A New DFMC Season, A New Year

As training season begins for 2014, I look back on a very memorable 2013.  The year started with 2 1/2 marathons, Surf City in Huntington Beach and Hyannis.  In April I started the BAA distance medley with the BAA 5k on April 14 and completed the 117th Boston Marathon on April 15, more thoughts below.  After recovering from the marathon, I ran Boston's Run to Remember on Memorial Day weekend, the BAA 10k and 1/2 marathon (to complete the distance medley) and ended the year with my 4th marathon, the Philadelphia Marathon in November.  Other highlights include three 200mile relays, my first sprint triathlon and 3 personal records - 10K (49.50), 1/2 marathon (1.45.46) and marathon (4.02.30)!  A very successful and rewarding year, of which these events are just a part.

Of course, the events of April 15, 2013 are a defining experience from 2013.  With the year ending and all the "year in review" stories, there's no way to avoid seeing pictures from that day and remembering the events related to that week.  I'm incredibly thankful to have been able to run the marathon that day with DFMC and run in honor of so many incredible people.  In late May, I was honored to meet Sean Collier's father and run the last mile of the marathon route with ~2000 runners, supporting those that didn't finish the race.  Reflecting on the marathon and the bombings, I'm reminded that I have been incredibly fortunate in 2013 (including running the marathon and finishing safely!) and can continue to do more to help others, which is why I decided to train for and run the 2014 Boston Marathon again.  As 2014 starts, new goals and challenges await and hopefully a year from now I'll look back and be satisfied knowing that I have continued to help others throughout the year.

First Group Run, er Walk

Mid-December in Boston must mean it's getting cold, the Somerville Jingle Bell Run is approaching (and now postponed to next weekend) and the first DFMC team run is here!  I remember this run 2 years ago as I joined DFMC for my first run.  It was an exciting day and still is exciting.  Today was the first group run and there was a great turn out of 50+ folks.  It was a cold morning, ~11F with a wind chill of -4F!!  We gathered in Lexington MA and ran the MinuteMan Trail toward Arlington Center.  This is always a great way to start the season.  Unfortunately for me, it was not a day for running with the team.

While joining the team for the announcements and camaraderie, I walked the trail for 50 minutes.  Having been battling ITBS this fall and after the Philly marathon, I decided not to push it at this point.  Taking 4 weeks off post-Philly can only help recover and rather than starting too soon, I decided to give my legs a bit more time to recover.  Come 2014, I'll be back out there knowing that I can start training in Jan and have a good race in April.  It was disappointing to not run with the team, but we all face some set backs at times and by comparison, this is nothing compared to those battling cancer.  I'll be joining the team soon enough, motivated by the 20+ donors to date and those I know battling cancer.

Fundraiser Prizes Starting Strong!

It is early in the season and while my DFMC fundraiser has only recently been approved, 2 generous companies have stepped up and already donated items for the event.

First, Alex & Ani will be donating a fantastic item.  I'm not sure what it is just yet, but I'm sure it will be great.  Once I have the item, likely closer to the actual event, I will post a picture and thank Alex and Ani a 2nd time for their generous donation!

Second, a repeat donor from a place we love to dine, the Union Bar & Grille! Like last year, Union Bar & Grille is generously donating a $100 gift card!  Last year's lucky winners raved about their experience (their first at Union) and I'm sure this year's winners will enjoy it just as much.

So...the fundraiser, well it is a bit far away yet, but let's just say, keep April 2, 2014 free if you'll be in the Cambridge area!

Philly Marathon Completed!

As a number of people know, I ran the Philadelphia marathon this past weekend with Amy.  It was her first and my 4th marathon.  While I originally thought about running the race for time, I decided to run the race with Amy and share her first marathon with her.  It was the right decision for many reasons, including dealing with injury unfortunately.

Since September I've been fighting a case of ITBS (IT band syndrome, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliotibial_band_syndrome).  I have a nice sharp pain on the outside of my right knee and upper calf, though it usually only bothers me while running.  Great for everyday activities, but difficult to know when I'm healed and can really train again.  Anyway, I ran through the pain during Philly and it is good to know that I can complete a marathon with this injury, though it won't be fun.  Since the race though the pain has been intense and bothersome even while walking.  I had planned to take time off before training for Boston and will do so even more now.  It is a bit discouraging, but better time off now and enjoy Boston in April than suffer through training and barely complete the race.

Boston 2014 on the Mind

It is well over 5 months until the Boston Marathon 2014, but I began to think about the experience this weekend - about the upcoming training schedule, the emotions that will accompany me through the training season and especially on race day.  It started yesterday with the Red Sox rolling down Boylston St past the marathon finish and the sites of the 2 explosions which brought all of this to mind.  Today was the NYC marathon, recovering from the effects of Sandy and honoring the Boston marathon along the way.  Separate events, both representing what I hope to experience in April 2014.

As many know, the Philadelphia marathon is only 2 weeks away, November 17th, and I am now in the 'taper' phase of training.  I didn't expect that a 14 mile training run would take >3 hrs, but that's what happens when stopping to watch the duck boats roll by with confetti, World Series trophies and baseball players.  It was a fun run/watch/run/watch, but perhaps not the best way to approach such a run.

Post-Philly, I'm looking forward to taking some time off to rest and recover before jumping back into training for Boston.  Fingers crossed for a good race in Philadelphia and channeling the Boston Strong energy through the entire course.

