All Good Things Come to an End

...or do they?

Last night was the last official track workout before the marathon. Instead of running at Tufts as we usually do, we ran at Belmont High School. A couple of notes about this:

1. Weather.com is never accurate. It was not 50 degrees when I got to the track and in fact, I'm not sure how much it got above 40.
2. Baseball talent just isn't the same in Boston. I got to the track a little early and watched the last half-inning of a high school baseball game. I don't want to sound arrogant, but simply put, there's a huge difference in how the game is played here as opposed to Arizona. I guess having an actual winter will do that.
3. Public transportation will get you everywhere. All I did was go to MBTA.com and found the bus that took me right there. Having no car=no problem.
4. I can only imagine Tuesday night workouts after the marathon. Some of the runners continue to get together over the summer for TNT (Tuesday Night Track), and judging from the stories that I pieced together from the inside jokes and comments, it seems like it will be a good time.
5. Having GPS on my iPhone is the best thing ever. Ever! Not sure if we would've found the bar afterwards without it.
   

Anyway, the workout was light, which I was very thankful for as I'm still recovering from 22 miles on Saturday. I have to say, however, that one of the main reasons I feel confident about running the marathon is because of these track workouts. Before starting them, I had been dealing with injuries to both IT bands and my achilles' tendon. These workouts somehow helped me get healthy as I now feel better than ever before, running-wise that is. Also, I think the dramatic change in my ability (I ran the 22 miles in 3 hours and 31 minutes; I ran 20 miles two weeks before in 3 hours and 27 minutes) is because of these workouts.

So thanks to the DFMC coach, Jack Fultz; thanks to all the runners; thanks to Tufts for use of their track; and of course thanks to all of you who have supported me over the last 6 months. It's been long and arduous, but the payoff is right around the corner. There's always the chance that this is the end of my running career...

but, then again, probably not. Sometimes, good things shouldn't come to an end.