Please help me reach my goal. Make a difference in people's lives. Donate to The Lowell Spinners Charitable Fund.
The Road To Boston Begins Here!
Only until the 112th Boston Marathon.
Me picking up my number at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston on Friday, April 18th 2008.
The Boston Marathon is a dream for some and much more for others. With the backing of The Lowell Spinners (Boston Red Sox affiliate) in 2008, I get the chance to chase a dream from Hopkinton to Boston on April 21st 2008 while helping many, many others through your generous and kind donations.
The Lowell Spinners Charities are involved in a variety of ways throughout our community of the Greater Merrimack Valley.Established in 1999, Lowell Spinner Charities are our way of quietly giving back to worthy causes in the Merrimack Valley community with little fanfare. Through many different avenues, the Spinners raise money to be dispersed throughout the Merrimack Valley for everything from scholarships to heath care. Funds are raised through the sale of special raffles,capitalizing on new ideas, donations made for special announcements in the park and much more. With the creation of Lowell Spinner Charities, the organization is able to focus on the smaller needs of our community, often overlooked, while keeping a low profile.
Together we can help the community. Please visit the donations page and show your support. Let's make a difference today. Thank you so much!
Over the coming weeks please be sure to visit road2boston.com for updates and training tips as I continue training for the 112th running of the Boston Marathon.
Completion Of Training On The Historic Course 3.30.08
Today I completed the longest run to date on the course. This was the second and final planned training run on the course before the big day. Although I may go back to work a few of the hills as I am finding it very tough to replicate these downhills back home or in the gym. I refer to this long 22.61 mile run on the course as the "circle and approach". It was such a tease at the end of the run because the weather ws so nice and mild and it was sunny. It had warmed up at least 10 degrees in the 3 hours since we left the starting line in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. I was less than 4 miles from the finish line and kind of wanted to go all the way. Those who know me know that the OCD in me is a very powerful influence.
I went on the pilgrimage to Hopkinton early this morning with my good friend, running partner, and two time Boston Marathon finisher, Mark Rothfuss and his wife Michelle, who is competing in her 1st Boston Marathon along with a good complement of Colonial Road Runners and support staff. Without their support this run would not have happened. So a huge thanks goes out to those that took the time to help make this a successful training highpoint. Temps were in the upper 20s to low 30s when we started out this morning with a light breeze. I was dressed in a tee shirt and mock signature orange turtleneck with my white ultralight training windbreaker. I had on running shorts and super lightweight running pants. It did not really get warm enough to discard any layers. I did have on my UA running gloves and a dri-fit ballcap.
From Hopkinton I felt I paced myself really well. I crossed into Ashland 14 miles into the run. Then crossed into Framingham 39 minutes into the run. Next was Natick (I think right around an hour into the run). No issues what so ever to this point other than I was at a slightly faster pace then some of the runners in my group and missed the rolling water stops until I got to about the 9 mile mark. It was really exciting as I came up the hill toward Wellesley College. I could actually envision the scream tunnel! What an adrenaline rush that must be I thought to myself. The approach to Wellesey College to me was very majestic. Smooth sailing into Wellesley center and onto route 16. From there I hit the first of the challenging features on the course. No one ever makes mention of it but the route 128 overpass (somewhat of an uphill battle), is sort of like a gravity hit where you just feel heavier and need more leg strength than on any of the previous miles to this point as you are crossing the bridge. Next up was the down hill on route 16 in heading toward Newton. This hill softened up my quads and made me a little more vulnerable for what was to come. Definitely something that I would like to harden up in my next few weeks of training. Turning onto route 30 I knew what was in store for me. I downed the rest of my vitamin water bottle that I had been carrying for a few miles now and proceeded to tackle the 1st of the 4 Newton Hills. Going up hill was not a problem at all, infact I only experienced slightly heavy breathing on the third of the four hills. What did hurt was the descent as I made my way past Boston College. I perservered and as it leveled out I was able to get my legs back and pick up some speed. The final turn onto Chestnut Hill Avenue was by far the most painful downhill run throughout the course. Because of Sunday parking rules I had to run the sidewalk on this street and it hurt. I finished up at Applebee's across Cleveland Circle. So close to tasting the finish line that I almost went for it but I will save that moment for April 21st. I think it is sort of like taboo. Almost like seeing your bride before the wedding. Great overall run. I am now ready and confident for the big day!
Today I wore the shoes today that I will wear during the actual marathon. They are the Saucony ProGrid Paramount. Really an outstanding shoe that stood up well for the abuse that the course delivers. A post run check revealed no new blisters.
Today's run was 22.61 miles in 3 hours and 14 minutes 47 seconds. My pace was 8:37 with the fastest mile being 6:33. One thing that I really like about the GPS equiptment that I use is that it will record "stopped" time. This was the total time that I stopped to grab water / gatorade along the course support stops. So if I had a water pack maybe I could have saved 3 minutes. Good feature to have. I am already planning more productive ways to get the fluids in without slowing down or stopping. All of the details are posted below.
My Current Stats Through March 30th 2008 3.30.08
Archived Blogs