Two Weeks Out...

This past week had been a good one, all things considered after the events of April 15-19.  As I posted about last time, the closing of Crossroads Pub on April 20 allowed DFMCers and other runners to gather on the 17th, celebrate, reminisce about training, tell stories of the marathon and mourn and support each other re the events that took place on Marathon Monday.  This past Monday, one week after the attacks, the Somerville Road Runners held a small candle light vigil in Somerville.  It was another opportunity for runners to support each other and the victims of the bombings.

The week also allowed a return to running and other work outs.  I was able to attend the November Project twice this week.  For the first time hitting the Monday workout of sit-ups and push-ups and returning to the Wed AM workout at the Harvard Stadium...22 sections in 25 minutes.  Another run is planned for this weekend and with it, another day returning to normal.

While I can say a return to normal, many people are still dealing with the attacks, both physically and mentally.  We have learned that 2 past DFMC runners were injured in the attacks and are still hospitalized.  Two other family members were also injured and their story has been documented in both local and national news.  With the OneFundBoston raising >$20 million thus far, >$650,000 has been raised to help Celeste and Sydney.  To learn more about their story, visit the Site for Celeste and Sydney

Lastly, thank you again to everyone who has reached our and offered support.  Two stories I forgot to relate demonstrating how all Bostonians have rallied around those effected area two separate thank yous.  While having a restaurant patron thank me as I walked by wearing my BAA jacket was nice, having an employee at BJs say "thank you" and shake my hand for "all I did" was very unexpected and caught me off guard.  Amy told me afterward that he had asked if we were there, Amy said that I had just finished and had let other runners use my phone to contact family.  I did nothing compared to the first responders but seeing Bostonians support each other has helped the healing process as well.  Again, thank you for all your support the last two weeks.

A Roller Coaster Week

I've already written a bit about the afternoon on Monday and the aftermath of the explosions.  I'm going to try and focus on the positives of the day and week.  First, the support of so many friends and family members has been incredible. So many e-mails, facebook 'likes' and comments and calls offering support and urging me to remember all the good that led up to and included most of Monday...the fundraising efforts for DFMC, the training season and the race itself.  It took me several days to get to that point, and the race will always be remembered in the context of the attacks, but I'm doing much better now.

After running the BAA 5K on Sunday AM, Mom and I walked around the finish area, went to the BAA expo and attended the DFMC past party on Sunday afternoon.

The DFMC pasta party had a list of all the pacesetters, those who had raised more than $8,000 thus far. During the party, the DFMC staff announced that the team had raised more than $3.7 million thus far toward our goal of $4.6 million.  Personally, I'm well above my original goal of $10,000 and am at the $11,800+ mark.  I can't thank everyone enough for their generosity and support.

Over 1400 people attended the DFMC pasta party at the Copley Marriott.

After the pasta party on Sunday, we returned home to prepare for Monday; I got my bag together and Mom and Amy figured out the viewing plans the following day.  Their plan was to head to mile 17 and meet other DFMC supporters and then head back to mile 25 where the patient partners and family are waiting to support runner.  Hopefully I would see them twice during my journey into Boston.

On Monday AM I was up early and headed to Park St to meet Tim, a DFMC runner that I spent a good deal of training time with.  We caught the bus from Boston to Hopkinton around 6.30AM for our 45-60min journey.  Once in Hopkinton, we headed to the DFMC church to wait and prepare for the upcoming race.

Runners putting our post-race bags onto the DFMC bus.  They would be waiting for us back in Boston.

After the morning DFMC activities, including sending off Dennis Moran in the handcycle division, we headed to the start where, along with 9,000 others we began Wave 3 of the 117th Boston Marathon.  After about 5 minutes, I crossed the start line with 2 teammates.  We trained together and had similar goals so we ran together for the day.  Though incredibly crowded (we run on two lane roads), the race started off really well...a great pace, great fan support and lots of energy throughout the race.  The first 10+ miles went exactly like we hoped.  We averaged a 9.15 pace or so and were where we wanted to be.  I started looking for people around mile 10 and saw Shuhao, my former boss, who proceeded to run with me for a few minutes.  The support was great and from that point on, I continually looked forward to seeing friends and family.

After mile 10, we ran through the scream tunnel at Wellesley College.  At the 1/2 way point, I saw Jesse and Max and was still feeling great.  It was around this point that our group of 3 runners broke up as Lauren pulled ahead and ran her own race in to Boston, just missing breaking 4hrs.  Tim and I continued through Wellesley and up the first major hill at mile 16.  That was my first chance to see Mom and Amy.  As we were on a great pace, I stopped for 2 quick hugs and got back on the road.  Shortly thereafter, I saw the DFMC flag and stopped to get a hug from Delores Barr Weaver, founder of the Claudia Adams Barr Program for Innovative Cancer Research.  This was tremendously motivating as I turned onto Comm Ave and hit the first of the Newton hills.  Seeing great friends like Jessie and Joe at this point was also a huge boost!  Though I was where I wanted to be, I couldn't turn on the speed as much as I had hoped.  The hills took a toll but I persevered and made it through.

As I made it through Heartbreak Hill in much better shape than last year, I also realized that breaking 4hrs would be incredibly difficult.  I was pretty sure that it was not possible, but was holding out hope.  Again, the energy in the air was amazing and thinking of all my support, all the donors and all those that I was running for provided a huge boost throughout the hills and as I made my way through Brighton and Brookline.

