Weh, weh, weh

Call me a baby - or a lazy ass, either one will suffice - but I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired, so instead of putting even more pressure on my already imploding brain, I'm gonna head home and get some much-needed rest while putting off writing something quasi-intelligent until sometime tomorrow, if I make it there that is. Take it easy all.

Quote of the day:

Any player not on our team is not on our team.
- Patriots coach Bill Belichick, the NFL's most quotable smartass

Training Log (4/23-4/29)

SUN - AM: Solo 44-minute jaunt at Northwest Park in Portland while Oscar and Carrie took a hike, literally. Calling it 6 miles. Finished up with four strides of 20 sec. on/40 sec. off, which will be called Driscoll strides from here on out. If I do nothing else in life, I'm gonna make the kid a legend.

MON - AM: 6 miles, 43 minutes. Looped around Westmoreland Park in Portland a few times before catching a plane back East. Managed to avoid stepping in the goose poo.

TUES - AM: 4 miles from home in 27:55. Out the door only 40 minutes after waking up - now that's making progress. PM: 55 minutes at Bentley, starting off with Ryan & Co. on their warmup and finishing up solo, including a mile of strides on the track in 5:36.

WEDS - AM: 70 minutes at West Hill all by my lonesome. Easy does it.

THURS - AM: Out-n-back Rail Trail 10-spot from the Stone Church. Out nice & easy in 35:08, back in a relatively swift 29:22. Hit the last few miles on the way back in 5:48, 5:33, 5:21. Solid effort, comfortably hard I'd say.

FRI - AM: 57:45 from home. Legs don't like the roads, but otherwise they dealt just fine. PM: 29:20 on the dirt at Lake Park with 6 Driscoll strides mid-run. Legs seemingly in a much better mood. Nice, soft dirt will do that, I guess.

SAT - AM: 68 and change with Old Man Willy at the Rail Trail. Out in 7:10 and hitting 6:30's by Mile 3. The old bastard can still crank it.

WEEK TOTALS: 66 miles, 9 runs. Good week. Fitness is on its way back, albeit slowly. No rush though.

Quote of the day:

Everyone thinks he can be Brian Sell.
- Mary Wittenberg, race director of the New York City Marathon

Relay this message

It's time for Penn!

The fun started last night with the distance races and continues through the weekend with all sorts of wacky relays, invitational races, et. al. My personal favorite are the "U.S vs. The World" relays - I always get a kick out of those. For some reason it reminds me of American Gladiator, don't ask me why. Like the rest of the world even stands a chance.

Anyways, back to last night and a few performances of note. Good pal Katie G. narrowly missed nabbing a Penn Relays watch in the Collegiate Women's 5000-meter Championship, finishing second in a new personal best of 16:12. I can say with confidence that she would surely kick my ass right now.

Also riding the personal best train was occasional training partner and all-around good guy Nate Jenkins, finishing 6th in the OD 5K with a nifty 9-second PR of 14:22. Rumor also has it that he just signed a little deal with Saucony, a well deserved deal, I might add.

And that's gonna do it. My self-allotted online time is up for the day. Take it easy all.

Quote of the day:

It'd be nice to see a goofy white guy win it.
- Brian Sell on the Boston Marathon

Better off dead

Headline in this morning's T&G, the publication that helps fund my existence: "Study shows death is painful"

Well no shit, you don't say. If the experience was all rainbows and butterflies, I suppose people would be lining up by the dozens to put an end to their corporeal misery, which would do wonders for tackling the problem of overcrowding in the city of Worcester now that I think about it. Apparently, for 80% of Worcester's dying population, "DNR (do not resuscitate) orders make a huge difference in ensuring that you will die a comfortable death, and they will also ensure you have more autonomy, more information is shared, and your wishes are more likely to be expressed and followed," says Dr. David A. Kaufman. Also, "We still have things that need to be done better...the goal of the partnership is to try and provide support in those areas that can lead to a better dying experience for the people of Worcester."

