I have a number!

It's official; I have a Marathon number: 18407.

Wow, now I HAVE to run it.

To prepare myself mentally and psychologically, I'm reading 26 Miles to Boston, by Michael Connelly, who is a West Roxbury guy. He tells the story of his Marathon run, in 1996 (six months after a heart procedure! makes me feel like a sissy), and traces the route, mile by mile. At the same time, it's a history of the race itself. Plus it is chock full of inspirational quotes like, "Don't do anything crazy in the first ten miles" and "I will sacrifice myself on the hills." (Ibrahim Hussein). Yipes. How about this one: "If you feel bad at Mile 10 you're in trouble. If you feel bad at Mile 20 your're normal. If you don't feel bad at Mile 26 you're abnormal." (Rob De Castella). Well folks, I know I will feel bad at Mile 10. So now I'm afraid. Very afraid. Perhaps this is a book I should stop reading.

Besides, anything I need to know about the Marathon I can find at www.bostonmarathon.org
presented in a much cheerier manner. No really, 26 Miles to Boston is a good book, and probably should be required reading for marathoners-to-be.

Liver links: For an article in an Emerson publication, an interviewer asked me why hepatitis B is so prevalent in the Asian American community, and for that matter, in Asia. Good answers to these questions can be found at www.hepb.org and http://liver.stanford.edu. The latter website also has information on the Jade Bracelet campaign, which raises money for free vaccinations and hep B education for rural Chinese children.

Good night!