Approaching mile 25 this year I made sure to take in the whole DFMC Patient Partner section.  I got many 'high 5s' and another energy boost.  As I passed the DFMC group, I saw Amy and Mom one last time, got another 'high 5' and continued on to Boston.  Unlike last year, the weather allowed the fans to enjoy the day as much as the runners.  The entire race was amazing and helped propel me onto Boylston Street to finish the marathon.  By this point I knew that I would not break 4hrs, but would still have a personal best and was ecstatic about that.

As I crossed the finish line, I knew I had given it my all and that a 4.02.39 was about the best that I could have done on that day.  I was exhausted and slowly made my way to the runner's chute.  I stopped to chat with Jack Fultz, the team coach, and Jan, the team coordinator.  It was about 20 seconds into that conversation that the explosions occurred.

The rest of the week has been a bit chaotic as well, though I was able to relax a bit on Thursday as Burton, a therapy Leonberger, was available at work for the employees.  Simply petting Burton was a tremendous stress relief and helped the rest of the week.

With the end of the marathon season, another tradition came to an end.  Every Thursday runners would gather at a bar, travel on the T to Woodland and run the last 9 miles of the couse back.  Following the run, everyone would socialize and catch up.  Thursday was to be the last 'hoorah' for the Thursday night runs; instead, it was a time to chat with runners about the events of the week and have a tremendous support network around.  With the craziness of the week, seeing friends on Thursday & Friday evening was a good way to end the week.

Crossroads with DFMC teammates and other runners

I'm not sure when I'll merge the events of the last week into a single experience, but having signed up for Boston's Run to Remember 1/2 Marathon in late May seems entirely appropriate this year.  While I still have not made a decision about running Boston next year with DFMC, the events of the past week have made me strongly reconsider my initial thoughts about not running. Like so many other runners, the events of the week make me want to run again next year, rather than deter me from running again. As I said before, I can run, I can support cancer research and I can do more.

Recovering, on many levels...

Thank you to everyone for your support, thoughts and offers to chat or get together if needed.

Before writing more about the race and my experience yesterday, I still need some time to process the events that took place yesterday afternoon.  I've had a hard time wrapping my head around what to think, feel and take away from yesterday.  On a day where so many of us run for charities important to us and have raised funds for these causes and thus run with the support of so many people, the senseless act of violence is in stark contrast to what the day is about.

I was able to finish the race approximately 2 minutes before the blasts and was standing about 75 yards away when the first went off.   After being shepherded away from the finish area by BAA staff and emergency personnel, I was able to help in a small way providing my cell phone to several other runners to contact their family.  I was able to finally contact mom and Amy and eventually connect with them at the team hotel.  Of course, 2 of the best hugs I have ever received ensued.

Hearing from DFMC today, we now know that while all runners and staff are ok, 2 family members of a teammate were seriously injured.  A coworker watching the marathon was also injured.  Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

I continue to wrestle with the conflicting emotions of celebrating the accomplishment in the context of tragedy.  I am trying to take some thoughts away from the DFMC pasta party and David Weinstock's speech.  David spoke of the impact of cancer and how it takes away too much...not only the direct impact on those directly affected, but the impact on all those who know individuals impacted by cancer...too much life, too much happiness, too much.  Thinking about that in regards to yesterday, to let these events take away the lives of 3 people and injure so many, to take away the enjoyment and experience of yesterday, but also reflecting on our training, our fundraising accomplishments and why we ran, that would be too much.  I find that hard to say as I'm still struggling with it, but it is what I'm striving for.

To conclude for now, I entered yesterday's race convinced I would not run DFMC again next year.  After the events of yesterday, I am reevaluating those thoughts because I can run, I can support cancer research and I can do more.  Time will tell.

Less than 24hrs...

At this time tomorrow I'll be about 13.1 miles into my 26.2 mile journey from Hopkinton to Copley.  Luckily, I've already run part of the course this morning, or at least the last 1 mile or so.  Today was the BAA 5K (or baby unicorn race as some are calling it) and a good chance to stretch the legs out after all this tapering.  Amy and I decided to break out the new shoes as we kick off the BAA Distance Medley.  The medley covers the BAA 5K, 10K (June) and 1/2 Marathon (Oct).  

 With the marathon tomorrow, I had no plans to 'race' this race, but we ran a respectable 29 min race.  Amy even mastered the art of picture taking while running, capturing this awesome image of me running and others at the finish...

  

 

3.1 miles completed, 26.2 miles to go...

After the run this morning, we have the DFMC pasta party this afternoon to remind all the runners why we have trained so hard the last 16 weeks, why we did all the fundraising and what will inspire us tomorrow.  I know that I am looking forward to it.  As a fun little activity yesterday, Mom, Amy and I went to The Paint Bar to paint the marathon finish, or at least an interpretation of it.  After telling all us Type A personalities to relax and not worry about lines that were not straight or colors mixing, we proceeded let our creative sides out and create our masterpieces!  

Yesterday we painted the finish, today Amy and I ran through it and tomorrow I'll finish my 2nd DFMC experience running on the support of family and so many friends, running Running in Honor Of and in Memory Of many individuals.  If you're on the course tomorrow, look for me in the stylish DFMC singlet...

