Run DMZ

Is there any athlete outside of a Boston Marathon corral right now who isn’t again vowing to be a better runner and plotting how to someday join this crowd? I admit I’m one that thinks this particular marathon is overrated, but it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate its historical significance or the hard training the majority of runners endure to get there. I’m up extra early to catch at least the beginning of the race on the Internet since West Coast folks are three hours behind in live coverage. And I’m rooting for a lot of people, but I’m singling out my former Cape Cod training partner Trish, who has been through some serious health issues in the past and, despite missing portions of her organs, still managed today to make it to the start line for the second time. Do us proud, girl. Which brings me to the giveaway. When Trish first became ill, she had three young children, a demanding job and a widow mother who relied often on her only daughter. We all privately wondered what would ha...

It took a random sighting on a dear friend's blog to prompt me to post before tomorrow's day of reckoning. That's when I'll get the final verdict on my foot injury after already receiving two other, confusing opinions. This time it's a sports medicine specialist with great credentials who is outside my HMO network. But back to folks who are within my network -- of friends, that is. A former colleague recently launched a very personal blog about his battle with OCD, and gave me a nice mention in a post on his work history. I know runners like to joke about their OCD-like tendencies with training, but after you read Bill's posts, you'll realize it's nothing to kid about -- and if you recognize yourself in what he says, please consider professional help. The OCD Diaries And speaking of Web sites, I wanted to note two running-related ones that vendors recently brought to my attention. The Clymb . This is a members-only price club on athletic gear that at the...

Our hotel at the corner of St. Paul and Beacon streets in Brookline was just a few blocks from Boston University, where I attended graduate school. Last Friday morning, as we started walking down Comm Ave., the main road bisecting the urban campus, it dawned on me that my husband had never seen the place except the dreary day I graduated. That bit of intel was all I needed to declare myself in charge of our itinerary. First stop: breakfast at Trident Booksellers on Newbury Street. There are two sides to the famed “Rodeo Drive of Boston.” One end is trendy; the other funky. Trident Booksellers is a café and bookstore definitely on the funky side. As we wolfed down our frittata and omelet, I told Gilbert how I would treat myself during cold months to a hot white chocolate from here and take it to the reflecting pool at the Christian Science complex off Mass Ave. Therefore, the tour continued with us going to that very spot, only this time to see the Mapparium . It costs $6 but is worth i...

A travelogue on my latest Boston trip will be coming soon. I need to get my pictures developed and my brain back in order. For now, know that they were three action- and alcohol-packed days, with the cornerstone being a traditional Scottish wedding where the women weren’t the only ones worried about those hurricane-induced, gale-force winds. At both ends were long plane rides, the kind where somehow you do very little besides read, watch and nap and still find yourself exhausted by the time you get to baggage claim. On the way up, we shared a plane with a lot of American Red Cross volunteers going home after working the wildfire shelters. One retired gentleman sitting next to me explained how everyone flies around the country on short notice as part of a mobile disaster force. The more he talked, the more I started to think I may have found my “career” once we retire. I’m at the midpoint in my work life, and I anticipate needing something to do once I’m done working for The Man. I thou...

My first job out of graduate school was located in a State Street building between Quincy Market and the Custom House (clock tower), two prominent landmarks along Boston’s famed Freedom Trail. I frequently dodged tour groups accompanied by a costumed guide on my lunch hour and wondered what it must be like to see this place with fresh, relaxed eyes. So there I was with my three girlfriends doing the tourist thing last week during our two days in Boston. Any historical highlights along the Freedom Trail were more by chance that design. We basically parked our bags at the Mariner House in the North End and set off on foot to explore, beginning with lunch at one of my former meal hangouts, El Panini Express, right in the heart of Boston’s version of Little Italy. From there we hit the Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market complex and then I lead us on a circular tour of Downtown Crossing before finally finding Brimfield Street, on which the City Sports Basement can be found. I bought a pair of runni...