Boston ... Stronger.

Hello Sole Sister readers -- it has been a long time! Pardon me while I dust off this blog, but I do so with urgency because as of right now, Sole Sister M and I are less than ONE WEEK from running in the 118th Boston Marathon. 

This was a good mailbox day. 

I'm finding it hard to find adequate words to describe how excited, nervous, proud, and patriotic I'm feeling. Quite frankly, even though I'm currently elbows deep in packing lists and public transit schedules and itinerary timing, a large part of me still does not quite believe that we soon will be getting on a plane and flying to Boston. I'm not even quite sure that it will hit me once we get on the ground -- it could take standing on Boylston Street to realize that nearly two years of planning and hard work, both by us and our loved ones, has finally led to the culmination of a quiet little dream that was hatched at a Fricker's restaurant in Perrysburg.

It was a tough, snowy training cycle this time around for many runners, Sole Sisters included. 

In our northwest Ohio neck of the woods, spring is finally unfurling after what was the harshest winter in about 35 years. (Though today's forecast calls for an inch and a half of snow -- no, I'm not joking.) With every sunny day, people and plants are stretching toward the warming orb with the joy of a lazy sunning tabby cat.  Seriously folks, if you live someplace where you didn't chatter through the sub-zero temps brought by a succession of polar vortices or fill your snow shovels with hundreds of feet of snow, you can count yourself blessed (and let me know if you have room for a family of four). For M and me, a lot of our training was done indoors this year, until we absolutely had to get out and gut through longer runs in the (fill-in-the-blank) snow, slush, wind, hail, rain, etc. Our Christmas exchange gifts this year? For me -- YaxTrax. For her -- knee-high thermal running socks. To this winter, we say "sno-thank you." 

How cold was it? M's Salted Caramel GU froze mid-run during a 15-miler at Wildwood. 

My running attire could have doubled as bank-robber gear. 

I am a firm believer, however, that until you know the bad times, you can't fully appreciate the good times. That is what makes the promise of this particular spring so tantalizing. Spring is a time of renewal, rebirth. After the year that the city of Boston has had, dealing with the shock of the bombings at the marathon finish line, the tragic loss of life, and the gut-wrenching recoveries that the bombing victims have had to endure and still do endure, I'd like to think that part of the renewal process will be furthered by the return of runners to the nation's oldest annual marathon. 

This will be our very first Boston Marathon. This will be my first time in the city of Boston, period. When we made it our goal in March 2013 to qualify for Boston 2014, we had no way of knowing that when we did qualify, we'd be coming to run the 118th race as part of what is Boston's road to recovery.

 I want this race to be a giant victory parade for the city of Boston. I want this race to symbolize that in the heart of each of the 36,000 runners beats the cadence, "You will not take this from me." I want 26.2 miles of relentless footfalls to deliver the message, "You messed with the wrong people." I want the all of the spectators' cheers and joyful tears, the elites' blazing-fast victories (go Shalane!) and the back-of-the-packers's personal bests to herald the fact that this city is not only Boston Strong, but has grown Boston Stronger. 

***

We are heading out on Friday, and the race is this Monday, April 21. If you'd like to track our progress, you can do so in a couple of ways. 

• For cell phone updates, text our bib numbers (Victoria) 18396 and (McKenzie) 16787 to  345678 
• Get updates via email by registering for AT&T Athlete Alert 

Thanks so much for your kind words and encouragement -- it's really helped us to bring our dreams to life and knowing that we have such a great support net back home really keeps us moving through the tough times. You guys are great!! 

Be kind to yourself. Be kind to each other.  -- V.