BAA Expo & DFMC Registration

Today started the final preparations for Monday.  I went to the BAA Expo at Hynes Convention Center, got my number and swag bag!  I also picked up my number for the BAA 5K on Sunday AM.  Yup, I'm running both BAA races this weekend and will run a total of 29.3 miles in <30 hours.  We'll see how well this strategy pays off on Monday, but the Sunday race should prepare the muscles for Monday.

After the BAA registration and meandering around the expo (but resisting the urge to buy lots of expensive items) I went to the DFMC registration at the Marriott Copley.  This year I actually remembered my forms and was prepared for the process.  In addition to picking up all the DFMC materials, I also got to pick up my "Pace$etter" patch to wear on my singlet.  This patch is given to all runners who raise $8000.  I wear this patch this Monday and thank all the individuals who have helped me raise over $11,500 for DFCI and Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research.

More to come this weekend, and hopefully some pictures...

6 Days to Go...

Wow, it's been an incredible last week...$1,880 raised in the last week alone!!  That brings the grand total raised to $10,757 from over 150 donors!  The support from so many new and repeat donors has been incredible and your support and generosity will be a huge motivating factor come Monday.

Speaking of Monday, I'm not sure about others, but I've been checking out weather.com every day for the last week or so.  Today's forecast is for 63-64F as a high with partly sunny skies.  While this is not an ideal temperature range (I'd prefer about 45-50F) it is substantially better than this year.  There's still time for the weather to move up or down, but fingers crossed that it stays dry at the very least.

As for my current training, I'm continuing to taper and last week ran a grand total of ~21 miles, many at a much slower pace than past runs.  This week will be about the same distance though I'll also be running on Sunday in the BAA 5K as a warmup race.  Though I won't be racing this race, I'll use it as a nice opportunity to stretch out my legs and get warmed up for the marathon on Monday.  We'll see how well this strategy works.  As for the race itself, I'm definitely getting excited for Monday and there's only a few days of work and the weekend to get through!

Fundraisers, Long Run and 1st week of Taper

I didn't realize that it had been over 2 weeks since updating the blog!  Apologies to all those waiting for the next edge-of-your-seat exciting post :)

So for everyone's enjoyment, I'm going to attempt to be brief tonight.  I will undoubtedly leave out details, but if you're truly interested in hearing the details, drop me an e-mail or call or message on facebook or whatever.

On March 20th, I had another fundraiser at the Asgard with a raffle for the numerous donated and purchased gifts from so many generous people.  A great group of coworkers and friends turned out to support the cause and DFMC!  We had a great night and between both fundraisers raised ~$1,500 before any company matches!  A very nice success and everyone left the bar happy.  Thanks to everyone who came out, who has donated to DFMC and who has supported me in my training and fundraising over the last 16 weeks.  As of tonight, we have raised ~$8,500 for DFMC and I'm within $1,500 of my goal!

On March 23rd, the DFMC team gathered at BC to start our 22 mile training run!  My 'normal' group ended up going to Hopkinton and running in on the marathon route but I chose the out-and-back approach, getting a little more work on the hills.  Also, for the first time this training season, I used my headphones the entire time.  I wanted to run the training run that I wanted...not getting caught up going to fast just to stay with a group.  Yes I ignored the social aspect, but this was me trying to be smart in this training run.  I managed a nice slow run though my Garmin freaked out on the way back to BC so I don't actually know how good of a run it was.  According to my watch I ran some miles in ~4-5 minutes!!  Guess I was really speedy :) Overall it was a great run and I felt good at the end of it, which is the best outcome one could hope for.

Since March 23, I've been in taper mode.  This has been even more critical as I tweaked a hamstring at last week's track workout.  I've been taking it easy, foam rolling every day/night and even skipped the 'long run' this weekend in favor of rest.  It was hard but apparently I'm getting a bit wiser in my old age.  Today I skipped the track workout and instead had a nice run of ~6 miles in the 20-30mph winds around Boston.  Let's hope that we don't have such winds on marathon day, at least not a head wind!  Speaking of weather, if you're interested, Accuweather.com offers a 25 day forecast and right now, April 15 is looking pretty good.  Fingers crossed it stays this way!

I'm lacking any pictures from the fundraiser, including pictures of the amazing cake that Selina and Kiss My Kakes put together.  I'll post those this weekend along with some more updates hopefully.  Now that we're in taper mode I hope to have a little free time to update the blog before April 15th

Last Week Before Taper

The last week flew by, as will this one.  Since posting a week ago, another track workout occurred, another 25 sections of the Harvard Stadium was run and the 2nd-to-last group run took place at the BSC in Wellesley, MA.  The run was a good one and covered the hill section of the marathon course.  After running 9 mi of the course, we turned around and ran it in reverse.  It was a good long run and this week's group run will do the opposite...starting at BC, we'll run 11 mi of the course in reverse and turn around at the 11 mi mark to run the marathon route, hitting the Newton Hills just like on Marathon Monday.

In addition to all the running this past week, the weekend was super busy with the Patient Partner Poster Party after the group run on Sat.  All the patients in the Patient Partner Program and families in the In Memory Of program make a poster of the child who is fighting cancer or lost their battle with cancer.  These are then on display at the team dinner the night before the marathon.  While it may seem depressing or sad to see all these posters, and it is of course, it is incredibly powerful and really helps the runners and families see what an impact the DFMC experience has on all involved...the kids, the runners, the researchers and everyone who is a part of the team, including the 1000s of donors who are "behind the scenes."  RJ and I made his poster and then got to catch up and enjoy the afternoon for a bit.  We both had busy nights though.

