Ready to Wing It

Note: With Boston only days away (3 to be precise), I'm going to be doing a countdown to Boston series as I did last year. In the final days of the taper, it's hard to get my brain to focus on much other than the upcoming race, but with plenty of Boston-related topics, hopefully I can at least keep the blog interesting.

It's finally here, Boston Maraton weekend. Just three short days and a drive to Boston stand between me and the race. I'll be driving up tomorrow morning and hitting the expo in the early afternoon. My whole weekend's pretty much planned out--dinner reservations made for Saturday and Sunday and tickets purchased for Sunday's Sox game. The only thing that's not planned out? Monday's race.

I did an easy run today and thankfully the toe didn't seem to bother me (though it did get kind of bloody). Unfortunately, I'm still having some issues with my left hip. I have no idea how this is going to affect me during the race, especially during the latter miles, so I'm just going to have to wing it.

Despite a pretty successful training cycle, I really don't konw what's in the cards for this race. Maybe my hip will cooperate and I'll be able to run and intelligent race for a Boston PR. Maybe it's blow up half-way through and I'll end up limping to the finish for a personal worst. I don't actually care--either way, on Monday I get to run the Boston Marathon. I couldn't be happier!

While you wait with bated breath to learn my fate, enjoy a special Friday haiku:

Fenway early game
Drunk Bay Staters in the streets
Boston marathon

Countdown to Boston: Friday Haikus

Note: With Boston only days away (10 to be precise), I'm going to be doing a countdown to Boston series as I did last year. In the final days of the taper, it's hard to get my brain to focus on much other than the upcoming race, but with plenty of Boston-related topics, hopefully I can at least keep the blog interesting.


Just one more full week to go before Boston, which means I'm starting to deal with all the usual taper madness. No many matter how many marathons I've done, it's impossible for me not to begin second-guessing everything over the final days. As such, this week's installment of haikus is dedicated to some of the stresses of marathon tapering. Enjoy!

How I feel right about now

Can't sit still at work
Can't sleep, can't focus--what's wrong?
Oh yeah, marathon



Want to eat a horse
My whole body seems broken
Taper has set in



Did I train enough?
Logged the miles, stuck to my plan
Hay is in the barn

Good Friday--Bad Haikus

Spring is finally here in New York and I'm slowly coming out of hibernation. Does that mean I didn't run all winter? Of course not! But it does mean my fingers were too cold to type and my brain was too cold to think creatively. Thankfully, it's warm enough to at least allow me to type--no guarantees my brain has thawed yet. In the spirit of spring, here are some Friday haikus for you. Enjoy!

Early Spring Afternoon, Central Park by Willard Metcalf

Running Nutrition
Chocolate, mocha
Sounds like a delicious treat
Too bad it's just Gu



Nature Calls
Really got to go
Public bathrooms still all locked
Look I found a tree!



The First Week of the Taper
Sixty done this week
Thought my taper had begun
Fewer miles my @$$!

The Return of Friday Poetry (and Me)

After nearly two weeks of binge drinking and eating unholy amounts of refined sugar holistically balanced rest and recovery, I'm running enough that it's time to return to the blogosphere. What better way to say "I'm back!" than with some Friday poetry?

Post-Marathon
Should I stand or sit?
Sitting would feel so nice but
Then I can't get up

Late Night Run
Moonlight on the pond
Peace in the now still city
Central Park alone

The First Run Back
Set a new PR
But recovery goes slow
Nine minutes, maybe


P.S. Thanks to all who contributed to my fundraising efforts for Philly. I got all the way to $750 for Covenant House!

A Different Kind of Friday Poetry

Friday has rolled around and once again the mood feels right for some poetry. While I love haikus, I figured I would switch things up a bit today with some limericks. Don't worry, there's no one from Nantucket in these so they're (relatively) clean.

A Difficult Double Life

There once was an amateur jogger,

Who dabbled a bit as a blogger,

But the blogging was tiring,

The jogging perspiring,

So he gave up both tasks and drank lager

A Marathon World Record

There once was a race with a urinal trough

That set a world record with the length of its slop

But the stench and the sight

Gave some runners a fright

So this world wonder eight, it was stopped*

P.S. Sorry about the formatting on the poems. For some reason I couldn't get it quite right.
_______________
*Starting in 1998, NYYR began set up a 290-foot open trough "urinal" near the marathon starting line at Ft Wardsworth. According to the New York Times, "race organizers always thought the trough was a tad disgusting," so around 2006 the discontinued the practice, replacing this world record breaker with a string of porta-potties.

Random Friday Post: More (Bad) Poetry!!!

On Wednesday solo long run I had plenty of time to let my mind wander. Sometimes I think about concrete things like work, weekend plans, or breakfast. Other times I get a snippet of a song stuck in my head--I don't listen to music on my runs, but somehow this still happens--and I end up repeating a line or two over and over. And then, on occasion, I have completely random thoughts and before I know I'm dreaming up stuff like these poems.

What Happens Every Time I'm on the Starting Line
Five minutes to go
Now I really have to pee
I thought I just went


What Happens After Every Race
That race really sucked
My entire body in pain
Just signed up again


A Tediously Brief Ode to the Foam Roller

You bring great comfort to my limbs,
    Which ache from workouts on the track,
Faithfully waiting at the gym,
    Resting gently, upon the rack
        Others use but do not own
        You're there for me, and me alone