Ironman Louisville a year later

Yesterday was one year to the date that I completed the Ironman Louisville. I will not be racing here this year but I do know a few people who are. One person in particular is Tood Crandell. Todd as you know is the founder of racing for recovery. You can track him here on Sunday Aug 31st. I wish him the best of luck.

Check out my racing for recovery visor

Marine Corps Marathon Training Week 7

Did a 17 mile run today. I was a change from running in VF National Park. Here are the weekly totals.

Miles	Time
45.25	5:23:18
		% change
Week 1	50.67
Week 2	51.2	1%
Week 3	55.02	7%
Week 4	60.56	9%
Week 5	62.25	3%
Week 6	81.07	23%
Week 7	45.25	-79%
Total	406.02

Marine Corps Marathon Week 6

Racing for Recovery® - Main Office
P.O. Box 160
Sylvania, Ohio 43560-0160

this is where you can send your donations. Please make note that you sent it in on my behalf.

OK, Back to training. Moved my long run up to Sat this week. Did 23 miles. Was a good run through Valley Forge. I broke 1400 miles for the year also. Will do an easy run this week and taking off Monday :)

Week Totals

Miles	Time
81.07	9:35:30
		% change
Week 1	50.67
Week 2	51.2	1%
Week 3	55.02	7%
Week 4	60.56	9%
Week 5	62.25	3%
Week 6	81.07	23%
Total	360.77

OK Folks Listen up.......

As the Marine Corps Marathon gets closer I am going to see who is really going to join my cause. I know people read this blog so if you are willing to help donate money then email me

mikepdanko@comcast.net

I will explain in detail what I am going to do.

Marine Coprs Marathon Training Week 5

Well another week down. Did a soaking 15 miler today. Not fun to run in the rain. Well I broke 1300 miles running for the year this week. To give you an idea of how far 1300 miles is. If you were to draw a straight line from Philadelphia to Dallas, TX the line would be 1300 miles long. That gives you an idea of how far I have ran so far this year. I will post weekly and monthly totals. Hope all is well with everyone. Enjoy your week and the Olympics.

Miles	Time
62.25	7:24:52
		% change
Week 1	50.67
Week 2	51.2	1%
Week 3	55.02	7%
Week 4	60.56	9%
Week 5	62.25	3%
Total	279.7

A BIG SHOUT OUT

I wanted to congratulate my friend Michael Gamble in his outstanding accomplishment in making it to the finals of American Gladiators. Even though he was second he is still a true champ and sportsman. If you missed it watch it here. I will post my monthly totals for July this weekend. Hope everyone is having a good week. KUNG PAO......

Marine Corps Marathon Training Week #4

Well what a week of training. Did 60 miles total. Got a nice track workout in on Thursday. I ended up doing another 20 miler today. I was not sure if I was going to run that far. I slept in and then when I head out I kept going and ended up doing 20 miles. All else is quite on the western front. Enjoy your week.

Miles	Time
60.56	7:10:09
		% change
Week 1	50.67
Week 2	51.2	1%
Week 3	55.02	7%
Week 4	60.56	9%
Total	217.45

Marine Corps Marathon Training Week #3

Well did a 21 mile run today. Nice to get some distance down. If anyone has Sirius radio then you can hear all about the political spectrum. Read more on his site for info, the link is on my page. If you have questions drop me a line. I have updated the weekly totals on the logs. I am keeping this post nice and short. Happy running.

55.02	6:42:22
		% change
Week 1	50.67
Week 2	51.2	1%
Week 3	55.02	7%
Total	156.89

Marine Corps Week # 2

Miles	Time
51.2	6:24:21
		% change
Week 1	50.67
Week 2	51.2	1%

Did a 15 miler today in the heat. It was hott and humid but felt good to get out and do some distance.

Congrats to all those who competed in Ironman LP today.

Tour de France? What a shame all the doping.

What to Race For?

