Yup, that’s right, you read correctly. I’m now actually less than a week away from running one of the world’s most famous races, the Boston Marathon. In fact, this will be the 114th edition of the race, and for me, the 6th time that I run 42.2km all at once! The funniest part about this (at least in my mind) is that to me, it’s more of a training event than a main event. I know, sounds crazy, but in just over 2 months from now, I’ll be doing a 3-day race in which one of the days is a 62km off-road trail run! So for that reason, this isn’t the pinnacle of my 2010 season, but just a warm-up. However, that in no way will detract from the event for me, and in fact, makes is easier to just enjoy the day. I plan to carry a camera and my GPS, so there should be ample photographic evidence of my day on the classic road to the finish in Boston! Although I leave in about 4 days, I feel pretty disorganized, or at least not really in the right headspace. To hear a bit more about why that is, and some other latest news, read on. The picture? Well, that’s just one from my recent move to my new home in Gatineau, why not have a look at the full folder of pictures from the move? After that, come on back for more!
I’ve just finished having a look through my welcome packet, and talk about a lot of information for this race. I suppose logistically speaking, there will be a lot to keep in mind. After all, there are 24 THOUSAND runners in the marathon. To put it in perspective, the Ottawa Marathon, which is also pretty big, is a mere 5 thousand! Just getting to the start line is a journey. Although I won’t start running until 10am, I have to board a bus downtown at 6am! How crazy is that? As far as following me online, there will be some options for you. Apparently, every 5km, there is a split time listed at http://www.bostonmarathon.org/ . The specific instructions aren’t yet, but the packet tells me the process of how to look me up will be clear. For the record, I’ll be wearing Bib #5760 for searching needs.
Speaking of Bib numbers. #5760 is a pretty choice number don’t you think? The first digit represents my starting corral, and 5 is a pretty low number overall. Numbers 1 to 13,999 are in the first ‘wave’ departing at 10am, whereas numbers 14,000+ start at 10:30 in wave 2. My goal certainly isn’t to go for a personal best or anything. In fact, my training plan was geared towards a mere 3:30 pace. My slowest marathon in about 4 years, but I could care less. I really want to just experience the massive crowds the whole way, and take time along the way to smell the sweat that is the Boston Marathon. The history behind this race is storied, and since I probably will only do it this one time, I really want to savour it. After all, running with 23,999 other people really doesn’t sound like the best time ever to me.
Lucky for me, I’ll have my own little cheering section on the course too. Andrea, Patrick, Helena, and Julien are also making the pilgrimage, and are hoping to catch me in action somewhere on the course, then close to the finish again. It’ll be interesting to see how that works out, as the crowds are some of the biggest of any event methinks. If anyone has any advice on this, I’m all ears 🙂 However, just knowing that I have some of my own fans in the crowd will no doubt propel me forward when the going gets tough somewhere around ‘heartbreak hill’. Wow, just writing some of this stuff down is getting me excited. Which reminds me, I should really pick up some new runners before the weekend. Yes, I know what they say about new shoes, but I buy the same pair every time, so there is no breaking in required. It’s not the first time I run in new shoes. I did the same for my Iron-distance Tri a few years back.
I’ll tell you another thing. I’m seriously contemplating shelling out a little extra coin to get a nice commemorative plaque with my bib, medal, picture, and engraved plate done up. That would look pretty sweet hanging on my wall, wouldn’t it? Speaking of walls, I guess I’ll close off by talking a bit about my recent move. In a nutshell, everything went smoothly. It helps that I spent most weekends in the previous month packing everything up safely at the old place. I basically had everything crammed into two rooms, ready for the hired help. I went with a local moving company who charged by the hour. Three guys and a truck with all the proper moving gear. They even moved the piano (in what seemed a pretty safe manner) for me.
So that leaves me with the long task of unpacking and settling in. I’ve set up a few rooms in a pretty complete fashion, but there are still quite a few boxes and little things left to do, not to mention setting up the entire home theater / rec room. Part of that overall process will be to decide what to do about a bar over here? Do I build an identical bar to the last one (which I really loved), or try something different? Part of me is thinking about building a wall cabinet style bar rather than a full unit, to make more room for mingling, but I’m not sold yet. I’ll have to pore over some woodworking plans before making a final decision. Although I’m planning a housewarming / birthday bash for the end of May, I’m pretty sure the bar building will be a next fall / winter project for me.
One thing is for sure. I’m looking forward to having some guests over, so I definitely have to shake a leg and get settled in. When you hear that I’m actually hanging some artwork, you’ll know that I’m almost there. That’s pretty much the last part of my move that I want to tackle. Seems premature to hang anything until I’m sure everything is where it belongs, right? With that, I’ll sign off for tonight, as I have some projects to get to (towel rack, peg board, coax installation, etc. etc.). Take care all, and it’s good to be back and in business in my new studio / office!
