Taper Time!

Who is excited for the taper?

Stef and I did our last 20 this past Saturday and it went very well...we ran 7 miles to the start of the DC marathon, then did 10 miles in the race which was great for drinking water/gatorade, and then we veered off course to do the last 3 miles back toward our houses. We were planning on ending at the Memorial Bridge on the Virginia side, and we were literally 100 m from the end of the bridge, when Stef went down....just tripped! She tore up her hands a little bit, but she was ok....talk about ironic! Only a few more steps to go! We walked to the metro from there and took that back the last mile. Thank god for that Metro. And I actually kind of hurt my hip toward the end of the run...I think I strained it a little bit somehow. I took yesterday off and it's feeling much better today and I got new running shoes (gotta break them in before the race!) so I think that will help too.

Did everyone get their race info? My mom called me the other day all excited cause I had it sent to my parents house....she was like, "You got somethin about the marathon!" She checked and I'm in the first wave...I think I'm like 12,000 something. Did you guys get your packets?

I must say I'm pretty excited about the taper! All the really hard work is behind us...now we just need to do our runs, not do anything crazy, and stay healthy :)

Caputo

Caputo Update

Hey guys!

Mary, I love your color-coded map...that was a great story. Thank god you flagged down the minivan mom! And Jenn, that link is pretty hilarious. That's exciting to know the marathon banners are already up and people are training on the course.

My half marathon a week and a half ago went well...I came in 3rd overall and won $50! Woohoo! I ran out way too hard and at the first mile I heard my split and literally said SHIT. But then I slowed way down and managed to maintain a steady pace for the rest of the race. I was running with this one girl for a while which was so helpful cause we were able to work together...and then I passed her on a hill hehe. So overall, very psyched about the half marathon.

This past weekend I did a 16.5 miler with Tocco and Sheeds in and around DC. Part of the run we did through the Smithsonion zoo which is always interesting...a lot of the animals were still inside the buildings cause it was around 8:00 am on a saturday...but we did see an emu and some random pygmy horses that were outside.

So right now, I have this awful cough and have been hacking up a lung all day. I stayed home from work and took the day off from running...so hopefully I am better soon to get back to running! It sucks being sick....I hate not being able to do normal, everyday things. On that note, I am getting my ass to bed, so I can get better soon :)

Happy running!

Caputo :)

Happy Easter!

hello my marathon running buddies!
happy easter! but more importantly - happy 'one more hard long run till taper time'!
i assume most of you are running your last 20ish run next weekend....and let's be honest...is that not the best news ever?!? :)
i'm pumped.
this weekend i ran 18 on the course again.....and at this point, i think i've memorized every nook and cranny on heartbreak hill (by the way, check out this piece on heartbreak...it will make you laugh....http://www.lava.net/~marathon/H_Hill.html.) it was nice to finally not run in rain or hurricane force wind gusts...though it was still a bit more windy than i would have liked....but i suppose the elements make us stronger runners, right? anyways, the course was packed with people training for boston, so that was fun and motivating.
today i ran an easy 8 along the charles....and finally switched to my race-day shoes. have you guys started breaking those in yet?

how is everyone feeling in general? hopefully no one is suffering from any major aches/pains/injuries.

also wanted to report that while walking around downtown boston today, i noticed that the marathon banners are now up on the lamp posts in the city!!!! yay...that's exciting. race day is almost upon us.

well....i will leave you with some images to get you psyched up.
enjoy this last week before taper time!!!
jenn







ps - mary, my FRIEND adam has done some more runs with me....and we've hung out a few times with other people....but nothing more than that. i'm still just trying to get to know him....will keep you posted.

Mary and John's Long Run Adventure

On Saturday John and I went for a long run. I think I've mentioned that he is running a marathon in Denver about a month after Boston....so we had a great plan. We parked the car a few miles from our house, a little outside of town where you can get to all these lovely farm roads, some dirt and some paved, very scenic, very hilly. John wanted to run 15 miles, so we mapped it all out so that he would do a loop ending at the car and run 15, and I would run back home, doing 20. Well, the problem was, we planned this all via the trusty internet and never actually drove our route to make sure it actually made sense....and, well, I will tell the rest of my story via a color coded map:

Here's the key:

Start at the yellow star and follow the route counterclockwise (i.e. go south first)

Purple line = Our planned route (about 16 miles, after which I was to run home)

Red dotted line = Route we actually ran. We missed our turn, whatever, we'll just take the next left, it will still go the same place, right? Hmm, this is getting long, Sorry John, you might end up running a little more than 15, but no problem, we can't be that far away.

Red frowny face = Point at which we saw our other route come in....and noted that we had been running for 2 hours and 55 minutes and we still had about 8 miles to go!

