Top 12 Signs You're Ready for the Boston Marathon

It only comes once a year and for many it's a once in a lifetime dream to run in the Boston Marathon. You trained for weeks, months, and years to get your Boston Qualifier. You survived the Boston Marathon registration process, and got in. Congratulations! What once seemed like a long way away is quickly approaching. My top 12 signs you're ready for the Boston Marathon.

1) You've clicked on baa.org dozens of times to see the round countdown badge. It went from triple digits, to double digits, and is now in the teens. You're getting close. Nineteen days and counting as of the publish of this post.

2) You have likely notched your final long run. Most plans have at least one run of at least twenty miles. I had two of them; one I completely rocked. 

3) You won the "smallest butt contest" in your house. You can also win the bar trick contest by betting someone you can crack a walnut between your butt cheeks. Not much extra cargo back there and you have "buns of steel."

4) You're sick of all the run routes from your home. I mix things up by driving to a start location many times, but too often you're short on time so you take off from your front door.

5) You've been to the Adidas official 2015 Boston Marathon Apparel site. A lot. If you're me, you went ahead and bought the jacket already. No. I don't wear it until I complete the race and yes, it's not quite as ugly as the 2014 sherbet orange jacket. Despite the "it's not as ugly as last year's" tag, I plan to wear it with pride.

6) You lost your job as a foot model, and have something less than eight fully intact toenails. Yeah, yeah...spare me the wrong shoe size advice. I'm in the right size shoe, my feet have taken a pounding.

7) Something is sore. In my case, I took a "tumble" on a run a couple weeks ago which torqued my back  then migrated to my right hip. This has me a bit nervous, but I've been hitting my physical therapist (twice,) chiropractor, and massage therapist. I have a 90 minute massage scheduled for the day before I head to "Beantown."

8) Several people have asked your spouse, if there's something wrong with you, or if you're eating enough due to marathon training weight loss. Have you ever seen the guys that win these things?

They're not typically "barrel shaped."

9) You've had at least one person ask, "have you trained for it?" This is such a ridiculous question, I don't know how to answer it.

10) You've logged the training plan miles, (in my case over 700) and whether or not you like it (I love it) you're entering the "taper zone." Some people dislike the taper, I happen to view it as a reward and much needed break. That's okay, your body needs the rest; mine sure does. 

11) Your Boston Marathon "Passport" shows up in the mail. You already knew your bib number online. My bib number is 12673. Not a particularly fast bib number (the lower the number, the faster your qualifying time and corral start,) but fast enough to be in the 2nd corral. Last week I got my actual Passport which has everything you need to know about race day along with your stub to pick up the actual bib at the expo.

12) You already know what you're wearing on race day, and you have the shoes (with light mileage) ready to run from Hopkinton to the finish on Boylston.

As they say, the "hay is in the barn" and you have mere days before you transport yourself to Boston. You have your flight, hotel, and perhaps a pasta dinner reservation. Now is the time to enjoy the fact that you're racing in the greatest race in the land.