Woke up to some really shocking news this morning and learned of the bombing at the Boston Marathon. Memories flashed as I watched the scenes on the television, ‘Hey, we were there last year.’ I was AT the finish line waiting for the Man to finish his race just last year. The runners, the supporters, the people behind Boston Marathon – I cannot imagine what they went through in those split seconds when the bombs set off.
This was close to the Finish line. This was the place where we tried to find a spot to wait for our respective other halves to finish the grueling race. The streets were jam-packed and it was almost impossible to find a spot where we will not be pushed. In the end, we gave up trying to secure a spot and moved to the nearest mall which provided an unblocked view of the street with the runners in sight.
It was somewhere along this spot that the blasts happened. A day of joy and celebration for runners and supporters alike quickly turned into a day of horror. A day where the city comes out to support the runners and mark their achievements as they crossed the finish line turned to little importance. Truly a sad day indeed.
This incident is probably a little closer to our hearts because we were there. We were amongst the many who participated in this world-celebrated running event, we knew how important the weekend was to Boston who went all out to make us feel welcomed during this event.
During the course of my work, I also met with some of the organisers of the Boston Marathon. I’ve had the privilege to work with some of them and learned of what they do at the Boston Marathon. Thankfully, they are all safe and my prayers go to them and their teams during this difficult time.
When President Obama addressed the Boston Marathon explosions, he said. “Boston is a tough and resilient town. So are its people. I’m supremely confident that Bostonians will pull together, take care of each other, and move forward – as one proud city.”
And it’s true, I know in my heart that Boston will get through this trying time and will rise victoriously as Champions again.
I have never done a Full Marathon in my life but I did 2 Half Marathons in Singapore because the gal was mostly organising marathons and I did it more as a support for her event. However on the back of my mind, I had always wanted the challenge of finishing a Full Marathon. Guess she could really read my mind.
This is me hanging around the athlete village waiting for flag-off, my flag-off time was 10.45am so I had plenty of time to hang around before the flag-off. So while I was at the village, I had my arms painted with my name (that way people can see your name and cheer you along the way) and you could even get a pre-race massage if you wanted.
“Boston is all in!” this is the official tag line for the race but I never really understood what it meant until I finished this race. The race began at Hopkinton and the race course takes you through shland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline before finishing at central Boston. I was amazed that for the entire duration of the race, there were no lack of supporters for the whole 26 miles! From the start till the end, both sides of the race route were lined with people. They are there to hand you drinks; freshly cut oranges; there are people enthusiastically playing music; screaming your name; spraying you with water to cool you off. Basically doing anything and everything they can to help you finish the race. So this is what it means for a city to be all into something. I could go on and on about the race but will stick to a few most memorable parts of it.
My favorite part of the race has to be just after the half way point where u pass by Wellesley College. Wellesley College is an all-girls College. Just imagine a thousand girls on each side cheering you on 
! And this is right after when you are just about to feel tired after the 13-mile mark. The enthusiasm from the crowds definitely gave me the energy boost to carry on! The best part of it? It seemed like its a tradition of the College for the girls to put up banners to encourage runners to kiss them! I have to say I was really really tempted! :p
My original intention was obviously to finish the race without stopping at all, but the hills got the better of me. It was also here where I spotted the first Anti-Marathon “supporters”. What are they? Basically instead of cheering you on, these guys attempted to give runners beers and encouraging the runners to give up running the race. I didn’t see anyone do that, but like the kisses from Wellesley college, this was definitely tempting too!
The best part off the Race has to be the final mile! Here you have hundreds of thousands of fans lining up from Beacon Street to the finish line at Kenmore Square. I was dead tired by now, but the screams from the supporters and the desire to show the BB the Finisher’s medal kept me going on.
I finally finished the Race in 5hr 22 mins, it’s a far cry from what I had really wanted to do. But I was still glad that I managed to finish it. I would really want to do this again, but next time with better training and probably a few more races under my belt before taking on this event again.
