Since the check had already been mailed …. I had to compete in the Eastern States 20-Miler today, which begins in Kittery, Maine and takes runners 19 miles through NH (on some shoreline) and finishes over the border in Mass.
The weather pretty much was awful. Steady rain, lots of wind coming off the ocean. I was totally soaked and pretty much hypothermic when a friend (Dan Tuohy, who’s also running Boston) met me around Mile 12 and offered a dry hat and some drinks. Now keep in mind this was a planned roadside meeting with Dan — AND I DIDN”T RECOGNIZE HIM.
I was feeling my worst at that point. Wanted to quit. Sooooo coooold. Anyway, it finally clicked with Dan, and I’m like, “Hey, it’s you!”
That story pretty much sums up the dizzying conditions. Finished at 3 hours, 11 minutes. Thanks to all the volunteers who stood outside for 4 hours and took care of the runners. Great soup and pizza at the Ashworth!
Quad update: my sore right quadriceps, which I’d been resting all week, held up fine. Only felt minor soreness for a couple miles and it dissipated.
OK, my off-the-cuff NCAA picks weren’t perfect last night. Memphis played with no passion and didn’t want to be there until the final 10 minutes. Tonight it’s Louisville, Oklahoma, Kansas and North Carolina moving into the Elite Eight … Marathon training update: still resting, quad muscle still tweaked. Rain for Sunday. The Eastern States 20-miler is not looking too good.
Not running today. (Unless you count jogging around the building to test my sore right quadriceps.) Need that healed up! Will hit the free weights for upper-body workout and do 50 crunches by the time UConn beats Purdue in tonight’s first game. Pitt, Memphis and Villanova also win.
Rest day. I know yesterday’s entry was pretty depressing. Well, I’ve got to be honest. That’s how I felt. There are so many ups and downs during the training period. Fortunately I have received many emails from runners and supporters. This one came from an emailer today as I’m resting up for a 20-miler on the Seacoast this weekend:
“Good idea just resting until Sunday. At this point, you are trained for the 20-mile run. Now it is a matter of listening to your body and trying to let it get as strong as possible.”
Hit a pothole on the “Road to Boston” today. Felt like garbage on a 5-mile outing. Right quadriceps hurt. Low energy. Stopped after 2 miles and walked. Jogged a little. Stopped. What the heck? All this after feeling pretty good yesterday for 5 miles. Lousy day all around … We’ll see what happens tomorrow. Maybe my body just needed the rest.
Thought I’d retired those hideous white long johns for my winter runs. “White tights” are what my friends were calling it. However, the folks at weather.com tells me it feels like 3 degrees out there this morning. I got 5 miles today in those tights … It was interesting to see how my body would react after skiing at Loon Mountain yesterday. First time skiing in a few years. (Let’s call it cross-training.) … Legs felt tired in a 45-minute run. Went easy in attempt to stay loose.
Song of the day from my iPod (a song that really gets you pumping): The Karate Kid song: “You’re the Best Around,” by Joe Esposito.
Should be a wild afternoon in Durham for an all-Manchester Class L boys’ basketball final. Memorial and Trinity play at 3 p.m. Among the storylines:
– Memorial coach Mike Fitzpatrick will be trying to shut down his son’s team. Cormac, a sniper guard, starts for Trinity.
– The Madol family. Trinity’s David and Richard Madol are part of a brave family that fled war-torn Sudan, stayed in a refugee camp in Egypt, and settled in Manchester in 2002.
– Mike Fitzpatrick and Trinity coach David Keefe both played for Manchester Central and won a title together. And they’re cousins.
Lundholm Gym’s rafters may come unglued in this one. It’s the first all-Manchester title game since 1973.
Today is a wonderful day for many reasons. For one, my daughter turns 2-1/2, and we’re celebrating tonight with make-your-own brownie sundaes. It’s also the first day of spring! And we’re exactly one month away from the Boston Marathon … Did not run yesterday or today. Would’ve liked to run 5 miles today but my work schedule will not allow it. Will definitely get at least 5 miles tomorrow and roughly will have a 25-mile week.
Readers of the New Hampshire Sunday News may be aware I’ve been publishing a training log while preparing to run the Boston Marathon. It’s been a winter-long quest to participate in one of New England’s great events. Now as the 113the Boston rapidly approaches, I’ll be writing daily updates on the blog.
People keep asking about my progress, and I’m beginning to feel like Jim Carrey’s character on The Truman Show. It’s nice, really. Motivational. One person told me, “Everyone at our office is following you.” A break-through came last week when meeting another guy named Kevin Gray for a 20-mile run in Manchester … My alarm went off that day at 5:04 a.m., and we were on Elm Street by 5:45 … I consumed three chocolate energy gels, 32 ounces of water and a bottle of Gatorade before finishing the run and stretching — all this before most people had gotten to work.
Minor leaguer Scott Campbell is making an impression at his first big-league spring training. The New Zealander doubled and had 3 RBI in Toronto’s 7-2 win over the Reds today … Travis Snider is raking, batting .462 in 13 at-bats … Kevin Millar has 2 HR in 11 at-bats … Ricky Romero had his best spring outing (3 innings, 3H, one run) and got the win.
