boston marathon odds and ends

today is april 15 and i put the final 2 income tax returns in the mail this morning - phew! nothing like waiting until the last minute to get things done. it's ironic that tax in general is such a large part of my practice but compliance, in particular (preparing and filing returns), is such a small part. except for a few close friends and my immediate family, i don't prepare income tax returns. but this time of year, it seems like everyone is pulled into service and has to file tax returns.

yesterday, to get back to running, i wrote about the odds of my going to boston this weekend for the marathon on patriots day. today those odds increased yet again. now i'm sure that i'll be able to run it. this afternoon i ran another 6 miles, tracking yesterdays performance:

8:08

8:10 16:18

7:40 23:58

7:36 31:34

8:10 39:44

7:36 47:20

7:53 average pace

all systems seemed to work. but i did feel heavier. recovery issues aside, i'm not sure of the mileage i'd like to log for the week. last week was what can, charitably, be described as an extreme taper (only 2 miles for the week). with the race on monday, i'll run an easy 4 on sunday and take saturday off (my typical pre-marathon routine). that leaves the next 3 days for me to pencil in some target mileage.

switching to baseball: for this trip i have a new book to read, "the greatest game.'' it covers the 1978 one game, sudden death, playoff between the yankees and red sox. i can't imagine a more upbeat read for a yankee fan heading to beantown for the weekend. i've already posted about this book, so i won't revisit it here. "the greatest game" replaces my traditional pre-boston marathon read, "26 miles to boston."

i started the book on saturday, which was mid-way thru the first yankee-boston series of the season. the red-sox took the series 2 games to 1. but the news from new york city almost overshadowed the games at fenway. an "undercover" boston fan, posed as a construction worker, buried a boston red sox jersey in the cement of the new yankee stadium! the yankees found, and dug up, the cement encased jersey. this, hopefully, negated the negative karma that could have sprung from leaving it buried at the new stadium! another example of truth is stranger than fiction.

back to running: this year the traditional sunday morning freedom run has been cancelled - in favor of the women's olympic trials. i'm excited about watching the trials - hopefully with some friends. last fall it was a rare treat to watch the men's trial run in new york city and finish in central park. sunday the new york times ran a great story on joan benoit samuelson, the oldest participant in the trials - and a legend in the women's marathon, and my sentimental favorite.