Hi all,
The last couple of weeks have been really difficult for me, running-wise, both because of the weather and because of my really uncooperative body. Last weekend I skipped our 7-mile practice because of my laryngitis, chest cough, and the frigid weather (it was really pretty brutal!). It was frustrating because I've been feeling really out of shape, and so I've been wanting to push my body a little harder. I ran a 5k race on Sunday (the Jingle Bell!), and I took a couple of hours out of my workday on Monday (it's been REALLY quiet at NU!) to go for a run around the river, because it had warmed up a bit, but the wind really slowed me down. I still haven't given up my Healthworks membership, which turned out to be great because I was able to go 4 miles on the treadmill on Thursday and crosstrain on Friday (before the storm). Practice was canceled on Saturday due to the crazy snow here, so Katie and I did an 8 mile run on the treadmill, which I don't recommend to ANYONE. It's a little easier physically to run on a machine, but it's really, really boring, even with a friend. Cooper totally showed me up when he went outside for a 7-miler that day--I would have liked to, but am pretty freaked out about getting injured. As it is, my hamstrings are still as tight as Michael Jackson's leather pants, and are causing me a fair bit of pain today, despite my best foam-rolling efforts.
As you might be able to tell, I'm starting to get a little freaked out about this whole marathon thing. Running has never been easy for me, and now with this crappy weather and my annoying aches and pains, I'm starting to get discouraged. I did just send a long inspirational letter to the team running the Phoenix Rock&Roll marathon (for which I'm the honored hero), but somehow I still haven't internalized it.
Everyone send happy thoughts to my right hamstring!!!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Newton hills, part one
So today we tackled the first of the Newton hills--but more on that later.
Let me catch you up. Picture it: Cambridge, two weeks ago. I finally decide to take my training seriously, and do 5 of my 6 scheduled workouts (all of my runs, but only one of my cross-trainings). All of a sudden, disaster strikes: Thanksgiving!!! Nooooo....!!! A short week with a messed-up schedule, far too much planning and shopping and prepping and hanging out before everyone goes away...and the runs just didn't happen. Then I went home and ran with my dad a couple of times, which was great except for the black ice! Oh--and I forgot--my run in Wellesley last week was ridiculously cold and windy and miserable. But no ice yet in these parts, so we're ok for the moment.
Back to the story--only one run during the week this week, but I did develop an "action plan" (I keep telling my students to make "action plans" and I think they think I'm nuts). The plan is this: long run on Saturday, recovery run on Sunday, rest on Monday, run to work on Tuesday (I can leave my stuff there on Monday afternoon!), crosstrain Wednesday, and run with Katie on Thursday nights. I'm supposed to crosstrain on Fridays as well, but I do need to eat and sleep and hang out occasionally.
This morning was pretty cold too, but no wind at all. We had a brief stretching clinic, then headed out towards Newton--the first time we've started out by heading forward on the marathon course instead of backward. The catch is this: at around mile 17 on the course, which is near where we start, there's a big (big!) downhill. This will be tricky on race day, because we'll have tired legs, and because it comes only 3 or 4 miles before Heartbreak Hill. Today it was tricky because after our 6 mile run, we had to run back UP it. I didn't do so well, to be honest. I need a lot more exercise in my life if I'm going to be able to do this thing. Running to work on Tuesdays will help--I really feel that doing the scheduling properly will make a big difference.
After our run, we went by the Marathon Sports in Wellesley, where they had 20% off everything, plus a free pair of running socks with shoe purchase. Folks, as some of you know, I've been a Saucony girl since I started running--I've had 4 pairs so far. And yet today, I bought (prepare yourselves!) a pair of Nikes. Nikes! Me! I know! But they're so roomy in the toebox, and a little bit firmer underfoot than my Sauconys, which I find weird but oddly reassuring. And the new version of my old shoes are so narrow that I'd have to amputate some toes. And I like my toes. So I bought the Nikes. The Nike "Zoom" to be exact. Roll your eyes if you like, but at least I still have all my toes.
Let me catch you up. Picture it: Cambridge, two weeks ago. I finally decide to take my training seriously, and do 5 of my 6 scheduled workouts (all of my runs, but only one of my cross-trainings). All of a sudden, disaster strikes: Thanksgiving!!! Nooooo....!!! A short week with a messed-up schedule, far too much planning and shopping and prepping and hanging out before everyone goes away...and the runs just didn't happen. Then I went home and ran with my dad a couple of times, which was great except for the black ice! Oh--and I forgot--my run in Wellesley last week was ridiculously cold and windy and miserable. But no ice yet in these parts, so we're ok for the moment.
