(Sunday Paper, Year VI, Issue 41)

The neat thing about this year’s Boston Marathon, as unconventional as parts of it are, is that many of you are probably not working when it happens.

This is different than the usual Boston Marathon, because it traditionally takes place on Patriots’ Day, the third Monday of April, which is a holiday in Massachusetts but nowhere else.

We’d have the day off here but everyone else goes about their regular routine so they don’t really get to sink their teeth into the marathon.

But that’s not the case on Monday, October 11th, 2021.

With the Monday holiday most places, if you choose you can track the progression of your favorite marathoners.

So here’s what you can expect from me if I fall into that category for you this year.

First of all, know that the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) has a great app you can use, whether you’re in Boston watching the marathon or far away.

That picture at the top of the post is a screen shot from the app - there’s a little picture of me and - hopefully, I guess - once I start running it’ll move along the route and you can track me there.

But if you’re just curious about how my day will go (when will John have his GU and refuel?) or want to track how I’m doing against my expected times OR you want to look for me along the course, here’s how I’m thinking the morning will unfold.

I am supposed to be loaded onto a bus at the Boston Common at 9:45am, which they say is going to have us in Hopkinton by 11. So I’m guessing my start time will be something like 11:20. (They don’t want us lingering - they want to move the crowds of people along for pandemic safety reasons.) So I’m going to guess I’ll have a start time of 11:20 and make projections from there….if the app says I started at a different time you might have to do some math and rejigger things. Which wouldn’t be the worst thing for me since it’ll give my brain something to do while I run for four-plus hours. So, without further ado:

Your Viewer’s Guide to John In The Boston Marathon:

11:20am: Estimated start time, leaving Hopkinton start line

12:05pm: First GU of the day - I should be very close to the Framingham border at this point

12:20pm: About an hour after I start I should be coming through Framingham by the train station. Probably slightly more than an hour if I pace myself correctly.

12:50pm: Second GU (Maybe I should explain - GU is the gel that I’ll consume through the race that will keep me from getting too hungry and keep my energy up.) I should be somewhere around the Natick VFW at this point

1:35pm: Third GU - this is right around the halfway point, somewhere in Wellesley where there are fields on my right. Tennis courts, maybe? I never quite know how to describe this area

2:20pm: Fourth GU - this one was timed perfectly on the practice run - I should be around the hills here - maybe crossing over 95, maybe in front of Newton-Wellesley Hospital, if I’m cruising (probably going too fast) it’ll be right at the turn onto Commonwealth Avenue by the firehouse

2:30pm: Either way, this is going to be a rough stretch - this is when I’ll be tackling the hills. Will I walk? Maybe. But I find that when I walk I have trouble getting going again so I’m going to do my best to keep a slow jog going.

3:05pm: Fifth GU - I think this should be my last GU. By now I should be through the hills, past Boston College, hopefully making my way to the turn onto Beacon Street…

Tough to know how the rest unfolds. This is where we hit territory that I didn’t practice. But assume another hour for me to finish - let’s call it 4:05pm.

This would be a 4:45 marathon time. That would be, I think, best-case scenario. (Well, I suppose best-case would be, like, magically I became an elite runner and finished in two hours. So we’ll call this second-best scenario.)

Obviously these are 45-minute increments(ish) - hopefully it’s enough for you to figure out where and when you can find me.

And please certainly let me know if you plan on being out along the course - I am counting on being lifted by some familiar faces.

I don’t think I said this but on our 21-mile run there were people out at water stations ringing bells and shouting encouraging words and it really made a difference. I can’t wait to see how it feels with people I actually know.

*Deep breath*

OK.

Here we go.

Notes

*It’s really too bad I can’t follow along with the marathon on the app - that really looks like it’ll be cool while the race is happening. One other thing that may be helpful to you - this link is the BAA 2021 Marathon Entry List. So I guess you can maybe keep tabs on runners you know as the race is happening? I’m actually not sure what that does once you search someone up on Monday.

*Running Update: I did my tempo run on Monday, Pace run on Wednesday, and quick run on Friday. And that was it. No cross-training this week. I was thinking about doing a core workout or some such thing on Tuesday, but in my Monday workout the coach stressed the rest days so I figured I’ll just trust the program. I hope the result is that my body is ready to go on Monday.

*As I mentioned on Facebook this week, it got a little emotional at the end of these runs. The Peloton coaches are quite inspiring.

*It’s been so nice hearing from so many people and seeing everyone donate and support. I am so grateful. Last chance - at least as far as putting the link in the Sunday Paper - click here if you want to sneak in a donation under the wire. Thanks!

*It looks like I’ll be able to have a quick sandwich and banana before I start - I’ll need something so I don’t run on empty. I’m feeling OK about that timing - either on the bus to Hopkinton or in Hopkinton. (Probably the bus because I think once I’m in Hopkinton I might just pee and then run.) The only variable that still is unsettled for me is the weather - which as of this writing is looking pretty ideal. Upper 60s? Dry and overcast? We’ll see if that changes at all.

*Oh man - wasn’t expecting the Boston Marathon anxiety dreams this week, but here we are. Two nights of upsetting dreams involving missing the start of the race or stopping during it and getting distracted and forgetting to continue. (I did figure out in one of the dreams that it wasn’t real - which never happens to me. It was quite the dramatic moment when I pointed it out to the other characters in the dream - “Wait a minute! This is a dream, isn’t it!?”)

*I’m probably going to fight off the post-Marathon blues with some of my Wednesday posts coming up, so make sure you Like the Facebook page here, or follow me on Twitter here. I might be spending an unhealthy amount of time on social media in the days ahead. But I’ll also have lots of marathon pictures!

*Matt Tour Update: Holy cow, didn’t even mention that we saw Matt perform in Boston Saturday night. Unfortunately because I’m trying to rest as much as possible this weekend I wrote this before the show. So definitely count on me writing about that soon. Of course you can keep tabs on what he has to say about it by following him on social media - you can find the links or listen to his music at his website.

*I’ve been thinking about it and there’s no way I’ll be as obnoxious about running a marathon after it’s over. So don’t worry about that. I won’t be one of those people who constantly brings it up. But certainly know that I will be continuing to run - I’m already signed up for a 5K this coming Saturday and the annual Thanksgiving Day run here in Framingham. And I will keep you posted on that aspect of my life.

*Thanks again for joining me on this journey. I can’t believe it’s finally here.