Gladiator

Meet the new addition to the Aiken family unit. Gladys is part border collie, part spaniel, and part unknown. She was rescued from a shelter for strays in Tennessee with a high kill rate and fostered for 3 months in Kentucky before coming north to Vermont. She went for two walks yesterday (her first full day with us) while Oscar was out running. She loves her new home and new family... and we love her!

Boston!

It was a journey, full of ups and downs, but we did it! On Patriots' Day 2011, Ali and I ran the Boston Marathon. We spent 3 days in Beantown, staying with amazing hosts the Halls. Hilary Hall impressed all by running her first-ever marathon while raising $18K for cancer research. Ali and I ran the whole race with our friend Lauren. Kristen, who qualified for the race on the same day as Ali, ran an amazing PR. Ryan Hall (we suspect some distant relation to Hilary) broke the Boston course record, but only placed 4th, while Geoffry Mutai set a world marathon record.

We were pretty cold waiting for the start, and I nearly ruptured my bladder on the bus ride to the start. Otherwise, it was a great day on the oldest marathon in the world, a great crowd, and a great weekend.

Now I can focus on the Spring's most important race: the Vermont City.