Thursday, April 15, 2010

The Hay is in the Barn - End of Training

Timing is running out. There are about 100 hours left before the gun will go off and 25,000 of us will set off on a journey from Hopkinton to Boston.

I have tallied it up, and in my official training, I ran 758 miles. The hay is in the barn, and I have done everything I could to prepare for this spectacular race. I have no reason to question my training. I hope on Monday lots of training memories will come back to me:
...running through snowstorms
...trudging through knee-deep snow
...intervals in 25mph winds
...getting up before the sun to run...even on the weekend
...the dark line of the pool lane
...countless amounts of Roman chairs (ab exercises)
...saying yes to the run when I wanted to sleep in
...fartleks in the heat
...hitting my necessary interval splits, even under little sleep
...running up and down hills in preparation of the Newton Hills
...watching the marathon last year and vowing to be in Boston this year
...getting chills every time the word "Boston" was said this year

The big day is almost here. I am flying out for a fellowship interview today. I'll interview through Saturday, and then fly into Boston Saturday afternoon. My parents get into Boston on Sunday, and we'll go to the expo together. Staying in Revere, MA Sunday night, and then the race is Monday morning. I cannot wait.

This is my last post before the race, and a long and detailed report of the weekend will come next week. If you ever:
*Gave words of encouragement (which meant so much and will stay with me on Monday)
*Tolerated my long descriptions of training runs
*Ran with me
*Talked me through the final miles of a hard run
*Heard me utter the word "Boston" more times than you thought imaginable
*Bought me gatorade (Thanks Mom and Dad)
*Cooked me a post long-run meal (Thanks Mom and Dad)
*Just listened to my ramblings of Boston
*Tolerated me through the taper
*Did something to help get me to the starting line in one piece...

Thank you. The training has been an incredible journey, and Monday will be the perfect day to cap it all off.

3 comments:

  1. It IS the journey not the destination isn't it? You've had an awesome training cycle to celebrate on race day. I know you'll run brilliantly. Enjoy it!

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  2. Vanessa, you are going to do soooo well. You have done every single thing you were supposed to and it will show on Monday. I'm looking forward to following you online while i'm supposed to be working. I have your bib number written down at work too. You'll have non-stop goosebumps the whole way...Go kill it!!

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  3. I know all the hard work and commitment will pay off when we see finish on Boylston Street. I am so proud of you.

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