For those who may or may not read my blog and for those who do you know of most of my personal accomplishments when it comes to my endurance hobbies. I have always raced to have fun and enjoy it and challenge myself. My next major race is the Marine Corps Marathon and I have decided to use this race to promote something. If you have ever gone to any triathlon or marathon you will see team in training or racing for the cure or any other reason to race. These are all great causes so I have decided to race for :

http://racingforrecovery.com


I am not out to set any personal fund raising goals even if I do not raise a single penny my mere presence at this race with the my racing for recovery gear will be enough. If you read this blog and feel inspired then leave a comment with your email address and I will send you more information on how to donate. All money raised will be sent to Todd and his cause. Please tell your friends about this Blog so that they maybe inspired.

Enjoy your Day.

Marine Corps Marathon Week 1

Well, the official training has begun. I am following a modified schedule since my base for my training is already in place from Boston. I did a total of 50.67 miles.

I did a semi long run today (11 miles in the heat.) I broke 1100 miles for the year so far. I plan on doing a track workout this week to work on some speed.

I have added a Marine Corps Marathon training log link on my site this will help you see how much I am training per week.

I also have been watching some of the Tour De France. For some reason I cannot get much into it this year. I am still sour about what they did to Floyd Landis.

Speaking of biking this is what can happen when people fail to give Cyclist a break.

(from a group list I am on.)

Many of you probably know Kevin Brooker. For those that don't he is
one of the riders whose enthusiasm for cycling makes Philadelphia a
great place to ride. Last week while riding in Malvern Kevin was
forced to the side of the road by traffic and had to traverse a
manhole with a sunken cover. He went over the handle bars. The result
was a broken wrist, a torn Achilles tendon and a crush fracture of
his L1 vertebra. He was taken to Paoli Memorial, operated on and came
home on Saturday. He will spend 12 weeks in a wheelchair and then
commence his come back.

Enjoy your week.

June 2008 Summary

Well here is my Boston Marathon Certificate.

242.43 miles ran since Boston. 260 miles is about the number you want to be at to be ready for racing.

June 2008 Totals

Swim	1.12	Miles
Bike	0	Miles
Run	125.39	Miles

Here is the new look to begin my quest for a sub 3 hour marathon.

Happy Fourth Of July

Well July is upon us and now the countdown is about to begin yet again for the Marine Corps Marathon. My Training officially starts on Monday July 7th but I have been getting some serious base miles in. I am all about recovered and ready to train from Boston. I will post my month and other totals later this weekend.

On a side note I wanted to mention a blog which is linked on my main page. This blog is a blog everyone should read. I read Todd's book over a year ago and let me tell you that it will move you and also it will make you realize that no matter what the odds are you can overcome them. You may not have a drug or alcohol addiction but still there is no " I can't" Many people now a days feel that addiction control their lives but it does not have to be that way. I talk to Todd via email and he appreciates all the support. I just wanted to mention this while it was fresh in my mind. Enjoy the holiday.

June 2008 wrap up is next. I also have a picture for everyone.

Wedding and Honeymoon

Well things are beginning to return to normal.

The Wedding was incredible. Jennifer looked amazing and we both had a great time. Big thanks to all those who helped, attended and were part of our big day.

The honeymoon was also very enjoyable we went to Ocho Rios in Jamaica. We stayed at the Sunset Jamaica Grand. This was a very nice place. We just laid around for 2 days and enjoyed the beach and the water it was very peaceful. The food was awsome and so was the quite time. We did venture off the resort to do some shopping and also see Dunn's Rivers Falls. Jamaica is a very unique country in that their main business is tourism. That is why people ask you to buy something or tip them for telling you the time even though they are not wearing a watch. I did enjoy driving on the left side of the road. Overall the trip was worth it. There are pics of the honeymoon and of the wedding in previous postings and when I get some from Dunn's River I will post them. Well enjoy YA MAN!

Wedding Pics

Photobucket Album

Honeymoon

Photobucket Album

Back

Home from the Honeymoon......I write more when I am settled.

Wedding Jun 14th 2008

Here is me and my new wife :)

Be back soon

Sorry Folks.....all is quite on the blog front. Wedding is this Sat I will tell all about it in a week or so.

