It's now one week out from the Boston Marathon. That's usually when I check my inbox, return some emails, and of course, send out my marathon-versioned thank you notes. If everyone does not mind, I am running a bit behind schedule and was wondering if I could write them out now. Here goes:
#1 Thank you to the sponsors of Team David: my family and friends. This marathoning thing is not easy. There is no way I could do it without any of you. My parents and sister show up to every race and always encourage me to keep chasing my dreams. I want to give a shout out to all of my friends. By now, I am sure you are all tired of hearing me even mention the words "run" and "Boston." You all still stand by me and want to see me do well. This means a lot to me. I want to personally thank my "new" roommates. I moved in back at the end of September and have never been happier. That makes all the difference in running. I do not say it enough, but you guys really do not know what your friendship means to me. The support I get from all of you gives me something to run for. Team David is a growing organization so get your membership now!
#2 Thank you to my coach, Alan. Alan is part of Team David but I wanted to give him his own spot. I have learned so much in this build-up and am very thankful for all of your effort and hard work in getting me to the start line fresh. Part of the battle of the marathon is making it to the start line ready to go. I know I sometimes run more than I should and a little faster than I probably should too but without you coaching me, I probably would have gotten hurt. It is important to know when to run easy and when to go for it. The workouts you wrote for me in this build-up were tough and I look forward to keep making improvements.
#3 Thank you to winter. In particular, I would like to give a mention to my good friends Snow and Wind. You two came out to play nearly every day over the past couple of months. Instead of going inside and using a treadmill (as some would say a reasonable person would do), I went to battle with you each and every day. And who won? I am going to take the decision in this one. It looks like we are finally getting some spring weather and I am still here. Many look at the weather in the winter as obstacles but I met them as a challenge in each day of training and that made it fun. You both taught me how to be a "tough New England runner" and I thank you for that.
#4 Thank you to dogs. I have been putting up with your barking and jumping for much too long. Every time I run past you, you just have to say something to me. And it's never anything nice! It's always the smaller dogs too. They seem to put up the biggest fight. I have been chased down the road by many of you, but the joke is on you. I was going to keep running anyways!
#5 Thank you to the hills. All of you. I hear there is this little thing called Heartbreak Hill coming my way in a week. I personally want to mention Smith Hill, Jenckes Street, Freeman Parkway and Olney Street. All of you have done your part and I would much rather climb Heartbreak than any of you. Thank you for giving me the strength I need to conquer the Newton hills on Monday.
#6 Thank you to power bars, cliff bars, and GU products. You all do your job to fuel me both before and after runs. As a newly converted vegetarian (which I do not mention much on here) I am grateful for the protein I take in from these products. Is it a problem that I actually like their taste too?
#7 Thank you to making new friends on the run. It is nice to be a part of the Rhode Runner Racing Club. It is nice to have company on our weekly runs. It can get lonely as a distance running, who runs a majority of his miles on his own. I would also like to thank people in two different instances. The first happened about a month ago. I was running near Roger Williams Park and I ran past someone on the sidewalk. As I went by, he yelled, "Are you training for that thing...Boston?" I yelled back, "Yeah!" Then he proceeded to wish me luck. It is moments like this that really get me. I don't know this guy. I will most likely never see him again and could not tell you what he looked like. This guy gave me a greeting and wished me well at Boston. It was a simple encounter but brought me a lot of joy. Another instance happened a week ago. I was doing a tempo run at marathon pace and someone pulled up alongside me on a bike. He started to talk to me and told me he had been a marathoner years ago and ran Boston in the '80s. Cool! He then biked and talked with me for about two miles until we went our separate ways. It was nice to have some company and it took the pressure off of the running. I was able to concentrate on our conversation and the running felt easy! I really enjoy the community feel of running and hope I can find ways to use my own running as a public good in the future and try and help other's with their goals.
#8 Thank you to those lovely people who yell "Run Forest Run" at me when I am running. This is not an original thing to do. I repeat: This is not an original thing to do. That is all I want to say on this subject.
#9 Thank you to the haters. While there are so many on the Team David bandwagon, there are always people who want to see you fail. They gain from another's loss and this is not right. You provide a great deal of motivation for me. Why can't you just be happy for other people's accomplishments and focus on what you can do to help yourself. Spend some more time evaluating your own goals and what you stand for instead of knocking someone else's. As the rapper Evidence says, "Success will be the best revenge." This is what I strive for, not to hurt others, but to be the best me I can be. I will be happy if I know I gave it my best on Monday. That is all I can ask for.
#10 Thank you to the year that was in 2012. I gained a deeper perspective of marathon running. In 2012, I started four marathons and finished three. The year began with disappointment at Boston. I prepared diligently, as I did in this cycle, for my first Boston Marathon. Then, temperatures approached 90 degrees on race day. This is not something I can control but that day still haunts me today and is something I constantly think about. What could I have done differently? I told myself I did everything to prepare for the race and entered the Cox Marathon in Providence. I ran 3:11. I was on 3:05 pace through 20 miles and then fell off pace a little towards the end. I missed out on getting my BQ then. I spent the spring and summer months training and racing. I set several new PRs across the different race distances and got myself into great shape for a fall marathon. I ran the Lehigh Valley Marathon on one of the last days to get a Boston qualifier for 2013. I ran 3:03:14. I did it! I felt an array of emotions when I realized I had reached this goal and crossing the finish line was one of the best feeling's I have ever had. I then capitalized on my fitness and ran a 1:20 half marathon at Hartford and 2:54 marathon at Philadelphia in November. I started to work with my new coach at the end of my build-up for Lehigh but then he helped me prepare for Hartford and Philly. 2012 was a roller coaster of a year for running. It started with a low and went up from there. Looking back on what I was able to do, at where I started in the first place, gives me all the motivation I need at Boston. I started the 2013 racing season with a 1:21 half marathon. It was slower than I ran at Hartford which was in October. This was not indicative of the kind of shape I am in now. I expected something in the 1:15 to 1:16 range based on the workouts and mileage I have done in this build-up. I have been running faster than ever and feel great! I am going to capitalize on my fitness and put it all out there at Boston. So, I had a bad race. Looking back on 2012, I know what I was able to do after one bad race. There wasn't something right about the day. All I know is that April 15, 2013 will be perfect. After Boston, I will set new goals and keep moving forward to another level. Nobody can come between me and ambition.
Those were my thank you notes. Some of them were serious, others were meant to be on the funnier side or something that runners can relate to. I kind of went off in my last thank you note, but it needed to be said. I really strive for excellence in a very difficult sport and it helps to have a better perspective on where you came from and what you hope to do. My advice to the people who read this (1000+ views now!!) is to take a piece of paper and write your running goals down. It can be a certain time or simply that you want to run a couple days a week. Then write down on the page a list of things that will help you get there. This is something I do for myself. It helps me to visualize what it is I want in my training and to see the tools that I can use to make it a reality. Keep at it everyone and prove to yourself that you can reach your goals.
ONE WEEK UNTIL BOSTON,
David
(note: I first saw Thank You Notes on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He does it every Friday night to start off his show and it's pretty funny!)
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