April 15, 16 & 17 – Arriving and Prepping in Boston

I arrived in Boston via train at about 1:30 in the afternoon. I checked in immediately, relaxed for a bit and then headed over to the expo to pick up my bib etc. I feel very different versus last year. I know exactly where to go adn what to expect,  but more importantly, I really feel like I belong. There is no awe to the event whatsoever, not after doing it last year and not after completing an ironman. Once I picked up my stuff, I ventured around the expo, eating all the free samples and meeting tons of people. It was a great decompresser to my week. I followed that up by hitting dinner and then retreating to my room to await Diane’s arrival around midnight. Thankfully there is a lot of hockey on the television to keep me company.

Saturday was fun. We both went to the expo to simply visit the booths and allow Diane the opportunity to see everything. I bought several souvenirs and from there we went and had lunch with a friend from Los Angeles we had not seen in 20 years. Ironically, she is on vacation in Boston and our schedules lined up for a visit. It was great. The afternoon and evening were spent doing nothing. We watched a lot of hockey in the room with my hydration and food intake definitely sharpening. The weather is cold here, the high today was only about 45 degrees but it is supposed to warm up by Monday. I ran 4 miles and things felt better. I took it easy but made it a point to have several moments of picking up speed. I am ready to go.

Sunday was more of the same. Our day started by going to Mass (it is Palm Sunday for Catholics). After the Mass, the priest asked all marathon runners to come up to the altar where we received a special blessing. There was probably 25 of us in the crowd that made our way to the front. Not a bad touch and never a bad idea to have God on my side.

We then visited with a former Thousand Oaks soccer parent who now lives in the Boston area. It was great to see her, it has been almost two years. We then hung out for a while in Barnes & Noble and spent the remainder of the afternoon, early evening doing more of nothing. Just making sure to stay off my feet.

I am ready. I am also tired of doing nothing this weekend. The taper is over. The training is over. I want to hit 3:25 tomorrow.

Tally for Saturday: 4 miles running

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