marathon monday

Patriots Day, Marathon Monday, basically the biggest party of the year for under-30 Bostonians. Invariably, you know someone who lives along the final 6-8miles of the Boston Marathon route. You grab a plastic cup, sit on the stoop, stand on the curb and yell as loud as you can for a couple hours while thousands of runners crawl and wimper past, through Newton, up heartbreak hill and past Boston College, then down into Brookline, before rolling into Boston proper where a hundred thousand people gather to cheer you on. By the time runners are within 2-3miles of the finish, folks are crowded onto the sidewalk so thickly, it's a human traffic jam. it took me an hour to go 3 city blocks a bunch of year ago, back when Patriot's day was a party day and not a work day for me... things change.

This morning, on my way to the office, I cruised down Boylston Street, already closed to traffic, past the grandstands and across the freshly painted finish line before banging a right down Claredon street, past our tallest building (the Hancock) and down to my office in the South End. There's something magical about Marathon Monday. All that hard work and effort coming to an end in our city. 20,000 runners, well over a million combined training hours - all coming to a head in this one race - the energy is palatable. For us locals, it's the official start of Spring, for them, it's the end of a hard winter's work.

As I look to the Cohutta 100miler this saturday, it is with inspiration, not just from these runners, but from all the folks who have the drive, the discipline and the enthusiasm to train while others rest. Watching my bro Andy train his ass off all winter (for the first time) in anticipation of this ride was truly epic. riding with him will be an honor.

Personally, after tapering for the Sea Otter, then staying-up late this past wknd w/my oldest friends who were in town, my legs aren't feeling especially fresh, but that doesn't take-away from the experience. I really have no patience for excuses, sometimes you are over-trained, sometimes under-trained, sometimes you're on fire! - it's those athletes who can take something positive away from each experience that i find inspiring. may i be one of them this upcoming wknd.