The rest of the trip recap….

Now that we’ve talked about the running part of Boston, let’s catch up on what we did for the rest of the time we were there.

Saturday morning, we started things out by meeting a bunch of friends at Tracksmith.  This was my first time meeting Katie after following her for over a decade online.  Ali and I met for the first time before I had Brooke, and we always get together anytime we are in the same city.  The friendships that are built are my favorite part of blogging.

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We were at Tracksmith for a while before heading to the finish line area with Ali.  We got in our traditional running picture while we were there.

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(shorts, tank, shoes)

Andrew and I then returned to our hotel and got ready before heading over to the expo.  We stayed at the expo for a very long time looking at every little thing possible.  We also took advantage of any of the free massage chairs, rapid reboots, and samples… I’m very grateful he loves an expo as much as I do.

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This year was the 50th anniversary since females were allowed to enter the Boston Marathon.   These women are incredible, and the anniversary made the whole experience feel even more special.

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Lauren and I also got to meet Meb!  I asked him for a tip for the race, and he told me to be patient until mile 17, which was just the advice I needed.

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After the expo, we walked around before taking an Uber to Trillium Brewing Company for a meet & greet with the people I was working with for my Amazon partnership.  This collaboration was through my Instagram, but I’ve been blogging about my Amazon favorites since the beginning of my blogging days!  I didn’t take any pictures there, but we ate a lot of delicious food while chatting with new friends and the people I have been emailing with for a bit now.  After the meet & greet, we went to Ali’s live show and then headed back to the hotel when that was over.

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We stayed at the Hyatt Regency, and it was about a 5ish minute walk from Boston Commons (where the busses pick you up for the race).  The location was perfect, and I slept so good while we were there (I slept 10 hours STRAIGHT on Saturday night).

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Random hotel tangent… I just realized yesterday that when Andrew packed up my stuff to check out he thought the hotel blow dryer was mine… so we stole a blow dryer.  Calling the hotel now.

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Sunday was a bit more chilly, and we took things easy.  We went to the expo again, shopping on Newbury Street, and ate a lot of carbs.   I was in my hotel bed from 2 on…. I felt so tired, and my best marathons happen when I stay in bed as much as possible the day before!

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Our favorite eats while we were there were from Piattini (the breadsticks and the pesto were terrific) and…

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Parish Cafe on Boyleston.    We also grabbed a bunch of things at Trader Joe’s to have in the hotel room and had pasta from Serafina delivered to our room on Sunday night.

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I was very happy to learn that Levain was just opened in Boston.  I dream about this chocolate and PB cookie.  I will say, my biggest regret of the weekend was not making it to get a cannoli.  I will live with this regret for a while.

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When I originally found out about being able to run Boston, I called my sister, asking if she wanted to go with me because Andrew and I had just recently gone on a trip together and didn’t think we could leave just the two of us again. My sister responded that she wanted to watch our kids so that Andrew and I could go.  She and my BIL had seven kids (well, two are teens now ha) to keep track of all weekend.  We felt very lucky to experience Boston while the kids were in heaven with my sister’s family and my in-laws also for a night too!

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Do you like staying in hotels?  Have a favorite?  Or do you prefer an Airbnb?

Have you ever lived in a big city?

Have any trips you are looking forward to in the rest of this year?

What is your run/workout today?  

-I’m taking this whole week off!

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27 comments

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I just listened to Ali’s live show yesterday. So good! And you were there… So fun!
For quick trips, we love staying at Embassy Suites. Always so comfy and they have a free breakfast buffet that is always so good. If it’s a longer trip, definitely air b&b or VRBO. That way you don’t have to eat out all the time.
I’m so glad you and Andrew had a great time, and that you were able to go together. Those moments are so important.
We have worked in Wednesday mornings to our friends run, yay, so I’m off for 4ish miles with them, then strength and core with the Peloton app. Oooo… I recently have started going to a Barre class at my gym once a week. It is so fun, so good, and always works my booty and core so well!
Have a good day Janae ?

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I love that you enjoyed the episode, it was so great. I have been to Embassy and I loved it too. Having a kitchen when traveling is the best! SO happy you get another friends run and go rock the strength/core after. I didn’t know you were doing Barre now too, you are so strong. Thanks Wendy, you too!

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It looks like you two had so much fun! Seeing everyone’s race recaps and Boston posts is making me want to run Boston SO BAD! I used to live in Boston and am running the BAA 10k in June, so that’s the trip I’m most looking forward to. I’ll eat a cannoli for you!

