Boston Bound

I'm officially signed up for the Boston Marathon! Thank goodness! Registration opened at 9am eastern time yesterday and there was a glitch in the system until almost 10am, which is when I signed up. The 25,000 spots (give or take, apparently the BAA doesn't want to say because that number is speculative) were gone just after 5pm. Last year, registration closed in 2 months, which was fast. I'm just glad I registered early!

For those wondering, Jonelle is also registered. She's pregnant and her 2nd baby (a girl!) is due in the middle of January. She'll have 12 weeks from then to train for the Boston Marathon on April 18th. And, no, she can't defer her entry to next year for any reason. We just gotta do it! I'm glad we'll be there together...mostly so I can make sure she doesn't kill herself.

Also, for those with a desire to run the Boston Marathon (maybe not this year), but who haven't qualified (which will probably get harder, at least for women, in the next couple of years): did you know you can run as a charity runner without meeting the qualifying standard? True story. You have to be accepted by a charity that's sponsored by the marathon and you have to raise $3,250, but it can be done! I thought that was cool.

180 days until the marathon and 68 days still training starts!

Important Business

Very important post coming - get mentally geared up. It's time to review the newest flavors of a source of so much of the happiness that this earth has to offer:

Candidate #1 - Coconut M&M's



Bottom-Line: Good, not great
Review: If you like Mounds or Almond Joys, you'll like this new flavor of M&M's. If you're not a coconut fan, well...can I ask what you're doing buying coconut flavored M&M's? If you're a fan of the milk-filled nut, these will probably not supplant your current favorite flavor of M&M's but they will still rank higher than Almond. Yuck.


Candidate #2 - Pretzel M&M's



Bottom-Line: Not just great - excellent!
Review: A little saltiness thrown in with that excellent milk chocolate and candy shell coating - what could be better? These taste great and are excellent in almost every way. I would say that there is just a little less chocolate then would be optimal. Yep, I just analyzed the pretzel-to-chocolate ratio of a bag of candy. Also, because they feel lighter you might toss more down than you think before you realize the bag is almost gone. I would recommend having a back up on hand for such occasions.


Candidate #3 - Hazelnut M&M's



Bottom-Line: Another reason to stay out of the former USSR
Review: My brother and sister in law bought these, snuck them back through customs and lied to the post office (anything flammable in here, ma'am?) to mail these M&M's that they bought in Ukraine. I was touched by the sentiment, and was SO excited to try this flavor that I'd never seen before. Plus, one of my favorite candy bars in Russia was flavored the same as these - so what could go wrong? Well, in a word - the aftertaste. The hazelnut flavor you're hit with upon biting in isn't bad, but then the aftertaste gets in before the "after" part of the bite. Did I mention the aftertaste carries the distinct odor/flavor of tobacco? Yuck. Just like licking the inside of a Ukrainian elevator. On second thought, maybe that's why the Russkies like them so much!

However, if you ever want to be included in my will, get me some exotic M&M's flavor and send them to me like Angie and Eliot, who are now first in line for all my student loans! :)