You Signed Up For What??? My Mid-life Crisis

We made it over Heartbreak Hill. We now only had 5 miles to go. We turned up Chestnut Hill Ave. and crossed over into Brookline. Our cheering section was to be at Kenmore Square, Mile 25. We knew we just had to get to them and then their energy would push us across the finish line. Mile 22-My feet hurt. Mile 23-My feet hurt. We get to mile 24 and smack! Tee loses a toenail. We stopped at the Red Cross tent so they could bandage her up. What should have taken about a minute and a half took 10 minutes. They mean well, but man, did they take a long time to put on a band aid. We managed to get going again and pull through Coolidge Corner and Saint Marys. As we crossed over the bridge into Kenmore Square, I saw my friends. Liz, Dave, Mel, Andrew, Yvonne were there with Pom Poms; shouting and cheering us on. It felt wonderful. On the other side of Kenmore Square were my co-workers. Dan, Erica, Shkeya, Jen, Amy, Matt and Emily. How inspiring it was to see them out supporting us. This would ma...

We felt great at the half marathon point. the crowd was still as big as ever and the weather was wonderful. All of a sudden I began to get the chills which led to feeling like I was going to pass out. It kept getting worse and worse. How was I going to finish this course? It last for 4 miles. If it had not been for Tee and her encouragement I would have given up. Seriously, I would have gone to the next first aid tent and quit. It was that bad. She kept me moving by talking about everything but the run. At mile 17 someone gave me a banana and I felt much better. Weird. Anyway, we came down route 16 and turned onto Commonwealth Ave (route 30). This is the beginning of 3 miles of hills which ends with Heartbreak Hill. I agree with Lance Armstrong who said it was the toughest thing he has had to do. Well, except maybe that cancer thing, right Lance? My friend Perrin met us right at the beginning of it and gave us bananas and words of encouragement. We managed to get ourselves up and over ...

At mile 12 we hit Wellesley College. There is a slight incline as you head towards it. I could here this high pitched sound I couldn't quite make out. I looked at Tee and she said, "Oh, just wait until you see it." It turns out that sound was the Wellesley College contingent, likes of which you have never seen. There were hundreds of Wellesley girls screaming out to the runners. Some of them had signs that said things like "Kiss Me" or " I only date runners. They have the best Stamina." It was hilarious and awesome. What a site. Right after that we hit the 13.1 mark. Half way there. That's where it all went to shit.

We crossed the start line at about 10:45. The weather was lovely and the crowd amazing. I had previously run the Napa Valley marathon. Much of that course was not accessible to spectators which made it a lonely run. Not Boston. Every kilometer of this course was taken up by people all of whom were shouting words of encouragement. It was incredible. We had written our names on our shirts and people were shouting out, "Go Kevin, great job! You can do it!" "Go Tee!" It really makes a difference. Every time you feel like you just can't go on someone calls out your name and it helps you go one step further. The first 10 miles or so were pretty uneventful. Tee and I just chugged along getting to know each other (like one does on a blind date). I felt strangely confident in my running which made me a bit nervous. Often times my best runs are the ones where I start out feeling like crap and then get into a stride. I hoped I wasn't going to crash early!

Jake drove Tee and I out to Hopkinton so we wouldn't have to ride the shuttle bus. Tee is a friend of Kelly and Jake's (now a friend of mine!) from SF who was fundraising and running as a member of Team AAC. Kelly set us up on a runners blind date being as how we run about the same pace and she figured we could run the marathon together. It was a match made in heaven. More on that later. Traffic was good until about 4 miles from the Hopkinton exit and from there it was stop and go, a mixture of buses and cars like ours. It was bizarre. Runners who had been over hydrating for the race started coming out of the stopped buses and cars, walking over to the side of the freeway to urinate. I kid you not. Men and women both; none of which seemed to care if people watched them relieve themselves by the side of the road. How civilized! It was gross. We got as far as the bottom of the off-ramp where the state troopers made all runners get out of cars and get on the shuttle buses for the ...

Well, apparently I have committed myself to running the Boston Marathon tomorrow. I don't know what I was thinking. I will do my best to finish the thing in one piece. As of today, I have raised $4,700 of my $5,000 goal. Thanks to you. Your donations and support have made this a reality and have helped me get through the training. I will think of you all as I run tomorrow. In closing, I would like to leave you with a hilarious picture from this afternoon of our beloved Felix sunning on the window sill. Until tomorrow...

The marathon is only 4 days away and I am feeling pretty good about it. I know I will finish it. I am thrilled to report I am only $500 away from my fundraising goal of $5,000. I am making a final push to everone; if you or anyone you know will donate, I can reach this goal. The funds raised from AAC’s Boston Marathon team make it possible to deliver services that profoundly affect the lives of our friends and neighbors affected by HIV/AIDS and help prevent new HIV infections. I am going to pick up my bib number tomorrow at the marathon expo. Should be a huge scene. Thanks to all for your support!

I want to start this post by thanking you for supporting me during this training and fundraising endeavor. The marathon is one week from today. I have some anxiety about it but I know I can do it and here is why: Thanks to your support, I have raised almost $3,400 and the team as a whole has raised $15,532. On the course, I will think of you all and how much you mean to me and I will think of all the people who will benefit from the money Team AAC has raised. That is what will get me across the finish line. Go Team AAC!

The marathon is officially ten days from today and I am nervous. I ran Wed. night and I think I did something to my IT band. Lots of ice and stretching from now on. If it holds out, I should be ok for race day. I will just take it slow and easy. I need to keep reminding myself of that. I am $1,700 away from my $5,000 fundraising goal. If you know of anyone who might be interested in donating please send them my way! I will be having a bake sale at The Devonshire next Saturday. Hopefully I can raise a couple hundred there. Thank you to all who are supporting me through this. AIDS Action is a great organization that needs our help and I am proud to be a part of it!

Attention all Bostonians! Between now and Friday, April 11, everyone who donates $10 or more to my fundraiser will be entered into a raffle to win a $50 gift card to Sibling Rivalry and tickets for 4 to the Comedy Connection. Click here to donate and win! Thank you to Frank and Grossman Landscaping for sponsoring my run! I look forward to wearing that hat in the marathon!