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I bet you miss Boston so much! I would love to do the BAA 10k, maybe I could come meet you there:). Enjoy every second and let me know how it goes! Enjoy that cannoli!

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I do not like staying in hotels. I like having all of my things and I always wish I had something and I don’t seem to sleep as well. But I do like taking trips haha! My husband is running NYC this fall and I am very much looking forward to that. We are going to make it a long weekend like we did with Boston (we are leaving today) but that time we aren’t bringing the kids. Have you brought your kids to Boston? We went to the Boston Tea Party Museum and it was so fun!

I just finished Emma’s Crush Your Core 2 this morning. I also did the elliptical which I haven’t done since March 2020 which was the last time I was in a gym. But I used it the last few days. It’s the only thing I can watch a movie on my phone- I can’t on treadmills. Obviously I watched Boston ;)
Now just speed walking through airports in a few hours :)

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You two are going to have the best time in NYC this fall and you will have to let me know how the race goes for him! I hope your time in Boston was magical and I would love to go to that museum! We haven’t taken them to Boston. We were considering it this time until we saw how much it would cost to add 3 more plane tickets haha. But hopefully, it will happen one day! Way to go on your workout today! Hope your flight goes well. Thanks Jenny!

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Congrats again on an incredible race day!!! I’m so freaking happy for you!!
Right there with you and taking the rest of the week off as well … Will probably swim laps and go on walks but no running for a bit!

My fiance and I actually booked a hiking trip to Peru and leave May 5th so I’m in recovery mode until then :)

Rest up, celebrate, and eat all the cookies this week!!

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I NEED DETAILS ON HOW IT WENT FOR YOU! Oh my goodness, Peru! You are going to have the best time. Thanks Arthi, hope you are recovering well.

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Ahh thank you!! I’m so excited!! It’s our first international trip together! :)
I finished in 3:32 .. Not a PR or BQ BUT a really strong race for me considering that I couldn’t do any hill or speed work this training cycle cause of my hamstring injury! Very happy the race is done and looking forward to some well deserved recovery before starting training for the Chicago Marathon!

Ps – Sad I missed you in Boston and hope our paths cross at a future race!!! You’re truly such an inspiration!!

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Enjoy every second. You crushed that race, especially considering how your training held you back from doing hills and speed! I hope your hamstring was happy during the entire race and I want to come run Chicago! We better meet up at the next race, I have wanted to meet you forever. Have a beautiful day!

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I have never stayed in an airbnb before. I don’t enjoy staying in hotels. I never sleep well and I don’t like being surrounded by other people’s germs, especially during covid. I did just stay in one on Sunday though, so my son could have fun in the hotel’s waterpark. It was an Easter staycation.
I have a camping/tenting trip booked for the summer in Banff. We do that every summer.
I gave up my gym membership recently and have made myself quite a decent home gym: spin bike, rowing machine, weight cable pulley system, dumbells, barbell, TRX, bands, AB roller, bench. So I will be working out on some of, or all of the above.
Have a great day Janae!

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Corry, my husband and I would love to do a camping/tent trip to Banff. Do you have any tips/recommendations.

Thank you,
Jolie

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Hi Jolie. You definitely have to go! So beautiful and so much to do! We have only ever camped in Tunnel Mountain Village 1, it has fire pits. Village 2 does not have fire pits and is more of an RV campground. Tunnel Mountain campground is right outside the townsite, partway up a mountain, the closest campground to the town. You can’t go wrong with any of the further away campgrounds such as Two Jack and Johnston Canyon campgrounds either. We just like being closer to town. I have family members that like camping in Canmore and Kananaskis, which are just outside of Banff National Park. Lots of hiking in both these areas. There is a paved path that connects Banff and Canmore (20 Kms) that is great for biking. Definitely make a reservation as soon as you can, all campground reservations fill up early. The nights in the mountains can get cold, so prepare and pack for that.
Hope this helps. Leave your email address if you want more information than this.

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I love Boston!! What a fun trip and so glad there is a Levain there now!

I have a cold (darn kids and their germs!!) and was supposed to do 5 today (was going to join my Moms on the run crew early this AM) – but didn’t have the energy. Will probably do 3 at a slower pace on my treadmill followed by a nice long hot shower!

Have a great day!

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Such a busy few days! Glad you both had fun and super happy you got Levains, my favorite. Wish that was there when I lived in Boston! I’ve lived in a few big cities- Boston, DC, Dallas, and now Baltimore.

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I didn’t get a chance to comment yesterday, but WAY TO GO JANAE! You crushed Boston!