Call me an insensitive asshole, but reading this article provided me a good laugh this morning. While the main objective was to highlight the fact that 1 out of every 5 people who die in Worcester don't do so comfortably - which it accomplished, to some extent - the headlines were a tad misleading and the quotes just utterly ridiculous. Remember, we're talking about death - the end of all ends - not crazy orgasmic sex. Naturally, it's supposed to hurt, but then again who knows for sure. When it's all said and done (both literally and figuratively) the person is D-E-A-D. They're not in any kind of shape to tell you if it hurt or not anyway.

Moral of the story: When it's time for you to go, come to Worcester. There's only a 20% chance that it's gonna hurt.

Quote of the day:

You know when I need to die? When I'm done living. When I can't walk, can't eat, can't see, when I'm a crotchety old bastard, mad at the world. Then I can die.
- Lance Armstong

Get real

Perhaps the biggest realization I came to while in Oregon last week, aside from the fact that it should be made federal law that all women shave their legs and armpits, is that I spend way too much time in front of the computer. Granted, I usually don't have much of a choice because of my job, etc., but I calculated that I tend to spend upwards of 4+ hours in front of this silly screen sometimes, with no good reason at all. It's time that could be much better spent for sure. With that being said, I'm limiting myself to no more than 90 minutes of non-work related Web time a day from now on, so don't be surprised if the quality of these entries takes an abrupt nose dive, if they haven't already. Time to head home from my first night back on the desk. Take it easy all.

Quote of the day:

I wonder who would win in a pissing contest....you or a Saudi-Arabian camel?
- An apparently amazed co-worker who asked to remain nameless

Gimme some cheese with my whine

Please forgive my sleep deprived, internet-lacking, still quasi-gimpy ass for bombarding ya’ll with this smorgasbord of entries all at once. I sincerely apologize for sucking so bad. Actually, I take that back. Lack of free wireless internet in the state of Oregon sucks. Damn free-loading hippie bastards. I’ll let them apologize. It’s all their fault.

Anywho, now that I’ve got my whining out of the way, lemme try to fill ya in with some commentary few days spent in The Beaver State. And what you'll find below this entry is just the tip of the iceberg. I've got some more stuff in my notebook about the meet, etc. that I've yet to transcribe electronically. I do apologize for the very unchronological order of these entries - everything is ass backwards right now. Perhaps later I'll have the time to fix it, but for now, you'll have to deal. Enjoy!

Super signage

A couple quality signs I saw on my trip...

This one courtesy of The Mudhouse Tavern in Portland:

If Paul Allen [owner of the Portland Trailblazers] didn’t know Bill Gates, he’d be here cleaning toilets.

And my personal favorite (go ahead, call me an asshole):

Young bum on the corner of Willamette and 29th in Eugene...Poor, hungry, homeless. Just run me over.

Training Log (4/16-4/22)

SUN – AM: Pakachoag 5 solo, 34:50; last mile in 6:05. NOTE: Last mile is equivalent to falling off a cliff. PM: 40:30 out-n-back on the Rail Trail to cap off an 11-mile day. Man, that sounds pathetic.

MON – Rockland 7 solo in 47:50. 35:07 through 5 and I thought I was flying. Guess I better think harder next time.

TUES – PM: 36:45 solo at WEST HILL. 5:56 for the 4th mile, dead-on nuts 8 flat for the last one. PM: 54:45 with Hodge in Clinton. Felt pretty good, as 7:30 pace should.

WEDS – AM: Fallon 6 solo from home, 42:45. 7:29/6:47 on the way out, 6:37/6:06 coming back. I remember when this used to be easy.

THURS – AM: 45 min easy with Oscar through suburban Portland, 6 miles tops. Emphasis on easy.

