Boston Marathon 2012 - final taper week

Well, Patriots Day is quickly approaching.  We'll leave on Saturday AM with a group of about 50 other runners, spouses and children aboard our Hagey tour bus: Destination Boston Marathon Expo.  Hard to tell who is more excited, me or the kids!  They love the bus, the sights and sounds of the expo, the planned trip to the Aquarium and of course the pool at the hotel!  Oh yeah, they have fun cheering us on at the Newton Firehouse as well :-) 

So last week I had a decent week of training.  I logged about 50 miles with two great workouts including my favorite 8 x 800 @ half marathon pace / 400 "recovery" at marathon pace and 2 x 3mi @ half marathon pace.  My lackluster legs seemed to rebound a bit, until I put them to the test on my day off of work on Friday when I raked out two loads of topsoil and built a fieldstone retaining wall.  Needless to say, it was a sore 14 miler on Saturday AM!  I rested up and had a relaxing Easter and started the week off well with a short marathon pace workout.

I always view the final week as a "tensioning" of the legs, a "wind them up for race day" theory.  Tuesday's planned 4 x 1000's didn't work out after I was dumb and crushed myself on the bike for 90 minutes at 19+ mph, but today's 8 x 200 @ sub 5:00 pace went well and overall I'm confident that I've trained the best that I could have. 

So, Monday will be my 8th time toeing the line in Hopkinton (and my 20th official marathon finish).  This race just keeps drawing me back.  So, to recap to date where my training has come:

• Since January 1, 2012 I've logged 900 miles
• That equates to >60 miles per week
• I've averaged 7:10 per mile for those 900 miles
• I've logged 9 days of 20 or more miles of running

I'll be able to carry confidence into race day that I've put my mileage in, worked my plan, had some great 'tune up' races  and also had some good times with friends along the way.  I'll toe the line proudly wearing bib #1245 and give it my best.  My plan is to simply go by feel and see what the day has in store.  It's supposed to be a warmer day which may play a part in the outcome.  Hydration and nutrition will be key.  Luckily we've had a warmer winter and I've logged some good miles in the warmth of Florida in March.  I'm going to go with my training shoe as my race shoe, the Brooks Adrenaline GTS12 (I've got a brand spanking new pair in the closet) because the Ravenna 3 didn't feel quite as good as previous models of the Ravenna (just my personal thought).  I'll be taking at least 4 Powerbar gels along the course as well.

So, track me at www.bostonmarathon.com (bib 1245) on race day, I'll be thinking of everyone in the "e-world" each 5k as I cross the mat and log a (hopefully consistent) time. 

In other news, Rev3 is STILL running across America.  They've just entered the Eastern timezone and plan to arrive in Washington DC on Patriots Day!  Please consider a donation to the Ulman Cancer Foundation to support their cause. http://rev3tri.com/america/donate/

And in other exciting news, it's official, I've received my USATF Level 1 Coaching Certification!