Earlier this week I watched a video which showed me a live view of the entire marathon course. The videographer was on a bike--so luckily it didn’t take hours to watch--but it allowed me to see, in a more realistic manner than a course map, how the race will look.

In the past four years I’ve run a lot around Burlington, both downtown and in the surrounding areas. Especially in these last few months, my long runs have often taken me through, past, and around a pretty extensive portion of the Queen City. Looking at the marathon route, I can recall running in just about every section of the course at some point. I’ve never known a race course quite like that, with the exception of my high school cross country team’s home course, held in the same small park where we would have summer preseason practices. I like that familiarity. A lot. It makes me feel like this whole crazy thing is not so far out of reach, like I’m planning to dig up some hidden treasure that’s been buried right in my backyard.

This week’s got me in for a shorter long run, which my tired legs will appreciate, followed by a balance of pace work and rest. May is visible at the bottom of my calendar, the sun and warm temperatures are coming out of hiding, and I’m excited to be where I’m at!

Until next time!