Back to the story--only one run during the week this week, but I did develop an "action plan" (I keep telling my students to make "action plans" and I think they think I'm nuts). The plan is this: long run on Saturday, recovery run on Sunday, rest on Monday, run to work on Tuesday (I can leave my stuff there on Monday afternoon!), crosstrain Wednesday, and run with Katie on Thursday nights. I'm supposed to crosstrain on Fridays as well, but I do need to eat and sleep and hang out occasionally.
This morning was pretty cold too, but no wind at all. We had a brief stretching clinic, then headed out towards Newton--the first time we've started out by heading forward on the marathon course instead of backward. The catch is this: at around mile 17 on the course, which is near where we start, there's a big (big!) downhill. This will be tricky on race day, because we'll have tired legs, and because it comes only 3 or 4 miles before Heartbreak Hill. Today it was tricky because after our 6 mile run, we had to run back UP it. I didn't do so well, to be honest. I need a lot more exercise in my life if I'm going to be able to do this thing. Running to work on Tuesdays will help--I really feel that doing the scheduling properly will make a big difference.
After our run, we went by the Marathon Sports in Wellesley, where they had 20% off everything, plus a free pair of running socks with shoe purchase. Folks, as some of you know, I've been a Saucony girl since I started running--I've had 4 pairs so far. And yet today, I bought (prepare yourselves!) a pair of Nikes. Nikes! Me! I know! But they're so roomy in the toebox, and a little bit firmer underfoot than my Sauconys, which I find weird but oddly reassuring. And the new version of my old shoes are so narrow that I'd have to amputate some toes. And I like my toes. So I bought the Nikes. The Nike "Zoom" to be exact. Roll your eyes if you like, but at least I still have all my toes.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Terrible posting, but good running...
So, I know I've been awful about keeping up with my posts. I blame two things: my busy week at work last week, and this whole marathon training thing--it takes a lot of time!
We had our first group training last Saturday in Wellesley, prefaced by the same Marathon Sports spiel about proper shoes, gear, etc that I've heard about six times already. This time I should have listened better, because I still haven't had a cold-weather run that hasn't been cold and sweaty. More on that later. The run itself was only 3 miles, and I ran it with Nicole, who's a friend of a friend and runs about my pace. There's a whole TNT Boston team culture--lots of people do this event year after year, and they all know each other, and I'm the new kid on the block now instead of the old hand--that's going to take some getting used to. I did go to "breakfast" (just Starbucks, nothing like our normal post-run S&S) with some of my friends and some "new" people, which was nice, but I do miss the comfort of seeing all my buddies every week. The run itself was good--rainy and kind of warm, but fine.
The other new thing is the Sunday recovery run. My training schedule last year was 4 runs/week: Saturday long runs, then Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with cross-training two days, then Sunday off. Now we do "recovery runs" on Sundays, take Monday off, run Tuesday and Thursday, and cross-train Wednesday and Friday. I don't mind it so much now, because our mileage is still low, but once I'm running 15 miles on Saturday, I'm not going to want to run 7-8 miles on Sunday! Then again, running during the week is so difficult to schedule that another weekend run might work out for me. We'll see.
My Sunday run was great--it had started getting cold, but wasn't too bad. I got myself in gear and ran Tuesday after work (and wore all the wrong things and was WAY too hot!), and went to the gym on Wednesday to use the bike and do some abs (still not doing them every day, though!). I know lots of people that love Spin class, but I haven't been able to get into it. I don't know if it's that my quads are too weak, but I always find that my legs get really tired before I'm even breathing heavily, no matter how carefully I adjust the bike. Still, if my legs really are that weak then that will make them stronger, regardless of whether I'm getting a good cardio workout or not. I was also told by one instructor that if I'm used to running, nothing's going to be as hard as that, so it's harder to gauge my effort.
This evening I went for a run with Katie, who lives close by and who's been a good friend of mine since beginning with TNT (and who's also on the Boston team!). This was her last run before she runs the Philadelphia marathon on Sunday, so I felt motivated to give her a run for her money, so to speak. I was still cold and sweaty by the end, and worst of all, couldn't find my awesome winter headband that I got at a fantastic bike store last year, even though I tore my room apart looking for it. I'll buy another and then find it right away, I'm sure.
