Friday final run??? (3.71mi)

Well, I think this might have been it. My final training run prior to race day. Over the weekend I intend to get out and do a bit of walking around on Saturday, and then maybe I'll go out for a 15minute extra-light jog on Sunday, just as a last sort of "all systems check" type of thing, if I feel the need/desire, but my run this afternoon I think was most likely the last one before the race on Monday. I'd have to say I'm definitely feeling pretty good at this point, the run was really light and easy, and both yesterday and today I finished the run by doing a few strides, just picking up the pace ever so slightly and lengthening my stride out a little bit to try to stretch my legs. Overall I'm feeling pretty loose, relaxed and refreshed, although I'm not sure I'm quite "chomping at the bit" as much as I had somewhat suspected I might be. Perhaps that's just because it all hasn't really set in yet, and time will tell, so come Monday morning when I'm at the church in Hopkinton or finally actually at the start line in my corral, I guess we'll see how I feel then...

Thursday easy run (3.81mi)

I had intended to get out for a few miles on Wednesday but got side tracked with some stuff and never got the chance. So it got pushed off until Thursday, but it really wasn't that bad, since most of what I do this week is pretty much mostly all just for mental purposes anyway. Of course ideally you don't want to stop running altogether, but most of the runs this week should be real light and easy, just keeping the legs stretched, muscles working, and things moving. The weather was great, actually it was fantastic all week long, and so it was definitely quite enjoyable to just get out and enjoy the sun for a little bit.

Monday lunch run (4.58mi)

Well, its really coming down to it now, today the excitement is really starting to mount. More and more articles and postings going up all over the internet re: the marathon, everyone sharing more and more of their stories, interviews with Lance and other race/running celebs, etc... Trying to make sure I've gotten all of the information out to the people that I need to... And more and more people asking me if I'm ready, how I feel, etc... I guess maybe it still hasn't hit home yet, but I haven't been (at least I don't think) and I'm still not, really all that nervous. I guess we'll see how I feel come Sunday night... Because if it hasn't hit home by then, I guess it isn't going too... But knowing myself, and how I am, I'm guessing I'm going to be pretty much a mental wreck inside, but see, the real question is just whether or not I can fool everyone into thinking I'm actually fine... ;-)

The weather isn't helping me with the whole "taper" thing either... It looks like it's going to be absolutely gorgeous this week, sunny with temps in the upper 50's/60's, PERFECT running weather... But I guess, wouldn't that be the case, right??? So I went out for a short light run today at lunch with Seth, nothing really all that difficult, just keeping the legs going. I felt much better today than I did yesterday morning, so that was good. I was happy about that.

It's funny though, I still haven't worked out EXACTLY how my runs are going to go for the rest of the week. I guess I just really don't think having a pre-determined schedule is the best way to go about things... To me, it's more just about how you feel each and every day... Obviously there are some governing rules/principles that you should abide by (I think that goes without being said), but when it gets down to the real detailed level, I think its most important to listen to yourself. Here's what Jack had to offer when I asked for his take, I pretty much think he hits the nail on the head, as usual... The part about the massage I'm not sure about, but that's only because I've never done it. Maybe I should consider it... Hmm:

Hey Dennis,

It is tempting to get out there every day with this great weather. You can keep the same pattern you’ve been running (every other day, 2 of 3 or every day) just keep them shorter runs, maybe on softer surfaces, include some light strides just to put some bounce in your legs and call it quits each day when you’re still feeling full of run.

No more than an hour today or tomorrow, 45 min Wed or Thursday and 30 min Friday or Saturday. If you want, an easy 20 min or so on Sunday – or just take that day off.

Keep stretching – maybe a massage (optional) and get to bed early, especially later in the week.

CU soon = Jack

Sunday morning run (8.30mi)

I took 2 more days off over Friday and Saturday, and headed out Sunday morning for my final pre-race weekend run. 8-10mi should be fine at this point, as Jack says, "the hay is already in the barn"... The point really is mostly just mental now, so just get out there and keep your legs moving, make sure everything feels good. I think I probably should have felt better than I did, with all the rest I've been giving myself, but instead of feeling fresh, light, and fast, I felt tired, heavy, and slow. Regardless, I've run long enough to know that some days are like that, and that's just how it goes. The run was for the most part pretty painless, so now I just need to make sure I play out the rest of the week right...

The final Crossroads... (10.29mi + 1.25mi)

Wow... It was absolutely gorgeous out today. Looking out the window while sitting at my desk all day, I knew it was nice, but man, when I took that first step out the door as I headed home to get changed for the run, it was just sooo refreshing. The temperature was 72 degrees when I left work. That's about 12 degrees warmer than it's been at any point I can remember so far this year, and about 20-30 degrees warmer than what its normally been. At least on any day when I was going out for a run anyway for sure. It really was a *VERY* welcome change of pace...

