running the Boston Marathon 2014

I just signed up to run the 2014 Boston Marathon on behalf of the hospital where I work, BIDMC.

This year's marathon will obviously be a very special event, and that has catalyzed me to find out if I can run one more marathon.  What had immediately pushed me to do this was a chance conversation with one of the doctors I know who told me he was running, and that the medical center had received many more bibs that in the past, presumably because of the medical center's role in caring for the victims of the tragedy at last year's race.

Last year, I had attended the Red Sox game, watching the Sox win a fine 3-2 victory.  After the game, I watched the runners for while just short of the 40 K mark.  I then walked back to me office at the hospital to work on paperwork for a while before heading home.  I was aware of a lot of sirens, but it didn't register that there were more than usual.  I then got a text message from a friend asking if I was OK.  I replied that I was, but asked why she was asking.  It was then that I first learned about the bombing.

My last marathon was the Boston Marathon in 2004.  It wasn't a very good performance; it was very warm that year, I was undertrained, and I really struggled.  I finished in 4:05:29, my slowest marathon ever.  At the time, I was disappointed, but figured the next one would surely be better.  But there was no next one.

While training for the 2005 race, I developed pain and swelling in my left knee, which was subsequently diagnosed as a full thickness articular cartilage defect in my trochlea.  Further investigation also showed the underside of the patella was in bad shape, too, and so I eventually underwent an autologous cartilage transplant in April, 2007.  It was a very slow recovery; I wasn't cleared to run for a year.

Since then, I haven't really run much (I've become much more of a cyclist).  I had resigned myself to the fact that my marathon running days were over.

But now I think I'd like to run one more, and the special circumstances of this year's Boston Marathon make it the one to run.  I've certainly got work to do; I haven't run more than 5 miles at a time since my surgery.  I will update my progress over the next 4 months - 131 days until race day!

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