Today has consisted of watching TV, eating breakfast at 12:30pm, walking through the Public Garden, picking up my race packet and then taking a nap.

I have not done so little with a day and been so happy about doing so little with a day, in years.

As I lay in bed typing I wonder, how long does it take for bed sores to set in?

If you want to check in on how the race is progressing:

RACE DAY MEDIA COVERAGE

Live local coverage on WBZ-TV, or www.boston.cbslocal.com.

Live national coverage on Universal Sports Television Network

Live online streaming on www.universalsports.com

Live web coverage on www.baa.org

My lucky bib # is 16101.

The photo link above was the pacing it took to get to Boston.

Here is what Welle has teed up for Boston (goal time 3:30)

Miles 1-5: Pace 8:05

Miles 6-10: Pace 7:55

Miles 11-16: 7:45

Miles 17-21: 8:05 (we get to catch a break with Heartbreak Hill at mile 19)

Miles 22-26.2: 7:45

Let it be so!

This is my last week of training before Boston, which falls right in line with my “last of the last” thinking.  It is pretty unconventional with all the biking, but really, we are already behind on all that business (no need to worry about that until next Tuesday morning) so why not tie it into a taper?

Monday:

• 10-20 mile bike, mostly flat. Yes, you can do the greenway if you want to stay in your comfort zone.
• 30 minute clearance run afterwards

Tuesday:

• Track work. Likely about 10-15 x 120 on the turf with full recoveries and some dynamic stretching.
• Easy clearance swim.

Wednesday:

• 10-20 mile bike, mostly flat.
• Good day for yoga or a massage.

Thursday:

• 5 mile EASY Foundation run with 8 strides at the end. Also any form running drills you want. Stretch WELL.
• Easy clearance swim.

Friday:

• 30 minute clearance run. Optional strides at the end. No more than 4 strides.

Saturday:

• OFF. Drink a ton of water and keep your feet up, as much as possible.

Sunday:

• 20 minute clearance run, a few form running drills. Do strides until you feel loose and fast.

Monday:

• 26.2 miles. I’d like you to choose a fairly hill course, preferably somewhere in the northeast. I’ve heard Boston is nice this time of year.

If you find an extra hamstring laying around, I will gladly take it and find someone to replace my left one.

As a little pep me up, my coach shifted my interval workout from today to Thursday to help with my aged legs, that I am asking a lot of, and then told us that we really only have about 5 key workouts left, so stay the course!

We have 3 interval runs and 2 progression runs.  Which sounds nice.  Right?  The interval runs this week are 10 x 800s, next week 12 x 800s and the following 14 x 800s all at 6:20 to 6:30 pace with 1:40 rest between each one.  Since I am basically speed sensored, stride legnth senored and cadence sensored to my coach, there is no way of getting around these workouts, only going through them.

These are the kind of workouts that can make you crumple into a heap and cry, they can make you wonder what the fuck you got a coach for, they make all the negative things you ever thought about your abilities well up right before your eyes, they make your mind numb and then they allow you to evaluate how much time you can actually tolerate in your pain cave.

At this point, on the way down the hill, it’s all about keeping your shit together, all the way through to the bitter end.

I find 17 miles to be that point in which your body starts screaming at you, it begs you to stop and then you suddenly remember why you told yourself you would never do it again at mile 21 of the race.

Di and I are running Boston together.  I guess I didn’t realize until yesterday that she ran ONE marathon.  ONE…and made it to Boston. Pretty cool.

Needless to say, we have been doing a lot of running in the city.  We have been doing a modified hill workout in parking ramps downtown.  If you want to feel hardcore…try sprinting up a ramp at 6:00 am then do it again and again and again.  That will do it.

What has been great is our long runs.  Not that I didn’t know this before, but we live in such an amazing city.  Our runs have started off by the lakes, meander though beautiful hilly neighborhoods, straight through the heart of the city and then we run along the river.  What else could you ask for?

OK, besides warm weather.

