The marathon is LESS THAN ONE WEEK AWAY!  Patriots’ Day, that quintessential Boston Holiday, is coming up!  Marathon Monday (where else is there a marathon on a Monday??!) is the best day of the year in Boston, in my opinion.  Everyone is out and about, the Red Sox have a game, and 30,000 people are giving their all, running from the Boston ExUrbs into Copley Square.

I have run my last ‘long’ run, doing 12 miles this past sunday in Dorchester.  I’m feeling fine, and honestly have no idea how it will go.  Well, I know it will go fine, but have no idea if it will be a great marathon for me.  My true goal is to come out of it having had a great experience (read:  not crawling across the finish line), a good time and the desire to do it again.  Seeing people along the route and after the marathon will be great in making this come true.  So will the weather.

I would LOVE to see anyone out there on the route who can make it!  If you haven’t watched the marathon before, even to go out for 15 minutes is quite an experience.  Here are some logistics to help you do so:

Start times on Monday, April 20, 2009

Push Rim Wheelchair Start: 9:22 a.m.
Elite Women Start: 9:32 a.m.
Elite Men & Wave 1 Start: 10:00 a.m.
MY START:  Wave 2 Start: 10:30 a.m.

Two years ago, the marathon was separated into 2 waves so the start was not so slow.  Because I’m running as a fundraiser, I will be in the Wave 2 start at 10:30 AM.  I plan to work my way up to the front of that start so I can start almost immediately.

Where and How to Find me During the Marathon:

As I’ve written about too much on this blog, I plan to run between 7 and 8 minute miles.  So, if you are going to be on the marathon route:

• I will be running on the RIGHT side of the road.  So plant yourself there if you are watching.
• I will be wearing a CYCLE Kids jersey – see the logo on their web site.
• If you know where you’ll be, please email me, or leave a comment on this blog, and I can be sure to look for you.  It helps a lot if I know.
• As for times, I’m a complete time nerd, so I made a spreadsheet to help you figure out where I might be when – it has mile markers and estimated times of arrivals for 7 and 8 minute mile pace.  Let me know if it’s not clear.
• To figure out what mile you are at, here a great interactive map of the marathon route (click on ‘Miles’ to see the mile markers).
• You can follow me online.  On the day of the marathon, there will be a link up on the front page of the marathon web site.  My bib number is 21995.

After the marathon, depending on the weather (so far looking pretty good – 50’s and a little cloudy) and how I’m feeling, I’ll probably be wandering around Back Bay with friends for a couple hours between 2 and 430.  Let me know if you might be around – I can give you a call.

If you want to join up and celebrate afterwards, please meet me at the Asgard at 350 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square in Cambridge from 5 to 7 PM for the lowdown!

And, if you can/want to run any piece of the marathon with me at ~7:30 pace, please email me!  I would love the company and support!

Thanks to all of you, I’ve raised $3,500 so far for Cycle Kids.  I’ve really enjoyed keeping this blog and hope you’ve enjoyed reading it.  I may put up one more short philosophical post prior to the marathon, and of course the story of how it went, as soon as I have energy afterwards.