4:20:59

I crossed the finish line in 4hrs 20 minutes and 59 seconds. The time was in the range I was hoping albeit, on the outer end. Nonetheless, it was a great day and I had a lot of fun. As you go down to sleep prior to running a Marathon if you were to go through the checklist of things you didn't want to happen it might have looked like this:
A. Wakeup at 2AM with Diaarhea
B. At 3:30 Have your 3yr old daughter kick open your bedroom door like she's a police officer from an episode of "Cops"
C. Vomit Blood (or what appeared to be blood until your wife realizes it was just the cherries from the 14 Green Apple Martini's you had)

A&B all happened to me on Monday morning pre-dawn. C did not happen (at least not Sunday Night/Monday Morning) So as Meatloaf say's "2out of 3 Ain't bad."

For the race itself the weather wasn't a factor until you got to BC and then you could feel the wind and the temps were slightly lower. I felt strong, had good wind but my stomach was off from the night before and I tried but couldn't take any of my energy gels it just made my stomach feel worse. But I made it through and got to Mile 22 and saw the wonderful site of all the family and friends and that got me through to the finish. As I got about halfway down Boylston to the Finish I gave the Apollo Creed response of "Ain't gonna be no rematch" but when I got home I couldn't agree with what Rocky said back to Apollo so the window is open for another shot.

From a brother who's smooth like a criminal....

Ran an easy 7 miles this morning and am feeling pretty good. A few more small 3 milers and I should be good to go. I'm not a fast runner so I have no delusions over time. That reminds me of an old Saturday Night Live sketch where Martin Short and another guy play male synchronized swimmers and Short's character, while wearing swimmies, proclaims "I'm not a strong swimmer." I really am looking to just finish, preferably before the street lights come on and preferably healthy.

No Ipod for me on race day so if someone could please, John Cusack style, hold up a boom box and play "We Want Eazy" as I turn on Boylston and head to the Finish line I'd much appreciate that. Forget Guns N Roses, AC/DC or Metallica, "We want Eazy" would absolutely be my entrance music if I were a Major League Baseball closer. I'm not sure if there are any teams in the market for a 36yr old with a 45mph fastball and a knack for throwing pitches way out of the strike zone but if they are then I'm their Huckleberry. Now tell 'em all who you came to see.....EAZY!!!

Special thanks to my sister who decided it would be a lovely Easter present for Maggie if she gave her the Wiggles CD. So now instead of just snippets of the %$&^* Wiggles music we get the whole shebang including Hot Potato Hot Potato, Fruit Salad, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wag the Dog and Captain Feathersword.

Fruit Salad

Have begun the tapering back phase of training and did an easy 6 mile run yesterday morning. Patriots day is a week and half away and am beggining to show some nervousness. I'm not sure of what times I'm looking at but am hoping to finish and finish healthy and on 2 feet (blistered and calloused I'm sure.)

Molly and I made a visit to Children's Hospital for an appointment and it went fairly well. No major issues and we go back again in a month for a followup. The worst part of the whole adventure was the ride into Boston. There wasn't any traffic and Molly was sound asleep, so she wasnt the problem either. The problem was with the *%$$^#$ Wiggles. Maggie was given as a gift a Wiggles Guitar where when you press one of the buttons it plays a snippet of one of their songs. The thing fell off the backseat and landed face down on the buttons. So after every bump in the road we got to hear, "Yummy Yummy Yummy Fruit Salad. Yummy Salad.....Yummy Yummy." This went on for the entire ride on Rt 93 to Storrow drive and then to Children's. I had visions of pulling a Pete Townsend of the Who, and smashing the thing to smithereens but cooler heads prevailed.

More Days in First Place....

Did the much anticipated 20 Miler on Monday morning prior to work. Waking up at 3 to run 20 miles left me not surprisingly a little sluggish. But I stumbled through it and now feel like there's a legitimate chance of me finishing the 26.2 miles. Added a pair of 4 mile runs and have started to Referee some Lacrosse games this week, which has a lot more running than I thought it might.

Will do a few more miles on the weekend and hope to add a 10-13 mile run on Monday morning. Other than my feet I seem to be holding up pretty well (knock on wood) and should be good to go for Patriots Day. Also a great surge was made in Fundraising and has now pushed our totals over $7,000 and squarely into first place. Thank You, Thank You to everybody....and Here's Big sister Maggie sharing our happiness at the tremendous outpouring of support.

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