Well, it's official! Here is a screen shot of the acceptance email I got the other day from the Boston Athletic Association confirming my spot in the 2011 Boston Marathon!
This is all so surreal. I still can't believe this is actually going to happen!
I can't believe it's February already.
It's such a cliche, it hurts my fingers to type this, but it feels like just yesterday that I was sitting at the two mile mark of last year's marathon with my buddy Rori. We were talking about how we would love to run it ourselves someday. Rori said, "dude, you'll be running this race next year." Of course I laughed at him because of the absurdity of that statement.
Now I'm registered, and the race is less than 3 months away!
The Fundraising
Unfortunately, I came up with the big goose egg last week on the fundraising side of things. (I guess it's bound to happen every now and then). I did manage to stir up a little bit of publicity for the Run for the Memory crew though.
On Thursday, a friend of mine tipped me off that the local paper was doing a story on people training in the harsh winter conditions for the Boston Marathon. I gave the writer a call and chatted with her a bit. The paper ended up sending a photographer out to our saturday long run and we ended up on the front page!
I even had a few quotes in the story.
This past Sunday's front page of the Metrowest Daily News
That's me all the way to the left with safety vest thingy on!
You can check out the whole story here
The Training
47.5 Miles
Once again I had two new personal bests this week. I did my longest single run (16.25 miles), and also did my highest weekly mileage total at 47.5 miles. I ran 3 miserable treadmill runs during the week and two fantastic group runs over the weekend.
I don't know what it is about the treadmill that makes me have so much trouble. I feel like I can't get a good stride going until I'm 4-5 miles into my run. I just feel awkward on that thing. In it's defense though, I truly believe that doing those midweek miles on the treadmill instead of on the pavement is really helping my knees and ankles stay strong for the weekend long runs.
So for now, the treadmill stays part of the plan.
Saturday Long Run
16.25 Miles
Hopkinton to Ashland portion of the marathon course.
This week, the Run for the Memory crew moved to a new location for our weekly long run. We had been concentrating on the mid section of the marathon course for a couple of months with a particular focus on Heartbreak Hill.
Now we have moved to the beginning section of the course.
From what I'm told, the first half of the marathon is a long gradual downhill run with lots of rollers. (gentle ups and downs.) Because the organizers of our group seem to love to dish out pain for breakfast on saturdays, our plan was to start about 3 miles into the course at Ashland Middle School and run back UPHILL to the starting line in Hopkinton. We would then turn around and head back out to the cars for a 6 mile loop.
When the day started, I wasn't planning of doing more than one loop. Instead, I was going to make saturday a shorter day and do my long run with the Soup Group on sunday. (I may have been a little afraid of the hills). When we finished the first loop though, I found myself having a quick drink with everyone and heading right back up the hill again for a second loop. And then again for a third. (ok math geeks, on the third loop we didn't quite do the whole thing.)
By the time we were done, I had done 16.25 miles at a pace of 8:31/mile.
If I can do anywhere near that kind of pace for the marathon, I will be ecstatic!
Here are some shots from the run.
The Run for the Memory crew meeting at getting ready to go at Ashland Middle School.
A quick group shot before heading out.
Yup, you're seeing that right. For those of you not in New England, those snowbanks are up to our chests!
Sunday Soup Group
6.7 Miles
This week, the Soup Group ran the 15k Boston Marathon Tune-up course in Upton. This race is put on every year by the Tri Valley Frontrunners. (the club I belong to.) The race happens in early April about two weeks before the marathon.
Sticking to my plan of shorter recovery runs on sundays, I went onto MapMyRun and figured out a way to shorten the course down to about 6.5 miles. Dave Soligon, who also does his long runs on saturdays, did the shorter loop with me. We did the first 3 miles with the group and then split off and headed back towards the cars while the group continued on.
Because I was in a hurry due to an afternoon photo shoot, I rushed over to get a few nice photos of the soup, have a quick bowl for myself, and head home to shower. It was a shame that I didn't get to hang around for my traditional "second bowl" because this week's soup was a gem!
The Payoff!
Once again, Nick Julian and his wife Nancy hosted this weeks Soup Group.
Here is a shot of their culinary creation, Chicken and Sausage Stew with Oven Roasted Potatoes
(see recipe below!)
Chicken and Sausage Stew with Oven Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients
2TBS olive oil
5TBS butter
2 Lbs. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs in 1inch cubes
8oz andouille sausage sliced into rounds
1 onion, diced
1 habanero chili sliced very thin. Discard seeds.
Zest of one orange
2 garlic cloves minced
2 carrots sliced into thick rounds
1 small fennel bulb trimmed and sliced
Fresh thyme to taste
2 bay leaves
5 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup white wine
Oven roasted potatoes
In a pot on medium-high heat, melt 4 TBS of butter in 2 TBS evoo. When butter starts to brown start adding the cut up chicken in a single layer to brown, you may need to do this in stages so as not to crowd the chicken. Brown on all sides , about 8min. Add the andouille and cook it for about 2 min, remove the meat to a large dish and set aside.
Add remaining butter to the hot pot, add the onion,garlic, carrot, fennel, thyme, habanero pepper, and bay leaves and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent, about 20 min.
As the veggies are cooking, pour the chicken stock into a large pot. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low.
When veggies are done, add the orange zest to the pot along with the reserved meat and juices. Mix well, add the flour and stir to coat veggies and meat. Cook for 2 min. Now add the wine sir and cook for a min, the soup will thicken noticeably. Add the warm chicken stock to the pot one cup at a time, stirring as the stock is added. Once all the stock is in the pot bring the stew to a simmer for 20 min.
Ladle stew over roasted potatoes and serve.
Roasted Potatoes
10 medium or 25 small red potatoes diced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
In a large bowl, toss the potatoes, evoo, salt and pepper together to coat well. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet, roast for about 20 min until the potatoes are browned and fork tender. Remove from the oven and use for a bed for the stew.
Soup Group Face of the Week
Dave Soligon
This is Dave's first year with the Soup Group. In fact, it's his first year of serious running!
He is one of the Soup Groupers running in the 2011 Boston Marathon and is raising funds for Dana Farber.
That's it for now!
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