Running as a team sport

So my Saturday run of "22" miles turned out to be more like 17...taken down by a blister in Framingham on my return. Foot is now OK and won't pose a long-term problem; however, I've had a heart-to-heart talk with that pair of socks and they will NOT be joining me on Marathon Day!

I saw many of the other charity runners out on the course, taking their last 'long' runs in advance of the big day (3 weeks to go!). For serious runners, there is a 2-3 week 'taper' period when they ratchet down the distance training to allow their bodies to rest. I, of course, left from my house in Natick and ran in the opposite direction of most of the others (I was planning to run out to Hopkinton and back), so most of the time I was getting funny looks from the masses as if I missed a memo about which way I was 'supposed to' go! It is something amazing to be out on the Marathon course, seeing all these people working towards the same (yet, different for each individual) goal -- a connection to both the 'cause' and to the history of the race...I can't do it justice in words.

My training (and style) is much less strict --- I run in one of 2 modes: 'on' or 'off'. Had I put in more time and had the discipline, I would have done more work to improve my speed -- things like going to a track to work out, and adding some funny things called fartleks (it's a real word...look it up!) into my routine.

I have found that my energy and pace do pick up quite a bit when others are running (although I'm still a pretty anti-social runner b/c I have a hard time running and talking at the same time). BTW -thanks again to the folks at Apple for creating the iPod...not only can I ignore the person next to me on a plane if I so choose, but I can also now run several marathons without hauling my hundreds of cassettes with me in a clunky Walkman.

Anyway, one reason I think I like running is because it reminds me of baseball in some ways -- you have to play your best as a team, but then there are those moments (e.g., in the batter's box, or lining up under a fly ball) that you have to execute as an individual...do it, or don't do it, but it's all on your own shoulders at any given moment.

Although I felt like a maverick running against the tide of those hundreds of other runners, I was certainly reminded during that one, humbling phone call to my team (Lena and the kids) that distance running really is a team sport for me. Thanks again to them for allowing me to take all this time to train, and for their unwavering support as I disrupted their weekend chores and playtime to scramble the minivan for another 'rescue Dad' mission!