I forget how much I miss race expos! Your picture with Meb is priceless! Lauren’s expression is hilarious and Meb made sure you got the point to be patient until mile 17;-).

I lived in Minneapolis for a year, I am not sure if that would be considered a big city, but now I live in a town with a population of 82. I loved certain parts of it–I was close to everything and could always to go to a baseball game or Mall of America. On the flip side, I lived in a very unsafe neighborhood. I was naive to how bad it was. However, that is the year I truly became an adult. I moved there on a whim with no car or job. Looking back I can’t believe I did that!

I am taking my middle daughter to Orlando in August. Also, in October, my sister, mom, aunt and I are going to Park City to celebrate my 40th birthday!

I must thank you–this morning on my run I had heel pain. I came home and looked at your post on PF. I did the stretching video, used my massage gun, wore my Hoka’s to do school drop off and am wearing my Oofos around the house and knock on wood the pain seems to have went away. I plan on taking tomorrow off just to be sure, but thank you for all your first hand research.

Have a fabulous Wednesday Janae!

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I don’t mind staying in a hotel for a night or two, otherwise a prefer VRBO. I like having a full size kitchen. As much as I like to eat out, after a few days I’m ready to eat my own food. And I really need my Hawaiian coffee ;)

We live about 20 miles from Los Angeles, but it feels like we are a world away. I like that option – we can get to stuff, but when we’re at home it’s mellow. We’ve also lived in Honolulu which is a place that never sleeps.

We currently have 2 trips on our schedule – we’re flying to Tennessee in a couple weeks so Les can spend Mother’s Day with his mom and we’re taking an Alaskan cruise in July. I’m sure more will pop up as the year progresses.

No scheduled workout today, but I am in full on spring cleaning mode – working on our windows this week and it’s a workout!

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I have no words for how excited I am for you and how happy I am that we met. I’ll be living vicariously through you, your training, your race times. So much to come for you and running???♥️

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Omg congratulations Janae what a great race! Im originally from Boston and have a college student there currently (and trying for another BQ)… the Hyatt is perfect for the location.
Literally just coming here to say that cookies > cannoli any day so no worries ? !

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Hi Janae! What a fun trip!! That’s so awesome your family is so supportive! We have a small trip planned in May to celebrate my husband’s birthday! And I’ll also be going home to see my parents in May too.
Happy Wednesday! This week is flying by!

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Your posts are getting me so excited for next year when my sister and I will get to run! So happy to get our BQ’s….something I’ve been working on for years! Can’t wait to experience this Boston dream!!
I was hoping you’d share what hotel you stayed at….we have no idea where to stay! I sleep the worst at hotels haha. They’re not my fav! :)
And those Levain Bakery cookies look so good! We’ll have to try one!!

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Congratulations on your amazing race!! So glad it went so well for you!

I love a nice hotel, prior to kids that is ha! Now with a toddler and another on the way, I prefer Airbnb where we can make some of our own food, have a separate bedroom etc.

We haven’t been away from my son yet but need a practice night before I go into labor and will be away from him. Maybe we will stay in a nice hotel! Any tips on how to transition your toddler to sleeping without mom and dad? We also cosleep still which makes things a little more complicated.

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Your sister is so awesome to take the kids and give you and Andrew a great weekend together. Plus the kids must have been over the moon to hang out with cousins. High five to your sis!!

I lived in San Francisco in my 20’s and while I’m much more of a small town/mountain person, I really do love SF. Runs along the Embarcadero, Giants games, riding my bike across Golden Gate Bridge, and there was a bakery chain called Specialty’s that made the most amazing cookies that I’m always reminded of when I see your pics of Levain’s. It’s on my life bucket list to try out one of these Levain’s cookies!!

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I prefer Air B&Bs, have been using that option for almost 8 years, I like the flexibility and most have in room laundry..and easy, not having to worry about the room service schedule or maid service…
you’ve inspired me to start running quicker….I’ve got to get out of my comfort zone….

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You have an amazing sister. What a blessing!
Congratulations on a fantastic race!

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I regret not getting a photo with you at the Amazon event! And it sounds like we just missed each other at Tracksmith. . . although that was before I knew you on Saturday morning. Glad you had such a fun time in Boston! Side note: that’s a really nice hair dryer for a hotel hair dryer.

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Congratulations on your amazing finish time!!! I’m a Bostonian (I live a ~5 min walk from the finish line:)), and its been so much fun hearing about your time here. I love Parish Cafe — their Eggplant Milanese is my all time favorite sandwich!! P.s. it was my husband’s first Boston marathon (and first ever marathon!), so I was there cheering along the final stretch last Monday!

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