May 2008 totals and other bits

91. 52 Running
89.71 Bike
8.08 Swim

Not bad since I was not really training. I am starting to get the running miles back. Rule of the thumb you need about 260 miles running after a marathon to get back to race again. I am at about 106 so not too far off. I think my next race is going to be a 10 mile beach run in Aug. I will post more when I know for sure. Well just wanted to put up the month totals and keep everyone updated on the swimming, biking and running.

Honoring those on Memorial Day

I forgot to add this in my Memorial Day Post.

MAJOR MICHAEL DAVIS O'DONNELL

REMEMBER THEM

If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and one backward glance when you are leaving, for the places they can no longer go.

Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not always have. Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own.

And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind.

Written January 1, 1970 by Major Michael Davis O'Donnell
Dak To, South Viet Nam

Major O'Donnell was Killed in Action in Cambodia on March 24, 1970. His was a name with a small cross on The Wall (Panel 12W, Line 40) until came home to Arlington National Cemetery on August 16, 2001; the cross was changed to a diamond.

Memorial Day weekend wrap up

Here is a recap of the weekend including the race.

Arrive in sea isle around 5pm on Friday eve to pick up my race info. I got my bib and ship and as I was leaving they were asking people if they would wear the name of a fallen solider on their bib. I did not hesitate one minute. This was the young man to whom I was honoring. We then headed to Cape May. Went to bed around 11pm and was up at 4am. Time to race.

I arrived in sea isle around 5am and parked at a Friends house. Only 2 blocks from transition which was nice. I got to transition around 5:45 am and setup my stuff. It was cold out still. I waited around until about 7am and got ready to race. Around 7:15am we headed to the beach to begin the race. I had my short sleeve wetsuit on and I knew I was going to be cold. Also my goggles were giving me trouble (time to get a new racing pair). At 7:30am the first wave was off and then we waiting 3 minutes and we were off. As we ran into the water I was instantly hit with a wave of 55 degree weather. Damm it was cold. I sucked it up and I began to swim my goggles at this point were fogging up and I was also getting water in them. It was hard to get into a rhythm because it was soo cold and also it was an ocean swim. I got through the swim in about 8 minutes and headed to T1. As I got my wetsuit off (the pam helped but I was so dizzy from the cold it did not matter) I dried off and headed out on the bike. The bike course was flat and fast there were some bumps (what do you expect it is a shore town) There was a head wind on the return loop which cut my speed down after the fist loop I was moving and making up some time. I completed my 3 loops and headed to T2. Once out of T2 it was on to the run. This was a beach run which made it very interesting. There was a storm the week before and it washed away all the sand around the pipes that drain into the ocean so not only was it a 5K it was also a steeple chase. I finished in 1:07:58 15th overall and 3rd in my age group. I was pleased with my result since I did no formal training and I just wanted to have fun. This was a great event for the first time and I look forward to going back next year.

Mike Danko

West Chester, PA
Time:	1:07:58
Placement:	15 / 350
Bib Number:	129

Split Detail

Split	Distance	Time	Rank	Pace/Rate
Swim	1/4 Mile	0:09:21	65
T1	T1	0:01:47
Bike	12.3 Mile	0:36:06	40	Rate: 20.40
T2	T2	0:00:55
Run	3.1 Mile	0:19:52	8	Pace: 0:06:25

After the race headed back to cape may to enjoy the weekend. Went to Sunset Beach where a famous ship rests.






That is all that is left. I have some pictures from the weekend.

Enjoy

Weekend

Will post tomorrow. I am back.

Memorial Day Weekend

As you know this is the main reason we really celebrate memorial day. I know its the annual trek to the shore but the true meaning behind it is for those that gave the ultimate sacrifice. Here is a reminder and a picture that defines it all.

First brick of the year

Better late then never. I did my first brick of the year this morning. Did a 17 mile bike and 3.1 mile run felt good to get out and do both.

So what is a brick?

