The run of a lifetime: Blogging the Boston Marathon

(Periodic blogs from Boston throughout the weekend as 10 Connects reporter Noah Pransky joins several dozen Tampa Bay residents in running the 113^th Boston Marathon)

4/20/09 6:37 a.m. As Tom Petty said, "The waiting is the hardest part."

Marathon morning now and there's nothing left to do but chow on a powerbar and go run 26.2 miles. It's an amazing feat to try and grasp, but so is the sheer number of people who attempt it.

It is madness here in the athlete's village - more than 26,000 runners are taking part this year. Somehow, I got runner #27554 (you can follow online at baa.org) In fact, there are only about 30 runners behind me, so that means they BARELY allowed me into the race. I don't blame them.

But as a friend said, it isn't how you start the race, it's how you finish. I added that the only thing that matters is THAT you finish.

It's the same mentality that powered Phidippides to the first-ever marathon in 490 B.C. when he ran to Athens with news of an imminent Persian attack.

Of course....Phidippides died upon completing his run. Yikes.

Here's to a more successful marathon than Phidippides!

Feel free to share your comments or questions with Noah below, or follow his Marathon weekend on Twitter: www.twitter.com/noahpransky

4/19/09 10:00 a.m. – Just 24 hours now until the start of the race and there's definitely some anxiousness surrounding the unknown. That includes Boston's notoriously unpredictable April weather. More on that in a minute, but first I had to check out the official marathon expo at the Hynes Convention Center in Copley Plaza.

The expo is where every retailer who has ever sold anything to a runner sets up a booth and tries to make a few more bucks on you....because obviously, you didn't spend enough entering the race, flying to Boston, and paying for a hotel. Those adidas marathon jackets sure are nice...but $90?? I might be able to find more affordable souvenirs on my trip (like the $25 parking ticket I got when my meter expired).

Also at the expo - just about every other major road race in America, trying to recruit runners. Gasparilla was there and they were a fan favorite. Why? Free beads.

The weather inside the convention center: 72 and clear. The weather outside the convention center: not so good. Right now, it's 46 degrees and sunny...a couple degrees warmer than they are predicting for tomorrow's race.

As good as Florida is for training in the winter (no ice! no snow!) it doesn't prepare you very well for a cold-weather marathon. Nor does it prepare you for the kind of hills I'll encounter in Boston, but I digress...

I figure I can handle the cold...but the real crushing blow is the forecasted winds for the race. 15-20 mph from the East. Of course, the Boston Marathon is a 26.2-mile race TO the East. I'm no longer thinking about hitting my goal of a 3:59 time....I'm just focused on finishing now. 26.2 miles into the teeth of a strong wind will make it feel like a 30-mile race.

Yikes.

Feel free to share your comments or questions with Noah below, or follow his Marathon weekend on Twitter: www.twitter.com/noahpransky

4/18/09 10:15 a.m.

– T-minus 48 hours until the start of the most anticipated, nerve-wracking, probably painful hours of my life - the time I'll spend running my first Boston Marathon.

It's the oldest and most famous road race in the world and on Monday, I'll be one of the least-qualified people to run it. While the masses will have the numbers 3:00, 3:15, 3:30 in their heads, I hope to finish somewhere in the four-hour range... but honestly just hope to finish.

Despite dedicating the last 6-9 months toward this one goal, I'm still a long way off from the athletic prowess of some of my fellow Tampa Bay-area runners. I was lucky enough to connect with some of them this past week - both by phone and by email - and hope to be lucky enough to cross paths with them at the race.

That includes 62-year-old Sandra Meneley (bib #18679) from Holmes Beach (near Bradenton) who has run Boston before, but expects this experience to be extra-special. She's running it for the first time with her daughter.

Or 70-year-old St. Pete running legend Joe Burgasser (bib #9924). He just set the 70-and-over record for the Gasparilla 15k at 1:01:46 and has been running Boston for decades. After winning his 60-69 age group for years, he's a favorite to win his new age group.

Also, keep an eye on Northside Christian Elementary teacher Christa Benton (bib #F36). Another 2009 Gasparilla 15k champ, the St. Pete resident is considered one of the "elite" and figures to be one of the top Americans on the female side.

Curious if any of your neighbors are running? You can visit the Boston Athletic Association's Entrant page where you can search the list of runners by hometown. Just plug in a partial zip code (i.e. "336" to see Hillsborough County, "337" or "346" to see Pinellas County, etc.) and get the list of 100-or-so runners representing Tampa Bay.

As for me, I just finished up my very last tune-up before the race. Jogged two easy miles to loosen up the legs. Now all's that's left are two days of rest and pasta... and nerves.

Feel free to share your comments or questions with Noah below, or follow his Marathon weekend on Twitter: www.twitter.com/noahpransky

4/17/09 – I hate running.

Let me get that out of the way first - I hate running, I always hated running, and I will probably never like running. It hurts, it does damage to your body (had to get my knee scoped last summer), and I've never come close to experiencing the so-called runner's "high" that endurance athletes brag about.

Yet, here I am, just a couple of days away from running my first marathon. Heck, to make things even more difficult, I'm running Boston - one of the hardest races in the world.

By no means am I approaching this challenge unprepared - I've been training for upwards of nine months for the 26.2-mile race. I've gone running on the most humid 95-degree days imaginable; I've gone swimming on the coldest of nights in the coldest of pools; and I've spent more money on training and injury prevention than I ever thought was possible on such a simple sport.

But I still have trouble explaining to people why I run.

The short answer is: I have no will power.

Seems ironic, given the intense training a marathon requires, but my weakness is specifically food-related; I LOVE EATING. I run so I can eat.

I eat from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed and every moment in-between. I consume in a meal what most people will eat in a day. I pack my lunch sometimes to save some money and avoid some bad calories....but somehow - everytime - I wind up devouring the sandwich, crackers, apple, banana, and water before I even make it to work.

I'm no Michael Phelps (his munchies power him to a 6,000-calorie-a-day diet), but I'm not too far behind him. It used to show, but a few years ago I decided I'd better start getting more active before I started getting more round. From there, the 1-mile runs became 3-milers; the 3-milers became 5-milers; and before long, I was working toward a marathon.

I still hate the activity - getting out the door for a run is actually the single-hardest part of the run. But that encapsulates why this running thing is so darn hard. The body is willing to run....it's the mind that's usually not.

Take it from a former couch potato - none of us think we can run distances, but almost everyone can...once you get over that mental hump.

One of my best friends asked me the other day, "What would possess you to run a marathon?" I gave him my "food" excuse, but he wasn't satisfied. I gave it some more thought and I think what it comes down to is the personal sense of acheivement.

You learn a LOT about yourself when there's nobody else there to push your body to the limits. And there's a tremendous feeling of accomplishment when you finish that first 3-mile run; that first 10-mile run; or that first 18-mile run.

It's not the running that's addicting...it's the personal sense of accomplishment.

What does it feel like to finish that first 26.2-mile run? I don't know yet....I'll try Monday in Boston. But if I can force myself to get up early that morning, overcome the jitters, and get to the starting line - I figure I'll be halfway there.

Feel free to share your comments or questions with Noah below, or follow his Marathon weekend on Twitter: www.twitter.com/noahpransky