2010 Boston Marathon

I'll post more as soon as I get a chance, but for now here is my 2010 Boston Marathon. You'll see I forgot to hit the "Stop" button at the end, so you even have some of me walking after the finish.

It's Almost Go Time!

Tomorrow is the day.

None of the past matters. The disappointing Boston and Newport
marathons last year, the PR at the Wicked Half in the fall, the
difficult and scary November, the weeks of training lost when trying
to save ankles cost me a hip, the fantistic bounce bank runs. None of
it, none of it matters.

All that matters now is that tomorrow I will be in the starting chute
and after a fantastic 26.2 mile journey I will be on Boylston St in
Boston. Along the way I'll see Family, Friends, The women of
Wellesley, The pains of the Newton Hills, and The best and the worst I
have inside me. Already Zander understands I'm a winner because I
line up and I keep going.

Being year 4 the planning and packing have become easier. But the
reason I run is still with me.

Thank you Grandpa Rufus. We still miss you.

You may track me online during the race at http://www.baa.org using my bib number 25713

Thank You Cleveland! Goodnight!

I know, what the heck does Cleveland have to do with me. I'm not from Cleveland, never have lived in Cleveland, heck - I've never even been to Cleveland. Bear with me for a little story telling (you like stories, right?)

Saturday was the best weather Boston has seen since Halloween. It was also the day of Zander's birthday party for his friend's at Monster Mini-Golf. The good news is a great time was had by all. The bad news is they play music. Let me rephrase, that they play music isn't bad news. But getting a song stuck in your head can be bad news. Which explains Cleveland. If you ever watched the Drew Carey show you may remember it's theme song "Cleveland Rocks" performed by The Presidents of the United States of America.



Thus how I found myself running 18 miles, plus one bonus cool down mile with Zander, chanting over and over again "CLEVELAND ROCKS!"

Thank you Rachel, Nelly, Janet, Marie, Cathy and Jim, Karen, Kathleen, Joan, Doug, and two anonymous donors.

Short Runs Sunday, In the Rain

I didn't get a long run this weekend, instead I did a series of shorter runs. I ran to Davis Square, to run the Ras na hEireann 5K, and then ran home again. Some observations from running in the rain:

• It makes you feel like a hardcore runner
  
• Your shoes weight twice as much
  
• You get to be a kid again running through, instead of around, puddles
  

My Garmin isn't waterproof, so instead of having the normal data available I used the google map pedometer and the race map so you can see yesterday's run.

Going: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3544125

Race: Ras na hEireann U.S.A. 5K

Coming Home: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3544150

Thank you Bob, Sean, MJ, and Richard for sponsoring the Eaton-Peabody.

The Tale of Two Runs

Last week's run, February 28th, was near perfect. I ran from my house to my mother's house, Medford to Lincoln, almost following exactly Paul Revere's famous ride. The mileage turned out to be less than I hoped to complete, but my pace ended up being to training plan and I recovered nicely. Heck, I even managed to run by the house grandpa built, a real tear provoking moment for me, and get a few nice hills in towards the end of the run. Look out Newton Hills, here I come!!!

This week's run, March 7th, was the polar opposite. Right leg Achilles pain became hip pain. Hip pain became lower back pain. My pace stunk. Heck, I stunk! By mile 15 I was toast. Of course that is when someone else I know, who qualified for the marathon, drove by. Thank goodness they aren't judgmental, and only shouted encouragements. The aches pain finally went away last night.

So what lesson am I taking away from these two runs? Marathon running favors those who can remember that training is a long process, but who can also forget the short term setbacks. March 7th, you are dead to me.

Thank You Nick and Alicia, Jim, Nancy, Jan, Mary, Steve, Xio, Michelle, Andy, Anne-Marie, Carlo, Larry, Susan, Margaret (who I'm pretty sure also so me this past weekend), Vince, Brenda, Judy, Leslie (I'm ordering new shorts today!), Laurie, Kevin, the Bergs, Nicole, Stephanie and Joe (we still need to get together!), Carol and Max, Grandma, and Lee and Sharon for sponsoring me.

If your going to be in Boston on March 25th, please don't forget to RSVP to join me at the Harpoon Brewery from 5:30 to 7 pm for a Marathon Happy Hour. It is my way of thanking you all for your support.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Running, but still not right?

Still not rocking the runs the way I would hope. Tomorrow is another day.

Tonight I Did Not Rock

Some nights you rock the run.

Other nights the run is crap.

Tonight, crap.

I'll be complaining about it until my next run. Pity my famiy since
they have to put up with me until then.

Team Eye and Ear Kick-Off

Attended the Tea Eye and Ear Kick-Off dinner tonight and this year's
team is fantastic! Tonight had great turnout and almost everyone has
some connection to Eye and Ear. Special thanks to Fred for answering
questions and being so encouraging of the newcomers.

It was great to meet KC, who is totally going to rock his first race,
and reconnect with Charles.

Alicia, your name came up, and we missed having you there. Thank you
for supporting the Eaton-Peabody, and I'm looking forward to catching
up with you on March 25th. Hopefully next year you can run past me
again!

This past weekend's run went well. As you have proably noticed from
the Garmin maps, I haven't been doing the Fitcorp runs so far this
year. Similar to when I started running, I'm finding the solitude of
running alone healing and comforting. Of course on April 19th that
all changes.

Don't forget that you can sponsor me by clicking on the marathon
countdown or the firstgiving widget. Thanks!

So Far, So Close

It feels like forever away, after all Boston Marathon = Spring, but it is really right around the corner.

Now that the SPHR exam is behind me I'm starting to focus on training again and was able to get both a long run and intervals session in this past week.

This coming week will be even better!

Part of the Week Off

As you can see in the run history, I ran 10 miles last Sunday in what was claimed to be 10 degree weather, 0 degrees if you include the wind chill. Thank goodness for winter running gear! Smartwool socks and glove liners plus running gloves probably saved my toes and fingers.

I didn't get my midweek runs in this week as I wanted to make sure I was prepared to pass the SPHR exam on Friday. The good news is I did pass, YEAH! Now I can get back to focusing my evenings on miles and asking for your help in supporting the Eaton-Peabody Lab.

Ran, but forgot my Garmin

So I put 4 miles in today, but I forgot my Garmin. Do I still get to
count it as a training run?

Sent from my iPhone