A Wicked Exciting Weekend

We have a number of teammates competing this weekend on the local race scene. Tim G. (and maybe others) are competing in the Beaverdam Tri, and Mike C. is running in the Mission Outreach Benefit 5K. There is also the House Your Neighbor 5K/10K taking place on Saturday, as well as a number of races / fun runs and bike rides at the Umstead Earth Day Celebration. Looks like it should be an AWESOME weekend.  So, GOOD LUCK, have FUN, and let us know how it all turned out.

Oh yeah, and on Monday there is this little race called the Boston Marathon that a bunch of us are running in. But, we have to make it to the start line first. So, for the final instalment of the "Countdown to Boston" series, here's my tips on surviving in Boston:

• Quincy Market, which is a really cool place, is not in Quincy... it's in Boston... and also referred to as Faneuil Hall
• The routes in the subway system are referred to by color... but don't refer to the commuter rail as the purple line
• In order to ride the subway, you can purchase a "Chahlie cahd" (this is a card that you put a certain amount of money on and can continue to use) or a "Chahlie ticket" (a one time deal)... the 'r' in these words is really more of a suggestion
• Boston Clam Chowda is a delicious cream based soup with potatoes and clams and celery
• Bostonites put "jimmies" in their funfetti cake and on ice cream, whereas the rest of the country uses sprinkles (with the exception of some areas of CT that use "shots"... they're all the same... the things you learn while working in an ice cream stand)
• Wicked is an adjective meaning very (so it would be incorrect to just describe Heartbreak Hill as wicked)... but no one says wicked wicked (so Heartbreak Hill isn't wicked wicked either)

And, for World Record Friday, I actually have two records for y'all (only because I love the specificity of the titles) - the fastest marathon run while skipping (with a rope) is 4:28:48, whereas the fastest marathon run while skipping (sans rope) is 5:55:13. The former was set by Chris Baron in 2007, while the later was set by Ashrita Furman in 2003. And, apparently Canada is the country to skip through 26.2 miles in!