What A Feeling.

What a feeling, being's believin'
I can have it all, now I'm dancing for my life
Take your passion and make it happen
Pictures come alive, now I'm dancing through my life
What a feeling

I couldn't have said it any better than Irene Cara (just replace "dancing" with "running").  What a feeling it was yesterday to go and pickup my official bib and runner's packet after the B.A.A. 5K.  If you are following my blog you'll know that I have been using the word "emotional" a lot lately to describe how things related to the Marathon have been hitting me.  Get ready as I'm going to use it again...  It was such a momentous occasion for me to be there at the Hynes Convention Center to pickup my bib.  Just a year ago, I had been at the same place for the running expo thinking to myself that I would probably never get the chance to run Boston.  I was a bit jealous of the runners who were there picking up their packets at the time.  Thinking about how excited that they must be and wishing that I was feeling that same feeling.  No disrespect at all just wanting to experience the same thing that they were.  Yesterday I was able to experience that feeling first hand.  It all hit me at once as the volunteer was handing me my bib and info packet.  E M O T I O N A L.  All of the early morning training in the cold and snow, missing time with my family, inconveniencing my family to accommodate my training and everything that went into the fundraising came into perspective at that moment.  This was it.  The tangible bib that I was holding meant everything to me.  It validated everything that I had worked so hard for.  It was official.

As I sit here today, the day before the Marathon, I get a chance to reflect on everything that has led to where I am today.  What an incredible journey it has been.  I was extremely fortunate to have been given the great opportunity, back in December of last year, to have my place in this world class event.  Something that I will always be thankful and grateful for.  This is truly an experience of a lifetime.   

As I finish this post, you can rest assured that I will not be uploading any videos of myself in my running gear poised over a chair with gallons of water splashing down on me as "What a feeling" is playing in the background.  Guaranteed.  For those who are too young to get this reference look up the movie "Flashdance" from 1983.  Now, I'm off to get everything ready for tomorrow and to think about my big plate of pasta with Trader Joe's creamy tomato basil sauce for dinner tonight.

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

It' All In The Numbers.

This tapering thing is for the birds!  It is very difficult to run so much during training in the months before the marathon and then have to limit how much you run in the last couple of weeks.  I know that I need to do it but it goes against the norm over the past 4 months.  That said, I might as well do something with the extra time on my hands so I figured why not reminisce about my training and put it into some real numbers.  Show what goes into training for a marathon.  So, without further ado...

Training Stats
Number of months training: 4
Number of training runs: 46
Distance run: 454.48 miles
Total time spent running: 58 hours  10 minutes
Average length of each run: 1 hour 15 minutes
Average elevation gain: 506 ft
Average elevation loss: 560 ft
Average speed: 7.2 mph
Average distance: 9.88 miles
Average temperature: 29
Average real feel temperature: 23
Lowest temperature: 12
Lowest real feel temperature: 3

The most important number: 27855

Why is 27855 the most important number?  That is my official bib number for the race.  I was so excited to get my marathon packet recently which contained my runner passport and that awesome number.  27855.  Numbers.  Hey, I should play the lotto now that I have some numbers to use!

Until next time, keep on runnin'!