As those of you who follow me on social media know, I was invited by Runner’s World to be part of their official blogging crew this past weekend for the Runner’s World Heartbreak Hill Half & Festival, right here in the Boston area.
Crazy, right? I’m still in a bit of disbelief myself.
I arrived on Thursday night and immediately met up with my roommate, the awesome Katie from Runs for Cookies (please check out her blog, if you haven’t already; she has quite an inspirational story). We headed on the T into the city to West Side Johnnie’s, where we were meeting up with the rest of our fellow Runner’s World bloggers.
After dinner, Sharon Barbano from Saucony introduced “Finding Strong,” and independent documentary produced by Saucony in collaboration with Runner’s World. It features four stories (including elite National Guardsmen in Japan, a youth running community in Brazil, goat-herding girls in Djibouti, and physically challenged athletes in New York City) that depict the simple ways running can change lives and empower communities. It was moving and powerful and — good news! — it’s also going to be available online soon! I’ll post a link as soon as I can.
We them jumped into our “party bus” that was taking us bloggers back to Boston College, where Runner’s World had arranged for us to stay … quite convenient, since the races start right on campus.
I’m not gonna lie — it was incredibly weird to be staying in a dorm room again, extra-long twin bed and all.
It wasn’t the most luxurious accommodations, but between the stiff mattress, paper-thin pillow, and freezing temperature in the room, I don’t think any of us slept particularly well, which meant we were all pretty sleepy when 6 am rolled around and we boarded our party bus, this time headed 10 minutes away to participate in the November Project.
For those not familiar with me (and I know I wasn’t), the November Project is a free grassroots fitness movement that was born right here in Boston to help people stay in shape during cold New England months.
Their mission is simple: to motivate and encourage peoples to get out of their beds and get moving (which is why other November Project locations have sprung up all around the country). There are no sign-ups, no emails. You just show up on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for the scheduled workout at the designated location, which is shared via social media and their website.
We arrived at Outlook Par on Summit Ave (which, for my local friends, goes up the Corey hill located on the Brighton–Brookline line, right off Beacon Street) for what was promised to be a “killer hill workout” (um, didn’t they know we were running up Heartbreak Hill the next day?!). There were already more than 100 people there of all ages, shapes, sizes and fitness levels, including some parents who brought their kids.
Our leader, Brogan (who just happens to be the co-founder of the November Project), was awesome, but all business. He gave us our marching orders: run down, then up, the hill back to Outlook Park, crawl under a barricade, then run up and down a relatively steep grassy knoll. Repeat as much as you’re able to; five trips = four miles.
Along the way, I decided to give my hand at a mid-run selfie, which I seriously cannot figure out. Lucky for me, I was running alongside Dani from Weight Off My Shoulders, a fellow ZOOMA Cape Cod Ambassador who is a pro at the running selfie and gave me a few pointers.
My sad attempt.
I was totally winded after my first round, so I stopped and took a break, not wanting to push myself too hard, knowing what was waiting for me the next day. But when a group of bloggers decided to give it another go, I couldn’t say no, even though my quads and glutes were screaming.
After the workout, Brogan gathered us on the grass and congratulated us, and then told us to first introduce ourselves to those around us, and then give some hugs. The hugging didn’t bother me, since I’m a hugger by nature, and I liked how it made us feel like a little community.
In addition to the hugging, every workout ends with a group photo. And since his group that morning included a group of bloggers, an obligatory selfie was required, but with Brogan’s caveat that we have “serious faces.”
After that sort of intense workout, we were all starving, so we walked about a quarter mile to Coolidge Corner for breakfast at Zaftig’s!
Most Bostonians – especially those who live/lived in the Brookline area, like I used to – probably know Zaftig’s. I remember waiting a good hour or so on Sunday mornings for brunch at Zaftig’s back in the day, and trust me, it was worth it!
I haven’t been there in years, not since we moved out of the city in 2002, so to say I was excited to eat there was an understatement, even though I was a hot, sweaty mess.
Oh, hello, challah French toast!
After breakfast, we headed back to BC (which, I hate to admit — since I’m a BU girl — is a beautiful campus), to shower and change. This second part of the day is what I was soooo excited for: getting to meet Olympian Shalane Flanagan and Ironman triathlete (and total inspiration) Sarah Reinertsen, who was also the keynote speaker the following evening AND an Amazing Race alum.
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Tomorrow: Part Two – Taking a run down the (pink) runway with Running Skirts, witnessing a powerful moment with Sarah, learning Shalane is just like us (post-race beer!), and meeting Bart Yasso.
Abby @ BackAtSquareZero says
I was IG stalking these pictures all weekend. Looked like the most fun.
I don;t know how Dani does those mid-run selfies. Yours was way better than my attempts.
Jessica says
It was such a good time!!! Trust me, this selfie was the only good one out of like 30 tries 🙂 lol
Dana says
Jessica
First I don’t know how you were able to take a selfie while running, good effort! But it looks like you had soooo much fun. Thanks for the entertaining post, I really enjoyed reading it.
Jessica says
LOL – thank you! I’m not sure I’ll actually attempt a selfie mid-race but it was fun to practice. Glad you enjoyed reading it 😉