17 days, 5 cities, 2 marathons, & a partridge in a pear tree

Or: The Travel Crazies.

As I said before CIM 2016, I don't understand people who dread taper. I love taper. I'm great at taper. I'm a freakin' pro over here.

But as I've learned with the two other races I've flown to, it's harder to properly taper when you have so many balls in the air getting ready to travel, and then actually doing the traveling, while also managing to hold down/wrap up a full-time job, get a cavity filled, manage 47 crises related to your house remodel and oh yeah, not forget to do your taxes at some point.

And in case you'd forgotten, this particular trip is a bit more involved than most. Let us review:

- April 13-17: Boston Marathon (with side trip to our sister dojo at MIT, because not enough sportsing going on that weekend already)

- April 17-22: NYC vacation side trip

- April 22-25: Speak at Math Conference in DC (& also hang out with my college roommate)

- April 25-26: Late flight home, one night in my own (actually not even my own) bed, & an early-morning road trip to Big Sur

- April 16-29: Big Sur Marathon (plus a bit of general Big Sur sightseeing)

Are you tired yet? This was all my idea & I'm already tired. (BUT WHAT ELSE IS NEW.)

I've also been freaking out a bit because after running Oakland Marathon & then my last double digit run on Monday in the shoes I was thinking I would probably wear for Boston, I came to the conclusion that, yes, they're just a touch too big, enough that my feet are sliding around in them in a way that's juuust noticeable enough to be uncomfortable, jamming my toes up against the end of the toe box and causing me to do bad grippy things with my feet which is extra extra bad seeing as I am only just barely keeping the plantar fasciitis in my left foot marginally under something resembling control.

Just not cuttin' it

It's the same shoe & size (Kinvara 7, size 8) that I've gone through plenty of (including CIM 2016) & been quite happy with but for some reason this particular pair is just not doing it for me. So with a grand total of four runs and 20 miles left before the race, it's going to come down to a face off between a fairly new pair of Brooks Launch 3 or the new Kinvara 9's, both size 7.5.

FIGHT!! (I feel like there's a Pokemon joke in here somewhere...especially if you've seen my shoe collection...)

(In case anyone's wondering, I'm not worried about "breaking in" a new pair of shoes. I don't believe in "breaking in" running shoes. While I don't think it's a great idea to run a marathon in a shoe you've literally never run a step in, I do think that if you have to "break in" a running shoe, it is either a poorly made shoe or just not the right shoe for you.)

As I'm madly trying to wrap up work stuff before our flight Friday morning, it occurred to me that I should like, I dunno, do some kind of planning for what I need to bring or pack for all my many many various destinations and adventures, like some kind of list or something.

So what's in my suitcase as I make my final preparations?

GENERAL

* Toiletries & prescriptions
* Phone & charger
* Kindle & charger
* Other reading material
* Plenty of soft, comfy clothes for flying/training/lounging/recovering
* Slightly nicer clothes for things other than lounging
* Swimsuit
* Rain coat
* Down jacket
* Real camera

BOSTON MARATHON

* Shakeout run clothes (top, shorts, bra, socks, shoes, hat, hair ties)
* PT toys
* Running clothes (top, shorts, bra, socks, shoes, hat, hair ties)
* Rain jacket (OH DIDN'T YOU HEAR, IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO POUR) in case it is both really cold and really wet. (Good thing I'm an old pro at wet marathons)
* Rain / ground-sitting things for Athlete's Village (old mylar blankets, a trash bag or two, perhaps a pair of super old shoes if it's so wet I think my feet may get soaked before race even starts)
* Toss off layer for Athlete's Village
* Garmin & charger
* Sunglasses
* Sunscreen
* Body Glide & Ride Glide
* Runner Passport & participant guide
* Flip Belt
* Gels
* Extra safety pins
* Granola bar for drop bag for after, juuuuust in case
* Dry clothes for immediately after
* Blister kid & band-aids

NYC

* Nice clothes & shoes for a couple of fancier dinners. (I literally have no plans for NYC except to eat & drink ridiculous things, so if there's other stuff I should do, help a girl out, will you?)

DC

* Clothes for work presentation
* Notes & slides
* Handouts
* Work computer & charger
* Bag of work presentation stuff (pens, business cards, laser pointer, cables & adapters various & sundry)

BIG SUR (to be packed before leaving for Boston)

* Light hiking clothes
* Thermos/water bottle
* Running clothes
* Dry clothes & snacks for after
* Don birthday gift & card (this is the second time I've made him come to a destination marathon with me on his birthday.... O.o)

ANYTHING I'M MISSING, HERE????? I'm a little insane right now so don't be shy if I've overlooked something obvious....