Friday, April 19, 2013

An Exhausted Update

I had really hoped to post a race report today. I've got it partially written and I thought finishing it and posting it would be a good exercise for me. Given everything that's happened overnight and still happening in the Boston area, however, I'm going to hold off a bit more. I'm just too exhausted mentally and emotionally to finish the report.

What an emotional rolercoaster this week this has been.


I have one haiku for you and I'll be back next week.


Never expected
More than sore legs, black toenails;
Terrible--pray for Boston


Tuesday, April 16, 2013

I'm Okay

Just letting readers know that I'm okay and so are all of my friends, family, and teammates. Thank you all for the concern.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Ready to Wing It

Note: With Boston only days away (3 to be precise), I'm going to be doing a countdown to Boston series as I did last year. In the final days of the taper, it's hard to get my brain to focus on much other than the upcoming race, but with plenty of Boston-related topics, hopefully I can at least keep the blog interesting.

It's finally here, Boston Maraton weekend. Just three short days and a drive to Boston stand between me and the race. I'll be driving up tomorrow morning and hitting the expo in the early afternoon. My whole weekend's pretty much planned out--dinner reservations made for Saturday and Sunday and tickets purchased for Sunday's Sox game. The only thing that's not planned out? Monday's race.

I did an easy run today and thankfully the toe didn't seem to bother me (though it did get kind of bloody). Unfortunately, I'm still having some issues with my left hip. I have no idea how this is going to affect me during the race, especially during the latter miles, so I'm just going to have to wing it.

Despite a pretty successful training cycle, I really don't konw what's in the cards for this race. Maybe my hip will cooperate and I'll be able to run and intelligent race for a Boston PR. Maybe it's blow up half-way through and I'll end up limping to the finish for a personal worst. I don't actually care--either way, on Monday I get to run the Boston Marathon. I couldn't be happier!

While you wait with bated breath to learn my fate, enjoy a special Friday haiku:

Fenway early game
Drunk Bay Staters in the streets
Boston marathon

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Pre-Boston Freak-Out

I had hoped to have a few nice posts this week talking about how well I'm handling my taper and the final few days before my next marathon. I assumed I'd be talking about the near-zen state I was in, offering wisdom on how you too could achieve such bliss. Well, that sure didn't work out.

First, on Sunday, I dropped a dog bone on my foot, splitting the nail on my right second toe (the one next to the big toe). I had taken a couple days off to deal with a nagging hip injury but this ensured that I won't be running before this weekend at the earliest. Thankfully, a doctor's visit yesterday confirmed that it's only mangled, not broken.

Next, there's the little matter of race temperature. After last year's fiery inferno, I know that no matter what, the weather in Boston will be much better. For most of this past few days (every since we entered the 10 day range) it looked like we'd have a race day high in the mid- to low-50s. Now, however, the temps seem much more in flux and all of that flux seems to point up! Realistically, this shouldn't be too big of a deal, but right now my racing mind is imagining the worst.

What's the point of this? I guess it just goes to show that even after 9 marathons, each time I approach the starting line I still get nervous. Of course, there's plenty of excitement mixed in there with those nerves and I know that come race day I'll have a blast, but for the next four days, there's going to a lot of freaking out--my apologies in advance!

Friday, April 5, 2013

Countdown to Boston: Friday Haikus

Note: With Boston only days away (10 to be precise), I'm going to be doing a countdown to Boston series as I did last year. In the final days of the taper, it's hard to get my brain to focus on much other than the upcoming race, but with plenty of Boston-related topics, hopefully I can at least keep the blog interesting.


Just one more full week to go before Boston, which means I'm starting to deal with all the usual taper madness. No many matter how many marathons I've done, it's impossible for me not to begin second-guessing everything over the final days. As such, this week's installment of haikus is dedicated to some of the stresses of marathon tapering. Enjoy!


How I feel right about now

Can't sit still at work
Can't sleep, can't focus--what's wrong?
Oh yeah, marathon



Want to eat a horse
My whole body seems broken
Taper has set in



Did I train enough?
Logged the miles, stuck to my plan
Hay is in the barn



Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Countdown to Boston: A Different New Balance for Boston

Note: With Boston only days away (12 to be precise), I'm going to be doing  a countdown to Boston series as I did last year. In the final days of the taper, it's hard to get my brain to focus on much other than the upcoming race, but with plenty of Boston-related topics, hopefully I can at least keep the blog interesting.

Last year New Balance offered some awesome limited edition kicks for marathon weekend that turned out to be my favorite expo purchase. This year, the Boston-based shoe company is offering another exclusive, but with a very different take on the Patriots' Day race.

The funny only-in-Massachussetts (and Maine) holiday has a close association with Paul Revere whose midnight ride (he was joined by the less-celebrated William Dawes) to Lexington on April 18, 1775 presaged the next day's Battle of Lexington and Concord.

Okay, the point of that historical digression? This year, New Balance has decided to kick it pre-revolutionary style with their shoes.

Instead of offering sneakers covered in lobsters and other Hub emblems, they're offering shoes perfect for a midnight ride. That's right, this year's limited edition 890s glow in the dark! They also feature a homage to Paul Revere on the back. I think they're pretty cool looking, but I don't feel the same need to splurge for a pair since I stocked up on the 890v2s when my local running store had them on clearance.

What's your take on this year's shoe?

Photos from sneakernews.com