24 Hours Until I Run the 2009 Boston Marathon: A Reflection
There are less than 24 hours until the 2009 Boston Marathon! There are 24 hours until thousands of people flock to the marathon route to watch. There are 24 hours until all us runners get our victory lap!
When I first decided to run the marathon back in January I was excited to have the means to raise money to help find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. I was also excited to be able to have the chance to fulfill a lifelong goal. Since I could remember, I’ve spent Marathon Monday on the route with friends and family cheering on the runners. Every year I’ve said I’m going to run the marathon. Tomorrow will be the first time I will have fulfilled my goal!
So how am I feeling? What does it feel like to know that in just 24 hours I’ll be running 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston with about 26,000 other runners?
It feels great! It’s exciting and nerve-racking. It’s energizing. I’ve heard of race day being described as a ‘victory lap’ but I didn’t entirely understand why. Today, I get it; tomorrow already feels like a victory lap. I’m stoked of the idea of running tomorrow and hearing the roar of the crowds at Wellesley and BC. I can’t wait to see friends and family along the route.
However, at this point I’d recommend anyone who has said, I’m going to run the Boston Marathon next year,” to go through with it! Follow whatever it is that drives you and take that first step.
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Help me reach my goal in raising $5,000 for MS - http://expansion.acceleratedcure.org/jobeymarathon
T-10 Days Until the Boston Marathon!
Hey all!
I can’t believe that in less than two weeks the marathon will be here! It’s been over 3 months since I decided to do this. When I started out my legs hurt after just a few miles. Today, my legs hurt after 15 miles. 
Whatever, come race day, I’ll be ready to run this thing!
Thank you so much for all your tremendous support. Thank you for the awesome comments you’ve made on my fundraiser page and my event wall. Thank you for the emails and the kind words of support. Thank you for donating money to helping to fight MS. And thanks to my training partners. You all have no idea how much your support has helped me through this. Without it, I don’t think I’d be going through PT to run this.
Lastly, I’m just a little over one thousand dollars away from my fund raising requirement of $5,000. IF you can, please consider donating to fight MS. My website is: http://expansion.acceleratedcure.org/jobeymarathon
Thank you again for all of your support, and for considering donating to this amazing cause. See you on April 20th!
-Justin
Restaurant Week in Boston
Living An Active Lifestyle doesn’t simply entail enjoying the city’s nightlife, playing sports, or going on adventures. Living An Active Life is about balance and it wouldn’t be complete without some fine dining.
It’s restaurant week here in Boston! If you haven’t already gone out to experience this, do it this Friday. It’s also happening next week March 22-27, 2009. For a full listing of participating restaurants visit www.bostonusa.com.
What’s restaurant week you ask?
Restaurant week is one of the best two weeks in Boston if you love food and enjoy trying new places on the cheap. During restaurant week, restaurants throughout Boston open there doors offering a specialized menu where three course lunch prices are $20.09 and three course dinners are $30.09.
This is your chance to dine at some of the most exclusive restaurants in Boston - there is no other time you can go to places like L’Espalier and get a three course lunch for only $20.09.
Social Boston Sports Celebrates 2 Years!
If you don’t already have plans tonight (March 7th) come on by to Felt’s 4th floor at 8:00PM and join us at Social Boston Sports (SBS) in celebrating 2 years of incredible fun!
It’s been a great two years playing kickball, dodgeball, soccer, softball, flag football, cornhole, going skiing, skydiving, white water rafting, and partying with fellow young professionals throughout Boston and we want you there there to celebrate with us!
We’re giving away hundreds of dollars in door prizes including shirts from Soxology, 10 Varsity Cards, and lift tickets to Sugarloaf. Additionally, we’ll have music and dancing with the help of DJ E Devious and SBS Birthday Cake!
Get your tickets here for only $10!
**IF you already have purchased a Varsity Card you’ll enjoy a VIP reception sponsored by Perfect Vodka from 8:00-9:00.
Don’t have a Varsity Card? Get one today here.
Marathon Fundraiser Party - Feb. 12th @ Bleacher Bar
Training for the marathon has been much better than expected. I thought that waking up early and running in sub 30 degree weather was going to be tough. Turns out, it’s not bad with the proper gear on. Gloves are a must!