One other special thing happened this week, but one that requires some back story. A few months ago, I agreed to be the Honored Hero for the team running the Phoenix Rock&Roll Marathon--I've given loads of speeches, done team dedications, even went to a pizza party in Natick (Natick!) to speak. Honored Heroes (as lame as that sounds!) are there to provide participants with some connection to the mission of the Society--we're the faces that have been helped by the kind of research that all this running is funding. Since I stopped going to city team practice, I haven't seen my honorary teammates, but because it's Thanksgiving, the TNT office asked me to do something for those raising money on my behalf. I was a little shamed that I hadn't thought about it myself. I took a picture of myself holding a giant "Thank you" sign, and another sign that read "You guys are my heroes," and emailed it to the team.
I've been really moved throughout the Obama campaign by the power and vitality of a fairly small, grassroots group of dedicated people who decided that yes, we can change this country, and put their own time and money and resources into making it happen. My teammates are doing that for cancer--the small act of showing up and running on a Saturday morning, the collection can they put on their desk at work, the $25 and $50 donations they get from their friends and family: this is what's going to cure blood cancer, if anything will.
Yes, we can.
We had our first group training last Saturday in Wellesley, prefaced by the same Marathon Sports spiel about proper shoes, gear, etc that I've heard about six times already. This time I should have listened better, because I still haven't had a cold-weather run that hasn't been cold and sweaty. More on that later. The run itself was only 3 miles, and I ran it with Nicole, who's a friend of a friend and runs about my pace. There's a whole TNT Boston team culture--lots of people do this event year after year, and they all know each other, and I'm the new kid on the block now instead of the old hand--that's going to take some getting used to. I did go to "breakfast" (just Starbucks, nothing like our normal post-run S&S) with some of my friends and some "new" people, which was nice, but I do miss the comfort of seeing all my buddies every week. The run itself was good--rainy and kind of warm, but fine.
The other new thing is the Sunday recovery run. My training schedule last year was 4 runs/week: Saturday long runs, then Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with cross-training two days, then Sunday off. Now we do "recovery runs" on Sundays, take Monday off, run Tuesday and Thursday, and cross-train Wednesday and Friday. I don't mind it so much now, because our mileage is still low, but once I'm running 15 miles on Saturday, I'm not going to want to run 7-8 miles on Sunday! Then again, running during the week is so difficult to schedule that another weekend run might work out for me. We'll see.
My Sunday run was great--it had started getting cold, but wasn't too bad. I got myself in gear and ran Tuesday after work (and wore all the wrong things and was WAY too hot!), and went to the gym on Wednesday to use the bike and do some abs (still not doing them every day, though!). I know lots of people that love Spin class, but I haven't been able to get into it. I don't know if it's that my quads are too weak, but I always find that my legs get really tired before I'm even breathing heavily, no matter how carefully I adjust the bike. Still, if my legs really are that weak then that will make them stronger, regardless of whether I'm getting a good cardio workout or not. I was also told by one instructor that if I'm used to running, nothing's going to be as hard as that, so it's harder to gauge my effort.
This evening I went for a run with Katie, who lives close by and who's been a good friend of mine since beginning with TNT (and who's also on the Boston team!). This was her last run before she runs the Philadelphia marathon on Sunday, so I felt motivated to give her a run for her money, so to speak. I was still cold and sweaty by the end, and worst of all, couldn't find my awesome winter headband that I got at a fantastic bike store last year, even though I tore my room apart looking for it. I'll buy another and then find it right away, I'm sure.
One other special thing happened this week, but one that requires some back story. A few months ago, I agreed to be the Honored Hero for the team running the Phoenix Rock&Roll Marathon--I've given loads of speeches, done team dedications, even went to a pizza party in Natick (Natick!) to speak. Honored Heroes (as lame as that sounds!) are there to provide participants with some connection to the mission of the Society--we're the faces that have been helped by the kind of research that all this running is funding. Since I stopped going to city team practice, I haven't seen my honorary teammates, but because it's Thanksgiving, the TNT office asked me to do something for those raising money on my behalf. I was a little shamed that I hadn't thought about it myself. I took a picture of myself holding a giant "Thank you" sign, and another sign that read "You guys are my heroes," and emailed it to the team.
I've been really moved throughout the Obama campaign by the power and vitality of a fairly small, grassroots group of dedicated people who decided that yes, we can change this country, and put their own time and money and resources into making it happen. My teammates are doing that for cancer--the small act of showing up and running on a Saturday morning, the collection can they put on their desk at work, the $25 and $50 donations they get from their friends and family: this is what's going to cure blood cancer, if anything will.
