I grew up in northern California, where it was consistently in the hundreds in the summertime. My dad didn't think he should have to turn on the air conditioning when we had a swimming pool in our backyard; it was our built-in air conditioner.

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.

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.

It's the one thing that's mine. My runs everyday aremy thing. It's my therapy, my hour to myself. Nobody can really take it away from me... It's such a huge part of me. I love to say that I'm a runner.

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!'

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.

At the end of a marathon, it's going to hurt whether you're speeding up or slowing down. You may as well push.