I always love it when you go in and try to get one thing fixed, full well knowing (or maybe not) it is stemming from something else all together.  Here is the email I sent my coach of the rehash (from my perspective of what Thuy (pronounced Twee) said to me.

What is wrong:
1.  My pelvis is the biggest issue.  I actually stand with my pelvis tilted way forward which causes a whole host of alignment problems. Also in the position that I am in all the time, it does not allow for my hamstrings to be used to their full potential.  Instead they sit there contracted and shorted up because they are not allowed to be in their normal state.  This pelvic tilt also has my lower back in a constant contracted state, which is no good.  All of this pelvis stuff is causing my gate to be funky.

PLAN:  I have to retrain my pelvis to live in a different position.  I basically have to stand shoulders back, butt out, then breath and try to relax those muscles.

2.  My feet.  She was appalled at the state of my feet, their wear pattern, how crocked my toes are and the callouses I get.  I have some very strong muscles in my feet and then I have some that have atrophied.  She wants them all in play and wants my foot to strike differently.  Which supposedly it will once the pelvis is fixed.

PLAN:  Straighten my toes out (I’m not exactly sure what kind of Chinese voo doo can help with this, but let me tell you it hurts) and she wants me to walk around in Vibrum 5 fingers 30 minutes a day to get all the muscles in my feet working.  She feels that walking around in these is better than any exercises she could give me.

3.  The knee.  Again an alignment/weakness issue.  I’m asking muscles to do things they should not be doing because the others are not up to the task and I just keep burning through to the next stabilizer muscle.

Thuy said that my pain progression from IT band to other side of the knee is exactly what happens right before you tear your lateral meniscus, which usually happens suddenly due to something stupid like tripping over a sidewalk or rolling over a stone.  The constant ache in the back of the knee is all my muscles just trying to keep their shit together.

PLAN:  Get in alignment, strengthen hamstrings.

4.  Weaknesses:  hamstrings and glute medius.  My glute medius is like jello…I am hoping for a better ass in 2011.

PLAN:  I have hamstring exercises to work on and glute work will come later.

5.  Balance:  I forgot what she said about this besides the fact that when asked to balance on one foot for 10 seconds I begin to shake, which someone in my physical condition should be able to stand there for a good minute before this happens.

PLAN:  Go back to bed and wake up in a different body.

This is what I get for asking my 40 year old body to race hard.  Better get on it, the start of marathon training is just around the corner.

3:40:31 and 1st in my age group!

The late TACO, my race inspiration.

Armed with my new compressions socks (which make me feel like a very naughty Catholic school girl when worn with a running skirt), Welle’s pacing (which will be written all over my arms) and my ladybird Erika (seriously, who doesn’t want her around?) for ground support, this should be one heck of a ride.

Totally ready for the challenge…bring it on!

If I can actually follow the pacing, here is how it should go:

Miles 1-8: 8:45min/miles

Miles 8-13: 8:15min/miles

Miles 13-20: 8:00min/miles

Miles 20-23: 8:15min/miles

Miles 23-26.2: How much heart do you have????

Checkpoints:

10k: 54:30, 8 mile: 1:10:00, 13.1 mile: 1:52:30, 20 mile: 2:48:30, 23 mile: 3:13:45

I’ll keep you posted and have photos on my return.

Good luck to Vicki, Scott (and Scott’s brother) who are running Chicago this weekend and to jMatt who is racing KONA!

That’s all I needed to stoke that flame.  A quick email to Scott wondering if this was a bad idea or worse yet a HORRIBLE idea went off.  He suggested waiting until after the ironman was done and then decide.

So while Adam and I were driving home from the ironman, I flipped open the computer, Adam handed me a credit card and said, “Sign Up!”

Here is the email thread that transpired next:

Me: I want to go to Boston.  Whislestop…Oct 9.  Get me there.

Scott: Done.

So this Saturday, I will be attempting, yet again, to qualify for Boston.  Since I am now 40 the cushion is a bit thicker, I need to finish in 3:50.

I will see if the gamble of riding this wave of fitness will pay off or if it will all come crashing down.

Bets start at $1.