Yes, we can.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Kickoff
Yesterday morning we had our kickoff for the Boston marathon team in the Wellesley community center. Out of 142 runners, 10 or so mentors, 2 coaches, and tons of volunteers, I was surprised at how many people I knew. I was happy to see Sarad again, who coached the first team I mentored but who I haven't seen since early spring; he's going to be coaching our team along with Kelly, who I'd heard a lot about but hadn't met. Two of my teammates will be mentoring this season, so there will be lots of familiar faces around. That said, there's also tons of new people to meet, so I'm really excited.
We got our training schedule (which I promptly left in Amy's car)--since 85% of the team are first-time marathoners, we start really easy, at a 3-4 mile long run! Training is like math class, though--it seems so easy for quite a while, then all of a sudden you think, "When did this get so f*$&%ing hard?"
We also met our honored heroes. One of them, Lindsay Kimball, is 14 years old and a two time leukemia survivor who has been dealing with this disease for her entire life. This is her seventh season of involvement with Team in Training. Can you imagine what that would be like? She was first diagnosed at age 5, had two years of chemo followed by two years of remission, then a relapse, a bone marrow transplant, and nearly a year of complete isolation while her immune system was toast. She's barely a teenager now. I meet people like her and her family fairly often these days, people who understand that sometimes your goal for the day is just to not throw up at school (I can vividly remember the isolated third-floor handicapped bathroom at Dawson I would use when I just couldn't make it, and even worse, I remember thinking that I probably wasn't the only one who took advantage of the isolation of that bathroom!)
Anyway. My back hasn't been feeling great lately, but I have a chiropractor appointment this week, and I really am going to start on my core program again. Really.
Looking forward to our first practice on Saturday!
We got our training schedule (which I promptly left in Amy's car)--since 85% of the team are first-time marathoners, we start really easy, at a 3-4 mile long run! Training is like math class, though--it seems so easy for quite a while, then all of a sudden you think, "When did this get so f*$&%ing hard?"
We also met our honored heroes. One of them, Lindsay Kimball, is 14 years old and a two time leukemia survivor who has been dealing with this disease for her entire life. This is her seventh season of involvement with Team in Training. Can you imagine what that would be like? She was first diagnosed at age 5, had two years of chemo followed by two years of remission, then a relapse, a bone marrow transplant, and nearly a year of complete isolation while her immune system was toast. She's barely a teenager now. I meet people like her and her family fairly often these days, people who understand that sometimes your goal for the day is just to not throw up at school (I can vividly remember the isolated third-floor handicapped bathroom at Dawson I would use when I just couldn't make it, and even worse, I remember thinking that I probably wasn't the only one who took advantage of the isolation of that bathroom!)
Anyway. My back hasn't been feeling great lately, but I have a chiropractor appointment this week, and I really am going to start on my core program again. Really.
Looking forward to our first practice on Saturday!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Halfway there!
Hi friends,
We did it! I'm now more than halfway to my fundraising goal--thanks so much! If you're thinking of giving, please don't wait--the sooner the money is raised, the sooner it can be used.
My week of running so far: Monday after work I ran my normal 5k loop (up Willow to the bike path to Davis, up Holland to Teele Sq., down Broadway over the overpass to Cedar St, then back to the bike path). It felt great, but then Tuesday I was absolutely exhausted. I have to work on that. Last night was the Halloween 5k--we met by the Hatch Shell on the river at 6:30, and it was dark and freezing. About 30 seconds after we started, I got a huge charleyhorse in my calf (the same one that was strained, but I'd never felt that before). Fortunately I was able to stretch it out and it was fine. Our route took us past MGH, around the Common and Public Garden, all the way down Beacon to Fairfield and then over to Newbury, where we had pizza and a costume contest.
Here's where things got disappointing: Phil and I had the best of all possible costumes (highest concept, lowest effort), but nobody seemed to appreciate it! Judge for yourselves (please ignore the ridiculous face I'm making, I don't know what that's about):
We're a paradox (get it? A pair of docs?) I thought it was awesome, but not such rave reviews from the crowd--we mostly heard "Oh, you're Dr. Phil!...who's Dr. Shari??)
Anyway. I'm going to my last practice at MIT tomorrow--kickoff for the Boston marathon team is next week in Wellesley, and I have to say goodbye to the team and coaches I've been running with all summer.
