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.

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.

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!

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!