Three Days to Go...

Three days to go...

The training is done and all that is left is the waiting.  I am not as ready as I would like to be.  I wanted to come into this week feeling good about my training and without any worries about any part of my body.  Well, I have run exactly twice in the last 3 weeks and every time I run my left foot gives me trouble.  But...as I am fond of saying...No guts, No glory.  So you can bet that I am going to show up in Hopkinton on Monday give it everything I got.  This year I have a little extra incentive going for me.  While my main inspiration is, and will always be, my oldest son, Max and his daily battle with NF, I want to also run this for another strong individual that is in the midst of the battle of his life.  As you may or may not know my father-in-law Larry Maletta has been in the hospital for the last month recovering from  bleeding in his brain.  Two weeks ago he was transferred to a rehab facility in Natick and he has made amazing strides in his recovery.  One might say inspirational strides.  He is lucky to be alive and we are all lucky to have him in our lives.  I know he would be insanely aggrevated that I am saying this but too bad Larry, there is nothing you can do about it except get better and yell at me later.

The weather on Monday looks like it will be OK.  My girl, JC Monahan, says that it will be partly cloudy and in the low 50's with a slight N-NW wind.  So now is the time that I begin to obsess about how to dress  for the race.  Real runners never have this problem.  It is always shorts and a tank top or t-shirt.  But for me, I am such a pussy about being too cold or too hot that, unless it is 30 degrees or 80 degrees , I never know what to wear.  You have no idea how many times between now and Monday morning I will change what I plan on wearing.  Even when Monday rolls around I will probably end up bringing half of my entire running wardrobe to Hopkinton, you know...just in case.  But, before you judge me for this particular personality quirk, keep in mind that last year at the finish line my temperature was 92 degrees.  Now I never attended any kind of medical school but I am pretty sure that I heard somewhere that 92 is not an ideal body temp.  So I am a little gun shy of under dressing.

I am looking forward to heading out tomorrow to the Hynes Convention Center in Boston to pick up my number.  This year, along with my wife Kristen and our boys, we are going to go in with our cousins Scotty and Jeanette and their two boys.  Scotty is running in his first Boston Marathon but make no mistake about it he is no rookie.  Scotty is one of those people that I consider a REAL runner.  He has run in 5K's, 10K,s triathalons, firefighter challenges, you name it he has done it.  He's one of those looneys that you see out running at 4:30 in the morning when the temperature is in single digits and he is wearing shorts.  Scotty is also running to raise money and awarness of NF and for that we are very, very grateful.  Good luck Scotty.  While I wont see you at the finish line (as he will be back home, showered and have his third beer in his hand by the time I cross the finish line) I will see you back at the house.  I hope to have pictures from tomorrow's trip that I can post here before monday.

As always don't forget to DONATE DONATE DONATE.  Your generosity means more that you will ever understand.  I WILL aknowledge more people who rock  before Monday so be on the lookout for that.

Til next time...