We did it! I'm now more than halfway to my fundraising goal--thanks so much! If you're thinking of giving, please don't wait--the sooner the money is raised, the sooner it can be used.
My week of running so far: Monday after work I ran my normal 5k loop (up Willow to the bike path to Davis, up Holland to Teele Sq., down Broadway over the overpass to Cedar St, then back to the bike path). It felt great, but then Tuesday I was absolutely exhausted. I have to work on that. Last night was the Halloween 5k--we met by the Hatch Shell on the river at 6:30, and it was dark and freezing. About 30 seconds after we started, I got a huge charleyhorse in my calf (the same one that was strained, but I'd never felt that before). Fortunately I was able to stretch it out and it was fine. Our route took us past MGH, around the Common and Public Garden, all the way down Beacon to Fairfield and then over to Newbury, where we had pizza and a costume contest.
Here's where things got disappointing: Phil and I had the best of all possible costumes (highest concept, lowest effort), but nobody seemed to appreciate it! Judge for yourselves (please ignore the ridiculous face I'm making, I don't know what that's about):
We're a paradox (get it? A pair of docs?) I thought it was awesome, but not such rave reviews from the crowd--we mostly heard "Oh, you're Dr. Phil!...who's Dr. Shari??)
Anyway. I'm going to my last practice at MIT tomorrow--kickoff for the Boston marathon team is next week in Wellesley, and I have to say goodbye to the team and coaches I've been running with all summer.
Monday, October 27, 2008
A slow Saturday
Dear all,
I've almost reached half my fundraising minimum, with two weeks to go before kickoff! Thanks to all of you who have contributed, and to those of you who haven't yet had a chance, please please PLEASE click "Donate Now" on the left-hand side of this page.
I ran 6 miles with the TNT Winter team this past Saturday, and although I'm pleased to report that my calf strain seems to be 100% better, I had a pretty slow day. For some reason, I was feeling sluggish and tired for the first 4 miles or so and couldn't quite hit my stride. Those of you who run regularly around the river probably know the stretch of the bike path between the BU bridge and the Mass Ave bridge on the Boston side. Every time I run that stretch (which is straight, quiet, and lined with trees on both sides), no matter how long I've run already, I always feel better as soon as I hit it. I settle down, speed up, and the run gets easier. This time was no different, except that I hit it 4.5 miles into my run, so my euphoria only lasted another 1.5 miles.
I have a bunch of runs planned this week--5k with Cooper's girlfriend Victoria this afternoon, a fundraising Halloween 5k on Thursday (Phil and I have a great costume that is still more or less a secret, but I'll take pictures), and then one last team run on Saturday (probably 6-8 miles or so). Katie O (who's also on the Boston team and who lives about 5 blocks away from me) and I have planned to alternate speed workouts with hill workouts every week that we're training, and we're also going to do core workouts together to ensure that we're (by which I mean I am) maintaining our (my!) core strength to avoid injury.
Last Thursday I was one of the guests of honor at an LLS pizza party in Natick, where I got to see the TNT office for the first time. It was great to meet the Massachusetts LLS Executive Director, Sharon Klein--I seem to be quickly infiltrating the LLS inner circle, which I won't complain about. I also met Max, who's 4 years old and in remission (!) for his leukemia. Max and all his brothers and sisters were fingerpainting for everyone at the party, and he made a great picture of a giant victorious runner on a rainbow-striped sidewalk. I know that if I see that inspiring picture on the Boston marathon course, I'll either speed up or burst into tears. Or both.
I've almost reached half my fundraising minimum, with two weeks to go before kickoff! Thanks to all of you who have contributed, and to those of you who haven't yet had a chance, please please PLEASE click "Donate Now" on the left-hand side of this page.
I ran 6 miles with the TNT Winter team this past Saturday, and although I'm pleased to report that my calf strain seems to be 100% better, I had a pretty slow day. For some reason, I was feeling sluggish and tired for the first 4 miles or so and couldn't quite hit my stride. Those of you who run regularly around the river probably know the stretch of the bike path between the BU bridge and the Mass Ave bridge on the Boston side. Every time I run that stretch (which is straight, quiet, and lined with trees on both sides), no matter how long I've run already, I always feel better as soon as I hit it. I settle down, speed up, and the run gets easier. This time was no different, except that I hit it 4.5 miles into my run, so my euphoria only lasted another 1.5 miles.
