Crossroads Run

Well, I experienced my first Crossroads Pub run last night. It's a tradition for people who are training for the Boston Marathon to run this. It happens every Thursday night leading up to the Marathon. Runners come from all around and meet at the Crossroads Pub on Beacon Street in Boston. They leave their change of clothes in the upstairs bar and take the T out to Woodland station on the green line. Woodland station is just after Mile 16 on the marathon course. Then you run back into Boston. After the run, they provide free pizza to the runners.

This gives you a good look at miles 16-25. The most crucial piece of that is the Newton Hills culminating at Heartbreak Hill. At this point in the marathon, your mental toughness is just as important as how you feel physically. I feel confident that having run the end of the course a number of times will help me get through to the end.

Good training week so far. I felt really strong on the 9 mile Crossroads run. Although running at night is certainly a new experience for me. It was pretty icy and I missed almost every light the last few miles it seems. But that being said, I am looking forward to keeping this a part of my weekly workout.

I have a long run with the Dana Farber Team tomorrow. It's scheduled for a 15-17 miles. Since I just did 15 last weekend, I may opt for a somewhat shorter distance depending on how I feel, maybe somewhere around 12-13. We'll see how the morning goes.

www.rundfmc.org/waydem2009