Yesterday is THE training runs of all training runs. This one can come with a lot of trepidation, whether it's your 1st, 5th, 10th or 20th marathon. So, after my obligatory paper route, with the help of my roommate Amy, I was at Boston College meeting with the team once again. I shot this pic from a balcony.
Last week's blog was dedicated entirely to Matty. He is all the inspiration I ever need. Matty's mom Sandy spoke before yesterday's run and she's done this in past years. Matty's angelversary always falls around the time of the longest training run. In her speech, she talked about Matty's battle and all the things he had to endure. She introduced her husband Johnny and son's Chris & Zach. Sandy's mom Charlene and dad Richard where there as well. She also shared what it's been like, especially for her two sons, to have seen and experienced all they had to at such a young age while Matty was sick, and growing up as kids, without their brother Matty. Sandy asked that we direct our attention to the siblings of those battling cancer and those who lost their lives to cancer. Cancer, as we all know, affects the entire family. I've met some amazing people in my life, but Sandy's resilience, in the face of her son's passing, amazes me. How she was able to keep it together as she spoke, while reliving yet again all she and the family has been through, is beyond me.
Yesterday was also the anniversary of Matty's funeral. I lose it every time she speaks and so do so many others in the room. She doesn't do it for sympathy though. As Sandy said in a Facebook post yesterday, "sharing Matty's story is what I do best!" She thanked each and every one of us for doing our part to help her keep Matty's memory alive. Then she thanked me personally for running the marathon in his memory by presenting me with this. I've said this numerous times, it truly is an honor to run for Matty !
As I said in the title of this blog, inspiration to the nth power is what yesterday was all about. Yesterday's distance was 20 to 22 miles, again depending on each runner's ability. But before I talk about how the run went yesterday, I want to share what each runner experienced yesterday. We started at Boston College and ran the entire distance on the marathon course. 11 miles heading west from BC to Natick, then turn around for the 11 miles back to BC. Not only was the DFMC team on the course, but runners from just about every other charity and all the other runners getting in their final big training run before taper begins. There were thousand and thousand of runners on the course. We had the support of 100 and 100's of volunteers, there were course monitors as well, and police from Wellesley and Newton at the critical intersections directing traffic. Even though the traffic was backed up for what seemed like miles, the people in their cars were very accommodating. Anyone who lives along the marathon course knows that this day is all about the runners getting in their longest training run. The energy is intense and the excitement of marathon day is building too! There were even a few spectators cheering the runners on as well. This is just a precursor to the big day, but after the awful winter we're coming off of and all the training runs in the cold and snow, with nobody to cheer runners on, it was a nice change.
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| Sandy, her mom Charlene & dad Richard |
I think it's pretty apparent that everyone here is enjoying themselves, runners and volunteers alike. The sense of team, common purpose, making a difference and inspiration is what each and every one of us feels when we meet as a group. We also carry the hopes the dreams for so many people, including cancer patient, family and friends, and perfect strangers. We run for those who can't, and we remember those that were physically and mentally affected by the tragic events of last year.
As the first anniversary of the unimaginable closes in, we are getting closer and closer to reclaiming what was taken away from us last year, celebrating the spirit of the Boston Marathon. No single act of violence and cowardice can detract or take away from the greater good. Boston Strong is alive and well, though it never really disappeared.
Kerry and I were very pleased with the way the training run turned out yesterday. We have both had our share of problems this season. For me, it's been about fatigue. In the last few blog entries, I shared that I was hitting the wall very early on in the run, like around miles 14 or so. This was uncharted territory for me. I have run at least 2x's as many half marathons and longer distances, and usually experienced fatigue much later on in my runs. Needless to say, I was beginning to question my abilities and even wondered if I had the earned the right to run the marathon. The only major difference this year from years past, is the paper route. I didn't think being on my feet for 2 hours before a 3 hour run would affected me adversely. Well, turns out it does. My awesome roommate Amy offered to do most of the door to door deliveries yesterday while I drove and stayed in the car for the majority of it and low and behold, I was able to log in 21.3 miles yesterday. And, better yet, I felt as though I could have continued further. With no time left to experiment, suffice it to say that I was pleased to have figured out the problem. The beauty of this training run is that by the time we reach the turn around point in Natick and head back to BC in Newton, it's as if we began our run at the start in Hopkinton. So, this training run is good way to gauge, all things considered, how you will do on race day.
With heartfelt thanks, appreciation and many, many inspired miles.....
Steve
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