20 Days…
480 Hours…
28,800 Minutes…
All for 180 minutes of Greatness…
But no matter what happens there is a reason, there is a belief, there is a Mission, there is a Promise….
“It’s all about the Promises”- says the signs that line the city of Boston
Do I do it for a time? Do I do it because it’s all I know? Do I do it because I enjoy it? Do I do it because I am addicted to the challenge? Do I do it for the pain?
Boston? I do it because of my team and the Promises we make to each other and to Dana Farber. I had a response from a colleague of why they couldn’t donate, which was because they were broke. My response was telling that to a kid dying of cancer. It’s the truth. And that’s me; raw blunt truth. So yeah I am sending you emails, mailings, and post cards because I need your donation. And chances are if you are getting these hits its because you have somewhat of a clue of the passion I bring to Life and what I put into this Marathon. Right now my focus is not logging in miles. It is to reach my goal of $8,000 for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. And yes there is a good chance you will get a phone call from me or a personal email or message asking for a donation.
I have a gift that allows me to run really fast for a long as period of time. And I am damn good at it. I am already convinced that my personal goal of breaking 3 hours is in the bag. But that is just a small part of my Boston Marathon experience. So please help complete this journey of mine. I am truly confident that this may be the last time I will truly accomplish something amazing in my running career, but I need your help to make this the nirvana of an experience in which it truly can be. So I can walk away from Marathon racing knowing that I had did it with the greatest support team behind me.
So the training; well I guess they say all the hay is in the barn?
The four 20+ mile runs are done, the weeks of 60+ miles are done, the long temp runs are done, just 1 more track workout to go… The next three weeks, except for this last dreaded track workout I will be in my tapering stage of my training. Every year I go up to Boston and run the first 22 miles of the course with some of my teammates. It is a day in which I look forward to every year. Drove up at 3am, ran 22 miles, had some chowda and beer, and then was home by 7pm. What a day it was. A glorious day. I spent some great time with my teammates. I see my teammates as my college guys. We only get together once a year but when we do it is like nothing every really changes and we never miss a beat.
I am making final preparations for the weekend in Boston and sadly this year my time will be brief in the city that I miss so much. Due to work and other races I cannot be away from the Stadium for that long. In the past I usually travel up to Boston on Saturday morning and head out later Tuesday afternoon; this year I am taking a bus up early Sunday and heading out early Tuesday. And I think I am sleeping on my parent’s floor Monday night after the Marathon. What the hell, I am going to be in a ball of pain anyway. And I am sure the liquor from the after party will numb all that anyway.
I feel great! No injuries, no aches, no strains. I had a fantastic and well needed massage last week and I will get at least 2 more going into the Marathon. My body has been changing but not as much as the numbers say. I was able to have Sal redo my body measurements this morning. And I have lost muscle and I did manage to add some fat; would you believe that? My weight has stayed the same but my body fat has gone from 5.6% up to 6.7%. Since November my chest and shoulders have slimed down by a few inches. Barbara’s goal was to slim down. Well I have not worked out since maybe December? And I cannot wait to start strength training again. I may treat myself to some pull-ups and pushups this week.
My appetite is wonderful. Under control which is unusual and I am down to 1 sandwich per lunch. This is extremely rare. I think overall I am just being more aware of what is going into my body. After our 22 mile run I was given shit for not having bacon on my burger and for trying to dodge the fries.
Man I can keep going…did you hear I am doing 2 Marathons in 2 weeks on 2 coasts? Oh ok! Um did you hear come June I am…well that is something that I will hold onto ;)
What else…ummm, Oh yeah the baseball season starts Thursday...yeah I don’t care either. Hummm..Oh yeah please donate!! http://www.johnnymarathon.com/
So more stuff about Dana Farber. Well I am not sure if any of my past donors got this but I got this great Dana Farber Mission Possible Final Report book; the cover is a blue and gray micro image of a tumor…true story. But the booklet is fantastic. It is so wonderful to see where all these donations are going.
- The New Yawkey Center for Cancer Care, a major funding priority of the Mission Possible Campaign, serves as the model for the future of clinical cancer care and research
- The Mission Possible campaign enabled us to recruit several leading investigators whose commitment to excellence is taking Dana Farber’s mission to new directions
- The Mission Possible campaign has enabled researchers to discover links between cancer and other types of diseases, providing important new insights in pathology.
- The Campaign fostered new connections between scientific disciplines crucial to realizing individualized cancer treatment.
And the list goes on. I want to thank all my donors and hopefully I have thanked you all personally by now. I want to give a special thank you to those who have been along with me for consecutive years:
KStone Partners
Marion Glass
Barbara Brittan
The Rosenberg Family, including Barry and Jaxson
Bridgette and Ryan Haney
Carol & Tom Knill-Maniscalco
Strategic Retirement Group
The Gartner Family
Mr. Hank Grazioso
Liz Markiewicz
The Panzarino Family
The Dhanda Family
Ken Cleary
Valarie Fave
Richard Zuckerman
The Knapp Family
I hope no one minds that I singled you out but thank you for your continued support!! And I am sorry if I have missed you.
To all a wonderful night and thank you in advance for your un-selfish donation to help the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
JohnnyMarathon
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