A brick workout is basically a back to back workout, for instance doing a swim followed immediately by a bike, or a cycle followed immediately by a run. This is to practice going from sport to sport and training your body to call on different muscles or sometimes the same muscles in a different capacity immediately. Doing Bricks is a great way to help with your endurance and to practice your transitions for a better time.

Here are the pictures from Broad Street they are not the best quality.

I have attached a picture of my rigs.

One of my wacky groomsmen...

This says it all.

American Gladiators

On Monday May 12th a good friend of mine begins his journey on American Gladiators. I am not sure when he is on. You can read the official press release here. Is name is Mike Gamble and he is sure to impress you all in his abilities. Wish him luck as he challenges himself to become the conquer of the Gladiators.

Back in the saddle

Well since the marathon training has subsided I have been able to get back on the bike. I did a ride this past Saturday and did one today. It is nice when you can just go out and bike and not really train. It was such a nice day and I wanted to get out. Just wanted to give a quick update. Enjoy the week.

Tri For Our Vets

Well now that Broad Street is over I am not going to begin to focus on my race MAY 24th. If I get 75 miles in on the bike this month that will be good. I have been swimming and I feel good. The marathon training has kept my fitness level elevated so I am not really concerned. The race is a 400-meter ocean swim, a 12.3 mile (4.1 mile loop) bicycle race and a 3.1 mile beach run. I will keep you updated on my training.

This is what is wrong with Philadelphia

I usually do not like to get political or even start a debate on this blog since it is mainly focused on happy events but I wanted to take the time to show people why Philadelphia get a bad name. Read this story.

Now you tell me why someone who was an ex offender had this (not the actually weapon)

info about this weapon.


The city of philadelphia needs to do something it is a sad day.

Broad Street 2008

Distance	10M
Clock Time	01:02:40
Chip Time	01:02:22
Overall Place	253 / 19111
Gender Place	243 / 9821
Division Place	69 / 1775
Age Grade	71.2%
Pace	6:14.0

Here is my result. I will post some pictures when I get them.

Spread the Word

Technorati Profile

New Challenge

Well I have decided to sign up and run another marathon. Check out the site should be a fun race. Training will begin mid July.

This Sunday is Broad Street 10 miler. This is a fun race. 10 miles straight and mainly downhill. There is no cut off on the number of runners. It averages around 18,000. It is a very enjoyable race although they are calling for rain on Sunday we shall see. I will post a report and pictures after the race.

More on Boston

Found this interesting discussion on Lance. I still have one up on him.

Interesting Website

After running the Boston Marathon last week I came across this very interesting website.

I found this website to be almost humorous. Why would someone want to do this to someone who has accomplished so much and second of all beat cancer. This person has way too much time on his or her hands. If they want to investigate doping talk to this man. I just find it hard to believe that people still do not lance. He is an accomplished athlete and there are no signs that he cheated so I do not see why people still try and take him down.

I just wanted to make this post in response to this website.

Whats Next

Well now that Boston is over it is time to begin to focus on other things.

June 14th is my wedding. You can check out our page on the Knot.

Next Sunday May 4th is Broad Street.

Sat May 24th is a new triathlon in sea isle city, NJ.

So this is my schedule for the next couple months.

