I am really looking forward to this weekend; there will be some other friends making the trek. And it's just really important to me that I get there...to the city, to the course, and to mile 25.
I know it's common to remark about loss when someone dies, but in Chris' case it's true. It's unbelievable to me how, even to this day, I keep finding new friends and connections who were touched by Chris, his passion for life and his personal commitment for excellence.
I will be running this race pretty not in shape. Yes, I just did Ironman Hawaii about six weeks ago, but since then I took two weeks off, exercised sporadically for two weeks and then fractured my forearm. I have run 30 to 45 minutes a few times this week to test out my arm, and it seems all systems are go.
So Guess My Time
I have run a 3:07 here back in 2001, my only Philly attempt. My best open marathon was a 2:59:42 in 2009. My last open marathon was Boston in 2011 -- the tailwind race! -- where I went 3:01:xx.
Since then I have run a 3:15 at Ironman Texas in May 2012; and suffered to a 3:46 in Kona most recently.
I am still not sure how I am going to approach the day, as in racing or not...but maybe your guesses will motivate.
Prize for the closest guess TBD...put it in the comments!!!