SimpleSoleProject

The 2015 Boston Marathon is in the books and while it typically takes me a few days to reflect on a race – especially a marathon – I knew exactly what Boston was about 8 miles into the race. Before going into what I got out of the race, let me give you some details about the event itself.

I flew out to New York on Thursday as my cousin was getting married on Saturday. Lindsay couldn’t travel b/c of the pending baby (we’re due in late June if you didn’t know – Woo Hoo!!!) but it was good to see my family and celebrate Paul & Lydia. As you probably know, Brian qualified as well so myself, him, and Brenda made the 5 hour drive to Boston – would have been 4 hours but had to go out of the way for a Chipotle fix!

Arrived in Boston to catch the end of the expo and see the countless booths, gadgets, and odd running accessories that are in the market today. Any time Lindsay mentions my “running nerd” coming out in me, I just remind her of what the people are like at the expo! We did our photo opp at the finish line and really felt the excitement in the city. The weather was great, well I guess cold but anything less than 75 is brisk for me these days, and the people were fantastic. You could tell how excited everyone gets for Patriots Day – and while I’m sure there is a percentage of people that enjoy getting the day off – as I learned the following day, the city couldn’t embrace the marathon more.

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Minus four degrees windchill.  Some sunshine, but weirdly it didn’t feel THAT cold.  A whole bunch of folks on the trail getting their Saturday miles in, each one likely prepping for an effort at Lincoln Full or Half Marathons in two months.  Workout was 2 x 4 miles for me at (hopefully) goal marathon pace.  Cruising along and it hits me.  The smell from a local establishment of breakfast cooking.  The rest of the run is spent mentally constructing my perfect breakfast food like some messed up “special” character from the Lego Movie.

The breakfast burrito.  A smelting of flavors and textures that make your taste buds dance like river otters that drank big gulps of 5 Hour Energy.  The calories of at least three separate meals to reenergize after a workout or supply you with the ample fuel to get through another day.  A witches’ brew of multiple food groups.  The number of potential combinations of styles to promote a Neil DeGrass Tyson tweet.  The convenience of a burrito wrapped in pure unadulterated joy of breakfast food.  I love you breakfast burrito.  You are the swiss army knife of morning culinary delights.

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New year, not so new me.  Crazy busy, but as focused as I can be on some goals this year.  Good recovery after CIM, got some different races planned for the year, and I am mostly healthy.  So to get my 2015 creative juices flowing I am returning to some low-hanging fruit of the writing realm.  A continuation of my favorite things list.  Today, one of my vistas:  A view of a track from the air.

The oval track might be one of the most universal symbols of the sporting world.  The only true variation is the color of the track (and even then, they don’t range that far).  But when you, maybe it is just me, are flying over an area the red track is one of the easiest landmarks to spot.  It is even better when you are flying low enough to see a practice or workout or best yet some lone soul pounding out the laps.  Then I “run nerd” out even more.  I begin to imagine what the track records are for the mile or 400.  What kinds of kids have come through that facility?  Could I coach there?  I don’t know, but seeing a track from the air seems to inspire me.

It has been a long, long time since I have been able to complete a truly satisfactory distance race.  This has been a pretty good year for me though, despite health issues and lifestyle obstacles.  In 2008 I set PRs in the 5k, 10k, half-marathon, and marathon.  This year I ran close to personal bests in the 10k, half-marathon, marathon or at least the fastest since 2008.

For how my training has gone the last couple of years, dealing with injuries, and taking on more in life to say I am incredibly pleased with the way the year went would be an understatement. I am also really psyched for next year and already chomping at the bit to get my training set up for 2015.

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