Boston is the cream of the crop of the marathon world. It has such history that you feel such honor just being a part of it. All the other races have pacers to get you to a Boston qualifying time.

Quite simply, my diet has and will always be everything in moderation. People look at Olympic athletes and think they must cut out all those things everyone else indulges in, and speaking for myself, I never did.

Indoor pools just don't seem as inviting to me.

For as long as I wanted to swim, I also wanted to do something on TV. My best friend in high school, we used to pretend like we had a TV show, and we had this dream of being the next 'Kate Allie.' Having that kind of a shtick.

I lead by example. My kids know what sweat is. They've seen me come home from so many runs and asked, 'What's on your skin? How did you get it?' And I tell them, 'It's from exercise!' So now my son will come home from a bike ride, take off his helmet and say, 'Look, Mom. I'm sweating! I just worked out!'

Here's what I've learned about eating healthy when you're busy: It's all about preparation. Make your snacks on Sunday, and you will be good to go until Thursday or so.

Daily repetition matters when a kid is learning to swim. It can be 20 minutes in a lesson or an hour practicing for a couple of weeks.