FRI – AM: 70 min solo on the wacky woodchips of Eugene, Oregon. Man, I forgot how much I hated running on that shit. Started out running 7:20s on the Rexius, finished up with a couple 6:45s on the Amazon. First double-digit run in a long while.

SAT – AM: 67:30 with Oscar and his CU buddies in Eugene, none of whom he was actually teammates with, but Ponce is something of a legend in their eyes. Annnnnnyways, the plan was for an easy 30-40 minutes, but as you might have guessed by now, neither of those things happened, Hey, it’s not every day I get a chance to go running with the Buffaloes. Good run, devoid of those damn woodchips.

WEEK TOTALS: 63 miles. Good week of training. Yes, training. I think I’ve finally got this Achilles thing licked. Knock on wood, anyways.

Quote of the day:

I might not know karate [slicks hair back], but I know karazy.
- Mark Wetmore (or more accurately, Oscar Ponce impersonating Mark Wetmore)

Top-10 reminders that I'm in Eugene, Oregon

1. As I wait for my ride here downtown, I’m sitting in a Starbucks and sipping on a latte amongst an army of mostly unemployed modern-day hippies. If this isn’t a stereotypical representation of life in Eugene, then I don’t know what is.

2. Quote from an article in today’s Eugene Daily Emerald entitled, "Hippie culture’s still here, man": “Hippies want to safeguard our planet and make sure the world is a safe place for future generations.”

3. The Oregon Invitational preview is the centerpiece article on the sports page of The Register Guard, and the meet isn't even until tomorrow. Now that’s cool. I saved a copy for my boss, maybe I can sell him on the idea.

4. I just saw my fifth VW conversion van. I haven’t even been in town for an hour yet.

5. On the subject of transportation, I’ve seen just as many bikes on the road as automobiles, or so it seems.

6. Make that six and seven VW vans. I've been here exactly 49 minutes.

7. 83% of the girls here might be hippies, and who knows what percentage of them actually shave their body hair, but man, the girls here are beautiful.

8. Judging by the number of long-haired, bearded Vietnam veterans that roam the streets in Eugene, it wouldn’t surprise me if Forrest Gump retired here after his next run across the country.

9. In two trips to this city, I still haven’t met anyone native to Eugene. One way or another, they all just seem to have ended up here. Weird.

10. What is with the drive-thru coffee shacks on every street corner? Seriously.

Bus Blogging (4/20/06)

Random observations from the back of a Greyhound bus as I made my way down I-5 from Portland to Eugene. My computer battery isn't all that great, so I wrote all this down in my notebook and transcribed it all afterwards. Some of this stuff sounds pretty ridiculous, but believe me, I couldn't make any of this up if I tried.

12:58 p.m. – Scraggly guy with a ponytail, dark sunglasses and a tattoo of a marijuana leaf on his forearm just boarded the bus. Picture the Unabomber as a hippy. Trust me, it’s as frightening as it sounds.

1:06 p.m. – Sitting here I feel kinda like Forrest Gump when he joined the Army, only I’m not on my way to bootcamp and eventually Vietnam. The prospects here are much more frightening.

1:08 p.m. – Oregon may have the coolest license plate of any state. Seriously. Maybe except for the Red Sox vanity plates back home, that is.

1:20 p.m. – Big sign off the highway: “Jiggles Dancers”. Something tells me it's not a ballet studio.

1:51 p.m. – Taking in the natural scenery as we make our way down I-5, I’m reminded of Oscar’s earlier revelation. It sure is green out there. And I’m colorblind.

2 p.m. – We just made a 5-minute rest stop in the small shit town of Salem. I think I’m the only one who didn’t get off the bus to light up a cigarette. And apparently forearm tattoos are a status symbol round these parts.

2:04 p.m. – An overweight kid with long hair, two lip rings and an Army knapsack just boarded the bus. Something tells me he didn’t just get back from Iraq. Or maybe he did, who am I to judge.

2:09 p.m. – Big yellow lettering on a building in downtown Salem: ADULT SHOP. A for clarity, F for originality.