Sunday AM was St. Patty's Day and in South Boston, we're the center of the celebration!  Amy and Kim had the 'brilliant' idea of throwing a St. Patty's Day Fundraiser for friends, which we did.  It was crazy and LOTS of food was made, but it was a great idea they hatched as over 25 friends came by and lots of money was raised for DFMC.  That said, there's no rest for the weary as Wed 3/20 is another fundraiser at the Asgard where hopefully even more people will come and more money will be raised.  Speaking of which, time to prepare for that one...

Ups and Downs

It's late on a Sunday night, we lost an hour of sleep and after running 19miles in 24 hrs, attending 2 Boston Marathon fundraisers in 24 hours and planning/shopping for my upcoming fundraisers I'm a bit exhausted.  What better way to end the day though than seeing an email from Union Bar and Grill (Link) saying that they'll be donating a $100 gift card to the fundraising raffle next week!  After seeing the success of friends' fundraisers this weekend, I am hoping that I can be that successful.


This was also a big week for another reason...donations have totaled more than $5,000 thus far!!!  A huge THANK YOU to the 68 donors who have helped reach this amazing amount and surpass the 1/2 way point in my fundraising goal!  An additional Thank You to RJ for continuing his efforts and chatting with his teachers about his experience, the Patient Partner Program and DFMC as several have also donated to support our efforts.

All that fundraising helps as yet another snow storm rolled in to Boston on Friday and caused the cancellation of another DFMC group run.  While it is disappointing, I remember vividly the run through Wayland last year in a snow storm and understand why Jack and DFMC cancelled this run.  I had a nice run around Tufts University with a number of hill repeats and followed that up today with a 5K in Davis Sq for St. Patty's Day.  Overall 2 great runs, 2 fantastic fundraisers for fellow Boston runners supporting both DFMC and the American Liver Foundation and the weekend is over.  Looking forward to another week of training and ending the week seeing RJ at the Patient Partner Poster Party, which I'll try to describe later in the week.

2 More Donations!

Thanks to Eastern Standard (LINK) for generously donating a gift card to the DFMC fundraiser on March 20th at the Asgard (LINK)!  Additionally, the Asgard is donating food for the event as well as a gift card.  Lastly, KissMyKakes (LINK) is donating a cake as a raffle prize!  The fundraiser has some great prizes and hopefully attendance will be just as successful.

Supporting Mystic Brewing Supporting DFMC

This past week was another good week for training and fundraising.  Through more generous donations, ~50 donors have helped raise more that $4,700 for DFMC and Cancer Research!  That's a great start and incredible generosity from so many individuals!  With about 6 weeks to go, I'm nearly 1/2 way to my goal!

In 2 weeks I'm having my fundraiser at the Asgard Irish Pub on Mass Ave and as part of that went to Mystic Brewing (Webpage) to pick up their very generous donation.  Of course, while there, we had to enjoy their new tasting room, free tasting session and support Mystic Brewery with a small purchase!  While tastings are available on Sat from 1-4pm (and other times, check their webpage!), we missed the tour given at 1pm.  I guess another visit will be required :)

Besides fundraising, this was my first group run in over a month!  After the various 1/2 marathons in February and the winter weather resulting in cancellations, I rejoined the team in Waltham for a 17 mile run.  I had never run this course before and it was great.  The water stops were in 'central' locations with fingers as short out-and-backs.  This allowed us to see team members on multiple occasions and support everyone throughout the run.  It was also a bit hilly to get the legs ready for the Newton hills from mile 16-20 of the marathon course.  Lastly, spring was in the air as the sun was peaking out, temps were rising above 40 and many of us were starting to shed layers.  Looking forward to the upcoming weeks as we get closer and closer to the marathon!

A BIG Week

Wow, so much to update and so much to do so I'll focus on the highlights...

First, a work trip to CO prevented attending the weekly track workout at Tufts and I suffered through a treadmill run for 13.5km.  While it was not fun, I was motivated by the generosity of my latest donation.  Though not as large as some others, it was totally unexpected and unseen.  On top of that, I returned from CO to find a package and e-mail offering more donations for the fundraiser I'm putting together.  Posto (LINK, Davis Sq, Somerville, MA) generously donated a gift card and my uncle sent autographed Bruins items, including a Tyler Seguin card and Phil Esposito hockey puck.  Lastly, I received the donations from the Coolidge Corner Theatre and Aquarium...

On top of the fundraising efforts, I ran the Hyannis 1/2 Marathon this weekend. Luckily the Nor'easter that was predicted for the weekend was only rain down on the cape, unfortunately running in rain is worse that running in snow, at least in my opinion.  We started the race and it was low-40s, raining and windy.  Running through plenty of puddles, dodging the rain drops and and not losing my hat when running into the wind were challenges, but running with friends from the SBS running club and teammates from DFMC made it enjoyable.  Oh, and running a 2nd 1/2 marathon in <2hr and setting a new PR made it a nice run as well :)  Let's hope the marathon training continues as well as it has thus far!

Support from Area 4

While it is not a trip to Area 51, you won't need government clearance to enjoy Area 4 who generously donated a gift card to my DFMC Fundraiser! 

