The recap for what I wrote this week last year is a little late this week, but I decided that a weekend off now and again is a good thing and went down to Boston to visit the circus. There was a lot that happened this weekend, between the heat and debacle at Chicago to the Maine Marathon and Half Marathon. This week last year, there was also a lot of racing news…

• My favorite DIII college team was ranked 23^rd in the nation after RIT placed 2^nd at the Geneseo Invitational. Across the planet, there was the Phedippidations world-wide half-marathon, which is taking place this weekend this year. In local racing, there was also the Presidential Road Race in Kennebunkport and Craig’s Cup 5k cross country race.
• Speaking of the Craig’s Cup 5k and the World Wide Half, I used those races as preparation for the New York City Marathon to great effect. I began the day with a 5k cross country race, which I then ran home from. I guestimated where the half-marathon mark would be for the world wide half and ran a 16 mile cool down all told, which brought me to over 20 miles on the day. I think that this workout was one of the best ones that I had leading up to New York City before I began my taper.
• I explained the difference between active and passive rest and why it matters to your workouts. In a slightly more opinionated vein, I shared my thoughts on banditing races, and attempted to explain why I run.
• I discovered that RIT does not hold the transcontinental record for running from the Pacific to the Atlantic. It turns out that one of my current teammates ran the relay a couple of decades ago in a faster time. It is a moot point anyway; the Guinness Book of World Records thinks that the activity is too dangerous to encourage and no longer lists it. Because running for a couple of weeks is so much more dangerous then spending your life being so overweight that you can’t fit through your door to leave your room.
• This week two years ago, I shared a story about Bobby Martin, a legless football player that was ejected from a game for not wearing knee pads. I also shared some tips about working out in inclement weather.

Don’t forget that today is the final day to enter my contest for a gift card good for 180 mp3 downloads. You can enter simply by leaving a comment on the site; I will be choosing a winner by random drawing this evening.