Its Official

Yesterday I got my singlet and my bib number in the mail. Its official, I'm actually running the Boston Marathon. Looking over the prep materials, I realized how much I missed Boston when it was preparing for the marathon. The streets were being cleaned, all the sports stores had running specials, and the marathon banners would be hung from lamp posts. As an avid fan of advertising, I think I enjoyed these most. Reading every encouraging quote under the now infamous "Reason No:" campaign. Apparently it continues this year, as my package is splattered with wonderful reasons like "It hurts so good" and "Chafing is a badge of honor." Both sentiments I would agree with whole-heartedly. There's also the John Hancock page which includes a list of promises like "I will finish under four hours" and "Boston is my first marathon but not my last." Under this spirit of promotional inspiration, I will use this blog to give my list of reasons and promises.

Reason NO:
254: I get an excused day off work
8706: I might get a tan
342: The soles of my trainers miss Boston roads
2254: I currently own a surplus of bandaids and vaseline
13: I won't get hit by a van for nothing
7293: I believe in the phrase "Walk it off"
5239: I like shiny things, like heat blankets
1: There's a cure somewhere, and I'll run to find it

If it doesn't hurt, then you're not doing it right

I had to ask myself this week, "When am I allowed to quit?" If we count up the physical damage that's been done to my body in the past six weeks, we can include:
1) inflamed hip
2) hit by a van
3) general soreness of going from 0-60 miles a week; and finally
4) stress fracture in the foot.

Clearly this is not enough to stop me from running the Boston Marathon, or raising funds to help support the MS Society, but it does give me something to pause over. Maybe my body isn't meant to run 20+ miles? Perhaps I didn't give myself enough time to train? Am I overtraining? Or, how much bad luck can one person have? These questions get mulled over as I continue to put one foot in front of the other for another hour, and yet I still don't stop. Its certainly not for myself that my body is being tortured like a Guantanamo Bay prisoner. I don't have the personal strength to do this to myself. And, in general, I'm a big baby when it comes to pain.

So, why haven't I quit yet? I guess I can thank all my friends and loved ones for the rapid deterioration of my joints. Even when my tendons pop and muscles tear, they'll still support me, and I want to give them the favor back by actually doing something to help. The conclusion comes, even if it kills me, I will run for a cure.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=3136888&pg=personal&fr_id=4211

My first Blog

So I tried to pretend that I would never actually start blogging because that's not me. I don't blog. I don't hang out online (outside of what I'm forced to do at work), I'd rather not go web shopping, or Ebay, and I feel I really don't feel like posting messages about my life all the time. But then I started doing something actually somewhat interesting, and I felt that this was a good way to keep up with it. Hopefully, this will turn into a real website rather quickly so people will be more interested in visiting and helping. This is why I've started a blog.

April 16th, 2007, I will run my first official Boston Marathon. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society invited me to be a part of their team a mere six weeks before the big day. On top of having to learn how to run 26.2 miles again (yes, I have previously ran in a marathon), I also have to raise $3000. Whoo. This is going to be a fun few weeks. This blog is to promote my efforts, record my pain, beg for money, and hopefully rejoice in victory. If you are a kind and generous person, please visit my donations page. Thanks to all. And I'll be blogging again soon.