If you know anyone who is training for the marathon and lives in Boston, you undoubtedly have read posts or blogs very similar to this one.  Mine likely has a little of a different twist though…

I am fortunate to run for what I consider to be the best charity team to participate in the Boston marathon.  Not only does the team support an incredible hospital and institute but there is an amazing staff who dedicate themselves to making the experience so fulfilling.  Each Saturday, there is a group run led by our coach Jack, winner of the 1976 marathon which is based at a different athletic club based in the towns surrounding Boston.  Anywhere from 30-60 runners gather in the early hours and we hit the pavement together.  The camaraderie out there is awesome and really makes the time fly.  Also, our route has course support as volunteers who stand for hours and man water/fuel stations in what are usually some pretty frigid temps.

This year the weather has kept me in Maine as the conditions running in Boston haven’t been safe to do many of our regularly scheduled group runs.  While I’ve done a few short runs in Boston, I haven’t completed a long one in the state of Massachusetts (although I’ve managed to pull some off in snowy states of Utah and Colorado).

While I have always done alot of solo running up in Maine, I’ll admit the long runs have gotten a little lonely.  I was supposed to join one other DFMCer for a run in Maine a few weekends back but came down with a stomach bug which added to a stretch of 10 days with zero miles logged. It is not the ideal training regimen inside of 8 weeks until race day.

So last Saturday, I was psyched to finally join my fellow DFMCers.  There was a little rain in the forecast but nothing that would put the run at risk.  And my body, despite a few nagging injuries, was in decent shape.  So what could go possibly happen to prevent me from getting out there with the team?

I woke up to a call from Boston Police Dept to let me know my car had been broken into and towed from what I had expected to be a pretty safe spot under a light post on Newbury street.  They smashed window, the inside of the car was a complete mess and made off with two laptops, all my files and notes for my new job, plus some other odds and ends….and sadly BK’s gold chain.  Fortunate that they left my wine and quite a few other things as I was in the middle of a 2 week road haul around New England.

So as every Boston runner has had to all winter, I audibled.  Spent my Saturday recovering my car, driving outside the city to get my window replaced and purchasing a new laptop and work setup.  My Sunday morning was booked solid and I was supposed to drive to NY directly after so I didn’t really have plenty of time to get in a 16 miler.  But I decided to scrap the Sunday night trip which I was bummed about as I really couldn’t afford to miss a 3rd long run in the last 5 weeks.

I ended up looping a good chunk of the Charles with another DFMCer which turned out to be a great run and alot of fun.  Of course, I hadn’t checked the weather as I wasn’t scheduled to run Sunday.  And about 4 miles in, we were greeted with snow which came down at a pretty good clip, accelerated by some nice gusts of up to 20 or so mph.   It turns out, Boston officially reached it’s all time high for winter snowfall while I was out on the pavement.  Pretty fitting if you ask me….

and unfortunately, I wasn’t able to enjoy a Guiness or any Jamo as I usually do on St Pattys Sunday in Southie but I did get a green bagel for fuel!