The lunch menu comprised of 2 courses that you could select and priced at US$38, what more can one ask for dining at this 3 Michelin star restaurant. I’d say definitely a STEAL for this lunch course.
And it didn’t disappoint us. The Amuse Bouche was a fresh prawn carpaccio topped with sweet honeydew and served with a side of chilled green pea soup.
The problem about not blogging immediately after eating all this delish food is that you tend to forget what you ate, which is the very case that is happening to me now. Looking at the above pic does not jog the memory at all. I completely forgot what the Man ordered as his first dish. Was it the fried goat’s cheese? Honestly I have no idea but I’m putting the pic down anyway for it looked and it was pretty darn good as well.
Starter No. 2 that the Man ordered – Goat Cheese Gnocchi, Caramelized Artichokes, Lemon and Olive Oil. Thank goodness we shared for having to finish this on your own would be too challenging for the Goat Cheese was simply too much.
The Man’s Wagyu Beef Tenderloin with Crunchy Beignets. Juicy and tender – a winner in his books.
I honestly thought my main was better – Crispy Confit of Suckling Pig, Truffled Mash Potato and Smoked Bacon Marmalade. One word – Heaven! Okay if I could use two words to describe this? It would be Absolutely Heavenly!
Everyone told us that we have to have oysters and lobsters in Boston so that’s what we did when we arrived in Boston. For seafood that’s fresh and won’t burn a hole in your pocket, 
The oysters were so fresh and good that on top of the dozen that we ordered, we added more of our favourites in the next order.
And the highlight of the meal? Fresh steamed lobsters! Portion was huge so we ordered 2 of these babies to be shared among 4 people. It made for a very fulfilling meal I’d say.
I’ve been warned by Crystal that I should not leave Boston without making a trip to 
I call this the Death-by-Chocolate Cake.. sinfully good and rich. Best shared with friends if you are not a big dessert person. 
And for the mens’ victory dinner after the Boston Marathon, we headed to Ruth’s Chris Steak House to get a bite of the yummy steak. Lighting was really dim at the place so I couldn’t get a clear shot of our steak. Again, be warned that portions for the steak run quite large so if you are a relatively small-eater, you could always order one steak and ask the server to portion it into two for you and a friend. Be sure to order a couple of sides to share if you are doing that.
While dining, we saw a couple of people proudly wearing their Boston Marathon finisher’s medal. Puzzled, we asked our server what the significance was (actually we also wanted to know if there was going to be some privileges for the runners). Turned out, there was nothing of that sort, our server laughed and said that the runners are probably proud to wear their medal for completing such a grueling race. Fair enough. But as we finished our dinner, our server placed two congratulatory dessert for the Man and his friend compliments from the restaurant. I thought that was a really sweet gesture. It’s no wonder why people are proud to wear their finishers’ medals. They get the star treatment for that day! 
Another must-go according to Crystal is Mike’s Pastry. She wrote this:
Well, she’s right. The queue was extremely long. It was the ‘out of the restaurant’ type of long. With 2 men having to rest early and prep for the all-important race the next day, no one was interested in queuing. So I had no choice but to give this a miss. Well, I know Y from 
This shot by the stair-case leading to the library reminded me of a scene from Gossip Girl. Hehe.
We passed by the Memorial Hall Tower but got chased out because only students are allowed inside the tower. Oops.. missed the signs for this one. ;p
And don’t mess around here in the Harvard University for they have their very own police squad patrolling the grounds.
My first baseball game – Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays. Was very lucky to have scored the tickets to watch Boston’s fave home-team play at Fenway Park along with the Man’s colleagues and 2 of his friends.
Fenway Park is America’s most beloved ballpark. This year marks it’s 100th year anniversary.
In the end, the Red Sox won!!! The Man says that this being our first baseball game, we had been lucky to have caught such a high-scoring game and to witness a couple of home-runs during the game itself. 
So my very first baseball game experience was really an eye-opening one. I hope to learn more about the game… but first, a friend recommended that I catch 
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