Less than 24 hours left.
This was a goal set years ago; even before I committed to running. I wanted to run the Boston Marathon - and more importantly earn the right to run it - and now I have come to the moment when I set my first strides down the street in Hopkinton on a mission to land my Saucony-clad feet in the heart of Beantown.
It seems a bit ironic that I head into the final days with a bit of humility and light fanfare.
Don't get we wrong; I'm excited to take part in this. I love the fact that I finally made it, that I can finally say "I qualified and ran in the Boston Marathon in my lifetime." It's a great accomplishment for someone who was grossly overweight less than 6 years ago.
The personal reality is this: as a runner, I've run a Marathon before. Nine times, in fact. This one is no longer than any of the others and may in fact be easier terrain than most of them. In spite of the huge publicity for this race, it is just another 26.2 miles to run when I leave my corral at 10AM on Monday.
Perhaps it's the 'Maine runner' mentality to take races in stride with no real big to-do building up to the event. A lot of us go into it that way. Let others brag about our accomplishments - we'll just keep going forward with a slight nod to our own efforts if need be.
Though my recent self-dismantling at the Eastern States and my struggle to lose that little bit of weight I gained since the new year may or may not be factors, I believe that I would still have gone into this race with a bit of a subdued attitude even if I had exceeded my expectations so far in 2011. I have set no real goals for this race other than to enjoy the experience that is the Boston Marathon.
And enjoy it, I shall.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
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