A Difficult 16 miles...

I'm not sure if 16 miles of running is ever 'easy' but today was a tougher than normal.  On Sat AM I found out that the DFMC group training run for Sunday was canceled due to the forecasted storm coming to Boston...20F degree temps, 4-7" of new snow and 20-30mph winds gusting to the 40mph range!  Well after seeing this yesterday, there was a debate about running on Sat at 10pm since social activities prevented me from running earlier in the day.  After deciding to get to sleep early and run early Sunday, I knew I made the wrong choice after stepping outside.  Running with the wind was fine and the blowing snow was not a problem.  Even the slushy roads and wet shoes (cold and squishy around mile 12) were not that bad.  Running into the wind and blowing snow though...well that was just not fun!  Running last night for 2.5hrs at 10pm would have been the better and easier choice but still got the 16 miles in this morning and have since thawed out.  Hopefully next week's 1/2 marathon and future training runs are a bit easier and warmer!

Week 10, mid-week update

A quick update as I heard from the Coolidge Corner Theatre (web site) who will be contributing tickets to my DFMC raffle!  This is a great local theatre with a diverse movie selection and unique atmosphere.  Thank you to the CC Theatre for another fun prize.

The week has been going well...12.4km on Tuesday at the track workout, another 9mi tonight at Crossroads and a planned 16mi this weekend.  It is a busy week but training is really kicking into high gear!

Fingers crossed for some good weather this weekend and not the snow that they are predicting.  Also hoping for some more donations to come in for the fund raiser.  If anyone has connections and would like to offer up some great prizes, please contact me! :)

New Donations for Fundraiser!

I received 2 awesome e-mails today confirming additional donations for my DFMC fundraiser drawing!!

Slumbrew is donating a gift pack and I couldn't be happier as I know plenty of friends enjoy a quality drink.
Slumbrew Website
A nice Dig article on Slumbrew

The New England Aquarium is also donating 2 entry tickets to the drawing.  These make a great prize for a family to see the great exhibits, especially once the new Giant Ocean Tank is reopened this summer.  Check out the New England Aquarium Homepage and just as interesting is the construction update for February

Week 9 & Nemo

This will be quick as Nemo delivered a huge amount of snow to Boston and as such has exhausted me. When it was fairly certain that the storm was going to hit Boston on Friday, I decided to run Crossroads on Thurs night.  After a slow T ride and other issue, I missed running with other DFMCers and ran by myself around Southie for 8+ miles. It was actually a very nice run.

With Nemo dumping 24" of snow on Boston Fri PM into Sat AM, today's run was a bit difficult.  I ended up deciding to cut it short at ~7mi since I had to run in the road and more and more cars were starting to hit the roads.  Also, the plows did a decent job, but there were still some roads that were mostly slush.  Anyway, here I am after the not so quick 7mi, definitely was not breaking any speed records today...

Photos from CA and Match Party

Rather than more writing, I thought some photos would be enjoyed...

First, the Patient Partners and Runners from the Match Party.  We're all excited to be paired together and looking forward to the rest of training and marathon experience!

From CA, we got to drive around and see Palos Verdes, numerous beaches around LA (Manhattan down to Huntington) and the USS Iowa Battleship at Long Beach.  After our day out, we were as exhausted as Barley and Stella!

 On Super Bowl Sunday, we had a great time racing the Surf City 1/2.  There's lots of fun things about this race and vacation, but the surfboard medal is always a highlight 

Fundraising Minimum Met!

That's right, thanks to the generosity of 46 donors, we've raised $4,053!  This means that we have past Natick, MA and are close to the girls of Wellesley College.  If the weather is nice this year, I likely won't stop for any kisses, but race day is so far away, so we'll see.  I digress...the BAA sets the minimum fundraising level for charity runners and this year, like last, it was $4,000.  This always seems daunting but thanks to everyone's contributions, this is one concern that is no longer on my mind.  My next goal is the $5,000 mark which is 1/2 way to my goal of $10,000!

Also, today I confirmed my fundraiser to help reach my $10,000 goal.  I'll be having a social outing at the Asgard Irish Pub on March 20th from 5-7pm.  I plan to ask for donations at the door and also sell tickets for an opportunity drawing for prizes.  While still 5 weeks away, Mystic Brewing (Website) confirmed their willingness to donate to the event.  I hope to have other local businesses confirm donations soon!

Anyone following the impending snow-pocalypse?!  Boston is supposed to get slammed on Fri evening with 10-24" of snow.  As you can imagine, the group run on Saturday is likely to be canceled as we dig out from this storm.  We'll see if the forecasts are right, but I'm already planning to run on Sunday AM, hopefully along the sidewalks and not in the streets.

Surf City 1/2 Marathon Completes Week 8

Well, between lots of things going on at work and lots of training runs, traveling to LA and other activities, this will be a short update for the last week.  First, fund raising is continuing along and thanks to some more generous donations this past week, I'm now within $100 of the $4,000 mark!  Very exciting and a tremendous thanks to the 40+ people who have donated thus far!