2:23 p.m. – With each passing minute, I’m realizing more and more that this truly must be the grass capital of the world. And I’m not just talking about the kind that makes up your front lawn.

3:11 p.m. – Just woke up from a lil catnap and saw a sign that says we’re only seven miles from Eugene. Sweet. Also just saw my 5th Denny’s between Portland and here. Who knows how many I missed while I dozed off.

3:19 p.m. – Spectacles, testicles, wallet, watch. Made it to Eugene with everything still intact, I think.

Thursday, April 20th - 12:09 p.m.

Greetings from the Rose City. This update is brought to you from the discomfort of the Greyhound station in downtown Portland. My bus departs for Eugene at 1, so I’ve got a little time to kill before boarding. I’ll take this opportunity to provide a lil synopsis of my trip thus far.

Yesterday’s travel went off without a hitch. We arrived in Portland at 8 p.m. local time, where Oscar, Carrie and I were greeted by Carrie’s mom. Mrs. Zografos shuttled us back to their humble home to drop off our bags before heading out for some fine Mexican cuisine of tortas and cinnamon rice milk. Good stuff. By 10 p.m. we were all pretty wiped, so after catching the late edition of SportsCenter, the three of us retreated to our respective rooms and slept like wintering bears.

Rolled out of bed around 8 this morning, and soon afterwards went out with Oscar for an easy 45-minute jaunt around suburban Portland. T’was a rather pleasant experience I must say, full of fresh air and breathtaking scenery. As Oscar remarked about 127 times during the course of our lil stroll, “It’s green out here rookie. Real green.”

This brings me to where I am now, in this unsanitary shithole. After scouring the terminal for an outlet to plug my laptop into, I managed to find one in this little café set off to the side of the station. Good thing, too, because I was growing a little uneasy amongst the gathering of scraggly folks making their temporary (or permanent, I’m still not sure) homes on the benches of the main terminal. I went to the bathroom to relieve myself – both literally and figuratively – and happened across a large, shirtless man shaving in the adjacent sink. Suffice to say, I was more than mildly disturbed. After having my fill of fuckedupedness for the day, I’m glad to have found some temporary refuge in my haven here off to the side. From my few experiences in these types of transportation venues, it seems to me that they’re all more or less the same – unsanitary bungalows teeming with smelly, toothless folk who are as adept at asking for a buck as they are anything else.

Anywho, they just made the first call for boarding so I’m gonna get my ass in gear. With any luck I’ll get my own seat and avoid any more potentially scary situations with the local folks. Adios for now.

Back from The Beaver State...

...and plenty of new material for ya'll to read, but you'll have to wait till tomorrow, so keep your eyes open. Take it easy all.

Quote of the day:

Jorge would take two, three, maybe four miles to get going. With Dathan it was usually two, three, maybe 400 meters tops.
- Bret Schoolmeester

Go West, young man

And tomorrow I will, for 5 days in fact. I'll be heading to Oregon with my good buddy Oscar and his fantastic fiancee, Carrie, for some good 'ol R & R (running and relaxation). After arriving in Portland tomorrow evening, I'll board a bus on Thursday morning and retreat to Eugene for a few days. Ultimately, I'll end up back in Portland late Saturday, partake in Greek Easter with the Zografos clan on Sunday, and drift back to the right coast on Monday afternoon.

The original motive for this little adventure involved a 25-lap tour of Hayward Field on Friday night with my pal Ponce, but an untimely and slow healing Achilles strain inconveniently nixed those plans. Luckily, I have some family and a few friends in Eugene, and since the plane tickets were bought way back in February and time-off from work was graciously granted, I decided to go ahead with my plans. The meet itself will be fun to watch with some great races on tap. Along with Oscar in the 10K, one of my Reebok Boston teammates, Erin Dromgoole, will be racing in the 5K. I'm pretty bummed that I won't be lacing up the spikes myself, but I'll be glad to cheer those two on. And besides, a little sojourn away from here might be just what I need right about now.