Fred had indicated that he wanted to run all the way to the actual marathon finish line tonight, and since I hadn't actually done that yet at any point in my training, I promptly agreed. Technically the Crossroads Irish Pub (where we typically head straight to for these runs) is not actually on the course, but instead you take a slight detour as you come through Kenmore Square, and deviate from the course, cutting the route about 0.5mi short of where the actual finish line would be. Tonight we ran all the way to the finish, and then circled back to the bar after that. It was pretty crowded with pedestrians (due to the nice weather) as we came down Boylston st toward the finish line, but it was still very nice to say that I've now run every single portion of the course at some point during my training... I mean, what can I say, I guess I'm a little cheesy, but I just like the symbolism of it.

So this was the last "Crossroads" run of the season. Running around the river in the warm summer sun is certainly something I'm looking very forward to, but yeah, I'm also going to miss these cold night time runs over the hills as well. Since late November/December almost every Thursday night I've trekked myself out to the Woodland t-stop, and run back along the course over the Newton Hills, down Beacon st, and finished up at Crossroads for some free pizza, and maybe a couple of beers. It really has been a truly wonderful experience, and I'm very grateful have had the opportunity. I would also recommend these runs to anyone training for Boston, as they definitely have helped me get really familiar with the Newton Hills, and I'm feeling very confident about when I come to them on race day.

We didn't really push all that hard, but maintained a very consistent pace all the way throughout, and I was very pleased with the run. I was feeling very fresh and relaxed after taking another couple days rest having last run Tuesday morning. I'm really enjoying the taper now tho, and just trying to make sure I get myself completely rested up.

Tuesday morning run (5.58mi)

I was still feeling pretty tired and sore but I made myself get up and get my run done, as I knew Tuesday was going to be a very full day, and if I didn't get it done in the morning, it wouldn't have happened. Nothing too difficult, just a real easy ~5mi loop out around the Charles river a little bit and back. At this point, since I'm "tapering", I figure it better to just give myself as much rest as my body thinks it needs, while I still have the time to do it, rather than waiting until next week, when time will be running out. If I start to feel really antsy, well, then I think that just means I've correctly done my job, and I'm ready to go. But I'm certainly not at that point yet. I want to be at 150% come race day.

Sunday night run (13.61mi)

I guess I've had a slew of relatively enjoyable runs recently, so I suppose I was due for a perhaps more unpleasant one. Fortunately, nothing really went *that* wrong with it or anything, it was just more that I was very tired, had just driven home from the weekend in NYC, it was relatively late, and I just really did NOT feel like doing it... Oh and the weather was pretty cr@ppy to boot, but hey, no one said this was going to be easy, right??? I hadn't really ran since Thursday night, and I knew I was going to be pretty busy over the next few days and wasn't sure exactly when I was going to be able to fit any runs in, so I knew I really needed to get something done last night. So while it was in fact rather miserable, nonetheless I still made myself get out there and get it done, so at the end of the day, I guess that's what really matters.

Crossroads! (8.83mi + 1.25mi)

I was still feeling pretty sluggish when we started tonights crossroads run, but after we made it through the hills, I started to feel a bit better. It was a pretty nice evening out, the weather was just about right, although I still went with pants as opposed to shorts like most everyone else. I find I generally am colder than most people, so I tend to wear more clothing. I'm generally not comfortable in shorts until the temperature reaches the high 50's, unless it's in the middle of the day when the sun is high above shining down. Although I guess to some extent, I also get used to whatever I've been doing most recently, such that at the end of summer, I tend to wear shorts into the colder part of the season, and at the end of winter, I tend to wear pants and more layers perhaps longer than others might as well. I also have an interesting phenomenon with my hands where they are generally always cold when I run, so I normally wear gloves until the temperature gets up into the 60's. I guess I'm just kinda strange like that. In any event, tonight the temperature was in the low 50's, with a slight tail wind, and I was perfectly comfortable with pants and 2 long sleeve layers up top. We picked the pace up a bit down Beacon st, so I got a bit warm there, but other than that I was fairly comfortable. Another great Crossroads run in the bag. I think next week might be the last one for me (and probably most others as well)...

Tuesday Track Workout (6.5mi)

In general, I find it normally takes about 48 hours for me, after a long run or some other extended period of strenuous physical activity, before the fatigue and soreness really sets in. So as I briefly mentioned in my previous posting, about an hour after my run on Monday, when I got back to my desk and had been sitting there for a little bit, I think the long run from Sunday morning finally really hit home... Despite my best efforts to rest up Monday night, on Tuesday, I was still feeling fairly fatigued and pretty sore. With the temperature reaching up into the 60 degrees however, despite the light rain, Jack sent an email out letting people know that he was intending to do the track workout a little bit on the earlier side at the Tufts outdoor track.

So despite my legs and brain pleading with me otherwise, I left work around 5:15 to fight through the route 2 rush hour traffic over the 45min/8 mile trek to Tufts. When I got there fortunately I found out everyone else was feeling fairly fatigued as well, so as a result I think Jack took it a little easy on us. The format was pretty simple; 400m repeats, with a 60s recovery in between, and a full lap recovery after every 4th. Repeat each set of these 4 times, for a total of 4mi of "speed" laps. Although my legs never felt great, the weather was relatively decent and I managed to get through the workout at close to my normal pace, so I felt pretty good about that. I was very eagerly looking forward to taking the next day and a half or so off tho...