I have a bunch of runs planned this week--5k with Cooper's girlfriend Victoria this afternoon, a fundraising Halloween 5k on Thursday (Phil and I have a great costume that is still more or less a secret, but I'll take pictures), and then one last team run on Saturday (probably 6-8 miles or so). Katie O (who's also on the Boston team and who lives about 5 blocks away from me) and I have planned to alternate speed workouts with hill workouts every week that we're training, and we're also going to do core workouts together to ensure that we're (by which I mean I am) maintaining our (my!) core strength to avoid injury.
Last Thursday I was one of the guests of honor at an LLS pizza party in Natick, where I got to see the TNT office for the first time. It was great to meet the Massachusetts LLS Executive Director, Sharon Klein--I seem to be quickly infiltrating the LLS inner circle, which I won't complain about. I also met Max, who's 4 years old and in remission (!) for his leukemia. Max and all his brothers and sisters were fingerpainting for everyone at the party, and he made a great picture of a giant victorious runner on a rainbow-striped sidewalk. I know that if I see that inspiring picture on the Boston marathon course, I'll either speed up or burst into tears. Or both.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Thank you!
You, friends, are incredible. I put this site up yesterday and you guys have already contributed more than $800! I can't tell you how inspiring that is to me. This is all beginning to feel real now. Our kickoff isn't until Nov. 8, so I propose the following challenge for myself and for you: can I raise $1500--half my minimum--by then? Bear in mind that the sooner the money is donated, the sooner it can be distributed to patients who need it.
I think this can work, and I'm racking my brain to come up with a good incentive for you all to help me in this challenge--if you have any ideas (and remember, this is a FAMILY blog!), let me know!
I think this can work, and I'm racking my brain to come up with a good incentive for you all to help me in this challenge--if you have any ideas (and remember, this is a FAMILY blog!), let me know!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Game On!
I just found out that I got accepted to run the Boston Marathon with Team in Training. I'm excited, nervous, terrified, humbled, thrilled, and have absolutely no idea how the heck I'm going to get out to Wellesley every Saturday morning.
Here's why I'm psyched to run Boston:
-it'll be my first full marathon, and if you're going to do one, this is the one to do.
-my dad QUALIFIED for Boston in the spring--so as my family celebrates his unparalleled accomplishment as he crosses the finish line, they'll be able to go off and have a beer somewhere before coming back two hours later to watch my sorry ass limp into Copley Square.
-Nearly every Saturday morning for the past year and a half, I've been inspired by Team in Training runners who brave rain, snow, heat, injuries, fatigue, and general malaise to get out and run their miles. We all know that what we're training for is more important than how we feel on any given Saturday.
-Andrea A, Melissa, Amanda P, John E, Julie K, Monica, Jeff, and Max: all the people I've met over the past year who have struggled through or are still struggling with blood cancers. 26.2 is not nothing, but it's not chemo, surgery, radiation, and transplants.
So yes. Boston. Our training starts Nov. 8, and I'm hoping I'll avoid the pitfalls of last year's training season--my plan is to do 15 minutes of core strengthening every day to avoid back injury. Training for a half-marathon last year when all my friends were training for a full, I saw them in lots of pain, but never really had to experience that myself--now it's all on me.
I'm off for a run now--5 miles on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I'll let you know how it all goes!
Here's why I'm psyched to run Boston:
-it'll be my first full marathon, and if you're going to do one, this is the one to do.
-my dad QUALIFIED for Boston in the spring--so as my family celebrates his unparalleled accomplishment as he crosses the finish line, they'll be able to go off and have a beer somewhere before coming back two hours later to watch my sorry ass limp into Copley Square.
-Nearly every Saturday morning for the past year and a half, I've been inspired by Team in Training runners who brave rain, snow, heat, injuries, fatigue, and general malaise to get out and run their miles. We all know that what we're training for is more important than how we feel on any given Saturday.
-Andrea A, Melissa, Amanda P, John E, Julie K, Monica, Jeff, and Max: all the people I've met over the past year who have struggled through or are still struggling with blood cancers. 26.2 is not nothing, but it's not chemo, surgery, radiation, and transplants.
So yes. Boston. Our training starts Nov. 8, and I'm hoping I'll avoid the pitfalls of last year's training season--my plan is to do 15 minutes of core strengthening every day to avoid back injury. Training for a half-marathon last year when all my friends were training for a full, I saw them in lots of pain, but never really had to experience that myself--now it's all on me.
I'm off for a run now--5 miles on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I'll let you know how it all goes!
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