$200 Entry Fee?

Daily Quote: "Ready or not, marathoners, the $200 entry fee has arrived. It's true--for those runners lucky enough to gain entry into the Boston Marathon through the race's affiliation with designated charitable organizations, the entry fee has now reached that high water mark. For international runners (those who achieved the qualifying time) the entry fee currently stands at "only" $150, while U.S. residents who qualified paid a paltry $110.
Too much, you say? Not for the 25,000 runners who were more than willing to pony up the cash. The 2009 race closed out more quickly than ever before; in late January a notice on the Boston Athletic Association Web site announced that the race had reached its quota. Even if you had achieved the qualifying standard, if you had not signed up by the, you were out of luck for this year. --Don Allison, Marathon & Beyond Magazine, Article "The Pain of (Paying for) the Marathon," July/August 2009, pg 110.

I'm very happy that I ran the 2008 Boston Marathon and it was an experience I'll cherish for the rest of my life, nevertheless, it's highly unlikely I'll be able to afford running Boston again as it's just too expensive. Not only was the entry fee expensive, but everything was expensive! I'm still thriving to pay off the credit card debt for that vacation. In the future, I'll probably continue to run the Las Vegas Marathon, maybe smaller rural marathons, and hopefully a couple of ultras too.

Today's plan is to raise my hill program speed to a new high of 6.3 mph as my heart rate has adapted to last week's 6.2 mph.

8:30 a.m. 24 Hour Fitness Gym, Alta & Rainbow location. Life Fitness Treadmill, Hill Program, Level 5 (the highest hill will be at a 5% grade), speed set at 6.3 mph (9:31 minute miles) for 6 miles. Time, 57:06 minutes. Average heart rate, 159 bpm. Cardiac drift, 168 bpm. (Note: my maximum heart rate is 190 bpm) Drank 16 ounces of Cytomax during the run (the featured drink at this year's "2009 Rock n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon"). Shoes: New Balance 720.

My body did surprisingly well at this 6.3 mph speed with no aches nor pain, even my right ankle was o.k. with the effort. I'll hold this speed for next Monday's hill program as I continue to add mileage to the rest of my workouts...baby steps, baby steps!

Tomorrow will be a welcomed easy and short Recovery Run.