Christmas-time running update

Even though it has been pretty busy with the Christmas holidays and a Saturday Ravens' game (which we won!), I managed to squeeze in a couple of medium length runs.

Last Thursday (12/22) was a beautiful day, so after I finished my workday, I went for a 10-mile run. It was hard to believe I could run in shorts and a short-sleeve shirt this late in December around the Baltimore Inner Harbor!

Yesterday (12/26) it was a little chilly and kind of windy, so I ran on the treadmill at the gym instead of running outside. I ran for a little over 10 miles yesterday as well. It's probably a good thing since I had a lot of Christmas food and deserts to work off. :)

I am hoping to run 21 miles this coming Saturday which will be my last long run before the Phoenix marathon. I hope everyone had an excellent Christmas this year, and Santa was good to you!

18-mile training run completed

Before the Boston marathon in April, I will be running the Phoenix marathon on January 15th . I am in my later training stages for that run, and this past Saturday (12/10), I ran 18 miles. It was a really good run around Baltimore, and I ran the last 6 miles with my friend Karin. She took me on a new trail for me - the Gwen Falls trail. I'm still a little sore today, but not too bad.

Hopefully, this preparation and the marathon in January will help me perform well in Boston this April. I don't want to make Kyle wait too long for me at the fire station. :)

Trip to Boston

I had a great time flying to Boston on 12/3 and 12/4 to participate in the Boston Childrens Hospital and the Eascorp events. These 2 parties provide the opportunity for runners to visit with their patient partners, and for the kids to enjoy some Christmas activities.

Although my patient partner and his family and I were all at the first event, we weren't able to find each other. There were a lot of people there, and the way the space was laid out, it was hard finding people. However, I heard from Kyle's mother Kelly that Kyle had a great time. She said he liked the Polar Express ride, and he got to talk to Santa! Cool!

It would have been terrific to meet the Reilly family, but I completely understand that there were circumstances which kept them from attending the second party.We are going to keep in touch via email and this blog until April when we all get together again in Boston. Stay Tuned!

Cold Turkey 10K

I had a great time on 11/20 running the Cold Turkey 10K in Edgewater, MD. The weather was perfect for a nice 6.2 mile run, and my time was 8 min. 12 sec. per mile. I have another race scheduled for Thanksgiving morning.

Marathon history and training information

I have run 4 other marathons to date. They were:

• Austin
• Oklahoma City
• Baltimore
• Miami

Additinoally, I have 2 marathons scheduled before the Boston marathon in April. They are the Baltimore marathon (10/15/11) and the Phoenix marathon in January.

I am looking forward to my race in Baltimore on 10/15, and I finished a 20-mile training run on 10/2/11. The more I train, the better prepared I will be for the April race!

Welcome to my Boston Marathon training blog!

My name is Tim Burch from Baltimore, Maryland. I have been given a great opportunity to run the Boston Marathon in 2012. I will be running as part of the Credit Union Kids at Heart team for the benefit of Boston Children's hospital. I will be one of two runners from NASA Federal Credit Union.

My patient partner's name is Kyle, and he is 12 years old. I had the privilege of meeting him and his mother Kelly on the phone last week, and I am excited to meet them in person later this year.

I set this blog up, so Kyle and his family (as well as my running partners) can keep up with my training for the marathon. Please stay tuned for updates!