Developing a schedule is important as well. Personally, I know that if I don’t work out before noon it’s not going to happen - my day simply gets too busy with meetings and events going on at night. My first tip for anyone who has told themselves they don’t have time to train for the marathon (or to do anything else) is to take a look at your schedule and make time. I’ll even make the bold claim that you’ll still remain as productive as you were before you were training for the marathon. (You’ll get to work knowing you only have an hour to finish the big project instead of two hours SO you focus, you disable g-chat, and get it done.)
So on to the point of this post - I wanted to invite you to Bleacher Bar (82a Lansdowne Street, Boston, MA) on February 12th from 7 - 10 for a party to benefit the Accelerated Cure Project, a non-profit that works to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis (the charity I’m running the marathon for). For every $5 you donate you’ll get a raffle ticket for a pair of Red Sox tickets located on the Green Monster. We’ll be raffling off 10 pairs of tickets!! If you want to come you MUST RSVP on the Facebook invitation here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=49376912837
If you can’t come but still want to donate visit my page here: http://expansion.acceleratedcure.org/jobeymarathon
See you there!
-Justin
Industry Bowling @ Kings
Every Monday from 9-12ish we bowl on the SBS team. If you haven’t bowled in a while it’s one of the best things to do, especially in the winter and especially at Kings.
Picture from tonight’s bowling below.
Making the Most of the Ski Season
Here in Boston we’re fortunate enough to be an hour - two hours away from the beach and two hours away from the mountains. As such, I’ve grown up loving winter sports and the beach. If it were up to me I’d live up North, skiing all winter long, and down on the Cape all summer; but, I would miss out on too much going on here, in Boston.
So how do you make the most out of your winter and fit in as much skiing as possibe without missing out on everything else and without spending a fortune?
[Photo credit: Justin Obey]
- Maximize the day trip. There are a plethora of solid ski mountains within 2/2.5 hours from Boston. Plan a Saturday to wake up at 6AM and hit the road with friends by 6:30AM to get on the slopes for first tracks by 9:00AM. Ski all day, Saturday until the lifts close at 4:00PM and hit the road again. Make the trip home more enjoyable by stopping at a restaurant for dinner mid-trip. Arrive back in Boston around 8:00PM with plenty of time to get ready for a night out. Yes, it’s a big day but with full day of skiing it’s worth it!
- Free and discounted lift tickets. You’ve got to have your head buried in the sand if you’re still paying full price for lift tickets. In Boston each season, there are tons of parties sponsored by big mountains where you can score some sweet complimentary lift tickets. (If you’re living an active lifestyle, I’m assuming that most of you are going out with friends to various bars throughout the week so why not go where they’re giving away lift tickets?) If you can’t find free lift tickets check out the mountain’s website for special offers.
- Steals on winter gear. Gear for skiing and riding can be very expensive. For deals at retail locations try buying at the end of the season or at the very very beginning of the season when they’re trying to get rid of last season’s stuff. If you’re right in the middle of the season check out websites like Steapandcheap.com, Tramdock.com, Backcountry.com, and Evogear.com.
- Technology. Technology is definitely going to help you get away for the weekend and/or day and still stay on top of the important emails and calls that you absolutely must get to. Ok, I admit, this might take an hour out of your day spent in the lodge, but one hour in the lodge in exchange for 6 hours skiing or riding sounds pretty sweet to me.
So if you’re a huge skiier or rider but haven’t been able to get up North to rip up the slopes yet I hope these tips help you out. Do you have your own set of tips? Did I miss anything?
Enjoy the snow!
Snowing out - time to go sledding!
Currently it’s snowing a lot in Boston! While a small part of me knows that this is a bit frustrating because it makes getting around the City a bit more difficult with limited parking, 95% of me is pretty stoked about the snow because it means skiing and sledding.
Last night while I was at the ONEin3 Holiday party at Johnnie’s On The Side (excellent place - I highly suggest you check it out!) and we began talking about sledding and where to go if you live in the City.
Out of all the places that were mentioned the Larz Anderson Park was decidedly the best place to go sledding. Check out more information about the park here at Yelp and see what others have to say about it. Technically, it’s in Brookline, but that’s only a few miles out of the city.
I’m headed out to get a little coffee from Starbucks now, but maybe I’ll see you out there later on.
Enjoy the snow!
-Justin
Public event - tonight 12/16 @ Space 242, Boston, MA
You must RSVP [at] RSVP@WEEKLYDIG.COM to attend this event.
