Mari:

I agree  I love the Boston RR's.  I would love to read the good,  the bad, the horrifying, the disappointing  ( can't imagine being stopped a mile from the finish line, but no one would complain considering)  I just saw a picture of the thousands of runners stopped at mile 25.  amazing stories of the thousands of locals opening up their homes to the runners that of course couldn't get their drop bags, finish line water,  food (though it is Meager at boston), or warm clothes, etc.

But mostly.   I would like to hear the good.

And Ribs,  I must have also gotten something in my eye when I was reading your RR

3 miles yesterday,  I wore my '07 boston jacket for the first time in a few years yesterday.

I just started a week of nights,  lately I mostly haven't run on my work weeks,  I think I am on a schedule this week that will let me work a run in most days.  Boston will be on my mind during all my runs this week.   I've been obsessive about the news.  I so hope they get some good clues soon

Dave

Back to the mundane--or at least a feeble attempt at it.  In NC again, so went out for 7 laps around the hotel complex for 5.25 miles to join in with the BAA suggestion. (not QUITE as bad as TM, but getting there)  Still finding it difficult to get past any article relating to Monday.  Must be the pollen, because I seem to be getting something in my eyes alot.

Saw a lot of people wearing marathon gear yesterday at the airport and wanted to say something to them, but not sure what and not sure if it would be appreciated if I did.   Also on Monday night when we got back to Logan, there was someone who was obviously a runner bascially taking a shower in the men's room.  Must have made his way out there directly from the race.  Same confusion about saying anything.  Confusion seems to be my prevelant feeling at the moment.

Dave, when circumstances allow, make sure the landscaping around your house has a gentle gradient leading away for a minimum of four feet. Your place may have originally had such a slope. With time many houses do settle. Last spring, I spent much quality time with a shovel. I believe that four inches of cement block must be above soil.

It’s good to see everyone so concerned about our comrades here.  And it was especially wonderful to see long-lost posters coming back for a visit.  Don’t be such strangers!  I also appreciated Ribs’ tribute to Joe.  Well done!

While no one expects this sort of thing, I can’t say I was totally surprised by the Boston bombs.  Over the years—usually while watching a marathon on TV— I’ve repeatedly mentioned to TriBee how amazed I was that no one had ever hit a major marathon, given that it’s a 26-mile soft target right in the media spotlight.  Now they have.  It’ll be interesting to see how organizers and authorities react.  I hope they don’t over-react.

Speaking of over-reacting…the U.S. has been largely spared the sort of senseless violence that has marked a number of countries more often and more deeply.  As horrible and as tragic as it was, in the end, this was a relatively small incident.  It could have been much, much worse.  The media really help amplify the significance of the act in their incessant, repetitive, and often emotional coverage.  Part of it is doing their job, but much of it becomes sensationalism that distorts things way out of proportion.

Those affected and their families will always be changed by this tragedy, of course.  For them, nothing could be bigger.  That’s heartbreaking and unfair.  But I do hope we keep this incident in perspective and use it to sensitize ourselves to the impact of violence everywhere.  Maybe the next time a family is blown up on a bus in Israel, or a child is killed by a drone attack in Pakistan (over 175 children have reportedly been killed in such US attacks), or an Iraqi mother is killed in a marketplace, it’ll seem a little more real to us.  Yes, the motives and intentions vary in those attacks, but the outcomes are the same: innocent victims of violence.  Those people, too, were just going about their daily lives.  Let’s keep the Boston victims in mind but perhaps we can extend our attention and concern to the many innocent victims well beyond the running community where senseless violence is often more deadly and, sadly, more common.

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FWIW, my own Boston race was bad; my worst time since 2007 and my fourth worse ever.  It wasn’t my training, it was my stomach, which acted up with a vengeance at just the halfway point.  I felt fine through the first half, reining it in to run a consistent pace well within my training.  Then I had the stomach/retching issue which has plagued me off and on for years, forcing me to walk.  It kept recurring and I just couldn’t shake it, though I had a faint chance of still coming in under 3:40, my goal.  Then around mile 21 or so I got a terrible side stitch that brought me to a complete stop.  Needless to say, any concern about time was over.

As I told Tribee at the end, “The bad news is I had a terrible race. The good news is it was so bad, so early, that I just ended up trying to enjoy the sights and sounds.”  Which I did.  Since I never pushed really hard, I finished feeling the freshest I ever have at a marathon.

We were already in our car heading back to the hotel when we saw a fire engine pulling out of its station, lights and siren blaring, and, later, police cars screaming down the Mass Pike heading into the city.

Today, I was fortunate enough to be able to go out for a leg-stretching 3-miler.

I appreciate your words and perspective, Tramps.  Tragedies like this rock us to the core because it's so close to home, and it personally affected either those we know, or by extension, someone we know. Or just simply from the fact that it affected people we feel a kinship to - runners. But, these acts of violence happen on a daily basis around world and because those are such frequent happenings, we almost become desensitized to it - until it happens here in America.

I ran 4 miles last night and will try to get in a run at lunch today also. Leaving work early for my sons track meet.  Our running group who is doing the Memorial run on Sunday and raising money has decided to donate our givings to Martin's charter school to be used towards the purchase of new playground equipment in his honor.

I had just long enough to read while I ate my sandwich, but no time to post much.  Just happy to catch one of Mariposai's hugs, send Dave some waterwings, and give a healing {{{Jay's back}}}.

4.5 miles for me on the TM this morning watching the rain through the open garage door.

After reading Tramps post I had to "pop" in. I've had so little keyboard time that I husband my entries which have been very few lately in any forum both on RA and Calorie Count. First glad to hear that our RA brethren are ok, as terrible as it was, its nice to know we don't "know" anyone seriously hurt. Its affected a lot of people in unexpected ways. Many veterans like myself are dealing with flashbacks and having to manage PTSD episodes brought on by continuous newscasts, which are difficult to avoid. I almost hesitate going to my group therapy session tonight - I know there will be a lot of angry guys in the room! Those present at the bombing (I almost said incident... to PC), and many who watched on TV, will have to manage stresses going forward - I hope those affected recognize them and get help dealing with them, not letting them get worse. That said, it's really been helpful to meseeing how the larger running community is showing its support. Here in Austin the running community is wearing race shirts, many Boston shirts amongst them,  a vigil and 5K is scheduled for 8pm Thur night at the Town Lake trail, and other smaller events that are popping up - all in support of Boston.

Lastly, we all must recognize that this kind of attack is extremely difficult to prevent. In 2002 I was interviewed by the Atlanta Journal Constitution when it asked if the US could be attacked again, I replied to their query with yes, resulting in phone call and emails. In a free country like ours its pretty much impossible to stop a determined terrorist. The only way to stop such events is to be vigilant. Know your environment, maintain 360 degree awareness, alert authorities to anything odd or unusual. Keep going on with normal life, but with a difference, heightened alertness, as many around the world have learned to do.

Hug your families, kiss the little ones, and pray for Boston and this great country of ours (with all its warts its still got lots of people trying to get and stay here! We must be doing something right)