Boston Pics

Boston Marathon 2008

My Race Report

Category	Number Entered	Number Started	Number Finished	Percent Finished
Runners
all	25283	22375	21963	98.2%
male	14844	13263	13028	98.2%
female	10439	9112	8935	98.1%
Wheelchairs
all	18	16	16	100.0%
male	13	12	12	100.0%
female	5	4	4	100.0%
Handcycles
all	18	12	12	100.0%
male	14	11	11	100.0%
female	4	1	1	100.0%
Runners by Age Group
Open 18-39
all	11109	9791	9592	98.0%
male	5351	4780	4684	98.0%
female	5758	5011	4908	97.9%
Masters 40-49
all	8676	7711	7624	98.9%
male	5219	4690	4644	99.0%
female	3457	3021	2980	98.6%
Veterans 50-59
all	4227	3762	3682	97.9%
male	3192	2854	2799	98.1%
female	1035	908	883	97.3%
Seniors 60-69
all	1134	989	955	96.6%
male	958	829	801	96.6%
female	176	160	154	96.3%
70 & Over
all	137	122	110	90.2%
male	124	110	100	90.9%
female	13	12	10	83.3%
Runners by Sub Group
Visually Impaired
all	19	17	17	100.0%
male	15	15	15	100.0%
female	4	2	2	100.0%
Mobility Impaired Aided
all	12	12	10	83.3%
male	8	8	7	87.5%
female	4	4	3	75.0%
Mobility Impaired Unaided
all	0	-	-	-
male	0	-	-	-
female	0	-	-	-
Wheelchairs by Division
Open
all	16	14	14	100.0%
male	11	10	10	100.0%
female	5	4	4	100.0%
Quad
all	2	2	2	100.0%
male	2	2	2	100.0%
female	0	-	-	-
Top of Page
Geographic Breakdown
US States and Territories Represented	57	57	57	100.0%
Countries of Residence Represented	64	63	62	98.4%
Countries of Citizenship Represented	84	83	82	98.8%

Count Down is ON!!!!

Well today was my last run until Boston. I took it really easy this week and only did like 8 miles. I used my days off to rest. I am ready. The best way to describe it is like a drag race car on the line waiting for green. I feel rested and ready to go. People ask what I want to run. I would love to go sub 3 hours and even better I would like to beat my man Lance. Either way I am going to have fun and enjoy the race. My bib number is 4489.

Miles	Time
7.52	0:54:57
	Distance	% change	Time (hours)
Week 1	44.37		5:27:46
Week 2	49.59	11%	6:07:21
Week 3	50.16	1%	6:15:34
Week 4	46.04	-9%	5:44:26
Week 5	24.68	-87%	3:09:39	Sick
Week 6	53.15	54%	6:44:48
Week 7	63.55	16%	8:07:16
Week 8	54.19	-17%	6:58:40
Week 9	64.7	16%	8:12:59
Week 10	56.4	-15%	7:10:55
Week 11	74.41	24%	9:39:08
Week 12	55.24	-35%	7:06:35	Easter Sunday.
Week 13	58.34	5%	7:19:02
Week 14	42.32	-38%	5:20:33	Taper Week 1
Week 15	25.11	-69%	5:03:52	Taper Week 2
Week 16	7.52	-234%	0:54:57	Taper Week 3
Total	769.77

Less then a week

Boston is less then a week away. Tapering is going well. Trying to rest as much as possible. Probably do a short run either tomorrow orThurs and that will be it. Rest Fri, Sat and Sun and be ready to Mon morning. Wanted to give a quick update.

Also I found this cool site. I guess its how you can help reduce your carbon footprint.

http://www.terracycle.net/brigades/

Boston Week 15 (taper week 2)

Miles Time

25.11 5:03:52

Distance % change Time (hours)

Week 1 44.37 5:27:46
Week 2 49.59 11% 6:07:21
Week 3 50.16 1% 6:15:34
Week 4 46.04 -9% 5:44:26
Week 5 24.68 -87% 3:09:39 Sick
Week 6 53.15 54% 6:44:48
Week 7 63.55 16% 8:07:16
Week 8 54.19 -17% 6:58:40
Week 9 64.7 16% 8:12:59
Week 10 56.4 -15% 7:10:55
Week 11 74.41 24% 9:39:08
Week 12 55.24 -35% 7:06:35 Easter Sunday.
Week 13 58.34 5% 7:19:02
Week 14 42.32 -38% 5:20:33 Taper Week 1
Week 15 25.11 -69% 5:03:52 Taper Week 2


One week til the race. Going to have a easy week running.

Change

I changed the blog around. Let me know what you think.

Where can I Watch

For all those who cannot be there in person. Check this out.


