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.