Training has continued in this cold winter.  After the run with the November Project last week on Wed AM, Amy and I caught a plane on Thurs to head to LA and visit Kim and Todd.  We had a nice visit and really enjoyed the sun and warmer weather.  It was great to drive along Rte 1 and the Pacific Coast Highway, see a number of beaches and have a few drinks outside.  It was also great to catch up with Mike and Cisca and meet Michael down in Seal Beach.  All of this was in addition to running the Surf City 1/2 on another fabulous day.  Race temps were in the 60s but full sun.  That said, Kim and Todd cheered us along at miles 3 & 5 and finishing around 2:01:30 hrs was both a great race for Amy and I and a PR for Amy!  A great way to start Super Bowl Sunday and way to wrap up the trip.  I'll try to post pics once I have time.

Some other races are approaching but for this week, I'm back to the speed workouts at Tufts tonight (8 x 800m, total distance of 7 miles) and hopefully Crossroads on Thursday, though we'll see.  Overall, feeling good and looking forward to more DFMC training runs in the coming weeks.

A cold week 7

Week 7 was a cold one here in Boston and I only got 2 runs in, though they were both good runs.  Last Tues was the first DFMC track workout at Tufts University.  We ran 16 x 400m repeats with some recovery laps in their and overall it was about 6-7mi.  The speed work made up for missing the Thursday Crossroads run and then my foolish Sat morning.  With the temps dropping to the teens and single digit wind chills, I happily drove to the group run in Lexington, MA. After arriving at the Greater Boston Running Club and finding the store dark with no one around, it dawned on me that perhaps the cold had caused DFMC to cancel the run.  Well, good thing for smart phones and sure enough, my 'ah-ha' moment was true...group run canceled :(  After hopping back in the car and heading back to Southie, I put in a solid 12+ miles around Boston and the waterfront.

After the group run, I was able to see RJ and his family at the "Meet your Match" party as part of the Patient Partner Program!  It was much like last year with a key note speech on what the PPP means to both the  patients and runners.  We then got to place some icebreaker games and of course, enjoyed a large bowl of ice cream sundae!  A great reward/treat for the 12+ miles that morning.

A summary of the week's workouts...

This week (# 8 of 18!) included another track workout, Harvard stairs with the November Project (photo from their Facebook page and blog and yes, I'm in there) and some other planned runs.  I'll update more after the week is over...

Week 6 - Complete!

Week 6 ended much differently that week 6 of 2012...last year I was running at the Longfellow Club in Wayland in a snow storm, this year I chose to run the Minuteman trail again in Somerville, Arlington and Lexington in weather that was much more like March/April than January, windy, but a nice 45F!  Though I didn't run with the team this past week, it was a nice run nonetheless and I was able to stick to my goal of running slower and not increasing my mileage too quickly.  This coming week I'll rejoin the team for a number of runs as speed workouts start up on Tuesday! Though I'm not fast, I figure that some speed work can only be a good thing, right?

This past week was also a great one from a fundraising stand point.  First, I've started to organize a fundraiser.  We'll see how this goes as I still need opportunity drawing prizes, a date and location, but I'll get there, hopefully?!  As with every update, through some generous donors and company matches starting to come in, we've raised more than $3,500 for DFCI and the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Cancer Research.  This means that I've traveled ~9.2 miles from Hopkinton and about to enter Natick, MA.  Ah, I remember entering Natick last year with the heat starting to take effect after a solid 1.5hrs of running.  The fan support and number of hoses people had brought out to help us through the town was such a boost.  Here's hoping for an even better experience this coming year!

With 2013 well underway, I thought that my training summary from 2012 was pretty cool and I could pick out how training mimicked races.  Obviously Jan and Feb were big months while March and April dropped off as I was battling a few aches and pains before Boston.  The lack of enjoyment of running in the summer is clearly seen while increases in Aug and Sept coincide with training for Reach the Beach and getting my bike. Overall, 800+ miles is an achievement for 2012 and a goal to beat in 2013!

Long Run #5, SBS #1

Wow, week 5 of the training program was a great one!  Not only did I get my 'official' e-mail from the BAA that my registration had been accepted (and quickly followed by a charge to my credit card!) but so many generous people helped me pass the $3000 mark in my fund raising efforts!!  Thanks to everyone that has donated and helped this year start so well!  Now let's hope some of those company matches start coming in to really boost the totals raised!

As for training itself, overall I'm feeling pretty good.  There's some lingering tendinitis in an ankle and perhaps lingering pain from taking a hockey puck off the inside of my foot, but overall, I'm feeling really good.  This past weekend I missed the long run with DFMC but still ran part of the route, though in the opposite direction.  I started my run out in Somerville and ran up to Alewife, passed into Arlington and continued along the Minuteman bike path up towards Lexington.  It was a nice run and a gorgeous Sunday for an 11mi run.  There were lots of people out which made it a little crowded at times, but a fun run overall.  Unfortunately the run tired me out quite a bit and there wasn't time for a nap before the Pats game, but I persevered and managed to have a good time watching the game with friends and eating plenty of food to replenish.

I wouldn't usually run the day after a long run, but today was just too nice outside not to run!  Even at 6.30pm, temps in Boston were still in the 40s (down from the 50s during the day) and for a 2nd day in a row, I got to wear shorts!!  I'm hoping that this is not a sign of things to come for the marathon as it is a little too close to last year's training season and we all remember how that turned out, well, I remember the first 23 miles, then it's a bit of a blur.  Anyway, running with friends at the SBS running club was a great way to spend the evening and I'm 3.7mi closer to the 100mi club, only 96.4mi to go :)

Only 1 week until track workouts start!

