Boston-Bound

Chadwick has a goal to run a race in every state. To run a race every few months in general. He has a goal to run a marathon once per decade. And he has a goal to qualify - and run - in the Boston Marathon.

The road to Boston thus far has been scattered with potholes. Hours training, running early and often in the dark. Running despite of and through a painful, lower leg tendinitis. Running with a cold. Running in the cold.

The sum of his qualification, in the numbers:

• 5,000 feet: The drop in elevation from the start of the race to the finish.
• 1,046 miles: Distance from Meridian to Tucson, AZ
• 26.2 miles run: Chadwick had to be at the base parking lot by 4:30 am to catch the bus to his start at 6,000 feet. It was a short night. 
  
• 12 pints of Gatorade: Both of us, and the kids, were nursing head colds the week prior to the big day. Chadwick woke up for our early flight Friday morning with a fever, chills, and body aches. He declined as the day wore on but continued to pound yellow Gatorade in an effort to stay hydrated. We both napped under the shade of a tree in a park while waiting to check into our hotel. I was quite worried about him running the next day. 
  
• 5 letters:: One of the "swag" items at the registration included wash-on tattoos. I wanted to demonstrate my dedication for the runner at my side and chose a "REVEL" one, placed on my biceps. I spent the weekend flexing and saying with a Spanish accent, "Revel," with the "v" pronounced as a light "b" as is typically done. 
  
• 2 races paid for: Turns out the Petrified Forest Marathon in Holbrook wasn't being run on November 3rd like we thought. He found out October 22 that the race was finished October 20. Whoops! (No, Mom, he doesn't still get the t-shirt even though he paid the entry fee.) Onto the second choice, Mt. Lemmon. 
  
• 2 nights in a hotel: One the night before the race, and one back in Phoenix because we missed our Sunday evening flight by 15 minutes. Poor time management to blame.
• 1 fortune cookie: Trying to "carb up" for lunch so we ate at Panda Express. The fortune was about the first positive we had since the trip began. 
  
• 2:59:40: The time it took my hubs to run his second marathon. Ever. I cried as he crossed the finish line.

YES! We are Boston Bound, baby!!