Shout, Shout, Shout It All Out

It's all over but the shouting. Had a little panic attack yesterday as I couldn't find the "belt" part of my fuel-belt. I have little plastic bottles coming out the wazoo, but no belt itself. I have a half dozen different belts, depending upon whether I am running a marathon, an ultramarathon or doing a training run. This particular belt I think of as my marathon racing belt and it is no where to be found. I also think of it as my "lucky" belt, as I used it to qualify for Boston. Arrrgghhhhh!!! One last shout!

Thank God I had so many ants in my pants that I started packing a full day early (I packed for Las Vegas thirty minutes before leaving for the airport...). I tore my apartment apart for an hour and then just went to buy an exact replacement. None in stock!!! So I had to drive for an hour this morning to pick up my fuel-belt at another Running Room store location. I bought two - just to be on the safe side. Whew! I now have all my racing gear...

Since undertaking this little quest - to qualify for the Boston Marathon - as a New Year's Resolution in late 2004 some sixteen months, sixty-five weeks and five hundred or so days ago, I have run three marathons, a couple of Ultramarathons (plus another half dozen thirty mile training runs) and a dozen shorter-distances races. I have lost twenty-five pounds along the way (actually I've probably lost more, gained them back and then lost them again). I have had Personal Bests in the 10K (granted because of my age category), Half Marathon (all-time PB), Marathon (all-time PB). I have gone through about fifteen pairs of running shoes, Asics Nimbus'. I have run at least three thousand miles. I have consumed gallons of gels and goos, sucked back barrels of Gatorade. I have ranted and raved, sulked and pouted, strutted and swaggered about, sniveled and whined and shouted my story from the mountain-top.

The Blog - all 282 Posts - kept me honest. It kept me motivated and it gave me a place to vent my spleen and exercise my demons. No that's not a typo... The Blog has been a little bit like being a Pace Group Leader for a really, really, really big running group. I loved getting comments back. They were an interesting mirror to gaze into. I even started getting regulars which was a bit of a surprise. In the end, the Blog took on a life of its own, a cause for occasional friction and hostility in Vince World when I struggled to balance the time requirements for training, working and writing. And the Blog found its own identity, getting noticed in places and venues that rather surprised me.

I am flying out at the crack of dawn tomorrow for Beantown, so this will the last post before I run the Boston Marathon, before I enter the starting gates of Mecca.

Having embarked upon what for me has been a rather remarkable journey, I would be remiss if I didn't thank a few people.

Thanks to the medical miracle workers who kept me patched together, Drs. Boris & Stacey, Kenji and Diana...

Thank you Polar for my S625X heart rate monitor, which I have always found to be an invaluable training tool and the keystone in my training regimen. Thanks to the Running Room for offering me a place to run, and train and for their Marathon Clinics (having financed a second wing on John Stanton's house over the past five years - my Gawd!, the money you can spend on shoes, spandex and gels! - I feel that this has been a symbiotic relationship...). I wouldn't be here today without the inspiration, advice and training tips and knowledge of people like Anthony and Louise, Neil and Steve. I still miss Jonathan...

But, first and foremost have been my regular running buddies. I could not have qualified for the Boston Marathon without them. Some of these men and women I have run with for years and for hundreds and thousands of miles and for many marathons. It is hard not to think of them as family. They have bolstered me, offered me comfort, solace and red wine when I needed it and a swift kick in the pants when in order. They have inspired me, supported me and their commitment was the touchstone for my own training.

So in no particular order, my brothers and sisters, big and little, and good friends; Seymour, Hugh, Anne, Patrick, Justin, Michael, Rachel, Laura, Ed, Leah, Sheila, Trish, Cynthia, Michelle, Joyce, Robin, Flo, Jaquie, Henry, Tina, Sonia, Steve and Steph, June, Stu, Kirsten, Carmen, Warren, Sean, Luisa, Sarah, John and every poor member of every pace group who has ever had to listen to me drone on, laugh at my jokes and put up with me! If you feel left out of the list because of my failing memory cells, slap me upside the head...

Thanks to Mom and Dad and all my forebears for the genes that make me want to take to the roads and the trails and just keep going...

It's been a wonderful journey. I can hardly wait to see where it takes me next...

Interesting Sidebar - Speaking of forebears, my Great Grandfather Frederick William (FW) Philpot, ran for the Hare & Hounds Club in the 1880's while attending St. John's College at Cambridge. He did the Cambridge University 7.5 mile cross-country course in 1886 in a time of 40:11.

http://www.achilles.org/ftp/annual/2005.pdf Pages 27-28