Anywho, I'm not sure yet of my internet availability on the left coast, but I'll make every effort to sneak a post in here and there. If access is limited or nonexistent, I plan on keeping an offline blog which I'll post when the opportunity presents itself. That's gonna do it for tonight. Take it easy all.

Training in a group works. Training by oneself works. The common tie is: TRAINING works. Training has nothing to do with what you see on this message board day-in and day-out, which is "how do I train for the marathon on 50 miles a week." There are no shortcuts.
-Malmo

A few outwardly shouts

Some noteworthy performances by a few close pals and loyal blog readers who I tracked during today's race. Except Campbell that is. The FBI couldn't track him. Anyways, without further adue:

Former Stonehill teammates Kim Nolan (3:09:03), Rob Sparkes (3:10:17) and James "the Bandit" Campbell (3:15 or so). I didn't manage to catch any of them afterwards, but trying to find someone after Boston is the human equivalent of trying to find a needle in a haystack. Solid efforts by all three of these former Chieftains. Yes, Chieftains.

Chris Voce (2:40:05). My current Reebok Boston teammate, who I did manage to flag down just past the finish line. Don't ask me how I did it, we'll just say that Voce stands out high above the crowd. If it weren't for those hideously red racing flats, he might have got the six seconds he was looking for. A damn good race nonetheless.

Flash (2:44:20). I've never actually met Josh, but frequently check out his blog and knew he was looking for a sub-2:40. Didn't look like that was in the cards, but I think this is a PR for him at Boston, if I'm not mistaken. Nice work.

Quote of the day:

One hell of an experience though. I started so far in the back that it was tough to get going, but it was a lot of fun (and a lot of pain).
- Rob Sparkes, my former C'pn

Tha Baaahstan Marathon Media Room Blog

10:10 a.m. - Just set up shop here in the Copley media room. Definitely the youngan amongst this group, but I'm cool with that. Off to grab some free eats before I start "working".

11:23 a.m. - The wheelchairs are about to go off in a few minutes. We've got a live, commercial-free feed in here, complete with OLN commentary. I swear if I hear Larry Rawson refers to the chase pack as the peloton even once, I'm gonna throw something at the big screen.

12:14 p.m. - Lead men pass through 2 miles in a relatively pedestrian 10:07. 5 Americans in the lead pack right now, including Meb, Culpepper, Sell, Verran and Gilmore. Looking at the screen right now, it appears that business has picked up as the pack has begun to string out some. Still no mention of a peloton. Thank God.

12:18 p.m. - The fatass seated next to me just proclaimed that Dante Culpepper doesn't stand a chance of winning the race. He must be an expert.

12:44 p.m. - At 15K in 44:51 the lead pack looks to be breaking up a bit. These guys are haulin' up front. Meb is right up there but Culpepper has dropped off a bit. No Hansons in sight, and with their obnoxious uninforms, they're pretty easy to spot.

12:50 p.m. - WBZ announcer: What kind of training do these guys do? Do they do anything besides run? Tony Reavis: Well, they run quite a bit, usually twice a day. Maybe 12 miles in the morning and 5 to 10 more in the evenings. They can't waste too much time doing anything else.

12:52 p.m - 48:06 through 10 miles. Damn.

1:02 p.m. - 14:41 for the leaders over the last 5K, 59 and change through 20K. We're down to three, including Meb. The pace over the last 10 has been absolutely suicidal. With the hills coming up, this is gonna get interesting. Tosa is still leading the women's race through 16, but she's been up there for a while. She's my pick, hopefully she can hold on.

1:05 p.m. - 62:44 through the 1/2 marathon. I think I just soiled myself.

1:14 p.m. - Larry Rawson: This race is not over. No shit sherlock.

