When I run, I like to listen to Podcasts of my
favorite NPR programs as well as mystery stories. They take my mind off of the miles I am
running. One of my favorite podcasts is
NPR's "Only a Game". On their
web site, they describe their show as the program that "tells the stories
behind the box scores, including the explosion of interest in women’s sports,
competitive opportunities for the disabled and the business of sports — as well
as who wins and who loses."
The show also includes commentary from its host Bill Littlefield.
This week, Bill spoke about what he
thought this year's Boston Marathon was all about. I want to share what he said with you.
"The Boston Marathon, the event
itself, shouldn’t have to be anything more than an ambitious run that’s been
going on long enough to have accumulated many extraordinary performances and
compelling stories.
The courage associated with the race
shouldn’t have to involve anything more than the determination to train hard
and the willingness to endure pain and risk failure for the glory of finishing.
For the tiny number of men and women
capable of competing for prize money, the race is work they do for a living.
For the thousands of others putting
one foot in front of the other for 26 miles, it is an exceptionally difficult
athletic challenge, the reward for which is not necessarily tangible. Many of
them run to raise money for a worthy cause, and thank their goodness for that.
For others, running a marathon serves to mark a personal achievement: They’ve
used preparation for the race as motivation to eat healthier, quit smoking or
otherwise improve their lives. They run fueled by the satisfaction that comes with
earned accomplishment, no matter their times.
But because of the terror and
violence and death associated with last year’s race, people are talking about
this year’s Boston Marathon not as merely a happy, noisy, communal event staged
on a local spring holiday, but as an opportunity for redemption.
Of different challenging times,
William Butler Yeats wrote, “the worst are full of passionate intensity.” He
worried that “the best lack all conviction.”
Perhaps staging the largest, loudest
Boston Marathon ever will be a way to say that “the best” can exercise
“passionate intensity” in asserting that madness and murderous violence won’t
prevail. In the face of the deadly crimes of the worst, wherever their bombs
explode, we often fail to express or even feel that kind of conviction.
Sometimes we don’t even notice.
But last April’s deadly madness
happened close to home, not only for people in Boston, but for the
international running community. Maybe a big, noisy Boston Marathon that
includes the celebration of the recovery of those who were injured last year
and the “passionate intensity” of those who have helped them and their families
— and continue to help them — will matter even more than we can imagine now,
before the event."
I know that I can exercise "passionate
intensity” in this year's race. The
passion comes from both my love of running and the fact that I am running to
support such a worthy cause. I am almost
certain it will be my last Boston Marathon.
I will continue to challenge myself and perhaps run a future
marathon. But this race will mean so
much more than any other marathon or race I have run in the past. It almost doesn't matter what my finishing
time will be. I know that this race I am
not running just for myself or Dana Farber.
Instead I and my fellow runners are running for our sport and the City
of Boston. As I run that storied course,
I will be thinking of those who lost their lives or were injured last year and
feel pride to have just been a small part of the healing process the City of
Boston has been living this past year.
And I will be proud to have been amongst the first marathon runners to
make the statement that we will not be cowed by fear and take back the roads we
all love so much.
Mar. 17 – 6.10 miles (55:57, 9:14 pace)
Mar. 18 – 9.50 miles (1:20:54, 8:34 pace) – Mile Repeats
Mar. 20 – 9.10 miles (01:12:48, 8:00 pace) – Tempo Run
Mar. 21 – 6.10 miles (54:50, 8:59 pace)
Mar. 22 – 10.10 miles (1:27:56, 8:42 pace)
Mar. 23 – 10.40 miles (1:29:52, 8:42 pace)
Mar. 24 – 8.10 miles (1:18:38, 9:41 pace)
Mar. 25 – 9.50 miles (1:20:32, 8:29 pace) – Mile Repeats
Mar. 27 – 10.60 miles (1:25:26, 8:06 pace) – Tempo Run
Mar. 28 – 7.10 miles (1:02:59, 8:49 pace)
Mar. 29 – 17.20 miles (2:33:16, 8:57 pace)
Mar. 30 – 8.20 miles (1:14:14, 9:05 pace)
Mar. 31 – 6.10 miles (54:05, 8:49 pace)
Apr. 1 – 9.50 miles (1:20:37, 8:27 pace) – Mile Repeats
Apr. 3 – 10.20 miles (1:21:57, 8:00 pace) – Tempo Run
Apr. 4 – 6.10 miles (56:52, 9:23 pace)
Apr. 5 – 10.10 miles (1:29:34, 8:49 pace)
Apr. 6 – 10.10 miles (1:38:59, 9:48 pace)
Apr. 7 – 8.10 miles (1:14:19, 9:14
pace)
Apr. 8 – 9.50 miles (1:20:44, 8:30 pace)
– Mile Repeats
Apr. 10 – 10.10 miles (1:22:40, 8:13
pace) – Tempo Run
Apr. 11 – 6.10 miles (1:04:48, 8:49
pace)
Apr. 12 – 8.10 miles (1:10:21, 8:42 pace)
Apr. 13 – 8.10 miles (1:06:24, 8:12 pace)
Total Miles: 214.1 miles
2014 Total Miles: 743.9 miles
