(Sunday Paper, Year VII, Issue 8)

I feel like this is the answer to a weird marathon riddle - when is the start not the start?

Well, it’s when I decided to write about my old apartment before I wrote about the start line of the marathon.

But this week - in a limited series that features some of my reflections on the Boston Marathon course leading up to the race in April - I am making up for that and writing about what I could have arguably written about last week: The Start Line.

I ran the first six miles of the course again last week so it’s fresh in my brain…

But I think I have to start by telling you what happens before you even get to the start line in Hopkinton.

I don’t mean boarding the bus in Boston. If you want to know about all of that you can read what I wrote back in October - either here or here.

I’m talking about the extra mileage you take on before you begin your run in Hopkinton.

In the picture above you see what the start line looks like for a runner about to begin the marathon.

This picture here shows the lead-up to the start line looking west - which stretches back a half-to-three-quarters of a mile past the start line, where the buses drop off the runners and porta-potties are lined up and you (me, specifically) put some extra wear on your legs that I wasn’t quite ready for or thinking about.

Really, it turns out, 26.2 is about 27 when all is said and done.

It remains to be seen whether Team Framingham will be able to use its own bus in April or if we’ll have to get into Boston just to come back this way. Either way I’ll be prepared to do a little extra walking before the bathrooming and starting the race.

But back to that first picture. That’s not quite what it looks like on race day. There’s a bunch of tens set up on the town common (which I should have maybe explored better but I was eager to get started in the rolling start back in October and didn’t linger very long to observe). I did note the stages - there's TV and radio coverage and a PA system and someone on the mic - not too unlike the Finish Line but scaled down a bit from what’s at the end of the race.

That picture doesn’t quite show you how much the elevation drops, either. But it does.

When we did our training run there last week I made a concerted effort to maintain my pace. I think I did pretty well, but it’s really complicated - it’s so easy to just cruise and go fast while you’re running unless you’re constantly thinking about it.

So that’s a big mental part of this race right off the bat - for the first six miles you kind of have to be mentally present, thinking about running slow, or else you risk going too fast and wearing yourself out a little before you even get through a third of the marathon.

And it’s easy to lose that mental presence - all of a sudden the quiet streets you see in that picture are lined with people - music blasting, barbecues set up on the lawns, dozens to hundreds more runners surrounding you all at different running paces.

The minute my mind drifts I catch myself having gone faster.

But it’s still so amazing to cross that start line knowing that you’re going all the way to Boston to see another line painted on the street.

I’ll probably write about that one before all is said and done.

What I’ve Been Enjoying

Iverson
‘Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You’ - Big Thief
‘Scarecrow’ - John Mellencamp
‘BRIGHTSIDE’ - The Lumineers
Stripes

Notes

*Next week I will be running my first-ever half marathon, which I’m excited about. I don’t necessarily have a goal for it - I’m just going to run at a comfortable clip and see what happens. If I had to guess I’ll average about a 10:00 mile…which I think is sustainable for me in a half marathon, not a full marathon. We’ll see. I’ll definitely let you know how it goes.

*But I mention that because I will be taking next week off from the Sunday Paper. It’ll still be published - I’m very excited to share with you a guest post that I know you’ll enjoy. So make sure to be here next week.

*To keep tabs on my half marathon experience you can check out my new running Instagram, where I’ll certainly be posting about it. And if you don’t already, you can Like my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter or do both.

*The girls have this week off for February break. Hard to believe that when they go back to school it’s already the last day of February and then we’re into March and the marathon is in April. Very exciting.