Weekend Preview: Races #19, 20

I can’t believe it’s already Thursday. I just got back from Dallas and it’s already time to go to Virginia. This is a tough stretch right now, because I have to be away from my family so much, but it will make next month (and next year) seem so easy. Anyways, another weekend is on the horizon and a pair of marathons are on the schedule. I guess that means it’s time for my weekend preview.

Weekly Pick Sam’s Time Contest
Each week, I have a contest where you guys try to guess what my time will be by making a super-easy donation. Basically, if you think my time is going to be a 3:04, you donate $3.04 by clicking the “Donate Now!” link at the top. If you guess 3:04, I thank you for your confidence. But anyways, that’s the contest. Winner is the person who comes the closest without under-bidding.

The prize is your choice of an Operation Jack t-shirt, tech shirt or sweatshirt. Two weeks ago, the winner was Katey Williamson. I think she chose a sweatshirt. Maybe it was a tech shirt. Not sure. Anyways, she said she was going to keep playing until she won one of each. Sure enough, she won again this past week. She apparently knew I was going to struggle miserably in Dallas. Thanks Katey! I need a lot of you to compete against her so that she doesn’t win again. If she does, that’ll be $3 and change less coming to Operation Jack!

To help you play the game, I give you my insight on the course. In weeks like this one where I have two marathons, we go with the second race for the contest. This week, that’s Boston. I’ll be honest, though. I have no idea how that one’s going to go. No clue. I’ll get to that in a minute, though.

The Glamorous Life Of A Traveling Marathon Runner
So, I know I blog about some of the fun and interesting things involving Operation Jack, but this weekend is going to be pretty exhausting. Here’s what I’m looking at:
– Red-eye flight to Virginia.
– Working on my laptop in the airport in Virginia for two hours after I arrive, then for at least three hours before my flight before I leave to avoid an extra day on the rental-car charge (29-hour stay … bummer!)
– Friday night, there’s a pasta dinner with a group of students at the University of Virginia who are members of the same fraternity I was in at Kansas State (Phi Delta Theta). A lot of them are participating in a 5K Saturday morning that benefits the Virginia Institute for Autism. Awesome!
– Renting a car in Boston Saturday night and driving to the outskirts of town. Hotel rooms are ridiculously overpriced in the city for the race, and I’m not there for vacation.
– Driving to the T (subway station) Sunday morning to take that into town. I have a breakfast, lunch and dinner scheduled with different groups of people at each meal. Plus a stop to get my stuff and visit some people at the expo. In between those meals, I’ll find a Starbucks to plug in my laptop and get some work done.
– Monday morning, I’ll have to check out of my hotel before the race because it doesn’t start until 10:30 a.m. I’m also flying home that night, probably getting not much more than six hours of sleep before work on Tuesday.
– Oh, and I’m getting my car serviced today, and since that includes warranty work (2007 Camry!), they’re giving me a rental car from Enterprise at the dealer. So yeah, I’m picking up three rental cars in three different states in three days. Fun.

I’m getting tired just thinking about it. I always say the running is the easiest part of this. If you notice, in that list I didn’t include running a pair of marathons. But that’s definitely on the agenda, Nos. 19 and 20 of the year.

Race Previews
I haven’t looked at the Charlottesville course yet. I know that I’ve gone 3:20, 3:20, 3:23, 3:19 and 3:24 in my last five races, but I still truly believe that on a good day, even right now with my fatigue, there’s no reason I can’t go 3:10. Period. And that’s what I’m going to aim for. I’ll head out, trying to get into a 7:15/mile rhythm and I’ll see what I can do.

I’ve been back on some anti-inflammatory supplements this week that I hadn’t taken in three weeks, plus I had a visit to the hyperbaric chamber last night, plus I’m planning on taking at least one ice bath before Saturday’s race and hopefully three before the race in Boston. The optimist in me is running sub-3:10 on Saturday. The realist is going sub-3:20.

So on Monday, I have Boston. This will be my third time running this course. I went 3:03:29 the first time and 3:01:31 last year — two of my fastest three times ever. I’ve trained and tapered both times. The course has a little bit of a downhill net and you can start out and get into a pretty quick groove early based on the layout of the course. I knew my mistakes in 2008 and I ran it stronger last year.

I’m very confident that I know how to get the most out of myself in Boston. I feel very strong on that course. I’ll be taking ice baths on Saturday night and Sunday night and I suspect I’ll get at least 15 hours of sleep between those two nights. But I have no idea what to expect out of myself. I go all-out every time, but there’s almost a different gear in Boston. I love that race — I always call it my reward for all the training I do.

Nothing will surprise me on Monday, not a time starting with a 2 or a time with a 3:2X. If I had to bet, I’d probably go with a 3:12. But that could swing 13 minutes either way. I have no idea what to expect, other than four big hills in Newton.

But make a guess anyways. Show Operation Jack some support! It only costs about $3 and it’ll give me a boost when I see your donation come across! Either click here or click on the “Donate Now!” link on the top of any page on this site!

One Last Thing
My daughter Ava, who’s 4, told me Tuesday night that she knows she’s a troublemaker. She’s not a bad kid, but she can get into a little bit of mischief and she knows it. Nothing out of the ordinary for a kid her age. Last night, when I tucked her into bed, she told me, “Daddy, I was a goodmaker today!” And that is why she owns me.

I Lied — One More Last Thing
I’m running seven marathons in seven states this month. So, I’m running a campaign to try to collect $7 donations to help Operation Jack. If you haven’t seen the update I sent to the Facebook group, please check it out!

OK, That’s All For Today
Have a great weekend, everybody! Hope it’s less exhausting than mine! I’ll be posting race reports on Saturday and Monday.