Blue line = Portion of route that we walked, after having run for about 3:25

Green line = Portion of the route that we hitchhiked, in a soccer mom's minivan, at my insistence....I was hungry and was NOT walking the five miles back to our car! And boy, was it a great decision.

And the final red-dotted portion: The soccer mom dropped us off to head up to town, I ran the last mile or so to the car (painfully) and John walked and I picked him up. I think I totaled about 21.5 miles, which really isn't anything crazy, but it felt long with all the adventure. Then we went home and watched our Netflicks DVD of Freaks and Geeks which I thought would be stupid and then found myself vegging out on the couch in front of it for three hours...it's so funny!

What a great way to spend a Saturday. I can't believe it's Friday again....and one month till the Marathon. I'm doing 12 miles this weekend, then one more 20+ next weekend, then it's taper time. Hope training and work and life are going well for everyone. Post away!

Heyyy

Hey everyone,

I'm sorry I haven't written in so long. Mary, your trip to Cancun looked amazing...that's so awesome your work sent you there! Jenn, I was in yoga last night too! It was the hottest yoga session I've been to yet, and I thought I was going to pass out the minute I walked into the room, but I survived. I think I drank a gallon of water after class. I liked the poem from Gregor :)

As for race day, I am definitely taking the buses out to Hopkinton. I'm staying at my house in Belmont and will probably get a ride in/close to Park Street. If I can't get a ride, I'm going to park at Alewife and T it in. Jenn, that is so nice of you for offering your place to shower at the next day....I might take you up on that! Last year I took a cab home and passed out on my couch for the rest of the day. It might be good for our legs to walk around for a little.

I'm doing a half marathon on Saturday and I'm super excited....am I crazy? Yes, I think this training has actually made me a little insane. This morning I did a tempo run with Stef and Sheeds around the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. We did the same thing last week and the view was absolutely gorgeous when the sun was coming up....it was all pinks and purples across the sky with the Washington Monument in the background and the colors reflecting off the water. Maybe I can get a picture for you guys in a couple weeks when the time change catches back up to us.

I can't wait for spring!!!

Happy running :)

Caputo

Race Day Plans

Hey guys!
Quick post to reply to Mary's questions re: race day.
My plan is to just take the official marathon buses out to Hopkinton. I'm guessing they'll be leaving at an ungodly hour in the morning, but it seems to be the least-stressful way of getting there and assuring that we'll get there on time. This is my first time doing Boston at the earlier start time which I'm excited about. I figure I do most of my long runs in the morning, so I'm happy to be running the race in the morning vs. the afternoon.
Afterwards, since I live in walk-able distance from the finish line, I'll probably just walk/crawl home. You all are welcome to drop stuff off at my house the day before with shower stuff, etc. in case you want to shower and refresh after the marathon before meandering back to Somerville or wherever. Just let me know!

On another note.....in my yoga class last night, the instructor (awesome little Scottish man named Gregor) read this poem while we were resting in our last pose...and I love it, so I thought I'd share. It's called Anyway.

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you may win some false friends and some true enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you. Be honest and frank anyway.
Transparency may make you vulnerable. Be transparent anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, others may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.Do good anyway.
People who really want help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give the world your best anyway.
Happy running this weekend! Almost to taper time...

Plans

Hi Bloggers,

This is more a question/forum than a post: What are everyone's plans for marathon day? What have you all done in the past to get to the starting line and get away from the finish line? I am going to be staying with my sister near Porter Square, and my family will be watching me from Wellesley (where my brother goes to school, not at Wellesley College! At Babson.) But I need to figure out how I am getting to the starting line and how I will meet up with my family again after. I'm thinking I'll probably just take the T back to Somerville and find them there....I don't imagine them coming downtown in a car to pick me up! Even though I know the T will be crazy too. As for getting to the starting line, I have no clue. Any thoughts? Can I meet up with any of you to head over there?

Cancun and Eureka Springs

This weekend/early this week I was in Cancun. For a conference. Which I attended most of the time, but I did go snorkeling one day. It wasn't that great for running though. Oh, but it's okay because I did my long run on Friday before I left. Twenty miles, baby! I felt alright too, but near the end I did a big hill and once I got up it and started running easier I could feel the lactic acid set in pretty fast.....just a little preview of heartbreak hill I guess....oh man. In Cancun I did six miles outside one day and felt like I was going to die, it was so hot and humid (I've gotten soft after moving away from Austin) so the next day I ran on a treadmill and watched Spanish cartoons, which was a lot nicer.

Tomorrow morning John and I are racing a 10k. It's in this little historic, Victorian town called Eureka Springs about an hour from us. And the grand prize is an overnight stay in Eureka springs for two at a bed and breakfast, complete with massages and dinner! So I am tapering for it a little. Because you never know who will (or won't) show up at these small town races....anyway, I'll give y'all a full report!