1:20 p.m. - Off to the interview room for a few words from Ernst Van Dyk. Dude just won his sixth-straight wheelchair crown.

2:00 p.m. - Just got back from the press conference. Not much excitement, but some classic Bob Lobel-isms from Channel 4's broadcast: Cheruiyot's of fire. ...and... Lobel: Meb's nowhere to be seen. Tony Revis: Well Bob, that's the camera's fault. He's only about 10 seconds back.

2:05 p.m. - New course record is about a minute away. Cheruiyot's gonna run 2:07 and some change. Incredible!

2:08 p.m. - Perhaps even more incredible, potentially 4 Americans in the top 10 with 3 on the top 5. U.S.A., U.S.A!

2:25p.m. - 5 Americans in the top 10! 5! My early addition has the U.S. taking the team title hands down.

2:34 p.m. - In the press conference, women's winner Rita Jeptoo of Kenya gives all credit to the "greatest coach in the world, Renato Canova." It gets better. The next uninformed shmuck who asked her a question inquired whether or not Jeptoo was happy to beat "such a stellar field with world-record holder Paula Radcliffe and other strong Europeans." Are you kidding me?

2:39 p.m. - Last update for a while, gotta head outside and attempt to hunt down some locals. Wish me luck.

5:14 p.m. - Just filed my story and am about to pack up shop so I can head home and get a run in before dark. Hope ya'll enjoyed this running commentary. If you're scoring at home, yes, that pun was indeed intended.

Running Log (4/9-4/15)

SUN - AM: 53 minutes w/Hodge at my beloved Rail Trail. Nice and slow, last two in 7:36/7:28. Achilles started bitchin' at me a bit on the way back down the trail.

MON - PM: 36 minutes solo around Lake Park. 7:14 opening mile on the track, closed the last one in a brisk 6:28. Watch out.

TUES - AM: Holy shit, I got out before 11! 29:20 solo from mi casa, a smidge over 4 miles I'd say. PM: Swore to myself that I wouldn't go back to Lake Park again this week, but guess where I ended up? Yep. I'm a miserable failure. 28:30, 4 miles.

WEDS - AM: Same loop as last Saturday with Hodge, but 5 minutes faster. I was flying. 40 minutes, 6 miles.

THURS - AM: Pakachoag 5 solo from home, 35:20. Lungs and legs still catching up to one another. Lungs are slightly ahead right now. PM: Back to Lake Park, AGAIN! 23-minute, 3-mile shakeout on the dirt after a long afternoon working in the office. "Shakeout" sounds pretty ridiculous considering my longer run was all of 5 miles, but as KcoachB would say: "Mario, it is what it is."

FRI - PM: 9 miles in 62 minutes around Brighton with my favorite Mexican, Oscar Ponce. Ran a few laps around the BC Reservoir but with a lack of fine tail making its way around the Res on this breezy spring evening, we decided to head up and over Heartbreak Hill before finishing up with a couple more laps of the Res, where tail was still lacking. Solid run, but disappointed scenery. Can't win 'em all.

SAT - AM: Typical 6-mile Saturday loop in 43:30 with my typical Saturday running buddy, followed by a typical brunch at our typical hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Just a typical day, I guess.

WEEK TOTALS: 49 miles, 9 runs. Hopefully by next week I can call this a "training log".

Quote of the day:

Make sure every run has a purpose behind it. Remind yourself why you're doing what you're doing before you head out the door.
- Good advice from Brad Hurst

Kid in a candy store

That pretty much describes the four or so hours I spent this afternoon at the Crossroads Pub in Boston. Hodgie took me along for his annual pre-marathon gathering to meet some of his friends, in no particular order: Dan and Patti Dillon, Nobby Hashizume, Bill Squires, Brad Hurst, Brett Hawkins, Tommy Leonard, Tony Reavis and a fine bloke by the name of Steve Jones. He was pretty good back in his day from what I was told. In the four hours I spent in this little Beacon St. watering hole, I may have learned more about running from this crew over a couple pints of Magners than I could if the sport were taught as a major concentration in a classroom at Harvard. Maybe I'm just that much of a dork, but I had a blast.

