23316

That's my bib number for the Boston Marathon. I found out this week. Considering there are only 25,000 runners, I wonder who is behind me :)

If you go to www.baa.org on marathon day, you can type in my number and track my progress along the course. (The link on the BAA site isn't made available until April 21, so if you go now, you won't find it.) I'll send an email to friends and family before the race as a reminder.

21 days and counting

Yesterday I finished my last 22 mile run before the marathon on April 21. For the next 3 weeks, I will reduce my mileage and training to make sure my body is healthy and strong for the big event. Just when I begin to really feel the wear and tear of 3+ months of training, both physically and emotionally, it is time to cut back and relax a little. Over the next 3 weeks, I will at first look forward to a lighter schedule, but as April 21 gets near, I will be anxious and WANT to run to calm this anxiety.

Anyway, the run yesterday went well. I feel strong and ready to run my 5th Boston Marathon. Amazing how much things have changed since November when we had our first Run for the Memory Team meeting and I had just completed my first 1/2 MILE run that morning (yes, 1/2 mile, as in 21.5 iles lass than I ran yesterday!), healing a stress fracture that happened in September. I was nervous for the first month that the injury was not fully healed. I went back to the doctor in mid-January and asked her to re-xray my foot, because I was nervous that the injury had come back. She assured me I was OK to go ahead in my training and she was right - many miles later, I am not constantly thinking about my foot. I ran a PR in the New Bedford 1/2 Marathon a few weeks ago, ran 3 strong 20+ mile runs and have felt good on more runs than not overall during my training. What a difference 4 months can make. Now I just need to make through the next 3 weeks...

The end is near

Just got home from a 10 mile run. We actually got to run a good portion of the run in daylight tonight. That plus the temperature was in the 40s which was a nice treat as well. I can't believe though that this weekend marks our last long training run. 22 miles! We did a 22 miler last weekend and it went pretty well. I actually didn't start to feel it until about mile 18. I only hope this week goes so well. I have been running much more with my friend Katrina. It's great to have someone to keep pace with, especially when running 3+hours! We'll run together again on Saturday so hopefully, that will help me get through a little easier. Man, it will be nice when that is done. After that, the distances we run and weekly mileage drops up until the marathon. It will be a welcome treat when my longest run of the week is 9 miles! 25 days and counting!

Why I run...

This week, the Alzheimer’s Association released a report, 2008 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, that estimates 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s disease in the United States. The disease is set to strike 1 out of 8 baby boomers.

It’s for reasons like this that I am waking up mornings when the temperature is 25 degrees and heading out the door to run 6 or 7 miles at 5:30 AM. It’s for reasons like this that I keep sending emails and asking my friends and family to contribute to help fight this disease.

Not making it easy...

The weather gods are officially against me! The last 3 weekends we have had some tough weather for our long runs. This weekend we postponed our run from Saturday until Sunday because of predicted rain. The weather on Sunday was sunnier, but REALLY windy. It was also a very hilly route. At times, between running up a steep hill and facing a strong head wind, I literally felt like I was running in place! But I did it! I ran 20 miles and felt good - well as good as I could feel after running 20 hilly miles in the wind. But I felt strong, which is a good sign for training. Next Sunday is a 1/2 marathon race, so kind of break in mileage. Hopefully the weather gods will cut us a break next weekend!

Through rain, snow, sleet and hail...

Well, today was possibly the worst conditions I have ever run in. We headed out to Natick - 18.2 miles from the marathon finish line at 8 AM. There was a good 1-2 inches of snow laid on the ground already and large white flakes were still falling. The snow coming down was bearable, though I was blinded more than once by a snowflake to the eye. My trouble was with the change to my stride that the not-yet-shovelled sidewalks posed. I could feel just 4-5 miles into the run the strain on muscles I am not used to using to help me keep my balance while running on the slick surface. Oh, and the several puddles I stepped in along the way were also fun. I love running with wet socks on! As we moved towards Boston, the roads got a little bit clearer and the snow turned more to rain. I was so mad that so much of my run had gone so poorly that I added about 1.5 miles at the end. Dumb, maybe, but I just needed to get the frustration out of my system. I swear as soon as I finished the sun came out for a bit...as if it just wanted to tease me by saying "silly runner, you should have stayed in bed this morning!". But I'm done. Just shy of 20 miles today. Despite downing a latte from Starbucks on my way home, I showered and then slept like a baby for 2.5 hours. Feel great now - and of course the snow is no longer falling and already melting! Ah well, here's to better weather next weekend!