ONLY DAYS TO GO!

As I write this, I have only two miles scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday) in my training program, although I will probably do a couple on Friday also since the race is Monday instead of a Sunday for which the program is tailored. And the excitement is certainly building and I think adrenaline is starting to flow too.

The GREAT NEWS is that I have met my personal goal of raising $10,000 for the Claudia Adams Barr Program! Although my web site doesn’t show it yet, I have sent in another $350 in checks, and have received just over $300 in checks in the last several days that haven’t yet been submitted. Add that to the $9,753 that has been recorded, and what looked to be an almost insurmountable challenge six months ago has been beaten. The support of family, friends, colleagues, and even people I do not know has made me realize again just how many wonderful and generous people there are around us all the time. I even have a number of contributions from my classmates in Year ’60 OAC [Guelph, Ontario], and look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ in person at our 50th Reunion in June. Our daughter’s efforts to generate contributions from among her friends and colleagues have made a big difference as well. I really can’t put into words the gratitude I have for all, and their generosity in support of such a worthwhile cause.

For the last few days, I have been trying to think of all of the contingencies for which I need to be prepared. It looks now as though we will have a rather ‘brisk’ temperature at the start – high 30’s or, if very lucky, into the low 40’s – and winds of 10-15 mph throughout the day. If my geography is correct, the winds should be hitting us from the side or behind rather than head-on, but they won’t be warm. At least it looks as though we won’t have rain to add to the challenge, and by the time I finish we should be into the mid-50’s. Quite a change from the 80’s we had here a week ago. I will take cooler conditions any day rather than the 80’s I encountered in Ottawa in 2006’s half marathon! Looks like it will be a race day decision on just which combination of gear I wear, but all the options will be available for me on Monday morning. One thing I do know – some local charity will get a set of sweats from the side of the road at the start.

If you haven’t yet contributed, you can still make an on-line donation by going to http://www.runDFMC.org/2010/alanc. Do this in honor or in memory of a family member or friend, or simply to support me. It all adds up, and provides much needed funds for innovative basic research efforts. Contributions can still be made even after race day.

I now have my bib number, 22572. If you are interested, you can track my progress in 5 mile increments on April 19 at the Boston Athletic Association site, http://www.bostonmarathon.org/BostonMarathon/114thMarathon.asp. I will be starting in Wave 2 at 10:30 a.m., and expect to be across the finish line by 4:00 p.m. - a few minutes earlier if the pace I have been able to maintain in training (close to a 12 minute mile) holds up through the whole marathon.

Game On!!