Anyways, its kinda late and I don't have too much time for details right now, but I promise a more complete recap of this afternoon of delightful debauchery before the weekend lets out. Also, I think I'm gonna keep a running blog from the Marathon Media Room on Monday for anyone looking to see what goes on behind the scenes. If Amby Burfoot picks his nose, you'll know about it.

That's it for now. Take it easy.

Quote of the day:

Hodgie: I think I'll take a day off next week.
Me: From running?
Hodgie: No, from work. Are you kidding me? Frannie and Lilly are in Indiana for the week. I'm gonna run myself into the ground.

You heard it here first

Well, maybe not, but whatever. With all the talk about the strength of the American field at this year's Boston Marathon (which is completely justified, I might add) and possibility of the first domestic winner since Greg Meyer in 1983, the "experts" - including the Bodhisattva of everything that is running, letsrun.com - are quick to pin all their hopes and dreams on the Big Two (Meb and Alan) along with honorable mention, Brian Sell.

Now don't get me wrong. The aforementioned triumverate deserves all the attention they're getting and it's possible that any of the three could have a breakout day, heck, perhaps even win the whole damn thing. In fact, I hope one of them does. But let's not forget about some other notables who I think are going to open some eyes and turn a couple heads on Patriots Day. The runningman's All-Underdog team, in no particular order:

- Clint Verran. With all the hype surrounding his teammate Sell, 'ol Clint has sort of slipped under the radar. And he's probably OK with that. Personally, I think he's the guy to watch.
- Luke Humphrey. Still kinda new to the whole marathon thing, but I just got a feeling he's gonna bust out on Monday.
- Peter Gilmore. 10th in the race last year, member of the World Champs team in Helsinki and STILL doesn't get the credit he deserves. Unbelievable.
- Casey Moulton. The sentimental New England favorite, this pick is somewhat of a wildcard but one I'm willing to place my bet on. I'm not even sure if he's still planning on running, but at last check it was a go. And if it still is, go he will. Believe me.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Any more come to mind and I'll try to post an updated list later on. Take it easy all.

I remember when Bill Rodgers would be training with foreign runners on the course here and guys would come up out of manhole covers and say, 'Kick their ass, Billy!' That's what Boston wants to see. People want to cheer for the home team.
- Greg Meyer

Passing the buck

I still don't have much to say, but Meb sure does.

Check out my interview with Boston's Great American Hope, and if nothing else, at least you get to see the fruits of some of the labor I've been incessantly bitching about for the last week or so.

Enjoy.

Quote of the day:

Lastly, I’d like to give something back to the sport. It’s given a lot to me, so hopefully through running I can do something positive and have a positive influence on somebody’s life. As long as I do the right things and surround myself with good people, you never know what blessings the future holds.
- Meb Keflezighi

Anyone got a shovel?

As of 11:44 p.m., I'm still up to my ears in work-related Marathon projects, not to mention my regular work hours, which leaves me little time for anything else that requires even the smallest effort of the cognitive variety.

With that being said, I'm going to make this short.

It's the equivalent of Super Bowl week for me right now, complete with media day on Friday, the expo all weekend and commencing with the main event on Monday. In my own dorky way, it's an exciting time. Maybe I'll even get invited to some off-the-hook post-marathon after parties. Then again, probably not.

Anyways, I don't have time for much else, except for another wacky one-liner that I saw on a Church sign on my way out to Sterling today.

Ridiculous Church sign of the week: While He was on the cross, you were on his mind.

That's it, take it easy all.

Quote of the day:

We will see. I think statistically Cruz would have it over little Downin, but you never know. All I care is that he can beat your son at Wiffle ball.
- Matt Downin in an interview with Chris Graff