#16 Boston - The Carbo-loading Experience, September 22, 2006

I knew that there had to be a reward for all the hard training for the marathon - there could not just be the soreness afterward. Carbo-loading also known as - scarfing down tons of pasta and bread in the days before the big race - helps to boost the body's glycogen supplies, which then help the muscles to perform most optimally. As one website described it "the more you got socked away, the longer you'll last". And apparently this magical process works even better if you have already been eating a carbohydrate-rich diet - which is good, since my diet consists to a large degree of carbs. I am ready to go!

With that said, Greetings from Toronto, Canada (http://www.torontotourism.com/visitor), where a somewhat tired German future-marathon-runner-to-be is trying to keep her eyes open (she got up at 4 AM to catch a flight) and last through lunch. I am enjoying the wonderful hospitality of my friend Ruth, who is a radiologist at the Hospital for Sick Children (http://www.sickkids.ca/default.asp), and who not only used to be a colleague at MGH, but a fellow ski enthusiast. Hi Ruth! (She is at work, while I am comfortably loafing around her apartment...) I will be shortly heading to lunch to meet up with another friend of mine, the lovely Pat Adams who resides here with her family. Pat and I go waaaayyyy back, actually quite a few years. We met during my stint in the environmental movement in the good old Berkeley days. I have to put in a plug for Pat's nonprofit, Probe International ( http://www.probeinternational.org/ ), who has made its mission to "expose the devastating environmental, social, and economic effects of Canada's aid and trade abroad." It will be great to reconnect - last time I was here was about four years ago, and I am sure her daughters are now as tall as I am.

I am looking forward to the next few days here, resting up before the big day, and enjoying the sights and sounds (Toronto is a most marvelous city, if you have never been here). This afternoon I will visit the Expo for the marathon and get my bib number ( # 1456) and maybe some cool marathon gear. Tomorrow is movie day, I brought a whole bunch of them, and we will keep my feet off the ground as much as possible. There is a spaghetti dinner (of course!) for all the athletes on Saturday night, followed by early bed time. The marathon starts at the ungodly time of 7AM, so hopefully we'll be all done by lunch time.

It has been quite a week I must say leading up to the marathon, actually even the weekend before was quite crazy (self-afflicted, of course). Starting off the hoopla was a drive to Cape Cod (http://boston.homah.net/imatges/usama1.gif), to Yarmouth to be exact, where my cousins from upstate New York had settled for a couple of weeks and needed to be checked up on. It was very nice to see them, in particular the kids - 2 1/4 year old Liam, who is a little monkey and Dawson, barely six months old and just the cutest darling. Frank and I headed out for a little walk with Dawson in the baby carrier, and walked for quite some time through the woods behind the cranberry bog (http://www.cctrails.org/). There are tons of trails, and poor Frank received a botany lesson from my very excited self, and as usual was good for a few interesting stories of his own.

Sunday, in a complete reversal of direction, Denise and I headed to New Hampshire to Casa Simmons, Rick's house, for some out- and indoor activities. It was time for one of my last training runs, a little 4-miler. Phoebe and I jogged it out on the Rockingham Recreational Trail (http://www.windhamrailtrail.org/) with a couple of swimming breaks for the pup, and Rick and Denise headed off on their bikes in the other direction (who knows where, I don't keep track of these people). Jogging duty done, we went for a wonderful lunch at a most charming place, I think it was called the Windham Depot Kitchen or Cafe. We sat outside where the fall decorations were already in place and had some deliriously delicious sandwiches. Fueled up, we hopped in the car, sang a few Barry Manilow tunes or so, and then went apple picking!!

This turned out to be far less exciting than I had hoped for, let me tell you. I had visions of standing on a ladder for an hour, plucking apples and doing a little work, but it was remarkably un-exciting. The "apple-picking" trees are so low, that you can just walk along and pluck them in no-time. The whole thing takes 5 minutes. Sheesh!! How's that for a thrill? Well, ten pounds or a peck later, we headed home, did some more singing in the car and then proceeded to Casa Simmons again to begin production of the previously pictured apple pie.

And that was just the weekend! Actually during the week I was not good for much, a cold struck me down (not sure if the source of the bacteria was my boss, who has been spreading an epidemic around the office or cute little Dawson, who I just had to kiss despite his runny nose. Oh well, I forgive both of them, in particular my boss, who just gave me a promotion. I get to now slap "senior" in front of my lofty title of clinical research program manager. Exciting, eh?

Friends, it is meanwhile mid-afternoon, I have returned from my two errands and am now heading for the couch for some serious nap time.

Think of me on Sunday, when you are still snoozing.....

pet:)