3 days and 2 hours to go (but who's counting?!)

I "toe the line" in a few more days, and am excited about the fact that, despite possibility of rain showers, there's no 'wrath of God' type of weather in the forecast like last year! Also, I'm breathing a bit more clearly today, so the trend is a good sign. Hope the congestion is completely gone by Monday, but I'll settle for an ugly, drippy nose over the chest tightness I've had over past few days!

A quick update for those watching at home:

1) if you'd like to get an e-mail or SMS/text message during my run, please send me an e-mail no later than by 6 p.m. Sunday night. I'm re-forming the e-mail list "wherespaulnow@googlegroups.com" and can add you to the list if you'd like 'event time' updates on Monday morning (if the little blip on the radar screen stops moving, I've either passed out or ditched my tracking chip and jumped on a train!) just kidding...no 'blips', just text and e-mail updates available.

2) My bib # is 23498 if you want to go to BAA.org to figure out how to follow me from there.

3) IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE WATCHING LIVE, on the route -- PLEASE e-mail me to let me know where you'll be standing...will do best to see you and wave/wheeze in your general direction :-) I'll post one more update here with my projected arrival times at key milestones so you can watch for me on race day -- I'll be in navy shorts, white (or dark blue, still TBD) short sleeve shirt with golden (almost orange) tank top with Team Pine Street printed on it -- will add my name in bold black lettering -- will also go with my 'lucky' red Red Sox hat which I wore in DC Marathon the day the Sox clinched the World Series last fall.

Finally, and I can't stress this enough, THANK YOU. Thanks to Lena, Noah, and Ali for your ongoing patience, love and support (including all the 'rescue' rides!!). And thanks to my donors and morale boosters -- this winter/spring has been CRAZY with schedule and erratic ability to train, so I am grateful for the good vibes I've received from my family and friends.

For all of you thinking about doing this...DO it! It is impossible to explain how this great energy arrives from the whole experience, but each year I have become even more humbled and thrilled by the Boston Marathon in particular, and the crazy notion that what started for me as a 'way to lose weight and keep myself honest about running' has also generated more than $15,000 to fight hunger and homelessness over the past 3 years. Wow.

So, take a minute on Monday to say a prayer/think good thoughts for me -- tailwind, healthy run, etc. but then take 2 minutes to be mindful and grateful for what you've got and remember those many of our neighbors and other people that might be struggling to hold on to what they have or that may be fighting to survive every single day with little to no support at all.

Gotta run! Thanks, Paul