pictures.

I know this will sound pretty unhealthy, but it’s the truth - Fran and I have never had a real vacation. We have gone to see friends get married for weekend and visited family, but we have never just gone anywhere ourselves for the fun of it. This includes not having a honeymoon…we got married right after September 11th and we could not fly. I know how horrible that sounds, but it has just been a case of too many things to juggle - work, school, dogs (yes, dogs) and running. Running?

Fran runs marathons. It is something she started doing when we moved to Oregon to occupy her time while i was constantly working. Over the course of 7 years she evolved from just wanting to finish a race all the way to her ultimate goal - qualifying for the Boston Marathon. So this year, we had our first real vacation and coupled with it Fran’s marathon. God, it was great. I see why people do this.

The first day we were there we visited the Expo where you could easily spend thousands of dollars on the newest greatest running gear available. This character was running in bubble while Nike talked about sweat.

The next morning we watched the women’s Olympic trials which were held right outside our hotel.

Monday was the marathon. Fran was really nervous so there are only a few pictures of her because frankly i was scared she would punch me. But, i did make one frame of her waiting in line for the shuttle bus to take runner to the starting line. That’s Fran in the Oregon sweatshirt that she will shed at the beginning of the race with some dude, I think named “Pat,” checking her out.

After the buses left, this guy and I walked over to Copley Square to check out the finish line.

Thousands of people were already there to watch the start of the race on a giant TV.

I started walking the course from mile 26 to mile 22 where Fran wanted me waiting for her with water, honey and gummy bear like treats. (side note: fran thinks that this guy is me in a few years…except i would have black socks on)

Along the way I saw the elites fly by.

then Lance Armstrong…

The whole time i was watching Fran’s splits online at the Boston Marathon website. She was going really fast, which is a common mistake in Boston because the first 18 or so miles is a slight downhill. So, i was worried that when i saw her she would be cashed out. But, when she passed she was smiling and laughing and having a great time. She didn’t even want her gummy treats. That meant she was feeling great. I tried to take photos of her, but she just yelled at me, “just cheer!” So I did. She finished the marathon with a PR (personal record).

After an ice bath she did let me take a picture of her with her medal.

and being a total warrior, Fran then went and walked a few miles to and from dinner with some other friends who also ran the marathon.

The next night we got to see a game at Fenway. Fran banned my camera, so i only have this iPhone photo to share. The green monster is so much smaller than i thought. in my head was 4 or 5 stories tall. Fenway was very nice - it’s no Wrigley, but still nice.

The next day we walked a fair amount of the Freedom Trail and visited the North End which is clearly my favorite part of the city. Francesca Grazia Genovese liked it as well.

Sadly, the trip did come to an end. We waited in the airport for our flight to Portland and I screwed around with light, easing the transition back into the everyday.