthorDena Harris | Comment9 Comments | | | Print ArticlePrint Article | tagged , , , , , , in