The Boston Athletic Association is proud to announce that the friends and families of all 25,000 of this year's entrants will be able to watch the 112th Boston Marathon live, from start to finish, locally on WBZ-TV (CBS Channel 4), nationally on VERSUS, and online, for subscribers, at WCSN.com.
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET

What is a taper?

I'll see you in Boston.

This is what a taper is in a nut shell. This example comes form someone who was doing the LA Marathon.

Enjoy

You made it. All the long runs, intervals and sessions on the track, and don't forget those enjoyable second runs Sunday afternoon, are now behind you. Now comes the best part of training. The Taper. Or is this the hardest part of training. A properly tailored taper can make or break your race. A taper may vary from 3 days to 3 weeks depending on the length and importance of a competition. A longer race such as a Marathon requires a longer preparation phase and will thus require a longer 2-3 week taper to be rested and ready to go on race day. A 5k usually has a slightly lesser overall workload during training and may require a taper of only 5-10 days in length. You may want to training through a particular race and in this case three days of easy training before the event may be all you need to feel rested.

During the first few days of a taper you may feel good due to the immediate decrease in training, but you will probably then feel sluggish for 2-5 days due to the change in your training (your body has to have time to adapt to increases and decreased in training). Once your body starts to recover, and catches up, you will then start to feel better and rested, anxious to race, just wanting to start the race and get it going.

The Taper is something you slowly ease into. You will not one day start to taper and automatically feel great. The basic concept is to slowly decrease the duration of training while keeping the intensity and frequency of workouts the same allowing the body and mind to rest and be prepared for that important race. Nutrition also plays a big role during a taper and how it will effect your race day performance.

The reduced duration of training sessions is the first important part of the taper. A very basic training principle, but sometimes hard to do. For a marathon you should start to cut back the duration of your training session three weeks before race day. The sessions should be reduced in duration by about 30% each week. An example of this would be your long run on Sunday the 15th of March. The previous weekend you should have run 135-150 min then on the next Sunday the 15th of March cut the long run back to 90-100min.

While decreasing the duration of the training sessions the key is to keep the intensity and frequency of workouts the same. If the intensity of runs is decreased, along with fewer runs per week, you may feel lethargic come race day. A good example of this would be the Interval session on the 16th of March. The duration of the session is decreased from 6x 5-min intervals to 6x 3-min intervals, but at the same intensity of 80-85% max heart rate. The three-minute intervals will feel much easier than the 5-min intervals and not tax your system as much. This will still keep you fresh and feeling light footed allowing you to recover quickly. You will also notice that during the week of March 16th the total number of training sessions is still six.

The nutrition during a taper is always tricky. If you start to decrease the length of your runs and keep eating the same volume of food you may end up on the starting line a few pounds heavier than you wanted. Keep track of your caloric consumption during the taper and be careful not over eat. The type of food you eat the week prior should be the same as when you were training. Any drastic changes the week or night before a race may be to big of a shock to your system and damage your race day performance. If you have trouble relaxing during the taper, and are a caffeine addict, try to decrease you caffeine intake. This should help you relax and get some good rest at night. If this does not work try reading something not associated with sport or watch some mindless movies.

With all this said, it must be mentioned that a taper is not always straight froward. What works for one person may wreck another person's race. I still remember my college swimming days and a teammate we called Big Butt Williams. The night before a duel meet with another College I watched him drink more beers than I thought humanly possible and then the next day, two hours before the meet started, he scarfed down three quadruple mushroom cheese burgers. The whole time he was eating I was telling him how I was going to lap his big butt several times during the 1650y. As it turned out he ended up setting a meet record of less than sixteen minutes and lapped me twice. It quickly taught me that individuality is key when it comes to tapers and that each person needs to find that magic formula for them.

Taper Week one:

Week 1 - 6.2hr to 8.2hr
30-40min Easy	Day off	60-70min Intervals	60-90min Xtrain or 40-50 min easy	50-70min Track	60-90min Xtrain	90-100 min long 2nd run- 20-30min

• The first week of the taper usually feels good as you decrease the overall duration of the training sessions.
• These are your last serious interval and track session while decreasing the Thursday and Sunday runs.

