(Sunday Paper, Year VI, Issue 40)

This is it, friends.

One of two final Sunday Papers before Marathon Monday.

Next week I’m going to have a little guide for how I expect the Boston Marathon to go for me.

I’m actually looking forward to doing that - I think it’ll be as helpful for me to think it through as it will be for you if you’re interested in knowing what to expect from Marathon Monday.

This week I thought I’d give you a little rundown of what the past twenty weeks have been like for me.

Because for all intents and purposes, my training is done.

You know how I love my routine.

For the past twenty weeks, I’ve had the routine of all routines.

On Mondays I did a tempo run, Tuesdays and Thursdays a 30-minute strength for runners class, Wednesdays was a pace run, a 20-minute run on Friday (with maybe a core workout or something else mixed in), and then a long run on Saturdays.

For the most part, thanks to the timing that put the bulk of the training in summer vacation, all of this happened in the early mornings (around 6, say) before anyone else in the house was up. It’s been a little trickier since school started, but I’ve largely managed to get my workouts in by 10:30am and they’ve not taken up my whole day.

When all is said and done I’ll have trained for 21 weeks. The Peloton program I used was an 18-week program…I was just so eager to get started when I found out I had a marathon spot I didn’t care about that difference.

It doesn’t seem to be a factor here as I approach week 21.

The thing I’m most proud of, I think, is how I adhered to the diet I set for myself. I’ve eaten healthfully since May. In June I weighed myself once a week and then starting in July I weighed myself every day to keep track of whether what I was doing was working.

I’ll save the specifics for another time but I dropped some pounds in these 5 months and I’ll be running carrying a significantly lighter load next Monday. I’m pleased about that…and I bet my knees are too.

That Peloton program was amazing - it gave me the structure I needed and taught me so much about running: breathing, form, strategy…and when I began it I didn’t really understand how the cross-training factored in. But the weight sessions made such a difference and I think I might have said this once but it’s worth repeating since I haven’t dwelled on it too much: I’m pretty jacked right now. This is by far the best shape I’ve ever been in.

The only thing I haven’t done as good a job as I should have during the past 20 weeks is sleep. I used to be a champion sleeper and that just hasn’t been happening recently. Maybe I can get some sleep recovery in the next week.

Those of you who have followed this entire journey probably remember that when I veered from my routine (filling those 3 weeks that Peloton’s 18 weeks didn’t cover) in some way I got a little squirrely. I’m a little worried about what might happen after the marathon.

But unless something goes drastically wrong for me - I don’t see how I don’t continue this schedule in some way shape or form moving forward.

There is a 5K in the area next week…

Notes

*Running Update: On Saturday we had our last long run. It was in the Newton hills and I did 7 miles. But, most importantly, I didn’t hurt myself. That’s the main goal of these next 8 days. Stay healthy.

*Still time to donate (but not much!) if you care to help me reach my fundraising goal. I’ll give the overview in case you’re new here: I’m very lucky to have this spot in the Boston Marathon through Team Framingham, which is part of, I believe it’s called, the ‘cities and towns’ program for those cities and towns through which the marathon runs. As part of the deal, those teams raise money for charities selected in the same way as the runners - through a lottery. As such, I am raising money for the Framingham History Center, and you can click here to give. Thank you very much.

*By the way - one of the Peloton coaches referred to this time as the ‘taper tantrums,’ which I think is very clever. He also cautioned people not to take it out on family, which I thought was good advice, because I can take my squirrely behavior out on the wrong people. (Wrong people meaning pretty much anyone. No one did anything!)

*I was in Boston on Saturday and had the chance to pass by the finish line. It was cool to see all the work going on there - putting up the risers for the fans and the stands where the cameras will be. There are also Boston Marathon banners hung along the route in Boston. I’ll get a chance next week to look at the more finished product when I pick up my bib on Saturday.

*I finished the ‘86 Mets 30 for 30 this week. I think I’ll write about the autumn of 1986 some time later this month. But for now all I have to say is the closing minutes of the documentary are set to a song by The Strokes called ‘Ode To The Mets’ and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head all week. It’s haunting.

*Matt Tour Update: Oh, he’s home. Haven’t you been paying attention? And, as a matter of fact, Saturday is the rescheduled Boston show and as of right now Kathy and I are planning to be there. Anyone else? Here’s Matt’s website. You can keep tabs on what he’s up to from there.

*One more “John As His Strava” run - and I think it’s the best one (duh, I saved it for last) - coming on Wednesday. You can Like the Facebook page if you don’t already, and be among the first to see it. And if you don’t want to do that (although, come on, why wouldn’t you) I will probably post it on Twitter later in the day. You can follow me on Twitter here.

*Saturday was my oldest daughter’s birthday and for months we talked about how, boy, when her birthday hit it would be marathon time. And here we are. Very exciting.