With just seven days left until Marathon Monday, I thought it would be good to post some updates. Starting with…
The Marathon
The most common question that I’ve been getting asked recently is “Are you still running?” I don’t know whether to be offended that people think I’m going to back out or relieved that they wouldn’t be surprised if I did. But the answer is yes: I’m running the marathon.
My knee injury back in December robbed me of months of training, and it’s still not completely better. The furthest I’ve run since then is 10 miles – not because of the pain, but because if I worked up my mileage too fast I would have just injured myself again. But that doesn’t matter to me come Marathon Monday. I don’t care what kind of pain I have to push through; I’m crossing the finish line. I’ve come to accept the fact that the Marathon will be nearly 4 hours of misery, doubt, regret, pain, lightheadedness, probable vomiting, and that it will be one of the greatest experiences and achievements of my life so far.
That said, let’s move onto concrete goals. Mainly, I’d just like to cross that finish line and get a finisher’s medal. I also really, really want to break 4 hours (9:09 pace), and I think that’s completely reasonable. My ambitious reach goal is 3:45 (8:34 pace), and if I hit that I think I did the best anyone could have expected given my situation.
Tracking my Progress on Monday
I’ve added a new page to the website devoted to Marathon Monday. It includes full details on where to be when in order to see the Marathon, and also how to get real-time text updates about my progress for free. Sign up now, and let me know once you’ve signed up!
The Boston Marathon website also offers tips and strategies for watching the Marathon, so be sure to check that out.
Fundraising
As you can see from the thermometer to right, I’m incredibly close to reaching my goal. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far!
My current number is $4,751 and I’m confident that with your help I can reach my goal of $5,000 by Marathon Monday. Donate today!
Final Thoughts
Thank you for all of your support so far. Last week I was incredibly nervous about the Marathon, but as we get closer my anxiety is turning into excitement. I could barely fall asleep last night because I couldn’t stop thinking about the race. It’s good to know that the hard part is over… all I have to do now is eat right, manage to get some sleep… and run the Marathon.