Taper Week Two:

Week 2 - 4.6 hr to 6.2hr
Day off	50-60min Intervals	60-90min Xtrain or 40-50 min easy	20-30min Easy	40-50min +accel	45-60min Xtrain	60-80min long

• The second week of a taper is always the toughest. You start to feel tired and sluggish due to your body finally catching up to you and feeling the effects of a change in the training regime. The first reaction is training more thinking you are getting out of shape. DON'T! Stick to the plan. More tapers and races are messed up by doing too much two weeks before a long race then for any other reason.
• The interval session on Tuesday is decreased while keeping the intensity the same. The track session on Thursday is substituted with an easy run followed by accelerations.
• The long run on Sunday is once again reduced.
• If you feel like an extra rest day is needed, then this is the week to do it.

Taper Week Three:

Week 3 - 2hr to 2.5hr
Day off	30-40min +accel	45-60min Xtrain	20-30min +accel	Day off	20 min easy	L.A. Marathon!!

• The last six days before the marathon.
• Reassure yourself positively that you have done the proper training and taper to meet your goals on race day.
• Relax, stay hydrated with water and electrolytes, stay off your feet as much as possible, and try not to overeat.
• The accelerations after the Tuesday and Thursday runs will keep the snap in your legs.
• Enjoy and have fun on race day.

Boston Week 14 (taper week 1)

Did 14.10 today. Last long run of the training. Taper continues. 2 weeks until the race. Here are the stats

Miles	Time
42.32	5:20:33
	Distance	% change	Time (hours)
Week 1	44.37		5:27:46
Week 2	49.59	11%	6:07:21
Week 3	50.16	1%	6:15:34
Week 4	46.04	-9%	5:44:26
Week 5	24.68	-87%	3:09:39	Sick
Week 6	53.15	54%	6:44:48
Week 7	63.55	16%	8:07:16
Week 8	54.19	-17%	6:58:40
Week 9	64.7	16%	8:12:59
Week 10	56.4	-15%	7:10:55
Week 11	74.41	24%	9:39:08
Week 12	55.24	-35%	7:06:35	Easter Sunday.
Week 13	58.34	5%	7:19:02
Week 14	42.32	-38%	5:20:33	Taper Week 1
Total	737.14

Who else famous is running Boston

Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee Enters 112th Boston Marathon®
     Former Arkansas Governor will be running his fifth marathon

BOSTON, Mass. – Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has
officially entered the 2008 Boston Marathon, the Boston Athletic
Association announced today. As has been reported in the media, Huckabee
has been training while on the campaign trail. He will join Team Hoyt, a
local charity which strives to integrate the physically challenged into
everyday life. Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father and son team that has
completed 25 Boston Marathons, with Dick running and Rick in his
wheelchair.

In 2003, while serving as Governor of Arkansas, Huckabee was diagnosed with
Type II Diabetes. As a result he began running and gradually lost 110
pounds. In 2005 he completed the Little Rock Marathon in 4:38:32, a
performance which earned him the honor of USATF Athlete of the Week. Since
then Huckabee has completed three additional marathons: the 2005 Marine
Corps Marathon, the 2006 Little Rock Marathon, and the 2006 ING New York
City Marathon. His personal best, coming in 2006 at Little Rock, is now 4
hours, 26 minutes, 05 seconds.

Following stints as Lieutenant Governor (1993-1996) and Governor
(1996-2007) of Arkansas, Huckabee entered the 2008 presidential race.
Huckabee's campaign scored a victory in the Iowa Caucuses and placed third
in both the New Hampshire and Michigan primaries, making the former
governor is a strong contender for the 2008 Republican presidential
nomination. He was the runner-up in the South Carolina Republican
presidential primary on Saturday, January 19.

The 112th Boston Marathon will be held on Monday, April 21, 2008, Patriots'
Day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The race follows a 26.2-mile
point-to-point route from the town of Hopkinton, Mass., to Boston's Back
Bay. The race begins at 10:00 a.m.