Week 5, Harvard Stairs

The week started with our 2nd group run out of Watertown, MA and a 12mi run.  Since then, I managed a swim at MIT on Monday, a 3mi run on Tues and then this morning running the stairs at Harvard Stadium.  A friend had talked about running the stairs in the past but there's now an organized group that runs at 6.30am, the November Project.  Though the stairs were not entirely free of ice, we ran the portion that was safe and clear of ice/snow.  This meant that we ran 14 sections and then circled around and repeated.  In all I ran 33 sections of the stadium in about 25-30 mins.  Though my legs felt a little better than the first time I did this, they were still shaking quite a bit and exhausted from all the stairs. Some foam rolling was a good thing, but pretty painful.  Goals for the rest of the week are to run Thurs AM, swim and then prepare for another long run this weekend, likely around the 12mi range again.

Even better, through extremely generous support from family, friends and coworkers, 35 donors have contributed $3000 to my goal of $10,000 for DFMC.  It is great to know that so many people are willing to support this great cause, many for a 2nd year in a row.  Hoping that the donations keep coming in and now I need to prepare for what will hopefully be a successful fundraiser event which I'm hoping to hold later this spring, details to come.

Week 4, 1st CR & Group Run of 2013

Last week was my first run out of Crossroads on Thursday and 2nd group run with DFMC.  It was a good way to start 2013.  Normally out of Crossroads I would take the T out to Newton-Wellesley and run in the last 9 miles of the marathon course, finishing at Crossroads Irish Pub for a beer.  This week was a bit different as I was trying to catch up with a friend who could only run at 5pm.  Unfortunately, though I was left to run alone as the temps were dropping to the 10s and a brisk wind made the run slightly chilly.  That said, I persevered and managed to get in a nice 4mi run.
After recovering Friday and Saturday, I joined DFMC teammates at The Mount Auburn Club in Watertown for the group run on Sunday. This was the first chance to meet people since mid-Dec at the 1st group run.  It was also the first chance to hit the Newton hills during this training season.  It was another good run though I was already forgetting my training plan for the year.  I smartly knew not to push it beyond 12mi even though the course was set up for 14-16mi.  Distance limitation - Check!  Unfortunately, as I looked at my garmin watch, I was running a bit faster than I wanted.  Even after slowing down, I finished the run faster than I wanted.  Speed limitation - Fail :(  Can't change everything at once, but 1/2 is a decent start.  Most importantly though I helped a teammate finish the run and reach a new distance record for himself. That's really what these runs are about, helping teammates reach the end and prepare for the race b/c who knows how we'll need each other throughout the rest of the training season!
Week 5 brings a nice warm up and increase in mileage...

Weeks 2-4, Dec 17 - Jan 5

Training over the holidays is always so hard but I managed to have some good training runs while on vacation.  The week of 12/16 started with the Jingle Bell 5K in Somerville, MA.  This race is always a good time, but it has been getting more crowded the last few years.  This year was no different but we swerved our way through the crowd and finished at a nice pace overall.  My Santa hat has now been in 4 races and thus is less than $1 per race; a good investment from CVS I'd say.  After the race, we helped support the local bars and enjoyed some of the local sponsors, like Harpoon Brewery. Overall, a good way to start a vacation!

Vacation week 1 took me down to north of Philadelphia. While in PA I got in two nice runs with Amy, my tour guide for the area.  Run 1 was a short easy 3mi to loosen the legs after driving and sitting in a car for a number of hours.  Run 2 was a really nice long run in Tyler State Park.  The state park was nice and quiet and a bit challenging at times.  We put together a nice 10mi run and the only issue was that the downpours the night before had swelled the Neshaminy Creek and made a trail impassable.  Oh well, we turned around and hit the hills again heading back to the car.  Overall a fun run in PA.

Vacation week 2 took me back to western NY.  I got in 2 nice runs around Christmas, though both were shorter since they were mid-week.  I saved the long run until this past Monday, New Year's Eve.  Though the snowstorm that hit Boston on Sat/Sun was not too bad, it did leave enough snow, slush and ice that made footing a bit treacherous on Monday AM.  On top of that the wind around South Boston and downtown was awful - nothing like 25F with a 20mph wind to help motivate you along. That said, it was a nice run and fun to see the city getting ready for the New Years Eve festivities.

Finally, to help start the new year I had dinner with RJ and his family!  It was a great way to spend the day and kick off 2013.  It had been a while since seeing RJ, 3 months in fact, and it was very nice to catch up with the entire family, helping me remember what is important around this time and what to look forward to over the next 3+ months of training!

With the start of 2013, I've decided to actually tackle a new goal.  While a marathon is a challenge, I know that I'm not fast nor will I ever be so.  My goal of breaking the 4hr mark for a marathon will be a challenge and hopefully something I can accomplish.  That said, I don't want running to be my only challenge and as such I plan to tackle a triathlon later this year. To accomplish this, I went to the MIT gym today and went for my first 1st pool swim in years.  Ugh, what a surprise - who knew that 50m of freestyle could be so tiring!!  After a few laps I decided to keep it simple and just make it to 15 minutes of swimming.  Hopefully my muscle memory finds my 10yr old swimming form and this gets a little easier.  For the rest of the week, I plan to run 6mi tomorrow from Crossroads and then 10-12mi this weekend.